With an increase in the northerly crosswind and strong thermic conditions forecast, we managed to fit in a trial lesson for Stephen Holley, plus a few solo flights in the Bocian by Mike Jardine, before the order of the day reverted to two-seaters only; always with an instructor in the back, and with rigorous attention to glider parking and ground-handling. The Zugvogel remained safely in the hangar and the only glimpses of privately-owned gliders were when their owners exposed their fuselages to the elements while they fettled instruments, trailers lights etc..
The only ab initio member on the field today was Roger White (the guy in the vest!) who, having arrived on his lovingly-restored motorbike, opted not to fly but work with Colin Boyd, first of all setting up the ML winch for the day's flying, and then attempting to breath life (with some success) into the dormant ex- Perranporth winch.
We had a good turnout of experienced pilots, some needing 'refreshing' after long lay-offs (in today's case by me in DMX) or wishing to explore the delights of the Bocian (with Ged). Having firstly coached current pilots John Howe and Robin Wilson in not only flying safely, but also in exploiting lift in such challenging conditions, it was great to be able to help 'remove the rust' from Jeff Craggs, John Bolt and John Blaskett.
Unfortunately John Blaskett, at the bottom of the flying list, had his session curtailed when the increasing wind-strength prompted us to call a halt to proceedings, but he has clearly been 're-bitten by the bug'. John Bolt is obviously relishing being 'back in the saddle' with his years of extensive experience starting to come to the fore, and Jeff Craggs achieved the day's longest flight of 44 minutes after many months off the scene. He was in fine form, and his 'commentary and self-criticism'' (heard from the back seat) were as entertaining as ever.
Bob Sansom and John Howe did a great job winch driving, with Jeff and Robin on retrieve; Bob ending the day with an 'exciting' maiden flight in the Bocian with Ged. A major regret was that Mike Keller, who does such a splendid job with trial lesson bookings and manned the tower for most of the day, had to leave before his turn came around - so 'we owe you one' next time, Mike.
Finally, as usual Dave Bourchier seemed to be everywhere - hooking on, retrieving and generally keeping the launch point running.
After an early finish, we reconvened in the clubhouse, where Mike Gadd's evangelising on the joys of the Inter-Club League led to some enthusiastic discussion.
Bob Pirie
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