Saturday 7th
11:00 - Gliders are gridding & we will re-brief for a task at 12:00. There is a high pressure ridge over the Tasman & the top of the north island which is expected to pull in quite a bit of moist air this afternoon & tommorrow. Winds should be South Westerly. Unfortunately theres a bit of contradiction in the weather information today but cloud base should hopefully be around 5000' today with sea breezes expected in the North and East.
13:15 - Launch is completed
19:15 - Well, the expected over development didnt happen and the day ended up blue towards the second turnpoint around Waipunga for the open class. This caught out a few of the field with some landing out & others failing to have enough left in the day to complete the final turn point. Overall, the day was quite tricky as lift cycled quite quickly with promising looking clouds not looking quite so nice when you arrived under them. However, some really good soaring was also available and three pilots completed the open course and one the club course.
The BBQ and prize giving is about to start & results will be posted straight after.
Friday 6th
09:45 - Windy but clear & sunny with some cu's obvious already. Gliders are gridding before briefing today so it looks like our weatherman is a little more optimistic for today. 11:45 - We have two tasks for Open Class, One for Club Class. Briefing is underway & we are working on an early launch 12:40 - Launch is underway 13:20 - Launch is done. The club task is posted & the Fast class will be up soon. We are expecting 7000' cloudbase today. The wind seems to be dropping a little and is now do...
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Thursday 5th
11:00 The front that was approaching yesterday has slowed down and is on top of us now. Prospects for soaring this afternoon look extremely thin so the day has been cancelled.
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Wednesday 4th
11:30 The satelite pictures for today show a front approaching from the sout west. Weatherman Roland is hoping for a gap ahead of the front that will provide soarable conditions. Again the tephigram is predicting 5 to 5'500 cloudbase. Looking out of the clubhouse window there's a 10 to 12 kt soutwest wind and 7/8 cloud cover but it does look like the sun is trying to break through. We will re-brief again at 12:30 12:30 The air has dried out and we are down to around 3/8 cloud. Lots more sun and...
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Tuesday 3rd
11:15 This mornings weather is a little more cloudy with 15 kt South Westerly winds in exposed areas. Cloud base is still quite low but there's definitely some activity happening. Todays tephigram shows cloud tops at around 7000' but at the moment moisture levels are quite high so we only have a 4000' cloudbase. Weatherman Roland is expecting drier air to move over us with the Soutwest flow, so we are hoping for cloudbase to rise to around 5 to 5500' feet which will allow us to set a task for t...
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Monday 2nd
Monday 11:00 The weather forecast isn't looking so good today. The tephigram from Paraparaumu shows an inversion at about 3500' and that fits in with the layer of strato cu's sitting at about 3500' over the airfield.There are a few blue gaps and it looks like it may be flyable later today but the task setters have delayed setting a task untill 12:00
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Contest Day 1
Sunday 13:00 Last minute hiccups with the club internet made the scorers life harder. Looks like things are under control now. Tasks are distributed & gliders gridded. Waiting on a 13:30 Launch. Weather still looks a little blue out of the club house window but the sun is warm and there are signs of convection appearing.
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Practice Day Underway
Hi there & welcome to Taupo's Central Plateau Gliding Comp for 2009 We've got 19 entries so far. Today is practice day. There is no task set but the weather is looking pretty decent. Weatherman Roland is forcasting moderate convection from to 6000' with with a warning that thermals will be weaker below 3000'. A light southerly is keeping the temperature down but its nice & warm in the sun so it looks like he could be right. I've been working on getting the scoring system up & running. By now yo...
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Practice Day Set for Saturday October 31st
Every year, a favourite club challenge is to "Fly Round the Lake". This task usually involves taking advantage of the lake breeze convergence, but for the truly adventurous can include a side excursion north to Kawerau and Opotiki, or south to the Crater Lake on Ruapehu. For more pictures have a look in the Gallery.
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Upcoming Contest Information
Welcome to the Central Plateau Soaring Competition #, held at Centennial Park, TAUPO Practice Day Saturday 31st October Competion Days Sunday 1st Nov to Sat 7th Nov 2009 This Contest will appeal to pilots of all levels and inspirations. Daily tasks will be set to suit all performance and skill levels inc Sports, Club and Open Class. Taupo, NZ’s Thermal and adventure playground, offers great family opportunities including shopping, fishing, tramping and some of the best soaring you...
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