Dartmoor Gliding News - Saturday 22nd March 2014

Cometh the Hour – Cometh the Man.

The club was in trouble. Both of the winches were inoperable. No way to launch the gliders then. So, did the members just stay away? Not a bit of it.

They rolled up their sleeves and got on with putting things right, helping out where they could. Those with engineering skills worked on the winches. Everyone else got on the the other jobs around the site.

Karon cleaned the kitchen before arranging members evenings with our Interclub League Team Captain Mike Gadd.  Andrew Swann and grandfather Mike repaired the chimney / flue for the woodburner which was damaged some time ago in the last major storm of the winter when the wind had ripped the canopy from the front of the clubhouse. As it was blown over the clubhouse roof it brought down the outer chimney which also disturbed the interior flue system.

The newly replaced chimney

Diesel fitter Ray turned up to continue work on the ML winch engine. This time he had a secret weapon, his friend who had been rebuilding diesels and pumps for more than 40 years. A previously undiagnosed fault was found and duly corrected. Time for a test flight. K7M G_DDAK was taken to the launch point and the airfield got ready. We decided  to sacrifice CFI Don to the task. The atmosphere was tense as we initiated the test launch and, miracle of miracles, the winch's power had returned. Don used the great height he got from the launch to go soaring for half an hour or so.

The early sky looked great. But there was work to be done.

The ML winch engine is back and producing more power than ever, winch drivers please note. It was not out of trouble yet though as the winch driver reported defective brakes. Although initially diagnosed as a faulty master cylinder, the more experienced among us realised that this was just the return of a repetitive maintenance issue. Replacing the disc pads and shims returned the brake system to full health. The winch was used for the rest of the afternoon to ensure as many members flew as possible before the rain stopped play.

Yours truly replacing the disk pads on the ML winch.
Rick is delighted that there was a picture of me working instead of sitting in the back seat of a glider. 

The GusLaunch winch was still broken. Winch master Rick Wiles took the lead and fitted a spare starter motor he had salted away from the recent engine change. This sounds easy but involved several hours of heavy lifting and fitting bolts that seemed to require 2 foot long double jointed fingers. As the starter was a different design from the original all the electrical connections had to be reworked. Once done, the winch engine burst into life with the first stab on the starter button. Great.

Rick buried in the depths of the winch replacing the starter motor

Worth a special mention today was a visitor, Andy Small. He had arrived at the club for a One Day Course. This could not be flown so he rolled up his sleeves and worked with Chris Matten in an attempt to resurrect to Perranporth winch ( As a long stop in case the other winch work failed ). By the end of the day the winch had been started, drums released and the controls checked out. Andy did manage to fly at the end of the afternoon. He flew with instructor Mike Sloggett for the hangar flight and will return very soon for his One Day Course.

The fall back position was to get the Perranporth winch running

One piece of good news was the arrival of the club GliderGuider. This is a fully fledged flight computer and moving map system purchased from the "tea fund" surplus. It will be fitted into the Pirat to allow club members to experience flying with the latest electronic aids and to allow the glider to be used more effectively in competitions, expeditions and cross country flying. Thanks to Ged and Mike Gadd for arranging this.

Mike Gadd shows off the new GliderGuider

The day finished in the warm clubhouse ( thanks to Andrew and Mikes refurbished woodburner chimney ).

Many thanks to all the members who helped today. There are too many to mention individually but you know who you are.

The winches are repaired and the club is back in business with a main and reserve winch. It is amazing how DGS club members pull together in the face of adversity. If a mountain needed moving, I am sure it would happen.

Steve