The initial synopsis was not looking good. Breezy with rain and low cloud. Undeterred on arrival at the airfield conditions were somewhat better than forecast. The wind was in fact SW at about 8 knots but not at all gusty. The cloudbase was low initially but this just gave the opportunity to get some maintenance tasks done.
Rick set about rigging the green Landrover with a tow out bar because the preferred tow out trailer had suffered some stress/fatigue fractures near the wheel axle which Allan Holland then set about repairing. Last seen there was a lot of grinding and welding going on. Thanks chaps.
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| Rigging GDK |
Making use of the time, another group of us set about rigging the club's K8 G-CGDK which has finally completed it's extended maintenance program and is ready to rejoin the fleet. Rick later test flew this glider and released it for club use.
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| K8 G-CGDK rising into the air for it's test flight |
We were very pleased to welcome Shona Fenion, a visiting glider pilot from Surrey Hills Gliding Club, who was in the area and couldn't resist popping in the spend a day with us. Shona's enthusiasm for flying was obvious and her help around the launchpoint was very much appreciated. Although Shona only managed three circuits we do hope that she will visit again soon.
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| Shona with instructor Mike |
Our other visitors today were Nigel Storrs, Mike Fallowfield, Jack Grabham, Nick Dagarne and Susan Opie who were all attending to experience gliding for the first time.
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| Nigel Storrs |
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| Mike Fallowfield |
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| Jack Grabham |
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| Nick Dagarne |
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| Susan Opie |
The flying itself was very pleasant with the smooth airflow from the SW. Although there were no thermals to be found, there were large areas of reduced sink which allowed circuits to extend up to 8 minutes in the K13's. Visibility was never very good with areas with lower cloud bases and drizzle around the county.
Steve
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