The blue sky and warm sunshine from first thing encouraged an early unpack of the hangar in anticipation of a day of flying albeit in warm temperatures and with limited opportunities for thermals. All of the Club gliders were brought out of the hangar and daily inspections completed on both K21s, the DG505, Perkoz and the Juniors following which the gliders were towed down to the South West corner of the airfield where the launchpoint had been set up.
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| Clear blue skies (Mike Sloggett) |
And then it was on with the day with Peter Smith (standing in for Simon Minson), Mike Sloggett, Chris Wool and John Street starting to work their way through the flying list, as a result of which Charlie Stuckey, David Cowley and Trevor Russell all completed solos in a K21 or Junior ‘brushing away the rust of limited flying during the winter months’.
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| Distinctive wingtips of the Perkoz (Mike Sloggett) |
Meanwhile Paul Summers and Guy Adams looked after our Trial lesson visitors completing three ‘Mile High’ aerotows during the day.
The Perkoz was in demand from instructors looking to complete their conversion training/glider familiarisation flights and this continued throughout the day.
The Perkoz was in demand from instructors looking to complete their conversion training/glider familiarisation flights and this continued throughout the day.
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| James Hood next up to fly the Perkoz (Stu Procter) |
At lunchtime the wind had changed direction enough to need a change of sides so the launchpoint was moved to the North West corner of the airfield and where it stayed for the rest of the day.
As ever the day was a story of whether one launched at the right time - those who did managed to use the thermals to good effect and stayed up, those who were not lucky enough to find thermals found themselves back in circuit soon after launch. And with the flying list completed by mid-afternoon there was time for various people to have extra flights before all the gliders were flown home.
Well done to Martin Bennett who completed the longest flight of the day just under 2 hours in a Junior. We welcomed Justin and Gillian Wills back from New Zealand as they arrived with the Antares, and Justin completed an O/R to Shaftesbury.
With a total of 61 flights a good day all round - thank you to everyone who helped others get into the air today.
In the evening, there was a celebration supper to thank the DSGC team for the work involved with Exeter Airspace - Mike Sloggett
As ever the day was a story of whether one launched at the right time - those who did managed to use the thermals to good effect and stayed up, those who were not lucky enough to find thermals found themselves back in circuit soon after launch. And with the flying list completed by mid-afternoon there was time for various people to have extra flights before all the gliders were flown home.
Well done to Martin Bennett who completed the longest flight of the day just under 2 hours in a Junior. We welcomed Justin and Gillian Wills back from New Zealand as they arrived with the Antares, and Justin completed an O/R to Shaftesbury.
With a total of 61 flights a good day all round - thank you to everyone who helped others get into the air today.
In the evening, there was a celebration supper to thank the DSGC team for the work involved with Exeter Airspace - Mike Sloggett
