The weather may be flyable tomorrow (Saturday). Sunday looks very overcast at present.

Roger says if anyone wants to fly over the xmas period he may well be available so don't feel shy about calling him.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend:
Good news - Sunny intervals (possible) on Saturday
Bad news - Blowing a hoolie both days and pouring Sunday.
..back to those jobs.

Regular forecaster (Charlie) is back next week.

Charlie is away for the next two weeks so I’m standing in.

There was no flying last week due to the weather. This weekend looks similarly poor with brisk winds and gusts forecast thus we are not planning to fly at Sutton Meadows. Keep working on those jobs at home and save up free weekends for next spring!  Or ...

The sport and leisure aviation show is this weekend (24/25th Nov) at the NEC.
Highlights on Saturday include a talk at 12:00 by Gary Wirdham and Bruce Kavanagh; The British team victory at the HG World Championships, Texas.
The BHPA AGM is being held on Sunday at 11.00 am.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend looks likely to be blown out on Sunday. Saturday may be flyable.

Last Sunday was a very pleasant winter aerotowing day and even had some workable thermals that allowed height to be maintained. Amazing what a cold airmass and the winter sun can do on a nil wind day.

This weekend is a good one for xmas shopping and housework. Enjoy!

There was no flying last weekend.

This weekend looks flyable, particularly Sunday which promises to be sunny and light NW winds so possibly slightly thermic (RASP suggests some thermal activity for an hour or two).

Last Sunday proved to be about as good as it gets at this time of the year. Light winds, a cold airmass and a sunny day meant that there were thermals and small height gains to be had.

This weekend looks overcast and blown out, with Sunday particularly bad. Enjoy the housework...

Last Sunday proved to be a lovely day with 2-5mph winds, light thermals for a couple of hours and small cu at cloudbase around 3000'. A few of us were out playing.

This weekend looks good both days, again RASP is forecasting gentle thermals for a couple of hours.

The ATOS VQ Demo has been cancelled for this weekend due to an accident on a VQ in Germany.

Normal club flying will be taking place.

It was competely nil wind last Sunday and despite 8/8 stratus there was enough lift around to stay up if you were very gentle - the black fields were warm enough to create gentle lift. We had a number of people out hoping for a break in the cloud cover and doing some late season defined flights but this never materialised.

This weekend Steve Elkins is arranging for the new Atos VQ to be demonstrated at the field. We want to fly and demonstrate the VQ both days if possible but WE NEED YOU TO LET US KNOW ASAP WHAT DAY(S) YOU WANT TO FLY. At present we only have takers for Sunday and we urgently need to know if anyone is interested in flying Saturday.

If you are a visitor to the site who has not flown with us before please bring along proof of your aerotow rating (BHPA card with aerotow rating will do) if you wish to fly.

As per the following email from Steve Elkins, we are arranging an ATOS VQ test day for this weekend at Sutton Meadows. We are finalising the details for this and should be issuing an update on whether this will be Saturday or Sunday later today.

Please note: People who have not flown with us before will need to bring proof of their aerotow rating.

We were out last Sunday on a nill wind day. Up to 12.30 the sky looked very promising and then just after we had started to launch altostratus appeared and stopped the heat getting through so it became a practice day.

This weekend is flyable both days. Sunday is currently looking like the better day with lighter winds and RASP indicating that we should have gentle thermals through the day.

There was no flying last weekend.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is looking potentially good (for this time of year) with some thermic stuff forecast for a few hours from late morning onwards.

Last Saturday proved to be an excellent day. Jason made it to his goal at Hill Farm (the Norfolk Club's field). Andy Hollidge and Steve Wood also did XCs and George yet again made the best landing of the day.

There will be no flying this weekend as Roger is not available. Earn some brownie points instead...

For anyone who is interested - Andy Hollidge is thinking of selling his wing.

We have a crew for Saturday 15th September and will be aerotowing. If you would like to fly do join us. Light winds are forecast and the cold front will have passed; this ‘could’ be one of the few decent remaining thermic days of the season.

The Demo Day last Saturday proved to be a great success. Steve Elkins brought two ATOS VRs to try out and everyone who wanted a go managed to get a flight. The conditions were good for a demo as well with light winds and 8/8 cover at high level people could be towed to 3000' and get some good play time. There were even gentle patches of lift available to extend some flights and the cloud disappeared late afternoon to give more gentle thermic stuff. Everyone walked away with some serious thinking to do about size of wallets etc. and Rainer discovered how far the Atos will glide without full flaps, frightening the swans in the ditch at the far end of the runway.

This weekend only looks flyable on Saturday but it might be good.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

The weather for this weekend is looking flyable both days with slightly more gentle winds for the

**** Saturday DEMO DAY!!! ****
Steve Elkins will be bringing up at least an ATOS and possibly other wings to try out on Saturday. Any aerotow rated pilots are welcome to join us. If you have never been to the site before give us a call to get directions.

As a reminder - Cambridge Microlight Club will be having their annual Marie Curie Gala Fly In this Sunday. There will be demonstrations and various competitions and stalls, the chance to go up in a microlight, food and drink, fun for the kids. The public is invited to this event and is always an interesting day. Think about getting your family out to have a look.

Last Sunday proved to be an initially challenging day, opening up into a good day at the end of the afternoon. Richard Hunt landed past Cambridge, Andy Hollidge made it to goal in his back garden (well at least to the field next door), I managed a triangle and a number of others had good flights. Until 16.00 the thermals were scrappy and mostly weak but the tows were rough. After 16.00 they became stronger and the tows easier, probably due to a mid level inversion clearing and the wind easing. This allowed me to do one side of the triangle just under the 5500' 'base, straight lining it under a street and only losing 200' for the entire side - wonderful and rare! The lift was still working at 18.30.

A few people were also out Monday but it was rough again and flying stopped when Nick Cresswell got thrown off tow with a weak link break and had a hard landing.

This weekend currently only looks flyable on Saturday.

Please remember that we are still aiming for a Steve Elkins demo day on the weekend of 8th September with a fallback to 15th if the weather is bad. Spread the message amongst the aerotowing community. Any aerotow rated pilots are welcome. We are expecting Steve to bring out a range of wings - hopefully including the new Evo and an Atos.

We will be flying tomorrow (Monday)

We will be flying tomorrow (Sunday) and probably Monday.

Please confirm as early as you can for Monday so we can line people up. Calling at 9.00 on Monday morning to see if we are flying is too late to establish a crew.

There were insufficient takers for today - blame the bank holiday.

There was no flying last wekend due to the weather.

This weekend is actually looking flyable all three days!! At present the forecast suggests that Saturday and Monday will be best. Roger can get out two days so we will be trying to bias flying to two of the three days. Please let us know your preference as soon as possible.

Please remember that we are still aiming for a demo day on the weekend of 8th September with a fallback to 15th if the weather is bad. Spread the message amongst the aerotowing community.

We plan to aerotow at Sutton Meadows on Friday 10th August.

Although we’d all love to take most of this week off we thought of all the week days Friday looked likely to have the lightest winds (for closed circuits) although there is a slight risk from a weakening front that ‘should’ remain towards the North West of the country.

After a final check of the forecasts I will send an email on Thursday 10th (early/mid-afternoon) to confirm one way or the other.

Currently we also plan to aerotow on Saturday 11th August.

There has been some great flying over the past week. Last Saturday proved windy but flyable and both Jason and Richard Murphy disappeared off on XCs to north of Lakenheath and Bury respectively. Andy showed everyone how it is possible to stay up and around the field with his a Top Secret when it is windy. All who made it out on Tuesday also had a very enjoyable time. It was like a weekend day at Sutton Meadows with 8 pilots and Roger out. Andy Hollidge on his rigid flew a declared out and return to Baldock and over his house in Ashwell (~80km total) after going to work in the morning! Jason flew an out and return to near Peterborough (~45km total) (had planned a triangle but changed plan mid-task to an OR after it got pretty blue on track to the South of Peterborough; base was ~6k, flight duration ~3h15min, stayed between 5 and 6k for most of the flight except near Peterborough where got down low to ~3k, saw a few sail planes below and an aerobatic plane doing loops below and fortunately slightly to one side. Arrived back at the field over 2k, should have extended the flight a little!). Tony Smith flew something similar to Jason. Rich Murphy also flew an out and return (not sure how far). Nick Cresswell had a good flight at cloudbase and was heard to say on the radio that this was the best UK day he could remember for a long while and I can’t get down!. Mike Russelll also had a good flight around the field. Graham Bayliss showed up after work for an evening tow to 3k. George did the best nil wind landing of the day!

This weekend looks possibly too windy on Saturday and more likely to be flyable on Sunday.

MIDWEEK FLYING:
As you will no doubt be aware we are in the unusual situation of enjoying a string of decent Hang Gliding conditions.

Roger has kindly offered to fly the tug on Mon, Tues or Wed of next week. Based on current forecasts we are thinking Tues might be the best day; v light winds and currently Weatherjack 4 forecast (perfect for closed circuit flights).

If you would like to fly on Tuesday 31st July please call or email me (there are already a few takers). For planning purposes it would be v useful to be able to gauge interest asap, we will probably make a final decision on Monday afternoon based on the latest forecasts.

WEEKEND REPORT:
Saturday: Thermic but winds relatively brisk. Richard Murphy flew to Bury (~44km) after Roger released him in the middle of a thermal that took him straight to 5k. Jason had planned to fly to Bury too but found himself thermalling towards Ely so took a Northern track to scrape past Mildenhall and Lackenheath and landed after ~38km (kept having to leave thermals to miss those airbases). Andy Hollidge demonstrated to us flexwings how to fly into and crosswind with his Topsecret rigid. Graham Baylis also had a great thermic flight and our thanks to Mike Russell for retrieves and of course Roger and George.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather. The "summer" continues.

This weekend is looking marginal although there have been significatn changes to the forecast over the past day so it may change further. Keep an eye on the forecast.

Last Sunday proved to be a good day with scrappy lift low down but 800fpm climbs between 3000' and 5000', base at 5800' and a SSW drift of 10 mph. Yours truly managed a small triangle before getting trashed by heavy sink under a cloud that looked like it was working. Wilson managed to get to Littleport before also hitting heavy sink. Rainer and Mike also enjoyed the thermals.

At present the forecast for this weekend suggests it will be too windy on Saturday but may be good on Sunday.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend is starting to look flyable. Forecasts vary but at least Sunday looks like it might be sunny and light winds (at last!). Saturday may be flyable if the wind forecast reduces.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend looks like a good one for visiting museums or all those home brownie point projects...

Five pilots turned out last Sunday for a day that needed a relatively early start. The sky was working reasonably well until about 14.00 and then overdeveloped and cycled so you needed to stay high to take advantage of it. The lift below 2000' disappeared at times but Andy Hollidge had great fun on his Top Secret punching up wind past the A1 and spending all his time above 2000'.

This weekend currently looks showery both days with Sunday looking slightly better than Saturday.

We will be out flying tomorrow (Saturday 26th). THe rest of the bank holiday weekend currently looks windy and wet.

Last Sunday proved to be excellent for those people who had not (like me) looked at the forecast 3 days earlier and decided it was so bad that they should make other plans (...). The thermals kicked of early as predicted and with light winds Jason managed to do his first triangle (congratulations Jason), it was even a defined triangle (double congratulations). Everyone else had a good play in the conditions which as predicted overdeveloped mid-afternoon and then opened up again at the end of the afternoon.

This weekend's forecast seems to be changing by the hour but currently Saturday looks most likely and could be good.

We will be flying tomorrow (Sunday). It is now forecast as a WeatherJack 3, base 4500', with very light winds - good for aerotowing and O/Rs or triangles. An early start would be sensible as there may be cloud coming in late afternoon.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend is blown out on Saturday but Sunday is suddenly starting to look good. Over the last 24 hours the forecast has changed to almost nil wind over Sutton.

Last Saturday was almost nil wind and overcast until 16.00 giving George and Graham a good chance to practice, then the cloud broke up just in time to allow Richard Murphy, Steve Wood and myself to play with some thermals. No XCs but good fun. Sunday and Monday were blown out.

This weekend is currently looking relatively unattractive for flying but all members should remember that the AGM is on Saturday evening at 19.00. Please contact Jason or me to confirm whether you are coming if you have not already done so.

We will be out flying tomorrow (Saturday). Should be light wind and if the top cover disappears it might turn out to be a really good day.

A few of us were out last Sunday for a play around - nothing really strong due to the haze and occasional top cover but the calmer air meant that Graham and Mike could get in some practice with tows to 3000'.

This weekend is starting to look promising for Saturday with light winds and a reasonable cloudbase. Sunday is currently forecast to be blown out and Monday too far off to tell. This forecast has changed significantly over the past few days but seems to be settling down now.

Despite a slightly hazy top cover we had a good day last Saturday with Jason and Wilson getting to Wisbech, yours truly proving that O/Rs in a 12mph drift with 200fpm thermals is beyond my abilities, Marek having a really good play in the thermals after a year off aerotowing, and Kipp, Spyros and George having fun around the field.

This weekend looks flyable both days with lighter winds but probably more cloud on Sunday.

We are definitely flying tomorrow (Saturday). It currently has the better forecast of the two days, lighter southerly winds and more thermic (WeatherJack 3).

We were out flying last Sunday but the airmass was not heavily thermic so it was mainly up and downs.

This weekend looks flyable with Saturday probably having the better conditions, slightly lighter winds forecast at present.

We will definitely be flying on Easter Monday. Easter Sunday produced another set of XCs - great fun!

Some good flying was to be had yesterday with a few XCs.

We will be flying on Easter Sunday (tomorrow), and possibly Easter Monday.

It is going to be flyable throughout Easter and should be good for aerotowing. Bring your sun protection:-)

We will definitely be flying tomorrow (Easter Friday).

At present we also have takers for Sunday (almost certain that we will be out flying) and possibly Monday but please confirm with me if you want to fly either day (or Saturday). The earlier you confirm the more chance we have of getting things organised to be out.

The forecast for Easter is now looking aerotowable for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at least. Start getting your plans made and let us know what you would like to do, and what days are your preference. If you can let us know by Wednesday evening we can start lining up the days most people are interested in flying and can let you know on Thursday which days we will definitely be out flying.

There was no flying last weekend. Looks like the weather is playing games with us, good days during the week and poor at the weekends.

This weekend does not currently look that hopeful due to the strength of the wind although there is a slight possibility that Sunday will ease off enough.

The tug now has a new sail and just needs a test flight before we are operational again. Congratulations to the entire club for moving quickly to help get this sorted so that we have not lost a flyable weekend.

This weekend has varying forecasts but may be flyable. At present Sunday looks more likely than but keep an eye on the forecasts.

The tug is being prepared for the installation of a new sail as the old sail has failed its annual strength test during a pre-inspection check. It will be unavailable this weekend and probably also unavailable the following weekend.

(For this weekend it looks like there is not much flying to be missed anyway...)

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend looks too strong on Sunday but Saturday may be flyable.

We had another good "winter practice" day last Sunday with 6 people turning up to fly. With cloud almost 8/8 and base at 1800' it was never going to be exciting but even so due to the light (nil) winds there were little pockets of zeros or reduced sink due to the ploughed fields - great for introducing low airtime people to the site.

This weekend looks like it might get too strong although the forecast for tomorrow is currently just flyable.

There was no flying last weekend due to the weather.

This weekend is starting to look flyable with light winds low down. The forecasts seem to vary on the amount of cloud that will be around on Saturday and Sunday. This may become clearer over the next 12 hours.

Jason, Bob, Spyros, Rainer, Roger and I were out flying last Sunday for the first aerotows of the year at Sutton Meadows. When the fog cleared obediently in the morning it turned into a really pleasant winter flying day and was useful for getting back into the feel of things (let me see, do you push out or pull in to go faster...). The air was really smooth and once you got above the inversion layer at 1500' the visibility was fantastic. Most of us took tows to 4000' just for the fun of it and because the air was warmer up there! It was also a chance to check out the polar curve.

This weekend currently looks potentially flyable on Sunday. At present it looks wet and windy on Saturday.

Finally - a weekend that looks flyable! Light winds at ground level and at 2000'+.

This is a good weekend to get out and shake the winter out of your wings. Both days currently look flyable. We may bias towards one day depending on the response.

Tomorrow may well be flyable. Winds at ground level look ok. Inversion and some cloud around 2000' at which altitude winds will be around 20mph.

Sunday looks blown out.

Happy New Year to all and welcome to a new flying year!

Saturday is looking definitely blown out this weekend. There is a slight chance that Sunday may be flyable.