Following several
weekends of grotty weather and the delights of reading about blue skies
and flying on Wednesday and Thursday in the blog, Sunday dawned with the
promise of flyable weather. The initial trickle of members soon turned
into whatever the plural is for quite a few glider pilots! James Flory
and Stuart Procter as the first instructors on the scene oversaw the
unpacking of the hanger whilst others sorted out the ground kit. Low
cloud and canopy misting then delayed deployment of the kit and whilst
many retreated to the club house for breakfast a few dedicated members
took the chance to check the tyre pressures on the winch. Having
concluded they were very low the tyres were quickly returned to full
pressure, until one helpful soul remembered everyone of the note from
Nick Jones about keeping the pressures low to help prevent the field
from being cut up. However, 10 out of 10 for doing a proper DI and
acting on possible faults!
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| Visibility less than stunning (James Flory) |
As the
cloud began to lift the gliders were positioned in the North West Corner
and flying commenced. Although the visibility was less then stunning
the air was still, with ever so slight suggestions of lift off the south
ridge. With a lengthening training list Ron Johns and Glenn Turpin
stepped in to help things move along. Simon Rickard a new member had
his first flights in nearly a year with James Flory, whilst many others got
the chance to do some training and to remain current. Daniel Johns did a
great job helping to run the line with Martin Bennett, both of whom
also managed to fly. Ray Dodd continued the momentum in the afternoon
with Ian Mitchell taking over as the Duty Instructor.
Martin
Woolner and Ian Mitchell continued Martin’s TMG training in the Falke
and several members enjoyed short, but refreshing flights in the Junior.
Having heard rumours that the tug might be needed Pete Warren duly
drove the tug to the top of the field only then having to drive it back
down again at the end of the day without any takers; the cloud base and
visibility meant aerotows were not an attractive option. Overall a
really good day with 40 launches. Yes the longest flight without an
engine was only 11 minutes, but many people kept current and were able
to start adding launches to their winter refresher cards. A great team
effort and really nice to see so many members on a Sunday. Fingers
crossed it’s not to long before we can fly on a weekend again! - James Flory
