Well, the weather! Heavy rain and fog for those coming up from west Cornwall, coming from parts of Devon, and coming from further afield. It did not look promising at all. But when the rain eventually eased off the gliders were extracted from the hangar and the gear was laid out on the field.
Meanwhile, Duty Instructor Mike Jardine took the trainees through some further nuances of the pre-flight checks "CB SIFT BEC" in the clubhouse. We were then ready for the morning brief and a look at a very iffy RASP forecast. However, on looking out the clubhouse window we saw that the rain had stopped. "Let's go flying", says Mike.
We fielded two K-13s, the Puchacz, and the Astir CS77. The K-8 remained unloved on the hangar apron. Andy vacillated like a "good un" before eventually putting the wings on his Libelle. David Archer also rigged his K-6 but after a check of his Air Speed Indicator the errors were such that the instrument was declared out of limits. So it was changed for a working spare.
Hugh Gascoyne was the duty Introductory Flight Pilot today. His "dance card" was very full with three two-trial flights and three single-trial flights. He had asked me if I would assist.
 |
In the hangar a newly acquired split-rim wheel and solid tyre were assembled ready to fit to the Astir CS77 tail dolly by Dave Bourchier.
|
 |
Club gliders ranged at the launch point ready for the off
|
The Duty Instructor kicked off the day's flying with two instructor training flights with Hugh in the Puchacz to ensure his currency in that glider. The latter flight, inevitably, was a practice launch failure which Hugh executed well.
Mike Jardine then flew a set of three training flights with junior Jamie Young. Although I had no feedback, I am sure that Jamie is continuing to make good progress towards being sent solo.
Our first visitor and trial flight was Ross Heriot who hails from Wallingford (south of Oxford). He was visiting parents who live
locally and they had bought him the two-trial flight voucher. He works as a housing association buyer. He enjoyed a circuit followed by a soaring flight to 1,500 feet with Hugh.
 |
Ross Heriot, a long way from home, after his two flights over Dartmoor
|
With thermals now evident the solo pilots started to consider the concept of aviation. In the Astir CS77 Mark Elliott led the way with further flights (some of which were soaring flights) in the club GRP single-seater made by Steve Lesson, Mike Bennett, Peter Howarth, John Smith, and John Allan. John treated the onlookers to the spectacle of a well-executed landing on the stub runway.
Our second visitor was Chris Vaughan-Johncey, a retired builder, who flew with me. We managed two soaring flights by nailing the early thermals which were present despite the total cloud cover blocking out the sun.
 |
Chris Vaughan-Johncey ready to fly with Gavin
|
 |
A smiling Chris receives his certificate after two soaring flights
|
Mike Jardine then took Rob Cartlidge up for two training flights one of which was a soaring flight of 21 minutes which allowed Rob to progress his glider handling skills. The Twin Astir emerged from its T-hangar and Phil Hardwick took Malcolm Roberts aloft for a soaring flight to show him how its done.
 |
The Puchacz making a long landing
|
Our third visitor today was Ian Napier. Ian is a support worker for people with disabilities who lives in Exeter. He had two
soaring flights with Hugh. He loved the tight turns
that were needed to climb in the narrow thermals early in the day. We hope to see him again during his temporary membership.
 |
Ian Napier receives his certificate from Hugh
|
Our fourth visitor was Ronald Fletcher, another retired builder, who flew with me so that Hugh could have a break. We enjoyed two soaring flights. Ron was fascinated that one could predict (or in reality have a good guess!) where the thermals would be and exploit them. Climbing to 1,500 feet in each flight we had the lyrics of Mark Knopfler's (Dire Straits) "Money for nothing" running through our heads as we climbed.
 |
Ron and Gavin ready to fly
|
 |
Ron, me, and his family of supporters! At last the sun had come out.
|
Mike Jardine then flew a set of three with new member Geoff Cooper which also included a soaring flight. Then it was Neal Oxley's turn to go soaring too.
 |
|
Neal Oxley finds a thermal and climbs to 1,900 feet by using good coordination on the controls |
Simon Tyler was our penultimate visitor. Simon lives in Bellever, near Postbridge, which is in the centre of Dartmoor. Simon runs runs a wholesale business and his trial flight voucher was a birthday gift. The conditions improved by mid afternoon, allowing him to enjoy a beautiful soaring
flight to 2,000 feet. The question is did Hugh fly Simon high enough so Simon could spot his home on the moor?
 |
Simon Tyler after his soaring flight
|
Our final trial flight of the day was with Jack Hayward. Another builder, but not retired this time, Jack hails from South Brent. He was accompanied by his partner and her three young daughters. They were intrigued at Jack going up in a glider.
 |
| Hugh and Jack Hayward ready to fly |
 |
The airfield from the southeast. The sky had gone blue and the wind was freshening, pushing the K-13 away from the airfield
|
Mike Bennett took a training flight with Peter Howarth focusing on finding thermals "in the blue". In the afternoon the dew point height had risen significantly and all the clouds had disappeared. It was nice and warm in the sunshine but those "signposts in the sky" were no longer there which presented him with a challenge.
 |
Peter watches Mike Bennett searching for thermals in the blue
|
 |
Who Hoo! Here's a thermal, let's turn.
|
Mike Jardine made a soaring flight with David Moorley. Then Loraine had two short training flights at the end of the day which included a hangar landing so that she could observe a different circuit than normal.
After the last of Hugh's visitor flights he took John Allan up in the Puchacz to introduce John to our GRP trainer.
 |
The winch driver looks on as Hugh, and John Allan, "hangar land"
(Well, nearly!) the Puchacz after a full day of visitor flights
|
So on a day that went from rubbish to quite nice the Wednesday Wavers made 41 launches of which, remarkably, 18 were soaring flights. The "Two Malcolms" (Wilton-Jones and Roberts) won the "Men of the Match" award with a 2 hour 12 minutes flight in their Twin Astir with Andy Davey as a runner up managing 1 hour 25 minutes in his Libelle.
The lesson of today is that just because it has been raining all through your drive to the club and when you arrive, it doesn't mean that you aren't going to fly.
Gavin Short
No comments:
Post a Comment