The Day I Finally Did It!!! By: Ariane Decloux Posted: August 5 2002
Sometimes everything works together, being in the right place at the right time with just enough preparation.
On July 13, after seeing Jack Harrison’s weather forecast, I was finally convinced that I should try and declare another 500km attempt in my LS-6-18. Having been constantly nagged by other pilots for years, perhaps it was about time I did it.
Anyway, without too much conviction, I declared Doncaster - Grafham Water - Newark, for 510kms. On the day, most other pilots declared east-west tasks but somehow I had a feeling that north would be better.
I started at 11.25am and hesitated for some time before leaving the site. The first leg was long and slow and I really did not feel confident that I had made the right decision. I turned Doncaster at 13.46pm and at that stage I had to remind myself that before I had taken off, John (my husband who also flies an LS-6-18) had assured me not to worry if the first leg took a long time.
The second leg to Grafham Water was great, with a 4500ft cloudbase, regular 3-4 knots average and a tail wind of 12km/h. At least I was making good progress. But the mental battle started at Grafham Water; should I abandon the task and land back at Gransden (after all I had just completed a 300km O/R) or should I go on? The moral for the next task: Do not pick a turning point near home.
Following a radio call with John and a few words of reassurance, I was off to the north again. It was 15.12pm and I was feeling positive once more that I could go on. But do not underestimate how difficult it is to turn your back on the airfield once again. The run to Newark went well with consistent climbs, a few blue gaps but still enough day left. With 20kms or so to run to the turning point and with good clouds ahead, I started to feel maybe this was going to be the day for me.
I turned Newark at 16.34pm, calling 245 to say that I was now on my final leg. Thoughts came rushing through my head, what if I really did it, what if my barograph had not worked, what if I got low? It’s amazing what goes through your mind at that time. I was determined that I would take every climb to get me home - Mike Young said to me years ago that half a knot is better than a road retrieve. But as mother luck happens sometimes, a great line of convergence took me back on to final glide.
After the flight had ended I was so happy but unsure if I should believe that it actually had happened. (I waited until the next morning for my barograph trace to be downloaded - celebrations got in the way.) I now wonder what had made that day so different from all the others. I had flown many cross-countries in the past and failed, but those flights taught me to deal with difficult weather and to feel more comfortable about leaving the site. Now, I was more prepared for it and believed that I could do it. If, like I was, you are still looking for that special flight don’t give up, keep trying time and time again - you might just be surprised when it happens.
By the way - for all of you pundits out there, I know that it was not a real 500kms as it was not a triangle! But watch this space - you never know. And please don’t keep asking me when will I do my 750km; after all it took me 1800hrs and 15 years of gliding to get to my three Diamonds.
Statistics: the flight took 6.05hrs with the 1st leg at 68km/h, the 2nd at 100.8km/h, the 3rd at 69.9km/h and the last at 118.7km/h. The overall speed was 83.9km/h for 510kms.
