York Gliding Centre

A somewhat belated congratulations to Harrsion White who went solo on our recent (very hot) course week. Seen here with instructor Graeme Alexander . Well done Harrison - bronze next !!

At last, a half decent day with some fantastic soaring flights. Probably a bit optimistic to say Summer has arrived 🤔 but at times today it felt like it! Well done to all those who made the most of the conditions and a special well done to Yuri for his 4hr+ flight! Hopefully the start of something a bit better weather -wise 🤞 (Lovely pictures courtesy of Tom Halicki who flew with us for the first time today)

All the talk at the airfield today was of last night's once-in-a-lifetime aurora display in the UK. A reminder though, that there are spectacular aerial views to be had even when the northern lights are absent. These pictures were taken during the CFI's motor glider flight above the inversion today. No prizes for guessing the seaside town but have a go anyway! 😁

Both Saturday and Sunday were cracking soaring days - amazing what a Northerly wind does when coupled with a bit of decent sunshine. The attached photos are courtesy of Charlie Ball during his 2 hour local soaring flight over the city of York and beyond. Nice one Charlie!

After a brief covid-related hiatus we have recently reinstated our Annual Club Awards evening. A huge thank you to all those who attended, and to Dave Johnston for organising what turned out to be a cracking night!

In time-honoured tradition, the awards were as follows:

Longest flight. Richard Kalin, 389km

Longest flight starting at Rufforth, Richard Kalin, 304km

Longest flight by a none gold pilot starting from Rufforth. This goes to Richard Waddington who successfully flew his 50k silver distance to Kirton in Lindsey, then turned and flew back to Rufforth.

Greatest height gain. Matthew Homa's flight to 19000ft at Dendeigh.

Height gain from Rufforth, goes to Anthony Hollings, 5250ft.

Most promising junior pilot award goes to Josh Emsley who also received a special award from the chairman.

Instructor of the year, for outstanding effort running bronze courses, motorglider training, alongside the busy CFI job, Keith Batty.

Tug pilot award, the recipient is someone who's spent years itching to fly the tugs, and also spends what probably seems like years fixing them - Roy Nuza.

The grass cutters trophy is awarded to those who contribute to the club in many different ways. This year it's Jim Baxter, the man with the biggest smile on the airfield.

The Spanner is traditionally bestowed for well meaning but heroic failure. This year's recipient is Andy Stocks. Its a long tale that Involves the club water supply, a pipe with a hole in the end, and a Carrot 🥕

Lastly we award the chairman's shield. This goes to Rick Hornsey and Ron Eckford for selfless and outstanding effort in the club workshop. They have dedicated years to keeping our fleet airworthy despite our members best efforts to break everything in new and inventive ways.

The chairman has also made a special award. An honorary life membership for Rick Hornsey and Ron Eckford, a very small token of our appreciation.

A huge congratulations to all our worthy winners! Here's to next years event!

After all the recent poor weather it would be tempting to say that today was the first real day of the soaring season but having seen next week’s forecast that's probably not wise! Nonetheless we had a strong North Westerly which was ideal for the winch and some exceptionally strong thermal conditions. As a result we had plenty of decent soaring flights made all the sweeter by the cheaper launch fees! All in all a great day and hopefully a sign of better days to come? We can only hope......

We are pleased to announce our Gliding Course Week dates for this year.

The dates are:

May 20 – May 24 inclusive

July 29 – 2 August inclusive

Sept 9 – Sept 13 inclusive

Anyone interested should call the club or use the enquiry form on the website

Wave flight with David Pye and Richard H on Saturday 3rd:

“wave contacted from 1500' almost above York GC, climbs to >8700', climb rate sustained at 10kts, WOW, what a day!”

Hopefully we will see more epic wave flights during the winter



For information on our flight experience packages:

https://www.yorkglidingcentre.co.uk/learn/flight-experiences

BGA Conference 2024

https://members.gliding.co.uk/bga-conference-2024/?fbclid=IwAR010baUR4wX5CSTvgMxWa2HyxMwgkkDacGnw2VMrx-ITAJX8LXEefkhmgA_aem_AYQk2sfDBi9693gjogjUBlbX_G-PgEcVfQF4eF0a_DG9klt-vNqKVv6stRSlLQsCjC8

BGA Conference 2024 - Pilot & Club Info When? Saturday 24th February. Doors open at 9am. Where? Holywell Park Conference...

Fab day today! As well as 3 pilots making their first solos on new types we had a mixture of launch types. We got chance to try our new winch again and we got launches as high as 1500' in virtually nil wind conditions! Great day all round but boy, was it cold. Heaters for all the glider cockpits is next on the list 🤣 !

Another successful type conversion today as Dave Hawkins completed his first solo flight in our DG-505 KAX. Well done Dave!

Congratulations to Ed Robinson and Freddie Elder who both converted to the Junior on a clear but cold January day! Well done both!

Congratulations (belatedly) to George Shypko on his first solo on Boxing day. Seen here with instructor David Pye. Well done George - that's what I call a nice Xmas present!!

It's been a great weekend with several accomplishments…….
The winch team was trained on the new Supacat and instructors voted it a tremendous success.
The technical team are ready to test the new uprated engine install on the Eurofox.
Work has begun on the new hangar on the disused runway at the North end of the airfield.
Pete Tough successfully completed our first qualifying cross country for the TMG extension. Well done Pete!
Many thanks to all who helped make this a Super Saturday!

I may have to have a lie down now......

YGC has received a Junior Gliding Club Accreditation from the BGA:

“Today we received official confirmation of our Junior Gliding Centre status from the BGA. Our good practice has been recognised and we can display the JGC logo proudly.” - statement from the CFI

UK Junior Gliding

IT'S NOT TOO LATE!!

Once you've had a look at the amazing images of wave soaring below, remember, there's still time to buy someone the gift of a lifetime!

Our gliding experience flights are a fantastic present and one which will be remembered long after the socks and after-shave have been forgotten.
Prices start at £115 for one pleasure flight, £180 for a two lesson voucher, £250 for a three lesson voucher. (Please note that the flights have to be taken by the same person on the same day)
For more details see our website
https://www.yorkglidingcentre.co.uk/.../glider-flight...
and be sure to check out our reviews:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057334184934...

A few more pictures from today's wave soaring adventures courtesy of Freddie Elder, Kai Parker and Charlie Ball

A fabulous weekend of wave flying at YGC! A constant south westerly wind set up a strong wave system and virtually all who flew enjoyed prolonged flights with heights of up to 11,000'. The conditions above the clouds were clear and the views spectacular ! The perfect early Xmas present for all those involved - what a great experience!

Congratulations to Pete Tough on completion of his navigation exercise from YGC to Humberside airport. This is a key part of the Touring Motor Glider extension licence . Well done Pete!

Saturday:

We had a strong turn out with many flights completed, including several guest flight experiences.

You can find out more about our introductory experiences here 👇

https://www.yorkglidingcentre.co.uk/learn/flight-experiences



Picture courtesy of David Pye

Whilst most soaring is done on summer thermals it's not the only way to stay airborne. Autumn winds, especially Westerlies, bring wave lift triggered by the Pennines, with the characteristic bars of cloud which stretch across the sky. The lift is generally strong and very smooth, often allowing height gains of 10,000' to 20,000'! Today looked promising without ever quite managing to deliver. Still, it caused a great deal of excitement at the launchpoint 😄

‘Before the rain’
Wednesday at YGC