Tuesday 9th May - Course week

After a good first day of the Course week it was no surprise that everyone was at the Club bright and early in anticipation of another day of flying. However the relatively positive forecast was not reflected in the actual weather with the early morning blue skies soon replaced by grey.

So, after a morning briefing on the likely weather for the day and potential soaring conditions from John Borland the decision was made to set up the launch point in the South West corner of the field. Both K21s and a Junior were taken out of the hangar ahead of being walked down to the launch point. Meanwhile Mike and Peter completed some 'ground school' briefings with Andy, Steve and Roy.
Launching into grey skies initially (Mike Sloggett)
Mid-morning the first flights of the day were underway with Hans and John having the fun of some eventuality checks ahead of Junior flights whilst Tim took the opportunity to complete some Junior flights before Hans and John got to the glider. The morning then saw continued progression of training flights for Andy, Steve and Roy. As lunchtime arrived then so did an improving sky with increasing evidence of thermic activity around the airfield. Lunch was therefore eaten quickly...
An improving sky (Mike Sloggett)
And from early afternoon onwards as ever it was a question of making the most of the evident thermals which were strong albeit rough and broken needing good handling skills and of course in and amongst the lift there was strong sink (8 to 10 down in places) requiring sensible circuit planning!

Towards the end of the day a rope break meant a sooner rather than planned finish to the day but with two good days of gliding already and a reasonable weather forecast for the next couple of days there were plenty of smiling faces in the Clubroom for the end of day discussion/de-brief.

During the afternoon Pete Startup (Discus 230) launched and 'disappeared' for a couple of hours, apparently local soaring but actually completing the Club 100! Carl Tharme and David Cottingham took the opportunity to take Motor Falke (G-BKVG) for an airing.
Nick Jones - Earth mover (Peter Smith)
Early evening Nick, Pete and John continued to move top soil into a section in the North west of the airfield as part of the ongoing field leveling project - with Nick creating some additional challenges for pilots by creating temporary 'giant molehills'....
Temporary giant  molehills (Mike Sloggett)
Another good day all round. - Mike Sloggett