MIDLAND GLIDING CLUB
NEWSLETTER

Number 80 July 1999

CONTENTS

There has been quite a lot of hot and sunny weather since the last newsletter, but not much classic thermal soaring weather. Nevertheless all sorts of cross-country tasks have been completed, often under quite trying circumstances. The two months of June 1997 and 1998 were very wet, so perhaps this is just a new pattern for the future. Whatever the forecast it may be well worth visiting the Mynd. A recent weekend (6^th - 7^th June) was forecast as wet and windy but in fact it was soarable at the Mynd on both days. If you are at the early training stage then almost any flyable day is worth a visit, since good soaring conditions are not a requirement, in fact they can be a hindrance if your goal is to progress to solo as soon as possible. There is another advantage in coming to the club on days with a poor forecast, and that is the availability of aircraft, launches and instructors. Do remember that the office is manned all day at the weekend, and a quick phone call (01588 650206) to Liz will tell you what conditions are like on the Mynd. It may be that there is low cloud and flying is impossible, but it is equally likely that there is a lot of fun to be had even on an ‘impossible’ day. It may be that on a windy and difficult day you get your first taste of wave flying. There is nothing to compare with taking off from a dark and windy Mynd, and then climbing into the smooth lift and blazing sunshine above the clouds. Generally speaking the best wave flying occurs on the least promising looking days. Next time you look at the forecast on a Friday night remember that the Mynd has its own micro-climate and conditions may be very different to the general Midlands area as described in the TV forecast.

The club has been under something of a cloud since the fatal accident last July, I am pleased that the inquest has finally been held, and as expected the coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. I hope that we have learned from the accident, and that we can now put it all behind us and move forward. Certainly the new arrangements for looking after visitors seem to be working, and I was pleased to hear the positive tone of the local Health and Safety officer regarding our systems, he even suggested that we are leaders in the country in this respect.

The Vega Strip, which has been closed since the accident, and the metalled road adjacent to it will be re-assessed to see how we can best create a greater separation between them. Howard Bradley has mown a strip of heather west of the road as one possible route for a new road, and we may well use his route in future.

As you know the ‘Membership Weekend’ was a great success, attracting 27 new members, and it showed that my previous pessimism about the size of the ‘market’ for gliding was misplaced. A heartening aspect of the weekend was the positive attitude of the visitors, a high proportion of whom actually joined the club there and then. The success of that venture will shape our future marketing plans, and our next forum will be the Telford Airsports Show in December, where we are sharing the BGA stand under the wings of the BGA Duo Discus as last year. Again we will be looking to attract new members and James Moore will be looking after the arrangements. If you are able to help or have any ideas, please let James or me know.

As this is the first News that our new members will have seen, I warmly welcome you all once again, and remind you that you should contact me directly at the club or using my phone message service (01426 954 208) or Email (jfack@mcmail.com) if you have any concerns or ideas that you would like to discuss.

The ‘privatised’ Discus syndicate is working well, and seem to be getting quite a bit of use out of the glider, which is now insured at a greatly reduced rate for named pilots only, and the red K13 has left our hangar. We can now hangar the whole fleet for the first time. The motorglider syndicate may have the aircraft by the time you read this, and I remind you that this is a large private syndicate in which the club has one share. I feel that it will be a useful addition to our capabilities, and will enable us to complete training up to Bronze level, where field landing training in a motorglider is mandatory. Apart from the BGA requirements, most of us would benefit from a field landing refresher course from time to time. The motorglider will eventually be stowed in our hangar, and the syndicate will be paying for any modifications to allow the German system of slinging one or more 15m gliders from the roof to allow this. If you have not seen the system, which is common in Germany, it is very safe and simple to operate, and is not expensive to install. I expect to have one K23 slung above the rest of the fleet before too long.

Talking of the hangar we have at last solved a longstanding problem of the glass skylights which were cracked and leaking and in danger of dropping glass on to gliders or heads below. Roger Andrews has fabricated some curved glass fibre translucent corrugated sheets which have replaced the windows on the south side and which seem to be a great success. They should be weatherproof, are easy to install and let in as much light as the windows.

The ‘short short west’ launch experiment is a great success. The winch is now positioned just east of the Portway for short west launches, allowing traffic to pass even during a launch. There is no problem in reaching the ridge from the new release point, but there is an unforeseen advantage to the new system. Under the old system the pilot released more or less on the ridge itself, having just levelled off his climb. This gave very little time for observing the ridge situation which might have changed since the "all out" was given. The new system puts the release point well to the east of the ridge, so you are flying straight and level towards the ridge traffic after release, and have plenty of time to plan your route. In addition you have the option to land to the south in the event of a cable break without having to overfly the hangar and clubhouse.

Having been a glider pilot on and off for the last 16 years, I am well used to experiencing the very good days of gliding, and also the bad days, when either everything seems to go wrong, or worse still, there is no flying.

In April I experienced one of those spectacularly good days that will stick in my mind for a long time. My syndicate partner and I were unable to fly our own glider due to a modification which was needed before flying it again, and there being a delay in obtaining the part.

Over the last couple of years or so, I have been enjoying flying locally and I had not bothered to think about getting my Bronze Certificate. However, now that all my flying would be in club gliders for a while, I decided that the time had come to do something about it.

Janet booked me on a one-day course at club standby rates. John took me for the day and I told him of my aim - to attempt both the flying test and written paper during the day. Well, I have always been an optimist!

However this is what happened. Firstly we took the K13 for 3 flights for John to check out my spinning etc. That was followed by another flight in the K13 for me to do my out of position landing. John then sent me off on my own to do another out of position landing in the K8. So far, so good. The next flight was done back in the K13 for another spot of spinning. I was obviously having a good day, as he was satisfied with my flying, and he passed me out. I was naturally delighted, so I looked around for any club glider going begging. I took 2 more launches in the K23, and sneaked a final one in a K21 solo before time ran out.

OK, so I broke no records, but how about that for a day’s flying!

By the way, I must admit, I was so whacked after all that, there was no way I could have done justice to the Bronze paper. I took and passed that a week later.

So, all you Mynd glider pilots who are thinking of getting some economical mid week training in - don’t. I want a few more slots left for later on in the year!

It seems as though the soaring season has finally made an appearance - more of our private owners are turning up midweek and as a club we are at last managing to get some cross-country flying in. Listening to both John and Phil at the end of a busy course day, it is clear that some of our good practices need re-confirming:-

• You must be in check to fly. Red pilots must have flown in the last three weeks, Yellow in the last six weeks and Blue in the last ten weeks. If you are out of check, and have not checked with Janet first that another instructor is on site, and the course is busy, then you probably won’t get a check!
• Everybody must ask the instructor in charge for permission to fly, no matter who you are. If you can’t get John, (you never know, he might be in a field somewhere - -!!?), then get permission from Phil. If it is not obviously soarable, ask for permission before you rig, and do not leave your car on the airfield. Think about it - if John is expected to be in charge he must know who is doing what, and have you tried changing ends with a locked car stuck in the middle of the airfield?
• Red pilots are not cleared to go cross-country, so naturally will stay in gliding range of a safe circuit. Yellow pilots must discuss their intended task with an instructor before they launch and all pilots should say what their plans are if they intend to leave site. A note in the comments column of the flying log will do.
• So now you are ready for a launch. Funny you don’t seem to recognise anybody on the field - surprise, surprise, they don’t know you either, and they have probably spent the last two days sitting in the club house taking bets on whether today was going to be wet or foggy. Seek out the log keeper, give your name, glider type, task etc and thank them for their help. They have paid good money for a gliding holiday we believe is second to none, don’t disillusion them.
• If there is an instructor at the launch point, launch from the side they send you to. If not launch down wind of any cross-wind there might be. Remember, you might well be surrounded by complete novices who though good at doing what they have been told, do not yet fully understand the reasons behind our methods. If you are up-wind of the winch and the wing closest to the winch drops, you will have greater difficulty picking it up and it could run under the retrieve cable launching you with a wire over the wing, not a good way to start the day! Also remember if the wing touches the ground pull off immediately. You might not have noticed but the grass is getting longer this year and if things start going wrong the power of our winch is likely to accelerate the problem rather than pull you out of it.
• Task complete, you’re back at site. Naturally your finish was high, safe and out of the circuit. You have been looking out as well as you always do. Remember we are a training site, instructors demonstrate out of position circuits, early pilots often fly out of position circuits, and if you came in fast you are an unexpected aircraft from their perspective (even though you did call five minutes). So double your scrutiny, looking out as well as in on the circuit; is the wind as it was? Is the field layout as it was? Expect the unexpected and then fly a perfect demonstration circuit so that anyone watching won’t even notice you doing it!

In view of recent events and talking with my instructors it is clear that the importance of lookout or collision avoidance can never be over-stressed.

Get to the Mynd as soon as you can and rig your glider. Prepare it to take-off level.

Help with hangar unpacking and report in to the duty team for briefing.

Take the glider to the holding area for the day. (It’ll be somewhere near the launch point). Bring the tow out gear back with your car. Leave your tail dolly in the launch point trailer for relighting or a possible end change later. If you leave your car on the field leave the keys in!

Unless you are preparing a 300 km or greater flight help the course for at least 5 launches. The course will at least recognise you when they bring you a cable.

You must be ready to launch before 12:00 if you want to get away before the winch break. THERE MUST BE A WINCH BREAK.

When you want a launch, report to the duty team on the ground or the radio with your intentions. Give your name and glider ID to the log keeper and your task and crew name for the remarks column. Who will know where you might be if you don’t return.

If there is a bunch of you then help the first few to get launched and take some of the load off the course. We’ll try to get you all away together.

Get into the glider in the holding area. Complete the positive and release checks and you can be towed to the launch point.

Launch, fly to the nearest thermal, climb away and have a nice day.

On your return make sure your landing time is in the logbook. We might just notice that you are sitting in a tree on Mynd-y-Onlyonetree.

The long awaited arrival of the Falke SF25c 2000 is still in the hands of the CAA. The aircraft is now in the country having been flown into Lasham from Stuttgart by Southdown Aero Services in whose workshops it now languishes. They are completing the UK C of A, fitting UK instruments and panel lettering and painting the UK registration lettering. It arrived with the German letters D-KGAG. As we thought that G-KGAG contained too many Golfs (apart from other considerations) we changed to G-KGAO to keep the repainting simple.

I visited Lasham on June 18^th to check it over and take some photographs (in the office for those interested) and to accelerate matters.

For those not aware of the way it has been organised I will give a brief résumé. The club has been discussing for some time the need for an SLMG for continuation training but finances have been such that it was not possible. The suggestion of a syndicate financed aircraft was put forward and I was asked to co-ordinate the project. A great deal of interest was shown and initially we were over-subscribed. We ended up with a syndicate of 11 of which MGC is an equal member. Several aircraft options were looked at but the final choice went to an SF25c with a 2 litre engine which was found in Germany by International Sailplane Services. It will be kept in the hangar and costs of trolleys and equipment will be met by the syndicate. Specified weekends will be reserved for club training and midweek use will be available by booking through the club office, where the diary will be kept. P1 flying will be limited to syndicate members and named club instructors who are suitably qualified. Cost per hour will be considerably less than bringing in other motorgliders or going to other sites. We hope members will make good use of it.

I launched and got into a muddle yesterday. From beginning to end the event lasted about two seconds and since my guardian angels were watching, having finished their afternoon tea, I am still here to tell you about it. Please read this and think about it so that it doesn’t happen to you.

It’s a beautiful day, the sky looks fantastic, the pundits have long gone to far corners of the country. Launching from the north to the south with the retrieve winch in the usual place, wind is from the west but moving around to the north west, about 15 knots but variable. Hang gliders and duvets are just staying up. This is a week day when the majority of the people on the ground at the launch point are course members of variable experience.

I pushed out and parked in line on the right side of the retrieve winch for the first launch after lunch. The two seaters have priority on week days and FWQ pinched the cable. My launch was next. It was slow and soggy and I made just 800 feet. Not enough to get away and I landed for another launch. The wind moved a bit further around to the north west. A confab with Pete on the main winch to discuss the poor launch and increasing tail wind component led to a plan for a much faster launch, particularly in the initial phase. Into the glider, checks done. Eventualities considered, including unforeseen ground hazards between the time of putting the wire on and ‘all out’ and various launch failures considered, visualised and planned for. Wings level, right stick to counter the cross wind and we are ready to go.

You now have all the information you need to identify and avoid an accident which will spoil your whole day. Before you read on see if you can anticipate what is about to happen. Stop right now and think about it.

The situation was something I was aware of but perhaps did not fully understand, probably because I did not train from ab-initio at the Mynd and the biggest part of the problem is linked to our launching system. Got it yet?

All Out. The course member who puts the cable on I know to be experienced but I failed to check that he also took the wing tip. He didn’t and the guy on the wing doesn’t run with the wing but merely lets so. Right hand stick to counter the cross wind isn’t good news if you have a tail wind component and no forward speed - it acts in exactly the opposite manner to the desired effect and actually starts to lift the up wind wing. The ground roll starts but the momentum continues to roll the wings to the left. This is a much faster initial acceleration than the last launch. The glider yaws slightly to the left, the wing touches the ground. Full opposite controls and the building air speed immediately corrects the situation as the flying controls gain authority. We rotate into a normal, if slightly untidy climb.

The danger has passed and I didn’t even know it! As the glider yawed to the left and the left wing dropped it made a very passable effort at scooping the retrieve winch wire up onto the top of the wing but fortunately ran over the top of it instead. By the faces of the witnesses on the ground when I landed this had clearly been a very close thing. Even from the safety of my bath that night, I couldn’t decide what course of action to take if I had succeeded in picking the wire up. The only sure thing was that it would have been No Fun.

So, what can we learn from this. Firstly, always, always launch from the downwind side of the retrieve winch in a cross wind. A similar problem will then drift you away from the cable and trouble, rather than towards it. I was aware of this as an issue but didn’t understand the consequences well enough for it to alter my plan of action in deciding where and how to launch. I think I might have been falsely reassured by the fact that the two seaters launch from the upwind side. I discussed this with JS afterwards and the reasoning was partly operational, ie two seaters have night of way on weekdays and it is easier for them to have a side to themselves, and more importantly, they understand the issues, know what they are doing and plan to avoid the problem with each launch.

Secondly, the moment my wing touched the ground I should have pulled off: In fact I should actually have pulled off before it touched the ground. In practice the time from identifying the roll from wings level to the wing tip touching the ground with 18m wings was an instant and my brain was fully engaged in recovery actions getting the wings level again and correcting the direction of the launch. There simply wasn’t enough brain capacity to assess this surprising course of events and make a decision to pull off. The only way to react quickly enough in the instant available, is to have rehearsed actions before moving a wheel, during the consideration of eventualities. Assessing the problem before the flight would have enabled me to react more quickly when the event occurred. In future, in a cross wind, I will start off with the up wind wing really low, perhaps a foot off the ground and if it rotates through ‘wings level’ whilst I am still holding opposite stick, and I now have a clear picture of this happening in my mind, I will pull off.

At the end of the day, we have a few more scratches on the underside of the left wing tip but I shudder to think what might have been.

David Rance is now a tug pilot, so he will hopefully be scrounging/selling tows on other tuggies’ days. Their anticipated co-operation is appreciated.

Two recent incidents where glider pilots got dangerously out of position highlights the necessity for anyone aerotow cleared to stay in check and current. Any check flight for red card or above should include an aerotow if the pilot is not current - Full Cats please note. Also any aerotow training/checking should include descent/levelling off on tow.

If you are not sure about doing this then try it with an instructor. It is possible for a properly briefed pilot to land on tow or even do a touch and go - ask Liz Tusar....!

We welcome the following members: Walter Baumann, David Brixton, James Calder, Ian Carter, William Cox, Andrew Davies, Michael Evans, John Jansen, Luke Jansen, David Jones, Robert Kronenburg, Simon Latus, Ian Love, Martin Makin, John Mills, Jason Nuttall, James O’Neill, Robert Poole, Duncan Purslow, Paul Radley, Jeremy Sherlock, Philip Smart, Michael Smitten, Martin Stott, John Thomason, Stephen Tilling, Paul Waller, William Warner, George Wilson and Peter Wood. Many of these joined as a result of the prospective members’ open weekend at the beginning of May, and almost all have been flying in the last two months, some of them on the evening courses. Remember, there is half-price launching at weekends before 10:00, and often plenty of flying to be had even if the forecast is not good.

Congratulations to John Chapman, Helen Eckert, Malcolm Hendra and Geoff Makin on going solo, Allan Reynolds on achieving Bronze C, David Crowson on Silver distance and David Rance on becoming a tug pilot. Also congratulations to Andy Holmes, who has been accepted by British Airways to train as an airline pilot. The day Helen went solo two visiting gliders (three pilots) collided while in circuit, but luckily were both able to land safely on the airfield, minus one canopy. We had easterlies and dull weather for much of May, but cross-country pilots made the most of what good days occurred, one of which was 3^rd May. 9^th June was another, Nick Heriz-Smith flew 490 km and Dominic Haughton nearly got back on a 300 km attempt (290 km).

Rockpolishers was held at the Mynd on 22^nd and 23^rd May, and our team went to Nympsfield for the third round, Paul Stanley (with Jeff Rowson) and Nick Heriz Smith flying there the previous day. Tasks were flown on Sunday only in all classes. Simon Adlard, Iain Evans and Paul Shuttleworth have been competing in the Regionals at Aston Down.

Harold went to school in Southport and joined the family firm of "Thomas Griffiths and Sons" at the age of twenty where he was to spend the next fifty years rising to the position of Managing Director. He often spoke about his life and work there, and it was obvious for all to see that he really enjoyed it.

In 1949 he became a founder member of the Southport Model Engineering Club and also the ARRA Model Car Club in 1955. He then took up Free Flying and Electric Gliding at the Leisure Lakes with the Southport Model Flying Club and spent many happy weekends at Primrose Hill. At about the age of fifty he astounded everyone when he commenced lessons to fly full-size gliders at Camp Hill, Sutton Bank and the Long Mynd. He also flew with the North Wales Gliding Club and closer to home with the Lancashire Gliding Club at Woodvale. His glider named Skylark was his pride and joy.

I know that he enjoyed his retirement, spending time either in his garden, travelling in this country and abroad, or as he did most mornings, feeding the birds and squirrels in the nature reserve at Formby before taking a little liquid refreshment with his pals in the Cheshire Lines Inn. He was really in his element with Alan the Senator, Bob the Flower, Geoff the Fish, John the Pie, Ronnie the Caulie, Gordon the Packet, Tony, Trevor, John, Jim, Christopher behind the bar and myself Gordon the Vicar. And you can imagine the numerous topics that would come up for debate. Harold would often put himself right in the firing line with his forthright and often controversial views.

But our object in being here today is not to eulogise Harold or paint pretty pictures of him, but simply to remember the man we knew and loved, and to thank God for the 74 years he was with us and deeply enriched all the lives that touched his.

With some 29 new members joining the club we again have a large number of ab-initios learning to fly. It has been apparent for some time that our first launch times have been slipping later and later, not always due to low cloud or bad weather!

My own personal conclusion is that this is due entirely to the attraction of Cookie’s magnificent breakfasts with a lot of club members enjoying the complete Monty breakfast each day at the weekend! Unfortunately if hangar unpacking waits for the hungry to finish their feast, we do not start the day until well gone ten o’clock. I am going to make a personal effort to solicit, badger, harass, Harris, plead or whatever is necessary to have the hangar unpacked BEFORE breakfast is served so that we can get off to a much better start. Weather permitting, we should be ready to fly well before ten o’clock.

If we are to able to achieve this early start all our new members will benefit considerably with more training flights before the day becomes soarable. Please do your bit to help by volunteering to help with hangar unpacking.

Whilst an earlier start is essential there are several other areas of our flying day that I believe could be managed in a much more efficient way to provide more launches in the time available. In no particular order they are:

• Club members at the launch point should be more switched on to what is happening. Cables need pulling out to gliders promptly and two persons on the cable are much better that one particularly if one holds the retrieve cable adjacent to the triangle to enable the strop to be untangled easily.
• All glider pilots and instructors should be strapped in ready to go by the time the glider is number three in the queue.
• Please consider your ‘eventualities’ options BEFORE the glider is at the front of the queue to prevent unnecessary delays to launches. Your options are unlikely to change in the short space of time it takes to move up the queue. Similarly why not do positives or cable checks beforehand as well. This does not mean you do not include the E in your checks before launch but you can say "Eventualities as just considered or discussed"
• Retrieve winch drivers should inform the winch driver of glider type when the cable is being attached not when the wing tip holder is already signalling take up slack. Any hold ups here can result in lost launches if the wing tip signaller has to abandon the launch because the delay has brought a landing glider into conflict with the launch.
• It is always noticeable that the launching efficiency seems to decrease as the square of the number of people milling around at the launch point, mainly because everyone seems to assume that A N Other is doing all the work. We ALL depend on others working to be launched at all and therefore everyone should be prepared to keep their eyes open and help at the launchpoint. It should not be necessary to have to be asked all the time! Equally there are a few who always seem to be working - well done to them!

If all of us can become just that bit more aware of what is going on and work just that bit harder to keep things moving, I am sure we can improve our launch rate considerably. This will mean more flying for everyone especially our new ab-initios and more funds for the club through increased flying revenue.

There now I’ve finished moaning, I’m off to enjoy a thoroughly fattening Cookie’s breakfast.

Ray Stoward is bringing the Fox up to the Mynd for the week-end of 17^th and 18^th of July.

Rule Number One - Don’t Collide.

Simple rule isn’t it? Yet we (the gliding movement) seem to have more than our fair share of mid-air collisions (they seem quite rare among the General Aviation side of flying). Of course we, as glider pilots, are constantly flying close to other gliders as a matter of course - and without all the ATC help power pilots get. This proximity isn’t dangerous, as long as we follow the simple maxim "see and be seen". What may surprise you is the lack of lookout displayed by some pilots. Couple this with poor airmanship (aggressive thermalling etc) and we have a recipe for disaster.

The Collision Avoidance Briefing is designed to help you avoid making the kind of meeting you only have once.

Intended for everyone, from tyro to pundit, to help identify and avoid the problems encountered in keeping a good lookout and staying safe.

The briefing carries a guarantee. You will learn something that you didn’t know before.

The briefing covers:

• Airmanship
• Rules of the air
• Lookout (how to do it)
• Collision analysis

Also, the other three rules, if you’re interested.

The dates are:

1. Saturday 3^rd July 1999 18:00
2. Friday 16^th July 1999 19:00
3. Sunday 25^th July 1999 09:30
4. Saturday 21^st August 1999 09:30 (First day of Task Week)

It really started the day before (18^th March). Chris Ellis and I met at the Mynd with the intention of flying Cirrus 18. Conditions were good with a 20 knot north-westerly and what looked like good cumulus forming into streets. Great visibility. Chris launched about 12:00 with the arrangement that he would land after the post-lunch launching rush unless he got away in wave, in which case I would see him at tea time. He disappeared pretty quickly and I settled down to a bit of fettling around the trailer and a leisurely lunch.

Lunch and post-lunch snooze passed and Chris reappeared on the ground. Good thermals but no contact with wave. There was clearly wave about with thermal streets formed with wide blue gaps between them. A quick conference with JS and he tried to explain that Corndon was acting like a speed boat heading into wind with the wash splitting around the bow. The thermal streets were forming in the wash as it came around either side of the boat. At the end of the streets could be the wave entry. I looked across at Corndon, which looked nothing like a speed boat to me, and pretended to understand.

A 1400 foot launch straight into 4 knots and up to cloud base. Good start. OK, off to the nearest cloud street who’s tail is to the south of the airfield. 50 knot glide, 80 knot ground speed. Hmm. The street worked a treat but after 20 minutes I was still only abeam Bishops Castle, heading north-west. 30 knot headwind, too much turning and an inability to pass lift. New Plan - no turning unless the vario says 5 knots or more. Much better progress, slow down to 40 knots in the lift and back up to 60 something in between, and in no time we are at the end of the cloud street with a big blue hole beyond. Now I thermal back to cloud base and then push out using the lift to build up lots of speed to cross the sink around the edge of the thermal. Except there isn’t any. Seriously smooth air. Slow down. One knot in wave. Back to 40 knots and the vario steadily rises until we are climbing at 4-5 knots. The clouds drop away below me and the fields get smaller. How high is this going to go? Passing 8000 feet above the Mynd and I am higher than ever before by glider. I look down and can now see clear as day JS’s speed boat. The whole block of hills point into the wind with the cumulus streaming around either side.

It’s about now that one starts to reflect on that technical gliding term ‘prat’. Having spent the thick end of a grand putting oxygen in during the winter, having driven all the way to Oxford to fill up the bottle, where was the mask? In the hangar locker… At 10,000 feet above the Mynd I could feel my heart starting to thump harder and faster and so broke off the climb, still in 4 knots. Back on the ground, Chris retrieved me and I left him to take the glider back to the launch point for his second flight while I retrieved the mask from the hangar. Suitably equipped with the potential to look like a Spitfire pilot, he set off again but by now the thermals were weakening and the moment had passed.

The forecast for the next day (19^th March) was almost identical and by 13:00 I was rigged and ready to go, except this time with oxygen mask and sealed barograph. Dave Crowson was also ready with the Discus and we planned to fly together. The sky was much cloudier than the day before, perhaps six eighths cover, but with clearly defined wave holes.

The launch was undramatic and I spent a few minutes finding a decent climb. Visibility in the last 700 feet before cloud base was murky. Dave didn’t appear to be launching next as planned, the Discus still not on line. Two club aircraft launched. I decided to push off towards Corndon. Quite a strong headwind again but lots of little bits of lift enabled me to fly straight out beyond Corndon without further turning. The wave hole was still about 6 miles from the Mynd and entry was easy. The air smoothed out and climb slowly increased until the clouds were dropping away nicely. The cloud layer was about a thousand feet thick and I felt slightly claustrophobic climbing up through this hole. I look for reassurance. Check everything again. GPS, spare batteries, map, instruments, radio, everything looks fine. As I rose above the clouds, the thrill of seeing the brilliant white folds stretching away to the horizon was simply breathtaking. Regular hills of cloud marking the wave patterns which seemed to be only a few miles wavelength. Happiness. But then the wave cycled and suddenly my peaceful climb turned into an even more rapid decent towards cloud. Decision time. 3500 feet descending rapidly, GPS says we’re 8 miles from the site on the wrong side of Corndon. Horrible area for landing out. My wave hole has closed completely, seemingly in an instant. I am definitely going to sink into cloud but which heading should I take. Back to the Mynd or push on to the north west? The thought of other Mynd traffic behind me trying to get into the same wave and the lure of some big fields north west of the hills makes my mind up. Head down, turn and slip on, GPS ‘card compass’ on and start the instrument scan. IMC training for real. Speed up to 60 knots, head down, concentrate, wings level, hold the heading, speed stable, concentrate, the decent slows, stops and then we burst into the sunshine again in the next wave hole, straight into three knots. Ice on the wings. This is more like it. The climb increases and very soon we are at 8500 feet. Time to take stock and relax a little.

Chatter on the radio reminds me of the airway and a study of the map shows that I must push on to clear underneath it. A pain. Much more north in the wind at this altitude enables me to slide along a bar almost due west at high ground speed and clear of the airway and then climb back to about 10,000 feet QNH. Gold height? Not quite yet and I search for the extra few hundred feet to no avail. There is clearly a second wave system working above this level with lenticulars about 5000 feet above me but it takes ages for me to work out how to move up a level and when I do it is by luck. Suddenly, the vario winds up and I am scooped up into a new wave, climbing at 6 knots again with a new lenticular forming just above me. When I climb level with the cloud I tear along the leading edge with one wing almost touching the cloud that looks so hard it will rip my wing off if I touch it. Climb to 16,500 feet QNH. Another couple of thousand would make diamond height but I can’t find it. The sky is full of lenticulars but with seven eighths low cloud cover, I know that there would be few enough people to share this sight today. Simply fantastic. I push on hopping from bar to bar with little sink between until a nagging doubt about how far from home I am sets in. I start to feel disoriented as there are no ground clues here and my only external reference, the sun, keeps moving. Oxygen level is getting low as well. A Harrier flies past about a mile away, same level and rocks his wings. I’m glad he’s on my side. I start to feel uneasy. Not enough oxygen? Time to turn for home.

Over the Mynd. The GPS says I have arrived but the hole in the cloud cover doesn’t show me anything I recognise. Time to sit and wait a while. Still in lift. Eventually a hole shows me the two green fields just north of the site. Out with the brakes and undercarriage and we spiral down, through the hole into a dark, murky, and very different world from the brilliant, light, white world I have been playing in for the last few hours.

Straight down, check the traffic, into the circuit. A rough final approach at speed into 30 knots has the Cirrus flapping like a seagull. I roll out and then, peace except for the sound of a ticking barograph…

In the hangar on the roof above the bar, club parachute room and briefing room, are a wide selection of varied objects, some of which are of great antiquity. On the weekend of the 31^st July - 1^st August 1999 these will be brought down, hopefully onto the hangar floor for club members to reclaim. At the end of the weekend any object not reclaimed and not of obvious use to the club, will be, I am afraid, disposed of.

Please wait for that weekend and for the items to be bought down, and do not go up there yourself. I would resist the temptation to find out what is really up there!

By the time you read this I should have put registration forms in the clubhouse. Even if you have already told me that you want to compete, please fill in a form and give it to me or leave it in my pigeon hole.

Janet says that if you want accommodation for Task Week book as soon as possible; all the rooms are booked already and the bunks are going fast.

The other night Chris Harris was behind the bar, yes, I said behind the bar and was chatting to someone about parachuting, which I could tell by his reactions was something he desperately needed to do. Due to me earwigging the Mynd bar talk, he has now unwittingly accepted the challenge of me collecting £1,000 for the Air Ambulance for him to jump. This is a significant amount to raise, and I would like to achieve this as it is obviously for a good cause, and also because I would like to see Chris fulfilling his one wish in life, to jump out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane!

Please help by sending your donations to Jan or Liz in the office.

We use sealed lead acid gel cells; these have a reasonable power density at reasonable cost, and can be used in any attitude with no leakage. The type we use are really designed for light duty use in such applications as fire alarms, not for heavy discharge. With our use they should last for a couple of years if they are looked after correctly.

It has become clear that many people do not realise that the sealed gel cell lead acid batteries we use are vulnerable to mechanical shock; the internal structure is easily damaged though there will be no external sign.

There is also a common misconception that glider batteries should be fully discharged after use; this is true for Nicad but not for lead acid. Lead acid batteries are very soon damaged if left in a fully discharged state; for long life they should be maintained fully charged.

We have recently installed a new charger for club batteries. It has 8 independent intelligent charging circuits, which are designed to charge batteries quickly and efficiently, with protection against misuse. There is a rapid charging cycle followed by a float charge to maintain the battery in a fully charged state. The charger will also check the state of the battery.

When a battery is connected the yellow ‘Charging’ light should come on. The next morning the green ‘Battery OK’ light should be on. If not, the battery must be regarded as suspect.

I am writing this article under duress from the editor who says he wants a ‘Ra-Ra’ style article on Rockpolishers for the newsletter. So, if you could possibly imagine me in a short cheerleader’s skirt with pom-poms then I'll begin.

Episode 2 of Rockpolishers 1999 took place at the Mynd in late May. Never being one to shrink from a challenge I volunteered to direct and task set. When Saturday dawned dull and grey with a 30 knot westerly blowing, I realised that task setting is a doddle when viewed from the comp pilot’s chair, but something akin to the Red Queen’s impossible task when viewed from the Comp Director’s lofty stool. Undaunted by the weather and encouraged by the unfailing optimism of our CFI, I set a wave task of approximately 240 km up to Vrynwy and down to Abergavenny for the pundits with shorter variations for the intermediates and novices.

The sun gradually appeared and thermals obligingly began to pop but still no sign of the elusive wave. Chris Harris and Paul Garnham decided to show everyone how it was done by doing Vrynwy out and return before anyone else had even called a start.

Given this encouragement most people took a launch and set off only to be stymied by the 30 knot wind and increasing spread out. Doug Gardner made me feel better by managing to turn Vrynwy and Abergavenny before landing at Usk. Ann Parry defended the honour of the Mynd by winning the novice class and at the same time flying further than the winner of the intermediate class.

I was relieved not to end up in the dew pond for my troubles. I probably escaped this indignity by going on a retrieve to collect William Brewis from a field. This experience was enlivened by Baby Brewis sitting in the middle of the meadow merrily waving what looked like a dead mouse at us. Later we were unable to find the offending object and wondered if she’d eaten it! Strangely enough she didn’t want her supper!

Sunday’s forecast was more encouraging, with less wind and more sun forecast. In practice, the only blue sky we saw all day was a wave slot over the Caradoc valley. By lunchtime William was frustrated enough to take a downwind aerotow to the slot, then climbed to 8,000 feet in the wave before setting off. This led to some of the more adventurous following suit. Some had epic struggles just trying to return to the Mynd before abandoning the attempt and having interesting field landings (buy Julian a drink and I'm sure he will tell you the tale!) and several others decided to head for the more inviting flatlands of Sleap.

Doug Gardner again won the day for the pundits, turning 2 turn points before descending through cloud at a time when cloud base at the Mynd was only 100 feet and just failing to make it into Shobdon. William saved the day for the Mynd by winning the intermediate class and much to the novice’s visible relief the novice class was scrubbed.

Overall it turned into an excellent weekend for team Mynd, we won the weekend and this has now put us into the lead! We've come a long way from the days not so long ago when Simon Adlard used to arrive at other clubs to be welcomed by the comment "so you must be the Mynd cross-country pilot!"

As I write this article the club are competing in the third leg at Nympsfield and everything will be left to play for at the last event at Usk in July (not that I want to put any pressure on our team you understand!). A least 2 of our novices will be moving up to intermediate next year so as usual I'll be on the look out for more novices - any volunteers?