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