It takes a brave person to risk someone first solo on a busy day when there is only one functioning 2 seater, so Don obviously either had more faith than me in my abilities as a potential pilot, or was intent on getting rid of me one way or the other and at whatever cost. For whatever reason, the chance to fly solo swept away two months of frustration at not getting it right; cramped circuits, speed control on final turn, rounding out too early/too late, holding off maybe/not at all.....all the usual stuff.
Final checks done, cable on and secure, the Puttock behind in spirit if not in body, and Shrek's implorations to bring BVB back in one piece ringing in my ears, I wanted only to keep the first flight simple, cautious, without bending or breaking anything. I pulled off the launch a bit early because of speed, went almost straight to the high key point and the downwind leg, turned early, landed long, 3 minutes of doing nothing too badly.....and nothing broke. The second flight I actually enjoyed.....no loved....every second! And still nothing broke. Job done.
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| Roger is congratulated by Don after his first solo flight |
Roger Appleboom
Interestingly this is what Martin Cropper, with his somewhat jaded sense of humour, thought of the day
When you’re learning to glide
the time at which you fly is governed by the ‘Flying List’. First come, first
served: you can’t say fairer than that. Well, it is fair in that it’s
consistent, but when you’re not master of your own destiny ie. reliant on a
lift, and your family has other plans for you ie. the next serial is grandma’s
at two pm, and they haven’t even started flying until 1030 because there’s mist
on the runway or cloudbase is only 250ft, and then some berk needs to hog the
cables because he’s doing launch failures from which the retrieves take forever,
this rigid adherence to the Flying List can seem a little unfair. And thus it
was for Luke and Joe to whom we have to say thanks for turning up,
but on some days, you may find you leave without having flown, for all the
reasons above.
And so who was that berk hogging
all the cables? Step forward none other than Roger Applebloom who, after a
little more than his original projection of 80 launches for a fixed fee, went
solo for the first time today. Congratulations, Roger! For those who do not
know him, Roger is proprietor of a garage, workshop and motorcycle training
school near Taunton who bikes the 70 miles down every Sunday and regularly
arrives at the club FIRST (within the speed limit – he says). This dedication
and consistency has earned him many a lecture from Don (today’s was ‘TePhiGrams
and radiation fog – my part in their creation’) but who today was rewarded by
the departure of the CFI from the back seat, and made 2 faultlessly flown solo
flights. Only one line remains unsigned on Roger’s ab initio training card, and
that’s because everyone had to depart early (not least Don, who took one of the
ex-Perranporth K-13s to Dunkeswell) – the cans can wait for next
week..!
Following Roger’s solo, and with
only one K-13 serviceable, the challenge fell to David Jesty to get through as
many of the trainees as possible in the time remaining. Still, with conditions
improving and with the K-8 taking the solo pilots (Allan Holland 38 mins, Alan
Carter and Allan Ballard), Leith Whittington, John *** and Shrek all achieved
some soaring training thanks to David’s sharp eye for a thermal and refusal to
let any chance go to waste. Our two Trial Lesson visitors, 80-year old Albert
Greatrix (whose family remembered ex-member Frank Maresh with affection) and
slightly younger Kyle Moore (ex-microlighter who may well join) went away happy
after flights of 14 and 12 minutes respectively.
So 27 launches on a day that
started clagged in mist, some disappointment for our younger brethren but a very
creditable first solo to Roger Applebloom – is that judged to be failure – or
success?
Martin Cropper
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