Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 8th March 2015

Today really was a ‘game of two halves’ as our photos demonstrate. The Met Office and Weather Pro forecasts were accurate - a cold front passing through the south-west peninsula a midday followed by sunshine/cloud. The problem was maintaining morale/commitment and interest among those who had gathered in the clubhouse until the clearance arrived. Of which more later.

A game of two halves: the airfield at 9:00am.

And at 4:00pm.

For today the focus was again on Introductory Flight Pilot training, in which the forecast wind direction of due west was going to be of great benefit for trainee IFPs Fred Marks and Phil Hardwick - it was just a pity that it was brought millions of molecules of moisture with it for the first half of the day. However, all credit to CFI Don Puttock, he did manage to inflict sufficient ‘eventualities’ upon Fred for him to become rated within the afternoon; sadly lack of time prevented the same being possible for Phil. So congratulations, then, Fred on gaining your Introductory Flight Pilot rating (and no doubt Phil will do so in the near future).

Don Puttock and Fred Marks.
Fred was awarded his Introductory Flight Pilot Rating – Congratulations, Fred!

That is not to say that all the excitement was reserved for they sexy new swan necked K-13 HXP, oh no. For our trusty red and white K-13 DMX, despite appearing to be the poor relation (in one CFI’s eyes) nevertheless continued to deliver the goods, enabling Chris Owen and Pete Harvey to remain current on launch failures - and soaring as the cloud cleared - and for Paula Howarth to continue practicing all elements of the circuit. Roger Appleboom and Peter Howarth were also persuaded to drag themselves from the winch and into DMX to maintain their back seat currency, utilising Paula Howarth and Chris Owen as ‘ballast’. All this resulted in 19 launches overall - not bad for half a day’s work..!

K-13 HXP viewed from the starboard wing of K-13 DMX.

 So how do you keep nine hyperactive, ambitious and success-driven members motivated in the mist whilst awaiting the weather to lift? Well with a scrap heap challenge, of course! Our photos show how the team loaded three 40 gallon oil drums laden with old cable onto the double bogie trailer, which was carefully positioned as far away as possible across the hardstanding. What the photos do not show, for health and safety reasons, is how we got the oil drums from the vertical into the horizontal position, or how Phil Hardwick managed to ‘create’ a new lid on one of them, using only his bare hands (and a sledge hammer). Now those of you with half an eye and a scintilla of practical awareness will have noticed that the drums were loaded onto the trailer which, empty, had been attached to the green Disco. Only when flying became possible was it realised that we needed the green Disco to act as cable retrieve, which would mean un-attaching the now heavily laden trailer (which helpfully has no jockey wheel…). This proved slightly more entertaining and time consuming - however it was achieved without injury and did prove a point not often seen in scrap heap challenges (or indeed that morning), namely to think the problem through before leaping to a (half-baked) solution!

Scrap Heap Challenge 1: four men and an oil drum.

Scrap Heap Challenge 2: now six men and an oil drum.

Thanks go to the aforementioned winch masters Pete Howarth and Roger Appleboom, and toColin Boyd and Robin Wilson, who helped but did not fly, and to Richard Roberts who, in addition to everything else, re-laid the floor tiles in the clubhouse corridor outside the toilets. Next stop? The safe room (with padded tiles, of course!)

Martin Cropper