MIDLAND GLIDING CLUB
NEWSLETTER
Number 95 January 2002
For
Sale........................................................................................................................................................................................ 1
Instructors Wanted.................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Chairman’s Contribution........................................................................................................................................................... 2
From the Flying Field................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Blue Sky the Gipsy (The Annual Installment of our Traveller’s
Tale)............................................................................... 4
Juniors 2001................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
So You Would Like Smooth And Pimple Free Skin?.......................................................................................................... 12
Dinner and Trophy Presentation March 2002...................................................................................................................... 12
One or possibly two shares available in our wonderful Schemp Hirth Open Cirrus competition number 18. Amazing 44:1 performance from 17.7 metre wings helps to explain how it was used to win the Nationals. Proven performance. As good as wood for scratching in weak conditions. Cockpit big enough to house the treasurer. Demand oxygen installed for those high wave flights. Paddle brake modification fitted to ensure you get down again. Water ballast tanks fitted for go faster flying. New Becker radio for telling everybody how well you are doing. Garmin GPS to show you the way. Sound trailer for towing to competitions. All ADs completed. Probably the best availability of any syndicate glider on the Mynd. Full tow out gear to help get you into the air quickly. Easy, vice free handling for those not keen on vice. Undoubtedly the tidiest Open Cirrus in the country!
Call Dave Rance 01952 585052 or Chris Ellis 01691 622788
The Shrewsbury School will be flying on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 1300 until dark, until the courses start. John Stuart is looking for instructors to help him on the following Wednesday afternoons: 9th January, 15th January, 23rd January, 30th January, 6th February, 20th February, 27th February, 6th March, 13th March, 20th March. Please contact him if you can help.
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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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Club web
site: www.longmynd.com |
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Julian Fack
As 2001 draws to a close I feel that the club is at something of a crossroads. Due to Foot and Mouth we have had the kind of disruption that affects every aspect of club life, yet these things often provide an opportunity to take stock and consider where we have come from and where we are going in the future.
With this in mind the committee asked Paul Garnham and Keith Mansell to compile a comprehensive questionnaire, which has been circulated to all members. Please take the time to fill it in and return it, it is your opportunity to help shape the future of your club.
Before Foot and Mouth struck the amount of club flying, as distinct from trial lessons and courses, was slowly declining, and our return to the Mynd in July has done nothing to reverse that trend. Unlike smaller clubs, we have an expensive infrastructure of a large fleet, a first class launching system operated by professionals, and professional instructing during the week. This means that we need a certain, quite high, level of income to support that infrastructure.
Due to the declining level of club flying we are forced to find that income elsewhere, and in the short term we have chosen to put our marketing efforts into trial lessons, since this can produce almost instant results. In spite of Foot and Mouth, since our return to the Mynd we sold around 20% more trial lessons this year compared to the same period last year, and at increased prices. In particular the ‘Mile High’ promotion has been very successful.
A look at the logbook shows that our main capacity problem is a lack of instructors, not a lack of aircraft. Any basic instructor can take a trial lesson, but not do check rides, which explains why there is sometimes a problem for members getting a two seater flight when trial lessons are taking place. In that case stopping the trial lesson would not help the member’s situation.
The treasurer makes the point that we will need to make extensive efforts early next year to attract new members, and to fill our courses, as well as to continue trial lessons at an appropriate rate.
The problem with this strategy is that we are becoming more of a commercial gliding operation, and less a members’ club. The questionnaire is your chance to comment on this state of affairs.
One of the particular strengths of the MGC has always been the social atmosphere, and one of our weaknesses has been the lack of well-organised briefing and lecturing facilities. We have always known that planning problems would prevent us from making any useful extension to the ‘footprint’ of our premises, and the successful K23 ‘hangar dangler’ is just one example of the lateral thinking needed to make full use of what we have already got.
Along the same lines is a dream project cooked up by two of our architect members, Mike Whitton and Colin Calderhead. They started from the stance of the poor ventilation and state of repair of the bar and TV/briefing room areas, and bearing in mind the fact that wings of four of the gliders need to be stored in the space above those areas, they came up with a daring plan to build upwards above the dining and quiet room areas.
This idea is in its very early stages, and needs much more work before it can even be pronounced feasible, let alone be costed, but the mere principle had the committee quite excited.
The bones of the plan are as follows: we would create a dedicated briefing area where the quiet room is today, the bar/corridor area would become a staircase, and the existing briefing/TV room would become a storage area for the kitchen and also for parachutes.
The ‘upstairs’ area, at present used for a small amount of rough storage, would become a new room in the centre of the arch, reaching all the way to a new double glazed picture window at the west end overlooking the valley. This would be a big room, as long as the quiet room and pool table area combined, and somewhat wider than the quiet room, the width would be dependent on the headroom available under the arch. The new bar would be located towards the hangar end of the upstairs room, and parts of the north and south walls of the new room could be used for storage cupboards, below the lower part of the main arch.
The hangar would be unaffected, since the wing storage areas only reach over the bar and TV room ceilings. If we needed additional hangar space it is obvious that a second 15 metre glider could be dangled alongside the K23 in the existing roof space.
All of this is a pipe dream at the moment, but I write to let you know that there are possibilities for major improvements to our buildings. The financial aspects of the plan can wait until we have carried out a survey to determine the structural feasibility of the plan, and only then will we check out the probable ‘ball park’ costings. In the meantime you can think about your views on such an ambitious plan.
One advantage of such a plan is that it should concentrate minds of both the members and the committee to consider the future of our club. You might feel that if we are to spend money on major projects, then it should be on the fleet not the buildings, or you may feel that we should not plan on any spending other than that which is strictly necessary to keep the status quo. There can be no doubt that this plan would result in a much more comfortable and impressive clubhouse, and since club flying in the club fleet is declining, at the same time as the number of private owners is increasing, maybe we should be thinking about making our surroundings more appropriate to the 21st century.
A well equipped and spacious briefing room would be a great asset and would enable a much more professional atmosphere to prevail on both our courses, our weekend flying, and obviously during task week. One aspect of gliding that is showing worthwhile growth, against the worldwide trend of reducing numbers in gliding as a whole, is competition flying. In future we may wish to address that area and devote more than just one week a year to it.
With that exciting prospect in mind I will wish you all a Happy New Year and an excellent and safe soaring in 2002. Do also remember that, unlike many clubs during the winter period, there is also some excellent flying to be had, not just at weekends but also on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and all day Fridays. Contact the office (01588 650206) on those days for details.
Please note that my e-mail address has changed to j.fack@virgin.net if you want to contact me at any time. You may also leave a message on 07626 954 208 at any time.
Ann Parry
Welcome to new members Richard Mellings, David Phipps, Andrew Robinson and Eileen Robley.
Congratulations to Warwick Gück on going solo. The end of October continued well, with John Roberts in wave at 10,000 feet on 29th. Then there was a lovely northwesterly wave day on 31st October when Chris Harris got to 15,600 feet asl above the club, David Rance did two climbs to around 12,000 feet either side of lunch, with Nick Swales also up there. I was there too, gaining my Gold height. There was more wave in December, with east wind wave from 12th to 16th December, enjoyed by Shrewsbury School among others. Chris Nickolaus got to 6,500 feet on 13th, and on the 14th John Stuart noted that the “ground wind so light pleasant surprise to find it working so close to the hill”. He got to 5,000 feet. On the 15th it was Roger Andrews turn to fly to 5,000 feet in the east wind wave, but now the wind was so strong that they stopped winching and aerotowed only from Howard’s Way. By the 16th low cloud stopped the wave flying.
We celebrated the winter solstice with flying in weak wave and thermals on 22nd December, with flying also on 23rd. On 28th Oxford University Gliding Club enjoyed bungeying in two-seaters in very strong winds, which dropped during the day enabling John Roberts to launch in the Discus and rapidly become a small speck in the sky at the south end. He climbed to about 6,000 feet before breaking off to let someone else have a go. Then came more snow, and ridge-running for two Discuses. I enjoyed watching them as I walked up the hill, and discovered Andy Holmes and Ian McArthur had been flying on a stunning afternoon as the sun set and the full moon (a blue one) rose. On the last day of the year we had over 30 winch launches in a still frosty and snowbound world. Very lovely to fly over, and worth walking up the hill for. There was flying on New Year’s Day.
Mark Wakem
It was a funny old year. Certainly from Blue Sky’s point of view. When she emerged from hibernation in a cool, dry barn on a luckily disease-free farm she went for C of A at Roger’s satellite premises and then didn’t go back to the Mynd. She, like a lot of us, had a nomadic gliding existence while we waited for the Mynd to be open again.
We started with the kind friends at Sleap; but only in a holding pattern for a week. Anyway, we went to the VGC National Rally combined with Slingsby Week at Sutton Bank. Particularly appropriate; although one doesn’t normally mention a grown-up lady’s age, this is a special year and Blue Sky was fifty in July. According to her log book, in July 1951 she did her manufacturers’ test flights and then went to the Nationals where Geoffrey Stephenson flew her to second place. I suppose you could call that “works straight out of the box”!
The test flights would probably have been flown out of Slingsby’s own airfield at Kirbymoorside or possibly from Sutton Bank, just a few miles away. So that is good enough an excuse for a party and I decided to mark her Birthday on the Bank. At the “dining-in night” on the Thursday evening of the rally we had birthday cake for over sixty and as Blue Sky couldn’t fit upstairs in the clubhouse she was represented by a model.
Any excuse for a party; but we’re getting ahead of the story. First the trip over there went smoothly, thanks to Mr Git’s excellent trailer and a map faxed by the YGC, showing the easy route for trailers along the south face via Wass and Ampleforth. Like the Royal Family and management teams of top companies we don’t all travel together, so Joan arrived later. With immaculate timing I found all the necessary elements for a site check and completed the procedure before Joan got there. Mike Wood, formerly the course instructor for many years, was trying to disappear for a cup of tea but needed little persuading as there was a T21 and a tug looking spare.
I have flown the T21 quite a few times before, and I knew the first part of the experience would be a wrestling match. But as I tried unsuccessfully to avoid the 60 knot gale by hunching down, the wind noise in my flying helmet made verbal communication virtually impossible. However, once released and down to a more normal 30 knot serene virtual silence was restored. It seemed to go OK, and I was allowed to do my own thing.
Next day, Peter Teagle kindly saved me the trouble of rigging by offering me his Sky which I enjoyed for a couple of hours. I am still trying to decide whether the ailerons handle better, or it is just that his has no yaw string!
Blue Sky came out to play the following day, and eventually we had three on the ridge at once. The third has just finished a major restoration by the vintage group at Booker. It was once a military aeroplane, as it was supplied new to the Empire Test Pilots School where it taught them about low-speed aerodynamics and gave ETPS a chance to enter competitions in the 1950s. The Booker guys have done a magnificent job; also my old trailer lives on with this machine.
From Booker came good news, that they have made a mould to produce correctly-shaped canopy bubbles for the Sky/Kite 2/Gull 4. Hence why I have had to stick with my serviceable but not pretty canopy up till now. In the past, I would have been able to ask the Canopy Doctor (the late Robin Bull, Alison Rowson’s father) to fix it, but no-one seems to have the patience to repair cracks to his standards these days. Now all I have to do is buy one and not damage it whilst fitting. (Help, Roger?)
As the week wore on, it looked like the weather was turning duff, so I have Chris Hughes to thank for persuading me to rig and getting the best day’s flying this year within the (then) current BGA restrictions. I had four hours flying, did Sutton Bank-Thirsk one and a half times into a “brisk” wind and got to all of 2800 feet from a low point of 600 feet, which gave us the Vintage day prize. At one point I saw Chris in his Prefect and Mike Wood in his Oly pushing off to the north west at some distance below me, and reflected that the combined ages of pilots and gliders with flying hours of pilots and gliders would probably be a world record. Hope I’m still with it enough to enjoy gliding when I reach their age!
I should say that we all stayed within gliding range of a site; the glass locals took advantage of their better performance and some wave, to reach over 20,000 feet in one case. I tried, honest, but couldn’t manage that.
As the wind turned to the north and strengthened it would have made flying “interesting” even for glass. Other activities included visiting the Air Museum at Elvington, and an old custom (which I suspect may have been invented the week before) of Flat Hat Flinging over the edge at Sutton Bank. In the latter case the winner is the one who gets furthest into the valley, but of course the howling gale up the slope means that the hats end up back behind you in the trailer park. After not succeeding with hats, they tried skimming stones out into the lift as one would do on water, and these were duly lifted back over the top of the ridge!
So we left early and continued our gipsy existence. Thanks to the hospitality of Derby and Lancs, Blue Sky camped at Camphill until their annual vintage rally at the end of June. I took the opportunity to upgrade our trailer picketing gear with a full set of heavy duty ground anchors and some fluorescent tiedown straps which can be seen half a mile away so people can’t walk into them. The screw anchors came from a caravan centre; don’t bother with those things sold in pet shops for screwing dogs to the ground. The loops on top will just pull open and, even worse, they have that place on the shaft where they are crimped to retain the swivel which acts as a “snap here” stress-raiser. Then they break off flush with the ground, but with enough still protruding to go through the sole of a shoe or a tyre!
The Camphill rally produced some more good flying; I did about four hours in some good thermals. (My usual experience when visiting other sites renowned for their ridge or wave lift!)
As the Mynd was still closed at that time, Blue Sky went back to Sleap for another month, courtesy of the Shropshire Soaring Group and Aero Club. Unfortunately we didn’t have an opportunity to actually fly there this time, but I will get round to it eventually. And so we finally made it back up the Mynd, about four months and 15 flying hours late, but as I have said many times before, my kind of flying and vintage flying in particular is all about going to other sites. So we did very well, considering the circumstances.
Footnote One: You don’t have to own a vintage, classic or even slightly old glider to be in the VGC. You can even bring a plastic one to a rally; just think of it as a gathering of people who want to fly. As someone pointed out some time ago, the racing/competition fraternity are always striving to go faster and hence spend less and less time in the air. Where’s the point in that? The VGC try to do the opposite, though I think the seven hour flight done by Mark the Swallow pilot was a little over the top!
Footnote Two: The reason that canopies from that era are
so small is that the technology used consisted of “free blowing” a Perspex
bubble. The mould consisted of a flat
sheet with a hole in it; the hole doesn’t have to be round, an ellipse being
more useful. The sheet of heated
plastic is clamped between this and a flat backing plate and then air is blown
in behind so the bubble is formed as the sheet stretches up through the
hole. When the required height is
reached you stop the air and wait for the Perspex to cool. As the plastic surface is in free air there
should be no optical distortion. Then
you use part or all of the bubble to make the canopy; in the case of the Sky
(and similar Kite 2 and Gull IV) you can see that the mould plane is sloping
down forward and some extra flat pieces were riveted to make the sides.
So the technique is (relatively) simple, but the problem was the limited range of shape available and size. These days canopies are pulled over or sucked down into a three-dimensional mould. The downside is that the most common shapes available are too wide to adapt for early gliders like the Sky! Richard Moyse’s Sky based at Lasham had the “neck” behind the cockpit widened to suit a modern width bubble, and Bryan Middleton’s Gertie at Dunstable has a similar transparency which has suffered some major torture to fit the standard narrow neck.
Andy Holmes
It makes me sick that I missed two of them - Junior Nationals that is. How did I get back there this year, what happened while I was there and, more importantly, what is the plan for 2002 for the growing Mynd junior team?
My first experience of the Juniors was in 1997 when Simon Adlard offered to take Ian Mac and me flying in the Juniors at Bidford in his huge Janus. What a top week! Martin Wells, directing, managed to get seven days out of nine in some fairly indifferent weather. My memories are that several of the days involved a rainy morning, setting off on a 100 to 150 km task after four p.m. and landing before six. Nice one! Flying in a big competition like this was something new to me and I was wrapped up in start lines, tactics, turning points, final gliding, BEATUPS. I recognised the Juniors as a ‘cool’ part of gliding that I wanted to be part of, especially with the infectious enthusiasm and social scene. I decided straight away that I needed to be there in 1998 with my own glider and a willingness to learn. Thanks Simon.
Another year passed by and I had just completed my silver in time to fly the 1998 Juniors at Lasham, in the Imperial College-owned Club Astir. I’d flown 296 all summer and loved it to bits. With few solo members at IC it was virtually ‘my’ glider. Ian Mac crewed for me (thanks mate) with Nicola Claiden. I learned a great deal and felt special to be a part in something that only the previous year seemed like the equivalent of watching Formula One on TV. Now I was actually taking part. Briefly put, day one was my first ever field landing. Day two was my first blue cross-country, resulting in a field landing with three other gliders near Parham which was very sociable. The third day was a 300 km. Despite my best efforts to press on, and being the last glider to land, I completed 260 km and landed tired and chuffed. That was a significant milestone - increasing my longest solo cross-country in the UK by over 200 km. As a contrast to this long flight, day four was a faff. The fifth and last day though, was a COMPLETED 240 km. What an amazing feeling - a great way to end the week.
For 1999 and 2000 I was busy with British Airways training which I was very lucky to be selected for. I was able to continue gliding, helped by access to Richard Hinley and syndicate’s ASW19 (thanks guys!) but unfortunately not as much as normal. Cross-country flying was parked for a while and the Juniors became a social event for the odd evening. This was helped by having the 2000 Juniors at Oxford GC with my BA training at the time at Oxford airport!
After settling into my job in 2001, I definitely wanted to fly the Juniors this year at Aston Down. I entered and booked the holiday then sat back and watched as foot and mouth spread, stopping cross-country flying and closing the Mynd. Some local Discus flights from Shobdon kept me sane but it was flying several days of the Lasham Regionals as P2 to Paul Stanley that got me moving in more ways than one. A week later I flew 320 km to Leicester and back from Lasham in Imperial College’s Discus - my first 300 km.
Soon after I was at the Mynd to collect our Discus 493 for the Juniors. I decided to fly it first, and as Neal Clements had set Tim’s I could be heard muttering “I’ll only try Tim’s if there’s no chance of landing out”. My parents were on their way to the Mynd so we could convoy to Aston Down with trailer and caravan that afternoon. Of course, with the cross-country ban finally lifted and an incurable case of enthusiasm, we all cruised off towards Shrewsbury and turned Shelton tower. Unfortunately we also landed out on the way back south, but in sociable groups - my field already containing Mike Whitton with Dominic arriving shortly after. This was very good value to practise a field landing just before the comp, and good practice for my crew too (thanks guys!). After another night in the Mynd bar, we convoyed to Aston Down...
Now it is Monday. The first two days have been scrubbed. We’ve fettled the glider, found the best place for GPS and loggers and I’ve flown. A circuit and two local soaring flights have allowed me to have a look around, practise climbing with other gliders and fly two finishes. Down the airfield, past the caravan, climbing turn curving left, 180° right then curve onto finals, land by the caravan, have a cold drink. Nice one!
Monday is a task day and I’ve got butterflies. This is where I find out if we are going to embarrass ourselves or not (we being me). 328 km and likely to be blue. Aston Down - Chipping Campden - Lyveden (near Corby) - Chieveley - Cirencester - Aston Down. Waiting to start it becomes apparent that I’m not going to get to max start height. I think about a comedy radio call “Yep... If I was in a K8 right now I’d be just itching to set off on a 300” but I keep quiet. There are two K8s in the comp this year and the pilots are top guys. This is not the best day for them to try a 300 but as the week progresses it shows that these boys are having AT LEAST as much fun as us in our tupperware and have EXACTLY the right attitude. I start with the first ten gliders and have a relatively slow first leg along the Cotswolds but as the thermals improve I achieve a nice rhythm of cruising at around 70 knots and climbing in 3 knot total averages. I see a lot of two other Discii and we mix and match most of the way around, some decisions splitting us up, but soon meeting up again. This is the most enjoyable solo cross-country flight I have ever had. No low scrapes, just cruising with my mates. From Chieveley, heading northwest towards Swindon I start to work out final glide sums. I’ve not bothered to learn how to manually input final glide data into 493’s LNAV as I don’t like the head down time. There is no JSW calculator either so it’s five miles per thousand feet and a 500 foot margin and see how we go. I climb to 5000 feet in 3 knots and point at Cirencester, as we’re final gliding around the last TP. I don’t really have enough height yet but hope for a good pull-up or a favourable run. Unfortunately, it is sinky around Swindon so I top up by 1300 feet assuming it will be sinky all the way. After this climb I have a really favourable run home with the last 10 miles flown very fast. Beatup, pullup, land. I’m met by a mad man in a beeping white Volvo who’s kidnapped my Mum - must be Dad. You’d think they were pleased or something. Apparently I’m one of the first back but I keep mentioning that I was also one of the first to start. Inside I’m as pleased as a pleased bloke on a particularly pleasing day. I’ve never flown a comp myself where I am one of the first home and I get to watch the others finish. Two thirds of the field of 47 got round too. 17th for the day at 71 kph, the fastest Discus achieving 76 kph. An LS8 did 78 kph. I’ve just flown a 300 in the blue. It seems I’m not going to embarrass myself this week. Not in a flying way anyway, not yet. All these positive thoughts are just pushed away though. I know I’ve had a fairly lucky day but the goalposts have just been shifted. Top half overall, ideally top 20 is my aim. Roll on day two.
Here we go again - Tuesday looks similar. Cumulus to start then becoming blue. 258 km. Aston Down - Bath - Devizes - Chieveley - Calvert - Stow - Aston Down. This is basically an anticlockwise lap of Lyneham and Brize airspace. Waiting for the start line to open there are some good, strong climbs and nice cumulus streets towards Bath. I know that I would benefit from starting later and trying to use the other gliders more, but being in a good position at cloudbase with streets on track and the thought it will turn blue soon, I am one of the first to start.
The run to Bath is great - I don’t see much of anyone. There are good energy lines to weave along and occasional good climbs to top up in. I’m the first to turn Bath but it’s going blue. Aaaah! Still, most of yesterday was blue and I just flew exactly on track or made small detours to circling gliders or the downwind side of good thermal sources and it seemed to work fine. I slow down slightly until I’m confident it is working well in the blue, but some of the later starters are catching up - I’m marking their next climb each time. We turn Chieveley in a large group and head north towards Calvert rail junction near Bicester. It becomes evident that everyone is detouring west of track slightly to take a climb from Didcot. A Duo and I fly straight on track towards Calvert. The logic is that if I can climb well on track and Didcot isn’t producing anything special, this may pull back the time I have lost. If not, then at least I tried something different. In the future I am ALWAYS going to Didcot. A low session into Calvert with a couple of other gliders set the tone for the next half an hour, until improving conditions towards the last TP allow me to climb onto final glide. At 66 kph I’m 29th for the day. A quarter of the field land out, but the fastest Discus did over 80 kph. This is the day where I could have improved the most. A speed in the low 70s and a placing in the low 20s would have resulted from sticking with the other gliders towards Didcot. I’ve learned a lot though. I need to start later, change gears more readily and stick with the other gliders more, although not to the detriment of my own decision making (Didcot decision notwithstanding). I’ve never flown with water before but the time has come. This solution is partly psychological, partly technical - I’ll fly the next task with a barrel per side and see how we go.
The team aren’t sure about Wednesday, so they set an Assigned Area Task. Unfortunately the team aren’t sure about AATs either. There is much discussion at the briefing as we realise that the task sheet is unclear. In the end it transpires that they want us to fly to Andoversford then fly northeast between 040 and 080 as far as we can then return three hours after our start time. Simple! I won’t try to explain the scoring rules here - suffice to say that the best score would be for a fast, long flight of exactly three hours landing back at the airfield. There is a disadvantage for returning early or late, and a penalty (although not as disastrous as in a normal task) for landing out. My first concern is how the Discus will handle with some water in. I try hard to find the best rate of climb in the pre-start thermals and find I’m flying it exactly as before, except with a couple of knots of extra speed for the same angle of bank. Great! If it still climbs well, and I can fly slightly faster for the same glide angle, things are looking good. With the nature of the task and the expected blue conditions, I’m expecting to see lots of other gliders on the way round, so I’m in no rush to start. There’s a thermal in about the right place so I join it and see a few LS8s - here we go. I gradually work my way up using a nice tight bank and end up at the top with the LS8s, waiting to start. Sure those guys will have more water on than me but it’s still a confidence booster. Jess and I see a haze cap and cruise there to get some more height and start together.
Starting later and catching up with the gliders in front, this is the largest group of gliders that I’ve flown amongst cross-country. Rejecting weak thermals that some of the gaggles are using pushes me gradually up the pack but also lower, but there are always good climbs to be had and more gliders in front to mark them. This is high workload flying in terms of lookout but I can see why people were catching me yesterday. Good air and gliders climbing on track convince you to keep cruising to find that strong core.
The proximity of lots of other gliders is shown by my GPS pointing 2 nm behind me after a good run. The last time a glanced at the GPS I was about a mile from the TP. I take a gamble that I flew through the 1 km diameter circle during this busy period and keep going. My rough plan is to fly in the middle of the sector unless the weather suggests otherwise. I meet up with Jess again - she is slightly ahead in her LS8, but therefore just watching her progress gives me enough information to slowly catch up. Thermalling gliders we meet are either bounced, joined or, occasionally, coaxed into a slightly better core. All the way we are gaining on other gliders and leaving thermals before the gliders we joined in them - I could do this all day, not just for three hours. We’re having a fairly even run now. Some thermals I arrive at first, some I leave first - sometimes for no reason than to show I can lead too. As we’re not talking on the radio, a fraction of my capacity is spent wondering if Jess minds me cruising with her. I guess not.
There are three of us running past Edgehill. Dan Pitman from Bicester is with us now. Jess and Dan deviate away from our previous course when they see a haze cap, but I miss this and not wanting to follow blindly I continue on our original track roughly towards Lyveden which we visited on Monday. I’m still covering the ground fairly quickly but I preferred it in our earlier trio. As this is basically an out and return, assuming even conditions, I need to turn around about an hour and a half after I started. As the final glide should increase the speed of the return leg I decide to turn around ‘late’ rather than ‘early’. As I approach half time I’m cruising near Kettering having passed a lot of gliders going home from the Hus Bos area. I decide that after my next good climb I’ll set off for Aston Down. After a while I realise that with this logic, if I don’t get another good climb I’ll keep flying towards the Wash which may upset Mum and Dad (my top notch crew). I see two LS8s still flying northeast and 1000 feet above me. We turn for home.
So, looks like I’ve got Leigh Wells and Luke Rebbeck helping get me on my way home. The only slight problem is that by the time we are heading for home they are 1500 feet above me. Did I mention they are in LS8s and in the British team? I hope that I can join their thermals and gain even just 100 feet on them each time but each time we are in the same thermal I’m a little bit lower. It keeps me moving but I’m operating a lot lower and the thermals are difficult. Here I should have changed down and climbed up, or the piece of white tape on my panel which shouts WATER! should have prompted me to dump my water, but instead I press on, trying to remain in contact with the LS8s. After a low scrape I’m forced to climb up again and now I’m on my own. I guess I turned round a little late. I need to get home but more importantly I need to keep pushing until the three hours is up at least. I’m 50 km from home and the time elapsed is 2:50. A good climb soon will get me onto final glide. Unfortunately, the day is dying and I dump my water way too late cruising onto the Cotswolds at 1500 feet as I slow down to McCready 0.5. Just one good climb... The air is dead somehow and I look at the huge stubble fields below. OK to keep picking them ahead. I’m in survival mode now. I don’t notice but the time runs out after 206 km. Only the LS8s did better at 215-220 km, but they have got home and I need that get home bonus or I drop down the score sheet. I’m quite low now, and concentrating very hard. The air is smooth and it’s easier to fly accurately. The only noise is the audio vario, informing me of weak bits of lift to drift around in but nothing to power me up onto final glide. I scan around at the field situation and jump from field to field searching the air for my last chance. Darker patches and small hills facing the sun delay my decent and help me move around but don’t rocket me skyward as I would hope. My last glimmer is some buoyant area over the centre of a huge stubble field which tries to help and I park in it at first, then gain a few hundred feet. It dies though and I search around but the weather has beaten me. I land in the field that the gently rising air came from.
My emotions are mixed. I’ve never scraped that low for that long before on a cross-country, or continued to cover ground while doing so. The silence and concentration was exhilarating. I reflect - the first two hours of the flight contained the most decisive, press-on gliding I’ve done and, landout or not, I’ve learned lots and flown with water for the first time. Scores-wise, it’s an Assigned Area Task, so the landout penalty is small compared with a conventional task and, although I’m convinced most have got back, I’m also convinced that I’ve flown one of the furthest distances in the three hours. So, in the unusual position of needing a retrieve despite potentially being due for a good score, I phone in. I’m about five miles east of Winchcombe and at the end of my field is a house with a well-to-do woman with a Range Rover and posh dogs with short legs and everything! Mum and Dad arrive for a speedy derig and a funny wave at posh woman, MP husband and well-to-do friends.
After a really enjoyable flight, a duff forecast for the next day and the news that I came 19th despite my landout, a few mates and I have a bit of a late one! Thursday is only good for karting and pizza. A scrub in showery but soarable conditions on Friday and there are whispers amongst the grid about the Nympsfield ridge. Most of the grid launch and tow towards Nympsfield. We spend the afternoon ridge running about 30 at a time then climb up in the evening thermals and glide back to Aston Down. I’ll leave this to your imagination! Mum and Dad came to watch and I had to take them out for a nice pub meal for making them watch our ridge antics, especially Mum. It turned out that the pub was full of my mates enthusiastically describing their hairiest formation beat ups. Sorry Mum, but if you can’t beat them...
Weatherjack says Saturday is likely to be the last comp day and it looks like a good one. 300 km is set. Aston Down - Southam - Thame - Watford Gap - Aston Down. There are good cumulus but the launch is delayed for group photos. We’re quite keen to get going as a warm front is out there somewhere. Once again I have a barrel of water per side in the Discus and I release from tow at 1500 feet in a good surge and climb away. I’m an early launcher today, and after getting frustrated with the number of gliders at cloudbase I cruise around for a bit, aimlessly to start with, but then on track and to each side of the start line to get a feel for the conditions. There are cumulus all around, so this will be a very different flight to the earlier blue days. Once the start line is open, I remain patient. One group of gliders starts, and a second group starts shortly after. I start at the back of the second gaggle. My mood is instantly lifted - let’s get going!
I settle into a rhythm very quickly. Today, it appears, things are starting to come together. There are perhaps 15-20 gliders ahead of me, and a sky full of cumulus. Cruising towards Southam it soon becomes evident that Mark Parker in his Discus 2 and I are having a similarly good run, and we are together a lot of the time. The flying is relatively straightforward, but very satisfying. Cruise towards the gliders ahead following the energy. Pull up and weave gently in lift. Accelerate before it gets sinky. Climb in only the strongest cores you can find. I discover that I’m confident to regularly keep pushing down to 1500 feet if gliders or clouds ahead tempt me, and it seems to work fine today. Instead of accepting what I can get at 2000 feet, I just slow down and keep flying on track. Like the previous comp day, if gliders are circling in lift that is relatively weak for the day, I just pull up and leave. Mark and I cruise like this almost all of the way to Southam, and I lose count of how many gliders we overtake. If the weather stays like this I’ll be happy.
I’m up with the first gaggle turning Southam. A quick sum in my head comes up with 80 km in 55 minutes. Keep going and things are looking good. The track to Thame has some Parachute DZ penalty zones to avoid. I’ve already thought about this on the ground. A straight line to Thame takes us through Hinton. We can deviate left of track and pass northeast of Hinton, or deviate right of track and fly between Hinton and Weston. I’ve already decided that, unless the weather looks much better right of track, I will go left, as fewer miles are involved and there is only one DZ to limit my choice of sky, not two. As we approach decision time, the sky does look better to the right, and the other gliders appear to be choosing this option, but I stick to my guns and set off on my own after topping up to cloudbase. After a long, relatively slow glide I hit some weak lift and take a few turns before pressing on. My “WATER!” sticker is shouting at me again, but the first leg and the cumulus in the distance convince me that the best option is to keep the water, but slow down. A small cloud over Brackley is what I’m gliding for. It’s just outside the Hinton zone - I have my GPS on Hinton for a precise distance as I know where I’m going. The cloud is enough to climb up a bit and keep moving. Simon appears in the Janus and we cruise on track looking for lift. We hit some good air but I’m convinced there is better to come as we cruise towards Bicester. I later learn that Simon turned the opposite way and found a good climb - DOH!
Things are improving again. In a good climb near Bicester the BGA Duo 98 joins below me - Pete Masson is flying. I’m still convinced that there are better conditions ahead and the presence of the Duo makes me concentrate hard on climbing and makes sure I leave each thermal as soon as the average drops. It is satisfying to notice that each time I leave a climb, the Duo is still thermalling tightly, yet once I am centred in the next one, the Duo again joins a similar distance below. Pete agrees with what I’m doing - I must have something right. We are amongst the first gliders to approach the second turn at Thame, and in a tricky thermal with two miles to go, I decide to leave on my own and round the TP. Sure enough, on my way back north, the gliders are now established in the climb approaching cloudbase as I join below them, but it is pleasing to know that I will be leaving in the opposite direction. Heading towards TP3, Watford Gap, I am with Pete again, and also Leigh Wells in LS. I push hard to try and keep up but they are ahead, and the thermals are busy with gliders inbound to Thame. Progress is still quick though. One more TP and we’re on the way home - potentially for a good result.
The sky is changing though. I’m now flying with two ASH25s and Anna Wells in 321. To the west it looks milky as the warm front approaches. I’m a bit more ahead of the game than the previous comp day though, and as the climbs weaken, I dump my water near Silverstone to help get the best out of them. We are still able to make reasonable progress. Approaching Watford Gap, a straight line track would take us under an unpromising sky, but a detour to the east would allow a curved path into the turn under small cumulus. I opt for the latter and top up as high as I can under each cloud while still achieving a reasonable rate of climb. Once round the turn, Anna and I glide on track for home. There are no cumulus now, except the odd weak wisp under a sky of high cover. After a long glide, Anna and I find a 1½ knot average. The flight is now very quiet. We’ve been gliding at 60 knots, the air is very smooth and still, the radio is turned down and with the weak thermals even the audio vario is relatively quiet. As we slowly circle upwards I consider the rest of the flight. We have made good progress so far and, although the top guys are undoubtably ahead, it is unlikely that we are far behind. I’ve never flown cross-country in these conditions before, but am enjoying it and still concentrate on how to get home as always. I’m convinced that with patient climbs and long slow glides, there is a chance of getting back.
As we climb, my thoughts on the number of gliders behind us are confirmed as, one by one, people join below. Once again I make sure I’m getting the best out of this weak thermal. I consider briefly how a glider five minutes behind us might have been six or seven km behind early in the flight, but now will be just 500 feet below in the same thermal. This is definitely a day of contrasts. We glide on again at 60 knots. A slightly different track from the other gliders means that I find another core and top up 500 feet in 2 knots on my own before flying on track again. I start looking at the distance to Shenington on the GPS as somewhere to aim for on the way home where I could aerotow home from. During another long slow glide, drizzle starts to appear on the canopy - things are not looking good. I think about field selection compromised with keeping going. For each 200 feet lower I am prepared to commit to a field, I can search another mile of air and potentially find a climb. I decide not to push it too much, and instead pick a field ahead then glide past it searching for the next one. If I don’t find a next one I’ll turn back and local soar the previous field.
At 1200 feet I’ve got a group of gliders two or three miles ahead circling but I’m not happy to arrive there possibly as low as 600 feet so I remain near a huge stubble field in some weak lift and watch the progress of the other gliders. I’m about five miles southwest of Daventry. My patience is possibly affected by watching the other guys and I can’t climb so search around the field but find nothing. I land, slightly annoyed with not being able to climb in the very weak lift. On balance though, I’m pleased with the flight, as I made good progress in the initial good weather and changed gear at the right time as the front approached. I could have made more of the weak conditions towards the end of the flight but this was my first attempt at flying cross-country in such weak weather so I’m happy. After chatting to my farmer and calling control, I lie in the glider in light rain and listen to the radio. Some are still airborne, but the gaggle of gliders I saw ahead landed there. Eighty km from home, I’m prepared for a long wait for my retrieve. A huge team arrives - Mum, Dad and Richard and Sarah Platt. I’ve been doing nothing for two or more hours and this is evident as I organise the derig so that everyone is doing something and the trailer is closed with 493 inside in five minutes - it’s party night back at Aston Down and I’m keen to get back. With a definite scrub the next day it was a top night.
It turns out I’m 20th for the day (covering 218 km), which means 23rd overall out of the 47 competitors. My day positions were fairly consistent then - 17th, 29th, 19th, 20th. Top half was my aim and top twenty was my best hope. Day two was a bit disappointing, but the other day results are pleasing. My aims were to do more cross-country flying, become a better pilot and have a laugh. In the nine days I had four cross-country flights with a total distance of 1010 km. I also flew on two of the non-comp days, including the ‘aerotow to Nympsfield, ridge run all afternoon then thermal home’ flight. My flying during the comp totalled over 25 hours.
To decide whether or not I became a better pilot is something that is difficult to analyse myself. However, the way my handling, judgement, gear-changing and decisiveness changed throughout the week was noticeable. I also found that my perceived improvement in these areas, especially during the third and fourth comp days, meant I was flying with a very positive frame of mind. A confident, positive and decisive attitude like this helped me concentrate and make decisions with an optimistic bias. My experience so far suggests that the better pilots have a slightly optimistic attitude, combined with good situational awareness of soaring conditions, and this will be the main way I can improve my cross-country speed. I can’t wait to get some more practise. Hopefully I can build on this next year, and continue to learn more about this intoxicating sport of ours.
Lastly, did I have a laugh? The juniors involves 40-odd pilots and crews, all either under 25 or young at heart. Hopefully it is clear that I enjoyed the flying immensely. When I wasn’t flying, I was spending time getting to know my new mates better, having animated discussions about the task in the bar over a pint, eating out or kart racing. Roll on next year!
For the first time ever there is a group of five Mynd pilots hoping to enter the Junior Nationals at Hus Bos during the first week of September 2002. Ian Mac, John Roberts, Richard Billany, Sarah Platt and I could all be competing. I’m hoping that we can all fly cross-country from the Mynd as often as possible next season and perhaps be involved in Rockpolishers and normal weekend tasks to prepare us for the comp. If you can help us by lending or hiring gliders or equipment, by crewing or even by coaching and task setting at the weekends then please do so. Let’s put the Mynd on the Junior map!
Lastly, thanks to the following Mynd people (and many more) for help and encouragement in getting me this far: my family, 882 syndicate, Ian Mac, John Stuart, Chris Harris, Simon Adlard, Paul Stanley and the MGC as a whole for giving me ample opportunities to fly and learn.
David Rance
The top of the Mynd can be a pretty inhospitable environment to keep your pride and joy through the worst of the winter months which is a pity because the flying can be brilliant. Our Cirrus produces a series of small pimples with the coming of winter just as reliably as the leaves falling off the trees. These seem to be concentrated along seams or joins in the fibreglass, where sections of the aircraft were put together in the manufacturing process, or around areas that have been patched up and repaired at some time. To be sure, they are generally where you don’t want them, such as along the leading edge of the wing where the two halves were stuck together.
I have enquired extensively as to the cause of these blisters but nobody has yet given me a definitive answer as to the process that causes them. Plenty of theories though and every theory contains the word “moisture”. I do know that age is no barrier and that some of the hot shippery on the hill is as badly affected as our late 60s model. The only consistent advice is to leave well alone and with the arrival of spring they disappear again.
Most of the trailers on the rail have ‘Fletner’ air extractors whizzing around on their roofs. I have always felt uneasy about these things. They are supposed to extract air from the inside of the box and expel it. But surely they must also draw new air into the box unless the box is completely sealed in which case I can’t see that they can be doing much at all. I can see that on a dry day, when the inside of the box is cool and possibly damp, drawing dry air into the box would be a good idea. But they are not intelligent devices and on a damp day, wouldn’t they draw moisture into the box and achieve exactly what we are trying to avoid?
It is just possible that Derek Platt has spotted the solution at a well know DIY shop. They are selling an electric dehumidifier that combines a small fan to circulate dried air through the trailer. It was originally intended to be used to dry out damp houses. I believe Derek uses one to keep his caravan habitable. The unit is about the size of a pilot’s case and looks a bit like a large, vertical fan heater. It incorporates a tank to collect the water it extracts from the air and better still, a simple system for attaching a pipe to continuously run the water out through the floor of the trailer. It has a built in hygrometer that works a bit like a thermostat and switches the unit on and off. I have put one in my new trailer which I think is pretty well sealed and have been astonished by the amount of water it extracts in the first couple of days of being shut up. This must be good news for looking after your pride and joy. As an experiment, I tried hanging up a wet cloth in the trailer and it very soon dried out even though it was raining outside. The unit retails at £109 including VAT.
The only snag is that you need an electrical supply. Not a problem whilst the glider is outside in the yard but a bit more challenging on the Mynd. There is already a limited, metered, electrical supply to the trailer hitch rail, which could easily be extended at little cost, especially if it were shared between a few interested folk.
Pimple free skin and perhaps this year the leaves won’t fall off the trees?
Ann Parry
The enclosed booking form has details of this dinner, which is on 23rd March, at The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow. Ann Welch will be the guest speaker.
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 for some reason, 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. As mentioned in the last newsletter, there will not be any music at this dinner.