Myself and Sam Flory arrived nice and early at the club, expecting it to be busy. The weather was looking promising ahead of the forecast rain later in the afternoon with clear skies and even a little weak sunshine, although it was very cold!
However, the club house was empty; possibly either due to the effects of the AGM the night before or just the chilly conditions. Not daunted we took the opportunity to discuss the spinning exercise Sam needed to complete.
Soon after Peter Field the duty instructor arrived followed by John Sillett and new member Mark. With slowly increasing numbers by about 09:00 we had enough members to start getting the ground kit and gliders out. By around 10:00 we were prepping the field for flight. The instructors were now outnumbering the trainees 3 to 1!
Flying started with Robert Lee towing myself and Sam to 3000ft for the planned spinning exercises. The air was crystal clear and as smooth as a mill pond, beautiful. Peter Field then took over and started on the very short training list with some good flights for Mark.
By this stage the instructors were taking it turn to fly the Junior with the promise of the ridge working in the light westerly wind. Glenn Turpin was the first to try. Martin Woolner then followed and took the prize for the longest Junior flight at 19 mins, despite John Street’s best efforts to beat him. James Hood took a flight in the DG with Michael Harris, and John Street and Peter Warren took R37 up to explore the conditions on the ridge.
By this stage both motor gliders were active and for a while we had three gliders the tug and two Falkes airborne. John Sillett was able to complete the scheduled mile high trial lesson and Tim Petty took on his new role as membership secretary to good effect showing a prospective new member around who had visited during the open weekend. Flying continued into the afternoon until everyone who wanted to fly had and the approaching rain began to be felt. A cold day but a great opportunity to stay current and enjoy some very pleasant flying; soon be time to invest in the Treasurers winter offer! Thanks to all those who helped and ensured that we all flew. - James Flory
However, the club house was empty; possibly either due to the effects of the AGM the night before or just the chilly conditions. Not daunted we took the opportunity to discuss the spinning exercise Sam needed to complete.
Soon after Peter Field the duty instructor arrived followed by John Sillett and new member Mark. With slowly increasing numbers by about 09:00 we had enough members to start getting the ground kit and gliders out. By around 10:00 we were prepping the field for flight. The instructors were now outnumbering the trainees 3 to 1!
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| Instructors hunting in packs for the elusive student (James Flory) |
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| Peter Field flying with Mark (James Flory) |
By this stage the instructors were taking it turn to fly the Junior with the promise of the ridge working in the light westerly wind. Glenn Turpin was the first to try. Martin Woolner then followed and took the prize for the longest Junior flight at 19 mins, despite John Street’s best efforts to beat him. James Hood took a flight in the DG with Michael Harris, and John Street and Peter Warren took R37 up to explore the conditions on the ridge.
By this stage both motor gliders were active and for a while we had three gliders the tug and two Falkes airborne. John Sillett was able to complete the scheduled mile high trial lesson and Tim Petty took on his new role as membership secretary to good effect showing a prospective new member around who had visited during the open weekend. Flying continued into the afternoon until everyone who wanted to fly had and the approaching rain began to be felt. A cold day but a great opportunity to stay current and enjoy some very pleasant flying; soon be time to invest in the Treasurers winter offer! Thanks to all those who helped and ensured that we all flew. - James Flory
Day 3 - Road Trip to Poland
When we left
our overnight hotel in Erfurt in central Germany we were pleased to see
that John’s Discovery and the K21 trailer were just where we left them
late last night.
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| Just where we left it (Mike Sloggett) |
A
quick stop for coffee and croissants, as well as another tank full of
diesel, and we were soon on our way to Poland, our end destination still
some 450 miles away. As
with yesterday John and Mike took turns with driving and navigating and
again kilometre by kilometre the journey continued on through Germany
and into Poland.
And by mid evening we were very close to
Zar Airfield - it was now a question of finding it! Despite our
mistrust of the satnav which was encouraging us to drive into a
destination half
way up the side of a rather large mountain the sight of various glider
trailers confirmed we had found what we were looking for. With the K21 trailer unhitched and secured for the night, the next destination was our hotel for the next few nights.
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| Zar airfield half way up the mountain (Mike Sloggett) |
Just
a few miles down the road from Zar Airfield we had a very pleasant
evening meal in the hotel with some local beers and wine refreshing us
suitably from the last couple of days’ journey. - Mike Sloggett
