I suppose one has to feel sorry for the folks burden by wok and unable to get out to play on such a day. From 11:00 to 13:30 everything we threw at the sky soared away (well, with one exception). Colin B took the LS3 to somewhere north of Bristol. The Duo Discus (with Ken R and Bill C) only ventured off a modest distance as Bill had to head to work in the afternoon (the suggestion to “drop him off” was not thought to be prudent since he was working at Heathrow).
In the afternoon the blue hole settled in with great looking cu to the north, south, east and west. The prospect of the good stuff from the north coming within reach kept tempting folks but only a few got lucky – Rob J in the Cirrus (on his free launch), Steve B in the ASW-15 and myself in the LS3. Climbs to 4,800 were available and the visibility was exceptionally good. 25 hours flown off 37 launches.
Video
Open Day
An excess of wind (20 mph westerly gusting 40 mph) put paid to any hope of flying. Even so about a dozen folks turned up from as far afield as Melbourne, Australia and Polruan, Cornwall. Admittedly both these chaps were on holiday in the area. We welcomed about a dozen visitors and they were shown the club fleet and winches and watched videos in the clubhouse (thanks to Rob S and Phil M bringing their laptops along). Rob S had arranged for a fellow electric car enthusiast to big his go-faster car along which provided some interests to both visitors and members. At 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds I think it fair to brand it as “go-faster”.
A very good turnout of club members there to share their experience with our visitors and eat donuts. Many thanks to all of them and those who phoned ready to appear if needed.
May 7th TLE
For our first Trial Lesson Evening of the year help members of 3rd Winchester Scouts to progress their aviation badges. Not the best of conditions with a lively cross-wind from the west and short flights on offer. A big group so the TLE crew were very gratefully to the “Wednesday boys” for getting our second K13 rigged and back in service. This meant we had all 3 of the 2-seaters pressed into operation. Fluffy Harris (who needs a windsock when Rodney is around – provided he’s not wearing a hat) did his usual fantastic job on the winch. Paul B opted for the quiet life in the Land Rover retrieving the gliders – quiet until the scouts discovered the joys of riding in our “classic” vehicle. Rob S, Graham T and Steve B kept gliders filled and launched. The result of the efficient operation is that we flew 18 scouts and 7 adults who all went away with a big smile on their faces.
PS most flights were either 5 or 6 minutes but Ken R defied gravity on one flight with an astounding 11 minutes