Web Diary 2009

Fancy a trial flight in a Glider, buy one as a gift, click here for a GIFT VOUCHER

 

Famous at last, see and feel what a trial flight looks like, visit  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of0TX2uDNsI&feature=PlayList&p=58C48E920978C12E&index=4

 

December 2009. A good start to the month and Andrew Green has completed his Bronze Badge. Well done Andrew and thanks for the celebration drink. The Gliding Club annual Dinner is on Saturday 6th February at the Abbey House Hotel. Snow.

 

November 2009. What can I say apart from it was very wet and windy. Kunzi was spotted in town and will be able to get back flying with us soon. Role on December!

 

September/October 2009. Steady progress with about 4 new members, pics to come. A good wave day at the start of October with Graham and Andrew taking the IS28 to 11000ft. Graham would like it noted that this is his third trip to 11000 ft. The following weekend Andrew clocked up his third hour in thermals. We have changed the website password and username, contact Peter Redshaw if you can't access the Members Only and Club Management sections. Andy Tebay has been playing with the bus computer, you can now check your flying credit on the bus. United Utilities have a safety brochure on the hazards of overhead cables, well worth a read for cross country pilots.

 

August 2009. We've had a couple of days on the Combe but nothing spectacular. The work and inspections on the IS28 are finally finished , the paper work has been sent off and hopefully it will be flying soon. Several members and 3 gliders headed for Poitier for the European two seater competition. The weather was not up to normal French standards but some good flights were had. The social side was extremely good and Pete Craven will be producing a video of the trip. The Capstan managed 220km triangle in the blue and came 10th overall and first Wood. Landed out 6 times with some amazing land out stories. Slight damage to underside of the fuselage in a rotavated stubble field, big stones caught the belly under the nose. Nothing that some duck tape couldn't cure. After one land out, the Team even managed to find itself in the restaurant that had been previously booked by the Pocklington Team, we didn't even know the place existed. Turned out it was a micro brewery with restaurant, we made an early start! Peter Craven cooked a hot pot and made some pies for the Brits. Tom Pullin cut the grass round the hangars, thanks Tom. The two seater comp at Pocklington was good fun, the Capstan got first wood and was 15th overall. Rose got her Silver height on the first Saturday.

 

July 2009, the tug is back. The next annual Dinner date has been set, Saturday 6th Feb 2010 at the Abbey House Hotel, make a note in your diaries. The first days flying was good with another new member, we welcome Julie Jones to our club and we have another 2 potential members from our Air Experience flights. As the sunset, the Technical Officer was still listening for the approaching cavalry, an old Indian trick of putting your ear close to the tarmac. Jan's Pegasus was on display at an Evening Mail activity weekend, thanks Jan and Dave.

 

June 2009. Rod Murfitt has qualified for a Community Grant from United Utilities, well done Rod and many thanks to United Utilities for your support of our gliding club. We managed to damage a runway light much to our embarrassment and more so the tug pilot who is definitely making an early bid for the wooden spoon. Our tug now has a problem with its trimmer and so was out of action last weekend. We have taken the opportunity for a working weekend and done many jobs that needed doing, notably the binding rear brakes on the bus, many thanks Simon not many people could have fixed them. The IS28 is nearly complete with a new instrument panel and more tow hitches are being installed on the trailer park. We have a number of photos from Rod and Graham Sturgeon to add, anyone else got some old gliding photos they would like on the website?

 

May 2009.  We flew every weekend with some good flights, notably Andrew Green completed his second Bronze leg. Graham Sturgeon has found an unusual way of putting in a ladder claim form - check out his height claims http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmle3a1tjDg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNMfhsN_y8Q The webmaster has been gliding at Gransden and Husbands Bosworth. BAE have a new website for their Barrow operation and have asked us to provide a link to their website. Check out http://www.worklifebarrow.co.uk which is aimed at being a definitive guide to living and working in south Cumbria. If you find any broken links or missing web pages please let the webmaster know - the website has been restructured due to the amount of data held on the website.

 

April 2009. Some good flying weather, a number of Ladder Claims, the AGM and new members. We welcome David Brockbank back,  Kunzi Chikohora who we first met at Pocklington and Andrew Green who is our new link with Lancaster University. Peter Craven has put in his first claim for the wooden spoon with an unusual way of opening the canopy. How nice it is too see a lot of gliders out and flying being done. Nigel's Gull 3 was flown at Walney for the first time. The AGM was well attended and preceded by pie and peas. Our Treasurer reports we are again managing a surplus for future use.

 

March 2009. The AGM has been set for Sunday 19th April at 6.0pm, hope you can make it, put it in your diaries. Two re-solos last weekend, Nigel Dickenson and Graham Sturgeon. Well not quite as they are both experienced but had been laid off for a while - good excuse for a round of drinks anyway. Still awaiting the dinner report and prizes summary from certain individuals who I will be naming shortly. Who's that in the photo, could it be him. The dinner photos are now on the website.  Graham Sturgeon goes to12000ft in wave and back inside 60 minutes, mid March, will be on YouTube shortly. The last weekend produced a lot of firsts. First decent flying day for ages, first time John Hunt's lovely yellow Elf arrived on the airfield, John's first flight in it, John's first field landing on his first flight, John's first round of beer for a field landing. For those without a gate key, a new combination lock will be on the gate soon.

 

February 2009. We were flying at the weekend again. Sunday was tantalising, lovely wave but a few too many knots of wind to operate. The tug looks and flies well. By the 18th Feb at long last the CAA were processing the paperwork, would you believe they then back dated it nearly 3 weeks. The tug had been finished and test flown quickly but we had a long wait for the CAA to issue the paperwork. The K21 is finished, thanks Jan. The transition to EASA regulations has not been kind to the gliding world as the application of the theory keeps illustrating unnecessary bureaucratic failures. This was the same last year, hopefully the worst is passed. We have caught all the mice in the bus, 6 weeks without any further catches. It would have been nice to have been flying but, as luck would have it, we only lost one good flying day whilst the Tug has been away due to wind and rain. The annual dinner and prize giving was on the 21st February at the Abbey House Hotel, photos coming shortly together with write up. Peter Redshaw took over the role of Secretary, making him the third generation of his family to hold this post since the Club was founded in 1930. He was heard muttering that he would do a better job than his father!

 

January 2009.The tug was flown to Blackpool for its annual inspection today (10th Jan). It was due to go Sunday afternoon but the consensus was that the weather would not permit it. (Turned into a good decision) So no gliding until further notice. With a bit of luck it should be back for next weekend but we will email all to let you know when we have it back. The K21 is also having its annual inspection done at the same time. The first weekend saw us flying in sea breeze, wave and thermal mix (for those that could find it). Gordon got the highest. The mouse tally is now 22 in the bus and we are catching them in twos. We had a visit from the Chipping CFI in a Ximango with John Hunt.

 


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