I woke to the bubbling cry of a curlew. Drawing back the curtain, I could see the windsock was still horizontal but there was no sign of the serried rows of lenticular clouds from the previous evening. No, I wasn’t dreaming but the airfield wasn’t Brentor, it was Milfield in Northumberland, home of the Borders GC and three nomads from Dartmoor had journeyed north to look at a glider – a SZ-30 Pirat to be precise.
It all began a few weeks ago when it became clear we needed a single-seater to replace our old K6. Borders GC were offering their Pirat ‘CKD’ for sale, but it was a long way to go to be disappointed. I contacted Barry Lytollis – technical officer at Milfield, who obliged by sending photographs and a mass of technical information. The C of A was current until September, but it would need some work and reweighing then. After an impromptu committee meeting at Brentor, I was given a green light to go up to Northumberland to see if we could strike a deal. It’s a blooming long drive so I was pleased when Ged Nevisky agreed to be co-driver and equally pleased when Chris Kaminski agreed to come and give technical advice – Chris has a very well kept Pirat.
Ged and I set off at 06 dubs on Wednesday 1 June picking up Chris at Tiverton. Next stop was Tamworth for fuel, then north on the A1()M with Ged at the wheel. Yorkshire seemed to whizz by and following our next refuel at Scotch Corner, I took over driving again. About noon we went past The Angel of the North, deciding it needed a lick of paint! After Morpeth we left the dual carriageway and enjoyed fine views over the Cheviot Hills. Just seven miles from the Scottish border, we turned into Milfield: it wasn’t quite two o’clock – less than eight hours to do 470 miles.
Barry Lytollis introduced his team and left us to examine the glider’s paperwork whilst he made us a very welcome cuppa. Then it was into the hangar to give CKD a good going over. Chris was most thorough and having him with us was extremely valuable. By the end of the afternoon we had noted a few deficiencies but none that couldn’t be addressed and the deal was agreed. Then it was time to derig the Pirat, but first we had to get it out of the hangar. That was easier said than done: it was right at the back behind three tugs and some other gliders. Eventually we had the Pirat ‘lashed and stowed’ in the trailer and the Borders fleet returned to its rightful place. We then adjourned to the Red Lion for supper, pausing only to admire the wave clouds over the nearby hills.
And that was how I came to wake up to the sound of a curlew; Barry had kindly arranged for us to have use of the visitor’s accommodation – Borders have four very nicely furnished twin-bedded rooms. The sky was still pink – well, it was 0345! Time to get my head together – bathroom, kitchen for coffee and a nutty bar, check we’ve got everything and off we jolly well go. It was 0430 – not bad. We stopped after a few miles to check the trailer was OK before pressing on south. I wanted to get past Newcastle before the rush started. That went well and we stopped at Wetherby for fuel and to check CKD. There had been some movement and we took the opportunity to re-secure the fuselage.
Having taken the opportunity to refuel ourselves, Ged took the wheel and we continued on our way. The trailer was towing well at 60 mph but there was a slight hiccup when we found ourselves heading for the wrong side of Nottingham – we were on the A1 and should have been on the M1! The road that took us back west passed through Sherwood Forest: none of us had seen it before but we decided the trees there looked much like any other.
Our last stop was at Strensham on the M5 and I drove the final leg. At Bristol we could see stationary traffic tailed back following an accident on the M4, but fortunately we weren’t affected. Having made a brief detour at Tiverton to drop off Chris, we pressed on and reached the familiar gates of Brentor at 1600 precisely – a lapsed time of eleven and a half hours. The total distance travelled over the two days was not far short of 1,000 miles and 475 of them were towing a 30 ft. trailer. It was the longest retrieve any of us had done and I offer thanks for the resilience of my stalwart companions.
So, Pirat ‘Charlie Kilo Delta’ is now residing at Brentor awaiting the attention of some hopeful glider pilots.
Enjoy!
Bob Jones
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