DURHAM AND BACK
An account of Chris Carton's record breaking out-and-return flight of
801 km from Lasham to Durham Cathedral on July 22nd, 1976 in a
Kestrel 19.
(reproduced from 'Sailplane and Gliding' by kind permission of the Editor)
During the afternoon and evening of July 21st, the fresh northwesterly
wind began to drop, shower activity decreased and the
stratocumulus sheets began to disperse. This steady improvement in
soaring conditions was a clear pointer to the prospects for the next day.
I left the Kestrel 19 rigged and completed as many as possible of my preflight
preparations that evening, so that the morning's efforts could be
concentrated on selecting the right task and ensuring myself first place
in the launch queue.
The concept of the Durham out-and-return had been at the back of
my mind for some time. A good soaring day should give nine hours'
flying, and my experience of 500 and 600km flights made me confident
I could average 90km/h throughout this length of time. The principal
reason why flights greater than 600km were not more commonplace, I
was convinced was not the strength of the British thermals or the ability
of the pilots, but the restricted area of suitable weather usually available
other than on late-starting anticyclonic days. So the essentials were to
spot the right day, make the correct decision and then stick one's neck
out in front of fellow club members. After that, the flying should be
.straightforward !
And that, more or less, is what happened. By 08.30 on July 22nd,
I had confirmed, from the London, Shannon and West Drayton Volmets,
that the weather looked promising over almost the whole country. In
particular, the Yorkshire airfields were reporting clear skies with light
westerly winds.
At 09.25 the first cumulus appeared on the northern horizon. It
seemed reluctant to come any closer, so rather than wait any longer and
perhaps talk myself into redeclaring a more sensible distance, I decided
to take a launch and set off regardless. At 09.52, I released at 3000ft
over Lasham to start what proved to be a ten mile glide to the first
thermal.
At first I chose to fly conservatively in conditions that were not yet
totally reliable, so as not to risk having to jettison waterballast so early
in the day. In the first hour I reached Oxford, only 70km, but acceptable
in the circumstances.
The north-westerly wind started forming cloudstreets, and from
Oxford to Rugby I stopped for only one thermal. At the end of the
second hour I was at Leicester, a further 90km. I was already achieving
my target cruise speed.
The wind backed to WNW north of Leicester, and streets gave way
to isolated clouds. The Trent Valley produced only short-lived thermals,
but beyond Nottingham conditions became excellent, with 6-8kt lift up
to a 5000ft cloudbase. Passing between Doncaster and Barnsley at the
end of the third hour, I had covered another 100km.
Soon after this, the thermals became weaker, more distorted and
difficult to use; cloudbase east of Leeds dropped to 4000ft. The wind
by now was westerly, and I imagined the shorter land track this air had
followed from Morecambe Bay to be the cause of the trouble, aggravated
perhaps by some wave interference. At Leeming airfield, the end of the
fourth hour had seen only 85km go by. The average, however, remained
at 86km/h, and this arithmetic, coupled with the sight of better clouds
ahead towards Darlington, spurred me on.
The last 20 miles to Durham were under an overcast sky. I crept
into the turning point keeping a wary eye on the sunlit hills to the west,
the cathedral was photographed with irreverent haste, and at 14.27 I
started to run for home.
In the hope of finding better thermals on the high ground near
Sutton Bank, I followed a more easterly initial return track. By now the
whole of the Vale of York was covered with magnificent cloudstreets
emanating from the Pennines and lying west-east. As they were at right
angles to my track, the streets were more of a hindrance than a help,
and finding the best lift could be time-consuming. For some time after
the streets disappeared, I still found myself going lower than for comfort
in search of the right thermal.
South of Worksop, it all became easier again perhaps my flying
simply improved — and passing Nottingham at 16.40, with less than
200km to go, and already picking up a slight tailwind, I was beginning
to feel confident. But this feeling invariably seems to presage some
trouble ahead; and sure enough, there, south of Rugby, lay a huge dead
area of stratocumulus and industrial haze. A long glide to Silverstone,
an anxious search under a decayed-looking cloud, and a good thermal
suddenly materialised over a new patch of sunlight.
The rest was straightford. At Oxford, with the cloudbase over
6500ft, I allowed myself the luxury of a cloud climb to 7900ft for a
comfortable 29 : 1 final glide. Despite the tailwind I still cruised in
slowly via the remaining active clouds and it was not until approaching
Basingstoke that I could bring myself to burn off nearly 2000ft of excess
height. The finish was at 18.48, the elapsed time being eight hours
56 minutes.
In summary, conditions in the south were up with the best of 1976;
in the north they were good enough. The day presented no real problems,
but the lack of favourable streeting meant it was hard work continually
pushing to keep the speed up. I decided not to fly the following day.
26
An account of Chris Carton's record breaking out-and-return flight of
801 km from Lasham to Durham Cathedral on July 22nd, 1976 in a
Kestrel 19.
(reproduced from 'Sailplane and Gliding' by kind permission of the Editor)
During the afternoon and evening of July 21st, the fresh northwesterly
wind began to drop, shower activity decreased and the
stratocumulus sheets began to disperse. This steady improvement in
soaring conditions was a clear pointer to the prospects for the next day.
I left the Kestrel 19 rigged and completed as many as possible of my preflight
preparations that evening, so that the morning's efforts could be
concentrated on selecting the right task and ensuring myself first place
in the launch queue.
The concept of the Durham out-and-return had been at the back of
my mind for some time. A good soaring day should give nine hours'
flying, and my experience of 500 and 600km flights made me confident
I could average 90km/h throughout this length of time. The principal
reason why flights greater than 600km were not more commonplace, I
was convinced was not the strength of the British thermals or the ability
of the pilots, but the restricted area of suitable weather usually available
other than on late-starting anticyclonic days. So the essentials were to
spot the right day, make the correct decision and then stick one's neck
out in front of fellow club members. After that, the flying should be
.straightforward !
And that, more or less, is what happened. By 08.30 on July 22nd,
I had confirmed, from the London, Shannon and West Drayton Volmets,
that the weather looked promising over almost the whole country. In
particular, the Yorkshire airfields were reporting clear skies with light
westerly winds.
At 09.25 the first cumulus appeared on the northern horizon. It
seemed reluctant to come any closer, so rather than wait any longer and
perhaps talk myself into redeclaring a more sensible distance, I decided
to take a launch and set off regardless. At 09.52, I released at 3000ft
over Lasham to start what proved to be a ten mile glide to the first
thermal.
At first I chose to fly conservatively in conditions that were not yet
totally reliable, so as not to risk having to jettison waterballast so early
in the day. In the first hour I reached Oxford, only 70km, but acceptable
in the circumstances.
The north-westerly wind started forming cloudstreets, and from
Oxford to Rugby I stopped for only one thermal. At the end of the
second hour I was at Leicester, a further 90km. I was already achieving
my target cruise speed.
The wind backed to WNW north of Leicester, and streets gave way
to isolated clouds. The Trent Valley produced only short-lived thermals,
but beyond Nottingham conditions became excellent, with 6-8kt lift up
to a 5000ft cloudbase. Passing between Doncaster and Barnsley at the
end of the third hour, I had covered another 100km.
Soon after this, the thermals became weaker, more distorted and
difficult to use; cloudbase east of Leeds dropped to 4000ft. The wind
by now was westerly, and I imagined the shorter land track this air had
followed from Morecambe Bay to be the cause of the trouble, aggravated
perhaps by some wave interference. At Leeming airfield, the end of the
fourth hour had seen only 85km go by. The average, however, remained
at 86km/h, and this arithmetic, coupled with the sight of better clouds
ahead towards Darlington, spurred me on.
The last 20 miles to Durham were under an overcast sky. I crept
into the turning point keeping a wary eye on the sunlit hills to the west,
the cathedral was photographed with irreverent haste, and at 14.27 I
started to run for home.
In the hope of finding better thermals on the high ground near
Sutton Bank, I followed a more easterly initial return track. By now the
whole of the Vale of York was covered with magnificent cloudstreets
emanating from the Pennines and lying west-east. As they were at right
angles to my track, the streets were more of a hindrance than a help,
and finding the best lift could be time-consuming. For some time after
the streets disappeared, I still found myself going lower than for comfort
in search of the right thermal.
South of Worksop, it all became easier again perhaps my flying
simply improved — and passing Nottingham at 16.40, with less than
200km to go, and already picking up a slight tailwind, I was beginning
to feel confident. But this feeling invariably seems to presage some
trouble ahead; and sure enough, there, south of Rugby, lay a huge dead
area of stratocumulus and industrial haze. A long glide to Silverstone,
an anxious search under a decayed-looking cloud, and a good thermal
suddenly materialised over a new patch of sunlight.
The rest was straightford. At Oxford, with the cloudbase over
6500ft, I allowed myself the luxury of a cloud climb to 7900ft for a
comfortable 29 : 1 final glide. Despite the tailwind I still cruised in
slowly via the remaining active clouds and it was not until approaching
Basingstoke that I could bring myself to burn off nearly 2000ft of excess
height. The finish was at 18.48, the elapsed time being eight hours
56 minutes.
In summary, conditions in the south were up with the best of 1976;
in the north they were good enough. The day presented no real problems,
but the lack of favourable streeting meant it was hard work continually
pushing to keep the speed up. I decided not to fly the following day.
26