Carol, from Welkom, writes ....

Yesterday after finishing, Uys Jonker flying # JET, the JS fitted with a jet motor, gave those of us on the ground a demonstration of the jet running as he did several fly pasts over the airfield (see Gallery).  Certainly quite impressive.

Today is a public holiday in South Africa, and also another bright sunny morning in Welkom today, but there is quite a stiff wind blowing from the north-east.  Sven and Dick (based at Bloemfontein) had conferred re the weather this morning and are not too sure about the forecasts given by SA Weather Bureau and NOAA.  The Atlantic high pressure is still there and the low should be feeding in moisture from the north.  Winds are from the NE, later swinging to N, then NW and by the evening round to S/SW.  It is still a lot drier off to the west and moist off to the east.  Comparing charts over the last two days indicates a slightly higher temperature today and weaker winds than yesterday.  

So max temperature today is expected to be 27.6° with trigger temperature 25.7°, and dewpoint 1.1° and lift 2 m/sec.  It was expected to be fairly stable by 5 p.m.  

On the one chart that showed the instability index and the boundary layer, the instability index line was not straight up and down line but had a kink in it, and it was generally decided that “it was not a good squiggle”!

Pilots were advised and warned of the CTA in the Koppies/Attie area (depending on which task).

Tasks as follows:

Open/18m.:

Task A:  342.3 km.  Koppies – Orkney – Control NW

Task B:  289.4 km.  Attie – Leeudoringstad – Control NW

Club:

Task A:   189.7 km.  Kroonstad – Schuttesdraai – Control NW  

Task B:  172.3 km.  Geneva – Schuttesdraai – Control NW

Gridding by 11 a.m. on 07 and first launch expected at approx. midday.