Yep I went gliding today. Just had my best flight of the year, with lots of large cumulus clouds (some forming showers) aligning themselves in long streets (lines). This allowed for some awesome street running, diving under low bits of cloud then pulling above them the other side. Some of the bigger clouds were harbouring strong (for the UK) thermals too, trying to suck me into them.

The best bit though was when the low bits were 700 feet below the highest cloudbases, allowing me to climb big walls of cloud at times, then twist and barrel around and through gaps in the cloud, with smaller cumulus (fractus?) passing around and under me. Bliss! I didn't want to come down. Was up for 4 hours in total.

Will have to get the pics online and share. But I was literally in cloud heaven today! Still floating gently back to earth as it starts to get dark. That's my fix had for this weekend.

-Mike

Green with envy Mike, and looking forward to the next lot of photos.

This clip is sort of related... amazing man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81gn2oLeC_U&feature=related

It must be wonderful to fall (or fly) DOWN toward clouds.

Helen

Heh just noticed today. My friend Jack kindly used a pic I sent him in his gallery at http://s214580749.websitehome.co.uk/soaring/soaring.html - that was my wing pointing at a cloud there on Sunday. I have yet to get round to putting the pics on my website. Will let you know when I'm done.

Heh thanks for the link Helen. I think I might have seen something like that before. Until you reach the troposphere the air is so thin that you don't feel or hear the air rushing past you and apparently it feels quite surreal. And without the air resistance you reach supersonic speeds. Then as you hit the troposphere the (reassuring but deafening) rush of air is a sign that the freefall is approaching its end. 15 minutes of freefall from the edge of space must be so exhilerating... And most of it above the weather completely. Quite different to gliding indeed.

-Mike

Wahay I took far more pics than I realised. I selected 51 of several hundred for the web. Including atleast 20 cloudshots. (Of those Clouds19 is my favourite. Although Clouds17 is heavenly too.) Feel free to browse at:

http://piccies.flybywire.org.uk/Gliding/index.html

Enjoy!

-Mike

Great photo's thanks for sharing Mike, really must visit our local club this Summer and have a flight, it looks fascinating and great photo opps as well.

Enjoyed seeing again in particular The Petersfield area, in my younger fitter days we competed in The World Trail Race Championship that started from Petersfield and followed The South Downs Way to Eastbourne, 80 mile trail run on foot, following orienteering instructions, great fun....but oh how we prayed for cloud cover it was at this time of year end of June approx, and invariably scorching hot.....IanL...

No worries Ian. Heh it was Petersfield that saved me from a landout, with a weak urban thermal saving me from fairly low, and pushing me most of the way back to cloudbase so I could then join another glider to the north (620) in a better thermal all the way to cloudbase.

Crikey that race sounds like a nightmare to me. :P That must have taken several days to complete? Yeah June can be an unpredictable month. Either cool and showery or scorching hot. Looks like the former this year mostly.

If you do make it to your club be sure to get yourself a flight. You won't regret it! Can't promise you clouds and thermals as dramatic as last Sunday but worth a shot. Which club is your local club then?

-Mike

Yes Mike certainly intend to give it a go, our local club is only a few minutes away from me so no excuse.http://www.tvgc.org.uk/

Re The trail race on the south downs, it was a fantastic event, entry was limited to 500 runners with proven endurance event experience, they came from all over the world, there was a cut off time, and you had to finish in that time or you would be pulled out, of 28 hrs, it took me around 18rs, we had to make our way between checkpoints following instructions, and I invariably got lost so took me longer and did more miles......thats my excuse anyway...
Winners came in around the 10 hour mark.....
Anyway enough digressing, back to the clouds..:+)..IanL..