KRONFELD ON GLIDING AND SOARING.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

PROGRESS OF SAILPLANING 323
Wasserkuppe, the first one reaching the top of the hill
shortly after 2 p.m. The squall was not very clearly
defined and the up-current was weak. Nevertheless, I
managed to climb to nine hundred and eighty-five feet
(three hundred metres), at which height I attempted to
get away. From the Wasserkuppe I reached the High
Rhon, where I lost height to such an extent that I fell to
six hundred and fifty-six feet (two hundred metres) below
the summit of the Wasserkuppe before dropping into the
valley dividing the Rhon from the Thiiringer Wald.
Repeated showers made matters worse as they restricted
visibility and added considerably to the weight of the
machine. More particularly, the aerodynamical qualities
of the glider were impaired by drops of rain clinging to
the leading edge of the wing. At a very low altitude I
finally succeeded in crossing the critical valley and I managed
to regain height on reaching the hills of the Thiiringer
Wald. At times, heavy rainfalls reduced the view to such
an extent that it became impossible to distinguish the
individual ranges for which I was heading. Seeing that
the rain rendered flying too difficult I made up my mind
to run ahead of the storm and to proceed from hilltop to
hilltop along the Thiiringer Wald, taking the route I already
knew. The squall, accompanied at intervals by thunder
and lightning, followed about half-an-hour behind. Forging
ahead from one hill to the next I reached the basin between
Thiiringer Wald and the Fichtel Gebirge. Being too
low to attempt this hop I waited for the following squall
to approach which I saw coming up close behind. Three
times I endeavoured to head into the squall standing at
right angles to the side of the hill. The final attempt was
successful and I was carried to a height of two thousand
three hundred feet (seven hundred metres) thus attaining
the greatest altitude of the flight after having been in the
air for three hours. Whilst trying to make the most of
the squall I was enveloped several times by the clouds.
With my view thus obstructed I followed the path of the
storm so as to avoid running into the hills of the Fichtel.
I finally landed in the rain, fog and partial darkness three
miles (five kilometres) as the crow flies, from the Czech