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From the Committee Not much to report at this time of year, the draft accounts are complete and are being considered as we plan the coming year. They contain no surprises and reflect the reduction in soaring launches caused by both Foot and Mouth and the relatively poor weather last season. It will be a couple of months yet before next year's fees are set, with the exception of the private owners' facilities fees which fall due in January. We are of the opinion that the coming year may be financially challenging both for the club and its members, and as a result have decided to maintain this fee at its current level. (For the third year). Following on from last month's information sheet - we have not yet secured the sale of Super Cub FP, this sale will either be agreed or cancelled in the next few weeks, depending on the availability of a suitable replacement. DI Courses
The need for some kind of training in this area has been identified. Accordingly, over the Winter we shall be running short courses on how to effectively DI gliders. A list of dates will be posted in the Clubhouse in due course. All instructors are requested to attend a course before April. All solo pilots are encouraged to attend. It should take only a couple of hours, and is intended to give a little more depth of technical and practical knowledge to a level useful to any solo pilot, whether flying club gliders or their own. There will be no exam and the facility will be there to go into as much depth as individuals require once the initial brief is complete. It should be a little more interesting than sitting in the tea bar all morning watching the fog roll by. David Richardson and Alan Smith would like to take expeditions to both the Long Mynd and Shobdon in late March/early April time. They anticipate taking club kit (including a tug) for maybe a week to Shobdon – depending on demand, and using the Mynd’s kit. Obviously, private owners are welcome. We would like to get a feel for how many people are interested before we commit ourselves. If you would like to go, please contact either Alan Smith on alan.smith@virgin.net or David Richardson on 01494 442501/529263. From the Workshop Mud on the tugs. This time of the year, with the airfield so wet and muddy, the aircraft get covered in mud. If the mud is not removed before they get put to bed, the water in the mud starts to corrode metal parts and rot wooden parts. The effect of this is to shorten the life of the aircraft and increase the maintenance bill. Also, this time of the year, the mud will not dry as the moisture content in the atmosphere is high. This will keep the mud damp and will accelerate the corrosion/rot. Muddy tow ropes left in the tugs are detrimental to the inside of the tugs, ie more corrosion. Please hang the ropes in the rope store – it is the door half way up the blister hangar, this will also help to dry the ropes. The tug logs – please put the date and aircraft registration on the bottom, in the space provided, as this will help the office and me. We are not clairvoyant. From the Office Please note that there will be no parachute packing during January 2002, but this will be resumed on Saturday 2nd February 2002 and thereafter on the first Saturday of every month throughout the remainder of the year. The office will be open between Christmas and New Year - mornings only. |