soaring international September/October issue
For a long while I have been pondering with the idea of gliding above largebodies of water. Naturally, the question of what is achievable in this regard kept on fascinating me and soon I found remarkable stories from long time ago of sea crossings over the Strait of Dover, Strait of Gibraltar or the more recent stories of crossings from France to Italy via Corsica and the spectacular flights over the Gulf of Carpenteria in the Morning Glory. All these options are a little bit hard to achieve given my geographic location or looking at the logistics required to cross the borders (flight plans, custom clearances, etc).
Motivation
If you live in the Netherlands, practice gliding and you are motivated to fly cross country in gliders you will soon learn that flying towards West or North (with some exceptions regardless of your airfield) rarely pays off in terms of distance or speed because the North Sea surrounds the Western and Northern borders of the country, but it will definitely pay off in terms of views and experience.
The sea acts as a natural barrier, as thermals over the sea rarely develop. On most days, the sea breeze kills any thermal activity near the coast. However in certain weather situations, flying to the seaside and even above the sea is possible. In this article, we will have a look at two flights from Malden Airfield in the Netherlands to the Wadden Sea and Wadden Island of Ameland and the weather patterns that make such flights possible.
Weather Situation
On two occasions I have managed to fly in my Std. Cirrus WL to Ameland. The glider is of modest performance proving that you do not need a super ship to attempt such flights.
The first time I rounded Ameland was on the 26th June 2020 (www.weglide.org/flight/24942). The weather offered completely blue thermals and Southerly Wind. On the second occasion, on 11th June 2023 (www.weglide.org/flight/283778) , I went to Ameland guided by clouds during the whole flight and was pushed towards my turnpoint by Southerly winds again, which made the work easier, but equally rewarding. Both days were close to the Summer Solstice in June, which means long days and potentially long thermal activity. A quick look at the synoptic charts, satellite images, wind forecasts and flight tracks show the following situations:
Planning and Route
An out and return flight to Ameland, in my case was (give or take) 199 nm (368 km). However, it is not realistic to assume that the exact distance you will cover will be identical, so I took into account the deviations I would have to take with regards to weather or airspace. The real distance to cover will be of course longer. Because of this I thought I should make use of the whole day as best as I could. Even with an early launch in mind on both occasions I could not launch earlier than noon local time. On long summer days, in the Netherlands thermals stop between between about 1800 and 2000, depending on the quality of the day. On both days this was in the time interval, as I landed at 19:08 local time on the flight from 26th June 2020 and at 20:00 local time on 11th June 2023.
With regards to the exact route to take there is not really an exact “recipe” for this. Usually the “Veluwe” (the wooded area spanning from Arnhem to Zwolle and surrounding Terlet airfield) provides slightly better thermals as the terrain is a little bit higher compared to the surroundings (highest point being “Signaal Imbosch” at 361’ or 109.9 meters). Alternatively the “Sallandse Heuvelrug” 15 to 19 miles (25 to 30 km) east of the Veluwe usually also works pretty well compared to the surroundings as the terrain is higher (highest point is “Koningsbelt” at 250’ or 75 meters).
In blue weather I usually try to fly as straight as possible on course with slight deviations for potential thermal triggers (working tractors, sandy areas, industrial areas or villages). With classic cumulus weather conditions, following and judging the weather by the looks of the clouds and energy lines (if present) will give you the best route towards the North.
Exciting? Ok, you can read the whole article in the current issue, which you can order here.
