Flying Report Bank Holiday Mon 29 May 23
A large number gathered in H4 for the morning brief at the normal time but…..
…..planned runway friction testing meant that there was a delayed start to the day so, with plenty of assistance around, we derigged the K18 (R43) for its annual. By the time of the first launch at 1100 it was already thermic and if you could find one they were strong but tight.
It was the last day of tug duties for a club stalwart Mike Osborn who flew his last tug flights in WG. Mike started his flying career in the last century and with his long experience, you always knew that if there was lift around, Mike would sniff it out and drop you in it. However, Mike will continue to fly his Ventus 2CT, a much admired aircraft that he shares with Geoff Matthews, and an aircraft that has been the subject of many a recent unsolicited offer to purchase.
We were delighted to host a number of visitors. North Wales Gliding Club (NWGC) airfield is out of action for haymaking and we today welcomed Mark Lench, Chris Jenks and Harry McNee for some aerotow training for which they were allocated the K13 (R38). Many thanks for all your help during the day.
From Oxford Gliding Club we welcomed Leo Sentinella and Geoff Jones as guests of Amelia. Geoff had come to take a flight with Amelia whilst Leo, an aerobatics junkie, was here to get his fix. Both Amelia and Leo took aerobatics trips with Ian before Leo took the K21 (R22) for a solo aerobatics trip. The highlight was Amelia’s protracted inverted flight over the airfield prior to which there had been a lot of enthusiast hand waving for some reason or another, one of which seemed to suggest that they were off to play golf!!
Tug say no! Flying came to a temporary halt when WG suffered from a flat tyre. Folk were quickly dispatched both to crank up KE and also to fix the tyre. Faster than a pair of KwakFat fitters, Messrs Richardson and Gallacher made haste to repair the offending tyre. There then followed a committee meeting to decide the correct method to refit the wheel before normal service was resumed!
Making the most of the conditions proved difficult, some strong thermic activity accompanied by some equally strong sink challenged some. So whilst the majority of members laboured to make the most of the conditions, the Vicar and Colin took the easy option and took KE on trip around the local sights only returning when all the hard work was over!
Final flights of the day went to Paramedic Kyle and Will. What with both Kyle and the Vicar on the airfield, Eventualities take on a new meaning!
Thanks to everyone for your hard work out on the airfield where, on this protracted day, we did manage over 11 hours of flying time.