Jaca 2016 Week 2 - Day 2

Day 2 had a more promising start as the sun was trying hard to break through the cloud at breakfast. Briefing confirmed that yesterday's troublesome trough had moved away east overnight with the possibility of a short soaring slot in the afternoon.

Morag gets creative before briefing.

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It looked like it was going to take a while for the low level cloud to lift so Merv gave a great impromptu lecture on mountain flying which was a very productive use of the time before lunch.

Merv and Ayala assessing the conditions to the north.

After lunch everyone headed over to unpack the hanger. The weight of snow on the roof meant that the motorised doors needed human assistance to open far enough to get the gliders out. Then we had to manouvre the gliders through the curtain of water falling from the melting snow on the roof.

Hanger with built in glider washing facilities.

Having readied the gliders outside the hanger we learnt the first lesson of the day. #1 "It is unwise to lock the keys inside the Lasham van" The good news was that Clive had the spare set, the bad news was that he was having a day off and was in Huesca! Fortunately there was nothing critical in the van so we left it where it was and went flying.
Everyone flew with the longest flight being just over an hour and a half. At 4,700' the cloudbase was low by Jaca standards but the views were spectacular with snow still covering most of the ground in the valley.
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View south from cloud base at Stage 1

The flights were a bird spotters paradise with big flocks of Black Kites to be seen migrating north. We were also sharing the  thermals with vast numbers of Griffon vultures with the odd eagle thrown in for good measure.

All in all it was a great opportunity to practise what Merv had covered in his lecture including collision avoidance with vultures.
With the spare keys returned from Huesca and everyone back on the ground, the were gliders washed (courtesy of the hanger roof) and the hanger doors closed by 6pm.

Photo down the wing

Bob.