With wind forecasts varying from SW to S to SE, the decision to set up the field for the latter was justified, and all equipment was in place and ready to go once various private-owner and club glider fettling chores (Incl. fitting £354 worth of new safety harnesses to BVB) had been completed. While Dave Bourchier commenced ‘surgery’ on the ML winch, which will be offline for a while, Dave Rippon spent most of the day launching us, with ‘Scratch’ taking the helm later on.
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| Mike Keller and David Rippon |
Most found the combination of cross-wind, lively broken thermals and the prospect of wave developing ‘interesting’; the second longest flight being 37 minutes by Ged in the Open Cirrus. The longest flight (but using an engine) was Don Puttock’s much-vaunted motor glider ferry trip to North Hill, with Alan Carter navigating and thus getting even closer to his Cross Country Endorsement.
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| How many experts does it take to launch Ged in the Open Cirrus? |
The combination of breeze and warm sunshine worked wonders in terms of drying out the field. However the thin, high cloud made the strength of the sun deceptive, and despite an application of sun cream and wearing my ‘thermal hat’ half way through the day, I arrived home after a day’s instructing suffering from sunburn. Warning to all! The ozone layer is definitely thinner than it was no so long ago, so don’t take chances and from here on this season always apply sun lotion and wear a sun hat (but not one with a peak which may interfere with your vision).
In addition to the usual Wednesday regulars (now including Keith Wilson, who started last week), it was good to have Jim and Nelson Rose out of hibernation and back with us. Nelson flew with Dave Jesty but father Jim, suffering from a bad back, decided to remain on the ground and enjoy the scenery.
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| Jim Rose (left) and son Nelson Rose watch the action. |
These days there are so often new faces on the field at Brentor and on this occasion it was Richard who lives ain Mary Tavy He used to glide with the Royal Naval Gliding and Soaring Association at Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedelus) and is now showing signs of having been re-bitten by the bug.
There’s always something happening at Brentor to induce a chuckle, and this time around it was Bob Jones who, with parachute on back, heroically leaped onto the quad bike to herd the sheep away from the undershoot area. However, they mistook him for the farmer bringing them food, so he found himself surrounded, with the whole flock then starting to follow him back to the launch point. His only option, therefore, was to do his ‘pied piper’ act and point the quad towards a distant field, with dozens of hungry (amorous?) ewes in tow.
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| Little Bo(b) Peep or The Pied Piper of Brentor |
Bob Pirie
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