| Flight details: | Out and return from Truleigh to near lewes from devils dyke, declared the turn points on uknxcl the night before. Inversion around 1700 ft making climbs exceptionally weak around that point. Started off ridge soaring to the truleigh turn point, then waited at the dyke to get enough height to dive for jack and Jills windmill. Around midday and still couldn't get heigh enough to make the crossing so tried to push forward to the North side of newtimber to get another climb there with the bailout option of gliding low back to the dyke. eventually got the second climb there and JUST made it to jack and Jills with about 100ft to spare or i would have been top landing! Ditching ridge was not working very well, off to the west and thermals were not as good. I put the lewes turn point off the end of the ridge and didn't realise how hard it would be to get in those week conditions with the west wind threatening to ground me on my glide back to the ridge. Two sailplanes were on the ground at the bottom of the ridge to mess with my head a bit. At one point i gave up with the turn point and started making my way back towards the dyke and then wondered wheat i was doing! I would have been happier on the ground near lewes having got the turnpoint than landed at the dyke having failed my task. Eventually i took a weak climb the just got me enough height to get the turnpoint and dart back towards the ridge. I then raced back along ditching as i saw a sailplane marking a climb just short of Jack and jills windmill, when i got there i looked up and the sailplane had a motor on and was climbing with an engine @$£%^@&*!!!!!! A little while longer i had the best climb of the day with another sailplane from ridge height to 3100ft, this was downwind of burgess hill and was unusually strong- i think all the hot air from the town had gathered together to create a nice 5up to get me home, wingtip to wingtip with this sailplane - highlight of the day waving at each other all the way up. they l |
