Once
canopies had de-misted, Rowan and James H started working through the
moderate size list. James H seemed determined not to actually reach
the top of the launch. Or maybe it was shivering causing accidental
yellow knob activation. That would explain all his moaning about the
cold? Meanwhile Matthew W had managed to 'persuade' John P to fly
with him. Matthew was keen to go off on a trip to the North ridge. JP
had to sap just a little of his enthusiasm by explaining a 3 knot wind
wasn't quite enough. Don't worry though, there's plenty left. Enthusiasm that is.
.JPG) |
| James and Tim P (Paul S) |
The
'friends and family' all enjoyed the great views on a crisp winters
day, Eric flying his son Alasdair and Roly flying Mike W's daughter Kirsten. A
new junior member, Jordan, had his first North Hill experience.
John
P was busy being all mature and grown up by securing himself a seat in
the highest performance glider he could find in order to get the
'longest flight of the day' badge. A quick saunter to the launch point
after every flight to check flight times, he eventually retired with 11
minutes in the bag, a full 2 clear of the nearest contender. Stuart P
then arrived ready for an afternoon's instruction, and thought he might
have a quick solo warm up flight. 12 minutes later ... JP had to take
it on the chin like a man. He didn't even come out with any excuses
about 'lucky thermals'...
Back at the clubhouse... Jill
was explaining to Matthew W how important it was that the new North
Hill Flarm receiver followed the correct OGN naming convention. Matthew fully appreciated the
gravity of the situation and set about
changing it. A few random button presses later... followed by a bit
of a wait and we now have a fully functioning Flarm receiver with the
all important correct ID. http://live.glidernet.org/ will display live positions of Flarm equipped aircraft.
Misting
canopies eventually brought flying to a stop, although not before Henry
had the last Junior flight of the day, obviously. Thanks to Eric and
Chris C for some slick launch point management, ensuring everyone flew
and the launch point ran smoothly. It was also good to see James F
putting his new found winch operating skills to the test.
 |
| Finished with the Winch? (Chris H) |
 |
| James and Ian returned from another Falke sortie (Chris H) |
A good day's
flying for those who were prepared to put off Christmas shopping for far
more important things! - Tim P
After flying, in the Clubhouse with tea and biscuits, we enjoyed a discussion on oblate spheroids etc, and the good news is that the evenings will start drawing out now.
After flying, in the Clubhouse with tea and biscuits, we enjoyed a discussion on oblate spheroids etc, and the good news is that the evenings will start drawing out now.
