BOOKER GLIDING CLUB.
WYCOMBE AIR PARK, MARLOW, BUCKS SL7 3131P
INFORMATION SHEET
DECEMBER 2002
From the Committee
Bruce has asked me to write this month's newsletter, as our main news (which 1 hope will slightly lighten the winter gloom) is about airfield maintenance. We have now come to an agreement with AAA for work to improve the grass surfaces of the airfield, and the agreement with an outside contractor (selected by ourselves) has been signed. Preliminary work (consisting of spiking some of the surface areas) has already begun, and we are already seeing some benefit, as this seems to have radically improved the drainage, particularly on 25. Further work will consist of a number of close cuts of the grass with a gang mower, collection of the clippings, rolling the airfield a number of times with a heavy roller and filling in the worst depressions with top‑soil.
To what extent the surface will be improved remains to be seen, but we are hoping for a tangible, possibly substantial improvement. What the work will not do is to remove the long wave‑length undulations, which would require considerable earth moving.
The gliding club has agreed to make a relatively modest contribution to the cost of the work, but the lion's share is being borne by AAA.
Our thanks are due to Pete Wells for recommending the contractor.
AAA have also, at our request, improved the perimeter track by filling in a lot of the larger holes with scalpings. 1 have not had a chance to see it myself yet, but 1 gather there has been a substantial improvement. 1 hope it lasts for a bit, at least until we all get a chance to enjoy the improvement in the spring.
The committee have a number of projects under consideration, and we hope to give you more good news in the coming months.
Alan Green
We have the chance of a guest speaker, George Moffatt, here at Booker either 2nd or 9th February ‑date and venue to be confirmed.
From the Tug Workshop
The four blade prop for MM is back from Hoffmann and is back on MM. The cost to repair the prop was £2,216.05 and most of this was to repair damage caused by ground handling with the bent tow bar in the blister hangar. GH is in the workshop for its C of A inspection and 1 have had to send it's prop off for repair as it also has the same sort of damage as MM's prop had, so the bill will be similar.
MF has no spinner at the moment, this is due to a non‑repairable split in both it, plus the front and back plate. The damage was avoidable if the aircraft had been pre‑flight inspected properly. If it had been properly pre‑flight checked and the crack found before it spread, then a small repair would have been enough to keep it serviceable. The cost to replace the parts was £395,11. 1 have to paint the spinner dome before 1 can fit it, so this will take me away from the C of A work on GH.
Also, when MF is put back in the blister hangar by rotating it, please resist using the wing tip as a stop by hitting it on the hangar wall. Get somebody to help and watch the wing tip. Not only do all the dents cost money and time to repair, but cutting open the wings make the aircraft look tatty.
As Booker is an aerotow only club, all members need the tugs so the cleaning and care of the tugs is down to you all. From the newest member to the longest standing member.
Dave Sarney
From David Richardson
Two dates for your diary.
We will be taking a tug and gliders to Shobdon, subject to demand, from 'I st March until the 9th March inclusive. Accommodation list on the Shobdon web site www.shobdon.demon.co.uk Contact the office if you would like to take part, the only qualification is a tow bar on your car. Tell the office if you wish to fly club aircraft or your own and if you could tow a trailer there or back.
Aboyne visit will be from 28th September until 18th October inclusive. The list will open on I st April 2003. Private owners intending to visit at the same time, 1 would recommend you book your glider in now. with Deeside Gliding Club, the fee is £30/gliderlweek and you call Mary‑Rose Smith on 01569 730687.
Let's hope for westerlies this time.
David Richardson
Winching Day at Bicester
1 have spoken to members recently who are interested in learning to winch launch. I've arranged to borrow the 13GA gliders, along with some of the coaches, in early February 2003. We would probably run the day sometime mid week, or perhaps a Friday, as this gives us sole use of Bicester Airfield. If anybody is interested please give your names to the office and we will keep you updated.
Matt
Flying in France
For those who want to fly in good conditions but can't make it to NZ or Spain, there is always that inconvenient space either side of the motorway between Calais and the Pyrenees known asFrance'. It can be rather good.
The hassle is that to fly your glider in France you need two pieces of paper one for you and one for your machine. Here's what's needed to get them:-
Glider
Easy this ‑ you just send a photocopy of your C of A, with a letter stating when you want to fly, to the French equivalent of the CAA. Authorisation comes back after about a fortnight.
Pilot
Trickier. If you're a UK gliding licence holder, not even JAR PPL's do it ‑ you need a 'validation d'un licence d'etranger'. For this you need several documents and photocopies.
This last one is the sting in the tail. If you wait until you arrive on holiday at a French airfield you can wind up sat on the ground waiting days for the appropriate papers to be processed. This is hot good ‑processing the papers appears to take up to 6 weeks. The good news is that once done you just need to evidence 5 hours flying a year thereafter.
Solution
Bring the mountains to Mohammed!
The French authorities have confirmed it is acceptable for the check flight to be undertaken in the UK, so the plan is to bring Jacques Noel, a very well respected French instructor, across to Booker at the start of February. Jacques can undertake the check flights for those that want them, and help with form filling in good time for paperwork processing bef&e the season starts. There will need to be a fee of about £20 per check flight to cover his time and the costs of bringing him over. To further help cover the costs pilots will be invited from local clubs and an advert in February's S & G.
Dates
Need to be before Jacques gets busy at his home site in the French Alps. Currently the plan is to target a long weekend over 7th ‑ 1 Oth February.
Interested?
If you are, please let me know asap. A deposit of £10 will be needed nearer the time.
Jon Gatfield
E‑mail : jongat@eqqconnect. net Mobile: 07778 342148
Tug Pilots
1 have mounted an aerial photograph of the whole local area in the clubhouse, It shows in detail every single feature as we see them. Please use it to make sure you know exactly where the noise abatement areas and the controlled airspace boundaries are.
PAWNEES
1 think that our purchase of two Pawnees will only turn out to have been a good buy if we operate them very carefully.
The big problem is that they drink fuel very quickly. It is for this reason that 1 would like to change the way we fly them.
From now on, the descent should be as follows:
1 Off tow 2200 rpm and 110 mph (NO FLAPS)
2 After about 30 seconds 2000 rpm
3 Reduce power gradually after that to iole for the usual glide approach from base leg
The result of this is that unless you are fairly close to the airfield when on a 2000 foot tow you are going to end up dragging the aircraft round the circuit which we cannot afford.
After the first 30 seconds of cooling the engine, 2000 rpm and 110 mph will bring you down fast. So make a very conscious effort to avoid getting low in the circuit. Also, if you are going to be fully throttled back for the last 500 feet or so, you must allow for a very steep approach.For most pilots that 1 have watched flying the Pawnee this will mean a fairly major adjustment to your whole towing pattern and in particular your circuit.
4000 foot tows when on runway 25
Depending on the wind, a very good place to drop gliders who want to go to 4000 feet is just north of Lane End (especially if there is a NW wind aloft). If you do this you can go round the 25 noise abatement area toward the tower to be overhead the bus at 1400 feet for a left hand 270 turn onto finals. This saves a lot of money, especially in the Pawnee when compared with dropping over Fingest and then droning round the noise abatement area the other way.
If there is any south in the wind, then just west of the 25 noise abatement area is probably best. Obviously circumstances will vary.
Dave Watt