Wednesday 27th July 2011

A tantalising - but frustrating - sort of Wednesday!

Tantalising, because on this lovely summer's day, apart from an hour or two when productive cumulus formed just SE of the field, most of the thermals kept their distance. Still, Ged (Open Cirrus) and Bob Sansom (K8) managed well over an hour each, and Phil Hardwick in the Astir, half an hour.

The launch point was packed with privately owned gliders - which stayed there most of the time(!) - and the two seaters were kept busy with early ab initio training, trial lessons and a one-day course. Thanks to CFI Don for carrying most of the workload on a sweltering day.

There was a degree of frustration on two fronts. Firstly, apart from the private owners and a couple of non-private owners, all of whom worked so hard to keep things running on this busy day as well doing their own flying, where were all our other solo pilots who have been crying out for single seaters? As things stood, we lacked a sufficient 'quorum' to get either the Pirat or the K8 out - until late in the day, when we were all too knackered.

The second area of frustration was a bout of equipment failure which beset us. Firstly, the grey Land Rover Discovery spent the day stranded half way up the field, due to a broken half-shaft, which our technical experts attribute to driver error. Then, following a spate of cable breaks plus a torn cable parachute, we ran out of ferrules and for the last hour or so had just one serviceable cable - and no ferrules to repair it had it broken. (All will be well for the weekend, I understand, because the Guslaunch winch with its two fully serviceable cables will be deployed.)

Throughout the day we enjoyed the company and help of a visitor from another club, Chris North, who glides at Kenley and Wormingford.

Despite a late start due to the small number of us available to get the club kit and privately owned gliders out, as well as looking after new members and visitors, more than 40 launches were achieved and the day ended with Andrew Beaumont opening his first can of beer at 19.00hrs, and Colin Boyd roaring off into the sunset in his gleaming red Triumph TR4A.

Bob Pirie