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Date:
Sat, Nov 9, 2013 at 5:38 PM
Subject:
Short, Hot and Dusty Saturday
To:
cgcmemlist@vicnet.net.au>
Many
times on the phone with people enquiring about
gliding, I have found myself refuting the belief that
soaring is simply a matter of heat: the hotter the
day, the better the thermals, the longer the flights.
Today was a perfect case in point: 30 degrees or
thereabouts and to quote our guru Bert, “a sh*t of a
day” (if you don’t mind the Swedish spelling).
And
of course there was no sign of Bert or Speedy on any
runway (Rodda’s Rule of Soaring: no Bert, no Speedy
= no Thermals).
Our
longest flight was 26 minutes, and that was from a
4,500’ launch for AEI Neil Muspratt and his
passenger - who still enjoyed the flight so much that
more than a few of his 10 strong family cheer squad
are very likely to return for their own flights. Neil
reported finding only 1 kt of lift for a very short
time on his trip back in from the step.
Shortest
flight was 12 minutes from 2,000’ for Dave Crocker
in which he discovered first-hand why recency is so
highly valued in flying. His second flight of 22
minutes from 3,100’ was much better!
That,
as it turned out, was also our final flight for the
day. Alan Graham had earlier made 14 minutes solo on
the day’s first launch, and he was ready to tick off
some more post-solo exercises with Mick Moloney when
we pulled the pin due to cross winds above the
Pawnee’s limit. A very wise and prudent decision
from Karl Bodi, who had volunteered to relieve John
Knox as the morning Tuggie.
If
you can count and read at the same time, you’ll
already know that the day’s stats were 4 flights for
1:14, all in CQC. Two of the flights were from RWY30
and two from RWY06, where the sea breeze sent us much
earlier than expected.
When
it swung back to create the crosswind mentioned above
was when we decided that hauling aluminium all the way
out to another runway in that 30 degree heat for what
was to be the hangar flight anyway … well, what
would you have done?
Rupert
Perry and Duty Pilot Adam Luff had already decided to
save their launches for a more promising day, so
let’s see what develops when some of the same crew
reconvene tomorrow. Whatever it brings, it will come
with the bonus of vintage wheels and wings on display
around the Warplanes Museum, so if you’re coming
come early to beat the crowd!
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