My first flying day in the UK and high expectations for all the pilots attending the Long Mynd event who have been suffering 2 days of bad weather.

Lucky me once again and my arrival in the UK coincides with nice conditions. While the BPC pilots are on the ground receiving their briefing (a 56 km goal to Droitwich), I am already on my way at around 10.45am to the East feeling very positive about having a very long flight. However, within half an hour of take off I am on the ground behind Wenlock Edge assuming I have thrown away the day. Luckily I get a very fast hitch all the way back to take off, where most pilots are still flying around the hill. I meet up with Neil Roberts and Kai Colman, get on their frequency (they have a very detailed knowledge of the airspace around Birmingham), and set off again. Wonderfull conditions with climbs to approx 4500ft. I fly together with Neil, and after the BPC goal keep pushing south on the glides to avoid the Birmingham airspace.
We manage to clear it all but 10km after Stratford upon Avon, with a clear run ahead of us, we land at 96km at only 4.15. Never mind, a nice train ride back, and an Indian with Paul in Church Stetton, who managed 11th in the task. (John Stevenson is the winner of the task)
All in all a wonderful start to my UK hols, though poor forcasts for the coming British Championships.