Category: Uncategorised

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

Winch cable changed

Soaring done

Nimbus fettled*

Managed to only spend 2 figures at the garden centre*

Roast dinner*

What did you do?

(* only Claire and Pete)

Bank Holiday weekends often suffer from a lack of members and this one likely to be more so with the returning expedition participants needing to replenish brownie points.  Certainly, there were only a few of us there to setup.  However, shortly after toys ready and in the right place there was an influx and I had a long list of those looking for the services of an instructor.  I took the first launch (with a TL) – straight off the launch into a thermal to 3,000′ and that’s the way it seemed to work for most flights.  Most training flights were half an hour of soaring followed by creative (and instructive) ways to remove surplus height.  A few launches found the sink between the thermals resulting in circuit (Bill O claiming the prize for finding most impressive sink with a 4 minute circuit off a 1,400’launch).
We only managed to fly because Steve B was prepared to winch all day with Richard D pitching in so that Steve could at least get a flight.  Richard, Bob B and Ken R helped me work through the instruction list, without their help some folks would not have got to fly.
One Wyvern pilot appeared with his Nimbus 2A with Upavon being closed. He took longest flight of the day honours of 2:34. 
Of the 4 hangar flights 3 took an hour or more.  21 hours flown off 27 launches with a cloud base of up to 3,900.

With precious few people operating on the ground, only the tireless efforts of Steve G on the winch and Pablo at one time both retrieving cables and operating the signals ensured we all got airborne – and for the most part stayed airborne. Gliders were launched and stayed that way for extraordinarily long times. I’ve never seen a day with so few launches and so many hours. Selvam and Graham got priority launches and duly achieved their target one and two hour flights as planned – well done both. Then two Nimbuses (ii?) flown by Jim and a visitor from Upavon, me in the LS3 and two Kens in the Duo got aloft to tour the countryside for a few hours.

Meanwhile DI Richard gave extended instructional flights to all and sundry, with soaring still active until the last glider was derigged.

The kind of day we all dream about.