In our part of SA, yesterday was a stinker.
The wind at ground level was knocking on 25kts. The sky was brown and the temp was in the high 30's. Not many turned up at Whitwarta - surprise, surprise!
I had the first winch launch which topped out at 2000' AGL in the K21. Although I signaled for less speed than the 60kts I was getting, I wasn't to know that the winch driver had the drum stopped. Solo, I like the speed at the low end of the range.
The biggest surprise was actually finding some workable lift after release. Bloody hard to work but on occasion showing 5kts on the averager. With the horrendous drift , working anything less than 4kts was pointless. Poking the nose into wind, the K21 had Grunau performance in still air.
With the thermals strung out pencil thin, it was easier just to float through them at minimal airspeed with the nose into wind, unless there was a good core that was anything like workable. However, I managed to wind up to the inversion level at 6200 QNH. What a weird sight. I can't ever recall anything similar. The mostly cirrus covered sky above was the usual brilliant blue, however from the inversion level down it was like being inside a brown tube. There was no horizon.
While below, vis. was reduced in dust, there was up to 40km vis. in directions where the paddocks were'nt airborne.
Bernard and Eric in th ASH25, actually managed to push a 100km upwind. They had wind of 57kph on the nose. Our other K21 eventually got to Snowtown, deciding not to stop at the bank. None of us needed to thermal to get home.
It sounded like conditions were somewhat different east of the Mt Lofty ranges. Anyone from Barossa/AUGC/Waikerie like to fill us in?
-- Leigh Bunting Colonel Light Gardens South Australia <Open Windows and let the bugs in>
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