My call-out for an early start was answered by quite a few early birds today. When I turned into the gate at 8am, the Fox was out of its lair. The hangar doors were open, the launch point was set up, and the winch was already down the other end of the field! Impressive!
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First frost of the season (Peter Smith)
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Mr. Leeson was grooming the Fox, so Pete Smith took the reins with both hands and kick-started the day. The first aerotow was at 09:35 (five minutes late) with Ian checking out Simon Leeson, James Flory was checked next. In the meantime, the Pawnee was used for a 4,000-foot tow for myself and Dave Perriam. Dave is now ready for Mr. Minson to test him for his Basic Instructor rating.
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Two tugs in action (Mark Courtney)
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The list was understandably long due to the fact that the sky was actually blue for the first time in months! The air was silky smooth and made for perfect conditions for training and checking pilots. At one point, we had the Pawnee, the Fox, and the winch going flat out to clear the list. There were many achievements today, so I’ve listed them below. Feel free to pipe up if I’ve missed anything important!
Pilots cleared to tow behind Foxy:
- Ruth Comer
- Ashley Thomas
- Chris Woodward
- Andy Batchelor
- Paul Medlock
- Dave Perriam
Andy Broderick was nearly cleared but needs simulated rope breaks.
Other achievements today:
- Steve Westlake had a five-year Instructor refresher and passed with flying colors, with Simon Leeson in the front playing the devil (he does that far too easily).
- Andy Davey had his simulated launch failures sorted to finally complete his blue card checks (rain had gotten in the way for a couple of weeks).
- Andy Broderick passed his Bronze flying test, following on from his bronze exams, so he is now a bronze pilot! (Not in a suntan way, you understand.) Just navigation to complete for a full license.
- James Flory, myself, Simon Leeson, and Stuart Procter all did some aerotows and are now well and truly at home flying the Fox.
The motor glider VG was on the go with various pilots most of the day. Stuart Procter flew the Cub in first thing, and Malcolm Vest flew it back to its roost at Watchford Farm late in the day. Pete Smith did the lion's share of the instructing today, helped by James Flory, Stuart Procter, Steve Westlake, and the dastardly devil himself, Simon Leeson. Robert Lee flew two booked Trial lesson visitors, both customers left with broad smiles!
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Towing the DG505 back to the launch point (Mark Courtney)
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Canopies misting up and low sun called an end to a fantastic day, just the regular winter tasks of washing gliders and tugs before the hangar doors were slammed shut just after 4:30, just as the temperature plummeted!
The work was not yet finished, though, as KEK was derigged and put into the workshop for its annual inspection. And Stewart Henshall and Connor Williams worked late into the evening fine-tuning the DSGC Simulator new force-feedback control system.
Rarely have I seen a day where so many people worked so hard together to get the best from a rare late autumn gem of a day. So many did so much, and I thank you. I have to thank two people in particular, however, who were pivotal to the day's success, and that is Pete Smith, who started instructing at 9 and was derigging the K21 at 5:30, and Sally, who spent the entire day orchestrating proceedings, barking occasionally, interspersed with her unique laugh.
Roll on the next day like that at NH. - Mark Courtney (not a first-time blogger!)
