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From the Committee We have a few new faces joining us - Tony Hughes, Tim Scott and Roy Scott
A system which differentiates between private and club-owned For a number of reasons the standard of log-keeping must improve, if the membership as a group can or will not cause this to happen then we will have no option but to reinstate the admin fee or take more drastic action such as employing a log-keeper as other clubs have resorted to. That would, of course, increase costs which is the last thing we want to do - as I said last month I do not see why this should be a problem. Welcome to our two seasonal tug pilots – Neil Arnold and Richard Bull, who will be with us until the end of the season. Parking outside the tug workshop Please think before parking outside the workshop – if you leave your car obstructing the doors or park in such a way that makes it impossible to move a tug to or from the airfield barrier then I cannot do my job. I am aware that the new fence opposite the Clubhouse has reduced the amount of parking space available, but there is always space to park outside the hangar next to the tug workshop. Robin Tow Bar The Robin tow bar in the blister hangar has been bent yet again. Will the person responsible for bending it please stop doing it as the tow bar is for the safe manoeuvring of the Robin aircraft, not for opening the hangar doors. If YOU have a job to move the doors then tell G, Jed, David Richardson or myself and we will get something done about it. PLEASE STOP BENDING THE ROBIN TOW BAR Thank you Dave Sarney A reminder for Tug pilots – please bring your logbook, medical and licence to me so I can check that everything is OK for the new JAROPS regime.
Aboyne Sunday 24th September – Saturday 14th October 2000 The list for our three weeks at Aboyne is now open. When you book we will need to know.
Places fill up very quickly so don’t delay booking if you fancy a week or two in Royal Deeside this autumn. DR From the CFI Evening groups Now the clocks have gone forward the evening groups are starting up again. Those of you who have joined us over the winter will not be familiar with the evening groups so here is a very quick description for you. At the end of each flying day (about 6pm) instead of putting all the kit away the evening group take over the airfield. Each evening is run by a different team (if you want to know who, ask the office). On most evenings we will run trial lessons, some pre-solo booked training, and some casual flying. If you want to join an evening group and come on a regular evening then that is good news – we rely heavily on volunteer help to make things happen. Trial lesson groups Again some information for those new to Booker. A large part of our income and most of our new membership comes from trial lesson flying. You can help by encouraging friends and colleagues to come for a trial lesson. If you can organise a group so much the better. We can handle groups from two up to a couple of dozen without much difficulty. A lot of the established members have already run through all of their friends (as far as taking them flying is concerned) so new members, please have a go. It will make a difference, and who knows, you might just introduce a new member to the sport. Instructors If you did your instructor course in the last five years the BGA is insisting that you now do a completion course before the next rating renewal. Anyone in this situation – please see me. Tug Pilots The super cubs have picked up a lot of damage recently when being taken out or put away in the blister hangar. Please ensure that you always have enough help to move the tug and to stop smashing the extremities on the wall. It is costing Dave Sarney a lot of extra time, and therefore costing us all money! It has always been the policy at Booker to ensure that all our club tug pilots are current glider pilots. What is "current?" I would define the requirement as a minimum of 20 hours per year gliding. (Aeroplane and motor gliding time is not relevant.) There may be a small number of tug pilots within the club who fall into this category; if you think you may be one of them then please discuss it with me or Dave Richardson. Buggies After excellent service the old golf buggies have been retired and we have two new machines. I will say this only once; they are expensive and vital bits of kit so look after them! A safety note: not everybody at the launch point is as careful as they might be so when you park a buggy put the brake on, take it out of gear and turn the ignition off. I speak from experience as I had a perfectly good K13 smashed up by a tow vehicle when I worked at Lasham. Very embarrassing and totally avoidable. Please be careful with the kit. Cross country training A reminder that weekend training in the Duo is available starting April 1st. Consult the list on the notice board and put your name down. Cross country training briefings also start on the 1st – if you need any kind of x-c training then be there. The briefing time will be according to the weather and posted on the board each day, so you don’t have to turn up at the crack of dawn if the weather is rubbish first thing. Glider allocation From April, single seater allocation at 08:30 sharp. Juniors and cadets Places are available in two seaters at the Junior nationals at almost zero cost. See me or Andy Perkins. Cross country week For your diary. August 14th – 18th. A cross country training week open to any number of pilots. Must be current and experienced x-c pilots who can do at least a 100km triangle on a reasonable day. Experts are welcome. Jed, Andy and I will arrange training / group flying at the appropriate level for all comers, and the appropriate post flight debriefing, analysis. Not a competition, a task week or a course, but a chance to fly together and work it out for yourself – with a little bit of guidance. If we get good weather it will be a lot of fun. Pundits - if you can help, you are very welcome. Let me know. Sports Psychology The first coaching session for racing pilots will be held on Saturday, 6th May at 18:00 in the clubhouse. This will be an introduction to sports psychology and how you can use it to improve your cross country and racing performance. The session will cost £5 and is open to all members at any level – the less experienced will also find the content useful. The next sports psychology session in our series for instructors will be on Saturday, 20th May at 18:00 in the clubhouse. We will build on the foundations that were laid in the first lecture, but this time the content is intended to be far more practical. This is a free session. From the office We have now received copies of the latest edition of the Southern England map 1:500,000. They are on sale from the office at a cost of £13.00. Please note that the launchpoint telephone number has changed to 07774 103053. The telephone is also being changed in the next couple of weeks for a digital one. Please remember that you can hire one of the club gliders for the regionals at a cost of £310 for the duration of the competition. If you are interested in taking part in the competition and would like more information about hiring a glider, please have a word with G Dale.
FOR SALE: ½ SHARE IN MINI NIMBUS COMP NO 286 - £8,500.
Built in 1978 15 metre (carbon wings), flapped glider with large comfortable cockpit. Instruments include Cambridge M-NAV; Garmin GPS; Becker 720 radio; fitted large capacity oxygen system; Schofield trailer with AMF fittings, Strong parachute. The glider is light to rig with self connecting controls; approach control is superb on trailing edge flap/brakes: this makes for much less stress in field landing situations and at sites like Talgarth. The kit comes with a reasonably affable syndicate partner. Call Mike Beattie Work 01494 525552 Home 01494 481302 CFI’s final turn Almost all of us here know quite a bit about flying gliders and how to keep it safe. Why then do I continually see dodgy flat approaches, low final turns, gliders parked out in howling winds ready to blow away and, my own pet hate, instructors demonstrating how accurately they can land but amongst the parked gliders, right next to the bus/buggies/visitors etc? We don’t do "rules" at Booker, so please impose a bit of common sense and / or self discipline. Have fun, but operate sensibly, carefully and demonstrate good airmanship at all times. If you don’t then someone from the staff instructing team will request a little chat…. |