Finally the rain had stopped, the
forecast for the day had SUN in it and to top it all there was a rumour
circulating on social media that due to the new dehumidifiers being
installed in glider trailers, the field might be dry enough to winch!
No wonder Mr Treasurer Tom turned up looking cheerful. The rumour
turned out to be true and with a healthy number of members present,
almost every glider was extracted from the hangar and a flurry of DIs
commenced.
JP
was duty instructor - a slight aside from gliding - fashion fans will
have noted that this winter, fluorescent orange gloves are out and 'Game
of Thrones' inspired tops are in. Joined by Simon L on instructing
duties, the first gliders were launched into a sunny blue sky. This
began a whole day of either 5, 6 or 7 minute circuits in perfectly still
air making things easy for students. Alan T, Ellie, Oscar and David W
were some of the first up with Oscar taking the opportunity to try out
the new Junior following some checks and David practicing approach
control. Meanwhile Simon M and James F began a busy day of practical
examination for James' BI rating.
By
mid-morning, cloud cover had started to form, causing the "feel's like" temperature
to drop noticeably. Those who weren't logging, winching or cable
retrieving began to look slightly less comfortable. Some of the faster
thinking members took this chance to receive an introduction to the
wonders of logging (James S). - He'll go far!
Having
rigged SF27 H5 on arrival and realising conditions might not improve,
Matt Wi took the opportunity to fly a circuit. He ended up with the 7
minute version. Nick R didn't fancy a 5,6 or 7 minute circuit so opted
for a 4000ft aerotow. - Cheat!
 |
| Chairman and CFI flying for Fun (Lisa) |
Other excitement included (but was not
limited to) James
H and Stuart P taking Falke VG for an outing round Dartmoor, Lisa H and Martin W
taking an aerotow in the DG 'for fun' (fun police . . where are you?),
 |
| Lisa trying to spot Malcolm in the Hot Tub (Lisa) |
James H flying Matt W/Tim P/JP's friend, Scott, for a very enjoyable
trip to the seaside in the Falke, and
William and David C having an outing in VG. Pete and Martin B went for
an aerotow in a K21 to see what the world looks like upside down and JP
obviously felt obliged to break the 5,6,7 rule and rustle up a 10
minute circuit with the lucky cunning use of a bit of sky no one else had found.
 |
| Dartmoor looking gorgeous from VG (Stu) |
Thanks
to Martin B for two stints on the winch, Wyn for volunteering to splice
cable half way through de-rigging his glider and JP for instructing for
far more than just his allocated slot just for the love. Also Gerard
and Ian for excellent 'Launch Marshalling' and Simon L, Simon M and Ian M
for instructing. Whoever realised that swapping the headset in the
winch would cure the whisper quiet comms deserves some appreciation too!
And
the first Achievements of the year, - Congratulations to Rowan for
demonstrating his aerobatic skills to CFI Martin, and getting his
Standard Aerobatic badge signed up, following the excursion in the
Christen Eagle with Ian.
Congratulations also to James F for passing the BI tests with Simon M.
A rather splendid start to 2016 for those present with ~50 winch launches and 10 aerotows - Tim P
