Dartmoor Gliding News- Thursday 28th July 2022

 The forecasts for today were good.  Dry, light winds, 10C difference in dew point and surface temperature; strong thermals and maybe some overdevelopment.  But as I drove to the club there were some spots of rain on the windscreen.  Ignore it I thought.  Well I did until I got to the club house and shortly after arriving the heavens opened for an hour and I witnessed Mike Bennett scrambling to keep the rain off his glider’s fuselage that he had been readying for rigging (Ed: I think you should take all these forecasts with a pinch of salt in future).

Junior Ella Barlow returned to the club with Dad, Neil.  She had completed her One Day Course at the start of the month.  During the rain she started to study the BGA Student Pilot Manual and kitted herself with a soaring hat for when the sun came out (Ed: There’s optimism!).  

Then the rain stopped and the sun did come out.  So we got the gear out and fielded three K-13s (Ed: The need for the third will be revealed later).

The trio of club K-13s ready for action

Leading the way at the launch point was Mike Bennett who competed two circuits in his K6.

Mike Bennett leads the way in his, freshly washed, K-6

Then visiting pilot Nigel Brey, from the Vale of White Horse Gliding Club, took to the sky in his immaculate Pegasus 101a for 45 minutes of local soaring.  Peter Howarth took a couple of flights in his Kestrel but only managed circuits (Ed: Sometimes big wings don’t help).  Steve Fletcher managed a couple of circuits in his own “Big wings” Open Cirrus but didn’t “get away” either.  However, Martin Broadway, in his Libelle managed a satisfying 14 minutes aloft (Ed: I saw that the new TOST hook is working correctly and allowing a full launch) and John Allen clocked up 11 minutes in his syndicate’s K6.

By now our club trainees were champing at the bit for the Duty Instructor, Mike Jardine, to arrive and to get in the back seat and fly with them.  At same time Steve Lewis was at the launch point taking a break from working with Colin on his Zugvogel’s wing and decided to continue Ella’s training in the third K-13.  After 36 minutes of soaring Ella was mastering the controls and is starting to fly the glider herself.  (Ed: Perhaps it was a good thing that Dad was ensconced WFC (Working From Clubhouse) and using the (free) WiFi to conduct multiple zoom calls.  “Out of sight and out of mind” and all that!).

Our junior three-month temporary member Ella, sporting her new hat,
looks delighted to fly with Steve Lewis again.

Steve Lesson was first to fly with Mike Jardine; a six minute circuit and then a 32 minute soaring flight.  His smile on his return said it all.

Steve Lesson climbing strongly past 2,000 feet at almost three knots of lift.  It’s all your own work Steve as Mike Jardine is holding the camera!

Steve Lesson and Duty Instructor Mike Jardine’s view to the north. 
Note the different perspective, from our normal view, of Michael de Rupe
(Brentor) church, bottom right (Ed: Under the reflection of the canopy)

Our first visitor was Sue Cullen, a former primary school teacher, who was accompanied by her husband, a former secondary school teacher.  Sue has tried free-fall parachuting jumping and now it was gliding’s turn in her search for retirement activities (Ed: I think that should be thrills!).

Sue Cullen about to leave the worries of looking after primary
 school children for ever as she soars into retirement

Sue Cullen, evidently on “Cloud Nine” after her 30 minute soaring flight,
receives her certificate from Gavin

Meanwhile, back at the entrance to the club activity was apace.  In the hangar David Bourchier was diligently working through our equipment and tools ensure their availability and readiness for action.  Colin and Steve were in the workshop container tending to his Zugvogel’s wing, which was one of the items thrown up by the annual inspection.

In the workshop the Starboard wing of Steve’s Zugvogel
received some delicate surgery to the trailing edge
(Ed: More” big wings” I see at DGS)

Malcolm Wilton-Jones then picked exactly the right time (Ed: He’s a canny lad) to launch into an unpromising sky to fly a 78 km triangle in 59 minutes 30 seconds.  A great feat considering the then deteriorating conditions at Brentor.  Here is his story:

I launched from the east end to 800' but into a good thermal and climbed quickly to 2,400' above site but I was drifting to the west.  So I headed for better conditions to the north-west and the next cloud provided a taste of things to come with a rapid climb to cloud base at 5,200' ASL.  This was followed by a street towards Roadford and a quick dash west to a street towards Launceston and the rapidly rising cloud bases which gave me a best height of a little over 5,750' ASL as I turned over the river bridge north of the castle.

Malcolm’s turn point at Launceston. 
Note the castle at the centre of the photo which dates from 1098 AD,
 its motte and bailey clearly visible.

Knowing that the RAF were conducting low flying exercises over Bodmin moor I headed east to Roadford where I got another very fast climb to cloud base at 5,750' ASL.

The Twin Astir in a 6.6 Knot average thermal at Roadford reservoir
(Ed: That’s a climb rate of 660 feet a minute!)

Roadford reservoir looking a little low for this time of year

Leaving Roadford Lake and heading to the east

By now I was above the cloud to the east and across Dartmoor and I headed for Okehampton but with lowering cloud bases and very little sun on the ground I decided to turn Meldon Dam and head south around the west of the ranges at Willsworthy and Merrivale which were active.

Malcolm, above the clouds, heading east

The dam at Meldon reservoir (Ed: Again the water level is low)

I was thinking about turning Burrator but when I reached Yelverton it was under the middle of a large spread-out of cloud so I chose to turn at the southern runway intersection of the old Harrowbeer airfield.

Malcolm’s turn point at the disused airfield at Harrowbeer
(Ed: That would be a good site for a gliding club!)

Now down to about 3,000' above Harrowbeer airfield and the good conditions some way to the east I elected to return to Brentor to assess the conditions, a wise move as I soon encountered heavy sink and was down to 1,800' as I got to the southern edge of Tavistock and I arrived back over the launch point at about 1,200' just 59 minutes after setting off from the first thermal south-west of the winch, having covered 78 kms.

Malcolm’s view to the south encompassing the Lynher and Tamar estuaries

I then spent an eternity scratching in very weak lift near Brentor church while waiting the for gliders to be cleared from the airfield and toyed with the idea of landing downwind as everything else seemed to be on the ground but then I saw a K-13 launch from the east end and do what appeared to be a normal circuit so decided to do the same.  I still had plenty of height so I waited for it to land and it landed very long.  I thought it was a “Hangar flight” so chose to land behind it at the east end and recover the Twin Astir onto the stub runway near the east end trailers (Ed: That was Mike and Andrew Downing landing at the western launch point as we were changing ends due to the wind shift to the South East).  The total flight time was 1 hour 32 minutes.  

(Ed: Robin where were you?  This flight would have increased the hours in your log book and there was an empty seat in the glider.  You could have passed Malcolm his sandwiches).

Malcolm’s track
(Ed: Launceston is on the left, Meldon Reservoir top right, a
nd Harrowbeer bottom right, with Brentor airfield in the middle
obscured by Malcolm’s scratching!)

The barogram of Malcolm’s cross country flight
(Ed: From the group it certainly didn’t appear to be a day where you
could go cross country and never be below 3,500 feet above the airfield)

Our second visitor was Sarah Parker who arrived with her partner Phillip Edwards.  He would be our third visitor to fly.  Sarah has recently retired from the Home Office and lives in Hatt, Cornwall.  Sarah enjoyed a soaring flight of 11 minutes followed by a four minute circuit.

Sarah Parker and Gavin go through their pre-flight checks ready
for a flight into the completely over developed sky

This, despite what it seems, is not a landout photo
but Gavin and visitor Sarah Parker, in FSD,
joining Mike Jardine’s and Steve Lesson’s thermal
which was probably triggered by a glimpse of sunshine
breaking through the almost total cloud cover.

Sarah Parker receives her certificate from Gavin
(Ed: Note the position of the windsock and how calm it is;
something is going to happen soon)

Next up was Sarah’s Partner, Phillip, who lives in Metherell, Cornwall.  Although also recently retired he is about to restart working, but now part-time, in the Pathology Department at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (Ed: Please, no jokes about not wanting to meet him professionally anytime soon!)

Phillip enjoyed a short flight which was extended during the landing by the surprisingly strong tail wind.  After observing the tail wind, Steve Fletcher wisely decided not to launch in his Open Cirrus and sensibly took his glider back to the east end, to put it back in its trailer.

Phillip Edwards ready for his flight with Gavin
(Ed: And the subsequent tailwind landing)

After I reported the strength of the tailwind to the Duty Instructor; Mike Jardine made the decision to change ends.  But before that he took a short flight with trainee Andrew Downing from the east end to demonstrate the effect that a tailwind can have.  They landed long, at the west end, after just three minutes.  The remainder of the Thursday Tinkerers were not deterred by the conditions and we then duly changed ends (Ed: I had the stop watch running.  From the last launch at the east end to the first launch at the west end it took one hour and seven minutes).

Launching from the west end gave Philip Edwards a different perspective on his second flight.  When we landed we promptly parked the K-13 by the cross track to the hangar as there was an urgent call for me to join the Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) at the launch point or my Basic Instructor (BI) Acceptance Checks.  Phillip, I hope you enjoyed your flights, sorry to have to leave you so soon after our flight.

Our CFI catches a rare Mammatus cloud formation from the west end of the airfield
 (see end note for an explanation). 
In the background CCY awaits the CFI and the prospective Basic Instructors.

As hinted at above, late in the afternoon, Mark Courtney our CFI arrived to conduct the CFI’s acceptance of the candidates that had recently finished the Basic Instructor course at Nympsfield and Aston Down last week.  Using that third K-13 (Ed: Ahh, so that was the secret you kept from us), the club members rallied round and continued to run the airfield while providing the CFI launches, and retrieves from launch failure exercises, from the western end.  When Scratch and Gavin had been thoroughly checked out they returned with the CFI to the clubhouse for a cup of tea, a handshake, and completion of the all-important paperwork.

So the club now has: a Chief Flying Instructor; a Full Category instructor, two Assistant Category Instructors; four Basic Instructors (one with grandfather rights on the former extended BI syllabus); and two Introductory Flight Pilots.  So despite the long road to get qualified as BIs (as reported in previous blogs) the message to anyone thinking of instructing is “Come on in, the water is lovely”.  Instructing is hugely rewarding and your flying will improve immeasurably as a result.

With our newly-minted BIs ensconced in the clubhouse, the flying of our final visitor, Susan Pascoe, and more of the club trainees continued.  Susan arrived with a large entourage of friends and family to watch in plenty of time for her to fly at 1600.  However, as you have heard, mother nature decided to override this prudent preparation as the wind went round to the South East necessitating a change of ends and an ensuring delay.  Susan, and her family a friends were duly ferried to the west end and patiently waited for the gliders and winch to change ends. 

Mike Jardine ready to fly our last visitor, a very glamorous looking, Sarah Pascoe

After two flights Susan and her supporters headed off to Roborough for a celebratory meal (Ed: I hope they got there in time).  John Smith then flew a pair of extended circuits in the club K-8.

Flexibility is the key word at DGS: Changing ends; Mike Jardine stepping in to fly my final visitor; and then Peter Howarth stepping in to assist Mike in flying David Archer so that Paddy could fly with Mike (Ed: anyone would think this perfect synchronicity was pre-planned).  Peter reports that Dave is close to solo; he needs to refine and fly more consistently (Ed: Don’t we All!).  His first solo should not be too far away (Ed: Keep up the hard work Dave and good luck).

Peter eases Mike Jardine’s instructing load
by letting Dave “Determined” Archer take him aloft

Alas, no one photographed Paddy, back in the saddle after an extended break, who enjoyed a couple of extended circuits with Mike Jardine.  The last glider landed at 1918 (Ed: so that’s the answer to Thursday’s quandary.  If the Duty Instructors aren’t available until 1300 on a Thursday then we fly until the evening o that everyone gets a go!)

Richard, a seasoned Basic Instructor, fresh from his winching duties
congratulates Scratch and Gavin, Dartmoor Gliding’s latest Basic Instructors

The Duty Instructor Mike Jardine passes his thanks to everyone on a very trying day for all their efforts in keeping everything going (Ed: And well deserved those thanks are too: Flying by club members and a visiting pilot; flying of our four visitors, flying five club trainees, flying the CFI acceptance checks of two BI candidates; a change of ends; and of course the winch drivers toiling mercilessly, as ever unseen, but not unheard). 

 

Gavin Short

Mammatus cloud (acknowledgement to Wikipedia)

Dartmoor Gliding News - Basic Instructor Course at Nympsfield and Aston Down 20 & 21 July 2022

It has been a long, long, time coming.  Last year we were training to be Introductory Flight Pilots (IFP).  That training seemed to go on for ever but we qualified in August and started earning our keep for the club.

Dartmoor Gliding IFPs earning their keep

The next step was to train as Basic Instructors (BI).  The key word being instructor.  A BI is allowed to teach four things: the lookout; the primary effect of the three controls - the elevator, the ailerons, and the rudder.  The rest of the syllabus is almost identical to that for an IFP.  So after learning the dreaded patter, we tried it out in the simulator, in the air with Rick, and with each other, many, many, times.  InMarch we went to North Hill to demonstrate our patter in a motor glider and in a K-21 to seasoned instructors.  The CFI deemed us ready.

That's when the waiting started.  Tying down a Regional Examiner to check us out.  Who?  Where?  On each occasion the options seemed to peter as soon as there was light at the end of the tunnel.  In addition, when the British Gliding Association introduced the IFP qualification it was intended to be the stepping stone to the new rating of Flight Instructor under the forthcoming new licensing arrangements.

Alas the change in licencing has stalled several times with the CAA apparently considering more studies and more proposals for an ever increasing scope of aviation licencing arrangements.  (Ed: Why all this dull history lesson?)

The end result is that currently there are four qualifications: The new IFP and the existing BI, Assistant Category, and Full Category Instructor ratings.  But, and this is the kicker, there is no recognised route from IFP to BI.  Whilst the CFI fondly thought that, as we in date for all the exercises, we would just need an abbreviated check, focusing on our ability to teach those four basic lessons.

Not so.  Which leads us to travel to Gloucester: Day One was to fly at Nympsfield in Bristol and Gloucester Gliding Club's DG-505.  Importantly this glider can take water ballast in the tail which would allow us to stall and spin.  But, this would be over an airfield that none of us had flown from and in a glider none of us had flown before.  Day Two of our BI course would be at Aston Down with which we were familiar with following expeditions there earlier in the year, but again in a different glider that none of us had flown before.

We opted for a range of accommodation options: Farmer Phil in a field (camping in his tent!), Scratch in his salubrious caravan, and I chose the comforts of the Amberley Inn conveniently located between the two airfields; 3.8 miles to either- perfect!

All set then.  Not quite, the Met Office was forecasting a heatwave of Armageddon-like consequences accompanied by fire, plague, and pestilence (Ed: So the forecast was for warm weather as experienced each summer by continental gliding clubs).

MGC GT taking a break during the outbound journey
at Cullompton Services in “air con” mode with
the front and rear quarter lights open

When we arrived at Aston Down we got a message from Phil that he was unable to join us.  So then there were two!

That meant that we could relax that evening.  Not quite.  There was some “simple addition” to complete, and lots of it.  The BI course record requires flying totals in various categories for the last 12 months and overall.  However, they don't tie in with the layout of either the old style glider pilot log book or the new format one... As I had accumulated over a 1,000 flights and Scratch over 2,000 feet addition of the number of flights and hours could no longer be categorised as "simple addition"

Suitably fortified by a great breakfast at the Amberley Inn I headed to Nympsfield airfield.  Rain and risk of thunderstorms were forecast in the afternoon.  We met Tony Parker, the Regional Examiner, and carried out some ground school work. We were duly quizzed on our gliding experience but more significantly on our IFP qualification as he had not examined any IFPs before to take the step to BI.  Then, when there a clearance in the light rain we got into the DG-505, an advanced trainer which was fitted with winglets that took the wingspan to 20m (Ed: so it’s a DG‑500/20 then).  The tail water ballast tank was filled as a tail-heavy glider spins more readily.

Our rendezvous with the Regional Examiner was at the Nympsfield clubhouse. 
The weather was considerably warmer than this!

Scratch was towed by the Pawnee tug to 4,000 feet in a convenient hole in the cloud.  After one attempt at a nose drop stall he was encouraged to be bolder.  Well, the DG-505/20 can be aerobatic as the spectators on the ground were treated to what looked like a Hammerhead Stall followed by vertical dive.  (Ed: The DG will "tuck in" during a spin to give one a great view of the ground below while you hang from your shoulder straps).

After the spinning syllabus was complete, Scratch landed.  I was next up but the tug was only able find a gap in the clouds to take us up to 3,000ft but nevertheless we managed to finish everything by 2,000 feet.  The glider was that slippery.  It also has "long legs" with a glide ratio of 40:1.

Back down on earth the Regional Examiner asked us whether "A 500 feet final turn was a Dartmoor thing?"  Not really; but we both thought it was an appropriate height to conduct the final turn to land on an airfield that is completely surrounded by trees, with a ridge on one side, and hence the potential for curl over, and one that we had not flown from before or had a site check from (Ed: Or even had a brief!).

A view of Nympsfield airfield from the west. 
It is completely surrounded by trees so there is
a risk of curl over from any wind direction. 
There was no fog when we were there but there was plenty of rain!

The Nympsfield DG-505 with its 20m wingleted tips. 
Sadly the weather was nothing like this when we flew.

Stock photo of the DG-505/20 n approach over the trees at Nympsfield

On completion of Day One our course forms were duly signed and the Regional Examiner told us that on Day Two we would cover; winch launch failures, patter demonstration and trial lessons.

Unsurprisingly we were too busy to take photos
so here is another stock photo of the DG-505/20 coming in to land

With that the rain started to set in and the Nympsfield instructors declared the bar open and we enjoyed very convivial pint before heading back to our accommodation (Ed: Interestingly the Nympsfield instructors had not heard of the IFP qualification, let alone met some).

Day Two saw us at Aston Down helping to get the gliders out and inspected before the Regional Examiner arrived.  We would be operating on Runway 03 a direction that neither of us had flown from.  We were flying a DG-500/18 (very similar to yesterday's glider but you can't add water ballast to improve the stall and spin characteristics).

Aston Down airfield on a competition day

After a late start by the host club I was first to go.  A 1,700 ft winch launch (Ed: I am green with envy!) allowed me to deliver the patter for all four exercises.  Then there were two flights where I attempted to demonstrate the further stalling exercises.

A busy Aston Down start point (Ed: Note the double-decker launch bus)

The custom retrieve vehicle developed an engine fault and became a smoky old beast

Next, was a launch failure where I had to go around to simulate not being able to land ahead.  It turned out to be pretty low level go around with those long wings.  Regrettably, I let the approach speed of 60 knots (it’s a heavy glider) decay and the Regional Examiner took control.  After giving myself a good talking to, we did the exercise again and I gave a perfect demonstration.  Phew!

Mr. Regional Examiner please, please, please will you give me
my Basic Instructor qualification?

Time was running on.  Scratch was next up and completed all the exercises including the most important bit; the two demonstration trial flights.  He finished off with a launch failure where he had to land ahead.  After getting out he held the nose down to allow the Regional Examiner to clamber out from the recumbent seating in the front seat.  As he exited the glider as gracefully as he could (Ed: That is very difficult from the front seat of a Glaser-Dirks glider) he held out his hand to congratulate Scratch on passing the course (Ed: Well done Scratch).

“If I have to listen to another CB SIFT BEC pre-flight check I will scream!”

The Regional Examiner briefing Scratch on his next exercise

Scratch turning the tail-heavy DG-500/18 around ready to go again

And then easing it back into position ready for another 1,500 ft plus winch launch. 
Yeh!

“Bloggs the Student” looks happy as Scratch prepares to take him on his first trial flight

I got back in the glider to deliver my two trial lessons.  I delivered the patter on the demonstration of the elevator and ailerons and then allowed "Bloggs the Student" to try flying the glider himself.  The student flew most of the second flight after the winch launch with me offering guidance and, as necessary, getting us back in position.  Bloggs will always find ways to try and ruin your day!  On landing I received the keenly anticipated handshake. 

“Bloggs the Student” about to receive his first trial lesson with Gavin

However, there was no resting our laurels (Ed: I think you mean no rest for the wicked).  Sam, the Duty Instructor, co-opted us to help with the evening flying which had 20 Scout Explorers clamouring to fly.  So with some of the club instructors we flew them with our IFP hats on.  I flew three explorers in the DG‑500/18 and Scratch did the same in the Cotswolds Gliding Club's K-13.  Scratch flew his fourth Explorer in the DG-500/18 so that he could enter a well-deserved "Pilot in Command" of a DG-500/18 in his log book.  It was getting pretty dark and car headlights on the nearby road were clearly visible during the final flights.  It was totally dark by the time we had finished packing the hangar and retired to the clubhouse.

Sam, the Duty Instructor, ready to hook on so that Gavin could fly a Scout Explorer

We will admit to beers being taken in the Clubhouse.  Frozen pizza was placed in the oven as the Amberley Inn had stopped serving food at 2115.  Dry roasted peanuts were supplemented by a great selection of cheese and biscuits from Scratch's Caravan.  Thanks!  It felt like a wondrous feast as we were both still on "Cloud Nine" after flying ten flights each during a challenging day.

We reconvened the next morning with the Regional Examiner for the course debrief, to sign off the paperwork, and to countersign our log books.  We had clearly entered the elite world of glider instructors as the Regional Examiner made the teas!

After settling our flying accounts we headed home, ready to avoid the fuel protesters rolling roadblocks on the M5.  In addition to that malarkey there were the normal snarl ups going past Bristol and some very heavy rain (two speed wipers required).  As we approached the West Country the sun came out and the weather became glorious.  It was a wonderful welcome home for the new Dartmoor Gliding Basic Instructors.

The final step is for the Chief Flying Instructor to check us out (Ed: Hopefully soon) and then give his blessing before we start earning our keep as Basic Instructors. 

Gavin Short

Dartmoor Gliding News - Thursday 21st July 2022

Today rasp was giving a 5 star rating so there was a lot of activity rigging private aircraft and preparing the club aircraft. Richard Roberts was keen to set off on a 300km flight to The Park and back. Richard launched at 11:29, but was back on the ground after 10 minutes and a poor decision. See his account below.

Steve Fletcher followed at 11:44, but was also back on the ground after 6 minutes. This didn't look good for me in the Kestrel as I was third in line. Off the top of the launch I found some lift and climbed to nearly 2000ft, but struggled after that and thought I was going to follow Richard and Steve, but as I was going into circuit found some good lift and managed to stay up for a total of 1 hour 20 minutes.

I saw Richard, Steve, Mike Bennett (K6) and Malcolm WJ/Malcolm Roberts (Twin Astir) all launch whilst I was flying.

Visiting pilot Nigel Bray was first to fly with duty instructor Rick Wiles for a couple of site checks.

Nigel ready for his site checks.

Nigel usually flies at Vale of White Horse GC and is in the south west on holiday. After his successful flights he was cleared to fly his Pegassus that he had brought with him. Four flights saw him happy with his DGS flying and hopes to return in the next week for some more.

Duty IFP, Hugh Gascoyne was going to be kept busy with a string of visitors. First was John Heard, a farmer friend of our landlord. A good impression was made with a 30 minute soaring flight.

John Heard receiving his certificate.

Next to fly with Hugh was Linda Statton. Linda was also treated to a 40 minute soaring flight.

Linda Statton with Hugh.

Following on from two happy customers could Hugh achieve a hat-trick. Lucy de Glanville was next to fly. And yes, Lucy was similarly treated to a 35 minute flight.

Lucy de Glanville receiving her certificate.

Following Hugh's successful flights, Mike Jardine took over the back seat to fly our last two visitors. Ciaran Kane (sorry no photo) and Wendy Coulton were each treated to shorter flights.

Wendy Coulton with Mike.

Rick had two trainees to fly with. Chris Morris and Steve Lesson both continued on their progress towards their goals.

Of the solo pilots who took off earlier, Steve managed 1 hour 21 minutes, Mike (K6) 22 minutes and the Malcolm pairing (Twin Astir) 2 hour 25 minutes. Colin Boyd (K6) also managed 23 minutes and John Allen (K6) 1 hour 55 minutes.

What about our cross country pundit. Well he never quite made it to The Park and whilst trying to make it back to Brentor landed north of Okehampton. Richards account:-

Looking at the rasp spot forecast , it showed good conditions at Brentor , but as you moved east the higher cloud cover seemed to keep a lid on the forecast convection. The Lasham forecasters were basically saying if you can get away from Lasham go to the Southwest. 

I decided to set 302 km to “the park east” turn point from my takeoff point at Brentor.

 I set off at 1230, but is wasn’t easy. I restarted the task at 1315 and set off again. Every time I pushed further east could see there wasn’t much sun on the ground ahead , so had to keep stopping until I could see some hope of the sun warming the ground to a level that would  give the thermals I needed.

 This process proved slow going until I got to Glastonbury ,when I couldn’t see any sun on the ground ahead.

 Deciding the risk of landing out out weighed my desire to reach my intended turn point (38km away) it was now just after 3pm ,and if I wanted to get back to Brentor I couldn’t afford to wait for the sun to break through again.

So , I turned 180 degrees started to head back ,thinking to myself it would aleast be an easy run back in the sun….. it wasn’t. The cloud base that was forecast to go to 5-5500ft stuck stubbornly at 3500agl. 

The thermals were not that well formed and inconsistent.

But …..they were still 4 knots average , but only when I managed to find them ,and turn tight enough to stay in the narrow cores. 

 As I got nearer Dartmoor the clouds on track looked even less well formed ,so I headed to the better looking clouds well north of track, hoping to get on final glide ( I was 3400ft short of that requirement , plus circuit height) , as it turns out, the better clouds weren’t much help. But the farmers family I met shortly after near knowstone ,who have a large flat field were a safe and welcome end to todays difficult flight.

 The family had lots of questions about gliding , so spend a pleasant 25 min doing my bit to promote out great sport ,and then the family’s children had photos sat in the glider to show their friends at school the next day. 

 My thanks to Steve Fletcher for the road retrieve.

Another interesting flight another field landing , however, if you don’t try you will never know if you could have made it.  I just hope I “make it” a little more often very soon ……..before I run out of friends to retrieve me.!!

Richard's retrieve.

Thumbs down from Richard

Thank you to all at the club today for a successful days flying.

Peter Howarth