Steve J's 2010 Diary

[SteveJ]

Cwmafan   Tuesday   31 Aug 2010
 
En route to Bryn Caws Chris D phoned to say it was off to the S. Luckily I was only a few hundred yards passed Cwmafan and so was able to TO at about 1pm; thanks for that, Chris.
After TO climbed straight up to just over 2,000' ato in some stonking 6 m/s  lift and convinced myself that I'd be heading for Llandovery.....mmmm.
Sadly, within 20 mins it was game-over as my vario wound its way back down to earth over Tonmawr. Limping back to civilization I was able to reach Cimla and landed in a playing field minutes before a B-17 Flying Fortress took off; OK it was only a model, but very impressive to look at.
Marvelled at the model flying about in the sky for a while before my beloved arrived to give me a lift back to the hill. Met up with Nick & Viv, who arrived at the same time.
2 pm saw me launch again, hastily, as I'd already had a taster of the conditions. But there was a distinct change to the air, lift being a bit sparse and thermals not so potent. After 25 mins of play and getting to just below a grand, the wind seemed lighter, so headed back to TO, where Viv & Nick were waiting for the wind strength to pick-up.
A short time later I was fooled into launching in the light breeze and paid the price, landing near Nick on the field below the forestry.
How conditions can change in such a short space of time.
Good fun while it lasted.   
 

[SteveJ]

Graig Fawr   Wednesday   11 Aug 2010

Arrived just after midday to find the ridge to myself. TO at 1pm and went up to nearly a grand ato in a matter of minutes in the 4 m/s thermals, but it took me nearly an hour to gain as much ht. again. This time I stuck with the lift and worked the thermals all the way to 3,500' amsl; just below cloud base. Thermals becoming gentler with altitude; averaging only 1 m/s. Drifting in-land, I started to lose ht, so headed for an old faithful; plum-pudding hill between Craig Cefn Parc and Trebanos.
While over Grendal Matthews's old house near Mynydd Torclawdd, I couldn't help but wonder what he would have thought of this modern mode of flight; PGs probably being immune from his 'death-ray' experiments of the 1930s.
Plum-pudding hill didn't work for me today and I landed on the deck after only 7 kms from GF.
A phone call to Nick, who was at home in Glais, sorted my return trip back to the hill for a second bite of the proverbial cherry.
The second flight was to prove more fruitfull.
TO with Nick at around 4.15 pm. Spent a frustrating 30 mins watching Nick high up in the heavens, while I could barely maintain ridge ht. Later I would watch him drift away at cloudbase while I managed to get to the one grand mark. At 1,000' ato staying aloft seemed easier and sitting under a ribbon of cloud, sometimes travelling up-wind, I gained base at 3,800' amsl over the DVLA.  Following the ribbon of cloud, a continuous cloud street, I could see that it started to veer off into Swansea Bay. Not wanting to take a dip, I stayed on the landward-side of the street, falling out of it over Llansamlet.
With the northern-end of Aberafan Beach in my sights, it was onto the speedbar and full steam ahead.
Getting low near the Towers Hotel, I made the opposite side of the River Neath with a few hundred yards to spare and landed on the beach at 5.45 pm for a TP flt of 22.6 kms. Minutes later I could see Nick coming in to land further along the beach; over 3 kms further along actually. Needless to say he was well into his first cup of coffee at Remo's beach bar before I arrived to ponder over the flight.
We enjoyed another hour in the sunshine before Sabina picked us up on her way home from work and took us back to Garnswllt.
No big distance, but an enjoyable flight.

[SteveJ]

Mendip Hills         Thurs  29 Jul 10

Took a day off work, only to be disappointed to see the wind strength increase through the morning
Decided to take a trip out on the bike; Weston super Mare for some reason came to mind.
From a previous 'jolly' in my friend's light a/c remembered over-flying the nearby Mendip Hills and the flat Somerset levels.
To get a good panoramic view of the area headed for the Mendip Gliding Club perched on the hill top above Cheddar.
Within 5 mins of parking up the BM got an invite to go aloft in one of their sailplanes  thanks to the very sociable crowd at the club. Enjoyed 30 mins of fun at 1,500' ato, with views all the way up the Severn Estuary to the two bridges, across to Cardiff and down to Exmoor.  Even got to have a go at the controls. 
Coming in to land the pilot gave a fascinating display on the use of airbrakes, allowing him to put the glider safely in to a dive almost all the way to the deck 
Drove home with a big grin on my face.

[SteveJ]

Merthyr   Sunday   11 Jul 2010

Wind forecast to drop off early PM, so headed for Merthyr. Sunnier than predicted and arrived to find only Norris and visiting pilot, Rod, on the hill. Looking back at Fochriw I could see a few wings in the air, the wind being slightly WNW. TO in a cycle at around 1:30 and spent about 20 mins climbing up to just under the 1,000' ato mark.  Landed due to the wind shutting off.
Back in the air after a short break. Gained some significant height, some thermals at 5 m/s; with as many m/s in sink and a few 25 % tucks to boot! Made it to 4,500' amsl and decided to dift back with it.  Focused on a nearby cloud, but failed to make it without losing precious altitude Got low near Deri and ended up scratching along the wooded, westerly-facing ridge above the village. Despite some help from a seagull didn't make any progress before the wind dropped and ended up 5.4 kms away from Merthyr. Hitched a lift to Fochriw, where pilots were about to leave and head for Merthyr; good timing here. Thanks to Evan for the short trip back up to TO.
The wind had now dropped to only a few mph, the wind sock at Merthyr rather limp. Decided to call it a day and head for home.
A bit disappointing as the sky was indicitive of a good XC day.
Happy though to fly somewhere different than MD !

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas   Thurs  8 Jul 2010

Busy in the morning, but had the oppurtunity to try MD at around 1pm. Launched, and immediately hooked into a thermal which took me to 1,300' ato in no time. Decision time, do I jump the gap and carry on along the ridge to Margam, or  go over the back to Cwmafan ? I chose the latter, as I'd done the ridge run some time ago. Made it to the mast above the Foel, but there was no lift ....mmm. On the deck within 15 mins of TO, but elated to get the chance to hop over to Cwmafan with plenty of height.
Landed in a field behind my house and had a neighbour run me back to MD for another 'bite of the cherry'.
Arrived on the hill to find spots of rain starting to fall and the cloudbase lowering out to sea; end of play.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas  Wednesday   30 Jun 10

Air seemed a bit humid and despite a call from Nick to say that NM was flyable, opted for an evening flt at MD; feeling a little tired from work.
Arrived at TO with Andy at  just after 5pm. Plenty of breeze and thermals to mince about in, but it all stopped after about 40 mins. Glided down and landed in the playing fields. Max ht gain, 250' ato.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas    Saturday   26 June 10

Went up to MD after work to meet up with Andy and ParaTom. Light conditions, but managed 300' ato at one time in a wayward thermal. The fun lasted for 30 mins before it got even lighter.

[SteveJ]

Fan G     Friday  25 June 10

Light conditions forecast, so headed for Fan G. Arrived with Andy and Steve Adams at around 1pm.
Plenty of swifts on the NW side of the hill, who then moved around to the NE bowl. To add to the confusion as to where to TO, the cloud shadows were from the SW mmm....
Nick, Jon M & Viv arrived a short while later and settled into some parawaiting.
TO at various times throughout the afternoon and had a few short flights above the bowl in the thermic activity which created the only lift available.
After much sweating and long snooze breaks in the lovely sunshine, TO at around 3:30pm with the intention of skimming around to the NW side, where the swifts seemed to be having a ball.
Climbed higher and higher until reaching 2,000' ato directly above the spot where I TO from ie. nil drift.
Headed out 4kms to the NE to just beyond the reservoir and managed to maintain ht flying between here and just short of the Heol Senni road. At this point the wind went round to the SW. Landed at the bottom gate after 40 mins of floating around in 'zeros' over the Cnwr Farm area.
A typical sweaty, light-wind day at Fan G with an unexpected reward at the end.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas   Tuesday 22 June 2010

Went to Nant y moel with Andy late PM, but the strong breeze of earlier in the day was still making its presence felt. Headed for good old MD which came up trumps again.
Met up with Rhun and after some strategic car parking walked up the hill.
TO at about 5pm into ideal conditions with small thermals to boot.  Good views of Port Talbot and the Afan Valley in the evening sunshine, but after an hour the wind got lighter and  the ht gains became less.
Spotted a Red Kite on the hill as well as the usual gulls, buzzards and swifts.
Max ht 250' ato.
Time 1 hr 15 mins.
Getting pretty fit with all these walk-ups to MD.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas    Monday    21 Jun 10

Opted to go to Merthyr with Andy. Arrived to see Nick, Viv and a few other pilots milling around as the wind was off to the S and a tad light. After 2 hrs of para-waiting decided on a giving MD a go on the way home. Arriving at just after 4 pm, TO, and enjoyed an hours flying in the SWly breeze; max ht 300' ato.
Plenty of gulls to mark the small and narrow thermals. Ever mindful of the need to get into work by 6pm, landed at 5:30 and had a lift with Andy's partner (thanks, Claude). I did contemplate hopping onto the Margam ridge above the M4 and gliding south to try and make it to within walking distance of the fire station, but thought of the consequences if I bombed-out along the way 
Judging by Nick's blog we should have persevered with Merthyr. If I remember, Nick did mention that the wind would come on the hill later; I just didn't have the option of hanging around.
Well done Nick.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas    Tuesday 8th Jun 10

The sky cleared up in Port Talbot at around 4pm, so headed to MD. TO at 5:30 and had over an hour amongst the gulls, buzzards and swifts. Had a captive audience below as the M4 was gridlocked as far as the eye could see in both directions due to a road traffic accident; caused prior to my arrival - honest.
Watched, and tried to catch, a small helium balloon which was coming my way, but only got close enough to read the logo.
Thermals a'plenty at 4 m/s,  but max ht gain was only 500' ato; a bit low to go jumping along the ridges to Margam. An enjoyable time in the strong sunshine. Dark and thundery clouds inland and to the north.

[AndyH]

I noticed the same when I checked the weather after my short flight off Mynydd Brombil aswell....it was no where near that strong was it.
 
Great flight though....just cleared the M4 and narrowly missed a digital arial attached to the side of a house, then just managed to clear Ffrwd Wyllt brook to land in Taibach playing fields.
 
Almost as much fun as Table Mountain.

[SteveJ]

Mynydd Dinas   Friday  4th June 10

Very light conditions made for a short 20 minute flight; just about worth blogging about 
Spent most of that time with some gulls on the northern-side of the hill spiralling up in the small thermals. Max alt, 300' ato. If only the breeze had been a tad stronger.... From the 'XC weather' web site, it says Mumblesa Head was blasting at 13 mph ?
 

[SteveJ]

Fan G.  Monday 24 May 2010

A light NW'ly forecast so decided on Fan G. with Andy. Got to TO just after midday to find only short duration thermals coming up the NW corner. After an hour or so these started to get more frequent and consistent. Had a few short 15 min flts up to 600' ato before landing on each ocassion as the wind died completely. TO at 15:30 hrs into a thermal and kept climbing, got to 1,000' ato and decided to drift out over the boonies with it. Still going strong at Penderyn, crossing over the village at 4.800' amsl in a clear blue sky  Losing height, looked for a thermal above the LNG gas holder near Bavestocks Hotel, but it never materialized. Crossed the A465 and noticed that the wind had shifted to the W; sea-breeze coming up the Neath Valley  Ended my flt a few kms away on the rubbish tip at Bryn Pennar/Llwyd Coed. From here cadged a lift ,after only 5 mins of thumbing, all the way back to Aberdulais in a lavishly interiored  Merc.
An unexpected XC with pretty views of the Sarn Helen Roman Road and Ystradfellte.
Time 1 hr
Distance 21.3 Kms

[SteveJ]

Cwmafan  Tuesday  27 Mar 10

Arrived to find it cloudy and the wind a tad on the strong side. Launched just after midday and made some headway to the front of the hill. Here it seemed easier to penetrate and soon found myself out over the village and gaining plenty of height; 1,500' ato. Played around in the thermals and spent an hour taking in the views. At around 13:30 noticed that the sun was starting to make an appearance and made even greater height gains. Made the decision to go XC and was at cloudbase over Cimla at 3,500' amsl  Exactly what Sid predicted (Bristol & Gloucester Gliding Club forecast)
Glided on to Abergarwed and managed to make the windward side ridge near the A465  with not much height. Waited for a thermal to come thro' which saw me pass over the Sarn Helen track and onto Seven Sisters. Had the company of the two resident peregrines here, who came quit close while doing their courtship antics - plummeting down to earth while attacking each other. Thence it was on to a low save on the man-made, pyrimid-shaped, mound in front of the (Abercrave ?)open-cast site. Passed over the power lines here with only 100' to spare. Getting below the height of the mound I thought this was game over, but persevered and again found another climb to help me reach Abercrave village. Same again here, a low save above a wood on the southern facing ridge gave me a lift up to and over the 'sleeping giant'. Back at cloudbase passed over the limestone-covered boonies of the Black Mountain. Looking at my GPS I was worried that my down-wind speed was reaching 65 kms/hr
Glided onto Fan Hir and ridge-soared along to Fan Brycheiniog, After sitting above a small outcrop slightly below the summit for a while, I contemplated the outcome of passing over the top at a low altitude mmm.....didn't fancy the free-falling and collapses from the rotor, so decided to land. With full bar and ears 'in' came in on the summit for a backwards landing. Straight onto the Cs, but not before being dragged for a good 50 feet along the soft ground. Soft bar-for a stone which ripped a small slice thro' my harness and gave me a good bruising on my side; ouch.
Holding on to the Cs and Ds for dear life as I didn't want to get dragged over the top and down the steep slope on the reverse side of the mountain (and into the lake !), I was poised in this position for a whole 5 minutes waiting for a lull in the breeze. It didn't come. Then replacing my hands on the ground with my knees, I unclipped one of  my risers and speed bar connection - just in case !  Fhew... managed to get the wing wrapped up and started my long treck to the Trecastle road, at least it was down-hill. Here I noticed that the ground assistant of an on-going helicopter operation was about to pack up for the day. I couldn't help but noticed that the company was called Airborne Solutions and the assistant asked me for directions for the M4 Eastbound  Within the hour I was at Junction 40 Port Talbot. Incidentally the helicopter ops involved lifting bales of straw onto the Black Mountain (to reduce errosin by water runn-off) I'd over-flown the site on the last leg of the flight, but thankfully the helicopter was re-fuelling.
Total Distance 32.9 kms
Total air time 2 hrs 12 mins
Thermal strength 5 m/s
Despite the 'hairy' landing, a most enjoyable flight with a combination of cloud base climbs and low saves close to the ground, all in brilliant spring sunshine.
Wish I'd taken my camera.