A trip to Salamanca for sightseeing!

Saturday gave us a great day to finish with the Malverns group with good thermic conditions and probably the best flights by Nigel and Byan toward the Pass and Back and Simon with a flight to Barco and then back to Santa Maria de los Caballeros.   A nice thermic flight on the tandem with Glenn, still suffering from his bump the day before.   good evening conditions too.

Sunday looked amazing from the van with a classic SW convergence line.  Pilots told me the flew at lastra and PN.  Our new Avon members arrived very lat and 6 flew a top to bottom in fading light from PN

Not disimilar to the previous 2 days with good thermal quality once things get going.  Once again inverted, but climbs to 2600m by mid afternoon .  Likely convergence across the valley at Muñogalindo.  Once gain, flights to Avila, or Perhaps Barco direction.  A bit more north today, but also lighter.  Maybe a circuit around the valley…!

Yesterday gave good strong thermic climbs after a slow start with Graham first over the Pass and to Avila followed by Brian and Gavin.  Others stayed in the valley, with Simon making it home from the Pass.  I did a thermic flight with Kobus.

The evening soar was spectacular with a major restitution giving smooth huge lift all along the mountain and out into the valley.  Most of us landed well after sunset.  I flew our driver Carlos on the tandem, Kobus kindly driving one of the vans down.

Not disimilar to yesterday but with more of a N flow and perhaps a little stronger.  An inversion again, not far above take off and climbs above 2600m will not be common.  A disparity of wind directions between Rasp and  Hirlam, so it maybe Barco, or it maybe Avila!

O nce again a slow start and light wind at Take off at 9am.  Briefing around 11.30.

The forecast was pretty much spot on in the end, even though we had a lot of smoke debris and muck stuck below the inversion causing poor visibility.  Nice convergence clouds in the centre of the Avila valley, and Richard, Graham, Brian, Nigel an myself at Avila with Tim and Tony  very near.  Also new PB for Steve at 40km (he started week with a few hours and a pb of 6km).   Noel half way at narros del Puerto.

A flyable day with climbs probably not much more than 2600m, and an inverse making that quite difficult till mid afternoon.  However, the temp trace much more favorable and light winds onto the mountain so good flying for all levels.   A goal in Avila and maybe a part return to the bend in the road possible, or maybe, if we look at the convergence line at 5pm, a flight to further on.  Winds sufficiently in the north to actually be easier to fly to Barco.  We will have to leave final plans until we are in the air.  However, certainly a more favourable day than the previous two!

…when if you are luck, brave and good you may fly 200km+.  However the winds (WSW) are on the high side and the wind will be crossed and turbulent at take of at both Lastra and PN.  Good lines of convergence right along the middle of  the Avila Valley and then beyond towards Segovia.  Predominantly blue day and very hot once again and with high trigger temperatures making it a slow day to get going.

Not an easy day….and the forecast needs to be wrong for it to be enjoyable.

Tricky day with too much wind and dust devils at launch…not to mention the van having to go to the garage for a bent track rod from the retrieve the day before.  Just evening soaring .