Dartmoor Gliding News-Thursday 16th June 2022

Without a Duty Instructor until 1300, Thursdays are developing a certain vibe.  When I arrived at the airfield the hangar doors were shut but the “Thursday Tinkerers” were much in evidence.  Offered a very welcome cup of tea on arrival, from picking up stuff from Screwfix in Tavistock, I surveyed the scene:

• A Std. Cirrus, FCN, was out in the fresh air awaiting the arrival of a BGA inspector for its annual check (which sadly didn’t materialise).
• In a similar vein Hugh arrived on the airfield with daughter Jodie (who recently flew with us) to allow Colin access to K-6, FUB for some follow up work after its annual inspection.
• Farmer Phil and Peter were checking paperwork and opening the trailer on their Astir CS, which is for sale, and the later arrival of interested parties.
• Scratch was getting on with jobs, as he has been all week, operating from his “Bat Cave” (Aka his swanky new caravan).
• There was also “much ado” concerning our water supply, would it finally run clear?  (Ed: An important factor in a gliding club that appears to be fuelled by tea!)

While I was bringing the club glider log books up to date we welcomed back former temporary member Andrew Downing, who flew with me in February.  He had done his research and thinking and signed up for a fixed price to solo package.

This morning I stepped in at short notice as the duty IFP to provide cover for Phil.  All our visitors had no had prior light aircraft, or glider, experience nevertheless it would prove to be a busy afternoon.

First up was Christian Carson who arrived with his wife.  Christian hails from Yelverton but runs a chippy in the centre of Plymouth that caters for the late night student and matelot clientele (Ed: Sounds just up our street).

At 1300 Mike, the Duty Instructor arrived and the visitor flying commenced.

Christian receives his certificate from Gavin

Later, winch operations were paused to allow a visiting power plane to land at Brentor International.

Grumman AA5A G-OCAM about to touch down at the east end of the airfield

Our visitors, by air, David and Paul flew in from Banbury Gliding Club to view Phil and Peter’s Astir CS.  This would potentially be the third Astir CS in Banbury’s fleet.  David is their Chairman and Paul is their BGA inspector.  They arrived in a Grumman AA5A G-OCAM and departed after three hours on the ground following a thorough look at the Astir, trailer, and paperwork.  They need to report back to their committee at the weekend and will inform Phil and Peter of their decision (Ed: Good luck with the sale).

Then Matthew Whitaker, who works for Christian, and was due to be on shift in the chippy that evening took his visitor flights.  Matt has had a varied career which included logistics support for US forces in Kuwait.  He enjoys freefall parachuting and aspires to do so over the beautiful Dartmoor scenery (Ed: But not today from the front seat of CCY, thank you!).

Matt looks particularly chilled before his flight

Matt, still laid back after his flights

Mike, the Duty Instructor, who had stepped in to cover for Rick, managed four flights each with Steve Lesson and Andrew Downing.  This included practising straight and level flights with Steve, and putting together use of the elevator, ailerons and rudder for co-ordinated turns with Andrew.  Both finished their final flights with a hangar landing.  During the afternoon Andrew was also introduced to the ground handling of the gliders and how to give the commands to launch a glider.

Andrew sports his “Lawrence of Arabia” head gear
prior to Mike introducing him to the use of the controls in FSD.

G-OCAM departs for Banbury Gliding Club

Phillip Gilbert, who also arrived with his wife, was the next visitor to fly.  Phil is a farmer who also works in the hospitality/tourist sector (Ed: Are all farmers called Phil?).  Despite the static air mass (so no thermals) over Brentor he thorough enjoyed his two short flights and the chance to examine what the rest of the farming community are doing with the crops in their fields.  He was particularly taken by the information that glider pilots often look for tractors operating in fields as they can trigger thermals.

Ready for the off with Farmer Phil

Phillip still on “Cloud Nine” after his flights but probably contemplating
the 500 acres he needs to crop before the rain that’s due to arrive on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, solo pilots Martin, Peter, John Smith, and Malcolm, kept their hand in with circuits and attempts to slow their rate of descent.  “Man of the match” for today was shared between Peter and Malcolm, with a total nine minutes in the humid and muggy air.

One day that will be me!  Steve Lesson looks on as Martin conducts
his preflight checks in the K-8, GDK

Last up of the visitors was Kelly Bailey who was accompanied to the airfield by her partner.  The flight was a birthday present from her.  Kelly served 22 years in the Royal Navy in a number of roles before joining the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as a chef.  Sadly, the paltry 950 foot launches, due to a freshening southerly crosswind, didn’t allow a good enough view of Plymouth Sound to confirm that it was indeed RFA Argus at “Charlie” Buoy.  However, the verdant green of the Dartmoor countryside made up for that.  We look forward to her return when her seagoing duties permit.

Kelly and Gavin waiting for the next winch cable – “Let’s aviate”

Kelly, beaming after her flights

In summary, it had been a hot and humid day, with little or no thermal activity due to the almost continuous medium and high level cloud cover.  Despite a shortage of manpower we achieved all the visitor flights and our fixed-price-to sole trainees, Steve and Andrew had their fill, whist the solo pilots practiced their circuits in the K-8.  Special thanks to Scratch who stepped in to drive the winch and the retrieve vehicle so that all of the above could be achieved.

Once the gliders had been put away, and the intricacies of the log keeping software and the clubs WIFI network thoroughly explored, it was time to go home.  We left Scratch in peace in his caravan to enjoy the evening balmy weather and his well-deserved glass of white wine.

Gavin Short