Mission From Moir's

It wasn't a brilliant forecast. But it easily fell within my parameters of what makes a trip to the Hill worth a go. I was keen to get some more airtime on my new wing, and along with a bunch of the usual suspects, was on launch ready to go around Noon. Around ten minutes past the main group launched and I tried to follow, unfortunately I cocked up a couple of launches, simply by not following my usual routine, so eventually launched about half-an-hour behind the rest. Stefan launched not long after and we soared the ridge looking for the elusive "ticket" over the back. It was a good 30 minutes before it appeared, after a below launch save that had me on the face trying to soar back up. But that was behind and Stefan and I thermalled up together until Stefan decided to run for it. I duly followed hoping to work together to find the next lift. Chasing him across the sky as he wandered he would sometimes be way above and then way below, until he hit a good therm...

The RASP for the day was a bit of a mish-mash. Cloudy with a Southerly, yet by the time we got to launch we were looking at a certainly cloudy day, some of them quite black and a reasonably strong steady Sou-wester. By the time I was ready to launch, everyone that had, was gone over the back. This was my first flight at Moirs with my new Swing Sensis. Although the wind was gusting strong there were lulls, and I launched during one. The glider was easy to launch and I began my flight looking for the thermal out. It wasn't to be, what thermals still of substance I apparently missed , and my time was spent flying around in broken thermals, only managing to get to 2700ft. Occasionally flying in light rain, I turned and ran when an approaching cloud appeared to be bringing a shower my way. I felt really comfortable under the Sensis and had a pleasant glide to Old Kaipara Road, landing in the fully mown paddock I had used on a previous flight. After packing up I had a short tal...

Today was my best distance flight from Moirs. An Open Distance of 21.4 km, landing at the intersection of Waiteitei and Whangaripo Valley Roads. I should have got further but I think in my eagerness to clear the forestry that is the Dome Valley, I lost my cloud-centric view, instead focusing on the ground and therefore ending up there. The RASP forecast was good, in fact really good. Strong thermal updraft with little wind shear, thermaling height around 5000ft, a good sea-breeze convergence line stretching for a distance to the North, with light winds. When conditions are right for Moirs you always get a good turnout of pilots and today was no acception. Apart from the usual suspects, Ken Jackson and Joe Ward were there, I hadn't seen them for a few years. The RASP indicated a best launch window between 1 and 2 pm, and so it came to pass. Don, Jeff, Graham, Cam and Wayne were first off around 1320hrs, followed by Nick and Robbo at 1330hrs and then Lisa and myself at 13...

Launch It has been a long Winter as far as flying goes, especially since all of the good Spring days seem to fall when I am unavailable. But eventually my day came and the long holiday weekend was my chance. Saturday was forecasted to be the best day of the three, and it looked like we were spoilt for choice with light South-Easterlies, high base and good thermal strength. First choice was Moir Hill, a comfortable site which I had ample knowledge and which in the right conditions can handle light SE, and secondly Bridges which I have never flown, a more technical launch through a narrow cut in trees, but taking SE straight in. Wayne, Evan and Roger opted for Bridges while myself, Don, Kyla, Cam and couple of others opted for good old Moirs. What are they doing? We where expecting a later launch as we had to wait for thermal activity to swing the wind around to up the face for launch. Don was first to go and although I was ready to go with him, I missed-judged the ef...

For what appeared to be a reasonably good forecast, few turned up to launch. I met Don at the Puhoi Pub and we shared the ride to the launch car park. Mark was unloading his hang glider, and we followed him out to launch. It was quite South and while Mark rigged his glider Rodger turned up and we unpacked and got ready to launch. Rodger was first away, and was soon climbing out. Mark launched and unfortunately found nothing. Don was more fortunate and was able to maintain. I held on for a little longer then launched, turned left and got a lift from the spur, I was soon at over 2000ft and drifting northwesterly along the ridge, getting another boost to 2400ft. Flicking north onto the Woodcocks Road ridge I hoped to pick up something more substantial under the clouds that were forming, but they never came to anything. By now I was over the road and flying into blue sky so I headed over toward Dark Summit, but still nothing. Having seen Don land toward the glass-houses I decided...

Arriving at the end of Moir Road, Trisha mentions how hazy it looks. Even she knows that it doesn't bode well for cross-country flying. And so it came to pass, an inversion at 2500ft was going to limit our day. Another good turn-out of pilots, including three hangies. For some reason we all waited for Jeff to launch, and then there was a constant stream until the hillside was almost bare. Launching after a little two-step shuffle, I was soon below launch by 40 metres, pooh, partly from avoiding traffic, but also from a wrong choice, so headed for the righthand spur and found lift back up. The righthand bowl was working best, about half an hour in I got my best thermal which I took to the inversion were I got jostled around hoping to break through. Everyone that went over the back did so with less height, but I lingered hoping to crack 3000ft. In the end I settled for a leisurely fly out over the landing paddock to join the others. The best flight I have had at Moirs for...

Roll Call: Anand Andy Brendan Cameron Chris Don Greg Jeff Lisa Stefan Tony My " predictorater " was indicating a good day, and based on the RASP forecast my plan was to get set and go by Noon. But with what is now becoming a bit of a habit, I hesitated, and as we know "he who hesitates, is lost". Jeff and Don launched just after Noon, and we watched them for far too long, climbing out - over the back. Then Andy checked out the small landing paddock (not) just behind launch, and a couple of us went down to help him untangle his glider. Of course by the time I made the decision to launch the leading "lemmings" were already sinking down to the bomb-out and as much as I tried I couldn't avoid the ground-suck of the landing paddock, joining them after a measly 12 minutes. Bugger! (again) But it was nice to be out there with a great crowd, and to get a flight, short though it was. Leonardo Flight Track

It looked quite good, and if the turn-out was an indicator, it was going to be great. As usual Rodger was keen to go , and as usual he was the first to launch and promptly went on glide to the "bomb-out". Once we got Rodger out the way we waited for Jeff to show us how to do it. Which he duly did, latching onto what would be the only lift out. Subsequently Lisa and Anand launched and although able to maintain for a while, eventually succumbed to the ground suck. This dissuaded the rest of us leaping off immediately until we gave up and also decided that a glide to the "bomb-out" was the order of the day. Another Season of intrepid flights (not!) comes to an end. Leonardo Flight Link

Gee, its been 3 months since I was last here, and this could well be the last flight of the season. As usual it looked promising. (I try not to go when it doesn't). So I got to the car park around 1230 and found Adrien waiting for me, his first time to Moirs and he wasn't sure where the launch was. Out at launch the wind was on the money, but there was still a fair bit of cloud; although it was breaking up upwind. So after a site brief we proceeded to kit up. Scott then showed up, another 1st Moirser and another who didn't know how to get to launch (?), and after another quick briefing we continued to get ready. Adrien launched first and I followed at about 1340. The air was smooth, interspersed with broken thermals, some quite boisterous, but I was unable to cling onto anything substantial for any worthwhile length of time. Scott launched and we boated around, rising and falling, never getting too high. After about 40 minutes of this I decided to head out and la...

The sacrifices I make for the greater good. The forecast was pretty good regarding the usual parameters. But a couple of  indicators weren't that great. First, the wind was expected to be more westerly than wanted and, a new one of interest, was that on the Skew-T Plot (the vertical X-section of the atmosphere) the gap between the Blue (dew-point Temperature) and Red (air Temperature) lines was unusually large and grew bigger as the day progressed. In simple terms, "no clouds". And this turned out to be the case. Andy was the only one at the turnoff, so he lept into the car and we proceeded to the end of the road. Out at launch conditions looked perfect, nice back-ground breeze with good, but not strong cycles coming up the hill from the SW. The wind already had a Westerly tilt. But in hind-sight the main indicator was already there. Very few clouds, and what there was were small and not well formed. As we prepared to launch a couple of nice clouds did form out ...

Forecast was good, and it pulled quite a few pilots to the hill. I was the last to launch, while most were climbing out and the rest were sinking out. What was initially a good launch into lift quickly turned into a coulpe of quick passes across the face while gradually sinking below the ridge, finally landing short in the paddock across the road from the Bomb-out. A decision was made to climb the hill (fool) in the hope of a late launch, and after about an hour I was back on top keen to go. But after time to cool down and reassess I walked out to car park, and that was that. Leonardo Flight Link The Climb - Google Earth

Do not disparage the Wind . After swearing at the wind in a previous post, it came back and told me who is in charge. Today at work I managed to synchronise my travels with a "Tornado". The "Tornado" managed to do a bit of damage to my Work's vehicle, but I survived un-harmed, if a little shaken. ( Sadly 3 fatalities occurred nearby ). I am certainly not going to class it as a win to me, although when I think of what could have been, I am very lucky. Debris blown in Possibly hit by "flying stuff" Rain on the ceiling Not condensation All the glass was blown into the car Rain on the windscreen is on the inside Lucky nothing bigger hit the vehicle

This is getting repetitive. But here we go again. The forecast is level 4 in my XC Potentiometer, and once again the Wind Strength casts a shadow over the day. Since the Auckland Regional Comp is going to Moirs, I can't give away the chance it may be flyable.  Arriving later than hoped for, the Comp Task Window hasn't opened yet, the wind seems to be creeping up, so I wait to watch the Comp guys go (I wasn't going to compete, just hopefully tag along). Wayne, Jeff and Evan launch earliest followed by Paul and later Roberto. The rest of us sit watching for an hour or two while those in the air have a tussle with the wind and broken thermals. After Paul shoots off toward Goal it takes Wayne, Jeff and Evan ages to finally flick over the back. While Roberto launches, does a recce to the South, loses height and eventually heads to the Bomb-Out, only to end up doing a nice imitation of a plough in a downwind landing missing the LZ and opting for the next paddock. Everyo...

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. Fo...

As usual it all looked good, but in the end it came to nothing. A first was to do two flights from Moirs in a day. This was aided by the first being a quick glide to the SDGP, where we were whisked up Rodger's retrieve driver, Diane, and taken back to the top in time to launch into apparently better conditions, enabling me to soar for a bit longer before sinking out again. Finished it all off with a stop at the Puhoi Pub to have a drink with the gang, a good day. That was it for the season as I will be overseas for five weeks March to April. Leonardo Flight Link 1 Leonardo Flight Link 2

The RASP forecast was spot on. Winds SW swinging W, base 3G, good thermals. But only Jeff, John, and myself on launch, go figure! As usual the two Js launched first, Jeff getting some height occasionally, while John scratched around with his mate "the Hawk" following. I launched not that long after and reasonably quickly found lift and started circling, climbing just behind launch there seemed to be little drift at this time. Topping out at cloud base of 3000ft, I followed John who had glided off earlier toward Dark Summit. The thermals at times were quite rowdy +-4m/s, and it was a lot of fun trying to locate the core, almost like they were just bubbles popping up without any real thermal type structure. Meanwhile Jeff was mucking around pushing out in front and to the south of launch. John and I could only manage a glide over the back, passing through a couple of bubbles, but not latching onto anything. John landed off Perry Road near the Fish Farm, and I glided t...

It has been three years since I did my first cross-country from Moirs, and although it wasn't an epic flight I am glad I have finally got the "monkey" off my back. The day turned out to be challenging for all of us that took off. Jeff, as usual, was first in the air quickly followed by Evan. They boated around for a while getting high then coming back down. John then Anand were next, followed by Chris and Rodger, then Brendan and eventually myself. Both Jeff and Evan got low out front but eventually climbed out, Jeff got over the back first, Evan hung around and eventually left with John. Unfortunately Anand gradually sank out and was unable to recover, landing in the Short Distance Goal Paddock. Using what I have finally learnt I waited and launched straight into a thermal and climbed out over the back pretty much straight away. I joined Rodger over the pine forest and for a while tried to thermal with him. Until after one circle I lost him, only to see him a fair ...

Having arranged to meet Anand at the turn-off at 1100, I was surprised to receive a message from him saying he had turned around and gone home due to it looking too stable. Fair enough it was cloudless blue, but the forecast promised more and in fact I was expecting an increasing wind. Of course that would be after I had launch and skyed-out on the way to far distant places. There was no-one else at the carpark so I lingered modifying my plan. Then Rodger turned up and in no time at all we were off to the launch. It looked promising at launch, the wind seemed good and clouds were forming, so we rigged up. And here was the fatal mistake, we didn't stop and wait, as soon as we thought it was OK we launched and unfortunately we launched into nothing. A couple of zig-zags and we on the deck. Bummer. Of course in the meantime Nick and Evan were on the way and launched about an hour later and flew to Matakana. I'm really starting to hate that. Leonardo Flight Link

This is the earliest start to a season I have experienced. After we had the "Wet", July, and then the "Cold", early August, we got light winds and a sunny day with the prospect of some good XC conditions developing. It seemed everyone had the same idea, and at launch we had about ten pilots rigging up and then launching. Jeff RIpley was the first to launch, managing to gain for a while, then heading out front only to return low, slope landing at the bottom of the hill he managed to climb back up and launch again to go over the back and all the way to Leigh. The best of the day. The rest of us fluffed around launch for a while, some managing to claw enough height to go over the back, albeit for only short distances. I couldn't crack 2000 feet, and having launched with a tangled speed system, decided to stay at the Hill for some thermalling practice, landing at the Short Distance Goal Paddock after an hour or so. Trisha had stayed home and some time wa...

Well it actually did look like it was going to be an OK kind of day. Got to launch about 1130 and rigged up, conditions looked light but improving. Decided I would have a little kiting session before the others arrived. That over it looked soarable, and I could mooch around above launch waiting for everyone else. Big mistake, as soon as I launched I knew it was "good night nurse", no lift at all, a zig, a zag, and I was lining up the LZ. Next mistake, was mis-judging the wind. The Moirs Short Distance Goal Paddock (bomb-out in English) is renown to be fickle when landing in light airs, so as I'm coming in the wind swings and/or fluctuates, and I aim instead for what ends up being a downwind on the road. Missing the barb-wire fence I land on the grass verge, except that grass is actually Blackberry (nice-one Tony), the wing flys overhead, fortunately now very slowly, and although I end up on my knees I manage to control it enough to miss the barb-wire and most of the...