Typical Winter scene

GXT it is...

The blog does get read...

Just as well we flew yesterday...

Today it's pouring with rain.

Click on the picture...it's much clearer.

I vote for GXT

Saturday dawned blue and sunny. The squiggly lines predicted 5000ft cloud base without much chance of over-development. Ver little wind so maybe a sea breeze would push in. forecast temperature was 19 degrees. And so we ended up with a nice 2 hour window. Pictures attached. Plenty of small fires marked the convergences.

Also attached is Taylors Strip. Often useable but watch out for the stoch track across the middle. Aero-retrieves should be safe.

DUO Call Sign

If it hasn't been decided yet...GXT is currently available. If you want to check it out for yourself go to...http://www.caa.govt.nz/Script/Available_Reg.asp and scroll down to the G's.... Remember we want something that is easy to say Golf Tango X-Ray...so no N's or S's or Q's. Good luck...

Restitution Lift

Here's a term I hadn't heard before. We had a pilot who floated around over the city claiming the lift was restitution lift. Apparently its a common term in para-glider circles (pun intended). Actually they call it "magic lift". The figure outlines the theory...

So do we see this with real gliders?

According to the guru on gliding weather - Tom Bradbury - "This evening lift has been explored by glider pilots but is usually too weak to support a climb".

So what did our intrepid pilot really experience??? We may never know...

Yip...it was fairly blue.

Seems the squiggly lines were about right. cloud bases around Tauranga were 5000ft and 5500-6000ft further inland. Mostly blue with some thermal markers. The season is pretty much at an end with any thermal days being very short and very few opportunities to go anywhere. Only hope for the next 4 months are wave days and days where you can drop onto the ridge. I'm thinking I'll probably pack GNM away and take 4 months off. Don't expect much in the way of forecasts for a while.

It's still a maybe...

The lines are suggesting cloud bases of 6000ft inland. Probably blue in the Waikato. Given how close to blue its forecast to be around here and south to Taupo I wouldn't expect overdevelopment and probably big blue holes. Despite all this there should be something to keep you aloft for an hour or two...