MIDLAND GLIDING CLUB
NEWSLETTER
Number 97 May 2002
Chairman’s Contribution........................................................................................................................................................... 2
Trailer Upsets.............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
For Sale........................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
CFI’s Bits..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
John Hickling 1927 to 2002........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Task Week 2002.......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
In the Long Run.......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Address Change......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Insuring the Fleet....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Trophy Awards 2001................................................................................................................................................................. 7
From the Flying Field................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Proud Gliders............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
The Ride of Your Life................................................................................................................................................................. 9
A Computer. A
Computer. My His Glider for a
Computer!................................................................................................ 9
How do You Know if You are a Good Pilot?........................................................................................................................ 10
Take Care................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
The Club’s Motor Glider Share.............................................................................................................................................. 11
Rock On..................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Rockpolishers First Round: Long
Mynd Joint Winners!
See page 11 for details
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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
The AGM, held on the 4th May was a slightly rushed affair, since it was a good soaring day and flying went on well after the original starting time, and supper loomed towards the end of the meeting.
There were two items for which the meeting will probably be remembered, the treasurer announced that the insurance claim for business interruption due to Foot and Mouth had finally been settled most satisfactorily just a few days earlier, and K21 ELE (formerly 797) arrived fresh from its refurbishment in Poland looking like a new glider.
The main purpose of an AGM is to receive the accounts and to ask for questions on them, but we also take the opportunity to widen the discussion to any topic which the floor cares to introduce. Due to the time pressures mentioned above this was rather short, but an interesting discussion began on a replacement for the K8, where the majority favoured another K8, but Iain Evans suggested that we might consider more modern alternatives such as the PW5, which is apparently available for not much more money then the K8. No final conclusions were drawn on this subject.
The treasurer announced a satisfactory set of accounts, but cautioned that they were skewed by the interim insurance payment in October, which had been accounted for in the 2000/2001 accounts, and without which we would have made a large loss. He also mentioned that the effects of the shutdown had accelerated a falling membership pattern and we would need to make strenuous efforts to increase membership towards about 175, an increase of around 50, to stabilise the club financially. The chairman thanked both the treasurer and the president for their work during the year which was much more onerous than usual due to the Foot and Mouth shutdown and the subsequent insurance claim.
The chairman also mentioned that the committee had met 17 times during the year instead of the usual monthly period, and thanked them for their hard work. Iain Evans and Dominic Haughton retired from the committee and were replaced by Andy Holmes and Chris Ellis.
A discussion introduced under ‘any other’ was a lively one on smoking in the clubhouse. This was not an agenda item, and therefore no final ruling could be made on the day, but there seemed to be a strong feeling that no smoking should be allowed in any part of the eating area, including the window seat and pool table area. In the end the consensus seemed to agree with John Stuart that the bar area could remain a smoking area but the extraction system should be made quieter and more efficient. The committee will no doubt make a definitive ruling on smoking areas in the near future.
The meeting broke up in time for an enjoyable supper, which was well attended.
With regard to membership numbers, a good start has been made towards the treasurer’s target, and 24 new members have joined in the last couple of months. I welcome you all and hope you are able to make progress within the club quickly. Existing members please make an effort to notice new members around the club, and offer help and guidance at what is often a stressful time for them. Often a few words of help and encouragement can make all the difference. In particular try to make sure that new members are not left to their own devices on the field, and help them know how to be in the right place at the right time to fly. Nothing is more likely to turn away a new member than pulling and pushing all day with no reward at the end.
I hope the superb success of our Rockpolishers Team at Nympsfield on the day of the AGM is a precursor to a really good soaring summer, so enjoy your flying and think safety at all times.
If you wish to contact me on any subject please email me at j.fack@virgin.net or ring 07812 108 588.
Julian Fack
This is the time of year when longer journeys with trailers are undertaken, and, having just towed the Duo 1000 miles back from Spain, some thoughts on the subject occurred to me during long hours at the wheel.
Glider trailers are probably no more prone to upsets than caravans and the like, but all towcar/trailer combinations have a VNE beyond which a resonant swinging will develop, given a trigger. The particular problem with glider trailers is that they are fairly light and have very little drag, and therefore it is easy to exceed this speed inadvertently. The really dangerous time is during motorway descents because speed is prone to build up and braking can make things worse. On French motorways all descents are restricted to 80 kph for trailers, compared to a general limit of 110 kph, which recognises the nature of the problem.
The onset of swinging can be insidious, since you may exceed the nominal VNE of your outfit without problems, until some outside influence starts the process going. Usually this is the ‘bow wave’ from a passing coach or truck. The worst are small fast ‘Luton’ box vans, which are allowed in the overtaking lane and can cruise at over 70 mph. They seem to have a particularly ‘dirty’ aerodynamic footprint.
Driving a long distance on motorways with a trailer is stressful since you need to monitor your speed constantly, as well as traffic patterns both ahead and behind you.
Trailer stability seems to be subject to a parabolic curve; an outfit that is perfectly stable at 50 mph may be wildly unstable at 55. Note that it is the complete outfit that confers a particular stability, changing to a different tow vehicle can alter things dramatically.
What can be done to avoid having a bad day with your trailer? Firstly watch your speed like a hawk, and be aware of the VNE. It is usually quite obvious that you are approaching this speed since disturbances like crosswinds or passing trucks start to create a small but detectable swing. If the swing dies down immediately do not panic, but if it continues, even just for one complete cycle, you are close to the VNE and need to show extreme care. Most trailers, but not all, are stable at 50 mph but beyond that you need to be very aware. Remember that you save little time on your journey by increasing speed by 10 mph, even on a long journey, so why not settle for the quiet life?
Other things you can do include adding an anti-snake device, which damps down the oscillations, but can also lull you into a false sense of security and allow you to venture into dangerous territory. You should also make sure you have quite a lot of noseweight on the trailer. It should be quite difficult to couple up the laden trailer to your car, most trailers have a 75 kg (165 lb!) maximum drawbar weight, and you should aim to have at least half this amount pressing down on your towball, it makes a substantial difference to stability. It is also essential to have a good view in your mirrors on both sides, so you can monitor the traffic patterns.
If you do feel a swing starting do not under any circumstances be tempted to ‘drive through it’ by increasing your speed, you must lose speed immediately, even if you are right in the middle of an overtaking manoeuvre, by backing off the throttle. Do not brake but always try to drive as smoothly as possible.
Chris Ellis
JEEP CHEROKEE Limited 4.0 litre, 1994 L Reg, Low Mileage, Excellent Condition.
This superb retrieve vehicle can be yours for a mere £5,900.
Chris Ellis Tel 01691 622788 or e-mail chrisellis@micro-plus-web.net
Neal Clements
Most of you will be aware that Nick our CFI is instructing with Brian Spreckley again this year. John Stuart and I are acting CFIs in Nick’s absence. So how does this work? During the week John is the acting CFI so all flying matters defer to him, this is no change from our normal practice. During the weekend I am responsible and the authority for flying operations is delegated to the Number 1 of the day who has to be a full category instructor.
The area of potential confusion lies with contact with the BGA, the newsletter and training progression both for Instructors and others, incident reporting and changes to operational procedures.
Let me clarify the position. I am the prime contact with the BGA, both Simon Adlard and Bob Pettifer are aware of this. The newsletter CFI’s bits is also my responsibility. The training progression for pilots other than instructors is done by John during the week at his discretion and at weekends is handled by the Instructor meeting. Applications to move card colour, for instance can be done by John or by applying to me or via any full cat instructor.
Instructors are part of the lifeblood of gliding. We need them to stand around on the airfield filling the sky with hot air! Seriously though they are essential for bringing people into the sport and progressing them through it. We are constantly on the lookout for more Basic Instructors and I would be grateful if you would consider helping. The more we have the less of a burden it is individually. It is an opportunity to show other people the glider pilot’s view of the world. Please contact me directly at the club or on email via n.clements@talis.com
We are starting our evening courses again in the 3rd week of May. The details are on the noticeboard and I would encourage new members especially, if you can, to come along to these. They will be with the same instructors each week and they are an excellent way of progressing rapidly through the flying syllabus.
We are conscious of the fact that our training syllabus can leave pilots dangling around Bronze and not carry them forward. Paul Stanley has kindly volunteered to fill this gap by running special courses at weekends from July. Paul is an experienced cross country pilot and instructor and this will be a superb opportunity to progress rapidly through the Bronze and onto cross country soaring. I recommend you either contact me or Paul directly or via the office and nearer the time a notice will go up in the club house. The numbers will be limited so rush now to register your interest.
Some of you will be aware of the K8 being the victim of a ‘blow-over’, writing it off. This isn’t the first such incident, the K23 suffered a similar fate some years ago. The circumstances were identical; strong wind, glider without a pilot in it, just held by the wing tip. Wood or glass, it doesn’t matter, a strong wind will pick a glider up or rip off an open or unlocked canopy. Any wind over 20 knots is strong so please ensure pilots are in the glider with brakes ready to be deployed while the glider is being moved. While parked the picketing must be adequate, and canopies closed and locked. Under no circumstances (strong wind or not) leave a glider with the tail dolly operational. Non Mynd pilots might not be aware of the above, the K8 blow-over was while it was being used by visitors, so please ensure all visitors are briefed in the above, if in doubt then take charge.
Keith Mansell
As noted briefly in the previous Newsletter John Hickling died on 23 January.
John joined the club in November 1948 having already gained his ‘A’ badge (6668) on 29 June 1947 flying a Cadet for 35 seconds with the ATC at Castle Bromwich. Once a member of the club his enthusiasm for gliding ensured that he progressed quickly gaining his ‘B’ (on his 22nd birthday) and ‘C’ badges in a Tutor in April 1949 and by early September 1950 had completed his Silver badge (289). His early journeys to the Mynd were by motorbike until he had a syndicate share with John Harnden in a Ford Anglia. He became an instructor in January 1951, a categorized instructor after a course at Lasham in April 1952, deputy CFI shortly after and CFI in late 1952.
A somewhat youthful CFI at 25, John was a very good instructor, always calm and saying no more to his pupils whilst flying than was strictly necessary. A man of strong opinions and sound judgement he pushed hard for and succeeded in securing for the club a then modern fleet to displace the Tutors and suchlike. He had a share in Skylark 2 (yellow with competition number 2) which appeared as the Sailplane & Gliding front cover in June 1960. John was a keen cross-country pilot achieving notable flights in some very un-notable gliders. In 1952 in an Oly 2 on a flight to Kidlington he took the UK local 100 km record with a speed of 32 mph. In the 1955 T21b section of the 1955 National Championships, with Alan Pickup, John took fourth place out of six.
John was the club’s contributor to Club Notes in Gliding and in its successor, Sailplane & Gliding. Articles which he contributed included several on wave flying, an appraisal of the Swallow and in December 1959 a description of the retrieve winching system which the MGC had begun operating in May of that year.
John handed the CFI’s baton to me in 1961. During his nine years as CFI he had modernised the fleet, introduced retrieve winching and brought in aerotowing with the Auster which the Club bought in 1960. Although not of the pre-war band of founder members John was a major player in the club’s post war development. Apart from gliding John was a keen aeromodeller and a good table tennis player.
Only a few years ago on one of my duty days a new member expressed concern that the old chap in the K23 which was about to be bungied was someone he did not know.
On checking I saw that it was John and I assured the new member that all was well as John had probably done more bungey launches than had all of us present put together.
In 1957 John married Stevie Fountain (a Mynd pilot). John is survived by Stevie and their two sons and a daughter to whom go our sympathies in their loss. John will be much missed by those who knew him and in my mind he is ever the CFI.
John Parry
Once again Task Week will be held in the week ending on the August Bank Holiday, which I reckon means that we start on Saturday 17th August and finish on Monday 26th August.
As far as I know all of the club fleet is still available for hire for the week – not forgetting that 797 has been transformed into the wonderfully shiny and new looking ELE.
Debbie Bilham
I took up running about 2 years ago in order to get fit and lose some weight. Last year I watched the London Marathon on TV, but I really wanted to be there so decided to give it a go. When I told Sue and Nigel at Christmas they suggested raising money for the Air Ambulance and agreed to handle the administrative side. This was a great help, thank you Sue and Nigel.
The day started early with the coach, arranged by the Bedford Harriers, leaving Bedford at 6 o’clock. The forecast was ideal, dry and cool. We arrived at Blackheath with an hour to spare before the start at 9:45. Before the start we observed a minute’s silence for the Queen Mother, who had died two weeks earlier, while contemplating the chaos which might have resulted in Central London had she lived another week. I started towards the back of the crowd and since it takes a while for 16,000 people to get moving it took me about ten minutes to get to the start. This was one of two start points, another 16,000 started from Greenwich Park.
The running time is measured by means of a chip tied to your shoe laces and so is measured from the time of crossing the line rather than the start gun but the trouble with being near the back is that you have to keep dodging around wombles, rhinos, panto horses and slower runners.
There was a fantastic carnival atmosphere, especially along the first six miles through the East End, with bands playing outside many of the pubs. Once over Tower Bridge, a psychological boost, the halfway mark, then a long slog through Docklands. Back past Tower Bridge and onto the cobbled section by the Tower of London. It’s quite true what they say, cobbles after 22 miles are not nice!
The body carries enough readily accessible fuel in the form of carbohydrates to get you about 20 miles. After that you start running on fat which is harder, a transition referred to as “hitting the wall”. It was around this point that I needed to stop for the loo. Although there were Portaloos every 2 miles I had to queue for a few minutes and by now they evoked vivid memories of childhood holidays in rural France. After the stop my legs really did not want to get going again – were they trying to tell me something? The last few miles were hard going, this was beyond anything I had done in training and it was beginning to show. Along the Embankment, past the London Eye and then turn past Big Ben into Birdcage Walk. A sign says “800 metres” – 2 laps to go. It seems a very long 800 metres. Finally turn into the Mall. You don’t actually see the finish line until you are nearly there.
Four hours, 33 minutes and 35 seconds after starting out from Blackheath I crossed the finish line.
Once through the finish you pass along a highly efficient production line where the chip is removed from your shoe, then you are given a medal, foil blanket, water bottle, two packets of sandwiches and a goody bag with a tee shirt and various edibles in it. Finally on to the baggage lorries to collect your kit.
I walked like a penguin the next day and my knees and feet were a bit stiff for a couple of days but it was all worthwhile. I had a memorable day and raised over £500 for the Air Ambulance; I hope to enter again next year.
Thank you to all who sponsored me.
John Parry
· Sheffield (for the best gain of height): Chris Harris with a gain of 14,271 feet.
· Silver Jubilee (for the best Silver Distance): Ian McArthur who flew a K23 to Nympsfield.
· Long Mynd (for the best flight in a club glider): Ian McArthur for his Silver flight.
· Neill (for the best ab-initio): Henry Wood.
· David Bailey (for the most promising young pilot): John Roberts.
· Tony Spicer Barograph: Sarah Platt.
· Golden Jubilee: Dave Rance.
· Maxam: Ann Parry.
· Ozee Winter (for contribution to winter flying): Tony Danbury.
· Golden Shovel: Dave Rance.
The Siam, Hardwick, Daisy Hardwick, Bill Hardwick, Pat Moore, Mad Allan, Tim’s Triangle, Two Seater, Ladder, and Task Week trophies could not be awarded due to the curtailment of cross country flying.
PS Any feedback about the dinner at the Feathers welcome, to Ann Parry. We enjoyed a superb talk by Ann Welch, to whom many thanks.
From
the Flying Field
Ann Parry
Welcome to new members Jonathan Ballard (who has rejoined after some years away), Lee Bickley, Keith Challinor, Derek Copeland, Paul Doyle, Anthony Gluyas, John Godfrey, Warwick Guck, Richard James, David Jones, Alan Marshall, James Moore, Katrina Moore, John Neal, Stephen Perry, John Scott, Bryan Searle, Ian Walton, Andrew Whybrow and George Wilson.
Sadly the end of the Dutch visit was marred by the K8 blowing over. Courses started in March, a month of some murkiness and easterlies, with J. Allen at 7500 feet on 13th March, and David Nickolaus at 5000 feet on 21st March. Henry Wood was called down from 3700 feet after 50 minutes on his second solo flight, also on the 21st. The open days for prospective members were at the beginning of April. Congratulations to Brian Boakes on going solo, and Jonathan Ballard on resoloing. The cross country season is well under way, with Sarah Platt flying to Aston Down on 13th April for Silver distance while Rose Johnson flew 200 km and David Rance 235 km among the ten or so cross country flights. Monday 15th April was another good day, with John Stuart getting to Bala and back in thermals for the first time, and Andrew Robinson flying Silver distance to Aston Down. Rose Johnson and Roger Andrews were among the cross countries that day. The good weather carried on to Tuesday, this time David Rance flew 400 km, and Jon Richards 240 km. The 21st April saw Chris Harris at 9700 feet, and on the 22nd Martin Moss was at 8700 feet on a day when both K21s went to Talgarth and back.
Neal Clements
If you go to Sisteron or to Brian Spreckley’s operations you notice straight away the intense pride they have in their kit. This is most markedly demonstrated in the daily inspection and cleaning. Every morning the gliders are brought out, kitted out with the batteries and parachutes then washed and the canopies cleaned. The parachutes are brought to the glider in bags.
In the evening, before going back in the hangar they are washed again and the parachutes put back in storage in their marked bags. This not only gives nice looking gliders but it has other spin offs.
1. The act of washing means you get a very close look at the glider, its surfaces and its controls and it aids the DI process.
2. A canopy can look quite clean in the morning but in the winter in the setting sun it can become a nightmare to see through, any dirt seems to be amplified.
3. The parachutes don’t get damaged putting them back and forth into the storage and it is immediately obvious if one has gone missing.
So, are we proud of our kit? I think we are, the fleet does us very well and we get a lot of use out of it. I believe we should show the same pride that private owners and other good clubs show. The way to do it is to get it ingrained in our culture that ‘gliders out - gliders washed’ should be the norm. Be very careful cleaning the canopy, only use canopy cleaning kits that are clearly marked for the purpose (I am getting these) and always rinse the canopy with clean water before cleaning it. Grit and dust being ground in will cause more damage than just leaving it. Please help with the parachutes, bring them from the cupboard in their bags and store the bags in the glider. At night put them in the correctly numbered bag and return to the cupboard.
So what if it’s cold, raining, dark and you can’t find the parachute bags? Then do the best you can.
If it is just a normal weekend morning though then make it part of the DI.
· DI
· Wash
Glyn MacArthur
It was an average March Mynd day. The wind was 20 to 25 knot WSW, broken cloud at 1200 feet. Seven air experience flights to complete and not enough gaps to make aerotows worthwhile. Weather Jack had given a talk the night before and despite what we could see out of the window was sure we would fly all day.
The first trial lesson required two wire launches, the next got a bit of ridge lift off the wire and managed twenty minutes. The sky opened up a bit and we managed two aerotows dodging in and out of the slowly rising scattered cloud. After lunch the first flight was similar. So far the pupils had been enthusiastic and fairly talented. I connected with them easily and we had fun. The next chap didn’t seem to ask the right questions or quite know why he was there but we strapped him in anyway.
Then the sky opened up and a vague bar was visible over the Welsh hills. Rose gave me a lovely smooth tow to 2000 feet and it was obvious for the last bit of the tow we were entering wave. Pull off, clearing turn, trim out, hands off for a minute or so. Absolutely smooth air, “place your right hand gently on the stick and I will show you how the controls work and by the way the glider has been flying itself for the last few minutes because I am not touching the stick.” He managed to grasp speed control then Jon Hall towed in above us, a little to the west and seemed to be climbing better. “Push forwards” I said but we passed through 3 knots and the lift started to fall away. “Stitch it in” I had to help with the turn and as we pointed back to the Mynd there it was, pure magic, in an instant a solid pure white wave bar had formed over the hill. It stretched slightly west of north up into the Cheshire plain. My watch said we had been flying for over fifteen minutes but you can’t dip out of heaven can you?
I slipped the wing tip just next to the cloud. We were in steady 4 knots. I handed back control and said, “let’s go surfing”. At 80 knots IAS we were still going up at 2 knots. We surfed all the way to the Stiperstones. Time to go home. As I turned the view behind had changed! It had all filled in, almost complete cloud cover. We were over 3000 feet, I could see the caravans at Wentnor. Let’s pull the plug and dive for it. There was no problem passing through the hole and we still had 1500 feet. Time enough to let our pupil feel the difference of flying in rough, turbulent air. Nice high final turn (for which I am famous), tight in for a strong westerly approach. A smooth landing after 35 minutes flying time. Out he stepped. I think he said “thank you” then he wandered off.
I had just given someone the ride of his life and I don’t think he noticed.
David Rance
Folk who have been around the club for more than a couple of years will remember the computer set up in the corner of the dining room which showed satellite sequences of cloud conditions over the UK for the previous twelve hours in hourly steps, effectively animating the progress of fronts and other cloud formations across the country. At best this warned us when one of those miraculous clearances of low cruddy conditions was on the way and it was worth rigging even while it looked hopeless, at worst it told us when to pack up and go home! Sadly, the computer, which I understand was fairly Jurassic, died and has not been replaced. Rowan Griffin has kindly said that he can set this system up again if we can lay hands on a computer, any computer after the 486 processor era. If any of you are working in offices where the hardware is about to be upgraded and the old stuff thrown out, please try to beg, borrow or steal a screen, keyboard and the boxy bit which whirrs a lot, bring them up to the club and we will try to set up the means to peer at the weather over the horizon again.
Glyn MacArthur
Some years ago, when we were in Spain flying with the late Tug Wilson, I had an interesting experience.
We were in Alicante for a fortnight and had seen Tug straight away, had a few flights with the boys. Tug had asked me what I wanted and I said I wanted to do a long thrash. The weather hadn’t been too good but I had managed two three hour flights and Tug had taught me quite a lot.. He always performed the take-off and landing and let the client fly the rest of the flight with an occasional instruction. We left our big flight to the better weather the day before we were due to come home. We set off to fly from Alicante to Madrid and back, something over 500 km, but Tug said the conditions were fairly marginal. I had got used to the Stemme 10 and although we had a slow struggling start, I got into the swing of things on the central plain. After about four hours flying things went quiet and I heard gentle snoring to my right. The noise became even more sonorous and I saw Tug sound asleep for over twenty minutes while we thermalled and cruised. We hit one bit of very turbulent air and Tug woke up with a start. I patted him on the shoulder and said “It’s OK Tug, only turbulence, you can go back to sleep.”
He did wake up towards the end of the flight, when at one point we were deciding whether to fly under or over power lines in his £120,000 Super Stemme 10. We got back after seven and a half hours, 600 km, without ever turning the engine on and Tug looked at me and said “You must be good because we shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
Last Sunday in the hangar at the Mynd, a small gaggle gathered as is normal at gliding clubs and I recounted this tale to three or four of the listeners. After I had finished, each in turn recounted the occasion when they had heard their instructor snoring.
So how do you know if you are a good pilot? You know when you have heard your instructor snoring!
David d’Arcy
For the last two days, Monday, Tuesday, I have been laid up indoors. It all started Sunday morning when I got up and took the obligatory look at the weather, and realised, as you do in those few moments, that it was going to be a soaring day. The adrenaline starts to build, the breakfast is normally a blur, finally you get out to rig, providing of course there’s enough help with the hangar. All is going nicely, you have enlisted help with putting the wings on, the fuselage is out, you have delegated the wing tip to your helper, all that is now required is to mate the root to the fuselage, move onto the next wing, fit the pins then add the tailplane, and connect up the controls. Easy! And something I have done many times before. Only this time I notice a strange feeling in my lower back while lifting the wing root out of its holder. No pain or anything, just a sort of tingling, warming sort of sensation.
Sometime later I realise these sensations in the lower back can only mean one thing. My back has gone again! So please take care while lifting objects, remember straight back, bent legs, and lift through the legs.
The day was not all lost though, and as I thought it was a wave day. So I booked the first aerotow of the day, then proceeded to fly to Shrewsbury and half the way back looking for some solid lift! (Next time it’s straight out into the valley.) Managed 2 hours between six and eight thousand feet QNH, eventually falling out of it while trying to get to Chris in CEA at Harry Tuffins! Only to see him pass me for the spot I was originally in! The wind was about 20 knots south, however, the wave clouds were aligned WSW and the blar blar blars wouldn’t let me play with them. Chris Harris and Will Brewis had a much better day I believe.
David Rance
The operation of the motor glider and syndicate alongside club activities has settled down to the extent that it is now regarded as part of the ‘furniture’. The hangar dangler was completed last autumn and the syndicate have reimbursed the club for the cost of hoisting the K23, rigged and ready to fly, into the rafters, thus making room for their aircraft on the floor.
Originally the club took a 10% share in the motor glider, partly as a pump priming operation, but since the syndicate is full and has a short waiting list, the club has decided to sell its share and has done so. For reasons relating to insurance matters and keeping the aircraft in the club’s hangar, we remain a one percent shareholder. Selling our share will not alter the club’s access to the motor glider for training purposes in any way as the financial income from field landing as well as navigation and other training sorties, forms a significant part of the syndicate’s income and this access is also part of the deal which gives the aircraft free hangarage space. What the move does do is to release the capital we had tied up in the aircraft and removes the financial liabilities if, for instance, the engine needed replacing and the club had to stump up for a tenth of a new engine.
Dominic Haughton
During April preparation for the 2002 Inter Club league got underway with Saturday training for the eight novices, five intermediates and six pundits who had signed up for a place in the team. At the end of the month only one task had been set, a Tim’s triangle on 13 April that was flown by six pilots. Newcomers to Rockpolishering put in notable performances with a number completing the task while the Team Captain landed out under overcast setting a precedent for the season to date. Despite the lack of soaring weather the Saturday sessions were well attended, and on unflyable days included talks on airspace and how to avoid it given by Andy Holmes, a field landing briefing by Chris Ellis, and miscellaneous meteorology briefings.
A team for the first event was chosen based on cross countries flown during April. Dave d’Arcy’s fast Tim’s triangle in training secured the novice place, and Andy Holmes took the intermediate place. Iain Evans and Rose Johnson were to share the pundit flying but unfortunately had to step down a few days before the event allowing the Team Captain to claim a place with a clear conscience.
So on the morning of Saturday the 3rd May the team assembled at Nympsfield at the start of the three day event held over the Bank holiday. Crewing arrangements were admirably handled by Richard and Sarah Platt who became the universal team crew with informal arrangements made for finishers to help them recover the less fortunate (or less skilful) if necessary.
Despite a late arrival from the Mynd on Friday night the team was rigged and ready to go by the time of the 10:00 briefing. Tasks of 101 km, 198 km and 312 km to the north and east were set for the three classes, with the weather looking promising even though showers were predicted. A reasonably leisurely gridding operation was followed by a distinct lack of any rush to get airborne. As the fleet sat on the grid Michael Pettican phoned in a weather report, rain in Oxford. Despite this the fleet did eventually launch. However the last competition launches were later than some would have liked at around 13:30.
At the end of day one the retrieve crew was able to welcome three Mynd gliders home. Dave had been to Bromsgrove and Northleach while Andy had been to Banbury and Didcot, both in very good times. In the meantime your Team Captain had enlisted the help of the Bicester tug, having landed out under overcast after not many km. Three other pundits tiptoed their way past this patch near the first turn point at Silverstone to find steadily better weather to the second TP at Alton in the south, followed by a romp home via Sandhill Farm. As rumour of the provisional results spread it looked like the Mynd had two wins in the novice and intermediate classes. The pundit results also looked good, until the units were taken into account, 80ish kph for most, 80ish km for the Mynd.
At briefing on the second day the wins for Dave and Andy were confirmed. A brief ‘how done it’ speech from Dave revealed the secret was in taking a re-light, which was to be prophetic, while Andy described his rather more conventional speed to fly techniques. Tasks for the day were set to the south, with a go-or-rebrief meeting called for 12:30, at which new tasks were set to the north based on satellite pictures. Two classes would start north to Malvern, with the novices returning after 109 km via Worcester, while the intermediates had 155 km via Kidderminster.
The pundits would attempt 197 km with the first leg to Evesham, more or less directly into the 20 knot north easterly wind followed by Bridgnorth, and back more or less down wind. After the events of Saturday the Mynd team jockeyed for grid position to ensure an early start and our pundit was away in good time. Half an hour later Andy Davis the Nympsfield pundit, fresh from a 5th place in the Standard Class Worlds at Mafeking started, arriving back at Nympsfield in rather under two hours, followed ten minutes later by your representative!
Meanwhile the novices and intermediates had launched a little later into a deteriorating sky. A flurry of relaunches followed after most of the fleet descended to terra firma, but efficiency and three tugs got them promptly off again on a tricky first leg with its share of field selection and ‘moments’. Only four of ten returned by air, two from the Mynd team. Before derigging the Nympsfield intermediate sought out Dave to thank him “from the bottom of his heart” for saving him during a “wheel down” situation at the Malverns. He had joined 200 feet below Dave who having himself thought he was too low to survive, was just establishing a climb.
On Monday morning Andy was pronounced intermediate day winner, with Dave a very close second place in the novices. Clearly the re-light technique had worked to great effect, though the Team Captain had failed to recognise its value in improving cross-country speed. All competitors had had a wild run back downwind with speeds over the ground almost up with the 166 kph achieved over the final 90 km leg by the pundit winner (guess who).
At the end of the weekend three first places and a second place from our novice and intermediate were sufficient to equal the (ex-)World Champion augmented performance, on home ground, of the Nympsfield team. After a tremendous start to the Rockpolishing season the Mynd goes into our home event on June 1st - 3rd first equal with twelve points, Aston Down follow on ten, with Talgarth on 6, Usk on 4 and Shobdon on 2. Rock on!
|
Class |
Club |
Saturday
Points |
Sunday
Points |
Total
Points |
Weekend
Score |
|
Novice |
Aston
Down |
95 |
0 |
95 |
2 |
|
Nympsfield |
655 |
533 |
1188 |
4 |
|
|
Long
Mynd |
700 |
521 |
1221 |
5 |
|
|
Shobdon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Talgarth |
636 |
0 |
636 |
3 |
|
|
Usk |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
Intermediate |
Aston
Down |
960 |
757 |
1717 |
5 |
|
Nympsfield |
929 |
114 |
1043 |
4 |
|
|
Long
Mynd |
1000 |
800 |
1800 |
6 |
|
|
Shobdon |
291 |
560 |
851 |
2 |
|
|
Talgarth |
216 |
81 |
297 |
1 |
|
|
Usk |
869 |
0 |
869 |
3 |
|
|
Pundit |
Aston
Down |
977 |
829 |
1805 |
3 |