It's Wednesday. Would the willpower of the Wednesday Wishers overcome
the forecast and make the cloud base rise and then stay there? Doubtful
with the forecast showers and a cloud base that would be and down like a
yo-yo (Ed: Thank you for not using one of your saltier sailor's
phrases).
If we didn't go flying then there was some
maintenance to do namely swap out an erratic XK10 (electric variometer)
in CCY. Pre-flight checks on Sunday had discovered a loose glass face and an
loose internal screw was visible.
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John Allan removes the defective XK10 variometer from the front instrument panel of K-13, CCY
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Outer cover and front face removed, the XK10 is ready for a technical investigation to begin.
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This is where the magic happens. The XK10 was ahead of its time using a pressure transducer instead of a capacity flask (Ed: Anyone under 35yro may not recognise the integrated circuits used in this device!)
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The repaired XK10 vario was reinstalled, tested, and a duplicate inspection conducted. Now CCY could fly again (Ed: Not until the paperwork is complete thank you!).
Today's Duty Instructor was
Peter Howarth (Ed: As he found out by belatedly checking the club
calendar!) and the Duty Introductory Flight Pilot was Hugh Gascoyne.
Sadly Hugh had no visitors today to ply his trade. But Hugh's spirits
were up as he is back on his motorbike following an attempt by a
recycling lorry to reverse over him a few weeks ago.
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Dave Bourchier and the Fleet Manager review the holdings of K-7 hubs and wheels to see if DGS can help a K-7 owner up country out of a tight spot.
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A
pitch inspection was called for as dry February has been followed by
wet March. Steve Fletcher brought back the photographic evidence (Ed:
Are we sure that these aren't stills from some disaster movie where a tsunami engulfs New York City?).
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The sky was looking good when Steve Fletcher headed up the field for his "pitch inspection"
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Looking east from the track at the centre of the airfield. The moors have disappeared into cloud
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Looking back to the west is no better (Ed: Steve Fletcher later revealed that he almost lost a welly boot near here)
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This is the normal landing area. The cloud base in Mary Tavy valley to the east appears lower than the airfield height.
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The Committee widens its search for a replacement for the SF-27A
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From the DGS archives, a junior pilot looks pleased after her first 50km flight from North Hill to Brentor (Ed: I hope she paid attention to the 1% rule on the difference between starting and landing height, as the airfield at North Hill is higher than that at Brentor).
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With this evidence we hardly needed to hear the Duty Instructor declare that it was a non-flying day. We then welcomed
Colin back on site after Colin and Adam had undertaken mandatory glider
maintenance refresher training last Saturday via Zoom. The target of
the day is K-8, GDK, and the fitting of the replacement ailerons "fresh
off the boat" from Germany...
I took advantage
of our Secretary, Steve Fletcher, being on site to countersign my
application for my Sailplane Pilot Licence (Ed: for many years most of
us have been flying on the British Gliding Association Gliding
Certificate but new licensing arrangements, talked about and postponed
for many years, are now definitely coming in. So for those pilots who have
achieved their Bronze Qualification and cross-country endorsement
procrastinate no longer - Get it done!)
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Dave Bourchier attempting to fit replacement wheels to the "gliding utilities" trailer (Ed: Sadly, after much measuring with a tape measure and a vernier gauge, the realisation that all trailer wheel fittings are not standard slowly dawned)
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Two
groups conducted a "strop hunt" both to the South of the airfield and to
the North. One "Blue" strop was found on the south side of the airfield. This was overhauled and a new weak link fitter to its carrier.
Sadly no strops were found in the gorse or the trees on the north side but
we all got muddy boots, trousers, and enjoyed a soggy walk.
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A ground-level view of the "L-shaped" field, DGS prime land out option which lies to the south east of the afield (Ed: All early pilots should take the chance to view the local land out options)
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Before and after lunch the simulator was put to good use by Steve Fletcher, Mike Bennett, and John Allan.
In
the glider workshop the focus was K-8, GDK as predicted. But contrary
to the plan Colin, Mike, and Hugh removed the old TOST CofG release and
fitted a new one (Ed: TOST hooks are lifed items that need exchange
after a certain number of actuations). Unfortunately, the highly-anticipated new aileron
hinges need a second hole drilling in the hinge and the locating collar before they
can be fitted. Fingers crossed that they will be available soon after their visit to a machine shop in Tavistock.
In the trailer rack the K-6, FUB syndicate attempted to make good the Total Energy probe mount on the fin, which involved resin, microballoons filler, and judicious use of syringes to get the "gloop" (Ed: Gwyneth Paltrow was not present for the K-6 rejuvenation attempt) in the right places, alas without sucess (Ed: Plan B required me thinks which could include an invitation to Gwyneth Paltrow to come to Brentor with her steamer! What are you thinking? I wish to point out that the use of steam is a recognised engineering technique to shape complex plywood shapes).
In
the afternoon, our Chairman arrived to see progress at the club and
observe John Allan flying at St. Crepin, and in wave, in the French Alps
(Ed: Does that mean that someone in the world is flying in wave over
Dartmoor?).
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The Chairman's view of John Allan climbing in a mixture of ridge lift and thermals prior to connecting with wave at St.Crepin in the French Alps
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In the real world the rest of the
DGS members shut the hangar doors and departed the site keen to get home
before the wind increased some more and the evening rain set in.
Gavin Short
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