Bath Wiltshire & North Dorset Gliding Club March 2022 Update

24th March: The Early bird gets the worm….

The more experienced pilots are telling me that these are great conditions for March, so hopefully this heralds a good season ahead. “Blue Bird” was rigged by John & Gavin & they both had good soaring as well as instructing. Sadly it did not lead to John dropping his guard on my Bronze practical test, but having endured an air tow with the tug doing thermals, followed by “boxing”, various spins & stalls, heavy “sink” which appeared to disappear…& then came back with a vengeance…winch launches & circuits with no altimeter & a (very) awkward height cable break, I managed to persuade John that I was not too much of a hindrance to myself or others. Cross Country endorsement now awaits, so looking forward to trip or two in the motor glider. Mike turned up to do some solo flying, but naturally ended up giving up his time for some instruction/checks. Congrats are also due to Din who transitioned to soloing on LPM with an immediate 41 minute flight, so hopefully JKW will be back in action shortly.

As Spring rolls on

Another deceptively blue day at the Park yesterday saw much rocking’n’rolling in the air with good heights & durations achieved (not to mention a Bronze acquired – congrats, Mark!); on the ground there was much raking’n’rolling as the trailer park eased towards firm flatness.

After gliders were put to bed, a clattering of rollers on pebbles heralded the following image: perhaps an opportunity for a caption competition?

19th March: Arising from their winter slumber….

Stunning spring day at The Park on Friday, & as per Alastair’s comment, thanks to Chris for getting the mid-week flyers out on Friday after the rain on Wednesday. Great to see the private aircraft arising from their winter slumber & joining the action on the grid, whilst the trailer park is looking much tidier, albeit some rolling & compacting of the gravel as per Martin’s comments. Meanwhile &y had rolled the airfield which despite recent rain has held up well & will firm up with the warm weather. Some photos from the ground….

Friday 18th March

View west towards The Park from Salisbury in 306 today. Good call from Chris Chappell to call Friday a flying day. The day was a little slow to develop but by 13:00 the streeting was very good & thermal averages were up to 6kts. Most club glider flights were over 30 minutes. BT, 194 & D2 also flew. Chris Roberts & Adrian flew the Venture to Lee on Solent.

Another new instructor

Many congratulations to Julian on passing his instructor AOC with Patrick Naegeli our Senior Regional Examiner today. This upgrades him from BI to Ass Cat.

It was a good day with a high cloudbase, but cold in the 20+kt NE wind, but it didn’t stop 309 & D2 from soaring.

The Pawnee is back in service & did several tows.