Its been a while.
Almost 9 months.
Once again the signs were good, except for the Wind. The forecast was for a steady 10 to 12 knots, which meant it might be better for hanging rather than pantying. Alas the forecast was spot on.
Out on the launch there were five Hangies and me, so I got my glider out, mucked around a bit then conceded defeat and stood and watched them take off.
There were thermals there, but not that well formed, indicated by the fact it took the gliders quite a while to get enough height to run for it.
Here's Leslie's story.
"1 landed at bottom, 1 at Warkworth primary school, 2 at Matakana, and me at microlight strip up Matakana Valley road.18.5km.
The day proved to be a fairly typical Moirs, up and down waiting for the good thermal to go over the back. Unfortunately, most crapped out at 2000ft or lower.
I was lured back by a good climb only to be abandoned at 2000ft too far back and East to make it back to the ridge so had to commit. Fortunately I ran into good lift 1/2 way over the forest which took me to cloudbase 3800ft.
Another thermal just to north of Warkworth with strong drift from west eventually took me to 3000ft almost over Matakana so I headed for line of clouds on Parkiri hills but no lift so back to microlight field where there are windsocks and very nice owners."
And John's story.
"I enjoyed my first flight at Moirs. It was a little different to what I expected it to be. I thought that a thermal would come through and everyone would be gone in a matter of minutes, but it seemed to take ages for "the big one" to come through.
One by one, the others would get higher and further back, before disappearing altogether. I got one good thermal to 2,400 ft, but just at the threshold, the thermal evaporated. The drift was out across the forested spine. I needed a couple of hundred more feet, so I decided to play safe and head back to the main face, in preparation for a date with Ms. Bombout Paddock.
I got a great workout, rowing up and down the face for a total of 3 and a bit hours. I have a much better idea of what to do next time.
Note to self: wear a long-sleeved shirt and gloves the next time you climb back up to the launch from bombout. There's a lot of cutty grass and gorse to get through. (I missed the big sign saying "easy track this way"....)"
No Flight Log.
Once again the signs were good, except for the Wind. The forecast was for a steady 10 to 12 knots, which meant it might be better for hanging rather than pantying. Alas the forecast was spot on.
Out on the launch there were five Hangies and me, so I got my glider out, mucked around a bit then conceded defeat and stood and watched them take off.
There were thermals there, but not that well formed, indicated by the fact it took the gliders quite a while to get enough height to run for it.
Here's Leslie's story.
"1 landed at bottom, 1 at Warkworth primary school, 2 at Matakana, and me at microlight strip up Matakana Valley road.18.5km.
The day proved to be a fairly typical Moirs, up and down waiting for the good thermal to go over the back. Unfortunately, most crapped out at 2000ft or lower.
I was lured back by a good climb only to be abandoned at 2000ft too far back and East to make it back to the ridge so had to commit. Fortunately I ran into good lift 1/2 way over the forest which took me to cloudbase 3800ft.
Another thermal just to north of Warkworth with strong drift from west eventually took me to 3000ft almost over Matakana so I headed for line of clouds on Parkiri hills but no lift so back to microlight field where there are windsocks and very nice owners."
And John's story.
"I enjoyed my first flight at Moirs. It was a little different to what I expected it to be. I thought that a thermal would come through and everyone would be gone in a matter of minutes, but it seemed to take ages for "the big one" to come through.
One by one, the others would get higher and further back, before disappearing altogether. I got one good thermal to 2,400 ft, but just at the threshold, the thermal evaporated. The drift was out across the forested spine. I needed a couple of hundred more feet, so I decided to play safe and head back to the main face, in preparation for a date with Ms. Bombout Paddock.
I got a great workout, rowing up and down the face for a total of 3 and a bit hours. I have a much better idea of what to do next time.
Note to self: wear a long-sleeved shirt and gloves the next time you climb back up to the launch from bombout. There's a lot of cutty grass and gorse to get through. (I missed the big sign saying "easy track this way"....)"
No Flight Log.
