My experience .......... long ago, but still feels just like yesterday.
http://groups.google.com.au/group/aus.aviation/browse_frm/thread/a2322585f1e2e931/212cb95115c9702f?lnk=st&q=&rnum=1#212cb95115c9702f
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zoltan Beldi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia."
<[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 2:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Lightning and flying.
Mike,
Your point about the clouds growing faster than one can fly away was
demonstrated aptly the other day in the West.
Though this happened in a powered aircraft, it could just as easily been
someone coming home from a xcountry.
Throughout my time in gliding, I've always had a healthy respect for CB's
and the like, nevertheless, about a month ago, I must admit that I was
surprised to have had a CB build above my aircraft without any external
prior indications.
Puttering along, (as one does in an Auster) and though there had been a
lot of scattered thunderstorms around earlier, the return track from
Ravensthorpe to Cunderdin semmed pretty clear apart from a few isolated
Cu's at about 15000ft. And so it was until about 20 nmiles from Cun in
what was largely bright sunshine, a few large splats of rain appeared on
the windscreen. No sooner had this happened than the VSI went to
4000ft/min up despite a fairly quick power reduction. A minute or so
later, I was enveloped in heavy rain still going up at 4000 ft/min, engine
near idle and airspeed on rough air max. Fortunately, I had enough speed
to fly out of it whereupon I was greeted with the VSI pegged at the bottom
now with power coming back to cruise+. Along with that, there were now
great sheets of dust being raised by squalls impacting the ground making
the scene scary indeed. Once clear, and turning 90deg to see what it was
all about, I was astonished to see a full blown thunderst!
orm
behind, that anybody with sense would have avoided by 30 miles or more.
Yet it built up in the matter of minutes and would certainly have been
impossible to outrun in anything other than a conventional aircraft.
So much to learn...so little time! (Peter Sellers)
On Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:08:45 +0900, Mike Cleaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
However in a craft that
cannot so easily escape the cloud-suck there is discussion in hang
gliding and paragliding circles as to how close to such a cloud you
can safely go. Simple answer is that sometimes these clouds grow
faster than you can fly away - so keep an eye on their development
and land if they start to develop. Problem is that if you are
underneath them at that time you can't see what is going on.
________________________________________________________
Zoltan Beldi
Helena Valley WA 6056
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