Day 2 of the course started with real hopes that the forecast was right and we’d get to fly. The promise was that the cloud would burn off by mid-morning and it did, more or less, with the cognoscente looking skywards to interpret the clouds and the emerging bits of blue. For me, a mere novice, it seemed akin to the lost art of reading tea leaves.
While waiting for the moment to get the gliders out of the hangar, two teams were created and tasked with a quiz on the previous day’s learning. My team of three came second (or last!).
Despite Ian Hunt’s comprehensive and worthy pre-course digest / suggestions, I forgot to bring a warm hat and gloves. I might have had down jackets and lots of layers but it was freezing. The wind strength was a real concern for flying but we gave it a go.
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| Hangar landing after a testing day (Mark Courtney) |
The NE-E wind might have been 30-40 mph but it was straight down the field so launches were pretty smooth. However, there was massive sink beyond the field after release and thermals were broken beasts offering only modest lift. I didn’t care that flights were short, it was all experience that I was so eager to get.
It’s not all about being airborne, of course, safe ground handling is crucial and the expert crew were patient and happy to share the procedures with us. - Seán Goddard
