Dartmoor Gliding News - Navy expedition to the Black Mountains - Sunday 6 March to Friday 11 March 2025

I had the privilege to be invited to attend one of the Royal Navy Gliding And Soaring Association's (RNGSA) development weeks.  This one was run by Seahawk GC, whose members we have seen a lot of recently, in the form of an expedition to Talgarth, home of the Black Mountains Gliding club.

I would have to earn my keep both by instructing as a Basic Instructor one of the ab initios and also to deliver training lectures in support of my preparation for Assistant Category instructor.

Chris Bryning, the expedition CFI, suggested that I travel to Talgarth on the Sunday in time to have a check flight and a site orientation.

Sunday

So an early start to get to the airfield and hook up my trailer which had been removed from the glider rack and repositioned yesterday.  However, my journey out of my village was delayed a bit by four young deer that decided to trot slowly in front of my car in the morning light for about 200 metres before leaping off into a field.  A magical sight.

Progress along the Cornish lanes was slow due to local traffic conditions

The glider hook up was straightforward, as was the trailer lights test.  13-pin connectors are so much more reliable than the old 7-pin plugs.  With my car and trailer out on the road, I had just finished locking the gates when Viktor arrived at 0745.  As we know, the "early bird catches the worm"... a week later, Viktor caught that worm.  Congratulations on going solo, Viktor.

All hooked up and ready for an adventure

The journey to Talgarth was straightforward in the bright sunshine, except for the last bit.  My car's Satnav is rubbish, and it led me a merry dance before I finally found the glider trailer turning to BMGC, but from the opposite direction than I expected.  Getting lost with a gliding trailer on the back is always stressful, but I got there in the end.  In my defence, I had been to BMGC only once before, 21 years before.

I parked the trailer and wandered to the launch point.  They were launching from the east into some broken wave.  After speaking to the duty instructor I had a check flight, an aerotow flight, and a site acquaint in one of the BMGC's K-13s.  The broken wave was still there and gave me a handling work out whilst taking in the local topography, the runway take off and landing option,s and of course the land out options.  The advice was to make high key (today) at 1,000 feet AGL.  Something that I would remember later.  After I nice approach and round out I had my log book signed off.  Other Seahawk early arrivals were similarly checked out.

CNN in its trailer installed in a scenic spot

We rigged the DG300 owned by Barney, one of my fellow Basic Instructors

The approach over the east runway "piano keys" is not very wide, or long (350m). 
Accuracy is required.

One of BMGC's K-13s

And touch down

As the flying day drew to a close most of the expedition members had arrived.  There was a little hiccup.  The Brecon bunkhouse had managed to double book so they had arranged for us to have supper at the Dinas Castle Inn and use their bunkhouse for the night.  So with a pub meal and a pint on offer there were no complaints at the inconvenience.

The main ridge seen from the airfield

Dinas Castle Inn - the highest pub in the Brecon Beacons National Park

Monday

The first day of an expedition is inevitably spent rigging the gliders.  Rigging two-seaters being part of the experience for the ab initios.  Later we were faced with the challenge of rigging Andy Smith's (from the Army Gliding Centre at Upavon) Vega.  Fred Slingsby had some great ideas but low weight and ease of rigging were not some of his gliders' features.  Fortunately, I had been called to assist Elaine with rigging her LS4, a glider that I am much more comfortable with.   I left my Standard Cirrus in its box, as my focus at the start of the expedition was the trainees.

The morning brief in the BMGC clubhouse

It transpired that the Flarm in N53, the Seahawk GC Puchacz, was not working.  Hardly surprising as it had languished in the condemned hangar at RNAS Culdrose which had denied use or even access for months.  After identifying the Flarm type, there are many now, I downloaded the latest Firmware (7.40 non-expiring) along with a configuration file I customised and uploaded them through the USB port.  A LXNAV PowerMouse does away with fiddly micro SD or SD cards.  After waiting, the firmware took, and I could see it was working and it showed up on Glide and Seek as proof.

Today was a day of instructors checking out other instructors before the flying programme could begin.  We ere organised in three groups (syndicates); three students and three instructors for both the Puchacz and a K-21 (from Upavon).  The final syndicate had one student who had previously been a solo pilot, but his currency had lapsed over the last two years.  He flew in a BMGC K-13.

Seahawk GC Steve Moore (rear seat) about to be checked by the expedition CFI, Chris Bryning (front seat)

Unfortunately my student wasn't due to arrive until Tuesday so I helped out at the launch point and the retrieve to ensure all had their check flights and site acquaint flights.

 

Gliders "at the gate".  This is the launch point that we would use all week.  Elaine's LS4 with winglets is in the foreground and Seahawk's Puchacz in the front of the launch queue.

There were also some BMGC club members who rigged and took a local flight.

BMGC's Chris Thornhill in his Ventus 2cxa ES(electric sustainer). 
Where did I put my Euromillions ticket?

The ubiquitous Expedition photo

Sunset at Talgarth with a glory on the right of the photograph

Tuesday

It was Flarm time again as Andy Smith's Vega also needed a firmware update.  Andy had no excuse for a lack of access to the glider, just he hadn't done it.  Andy's Flarm was the original Swiss Flarm.  These are getting long in the tooth and the memory is just big enough to accept the firmware update.   Initially it wouldn't take it, but after some advice from the BMGC CFI and multiple attempts finally saw it working.  Hurrah.

Somebody has the caught the gliding bug in a serious way!

Gavin in Basic Instructor mode

I had three flights with trainee Christian who hadn't forgotten his training at Upavon back in last September.  Our first flight was in the K-21 rather that the Puchacz.  Yes, having made high key at 1,000 feet I was far too high on my approach and used full air brake and slideslipped down to the east runway.  A teaching point for self and for Christian.

Subsequent flights in Puchacz were fine and Christian made good progress to the extent that at the end of the day he was handed off to a Flight Instructor for the rest of the expedition.

Gavin and Christian wait for the Eurofox to tow them to some lift,
 any type would do in the light easterly airs.

Ready for another sortie

Getting ready to hook on to the tug

"Take up slack"

Putting on the pyjamas and getting the Puchacz ready for bed at the end of the day.

Gavin delivering an evening lecture on Aerotowing

Wednesday

Nic Berretta from Seahawk GC arrived with the Discus, K9.  Guess what?  It needed a Flarm firmware update.  This was quickly achieved.

The weather was a little different today.  Still light airs on the airfield but the wind speed at ridge level was forecast to be 20 knots from the North East.  The ridges at Hay Bluff should be working if one was brave enough to take an aerotow up there.  Getting back would be a challenge as the wind speed was marginal to achieve that.  There were no takers but later there was a report of wave over one of the ridges.  Cue a mass launch to exploit it.

I took an aerotow to nearly 2,900 ft and the tug pilot dropped me in wave. The band of lift was quite narrow perhaps 1km deep and 2 km long. At either end one entered sink. The lift could be as much as 3 knots average but mostly half of that.  After gaining plenty of height I decided to push forward and look at the catspaw ridge on the other side of the Black Mountains. Yes, there was sink but I also found lift. I returned to the main wave area and topped up on height.

I then headed to the Sugar Loaf mountain (near Pen-y-Fal) to have a look and then on to Abergavenny. I returned to the lift and then headed to Hay Bluff and simulated a return to Talgarth from the ridge, but at height. It was very turbulent in the valley. I headed to Mynydd Troed which is a distinctive ridge to the south of the airfield. I made a couple of beats on the ridge before finding a 2.5 knot average thermal that allowed to me to climb well clear of the ridge. I then inspected the out landing spot on the common.  The air was rough and it was a struggle to get down to high key; circling at 70 knots, wheel down and full airbrakes. Consequently I chose 60 knots as my approach speed for landing on the East runway.

So I had experienced wave, ridge and thermal lift in a single 2 hr 52 min flight. Maximum height 6,700 ft AGL.  There was another achievement today.  Elaine had persevered in the wave and achieved her five hour duration flight, a requirement for a Silver or Gold badge.  Congratulations Elaine.

 

My Wednesday jaunt in the Black Mountains (flight trace was taken from Flightbook)

An early wave climb at 2.5 knots average

The lift was still strong whilst approaching 6,000 feet

The views were fantastic, albeit hazy

Looking towards the northern ridges

If I pushed forward would I find another wave bar?

After exploring, finding the lift again

Nic Beretta's view from the Discus, K-9, of my Standard Cirrus at over 6,000 feet

Pushing South West to Abergavenny

Enjoying looking down on the scenery. It was remarkably warm in the sunshine at height.

The ridges of the Black Mountains

Back in the lift again and climbing strongly. What a great flight it was turning out to be.

Looking down on the Sugar Loaf Mountain on the way to Abergavenny

Back at the Brecon Bunkhouse, after dinner, Flight Instructor Coach Jamie Sage shows Gavin how the Circuit Planning lecture should be presented.

Thursday

CNN after its night's slumber covered in heavy dew.

The day dawned blue and with light airs at the airfield.  A morning of lectures and videos delivered by the newly appointed OIC Ground Training.  Oh, that would be me then.  Approach and approach control, followed by a movie; "Windborn: A Journey into Flight" which is a documentary that follows Lucy Wills as she learns to fly a glider, culminating in a historic flight with her father and uncle over New Zealand's South Island.  This movie was followed by my Flarm lecture.

Meanwhile some of the instructors had been undergoing stall and spin refresher training. 

The syndicate preparing lunch got creative

In the afternoon there were some tantalising low cumulus towards the ridge.  Andy Smith took a launch and fond that the Dragon's Back ridge was working.  Not with ridge lift but with thermals.  Launch the Fleet!".  I launched at 1545 and took an aerotow to 1,800 feet and was dropped on to the ridge.  The thermals were very strong, narrow, and at times violent.  The Standard Cirrus is normally a quiet glider but in the turbulent thermals it was creaking and groaning like a Pegase 101A.  Careful consideration of minimum speed in the thermals was required to avoid stalling, especially important as the ground was very close on occasions.  By working at it one could achieve 3,000 ft AGL and start to explore the area and find other spots of lift.  The Dragon's Back was a very busy place with at least six gliders trying to climb at anyone time which meant that one's head had to be on a swivel looking out for other gliders.

Andy Smith's view over the Dragon's Back, at height

Andy thermalling over the bowl

Saar takes a flight in the Eurofox

It was still hazy with the light easterly winds that hadn't cleared away the inversion

The Discus, K-9, looks for lift on the Dragon's Back

Keep the speed up!

I went south to Mynydd Troed to find that on the north side of the ridge there was some ridge lift and on the other side which was into the sun.  After trying some beats and climbing in thermals I headed south to Llangorse Lake before heading home after 1 hour and 45 minutes.  A great flight late in the the day.

Thursday night was steak night!

Friday

Friday dawned as forecast.  Blue again and light airs at the site.  After the morning brief we had a brief and decided to pack up and go home.  No one wanted further flights, which would have been sleigh rides after release from the aerotow.  The thermals wouldn't kick of until 1530; a downside of switching to British summer time!  We derigged the K-21 and Puchacz.  All fairly straightforward.  Not so the Vega.  It took ages to fit it in its not very well appointed trailer.  Top tip, don't buy a Vega.  The only thing going for it was Slingsby was ahead of his time with a retractable tail wheel as well as the main wheel.  A design feature all top end gliders in the 21st century have now adopted.

Afore you go!  CFI Chris signs Saar's training card.

I arrived back at DGS and parked my trailer alongside the fence ready to move it into its slot on Saturday morning.  It was still blue and sunny.  It had been a great week.  Thanks to Chris Bryning for leading the RNGSA expedition which gave me an opportunity to instruct, fly my Standard Cirrus in different conditions, and a chance to prepare and deliver my gliding lectures as part of my Assistant Category Instructor training.

Gavin Short