Jaca week 2 - Day 2

Super lenticulars disappearing off to the east

Gliders ready before briefing

Ian inspecting stage 3

Looking for the next climb along the ridgeline.

The "Spot the Merv" competition is back! (An easy one to start.)

We awoke to find some spectacular lenticulars along the valley so we were hoping for a repeat of yesterday and prepared the gliders before briefing. The forecast suggested thermals, but they were going to start after lunch and would probably be weak.

We opted to take long tows to stage 3, in case there was wave, but the forecast was all too accurate and it proved difficult to soar in the weak thermals. Merv and Bob A. worked hard getting to 7,500' but regretted the extra layers of clothing. Bob and Richard slipped off stage 3 but had some success lower down before returning earlier than planned.

Second sorties were flown, with Stuart and Ian both having good flights, but it was difficult to venture far in the conditions. A total of 10 hours were flown today with a max height of 8,000'.

It was another good day for bird spotting with Storks and Black Kites seen migrating north. The vultures were back sharing the thermals, making keeping a good lookout essential though there were still a few occasions when avoiding action was required.
 The

Another good flying day is expected tomorrow.


Bob.

Day 1 photos

No. 3 bubble machine

The edge of the hugh lenticular visible in the distance

Excellent tapas at the airfield.

Lenticular sunset

Jaca Week 2 - Day 1

A day of 2 halves.

It is difficult to explain the weather over the last couple of days. We are currently in the centre of a high pressure system with absolutely no isobars in Spain and with almost no surface wind but there has been very good usable wave.

Yesterday the week 2 group arrived at Santa Cillia to find a huge lenticular overhead the airfield and to hear tales of flights up to flight level 195. So when this morning's briefing was for more of the same, our expectations were set high. The only problem was the complete absence of any indication of what was happening aloft apart from a thickening layer of cirrus making thermals unlikely.

The result was that we delayed launching until after lunch when Merv and Stuart took a long tow to stage 3 where they contacted weak wave climbing eventually to 16,500'. Bob and Ian also took a long tow but failed to get established so did a short inspection of stages 1 and 2 instead.

The success of the second sorties were reversed with Dave and Bob getting to 14,500' whilst it was Richard and Merv's turn to have a shorter than planned flight.

A total of 6 hours 40 minutes flown but with the benefit of hindsight we should have launched earlier.
Many thanks again to Morag and Mike for looking after everyone as we have just had a second excellent meal in the comfort of the apartment.

The forecast is looking promising for the next few days with the high pressure still in charge.

Bob.

Jaca 2015

Day 4

Big day for the airfield operators

At the end of last year club nimbus were awarded the contract to run the airfield and gliding operation for the next nine years. Today was the grand opening with lots of local and regional dignitaries visiting, and a number taking flight in gliders.

The weather forecast was perfect for the guest flights, but not really what we were looking for in terms of soaring. Clearly the high pressure had established it’s self over France and the surface pressure was now around 1036mb. The sounding showed there was an inversion at around 7500ft and it would not get hot enough to break it.

We knew it would be a late start today, so once the gliders were at the launch-point all there was nothing else to do apart from chill out and watch all the visitors having their trial flights. By 2pm the guests ha finished flying and it was about time that we threw something into the air. As none of the local gliders had managed to stay airborne for very long we figured that it was going to require a high to into the mountains.

First to go was Merv and Julian Richardson in their DG 1000, they towed to the snow line on stage 3 and contacted with the lift on the face of Blancas. The DG and Duo then launched, but failed to find anything usable and once we were down below 5000ft the air was remarkably stable. After that we decided that another tow would be a waste of money so the gliders were put away by 4pm. Merv arrived back around 5pm having managed to stay high on the local peaks

The evening meal was curtsey of our land lady Toya. An excellent evening in the company of all the Lasham members and some of the Local pilots followed by music and singing in Spanish. Truly a night to remember!!

Colin

Jaca 2015

Day 3

Trying to relate the weather information at the morning briefing to what we could see the windsock doing meant that it would be anyone’s guess what the wind on the airfield would do during the day. The local instructor’s estimate was “light on surface, no more than 5kts”

Once the gliders were parked and ready to go we then dithered a bit as there were no clouds to indicate that the wave was working. It was only when the local gliders lined up that we decided it was time to book a place on the runway. The first glider to launch was back on the ground very quickly, and then the next two spent a fair time trying to stay airborne just above circuit height.

As the two gliders climbed away we launched and found that the rotor thermals were actually working in the valley and that the upper wind was from the North East. We climbed in company with Merv Saunders in his DG 1000 and after about 45 mins contacted the secondary wave over the valley at around 9000ft. For a few thousand feet the climb rate was around 13kts up and also the wind had increased to about 60kts. By 13,000ft the climb rate had reduced and finally we topped out at 14,900ft.

The Duo Discus with Hugh and Martin Holliwell took the alternate route into the wave via the rotor thermals along the Hecho valley, and then into the primary system. They also topped out at around 15’000ft. When we descended back into the circuit we were somewhat surprised to find that the surface wind was now 25kts from the west.

On the second flights in the afternoon we found that the conditions had clearly changed and it proved to be impossible to transition into the wave system from the rotor thermals in the valley. Both the P2’s enjoyed the challenge working the rough thermals, but after nearly three hours of trying the cold took over and we landed around 6pm. 20mins later Merv landed in his DG having been airborne for 6 hours and a max height of FL 195.

The eat out this evening was at the airfield and it proved to be an excellent spread.

Day 2

Today the wind was starting to come from a Northerly direction and the drop in temperature meant that everyone was digging out their thermal layers and thick jackets.

The morning briefing promised good wave when the wind moved round to the North, and anything that was happening on the other side of the mountains would not come our way! As you can probably gather it didn't turn out as briefed.

By the time the gliders were parked at the end of the runway the wind was already blowing from the North West at around 25kts. Once launching started we had a full on cross wind which meant that the take-offs were interesting.

 Once we were airborne it was evident that the wave was working, but not particularly clear as to where. I spent the next hour being tossed around in the rotor before connecting with it at around 7000ft. The climb appeared to slow down at 8000ft and the best height that anyone achieved was 12000ft.

While we were flying there was clear signs that the showers were building over the mountains, but they appeared to be being broken up by the wave. About 40 mins into the second flight in the afternoon, we got a radio call from the ground advising us to stay local as the snow showers were now close to the airfield. At that point the decision was made to start descending, and by the time we were down to circuit height it was snowing on the airfield, and you couldn't see the ground to the North. All the gliders arrived back safely and by 5pm was were packed away in the hangar.

Colin

Jaca.

Day 1

Due to the position of the jet stream and a lingering cold front on the north side of the mountains our first day on the airfield turned out to be overcast and un soarable. Tuesday’s briefing was also pretty pessimistic, and top meteo didn’t really show any thermal activity in our area.

Despite the forecast we got the gliders out and then retired to the restaurant for coffee and watching the mass migration of Storks heading north. It was clear that things were starting to improve around 1pm and it might be worth taking a launch.

The DG 1000 with Graham Mckiddie and myself were first to launch, but we were probably about 20 mins to early, and the only lift that we found was around the start of the down-wind leg. After that the valley breeze started and everyone got away on their first launch.

There were a number of good flights with Hugh and Paul exploring the south side of the valley for around 100km and Graham on his second flight getting into the high mountains, but unfortunately not being able to see the very tops as they were still in cloud.

Wednesday looks like a wave day so hopefully some pictures.

Colin