Dartmoor Gliding News-Saturday 4th July 2015

The flying forecast looked sensible; sunny spells, possibility of showers and a brisk southerly breeze to keep us on our toes. Turning up at the airfield though it was obvious that we would not really have a large enough crew to fly.

A tempting sky

Instead, we decided to get some work done. David Bouchier and Rick Wiles worked together to repair the Cross Fence Trailer and then add an electric fan to the radiator on the GusLaunch winch.

The repaired Fence Trailer. Perhaps a repaint next?

I worked with Colin Boyd on the tail wheel of K13 G-CHXP which had developed a repetitive puncture. First we diagnosed the cause of the failures. The valve stem had been touching the metalwork letting a little air out each time until the tyre was flat. To cure this we adjusted the wheel shims to create a little offset and keep the valve clear of the metalwork and then removed the tube and repaired a puncture caused by the flat type being rotated. Replacement inner tubes will be available next week.

Working on the tailwheel

The afternoon was so nice that I decided to continue with the grass cutting effort. By close of play the whole south side of the field had been mown and was looking good.

We missed what looked like a good flying day.

Steve