Wed 2nd May

Due to the forecast of high winds and early heavy rain, this discouraged some of our Wednesday regulars but eventually we had enough to fly. After the overnight rain, it was decided that the field was too wet for winch launches so it was aerotow only.

John Street getting comfortable in Perkoz (Mark Courtney)

The wind was northwesterly 18-20kts and gusting, Mike Fitz & John Street were first away for a very testing and interesting launch. The sky looked very thermic with cloud streets and plenty of good looking thermals but all lift was very broken and hard to centre in because of the strong wind and very gusty conditions.

Mark Courtney was second away in the Perkoz and was soon putting our shiny new fleet addition through its paces.

As the day progressed the soaring conditions became easier with a cloud Base of over 3,000ft.
Eric Alston G29 and Pete Startup 230 were the only two private gliders to fly and both had good flights. Pete set a task into a 25kt headwind - Tiverton  Eaglescott...."Given the wind strength, direction and the fact we're on a peninsula this was the most bonkers task imaginable but I had a bad case of into wind-itis. EAG was never achievable - what was I thinking." - (But Pete spent a lot of time inspecting MUD from 1500ft  instead).

Rick Andrews in the Junior managed over two hours. 

Hangar Packing (John Street)

Thanks to Ian and Robert for tugging in the gusty conditions., we finished flying about 4:00pm due to a low tow rope break on the Pawnee which gave John Sillett and Malcolm Vest something to think about..... Unfortunately it was too late in the day to get flying again quickly as not everyone flew. - John Street.

Sun 29th April

After the busy day at the Club yesterday, there were only a few members at the Club first thing braving the chilly North Easterly wind.The skies were as grey as forecast and although there were odd glimpses of blue sky here and there, there was little optimism of the conditions getting any better. However those present remained positive that with patience a few more members might turn up to allow some gliding to take place.

And by mid morning there were just enough people to allow us to get the ground equipment out and the winch run set up for launches to the North East corner of the airfield. Meanwhile with several instructors keen to fly the Perkoz a decision was made to get just the Perkoz and a K21 out of the hangar - with daily inspections of the gliders completed it was then a question of walking down to the South West corner of the airfield. Looking at the coats, hats and gloves being worn one would think it was December not April but soon it was on with the flying.

Gloomy towards Dunkeswell (Mike Sloggett)

Simon Leeson and Mike Sloggett both had the ‘fun’ of flying the Perkoz with Simon Minson who was clearly able to reach the yellow release knob in the front cockpit, providing Simon and Mike with the opportunity to land the Perkoz in different parts of the airfield.

Guy Adams then completed some training flights in the K21 to get David Cowley and Ross Pratt into the air whilst Simon and Mike switched to winching and cable/glider retrieve duties respectively.

New mower has been at work on North Hill airfield (Mike Sloggett)

Peter Warren then had some flights in the Perkoz with Simon Minson followed by Guy and  Simon Jordy - who, with no aerotows needed,  helped out on the ground commenting as he regularly retrieved the Perkoz that he was enjoying the opportunity to see different areas of grass. With everyone flown or about to fly in the Perkoz and the wind still chilly a decision was made to bring the day to an end so Chris Woodward and Mike flew the K21 home closely followed by the Perkoz.

A day where again patience was rewarded, thank you to everyone for the great teamwork which enabled others to fly. - Mike Sloggett

Sat 28th April - Open Day

The weather forecast on Friday was not very promising, but by Saturday morning the strong winds had abated, and there was just some low cloud to start. The airfield and clubhouse had been prepared to greet visitors, and Sir Chris Coville was featured on Radio Devon publicising the event.

The new Perkoz - latest addition to the Club fleet (David Clements)

Visitors started arriving early, and the gliders were soon walked down to the far end of the airfield with the low cloud lifting nicely. The Club's four two-seaters were kept busy all day with the new Perkoz taking it's place in the Club fleet. 

Busy launch point (David Clements)

After all the visitors had flown, some of the Club members took advantage of the opportunity to fly the new Perkoz. 

Thanks to James Flory and all the Club members who helped to make the day go so smoothly. - J&P

Thurs 26th April

The forecast for Thursday suggested drier and less windy than Wednesday - but it wasn't! There were many showers in the local area, although only one crossed the airfield, and it was easy to stay airborne around them. The gusty 20kt westerly wind made it feel quite cold, but it was soarable from first to last launch.

Good air (Mike Sloggett)

There was a good mixture of soaring training and currency checks for the Thursday regulars keeping Pete Harmer, Chris Wool and Mike Sloggett busy all day. 

First to fly the Perkoz - Stu and Chris (Stu Procter)

Well done to Andrew Logan and George Sanderson for negotiating with CAA to get the Perkoz paperwork completed in time for the Open Day on Saturday. So today saw the first flights of our new Perkoz,  overseen by CFI Stu who had taken the day off specially. 

Perkoz - first landing (John Borland)

It was good to see some private owners out enjoying the local sporting conditions and with Pete Startup  in 230 completing 130kms turning Okehampton and Wellington, and Wyn Davies in W7 getting back from Crediton. 

At the end of the day Mike and Barbie had rigged the Pik and Mike enjoyed a late afternoon flight in wave under the approaching high cover. 

Thanks to Mark, (Simon & Rowan ) for fixing the DSGC webcams.

Simon Leeson all points east and west (Mark Courtney)

Thanks to everyone for mucking in and keeping everything running smoothly albeit a little frustrating for the early solo restricted pilots. - J&P

Wed 25th April

Because of the forecast the usual number of Wednesday members was reduced and the weather at the club did not show much promise to start with, but we decided to make a start and the two K21s were readied for flying. We had problems with the winch communications, so we decided to aerotow only. The first couple of launches were very rough but the thermals were strong and it was reasonably easy to stay up if you managed to avoid the many showers.  We tried to do as many flights before 1:00pm because the weather was due to get worse in the afternoon.

Avoiding the storms (John Street)

But the weather hadn't seen the weather forecast because conditions steadily improved during the afternoon, Pete Startup  230 was the only private glider to rig and duly disappeared all afternoon.
Robert earned his gold 'c' in Tractor driving with an all day stint on the new mower at grass cutting. William Pope and Tim Petty changed the cables on the Skylaunch winch in ŕeadiness for the Open Day on Saturday.

Good cloud streets and thermals (John Street)

Pete Warren was tuggie all day and had some quite interesting aerotows, everyone flew and all had good soaring flights, what started as a difficult day ended up very rewarding.
Many thanks to Peter Field for standing in for John Sillett. - John Street.

Sun 22nd April

With lots of card checks still to do after weeks of prohibitive weather together with many trainees, the club buildings were well-populated by the hopeful from an early hour today.  The aircraft were extracted from their new hangar configuration by the early risers and everything set up for launching into a westerly wind, such as it was. 

A bit grey to start (Mike Sloggett)

 Some early low cloud caused Mike Rigby and Peter Field to release early on the first winch launch of the day but this soon dissipated to sunny conditions allowing full-height winch launches and high aerotows. The return of the DG505 from the Long Mynd helped instructors to make brisk progress through the two-seater list; the Perkoz remaining elusively out of reach for a little longer, pending CAA paperwork. 

A couple of trial lessons punctuated the flying list and were met with enthusiasm and, in one case, observed by almost a dozen family members. It was good to see junior members, including Harry Rigby, Ellie Carter and Jack Raybould getting airborne and getting stuck in with launch and retrieval duties.  Harry was chuffed to receive sign-off to retrieve gliders in the Gator.  Well done also to Paul Little for his soloing the DG505.

Ron checks out Paul for the DG505 (Mike Sloggett)

Some took the opportunity to take lunch during a pause to change the troublesome winch battery, which produced a queue on the aerotow line.  Cloud came and went through the day, at times squeezing the headroom a little, but also with some weak wave. By mid-afternoon, with a lifting cloud base and strengthening wind, the ridge began to work well, giving some extended flight times.  

North Hill  and Forest Glade (Lisa Humphries)

 The motor-gliders made regular appearances including  James Flory at the controls completing his Tug rating.  The kit finally being packed away under James’s direction at around 1800 after 50 launches.  The new configuration actually seems to work better, with the aircraft arranged in symmetrical fashion.  Hot cakes from Cheryl & Graham put smiles on many faces as we shaped up to head home. Until the next time. - (First time blogger) Mike Rigby

Sat 21st April

At last a Saturday that had a forecast of something other than low cloud or constant rain. With a a lot of people eager to get current again, the hanger emptying process was completed in good time by the many, with Ian Hunt as Duty Marshall doing a sterling job, so that by the time the duty instructor turned up the field was almost ready to go. Lack of currency extended into the instructor cadre so with John P on duty and working on the list, CFI Stuart set about clearing first Rowan then Matt so that all the two-seat gliders could be used. 

Sky hinting at what was to come (JP)

Despite the almost absence of wind on the ground, the fact that it was a SE and a curious smoothness to the burgeoning stratus prompted thoughts of wave prior to launching and so it was the first flight of the day saw a disappointingly low launch dropped Alan Turner into a steady 1 - 2 up in a line running out from the club to Broadhembury. This really set the tone for the day with curiously good wave given the modest wind speed present for most of the day. 

Sky starting to look threatening (JP)

Play was interrupted for an hour late morning by a band of rain that sprung from the stratus but with brightening skies the team were soon out and launching again. Initially the wave seemed to have stopped but with successive launches it became obvious that it was re-establishing itself. Whilst mainly blue, the sky post rain showed evidence of alto cumulus and other mid level clouds often associated with thundery weather. Despite a pause for a cable break, the flying list did get attacked by JP and Rowan Smith with Reuben Buss getting cleared solo in time for him to have his first stint as a Duty Marshall. 

With effectively a cross wind all day, launches were never particularly high but with a little effort most could slide into the wave which whilst not going particularly high was fairly solid low down.

Looks like Summer (Dave Herbert)

DSGC young member Daniel Hendey was rewarded for his accurate flying by taking KEK to 2,000ft and the sight of the DG505 slipping alongside in formation with a smiling and waving trial lesson crew (Matt Williamson and Arthur Hayhoe). James Flory  took on the pm duty and improved his fitness with endless simulated launch failure walks back to the launch point. 

As the day wore on, the clouds around became rather more sinister and in the distance thunder could be heard. Last flights revealed more challenging conditions with rough approaches and a wind that round to the west. The last hurrah in the wave saw 2,500ft before it all broke down and become very turbulent. With gliders being walked back to the hanger, the electrical storm started flashing both to the west and east. 

Interesting cloud formations before the thunderstorms started (JP)

The hanger packing was made more interesting by a new addition - the Perkoz! Resplendent with its tips on, the Perkoz had been rigged during the afternoon and now with two big span gliders to stow in the hanger, the challenge was on to come up with a new layout. With some thought and a few squeaks, a sensible and symmetrical arrangement was hit upon which looks to work well. 

New hangar layout (JB)

 With the beer fridge opened and the sky entertaining with lightening and funky cloud shapes it was a great end to a day that hopefully marks the start of a proper summer... - JP

Fri 20th April - Denbigh

It was a warm and sunny Friday morning at Denbigh and the forecast was not at all promising for the Vale of Clwyd due to the warm stable air mass. However for the gliders with turbos it was suggested that conditions to the west and south would be good, so a 200k task was set and the turbo gliders launched as soon as Cu was visible on the distant hills. With the Tug U/S, winch launch was the only option and and the prospects of finding any lift within gliding range for the non turbo pilots was looking pretty slim.

First to launch was Rodney Witter in his super little 13.2 m Silent 2 electric glider  followed by Dan and Chris in the Arcus M and DG1000 M. JB in the Ventus Ct launched next followed by Phil and Nick in the Duo Discus DD3.

Much fuel was spent (and noise generated by all except Rodney) getting to Lake Brenig (Task Start point) in the distant hills and on arrival the promised thermals were almost non existent and very broken. The options were to keep searching for a climb or just set off on task and hope for the best.  JB adopted the 'press on regardless' method and sledged south east as far as possible into a little valley and the sun soaked town of Corwen which looked obliged to offer some thermal sustenance. Forty five minutes later having supped from every wisp of lift on offer he finally accepted failure and succumbed to the iron thermal to escape. Meanwhile DD3 had been searching in vain for a decent climb to set off on task and eventually decided to abandon the task return to Denbigh for a nice cup of tea. The Arcus and DG1000 both faired better and eventually turned the Long Mynd. 

Snowdon shrouded in cloud with sea mist in the distance (JB)

After a second noisy climb to 3000ft, JB eventually found a stonking climb near Lake Bali and headed north to Snowdonia to play in a weak sea breeze convergence. The views were spectacular with the sea to the west hidden under a blanket of sea mist.

JB couldn’t quite get to Snowdon peak which was shrouded in cloud so set off south again with renewed enthusiasm to Vyrnwy dam on Lake Efyrnwy (they don’t like vowels in wales!). 

Clwyd hills from the southwest (JB)

On the way back a small diversion was required around the Jubilee Tower on Moal Fameau for a last low level wave at the walkers before landing. Four hrs of flying for 4 litres of petrol seamed a fair compromise! - JB

Thurs 19th April - Long Mynd

There was some confusion as we all woke up in the morning, caused by an abundance of blue sky and a bright orb which caused certain members of our group to put out their shorts in anticipation of a hot day. The weather forecast was good, almost too good with suggestion of possible thermals but unlikely to be marked by fluffy white clouds. As the hangar was unpacked then so were the shorts following which several other DSGC pilots had to go and lie down to recover from the sight of the legs on display.

The Club was busy with local pilots rigging a wide variety of gliders keen to make use of the pleasant, if unspectacular weather, to regain some currency after the poor weather of recent weeks. Some of the DSGC group took their gliders across to the launch point with a view to ‘timing’ their take offs to make the most of the potential lift as and when it might arrive. Highlight of the day was David Cowley converting to the K23.

David Cowley solo in K23 (Mike Sloggett)

However it was evident from the first launch that the day was going to be hot and limiting in terms of thermal activity. Some launches ended up with simple circuits, some with extended circuits and the odd one or two managed to ‘hang around’ in broken blue thermals for a while - unfortunately the conditions did not quite become as hoped for and the fact that the longest flight of the day was just over an hour tells the story. Some of the DSGC model flyers went off to have fun on the faraway slopes the other side of the valley from the Mynd and funnily enough ended up having a cream tea too. Rumours of an ‘active discussion’ around whether it is jam or cream first on the scone have yet to be proved.

The famous Mynd sunset (Mike Sloggett)

The evening ended with the famous steak night meal with suitable discussion between DSGC and Midland GC members as to whether Friday would provide any better soaring to end the week.

 In fact Friday dawned in a pretty uninspiring way and by late morning the decision was made by most of the group to derig and return to North Hill. As ever a big Thank You to Midland GC members for their welcome and help during our visit.  - Mike Sloggett

Thurs 19th April

It was a bright sunny start, with a light westerly wind, and the field had dried out significantly after the sun and strong winds of yesterday. With careful positioning of the winch run to avoid the still soggy patches, the 21 members on the two-seater list (with most requiring currency checks) was started. The three Instructors were kept busy all day with just the two K21s available. 

Juniors ready to launch (Jill Harmer)

Circuits of those who got to full height varied between 4 and 5 minutes, whilst most of the simulated launch failures enjoyed the long walk from the other end of the field. Just before lunchtime, five private gliders joined the single seat queue, but soon opted for an aerotow. With a solid inversion initially at 1200ft, some bubbles started developing and the inversion rose to 2,500ft. 

Steve Westlake FER, Jeff Taberham 380 and Eric Alston G29 all enjoyed long flights in the local area. When it was looking like the flying list would be completed, there was a sudden wind shift and cooling from sea air to the north, and the small convergence area moved over the site giving a significant tailwind. It was decided that it was too late in the day to change ends with everyone getting tired in the unfamiliar heat, and a decision to call it a day was made.

Sorry to those who didn't get to fly, but a lot of the currency checks were completed - 46 winch launches and 7 aerotows in total. 

Congratulations to Andy Davey after his course at Aston Down with his Bronze badge completed. We were also able to give new member Jim Binning his first flights today after the unfortunate weather cancelled  April course.

And two more bits of good news - 

The CAA have rejected the Exeter ACP (more details on the website)  and a big thank you to everyone who submitted a response. 

The Swallows are back - so please keep the aircraft hangar doors closed. - J&P