Wednesday 17th October 2012

The likelihood of a non-flying day (crosswind from the south gusting to nearly 40 knots, heavy showers and a sodden airfield) failed to deter an amazing turnout of 20 members who convened in the clubhouse, in good spirits and full of enthusiasm following last Saturday's 'fun day' and Extraordinary General Meeting, at which our new Chairman was elected and the committee beefed up with the appointment of additional members.

Steve Raine set proceedings off on a tasty note by serving a delicious cake his wife had made to celebrate his Bronze 'C' -  a gesture which we hope will become a precedent to be followed by other pilots as they progress up the ladder.

The cake went down very well. (  I was obviously not quick enough taking the photo )

But hardly had the last crumbs been consumed than, as a new committeeman and Treasurer, he soon found himself being bombarded with comments and suggestions from enthusiastic members. Meanwhile our Field Treasurers, Dave Rippon and Robin Wilson, were once again observed tearing their hair out over unpaid flying fees and despairing about what to do about visiting pilots from other clubs who leave us with unpaid bills.

Reminders of last weekend included plenty of left-over nibbles (still surprisingly non-soggy despite the wet weather) and yet another exciting video-clip from Ged's mobile phone camera, giving us a glimpse of his and Don's antics as they explored ridge-soaring opportunities deep into Dartmoor in BVB.

Studying the map to find out where Don and Ged went.

Once a non-flying day had been confirmed, a few members left us in search of domestic 'brownie points', but most of the team stuck around - and got stuck into various jobs.

The serial 'multi-tasking' Dave Bourchier made progress with seeking quotes from local engineers capable of renovating winch rollers, while Chris Kaminski came all the way from North Devon to progress the changeover of the Pirat's instrument panel. Trevor Taylor (with additional 'high-tech' expertise from Colin Sanders) after an abortive attempt last Saturday, at last succeeded in removing a stubborn brake drum from the T21 trailer.

Then a whole gang of us converged on the Twin Astir's T-hangar in the swamp at the SE corner of the field to de-rig the glider and put the fuselage onto its trailer.Sadly the aircraft's undercarriage recently succumbed to a muddy rut on the landing area, which concealed a sizeable boulder. So the glider is having to be taken off-site for specialist repairs.

Using pilots to hold a fuselage onto a trailer? Straps or ropes are much less trouble

As a personal observation, anyone with doubts about the health and enthusiasm of Dartmoor Gliding Society should have been around last weekend or today.  If the atmosphere and attendance can be like this on a non-flying day, just imagine what it will be like when the wave arrives.

Here's to this weekend - and to next Wednesday!

Bob Pirie

I hope to have a "How I did it" post and video of the Don and Ged's latest foray to the hills for the blog soon.

Steve