Sun 27th October

A promising day attracted many enthusiastic pilots, with the gliders being brought out and DI'd before 9am.

A moderate NNE'ly wind meant we set up at the far end of the field by the ridge. In the morning the ab-initio pilots got on with their training and by the afternoon the wind had dropped to provide some very smooth conditions.

Congrats to Emma Kendall - converting to Junior (Emma Kendall)

Stu Proctor put Mike Sloggett through his paces in his instructor check, and JB tested Emma Kendall with some simulated launch failures in the K21 before allowing her to convert to the single seater.

There were a few aerotows with claims of weak wave to be found and some 1400ft launches were managed. We were flying right up until the sunset! Wouldn't have been possible without all hands on deck - thanks gang. - Emma Kendall

Thurs 24th October

The forecast for the morning was dire, but some hope for a flyable afternoon meant that a small group of Thursday regulars gathered at North Hill. A few jobs were done with Peter Smith and Ian Hunt leading the work on the tractor, and Ashley Thomas providing some welcome sealing of the front and top of the LPV from the rain. Ashley also had a theory briefing on launch failures from Pete Harmer. A group led by Peter Smith enjoyed a walk in the woods to visit the pump house.

If you go down in the woods.......(Peter Smith)

As if by magic and right on time the skies opened up at lunchtime and with just a little moist orographic cloud to clear the kit was prepared for flying. 

Empty launch point (Jill Harmer)

The 14:00 trial lesson visitor was pleased that he hadn't cancelled as he enjoyed a very pleasant flight with Chris Wool on the ridge and with thermals. 

Meanwhile Peter Smith started on the short two-seat training list, and both Juniors were enjoying long flights.

Nearby showers (Peter Smith)

During the afternoon, the sky kept changing with showers nearby, but was soarable until dusk, with Aston Key getting the longest flight of 1hr 10 and being called down.

A really pleasant surprise for such a lovely afternoon, with 17 winch launches and 3 aerotows (although it did get quite cold in the air). - Thanks all -J&P 

Expeditions- Long Mynd

We started the day early in hope of the strong ridge flying day we’d been looking forward to all week. After a quick briefing and getting the hangar unpacked we were at the launch point and ready to fly by mid morning. Unfortunately Mike Sloggett’s weather prediction turned out to be correct, and low lying cloud and mist engulfed the airfield therefore stopping all flying before the first launch. We returned to clubhouse and Mark and Simon flew their models (surprisingly with no crashes!).

Getting going (Mike Sloggett)

After lunch. flying commenced fully with Charlie Broderick taking the first launch of the day with Mark Courtney and enjoying a 30 minute ridge running flight. Jacob Brook was next, enjoying a similar flight with Simon Leeson. Charlie S and Josh had shorter flights but enjoyed lots of ridge runs and the strong ridge lift. Dan Hender flew the K6 DRE for over an hour, making it his longest solo yet. Ross Pratt took 4 launches in the K6 and enjoyed having the most launches out of all the juniors. 

Mike Sloggett in FUN enjoying the Long Mynd ridge (Mike Sloggett)

The North Hill private gliders DG1 (Tom Sides), M (Andy Davey), FMS (Andrew Logan) and FUN (Mike Sloggett) all enjoyed soaring flights along the ridge and demonstrated a few high speed passes to those on the ground. 

Well done to Ruth Comer - solo at Long Mynd (Tom Sides)

Ruth was sent solo in the K13, an excellent achievement. Thanks to Mark Jerman, the MGC instructor.

Packing up by headlight (Mark Courtney)

The day ended with JZK and DRE de-rigged and prepared for the long journey home. It was an excellent day to end the junior week at Long Mynd. - Thank you to our hosts Midland Gliding Club - Charlie Broderick

Wed 23rd October

The forecast was for a bright start, followed by low cloud expected later in the day, we walked the three available two-seaters and a Junior to the northwest corner, most of Somerset and part of Devon was blanketed with thick fog but it was clear over the high ground of the Blackdown Hills.

Heavy dew (Mark Layton)

Some flights managed a full height launch, the low cloud drifted in and out at times - this situation was ideal for simulated launch failures.

Great looking sky (Mark Layton)

 After lunch and after a couple more launches, it was decided to call it a day because of the deteriorating weather conditions. - John Street.
 
Expeditions - Long Mynd

After a briefing at about 9:00am, optimistically unpacking the hangar and setting up the ground equipment, the mist which had been in the valley made its way up onto the airfield. This put a stop to any idea of flying, so it was a quick run back to the clubhouse to grab a coffee, before we experienced the planned power cut at 10.00am.

Long Mynd in the mist (Mike Sloggett)

The morning was then spent by the experienced modelers, fixing and prepping their model aircraft......

Fixing the towplane (Tom Sides)

.......leaving most of the Juniors playing around on the simulator and laser tag! After lunch a group headed out for model flying, which as is common ended up with at least two  crashes and breakages. Back to the clubhouse for another coffee to warm up!

Model Flying (Mark Courtney)

Charlie and Josh visited Church Stretton for coffee, later they enjoyed “laser combat”.
A good day for the Juniors to bond as a group. Forecast tomorrow is 50/50. - Sally Hender

Tues 22nd October - Long Mynd

The day started early with the hangar unpacked and everyone briefed by 9:30. With the wind from the southwest we experienced some weak ridge lift at the start of the day with weak wave developing to the west.

DSGC Juniors at the Long Mynd (Mark Courtney)

Charlie Stuckey and Josh Funnell enjoyed some gentle ridge flights and Dan Hender got a wave flight just before lunch.

Good to see Ian King's K6 DRE flying at the Long Mynd again with DSGC Juniors (Tom Sides)

Ross Pratt flew over lunch and got to enjoy the wave too, however not to the full extent due to the sheer amount of turns he put in. The wave unfortunately died and the ridge wasn't as strong as hoped so extended circuits became the norm. Mark Courtney and Charlie Broderick's handywork in breaking the cable put an hour-long delay in proceedings, however some gentle sunset flights were enjoyed by Charlie Stuckey and Simon Leeson, who had spent most of the afternoon on the retrieve winch due to being very experienced in the matter.....

There's a clue in the registration (Mark Courtney)

A thoroughly enjoyable yet cold day and much anticipation for more flying tomorrow. - Charlie Stuckey

Mon 21st October - Expeditions

 Juniors at Long Mynd

With the wind being a strong north-easterly and the prospect of low cloud all day, we decided to not fly and instead some members chose to take a trip to the newly rebranded coffee shop Heather & Batch (formerly Ginger & Green). The Juniors had a well deserved lie in and made their own way down to Church Stretton, in order to avoid the visit to the antique shop.

The 'oldies' collecting antiques (Mark Courtney

Our entertainment for the afternoon was watching experienced modellers Simon and Oscar Leeson wreck their beloved RC models.......

Experienced modeller Simon Leeson (Mark Courtney)

......which in turn led to an afternoon of repairs for the Leeson pair. 

Repairs needed (Mark Courtney)

Ross Pratt spent the afternoon doing bronze exam practice, with the help of Dave Crowson, Rob Hender and Ruth Comer.

Long Mynd sunset (Charlie Broderick)

A very relaxed day all round, and the day drew to a close with a spectacular sunset to top it all off. - Josh Funnell

Sun 20th October

The forecast was pretty well spot on.  A light north northeasterly wind to start and increasing during the day with some sunny spells. We had a good turnout and initially a K21 and Junior were made ready and dispatched to the South West corner. James and Emma Flory arrived and generously agreed to abandon their plans for noisy flying in VG for the delights of silent flight  so the second K21 followed on.

North Hill in the sunshine (Peter Smith)

Circuits were the order (at least to start with) but that worked well for Martin Bennett who after checks flew HCX solo. Mike and Harry Rigby  practised circuits with some rivalry over the landing spots. John Sillett helpfully stood in at short notice and brought the Perkoz out for the trial lessons followed by Club flying.  JB and Roy Boddy went looking for wave (unsuccessfully).   Ian Mitchell took over the afternoon slot and set off with Jonathon Erskine relieving him from logging duties all morning and completing some cross-field landings. 

James Flory flew with Matt Howard and Andrew Norris who was returning after a Trial lesson and keen to progress, and both Dick Stevens and Chris Woodward got hangar flights.

JB reported a smack on the wrist for driving past the caravans at excessive speed and said that the caravan owner observed that the younger members drive much more considerately! You have been warned!

Maybe not the most rewarding flying today but as the days get shorter we have to grab every opportunity, which we achieved with 40 flights in total. Thanks to everybody for making it work. - Peter Smith

Expeditions - Juniors at Long Mynd 

All well at the Mynd! After the soaring success of yesterday's flying all hopes were for a repeat. However the wind was due north and a morning briefing confirmed flying would be from the southern launch point. The Mynd's K13 and  K21 and DSGC's DG505  and K6 were taken out. 

Towing out the gliders (Mike Sloggett)

Josh  Funnell gave Dan Hender and Jack Raybould a walkthrough of a K6 DI and pointed out some key areas of interest. With all 4 aircraft ready to go at the very chilly southside, everyone was determined to fly.

Mynd launch point (Mike Sloggett)

Simon Leeson flew the DG505 first and immediately it was clear that flights were not going to be much more than 5 minutes. Nearly everyone had a flight in the DG taking in the very murky landscape. 

Jack flies K13 (Jack Raybould)

Jack got to fly in the Mynd's K13 on a check flight and then a solo afterwards. Nice to finally fly a K13 since the retirement of R37. The flight was brief like the rest. Even though it was a 1300ft launch, the 4 down reading on the vario made it clear soaring wasn't going to happen. 

Occasional drizzly showers (Jack Raybould)

After warming up in the cafe with some lunch it was back to circuits. The wind now turning west slightly extended the flights. Ross Pratt was given an interesting cable break and Jacob Brook completed his first full landing in the K21. Charlie Stuckey got some back seat experience in the DG505. 

Finally two of the 'Dads' got a well deserved flight for all their hard work on the ground. The 20 knot wind made a cup of tea very inviting. - Jack Raybould

 

Sat 19th October

A bright yet chilly day to start and a deficit of members on account of the Juniors Club trip to the Mynd and the Club Maintainers course at North Hill today. However by 10:30 more folk had arrived and in no time we were set up at the southeast launchpoint.

Initially, a low cloud base meant we had to launch in the gaps between the clouds, but as the day progressed the westerly wind allowed us to get up to 1400ft launches off the winch and even some soaring opportunities.

Lisa Humphries enjoying a soaring flight in the Junior (Lisa Humphries)

Phil Morrison and Glenn Turpin as Duty Instructors got through the flying list so efficiently that we went through it a second time, making the most of the good weather. 

 

Thanks to Gordon MacDonald for running the Club Maintainers course at North Hill today with 15 people crammed in the Briefing Room including 11 from DSGC. - Emma Kendall

October expeditions continue with  the Juniors trip to the Midlands Gliding Club.

We were all up early this morning ready to get Jacob Brook, Jack Raybould and Charlie Broderick their first flights at the Long Mynd! 

Up early (Ross Pratt)

Experienced Josh Funnell, Dan Hender and Charlie Stuckey clocked up lots of flights in the Juniors K6cr DRE on the ridge at 800ft.

DG505 (Mark Courtney)

With a fantastic first day to set the tone all the Juniors got flying and Ross Pratt was lucky enough to fly the local K8 with the help of the Mynd Instructors. An excellent opportunity to fly a well-loved glider that is becoming few and far between. Oscar Leeson got back gliding for the first time this year with a big smile! Josh and Andrew Broderick got an unexpected flight with the National Coach Mike Fox.

Andrew Logan FMS and Tom Sides DG1 helped out and got there fix of flying too. Mark and Simon found themselves jostling for pole position instructing on the ridge when the conditions were best. Dave and the Henders found themselves running the Midland launch point like pros and enjoying a busy day.

MGC Launchpoint (Mark Courtney)

It was a great welcome from Midland Gliding Club who were all pleased to see us up from Devon.  Ruth Comer enjoyed flying the the Mynd's Aircraft and scoring the ridge, and  Andy got the "best landing" Simon has ever seen.

Where's Charlie? (Ross Pratt)

After a long day we all mucked in to to carry out "Operation hanger pack" with military precision even managing to fit  DRE into the hangar with another 8 gliders.

 The "Where's Charlie" challenge can be played  amongst the maze of gliders.

All in all a great day with everyone in the air and leaving the field for an evening meal very happy! - Ross Pratt

Thurs 17th October

It was a rather showery start, but a calm wind in the shelter of the clubhouse, a few tasks were done before flying, including work on the tractor and some grass overseeding of the North East launch point. 

By the time all the kit was set up on a single line to avoid the wet bits,  there was a couple of good height launches before the skies opened again and it was decided to sit out the next trough line over an early lunch.

The Trial lesson visitor Martin Smith had been asked to arrive early as the wind was forecast to increase during the afternoon, and straight after lunch the skies improved significantly.

Chris Wool  flying Martin Smith on aerotow (Mike Horwood)

Flying continued with the southerly wind increasing all the time....

Short-lived flyable slots (Mike Sloggett)

.....so after all had flown, it was decided to call it a day, with the DG505 being derigged ready for the Juniors expedition to Long Mynd.

DG505 being derigged by the Thursday regulars (Mike Sloggett)

So we made the best of the day with Aston Key getting the longest flight 19 minutes on the South ridge, but was chased off by yet more rain. Thanks all - J&P

Wed 16th October

With a reasonable forecast for Wednesday, there was  a larger than usual gathering of pilots hoping to fly, with a long list of pre-solo flyers and check flights to get through it was obvious it was going to be a busy day for John Sillett, Glenn Turpin and John Street.

Apart from some early misting canopies that soon cleared we were ready to fly quite early we opted to fly on the N/W run because the S/W run was still quite wet. The choice of the N/W run turned out to the right choice as the wind veered towards the North, although the wind was quite light to start with the West ridge was providing some welcome extended flights.

With the Juniors Expedition to Long Mynd coming up next week, Charlie Stuckey, Josh Funnell and Ross Pratt decided to reacquaint themselves with the K6, and it was the ideal weather for young Dan to dash up to North Hill after school to get converted to K6 as well, having sorted out all the cushions and lead that was needed. Thanks to all the Club members for supporting the Juniors K6 DRE.

Well done to Dan Hender - converting to K6 (Sally Hender)

 It was nice to welcome back Glenn Turpin from his Greek exile and he had a busy day getting back into the swing of instructing. 

Welcome back Glenn (John Street)

Robert Lee flew the tug after after its recent magneto repair and then flew an aerotow with Chris Warnes in the Perkoz who nearly landed before him!
In the afternoon the the weather continued to improve and some longer soaring/ridge flights were achieved the longest of which was John Street and Jeff Taberham with 45 minutes.

Sandy back in the Junior (John Street)

Well done to Sandy  Harrup for re-soloing in the Junior. - John Street.

Expeditions - Denbigh
With a forecast of light west winds, the North Hill Nomads were looking forward to a bit of ridge bashing with a small possibility of wave. So did over 20 other gliders lined up to launch, so we needed no warning to keep a sharp lookout during the day. Glider Flarm warnings and alarms were the order of the day. Pete Startup found himself in a sticky situation looking at field landing spots after the ridge lift suddenly collapsed, but heroically managed to limp back to the field for a relight. To everyone’s surprise, cloud streets then began forming from the ridge off to the west. Wyn Davies had started the ridge task, but then diverted to explore the thermal streets before finishing his task later with an outstanding calculated speed of 30.6 km/hr.

Wyn exploring the cloud streets (Wyn Davies)

What a surprise that we ended up predominately with a mid-October thermic day. The cloud streets running to the west gave everyone time to explore the Conwy valley several times over. Ian and Phil took DD3 to view Mordor (the view looking towards Snowdon and no doubt some Welsh dragons), coming back after reaching Caple Curig. Nick Harrison’s and Tom’s sightseeing also took them into the Conwy valley, while Pete as usual pushed on westward until the rising earth and the end of the cloud street dictated a prudent return back to the ridge to complete a late afternoon task.

DD3 exploring Welsh dragons (Phil Morrison)

Wednesday turned out to be a really good day. Faced with mediocre ridge flying we were blessed to have a wonderful thermic day which gave some fantastic sightseeing opportunities. - Tom Sides

Portmoak

Well thankfully the rain cleared and we had a great time on the ridge at Portmoak 3 hours of ridge bashing 

Ridge bashing (Stu Procter)

and a very small amount of weak wave 

SM flying too (Stu Procter)

nothing staggering but good to be flying. - Stu Procter

 

 

Mon 14th October - Expeditions

Denbigh 

First ever trip to Denbigh.......

Conwy estuary (Ian Mitchell)

After a rather uninspiring met briefing with no wave forecast most decided not to fly. However with the invitation of a site check with Phil Morrison in the Duo Discus it was worth flying even if it was just going to be a circuit, fortunately it turned into a nearly 2 hour tour of North Wales.  - Ian Mitchell

After a week of flying every day, some of the North Hill team at Denbigh were smugly OK with having a rest day on Monday. Those of us who so far have only been able to have a short flight on Sunday weren’t quite as pleased, but hey ho.

 

The weather gurus were spot on with Tuesday’s forecast of slack southerly winds and sunny skies, so those of us without engines in our gliders once again occupied ourselves with non-flying tasks. 

Sparkling clean (Ton Sides)

 230 Pete, Chairman Nick and Tom went to the local hand car wash in Denbigh and came away with gob-smackingly bright and clean cars 

Duo discus ready to launch (Tom Sides)

Ian Mitchell came up on his first ever expedition to Denbigh, so Phil took him on a local tour in DD3 (firing up the iron thermal a few times) and flew first down to Colwyn Bay and then up to Ruthin showing Ian both the Denbigh ridge and the “sweet spots” for wave. - Tom Sides