The
last flying day of 2016 – what would it hold? Well, with a wind
forecast of 'Whose Direction Is It Anyway?' and the potential for
mist to form from 1100, it was a relief to see that RASP change its
predicted temperatures overnight from dew point = ambient all
morning to give am encouraging separation between the two from 1030
onwards. In the event, cloudbase was in excess of 2,100ft amsl from
early morning (substantially above the 800ft predicted) and so
we
were able to get away with an early morning, as opposed to a
lunchtime, start.
With
Rick Wiles running the field as probationary Duty Instructor, and
next to no visitors to fly, today was the ideal opportunity for him
to attune his knowledge to the variety of skills held within the
club. The light wind (southerly at height) also gave us an ideal
opportunity for students to practice their emergency reactions to
launch failures, at a variety of heights.
 |
| Denise and Junior with Richard Roberts |
There
were three visitors today, all club related (today being an ideal
opportunity for members to get their friends and relations into the
air via the F&F scheme). First, Rich Roberts flew with dad
Terry, a former member, and then, having been 'signed off' by dad,
flew with the parents of Fixed Price to Solo member, Callum Doyle
(parents being Denise and Tony, with grandson Junior, as pictured).
 |
| Tont Doyle looking thoughtful before his first flight with Richard |
The
air was significantly drier than a couple of weeks ago and thus, from
a 1030 start, we managed to keep going until beyond 1545, when moist
air driving in layers of cloud from the south coast (600ft and 800ft
agl) caused us, with the 27th
launch going to 'Scratch' Hitchens and all-round helper Dave
Bourchier, to put discretion before valour.
That
is not to say the the day was entirely incident free. As has been
commented on before, there are occurrences at gliding sites that some
people positively revel in, which they would not be the case if they
took place on the driveway at home. Today's was the catastrophic
departure of one wheel of the tow-out trailer from its supporting
structure, not far from its destination at the launchpoint during a
retrieve. Many hands made light work and we seamlessly moved to a
two vehicle retrieve of both cables for the rest of the day –
however there will be some heavy welding required to get the trailer
back onto both wheels before the first weekend's flying of 2017.
 |
| It’s got plenty of tread left, it’s just the tracking that’s a bit iffy..! |
The
second event occurred after dark (hence no photos of the guilty
parties), when the pulling in of the last two cables resulted in
multiple loops, tautly wound around the drum, brake and cable
linkages of the north cable – a veritable snake's wedding that
invited all to 'Give Up, Tomorrow's Another Bank Holiday' were it not
for the persistence of outgoing winch maestro Rick Wiles who, armed
with only a 2lb sledgehammer, refused to give up until the maze of
wire had been cleared. It was only then that he wondered about the
whereabouts of incoming winch-master Scratch Hitchens, in answer to
which the assembled membership were only able to make like the three
monkeys (however it is rumoured that a tinny and the clubhouse might
have provided vital clues....)
All
the best to Everyone for Safe and Enjoyable Flying in 2017!
Martin Cropper
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