Sun 31st March

 There wasn’t a great deal of hope that we would fly today given the forecast, and indeed looking out the window the forecast appeared to be correct, at least for the time being….

A very grey sky, low cloud base and a wind from the East, the only thing different from recent normal was the wind direction!

There was an impromptu meeting about how we could get the Pawnee back into the tug hangar for its annual inspection, the two Eurofox aircraft currently occupying her old home.

The glider hangar had to be completely emptied to get the Pawnee out from the back of the glider hangar, and with the sky now starting to brighten we decided to DI a couple of K 21’ as they were out on the field “just in case”.

Ian Mitchell was keen to use the yellow Eurofox (Bumblebee) for aerotows as it hasn’t  flown for several weeks. 

Backup Tug Bumblebee providing some aerotows (Mark Courtney)

We had a couple of visitors today one from Brentor Phil Hardwick and one from Kestrel (RAF Odiham) junior solo pilot James Bartlett both very keen to fly. Only one private glider flew, Andy Davey in his Libelle who had a couple, of tows to shake the cobwebs off. 

Phil Hardwick visitor from Brentor (Mark Courtney)

Incredibly the field had dried enough in the sun yesterday to winchlaunch  operating from the West end, Paul Medlock (being the only member capable of driving the winch apart from James and I who were required for back-seat duties) unfortunately got stuck in it all day! - Thanks Paul

There was small pockets of broken lift near Broadhembury ridge which enabled some extended circuits, flying continued until 17:15, total of 17 winch launches and 4 1500ft aerotows. 

Discussing epic gliding adventures (Mark Courtney)

After flying, several members gathered in the clubhouse chatting about epic gliding adventures, all of us dreaming of what might be round the corner....... Thanks to everyone today for making it worthwhile. - Mark Courtney

Junior Dev Squad -Easter - Lasham

The Junior National Development Squad first training weekend for Dan Hender was held at Lasham  over the Easter Weekend. Like most DSGC members, Dan has had very little soaring preparation time this season although  JDP was aired last weekend. 

It was an early start for the road trip to Lasham on Good Friday, left at 5am, but we successfully avoided all the Bank holiday traffic and arrived at 7.30!!! Dan then spent the day studying the theory of competition flying with the Junior Team and rest of the Development Squad. We then rigged the glider ready for Saturday flying, and tried to pitch his tent for the weekend, only to find one of the poles was snapped! So there was a frantic scramble to try to fix it, but fortunately one of the bunk rooms was available, so Dan managed to bag it for the weekend. 

Preparing for the day (Rob Hender)

 Saturday 30th, after a decent nights sleep in a proper bed, Dan was ready for the day ahead. He was on the grid by 9.30am, with the briefing advising of the task for the day afterwards. It was an AAT,  2hr 30, Basingstoke - Sixpenny Handley - Basingstoke - Didcot - Lasham, giving plenty of scope for the likely forecast showers.

Halfway back on the grid - gives time for cloudbase to rise...(Rob Hender)

  It was a proper grid at Lasham with Dan about halfway. Dan launched at about 12:00, and headed west towards Compton Abbas, nipping into the first turnpoint following Tom Arscott (current World champion), and feeling very grateful to find lift of 4 knots as the cows were starting to get bigger! 

A proper grid at Lasham (Lasham weather webcam)

 

Back via Basingstoke then North, turning the last turn point at Didcot, Dan found himself flying alongside Andy Holmes into wind for the return leg. Landing at about 3:30pm,  and a difficulty downloading the flight, he then attended the debrief to find out what he should have done! Then off to a group bbq for the evening.

Sunday 31st, there was a final chat with the group first thing, but all decided to derig, with the weather forecast not looking promising for Monday. We then made the decision to pack up. So lots of learning points for Dan (check the tent as well as the glider!) and a decent day's flying while all at North Hill were looking at a  waterlogged airfield. - Sally Hender

Sun 24th March

The first name on the flying list appeared at 7am! The gliders were DI’d by 8:30am, and by this time the list had nearly reached the bottom of the page! With everything set up, the first launch took place at 9:42am, unfortunately with a miscalculation of the wind setting, Peter Smith didn’t make it to the top of the launch! Duty Instructor Guy Adams was ably assisted by volunteers, James Flory, Peter Smith and John Pursey, however it was still pretty slow going with so many members needing currency and card checks.

W7 in a field near the North ridge (Wyn Davies)

Pete Startup (230) and Wyn Davies (W7) took their gliders out, Wyn managing to bag the first trophy of the year, with a land out just north of our north ridge, so close he was able to walk some of the way, after a lift from a local farmer!
Flying continued throughout lunch, with Dan Hender (JDP) and Ron and Dan Johns (711) taking launches.

Well done to our DLM’s Dave Weeks and Carl Tharme, for organising a challenging airfield. With a flying list of 21 members the list was finally completed at 4:45pm. With another land out, 711 Ron and Dan Johns ending up at Smeatharpe, being recovered by Pete Startup after he had completed the first Club 100 of the season. - Well done Pete.

711 at Smeatharpe - sky looking better than it was? (Ron Johns)

A very productive day, with about 47 launches/flights. Thanks to all that helped, it’s great to be back to ‘normal’ operation and even 'soarable'. - Sally Hender

Thurs 21st March

 That the two-seater flying list was into double figures by just after 8:30 was a reflection of general optimism as to flying happening today. The forecast suggested a day where patience might be needed first thing but that the weather would probably improve as the day unfolded.

An inspection of the airfield surface identified suitable launching and landing areas and so with an element of confidence the hangar was unpacked and gliders prepared for flight - all under a low cloudbase but with glimmers of blue skies here and there suggesting that the forecast might just be turning out to be reasonably correct. The launch point was set up on the North boundary with a landing area designed to minimise delay in launching gliders - and a morning brief completed by Mark Courtney to explain the preferred normal landing area to reduce damage to the airfield surface. 

Lined up and ready at the Launchpoint (Mike Horwood)

As the skies continued to brighten the launch point was soon as full as it has been for some time with all four two-seaters and a Junior lined up ready to be launched. 

Skies breaking nicely (Mike Sloggett)

 All that was needed now was for the cloudbase to improve and late morning the first flight of the day was a met flight finding that cloudbase was around 500’ so a good opportunity for launch failures to be practiced if nothing else. Then slowly but surely the cloudbase continued to improve and soon the launch point was busy with gliders being launched regularly and progress starting to be made with the (by now) very long flying list. 

46 winch launches today (Mike Sloggett)

 There were odd bits of lift here and there which meant extended circuits from early afternoon onwards. Apart from a short lunch break flying took place all day and by shortly after 5 the flying list was completed with most members having had a couple of flights whether to maintain or regain currency.

 

Currency  for most (Mike Horwood)

A good day had by all, thank you to everyone for the teamwork today. - Mike Sloggett

Wed 20th March

 Sitting in the warm evening sun, beer in hand, it is hard to believe how foreboding the weather was this morning.  Dark and dank, with the mist in the treetops.... but we persevered.

The winch went up to the west end fairly easily, keeping a few meters away from the really damp south boundary.  And the tow out along the center ridge was dry enough.  It was a still-wind day, so lots of power required to achieve the required torque for launches. 

North Hill airfield, lush and green after all the rain (Peter Smith)

 First flight was about 10 am, into a 1,100 ft cloudbase, that lifted very slowly throughout the day. The sun broke through to the south and west, but not over the site.  Nevertheless, everyone had two instructional flights, to get back into check, while many practice launch failures were sprung upon unsuspecting (or not) students.  Best flight of the day was only 12 minutes, but it was good to get the feet back into the air, and good to give all the equipment an airing.

Thanks to Peter Smith and Glenn Turpin, for checking everyone out. So we will all be ready for the brilliant 4-knot summer’s day we expect for next Wednesday….. ;-) - Roger Ellis (first-time blogger)

Sat 16th March

 North Hill Airfield is still waiting for the rain to stop, so that the waterlogged pitch can drain, (100mm since 1st March on top of the 224mm in February!!) but in the meantime, jobs, lectures and the Simulator are keeping the Members busy. The Gator now has 4 new mirrors, the EuroFox was polished and the wifi extender was refitted on the tug hangar after the cladding work. Potential new member Chris enjoyed some time in the Simulator with Steve Westlake.

Mike Benson RSO GASCo (Simon Leeson)

This evening we welcomed Mike Benson  - volunteer Regional Safety Officer from GASCo who provided a GASCo Safety evening presentation. Many thanks to Mike for an entertaining evening and to Pooleys and Haywards for sponsoring the event. 

A good crowd gathered for the safety presentation (Simon Leeson)

 Members very nearly filled the Clubroom  despite the foggy night for driving and a certain rugby match on TV. The safety messages were well-presented interspersed with audience participation 'clickers'. Pooleys raffle prizes were won by James Hood, Paul Summers, Stuart Procter and Dave Perriam. 

Evening supper (Simon Leeson)

 Following the talk, a good number stayed on for the dinner from Julie and Vicky.  - J&P

Wednesday 6th March - Dunkeswell

 After far too many flying days lost to weather so far this year, today was hopefully, a sign of the good flying days ahead. That we flew today was down to the persistence of various people working behind the scenes to see if we could perhaps work together with our fellow aviators at Dunkeswell and use one of the tarmac runways to aerotow whilst North Hill airfield continued to dry out. And so it was that a ‘call to arms’ saw quite a few members turn up at North Hill bright and early under nice blue skies and lovely sunshine with a plan worked out to allow some gliding to happen.

Mark Courtney and Ian Mitchell took the EuroFox across to Dunkeswell to talk though the final plan for the day and to check that the wind direction and strength would allow aerotowing, whilst both K21s were brought out of the hangar and daily inspections completed - Mark and Ian returned shortly thereafter to declare that the plan was on! With the airfield still quite soft in many places it was decided that the K21s would be flown solo by Glenn Turpin and Mike Sloggett for the ‘hop flights’ across to Dunkeswell, with the wind having developed some Easterly component both were walked down to the West end of the airfield which took longer than the ‘hop flights’ to our neighbours’ airfield!

Eurofox and K21 at Dunkeswell (James Hood)

 

And then after a suitable briefing by Mark at the Dunkeswell ‘launch point’ to add to the information messages provided yesterday to Club members it was on with the flying list which by now was rather long, unsurprisingly after the past few weeks. 

Dunkeswell Aerodrome (Mike Sloggett)

 

With great teamwork manoeuvring the K21s and the EuroFox in and amongst a very busy airfield with both visiting and powered aircraft. and helicopters, all keen to take advantage of the lovely weather. The day saw everyone present get into the air, regaining currency as well as invaluable experience from flying at a different airfield to usual. Instructors and tug pilots shared the opportunity to fly and whilst members only got one flight each the smiles and enjoyment of doing so were evident throughout the day. 

A busy day at Dunkeswell (James Hood)

 

As the flying list was completed late afternoon the K21s were ‘hopped back’ to North Hill and the success of the day readily discussed by all.

Getting Ready (Shaun Dayman)

 
A big Thank You to Mark and others for this initiative which went well and provided experience as well as learnings for when we all being well visit again (and Thank You to Nick for kindly transporting a golf buggy to/back from Dunkeswell) - and of course a particular Thank You to our neighbours at Dunkeswell Aerodrome without whose help and support today would not have been possible. - Mike Sloggett

Sat 17th February

The rain continues to soak the airfield with another day of 20+mm, not to mention the low-flying cloud / fog,   but there were a few jobs to be done...

A sparkling Gator with the CFI (Simon Leeson)

Mark Courtney and Simon Leeson gave the Gator some overdue loving care and attention with a full-clean valet. 

A sparkling mower (Peter Smith)

Similarly Peter Smith, John Borland, Tom Sides and James Hood teamed up and serviced and pressure-washed the airfield  mower ready for those long warm days that surely must arrive soon. This will be the eighth year for the freshly sharpened original blades and hopefully they are good for a few more yet,  similarly the drive belts. 

James Hood the pressure washer (Simon Leeson)

 The Eagle AXJ components were returned to North Hill for preparation for painting and new trailer fettling. 

AXJ ready for painting (John Pursey)

In the Club Simulator, new member Josh Newland has flown more time in the simulator than in the air, Hans Jenssen capably flew round the Club 100kms Knowstone - North Tawton with support from Stewart Henshall and Pete Harmer - the sun always shines in Condor. 

Hans' story 

So like everyone else I'm suffering from an acute flying deficit. Correction, it's been going on so long I think it has become chronic. However, I concur wholeheatedly with the CFI's recommendation of using the sim to keep those skills alive and well. A bit of prodding from Mr Henshall had me up at the club on Saturday rather unprepared but with the intention of attempting a club 100 NH2 Knowstone North Tawton NH2. After a chat, entering the task into XC Soar and marking it on my chart, I was sat in the cockpit ready to go. For genuine jeapardy, the conditions were set to variable and the Q function disabled. Wind at 7kts from the NW so a reasonably "typical" NH day. The simulation started with a winch launch and of course having to find the first climb, which was dragging me into the Dunks Drop Zone (again, typical NH!) but after some messing about I got some height and made it to the start. 

Setting off on track passing Tiverton to the north was relatively easy, with strong thermals keeping me well over 3000'AGL most of the time. Confirming what I could see with the chart was a useful exercise. Turning  at  the first turnpoint - Knowstone -  SW towards Okehampton I could see Dartmoor to the south and Barnstaple to the west and flew on track using the compass and glancing at XC Soar to confirm. And there was the first big blue hole. I was high to start and could see a cloud in the distance somewhere near the  next turnpoint so got some speed up and set off. I think The cloud was a little to the east of North Tawton so I did the turnpoint first and then went for the cloud, which surprise surprise didn't work very well. Still had some height to play with so circled in 2up 1down for a bit and assessed my options. Some better looking cloud roughly on track back to North Hill looked reachable so off I went. By this time I had a bit of an audience who were full of good ideas as to where the best lift might be so I changed my mind a couple of times about which way I was going- I'm sure that will resonate with many of you- If it's not voices from behind, it's voices from within! A couple of bitty sketchy weak thermals later I made a positive choice to go for a cloud that looked good to me, and it worked. 

Hans - nearly home (Stewart Henshall)

 I could see Tivvy and Cully by then and the west ridge in the distance. I was able to climb to a safe distance above final glide and then flew home. Phew.

I felt genuinely tense for much of the second and third legs and was proper knackered at the end. My first time flying cross-country, I appreciated being coached through it (thanks Stewart) and felt it is a tremendously useful way to prepare for the real thing. - Hans Jenssen

Meanwhile back In the Clubhouse, a small subcommittee convened to discuss succession planning. - ed mashup

Sat 10 February

Saturday started well, with calm winds and blue skies, although the forecast for the day was for rapidly increasing southerly winds, a lowering cloud base and some rain. It looked like most members were indeed deterred by the rather dreary forecast, and by 08:15, a grand total of just four club members were in the clubhouse.  The main topic of conversation was, of course, the weather, with Andy Batchelor’s pessimistic outlook being challenged by Dave Perriam's more optimistic and positive predictions.   

K21 ready - Eurofox ready (Andy Batchelor)

By 08:30, Team Optimistic were pulling ahead, with the arrival of the Duty Tuggie (Stu Proctor) declaring conditions were suitable for aerotowing and Duty Iinstructor James Flory announcing that the field was useable for aerotow.  Given the low numbers, the EuroFox and a single K-21 was prepared, and at 0938, Alan Turner took to the first flight of the day to do his EuroFox Aerotow conversion with James. With Peter Smith arriving and offering to help with instructor duties, a second K-21 was readied, with conditions now being at the upper end of yellow card and trending to blue card conditions.  A short pause in operations ensued to allow some low cloud and light rain to pass through, but this quickly passed and, with some lift evident on the south ridge , members were able to make the most of extended circuits.  While the air aloft was generally smooth, the same can’t be said of the sub 300ft conditions, which were challenging on both take off and landing.

Good to see the sun again (Andy Batchelor)

By 11:00, the increasing southerly crosswind and turbulence at low-level brought the days flying to a close.  All that came and had wanted to fly did so and were grateful for the opportunity to do so.  A win for Team Optimistic!  By midday, everything was washed down and packed away, and everyone adjourned to the cafe for a very welcome lunch.  A great effort by everyone present to grasp what we could from the day.  Thanks to all.  - Andy Batchelor

Thur 1st February

The low cloud on Wednesday that prevented flying gave way to a bright sunny Thursday as a high pressure edged in, only marred by some high milkiness restricting the strength of the sun and cancelling any winter thermals. A good crowd of Thursday regulars turned up and after a pitch inspection all was set up and ready to go by 9:30 waiting for canopies to clear. With zero wind the launch point was set up in the North East. The first flight  launched at 10:18. A good day for keeping or renewing currency and progressing card checks. 7 or 8 minute flights were the order of the day from the winch and 20 minutes for a 3000ft aerotow. In total  27 winch launches and 7 Fox aerotows.

Simon Jordy in the Eurofox (David Clements)

The last flight landed a few minutes before 3pm with everyone having flown at least once. Shaun Dayman continued his BI training with Chis Wool. Andy Davey took a 5000ft aerotow to practise aerobatics and Ron Johns gave Andrew Chisholm a first trial flight. All in all a good day of winter flying. 

Helper for hangar packing (Mark Layton)

 

Thanks to Ron Johns and Chris Wool for running the day and Simon Jordy tugging in the EuroFox. - John Borland