Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 17th October 2021

 Pantomime season came early to Brentor this year.  As the day dawned bright and clear (in contrast to recent mornings), and sun cleared condensation from the canopies, we confidently marshalled the gliders down to the east launchpoint ready for a busy day’s flying programme only to find – “It’s Behind You!” – that banks of cloud had rolled in from the west almost down to church tower-top level… (ie. 200ft agl).  So what to do?  Wait, tch, tch.  Once again, we had visitors and juniors to fly so there could be absolutely no risk of entering cloud during the launch.  That delayed us until about 1130am but, with the sun beginning to get through and blue holes becoming established, from that time on the air did begin to dry and conditions improved.

First up was junior member Ollie Hunt who, despite this being his third time at the club, was about to experience his first launch.  Three flights later, having taken the controls in two of them, his expressions of delight (mainly about the launch) and beaming smile to his Air Cadet amigo Riley Powell-Thomas told their own story.  

Our IFP today was Phil Hardwick.  Phil’s first customer was Lee Collard (see photo).  Second up was Tony Wakeham, with whom Phil managed to eke out a full 8 minutes in the air (conditions improving…)  

Our first visitor was Lee Collard,
who flew with IFP (and photographer) Phil Hardwick.

Phil’s second customer: Tony Wakeham.

Back on the trainee line (yes, we ran two lines all day) our second junior member, Riley Powell-Thomas leapt into the front seat of HXP.  Having already flown a couple of BI flights with Rich Roberts, Riley was keen to show Ollie how it’s done!  And after a trio of launches he too had handled the controls in pitch, including that all important first stall, and so at the end of the day there was - nothing to choose between them..!

Our third visitor posed a bit of a problem – no, opportunity.  As a long-time (albeit lapsed) PPL holder, Phil felt that just showing Andrew McCarthy the local sights from the air was not really going to ‘scratch the itch’ and that a more qualified instructor was needed.  Send for Peter Howarth!  Peter, who had been winching quite contentedly for the last 90 minutes (changing the odd setting here, tautening the odd loop there…) was, fortunately, very happy to oblige, (swapping places with Phil) and took Andrew for two flights, with Andrew at the controls for part of the time (rudder? Wassat??), the second being for just short of 11 minutes (conditions improving again…)

Longstanding PPL holder Andrew McCarthy flew with Peter Howarth.

The trainee two-seater was then taken (in turns) by two returning to solo members, Ray Boundy and Karon Matten, who ably demonstrated that they can still fly, like falling off a log..!  

Returning to solo member Karon Matten surveys the south-western slopes of Dartmoor.

Peter Howarth continued in the visitor hosting role, with Rachel Bird finding her perch in the front of K-13 CCY for three flights, following which she declared that she was ‘off to the top of the church’ in order to watch the gliders whilst enjoying a (very late) picnic lunch.

Rachel Bird also flew with Peter, before venturing the Brentor church for a picnic.

Maintaining currency, we then persuaded Martin Broadway to part with some of his own (currency, that is) by hangar flying HXP (CCY having already been flown to the west end by Karon Matten in her very first hangar landing).

So had it been a ‘good’ day? Well doubtless there have been better, but it was certainly a very good day for Riley Powell-Thomas who, in company with Martin Cropper, bagged Flight of the Day at 16 minutes, experiencing his first ever thermal from 650ft-1,000ft agl: gliding in its truest sense!

Thanks go to Phil Hardwick on only his second day of duty as an IFP (learning curve steeper than a winch launch…), to Karon and Chris Matten for providing some ‘grunt’ (and comms) whilst our juniors get trained up, and to Peter Howarth for flexibly filling in to fly an ‘old and bold’ aviator once that need had become apparent.