Thurs 16th May

The Thursday regulars turned out in numbers this morning which, together with the Course members and helpers present, ensured that gliders and ground equipment were readied easily. As with the previous three Course days it was then a question of walking the gliders down to the Northwest corner of the airfield.

The conditions enabled Mark  Worsfold to continue with the ‘fun’ of dealing with eventualities - and providing the opportunity for Mike Sloggett to visit various different parts of the airfield at the same time.
Congratulations to Mark Worsfold (Jill Harmer)
Congratulations to Mark, with his Training card full, Mark then completed his first two solos in a K21 - a great achievement taking into account that Mark is profoundly deaf, and reflective of his commitment and determination to fulfil a personal ambition of becoming a pilot.
A veil of high cloud at North Hill today (Mike Sloggett)
RASP had suggested a potential good day of soaring which had encouraged various private owners to rig and tow their gliders down to the other end of the airfield. However as is often the case the actual thermal conditions were not exactly as forecast - for the Course members keen to continue practising winch launching, circuit planning and landings the weather was ideal. For the solo pilots, whether flying Club gliders or their own gliders, it was a case of taking a winch launch and hoping to find something positive in the air around the airfield. Few were successful, although the south ridge was kicking off occasional thermals. Longest flight of the day was George Sanderson in HES for 40 minutes. 
Well done Roly  on his NPPL (Ian Mitchell)
Congratulations also to Roly Clarke for successfully passing his General Skills Test with Ian Mitchell completing his NPPL SLMG. 

The evening continued with the course dinner held at The Wyndham Arms,  Kentisbeare with a large contingent of Course members, Helpers and hangers on - 22 in all. - Mike Sloggett