Flying Articles & Related Resources - Frequently Asked Questions

eNova Archive | Safety | General Flying | Club Archive | There I Was... | Coaching | Video Reviews | Firefly's Flying Diary | Frequently Asked Questions | Low Airtimers

At Westbury people keep telling me they've flown out past the chimney. Are they pulling my leg?

Date: 07/01/2020
Author: Chris Lovell
Position: PG Comps
Ah, no, but there was, until 2016 when it was demolished. Besides belching out clouds of acrid fumes (which were a very good indicator of true wind direction, wind shears, turbulence, etc.) it was often used as a measure of good thermic conditions. If you were able to get 'out past the chimney', then conditions were probably thermic, as it was very difficult to manage it in purely dynamic lift. Old-timers may still refer to it - let's face it, it's a lot easier to say 'out past the chimney' than 'out past where the chimney used to be but isn’t any more'.
 

We've had some good feedback already about this section - thanks! The more eagle-eyed will note that I've done some more work on it too. If you have any articles you'd like us to include, please email them to me.