Today was a first; and most probably a last - the first and last time I contradicted Don Puttock - and got away with it! For as I arrived at the club just in time to catch the gastronomers tucking away their 3 course locally sourced breakfast (well, the mushrooms were) Don was preparing to give a lecture on aerotowing, on the basis that today's weather was to be a repeat of yesterday - fog. No need, said I, for the cloud is lifting from the south.
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| K7m G-CDAK takes to the air again. |
And 31 launches, one One Day Course, 4 trial lessons and only one cable break, I think, proved the point. Although it has to be said that the cloud lifted only just sufficient for normal launch heights to be achieved early in the day, and that the solo pilots had some entertaining encounters of a orographic kind on their way around the circuit, we certainly did better by doing what it says on the tin ('gliding') than 'managing people's expectations'.
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| Roger Applesomething in his K6 |
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| Dave Parker's K6 |
The solo team jousting with the grey stuff included Martin Broadway, Nigel Williamson and Jerry Wellington in the new K-8 (tubes appear to be working correctly, thank you, Steve and John), Dave Parker and Roger Applebrylcreem in their K-6s, and Leith Whittington in the superbly crafted (no wonder Slingsby's went bankrupt!) Dart 17R.
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| If you cannot guess from the registration this is Leith's Dart 17R |
Don spent his time with ODC student Brian Hooper who, on his sixth instructional flight, flew the entire launch, circuit and landing without a prompt from Don (yet another miracle!), whilst twin engined power pilot Alistair Davison, ex-RAF fitter Derek Mardles and sister Christine Berry from Exeter, and Ian Harris, late of the rugby field, flew with me in G-DDAK.
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| K7M G-CDAK ready for the next launch |
Darren Wills showed that his flying, like himself, is well on the mend, whilst Roger was checked out by Don to do some mutual flying with Dave P in preparation for his 'Friends and Family' rating. Dave P also gained his spurs on the winch by completing quite a long stint with 90 degree crosswind.
The greatest disappointment of the day was that, by the time we had got through the flying list, we had run out of time for Don's lecture on aerotowing - let's hope it will keep for another day (Don is thinking of organising a mini exped in the near future for those interested in aerotow training).
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Don, on the left, is obviously disappointed at not delivering his lecture.
What sort of mushrooms did they have with that gourmet breakfast? |
And the best news of the day is for the Wednesday crew: - for you, the war maybe over but airfield is set up ready for the expected easterly.
Martin Cropper
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