I mentioned in the notes with the photo posted yesterday that the flat land to the east of the escarpment between Sutton Bank and Roulston Scar is the home of a gliding club.
This shot shows a Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee aircraft rushing along the grass runway (with a glider in tow) almost at the point of takeoff as it hurtles towards the edge of the escarpment to the south-east of Roulston Scar. It is an impressive sight.
The height of the escarpment, with a prevailing wind from the south-west means that there is almost always a rising air current giving good lift to the gliders, and they can reach great heights and cover long distances when launched from here.
Many flights of over 300km (186miles) and some of over 500km (310 miles) have been made from here. The club altitude record stands at over 10,000m (33,000ft).
On a busy day it is fascinating to watch the gliders in action, but sadly on this visit there were very few flying.
It sounds like the perfect place for the gliding club. We like to take our grandsons to Shuttleworth where we can watch the small planes take off and land.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I have actually been up in a glider, with a gliding club at Pocklinton at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds, and somewhere in my photo archive there are transparencies taken during the flight. In that case gliders were launched using a winch. It was quite a thrill
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I have actually been up in a glider, with a gliding club at Pocklinton at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds, and somewhere in my photo archive there are transparencies taken during the flight. In that case gliders were launched using a winch. It was quite a thrill
Ian