Welcome to the stories page. Here you will find a collection of gliding flight stories that I have written recently, either for a magazine article or for some other reason (including purely for this website). If the story appeared somewhere, then the version here is my own unedited (and maybe modified for this page) version. For those not in the gliding world I hope this provides you with some examples of why gliding can be so enjoyable, and what awaits you if you are willing to glide regularly and train to the point of solo and beyond. Happy reading!

Lasham Regionals 2006 (19 - 27/08/2006)
My first 500km flight (07/08/2005)
Lasham Regionals 2005 (23 - 31/07/2005)
Interclub League Challock Leg 2004 (05/06/2004)
My first 300km flight and trip to the Isle of Wight (30/08/2003)
Superthermals (15/07/2003
Who says K8's and fun cross countries don't go? (28/06/2003)
My first wave flight (20/06/2003)
More winter soaring (04/01/2003)
Winter soaring (25/02/2001)
Silver distance - how my cross country days started (14/05/2000)
My first single seater flight (27/09/1996)
My first solo flight (25/06/1996)

Watch this space: report coming soon. I can tell you that I finished 6th (out of 34 in the B class) which I was pretty chuffed with. I was aiming for top 15.

Day 0: Fri 18th

Arrived after lunch. Got paperwork sorted out. Was a nightmare setting the tent up but managed despite the wind to just get the outer tent up between showers. Thanks to Mark from Bath GC for lending me a mallet! Then fairly easy for the rest of the day. Bit quiet later on. Played computer games in the clubhouse for a while. Then got ready to sleep. Was getting quite cold.

Day 1: Sat 19th

Woke up early to rain showers. Did not sleep well overnight. People making noises late and early. Now feeling very sleepy. Met my crew at breakfast. Briefing set for 11AM. I did not plan to rig before the briefing despite the lure of the sunshine. Also cunims around and threat of thunderstorms. 11AM briefing went OK - no tasks set. Soon after 1pm as expected we scrubbed. So I relaxed for the rest of the day. Then back to the tent to sleep.

Day 2: Sun 20th

I found my earplugs so slept quietly. But still not well in a tent. I felt as grey as the weather this morning. Woke up early of course so took the laptop to the clubhouse to play with before breakfast. We rigged some time before 9. Briefing at 11:30, grid beforehand. However after a long wait the B's scrubbed at 3pm. The A's scrubbed half an hour later. So put the glider away again and retired to the clubhouse for chocolate cake. Another relaxing rest of day. Noted the clearance just before dark!

Day 3: Mon 21st (Comp day 1 - Lasham(LA5) - ChilBoltoN - SIXpenny Handley - POPham - Lasham(LA7) )

Launch: 1340; Start: 1445; Finish: 1700; Land: 1700; Task time: 2:15; Flight time: 3:20. Result: 9th; Overall: 9th

It was a wet start but the sun came out at 9AM. Another day that did not look too promising but might have a window later. Cue another long wait. It was cold last night. But slept a little better this time. Briefing was at 11:30. Beyond that the weather improved rapidly and we started launching at 1pm. I flew LA5-CBN-SIX-POP-LA7 (Finish line). I had slow start so I restarted at 14:45. Then got low at CBN in middle of a big blue hole. But a weak blue thermal kept me going until I was able to reach cumulus and get away again. I dumped my water at that point and tip-toed my way around. I got round SIX after 6 knot climb to cloudbase. (Cloudbase between 3200' and 3600' above Lasham and quite variable.) I then headed back. It was a relief not to have to battle into a 20kt heatwind any more. From beyond CBN there was a huge hole. I tiptoed back at McCready 0 and reached POP at 1100-1200' above Lasham! I carried on after brief attempt to soar a weak thermal, and scraped the finish line with just 100-200' to spare! No circuit, just straight in landing downwind as I crossed the line. I had wheel down and airbrakes out as soon as it was clear I had made it. But I made it back! Woo hoo! Amazing how far you can go when you need to. I landed at exactly 5pm and left the glider out overnight as calm weather was forecast overnight.

Provisionally I came joint 9th - well pleased with that! I went to sleep by 9:30pm as I was shattered but happy. Was expecting an early start for Tuesday - briefing 10AM and grid beforehand.

Day 4: Tue 22nd (Comp day 2 - Lasham(LA4) - KingStonBagpuize - WELford - ISLip - Lasham(LA5 - LA7) )

Launch: 1104; Start: 1218; Finish: 1533; Land: 1535; Task time: 3:15; Flight time: 4:31. Result: 5th; Overall: 5th

It was cold again last night. Early mist at 6:30AM. Got to very damp glider at 7AM, DI'ed and watered it. I had breakfast then took the glider to the grid - all done by 9AM. Then a rest while waiting for briefing at 10AM. Lots of top cover as forecast but also cu's starting to pop already. So still looking good.

I launched at 1105, and restarted twice as there was a huge gap north of Basingstoke. On attempt 3 I saw a way through. Things got sticky at Goring and I dumped my water while struggling to stay up. I saw an inviting field below me, then saw someone land in it! However I got away and continued cautiously on task. Cloudbase to the north was at 4000 feet at best, 2-4kt climbs. I tiptoed my way a fair bit as conditions were patchy and tricky due to top cover. On the way back I was aiming for Brimpton after one last weak climb near Goring. However I found a decent climb several km north of Aldermaston that got me home with enough energy for a 120kt finish. Yay!

In the evening the provisional results showed me in 5th place - awesome! I went to the Anchor Inn for a nice meal. Then slept soon after 10pm.

Day 5: Wed 23rd

The weather was looking naff today. As soon as the briefing was called for 10AM I knew it would be an early scrub as hoped. Indeed it was so I went home before lunchtime. But not before the official results confirmed my 5th place on the day and overall. Awesome! I arrived back about 10:20pm and immediately retired for the night.

Day 6: Thu 24th (Comp day 3 - Lasham(LA5) - CRiCklade - CHieVeley - POPham - Lasham(LA7) Assigned Area Task)

Launch: 1354; Start: 1431; Finish: 1733; Land: 1736; Task time: 3:02; Flight time: 3:42. Result: 8th; Overall: 4th

I did not sleep well last night. It took me a long time to get to sleep and kept waking up in the night. Very tired this morning. :( Maybe I should have slept at home instead. Oh well. Weather was grey this morning but showed promise for the afternoon. So nice slow start. Briefing was set to 11:30. The weather cleared up by then. An assigned area task was set and I was in the air before 2pm, where adrenalin helped me forget my tiredness. Good thermals to almost 4000 feet above Lasham. I played around at cloudbase, sometimes climbing 100 feet or so up the side of the cu's. As soon as the gate opened at 2:30 at 3200 feet I dived under the gate height at over 100 knots and was on my way. It was booming conditions at first and I made good progress until I reached Membury, where spreadout was severe. I was stuck there for ages before I found enough height to cross to Swindon and then after another long scratch saw a cu form in the blue near Sandhill farm. That was a good climb and got me to better weather at Cricklade. I carried on up a good street to Cirencester before turning back. Then I had to get back through the spreadout. Squashed up against the edge of the Lyneham airspace I dumped my water (with several others too) and tiptoed along getting very low. Eventually I got past Lyneham and found lift but was hopping fields at that point. Then I carried along a weak street until I decided to cross to the 10km Chievely circle. I got down to below 1500 feet again 5km from Chievely before weak lift got me high enough to get to a reasonable climb near Brimpton. Then I went over to Popham where I just scraped round the turn point after a climb to 2500 feet above Lasham. At that point I found I had climbed too high. On the flip side I had a storming finish crossing the finish line at almost VNE 300-400 feet up, then landed at 17:36. Wheeeee!

Afterwards I found I came 8th, moving up to 4th overall provisionally. Way to go! I was so tired in the evening that I ate (fish and chips) after leaving the glider out, and then straight back to the tent to sleep by 8:30pm.

Day 7: Fri 25th (Comp day 4 - Lasham(LA1) - ABiNgdon - BUCkingham - DIDcot - Lasham(LA5 - LA7) )

Launch: 1142; Start: 1217; Finish: 1525; Land: 1527; Task time: 3:08; Flight time: 3:45. Result: 12th; Overall: 6th

I woke up feeling better than yesterday - having moved the bed to a flatter position, being gentle with the ear plugs and a jumper over my head helped big time. The glider was ready and in grid by 9AM, and briefing at 10AM. The sky looked very moist aloft, and there was an occlusion steaming in off the atlantic. I was not sure what would happen today... At the briefing a 201km task was set - LA1-ABN-BUC-DID-LA5-LA7. Conditions were more or less blue at Lasham. We launched at about 11:25. I was off not too long after the start gate opened. I tip-toed out in the blue with plenty of other gliders to help mark thermals. Eventually I reached cumulus some way between Newbury and Didcot. From there on it was much easier. I got round Buckingham without too many dramas. Then back via Oxford as it was going blue. I found my best climb near Didcot - 5kts+ to 5100'QNH. Thanks to the duo-discus that helped mark thermals. :P Then southwards back into the blue. Another couple of 2-3kt climbs in the blue near Brimpton was enough to get me home comfortably. I did dump my water heading into the blue to be safe though. I had to take a few weak climbs. On final glide near Basingstoke the whole sky seemed to be going up. I was getting higher and faster and rounded LA5 at 100kts and steamed in for a fast 120kt finish. Wahay! The only fly in the ointment was that there was a jet on the runway and I was warned to stay well clear of it. As a result I just went the wrong side of the tower and a negative finish was declared. However fortunately the finish was given to me anyway on the grounds of safety so that was a relief.

I put the glider away as bad weather was expected tonight.

Day 8: Sat 26th

I woke up feeling a bit ropey, and the sky was very grey. Soundings suggested a horribly moist bottom 6-7000 feet and showers. However we were gridded before the 12pm briefing. A moderate shower hit during the briefing, and the sky looked bad, with low cloudbase and lots of cunims and spreadout. We were set a small task and a long wait ensued. However eventually they scrubbed the B's by 3pm but sent the A's off! Meanwhile I left the glider parked in the grid overnight, packed the tent away, and went home for supper and a good night's sleep!

Day 9: Sun 27th (Comp day 5 - Lasham(LA4) - PEWsey - OXfordSouth - HURstbournetarrant - Lasham(LA7) )

Launch: 1235; Start: 1303; Finish: 1527; Land: 1529; Task time: 2:24; Flight time: 2:54. Result: 7th; Overall: 6th

Ahh that's better! Much more awake. I woke up just before my alarm went off, and got to the airfield about 7:15AM. The glider was still in the grid. I de-dewed it then had breakfast at 7:30, followed by a DI and a watering of the glider by 9AM. Then after final preparation I was ready to relax until the briefing which was set for 11AM. It was nice and sunny this morning. But top cover was moving in from the west. So I was unsure again what would happen. I found out that 10 A's got round yesterday, almost all big-wings. I was so glad the B's were scrubbed yesterday.

At the briefing a 200km task was set - LA4-PEW-OXS-HUR-LA7. It was looking a bit spreadout up there but slowly improving. I launched about 12:20 into good thermals. After going, to the first turnpoint I barely needed to turn as going up the streets was pretty awesome, occasionally stopping in strong climbs. I had to turn more going across wind to Oxford. At OXS there was a bit of a hole so I went slowly round. I got down to 1800' above Lasham south of the turn after turning, before hitting a very rough 7.5kt+ thermal that catapulted me straight back to cloudbase. Wheeee! Then crossing the streets all the way to HUR was fun. I lost about 500 feet on each cross, with a bit of weak wavey lift in the middle between each street to slow down in. Then I pulled up under the bigger clouds to regain most of the height that I had lost crossing the streets, without turning. Eventually got to the last turnpoint and got down to about 2000' above Lasham so I had to take a weak climb before starting a marginal final glide. But along a street to the finish I kept getting higher and faster, and ended up close to VNE 300-400 feet up for a good smoking of the finish line! Wahay! This was the first time I had managed to hold onto my water to the end too.

After landing though there was a logger problem. EW Windows Uploader came up with errors. However, after several more attempts, SeeYou on someone's laptop seemed to successfully download the trace so I got that onto a flash card and handed that in. I hoped desperately that that was OK. The alternative was 0 points and tumbling way down the field - major bummer. So it was a big relief when I heard they had accepted my trace.

At 7:15pm the presentation was done, finishing at 8pm. In the end I finished 7th and held onto my 6th place overall. Result! Having aimed for the top 15 (out of 34 in my class) I was very pleased to be in the top 10. Despite it being stressful at times I felt it was all worth it in the end (unlike last year's washout) to show that I am a worthy competitor with good potential in the future if time and money allow.

Today didn't get off to a great start as I was drawn last in the Surrey and Hants ballot. Despite that I managed to grab hold of the DG300. Having retrieved it from the hangar and DI'ed / prepared it I went to the competition briefing and decided to declare LAS-GRA-GRW-BIR-LAS for 501km at 9:55AM. This was pretty much the task that the club class were assigned. Then I had a mad dash getting it towed out to the club launch point and finally aerotowed off at 10:42AM ahead of the competition grid (The 2005 Nationals). I was flying dry as I do not know how to fill a DG300 with water yet! (Not that I had time anyway...)

Distance and speed data retrieved curtousy of TaskNav.

Leg 1 - Lasham to Grantham (191.72km, 3h24m 56.22kph)

The first leg was by far the slowest. There was a northwesterly breeze, so I was going upwind and across cloud streets all the way. When I set off about 10-15 minutes after launch cloudbase was just over 2000'AGL (2600'QNH). I tiptoed my way northwards as cloudbase steadily rose. I did however hit a sticky patch around Bicester when I got as low as 2100'QNH, but eventually got away back to cloudbase and continued on. I made steady but slow progress upwind and eventually made it past Rutland Water. That was one helluva view passing that lake. If only I'd had time to take pictures. By now I thought that if I get home I'll already surpass my previous best distance of 380km. So on I went ever northwards, further north than I'd ever glid before. Saltby northwards was rather spreadout and the wind was stronger, so I took it slow and stayed high, and that payed off as I made it comfortably around the Grantham turning point. (I was also thinking that I do NOT want to land out almost 200km from home!) Also by now a number of competition gliders had caught up with me and helped by kindly marking the best thermals.

Leg 2 - Grantham to Graffham Water (72.31km, 42m, 104.29kph)

Once I got away from the spreadout and back past two ATZ's around Peterborough, I picked up a huge cloud street which took me straight downwind to Graffham Water without turning - fantastic! I appeared to leave other gliders behind at this stage too which was rather nice. I managed to stay around or above 4500'QNH for the whole run down the street. The stronger wind showed with the LNav showing a tail wind as high as 17 knots at times. I left the street when I was close to Graffham Water, crossing the lake and the turning point. Again the view was gorgeous - my first visit to this lake too.

Leg 3 - Graffham Water to Birdlip (133.61km, 1h31m, 88.29kph)

From then on I pretty much never looked back. With cloudbase getting nice and high now I tried to stay above 3500'QNH most of the time as there were areas of heavy sink and gaps to cross. It was pretty much a straight forward thermal hop all the way to Birdlip without any dramas. Most of them I could just slow down without turning and gain some height, while stopping for the better thermals and topping up before crossing gaps. Again every now and then gliders kindly marked the best lift in a couple of places, which helped reduce the workload a bit. At one point West of Banbury I got as high as 6200'QNH (Approx FL60) with 4-8kt climbs to be had.

Leg 4 - Birdlip to Lasham (103.69 km, 50m, 124.43kph)

Once round Birdlip I had a stonkingly fast glide home downwind. Once through the Fairford gap I climbed in strong lift (6-7kts) just South of Swindon to 5000 feet above Lasham, and was able to final glide my way home from there. I landed at 5:23PM, with an average speed of 77.7kph - not fast for the conditions but fast enough for the day. :)

So hey presto! My first ever 500km flight. :D This ride was rather like a roller coaster. The first leg was the slow rickety climb to the top that seemed to take an eternity. Then the other legs were after the release. A fast and thrilling ride in a huge zigzag back to base followed. Another note was that I was shivering for a lot of the flight too as it was only 4C up at height and I spent quite a lot of time in cloud shadow. It felt more like May than August (which may not be a bad thing as May is often a good month). This is the icing on the cake for a rather good month (despite the poor Regionals weather) where I have flown more kilometers than ever before. (OK being on holiday helped.) Suddenly 300km doesn't seem quite so far any more.

This was my first big competition. I kept a diary from day to day. The key thing about this competition was the dreadful weather. However I think I did as good a job as I could in the conditions. I had a bad start but finished off well and did not go home empty handed. Here is the report.

Day 1: Sat 23rd: (Comp day 1 - Lasham - Pangbourne - Ilsley - Overton - Lasham)

The weather wasn't that great, but we got set a 100km task to the north. I was right at the back of the grid, and when I released from tow I got straight into 3-4kts to the 3000 feet AGL start height. The gate opened as I got up there, and I quickly set off as the A class gliders had already gone and conditions seemed OK. I was doing OK until north of Aldermaston, when the cloud I went to just before the first turning point disintegrated and left me in a big claggy hole. I couldn't make the first turning point (Pangbourne) or any nearby lift, and so slowly sank into a nice stubble field below me. Nice outlanding field. Unfortunately that meant I was low down on the results, finishing just 23rd out of 32. Those below me had 0 points due to invalid starts and other problems. I got 100 points for my 34km flown. The winner only got about 450 points though, so I am not too far behind and still have a chance of making it up if we get some more flyable weather.

Other events: Before launch I witnessed a number of aircraft coming in for an ATC Open day, including a Chinook, Hurricane, and the British Antarctic Survey aircraft. When we arrived back from the field there was an Extra doing an imressive aerobaticas display.

Day 2: Sun 24th:

We woke up to pouring rain. But we had to hang on as a clearance was expected mid afternoon. When the rain did stop there was a mad scramble to rig. However about an hour later both classes eventually scrubbed as it became clear the new airmass was way too moist and unstable with very low cloudbase. The weather for the coming week also looks a bit iffy, so there could be a lot of waiting around. But see how we go as each day comes.

Other events: In the evening there was a live band in the clubhouse, and at 11pm I saw my first night time jet landing at the airfield.

Day 3: Mon 25th:

This time very low cloud and embedded showers persisted. Another clearance was expected, but by lunchtime it was clear the 'clearance' was not much better. So we scrubbed at 1:40pm and I set my own task of an out and return to the cinema in Basingstoke!

Other events: After dark a Chinook was performing exercises on the south side of the airfield, dropping off and picking up crates in an exercise. Apparently they come to Lasham for this because it is such a dark airfield at night.

Day 4: Tue 26th: (Comp day 2 - Lasham - Didcot - Mursley - Bicester)

Today looked more promising early on, but a warm front was approaching from the South. After setting an initial task, it got revised on the grid to a remote finish at Bicester as the warm front was coming in too quickly. After a long wait they did a 'now or never' launch. However I failed to get away from the airfield and ended up landing back at Lasham after struggling to stay up for 45 minutes.

There were no events on this evening. Went out to the Alton Tandoori with a fellow competitor.

Day 5: Wed 27th:

Low pressure close by and fronts not moving all day meant it was a clear decision to scrub early. So a group of us went to a go-karting track in Aldershot. We paired up into teams of 2 and had half of the 45 minutes race time each. (The most laps at the end wins.) That was great fun, even if a computer failure meant we had no idea who won! It certainly beat hanging around on a soaking wet, cold and misty airfield.

Other events: Quiz night. That was good fun. A series of questions were read out, and it was hands up first to answer. If you got an answer wrong then you had to donate 10p to the Lasham trust. Got it right and you earned a raffle ticket. Then at the end the raffle was drawn for a few prizes. I got 3 right and 10 wrong. I didn't get anything in the raffle. But it was great fun, especially given some of the silly answers that were given at times.

Day 6: Thu 28th:

Today was looking a lot more promising. We rigged before the 11AM briefing and got set a task. However after gridding and waiting ages it was clear that cloudbase was not rising enough and the wind was picking up considerably. So some time after 2pm yet another scrub was called. Fortunately we had all de-rigged and put away by the time some beefy showers arrived around the 4pm mark.

Day 7: Fri 29th: (Comp day 3 - Lasham - Whitchurch - Didcot - Rivar Hill - Lasham - Assigned Area Task)

We were prepared for an early launch today. We were set an assigned area task. The first sector was Whitchurch westwards. A second big sector was Didcot northwards. Then a circular sector around Rivar Hill was set coming home. I was launched just before half 12. It was soon obvious that the thermals were mainly weak and I dumped my ballast water. I started at 1pm and tiptoed my way towards Whitchurch. After a final scratch around Overton I glid my way around Whitchurch in dead air under major spreadout. Then atleast I was able to drift downwind towards Didcot. I got away and did exactly that. At Didcot I got a 'Dodcot special', 6.5kt average straight to cloudbase over the chimney. Then I followed a street (approx 3800'QNH) to north Oxford before turning back. Unfortunately the Didcot area had died under 8/8 spreadout. I flew right over the chimney and found nothing this time, and glid out into a freshly cut and de-stalked (and so nice and smooth) rape field. A little while afterwards 2 other gliders landed in the same field. The locals were quite friendly. Although the farmer did collect 10 pounds for charity. Thanks to my crew (cheers Ali) for getting me home in time for supper.

At first I was miffed with landing out again. However this time I wasn't alone. I heard that all but one of the B's landed back or landed out, and I got further than most, so it is possible that I have done quite well! I am sure I didn't win the day but a top 5 is possible. So I left the field rather happier than I usually leave a landout. :) Can't wait to see the results.

Day 8: Sat 30th

Well in the end I came joint second and got a bottle of wine. So the result was as good as expected. Shame it was such a low points scoring day. So I am still only 22nd of 32 overall.

As for today, we got tasked to go to Harting then Newbury at first. Then at lunchtime we got re-briefed to go to Goring then Hurtsley. But alas the weather wasn't playing ball, and showers were moving in. So around 2pm we got scrubbed. At first we were gonna leave the gliders out. But then some huge showers moved in and we had a mass de-rig before the worst of the rain arrived. I've never seen them derigged so fast!

Other events: End of comp party. A nice pleasant evening. Lots of people to chat to, and a nice curry night too. After the meal there was a raffle then live music.

Day 9: Sun 31st

After a foggy start the cloud slowly lifted but it never looked like it would be a good day. A task was not set at the 11AM briefing. However after yesterday's wet de-rig we got the gliders out to air and dry them. At the briefing we got postponed until 12pm and then 1pm. Finally just before 1pm we got scrubbed. We de-rigged the gliders again before rain arrived. The final presentation was at 1:30pm. Well done Al Nunn for winning the A class and Shaun Lapworth for winning the B's. I also got a pleasant surprise when I got presented with a shield for best newcomer.

So overall I did end up with 2 bottles of wine and a shield. So while it wasn't the trail blazing start to my competition 'career' that I had hoped for, given the conditions, I was not too disappointed. I think there is a good chance I will have another go next year. Also thanks to Ali for crewing for me and to Graham for renting the caravan to me - very nifty given the very wet weather we had.

I thought I'd write up this flight as it was particularly good fun and I've not written anything up for 10 months. This weekend I went to Challock for their leg of the Interclub League (ICL). Kent Gliding Club is based at Challock airfield, a fairly big field surrounded by trees (except a small gap on the western side). I towed a Surrey & Hants Discus there to fly in the ICL for the weekend.

It all started with a nightmare on the Friday. There were firstly a number of problems - including broken wiring on a battery and a trailer wheel that needed to be replaced. The battery was easy enough, but in the end I followed another club member (who came very kindly to help me out) to Basingstoke, with the trailer in tow, who sorted out a replacement wheel. (There was no spare.) Then from there I set off for Challock, about 100 miles away. Unfortunately there were two accidents that made the M3 and the M20 very slow. Plus the M25 was awful. So it took me a whopping three and a half hours to get to Challock. Eventually I finally arrived, and went out for a Chinese meal in Ashford with the ICL Novice. (I was the ICL Intermediate.)

Saturday itself went much more smoothly. We all woke up early, so had the gliders rigged by 8AM. This felt strange as normally we can't rig until after the S&H ballot, _if_ we got a glider. At 6:45AM there had been huge cumulus clouds driftign in from the Northwest. However they settled down and by mid morning it looked much nicer. The early rig gave us plenty of time to have breakfast, DI the gliders and tow them out to the grid. Meanwhile at the 10AM briefing we learnt our tasks. The Novices were being sent to Etchingham (ETC) - Canterbury Northeast (CNE) and back for just over 100Km. The Intermediates and Pundits followed the Novices to CNE. Then from there went on to the Isle of Sheppey (SPY), and then back via Paddock Wood (PAD) for 186Km. Being an Intermediate, that was my task.

The grid started launching at 11:30. I got off the ground just before midday to a 3000 foot (above Challock - 3600 feet QNH) cloudbase. After 15 minutes I set off for Etchingham where conditions were good. Then I headed back past Challock towards Canterbury Northeast. I got low and nearly 'landed out' back at Challock, but scrabbled away again and was rewarded with a great view of Canterbury Cathedral from the air. The thermals were rather awkward and narrow at Canterbury with sea air never far away. Then I headed on to the Isle of Sheppey. The direct route was impossible as it was unsoarable in sea air off the Thames Estuary. So having gone most of the way back to Challock I saw a set of thermals to the north providing my route to the Sheppey turning point. I soared near the turning point above water and swampland which was rather interesting. The views were gorgeous. Then back towards Challock for a bit and then on to the last and most difficult turning point - Paddock Wood. There was bad spreadout here, and at one point I was down to 1000 feet above Challock / 1600 feet QNH. But I scratched away at a very weak thermal, watching another glider land out in a field while I did so. After an age found enough height to make it to better lift, and then enough height to get round Headcorn (Lashendon airfield) and start a marginal final glide. I was a bit below the glide until 2 or 3 miles from Challock where a strong thermal pushed me back up to glide and then some as I flew through it. Then it was a case of scrambling for the finish line followed by an uneventful circuit and landing.

What a relief it was to make it back after a tough and exhilerating 4 hours in the air. Cloudbase never got much above 3500 feet QNH. There were good strong cores but they were narrow and hard to centre in for the most part. I came 2nd but Lasham won overall by 4 points as the novice was also 2nd and the pundit won. So a great team performance, and a really nice day's flying. The scenery was much nicer than the scenery around Lasham, although the fields were generally smaller and sea air and airspace were never far away. The task made for a nice tour of the Kent countryside too.

The ICL continued on Sunday, but the weather was not so good, and after a hole appeared mid morning to entice us out to the grid, some angry dark clouds and spreadout came in off the English Channel at lunchtime. This pretty much killed the day, and at 1:30pm the day was scrubbed, and the gliders towed back to the trailers and de-rigged. This suited me as I was really tired, and it allowed me to set off back for Lasham in time for supper and be home (and asleep!) before it got dark.

I enjoyed my stay at Kent Gliding Club. The club was really friendly, and it was a nice and relaxing environment. The airfield was rather bumpy, but then I have been spoilt by Lasham's ultra-smooth airfield. It wasn't actually anything to worry about at all. From the air the line of trailers and the surrounding trees made it quite visible and reasonably easy to spot once you know where to look.

Saturday 30th August 2003 was the day a cold plume of air came down from the arctic and threatened showery conditions across the UK in a cool northerly breeze. However I had an inkling it might not be as showery as forecast, and cloudbase was forecast to be high (for this country). So I declared the 300Km task set at the briefing with trepidation as one of the turning points was on the Isle of Wight. This would mean crossing the sea for several miles to get from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight, and then back again. Fortunately a cold unstable northerly can provide the right conditions for this, preventing the dead sea air from penetrating inland like it would normally do.

First we got sent upwind to the North to Turweston near Silverstone. After launching just before midday it took a while to get away but the further north I went the better, blasting into wind quickly, culminating in a cracking 8Kt average to 5200'QNH over Turweston. Then I had a fast run downwind to the coast. And this is where the real fun began. It took me a while to get the bottle to do it, but after a good climb to 5600'QNH over the southern tip of Portsmouth I went for it. I left the South Coast of mainland UK and crossed the Solent cautiously. After what seemed like an age I made it the coast of the Isle of Wight, and then to Bembridge with well over 4600' to spare. Then just off the coast I soared to 5400' near Bembridge, and again in 2.5Kts to 5100' in the middle of the Solent on the way back while a P&O ferry and various yaughts and other boats sailed by. That was the most surreal thermal I have ever soared in! After that it was a leisurely cruise home to complete my first ever 300Km flight with no real dramas at about 70kph.

The view from beyond the South Coast was easily the best scenery I have witnessed from a glider so far. It was gorgeous up there. Arguably my best flight of the year! A note though that as I approached Lasham I noticed that upwind it was 8/8 spreadout. I had been fortunate in getting north and back again before the spreadout started. I am glad I set off early, or else I might have got caught in the spreadout. Fortunately by the time I reached the bad air I was on final glide, so did not care one bit. My first thought was to safely land, and then to get hold of an Official Observer ASAP. ;)

So not only did I achieve a long term aim of finally getting that elusive first 300, but I also made it to the Isle of Wight and back in the same flight - another highly rated activity that isn't possible very often. So this is one flight I will never forget.

I took some great aerial photos of the coastal scenery while playing around the Isle of Wight. I placed them on my Gliding Piccies page - look for the section dated for 30th August 2003.

This story got printed in Gliding and Motorgliding International. Click here for a direct link.

It was an incredibly hot day for the UK (maximum temperature was 33C on ground). When I launched around lunchtime it was blue, 1-2Kts averages to 3000 feet above Lasham (3600 feet above sea level). But the inversion rose rapidly, and after 2pm cumulus started to form to the West. So I pushed west towards the cumulus. Under it the best climb rate was 4.5Kts average, but the cloudbase was above FL65 inside controlled airspace. I pushed further west to better airspace, and reached cloudbase at a whopping 6800 feet above Lasham!

After getting almost as far as Marlborough I headed back to Lasham. However heavy sink in the blue to the south of the cumulus caught me out, and I had to divert towards Aldermaston to get another weak climb to FL55 in order to get home. It turns out the cumulus was caused by a sea air convergeance. Blue to the North, sea air to the South, slowly pushing inland. It was only 10C at cloudbase, rather refreshing after the roasting temperatures lower down.

The day started off badly for me. I came out 18th out of 23 in a huge summer weekend ballot and left stranded on the ground gliderless and scratching any plans I had for a first 300Km. However at 2:30pm an early solo pilot returned 474 (a K8) to the launch point. As my first ever single seater, I decided (partly out of boredom) to go back to my roots and go for a 'joyride' in it. And boy was it worth it!

I launched just after 3pm on the winch without any particular plan. I brought my map with me just in case, and decided rapidly that the conditions were fantastic and I fancied heading North to Didcot and back. The humble K8 is so slow compared to the Discus and DG300, but it is still fine for cross country. I decided to stay high (above 3000). A sticky patch just South of Didcot meant it took me about an hour and a quarter to get to Didcot, and was glad to stay high. I was tempted to push on to Bicester, but wimped out because it was getting late. (Although looking back I reckon I could have done it easily.)

After riding the 'Didcot Special' (6kts steady) I broke off at FL55 to dive back under the airspace to the South, and made rapid progress back to Newbury with regular 4-5Kt climbs. I spent a while parked at Newbury waiting for a cycle, outclimbing a glass glider in the process. But soon I got close enough for a final glide, and finished off with a hair-raising beat-up. 90Kts several hundred feet over the clubhouse felt more like 150Kts! I landed sometime after 5pm for a total flight time of 2 hours 7 min's for 100Km dead. (Just under 50Kph - not very fast, but good fun.)

So although through the middle of the day things were looking bleak, it was worth hanging around, as usually some gliders do come back by mid afternoon. So I still did what I enjoy, and that is _fly_!

I had a most extraordinary flight today in the Surrey & Hants DG300. I declared LAS-HEReford-LAS (305km) but I found the thermals to be broken and distorted. I launched 20-25 min's before midday. I tiptoed my way to Newbury - never getting above 3000-3500' above Lasham (or 3600-4300' ASL) in 1-2kts average (maybe the odd stronger bit).

Then I discovered why the thermals were weird. Just a few miles west/southwest of Newbury at about 4300'ASL I headed out into a blue hole and found 4kts up in very smooth air. I circled in it with another glider, and we steadily rose above cloudbase. I realised I was in wave! I then switched to wave style soaring (not round in circles any more but back and forth across the wind) and kept on going at 3-4kts up to FL65 where I had to break off because of airspace. I headed upwind on track and found another wave bar at Hungerford, and then another at Membury.

From FL65 near Membury I could see a long way up track, and the cumulus didn't look any better than I had seen from below, so I abandoned the 300 and decided to head back to Hungerford where the airspace limit is much higher, and explore the wave. I found it again just South of Hungerford, and slowly but surely scraped 7400' (8000'ASL) before I lost the wave. Then overhead Rivar Hill I climbed back up to about 7200' (7800'ASL). (I've never seen Rivar Hill look so small!) Then I glided home to Lasham, bending South towards Andover to avoid airspace, and got back with 3500'(above Lasham) to spare. The last weak wave lift I saw (but flew straight past) was at about 5500'ASL just north of Popham. Then it was back to bumpy air as I dropped back through the inversion.

This is the first time I have ever experienced proper wave (hence the 'novelty value' of my descriptions), and I believe it is highly unusual for it to be this strong this far South - peaking at about 3-4kts, dropping to 0.5-1kts above 7000'. I heard reports on the radio of people in wave at Worcester - directly between me and North Wales, so I guess that is the source. It was completely 'blue' wave with no lenticulars marking them. From the top you could see the evenly spaced holes in the cumulus before it slowly went blue 'down below'.

I took a few photos while up there. I placed them on my Gliding Piccies page - look for the section dated for 20th June 2003.

This story got printed in Gliding and Motorgliding International. Click here for a direct link.

Another example of how, given unstable enough air, you can soar even in a UK winter. The journey to the club was interesting. I had to drive through 50 miles of a furious snowstorm from a passing trough. Fortunately the large flakes didn't settle, or else it would have got mighty dangerous. However it was worth it. Just after lunch I launched off the winch in an ASW19, and proceeded to stay up for almost 2 hours with 1-2Kt thermals and a 3000' (above Lasham) cloudbase. However at the end it all shut down as the day is so short at this time of year, and down I came.

I had to wipe a layer of snow off the car in morning that an overnight cold front had deposited. But it was worth it as the air was so unstable that I then had a 3 hour soaring flight in a Discus B off the winch! Cloudbase reached 4500' above Lasham, where it was about -12C. I even found a 10Kt core at one point - all in February. Generally the thermal strengths were 2-4Kt averages, with some 4-6Kt cores. This felt truely surreal (but pleasantly so), since it is still winter here.

It took me two attempts to get my Silver Distance badge claim. It actually started on Monday 30th August 1999 with my first attempt in a K8. I was aerotowed to 1400 feet above Lasham, over Alton. This was because your launch height mustn't be too high for a given distance and height difference. The flight started well, with good thermals to a 4000 foot cloudbase. So I set off westwards for Old Sarum. The thermals went blue as I passed Popham, but they were still reliable and strong with 4Kt cores. So on I went in the blue. However cirrus cover eventually started to drift in from the west. I remember my last weak climb over a river valley to the west of Chilbolton. Then it was a case of selecting a field as I got lower and lower. Fortunately I spotted a huge stubble field that had just been harvested, with towers of hay in each corner acting like a welcoming beacon. That was followed by my first solo field landing - a smooth arrival into the stubble field followed by a huge sense of relief!

The kind farmer and wife gave me clearance for an aerotow retrieve, and before too long the Lasham Cub arrived with a passenger in the back. I got bundled into the back of the cub while the passenger flew the K8 back for me as I had never flown an aerotow retrieve from an agricultural field before.

Then it was not until Sunday 14th May 2000 that I tried again. This time I was flying a Grob102, and in the southerly breeze was pointed in the direction of Bicester. As this was further away a winch launch was the order of the day. Conditions were quite good, with reasonable thermals to 3500' above Lasham. So off I set, tip-toeing northwards. It took a lot of bottle to cross a large hole which took me out of range of Lasham, but once I succeeded I was on my way with no turning back. I made a leisurely progress northwards. A little way south of Didcot I hit a sticky patch and struggled to stay up for a while, but eventually I gained enough height to move on. From that point it was a straight forward run to Oxford, where I had my last climb to around 4000 feet. Then I followed the railway line to Bicester (being careful to avoid Weston-on-the-Green).

I arrived at Bicester about 2000 feet above Lasham (2400 feet above Bicester). This gave me plenty of time to study their launch point and the circuit patterns being followed by local gliders. Once I got low enough I entered the circuit. It was an odd sensation when my altimeter dropped below zero, and I was still well above the ground. I had an undramatic (albeit a bit bumpy) landing near the launch point, where I could promptly present my landing certificate with a big grin on my face.

I arranged for one of the Bicester tugs to tow me home. So this was my first aerotow retrieve that I had flown myself. Take off was fine. However during the ride home, we flew along the edge of a cloudstreet, and that made for a very long and bumpy ride. As we approached Basingstoke the visibility dropped off as the cloudstreet ended and we reached sea air. At the north edge of Basingstoke with 3000 feet to spare I released and glid back to Lasham. The only spoiler was that as I touched down, the main wheel caught a bump on the edge of the short cross runway, which catapulted me into the air again. However I recovered and then landed smoothly. A subsequent heavy landing check revealed no harm was done, so that was a relief. And then on to sort the paperwork out and then go home and collapse! 8)

A few months after my first solo I found out about the single seater club at Lasham - Surrey and Hants. I decided on this day it was about time I gave single seaters a try. After two instructed flights that tested my crosswind landings, and a two-seater solo flight, we packed up for lunch as a huge shower came in that lasted over an hour. Once it cleared we went back out, and I was briefed for the K8 (474). When I got in I noted how much closer and higher the wings are, and how light the controls are after being used to a K13. I had two quick flights, on which the first flight I had no yaw string as it was 'glued' to the canopy by water from the shower. No real dramas, except that because the glider is so light it does have a tendency to go off like a rocket on the winch. The shower had reset cloudbase to below 1000 feet, and the first launch was above cloudbase. The second flight was shorter as I had to pull the cable release early to avoid entering a cloud. Still great fun to finally be in a single seater.

My next flights in the same glider were on the 2nd January 1997, when it did not get above -2C, and there was a fair bit of a breeze. I had problems with overspeeding and managed to break 2 weak links. Still, in subsequent flights during the year I ironed out my launching problems, and started to enjoy even more freedom with unrestricted airtime, since I did not have to bring the glider back after half an hour or so for the next training student to fly.

I later went on from this point to have a glass conversion, and then move up slowly but surely through the glider types in the Surrey and Hants fleet, finally reaching the top glider (the Ventus C) on 24th August 2003.

For the last few trips to the club I had felt like I was getting pretty close to solo standard, but was not quite there, and the weather conditions were not quite right. So on this day I was not expecting too much, especially as I had one of the more legiondary and strict instructors taking me up in one of the training 2-seater K13's. (He's actually a great character, and makes training fun and challenging at the same time.) The first flight was a fairly standard winch launch, circuit and landing. On the second flight I was given a simulated cable break, where the instructor unexpectedly pulls the cable release during the launch, as if the cable had broken. I managed to recover and land ahead without any problem.

Then came the moment of truth. I had got into the glider and was strapped in ready to go, performing my checks. The instructor was outside, fiddling about in the back of the glider. What I didn't know was that he was tying the straps up for solo flying (so they are not loose and free to move around and snag a control). I was expecting him to jump in at any moment, as the cables had arrived and were ready to go. Then suddenly, the instructor slammed the canopy shut from the outside, and said 'Away You Go'! After a few seconds of crapping myself as the cable was attached I found myself at the top of the winch launch, and seriously enjoying my first ever solo flight. It was only a short flight, with an uneventful circuit and landing, but it seemed to last an age. When I landed, I was still on cloud 9.

Shortly afterwards I got sent up again. This time I had a longer flight with some soaring before coming back. And from this point onwards I never looked back. The world of solo flying had opened up in front of me, where I could go where I wanted (within the permitted airspace and range of the airfield) rather than going where an instructor wanted me to go. The feeling of freedom was immense.