June 2008 and the weather has been kind to us. Flying Saturdays and Sundays
and catching up on a number of air experience flights. There are two camps on
the airfield at the moment, the bus lot and the hangar lot. Kate turned up in
her steel toe capped multicoloured wellies to help with the laying of concrete.
More photos of progress added to the hangar gallery. The erection has started.
Peter Craven has obtained a copy of our original Articles of Association and
pointed out that the first two Directors were named Craven and Redshaw in 1936.
These are now in the Members Only section for those that like a bit of history.
Rose went to Hus Bos and had foul weather whilst we had the sunshine. All the
main steelwork was up by Sat 14th and covered by the end of June - amazing,
special thanks to all those that took a weeks holiday to help. Even BAE was
impressed. You can now buy a trial flight as a gift
online.
May 2008 The spoof 500km flights on the 1st April caught out not only some
of our Club members but also the news of the "amazing achievements" spread round
various websites and bars. Gotcha - don't believe every story you pick up
about the Lakes Capstan. The new hangar is ordered and due for delivery at the
end of May. The groundwork needs doing in May so we can erect in June. Good
news, BAE has finished the repairs to No1 hangar apron and we are now back in
our end of the hangar. May 17th & we fill all the holes for the hangar uprights
with 12 cu m concrete followed by soup, bangers & buns c/o Rose. New photo
album of hangar progress added,
Gallery 15
April
2008 An excellent start to the month, on the first day of flying the Capstan
completed a 503km triangle at a remarkable speed of 59kph. This is the first
500km by a Capstan and only the second 500km
from Walney. Neil Moffatt achieved
463km in his Lak 19 being forced to land at Cark by the rain and at the base of
the Haverthwaite ridge. An article will be in the next issue of S&G. We are about to order our new hangar an
d the new trailer
parking area has been prepared. The new EASA regulations are still holding up
the completion of the K21 C of A and the Astir is now due for its C of A.
Several other gliders have experienced delays due to the new EASA regulations.
Breaking news, Neil
Moffat apparently did not land out at Cark in the rain as he actually managed to stay airborne in lift from a large house roof. When
the rain stopped, a thermal set off from a garden bonfire which allowed him to
gain enough height to just make the railway line to the west where he would have
been forced to land out in a field, but Jan (one of our members) happened by in
his train and he was able to get just sufficient lift from the bow wave to make
Walney, making his approach under the bridge to Walney Island to complete a
total of 504km in 2hours 35minutes." The AGM took place on the 27th
April, and a lively very well attended meeting it was. Check out the changes in
Club
Officers following the AGM. We have a female Chairman for the first
time in our history, well done Rose. Our thanks to the retiring Officers for all
their time, effort and contribution over the years.
March 2008 some good flying going on and the
days are getting longer. The apron outside No1 hangar is being repaired so we
will be swapping ends with BAE for 4/5 weeks. The tug will be in one of the No3
hangars (thanks lads) and we may have to rig the two seater each weekend. The
funds for the new hangar are being collected and lots of paperwork being
generated to satisfy BAE Systems. We are still online to erect the new hangar in
June. Dave North (CFI) has changed his mobile number.
February 2008 and the Tug is back. It
got held up waiting for the CAA paperwork. Let's get flying again. The K21 has
finished its C of A and progress is being made on evaluating new hangar options.
Anyone wanting an update on hangars should talk to Dave North. Did you know that
our Club has been flying from Walney airfield for 57 years of its 78 year
history, ask Peter R for details he was there in 1945 and remembers it well
(just).
And a Happy New Year to all. 6th January 2008.
The tug has just left for Sherburn for its C of A and the K21 has been given
its annual inspection. The tug is likely to be missing for 2 weeks. The Club
gliders are now coated in numerous Golf registrations and more of the private
owners are following suit - thanks EASA. We still have the IS28 and Astir to C
of A, so help is needed. The gliding holidays for 2008 are being organised and a
new Trial Flight Certificate has been produced, see Club Management section. Last year was not the best for
gliding weather at ours and many other clubs, got to be better this year. Don't
forget that you will need check flights if you have not been flying over the
winter months. The username and password have changed to access the
Members and Club Management section, contact Peter Redshaw if you have
difficulties in logging in.
See the Web Diaries within the Archive
section for previous months updates on activities.
The Lakes Gliding Club is
over 75 years old. The Club was founded in July 1930 and was originally called The Furness Gliding
Club. Some 50 clubs were started in 1930. The Lakes Gliding Club was in there early and was considered
to be the Wasserkuppe (German gliding centre) of England due to the numerous hills and their gentle slopes. The club was
formally operated as The Furness Gliding Propriety Ltd. The original brass plaque is
hanging behind our bar. We are still the same Ltd Company but with a different trading
name ----- The Lakes Gliding Club. To record our history in more detail and in
electronic format, the
club's regular contributions to the Sailplane and Gliding magazine that started
in September 1930 are being scanned and converted to PDF format. See the new
section on Sailplane and
Gliding News within the Archive section.
Wondering
what to do for some excitement? This is what gliding is all about. Read the story of a wonderful flight from Walney by
Justin Wills, an internationally renowned glider pilot.
Click the picture.
IMPORTANT
____Airfield access, Visitors and Members, for
security reasons our landlords now require that the airfield gate is kept
locked at
all times. All members will be given a key for the gate following an airfield
briefing and once a BAE pass has been issued. Contact the Webmaster
for details. Until you have a key you will need to phone the
club mobile as you get to the gate to have a
member come and let you in. Bring
some change because if you forget your mobile or don’t have one there is a
payphone at the airfield end of North Scale. The number to phone is on a notice
on the gate. It is 07860 135447.
Check the
What's
New page if you are a regular visitor, or go directly to
Members Only. Contact the Webmaster if you need a password.
We are an enthusiastic friendly group of people all dedicated to
flying, mainly gliding but we also have power and hang gliding types in our midst. Our club is based at Walney Airfield, Walney Island, adjacent to Barrow in Furness in
Cumbria, on the edge of the English Lake District. Walney Island is in the Irish Sea on the West coast of England, about half-way between Wales and Scotland. The area
provides us with some spectacular flying as well as spectacular views. If you've
explored this area on the ground and thought it was awe-inspiring, imagine what
it's like from the air! Have a look at the Scafell picture.
Coniston Water
Wast Water
Ullswater
Scafell
If you're already a pilot and want to find out more about the Lakes Gliding
Club then start at "The
Club" section. If you're new to gliding and want to find out how you could learn to fly,
or have a TRIAL FLIGHT
to find out what it's like, then start at the "Beginners"
section.
The Lakes Gliding Club is a year round training and soaring site,
has a range of gliders available for club members and a well proven training programme. So whatever flying experience you have, you will
be more than welcome to experience soaring flight in a glider at the
friendliest gliding club in the UK.
The Lakes Gliding Club, Walney Airfield, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK. LA14 3YJ
If you have any problems viewing this site please e-mail The 'Webmaster'
June 2008 and the weather has been kind to us. Flying Saturdays and Sundays
and catching up on a number of air experience flights. There are two camps on
the airfield at the moment, the bus lot and the hangar lot. Kate turned up in
her steel toe capped multicoloured wellies to help with the laying of concrete.
More photos of progress added to the hangar gallery. The erection has started.
Peter Craven has obtained a copy of our original Articles of Association and
pointed out that the first two Directors were named Craven and Redshaw in 1936.
These are now in the Members Only section for those that like a bit of history.
Rose went to Hus Bos and had foul weather whilst we had the sunshine. All the
main steelwork was up by Sat 14th and covered by the end of June - amazing,
special thanks to all those that took a weeks holiday to help. Even BAE was
impressed. You can now buy a trial flight as a gift
online.
