The keen early-arrivers had all the ground vehicles DI’d and ready by around 9am in a neat line in front of the clubhouse. Unfortunately, that’s where they stayed for the rest of the morning as the brisk south-wester propelled a stream of ragged low cloud along the field. By lunch-time, things were improving and the gliders came out and were moved to the launch point in the middle of the slowly-drying airfield just upwind from the clubhouse. Plenty of clear blue became evident, punctuated by obviously-convective clouds coming from the west, but these included some vigorous hail-showers.
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| Simulated launch failure in a dramatic sky (Tim Petty) |
First to launch just after 1pm were new flying member Stewart Henshall and instructor Simon Minson in K21 KEK, who managed to get away to the working and convective ridge for a soaring flight of 32 minutes. Next to go were James Flory with Charlie Stuckey in HCX and Simon Minson in KEK with Dan Hender, both instructors putting the juniors through launch-failure practice for their rating card renewals, followed by brief soaring flights for both.
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| Dan Hender on card checks (Simon Minson) |
Winch driver Sterling Melhuish was providing visibly-high launches into the stiff breeze although the launches had to be punctuated by breaks of up to 30 minutes as the showers went through. Andy Davey, Pete Startup and Paul Medlock ventured up in Junior LRD for soaring flights around the showers for up to 33 minutes (Pete).
Meanwhile, Ian Mitchell and Guy Adams disappeared in Falke CDSC for nearly two hours. When Ian returned he flew with Jonathan Erskine who came back grinning from ear to ear after his “best ever” soaring flight of 48 minutes - longest flight of the day. To end the day, Sterling was first confronted by JB with a launch-failure practice in KEK but then rewarded by nearly half-an-hour’s solo soaring in KEK.
16 glider flights in total – not bad for just half a day and nice for the day’s duty launch marshal who had little to do except join in with a very-effective launch team. - Tim Petty (DLM)
