Fri 31st January

 After yet another week of wet weather, Thursday's forecast looked like an ideal day for some winter flying but unfortunately there was one major problem that scuppered the plan, an overly wet field! Having cancelled all flying for the day to give the field a chance to recover there was no doubt a lot of sad faces sat at home wishing 'if only!' It was not to last long as Pete Smith declared later in the day a chance of an extra flying day on the Friday as the field had drained surprisingly well. 

Grid ready (Mark Layton)

 The clubroom was full at the morning briefing and after the decision to both winch and aerotow both the K21's and the Junior's were DI'd and the field set for the northerly wind with the launch point at the eastern end.

Cumulus forming (Mark Layton)

 

The solo list was about 5 times as long as the two-seater and at the quick  launch point briefing after Pete Smith's met flight it was suggested to a few sniggers that we should limit flights to 30 mins (i.e. you'll be lucky) to enable everyone to fly. It was just as well because for about an hour or so in the middle of the day the thermals were working, generated by the wind over the north ridge. Some were lucky, some less so as it turned off as quickly as it had started.

After lunch it was basically circuits and most had another flight or two to top up their currency barometer whilst the opportunity was available. 

De-Mudding (Mark Layton)

 

After 18 winch launches and 5 aerotows the gliders were de-mudded, cleaned and back in the hanger by 15:30 before returning to the lovely warm clubhouse. - Mark Layton

Sat 25th January

As might have been expected with the terrible forecast for Sunday, the airfield was very well populated early on Saturday.  Duty Instructors Stuart Procter and Steve Westlake had their work cut out with a lengthy list of training requests, with help from other instructors.  The single seater list flowed off the bottom of the page - such was the demand.  It was decided that, despite Thursday’s heavy rain, the spine of the field was sufficiently firm to take winching, which was just as well - given the length of the flying list. 

Cloudier afternoon (Mike Rigby)

 

The morning’s sunny but cold conditions gave way to more cloud in the afternoon but the winds were light and southwesterly so nowhere near as biting as the easterlies we sometimes get at this time of year. 

Pete Startup, already a contender for DLM of the year, ensured that the launch rate was brisk throughout the day and the tug was kept very busy with a variety of pilots, including Simon Leeson, Stuart Procter and James Flory. 

Sun still peeping through (Stuart Procter)

Progress was made by some of our younger members, including Benjie, whose flying is coming along nicely and Harry Rigby who was given the nod to fly solo again while (still!) home from university for Christmas. And well done to Alan Turner for converting to the Perkoz. 

Several members took advantage of the Treasurer's winter incentive for a free breakfast/lunch for taking 3 flights in the day. Well done to Pete Harmer with James Flory for the longest flight from a 2000ft aerotow.

The setting sun (Mike Willmott)

We had some guest appearances from a variety of wildlife, including a very obstinate worm-hunting buzzard who refused to give ground to launching gliders and a small deer that legged it across the field in the afternoon. 

Vicki worked hard to feed everyone and, as we hosed down and packed away at around 16:30 (we can already see the days lengthening significantly), we’d achieved an amazing 64 launches, with the field having stood up admirably to a fair intensity of use.  Great teamwork everyone. - Mike Rigby

In the evening, the stage was set for the January social event - Burns night - Cheryl did a great job dressing the tables and 21 members enjoyed a Black tie (or other) enjoyable 3-course feast of Cullen Skink, Haggis  Neeps and Tatties and  Cranachan accompanied by various liquids. 

A great evening (Mark Courtney)

 

The evening included Steve Westlake giving a superb rendition of The Address to the Haggis, a themed poetry competition  won by Mike Willmott, one of Sally's quizzes, and Rob's Burns night playlist - A donation of £115 was also made to the DSGC Charitable Trust. Thanks to Vicki and Sally for organising a great night.

"The BDI of the CFI - Mike Willmott

The beady eye of the CFI is forever watching
For those launches and landings that you might be botching
We all make mistakes, it’s in our make up
Just make sure it’s not after slack take up!

And remember when stepping over the coaming
to do your checks right and see who’s watching and roaming

But… a word in the ear
From an instructor sincere
Should be a welcome invite
To keep us safe and flying long
And ensure our landings are right

To control the logging computer you’ll need
a well trained tutor
To help when there’s been a mistake
And it says this pilot canna fly wi’out
A medical certificate.
And as for reading the flying list
You’d think the pilots were already….. can’t read that word!
Then a yellow trial flight form appears needing to be administered
It’s surprising that tempers don’t get more blistered.

When the Sally is logging
It all goes smoothly
When it’s me on the keyboard it complains most rudely
You’ve got it wrong all left handed
Ya canna launch this aircraft now
Least not until you’ve got it landed

And then you explain to man in charge
That you don’t find it easy
but beware
he’ll not tolerate incompetence and he’s not a timorous beasty
To be fair he’s mellowed over the years!

Once in the air though away from distractions
Just let your fantastic training guide your
actions.
And behind the Fox as you climb like a rocket
Remember how Tom smiles as you fill
his treasurers pocket.

I’ve said enough I’ll be away the noo
But never forget…
That the  beady eye of the CFI
Will always see you… Jimmy!"

 

Thurs 23rd January

The forecast was pretty poor for today so it was not surprising to see very few people at the club today. The day was far from a write off however, the simulator was in use all day for instructor training. The two candidates today were Dean (Scratch) from DGS Brentor and Shaun Dayman from  DSGC North Hill. Chris Wool and myself playing “bloggs the student” as well as demonstrating the exercises.

Mark playing bloggs the student with Shaun Dayman (Mark Courtney)

 

George Sanderson was busy in the hangar, fitting the new ultra-bright front-facing strobe light in K21 HCX, when I close my eyes I can still see the LED’s!
Ian Mitchell and Paul Medlock were down in the glider workshop and Ashley Thomas continued to clear any unwanted “stuff” from the clubhouse.

As usual Vicky was there to feed and water us! - Mark Courtney

Sun 19th January

 The forecast of a cloudy sky and the closure of Long Lane appeared to deter many members, however with just enough people to get the airfield set up James Flory (morning D.I) gave the ‘hopeful few’ the go ahead to do so.  Dan Hender then kindly came to the rescue agreeing to drive the winch and flying with two K21’s, got underway just after 11 a.m.

Cloudy skies but high enough (Karen King)

 

With the RASP accurate all launches were to full height with everyone who wished to fly enjoying at least one flight and with those training getting a full three launches.  The highlight for Luke was to be given the opportunity, after spending some time in the air with Ian Mitchell (D.I), to do his 4th solo. 

Luke Stabb enjoying his 4th solo (Karen King)

 

The club also welcomed Val Kiely from Dartmoor Gliding Society who has been a member there for a couple of years, and Val had a couple flights with Peter Smith.  
As the day progressed several more members turned up, most simply to help with operations, and a big thank you from those who did fly for their support.  Thomas Green (parent to new junior) was also very active getting promptly signed off glider retrieve.

Due to all those who wished to fly having done so and the canopies misting the last flight was around 4.30 p.m with the glider hangar doors closing promptly at 5 p.m.  - Karen King

What is the collective noun for Instructors? (Simon Leeson)

And in the Clubhouse,  we held a classroom session for prospective instructors from North Hill and our friends at Brentor.
Lots of subjects were covered by the coaches, JB, Mark, Simon L and Chris Wool, including, assessing the needs of the pupil, managing expectations, threat and error management (TEM) and life under SFCL which comes into force on the 30th September this year.
Mike Sloggett very kindly joined in to further his experience towards being a Basic Instructor Coach.
It was a very relaxed affair with coffee breaks and a delicious Sunday roast provided by Vicky.
I hope everyone felt it was worth holding the event. - Mark Courtney

Wed 15th January

Duty Instructor Peter Smith said during his Daily Briefing that he was slightly concerned when he arrived at NHL that there was not enough people to fly. He was in fact saying this to a packed clubhouse, maybe some forgot to set their alarm clocks or simply just lost their way in the thick mist on the journey to the club. 

Mist clearing (Mark Layton)

 

On completion of the daily brief, which optimistically suggested we might fly  if/when the mist burnt off, various members scattered themselves to different parts of the airfield to do something rather than sit in front of the log burner in the now lovely warm clubhouse. 

Gator ready to retrieve (Mark Layton)

 

One team dismantled the windsock flagpole at the west end for repair as the 'newness' had finally worn off. Another group rigged HCX after the repaired rear canopy had been refitted and completed the final checks. Mark 'Fire Starter' Courtney along with his able assistant Steve Westlake carried on constructing the new wood store or what some believe is an outside office for the CFI. Whilst the remainder unpacked the hanger and DI'd the gliders. 

Condensation forming on the wing (Mark Layton)

 

To everyone's surprise the mist slowly burnt off over lunchtime and once the ok was given the field was set up in double quick time. In the benign conditions the flights, although relatively short were none the less enjoyable in the now clear blue skies. The views across the valley to both coasts were spectacular as the mist was still hanging on in the lower area's. 

 

Mist in the valleys

With only a few members needing currency check flights Peter Smith quickly got through the two seat list before flying with a walk in visitor. Meanwhile the post solo pilots using a Junior and the Perkoz all managed a flight before the setting sun started to cause issues along with the dreaded misting canopies.

It was another day that didn't look too promising but turned out much better than expected with everyone going home happy that they had flown.

Sun 12th January

Another successful flying day - 21 aerotows, and Ron Johns has admitted that despite his misgivings about fitting in the Perkoz - it does fly well!

Ron enjoying the Perkoz (John Pursey)

 Meanwhile in the Clubhouse,  Vicki was serving Roast Pork and all the trimmings, the log burner was giving out great heat and there was a lot of socialising. 

 

Kevin Fairburn

Mike Willmott

The new Bronze papers were being printed and  congratulations to Kevin Fairburn and Mike Willmott, who wasted no time in successfully passing the theory exam. - Well done both. - J&P

Sat 11th January

A crisp and solid airfield greeted us this morning, but with the temperature due to rise during the day and with the wind dictating flying from the west end, it was decided to take minimal vehicles up the spine of the airfield only. So I logged from the silver vehicle, with just a couple of retrieve vehicles, one Junior, the Perkoz and the K21, HCX taken to use. (Thanks to Ian Mitchell with help from JB for completing the Annual).

Duty Instructor James Flory took the first flight with Stuart Thomson, with Dave Perriam and Chris Warnes sharing the Junior. Peter Smith then also helped with the two seat list, with Stuart Procter as our tug pilot.
We stopped briefly at 11:30am for lunch with Vicki as the cloudbase dropped (I can definitely recommend the chicken and vegetable soup). Returning to the airfield at 1pm, finishing the flying list by 2.30pm, giving us time to clean the gliders of the accumulated mud!!! 

Meanwhile several members were building the logstore outside.

Building the logstore (Sally Hender)

Coffee, cake and a roaring log burner were then the draw back at the clubhouse.
At about 5pm the clubhouse had emptied, and Paul Medlock rallied a small team of us to help rearrange the furniture along side the log burner. The bookshelf was moved to the briefing room and everything else pushed up towards the wall, giving a more useable space in the corner. 

The Chairman doing some housework (Sally Hender)

 Thank you to Paul Medlock, Nick Jones, Dave Perriam, Graham and Cheryl, Rob and myself.  -Sally Hender

Thur 9th January

 Snow Fest - Very heavy snow across the region on Wednesday with the roads suffering I did wonder if the call to arms was wise!
Dave Perriam and I left Plymouth at 07:15 more in hope than anything else. The roads were clear all the way to the club only encountering icy roads by Forest Glade. Arriving at 08:30 we were surprised to see two sets of tracks leading up the lane, nightowl Ashley of course and John Allan were  already here.
The log burner was already ablaze in the clubhouse, but the temperature was -3C outside, however because there was not a breath of wind it felt warmer than last Tuesday when it was +7C with a strong wind!
By 9am, there were quite a few gathered in the clubhouse, after a pitch inspection by Mike and myself the decision was  - because the ground was frozen we could winch! The hangar was very quickly emptied as both K21’s are in the workshop until Friday, the launch point was positioned on the apron, winch in the NW corner.

Hangar unpacked (George Sanderson)

 

The views were spectacular at the top of the launch, a marked demarcation line was clear, to the east snow, to the west green fields. The  air was silky smooth, at ground level there was zero wind but there was a wind gradient enabling gliders to launch to 1400 ft easily. 

Snowy North Hill (Mark Courtney)

By now there were quite a few members wanting to fly and the gliders were in constant use all morning, there was reduced sink in areas of the ridge enabling extended flights. 

Junior looking serene (George Sanderson)

 

As the morning progressed it was strangely warm in the sunshine, crystal blue sky was a sight for sore eyes, unfortunately the warm sunshine did start to nibble away at the snow covering. 

Winching Perkoz (George Sanderson)

 

The ground was beginning to get softer so the decision was made to stop for lunch at 1 and review after that.

Pete Startup  with JB longest flight (John Burrow)

 

With one cable on the field and the DG505 lined up latecomers JB and Pete Startup decided to take a launch. 

George Sanderson with Mark Courtney ( George Sanderson)

 

The sky had changed dramatically over lunch and clouds were everywhere, their flight proved to be the only real soaring flight of the day, shame the field was now thawing rapidly otherwise we could have had a soaring afternoon! 

Those who decided to travel to the club today were treated to wonderful views whilst maintaining currency, so important at this time of year. I urge everyone to get to the club as much as possible during the winter, you don’t stay current sat at home! - Mark Courtney

Tue 7th January - Ad Hoc Day?

 It was a rather hopeful callout for members to fly today and although the weather was actually really nice the field was unbelievably wet! Just a handful of members braved the bitter temperatures but they were all kept busy.
The first job was to de rig HCX so that Ian could start the annual inspection. It was decided to push the glider downhill to the workshop so we would not have to drive a vehicle on the field, that turned out to be a good decision as we left a deep furrow in the grass with the K21 main wheel. Chris Woodward, Steve Westlake, Ashley Thomas, Karen King, Paul Medlock, Cheryl & Graham and myself made light work of the derig once we had found the necessary tools!

Ashley, Paul and Karen tidied up the lecture room that had become a dumping ground for all sorts of rubbish, Ashley’s next plan is to center the wipe board and sort the untidy wiring out, Cheryl said a sad farewell to her beloved Xmas decorations, with a tear in her eye she helped put them back into the loft.
Cheryl then set about a bit of gardening in the warm (yes warm) sunshine sheltered from the bitter wind, signs of spring could be seen poking their little heads up in the flower bed. 

In the vehicle workshop Steve and I started building the new external log store using (quite large) wooden planks left over from the trailer shelter build, once the base is sorted it will be assembled at the rear of the VG Falke hangar.

 

Glowing bright (Mark Courtney)

The log burner glowed bright and quite a few members sat around at lunch time setting the world to rights, warm and contented after  eating Vicky’s wonderful food. Most people wandered off about 3pm, no flying but a very satisfying day with friends. - Mark Courtney

Sat 4th January

There were only two potential pilots in the clubhouse at 9.00am, so Duty Instructor James Flory put out a call for help. Rob and I had been holed up in the warmth of our caravan, so happily went down to chip in. Stuart Procter got the tug ready, while HCX was DI’d and walked to the west end. 

Not quite the blue skies of the last couple of days (Rob Hender)

 Andy Broderick took the first launch with James, while I gratefully sat in the warmth of the cable retrieve vehicle logging!

Small happy team (Rob Hender)

 

Karen took the next flight, with Andrew jumping back in for a second after that. Stuart then had to dash off, so Paul Medlock took Rob Hender for a flight, with James Flory jumping into the tug. 

Bitterly cold without any sun (Rob Hender)

 With everyone happy, we all retreated back to the clubhouse to wash the aircraft and pack away, in time for lunch in the café from Vicki, and an opportunity to warm up by the log burner. Which Tom had been busy building a log shelf for…

Log store (Sally Hender)

 

A small but select and efficient team, great work. - Sally Hender

Fri 3rd January - Ad-Hoc Day

Plenty of members wanting to fly, but nobody wants to write...... so just a few pics

A short grid of gliders (Angie Pitts)

Aerotow (Angie Pitts)

Thurs 2nd January

Happy New Year to all our members and readers. 

A cold airfield was the welcome this morning, with a brisk north easterly wind. The gliders were brought out early, with the briefing by Duty Instructor Mike Sloggett at 9:30am. After a pitch inspection, the decision was made for it to be aerotow only, to protect the airfield. 

Clear and crisp start to 2025 (Mike Sloggett)

 

The first launch was at 10:32am, followed by a constant stream of eager pilots for the new year of flying, and without the draw of the North Hill Cafe, we continued straight through lunch. 

Going - Soft in places (Sally Hender)

James Flory arrived early afternoon and helped Robert Lee with tugging and Mike with instructing/currency flights, the two-seater list was finally finished at about 4pm, after 23 successful glider flights, thank you to Robert Lee for an epic stint on tugging. 

Not quite such a perfect end to the day! (Sally Hender)

As everything was started to be packed away the Launch Control unfortunately got stuck on the south side of the airfield! Which then involved the tractor having to pull the whole combination out of the mud, everyone then gratefully returned to the clubhouse and the log burner.
A great start to 2025, thanks to everyone who helped.  - Sally Hender