CGC on tour ‘up north’

After a kind offer from our friends at Welland Gliding Club to attend their flying week for the w/c 27 May I hooked the ASW24 trailer up to the BMW and headed north (yes it’s only Northamptonshire but from Dover anywhere is ‘up north’). The weather at that point had not been great but there was high pressure building and the hope of light northerly winds so the promise was there.

Have a guess – how was the weather ? completely dreadful of course. On the Monday the wind was directly across the strip and finally gusting probably to 30kts. Sensibly all the single seaters were left in their trailers and even the dual seaters did not fly. After that it got even worse and I went back to work for Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday – a fine flying week this was turning out to be. It’s grim ‘up north’.

Friday looked a little better so up the A1 again and the ASW24 was rigged thinking at some point I could have a go at the 50km task I needed for my Silver Badge after my failed attempt at the end of last year. This needs quite a bit of planning of course so I had a dozen things going through my head which brings us to exhibit A.

The subject of a 5 hour task

After rigging & taping up the glider the above item was found missing, which left me marooned just south of Corby with no way home, obviously it had dropped out of my pocket on to the grass whilst putting the thing together. So cue half a day of everyone in the club kindly helping us examine a thousand  square feet or so of airfield, I bet they were please they invited us now. Anyhow to cut to the chase, where was the darn thing, Dave applied some logic to the situation & it was found in the trailer of course – my how we laughed afterwards. Another day scrubbed, managed a couple of flights between episodes of the great key hunt but my heart wasn’t in it with the thought of a train journey home, finding a spare key & a train journey back.

Saturday started bright then looked pretty poor – told Paul I was about to cut the day short early afternoon, started to take kit out of the glider when a ray of sunshine came through. Right let’s give it a go. Mark had discussed a route first flying out to Eyebrook reservoir (known as a remote start) then straight down to Gransden Lodge gliding club to get a run of over 50km. A straight one hour flight off the winch getting my bearings and having a look over the start point & suddenly everything felt a lot better – not a good day to press on though as the lift was very bitty and then disappeared entirely. I heard even the competition pilots were struggling. Roll on Sunday.

Sunday is what is known as a good day

Woke to a RASP (Regional Atmospheric Soaring Prediction – no I didn’t know what one of those was until I started to look at going cross country, recently I have been living by the darn thing), that looked awesome. Giidng down to Gransden Lodge and back again looked possible even for me, which would get us both a 50k & a 100k award if it all came off. Woot Woot!

Before we get carried away though let’s just see if we can actually get round the first turn point – this dear reader is where our pundit starts to go slightly off the rails. The ‘sector’ required to go through is northwest of the dam, just over the water, just how hard can that be exactly.

As a guest be sure to never wear out your host’s turnpoints

After that it was rather more plain sailing, of course slow as a slow thing considering I was in a pointy plastic aircraft with lots of potential, but getting the task done was the aim, next time we’ll worry about speed.

There and back again

Back on the ground, job done (hopefully)

So now just need to see if the BGA are happy with the GPS trace, Phil our official observer loaded it up on his laptop afterwards and it looks as if I made the turnpoint at Eyebrook reservoir by a sliver of whisker but we will have to see.

So as it turns out it’s not grim up north, it’s actually really really good. There’s another chance in August with a second flying week so let’s see if we can get a group from Channel to come up. Enormous thanks to everyone at Welland who helped us through this (including a big thanks for not nailing us to the wind sock pole after the great car key fiasco). As the day was so thermic there were three 50ks completed with Mick Hunton (left) landing out at Welland from Cranwell & Andy Burton(right) from Welland in his K8 (that sounds like a really cool aircraft, I wonder where can I find one of those).

Note to Editor: photoshop out that sky behind those dodgy looking blokes it makes it look too easy.

Steve Chapman

SOME GREAt PHOTOGRAPHS

One of our guests last weekend sent the above photo’s which are superb.

Colin

 

SATURDAY 18TH MAY

So the forecast has not been great this week but we decided to give it a go. Greeted with brighter than expected weather, overcast but there were certainly dark bits of cloud possibly worth exploring, so Steve rigged the ASW 24 and Bob White rigged the KVGC Oly. I took long term member Terry for a K13 flight and we climbed a couple of hundred feet under a bit of dark looking stuff. Steve had a less successful first flight in the ASW but his second was more successful. A group of trial lessons (picture attached) arrived to keep Paul busy and the day was turning out rather well. However, early afternoon, the air suddenly turned cool, Steve put the ASW away and I admit I rather expected a dull ending to the day. Only the pasties kept us cheerful. Then suddenly the sky cleared and the sun came out and within half an hour cumulus everywhere and all pilots scrambling to their machines to take advantage. Gordon and I put in six useful flights in the K13 to get him nearer to re soloing (former power pilot), a day I rather look forward to. So thanks to all who turned up and put some effort in, it is going to be a tricky summer and the club needs people to step up to the mark in the coming months to fill vacant roles.

LATE APRIL SATURDAY

Low cloud start to the day but sky looked promising. And so it came to pass. A couple of early flights with Maurice S and I thought the time had come for his second solo. Off he went, a lovely launch, a lovely approach and his best ever landing. Later he did some soaring achieving a Bronze leg. Top effort. Steve managed nearly an hour in his lovely K8 and British Junior gliding team member Mat treated a half day course particpant to some excellent extended flights. Come the afternoon and the sky was stonking, any landing circuit being difficult simply due to the lift every where ! I believe the lesser spotted club chairman was also seen in a K13 but these reports are yet to be substantiated. Newish member Gordan and I were able to consolidate a few exercises and we all went home happy shortly after five. Some good days lie ahead this summer, come and particpate !

APRIL SOARING !

Two busy days. A good early start on Saturday and soaring flights from the off. Bob even got the motor glider out and did a couple of good flights. The sun shone, it might be my aging bones but I was freezing in the northerley breeze. Simon gave us all great launches almost from dawn to dusk and Tony from SE Aero Service spent the afternoon inspecting the gliders. Sunday, the wind had dropped, though this became a nuisance, we had to change ends 3 times during the day as the wind shifted with sea breeze and sun shine. Despite this good soaring flights for nearly everyone and no where near as cold as the previous day. A group of cadets had a good day and their efforts working on the field were much appreciated.  Ireckon this could be a good summer at WDP. Come along!

EASTER SATURDAY AND THE SNOW IS FALLING

So it’s 9.30am and I am ten miles west of Waldershare in the sleet and snow, headlights on, wipers on full blast thinking the chairman of CGC is bonkers. I arrive at the airfield to find the sun trying to break through and a few keen members walking gliders to the south end of the field. My goodness that wind has a bite to it, and snow starts falling. Still the chairman insists it will be soarable, very worrying. A bit of sun appears and we launch the K13 with Ron on board. Then the K6 with Steve C back from his USA adventures.

Well you don’t need those US of A thermals now do ya !  Half an hour or more for both of them.

The season kicks off, the K13 completes trial lessons, the K6 does further half hour plus flights and although everyone is  bit chilly we all get flown. Top effort those that turned up. Mat, UK team member will have his LS8 at the field shortly and the sun will shine and flying will blossom, and the Oly of VGC fame is present on the field and a mix of old and new will soon be gracing the skies.

Come on jet stream, move north and play the game !

Still think the chairman is bonkers though !

Colin.

CGC on tour

Not getting much chance to fly at the moment with work & weather so while marooned away in Los Angeles I thought I’d potter up to the Southern California Soaring Academy in Liano to experiance some soaring outside the UK.

http://www.soaringacademy.org/index.php

It’s still not quite in season in Southern California & I didn’t get up to Crystalaire Airport where SCSA is based until mid afternoon. However I had called Julie who runs the office before setting off & she had kindly reserved us an almost new K21, a Pawnee to aero tow & enough delightful home made cookies to alter the ballast calculation.

As luck would have it I managed to fly with Dale Masters who is absolutely the man – with 30 years experience flying the Mojave Desert & the Angeles National Forest mountains south of the strip. I have never flown in terrain like this before but Dale allowed us to get low over locations I never would have had the confidence to tackle myself. In 50 minutes I felt learnt a huge amount & given the time here there’s a wealth of experience to be gained.

Haven’t seen this view before outside of a flight sim – normally just before hitting restart.

Worth noting though this may be the desert but although it is flat there’s shrubs & rocks the size of grapefruit everywhere. Off the strip there’s no where to land out within 5 miles. Not such a huge problem as in season the thermals apparently go up to 14,000 ft but worth bearing in mind all the same.

Apparently this is steeper than it looks which I feel might tax my newly found ability ability to land out up a slope.

All in all can’t recommend it enough – if you are out this way as a visiting pilot I recommend you give Julie a call. SCSA is well set up to make getting a flight as easy as possible. Next I have to see how to convert my European licence to an FAA one which I gather is a paper work exercise & arrange some hull insurance so I can perhaps progress to one of their Astirs.

Look no grass.

Would also strongly sugest you reserve a flight with Dale just for the experience - if you ask him nicely afterwards he’ll even sign a copy of  his book.

Dale has studied at the Carry On film school of the triple entendre.

Steve Chapman

Update…

Good evening all,

Firstly a quick update, the blog has been running for a while now and has now had over 25,000 views. For a small little club like ours thats not too bad, it shows people have a keen interest in what us little folk do, so this year I want more stories from you lot about your experiences and perhaps a few more pictures. We have grown as a club and all as individual pilots, so lets show everyone that.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask the members to let me know what there aims are this year, however great or small (Russ please don’t say fly to France). 

Also as most of you are aware I am first reserve for the Junior British Team, the only thing preventing me from being in the team is lack of funding. I would like to thank those who have already donated some money to the BGA to go in the funding pot so I can be in the team, but I would like to know if anybody else out there would like to help, even £50 – £100, every little helps. I am around £1,000 short, Paul has put me in contact with a council sports fund but even if I am successful that is only £300 so still quite a bit short. In return I will dedicate time to anybody who would like to develop any of there soaring or cross country skills, and maybe even valet there glider(?). A desperate plea I know but anyone who knows me will know this is something I want very much. 

Thanks for reading.

Matt

MID FEB SATURDAY

Well, my first visit of the New Year to WDP and not a bad day at all. 25 launches in total which given the problems getting the winch through the mud to the south end of the field was not bad at all.

Thanks to everyone for their efforts and of course Simon in the winch.

Colin

Keeping busy

 A good turn out on Saturday with many jobs completed or well underway, The field is still very wet now the big thaw is underway and the winch was also suffering a flat tyre Thanks to Ron the Don and the Potter who enjoyed playing lumber jacks as well as Bob and Maurice who gave the fleet a good inspection etc, Simon was busy looking after the winch maintenance and new tyres are now due to be fitted to the winch this week. Paul B refused to put on the marigolds and went straight in to cleaning mode and I gave the Dyson a trip round the club house Russ has been up to the club and surveyed the boot room ceiling and door for repairs so plans are in place for that area of the club house to be put back in to use ASAP Hopefully some flying days will be with us soon however if not another working day is planned for next Saturday, the club house is now clean and the coffee and tea has been replenished as well as the chocolate bar tin and cans of drinks. Please can all members keep muddy boots out of the club house and I recommend you bring an old pair of shoes you can leave in the club house, I will invest in a new shoe rack for that purpose The club requires a second hand vacuum cleaner if anyone has one 

Cheers

 Stafford