Tuesday 15th June

We now have another 7 tug pilots with Microlight ratings after a successful day of Type Conversions with Jonathan May in his Ikarus C42.

It was interesting to fly something new, and with a climb rate of about 10kts and a cruise of 80 – 90kts it felt very different to the Venture and much lighter than the Pawnee.

It was a very good gliding day though………as you can see in the image.

Alastair

BBQ Saturday 29th May

We will be hosting a  BBQ at the club next Saturday. To meet current regulations you (currently) need to bring (& cook) your own food & bring your own cutlery, crockery & drinks (although that aspect may change). There will be no costs levied. The club will supply the BBQ & cooking utensils. If the weather is inclement then the western end of the hangar will be cleared for tables & seating. Hope to see you there.

Well Done!

On a day that I was tempted to scrub, the few of us that flew had a great day, none better than Matt Oakes who I had the privelidge to send off on his first solo, well done that man! Tim Fletcher & Jim Hasker renewed their instructor ratings & last but by no mean’s least Gavin & Julian flew the spare Puch for nigh on two hours. Roll on next week

Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th April from the Park. “Mid-week marvels” 😎.

Good evening fellow aviators.

We were treated to two terrific mid-week flying days this week πŸ™‚.

Both days were filled with glorious sunshine, with a wind-chill that cooled things considerably on occasion. The upper wind drifted from 040 – 080 degrees over the two days, and between 5 – 10kts. The cool air mass and warming spring sun generated some very good soaring opportunities for the time of year. Lots of extended local soaring flights were enjoyed on both days, and John G clocked up the Clubs first Cross Country of the year on Thursday with a very respectable 205k ‘out and return’ to Ledbury πŸ™‚ πŸ‘πŸ».

Mike J, Phil G, and Andy F were busy instructing. While John H and Phil R were busy flying the Tug. πŸ™‚ πŸ‘πŸ».

A very pleasant couple of days flying from the Park dear aviators 😎.

I took a few pictures from the two days to share with you all, hope you enjoy them.

Kind regards.

Damien.

It takes a lot of work to keep a Gliding Club working smoothly. Good work John! πŸ™‚Β 

A few pictures from the air πŸ™‚.

Β 

Friday 02nd April at the Park. “That feeling of liberation” 😎.

We have returned to the skies once more dear aviators! πŸ™‚.

It was a cool crisp Spring day at the Park today, but it did warm up pleasantly from around mid-day onwards. The upper wind was approx. 040 degrees at a brisk 19kts. The cool North Easterly air mass and warm April sun treated us to some much appreciated soaring. It wasn’t Cross Country weather at the Park today, but all attending Pilots did enjoy extended local soaring opportunities.

It was an absolute delight to be back in the air again following lockdown 😎.

A total of 20 Glider flights and 4 Touring Motor Glider flights today.

I took a few pictures from the day to share with you all, hope you enjoy them.

Kind regards.

Damien.

Tuesday Flying

Tuesday 23rd March dawned drab and unappealing to fly but there was hope, there’s always hope when Mike Jenks is on site! A brisk and distinctly chilly wind was blowing from the south so the ridge should be working and a raft of Instructors were keen to give it a try. As it turned out Steve Lambourne ran up & down the ridge for 1 hour and 40 minutes at varying heights in his PIK 20 while other lowly pilots in the club Puch’s managed to scrape a few runs in very reduced sink and occasional lift. In the end we did 15 launches with Stuart North and Phil Rees regaining currency in the tug and I airtested FUY and flew the Venture, joining Mike Jenks in an all too brief thermal (he’s below me in the picture), before opening the throttle to climb through a large gap in the clouds for a bit of fun and photo opportunity at 3500ft.

Thanks to Mike and Graham Hoile for driving the winch and to Lesley and Julie for doing the log keeping. As it turned out, the sky cleared eventually so all in all it was a great day. We look forward to the 29th Mar when more solo flying can resume before dual flying gets back underway in mid-April.

A Grand Day

Thanks to a concession issued by the Department for Transport last week, the first batch of club instructors were able to fly today with the second batch booked in for tomorrow.

A grand day was had under clear blue skies that was blessed with light winds and occasional Cu that produced some weak thermals. Alastair McGregor carried out the maiden flight in his spanking new Ventus 3 staying airborne for well over an hour.

We did 20 launches of which two were by the Venture and five aerotows. Thanks to Mike Jenks for organising the return to flight and we look forward to resuming normal flights for all later next month, meanwhile after tomorrow we return to lockdown.

Wednesday 30th December at the Park. β€œLast flying day of 2020 at the Park” 😎.

Good evening fellow aviators.

It was a very pleasant days flying from the Park today πŸ™‚.

It was a crisp winters day, the upper wind was approx. WSW at a gentle 5kts. There were no soaring opportunities due to the stable air mass, as is to be expected this time of year.

Only a small band of hardy Pilots at the Park today but the enthusiasm to fly continued all day, with launching only pausing briefly for cable retrieves.

Mike J had a productive day instructing, and the maintenance team continued to make excellent progress with their winter maintenance programme πŸ™‚ πŸ‘πŸ».

For most Pilots, today was an opportunity to get some Launch and Circuit practice in. But John H, inspired by this being our last flying day of the year, decided to treat us all to some aerobatics. I was lucky enough to be invited to take the rear seat of the Puch for a ringside view of Johns aerobatic masterclass πŸ™‚.

A total of 17 Glider flights and 4 Touring Motor Glider flights today. Another very pleasant days flying from the Park dear aviators 😎.

I took a few pictures from the day to share with you all, hope you enjoy them.

Kind regards.

Damien.

Over we go! πŸ™‚.

Heading back to base.

Well, the ginger bread men on Johns hat certainly appear to have enjoyed the flight πŸ˜‰

Congratulations

Although not many members will have met him, most will know of Pete Stratten, the BGA Chief Exec. Today it was announced that Pete has been awarded an MBE for his work in aviation. I have known Pete & worked with him since my early days in gliding &, I believe, was one of his instructors at Cranwell when he was a lad. I can think of fewer rank & file people more deserving of this award, congratulations Pete.

Christmas lunch

Reading that Bournemouth Class D airspace was downgraded to Class G for today, plus the forecast of a sunny day was just too much of a rare opportunity. So Sue and I flew over the Bournemouth region without ATC guidance. Also to fly in the zone we needed to set a listening squawk, which we can now do in the Venture.

It was the first time I have been able to fly over my house as well. No, not the one below, that’s Kingston Lacy.

Below is Wimborne from the West.

And this one is obvious.

 

What wave?

An impression of the glorious weather experienced by an intrepid gathering of keen aviators at the Park today. The ridge produced little bumps for extended circuits, but the lenticular cloudlets turned out to be lentils from a different stew and didn’t work. All in all it turned out to be a pleasant day.

Saturday 12th December

A lovely day’s flying. 33 flights today, with Steve Lambourne achieving the longest flight of 18 minutes in LPM. Sitting in the front seat of GAM doing instructor training we had a thermal climb of over a knot up to 1800ft, (thank you Dan) and a winch launch to 2100ft, (thank you Graham) which is the best ever I have seen at The Park. And the wind was only 20kts.

All very pleasant for the time of year.

Alastair

Return to Flying!

A great day back in the air for those who could spare the time. 17 launches, the longest (unpowered) flight being by Keith Longdon when the wind went round to the south and the ridge started working, Chrissy managed 13 minutes. Thanks to Stu North for providing instruction in GAM.

The Venture was back in the air following it’s annual servicing and fitting of some new avionics, thanks to all those who did the work including Graham Hoile, Ian Wright & Mike Thorne (apologies to those I’ve missed out).

The maintainers were busy in the hangar with FUY now de-rigged for it’s annual inspection – more workshop news being written by yours truly for the Christmas edition of GlideAngle.

Wednesday 4th November at the Park. β€œA bustling airfield, crystal blue skies, a little light wave, and a selection of wonderful brocken spectre” 😎.

Good evening fellow aviators.

Well we certainly made the most of the final days flying before lockdown πŸ™‚ πŸ‘πŸ».

It was a cool autumn day at the Park today, with crystal blue skies and glorious sunshine. The upper wind was approx. NNE at a gentle 5kts. The soaring opportunities were modest, as is to be expected this time of year.

The enthusiasm to fly continued all day, with launching only pausing briefly for cable retrieves, and tow plane refueling. It was a real pleasure to see so many pilots at the Park making the most of the days flying.

Mike J, John H, and Adam B, had a productive day instructing. With John and Adam covering tow plane duties as well πŸ™‚ πŸ‘πŸ».

A bustling airfield, crystal blue skies, and glorious sunshine. A very pleasant days flying from the Park.

I took a few pictures today to share with you all. Hope you enjoy the them.

Kind regards.

Damien.

The enthusiasm to fly continued all day, with launching only pausing briefly for cable retrieves, and tow plane refueling.

Everyone chipping in and keeping the airfield running smoothly πŸ™‚.

As today was the last days flying for a few weeks, I took the opportunity to enjoy two 8000ft aerotows to celebrate what has been another great seasons soaring from the Park. Both flights were a real treat, a super smooth and relaxing experience thanks to the stable air mass, and stunning views thanks to the days excellent visibility. I managed to contact some light wave on my second flight of the day that kept me happily bobbing about at approx 4000ft above the Park for a little while, extending my flight by a few much appreciated minutes. I was also treated to some wonderful “brocken spectres” during this flight when I was turning at the West end of the Wave Bars before tracking back along them. No pictures of the brocken spectre unfortunately, as the wave was very light and patchy so required full concentration to make use of it. I did take a few pictures while in the Glide to share with you all though.

The view from the top of the world πŸ™‚.

A very pleasant days flying from the Park dear aviators 😎.

Wet Monday

With a promising forecast  a large contingent met up at the club today to fly, alas after heavy rain overnight the airfield was very soft but useable but the flying Gods were determined to keep us on the ground & the weather radar showed a continuous stream of heavy rain flowing off the Bristol Channel straight over the top of us. 

After some consultation we decided that enough was enough at 10:30 (see the attached picture). Thanks to Chrissy for organising the day, regretably the rest of the week looks less than hopeless. Stay safe

John H

Wednesday 14th October at the Park. “A cool autumnal day” 😎.

Good evening fellow aviators.

A cool autumn day at the Park today, with crystal blue skies and glorious sunshine. The upper wind was approx. 20 – 30kts at 060 degrees.

The soaring opportunities were modest, as is to be expected this time of year. But there was some thermal activity and streeting around the Park for the Pilots to enjoy. Greg C managed the longest flight of the day at 49 minutes. Well done Greg πŸ™‚Β πŸ‘πŸ».

The enthusiasm to fly continued all day, with launching only pausing briefly for cable retrieves.

Mike J and John H had a productive day instructing, and Alastair M was on hand to Pilot the Tug for the days aerotows.

Seasonally cool at the Park today, but still a very pleasant and sunshine filled days flying πŸ™‚.

I took a few pictures from the day to share with you all. Hope you enjoy them.

Kind regards.

Damien.

The launch point, was kept busy all day.

A great atmosphere. Everyone mucking in to keep things running smoothly πŸ™‚.

Saturday 10th

It’s been eight months since last instructing, so it was good to be back in GAM today, flying with Harriet and Dan on BI training.

Windy, 20kts NW, but winch launches to 1900ft and thermals for a short period around midday with really quite good climbs. The wave looked enticing early on, but the air was all a bit too unstable for it to be a realistic prospect.

Very few members in attendance though. Don’t be afraid to book a single seater, even if you are only expecting to do a circuit. The new booking schedule will allow four bookings per day. It’s still soarable.