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Cuvette
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Ceuse - spot the glider
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This morning we awoke to blue skies and a warm sun, which
made a pleasant change from the past few days. It wasn't going to
last, though - the risk of heavy showers and abundant cu-nims continued, so
the plan was to make an early start, explore the boundaries of the soarable
weather and get back down before the storms exploded.
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Launch time
Auribeau
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Apart from malfunctions on both Ipaqs (I really must have a
word with their designer), and a cock-up with the Camelbak (have a guess),
we were pretty much ready when our tug arrived. The clouds were already
brewing and anvils were seen to the west and south. We launched onto St
Geniez into reasonable conditions (4 kts and 6500ft) and wandered off to
Authon and Auribeau, looking for a way to the parcours.
It quickly became
clear that the routes to the east were going to get blocked first, so we
resigned ourselves to staying within the Sisteron cuvette, flying over
Sisteron town, Chabre, Aujour and the Ceuse before control advised us to
stay local. The lightning forks in the Meouge valley looked spectacular and
we monitored their progress with care. After a quick photo session with 440,
we landed for early beers just as a shower was starting over the
airfield. Flight time 2h 45m; distance covered, not much.
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For the evening meal we managed to smuggle ourselves into a
pizza and paella party being held in the main square at Ribiers for the
benefit of the 120 paraglider pilots who are taking part in the competition
on Chabre. With more than a few Australian and Kiwis amongst the majority of
English pilots there, we had a great time. It was good to see that once
flying enters the blood, pilots of all disciplines are pretty much the same
the world over.
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Phil and Chris dodging the storms
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