DGS News Wed 13th March 2013 Bobs Report

A touch of west in the brisk northerly crosswind stimulated a smoothly-executed change of ends by the early morning team.

The east end launch point itself was refreshingly mud-free - and smoother than it has been for months thanks to the efforts of Phil the Farmer and others with tractor and roller. The south side landing area well up the field seems to be 'lumpier' than ever, however. So I urge all pilots to 'walk the course' whenever they intend flying in order to familiarise themselves with preferred ground runs - and fall-back alternatives if those are blocked. The biggest worry, however, continues to be the centre track - as ever a 'no go' area for gliders, but now offering serious potential for destroying Land Rover Discovery suspension systems.

Flying-wise we enjoyed a 'bracing' day of crosswind combined with sunshine and some heavy sleet showers, with the the small team present multi-tasking between flying and launching and retrieving each other. In the hangar work continued on the club K7/13 and privately-owned SF renovations, while the Zugvogel remains poised (on its trailer) ready for its annual inspection.

Louis Basquill ready to fly.

A special thank you today to Mike Keller, our unsung hero of the trial lesson booking system, who replaced comfortable winter hibernation with a freezing day manning the control tower. With four instructors, several solo pilots and trial lesson visitor Louis Basquill present, everyone got all the flying they could have wished for given the conditions. Not much in the way of soaring, but plenty of launch failures and approaches to the stub runway. Gliders in use were K13 DMX, the K8, the "Philanderers'" Astir* and - later in the day - the Twin Astir.

(* 'Why "Philanderers'" Astir?' you may ask. Well, it's owned by Phil and Andrew - geddit?)

Activities concluded on a high note (sort of), with the Twin and single Astirs as well as the K8 all airborne simultaneously and sharing the only decent thermal of the day - before conditions died completely.

Bob Pirie