The day dawned bright and clear and an already good turnout at the club was enhanced by Rick Wiles, eager to test out the repaired ML winch and give some winch driver training to the assemblage of trainees.
In the lee of the hangar all seemed well however, it was only when we got K-7M DAK to the eastern end launch point that the strength of the wind revealed itself, plus its almost 60 degrees across the runway.
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| K7M G-DDAK on the launch |
Whilst waiting for the latest strain of sheep to be cleared from the runway, the gustiness of the wind also became apparent, however keen as we were to get member Andy Davey into the atmosphere we pressed on, despite Luke Botham struggling to keep the into wind wingtip on the ground. A swift and muscular ascent to 1100ft, courtesy of the repaired winch, followed by an even more rapid whisk along the downwind leg rapidly confirmed that conditions were beyond the pale, particularly the gusts coming up and over the approach/ touchdown area and it was decided to take the K7M back to the relatively tranquil haven of the hangar apron.
The return to the clubhouse presented a welcome opportunity for those who needed it to rush up their skills on the simulator whilst Rick professed himself to be happy that the repair to the winch had proved itself in some pretty testing conditions.
If March did not quite come in as a lamb, it's certainly going out like a lion!
Martin Cropper
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