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| Overconvection |
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| This morning's
forecast was for isolated showers with the possibility of storms later in
the day. A glance at tomorrow's forecast was enough to persuade us to fly
today and take a rest until the weather improves again.
So, a launch onto Hongrie, a climb to 7000ft and a rapid
push northwards was the order of the day. The strength and frequency of
the climbs were convincing indicators of the weather to come, so I was
keen on getting as far into the Ecrins as I could before the clouds burst.
I reached the tete de Lucy via Colombis and an "interesting"
moment between Chabrieres and the tete de Lucy under a cumulus that just had
to work. |
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Colombis
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| Passing over the
col des terres-blanches it became clear that the good conditions wouldn't
last long. I managed to get as far as the col d'Etroit (I think) before
deciding whether or not I should head south towards Mont Viso. Peeping
through the cumulus congestus I thought I saw an anvil sitting high above
the Barcelonette valley. As I am still not a bold pilot, I decided to
abandon Viso for another day and took as direct a route as I could back to
the sanctity of a sunnier Gap valley. |
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Confused mess over the Queyras
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| I still thought
there was enough day left for a biggish flight, but as I reached the lac
de Serre-Poncon I was in two minds as to which way to try. South-east
towards Puismosson was a possibility, but a large CuNim east of Sisteron
could have blocked my route home. So I decided to head south-west, aiming
to get as far as the Lure and then spend the rest of the flight in clearer
air over the Barronies to the west of the Durance. The plan worked until I
reached the Lure; it then unravelled as the climbs became less predictable
and that CuNim to the east of Sisteron got larger. |
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Aaah - Hometime, I think...
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| Soon afterwards,
reports of lightning were received by pilots flying at the pic de Bure. A
steady flow of gliders returned to base, while I carried on just a little
bit further north, just to add those "important few extra km".
The result, as you would expect, was that by the time I reached the
vicinity of Sisteron, the storm had broken very close to the airfield,
complete with flashes and bangs. Mike in 615 and I monitored the situation
closely, and when we saw that the airfield was in full sun we decided that
an expeditious landing was called for.
Mindful (mainly because it was just one of my cock-ups
when I was flying the Duo here in the Spring) of the effect of a strong
easterly wind on an easterly circuit, we each decided independently to fly a
westerly circuit onto RW36. A large bang as I turned onto downwind focused
the mind, while Mike, following close behind, reports seeing a lightning
strike just above me as I turned finals, in which the fork appeared to split on each
side, leaving me in the gap in the middle. I wish I could have seen that.
Or maybe not... |
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