The weather on Monday started off rather damp, with a foggy morning and a very low cloud base hanging over North Hill. Although gliding was out of the question, it gave us a good chance to drink tea and learn about the theory of flying. We enjoyed the opportunity to see the vehicles used by the club, and the K21s we would be flying later that week.
- Luckily, during the week the weather improved dramatically.
Tuesday started off with a low cloud base hanging over North Hill, the afternoon was clear enough for us all to get in a good number of launches and start getting used to the circuits. Chris Coville managed to reach double figures – with an impressive 10 flights in the Junior in a single day.
The sun burnt off most of the low cloud on the third day of the Course, and after lunch we were able to get up in the air. It was our first day meeting many other club members, and we felt welcomed by them all. David and Nat had the chance to experience aerotows – thank you to Robert for this, and we had help from others including Roly Clarke who flew some of the Course members.
Thursday’s weather was beautiful. Despite the wind that picked up a little, all Course members had wonderful soaring flights of up to 2 hours in length, with some of us heading over to the M5 before turning back. For those with little flying experience, it felt like a huge achievement to be able to use thermals to gain over 1000ft in altitude.
After a long day of gliding, the Course dinner at The Keeper’s Cottage Inn was well deserved!
Although we expected Friday to be kind to us with the weather, the fog returned. This gave us time to drink more tea, hear about flights that others on the Course had made, and James and Heidi had fun in the gliding simulator, with mixed success.
In spite of some challenging weather during the week, we all got a chance to make real progress in our gliding skills. With any luck, we’ll return to the club having progressed even further.
Many thanks to the instructors Paul Carpenter and John Sillett, and to the ground crew too, including Allan, Richard, Tim, Jill, Pete and Graham. The Course week has been a great success thanks to your help.
From left to right: Tim Petty, Allan Mounce, James Sydney, Heidi Thiemann, Paul C, Rob Rankin, Nat Rankin, David Wojnar, John Sillett. Not pictured is Chris Coville, who had to leave on Thursday afternoon.- (new member) Heidi Thiemann
- Luckily, during the week the weather improved dramatically.
Tuesday started off with a low cloud base hanging over North Hill, the afternoon was clear enough for us all to get in a good number of launches and start getting used to the circuits. Chris Coville managed to reach double figures – with an impressive 10 flights in the Junior in a single day.
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| Rob holding the wing as David prepares to launch (Heidi Thiemann) |
Thursday’s weather was beautiful. Despite the wind that picked up a little, all Course members had wonderful soaring flights of up to 2 hours in length, with some of us heading over to the M5 before turning back. For those with little flying experience, it felt like a huge achievement to be able to use thermals to gain over 1000ft in altitude.
After a long day of gliding, the Course dinner at The Keeper’s Cottage Inn was well deserved!
Although we expected Friday to be kind to us with the weather, the fog returned. This gave us time to drink more tea, hear about flights that others on the Course had made, and James and Heidi had fun in the gliding simulator, with mixed success.
In spite of some challenging weather during the week, we all got a chance to make real progress in our gliding skills. With any luck, we’ll return to the club having progressed even further.
Many thanks to the instructors Paul Carpenter and John Sillett, and to the ground crew too, including Allan, Richard, Tim, Jill, Pete and Graham. The Course week has been a great success thanks to your help.
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| September Course |
From left to right: Tim Petty, Allan Mounce, James Sydney, Heidi Thiemann, Paul C, Rob Rankin, Nat Rankin, David Wojnar, John Sillett. Not pictured is Chris Coville, who had to leave on Thursday afternoon.- (new member) Heidi Thiemann
