Sailplane Grand Prix World Final

Having been glued to the live feed for days. I have never seen such exiting racing. These guys are brave! Jon finished 11th.

Sadly the last race cost Tomas Reich of Chile his life. No news on how. Mountains are very unforgiving. Glider racing is becoming a bit like F1 in the seventies. Maybe we have some thinking to do?

Sailplane Grand Prix World Final

Erstwhile Booker member Jon Gatfield is carrying the flag for GB this week in the World Final of the Sailplane Grand Prix in Santiago Chile.



Day one was cancelled due to low cloud and poor heating. You can follow the action here: www.sgp.aero

Good luck Jon

Winter Lecture Series

Not so much lectures as briefings aimed at helping early solo pilots, Bronze candidates and others to make progress in their gliding, here is the programme for 2018.

The session on 27th January is for early solo to post Bronze pilots to discuss things which might be slowing their progress and how the club could help them to reach their goals, as well as an opportunity to ask questions about what gliding has to offer.

Sunday Retrieve Team

Anything to keep warm

The cold and wind didn't spoil the fun on Sunday!

Festive flying

 

Booker Gliding Club

wishes all its members, staff and friends

a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

 

 

Over the holiday period, the club will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day but flying on those days will be available to those with self-authorising privileges.

 



 

Making the best of it

Saturday was the date for the second of Graham's aerobatics courses, unfortunately the weather gods hadn't heard, so there was only time for one flight before the front arrived and we put the kit away. We did however have an extensive discussion in the briefing room about how exactly it is that wings work, upside down as well as the right way up.

After the kit had been put away, Rob had the bright idea of cleaning the bus. Most of it looks better now, we need a longer ladder, or a longer broom.

Fast learner

Today's sunshine brought out lots of members to enjoy the autumn colours, but Max Norfolk had more on his mind than sightseeing. Not long ago he bought one of the club's Flexi courses and today, after only 14 flights and an hour in the Falke, he did his first solo, and then for good measure followed it up with another.

Richard congratulates Max

Max sells fast cars for a living and races them for fun. He's looking forward to learning about cross country racing in a glider.

Waitrose Bank Balance Warning

BEWARE - Waitrose Thame has subbed out their car park to Britannia Parking. If you go over the 2 hour limit you will get a mugging with a bill for £40 (£70 if not paid immediately). Their signage is almost invisible (I have marked it with a yellow arrow) and when I complained they said 'tough shit, it is our policy'. Bandits.

My new policy is never to buy from Waitrose or John Lewis again.

Ophelia has a bad influence on the Scottish wave

Storm Ophelia didn't bring much wind to NE Scotland so our trailers are still the right way up.
Having had a couple of weeks of stunning wave weather we now have lots of cloud, rain and the threat of Easterly winds; as Mr M Jagger once said; you can't always get what you want.
As any glider pilot knows, or soon finds out, the weather doesn't always play ball on expeditions, but the wait for the good weather is always worthwhile.
No flying for the last couple of days so we have been watching salmon jumping and visiting the transport museum.
We are hoping to take to the skies again tomorrow.

Wave Bar still open

Still waving well in the Cairngorms. Today the wind was slightly south of west so we had wave in Glen Tanar as well as behind Morven. We also had the experience of launching into an easterly wind and then flying in westerly wave!  All the Booker pilots here on changeover day took a launch and climbed to between 10,000 and 15,000 ft. Week 2 starts tomorrow.

Looking along the Glen Tanar wave bar, working well from below 2500 ft.