What’s your definition of ‘isolated’? A remote hut on the Alaskan tundra? An electrical supply that has been disconnected, taped off and labelled? Because today we were told to expect ‘isolated’ showers which, in the event, appeared to mean that as soon as one shower stops, another begins..! So no prizes for guessing that the total number of launches today came nowhere near threatening the record (which is an interesting question in itself, given that the club regularly used to exceed 60 launches per day – back in the day…).
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Paula Howarth presents Martin Cropper and Don Puttock with
a (delicious!) cake in appreciation for their assistance in her training to solo. |
But before the flying mention must be made of an achievement off the airfield, namely Paula Howarth’s first solo, which took place last week during a course she and instructor Dad Peter undertook with our CFI Don Puttock at Aston Down. A feat which she repeated at Brentor today, and which was duly celebrated by all those present with a piece of her delicious, home-baked, chocolate cake!
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| Paula Howarth having just completed her first solo flight at Brentor. |
Outside of the ‘isolated’ showers the flying was good. Low cloudbase and poor vis hampered the start proceedings, but RASP showed an improvement towards midday so by 1030 we set about changing ends, an evolution made much easier by the pre-positioning of the winches at each extremity of the airfield.
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| Mmmm! Sometimes those ‘isolated’ showers can be very tasty! |
With the first K-8 launch Roger Appleboom seemed to have gone equipped with Velcro, for the glider appeared to stick to the grey cumulus with apparently little effort before being returned it to the ravenous hordes of solo pilots below.
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| Chris Owen in the K-8 launching into an interesting looking sky. |
The gentle south-westerly breeze was just right for Pete Harvey to convert to the Zugvögel, whilst Chris Owen, Jeff Cragg and Richard Roberts plied the skies in the K-8. Peter Howarth took over the back seat of the K-13 to host our visitors, David and Martin Phelps, although the third member of the Phelps trio was unable to fly, due to one of those ‘isolated’ showers. He promised to be back, however, so as Pete Howarth said (and Meatloaf sang), “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad”.
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| Visitor David Phelps flew with Peter Howarth. |
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| Visitor Martin Phelps with Peter Howarth. |
On one of her dual flights with Don, Paula took the photo here of an unusually low lying rainbow, a phenomenon which can be explained by the ‘raindrops being so far apart’, or so Leith Whittington reckoned! As the day drew on the conditions continued to improve, as evidence by some quite long flights before we shut up shop at 6pm, and by the accompanying photo of cumulus over Brentor viewed from 6 miles to the south.
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| Paula Howarth’s unique viewpoint of a rainbow as the ‘isolated’ showers cleared the airfield |
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| Was it still working? I think it was! Brentor from the south at 7:30pm. |
Thanks go to Leith Whittington who drove retrieve all day (medically hors de combat) and to Don whose busy schedule at Cotswold GC allowed him enough time to be with us today. He will also be down this coming Saturday so get your log books out if you need any of his treasured signatures (you know the currency and price..!)
Martin Cropper
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