Dartmoor Gliding News – Sunday 17th September 2013

At first it appeared as if today was going to be ‘three syllable surname’ day, the reason being that, at the start, only Leigh Whittington and Roger Appleboom were able to fly, leaving those with less than three syllables (such as Andy and Mike Swann) confined to supporting roles on the ground. 

Fortunately, the arrival ageing (gracefully) rock star Colin Boyd, and second (albeit reluctant) winch driver, enabled us to make progress with two-seat training in the afternoon.  In still air, and a leaden cloudscape, the launches were not high, but the stillness allowed accurate flying to be practised, without disturbance from turbulence or thermal. 

Trial Lesson student 14 year old Cameron Fawcett-Hunter
This included Trial Lesson student 14 year old Cameron Fawcett-Hunter, an air cadet from Sidmouth, who rapidly assimilated use of all three controls over the course of three flights, and also 14 year old member Andrew Swann.  Andrew is to be congratulated on being the recent and very worthy recipient of a substantial grant from the Caroline Trust.  So whilst Andrew was able to practice making take-offs to the west and landings to the east, his granddad Mike, was later treated to views over the autumnal countryside as bonfire smoke hung low and fingers of mist crept in with the dusk.

Those who were unable to attend yesterday evening’s Extraordinary General Meeting - perhaps preferring Strictly to the delights of the clubhouse - missed some lively debate over the new Articles of Association, in terms of what should be ‘in’ or ‘out’.  Suffice to say that the meeting concluded with a vote at which the new Articles were adopted, unanimously, and thus the club’s operations as a Company will now be aligned with current legislation.

Martin Cropper

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