Northern F3F Winter League
Round 3
10th Jan 2009Pictures, thanks to George Young, Jon edison
Report by Jon Edison
Horcum had other ideas! The wind was there OK, but so was the FOG. Not any old fog, but the FREEZING cold variety, producing some of the most spectacular hoar frost seen for a long time.
With a wind chill reading of -13deg C on the edge, this was going to be some test of man and machine - if the fog ever cleared that is. Having encountered similar conditions at an earlier Winter League, we were convinced it would.
The dozen or so pilots who had ventured onto the slope, huddled together for warmth as they waited for that moment when the sun broke through, and the fog began to lift. So we waited ..............
With the temperature seeming to drop by the hour, I ventured to the slope edge to peer into the misty abyss hoping for the first glimpse that the conditions were improving
It soon became clear ( or not! ) that even if the mist did lift, flying was going to be a test of the fittest. After only a few moments on the edge, the wind was beginning to peel the flesh from my face, and whilst the pilots would 'only' have to endure a minute or so on the edge, the poor old CD was going to join the Chickens in Tesco's freezer section if he attempted to stay there too long
The fog was not going to lift. The sad realisation was beginning to dawn. We had been let down by the forecast, and as the time slowly began to tick away, the icy conditions won, and we called it a day.
