Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 21st Novemebr 2021

 “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3” the Tannoy used to say: except in this case Test 1 was the wind strength: up to but not exceeding 15 kts; Test 2 was wind direction: N’ly, but not the NE’ly that was forecast or the high pressure over Northern Ireland would lead you to expect; and Test 3 wind behaviour: which was consistently fickle: the first set of trees on initial approach causing turbulence, the second set during finals causing a lee but still sufficiently strong to set aircraft to the south.  That these three tests existed was, of course, obvious to our pilots but still provided a worthwhile challenge for them as they approached from the west.

 Requisite early morning cuppa before getting the toys out.

Rich Roberts was our IFP for the day, and Ed Banyard his One Day Course student.  Ed had previous power experience and was keen to retrieve his skills however, after a couple of acquaint flights of the local area he decided, in view of the strength of the wind at height, that far more value would be gained by returning at a later date.  He seemed to enjoy his time with us, however, and we look forward to being able to provide some decent hands-on-stick time in future.

Today’s One Day Course student Ed Banyard with IFP Rich Roberts.

And away they go in K-13 CCY.

In the club trainer Ed Borlase, after a short layoff, and being subjected to the requisite ‘awkward height’ simulated launch failure, returned to solo status.  Next in the front seat was Freddie Colton who, thanks to the revised winch settings giving us launch heights of 1,200ft, was able to undertake the airbrake change in attitude exercise, plus practicing his turn co-ordination in strong wind conditions before a return to the circuit was necessary.

 New member Freddie Colton sets off with Martin Cropper on a training flight…

…and returns safely to the airfield.

There then followed a procession of solo pilots keen to maintain currency: Martin Broadway, Adam Hoskin and Peter Howarth, who all commented on the mental and physical effort required to meet (and surmount) Tests 1, 2 and 3 above.

Busy scene as one K-13 gets away whilst a second is prepared for launch.

 Adam Hoskin brings K-13 CCY home to roost.

Flight of the Day went to Rich Roberts who, with Ed Banyard, at around midday spotted a line of energy (cloud street) stretching to the north which he managed to exploit for a full 13 minutes (a second attempt by Rich to do exactly the same later in the day met with abject failure as the cloud disintegrated during the launch!)  Special thanks of the day go to Gavin Short who, with the rest of the Short family having received his coronavirus booster the preceding day, decided not to fly but winch: thanks Gavin.

Today’s NE-SW cloud street: just photoshop in a K-13 and you’ve got today’s Flight of the Day..!

A day in which, with those three tests setting the challenge, pilots were able, with a little mind over matter, to demonstrate that they were up for it and prove their own abilities.

Dartmoor Gliding News-Wednesday 24th November 2021

Following a recent notice on the DGS forum that the vehicles have been found low on fuel, we were visited today by the local constabulary. After talking things over we were able to confirm that all was well and she left with everything in order.

After morning teas and coffees, with low cloud over the airfield and little chance of flying, we turned our attention to anything that could be done around the club. We turned our attention to the track which has started deteriorating now we are using it to retrieve cables when flying.

Some of the potholes.

Hole inspectors

With the vibrator plate not available it was the pilot shuffle.

Completed track repairs.

After a quick lunch and more teas and coffees it was time to pack up and head home with no prospect of flying. All survived the hard work with one exception:-

The sledge lost it’s head.

Thank you to the navvies who dug, scraped filled and stomped today. Phil Hardwick, Steve Fletcher, Malcolm WJ, John Allen, Robin Wilson, Hugh Gascoyne and Mark Worsfold completed the gang.

Peter Howarth

Dartmoor Gliding News-Saturday 20th November 2021

 The low grey sky that has marked the previous weeks continues. Wind today should remain light from the NW strengthening a liitle late afternoon when rain is forecast to arrive. Not a great soaring day but ok for training once the first flight had confirmed that the cloudbase was a workable 1200 ft above the airfield.

Today's low cloudbase.
The light N breeze was caused by a passing shower. it was mostly NW 

We welcomed 2 One Day Courses. Samantha Westlake and returning glider pilot ( from 1970 ) Richard Wells. The Courses continued well but in the afternoon the rain that we had been watching all day finally arrived and delayed the flying programme. The rain moved away but left behind low clouds (700 ft) which delayed things further. This also moved away but by now the evening was almost upon us and canopy misting prevented any further flying. Both visitors were happy with their days and left having completed 5 out of their 6 flights each promising to return another day to finish off and maybe start pilot training.

Sam waiting for her first launch

Richard has done this all before ( 50 years ago)

Mike Jardine was kept fairly busy in HXP  with club training. Mike's somewhat eclectic mix of students included a returning solo pilot, a new(ish) trainee, a trainee at the latter end of his course and a prospective bronze C pilot preparing for his Bronze flight test. Well done Mike. 

CCY launches into a grey sky with Richard in the front seat and me in the rear

Today saw K8 G-CGDK return to active service after a bit of TLC to the elevator. The K8 was joined by the SF27 ( complete with new tyre and tube on the mainwheel ) and the solo pilots used both to maintain recency. 

The SF27 waiting under a rainbow

The weather finally put paid to flying about an hour early but most of the flying had been done by then. Today also saw the return of Heather to the airfield. Welcome back and do not work too hard.

Steve

Dartmoor Gliding News=Wednesday 17th November 2021

The moderate northerly wind was predicted to back north westerly and decrease as the day progressed. So with two K13’s on line these were towed to the east end along with the SF27 for the solo pilots.

After the recent repair to K13 HXP, the first flight was myself giving it a test flight to see all was well. With no problems found it was cleared for use. After a few weeks away due to work commitments and spin training at North Hill, Mark Worsfold was first to fly with me. A couple of good circuits and a cable break practice sees him well on his way back to solo status.

Our first visitors were Gill and Philip Marlow from Bideford. Their trial flights were part of their Golden Wedding Anniversary celebrations. Both are keen walkers and photographers on Dartmoor where they have often seen the gliders soaring above them.

Gill Marlow 

Philip Marlow

My instructing continued with Robin Wilson who is also making progress towards re-solo status. More circuits and launch failure practices are required to see him achieve his aim. Next into the front seat after a couple weeks away due to the weather was John Smith. A quick check flight saw him off on another couple of solo circuits.

The last visitor to fly with Gavin was Ian Chesterman. Ian Chesterman lives in Tavistock and came to the club with his partner, Louise.  He had wanted to glide at 16, but as ever life got in the way.  A long time later he enjoyed flying over Dartmoor today having often seen our gliders overhead in the local area.  He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially the winch launch.

Ian receiving his certificate from Gavin.

The next pupil to fly with me was Ryan Baker. Having previously started to use all three controls, today would see him introduced to the trimmer. This was soon mastered and I showed him the effects of airbrakes on the aircraft ready to move on to approach control. Keep up the good work Ryan.

The solo pilots John Allen, Malcolm WJ and Hugh Gascoyne all enjoyed varying success in the SF27. Although mainly circuits of 5 to 8 minutes, John managed to extend one of his flights to 13 minutes to claim flight of the day.

Just as everybody had flown all they wanted and we were preparing to pack away, the SF27 suffered a puncture on the ground run and became stuck in the path of launching. This curtailed as we needed all hands to remove the aircraft before going home.

A forlorn SF27 after it’s puncture.

After managing to remove the wheel, the replacements were found not to fit. This required a visit to the hangar to swap tyre and innertube from the spare rim to the existing room. Never straight forward this proved problematic, so as it was starting to get dark, plan B was initiated to de-rig the aircraft and put it in the trailer and remove it. After initial preparations to do this, the repaired wheel arrived and was fitted to the aircraft.

A corral of vehicles provided light.

Finally the SF27 could be towed back to the hangar in the dark. After checking all was secure we left the club just after 6 O’Clock. Thank you to all who stayed on to clear the airfield. A particular thank you to Phil Hardwick who winched and retrieved, and was just about to fly when flying was curtailed and did not fly.

Peter Howarth

Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 14th November 2021

Today’s forecast gave light north easterly wind with a ridge of high pressure over the area. With only one K13 available it would be a day of juggling trainees and visitors. We chose to use the Gus winch as this tends to give better launches in the light wind conditions.

First to fly with me was Ray Boundy. At the top of the launch we were greeted with a clear horizon and very still benign conditions. A good day for our trainees and visitors.

Returning one day course student Ryan Baker was next to fly with me. Two flights were used to re-familiarise him with the use of elevator and aileron. Two more flights later in the day saw him move on to coordinating all three controls and start turning the glider. We look forward to seeing Ryan back to continue his training and joining as a full member.

Ryan Baker getting ready.

Our first visitor was Murray Brown, an A level student who arrived with his parents. After his first flight he was offered a second flight. This action man was faced with the difficult decision of accepting or going to the North Cornwall coast for some surfing lessons. Gliding won, the surfing could wait.

Murray ready to surf the skies around Dartmoor.

Our next visitor was Mike Howard (not the Conservative politician) but a family man who arrived with his wife and family from Plymouth. A commercial driver who was going to see a very different view of the countryside. Two flights of 19 and 18 minutes saw him leave very happy.

Michael ready to go with the family watching.

The final visitor was Jonathan Ambler. A local man who was given the experience for his 50th birthday.

Jonathan receiving his certificate from Gavin.

In between the visitors I flew with Freddie Colton to continue his training. His three flights saw him flying the main climb and release parts of the launch. Well don Freddie.

Freddie doing pre flight checks.

Steve Fletcher, Phil Hardwick and Adam Hoskin all made use of the SF27. Longest flight was Phil with 18 minutes. After working on his K6 all day, Adam was rewarded with an extended circuit of 11 minutes.

SF27 launching with K13 in circuit.

K13 off on another flight.

Thank you to Phil and Steve who shared the winching and retrieving today with the Gus winch providing an average 1100ft in the very light wind conditions. Also a special thank you to Paula who popped in after a 30km cycle ride to help at the launch point. As the sun was setting we packed the toys away and everybody left happy.

Peter Howarth

Dartmoor Gliding News-Saturday 13th November 2021

Today's weather was refreshingly calm. Gone are the strong crosswinds and showers to be replaced with 8/8th's low grey cloud and a very light breeze from the NW. If you needed to practice circuits then this was your day.

A grey calm day

We welcomed One Day Course candidate Robert Williams. Robert was keen to try out gliding as a sport and by then end of the day he was making good progress handling the controls and left the airfield with a smile vowing to return to continue his training.

Robert Williams ready to start his One Day Course.

Sometimes, apparently easy days, present their own challenges. Early on HXP was grounded after it was discovered that some TLC was required to the port airbrake. So CCY was going to need to be shared between the club training and Air experience lists. This should be possible given the number of flights required but of course life is never that easy and after the first few flights CCY developed a puncture. The wheel from HXP was temporarily fitted to CCY while CCY's wheel was returned to the hanger where David Bouchier repaired the puncture in double quick time. Just as well really because a couple of flights later CCY the suffered a wheel bearing problem and it's now repaired wheel was refitted. Thanks to all those involved.

Changing the wheel on CCY

But we needn't have worried
with our very own mechanical dream team of Rick and....

....Scratch on the job

From time to time, throughout the day, pilots noticed that some reduced sink and even a little bit of lift could be found between the winch and church at the end of the valley. Malcolm made the best of this with a dizzying 11 minutes in the SF27.

Today's compact and bijou grid

After flying, when the equipment and aircraft were once again safely tucked away in their respective hangars, the committee got down to the business of club governance. Items up for discussion included the upgrading/replacing of the club twin seater fleet and  electronic conspicuity for the club fleet amongst the more mundane but no less important routine items.

Steve

Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 7th November 2021

 A pretty conservative lot, glider pilots?  Well, for some of us that’s a given: instructors in particular, but for others well, opportunities are there to be exploited and discoveries found.  For instance, with the right wind surely Blackdown, to the north of Brentor, should generate ridge lift – but who is going to be brave enough to try it?  Run out of guesses?  Step forward Richard Roberts (who else?) who decided that now was the ideal time to take a K-13 over the hill.  Actually, the K-13 was used for a ‘proof of concept’ flight to see if any lift lurked before deciding to use his own Discus as the test-bed (in order to avoid any eyebrow raising/jaw-dropping among club elders at the use of a K-13 for the purpose).  Here’s what he had to say: “In a north westerly it’s logical that with the orientation of Blackdown should work as a ridge. However, as it is more dome-shaped than a traditional ridge the question has always been how low do you need to go before it will support a glider? Whilst being cautious I found that in a 10-14 knot wind, 15 degrees from the optimal direction it will (just about ) work at a height between 600-750ft.  However, the angle back to the airfield from the other end of Blackdown looked uncomfortable so my best guess is to wait for a 15-20 knot wind and try again”. Uncomfortable?  The summit of Blackdown being 300ft above that of Brentor means that Rich was something like 450ft above the ground directly below, some 2-3km away (and with a valley to cross) from home.  So on the basis of that evidence are you prepared to soar Blackdown in a NW’ly?  Are you feeling lucky?? (We were turning finals at 500ft in the training K-13!).

Rich Roberts prepares his Discus (V5) for its flight of discovery.

How low can you go?
Rich Roberts prepares to descend in search of the ridge lift over Blackdown

Back on the conservative benches we ran two lines of K-13s, one for solo pilots, the other for trainees.  Taking turns on the winch and in the cockpit were Peter Howarth, Gavin Short and Phil Hardwick whilst our junior trainees were Riley Powell-Thomas and Ollie Hunt.  Although conditions were far from ideal for training, both Riley and Ollie demonstrated the benefits of their home simulators and managed to move on from elevator to aileron, with further consolidation to come.  Some narrow thermals also developed, which enabled Riley to get a feel for buoyancy in the air and gain height on his second flight, thus achieving just a few minutes more than Ollie.  Returning to solo/currency members Ray Boundy and Ed Borlase completed the training line.

 ‘All Out, All Out!’ The K-13 accelerates…

..and rotates into the climb.

And, after Riley’s training flight, begins its round-out to make a safe return.

Riley Powell-Thomas and Martin Cropper conducting pre-flight checks in K-13 HXP.

Can nothing get him down? 
After early spell on the winch Gavin Short waits his turn to get aloft in K-13 CCY.

So with everyone flown, and in the face of a relentless ‘stiff breeze’, it was a relatively early ‘wrap’, but hopefully everyone got what they wanted/needed.  Thanks go, of course, to Rich Roberts for his pioneering and enterprising spirit, but also to Peter Howarth who took time out to impart vital ground skills to our new members that will enable them to contribute more to the day-to-day running of the club.

Martin Cropper

Dartmoor Gliding News-Wednesday 3rd November 2021

 Damned if you do, damned if you don’t was the scenario today. A light northerly wind with a little easterly was shown by the windsock although various forecasts showed the wind slightly west of north. So an initial decision was made to set up to fly from the west end. Two K13’s and the SF27 were joined by the private Libelle.

Our first visitor was Joy Kentsbeer. Joy, 90 years young who was in the WRENS arrived with her daughter. With a little assistance getting into the glider she was soon off to enjoy two flights with IFP Phil Hardwick.

Joy and Phil ready to go.

Our next visitor was John Scammell. John had previously flown 30 years ago when he lived in Essex. After his first flight with Phil, 13 minutes which remained flight of the day, he was keen to take control of the glider so I replaced Phil in the back seat for some basic instruction. John enjoyed the experience and seemed keen to return in the future to possibly become a member.

John Scammell and Phil.

Another visitor was Colin Parnell who flew with Gavin Short. Colin an ex Royal Marine arrived from Bovey Tracy and had previously flown with us in September. This was a second trial voucher bought for him by his son-in-law.

Colin Parnell with Gavin.

Jean Lyndon was next to arrive. Jean had flown in the Middle East until women were banned from flying was here to relive some flying memories. Jean flew with Phil and left with a smile on her face.

Jean waiting for her pilot.

Our final visitor was Callum Inglehart. A petrol head from Liskeard has rebuilt a Classic Hillman IMP. He was trying gliding and will be trying Power flying at Bodmin soon.

Callum with Phil.

Part way through our list of visitors, the wind had increased and was showing signs of veering to west of north. With this trend it was decided to swap ends which was completed in 45 minutes including walking the aircraft to the ease end.

First to launch was John Smith with Jamie Steel. Only the moderate crosswind prevented John from having a couple of solo flights, but some valuable tips were picked up which will enable John to progress towards the K8 when it returns to the fleet shortly.

Our other solo pilots John Allan (K13), Andy Davey (Libelle) Steve Fletcher (SF27), Martin Broadway (Libelle), Malcolm W-J (SF27) and Hugh Gascoyne (SF27) all enjoyed circuits. The longest of these flights was 10 minutes by Andy.

Pot of gold at end of rainbow, (no just a SF27)

As the sun set at the airfield we were treated to some good cloud formations.

Sunset

Thank you to all at the club today. Although we endured another day of cross winds, at least they were moderate enough to fly and the airfield was dry enough to operate.

Peter Howarth