Today could be described as "compact and bijou". Fewer Wavers than normal, no trainees, and just one visitor due to the conditions: a southwesterly airflow, showers, sometimes heavy and improving soaring conditions as the day drew on. Intriguingly, Skysight forecast convergence hot spots all across our area but with no obvious cause. Very strange.
We reduced the visitors to one as the Duty Instructor was uncertain whether the conditions would support more than a single One Day Course. It was the right call as the forecast of regular, and at times heavy, showers materialised and slowed proceedings.
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| Forecast - rain showers with blue sky just out of reach but first, the field needed to be cleared |
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| Herding the "lawn mowers" off the field |
First up was Steve Fletcher with Duty Instructor Mike Jardine to keep himself current with a "Go around" launch failure.
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| Steve keeping current from the back seat in CCY on a subsequent training flight later in the day |
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| Rain on its way |
Back at the clubhouse and the hangar, "Operation Clean up" was underway before our BGA Quality assurance audit (gliders and airworthiness) on Friday, 13 June. Mike Bennett and DB made two trips to the scrapyard with metal, drums of old winch cable, and a plethora of old lead acid batteries. Their efforts netted the club £140. "Every little bit helps".
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| A very heavy downpour at the clubhouse stopped the loading of scrap into Colin's trailer for a while |
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| John Allan's view of the heavy shower at the launch point |
Colin and I addressed a number of issues on the Puchacz and K-13, FGR bringing them up to a higher standard. Colin managed to make a start on the annual inspection of K-8, FXB. The tailplane was removed from the trailer, and thoroughly cleaned, ready for a detailed inspection both visually externally and internally using an endoscope.
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| When it brightened up there was some lift about |
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| Just a normal day's flying - what rain? |
Meanwhile, I was wading through the glider paperwork, crossing the "i"s and dotting the "t"s, or is it meant to be the other way around? Unsurprisingly, the BGA auditor intends to look at our new GRP additions to the DGS fleet; the Puchacz and the Astir CS77. That didn't stop me giving our venerable Schleicher gliders some love. All the K-13s and K-8 GDK are now fitted with new glider pockets (front and rear in the K-13s). FXB will be next, and then the Puchacz and Astir CS77 will be addressed. Nice work with the sewing machine Scratch!
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| Can you spot the K-8 being "on the wire", while launched from the east end? |
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| Another rain shower marches to the launch point |
After the morning brief Scratch welcomed Rhys Greening, our One Day Course candidate and introduced him to the day. Rhys had flown in light aircraft occasionally before. Having travelled from Wellington today, he was determined to enjoy the experience. Scratch took him aloft for an introductory flight and then to demonstrate the use of the primary controls. Then Rhys was handed over to Mike to take his instruction further. The highlight was an extended soaring flight in the improving afternoon conditions.
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One Day Course candidate Rhys Greening ready
for his introduction to gliding with Basic Instructor Scratch |
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| Rhys was then handed over to Mike to progress further. |
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| A happy Rhys receives his certificate from his instructors |
Very lightly loaded after he finished Rhys' One Day Course Mike took CCY aloft, solo for the flight of the day of 34 minutes, managing 1,850 feet AGL at best, limited by the cloudbase.
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| CCY flies well without the dead weight of an instructor in the back! |
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| Interesting skies with indications of convergences and cloud streets continued all afternoon |
The Wavers made good use of the K-8, GDK; John (thee times), John Smith, Peter and I. When I landed, Alasdair was ready to take the last flight of the day and asked me some advice on where to go for lift. "Head up into wind and look out for the sunny bits, that's where you will find lift". And hey presto it worked and gave him a delightful flight of 32 minutes, but he didn't pip Mike. However, he found some good lift and climbed to 4,000 feet AMSL for the "highest flight of the day". Bravo Alasdair. By the time he landed almost all the kit had been put away. I was pleased to see that the Astir CS77 received a good clean and dry off before going back into the hangar. We might have packed up too early as the sky was still working.
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| Hangar doors closed. Cue a brilliant soaring sky. That's the nature of gliding! |
Last week’s ground works have come to a close. On Monday, the final finishing touches to the entrance road were completed.
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| DGS entrance. The photo was taken before the final finishing touches were made on Monday. |
Further ground work on Monday saw the berm that protects the glider rack from the wind improved. It also hides the trailers from visitors' sight, when looking from Michael du Rupe church.
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| After the earthworks works there is a massive berm, of which Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard would have been proud. |
Some of the good topsoil was used to fill the holes and dips at the west end launch point, which is most welcome.
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| The area north of the MT hangar has been cleared and levelled. An Improved drainage ditch is out of sight to the right to keep the MT hangar floor dry. |
Many thanks must go to groundworks contractor Richard Yelland for his great work and to Mike Bennett for taking the considerable time and effort to plan and instigate the work.
As ever, a big thank you to the winch drivers; Scratch, John Allan, John Smith, and Phil.
So a day that was "Compact and Bijou" and one where the Wednesday Wavers made the best of it.
Gavin Short
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