This morning dawned clear and dry. The roads were dry too with no
streams of running water throwing up spray which has been a continuous feature of late. It was colder which
inevitably triggered snowflakes, on the dashboard, as the temperature
dropped to 4C in the valleys. There was a touch of radiation fog present but it was a very pleasant morning to drive to the club.
I
arrived to see two souls returning from a pitch inspection, then testing the
light airs for direction with a handkerchief, before taking a decision, getting the winch out, and setting it up at the west end.
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| Two souls returning from a pitch inspection |
The
forecast was for the wind to fill in from the south and veer as it
freshened before the expected rain mid afternoon. The Wednesday Wavers
had the site to themselves with the three Navy Fliers from HMS Audacious
having to cancel at short notice as they were required onboard their
submarine. Such are the exigencies of the service. So Phil's
services as a Basic Instructor would not be required today.
So the early birds got the rest of kit out, but not the gliders, whilst waiting for the Duty
Instructor, Mike Jardine, to arrive who too would also be under utilised
today with no trainees present.
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| Mike's arrival allows the two instructors to discuss what to do today |
Once we got the kit out inevitably the cloud filled in, as forecast. The cloud base was definitely too low for flight operations. Would we fly today? Time for tea and a think.
Time for Operation T-21. Move the T-21 to the east end to free up much needed space in the glider rack. To be able to move the T-21 in its trailer the glider had to be first removed from the trailer. This would allow access to bolt the replacement second axle to the trailer to make it fully mobile.
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| Door open. The instructors lead from the front. |
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| Once the trestles, tail plane, and ailerons (already detached) were removed the fuselage could see daylight |
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| Peter checks the Daily Inspection book. It was last prepared for flight on 22 May 2004 by erstwhile glider pilot Trevor Taylor. |
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| The front view of the T-21 |
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| Following my instrumentation lecture; a question for our juniors. Which
is the Pitot probe and which is the Total Energy probe, and how can you tell? The first to
answer correctly can pick the chocolate bar of their choice from the tea swindle! |
Part one of the operation was successful. However when the trailer was out of the rack it was obvious that there was a problem. One side of the A-frame was no longer connected to the trailer. Plan B was enacted. The glider was returned to its trailer and the trailer was parked by the clubhouse to allow it to be worked on.
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| The trailer is backed out of the glider rack |
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| The pundits admire the simplicity of the instrument panel. From right to
left; altimeter, ASI, COSIM variometer and mechanical variometer, the
latter is equipped with a MacCready ring (to indicate the speed to fly
when in the cruise!) |
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The mighty COSIM Variometer. Glider instrumentation at the pinnacle of excellence.
|
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| How the COSIM works. Green ball up - Good. Red Ball up - Bad! |
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Meanwhile, Mike admires
the delicate lattice work of the restored rudder. |
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Trailer assessment complete. It's time for the fuselage to go back in its box.
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When safely parked Colin then left the site to talk to his welder friend and procure some suitable steel to effect a repair.
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Operation T-21 (partially) complete. Thanks to the vintage glider crew (take that epithet as you see fit).
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I had hoped that by shuffling some
trailers there would be two empty slots freed up for members who need to park
their glider trailers in the rack. Unfortunately, despite much measuring
by John, Dave, and I we couldn't make it work. There is a
longer-term possibility of clearing some gorse and flattening the bank
to allow more space.
So
Sean, after a long and patient wait, can move his Libelle into the slot
that was occupied by the T-21.
John Osmet
with his new Standard Cirrus (congratulations!) will bring his trailer on site soon, so a further slot needs to be found.
Around the T-21 activity other work was progressing in the hangar and clubhouse. But after the main event was complete the Wavers started to disappear. When I left at 1430 the forecast rain was just starting So I left John and Dave to their in depth conversation.
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In the clubhouse Gavin discovers the rattle in his aircrew instrument (which provides a display of Flarm and ASD-B tracks, a fluxgate compass, and a solid state artificial horizon); a loose heat sink. It's now secured back in place (see top left).
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An update: The Met Office named Storm Darragh on Thursday 5 December and its due to roll in at the weekend bringing much rain and strong winds. So we can look forward to plenty of ground work and maintenance on Saturday and Sunday, with a very blowy committee meeting on Saturday afternoon.
Gavin Short
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