Sat 16th December

 The airfield is drying out with not much rain for the last few days, but low cloud is still a problem. So some valuable training in the simulator was useful.  JB  took the opportunity to go through a lot of exercises in the sim with various members -  testing trimming, turning, stalls, spins, circuits, basic aerobatics, thermal and ridge lift practice at North Hill. 

Final for Nympsfield (Stewart Henshall)

He asked if it was possible to start a flight at Nympsfield - it was duly arranged. JB expertly guided Connor along the ridge to Bath racecourse and back - all flown at realistic heights in convincing ridge lift conditions.

Final at North Hill (Stewart Henshall)

 Also there was a a long session of launch failures. Multiple options were discussed and flown on a critical height Aerotow failure to the East - All 6 in the room found the exercise beneficial.
And then there were some  simulated winch launch failures… - Stewart Henshall

And well done Stewart for a great run in the Condor World Series despite work meaning he missed a couple of the races.

Thurs 14th December

 We had a situation today: Mike Sloggett was still dealing with a terrible flood situation at his house, Pete Harmer was still playing nurse to Jill, so it was up to Ron Johns to step up and take the helm.

Ron's GG message last night was more of a "look for yourself" regarding the weather. People did, and surprisingly quite a few decided it would be worth a trip to the club! Leaving Plymouth in the dark, just after 7 in the driving rain, I was beginning to question my usual optimism. By the Trago turnoff, it was getting light, and the rain had stopped, however.

By 9:15, the clubhouse was reasonably busy. The Thursday gang, like the Wednesday guys, seem to enjoy each other's company, which was just as well, as the prospect of flying seemed unlikely!

Small patch of blue sky (Mark Courtney)

However, by early lunchtime, there was a small patch of blue sky. This was enough to spur people into action stations. The EuroFox had a new engine management data cable installed by myself this morning, so a test flight was in order. Chris Wool was in the passenger seat. Although we used this as a met  flight, we were under strict orders from the treasurer, who was manning the launch point, that any minute passed five would have to be paid for by us. Unsurprisingly, the flight was a short one. With the weather and aircraft declared fit for purpose, we commenced flying.

Two K21s, the Perkoz, and a Junior were in use for the rest of the afternoon. Only severe misting of the canopies stopped us from continuing, a good call from Ron. Chris Wool and Guy Adams instructed all afternoon as well. Thanks, guys. Tug duty was shared by myself and Simon Jordy, who elected not to wear his usual Hawaiian shirt today (it must be getting colder). Many thanks to Ron for stepping in today to take charge. It was good that his 1.5-hour drive both ways was not in vain. Thanks to everyone today. It was a great team effort! - Mark Courtney

Sat 9th December

Well it has certainly rained a bit since the beginning of the month.....and the field is too wet again to use.

But there were plenty of things going on before the AGM started at 18:00. 

Good turnout for the AGM 2023 (Simon Leeson)

 The Chairman highlighted the massive number of small projects that had occurred in the last 12 months with thanks to all our member volunteers. The Membership Secretary pointed out that we had far more recruits this year than leavers. The Treasurer highlighted that we need to build up our reserves again after our recent large purchase of the Eurofox. The CFI confirmed what everyone knew that  with a couple of exceptions, the weather at North Hill had not been the soaring season that we had all hoped for, but achievements were still noted. The Management Committee were reconfirmed in post.

DSGC Trophies (Simon Leeson)

The trophies were awarded as follows (more details on the DSGC website):

Trophy	Awarded for	Current Holder 2023
Brian Master's Trophy	Winner of the Task Week	not awarded
Dave Fewings Memorial Shield	Best two-seater flight from North Hill	Phil Morrison & John Pursey
The Kennedy Trophy	Best performance in a BGA rated competition	Dan Hender
The Kelsey Plate	Longest cross-country flight from North Hill	Pete Startup
Tim Parsons Trophy	Earliest declared and completed flight over 300kms from North Hill	Pete Startup
The Wily Old Bird	personal presentation by the CFI for guile or cunning	Sally Hender
The Rose Bowl	Winner of the Club Ladder (flights from North Hill)	Pete Startup
The Ken Andrews Trophy	Best flight in a glider with handicap 90 or less from North Hill	Andy Davey
Tim's Challenge Trophy	First O/R to Lasham in a glider with handicap 90 or less from North Hill	not awarded
Francis Bustard Tankard	Best gain of height	Pete Startup
Presidents Trophy aka The Norman Whyte Shield	Best progress	Dan Hender
Instructor of the Year	Member online vote	James Flory
Les' Tankard	Best contribution to the Club by a Junior member	Joel Roulson
The Dick Wolff Trophy	Best contribution to the Club by helping others	Sally Hender
Des Champ Vachables Trophy	The member who achieved the greatest retrieve epicness	James Smart
Le Magnifique Pissoir	The most flights scoring less than 100pts on the ladder	not awarded
Mike Fairclough's Diamond Cup	The member who has achieved a Diamond leg	Stewart Henshall

 

AGM Supper (Mark Courtney)

Following the awarding of trophies, we enjoyed a great supper cooked by regular paella / risotto chef John Pursey with help from Alan Rappaport and Phil Morrison, with profit donated to DSGC Charitable Trust. - J&P

 

Sun 3rd December

The forecast for today wasn’t as optimistic as yesterday’s weather, and with the overnight rain fewer members arrived this morning. Duty instructor, Mike Sloggett, along with James Flory arranged the unpacking of the hangar. The airfield was still pretty wet from the rain and with so few members the decision was made to aerotow only, which made the duty tug pilot Mark Courtney happy.  

The EuroFox view (Simon Leeson)

A K21 and the DG505 were towed across to the north side. Stuart Thomson took the first flight with Mike, Paul Summers and Dave Perriam shared the next two taking in turns being P1. Peter Warren, Rob Hender, Graham Hawker and myself all got a turn behind the Fox. James Flory and Mark Courtney sharing the tug duties.

By 2pm everyone who wanted to fly, had flown and the decision was made to stop for a late lunch. However as we headed back to the clubhouse the weather was beginning to break a little, so the plan changed and everything was packed away.  A useful days flying with a compact and bijou team! The carrot and coriander soup provided by Julie was thoroughly enjoyed, warming us up after a chilly days flying! Thanks to everyone for a lovely day. - Sally Hender

Sat 2nd December

It was a cold (-5C) start this morning with the windows frozen in the Clubhouse at 8:00. The members that were on site decided given the temperature to wait an hour or so till it warmed up to get the aircraft out. During this time James Flory trialled his new more organised morning briefing by PowerPoint in the clubhouse which was warmly received by those present. 

Mist in the valleys (Connor Williams)

After this a K21, Perkoz and Junior were brought out and the airfield was setup with the launch point in the north east corner and winch in the north west. Flying got underway not long after 10:00 with members taking advantage of the Eurofox (duty tuggy Simon Leeson was in a good mood and so allowed some of the other tug pilots present a few tows). 

James and Andy trying out the new forcefeedback joystick (Connor Williams)

Sadly due to misting canopies we had to pack up about 15:30 however we got pretty much everyone on the list flown - so a good day overall. Once everything was packed away James Flory and Andy Batchelor tried out the new force feedback on the simulator and seemed very impressed. - Connor Williams