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Sunday 13th Nov, Northerly!

Jim and I were on duty on Sunday, pushing people into the sky on a cold, clear day.
It was a welcome sight to see Paul Prentice turn up nice and early (as always) followed by more keen members as well as the Southampton University people who promptly helped set up the field.

After a couple of changes to the placement of the Winch (my bad) and whoever put the launch point the wrong side of the south end, we were ready to launch only stopping for a two minute silence where all aircraft were resting on the ground.

All in all , everyone got to fly but patience was rewarded with some extended flights thanks to the ridge kicking off thermals as well as lift. Martin Hoskins would have won the trophy for the longest flight of the day but Trevor Greenwood got in a glider so the spoils went to him.
The end of the day was stunning with the moon rising on the horizon while the last glider launched.

The half day course, turned out to be rather good at flying. The Chap had never been in a plane before!
Home for dinner, an open log fire and falling asleep exhausted.

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Shalbourne Gliding @ Sutton Bank

With spectacular scenery and great company we’ve settled into life at the Bank. Full breakfast, followed by tea and laughing then onto the serious stuff of morning briefing and  weather watching.

A great day yesterday, 2 gliders landing out (I managed to get back!) and some areas of strong sink on the east side of the approach.

Sutton Bank approach Rievaulx Abbey Puchacz in the clouds DSC_0415 Puchacz under the Janus wing 383 Rod and Graham Puchacz in the clag Puchacz Rod Graham and Phil

 

Great company, great flying and friendly local

 

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Interclub 2015 (Part 2)

Interclub at Keevil

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Interclub 2015

Whats all the fuss?

Most of you will have either heard, or participated in an Interclub in the past, some of you may not. For those who know what its about, skip down a paragraph or two. The others; read on.

Let me start by giving you the basic lowdown.

The Interclub is a competition; you fly, do your best, and see what happens. Its not for everyone, which is ok. But if you’ve not entered one before don’t think it’s not for you, you should give it a go.  It’s a competition, but actually it doesn’t matter if you win, loose, or draw, it’s much more than just a trip to another club and getting all competitive; it’s about broadening your boundaries, pushing yourself a little, meeting good people and quite often surprising yourself.

Met is discussed with everyone before the start of each flying day, routes are set, NOTAMS discussed and fettling done to gliders.

It’s a relaxed atmosphere where you’ll find everyone is on your side, you’ll find help from people competing against you, and support from all.

Even for people who are just not interested in competing, or perhaps think it’s not for them, it offers a great opportunity to do your best and find something within yourself you may not have been aware of.

Of course there’s a chance you’ll land out. So what! Someone will fetch you, probably take the micky and you’ll be in the chair for a pint or two. But you’ll have a great story to tell, which will only get better the more you tell it.

The Interclub is held over a number of weekends,  spread apart during the flying season, the dates haven’t yet been arranged. You don’t have to even enter them all. A weekend, or more if you fancy. Skill also isn’t really important, and skill can only come with exposure and practice.

Giving it  go:

So what do you need?

  • A crosscountry endorsement.
  • A glider.
  • A tent or camper van (optional), or access to a B & B (optional).
  • A cheery disposition.

3-2-1 go!

Please get in touch with me to find out more.

I will be pestering…..

Chris Bessent

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z3Bt00eUL8″]

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Interclub 2015

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ros_UDg_D5c”]

As with previous years Shalbourne Gliding is trying to get together a few keen members so we can participate in the Interclub.

We travel to a few different clubs around the region and, over a number of weekends in the summer we compete in a very friendly series of competitions aimed simply to have fun and to push ourselves a little flying against other like-minded people.

All the clubs are extremely friendly; we all pitch up and muck in.

You need to be cross country standard and access to a glider. Other than this it really is very informal and relaxed.

Why not give it a go this year and experience an adventure.