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Yesterday I got back from a week long trip to Deeside Gliding Club at Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Unlike last year, the forecast weather for the week was excellent, so we were able to escape the Steam Packet racket and take the Auster.

We still didn’t manage to find any wave lift, where gliders can climb to very high altitudes on the lee side of hills, but at least I had the chance to convert onto the ASW19, which is a step up for me. I flew about 9 hours in total, including 7 in the ASW19. The weather during the first half of the trip was excellent, though there was some thunderstorm activity on Friday.

The trip back from Aboyne to Andreas took 2hrs 20mins, and thanks to the Auster’s new auxiliary fuel tank was done non-stop. Total cost for the there and back element of the trip was just under £300 including landing fees, and was far cheaper than we could have done with the car and boat, and about 10 hours quicker too…

I’m just back from a week at Deeside Gliding Club – The weather was not playing the game for high altitude wave soaring, as the wind was easterlies all week. However, the themal conditions on Wednesday did allow me to get a 5 hour flight for my Silver duration (though it was a close run thing!). I was flying the SZD Puchacz for the silver flight, and also some more flights in the SZD Junior. The Junior seems far more comfortable then the Puch, but after 5 hours I’m sure any glider will seem uncomfortable!

Next job is to get a Silver distance (50km) and height gain (1000m). There’s a chance of doing the height gain on the island, so I’m currently scouring ebay for GPS barograph loggers!