Hello, all:
It was a good day for soaring in eastern Nebraska! Thermals were accurately predicted by the soaring weather services. The cumulus clouds were popping, and there was lift under each of those clouds. The cloud base was approximately 6,000′ MSL, and multiple club members cruised under those clouds at about 5,500′ MSL. The winds were blowing from the northeast at about 8 to 10 knots, so we worked east of the airport as we moved beneath one cloud to another. We only flew nine sorties, but most of the flights were close to an hour long. Today’s flights:
- Eric H. flew three flights. His first flight was in the L-23 with his son Ethan riding along. His second and third flights were in Jeff’s 1-26B. He didn’t get to fly until the end of the day when the clouds were dissipating, plus he was learning the nuances of the 1-26, but his second flight was almost 30 minutes long. He enjoyed flying it enough that he’s asked to join the partners who co-own the 1967 1-26B (S/N 379) nicknamed ‘The Gadget’.
- Bob A. flew two flights, one in the L-23 for 40 minutes, and a second in the club’s Grob 102 for about 30 minutes. Bob’s flights occurred just before the thermals started popping and just as they were dissipating, but he did alright considering he missed the best part of the day.
- Tom S. flew a 50-minute flight in the L-23. He could’ve flown longer, but he landed so someone else had a chance to fly the L-23 while the lift was good.
- Jeff F. flew an hour-long flight in his 1-26B. He landed to give Eric a chance to fly a 1-26 before the lift died.
- Bud S. flew the club’s Grob 102 for about 50 minutes, chasing the lift from cloud to cloud.
- Ryan K. flew the L-23 for an hour and 27 minutes, completing the requirements for his ‘C’ soaring badge. Nice flying, Ryan!
We have been discussing when the soaring conditions are good here in eastern Nebraska. We think that in May when the winds are light enough that the thermals won’t be sheared off, and while the crops are young enough that they don’t block the sun from warming the earth’s surface, and when the sky is mostly clear, the thermals will start popping right after the daily high temperature has been reached. This may occur between 2:30PM and 4:00PM, which means we need to stay at the airport later than we historically have. But, when all of these conditions are present, we get good lift for one to two hours. Things will change as the crops get taller and the spread between the morning low temp and the afternoon high temp are not as big as they can be in May. We’ll still get some good days in June, but our formula may change.
Frank did the towing today.
Regards,
OSCI
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