Microlighters

Last night Gadget called and asked if I felt like flying up to Saldanha this morning. Windfinder predicting nice gentle northerly, no cloud. So 06h30 at the airfield, and it is cool (15degC) with a messy gusty little easterly, across the runway. Gadget reckons it is the early morning easterly, so we fuel and preflight and away we go, little bumpy climbing through 800ft and suddenly, somebody put the oven on, 31 deg C

I look towards the coast and low level advection fog is pushing in from the sea. We cruise north and I can see the fog has pushed in all the way to the little hills around Darling, and we are experiencing a headwind of about 5mph. I tell Gadget to sms Saldanha to see if they are open and no, they are closed So we turn around and head back to Morning Star. Suddenly the wind has gone from 7mph to 22mph, now a tailwind, I climb for the circuit and on downwind, I now have 35 mph tailwind, northerly.

Overhead the airfield I see the sock still showing a scrubby gusty easterly, 90 deg to the runway. I turn onto final, (02) with the 35mph headwind and descend down waiting for the sudden windshift from N to E. Whack just above the trees it suddenly swings to my right. Fortunately I predicted it and was thus expecting it. A little pot stirring and we were on the ground.

Now I am sitting in my office, freezing on what is supposed to be a 35deg C day.

seems like that weathers been smoking a bit of the mounbtain herbs??? - well done on the whole excercise, guess it just emphasises the fly her to the ground statement ...

That's our Morningstar. The tumble dryer