Right in the middle of the summer season, I would like to report on endless soaring day's with wall to wall sunshine but today was definitely not like that. The forecast was for low cloud in the morning progressing to mist and rain ( the infamous Dartmooor "missle" probably ), so right from the start it was obvious that this would be a non flying day.
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| The gliders wait under a lowering sky |
Arriving at the airfield what did I find? A couple of our older members with tall mugs of tea and even taller stories perhaps? No, not a bit of it. The scene was much more like an industrial complex with jobs being undertaken everywhere you looked by a small army of club members.
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| If we carry on like this we will need a bigger work bench |
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| Working on the vehicles |
Barry, and the two Davids were working on the Landrovers fixing a broken drive shaft, servicing window mechanisms and other unfathomable tasks. David Archer and Jorg then disappeared to the runway to adjust the mower, fit some new drive belts and then mow the runway.
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| The loneliness of the long distance tractor driver. |
In the hangar, Rick and Phil, along with various helpers throughout the day, were completing the rebuild of the tractor engine. By the end of the day, this was complete and it was very pleasing to see (and hear) the tractor start on the very first turn of the key. What a result. Well done everyone. The only remaining task is fitting the replacement brake slave cylinder which is waiting for some spare parts.
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| Discussing the tractor |
Elsewhere Heather and Scratch were refurbishing the rollers on one of the ML winches ( this was after Heather had sorted out the clubhouse and kitchen yet again).
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| Heather and Scratch at work |
All of this activity led me to think about all of the volunteers whose efforts make the gliding club possible. We always think about the instructors of course but what about winch drivers, retrieve drivers, the field treasurers, the committee, tractor drivers, online editors, mechanics etc etc etc. Lots of these efforts are largely unseen but are vital to the smooth running of the club. Some tasks could so easily pass by unnoticed such as Richard and Colin's recent visit to a local show to promote gliding which they did while the rest of us were enjoying a nice soaring day.
So for everyone who gets involved, a big THANKYOU.
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Colin Boyd chatting with a youngster at a local show."
"The photo was taken by Richard whose glider is on display |
Steve
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