11/12/13
They say "a picture is worth a thousand words" - I think Colin's last lyrical entry puts the lie to that cliché. The few of us who made the effort to make our way through the fog to the clear air at Rivar Hill enjoyed flights to remember - with one exception. Rowland needed the services of an instructor but the canopy's of both the K13 and Puchacz misted up (despite all our efforts). For reasons best known to itself the K8 remained clear. Three of us had launches to 2,200' taking 11 minutes to return to earth but Steve B managed to squeeze that extra minute to take "longest flight of the day" honours.
I snapped away with the camera on my phone. The pictures don't do justice to Colin's words but I offer them anyway.
I snapped away with the camera on my phone. The pictures don't do justice to Colin's words but I offer them anyway.
 |
| Looking East |
 |
| Looking North |
A camera can't see this
Last launch of the day - 2200 ft and
two minutes after sunset, soft scarlet strands merging layer cloud
into threads of valley mist to the south. To the north under magenta
sky a carpet of fog shrouds the entire Thames Valley. Three score
miles away to the east the lights of evening commerce queue
into Heathrow, the lead disappearing softly down into the fog. Bright cherry clad fingers of Membury and Kingsclere soaring up
through the mist; the lights of hamlets twinkling in the gloaming.
Below fellow aviators, momentarily my
humble support, track slowly up the airfield behind headlamps drawing
the means of my brief release from earthbound existence to its well
earned place of rest.
I sit in crystal air with views beyond
the Evening Star. I am the aviator, I am the navigator, I have no
purpose or existence beyond my craft.
Everything is – just – perfect.
Sunday 8th December
As yesterday's forecast suggested today was indeed a good flying day.
Loads of good high launches, plenty of extended soaring and for me the chance to indulge in my favourite sport of bung pulling................yes you guessed it more Instructor checks!
This time it was Pete Ellison's time to have his annual BI checks done by me so after much spinning, stalling and Bloggs generally having much fun his logbook was duly endorsed with a signature :-)
Good to see Jim McCormick back at the club.
Also nice also to see that despite a layoff for a year or so Jim hadn't forgotten how to launch and land a K13 as for the first two flights he flew the whole flight without me needing to take over......well done Jim, good to see you back!
Yes I know the picture shows him in the Puchacz but this was just before his third flight!
Phil
Loads of good high launches, plenty of extended soaring and for me the chance to indulge in my favourite sport of bung pulling................yes you guessed it more Instructor checks!
This time it was Pete Ellison's time to have his annual BI checks done by me so after much spinning, stalling and Bloggs generally having much fun his logbook was duly endorsed with a signature :-)
Good to see Jim McCormick back at the club.
Also nice also to see that despite a layoff for a year or so Jim hadn't forgotten how to launch and land a K13 as for the first two flights he flew the whole flight without me needing to take over......well done Jim, good to see you back!
Yes I know the picture shows him in the Puchacz but this was just before his third flight!
Phil
Wednesday Sunset
We were treated to a splendid sunset. Camera on my 'phone hardly does it justice but here goes anyway.
As to what could have been achieved in the LS3 - I'd say a much shorter flight. The lightness of the K8, getting more from a winch launch than anything else and it's ability to fly at speeds that other gliders would fall out of the sky meant I was able to milk every scrap of reduced sink on the ridge
As to what could have been achieved in the LS3 - I'd say a much shorter flight. The lightness of the K8, getting more from a winch launch than anything else and it's ability to fly at speeds that other gliders would fall out of the sky meant I was able to milk every scrap of reduced sink on the ridge
Sunday 1st December
Following the rather splendid previous day (34 launches, 10:47 time flown and 28 people taking to the air), Sunday was much more modest in numbers and wind strength. Wind still from the north but not enough to provide any lift on the ridge. However, 11 of us clocked up almost as many launches as the previous day (just 2 shy) but just under half the time. Mind, 3 strop failures on successive launches didn't help the average flight time. The winch driver reported a noticeable surge at around 1,000' on the launches around this time, for some the weak link held but for others it didn't. About midday Nigel B set the bar with a 2,100' launch in the K8 to clock up 16 minutes. Couple of hours later (having completed a few check flights and no one looking for my services) I jumped in the K8 but only 1,900' launch. On return I was surprised to be informed I'd upset Nigel by pipping his longest flight of the day by 1 minute. He made a couple more attempts to regain poll position but was greeted on landing by a (not very tuneful rendition) of "Only 16, only, and I loved her so-oh-oh" by Chris K.
We were treated to an interesting sky that a coupe of members described as "just like the White Cliffs of Dover, but suspended in the air". Out of our reach to go and explore unfortunately.
We were treated to an interesting sky that a coupe of members described as "just like the White Cliffs of Dover, but suspended in the air". Out of our reach to go and explore unfortunately.
Photo Comp
Best gliding photo that you have personally taken wins a prize at the annual dinner.
To enter post your photo on blog, tweet with #shalglide, post on facebook or email it to me.
Photos will be shared publicly.
To enter post your photo on blog, tweet with #shalglide, post on facebook or email it to me.
Photos will be shared publicly.
 |
| one to start, from before digital cameras, (but not that long before) |
Wednesday 4th December
Wednesday morning saw fog on the
airfield and miasma in the club house as Andy, Alan B, Ken R & Bill plied
dope on wing fabric. Fortunately the weather cleared before we were
all comatose. The wind, forecast to be NW, obligingly shifted to the
North allowing even the Puchacz to be launched to 2000ft. The ridge
appeared to be giving 1kt of lift which meant that we were coming
down at 1kt (think about it). So good launches together with slowly
descending flights provided a welcome bonus for the staunch winter
circuit bashers. The notable exception was Stephen O who clung on for
just over the half hour in the Ka8. Had he rigged the LS3 – who
knows what joys may have transpired.
The North Wind did blow
- with
subtle changes in direction, strength and instability frustrating
some attempts at ridge soaring and rewarding others. Nonetheless the
result was 34 flights logged, around nine hours airtime and seven
extended ridge flights. Mrs Truelove graced us with a guest
appearance, scoring half an hour in the Ka8 in the gloaming while Liz
and Carol managed a minute over the hour in the Janus for the longest flight of
the day. Although Richard and I claim the moral victory in the LS3 with
an hour and a half between us – there being two of them and two of
us ;-)
digitisatification
Those of you with a good lookout will have noticed links on the right (no the other right) to, as we say in the vernacular, our digital presence.
We have a Facebook page which should repeat these posts so you can "like" us and a Twitter account so you can find out whats going on and what went on in less than 140 characters.
If this isnt your thing then I suggest www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS8dNzRhMgk
Or you can just ignor it and catch up with the gossip at the launch point.
Im sure we will actually tweet something soon.
Sunday 24th Nov, ridge flying(ish)
The north wind dith (not too hot on Shakespearian conjugation*) blow but not really enough.
that said average flight time was securely into double figures and it seemed that if the average number of full cats on board was greater than or equal to 1 then it was possible to stay airborne.
Well worth enduring the mist and drizzle, well at least for a while ;-)
*"did," most probably, not even going to try the pentameter
that said average flight time was securely into double figures and it seemed that if the average number of full cats on board was greater than or equal to 1 then it was possible to stay airborne.
Well worth enduring the mist and drizzle, well at least for a while ;-)
*"did," most probably, not even going to try the pentameter
Sunday 10th
Hooray - a flyable day. Not only flyable but thermals and ridge lift to be sampled and excellent vis. Chris K pulled airbrakes after half an hour to let others play. Trevor was the only person able to match Chris's time but several of us got managed to at least soar a little. Just over 5 hours flown off 29 launches.
Question: what happens when you put a heavy glider (such as a Janus) with two substantial pilots (such as...) on the end of a cable.
Answer: the cable gives up (well, only once. they did manage to get 3 launches)
Question: what happens when you put a heavy glider (such as a Janus) with two substantial pilots (such as...) on the end of a cable.
Answer: the cable gives up (well, only once. they did manage to get 3 launches)
Wednesday 13/11/13 - spooky!
Arrived on the airfield to find a
Cirrus in the process of being rigged and cables being towed out.
Rubbed my eyes and checked my diary – yes it's a Wednesday in mid
November. WOW!
There followed a fine day with a gentle
SW wind, promising little in the way of soaring, but that permitted
everyone to practice flying wide leisurely circuits. So I was pleased
to observe some very tidy flying. Chris K and Rob J vied to outsoar
one another in the Cirrus which resulted in a couple of gravity
defying half hour flights, while the rest of us flew circuits. Paul
Bryant distinguished himself by not only completing his Annual
Checks, but also converting to the Vega, only struggling slightly
with the principle that number of landings should not exceed the
number of launches.
The afternoon shift arrived on cue shortly
after midday which kept us launching until sunset when misting
stopped play. Hon. Treasurer left the airfield smiling as we
managed almost 30 launches in a fairly short day.
Saturday 9th November
What a great day's flying we didn't have today.
Paul Prentice didn't manage to fly the K8 for the longest, Steve Gaze didn't spend all day on the winch, Graham Tanner didn't manage to get the highest launch and I didn't get the chance to pull the bung on some unsuspecting P2.
Yep you guessed it we didn't fly :-(
The weather did start to look promising around 2pm but after DI'ing the winch and cables cloudbase descended rather quickly so we packed up and went our separate ways.
BUT.....
Graham did manage to pass his Bronze Theory Test with flying colours so well done to him!
And with the aid of Paul Prentice and Steve Gaze we installed the signs at either end of the bridle way.
Not a wasted day but would have preferred to have flown as well.
Phil
Paul Prentice didn't manage to fly the K8 for the longest, Steve Gaze didn't spend all day on the winch, Graham Tanner didn't manage to get the highest launch and I didn't get the chance to pull the bung on some unsuspecting P2.
Yep you guessed it we didn't fly :-(
The weather did start to look promising around 2pm but after DI'ing the winch and cables cloudbase descended rather quickly so we packed up and went our separate ways.
BUT.....
Graham did manage to pass his Bronze Theory Test with flying colours so well done to him!
And with the aid of Paul Prentice and Steve Gaze we installed the signs at either end of the bridle way.
Not a wasted day but would have preferred to have flown as well.
Phil
saturday 2nd
Having moved out of the worst October on record fingers were crossed for a flyable day. It didn't start off promising with low cloud base. Then the clouds blew through to reveal blue sky so out with the toys (well, toy - just one K13). Enough wind to result in a 2,000 weather check launch - a day for landing back at the launch point with a final kick to bring the glider in line ready for the next launch.
Unfortunately, the wind increased as forecast so we had to abandon flying after 4 launches.
Unfortunately, the wind increased as forecast so we had to abandon flying after 4 launches.
Sunday 3rd November
Well today Tony, Mark, Pablo, Graham, John and I flew RIV/KEE/NHL/SAL/RIV. We got back nicely in time for tea and cake and to greet Richard, Carol and Phil on our return to the airfield...
Wednesday 30th
October started off well with 5 flying days -3 of which were exceptional for the time of year. Then 2 weeks of no flying because of the rubbish weather. Today we finished off October in style.
We started flying about 10:30 and an hour later Alan B set the bar to beat with a 2,100' launch and 14 minutes. Another hour and Rob J pipped Alan's flight time by 1 minute Not to be out-done by his syndicate partner Chris K clocked up a 20 minute flight. which include climbing in a thermal from 1,000' to cloud base at 1,800'. Alan still held highest launch honours until I got my hands on the K8 and launched to 2,350'.
16 members enjoyed what the day had to offer.
We started flying about 10:30 and an hour later Alan B set the bar to beat with a 2,100' launch and 14 minutes. Another hour and Rob J pipped Alan's flight time by 1 minute Not to be out-done by his syndicate partner Chris K clocked up a 20 minute flight. which include climbing in a thermal from 1,000' to cloud base at 1,800'. Alan still held highest launch honours until I got my hands on the K8 and launched to 2,350'.
16 members enjoyed what the day had to offer.
Sutton Bank October 2013 part two
Just as the locals predicted Thursday was indeed a good ridge day at SB.
The day started off bright and mild but with not quite enough wind to make the ridge work the first flights by the locals were not that long.
Not to be put off Chris and I took the Janus for a flight and after thermalling down from our 2,000ft aerotow began working the ridge, after an hour we landed to give Carol and Rod a go.
As Carol and Rod were flying I noticed that the SB motor-glider was ridge soaring as well and was making good use of the lift.
It soon became clear that not only was the motor-glider ridge soaring but that also it was doing so with the engine switched off! After half an hour's ridge soaring they gave up and came into land probably due to the fact that with the engine turned off it was not costing anything and the treasurer had noticed!
After an hour or so Carol and Rod landed and after a brief delay for lunch Carol and I took it up for another hour, Chris taking his LS7 ridge soaring for almost an hour as well.
So out of the 7 days we were there we had one day of wave and one day of ridge/thermal clocking up about 4 hours airtime each but as usual the flying, banter and the friendly locals made it all worth while.......roll on next year :-)
Phil
The day started off bright and mild but with not quite enough wind to make the ridge work the first flights by the locals were not that long.
Not to be put off Chris and I took the Janus for a flight and after thermalling down from our 2,000ft aerotow began working the ridge, after an hour we landed to give Carol and Rod a go.
As Carol and Rod were flying I noticed that the SB motor-glider was ridge soaring as well and was making good use of the lift.
It soon became clear that not only was the motor-glider ridge soaring but that also it was doing so with the engine switched off! After half an hour's ridge soaring they gave up and came into land probably due to the fact that with the engine turned off it was not costing anything and the treasurer had noticed!
After an hour or so Carol and Rod landed and after a brief delay for lunch Carol and I took it up for another hour, Chris taking his LS7 ridge soaring for almost an hour as well.
So out of the 7 days we were there we had one day of wave and one day of ridge/thermal clocking up about 4 hours airtime each but as usual the flying, banter and the friendly locals made it all worth while.......roll on next year :-)
Phil
Sutton Bank October 2013
Chris managed 2 hrs 1 minute in the LS7 whilst Carol and I had two flights, one which had to be cut short to 29 minutes as the wave slot closed beneath us forcing us to descend quickly through a small hole.
Our second flight lasted over 1 1/2 hrs and enabled me to take some photos and to shoot some video.
I was only there only to act as photographer honest officer!
Tomorrow looks like being a great ridge day with the possibility of wave........more tomorrow.
Phil
Saturday 12th October 2013
Here's what you missed. The sky cleared by 10am as predicted. Sadly too few turned up to get out more than the K13 until after 3pm, when the Vega came for a couple of circuits. As RASP had predicted, the cloud base under good looking streets took us to almost 3000 feet.
Thursday 10th October
With a ridge day forecast we got going a little earlier than normal for midweek flying. The forecast held good for a strong northerly blow, improving as the day progressed. The check flight proved the ridge to be working stupendously well with sustained lift at 1700ft all the way from the Gibbet to the western ridge. Briefings were duly issued for ridge rules, high final turns and blistering approaches and the fun began.
(Pictures of empty launch points have been refreshingly frequent of late, so I will spare your bandwidth. Suffice it to say that Ka13, Puchacz, Vega, Swales, ASW15, Cirrus and Duo Discuss were at one point simultaneously absent.)
An encouraging number of ab-initios appeared on the scene so with three hours in the back seat I had the privilege of seeing the day unfold from the air. It started with a clear blue sky and some of the easiest ridge soaring I have ever experienced, but the unstable Arctic air soon filled the sky with ragged cu. We began to experience the predictable sink pockets and some strong thermals to 3000ft. Activity then spread away from the ridge and the better performance a/c were seen off in the distance, some staying airborne for close to three hours with me having to ration training flights to 30 minutes. By mid afternoon the vault had filled with alternate bands of convective spread-out interspersed with bands of bright sunlight - Wavy, where were you? This combination of ridge lift, convection and wave interaction prevailed for an hour or so, bringing ridge soaring to a halt for a while, but as the Sun lost its power the disruptive influences subsided. So those that stayed on to the bitter end were rewarded with some more extended ridge flights.
Note to self - 'bring more soup'
(Pictures of empty launch points have been refreshingly frequent of late, so I will spare your bandwidth. Suffice it to say that Ka13, Puchacz, Vega, Swales, ASW15, Cirrus and Duo Discuss were at one point simultaneously absent.)
An encouraging number of ab-initios appeared on the scene so with three hours in the back seat I had the privilege of seeing the day unfold from the air. It started with a clear blue sky and some of the easiest ridge soaring I have ever experienced, but the unstable Arctic air soon filled the sky with ragged cu. We began to experience the predictable sink pockets and some strong thermals to 3000ft. Activity then spread away from the ridge and the better performance a/c were seen off in the distance, some staying airborne for close to three hours with me having to ration training flights to 30 minutes. By mid afternoon the vault had filled with alternate bands of convective spread-out interspersed with bands of bright sunlight - Wavy, where were you? This combination of ridge lift, convection and wave interaction prevailed for an hour or so, bringing ridge soaring to a halt for a while, but as the Sun lost its power the disruptive influences subsided. So those that stayed on to the bitter end were rewarded with some more extended ridge flights.
Note to self - 'bring more soup'
Sunday 6th
After such a busy Saturday we only had about half the number of folks flying on Sunday and less than half the number of launches. However, what we lack in quantity we more than made up with soaring. The LS3 was rigged and each of the 3 syndicate partners had flights of over an hour. 3 other flights of 48 minutes and Climb rates on offer were generally modest and the cloud base limited but 3 knots on the averager could be found and climbs to 2,700'.
By 15:00 everyone had flown and nobody left to take advantage of the thermals still on offer. Colin and Stephen were left to wait for Richard to return before derigging.
A terrific day for the time of year enjoyed by so few.
 |
| Launch Point at midday - 4 gliders soaring |
 |
| After an exhausting flight time for a power nap |
Saturday 5th October
What a busy day!
First launch was 10:37 and the last was at 18:27 during which time we clocked up 51.....yes 51 launches!
Due to annual checks being conducted and lift not in attendance every flight was below 10 minutes that is apart from Bob who defied gravity to clock up an amazing 45 minutes in the K8.
With only two 2 seater's it took a while for Jim and I to get through the flying list but never the less everyone eventually got to fly.
With a 1/2 day course (which Pete Ellison kindly flew for me), 4 annual checks and a first solo everyone had a good time.
So....
Congratulations go to Steve Trenaman for having his first solo.....well done Steve!
Also to Mark Patterson, Chris Keating, Paul Prentice and Steve gaze for completing their annual checks and to Pablo for converting to the K8.
All in all a long but constructive day's flying.
Phil
First launch was 10:37 and the last was at 18:27 during which time we clocked up 51.....yes 51 launches!
Due to annual checks being conducted and lift not in attendance every flight was below 10 minutes that is apart from Bob who defied gravity to clock up an amazing 45 minutes in the K8.
With only two 2 seater's it took a while for Jim and I to get through the flying list but never the less everyone eventually got to fly.
With a 1/2 day course (which Pete Ellison kindly flew for me), 4 annual checks and a first solo everyone had a good time.
So....
Congratulations go to Steve Trenaman for having his first solo.....well done Steve!
Also to Mark Patterson, Chris Keating, Paul Prentice and Steve gaze for completing their annual checks and to Pablo for converting to the K8.
All in all a long but constructive day's flying.
Phil
Sunday 29th September
Similar to clouds seen today in a strong easterly breeze. (Pic courtesy of Cliff Mass
http://cliffmass.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/why-was-my-flight-so-bumpy.html)
Patches of lift interspersed by areas of severe sink suggested wave activity. Cloud base c1800 - tops 2500ish. Inset shows wind shear at Larkhill at about the same time. Apparently this is Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, rotary motion of air close to cloud tops caused by the interaction between different atmospheric streamlines (like wind causes waves on the sea). Interesting, but totally useless - longest flight 17 mins.
http://cliffmass.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/why-was-my-flight-so-bumpy.html)
Patches of lift interspersed by areas of severe sink suggested wave activity. Cloud base c1800 - tops 2500ish. Inset shows wind shear at Larkhill at about the same time. Apparently this is Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, rotary motion of air close to cloud tops caused by the interaction between different atmospheric streamlines (like wind causes waves on the sea). Interesting, but totally useless - longest flight 17 mins.
Weds 18th Sept - equinox weather
An early weather check into a solitary
blue hole resulted in confinement down to 800ft blowing sideways
at a hell of a lick. (We should get land yachts for days like this.)
So with no flying in immediate prospect we paused for lunch. Then,
from the south-east corner the eye was drawn to a bright glow and a
pall of smoke at the top of the field. Further investigation revealed
a manic figure tearing the guts out of the old launch control caravan
and feeding them into a pyre. This in turn ignited a cord of wood
hidden in the undergrowth and evicted the myriad little furry things
living therein. See what happens when you let a fireman loose with a
box of matches?
An hour later Paul Bryant (was)
volunteered to test cloud base in the Ka8. Success! Stephen Ottner
soared the Puchacz for a while and then rushed off to his dentist.
(Into the teeth of the wind?) By 15:00 we were climbing to >
3000ft whilst being blown sideways at 25 kts, making long glides to
nowhere in particular and having lots of crosswind landing practice.
But at this time of year we're
grateful for whatever we can get.
Saturday 14th - rain didn't stop play!
The day started off quite sunny but soon after we got the field set up and the toys were out it clouded over and threatened to rain :-(
After some discussion about how high (low) cloudbase was a quick lob to find out was in order and with no willing volunteer available I made John Scott sit in the front of JPC.
Most, including me, thought it to be about 600 ft so we were all surprised when it turned out to be 1100 ft! But this was to be short lived as by scraping the bottom of the cloud we made it leak which made us stop for a bit.
Our resident Met man assured us that by 2pm it would clear and as we had an afternoon of trial lessons booked we decamped to Rods camper for a chin wag.
Sure enough at the appointed time the drizzle stopped and soon many club gliders were being launched into a clearing and surprisingly thermic sky.
The people who had won flights from the Pewsey Carnival along with the group from Newbury had a very enjoyable afternoon flying which kept all three 2 seaters busy. With a northerly breeze launch heights were quite reasonable and extended flights were possible. I think by 6pm we had flown about 18 TL's and also got in a fair bit of club flying.
Thanks to Steve Ottner and Pete Ellison for helping me with the flying, Rod and Steve B for taking turns driving the winch and to everyone else who made the afternoon's flying possible.
Now who was it that managed to get the longest flight of the day with 27 minutes in the K8?..............no can't remember :-)
Phil
After some discussion about how high (low) cloudbase was a quick lob to find out was in order and with no willing volunteer available I made John Scott sit in the front of JPC.
Most, including me, thought it to be about 600 ft so we were all surprised when it turned out to be 1100 ft! But this was to be short lived as by scraping the bottom of the cloud we made it leak which made us stop for a bit.
Our resident Met man assured us that by 2pm it would clear and as we had an afternoon of trial lessons booked we decamped to Rods camper for a chin wag.
Sure enough at the appointed time the drizzle stopped and soon many club gliders were being launched into a clearing and surprisingly thermic sky.
The people who had won flights from the Pewsey Carnival along with the group from Newbury had a very enjoyable afternoon flying which kept all three 2 seaters busy. With a northerly breeze launch heights were quite reasonable and extended flights were possible. I think by 6pm we had flown about 18 TL's and also got in a fair bit of club flying.
Thanks to Steve Ottner and Pete Ellison for helping me with the flying, Rod and Steve B for taking turns driving the winch and to everyone else who made the afternoon's flying possible.
Now who was it that managed to get the longest flight of the day with 27 minutes in the K8?..............no can't remember :-)
Phil
Wednesday 11th Sept - behind the scenes
Having half unpacked the hangar, observed the gathering orographic
clag and decided that despite all the enthusiasm the weather wasn't
going to play ball, we reluctantly put the toys away. Undeterred, Ken
Hansell turned his hand to fixing a starting problem on the new Trooper.
It took a mere ten minutes to change the battery and only another half
an hour dismantling the bodywork to retrieve a lost socket.
Meanwhile a small group had gathered around half a ton of assorted metal artefacts in the hangar. Following much heaving, head scratching and moments of pure enlightenment and having deciding it could never be made to fly, there finally emerged a gantry crane.
Break for lunch.
Someone muses 'something's wrong, Colin normally has some jobs for us'. Reflective pause... Steve Barber mutters something about taking the kitchen equipment out of the bus. Next thing we know cookers, microwave ovens, toasters and stainless steel units are moving in all directions. Meanwhile Paul Bryant demonstrates his macramé skills morphing a plastic dustbin and a 25 litre tub into a hoist cosy while Steve Barber waves a multimeter threateningly at the solar battery charger which seems to be all Amps and no Volts.
Not bad for a no-fly day. Rain stopped play at 15:00 hrs.
Meanwhile a small group had gathered around half a ton of assorted metal artefacts in the hangar. Following much heaving, head scratching and moments of pure enlightenment and having deciding it could never be made to fly, there finally emerged a gantry crane.
Break for lunch.
Someone muses 'something's wrong, Colin normally has some jobs for us'. Reflective pause... Steve Barber mutters something about taking the kitchen equipment out of the bus. Next thing we know cookers, microwave ovens, toasters and stainless steel units are moving in all directions. Meanwhile Paul Bryant demonstrates his macramé skills morphing a plastic dustbin and a 25 litre tub into a hoist cosy while Steve Barber waves a multimeter threateningly at the solar battery charger which seems to be all Amps and no Volts.
Not bad for a no-fly day. Rain stopped play at 15:00 hrs.
Super Sunday and the Great Fir Cup
Evening all,
what a nice day's flying we've had today. We started slightly later than ideal after a certain person who shall remain nameless drank from the Great Fir Cup and then had to call all hands for some time to convert the macrame back into launch cable. But hey, it can happen to anyone, even the CFI...(oops!) The time was not lost though as recent recruits (well, both since I went off on my summer overseas jaunting) Justin and Tony amongst others learnt their way around the half-mil map along with some basics on navigation. And indeed once we launched, Justin's soaring skills meant we were able to test his navigational learning with a trip partway to Membury...and...squeak..back again. Most of the showers missed us, all pilots present flew until they were flown out and then we popped them back in the hangar and pootled home. Result!
Saturday 7th September
When the day starts like this:
You might expect this:
But maybe not this:
Pseudo sea Breeze Front/Convergence over Newbury.
It was lonely up there - where wus you all?
It was lonely up there - where wus you all?
Wednesday 4th September
Another blue day which saw Alan Pettit rig half his vintage fleet, Bill Cook providing open cockpit flying for all and sundry in the T21 and Paul McGrory taking on the Vega (which won by a short head). By mid afternoon few aircraft remained on the ground apart from Trevor's Jantar which, as ever, was yet to be rigged. Steve Ottner managed to keep the LS3 airborne for a couple of hours - allegedly by stalking combine harvesters.
Spot the odd one out:
(The cat didn't pay for the launch.)
Spot the odd one out:
(The cat didn't pay for the launch.)
Saturday 31st August - and summer keeps rolling on
The launch point at 15:00 under a clear blue sky:
Airborne and out of sight - in alphabetical order:
ASW15 (albeit on the ground somewhere near Didcot), Cirrus, Janus, Ka8, 2 X Ka13s, LS3, Nimbus and Puchacz.
Returned from a late flight in EEF to find airfield closed and SMS saying crew in pub!
Airborne and out of sight - in alphabetical order:
ASW15 (albeit on the ground somewhere near Didcot), Cirrus, Janus, Ka8, 2 X Ka13s, LS3, Nimbus and Puchacz.
Returned from a late flight in EEF to find airfield closed and SMS saying crew in pub!
Bank Holiday again!
Claire treated her Libelle to an outing on Monday which prompted Richard to ask if it blinked when it was pulled from its trailer still sleeping, what did he mean by that???
Well if it was sleeping it soon woken up as shortly after this photo was taken Carol and I saw it brushing against the clouds at over 4,000ft!
And now for something completely different.........
Well if it was sleeping it soon woken up as shortly after this photo was taken Carol and I saw it brushing against the clouds at over 4,000ft!
And now for something completely different.........
Bank Holiday
What's this? A posting for bank holiday? The weather is never any good on bank holidays.
Well, never say never. The weather forecast was excellent - or rather the forecast was for excellent weather, the weather itself was a bit slow to do do as forecast.
Anyway, there were several gliders rigged and parked up by the launch point by about 1100, ready for the forecast thermals to pop off. We kept throwing two-seaters at the sky, but they all fell off straight away, so Trevor went for a snifter in the K8 and hung on for half-an-hour in weak wave - aha! there's the problem, the wave was spoiling the thermals. We kept throwing gliders at the sky and some of them took a while to fall down again, until eventually at 1415, three hours later than expected, Jim went off in the Nimbus and did not return. After that, the next ten all soared away (with the ignoble exception of one) and mostly went off on XCs to Devizes and Wantage, or Didcot. Trevor finally got round to rigging and took the last launch of the day at 1745 to show us it was all still working, landing at 1900 so we could go home.
Well, never say never. The weather forecast was excellent - or rather the forecast was for excellent weather, the weather itself was a bit slow to do do as forecast.
Anyway, there were several gliders rigged and parked up by the launch point by about 1100, ready for the forecast thermals to pop off. We kept throwing two-seaters at the sky, but they all fell off straight away, so Trevor went for a snifter in the K8 and hung on for half-an-hour in weak wave - aha! there's the problem, the wave was spoiling the thermals. We kept throwing gliders at the sky and some of them took a while to fall down again, until eventually at 1415, three hours later than expected, Jim went off in the Nimbus and did not return. After that, the next ten all soared away (with the ignoble exception of one) and mostly went off on XCs to Devizes and Wantage, or Didcot. Trevor finally got round to rigging and took the last launch of the day at 1745 to show us it was all still working, landing at 1900 so we could go home.
Saturday 24th August 2013
And the forecast for the day....Not brilliant.
I turned up, Bob turned up, Trevor turned up and Alan Petite turned out collect his glider and take it to Sutton Bank.
We set up, cancelled a trial lesson booked for the afternoon and waited for the trial lesson to turn up at 11am.
By 11:15am the cloud base looked lower and the clag looked thicker but the couple who'd booked the TL arrived and we pushed the young lady into the Puchacz,
2 cables, one screamer, which I assure you I heard all the way to 1600 feet, more surprising as Bob was flying!
Bob landed with pin point precision, stopping for me to take one step forward, grab the wing tip and hook them back on to take the remaining cable. The young lady screamed but I couldn't hear her after about 700 feet.
The flew around, landed and she exclaimed it was 'brilliant!!'
They left and so did we after packing everything away.
Thanks to Alan for staying to help get the TL off the ground.
I turned up, Bob turned up, Trevor turned up and Alan Petite turned out collect his glider and take it to Sutton Bank.
We set up, cancelled a trial lesson booked for the afternoon and waited for the trial lesson to turn up at 11am.
By 11:15am the cloud base looked lower and the clag looked thicker but the couple who'd booked the TL arrived and we pushed the young lady into the Puchacz,
2 cables, one screamer, which I assure you I heard all the way to 1600 feet, more surprising as Bob was flying!
Bob landed with pin point precision, stopping for me to take one step forward, grab the wing tip and hook them back on to take the remaining cable. The young lady screamed but I couldn't hear her after about 700 feet.
The flew around, landed and she exclaimed it was 'brilliant!!'
They left and so did we after packing everything away.
Thanks to Alan for staying to help get the TL off the ground.
Sunday 11th
Arrived at the airfield to a very unpromising sky but the Janus and the LS7 rigging. The sky changed and the LS3 and Jantar also rigged and all were rewarded with flights of over an hour. With Trevor's flight in the Jantar of over 4 hours. Cross-wind launches, lively landings, lots of drift and some big sink holes - but on the other hand some stonking lift (reports of 8 up) and working cloud streets. About half the flights got to soar.
This summer crop circles are reportedly few and far between (one of the main folks doing it has developed hay fever) but we have one just a couple of miles due west of the south end of the airfield. I wasn't able get a photo but if anyone does please add it to the blog.
This summer crop circles are reportedly few and far between (one of the main folks doing it has developed hay fever) but we have one just a couple of miles due west of the south end of the airfield. I wasn't able get a photo but if anyone does please add it to the blog.
Saturday 3rd
Well, the sky was looking good but nobody was staying up for much more than a circuit. In the first dozen launches only Ken H managed to defy gravity for more just over an hour. Chris B arrived at the field after closing his shop for the afternoon and rigged pronto. Chris didn't stop to ask why there was a club glider on the ground and a spare cable and nobody thought to tell him nobody was staying up. Just as well otherwise he might not have flown for three quarters of an hour. As it turned out the gliders launched shortly before him also went soaring and the ones launching in the following half an hour.
I went for a flight with Rob S in the Puchacz - once up near cloud no need to turn - just rattle along the front. Cloudbase proved interesting and variable. Around the airfield the cloudbase varied between 3,200 and 3,700 with "lumps" hanging down here and there..
I went for a flight with Rob S in the Puchacz - once up near cloud no need to turn - just rattle along the front. Cloudbase proved interesting and variable. Around the airfield the cloudbase varied between 3,200 and 3,700 with "lumps" hanging down here and there..
Saturday 27th
Fortunately there were enough members who hadn't seen the forecast (or had decided to ignore it). OK, not exactly inspiring flying - mainly circuits with the odd flight creeping into double digits. With one exception. Graham T was looking for instructor ballast as he hadn't flown the Puchacz for some time. I delayed having a cuppa as it would just be a 10 minute delay. Unfortunately, no one had told Graham that is wasn't soarable and I had to wait 40 minutes .
Wednesday 24th
Another day with a modest turnout of members and this time no one needing an instructor in the back seat. A little more action on the rigging front with the LS3-17, Jantar and Skylark making an appearance (how does Alan P decide which of his gliders to rig?). Stiff southerly and cloud base remaining stubbornly at 3,000 all day didn't make for the most promising of days. About a 50% chance of getting away but there were half a dozen flights of over an hour. When Trevor G and Bill C need second launches to get away it's a sign it's not easy Longest flight honours to Trevor with 2:10 in the Jantar.
20th, 21st Quiet Weekend
On both days a modest turnout of members and only 3 members over the whole weekend needing the services of an instructor - less than the new who turned up for a Trial Lesson. Only one non-club glider rigged - Alan's magnificent Olly on the Sunday.
Longest flight honours went to Chris K on Saturday with 42 minutes (double then next longest flights). We fared better on Sunday with 3 flights beating Saturdays longest flight. One of those was Jim C discovering that the Olly does not quite have the same performance as his Nimbus - mind, it took him 50 minutes to figure this out. The longest flight came about because of Rob J's insistence of needing a target time to beat in the K8 - so I took the first K8 launch of the day and demonstrated what sheer bloody-mindedness can do scraping away from 800' and staying airborne for over an hour slowly climbing and drifting to the inversion limit at 2,000'. Rob managed a respectable (for the day) 51 minutes.
Longest flight honours went to Chris K on Saturday with 42 minutes (double then next longest flights). We fared better on Sunday with 3 flights beating Saturdays longest flight. One of those was Jim C discovering that the Olly does not quite have the same performance as his Nimbus - mind, it took him 50 minutes to figure this out. The longest flight came about because of Rob J's insistence of needing a target time to beat in the K8 - so I took the first K8 launch of the day and demonstrated what sheer bloody-mindedness can do scraping away from 800' and staying airborne for over an hour slowly climbing and drifting to the inversion limit at 2,000'. Rob managed a respectable (for the day) 51 minutes.
Wednesday 17th
Another hot day with just circuit bashing on offer until 14:00. There were a couple of exceptions to this, myself flying a friend of Peter M for 30 minutes and Ken H with a gravity defying 58 minutes. From 14:00 onwards most were soaring flights with Paul P leading the way in the club Vega with 1:15.
As Colin B had forecast it was a good day for silver height. With modest launch heights (hardly any wind) and cloud base of 5,600' (as reported by Ken H on his afternoon flight) silver height was oh so easy. Unfortunately, I don't anybody flying that day needed it.
As Colin B had forecast it was a good day for silver height. With modest launch heights (hardly any wind) and cloud base of 5,600' (as reported by Ken H on his afternoon flight) silver height was oh so easy. Unfortunately, I don't anybody flying that day needed it.
Hot and sweaty stuff (Sunday 14th)
As the morning progressed the Cu started to form overhead so three of Shalbourne's private gliders launched into a not very promising sky and tried to gain some height.
Pete in the Nimbus, Chris in the LS7 and Carol and I in the Janus set a task of RIV, BRU, BUB, BUL, RIV which, if completed, would be about 180k.
On the way to Bruton we passed Longleat, little were Carol and I to know that shortly we would be seeing it from a lot lower vantage point!
As we neared Bruton the sea air was making steady progress eastwards to meet us and was soon trying to spoil our flight. Eventually we had scraped enough height to push out round the 1st turnpoint and head back towards Burbage but not before we got VERY low over Longleat and the famous lions!
Here is a photo of Westbury, you may ask why there is not a close up photo of Longleat, the simple answer is that I was far too preoccupied with trying to climb away :-)
Eventually we managed to contact some good lift and were soon blasting along towards Burbage and on to Bullington Cross. Unfortunately it was one of those days when you needed to get high and stay high cos if you didn't it took an age to contact good lift again.
Here is Whitchurch, which those of you who know these things will happily point out Whitchurch is not really on track from Burbage to Bullington.
Yes you guessed it we pushed a little too hard and had to head off track to take a climb.....again!
If you squint you can make out Bullington Cross in the distance. We left a good climb to make the 5k run out to the turn point and back so we could rejoin the lift again.
From here we made sure we were over final glide and then made a fast run back to Rivar. It was not a fast task by any means but a very enjoyable one none the less.
Pete beat us by a whole half hour, mostly down to Carol and I sightseeing at Longleat, and Chris had to land back at Rivar without going to Bullington due to just squeaking back on a marginal glide. Still other 3.5 hrs for the logbook :-)
Phil
Hot Stuff (Saturday 13th)
A decidedly warm day with forecast temperature to 29C (didn't measure what actually occurred) with a gentle breeze straight down the stip. With that wind an idea day for a first solo. Handily we had an ideal candidate for that in the form of Darren McK. Congratulations Darren. Another "first" was Justin B flying solo at Rivar Hill with a couple of half hour flights. He was back from a course (with rubbish weather and no soaring) where he went solo on the last day.
It wasn't until after midday that thermals started to pop but after that most folks got a soaring flight. The duvet flyers were out in force at Coombe Gibbet with a couple of them breaking away from the hill in the morning. Pete S disappeared off in the Nimbus for a couple of hours and afterwards added a comment in the log "sweatiest".
Ken P and Bill C rigged their Duo Discus but then one flew the club K8 and the other the club Vega - it was speculated that they had worked out adding the glide ratio of both would exceed that of the Duo (but possibly a certain broken spring may have been more to do with the decision).
The real hero's of the day were Paul P and Steve B who did all the winching. Excellent launches all day thanks to their efforts and "Skybird" winch being back on-line. The efforts of our esteemed Chairman and his helpers were much appreciated in fixing the winch in record time. Paul P got a 1:23 flight in the Vega but Steve B never even left the ground :(
It wasn't until after midday that thermals started to pop but after that most folks got a soaring flight. The duvet flyers were out in force at Coombe Gibbet with a couple of them breaking away from the hill in the morning. Pete S disappeared off in the Nimbus for a couple of hours and afterwards added a comment in the log "sweatiest".
Ken P and Bill C rigged their Duo Discus but then one flew the club K8 and the other the club Vega - it was speculated that they had worked out adding the glide ratio of both would exceed that of the Duo (but possibly a certain broken spring may have been more to do with the decision).
The real hero's of the day were Paul P and Steve B who did all the winching. Excellent launches all day thanks to their efforts and "Skybird" winch being back on-line. The efforts of our esteemed Chairman and his helpers were much appreciated in fixing the winch in record time. Paul P got a 1:23 flight in the Vega but Steve B never even left the ground :(
Wednesday 10th
First thing there was a flurry of activity starting the repairs on the winch and rigging the Vega after its silver outing.
With a bit of a breeze pretty much on the nose good launches were on offer (I was getting 1,400' two up in the Puchacz and 2,000' in the K8). Despite that no one was sticking until Rob J launched around about 14:00 in HAX returning an hour later to let his syndicate partner play. I launched 3 minutes after Rob and stayed up (using my own thermal) getting to 2,700 - back within half an hour as I was flying with a TL. Later on the K8 was cluttering up the launch point so I felt obliged to move it. Once again launching just after HAX (this time with Chris K). Weak thermals and a stiff breeze meant the thermals had to be worked at, and the climb rate carefully monitored against the rate of drift - it takes a long time (and plenty of height) to get back to where you started in a K8 on such a day. The climb rate was just starting to improve and streets appear when it was time to return the K8. Those conditions didn't last long and nobody was able to take much advantage of them.
The toys were left out for some evening flying with Scouts. Stuart T took half an hour to find the hangar with the K8 and would have taken longer if he'd have known the scouts hadn't arrived. For the last 2 scout flights some weak lift appeared and the flights were 17 and 14 minutes - not bad for 20:00.
With a bit of a breeze pretty much on the nose good launches were on offer (I was getting 1,400' two up in the Puchacz and 2,000' in the K8). Despite that no one was sticking until Rob J launched around about 14:00 in HAX returning an hour later to let his syndicate partner play. I launched 3 minutes after Rob and stayed up (using my own thermal) getting to 2,700 - back within half an hour as I was flying with a TL. Later on the K8 was cluttering up the launch point so I felt obliged to move it. Once again launching just after HAX (this time with Chris K). Weak thermals and a stiff breeze meant the thermals had to be worked at, and the climb rate carefully monitored against the rate of drift - it takes a long time (and plenty of height) to get back to where you started in a K8 on such a day. The climb rate was just starting to improve and streets appear when it was time to return the K8. Those conditions didn't last long and nobody was able to take much advantage of them.
The toys were left out for some evening flying with Scouts. Stuart T took half an hour to find the hangar with the K8 and would have taken longer if he'd have known the scouts hadn't arrived. For the last 2 scout flights some weak lift appeared and the flights were 17 and 14 minutes - not bad for 20:00.
Sunday 7th
All I can say is thank goodness for Andy Murray and Peter E. Without Peter E we wouldn't have been able to fly everyone who needed the services of an instructor and without the big tennis match we might have been even busier. In the first couple of hours only the patient and determined (and maybe a little bit lucky) achieved more than a circuit. Having a hot ship (such as, say, a nicely polished LS7) didn't help.
Over the day about a third of the launches enjoyed a soaring flight with Rod H & Paul P taking longest flight honours in EUF of over 4 hours. Half a dozen folks enjoyed their first taste of gliding. Selvan converted to the K8 and Alan H got his silver distance in the club Vega with a trip to Bicester.
Many thanks to the few members who went above and beyond to get the toys out, kept us flying and put the toys away (oh, and fix the lights on the Vega trailer before heading off on an unexpected retrieve).
Over the day about a third of the launches enjoyed a soaring flight with Rod H & Paul P taking longest flight honours in EUF of over 4 hours. Half a dozen folks enjoyed their first taste of gliding. Selvan converted to the K8 and Alan H got his silver distance in the club Vega with a trip to Bicester.
Many thanks to the few members who went above and beyond to get the toys out, kept us flying and put the toys away (oh, and fix the lights on the Vega trailer before heading off on an unexpected retrieve).
Ka8 instrument panel
Here's what ours looks like:
and here's the view out of the window:
and here's a barogram
maybe it was to do with these:
Pity I was all by myself
maybe it was to do with these:
The Early Bird?
Arriving fashionably late on the airfield on Wednesday I was pleasantly surprised to see that the midweek crew almost had the field set up and HAX trailer was parked at in the rigging area. 'Just as well you got started early' says I 'cos it'll all be over by one o' clock'. HAX was hastily rigged and by 11 o'clock the entire club fleet was on the line, by which time the sky looked like this:
By midday Selvam and I were looking down at a deserted launch point.
By half past twelve the sky was beginning to look like this:
at which point the five gliders that had been soaring for an hour or so all landed for lunch. By this time the afternoon shift had arrived, so Stephen and I spent the rest of the day inflicting some serious 'bung pulling'.
There may be a moral here somewhere....
By midday Selvam and I were looking down at a deserted launch point.
By half past twelve the sky was beginning to look like this:
at which point the five gliders that had been soaring for an hour or so all landed for lunch. By this time the afternoon shift had arrived, so Stephen and I spent the rest of the day inflicting some serious 'bung pulling'.
There may be a moral here somewhere....
Non flying.
This year hasn't exactly been great for gliding, especially when one is busy at work and only get the weekends at best to utilise for gliding.
Usually my glider repairs are undertaken on the winter months when it's cold and nasty. Recently it's been cold and nasty so over the last few weeks I decided to undertake some remedial repairs and improvements to the belly and wingtips of my LS7.
This is what happened:
First you take one of these:
In this particular case I was lucky to have an Andy Brind brain which I picked.
He told me what I should do with this:
The problem was the wing tips were a little tatty and the belly of the fuselage was cracked through the gel coat and had a few score marks where it had landed in the odd flinty field or 17 times....
Next thanks to Andy 'The Brain' I ended up with a lot of advice and one of these:
Next you take a pair of these:
With a lot of this:
As well as this:
Eventually you end up with this:
.jpg)
Which I found upsetting and rather worrying.
At this point you need a little luck and the help of the Spray Fairy, they're quite shy creatures, can you see the little fellow?
I managed to coax him in with a little help from:
Low and behold:
I trapping him with one of these:
And he weaved his magic:
And I ended up with:
Now all I have to do is polish it back and go fly!
Thanks Andy and Phil!
Usually my glider repairs are undertaken on the winter months when it's cold and nasty. Recently it's been cold and nasty so over the last few weeks I decided to undertake some remedial repairs and improvements to the belly and wingtips of my LS7.
This is what happened:
First you take one of these:
He told me what I should do with this:
Next thanks to Andy 'The Brain' I ended up with a lot of advice and one of these:
.jpg)
At this point you need a little luck and the help of the Spray Fairy, they're quite shy creatures, can you see the little fellow?
Now all I have to do is polish it back and go fly!
Thanks Andy and Phil!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)