Sun 30th March

 A fine (though blue) day was forecast, and as we assembled for the morning briefing it looked as though it was right. Not very many had shown up (about a dozen in all), possibly due in part to it being Mother's Day, but the K21s, Perkoz and Junior were ready by briefing. Sally Hender enjoyed a flight with Dan Hender as a Mother's Day treat. 

Dan taking Sally for a flight, with Rob at the winch (Rob Hender)

It was nice to launch from the clubhouse end, with the wind from the NW. The wind did keep it rather cool, though the sun made up for it. There was no low cloud to speak of, making thermal hunting awkward, though some was found principally in a line from the Bowl past Forest Glade caravan site.

By 4pm everyone who wished to fly had done so, and all was packed away shortly after. - Chris Warnes

Sat 29th March

 Saturday started with a promise on RASP, of good soaring weather further evidenced by the number of members rigging their own gliders.  It was good to see CFI Mark visiting (just checking up on us) - on the road to recovery after his recent heart surgery.

Steve Westlake, Duty Instructor, took the first launch of the day with Josh Howlett (new to DSGC but who flew many years ago at Nympsfield) using some of the morning thermals achieving a flight time of 30 minutes. As there weren’t many students onsite and low demand for the K21s, Josh later in the day took a 4th launch finding more thermals with a 50min flight.  

 

View from the winch (Rob Hender)

Peter Smith, after a few weeks away, also instructed, flying with Karen King.  Pundit of the day was Eric Alston in an ASG29.  From a winch launch Eric was up and away for over 2 hours, although there was a rumour that Rich Roberts  had made it to Crediton and back. Pete Startup was the morning Duty Launch Marshall meaning he had a late launch possibly leading to the land out later in the day? (aerial shot by Ian Mitchell from the Falke,other photo/comments courtesy of Pete).

 

Another day,  another field (Pete Startup)

 

Simon Jordy looked after our Trial flight visitors after an Instructor renewal check. James Flory was tugging until a warning light came up on EuroFox, but luckily Alan Rappaport was able to take over tugging duties in Bumblebee.

And another (Rob Hender)

 

Rob Hender did another long spell in the winch but when not needed spent the time taking photos.

Although the RASP forecast wasn't as accurate as hoped it was a pretty good day helped considerably by being able to launch from the east end of the airfield, and, due to the quietness of the day, a lunchbreak giving all the chance to warm up on a chilly Spring day (special recognition to Vikki's sausage casserole which fed many grateful cold glider pilots!) - Karen King

Thurs 27th March

 Following the blue skies and a little soaring on Wednesday, as the week progressed the RASP forecast for Thursday got better and better, so that there was a reasonable expectation of a half decent flying day. Well we understand that RASP is just a forecast and doesn’t actually direct the weather but mist, drizzle and the infamous disappearing Beech tree greeted a good number of expectant flyers! 

The boundless optimism of glider pilots prevailed and the ground equipment was rolled out, winch and launchpoint setup, cables run out, two K21’s, one Junior, and the Perkoz DI’d and a briefing conducted. The Beech tree re-appeared, the misty dampness cleared but the cloudbase stubbornly stayed low. An early lunch was agreed so we would be ready for the anticipated improvement (more glider pilot optimism). 

Mike and Dave - weather check (Mark Layton)

 After lunch we had convinced ourselves that there was an improvement so a met flight was prepared. Mike Sloggett launched with Dave Cowley (great to see him back after a long period away from the club).    Well !! now we have the disappearing glider trick. At around 600ft Mike had to pull off  due to low cloud and make a nice small circuit and land. At this point with no prospect of an improvement we realised we were beaten, so all the kit was packed away ready for a better day. Thanks to Mike Sloggett for trying.

However, not all was lost. - Mike conducted briefings for two newer members Ian and Josh, Vicky provided great lunches,  Robert's Astir was rigged and Ian and Josh had a useful session on the simulator. - John Borland 

Sat 22nd March

 The day started very quietly with just a small handful of people on a potentially reasonable flying day. Low cloud meant a slower than normal start coupled with the low number of people attending, but, the cloud lifted and the day improved very quickly  and we started to fly after a walk to the west end.
 
With the small numbers the day was restricted to aerotow only on the grounds of maintaining safe operations. The days flying started with the normal MET flight, and for once North Hill was in a big whole in the cloud.

Tuggie Stu took a glider flight (Stuart Procter)

We had a total of fourteen flights which provided for a number of training requirements to be fullfilled and all pilots to fly in some interesting conditions.

 
 

Interesting conditions Stu landing (Simon Leeson)

A good day was had by all, with a visit from Andy Aveling and Gary Coppin from Lasham in a Super Cub, and the Rotax Falke doing its usual thing.

A good enjoyable flying day was had by all those that attended, those that didn’t lost out !! - Dave Perriam

After flying, it was all speed ahead to prepare for the evening entertainment for International Francophonie Day. 

 

A French theme (Jill Harmer)

40 members, partners and friends  squeezed into the Clubroom for a super 'all things French' evening. 

A fantastic French spread (Jill Harmer)

 

Vicki put on a fantastic buffet including the snails and froglegs that some enjoyed! Jonathan and Jeannine Erskine ran a fun French quiz. 

Snail Racing (Rob Hender)

 

Then the main event was the snail racing with flying snails designed and crafted by Ivan Roulson.  A great evening and we raised £137  for the DSGC Charitable Trust.  Thanks all for supporting Vicki and the DSGC Charitable Trust.

Thurs 20th March

The uninspiring forecast of a dry south easterly wind was exactly what we got today, the only surprise was the strength of said wind. Typically the east end of the field was relatively calm whilst the west end was entirely different with the new windsock in the triangle permanently stuck horizontally like someone had superglued it in place. 

Aerotow into the blue sky (Mark Layton)

With Mike Sloggett assisted by Andy Pincombe and later by Chris Wool the shortish two-seater list was quickly worked through as flight times were in single digits for all the winch launches and only slightly better for the aerotows (including the two trial lessons). In fact I think we all spent more time walking the gliders back to the launch point than in the air!

As the day went on, the already blustery and turbulent conditions gradually increased making both the launches and landings interesting. Flying in challenging conditions is great experience but there's a limit and come mid afternoon after everyone had flown it was decided to quit whilst we were ahead and everything put away by 1600 hrs. - Mark Layton

Wed 19th March

 The small  group of  Wednesday flyers were greeted by a welcome mild  light South Easterly wind but high cloud cover suggested little chance of thermic activity. With Glenn off ill and Peter Smith away it fell to Guy Adams to run the day. The ground equipment, two K21’s and a SZD Junior were all DI'd and ready for Guy’s daily briefing at 9:30, then off to the West end to set up a NW to SE winch launch run.

The launch heights were decent into the SE wind but the first five flights were all quite short. RASP had predicted some thermic activity around mid-day but with 8/8 cloud cover it didn’t look good for that prediction. By late morning the clouds started to organise themselves into crosswind  lines south of the field indicating low level wave. Guy with Jonathan Erskine were the first to make use of the weak wave with a 31 minute flight. Jeff Taberham in the Junior then launched as an early  lunch break was called. Jeff landed just as the small team reassembled after lunch two hours later. The afternoon progressed with more long flights as the wave lift continued, eventually proving difficult to reach after about 15:30. A strong inversion at about 2,300ft limited the height gains and the wave could be difficult to locate as the cloud markers merged and the best lift kept moving.  

A quick hop back to Dunkeswell for R151 (Stu Procter)

 

Stu Procter came in via the Cub R151, jumped out and took a glider flight with Peter Warren, and then flew off again. A slow puncture in the Gator was spotted at lunchtime and thanks to Ashley and Dave it was taken to Honiton by Ashley and should be ready for the Thursday crew. 

Because it was a short two-seater list, everyone was able to get multiple flights, or at least a lengthy single flight.  A total of 6 solo flights and 14 dual. Eight hours of flight time and all back in the hangar by 5 pm. Big thanks to Guy for running a successful day.  What an excellent day, and sorry if you missed it. - Tom Sides & John Borland (ed mashup)

Sun 16th March

 With a chilly day (North easterly) forecast, the list was half the size of last weeks!
James Flory and Steve Westlake stepped in to cover the empty Duty Instructor slot for the day, but both needed to leave mid-afternoon, so time was of the essence. First launch was at 10:24am, with steady progress made throughout the morning. Tom Sides taking the Trial Lesson flight, which was enjoyed. 

Another super sky (Jill Harmer)

 Pete Startup (230) and Simon Minson (SM) also took launches and headed off to the East for 2-3 hours - must have been a bit chilly!

At 1:15pm we all stopped for lunch, with the draw of a warm clubhouse and the temptation of Roast Pork on offer from Vicki, I can definitely vouch for it!

We were all back on the airfield by 2pm, with Martin Woolner kindly stepping in to fly with the post-solo pilots. The donated winch launch  visitor from Axminster Young Farmers took their flight with Tom but with only 6 mins, Tom generously took them again on a friends and family. Thanks to Rob Hender for winching all morning and Geoff Lawrence all afternoon.

And then with conditions changing, the card colour went up to a blue! At 3pm James left us, and further flights were achieved completing the list by 4pm. Thanks to everyone who braved the cold wind and helped today, another successful day flying.  - Sally Hender

Sat 15th March

 Just another sunny but biting cold north easterly windy day  and a little bit of soaring, ......

Devon scenes (Simon Leeson)

 

......with Stuart Procter Duty Instructor and Simon Leeson tuggie. 

 

North Hill sunset (Graham Barden)

Another pleasant day - Thanks to all. - J&P

Thurs 14th March

A bright cold morning greeted a good crowd of Thursday flyers accompanied by a strong gusty NE wind. The wind chill reducing the apparent temperature further. The early arrivals had worked hard to prepare the ground equipment and a welcoming log fire was warming the clubhouse. 

Mike Sloggett (Duty Instructor) made an  initial assessment of the conditions and decided on a SW to NE cable run and to prepare two ASK21’s  leaving the SZD Junior in the hangar until a met flight to assess  the flying conditions. There was no difficulty assembling everyone in the warm Clubhouse for the briefing. Andy Pincombe joining  Mike to tackle a long training list. 

Dartmoor visible to the West (John Borland)

 

Following the briefing the gliders were walked to the west end. Cloud base was initially under 2000’  with approx. 7/8 cover but varied throughout the day. Following the met flight a yellow rating flag was raised  and Mike decided the Junior was safe to fly. 

Occasional glimpses of warm? sunshine (John Borland)

 

Mike and Andy continued working through the training list and given  the good turn out it was possible to keep flying through lunch and warmup breaks in the club house. Flight times were generally short in the gusty conditions. Roger Ellis taking the longest flight at 35 minutes having launched straight under a large dark cloud which he exploited to good effect. The North ridge area provided another source of intermittent lift but in general it was just a good day to maintain that all so important currency. 

Aston's back (John Borland)

 

It was good to see Aston re-solo after his break in sunny Cornwall. Big thanks to Mike for running the day, Andy Pincombe for helping with the training and a special thanks to Vicky for the hot meals. 

A real team effort day. 21 dual flights, 9 solo flights and all kit safely stowed away by 5 pm. - John Borland

Wed 12th March

 The day dawned bright but slightly chilly, and by the time of the briefing, the K21s, a Junior and the Perkoz, were ready for action. Regrettably Vicki, was otherwise detained! and so we had to walk the gliders to the West end of the field without our normal sustenance. Hope you are on the mend Vicki.

Flights were mainly short until by late morning, a series of showers, with hail mixed in, made us stop for an early lunch. Well done to Callum Ellis (new member joining us from Pocklington) getting cleared solo at North Hill.

Nice sky - time to rig the Mosquito Jeff ? (David Clements)

 

Afterwards, flying resumed and we found some lift in the afternoon, making for a few longer flights. Although only 23 flights were taken, the 13 that turned up had all flown, and so ended a good and mainly sunny day quite early at about 4pm. - Chris Warnes

Sun 9th March

 All the gliders were out of the hangar and equipment ready before the 9:15am briefing. Duty Instructor Mike Sloggett, ably assisted by James Flory and Martin Woolner, (and later on Simon Minson too) started their way down the extensive two-seater list! First launch at 10:08am, just missing the cheap launch rate, but pretty impressive from the west end of the airfield. 

However, after the first two launches it was decided to move the Launchpoint to the middle of the field, the winch then having to shuffle around too. 

Overcast skies early on (Simon Minson)

Flying continued, with Robert Lee taking the two booked Trial Lessons, both of which enjoying the experience. The two-seater list was a challenge, with four ‘family and friends’ flights, three cable breaks, blue card conditions for a couple of hours, a deer running across the launch line, the cable constantly falling in the next field and a loose horse on the airfield, it was a struggle to get through. 

Clouds breaking (Simon Minson)

 However, we eventually made it through the majority of the list, apologies to those members that didn’t get in the air. Thanks go to the Inspector team for completing the DG505 3000 hour airframe check and bringing the two-seater fleet back up to 4 gliders.

Statistic of the day, there were 6 father and son combinations on the flying list - Is this a record? Dixon, Lean, Hier, Green,  Rigby and Hender.

The setting sun ( Simon Minson)

 Congratulations also to Kevin Fairburn, who completed his Bronze flying assessment with Martin Woolner. We finally packed everything away by 6:30pm. Thank you to everyone that helped through the day, and stayed right until the bitter end, 40 winch launches and 4 aerotows in total. - Sally Hender

Sat 8th March

 Not sure which part of my Friday night message put people off but it was only a select few at the club house when I arrived. Shame because we did fly and it was fun!

Cloudy but not low  cloud (John Pursey)

The select few included Tristan Oxer (14) returning from a recent “first flight” experience, and usual stalwarts Shaun Dayman, Alan Turner, duty man Nick Harrison, Ashley Turner and of course James Flory.  

Tristan Oxer with John Pursey (Shaun Dayman)

 

To keep to my word about flying, we pulled two K21s to the west end and set the winch out in the middle of the field to avoid soft spots. Short-handed, we did manage to keep both 21s flying, thanks to Alan then Shaun winching and retrieving. Things got easier when we were joined by Mike Wilmott and Stuart Procter! The fresh breeze gave near 1500ft launches (thanks Alan) and with Tristan on a rapid learning curve (14..!) as we went through the effects of controls I subtly tried to work out if there was any soaring to be had! 

Looks like it should have been waving.... (John Pursey)

 

The internet forecast had suggested low cloud but in truth it was plenty high and had a vague wavy feel. No classic SE wave, however, and the with sporty approaches the fun aspect was still in doubt! With all who wanted to having flown I took Tristan’s mum....

Coat holding in the cold wind (John Pursey)

 

....who had nobly stood in the wind, coat holding, for a flight. With no wave,  I gambled on the far side of Hembury ridge and had a very pleasant 50 mins soaring the hill lift having a chat with Sheena! 

John going soaring on Hembury Hill (Shaun Dayman)

 Shame fewer folks turned up than usual, you have to be “in it to win it” as they say, but thanks to the stalwarts, I at least had fun!

The other side of Hembury Hill (John Pursey)

  PS  People forget that the other side of Hembury ridge is even steeper than the side we see from the club. Driving down to Honiton took a look at the bit that worked and it is short but a great shape. - John Pursey

Tug Hangar insulation completed (James Hood)

 And thanks to James Hood, Dave Weeks and Simon Leeson for completing the insulation of the tug hangar doors.

 

Thurs 6th March

 The forecast for Thursday was for a southerly or South Easterly wind increasing in strength during the day and highish cloud cover. Thankfully the easterly element didn’t materialize and it was certainly warmer than recently. 

Not quite the blue skies of recent days (Mike Horwood)

 

The ground equipment and three gliders were all out and DI’d before the 9:30 briefing with Ron Johns, in charge for the day. A small group assembled for the briefing without a number of the Thursday regulars, but good to see Aston Key and Geoff Lawrence in attendance after a break. After a spell of dry weather the field was dry enough  to set up the winch for a NE-SW run.

Peter Smith's latest project (Tom Sides)

Thanks to Peter Smith for installing the replacement wind sock after the winter storm damage, and to George Sanderson for installing the LED flasher in both K21s.

The first flight got away just after 10am with Ron instructing in a ASK21 and reported weak wave to the south of the field, having an extended flight of 27 minutes. Chris Wool  joined us to help with the instructing list. 

A lot of overcast (Mike Horwood)

 

Thermal activity was never going to occur but the weak wave was in evidence throughout the day. Ron recorded the longest flight of 39 minutes and there were a number of flights around half an hour. The wave rotor which was in evidence below the wave, made for some interesting moments. The southerly wind, which is always the worst direction at North Hill due to the gusts coming up the gully, made for some interesting approaches, but thankfully didn’t strengthen as forecast.  By 3pm everyone had flown at least once so an early finish was called. A total of 18 flights, 7 solo and 11 dual instructional, just short of 6 hours airborne. Not bad for a grey day. Thanks to Ron for running the day and good to see Chris back in the slightly warmer weather. He needed it warmer as he arrived on two wheels. - John Borland

Wed 5th March

 The cold frosty night turned into a thick misty morning by the time we all arrived at North Hill. The forecast was for it to clear and so it did, eventually. In the meantime five of the six club gliders were DI'd and taken to the north west launch point, we were Daily Briefed by Glenn and many cups of tea were drunk before the sky cleared enough for the first launch. 

More blue skies (Mark Layton)

 

Glenn Turpin and Pete Smith aided by Andy Pincombe worked through the two-seater flying list which was not very long as most of those present were solo pilots. Charlie West (Julian's son) had his first glider flights, Aston Key returned from a long layoff and there were two trial flights carried out by Dave Perriam and Shaun Dayman. 

The gridline (Mark Layton)

 

Flights were unspectacular and relatively short in the begin conditions with only the crosswind to contend with. The misty conditions that had plagued the start of the day were present further afield with a stunningly sharp inversion line on the horizon in all directions. Towards the end of the day it wasn't the misting canopies that halted the flying but the bright setting sun. Luckily everyone had flown at least once.

Working through the two-seater list (Dave Clements)

Despite the later than normal start there was plenty of flying to be had and enjoyed by all. Everyone worked hard all day keeping things flowing without many stoppages which was much appreciated by the instructors. - Mark Layton

Sun 2nd March

 A clear day dawned, and on the second meteorological day of spring the clouds were non-existent, the sun was shining and there was plenty of interest in flying!

The clubhouse was full and there were plenty of people to get the gliders up for flying, although there was some confusion on timings, we were set up and flying, and as the day progressed the thermals and lift got better and better and we experienced the one problem of a good flying day...  Lack of gliders!

Same as Saturday above but without the clouds (James Hood)

But we persevered and while working through the flying list was slow, by the end there were plenty of pilots that had shaken off the dust from a long winter, and here is to more flights as the weather (hopefully!) continues to improve. Thanks to all - Paul Warren (first time blogger)

Sat 1st March

The first day of Meteorological Spring  - delivered!

Clear blue skies, then wispies, and tempting looking clouds  out of reach! So James Flory was  standing in as Duty Instructor, with Stu Procter Tuggie and Andy Batchelor Duty Launch Marshall (all day).

Clouds to the south (James Hood)

 

Winching was possible with the airfield drying out in the sunny weather and  fairly strong north easterly wind. And the good forecast brought out the members and private owners in force,  with the soaring starting just before lunchtime,  Simon Minson SM, Pete Startup in 230, Rich Roberts in V5, plus the SF27  and Dan Hender rigged K6 DRE. 

Hoping the wispies work (Pete Startup)

 

Pete 230 completed a 101km out and return to Eaglescott, and Dan landed out at Brentor, but most were happy to stay local. - J&P

 

 

Thurs 27th February

 Can it be assumed that normal service has been resumed?  With three good normal club flying days on the trot (ok we'll ignore the fact that Wednesday's cancelled day was moved to Tuesday) today was surely proof that the weather has changed for the better. With lots of overnight rain the decision to aerotow initially in the cold northerly wind was a wise one.

Private gliders gridding (Shaun Dayman)

All flights apart from the initial few were soarable right up to the last launch with all the club gliders (except the DG505 which is still awaiting paperwork completion after it's 3000 hr service) in use and at times they were all in the air at the same time. They were joined by 5 private gliders (V5, W7, G29, 230 and Andy Davey in his 'other' Libelle) who all took the opportunity of the great late February soaring conditions. 

Exe Estuary glinting in the Devon sunshine (Mike Sloggett)

 By late morning the idea of attempting to do some winch launching was scuppered before it started when a K21 got stuck in the soft ground at the North West end - proving we should stick to aerotows. Retrieving the glider took a small army of willing volunteers at it had to be manoeuvred out of the axle deep hole. Unfortunately on completion the ground looked like an archeology dig on the set of Time Team.  

The usual wash and brush up (Mark Layton)

 Aerotows continued with both Simon Jordy and Alan Rappapore sharing tugging duties in the (at times) boisterous conditions. By 5pm everyone had flown, some more than once, most for an hour or more. Trial flight visitor Ian Rust-Ashford hung around all day after his initial flight, managing to have a couple more for good measure. Looks like he has well and truly got the gliding bug! - Mark Layton

Tues 25 February

 A score of members agreed that the Wednesday forecast for rain and high wind justified moving club flying to Tuesday. The morning briefing confirmed that while there was potential for winch launches, it all depended upon how the field held up given the previous heavy rain. Several wanted currency or card checks, but we had three instructors, so all working gliders were pulled out. After a small delay when the Launch Control became stuck on the north side, flying started just after 11:00. 

Blue skies and thermals (Tom Sides)

 With a favourable west wind, winch launches were reaching 1400 feet, and thermals started and extended flights were on. Landing conditions were judged sufficiently challenging that a decision was made to hoist the blue card flag, but the general flying conditions just got better and better until flying was completed at 5pm. 25 flights is nothing to complain about in February. 

Puffy white clouds in February (Tom Sides)

It was a superb day. Those wanting spin checks checked that goal, but for most, the steady northwest wind, thermals and cloud streets allowed us to re-acquaint ourselves with soaring. Thank you Peter Smith, Glenn Turpin, Martin Woolner, and JB for your instructing work. It also must be noted that the soaring season was officially opened by Pete Startup with his three hour flight. 

Towing the Disco amd Launch Control (Tom Sides)

 

 After allowing the sun and wind to partially dry out the field, Peter brought the MF tractor over to tow the Silver Disco and Launch Control from where it was left earlier. Thank you as well to Vicki for coming in and feeding the troops on your day off. - Tom Sides

Sat 22nd February

 With the recent poor weather and lack of flying, the weather for Saturday looked very promising. The challenge was the condition of the field after all the recent rain. But having  put their optimistic hats on there was a small but enthusiastic turnout when I arrived at the club just after 8. The next question was is the field up to it?  Following several pitch inspections by me, Simon Leeson and Stuart Procter it was decided aerotowing would be possible from the north side. Decisions made, we got the gliders and Disco across to the launch point area and went in to brief whilst the low cloud cleared. By this time the Clubhouse was pretty full, with lots of expectant members wanting to fly. It was therefore agreed that we would use Bumblebee along with our EuroFox to help with the towing. 

Two-tug day (Rob Hender)

 

There was a long list of people wanting spinning checks for card renewals and Neil from Mendip Gliding club who had come down specially to spin as part of his IFP rating checks. Whilst we waited for the cloud to lift Simon and I therefore took the chance to do spinning briefing.

The first tow with Simon Leeson flying the Tug and Alan Turner  and I in a K21 at 11:00 revealed not just flyable conditions but some thermals. Apart from a shower around midday the rest of the day saw improving conditions with blue skies, white fluffy clouds forming streets, some nice thermals all mixed in with a little bit of ridge lift. 

 

View of Devon from the front (Simon Leeson)

The improving conditions were echoed in the flight times with Pete Startup, Dave Perriam, Simon Leeson now in a K21 with Benjie Pitts and John Borland all getting over an hours soaring. At one point we had four club gliders all enjoying the same thermal, magic. All spinning trips were completed by Stuart and I,  and the Trial flight visitor enjoyed her flight with Tom Sides. 

Lookout! how many gliders? (James Flory)

 

Whilst many of us were enjoying the flying thanks go to all those involved in finishing the DG505’s 3000 hour check, led by Carl Tharme, George Sanderson, Pete Startup and John Burrow.

Overall a brilliant day.  The field held up well, everyone flew and most had prolonged flights, even if they were spinning. As always great team work by everyone with Rob and Sally Hender at the forefront of supporting operations, all the tug pilots present got the chance to fly and keep current, thanks to Alan Rappaport for flying Bumblebee and everyone else for making it a lovely day at North Hill.

End of a brilliant day (Simon Leeson)

 

We then concluded the day with the DSGC Charitable Trust AGM, another example of the great ethos at our Club, thanks go to all the Trustees.

Finally and most importantly of all, I know you will all join me in wishing CFI Mark a very speedy recovery. Get well soon Mark we’re missing you already and we hope to see you soon. - James Flory