The motor glider is back

The Skunk Works above the glider workshop have worked their magic again with the wings of the Falke being recovered and repainted by a team led by Graham Saw and Mike Sinclair.

They have done a splendid job and the club should be especially grateful for the time and effort that they have put in over the winter months on a voluntary basis. The aircraft wouldn't be available if they didn't put in the effort on all our behalf (or cost effective for the membership!) - I am sure you will join me in offering them our sincere thanks.

The plan is for the fuselage to be recovered and repainted this coming winter. We can all do our bit to keep it pristine, clean and shiny by ensuring it is washed (and dried please) before it is put away at the end of the day - please don't leave it to "someone else", that person doesn't exist.

The Motor Glider after its post respray flight

Fun on the Easterly Ridges

Great fun flying the easterly ridges of Malvern and Pandy on Saturday. I last flew these ridges many years ago, in my Hang Gliding days. A good 15 to 20 knot easterly on Saturday gave me an opportunity to revisit them. Getting there was easy of course, down wind with 3 to 4 knot climbs to 3500ft. As expected, getting back needed the engine for the last 70km, as the day died, but it was a very enjoyable day.

Approaching Great Malvern

Several beats in smooth lift

 

Running low onto Pandy ridge

 

Easy soaring for miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Egg Cup - a moveable feast

There was plenty going on at the launch point today, on a windy but sunny Saturday. Several people set off on task for Northampton and Bedford, while Geoff (GA) went to Hay Bluff and back - OK so he did get the engine out at Bourton but still a good day out.

Meanwhile, a select few were forking out £5 notes for entries to the Easter Egg Cup Aerobatics competition, organised and judged by Graham Saw. There were two classes, Standard and Gorblimey, and some contestants had even practised beforehand - this is serious stuff!
 

Graham in the Judging Car

Standard Sequence 

There was plenty of advice on offer, and a range of unbiased opinion.

'Now, what you want to do is........'

'Was that 45 degrees?'

The results were predictable - the cadet won, they always do. George Hunter did one solo flight and racked up enough points to win, as well as qualifying for his Aerobatics Badge. Well done George! The final results were:

1st - George Hunter
Joint 2nd - Chris Collett and Jane Moore
4th - Richard Crockett
5th - David Humphreys

To be fair, we should note that Richard and David did the Gorblimey sequence, the others did the Standard one. There were prizes for all, and the proceeds from the entry fee went to the cadet fund.

George receiving the trophy from Hedda, the judge's assistant

Prizes!

And another thing - congratulations to David Lowe and Matt Porter for getting their Bronze badge after last week's Bronze course.

Our very own artist

Artist Jane Wood (Oldfield) will be exhibiting some Booker themed pieces in a forthcoming exhibition at the Griffin Gallery. Those of you who attended the end of comp BBQ in 2013 will remember the work below, which will be one of the works. We are all invited to the private view as well as the public opening - see details below.

2015's seasonal tuggies

We have been joined by our two seasonal tuggies who are getting prepared for a summer of towing. Take the time to say hello to Tom and Lucas who will soon be launching you on your epic flights.

Tom and Lucas 

Meanwhile back in the hangar...

Our stay at Talgarth was rather muddier and windier than we could have wished, but we are grateful to our hosts, Black Mountains Gliding Club, for their hospitality and for trying to make the weather better. The Talgarth contingent has now extracted themselves from the mud and headed north for a few days at Shobdon as guests of Herefordshire Gliding Club. Meanwhile, back at Booker, a group of keen cross country pilots have been under instruction from Tim Scott, weighing their gliders in every possible configuration - wingtips on/off, water in/out, boots/sandals - in order to work out how to get the C of G in the optimum position for racing.

'I'll just scratch a mark here to measure from..'

'You did what?!'

Then it was back to the clubhouse to do hard sums with all the measurements. They'll be zipping round tasks at the speed of light now they've got this sorted out.

There will be further sessions with the weighing machines for anyone else interested in improving the performance of their glider.

Chelsea Tractor seen at Talgarth

Talgarth action

So far we have only reported rumours from the Big House where most of the team are staying, we are now in a position to report facts. On Saturday night they went to the River Café in Glasbury, where they seem to have had a good time.

Richard getting excited at the sight of the dessert menu

Yesterday a contingent set off to the Big Pit in Blaenavon, well worth a visit but unfortunately closed when they got there. They did however get to inspect Glyn's new trailer.

It'll be OK once Glyn has polished it

In the evening they had roast beef, and passed the time teaching cadet George how to play poker, a useful skill for a glider pilot, though possibly not on the BGA syllabus.

Pemgenfford dinner

And this morning - guess what - we went flying! The forecast predicted rain by noon but the rain hadn't checked the forecast and stayed away until 1330. The ridges were working well up to Hay Bluff and down the valley to Crickhowell, so we had  some fun while it lasted.

George gets his first taste of proper ridge running

On top of the Black Mountain

A ridge

We hope to do some more of this sort of thing tomorrow........but on the other hand we have staked KCZ down very securely.

Stormy Sunday

The clocks went forward last night, so we woke even earlier to hear the rain and wind howling round the house. However, a search for 'things to do in Wales' produced a plan to visit Merthyr Tydfil for a trip on the Brecon Mountain Railway. Three coaches and a steam engine - and lots of steam. We trundled up the valley past a couple of reservoirs, then back again, stopping off at the Steam Museum and café.

 We drove back via Talybont to check out the reported landable fields in the area - which were mainly stuffed with sheep and lambs. There is however a good long flat field (with no sheep) at the end of the reservoir.

Nick has come round for dinner (roast pork, roasted veg), he drove over to Aberystwyth to see the sea. Yesterday he visited Long Mynd where they were winching - 30kts onto the ridge, no problem.

Tomorrow it looks as though it will be worth getting up early - fingers crossed - this is after all a gliding expedition.

Tempestuous Talgarth

Well, here we are again in Wales, and what a beautiful place to be. Yesterday when most people arrived, it was sunny and clear, so several members were able to get their check flights done, and Glyn flew one of his models.

Today we awoke to wind and rain, less than optimal for gliding - or even standing upright. The local briefing indicated that the rain might stop later, but that the wind would continue, and as there was a significant southerly component, launching would not be possible as none of the take off runs would be anywhere near into wind. Jim maintained his optimism for a couple of hours but in the end conceded defeat.

A bit windy

There are probably sheep in that cloud

It doesn't look that promising for tomorrow either...............

Food report: so far your correspondent has only sampled the Castle Inn in Llangorse, which does a nice line in pies. The sirloin steak was apparently excellent - meat supplied by WJ George in Talgarth - and the sweet potato chips were delicious. Today there was an expedition to the Honeypot Café in Talgarth which was reportedly very good. The gang in the big house in Pengenfford have roast beef to look forward to, courtesy of Jim, who is a man with high standards - he complained bitterly that Symeon had given him breakfast on a cold plate. Here in Llangorse we will be having cod in lemon sauce, followed by a bit of Metallica.