MIDLAND GLIDING CLUB
NEWSLETTER
Number 101 January 2003
Help Wanted............................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Chairman’s Contribution........................................................................................................................................................... 2
Almost Famous in TV’s Scrapheap Challenge...................................................................................................................... 2
Office Advice.............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
CFI’s Bits..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Getting to the Club in Winter................................................................................................................................................... 4
Annual Dinner and Trophy Presentation 2003...................................................................................................................... 5
The Outdoors Show................................................................................................................................................................... 5
NEC Birmingham 14th to 16th March 2003............................................................................................................................. 5
Caravan Applications for 2003................................................................................................................................................. 5
From the Flying Field................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Courses for the New Season.................................................................................................................................................... 6
Beautiful New Plumage for the K21s....................................................................................................................................... 7
A Sort of Farewell....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Euroglide 2002............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Club House Toilets.................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Winter Lecture Programme..................................................................................................................................................... 12
New World Records................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Denise Hughes
Help is required to celebrate Den’s 50th on 25th January 2003.
Please let the kitchen know if you wish to volunteer for this party.
| Please send Newsletter contributions to: John and Ann Parry Holly Cottage Wentnor Bishops Castle Shropshire SY9 5EE Telephone..01588 650379 Fax.………01588 650596 Email……..John.Parry@Virgin.net |
Club Details: The Midland Gliding Club The Long Mynd Church Stretton Shropshire SY6 6TA Office Telephone......01588 650206 Office Fax.................01588 650532 Members Telephone..01588 650405 Email……………….office@longmynd.com |
| Club web site: www.longmynd.com |
|
Julian Fack
There is not a lot of news at this time of year, and the weather has not been very kind, but there has been the odd worthwhile flying day, the Saturday after Christmas produced some enjoyable wave climbs for instance. As ever you need to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to turn up at short notice to make the most of winter flying.
As usual there is quite a winter programme going on to upgrade or maintain all our facilities, and you will notice some of the fruits immediately.
The K8 is now fully certified and instrumented, and flies well, and the replacement (conventional) K21 trailer is finished and will be on site very soon.
Please read the treasurer’s very pertinent article on courses, it may be that you will wish to take advantage of one of the new ‘club members weeks’ to advance your flying this spring.
I hope you enjoy Paul Garnham’s article on Euroglide 2002, it captures the spirit very well. Euroglide is so enjoyable that I am wondering if something similar might work here in England. I have in mind a very small expedition who would fly from club to club over a week, if you find this idea interesting, let me know.
Paul Garnham will be living in France for most of the year from now on, but he expects to return each year during the best summer weather. He will be sorely missed around the club, both as an instructor and as a tug pilot, and for his advice on so many aspects of running the club, thanks for everything, Paul.
Janet has found full time employment in her new post, and so will not be working in the office in the season, as incorrectly reported last time. We all wish her well in her new endeavours, and we welcome Lynette who will step across the corridor to look after the office when Martin is not there.
That’s all for now, but do contact me if you want to discuss any aspect of the club. My email is j.fack@virgin.net and my mobile is 07812 108 588.
Have a happy and safe new year, and I look forward to seeing you all at the Mynd.
Julian Fack
In July a British team took on France and the USA in a televised race to build and fly a powered aircraft in 20 hours. The 90 minute programme (filmed in USA) was shown on Channel 4 over Christmas.
Three members of the Pegasus microlight and hang glider company joined MGC member, trailer builder and glider inspector, Iain Evans to form the four person British team. It was led by Dr Bill Brooks an aircraft designer, helped by Darren Arkwright a hang glider test pilot and glider pilot, and Wendy Phillips who manages the sail loft at Pegasus.
The plot is to build an aircraft in two days using tools and materials appropriate to the time of Bleriot, whilst located inside a studio built ‘scrapyard’ where all the materials are hidden. Fifty horsepower two stroke engines and wooden propellers are provided, but are hidden amongst the scrap cars and detritus of a large scrapyard, together with everything else used in the build.
The French chose to build a very attractive Bleriot replica monoplane, the Yanks reproduced a strange steel framed replica of an early 1900s US high winged pusher monoplane, and the Brits chose a very compact biplane with a single wheel and a high front mounted engine.
The usual format for the programme was followed, and the presenters were helped by a local ‘expert’ who provided knowing insights for the viewer. During the build process he was sure that the British effort was too heavy and the four wings would take too long to build, but then he did not know Bill and Iain.
The combination of Bill’s simple design and Iain’s rapid woodwork proved devastating, and the four identical wings made of ply ribs glued to softwood stringers, covered in fabric seemed to appear in no time. The fuselage was very basic, and the single wheel undercarriage reduced yet another build project to its basics. The original design had no control surfaces on the wings, just a good deal of dihedral, but in the event they were so far ahead of the competition on build time, they decided to add ailerons at the last minute. This produced a fine TV moment when they found the ailerons too long and just sawed them to length whilst still attached to the wing.
The US and French team were struggling with their engines, and finally had to ask Wendy for help. She sorted out the engine wiring in a jiffy and started their engines almost first pull, yet more kudos for the Brits. It was not shown on TV but Iain told me that the Yanks were very reluctant to ask a woman for help.
The FAA sent along an Inspector to check the work and the British effort passed without any hassles, even the weight and balance were perfect. The others struggled for some time, and lead ballast was added to the French tail. At this stage the ‘expert’ passed judgement that the British entry was too heavy, and the Yank would win.
Ground hops were attempted on a dry lake in the desert, and the French Bleriot, which looked superb, just managed to get airborne after a long ground run. They decided that some adjustments were called for. The US machine showed an alarming tendency to warp the port wing leading edge towards the ground, it looked most unsafe, so it retired for further fettling. The ‘heavy’ Brit seemed to accelerate like a dragster, and after an impossibly short ground run it just leapt into the air, and carried on upwards. This looked a bit risky since the instructions were to restrict trials to ‘ground hops’ but pilot Bill was so confident in his design that he just went for it. He cocked a snook at the competition by flying round for some time at about 500 feet.
This episode confirmed the story Iain told me on his return earlier in the year, apparently before the build Bill was asked how long a ‘hop’ he expected his design to fly. His reply was “how much petrol will you let us have?”
After some time for mods the actual competition was commenced for the cameras. A 3/4 mile straight course was set out and the goal was to fly from one line in the desert to stop astride another line. After a long ground run the French flew low but in control and ran on over the finish line, dragging the ribbon with their tail skid. The Yanks flew but seemingly in the wrong direction, and failed to cross the line, whilst Bill casually took off, flew around for quite a while, then landed and came to a halt with his single wheel right on top of the finishing line ribbon.
An overwhelming victory for our team, whose aircraft, although far from pretty, worked exactly as planned. If the actual task had been more realistic in flying terms their margin of victory would have been almost embarrassing.
A superb showing by the Brits, and it made an entertaining TV programme, well done to you all.
Martin McCurdie
One or two things that seem to have got a little lost in the mist of time.
The log book is the only record we have of what flying has taken place on any one day, it is vital that it is kept accurately. We can only enter into the computer what you have written in the log book, if you are not sure of a pilot’s name then ask someone, do not GUESS!
The other thing which seems to be causing come confusion is mutual flights. The system we operate has no way of accounting for mutual flights, if nothing is put in the remarks column then the flight will be charged to P2, it is then up to the two pilots to sort out the money between themselves. We can not split the cost between P1 and P2.
Neal Clements
I mentioned in the last newsletter about the change to the medical standards and that the club was considering what action it would take. It is clear that the club will have to record the medicals of all pilots flying aircraft so I am writing to tell you the actions that will be taken and to ask you to help by completing the form enclosed with this newsletter.
On the 1st March 2003 the new regime will come into force. Full details are to be found on the BGA web site. Fundamentally it means that pilots flying solo will have to have to meet DVLA group 1 standards and instructors and all other pilots flying P1 dual will have to meet DVLA group 2 standards. Professional instructors and any instructor over 70 will still have to have a JAR Class 2 medical.
Self declarations will now have to be countersigned by your GP. The office or the BGA web site have copies of the forms. A medical certificate countersigned by your GP is required before a first solo flight then at ages 45, 50, 55, 60 65 then annually. Current club members will be covered by the present system until they reach one of the above ages. Evidence of a higher class of medical, e.g. JAR Class 2 will exceed the requirements of the new medical. All club members who join after the 1st March 2003 will need a medical signed by their GP before they can go solo. All temporary and visiting members will need to demonstrate their current medical to the office before they can fly solo. It is the responsibility of every pilot to obtain a medical certificate at the appropriate time and let the office have a copy. The office will maintain a record of the expiry of each member’s medical and if you are not registered with the office by the 1st March then you will not be allowed to fly P1.
Please can you help the office by completing the attached questionnaire and getting it to the office by the cut off date.
I will be repeating this article through until May to try to ensure that all members receive the information and so can continue to fly.
John Parry
Now it is winter, the season of hearing heroic stories of how someone got the car almost to the top of the sheet of ice before sliding back down the hill sideways, or only avoiding disaster by leaping out and roping the car to a passing telegraph pole.
The Burway can be very tricky. Asterton is in shadow in the morning so takes a long time to thaw, and in past years it has sometimes seemed clear – until rounding the top bend reveals a snowdrift a few feet deep. Ratlinghope is the best route in winter – it takes longer but is less steep and there are hardly any places where if you slide off the road you will fall a great distance. But bear in mind that if you do get stuck most mobile phones don’t work round there, and the road on the top of the hill can be treacherous.
The thing about 4 wheel drive is that you can get further into the mire so that when you do get stuck, you are really stuck. Good for winning the Golden Shovel, not so good for getting to the club.
If the weather is really bad the best thing is to park at the bottom of Asterton and walk up, it takes less than half an hour.
Don’t be put off by the weather, there can be great flying in the depths of winter. There is something wonderful about being one of the select band to enjoy the crisp air and fine views, or sometimes flying over fog-filled valleys so the hills seem to have turned into islands in a sea. And how often do you get the chance to land on a snow covered field?
Ann Parry
The enclosed booking form has details of this dinner, which is on Saturday 29th March at the Feathers Hotel in Ludlow.
Please book in good time, as I need to finalise numbers with the hotel a month before the dinner. If you don’t have a form contact me on 01588 650379 (address and email on the front of this newsletter). Looking forward to seeing you there. Remember to specify your choice of meal on the form, and pay for a place on the bus if you want it.
Chris Ellis
This major event is sponsored by the Ordnance Survey and other outdoor sports organisations.
In conjunction with the BGA we will have a presence at the show;
Jon Hall and Chris Ellis will be organising our stand.
WE WILL NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP ON EACH DAY.
It would be good if we could have both male and female representatives to show that gliding is not just about being macho.
If you can spare time on one or more of these dates please contact Jon or Chris via the office.
David Rance
That time of year is hard upon us when the committee has to decide who gets which slot in the caravan park for the next year. We are limited by planning regulations to a finite number of caravans and it is a club rule that nobody has an automatic right to renewal. All members wanting a slot, including those currently in residence, have to apply each year. The committee then considers the merit of each applicant, exercises the Judgement of Solomon and decides who should be the lucky winners. Easy in a year when there are more slots than applicants, not such a thankful job when the other way around! Application forms and ‘Conditions of Sale’ are now in the office. Applications will be considered at the March 1st committee meeting for effect from the 1st April 2003.
Ann Parry
Lots of flying on Saturday 28th December, when the early pilots caught the wave, the later ones enjoying the ridge lift. This included the new K8 being test flown by John Stuart, to 7,000 feet asl in wave at Shrewsbury and later to below hilltop height back at the Mynd.
The New Year started with flying on 2nd January (was this anything to do with the after effects of the party at New Year?), and then a full weekend of flying on 4th and 5th January. These were two days of sunshine with a heavy frost and dusting of snow, so it was lovely to be out, in contrast to all the rain and grey weather of recent weeks. Congratulations to Rob Douglas on going solo in the snow.
David Rance
We run week day courses from March through to October for a number of reasons. Some are obvious, such as the fact that they are there to teach people to fly and they are certainly the most effective way to learn as concentrated flying and instruction allow for much more rapid progress than occasional weekend sorties. They also make the club a modest amount of money. Other reasons are less obvious. Courses enable us to employ full time staff, in the office, in the winches and on the flying field. Without course income we would probably be down to one or two professionals and the amount of work that we, as members, would have to do to keep the club and its kit running, would rise substantially. The fact that we run courses means that we can keep the club open seven days a week through the summer. No problem if the ‘big day’ is on a Tuesday and you want to fly your own ship. Increased utilisation means that we can afford and can justify more and better kit. The club flying requirements hardly justify the number of winches or aircraft we currently enjoy but with the seven day operation, the capacity is used sensibly. The fact that the club house is being used all week means that I can justify having cleaners, an office staffed with somebody who can answer any question on the club’s gliding activities (allegedly!) and there is enough activity to make it feasible to have a full time catering operation.
The whole thing runs pretty well but that doesn’t mean that we can’t organise things a bit better, particularly for MGC members as something like 80% of course participants are visitors. To this end we introduced a very generous discount structure for our own members. Club members get 20% off course prices. If you book one month in advance, the discount rises to a whopping 40%. Juniors (or under 25 in full time education) get 50% off.
Two years ago we realised that early and late in the season, the number on the courses tended to be lower, even though the flying can be fantastic. The reason? The risk of paying for a course up front and getting a really duff week was putting people off. So we introduced ‘Pay as You Go’. For this you pay a modest amount up front, £105 for the week if you book in advance, £140 if you don’t, and thereafter your flying and launching is half price up to a maximum of £100 per week. If the week is good, £205 for as much flying and instruction as you can bear is extraordinary value. If the week is not so good, you will get a lot of club house instruction for not very much money. The whole idea was to reduce the financial risk of booking on early and late courses and as a result we have seen occupancy go up. If you would like any further details on courses, give Martin a ring in the office (01588 650206) for details.
Now we are planning to try something else. The maximum course capacity, with two instructors on duty is eight. If we have more than eight, we hire a third instructor. However the average over the summer months is not much over five per week and frankly, we are struggling to increase it. Being closed for most of the summer two seasons ago hardly helped. For this season we are planning to keep a number of weeks free by directing folk who book onto courses to one of the other three weeks in the month. This will make the three weeks fuller courses and the remaining free week we will use exclusively for club members. We have planned weeks for club use in April, May and July. The first two are short weeks following directly on from Bank Holidays.
Specifically, the intention is to use these weeks for new and newish members to get them started and progressing more quickly than they can simply by flying weekends only. Each spring we recruit a substantial number of new members. Last spring it was around thirty. Reviewing how much flying they actually do is worrying. Traditionally, having signed up, a number will never set foot on the site again. More than fifty percent will have a few flights over the ensuing weeks and then disappear. A small percentage will persist and fledge into keen pilots and club members. The biggest problem in the early days is simply a lack of good ‘value for time’.
If when we sign these folk up, we immediately direct them to one of three weeks when they can come and fly intensively, with professional instruction, when the reward for time ratio is so much higher and clear progress can be made, then we hope to get a larger number through the initial period when frustration and disillusionment can set in. For those folk signing up on the Fixed Price to Solo scheme, which is currently priced at £750, they would automatically get a weeks course as part of the package.
We are still developing our ideas on this but I feel sure that it is a sensible way to achieve even more value for the club and its members from our existing course operation. I welcome feedback and suggestions on this, especially from any members who have joined the club in the last couple of years. Please contact me at DavidRance@slf.uk.net.
I will write with more details of this scheme in the next Newsletter, which will see the light of day in March.
David Rance
Even those with short memories will recall the cream crackered K21, 797, that we sent out to Poland last year for refurbishment and its triumphant return on the day of the AGM, re designated as ELE and looking like new inside and out. We have trailed the fact that FWQ and JGJ will follow the same course. The time for their departure is soon upon us.
FWQ will be the first to go. Its C of A is due in early January when it will be taken out of service and packed up in the new enclosed K21 trailer that Iain Evans has just finished building. In mid January, it will then be taken to Lasham, from where it will be generously towed out to Poland by a Lashamite going to collect his own glider from the factory. FWQ will be away until the end of February when a club member, or preferably two (volunteers please step forward) will take JGJ out to Poland on the open trailer and bring back the newly shiny FWQ in its place. JGJ should be ready at the end of March. Inevitably this will mean that there may not be quite as many two seaters lying around the site in the next month or two but any inconvenience will be handsomely repaid.
The CFI wants to start a standardisation of the instruments in the K21s so that jumping from ship to ship doesn’t require a new mastery of the kit. To this end, all the K21s will be fitted with XK10 varios this spring, with averagers in the front and repeaters in the back. No excuses for not being able to soar now! New fixed radios will also be installed, so no excuses for not telling us where the lift is and GPSs will be installed in the rear, so no excuses… These will be fixed in place and not be removable to prevent the inevitable finger trouble. They will be wired to feed a logger.
The refurbishment of the K21 fleet is a substantial investment by the club with the final bill for all three aircraft in the order of £20,000. Please enjoy and look after them!
Paul Garnham
As many of you may know, I am retiring just before Christmas and on 4th January I depart with my chattels to France where I have bought a house (30 km east of Limoges). The reasons for this drastic step are very personal but economics have paid a significant part in my decision, which was not taken lightly. It will be quite a wrench not to be at the Club whenever I choose; it has been a very important part of my life for the past 17 years, and I have made many good friends here. Although I may be tempted to fly at Chauvigny or Limoges I shall maintain my membership of MGC although I am ceasing power flying, and hence cease being a tuggie. It is my intention to return in the motorhome to England and the Mynd when the feeling takes me, which probably means May or June, if not, then Task Week. So, au revoir to you all, it has been, and continues to be, a great pleasure and privilege to be a member of MGC and I thank you all for your support and friendship over the years. Take care, and I hope to see you all in 2003!
My contact details in France are available via the office.
Paul Garnham
Euroglide is a 2000 km competition/rally around Europe, held biennially and organised by the Eindhoven Gliding Club. As many of you will recall, Duo Discus 494 first competed in 2000. Phil and Diana King had already blazed the trail in previous years and convinced us without too much difficulty that this was an experience not to be missed. So it turned out, as you will see from my account of the 2000 event (in Newsletter Number 88). We were therefore keen to participate again this year, with the same team of Julian Fack, Paul Garnham, Richard Hinley and Nick Heriz-Smith. The 2002 event suffered a couple of hiccoughs, first when it was discovered that the planned dates coincided with a NATO exercise, and second when Bourges became unavailable as a turn point, replaced by Romorantin. From the accompanying map you will see that the course represents quite a ramble around Europe, taking in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Germany. In fact the total distance was 2211 km. 13 days of competition were allowed. The calculator indicates a required average of 170 km per day, in principle not too demanding, but we all know how European weather can spoil things. In the end it was quite surprising that we managed to beat that average by a considerable margin, completing the course in 8 flying days.
We arrived at Eindhoven Air Base, a military and civil establishment. We had pre-booked a room on the airbase, and I was pleasantly surprised at the standard of accommodation, light years away from the RAF huts of distant (but not fond) memory. The welcome at Eindhoven Gliding Club is always good, a pleasant bustling clubhouse with plenty of beer, food, and good humour. Of course everyone speaks English. As usual the briefing was exhaustive and exhausting, resulting in a good night’s sleep.
The day dawned with a promising sky. Phil, Diana and nephew Mike Witton who was crewing, had arrived with 618 and we rigged the gliders side by side. Julian and I were to take the first leg. Little did we know that we were going to get off to a magical start, and that soaring conditions would slowly decline thereafter. We launched at lunchtime behind a wheezing Husky that could only manage 2 knots and he courteously waved us off in sink at 1700 feet. We soon recovered and cleared the rather complicated Eindhoven zone. Heading south we were often in company with other gliders; later the fleet spread out and we could fly for hours or even days without seeing another competitor. Flying conditions were good as we flew towards the first turn point at Dahelemer Binz. Belgian airspace is designed to deter general aviation and gliding so we wobbled along the Belgian/Luxembourg border, trying not to be in either country (for airspace purposes). A high cloudbase (6000 feet) gave comfort when flying over extensive areas of forest that made our own Wyre Forest look entirely non-threatening. We felt that soaring conditions were good but not outstanding, but we seemed to be covering the ground well. After over 6 hours in the air we landed at Montargis airfield in France having competed 532 km in the day, our best flight ever. Speed, at 81 kph, was not wonderful but we would later think of it with longing as the conditions deteriorated towards the finish of the comp. Several other gliders arrived. I seem to recall that the evening arrangements at Montargis were somewhat complex. We took a taxi into town, hoped that Phil, Diana and Mike would meet us there for a meal and later bring us back. To cut a long story short, they didn’t and we walked a long way in the dark (literally and metaphorically), and hung around roundabouts at midnight before we were all reunited.
Nick and Richard departed towards the turn point at Romorantin (central France) and rounded it, returning to St Florentin where we met them. (278 km average 53.4 kph). We had fond memories of St Florentin. In 2000 we had a fine barbecue there, as many Dutch Eurogliders had landed, but this time the place was like the Marie Celeste, even the power club was closed. The spider I dispatched in the loo in 2000 was still there. Nevertheless we met the CFI’s son who organised a tug for us the next day. We dined at a restaurant familiar from our 2000 visit.
Julian and I set off behind a Pawnee (with retractable rope) and headed for the next turn point at Lachen Speyerdorf near Mannheim. Phil, in 618, was often close by, and as conditions were blue for much of the time we helped each other a lot by marking thermals. We passed Troyes and headed towards Nancy, where we had landed in 2000. Leaving it well to the north we headed across the extensive forest of the Pfalzerwald north of Strasbourg as conditions improved. Again the cloudbase was high and anxiety levels remained fairly low. We arrived at the turnpoint, nicely marked by what appeared to be a nearby factory on fire, and we could see gliders soaring. Despite the late hour (about 1830) conditions were still good so we continued south on track, but soon realised that the day was almost over. We overflew the airfield at Landau. It seemed ideal, an autobahn junction and the town adjacent, and lots of gliders on the ground. So we gently drifted down to a nice welcome with the news that a National Soaring Course for women was in progress. A Falke with registration D-KMGC stood close by, so it must have been the right place to land. Another good evening was spent in town, followed by a peaceful night at the airfield campsite. (375 km flown average 58.7 kph).
Richard and Nick’s turn. Mike Witton and I went shopping in Landau while preparations were being made. We were having logger download problems, something that hounded us for the whole of the trip. Blast the technology! The formidable women’s cross country course members - no, I mean the formidable fleet of the women’s cross country course, were on the grid, but we were allowed to pull 494 and 618 to the front. Our gallant crew found things quite difficult, as did Diana. Julian and I drove off but paused often, keeping in contact with our pilots, and hearing their blow-by-blow account. We hear that Diana is landing somewhere near Augsburg. 494 soldiered on, although good cumulus were in short supply. Eventually they landed at Eichstatt near Ingolstadt (home of Audi) (328 km, average 53.2 kph). A lovely airfield, elevated, and surrounded by a common. The long climb with the trailer to the airfield was interesting. The club was not exactly open but happily a barman was there and all was well. Nick and Richard were on their second large bottle of Weissbier before we arrived. A tug was arranged for noon the next day. We had a very pleasant evening in the beautifully restored baroque town centre, and camped on the airfield.
Rain early but things soon improved, but the tug pilot arrived late. Probably just as well. We took off at 1300 and were soon scrabbling for lift over the enormous Audi factory. A Phantom from a nearby airfield was an unnecessary distraction at this point. Soon we were able to make progress along the Donau river towards Regensburg and made the turn point at Cham Jahnahof only a few miles from the Czech border. This was really an important point because we now turned north to fly into the increasing headwinds that plagued us for the rest of the trip. Trying to make progress into 20-26 knot winds was not easy and progress was slow. We got very low at one point and were soon scratching away on a small ridge. Getting low in strong winds is not much fun, but very satisfying if the outcome is a successful climb. Clearly some ‘weather’ was approaching from the north west. Landing at the Wasserkuppe was an optional extra that attracted more points, so we were keen to do it, but with 100 km still to go we used up our last thermal, the sky ahead was slate grey and we were soon looking for a friendly airfield. A gliding site at Bad Konigshof beckoned and we landed, to be met by a very pleasant mother and daughter out walking their dog. (322 km flown, average 59.8 kph). A phone call, and a tug was promised, to tow us to the Wasserkuppe (some “improper” forward movements are allowed by the rules). An immaculate Robin from Saal/Saale arrived and we took off again. He towed us to about 6000 feet in a 28 knot headwind before deciding that Wasserkuppe was clamped in, so a return to his airfield seemed sensible. Thus it was that we sampled the delights of the very pleasant club at Saal/Saale. We learned that members of the Dunstable Club visit it on occasion and the mad English are well understood/tolerated. This is one of the joys of Euroglide. You don’t know where you will be at the end of a day, but happily it’s usually an interesting place with friendly people.
Weather lousy. Using the concessions allowed by the rules we rose early and towed the glider to the Wasserkuppe. About 5 other Eurogliders were there. Usual bedlam due to the many visitors and tourists who frequent the hill. Richard and Nick took off at lunchtime, towed by a Robin with retractable rope. Several gliders returned for a re-light (or 2) but our gallant team got away first time and headed off into wind. By Kassel they were struggling and eventually landed at Warburg, a small gliding club near Paderborn. (127 km, average 42.3 kph). There I had a fascinating conversation with Heinrich, a submariner in WW2, who had been a prisoner near Witney and therefore spoke perfect English. After a quick tour of the club and declining their kind offer of a winch launch, we de-rigged and drove a short way to the next turn point at Oerlinghausen, one of the major gliding sites, visited by us in 2000. Despite our previous visit we could not remember the best way to nearby Bielefeld. Some hours later (or so it felt) we arrived and selected a suitable hostelry (remarkably a Cretan restaurant). The streets seemed full of noisy Turks celebrating some kind of success in the World Cup (3rd place I think).
Very generously I think, we let Richard and Nick have another go. It was warm and sunny but now the breeze was from the west i.e. still a head wind. About 8 Eurogliders took off and again some had to return. Near Beckum we noted that our team were “going quiet” and not long after, they landed in a field of maize. Bless the Garmin in the motorhome, it soon put us on track and we found 494 up to its wingtips in maize. Nick and Richard were having a friendly conversation with a farmer and his family, who appeared not to notice that their maize crop had deteriorated somewhat; indeed it deteriorated further as we de-rigged with some difficulty. Happily the damage to 494 was slight and after a few jolly exchanges we left, wishing that all farmers were as understanding. (42.5 km, average 17.3 kph!!) All this time 618 had been catching us up and landed nearby. We visited a club at Dorsten Canal but they suggested that we press on to Dinslaken, only 8 km away, where we might get a tow. So we all ended up at Dinslaken, home of the factory that makes the Extra aerobatic aircraft. Several other factories and clubs were in evidence, one running CT ultralights, of which more in a moment. The gliding club operated from nothing more than a summerhouse but they made us welcome and we camped out in the trailer park
Steady rain. Not a good day for the campers (618). We rang Iain Evans in UK who confirmed that things were looking duff. Getting weather from the control tower was next to impossible, the wait for their computer to access the weather site became just too embarrassing for Julian and me. So, we spent the day shopping and eating in Dinslaken. The rain continued and the campsite became much less attractive. Mike Witton was forced to abandon his tent, with most things afloat. As night fell the rain ceased at last.
More rain and a strong headwind. What forecasts we could access, including local opinions, suggested that the day would be pretty awful but that there might be a short window of opportunity in the early afternoon. The prospect of reaching the finish tape at Venlo (only about 50 km away, just into Holland) seemed bleak and the forecast for the next few days was depressing. We ordered the tug for 1300 as some sort of grey cumulus seemed to be forming against the greyness. 494 and 618 waited at the end of the hard runway. Soon the tug arrived. It was a sort of glass tadpole, a CT ultralight with a Rotax engine. With considerable faith, we hooked up, and it worked! The hard runway helped and it was unusual to see the tug take off first. Do not get the idea that this is just what we need at the Mynd. The climb rate was respectable too, and we bored into the 25 knot headwind to about 3000 feet. Frankly it was a struggle, as Diana and Phil, who tried to do the same a little later, found to their cost. A power station on the Rhine saved the day. After some interesting IMC work in the steam and smoke, we clawed sufficient height to make a glide into Sevelen, a nearby gliding site. Desperately low, we just couldn’t find it even though the GPS said we were there! Eventually it was identified as a small strip in what appeared to be a former railway cutting. I declined to go there in view of the conditions and chose a nice flat grass field about 0.5 km away. As we were on final glide laughter broke out. There were runway markers! It was an alternative landing strip. The great relief and satisfaction that we felt was completely out of proportion to the length of the flight. Its importance was that even though we hadn’t made it to Venlo, we were close enough to trail home and stay within competition. rules. The statistics for that flight tell a tale of struggle - 32.9 km flown, average 32.9 kph! Sadly Diana and Phil didn’t get away that day as the window closed, and they were stuck in the Dinslaken mud patch for a further day or two. Later we trailed to Venlo airfield and handed in our paperwork and log. Finding Venlo airfield, even with GPS, was almost as great a challenge as the flight. Then, off the Antwerp for a well earned night in a comfy hotel.
So that was Euroglide 2002. Despite the poor conditions towards the close, we averaged nearly 255 km each day. We came 9th, with twelve gliders finishing behind us, so not too bad an effort, and much better than last time when we were really novices at the game. The experience was quite different as well, but equally full of challenges and interest, nice people and, oh yes, some wonderful soaring. Can’t wait for Euroglide 2004.
Mike Whitton
As last year, the club is intending to undertake a major item of building refurbishment over the winter. This year we are going to completely refurbish both the Ladies and Gentlemen’s Toilets. Inevitably this will involve some disruption to the club and will have to include some ‘sharing’ of facilities whilst the work is undertaken. We believe the work will last about 4 weeks and will be completed by the start of the courses. We hope members are not too inconvenienced!
Bill Dean
We are planning lectures and talks for Saturday evenings not otherwise busy from January until the clock changes. When there is no guest speaker we will give an in-house lecture for all pilots, so there will always be a lecture. The purpose of the lectures is to update members on flying topics, in particular:
· To improve general airmanship.
· Safety matters.
· Cross country techniques.
· Understanding of glider structures and limitations.
· Card topics for those who need signatures; does everyone else actually know it all?
The programme with lecturers, lectures and dates is enclosed with this newsletter.
Julian Fack
| Category |
Pilot |
Glider |
Location |
Task |
Speed/Distance |
| Feminine |
G.Spreckley |
LS8 |
South Africa |
500k triangle |
141.7 kph |
| World Class |
W.B.Snead |
PW5 |
Texas |
Free distance |
771.74 km |
| Open |
K.Ohlmann |
Nimbus 3D |
Argentina |
Free distance |
2646 km |
| Triangle |
Delore/Fossett |
ASH25 |
New Zealand |
500km triangle |
185.63 kph |