Steve Jones Flying Diary 2008

[SteveJ]

Fan G    Friday 12th Sep 08

Arrived at Fan G., via Merthyr, at 2pm ish with Ivor & Andy to find wind on the hill (NW), at a constant 10-15 mph and sunny skies
However on scanning the horizon saw some ominous-looking shower clouds in the distance, both to the NW and NE, luckily for us Fan G. escaped the rain for some time.
Flew for just over an hour getting to 1,200' ato on a number of occasions in thermals of up to 4 m/s. Though the wind at TO was NW, cloud drift was a very defined WSW Didn't go XC as this would have put me on a collision course with showers and a lowered cloud-base towards Pen y fan. Seemed as if Fan G. was an oasis of fine weather which held out until showery downpours saw us heading for home at about 3:30 ish.
Tomorrow looks like another Fan G. day - light NWlies

Be warned that on Sunday the 'Brecon Beast', a 100 Km mountain bike race, is being held in the area. Part of the course encompasses the access track we use to get to TO.
The race usually finishes at around 3pm.

[SteveJ]

  Nant Y Moel  Monday 8th Sep 08

Arrived at TO with Andy and Chris just before midday. Conditions ideal; on the hill and at about 15 mph. Flew in overcast skies for an hour reaching a max of 800' ato. Landed for a bite to eat, then TO again for another hour. The sun came out, but strangely the thermals weakened and no-one got above 200 ato for the next hour At one point counted approx 10 pilots airborne.
Just prior to this, Chris managed to hop over to Mynydd Maerdy above Treorchy; where he stayed until the end of play.
Nice to get back into the air after 6 weeks of waiting for the rain to stop
Looking forward to a sunny Oludeniz trip with Andy in a fortnight

[SteveJ]

  Glyders, North Wales   Sunday  27th Jul 08

Spent the weekend in North Wales, primarily to cheer-on Sabina who had entered the gruelling Snowdon run on Saturday; her time of 2hrs 18 mins seemed impressive to me. Amazingly, Andie Jones, the winner, managed to get to the top and down in 1 hr 06 mins; though I guess winning the race 3 years in a trot (no pun intended) gave him plenty of experience.
On Sunday afternoon flew at the Glyders, a southerly site above the Pen y Gwryd Hotel.
Spent an hour in booming, 4m/s thermals before the wind went off the hill.
Strange to TO at 1,600' amsl, get  one and a half grand above TO, and just be level with the summit ! Every valley up here seemed to be blowing in a different direction at any one time; when flying the Glyders I was aware that the orographic cloud  filling up the Ogwen valley behind me was blowing 90 degrees to the ridge I was flying; and I though we had problems with sea breezes By 4pm the wind also veered W along the ridge I was flying and ended play. Didn't want to hang around an AIAA on Monday, so headed south to the grassy slopes of mid-Wales, but building cu-nimbs and rising temperatures curtailed any thoughts of flying.
Drove home down the very scenic Cwm Ystwyth pass,  taking in views of the Elan Valley from where Steve P. TO on his 102 km flight on Saturday.

[SteveJ]

    Ffarmers      Wednesday    23 July 08
Thought that BC might get blown out so decided on an inland site. Arrived with Chris & Andy at midday and TO about an hour later with  Dave B, Steve P, Steve Grif & Piers.
Flew very actively for an hour due to a combination of  punchy thermals and a strong breeze; not even getting above 700'ato. Just after 2pm I contemplated landing to chill-out and have a rest due to the hectic hour previous, but hooked into a climb which took me to 1,000 ato. Decided to go with it and eventually climbed to 2,200' ato (3,300' amsl). Drifted below a cloud and headed for a tree covered hillock at the side of the Lampeter - Tregaron road; managing to top my height a little. Then on to the hill-top village of Bwlch Llan, where a recently harvested field on a 60 degree slope, facing the sun and into wind looked promising. The anticipated lift failed to materialise and I hit the deck not long after. Steve P. landing a few fields away.
A nice day out with splendid views of the mid Wales countryside; most notable being the Derry Ormand tower NE of Lampeter and the Roman Road (B4578) running N from the Lampeter to Tregaron road.
On the hill thermals seemed to be traveling fast on the breeze and for that reason were hard to core. My assumption of leaving the hill at a relatively low altitude, 1,000' ato, and gaining extra height over 'the back' paid off.
Never reached Aberaeron for that honey ice cream, maybe next time.

Total distance with 3 TPs  17.6 Kms 
 

[SteveJ]

   Rhossili          Monday 21 Jul 08

Day time was blown out so thought that Rhossili might be OK in the evening; wrong. Wind still in the NW and at 20 mph when Andy and I arrived at 6:30pm. Waited a while until the wind dropped to 15 mph and launched from the pimple. Headed away from the ridge for fear of being blown back - still light on my wing. Spent 30 minutes doing meaningful flying and the other 30 mins struggling in the strong breeze; 25 mph on the ground apparently. Watched Andy carry out a few SIV manouveres under the tuition of Stevie G; very impressive to watch from above. Landed on the ever narrowing beach as the tide came in.

[SteveJ]

   Merthyr   13 Jul 08

Arrived at TO with Andy & Chris just before midday to find conditions light, with a few people slope landing. Did a few beats and landed back on top a number of times as the wind switched on and off.
Launched about an hour later and got up to 3,800 asl drifting slowly away from the hill. Noticed that some XC pilots were returning to the hill, or at least attempting to do so; saw someone land at Fochriw. With a very dark-looking sky down-wind, I also decided to head back, but running out of height bimbled around over the coal tips north of Fochriw hoping to gain some height. My luck ran out and only managed to glide about half way back to the north of Merthyr Common. Cadged a lift along the track and arrived back at TO to find a stepp eagle (and Martin C.) in the circuit ! By this time Chris had arrived back at the bottom of the track after a short XC. Drove down to collect him in his car.
TO in more favorable-looking conditions and again started to gain ht within a short space of time. Left the hill at just before 3pm and did a short 30-min XC with Chris to Cwm, just south of Ebbw Vale; Chris's second visit here within a matter of a few hours. Got to 4,200' asl, but failed to get any significant climbs after leaving cloudbase. Minutes after landing near Ebbw Vale, looked up to see some gulls starting to circle above the tip.... they had been my saviour on an XC this way last month, but appeared too late today.
I actually landed within 20' of this spot 2 years back; again from Merthyr.
Walked down the mountainside to enjoy a drink at a nearby pub, before being picked-up by Andy.
Total straight line distance for the club league: 11.1 Kms 

[SteveJ]

Merthyr        Monday  23rd June 08

Arrived on the hill and TO at midday with Chris and Andy. Within 20 mins found myself at 1,500' ato, but due to the minimal drift and weak thermal, headed back to the hill hoping for an improvement later in the day. Played about for an hour or so before getting high again and noticed Chris leading Andy away from the hill...time to leave I thought. Watching them both getting low, I bombed out from 2,000' ato landing at Fochriw village 
Missed 2 buses in the confusion as to which direction to travel in, but for a reason.... Norris Sheldon and his mate Pete happened to be passing on their way to Fochriw Mentioned to them that no-one was flying at Fochriw, but there were gliders at Merthyr... a lift back directly to TO (thanks both). By now news came thro' that Chris & Andy were down near Abertysswg....with Andy's car keys 
Thanks to Rob Browning, both had a swift retrieve.
TO at 3pm and again found myself high above the hill. Not wanting to bomb out again I cored the thermal and stayed with it all the way to base; taking 30 mins to overfly Fochriw  At this point I decided to switch on my GPS .....b*****d...Made cloud base at 4,700' amsl and booted it on the bar over to Ebbw Vale - my patience had finally lapsed ! Joined hundreds of gulls on a merry-go-round above the refuse tip and some waste ground being cleared on the valley floor at Ebbw Vale. After gaining a much needed 'grand' had a strange thought at 3,500' asl... all the gulls had disappeared looking on the mountain-top I could see white specks dotted about the place, initially thinking that for some reason the gulls were now sitting on the grass....seconds later I realised that they were sheep
Got over into the Blaina valley and had grand illusions of flying to the Blorenge in the near distance, but with the breeze now very much subdued, got stuck on the rocky crags of Mynydd James, Cwm Celyn. Landed at the school playing fields in the valley below just after 4:30. Distance with turn points 16.9 kms....wish I'd turned on my GPS sooner !
Well done to Andy on his first XC and thanks for the retrieve later in the day. As Chris mentioned, no big distances, but a most enjoyable day's flying.

[SteveJ]

   Mynydd Dinas   Friday  20th June 08

TO from MD at 11:30 and flew about in the abundant thermals for 1 hr. Spent most of the time climbing to 600' ato and seeing how far I could push-out from the hill in all directions, before heading back to the safety of the ridge. At about 12:30 decided to see if I could 'jump-the-gap' onto the main Mynydd Margam ridge via Mynydd Emroch. No such luck in finding any lift off the small promontory of Mynydd Emroch, so headed directly to MM and managed to scrape in below ridge height. Worked my way up to ridge level and started to connect with the cloud plume being emitted from the blast furnaces/power station at the steel works directly in front of the hill. Worked this (gas) cloud all the way up to 3,000' amsl above Goetre and decided to make the most of this tremendous height gain (for a coastal site), heading across the vast forestry plantations behind Margam Park. Used a small forming cumulus cloud to good effect, but further on tried to get some lift off the head of a ravine which didn't seem to work. Getting low I decided to glide down-wind in the hope of finding another climb rather than waste valuable height above the ravine. Didn't find another climb; cleared some electricity pylons and hit the deck just south of Maesteg. Extended the site record from MD by another Km or so; 9.7 Kms.
After landing, the cloudy skies in which I had taken off in 2 hrs earlier had changed; it now looked quite promising.......
Caught a bus to Cymmer and got a lift with Nick, who was on his way to Nant y Moel. Arrived here to see Ivor gale-hanging; by this time the sky had changed back again to being grey and overcast. Waited for the wind to drop a little and later flew for 30 mins before pre-frontal clouds and a speck or two of rain ended play at about 5.30.
Also on the hill at NM were Phil Clarke; and Tim who arrived with the rain.

 

[SteveJ]

  Tremaen (Builth Wells)  Monday 16th June 08

Arrived with Chris & Andy at midday and met up with Steve Lowe. Wind was nil for about an hour and then, at about 1pm, it became soarable. Connected with a thermal within a few minutes and climbed to 1,500' ato. Took 20 mins to reach this height as the thermal seemed to get less intense with ht; some sort of inversion perhaps
The rest of the afternoon was made up of climbing (and descending) in small thermals, some at 4 m/s. In short the sky looked better than it actually was, but none the less a good day's flying. Did manage another climb to 1,000' ato, but didn't fancy going XC as this would probably have resulted in a 5 km walk back to TO.
Nice day out at a very beautiful and user-friendly site; being able to access TO in a car certainly makes a difference when your 'cream crackered'. Total flying time, 1.5 hrs.
Sat around at about 5pm listening to Steve L. recounting his 70 km-flight  from the hill last week, via a cu-nim !

[SteveJ]

  9th June 08   Hay Bluff
I guess today was worth a few lines to write about. Headed for HB with Andy & Ivor as some forecasts had suggested cloud rolling in from the Bristol Channel. Took some time to reach TO as I was feeling a bit tired from the previous day. Wind was slightly off to the WNW, but just workable. Spent 10 mins on the ridge before hooking into a 4m/s thermal to 1,500' ato; looking west I could see a sailplane about a km away at roughly the same altitude. Drifted with the lift  for a short while before losing it. Looking back at the ridge it seemed a bit intimidating being caught in the lee if I didn't make it back to take-off. Flew down-wind in the hope of finding more lift, but had no such luck. Landed on a hillock 3.5 kms away.
Walked back to a B road in time to see 2 gliders TTB in the distance, so ordered my taxi straight away. Spent about an hour waiting in pleasant countryside, the peace only broken by bleating sheep; what a great part of the world we live in.
Called into Merthyr on the way home only to find it too strong; though when we arrived at 6PM it was W'ly.

[SteveJ]

  Graig Fawr    7th June 08

Arrived at TO at about midday with Andy and met up with Chris. Waited a short while before Chris launched and slope landed after only a few minutes - wind had dropped off. On the start of the next thermic cycle, TO and edged my way around to the western end of the ridge just in case I also got caught out by the dropping breeze. On my way around connected up with a nice 4 m/s thermal and headed straight up to 2 grand. Watched as Graig Fawr became smaller and smaller, occasionally disappearing behind thin wispy cloud.  Flew over Grendal Matthews' 'Ranch' ...famous scientist who meddled with death rays in the 1940s... and made my way to 'plum pudding' hill (must find out its real name one day) to connect with another thermal over Mynydd Gelli Onnen, near Craig Cefn Park, this took me to 3,500' amsl. Thanks to the lone swift who marked out the thermal - I can only liken it to a German Messerschmitt 109 closing in for the attack in aWW2 movie; at one point I thought he/she was going to end up inside one of my cells !
Crossed the Swansea valley near Alltwen and started to loose ht. Had the choice of Bryncaws Hill, or the quarry near Bryncoch - in front of the golf course. Opted for the latter as it looked a good thermal source in the strong sunshine. Drifting over and then down-wind of the quarry, I was disappointed to find only small amounts of lift; not enough to save me from the deck as I headed for a grassy field just below the Ivy Tower above Aberdulais.
Looking south before I landed I could see rain falling from a cloud in the distance. Looks as if I was on a collision course with a thunder storm. Just minutes after I landed the heavens opened up and I had to scurry for cover under the nearest tree. 

Total distance with 3 TPs - 19.5 Kms.   My first XC of 2008 had arrived and a damn good flight it was indeed.  Straight in at no.82 in the UK XC league table 

[SteveJ]

   Abernant     19th May 08

Left work from Pontardawe at 5:30 and was airborne by 6 ! Cloudy skies made for half an hour's flying in weak thermals, only managing 600' ato.

[SteveJ]

Heol Senni       Sunday  18th May 08

Though that it might become flyable during the afternoon, so kept my options for the day open. At about 2pm my scout on the hill, Ivor, rang to say that the wind had dropped - thanks Ivor. Arrived and TO at the summit with Andy at about 4.30 and enjoyed some late afternoon flying with about 8 other pilots. Flew for just under 2 hrs, max. ht. gain 1,200' ato. Stuck my neck out a few times to get some thermals way-out and low in front of the hill. First flight from HS this year. A bit late in the day for XCs, but none the less an enjoyable few hours in sunny conditions. Wind seemed to pin- down a few people at times, especially around the compression of the the hill.

[SteveJ]

  Bryncaws      Saturday 10th May 08

Got a call from Nick at about 2pm and headed for BC shortly after. Passed Dan on the track who was on his way home after a spot of para-waiting due to the gusting wind. Waited for 30 mins, by which time it became flyable and Rob Curtis also turned up. TO at about 4:30pm and cored some gentle 2 m/s thermals for the next 40 mins; max height gain 1,700' ato. Did look over my shoulder at Allt Y Grug, but didn't fancy the walk back to civilisation from the boonies beyond; fond memories of my first-ever XC flight. Best area for lift seemed to be over the forestry trees; possibly because the wind veered S. Just managed to get back to TO, another indication that it was more southerly.
An enjoyable flight with outstanding views of the countryside; I always think that our neck of the woods looks great in the spring. Good to get so high (best ht gain this year) and to be sharing  the same thermal as another pilot; almost forgotten what it felt like. I think we shall all miss BC if the dreaded wind farm goes ahead.

Let it be known that Iforfli has taken the biscuit for the first person in the SWWSC to go XC this year; even if it was only 5 Kms and sounding a bit scary. Come on Ivor, tell us about your day out at Talybont.
Thanks for the call, Nick; well worth it.

[SteveJ]

  Cwmafan    2nd May 08
Went to the hill at midday to find it gusting 8-25 mph. An hour later it was still very gusty, with the clouds hoofing past, though little wind on the ground. Waited till 3pm and conditions smoothed out a bit. TO and managed 1,200' ato in a matter of minutes. After about 20 mins saw a white van hurtling thro' the lanes and guessed it to be Andy eager as ever to get airborne. 10 mins later the wind dropped necessitating a top land.
Nick also arrived, but the wind was intermittent, falling light at times. Did later manage another 30 mins over the trees to 600' ato, but cloud cover increased and once again someone turned off the big fan. Waited around for an improvement, but the wind backed SE.
Good to get airborne, but frustrating due to the inconsistent wind.
Week-end not looking too good, Monday a bit light ??