Mission From Moir's

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...