Dartmoor Gliding News - Wednesday 16 April 2025

What a day!  Andy's forecast had it nailed: “There should be some quite good thermal activity going to 4,500ft.  Skysight is suggesting that 180 to 240km cross country flight should be possible.” 

Despite the very heavy rain on Tuesday the overall condition of the runway was remarkably good.  Some puddles remained but the rest was firm.  More importantly from a Fleet Manager’s perspective the gliders didn’t get muddy.

I arrived late on parade as I had to drop my son at the Coach Station in Plymouth to go to London to see his favourite band – The Warning (Yes, I had to look them up. A three-piece Mexican all-female rock band from Monterrey).

The Warning (I have no idea why my son has gone to see them)

The club gliders were already out and on the way to the launch point at the east end.  The privateers were rigging a Libelle, a Mini-Nimbus, an Open Cirrus, a DG 300, and the mighty Kestrel 19.  Later in the morning Malcolm got the Twin Astir out of its T-hangar.

A busy launch point at the start of the day

Duty Instructor Mike started with the K-13 to fly Zack for a series of three training flights.  On the last one they soared for 21 minutes.  Richard was today’s Duty Basic Instructor and took One Day Course candidate Jonathan Martin for an extended introductory flight.  Jonathan works in the Dockyard in the nuclear complex.  He really fancied trying gliding, hence the course, but suspected that his work renovating his house might prevent him from taking up our sport for a while.

Zack finding early thermals

A wall of cloud over Tavistock

A bird's eye view of the east end launch point as the southwesterly
 drift Mike and Zack towards Mary Tavy

Mike's view of Tavistock while Zack was doing the soaring

In the distance to the south the Hamoze with the River Tavy joining it from the left and the River Tamar from the right

Based on what was happening with the conditions Mike’s plan of the day changed and he and Richard swapped aircraft.

Meanwhile privateers Andy, John Allan, Steve Fletcher, Peter, and Phil launched and “got away”.  Well Phil did have to take a second launch, but they all enjoyed over two hours and some over four hours of flying.

Peter's better view of the Tamar valley and Plymouth Sound

The scenery looks further away when you look down a Kestrel's wings

Mixed cloud bases around Princetown

John Allan's view of Meldon Reservoir from the north

Bodmin Moor, and it's reservoirs.

Fowey estuary, and St.Austell in the distance

Richard took our second one Day Course Candidate aloft in the K-13.  Interestingly Harvey Hunt has worked in the cafe at Lasham Gliding Club in Hampshire, which is the largest gliding club in the world, but didn’t get a chance to fly.  Now based at St.Agnes, in Cornwall and working as a barman he was determined to rectify the situation.  The One Day Course was to be a final check.  More of that later.

Steve Fletcher's view of Kit Hill. The word 'Kit' comes from the old English word for Kite, a general reference to bird's of prey,  Buzzards and Sparrowhawks can be seen on the hill.

One Day Course candidate Jonathan Martin completes his course

As to Mike’s plan.  Neal had a couple of circuits to get his hand in flying the Puchacz and then on the third flight it was time to climb to a decent height and be put through his paces with some spin avoidance and recovery training.  Neal didn’t lose his lunch but I think its fair to say that the lesson on avoiding spins fully sunk home so he doesn't have to spin again.

Neal on his way to 3,800 AGL feet before some spin recovery training in the Puchacz

Neal, take solace.  During my Basic Instructor spin checks I made the CFI at North Hill, Mark Courtney feel queasy and ask me to stop for a bit, so I must have been doing it right!

Meanwhile Scratch made a couple of circuits in the club Astir CS77 before enjoying a soaring flight of 1 hour and 17 minutes.  Jamie took a solo flight for a circuit in the K-13 before Richard continued with the One Day Course candidates demonstrating that the K-13 soars very well too.  Who needs a GRP glider when wood is just as good?

Alasdair took an eight-minute flight, and then a 10-minute flight, in the K-8 and landed each time in a frustrated state of mind at being unable to soar.  Mike was giving new junior member Misha a set of three training flights; basically circuits in the Puchacz.  Later Dad, Viktor, flew with Mike for 15 minutes in the K-13 to show Misha how its done.  Before Mike swapped aircraft John Smith flew with him for an extended soaring flight in the Puchacz.

After sacrificing flying over the last few weeks to work on the bus,  John took the opportunity for a flight in the Puchacz which he took to over 3,500 feet followed by a flight in the Astir CS77. 

Malcolm launched in his Twin Astir for a soaring flight that was a shade under two hours duration.  I then took the K-8 for a soaring flight.  As members know the audio circuit of the XK10 variometers fitted to the DGS club fleet are fairly vocal.  My climb from the vicinity of Brentor Church built in strength as the narrow thermals low down coalesced in to a larger thermal and I could ease the angle of bank.  At 6-8 knots up the XK10 was singing its song and I took 7 minutes from launch to reach 3,000 ft AGL and a further two minutes to get to 4,000 ft.  When the variometer peaks at 10 knots its song goes absolutely ballistic and the glider took me up to cloudbase at 4,400 ft AGL.  I pushed forward into to wider bands of lift before heading to the south and what appeared, from the ground, to be a sea breeze front.  There was some sink before I arrived at the front but the other side and on the edge some occasional mild lift to the south of Tavistock.  So not really a classic sea breeze front at all but it was nice enough to head in to the south westerly wind before deciding to head home, and let Alasdair have another go, after my 41 minutes in the air.  Readers of Saturday's blog will be pleased to know that there was to be no award of the wooden spoon for this flight!

"Santa, what I really, really want for Christmas, but early please, is the ability to soar! (Alastair Barclay aged 13 and a half)

Skysight had forecast that the conditions wold improve towards the end of the day.  Alasdair launched and enjoyed his longest solo flight yet, 1 hour 25 minutes.  He had “discovered” my secret.  Cue; one very happy Alasdair who has got his gliding Mojo back with a great flight.

Jamie took a third solo flight in the K-13 and soared for 56 minutes, just shy of the one hour required for his cross-country endorsement.  Next time wear a watch!

The day was getting good, and the last flights were Mike and Viktor again for 34 minutes and John Smith took the Astir CS77 up for 44 minutes. Then, after all had had their fill, it was time to pack the hangar and retire to the clubhouse and catch up with news.  Also to thank the winch drivers who kept going when others were working on the aircraft, or were making long duration flights in the local area or beyond.

So what of Harvey Hunt?  His One Day Course was indeed a proof of concept.  He loved it, as he suspected he might, and joined the club as our oldest Junior (20 yro) on the spot.  I think he has got the gliding bug bad.  It transpired that he had already arranged with his boss that he would never work on a Wednesday so that he could come and fly with the Wednesday Wavers.  That is dedication.

Harvey Hunt receives his certificate on completing his One Day Course from Instructor Richard who didn't have to work very hard at proving gliding was the sport for Harvey

Back at the hangar the component parts of CCY, after their inspection were stowed in the hangar.  We are getting close to putting the glider back online thanks to the hard work of the maintenance team.  As well as work on CCY a replacement tail wheel for the Astir CS77 and some aluminium box section for a modifications of its tow out bar were ordered.  Similarly John Smith’s and other’s efforts are moving the bus project, aka Zack’s Shack, along.

CCY, our third K-13 resplendent in its blue livery ready to reenter service soon

Colin checks the underside of CCY's Port wing

"Measure twice, cut once" work continues on converting the bus

The man of the Match went not to Andy and John Allan who both clocked up 4 hours 30 minutes apiece, but to Alasdair with his longest solo flight to date.  The very close runner up was Jamie who was perhaps, shall we say, chronologically challenged in attaining his one hour duration flight.

What a day!  36 launches.  Just short of 30 hours of flying by the Wednesday Wavers giving an average flight time of just under 50 minutes.  What a day!

Gavin Short