Thurs 20 November

 Yesterday’s sniff of a good forecast (well flyable) followed by Duty Instructor Mike Sloggett posting positively on What’s app suggested an early arrival time to get to the front of the flying list might be sensible! But when I got there the early crew had already got the ground kit out and DI ed (do you ever sleep??). So following a phone call from Mike, on his way up from Plymouth with permission, we got the K21,s and Junior out and DI ed. During briefing (it was Very very well attended by that point) it was evident that George Sanderson had returned from his visit to Cambridge (taking the Perkoz bits for repair on a private visit (THANKS!)) so a crew was assembled to fit them. 

Perkoz back together (Jack Sewell)

That task was challenging and took a few try’s but by the end of the day, it is now rigged and, in the hangar, again, it only needs a DI and wing tape before its available to use. Shaun Dayman went to get the  Junior LRD back after its repair (just now needs its Annual finished) and Pete Startup repaired the DG505 canopy restraining bolt so it is also flyable. 

 

DG505 back flying (Mike Sloggett)

That means by the end of next week we should be back to a full fleet of aircraft available. Many thanks to the maintenance team you are all much appreciated.

 

Crystal clear visibility over North Hill (Mike Sloggett)

On the flyng side of activities, the rest of the members got four aircraft to the launch point and started flying. Conditions in the Northerly wind were cold but flying progressed, well mainly circuits but some extended by using the north ridge. Following a hunch and some knowledge from the local pundits, I thought that the northerly wave (set off from the Wellington monument ridge) might be there and so took a 3000ft aerotow to the north. It did work with very gentle lift in an east / west band just south of the monument. I was soon joined by Ron Johns and Jack Sewell in a K21  both gliders achieved just over 30 minutes in gentle wave before heading home. From his comments and facial expression, I think that Jack enjoyed his flight. 

The sun is setting (Jack Sewell)

 

A total of 39 flights achieved on a cold day but everyone flew and currency was maintained, all in all a very successful day but it was Cold! On a final note it is obvious even instructors need little encouragement to make the best of the few flyable days as by the end of the morning there were 6 on site, thanks all we really do appreciate your enthusiasm and efforts. 31 winch launches and 8 aerotows - Gordon Hutchinson

 

South Africa with Dan Hender

And news from South Africa - Dan Hender has a a few good flights in the Nimbus 3DM with Steve, just a little 630kms on Monday  https://www.weglide.org/flight/961410 and 400kms today https://www.weglide.org/flight/962732

Sun 16 November

Today was always likely to be a day when some gliding might be possible if the actual weather was slightly better than the forecast 

On arrival at the airfield it was evident that the cloudbase was as forecast - too low to dampen any immediate optimism for flying. And with the wind strength much stronger than forecast it was a straightforward decision to leave the gliders in the hangar whilst members enjoyed food and drink from North Hill Cafe. 

 

Its been a wet week at North Hill

The morning saw various ground briefings completed by James Flory and Mike Sloggett whilst some members fettled gliders and trailers, and with Callum Ellis getting to know his newly purchased glider which arrived on site yesterday 

Around lunchtime it was clear that unfortunately the weather would prevent any flying taking place today, so the day was formally ‘scrubbed’. - Mike Sloggett

Sat 15 November

 I went to the Club today with modest hope that we might fly but also to help retrieve the Perkoz so that the repair can be made to the airbrake mechanism which George now has in hand. Thanks to Chairman Nick and his Discovery  the trailer was pulled out successfully on the wet ground.  Alas  the cloud remained anchored to North Hill and idle hands having been proven to cause mischief I elected to try and find a missing feature in the field. 

Some years ago, I believe my first winter at North Hill, a hopeful crowd assembled at the Club one Sunday morning after a sustained spell of bad weather. Duty Instructor was Ron Johns who inspected the field and came back reporting that something resembling  Quatermass and the pit was erupting on the north side of the field and flying would not be happening. Several of us went to see this hitherto unkown phenomena and sure enough so it was, several metres across and probably half a metre high and water flowing  prolifically from it. We deduced that was a blockage in the piped ditch that runs from the woodland on the north side of the airfield diagonally to the 90 left on the entrance drive to the Club.  It now discharges to a large chamber inside the bend with a  steel grating. (a good indicator of the volume of water coming off the field, heavy flow = too wet). That had blocked and water pressure was lifting the turf off the subsoil.
 
 I fetched the Club digger and excavated a hole in the middle of the eruption, cleared the blockage and away it went, but alas not in time for flying.
 
 John Street who many will remember vividly as a very dedicated instructor who sent many members solo (including me), also assumed responsibility for the field. A few weeks later we dug it all out and fitted two rodding eyes (which have never been used) and  a new length of pipe. Alas with the passage of time I haven’t been able to locate them recently so today provided an opportunity. I failed but John Pursey kept at it with a fencing stake and we now know they are. (What 3 words ///holds.costly.vowel.)
 
 A photo taken during the repair aided locating the covers. 

Sorry for the quality of the old image (Peter Smith)

John Street, Tim Johns and me. Completing the crew and acting photographer was Matt Wright, he was never far away from anything out of the ordinary.

 Meanwhile Chris Warnes flew the trial lesson in the simulator which went well, and they are looking forward to the real thing. - Peter Smith

Thur 13 November

2 blogs for a day that surprised everyone!

Thursday's forecast of a damp southerly air mass was always going to cause problems with orographic cloud during the day. With the persistent low cloudbase present first thing there was no immediate rush to ready the glider fleet, which has unfortunately been reduced to half its normal size due to some technical issues. The delayed start gave the Inspector Team time to put the Junior LRD in its trailer for its trip to Tim Dewes for repair (driven there later in the day by Shaun Dayman) and carry out a  precautionary inspection of FZF before it's next flight.  

 

LRD going off for repair (Richard Lean)

With everything checked and readied, flying commenced at 1100 as the orographic cloud cleared enough to start flying, although care was needed, as at times it returned as quickly as it cleared. It was a case of pilots being ready for when the conditions were safe enough for a launch. 

 

Judging the moments with the cloud (Mark Layton)

With only three gliders in operation and flights being barely extended circuits it was a good opportunity for all those present to keep current. The flying list was quite long but everyone managed at least one flight thanks to great teamwork by all those present under the guidanc instructors Ron Johns and Chris Wool.  

 

Launchpoint waiting for orographic cloud to clear (Richard Lean)

It would have been quite easy to have given today a miss as the forecast looked unflyable, but its always worth a try as you never know! - Mark Layton

Today was another excellent example of a case of "you've got to be in it to win it". Weather forecasts had predicted low cloud the for whole day, with humidity not forecast to drop below 95%. I had decided that I would nevertheless head up, have a couple of cups of tea, a chat and a bacon sandwich, and perhaps fly the sim or get a briefing. Driving towards North Hill from Long Lane at 8am revealed that the airfield had its own bespoke cloud fitted, in otherwise good conditions. Vehicles were nevertheless readied and a sizeable crowd awaited the arrival of DI Ron Johns for the briefing. 

 

North Hill's bespoke cloud! (Richard Lean)

Junior LRD requires a composite repair and was put into the trailer while the airfield was set up in slightly soggy conditions.
The fog became broken and yielded to scattered cloud at 600' with a light southerly breeze. And the flying began! 

K21 on winch launch (David Clements)

A flat tyre took one of the K21s out of action, but a concerted team effort saw it return to the flight line an hour later. The low cloud came in again at around 1pm, and following a brief lunch break the afternoon continued in clear skies. 
Unexpectedly Thursday had become a full day and everyone at very least maintaned currency. All on the sizeable list flew at least once, and trainees under instruction had two or three trips with Ron or Chris Wool. 
 

Great photo (David Clements)

A straw poll of participants showed that in the morning very few had expected to fly at all.
Thanks everyone for a very enjoyable day. - Richard Lean

Sat 9 November

 With the weather preventing flying on both Wednesday and Thursday this week, my prediction of a good day today was thankfully correct! The call for an early start was taken to heart by many members today, James Hood and I arrived by 08:15 and the winch was already out with several members beavering around getting things ready.

The clubhouse was full by 08:55 ready for the brief briefing at 9, by 09:10 everything was covered so the gliders were towed to the NE fence in expectation of a launch before 09:30.
Unfortunately despite blue sky’s above, the fog in the valley decided to engulf the west end of the field as soon as the westerly wind picked up. 

 

The fog rolled up the  ridge at the west end (Mark Courtney)

The first launch was therefore delayed until 10:30, which was a shame as we were all ready by 09:25. Small areas of lift enabled some extended circuits, this provided extra time for the trainees to polish their skills. Stuart Procter was tug driver today, and was pleased that a few members decided to keep current on aerotow.

Great sky, with  new member Christian Sheer (Peter Smith)

I was helped today by several instructors, Pete Smith, Steve Westlake, James Flory, JB, and Shaun Dayman, Tom Sides looked after the only booked trial lesson visitor.
The day ran like clockwork, mainly due to the  duty  launch marshals, the morning shift was Kevin Fairburn with Trevor  Russell kindly stepping in to cover the vacant slot in the afternoon.
With the large number of people on site it was easy to continue through lunch with instructors “slipping off” separately for a bite to eat. The clubhouse was positively buzzing over lunch, Ian Mitchell’s trial flight saw several members of the family attending, booklets and information was taken away, we hope to see at least two of them back, for a flight soon. 

Pete Harmer about to launch as the sun started sinking (Simon Minson)

The lucky few had extended circuits under a some wispy street-like clouds that appeared for a while. Joel Roulson went on a practice field-landing exercise with James Flory in VG.

We managed to get through the flying list somehow before darkness fell, - 43 flights in all. Lots of smiling faces could be seen at the hangar despite the fact the gliders had to be washed and  thanks to the team for derigging LRD ready for Annual inspection.

 

End of the day view to the west (Mark Courtney)

After flying the clubhouse still remained busy, the last of us heading home at 19:45! 

A fabulous autumn day which proved to be extremely enjoyable thanks to a great team effort by everyone.
Hope the next one is not too far away! - Mark Courtney

Sun 2 November

 Duty Instructor, Mike Sloggett, put out the instructions how to set the airfield up last night, so the early birds on site set up the Launchpoint and winch. The gliders were also DI’d and everything was ready to go by 9:15am straight after briefing.

James Flory and Shaun Dayman helped out with instructing, and with a fairly long single seat list the whole fleet of club gliders was put to use. 

Sally Hender with Mike Sloggett (Rob Hender)

 DLM Dave Clements, kept everyone in order, and flying was achieved all morning (between showers).
A short break was taken at lunch for a passing shower, an easy decision to make, with the enticement of a warm clubhouse, and tasty food! 

Flying through the rainbow (Josh Howlett)

 
Flying resumed, I took over the mantle of DLM, with Jill Harmer kindly stepping in to log. James Flory needed to leave by mid afternoon, however Guy Adams kindly helped with a few of the remaining names on the list. One of which being returning Trial Lesson Jayden, mentored by Arthur Lean, who kept him busy on the field all day! 

A total of 41 flights today, the longest being 37 mins by Pete Startup. Lovely to see all the available Club gliders in action, and thanks to everyone who helped on the airfield. - Sally Hender

Sat 1 November

New month and first of all the thanks to our wonderful Volunteers - I daren't list them individually in case I miss someone out - so let's just say the whole team of DSGC Members who removed the damaged winch drum transported it to Supercat, got it fixed, transported it back, put it back on the winch, and then cleared up the old rope (for selling) and spliced in some new rope. And all in time for a full weekend flying with 2 cables. - WOW! great team effort everybody. There are opportunities for volunteering throughout the Club so if you have a particular skill and would like to get more involved - please make it known to a Committee Member.

 

Irritating orographic cloud at times (Stuart Procter)

Flyingwise - it was slightly better than the expected weather with extended circuits around the rain breaks - but a total of  25 winch launches. - J&P