Gliding Sunday 13th Sept 2015

The SW wave was pumping from early morning and there was a cool southerly blowing down 14 grass. John and Phil got the ball rolling before noon. First off were John and Elvira in JW, kindly launched by Phil.

After a bit of thermalling they climbed into the wave and flew off down to Roxburgh and back for a good hour's flight...what a great birthday present for Elvira! Next John winched up Phil in KJ, followed by Doug and Russell Read (good wave flights).

SW wave from the Old Man Range

John got away in KG after Doug landed and launched him directly into the wave above the airfield. He flew done to Millers Flat high above the extensive cloud that was covering Southland and East Otago. Finally it was Elvira's husband Joost's turn to fly. Unfortunately the wave had now shifted so he just got a couple of circuits with Doug instead.
So a great day's flying and we were indeed lucky to reach the SW wave so easily off the winch.

Manapouri for lunch

The weather wasn't great but after a short delay in Alexandra because of low cloud and fog, we were climbing out over Clyde and heading to the Nevis valley.  Setting our heading and holding steady at 8500ft, it wasn't long before we were over Kingston.  There was a solid covering of low cloud over Southland which extended well past Mossburn, but closer to the mountains the weather was clear and calm.  The landing into Manapouri was challenging with cloud covering most of the airport, but by descending to the East, it was just a simple right hand approach onto runway 26.   Once on the ground I was greeted by a charming administration officer who give me a full rundown on the place over a cup of coffee.  After a short lunch break, we were back in the air heading for Alexandra.  What a great days flying and a good destination for our pilots.

Sunday 16th August 2015

Sunday was better than forecast...in fact it was an OK thermal day, especially for this early in the season. Phil kindly winched John (KG) and Roland (VH) into a nice 2 knot thermal. They both flew west to slightly better air doing about 120km XC flights as far as Gibston (Roland) and Tarras (John).  Cloud base was pretty low (4-5000') with wings icing if you got close. The day ended fast as it cooled quickly late afternoon. A great start to the soaring season!

Not too bad for flying on Saturday.  I flew around the Cromwell valley with a couple of touch and goes on the Race course and a check on conditions at the back of Smallburn farm.  Weather conditions closer to Queenstown and Wanaka weren't great but ERW still managed a few hours in the air with Nick also having a busy day instructing.  


Happy flying
Stephen Morton

Sunday 2nd August 2015

ERW and Nick were busy flying ATC cadets all Sunday. Conditions were ideal. It was also a good opportunity to dust off the winch. Aaron Simpson had 3 flights with John in JW. Harry Roberts also flew. Harry often generously lends us his tractor for mowing the airfield  so it was great to take him for a flight. Aaron's first flight included some thermals and he stayed up for half an hour and even did the landings. Phil drove the winch and it ran well, feeling a lot smoother with the added shock rope. Hopefully we get more thermals as summer slowly returns.

Sunday 26th July 2015

Another fairly "extreme" day in terms of wave lift. There was an unstable westerly airflow with perhaps a couple of weak fronts that flicked past during the day. Needless to say the conditions changed rapidly. We started early (for us!) because the AGM and dinner was on in the evening. John and Dan (friend of Wills) were first away in JW. The wind on the ground was picking up but the tow was pretty good and they released in smooth lift at about 4000'.

They were followed by Phil and Pete but by then the wind had got up further and the lift disappeared and both landed back after a struggle.

Waikaia Valley Southland from great heights

It was 50kts up top was John reckons he spent half the flight with the airbrakes out trying to keep below FL130! They flew down the Waikaia a wee way and generally did flight training and sight-seeing for the 2 hour flight. Luckily by the time they landed the wind on the ground had moderated considerably.

Thanks again to Russell for more aerotowing in the rough, and to the other helpers on the day.

Sunday 19th July 2015

The snowy SW cleared just in time for Sunday flying. First away was Philippe, a visiting gliding instructor from Belgium. He was keen to experience his first wave flight, which he sure did and it got the thumbs up!

Actually it was a pretty rough day, with violent lift, at times close to 2000 fpm up and down. The patch between 4000 and 6000 was the worst, but once in the wave proper it was gentle and warm in the sunshine high above the considerable cloud.

 Upper winds were S-SW 40knots or more. It cleared as the day progressed but appeared to be socked-in totally in all directions except Alex. On the ground it was pretty calm and warm, a total contrast to the turmoil above!

Philippe flew with John in JW, as did the next 2 pilots (Wills and Russell Read). Both these flights were rough too, at times climbing at 1000 fpm with airbrakes extended while trying to descend. Russell Read's flight was only 35 mins long but we still managed to climb to 12500'

Pete McKenzie and glider pilot Peter Ryan braved the final wave flight of the day (another rough transition each way). JW certainly earned her keep on Sunday! A big thanks to Russell Anderson for towing. Both the towing and the instruction were surprisingly unpleasant tasks to perform more than once through that rough air, and we were happy to land, and sit on steady terra firma, calming nerves drinking Belgian beer by the fire.