Apart from a tricky cross wind (which seems to be a regular feature on Wednesdays) - but this time from SSE - the conditions were perfect for spending a day in the winter sunshine with old friends and keeping current.
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| An interesting looking sky greeted us today |
It would have been OK for training, too, but for the fact that it wasn't until the afternoon that our only two ab initio students rolled up - and one of them had such a bad cold that even had he wanted to fly, he would have been hard-pressed to have persuaded an instructor to share the confines of a cockpit with him. (Hope you feel better soon, JR!)
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K13 G-DDMX launching again.
The crosswind is evident from the windsock on the left and the fact that the pilot has applied left rudder |
Despite being a bit thin on the ground at the start of the day, we managed to get cracking promptly with Ged Nevisky and me operating the two-seaters, and Steve Lewis overseeing things on the ground, while lamenting a worrying lack of candidates for trial lessons (either for real or on the simulator). Apart from ab initio Jorg Beasley , all the other club members who flew were solo pilots either brushing up their skills or simply getting - or staying - current. Because of the conditions, most were happy to swallow their pride and fly dual, but later on a few flew solo in the two seaters.
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| Another flight on it's way |
(The above paragraph stimulates two thoughts: (a) It would appear that our 'order book' for trial lesson and one day course vouchers may be well down on last year - which at this time of year when everyone is scratching round for Christmas present ideas is a bit worrying. In view of this, let's all make a special effort to promote the club and persuade our friends and relatives to give gliding a try in 2014. (b) With the often inclement weather and the particularly challenging nature of our site, I am always impressed by the hard core of solo pilots who are determined to stay current and turn up week after week in order to do so. But as with most gliding clubs, there are still some who, no matter how experienced and competent they believe themselves to be, only occasionally grab what I would suggest is no more than a 'token' flight and remain eternally un-current. Might I suggest that we all make an honest re-assessment of our level of currency, and not 'leave it to chance' until the next wave day or the start of the soaring season.
But back to today...
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| Phil ready to practice his back seat flying shares a joke with instructor Bob |
With the easterly element to the wind and some well-defined lenticulars developing, there was always the possibility of wave developing, but apart from a few 'whispers' of smooth air and reduced sink, it was mainly a case of abortive searches and 'interesting' approaches. Because of the conditions, the K8 spent most of the day parked securely at the launch point until Alan Holland turned up in the afternoon and contributed to the club's coffers by taking a couple of launches.
In all we clocked up 24 launches plus three cable breaks - the last one coinciding with sunset (as per last week) and thus knocking on the head all further thoughts of flying.
Before I end this report, I should like to thank Dave Rippon and John Howe for delivering some excellent launches, and to congratulate everyone who flew for laying off well for the cross-wind during their launches - without a single cable being dropped across the fence.
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| At the end of the day the lenticulars were still teasing us. |
Finally, yet another vote of thanks to Colin Boyd who, helped by Martin Broadway, spent most of the day converting the fallen beech tree into logs - and ultimately generating cash for he club's 'tea swindle' fund as well as fuel for the log burner. Never has a club member been more deserving of the accolade: "He's a lumberjack and he's OK!"
Bob Pirie
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