Dartmoor Gliding News - Sunday 11th December 2022

Unfortunately Peter Howarth was laid low with a horrid cold and was unable to attend so thankfully Mike Jardine stepped forward and offered to be Duty Instructor for the day. The forecast was for -5 overnight and snow and ice. Steve Lesson tried to get to the club early but found the roads treacherous near him so returned home for a hearty breakfast. He helpfully posted on the DGS google group describing how bad the the conditions were in Plymouth. Malcolm posted how bad they were in the Newquay area. Obviously only the foolhardy would attempt to get to Brentor on a day like this. Step forward then, Mike Jardine, Richard Roberts, myself and Phil Hardwick who made the journey cautiously! Phil arriving with an inch of snow frozen to his van.

The airfield was frozen solid and there was little wind.

Soon the sun warmed everything up and we had a cup of tea whilst things thawed out. Steve Lesson had another attempt and arrived at the club pleased to see we were going to fly. The one day course candidate, David Moorley arrived and after finishing the tea we set up the field and started flying. Phil was duty BI and started David on his one day course. David seemed to enjoy his day and left with a smile on his face.

Phil presenting David with his certificate.

Our DGS twins!!

Mike and I wore our matching cold weather gear, which turned out to be too warm in the sunny conditions!

I did some back seat flying including an awkward height practice launch failure which I am pleased to say I got right.

Next up was Steve Lesson who had 3 practice launch failures, 2 awkward and one straight ahead, all of which he dealt with perfectly, well done Steve. Mike Jardine had a solo flight and Richard took Mike for a flight.

Clear conditions over the airfield.

Conditions were benign and flights short but the sun shone for most of the day, views were fabulous and we all went home smiling.

Mike’s view from the front seat for a change.

Vie from north of the airfield.

Steve Fletcher

Dartmoor Gliding News - Wednesday 7 December 2022

Tis the season to be jolly/snotty (Ed: Select as appropriate). Unfortunately the latter option applied to our Duty Instructor today... laid low with a cough, a cold, and a poor nights sleep so we had to do without his services (Ed: Peter get well soon).  That meant that only licensed pilots could fly either in their own aircraft or the club K-8.

There was another blue car at the club today (Ed: If you were to choose would you choose the one-day old Tesla 3 or the fifty-four year old MGC GT?  Does this mean that the Treasurer designate is going to get mains electricity laid on to the club so that he can get home?)

Regrettably, I had to cancel the two One Day Courses: Robert Howe, whom I fortunately managed to speak to before he left home in Newton Abbot. However, as I was trying to call Sue Syson she walked into the clubhouse. So I showed her around the site and had a chat about gliding, and what she could expect when she rebooked her One Day Course, before she headed home to Mill Hill, nr. Gulworthy.  Today's cancellation of visitors was a shame as I was looking forward to flying the two courses as the weather forecast was benign and the sun was due to come out too.  I sense that December's weather is going to be considerably different from November's weather.

The two Steves discuss the merits of their winter romper suits

Despite the lack of a Duty Instructor the majority stayed and set up the airfield.  While this was going on I progressed most of Guy Balmer's induction card.  Winch drivers Mike Bennett and John Smith launched a lucky quartet of pilots: Steve Fletcher, me, Malcolm W-J, and fresh from instructing that morning (Ed: That would be learner car drivers on the ground and not budding pilots) Steve Lewis.

 

A canny Malcolm chooses the exact moment to launch (Ed: Notice patches of blue appearing in the cloud cover)

The day's scores on the doors:

Steve F: 9 and 5 minutes.

Gavin: 5 and 9 minutes.

Malcolm: 16 and 56 minutes (For those on the ground he was tantalising visible throughout his flight).

Steve L: 7 and 6 minutes (Ed: Wasn't there a delay before his second flight while he collected his sun glasses from his car as the weather improved nicely?).

And Malcolm returns from his long flight in a gin-blue sky

The boundary fence was down allowing for an interesting background to the K-8's approach

And to spot land at the very edge of the field (Ed: Bravo)

In the glider trailer park Colin and Andy were busy with the Annual Inspection of his Libelle.  Apparently all was well but, as always there were a few follow up items for Andy to take care of.

 

Colin examines the Libelle's air brake mechanism in great detail

Andy in supporting mode for the Annual Inspection

Down in the hangar Dave Bouchier and Andrew Downjng were hard at work on some maintenance tasks.  When the launch point laptop developed a fault Andrew took it away and made preparations to re-host the launch point software (Ed: An update. The screen on the laptop is now fixed).  The tower operator, Guy Balmer, took the transition to paper in his stride and proved adept at the operation of both the ground and air band radios.

 

While DGS members were faced with a setback this morning they rallied round and managed to get four of us flying a total of eight flights, which was just shy of two hours of flying.  Thanks to all who willingly made this happen even if they weren't able to fly on this occasion.

 

Gavin Short

Dartmoor Gliding News-Saturday 3rd December 2022

This has been a busy week. 

In the middle of the week the club took delivery of a 2nd Supercat winch which arrived on the back of a lorry from Nympsfield. Although this winch has some mechanical issues it is hoped that these can be repaired so that we will have 2 of these winches to deliver the club's launching requirements. The "new" winch has a damaged gearbox but we have already tracked down tracked down the original manufacturer and have arranged for the gearbox and axel to be sent to them for repair.

The "new" winch looking good in the midweek sunshine

Taking axel and gearbox out

New winch now minus the drive machinery

Axel and gearbox ready to go to the original manufacturer

Saturday's forecast was for a NE wind and cold temperatures with no rain. The soundings and all the soaring forecasts were not showing any wave but you never know and the possibility lead to the club gliders being joined by a couple of private single seaters. There was quite a lot of cloud cover some of which definitely looked like wave. 

Is there wave?

So what did we find? Well the first launch reported very rough conditions. This was followed by a 16minute flight by Scratch with returning temporary member Mackenzie. Scratch reported 2 smooth patches of gentle lift in amongst the otherwise turbulent sky. At 11am I took the first flight with today's One Day Course candidate Isaac Daykin. The conditions were very turbulent which led to me standing Isaac down. 

By 2pm the conditions were reported as "calmer" so I took Isaac up for another flight and started his controls training. At this point I was called away to the clubhouse for a meeting about the new club website so Scratch continued with Isacc's training.

Isaac and Scratch

From about 2.30pm a little low wave set up with several pilots managing soaring flights the best of which was Andy Davey with 44 minutes in his Libelle. Nobody reported any great heights. The best I heard of was 1900ft above the airfield (2700ft above sea level). The fun continued until dark. 

FGR ready to go

Phil's DG300

Andy putting the Libelle on line before his day winning flight

While flying was going on, the hangar was busy as K13 CCY was rigged after it's recent CofA  / ARC work and, subject to a successful test flight will join the fleet again.

CCY laid out in the hangar ready for rigging

Wings on nearly ready to go

A cold but rewarding day

Steve

Dartmoor Gliding News - Wednesday 30 November 2022

Leaving home today in East Cornwall the weather looked promising.  It wasn't raining.  It was calm.  And there was a blue sky.  But when I approached the club, looking to the east from Brentor church, there was orographic cloud over the moors and the cloud base above the club appeared low.

I was distracted on my journey as I neared Tavistock by a multitude of Chelsea tractors; Range Rovers, Land Rovers, et al. trying to negotiate the lanes (Ed: And not very well either). The country lanes around Tavistock can be narrow and mildly challenging in parts but if they can be negotiated by a 50+ year-old sports car with rear leaf springs and a live axle then your fancy 4x4 is probably overkill for the job (Ed: And with that your rant is over thank you).

 

On arrival, it was good to see Steve Fletcher back at the club, albeit on light duties, but he can fly.  Andy's Libelle was out of its trailer. Was he going to rig?

Andy's Libelle potentially ready for rigging but in the end it was out for just airing

Turning to initial jobs a fresh set of rags was deposited on the hangar work bench (Ed: You have no need for fancy dress shirts to go with your business suits any more so they might as well be put to good use!). A stack of newspapers was deposited in the spray booth for Colin's use later in the day while spraying the final top coat on one of CCY's wing and tailplane.  The two Cambridge Aero variometers, acquired from Devon and Somerset Gliding Club at North Hill recently were carefully stored in the Tech Office.  Thanks are due to Mark Courtney, our former Chief Flying Instructor, for facilitating their procurement.

 

Meanwhile a few members herded some errant sheep off the field and others conducted Daily Inspections of the gliders.

Club gliders being inspected

In the club house the Duty Instructor was preparing for the morning brief and there was an animated discussion concerning the wind direction.  He was concerned that the wind was from the wrong direction according to the forecast.  Eventually he discovered he was looking at the 27th of November vice today's date of 30 November (Ed: Your secret is safe with me Mike!)

We had five trainees, or those requiring instruction, today; Robin Wilson, Matthew Stone, Mark Elliott, David Moult (complete with a new hat for the winter) and David Archer.  There were 12 of us in total at the brief.

The summary was wind from the South East backing to the East.  Cloud base would increase from 2'000 to 2,500ft QNH.  Any chance of wave? Probably not as the wind was forecast to be too light.

Morning briefing and tea.  (Ed: What do you mean you don't believe RASP!)

Mike's practical briefing on how to isolate the water supply to the clubhouse now the weather is turning colder

 The club gliders on parade ready for action

Orographic cloud clearing from the moors

First up were Peter and Hugh for an Introductory Flight Pilot check flight. I had swapped duties with Hugh to allow him to fly our two guests today.  Then Mike Jardine flew with Mark Elliott and David Archer putting them through their paces before clearing them to fly solo (Ed: And their landings were smooth as silk from what I saw). Mark had two flights which increased his total of K13 solo flights ready for his conversion to single-seater flying in the the K-8, which was planned for today.  Unfortunately, although the conditions became benign enough later for a conversion, canopy visibility cut short the flying day.  (Ed: Chin up. It will happen soon!)

 

 

 

 

Hugh and Peter prepare for a check flight before Hugh assumes his duties as today's duty Introductory Flight Pilot

Mike Bennett then flew the K-8 followed throughout the day by other solo pilots; Steve Fletcher, Peter Howarth, John Smith, Malcolm Wilton Jones, and me.  Steve took his flights either side of midday where there was a little window of thermal activity forecast and set the pace for "Man of the match" with flights of 11 and 13 minutes respectively.

Mike Bennett reviews the Daily Inspection book for FXB as part of his preparations to fly

Dave Archer and Mike Jardine ready for a check flight for Dave prior to him flying solo again (Ed: Note nifty kneeling pad to prevent delicate flowers getting wet knees when hooking on the cable!)

Dave cleared to go solo again readies himself for flight

 

And he returns to earth

 

To a great landing

 After clearing Mark and David for solo flight Mike Jardine continued instruction with Robin who was also treated to simulated cable break to land ahead.  Then David Moult and Matthew Stone progressed during their training flights.  Matthew progressed his circuit planning and general flying and put into practice the theory gained from the previous weeks lectures (Ed: Time spent in the club house on ground school lectures on a rainy day is never wasted).

 

 Mike Jardine above "some fluffy clouds" which was actually the forecast cloud base over the airfield

 

During the day David Archer clocked up three solo flights in the K-13 which will see him well on his way to convert to a single seater.  

Andy Davey considers not the impeding launch but the Virga hanging down from the cloud in front of him (Ed: Note shiny yellow drogue chute and smart blue rope)

Our two visitors today were Simon Ruffles and Debra Honeybun.  First up was Simon who arrived with his partner having travelled from Horrabridge.

Hugh and Simon Ruffles, with partner, before their flights

 

Strapped in and ready to go

A happy Simon receives his flight certificate from Hugh

Although there was some sun today the airfield was mostly under a band of grey cloud

Next to fly with Hugh was Debra Honeybun who was accompanied by husband John. They were holidaying in Lydford and so it was appropriate that she was flown by Hugh who lives in Lydford (Ed: We like symmetry at Dartmoor Gliding).

  

Debra Honeybun and Hugh pose for the obligatory pre-flight cockpit shot

 

And she is ready for take off while husband John stands back well out of the shot! 

 

Safely back down to earth after two enjoyable flights, Debra received her flight certificate from Hugh.

Mike Jardine (Ed: Apparently with time on his hands in the back seat) admires the orographic clouds over the moor and the village of Mary Tavy in the foreground

I took what was to be the penultimate launch of the day, in the K-8.  There were canopy misting problems as the air temperature was cooling rapidly.  There was condensation forming on the wings.  I took a launch to 1,300 feet and experienced some reduced sink over Mary Tavy and Blackdown before positioning myself in the High Key area on the south side of the airfield at 750 feet.  Then I found some workable lift at the confluence of the two valleys south of Mary Tavy (Ed: Probably not wave but orographic lift).  Beating back and forth, figures of eights, and finally just thermal turns allowed me to climb back up to 1,250 feet again.  I could see that the other gliders were being packed away (Ed: This was due to canopy misting problems) so I set myself a half hour limit and landed after 33 minutes aloft.  Peter met me and retrieved FXB to the hangar. I was on "Cloud Nine" after an unexpected and graceful soaring flight.  At times I saw 2 knots of lift and I reckoned that the orographic lift would have worked for at least another hour. Never say never at Dartmoor Gliding!

 

As the K-8 approached the hangar we saw Steve Fletcher leaving the club with his glider trailer  (Ed: I am sure that there is no truth in the rumour that Steve was upset at having been pipped, at the last moment, for the "Man of the match" flight!).

Steve ready for a launch failure drill at his own request after a lay off from gliding (Ed: Bravo! Asking an instructor for a check ride, as our American cousins call it, is a positive thing and not something to be shied away from, and of course strongly encouraged by the Chief Flying Instructor)

Differing layers of cloud over the moor.  Could it be wave? (Ed: The black cloud in the real cloud base over the airfield)

The K-8 was the last to go into the hangar and the final bits of equipment were stowed away.  Used glider cleaning cloths were deposited in the Fleet Manager's car ready for Mrs S to work her magic. Twenty-nine flights at the end of November, all trainees flown, and solo pilots in date for currency (Ed: Important as the wave season is potentially coming according to the Met Office's 10 day forecast).  All in all it was a good day's flying.

The Field Treasurer was quick on the ball today.  After the flight log had been uploaded from the club house the accounts for November were sent out.  I received mine when I got home and certainly well before I had made up my own pilot's log book with today's flight. Great work Robin.

Robin also sends me the summary of the month's flying to allow me to update the club glider log books.  November's statistics are revealing and demonstrate how wet and unfavourable the weather has been.  No private gliders flew.  The only gliders that flew were club gliders; K-13s FSD, DGR, and K-8 FXB .  The total flying for November was 14 Hours 21 minutes from 149 launches giving a flight average time of 5 .8 minutes.

Gavin Short

Dartmoor Gliding News - Wednesday 23 November 2022

Forecast:  Wind, heavy showers, low cloud base.

Actuality:  Wind, heavy showers, low cloud base.

 A pit inspection revealed more lake views than runway views.  The drainage sump at the cross track was full and the drains flowing into the road culvert outside the entrance gate were at full bore.  Dark skies abounded and then the heavens opened.  The One Day Course candidate, Robert Howe, phoned up promptly anticipating the cancellation of his course by the Duty Instructor, Mike Jardine.  Robert, we look forward to meeting you when you have rebooked on a better day.

Time to stoke up the wood burner and concentrate on indoor work in the club house and in the hangar.  Freshly laundered glider and canopy cloths were returned to the launch point trailer (Ed: Mrs S seems to be washing a lot of glider cleaning cloths recently).  In the club house tea was brewing. Robin was working on the accounts.  Our two new trainees Guy Balmer and Matthew Stone were raring to go.  So ground school lessons commenced. 

Mike re-briefed Circuit Planning; Peter briefed Winch Launching, and I briefed on glider batteries, glider cleaning, and glider care. Andy Davey and others chipped in as appropriate. The physical heft of a 12V 7Ah battery always surprises trainees and reinforces the need for them to be properly secured in a glider.  Guy and Matthew were shown the radio and glider battery charging station in the Tech Office and how to use it.  Phil Hardwick also progressed some projects as did John Smith who disappeared to the east end to fix some leaks in the control tower of the launch bus that we identified on Sunday (Ed: There were heavy showers then too).   Training progress cards were duly signed to reflect the morning's activity.

Then the Richard Roberts and Dad combo arrived. They also promptly disappeared to the east end and returned with his trailer ready to take the Discus up to Swindon for its annual inspection and maintenance.  Although they were off in a trice it didn't stop Richard passing out a few tasks in the clubhouse that were linked to his Grand Strategic plan (Ed: By the number of Richard's emails and texts throughout the day Dad must have been driving all the way there and back!).  Our Secretary, Steve Fletcher, was on site and busied himself with some projects including the mail.  The CAA has confirmed that K-13, G-CHXP is no longer registered to Dartmoor Gliding.

Gavin talks batteries and glider cleaning cloths (Ed: Well, what else do you expect from the Fleet Manager?) whilst Phil pours the tea

Gavin and Colin conferred on maintenance and documentation issues and which spare parts needed to be ordered from Germany  (Ed: The recent BGA audit has certainly has had an impact on the maintenance team).  Then Colin whipped John Smith into the hangar (Ed: He is a hard task master) to start on some surgical hammering to remove the second aileron from GDK (Ed: These are going to be replaced by new, crisp, smooth acting hinges).

The Whirling Dervishes of the maintenance team remove the aileron from the second wing of K-8, GDK, in a jiffy (Ed: Oi! Mind the clean glider cloths in the black trunk while your are waving that aileron about).

And now to the anonymous aviation blooper (Ed: In Aviation bloopers and mistakes are always anonymous to protect the innocent, as well as the guilty).  One of today's trainees asked where he could buy a copy of the BGA's Student Pilot Manual.  One of the instructors pointed to the "New Joiners pack" that was poking out of the trainee's ruck sac and the brand new copy of the Student Pilot Manual within.  (Ed: I am very glad that our secretary had left the site by then.  It was a result of his intensive efforts that produced the new joiners packs.  It would have been disheartening to see a grown man cry.)

All good stuff in this useful book (Ed: For posterity the club house copy contains Martin Cropper's proof reading marks and comments). All one has to do is read it!

After lunch members started to slip away to either more DGS work off site, or just with the satisfaction that they had played their part in winter maintenance, in its many forms, which keeps Dartmoor Gliding operating  (Ed: Only the most observant would have noticed the lack of low voltage alarms emanating from the solar set in the clubhouse that indicated that the batteries and their configuration had been updated earlier in the week which should make the system more resilient during the short, dark winter days. Also similar work had been conducted in the launch bus. Thanks Scratch).

For those who just can't wait there are only 12 flying days until Christmas Day!

In conclusion, we might not have flown today but lots of winter projects, glider maintenance, and ground school training were all progressed.  Thanks to all.

Gavin Short