Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 5th October 2014

It was a definitely going to be a GOOD Day. Why? Because the RASP forecast said so - that’s why. The fact that I had to recheck RASP from the comfort of my luxury executive coach on the way back to London in the evening perhaps gives an indication that all was not what it seemed. The high cloud screening the sun (pictured) as we took the hurdle fence down was surely going to clear wasn’t it? (RASP forecast 100% sunshine from 1300-1600). And the wind was surely going to back from South to South west, wasn’t it? (The Met Office Form 215 gave 200  at 15kts for 1200Z).

High loud over the airfield in the early morning light

So we set up for a westerly launch and, despite the cattle, decided to put the winch in the top field. And a good job we did for, without it being there, we would not have achieved the 1,200-1,300ft launches that we did throughout the day.

So what of the flying? Well, with two private K-6s and a K-8 rigged by 1030 and a string of Trial Lessons it wasn’t through lack of launches that the second longest flight of the day was only 16 minutes (Well Done Jerry Wellington in his K-6CR FUB). It was that the wind didn’t shift and the high skein of cloud didn’t clear.

Visitor Toby Ellis

Visitor Ian Ellis

VisitorRoy Harper

In the two seater father and son team Toby (son) and Ian (father) Ellis were first to launch, closely followed by Full Member Chris Jones’s son Max for a set of 3 training flights. Max’s third flight being around 1230 coincided with the first proper contact with lift: a decent, smooth thermal that enabled us to get to 1,800ft, which also allowed Roger Applepress, fresh from his sojourn to France (where they wouldn’t even consider flying before lunch…) to soar in his K-6CR CBY.

Chris Jones had not only brought son Max to fly with us, but also Jana Darmovalova, an Environmental Science graduate from Plymouth University who had last flown a Blanik in the Czech Republic 17 years ago. She thoroughly enjoyed her two flights with us but, with only 3 weeks in the UK before her contract expires, is going to have to cram in as many flights as possible before having to leave!

Jana Darmovalova surrendering to the experience

 Whilst Roger A transitioned from practising into wind landings on the stub runway to mastering the Guslaunch, Mike Keller, Allan Holland and returning winch man Jerry Wellington attempted to show us how it was all done under the occasional big grey cloud that managed to form beneath the overcast (which ended with Mike’s 7 minutes being trumped by Jerry’s 16 minutes that were finally pipped at the post by Allan Holland with 17 minutes).

Allan Holland in the K8 departs a thermal

And in the two seater Roy Hooper, from Launceston, got some (hopefully) breathtaking video footage in 15 minutes of soaring, whilst also taking control, and recently joined father and daughter team Peter and Paula Howarth pressed on with their training (literally in Paula’s case where wristbands were put to the test - with success!). Peter is a ‘reformed’ former Air Cadet instructor who we hope to get to re-solo as soon as possible.

Peter Howarth downwind in ASK13 G-DDMX for a hangar landing

Also on the field it was good to see Hugh Gascoigne put in another appearance, and long time no see for Steve Clark, a resident of South Brent who keeps a Ventus at Dunkeswell, but does most of his flying in South Africa where the cloudbases are, just ever so slightly, higher than we are used to - and the lift ever so slightly stronger, but that is another story.

So 22 launches later on a day that failed to deliver what was expected were we disappointed? Well, no - the winch and its drivers performed exceptionally, thus making up for the weaker than expected conditions. But we do need to keep the momentum up, particularly with our club trainees, and for that we need - more instructors. Do you know of a box with one or two in?

Martin Cropper