Narrative
The day was organised by the highly experienced UKAF Team headed up by the tireless Matthew Tandy and hosted by your very own TVHGC on our very own site, Combe Gibbet. Seven teams incorporating 33 pilots arrived in time for the 10:00 briefing to find the weather far from the forecast - 100% cloud, cool, windy (16mph) and dark grey rain clouds off to the East. Unphased and optimistic for improvement later in the day, the main briefing, delivered by Matt, went ahead and Andrew Craig delivered a very comprehensive site briefing including tips about the local topography. Teams then gathered for the Captains briefings - more focused on safety and possible tactics for leaving the hill and getting kms under the wing. TVHGC, being the hosts, had 2 teams with 9 pilots - Sue Britnell, Mark Stow, Tom Zinovieff, Iwan Wrigley, Bruce Moore, Andrew Craig, Craig Nottage, Serle Shuman and myself. Experience ranged from not many hours to decades and the wings were many and varied from As to Cs. This clearly demonstrates that the BCC is a club based challenge event for pilots at all levels with the experienced encouraging the novices and everyone sharing their experiences before and after flying. The weather did improve with the sky breaking up into blue and white before midday and then going full blue mid-afternoon. With the visual improvement and slight lower wind speeds cam sharp punchy thermals making for some very spicy air with 3m/s plus climbs. Some pilots launched, climbed, went XC and had one flight in the day. Others had 2, 3 or even more flights - there is no limit during the flying window (up to 20:00 on the day). Flight distances also varied from short hops across the ridge to 30kms+. Distance counts for points but the experience gained, especially by LAT pilots, of flying in significant traffic, thermalling, flying in very active air through to going XC and having to choose your own landing field combined with the chance to meet and chat with like-minded people are the main reasons to get involved with the Advance BCC rounds. It was great to know that, once again, there were no reportable injuries on the day apart from possibly a couple of bruised egos. Another great BCC day in the sky. If you haven't entered a round yet, join the TVHGC BCC 2022 Telegram group https://t.me/+JLsm_ryJknszZTA0 and watch for the next round to be announced. While waiting for the next round you can get yourself set up on the Advance BCC shiny new website here https://www.advance-bcc.uk (https://www.advance-bcc.uk/). The Ayvri file of the day's flights can be found here: https://ayvri.com/scene/9j7q4gr65e/cl5odkk4h000i3c636zxpson3