The promise of a reasonable flying day was sufficient to draw in quite a number of club members which, when coupled with the members of the 5 day course already gathered on site, made for a busy day to come. By 09:30, all 6 of the club gliders were ready for action, quickly joined by a number of private gliders as the morning progressed and the cloudbase gradually lifted. Course flying, with instructors James Flory and John Sillett, kicked off initially with a sequence of launch failures for the students but, with the skies clearing and conditions improving markedly, some trainees progressed to aerotows for spinning exercises in the Perkoz. Alongside the course flying, training continued for other club members turning out for normal club flying, With continually improving weather conditions, flight times started to increase, with the longest flight of the day going to Gordon Bonny in the DG100 at 72 minutes.
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| Congratulations to Josh Batchelor for first solo with Instructor James Flory (Andy Batchelor) |
As the afternoon progressed, James Flory declared course member Josh Batchelor ready for his first solo. At 16 years old, Josh is one of the younger members of the club, having only joined last August. Taking the responsibility of being pilot in command of a glider in his stride, Josh completed an excellent launch, circuit and landing, at which point his slightly nervous parents watching from the sidelines finally felt they could breathe normally again!
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| Storm clouds to the south (Mark Courtney) |
The mixture of club and course flying, continued until after 1700, when an issue with cable fouling in the winch drum led to a temporary pause in flying. With a crack of thunder heard to the south and some angry looking clouds building and creeping ever closer, the decision was made to return the gliders to the hanger, with the doors being closed around 1809, signifying the end of a busy, but very rewarding day. - Andy Batchelor
Competition Enterprise report
Nick Jones, Phil Morrison and Dan Hender DD3 at Milfield,
We had two super flights today -
After a very short effort at doing the task, we had to start the engine after 20mins.
The day was saved for us when we picked up the SeaBreeze front and flew south to the end at Eshott, turned and flew along it northwards to the Lammermuir hills in Scotland 90kph.
We returned to Milfield and Phil repeated the trip with Dan, needless to say much faster at 110 kph. - Nick Jones
Sid's Task Week report
Pete Startup 230 was at Nympsfield for Out and Return to Banbury 153Kms "Another stumble around what should have been a straightforward task. Bit of a gap to cross in and out of Banbury and some overcast on the way home."
