Dartmoor Gliding News - Friday 2nd June 2023

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) for Mark Courtney who can't manage a full blog but likes the pictures:  Members of Devon and Somerset Gliding Club joined us today for the first day of their expedition to Brentor.  They received a warm Dartmoor welcome of real coffee and bacon baps.  It was sunny.  They went flying in their K21, some in a DGS K-13. A good time was had by all. End. 

Today is the first day of the Devon and Somerset Gliding Club expedition to DGS.  As arrived I had to queue to get in the gate.  Andrew "Night Owl" Downing and his wife, Stevie "Early Bird" Downing, were ahead if me and it was before 0830 (Ed: Are you sure that your fancy watch hasn't stopped yesterday evening?).

Andy's temptation. Early morning wave.

After a few small tasks we started getting the field ready. The DSGC members were already at the west end rigging their K-21.

 

DSGC members rig the K-21, KEK, spurred on by the smell of bacon baps (Ed: Wait, does the aroma of sizzling bacon count as one of the BGA's potential rigging distractions?)

Where does this bit go?

A Cobra trailer for a modern two-seater glider is vast

Stevie set to work with Andrew and prepared bacon baps, real coffee, and tea as a warm Dartmoor welcome for our visitors: Mark Courtney (Instructor), Mike Sloggett (Instructor), Ashley Thomas, Dave Perriam, and Rob Rand (Ed: Welcome one and all).

Meanwhile, early riser Andy had his Libelle rigged and took the first launch to soar in the rotor for 23 minutes.

Where there is wave there is rotor, but you can soar in it.

Just after 1000 we launched the DSGC K-21, KEK, for the first time allowing both instructors to get the DSGC pilots acquainted with the site.  Rotor to the east but smooth as silk air elsewhere.

Let's get ready to fly

Ashley Thomas and Mark Courtney "garb up" in preparation for KEK's first flight at Brentor (Ed: Probably a reasonable assumption).

Ashley ponders whether Mark is actually going to get in the glider or whether his first flight at Brentor will be solo!

Commemorative edition photo showing Mark Courtney actually in a glider (Ed: Cheekiness will get you into trouble!)

And away they go!

Mark and Ashley bring KEK back for more fun

David Perriam and Mike Sloggett get ready

David and Mike about to launch in KEK

After release they enjoy the view of the south east of the moors and the A386 that leads from Tavistock to Sourton

The airfield from the east

Plymouth Sound and the Hamoaze are visible above, and behind, the K-21's wing tip

Three generations of two-seater trainers at the launch point

Malcolm and Robin soared for 38 minutes in the Twin Astir whilst Mark Courtney and Rob Rand kept the K-21 aloft for 38 minutes as well.  On the ground there was no consensus on whether the lift was thermal or rotor.  Only one thing for it.  Send the Night Owl aloft in the K-21 (with Instructor Mike Sloggett in the back of course) to find out.  In the spirit of reciprocity we sent Ashley Thomas and Mark Courtney up in our K-13, FSD.

Malcolm and Robin prepare for their soaring flight (Ed: Is there a doctor on board?)

Peter monitors Steve's thermal turns over Brentor church while admiring the view of Blackdown and the airfield

Peter and Steve in K-13, FSD share a thermal with Malcolm and Robin in Twin Astir, DSL

Natter, natter, blah, blah.  I would be amazed if Peter could hear Andrew's pre-flight checks

The "Night Owl" gets to grips with the K-21's air brake locking mechanism

Andrew receives a DSGC pre-flight brief before flying with Mike

Andrew and Mike enjoy a view of the airfield and Blackdown (Gibbet hill) beyond

Today involved a exchange of views and procedures.  The first difference was that the DSGC instructors broke for lunch and returned to the clubhouse to dine (Ed: DGS instructors take sustenance on the go!).  After the lunch break flying continued with pilots trying to climb through the inversion layer at 2,200 ft AGL.  I didn't manage it in the K-8, FXB, but nevertheless I enjoyed my (second) flight of 31 minutes.  I swapped the K-8 with Steve Lesson for the winch who went on and flew for 1 hour and 30 minutes and thereby achieving the soaring requirement (a one-hour flight) for his Cross-Country Endorsement (Ed: Congratulations).

Cross training. Ashley, DSGC, flies in a K-13 for the first time under the watchful eye of instructor Peter, DGS.

The brakes on the right drum of the winch were a bit poorly in the afternoon with a hydraulic leak that is planned to be fixed tomorrow.  But fortunately it wasn't busy on the winch as the Libelle, K-8, Twin Astir were staying up with on the K-21 landing occasionally to change pilots.  The quiet at the east end was punctured by the call of a cuckoo and the drone of a combine harvester in the distance. Bucolic England at its best: warm sunshine with just enough breeze to stop it being stifling.

 

After two more flights by the DSGC K-21, taking us up to 23 flights for the day, we called it quits and packed up for the night.  All our visitors had enjoyed soaring flights despite the inversion layer.

The DSGC team look happy after their successful day's flying

Three soaring flights made today deserve a mention: Steve Lesson (1 hour 30 minutes), Malcolm-Wilton Jones (2 hours 5 minutes), and "Man of the Match" Andy Davey  (2 hours, 52 minutes).  The Outlook for Saturday and Sunday; more of the same.

Gavin Short