Pilot’s Pix

Allandale to taitapu for a Hot Chocolate Warren Simonsen goes for a Winter flight

1 oct 2021.

Even a short winter flight can be worthwhile; it keeps your basic skills current on what your base bar still feels like during the cooler season.

I took the glider to work to get a good lunch-time getaway. The glider on the roof rack is a bit of a giveaway of my intentions for the day but the work staff know pretty well what motivates a good chunk of my life.

Anyway..., I took off to the Allandale site, since conditions looked good for a casual boat up and down the ridge to get the quota in for keeping current during the quieter months. Allandale sits at 1500 ft on the Canterbury Peninsula, and is mainly a NE soaring ridge site facing up the harbour. It takes the incoming sea air and offers some amazing sunsets across the Canterbury Plains. It also produces some good thermals during the summer season.

The wind was already at least 15 knots on launch, and I knew I should have already been in the air. After rigging, the wind was a little off to the north, I expected the northerly part to be causing the gusty bits. I took off anyway despite knowing it was at my top end for being worthwhile and unlikely to top land. I went straight up with a few strong corrections, but it was nice to find the air smooth on top. I went up and down the ridges as usual for over an hour.

Then it was time to do something different or land... Well... There’s an idea why not both... I radioed I was going over the back to get a hot chocolate at Taitapu pub. This is not a major flight to brag about, but a nice way to end the flight if you’re not in a hurry to get home. Besides... I knew every grass blade and rock on the soaring ridge to the usual bottom landing field.

Leaving the ridge at about 2500 ft, is just a high enough to avoid the leeside rotor and to still have reasonable downwind glide to the pub. I circled a couple of times near the pub and the northerly air behind some trees gave me some wind gradient management to contend with... but landed good, right opposite the pub.

I just was taking off my helmet and a patron ran out of the pub to hand me a beer, “Its from the owner... we watched you land while we were drinking”. .. Well... I have not even got out of my harness yet!!.. This has got to be record!

After packing up, I walked across the road and ordered a hot chocolate and rested in the sunny beer garden... very nice... mission completed.

But wait... even better... the new

Above; Warren over Canterbury Plains and landed.

Below Allandale sunset Photo Rod Stuart

bartender said he would take me back to my car in the courtesy van, but he required directions and did not know the area. Well... he knows the area very well now... “all the way to the very top”, and as a bonus, I gave give him a personalised tour of the area and sun setting viewing spots.

As they say, ‘it’s never over until you get home’, and the most memorable part is the journey along the way, (not necessarily the original destination).

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