Wednesday 20th October 2011

A 'character-building' sort of day - with a chilly NW crosswind and plenty of sunshine interspersed with heavy showers, plus, of course, a very muddy airfield.

To give the surface of the churned-up east end landing area a rest, we set up the launch point on the actual south side, further forward than usual and on the threshold of the stub runway. This gave us a better 'into wind' component and enabled launching gliders to get off the ground before the seriously swampy bit. Meanwhile all landings took place on relatively firm ground on either side of the centre track, with most pilots stopping more or less opposite the launch point to minimise the amount of retrieving.

In order further to protect the ground, we left the control caravan beside the northern boundary fence, and operated 'al fresco' using the grey Discovery as our control vehicle and Colin Boyd's van as a shelter when it rained. Apart from the Spartan conditions, the system worked well.

Looking for "divine guidance" at the south side launchpoint. 

We experienced one potential 'wooden spoon award' situation in that having endured the whole day without the quad bike, believing it to be unserviceable, just as we were putting the kit away the Chairman leaped aboard and the supposedly sick machine came to life. Many thanks to whoever fixed it. Another sick asset, K13 DMX, sat outside the hangar draped in a tarpaulin as we headed out to the launch point, but by the end of the day it appeared to be well on the road to recovery, thanks to John Bolt's efforts.

It was good to have recently-qualified grandad Chris Fagg back with us, and also to see Trevor around again, although he and his syndicate partner Steve were focused more on fine-tuning trailers than flying.

Chris Fagg in BVB. ( Kate Winslet looked much better on the bow of the Titanic Chris! )

As far as new faces were concerned, an experienced but long-lapsed solo pilot, Malcolm Roberts from Hayle, in Cornwall, spent much of the afternoon with us, while his patient wife looked after their dogs back at the clubhouse. He hopes to fly with us in the Spring. Meanwhile new member Steve Raine (whose photo appeared in one of our blogs a few weeks back) was true to his word and returned to prove to himself that he hasn't forgotten all of those skills he gained many years ago first in the air cadets and later in the Army.

Finally, a moment of sadness when one of our most enthusiastic trainees, Przemyslaw Wozny ('Shrek'), mentioned casually that this would be his last visit for a while as his current job in the UK has just come to an end and he is returning to Poland. Good luck, Shrek - and hurry back!

Shrek, in somber mood, contemplates his return to Poland

Bob Pirie