Wednesday's reality was "Hail, Caesar!"
I was seduced by Skysight's optimistic forecast of soaring in a brisk northeasterly so I packed my flying kit, batteries, and parachute in the expectation of some time in the air in my Standard Cirrus.
I should have listened to the voice of reason on the other side of the bed this morning. "Yr.no reckons that there will be 20 knots of wind, showers, and a wind chill of -1C at Brentor today. You will need your thermal vest". As ever it was a lesson in why one should listen to one's better half.
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| Early morning delivery of aggregrate 803 type 1 from Holcim Ltd for track repairs |
And so it was on arrival at the club, scrabbling to don my jacket and hat in a hailstorm while opening the gate. These hail showers continued relentlessly all day. Even the Duty Instructor got caught in a hail whiteout while inspecting the pitch. No flying for the Wavers today. It would be a day of jobs in the clubhouse and the hangar.
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| Delivery boxes unpacked in the clubhouse |
First order of the day, after tea of course, was the wood burner. The replacement baffle, clip, and four vermiculite fire bricks had arrived from Northern Ireland. Where else would you get spares for a wood burner made in Merville, Northern France?
With the old misshapen baffle and old firebricks removed adult Jenga commenced. Whichever way I tried I could not get the baffle in place, so the top had to come off. This led to a trip to Tavistock Stoves to get new fire rope for the wood burner top and the base of the glass door.
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| The top of the wood burner removed the firebricks could be inserted and then the baffle |
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| Peter carefully cleans the old fire rope from the underside of the wood burner top |
The secretary gave me a lift to Tavistock Stoves and back. Rhetorical question: Is a car with white leather seats the most appropriate vehicle for use at a gliding club on Dartmoor? It was a first for me; being asked to go and wash my hands before getting in Steve's car!
Despite the vicious hail showers there was other activity, in the clubhouse. Mike Bennett conducted a Site Manager handover to John Smith. The outgoing Treasurer (Mike Jardine) did some accounting training with the incoming Treasurer (David Osment). This included the timely processing of my receipt for word burner consumables bought that morning. Also, there were discussions on membership renewals with the membership secretary, Neal Oxley (Yes, there will be a test later on the composition of the new committee). I took the opportunity to talk Michael Malric-Smith through the mysterious world of glider airworthiness and the associated paperwork.
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| Yet more hail fell on the cars |
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| Neal and Mike sorting out membership renewals. The cry of "I can't find the Chairman's renewal form!" didn't overshadow the first "burn" of the wood burner, seen in the background. |
Some Wavers did brave the weather. Scratch and Mike Jardine managed to straighten the bend in the outer gate using stops and Škoda (Cue skip jokes anyone?). Dad, John Osment, got the fuselage of his Standard Cirrus out and fettled in between the hail showers. Strop assembly and making was happening in the hangar. The Chairman led visualisation sessions on how we could pack two Twin Astirs and K-13 in the hangar, along with an Astir CS77 and a K-8. K-13 tailplane sanding and K-8 floor plan work was underway in the glider workshop.
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A new hangar layout. Now imagine a second Twin Astir in there,
back to backand a few other gliders too. |
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In between the hail showers the sky looked promisingly thermic
albeit a little raggedy in the strong wind |
By mid afternoon the Wavers had started to end their way home satisfied that the most important project of the day had been successfully achieved. Their success was underlined by the shock at stepping out of the toasty clubhouse into the incessant hail showers and biting wind.
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| 6kw of heat. Toasty. |
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| Very homely |
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to Mary Wells of Saltash for her kind donation of the Franco-Belge Monaco wood burner to Dartmoor Gliding Society. The Wednesday Wavers were pleased to bring it back to life with some tender loving care and servicing. I think the results speak for themselves.
That was Wednesday: "Hail, Caesar!"
Gavin Short
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