Dartmoor Gliding News - Sunday 15th December 2013

As glider pilots we're used to taking decisions: will I make it back? What field should I choose? Should I power up through the middle of the thermal or leave room for my fellow plots? So decision making comes relatively easy to us. And so it proved today as early cloud gathered, began to precipitate and then lower until it was almost impossible to see the mould growing on the T-21's trailer!  Yes, based on all available evidence I would say that the best conclusion to arrive at was: no aviation today!

Martin in dusting mode

So the decision for today's team had to be how best to postpone one of Don's lectures? What better, then, at this time of year than a little spring cleaning? With Jerry Wellington making a near perfect impersonation of Freddy Mercury's 'I Want to Break Free' and Roger Apfelsaft and I dusting anything that didn't move we managed to put off the inevitable for a couple of hours.  Ironically, it was Jerry's 'can I do you now, sir?' that evicted Don from the Tech Office and within minutes he was back 'on point' just to the left of the whiteboard.

Freddy Mercury?

 On this occasion, however,  the primary and secondary effects of something or other metamorphosed into an interesting comparison of how much the average person may be expected to spend in obtaining the Licence via BGA or EASA routes.  The future costs would appear to be less under EASA, depending of course on whether you decide to use a motor glider or not, and if you could decide to raise the cloudbase from 500ft below the level of the airfield. Now that kind of decision making ability is one that appeals!

Don manning his much loved whiteboard

Martin Cropper