Sunday 13th

Thirteen is considered unlucky but only for those people who didnt turn up at the airfield today with a total of 39 flights and over 20 hours of soaring time logged this was our busiest day since August last year.

The good forecast brought out quite a few private owners who were busy trying to remember how to fly their hot ships after a winters slumber, the Janus, Nimbus, Ls3, Oly, Pirat and Jantar all taking to the skies for extended soaring flights and short cross countries. The club gliders were also kept fully utilised with Daniel and Pablo up first in the Puchacz for check flights before Daniel took to the skies in the K8 and decided not to come back, twice, clocking up two flights of over an hour to double his solo hours to date and get his first Bronze leg. Mean while Pablo kept the launch point uncluttered soaring the Puchacz solo for the fist time while Phil put Justin through his paces for his Bronze flying test. Stuart obviously also appreciates a tidy launch point as he disappeared off in the club Vega and Alan proved that the surest way to catch a thermal is to decide to hangar fly and went soaring in the Oly on his fourth attempt. Unfortunately Richard brought the Ls3 back for his syndicate partner who had already absconded in a spare seat in the Janus so the airfield didn’t remain tidy for long.

Conditions remained soarable until late in the day so I was able to sneak off for an hour in the Nimbus to remember what 50:1 is really like while Pete checked Graham out befrore his type conversion to the Vega ending a long day of good soaring and numerous personal achievements.

It looks like the soaring season is here.

Saturday 12/04 and Sunday 13/04

I was duty Saturday, it was grey and overcast and quite windy, but it was soarable. With no-one willing to fly with me I took the Vega, having noticed a brightening – it was quite tricky and cycling but i managed 38mins, Nigel and Stephen coming close with their soaring efforts.

On Sunday I rigged 737 along side EEF, the pirat, the olly, FOT and 383 and launched into a much better looking sky for, in formula 1 parlance, a systems check and installation lap. It was working ok up to about 3000ft so I set off north for a wander. There I found the thermals much more broken (wave from wales?) and struggled to get back, fortunately the nimbo was good for the task.

Congratulations to Graham Tanner for converting to the Vega and to Justin for completing his bronze checks.

9th April – Busy Wednesday

Lots of members turned out to play and 4 private gliders rigged.  Despite a 90 degree cross wind and the subsequent poor launches (1,200ish was what I was seeing from the back seat of a K13) thermals far from guaranteed, quite a few decent soaring flights were had.  At one point in the afternoon all 7 gliders were airborne and the launch point empty.  Chris K set the time to beat flying his Cirus for 50 minutes, which Colin B bettered by 8 minutes flying his LS3-17 but Rob J, in his Cirus, clocked up 1:13.  Mind, it wasn’t easy, Colin had to take 3 launches to get one decent length flight.  Alan P decided to have a rest from short circuits in his Olly and handed over to Alan B to add a new type to his log book.  He obviously hadn’t been told the Olly was just doing circuits as he flew for 38 minutes.  On handing it back to Alan P normality (i.e. a short flight) was restored.

Meanwhile at the top end of the field the phantom grass cutter was attacking some of the vigorous spring grass.
20 members flew, including Alex R one of our new junior members taking advantage of half term.  Almost 10 hours flown off 37 launches.

Wednesday 26th

Many hands …..!

We  also did a lot of soaring in a variety of conditions from ridge, to rain to thermal.

And congratulations to Jonty who was lured to the airfield following our encounter at the Gibbet (me in The Vega and he suspended under a green canopy). It turned out to be a good decision as he then flew his first solo in a glider.