Surface
Pressure Chart.Weather
Wind Speed & Direction
Light winds with good lift provide the best flying conditions. Winds in excess of 20mph can be unpleasant. The wind direction determines which flying sites we will visit on the day.
The South Downs are perfect for learning to fly hang gliders. We have training slopes facing all wind directions and roads to the top for the higher launches. Our south coast climate provides far more good flying days than other areas. More pilots have learnt to fly here than anywhere else in the UK.
Surface
Pressure Chart.
The wind speed and direction, and any "significant" weather can be read from surface pressure charts. This actual chart (nowcast) has the isobars shown for each millibar. (Image from "Meteorologica")
These
days the forecasts are very accurate for the next day then gradually decline in
reliability over the following days. Beyond five days the weather system is considered
too unpredictable for useful forecasts.
Notes on meteorology
Training Weather
Introductory Days One and Two are flown in a wide range of conditions
using our tether rope systems. The low solo flights of EP and CP courses require
light winds to avoid turbulence. For the high flights at the end of the CP course
we need light winds with a northerly component. Try watching the five day forecast,
(link below), to spot the days with light winds. Call us to get your name in the
diary!
Our famous southerly sea cliffs are not used for solo training flights!
The Weather Call
| Latest UKMO Chart | Latest T+12 + Surface Pressure |
| Weather Online Isotachs | GFS model (Isobars 2mb apart) |
| BBC Weather | Scroll through. Shows rainfall |
| RASP | Air stability. Forecasted soundings. |
| Five Day UKMO Charts | T(0), T+24, T+36, T+48, etc. |
Once
you have booked your day(s) in our diary ... it will then depend on the weather
forecast. We use the links shown in this table.
On the evening before your booking, after 7.30pm, call 07890 362648 and listen to the message.
If "we are not going ahead ...". Sorry, the latest forecast is unsuitable.
Please phone again on the evening before your next booking, or, book another date and try again.If "we are going ahead ...", we will meet up at the specified location and time.
We meet at the Sussex HGPG shop, two miles east of Lewes, on the A27. (Postcode BN8 6JZ)
South Downs Hang Gliding
Gibraltar
Farm, Firle, East Sussex. BN8 6NB
Tel. 07890 362648
E-mail: info@southdownshanggliding.co.uk