It was a day of 2 halves. This morning was a slow affair, very few members, no doubt planning a Mother’s Day meal. Simon Leeson was duty instructor in the morning, keen as ever he trudged one of the two K21’s to the NW corner. The winch was set up near the east end boundary which would give us high launches. The high pressure inversion was evident from the start, visibility was terrible and conditions were testing.
Brentor member Ed Borlase had a flight in the Rotax Falke with me for field landings, sometimes nearly getting lost in the gloom.
The weather presented itself as perfect for cablebreak practice, Connor was first to be put through his paces, reportably flying very well, followed by Harvey Skeggs and David Wojnar.
With the few pilots attending all needing cable breaks it was a slow morning. We decided to all stop for lunch, after refreshments a new sense of enthusiasm filled the air. It was evident that the weather had decided to provide some fun as well, thermals suddenly popping up everywhere!
Ruth Comer slipped into a spare K21 for a solo and immediately climbed away, grin suitably installed! Myself and Kevin Fairburn had a long flight which enabled him to progress significantly.
Stewart converts to DG100 (Sue Henshall)
Stewart Henshall and Hans Jenssen rigged their newly acquired DG100, Stewart flew first, utilising the now widespread lift, unfortunately when he passed over to a very eager Hans the sea air had pushed in and prevented Hans from getting away. However with three takeoffs and landings successfully complete all was not lost.
Hans Jenssen converts to DG100 (Mark Courtney)
Josh Funnell grabbed an opportunity to have a flight in the K21 and immediately found lift ( of course he would) just before the dreaded sea air killed the lift. Paul Summers flew with new member Ella, introducing her to the primary effect of controls.
Simon Leeson flew with a second Brentor member in the Falke for a cross-country training session, the visibility had improved dramatically once the thermals got going and mixed up the atmosphere.
Turned out to be a lovely relaxed day with lots of progress from the members requiring training and some good soaring for everyone else. - Mark Courtney
