MIDLAND GLIDING CLUB
NEWSLETTER
Number 104 July 2003
Chairman’s Contribution........................................................................................................................................................... 2
CFI’s Bits..................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Treasurer’s Notes....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Do You Take Aero Tows?........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Motor Glider Training................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Talgarth and Rockpolishing..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Task Week 2003.......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
From the Flying Field................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Task Week 2002.......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
For Sale - Skylark 4................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Call to the Bar............................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Birds........................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Lost............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
New Members........................................................................................................................................................................... 10
| 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 |
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Charles Carter
The period since the last newsletter has seen some notable flying achievements by club members with 300 kms becoming almost commonplace. John Roberts 500 km in an ASW 19, Rose Johnson’s 640 km which is the longest flight from the Mynd and Iain Evans’ win at the Turbo comp at Bidford perhaps being the highlights. I would also like to mention Dominic Haughton’s Rockpolisher team who have turned in some gritty performances on some less than perfect days to leave us thinking that a second season’s win is on the cards. There have of course been many other tremendous efforts some of which are mentioned elsewhere in these notes and which inspire us all to better things.
By the time you read these notes the fleet should be back to full strength with Roger Andrews having done an excellent repair on the K23 after its heavy landing and Roger Targett restoring JGJ to its former glory. We all need to make a special effort to ensure that such crashery is confined to history and return to a long clean sheet.
The Faulkes Foundation DG 505 is now on the Mynd and elsewhere you will read how the system will work. We must not lose sight of the primary reason for it being based on the Long Mynd and that is to fly young people and introduce them to our sport of gliding. It will need a determined commitment from us all to make it work and I will be disappointed if we divide into those who work hard to find and fly youngsters and those who only appear on the field when the DG is in club flying operation mode to reap the rewards of others efforts.
On that subject, the weekend duty rota is in place to ensure that flying can take place in an orderly and safe manner. Martin and Lynnette put out the rota names by e-mail during the week to remind those on duty to turn up. They will not arrange a swap for those unable or unwilling to attend, it is up to the individual concerned. If you do not turn up for your duty day or do not arrange a swap the duty does not disappear - someone has to do it for you and probably give up their own flying day to do so.
The two new member drives were less fruitful than we had hoped in terms of numbers but there has been a steady trickle of new members and I welcome them all. Many thanks to all who put in the effort to make new and prospective members welcome and show them what we have to offer.
Anyone who has been flying recently and not noticed the fenced off area alongside the road is grounded. For the rest of you it is an attempt to level some of the worst dips and bumps without actually cultivating the ground. By this method it is hoped that the area will be returned to active use sooner than if more traditional work were done. If successful then more areas will be levelled in the future.
Gerry Edwards, a long standing member of the club who died earlier this year, has left £2000 to the club in his will. Those who knew Gerry will know how typically kind a thought this was and our thanks go to the Edwards family.
Finally, August 2004 is looming up over the horizon and for those who do not know it will be the club’s 70th birthday. Obviously we will want to have a massive celebration and ideas of what to do and how we might do it will already be coursing through your brains. Don’t be shy, share them with us all and who knows you might get lucky enough to be head of the organising committee. I wish I could remember who organised the 60th party because it was a fantastic thrash and maybe I could persuade her to lend her talents again.
Neal Clements
We have had a spate of incidents recently and I think it will be worthwhile examining our practices regarding them.
· We had a K21 rear canopy come undone on the launch so can I ask all rear seat drivers to double check the latches are actually home on every launch.
· A K23 battery came loose, this can be very traumatic in flight and we must assume the DI missed it. If you are doing a DI then take the opportunity to do it with someone else, even if they are not qualified just the act of showing someone what you are doing will tighten things up. The K23s in particular have awful battery mountings so do check the screws are tight.
· A K23 landed heavily after a low level launch failure. When did you last have a launch failure? Currently we are running a system which only formally checks a pilot once a year. Currency means currency on type of aircraft, weather conditions and type of launch. I am reviewing with the instructors how we can improve on the check system.
· A sheep ran in front of a K21 and has caused huge damage. There was no official launch director because it was an evening course. The launch directors are trained that clear for landing is the number one priority (take off is optional, landing is …). I am asking that the evening courses be used as a mechanism for training launch directors as well as pilots. However, all pilots please be aware that we hit a sheep every 5 or 6 years and sometimes it does a lot of damage and sometimes it doesn’t. It does, however always happen and while we have sheep on the airfield they are a danger.
Now the cross country season is well underway can I please ask you to note a couple of items if you go away.
Please tell the launch point if you are going cross country and roughly where you intend to go and your retrieve arrangements. If you know your radio doesn’t work then say so then. If you decide on a destination in the air then please contact another Mynd glider if you can’t raise the launch point.
Please keep in touch regarding progress, we are interested and especially if you tell us that conditions are good and we should get out there!
Don’t forget your mobile phone and leave your keys behind (guess who flew off with his keys in his pocket last year?).
If you land out take your latitude and longitude off the GPS and leave a note in the glider saying you are all right and have gone to find the farmer.
Please give simple directions, if necessary to somewhere near the field, you don’t have to be totally accurate but a pub or village a half a mile away is easier to find than a small unmarked lane near a tree. Leave a note in the glider where you are waiting as most retrieve crew don’t care about you only, the glider.
Look at http://www.field-landings.co.uk/dates.html for information on fields, it is a good reminder of what to look out for.
David Rance
The life of the Pawnee’s engine is not a happy one. Up and down all day, red hot one minute whilst dragging a glider into the sky and cold the next as it descends at speed for another tow. This is a real problem for the engine as the cylinders are made of two different types of metal, one for the body of the cylinder and one for the bit the spark plugs screw into. The bit around the spark plugs is the hottest place in the engine and being buried inside the cylinder head doesn’t cool very quickly when the descent is started. The main body of the cylinder, with its cooling fins and exposure to the airflow does cool quickly. Result? Cool the engine too quickly after a full power ascent and the cylinder contracts more quickly than the spark plug threads and cracks the cylinder head. The costs might range from £1000 for a reconditioned cylinder through to a blown engine, forced landing and aircraft upside down in a ditch. Tug owners and pilots like to avoid this if possible and do so by carefully cooling the engine after releasing the glider by adjusting both throttle and airspeeds on the descent.
New research using a specially instrumented engine at Lasham, has shown that a new cooling profile can dramatically reduce shock cooling damage and almost double the expected life of a tug engine. Given that the price of a new engine is around eighteen grand, the Treasurer adjudges this to be a Good Thing and at the behest of the Tug Master, Mynd tuggies are adopting this new technique.
BUT the new technique can also have an impact on the glider being towed. After release, the tug would usually make a right turn (not always though, this is a convention rather than a rule and it is not always safe or practical to do so) and descend pretty sharply, whilst the glider turns left and generally makes a small climbing turn ensuring excellent separation between tug and newly released glider both horizontally and vertically. The new technique still usually includes a right turn for the tug and left turn for the glider but instead of descending, the tug will usually stay at the same level and may even climb slightly above the level of the released glider before starting a descent. This is not a problem unless both aircraft make turns in the opposite direction that total more than 360 degrees in which case there is a risk of collision as you both turn in opposite directions and meet at the back of the circle! So after release, turn left 90 degrees and no longer assume that the tug will already be well below you. He won’t.
Chris Ellis
In line with BGA recommendations the motor glider is available for training in all exercises both before and after solo. It can be of great benefit in basic handling and circuit planning training prior to solo. Bronze ‘C’ checks come next followed by Cross Country Endorsement training and clearance.
There are currently three instructors with motor glider ratings. John Stuart is the midweek man and Chris Ellis and Rod Hawley at weekends. All three are available by booking through the office. If you wish to fly the Falke at a weekend without booking put your name on the list and write ‘motor glider’ in the comments column. If it is possible we will oblige. On the other hand if it is sitting there doing nothing and John, Rod or Chris are also sitting there doing nothing just ask.
The charge for motor glider training is £60 per hour (£1 per min) calculated from take-off to landing. You are not charged for run-up and taxi time. It is also available as an ‘optional extra’ at the same rate during courses.
Everyone who has flown training exercises in Alpha Oscar has said that it is a very enjoyable experience.
David D’Arcy
A little late I know, but I just thought I’d tell you all about out Mynd team visit to Talgarth the other month. Quite honestly I didn’t know what to expect having never been there before, not even in a glider! So was pleasantly surprised to find a row of white glider trailers and green field at the end of my directions. The journey from the Mynd couldn’t have been easier, only 1½ hours, and thanks to www.talgarthgc.co.uk web site the correct route (round the back - like ours) was navigated. A little care is required trailering through Talgarth town itself, but nothing a current cross country pilot shouldn’t be capable of!
On arrival all the teams were treated to a walk around the airfield, which was most enlightening and worthwhile giving good insight as to how the operation goes. Next it was briefing, held in their new club house, kicked off as usual with a weather outlook which said Saturday would be showery but Sunday would be better, and there would be a re-briefing at 13:00. Humm! Dutifully, captain Dominic got us all rigged, then the rain came! However, by 13:00 the outlook was much brighter, if cloud base a little low for cross country. For this reason the day was scrubbed, but available for check flights and local soaring. I thought I’d take advantage of this and put my name down for a site check in one of their K13s.
Talgarth is an aerotow only site and therefore currency needed although the site check takes care of this. The launch (and landing area) are efficiently managed by club members. My tow took me to the main ridge where I pulled off at about 1200 feet (half way up the ridge) and then soared up to 2000 feet in ridge lift. A little different to the Mynd where you are launched above the ridge. After a few runs and search for wave, we went into the landing circuit. The CFI asks that visiting pilots start their approach well back at 800 feet, thus giving them plenty of time to sort it out, as he says. Sounds excessive but after walking around the field in less than 10 minutes you soon realise why. Again this phase of flight was uneventful, but required good use of reference markers. So after a zero point day, where some had wave to 5500 feet and others went 40 – 80 km away, a barbeque and hangar party was had with live ‘club’ band to round off the first day. As you would expect the Mynd was there to the end, and very enjoyable it was too.
Day 2, Sunday 25th May 2003, final day although the next day was bank holiday Monday! Tasks set at briefing for all categories. 100 km for novices, 147 km for intermediates, and 155 km for pundits. We all got to launch fairly early around 13:00 then the weather changed a little and looked decidedly tricky for those going north with showers rolling down from the north-west. I managed to stay airborne, although local, then Walter radioed me, “288 - 493. Dave you started yet?” “Err, no!” else who else would be your crew today (place obscenity here) I thought! The day as I’m sure you already know, turned out to be a whitewash for the Mynd, who won every class. Julian Fack did exceptionally well to complete his task, Iain Evans making use of a convergence line up to the Mynd to win pundit class, and Walter using all of a dying ridge to get past the crucial 20 km point and land out to win novice.
So, after three days of flying Talgarth, I can highly recommend it. The members are friendly, the flying is great with many variations, and a must for all ‘advanced’ hill/ ridge lovers, and the field not so difficult. Although I wouldn’t want to witness a mass land! Try it, you’ll enjoy the experience.
John Parry
As usual Task Week will be the week leading up to the August Bank Holiday, so it will start on Saturday August 16 and finish the following Sunday 25 August.
The organisation will be the same as last year, the usual team of me as Task Director and scorer, Nick Heriz-Smith setting the tasks, Dominic Haughton telling us what the weather is going to do, and Hazel Turner and Sue Holmes being the friendly voices on the phone if you land out. And the same structure, we try to have the good bits of a Regionals without too much of the hassle.
At the moment there are still lots of club gliders available for hire, see Martin for more information.
GPS loggers are required, and I would like to ask each team to use the same logger for all pilots (if you are rich enough to have several sets of kit you can of course use main and standby, or even lend stuff to the less well equipped.) If you don’t have suitable kit now is the time to beg, buy or borrow it. I will be able to process EW, Colibri and Cambridge loggers; if you plan to use any other sort could you please contact me as soon as possible so I can set up the appropriate hardware and software. Track logs from GPS may be acceptable as secondary evidence if the logger fails, but don’t count on it – often the track log either does not exist (it won’t unless you have enabled it, and it can’t if you are using Garmax for airspace) or has wrapped around and over-written the bit you wanted.
I hope to see lots of you enjoying another great Task Week.
Sarah and Richard Platt
Congratulations go to: Solo - Oliver Greenhall, D Glesham, J Moles, R Bennett, G Harvey and Lynette Causer and Caroline Roberts who soloed within a few days of each other (Lynette now has both Bronze legs); Bronze complete - Andy Davies; Cross-country endorsement - J Verrill; Silver height - Mike Dodwell: and 5 hour durations - Warwick Nuttall, T Petersen & Mike Dodwell.
On the cross-country front May started well with Dave Rance flying 630 km to the North Sea and back and Rod Hawley who flew 260 km to Chirk-Ashbourne-Mynd. Then after a string of unpromising days Iain Evans flew EZ round 330 km on the 26th.
June 13th was the day of days: Nick Swales did his first 300 km, John Roberts flew 520 km (the first Mynd pilot to get back to the Mynd in a 15m glider after completing 500 km) and Rose Johnson flew a whopping 650 km on her 750 km attempt. Later that week saw three more 300 km flights from the Mynd and Nick Swales & Dave Rance reached nearly 10,000 feet in wave.
The new Faulkes Flying Foundation DG505 is being well received and we should soon have some groups of young people to fly in it, so grab a flight in it while you can.
Allan Barnes
In 1968, at the age of 6, I was with my family on a caravan holiday at Martin’s Bay, a picturesque beach on the East coast of New Zealand’s North Island. We went there every year; it was just an hour’s drive from our home in Auckland - Mum and the kids would spend 8 weeks in the caravan while Dad commuted to and from work on his moped. One day, above the light white-noise of waves breaking against golden sand, came a more insistent sound. The thrumming grew until around the headland, at a hundred feet or so, a beautiful white flying-boat broke into view. It roared across the beach, and after a wide gentle turn, flopped down into the sea, beyond the breakers, with all the grace of a swan. Within minutes, it had beached itself, just a few hundred feet from where we had been playing in the sand. As we ran up to investigate, the pilot got out with a sandwich board bearing the words “Joyflights - $5.00”. Next stop Mum! My begging and pleading paid off, and from that day onwards I was absolutely certain that I would be a pilot.
In April 2002 I began a course at the Mynd, having accumulated 15 years and 2200 hours hang-gliding. I was delighted to get solo on the Friday on my 22nd launch. Having done loads of competition flying in hang-gliders, this was definitely the way I wanted to go, and so several people suggested that I book one of the K23s for Task Week. By August, I had accumulated the princely sum of 26 solo hours and felt ready for my first competition! Having already spent most of my annual leave, I duly booked Thursday through Sunday of Task Week in the K23.
Thursday turned out to be the best day of the week. A 216 km task was set, via Ironbridge, Hay on Wye, Great Malvern, and back. I had flown near all of these turnpoints over the years with hang-gliders, but certainly never on the same day! The task was 4 times the best distance I had so far achieved on a glider (my Silver distance, two weeks before), but the conditions were far better. For the first time, I was sometimes in conditions where dolphin-flying actually worked, even in a K23! It was a marvellous romp, but on the last leg, with the sun sinking rapidly and thermals down to half a knot at best, my hang-gliding conservatism got the better of me. According to Garmin, I had 40 km to go with 4200 feet to spare. My mental calculations told me I should make it, but I couldn’t even see the hill! I decided to play it safe, and took an extra, very slow climb. As I set off on the glide with the Mynd now in sight, I found much better lift everywhere, and ended up flying the entire final glide at virtually VNE! I still crossed the line with 2000 feet to spare. So, lesson one learned. Trust your instruments and your calculations. My second lesson was learned as soon as I handed my trace in to be uploaded. I had thought I had got an almost ideal start - climbing to base just behind the start line before heading off - but the trace showed me a couple of hundred yards the wrong side of the line - thus costing me 15 minutes at the start as well. Aargh! Just as well competitions are only for fun!
Friday’s task was set late due to the very low cloudbase - Montgomery - Halfway House - Craven Arms - Welshpool and home. I decided to go early, being in a slower glider, and sneaked out west towards the first turnpoint. Lift was good - but with base so low, I found myself either pulling brakes to stay out of cloud, or looking for a landing field! One cloud over Walton Hill got the better of me and even with full brakes I lost sight of the ground. At this stage I began to think that conditions were getting silly; so I took the next turnpoint and decided to fly back to the Mynd. However, the whole area was massively overdeveloped, and, forced to detour back towards Corndon, I soon found myself in an area of washout with no usable lift. Minutes later I was sitting in my chosen stubble field, with rain pelting down on the canopy and thunder not far off.
Saturday looked more promising, and with no-one having completed the task the day before, we were told we had to do it again until we got it right! Base was a little higher, but the lift was weak, and after a low save near Sarn, I got the first turnpoint. But the route toward the second looked awful - a band of low cloud and heavy rain made it obvious that anyone taking that route would land out. I decided to take a broad detour into Wales, planning to wait if necessary in the better sky, until the rain had passed through and thermals re-established themselves. Then, with everyone on the ground, I would be bound to win the day! My cunning plan seemed to be working well at first. I cut along under a heavy base, heading west, at 90 degrees away from the task line. About halfway between Montgomery and Newtown, the conditions became excellent - 50% cumulus, good base, and plentiful lift. Here I waited, darting from cloud to cloud, biding my time and enjoying the scenery. On the radio I listened as all the other competitors landed out or returned to the Mynd. I was having a marvellous time - but the rain that had grounded everyone else did not seem to be passing through as quickly as I had hoped. If anything, it was starting to expand, and encroach further west into my area of good sky. Gradually, the rain pushed me further and further to the southwest. At 4 o’clock I was over Newtown, now 10 km further from the second turnpoint than I had been two hours earlier. I started to think that finishing the task was now looking unlikely and that landing out might be unavoidable. So I reluctantly decided that a change of tactics was appropriate. There was still good lift to be had to the south, and if I was patient I might at least be able to complete my Silver duration. A few minutes later, even that plan was disintegrating as I found myself down to about 1200 feet and preparing to go into circuit. Newtown itself was now in heavy rain, and I noticed a line of low cloud, parallel to the advancing rain, moving towards me, as though an outflow from the area of rain was forming a miniature cold front convergence line. As a last resort, I flew back toward the rain and reached the line of cloud just below it. The result was 12 knots of climb, and I suddenly found myself back at 2000 feet, soaring back and forth along a 3 or 4 km frontal line. The line was moving south at only 5 or 10 knots, so suddenly my Silver duration looked achievable again! At this point I remembered the club, and that everyone else had landed a couple of hours ago, so put in a radio call to let them know I was still flying.
I spent over an hour with a huge grin on my face, belting back and forth along the cloud, maintaining up to 80 knots without losing altitude. Eventually, the convergence line pushed me deep into a horseshoe valley and began to pin me up against the south end. There were good landings in the valley, but I could see that the rain would probably be there before my 5 hours were up. To the south, I could see an escape route down towards Rhayader, and to the west, I could comfortably clear the windfarm and head towards Machynlleth, but I did not know what the landing options in either of these directions might be. So I resigned myself to staying put and landing in the valley below. Eventually, as the cloud pushed in, I pulled the brakes and joined a circuit. On the way down the heavens opened. The pelting rain was deafening and I pulled on extra speed, grateful for the generous dimensions of field ahead. The landing itself was uneventful, but it is surprising how ineffective a wheel brake is on soaking wet grass!
I checked the time - I had managed to stay airborne for 4 hours and 35 minutes, with further task distance remaining than when I had launched! The next hour was spent inside the canopy with the rain hammering down. Many thanks to Denise and Clive for a retrieve which did not go without incident - a farmer seeing us leaving the field with an enormous trailer suspected us of cattle-rustling!
That was the end of task week - as Sunday was untaskable. But what an excellent experience - to at last have ‘flown the nest’ in the company of other pilots and got to see some real countryside. I can’t wait for next season!
Allan has been flying in regional competitions this season (2003), and we believe won a day in his class at Booker.
Pete Orchard
Yes Amanda.
After many years on the Mynd she has decided to reform the syndicate. Three (or four) shares are available for this super ship, OK not glass but a consumate floater that has done her share giving her crew Golds and Diamonds but now she needs a bit more fresh air. Current C 0f A (to July 2004). The only down side is a trailer that is OK as a hangar only.
Interested?
Please contact Pete Orchard on
01588 638925 (Bishops Castle)
07968 74371 (Mobile)
Charles Carter
We are looking for a volunteer to oversee the bar. Not to be unpaid bar staff but to oversee the upkeep and tidiness of the bar area. There will be a reward for the first volunteer. One volunteer is worth ten pressed men so they say.
Chris Ellis
We often find ourselves flying in close proximity to buzzards, swifts and the occasional peregrine and kestrel. I have even flown in formation with a cormorant at 5,000 feet over the Oxfordshire plain and seen herons soaring to great heights (probably avoiding David Rance). We would like to have some really good air to air photos to use in our marketing and advertising literature. Can you help? Please don’t bump into each other whilst trying to formate on a photogenic bird.
William Brewis
Has anyone seen my EW barograph? It is a model B (the sort with the keypad and display) and it has “Brewis” scratched on the case. I suspect I might have loaned it to someone last Task Week.
Ann Parry
Welcome to new members: Philip Christie, Spencer Defriend, Phil Foster (rejoining us), David Holbrook, Alaistar Lankester, Tracy Lankester, Martin Phillips, Paul Richmond and Colin Troise.