BOOKER GLIDING CLUB

From the CFI

Winter Season Winter is here, the field will be getting soft, please don’t drive on it!

Good news – we have our brand new shiny K21. I have only one thing to say about it. PLEASE LOOK AFTER IT!

I will be away flying in NZ until the end of February. During this period Matt Cook will be acting as my deputy, and he will be occasionally assisted by Ed Garner, Geoff Boswell and Dave Richardson. Please give Matt and the other flying staff all the support that you normally give me and don’t forget that the staff are there to help you to make this member’s club work. Matt will be organising a lecture programme for the winter aimed at Bronze C students.

If any member needs to contact me I will be available on

gdale247@hotmail.com

– I don’t expect to be away from a computer for more than a week at a time and usually I will pick up mails every day.

One more thing – allocation for the single seaters for competitions will take place in March.

Use of the Duo Discus

I have been asked by the committee to make it very clear to club members exactly what the club’s policy is on the use of the Duo Discus. So here goes:

Why do we have a Duo? It is the best tool for teaching cross country flying, by a large margin, with performance similar to the current generation of standard class gliders, good easy handling and reasonable ergonomics. As one of the country’s leading gliding clubs we need to offer such training to remain a credible stance in the market, therefore we need the kit. K21’s don’t have the performance and the Janus, the DG500 (22m) and the ASH 25 are too hard to fly for the average early x-c pilot. The choice is between Grob Twin 3 acro, DG 500 18m and the Duo – we chose the Duo as clearly being the best of the bunch.

If the Duo is so easy to fly why are so few people allowed to fly it?

Everyone may fly the Duo, including any pre solo pilot! See below for requirements.

What do I need to know about the glider to fly it safely?

Although the Duo is very easy to handle in the air it can be difficult on the take off run, approach and landing due to its trim system, the relatively poor airbrakes and its apparent very nose high attitude at all times. In the event of a field landing it is also quite difficult for the rear seat pilot to see where he is going, adding considerably to the workload for an instructor.

In addition there is only one proper undercarriage lever – in the front –and unlike most gliders it will usually suffer damage if landed wheels up, a combination of factors that should concentrate the mind.

During ground handling it is very easy to bend the tail wheel axle or damage the tyre – it is not really strong enough for the loads imposed when there is nobody in the cockpit and the glider becomes very tail heavy. Pilots should get out carefully avoiding thumping the tail down and it should always be towed with the tail dolly on.

Finally the glider has water tanks big enough to take the glider well over maximum weight and a tail ballast system that can take the Centre of Gravity well behind the rear limit, so some understanding of how to use these features is necessary.

To a well trained and careful pilot these are only very minor difficulties, however it is only reasonable to ensure that individuals are checked or briefed where necessary.

Who can fly it?

Solo or mutual local soaring / cross country flying: anyone who is a current cross country pilot comfortable in modern gliders should be easily able to handle the glider, subject to a check flight. Remember one of the very few club rules we have is that all mutual flying must be cleared on the day by the instructor in charge. In practise this is almost never a problem. When mutual flying, P1 flies the Duo from the front and will handle the take off, circuit and landing. If you are not a current x-c pilot then ask an instructor to teach you to fly the glider. If you have a silver C, fly the single seat Discus regularly and can pass the check ride then you can fly the Duo.

Local Instructing: We discourage the routine use of the Duo for doing trial lessons – it gets too much abuse from the inexperienced newcomers getting in and out of the cockpit. However the glider is a very good instructional platform for anyone else who is learning to fly. Any Assistant or Full rated instructor may use the Duo subject to a check flight.

Cross country instructing: There are a number of pilots at Booker who are both experienced, current cross country pilots and experienced instructors. If you fall into that category and you don’t already fly the Duo in this role then I would like your help please!

There is no requirement of course to have an instructor rating to teach cross country flying so there may also be several pilots with the right experience levels but no current rating who can also help with cross country training. If you think you are in this group and want to help please ask me.

How do I arrange to fly the Duo?

Turn up at 08:30 in the clubhouse for glider allocation or if the glider is not being used just ask the instructor in charge.

What is the Duo going to be doing this year?

It will go to France in April to be used by the Advanced x-c group for mountain flying training, and then on to Jaca for the same purpose.

It will be available for competition training during the regionals and the 15m nationals and then go to Aboyne at the end of the season.

Winter 2002/3

Let’s not get into the doldrums! Winter is a great time to start/finish anything you would like to accomplish in our great sport.

We will be starting Bronze lectures early next year. These will be held on weekends for people needing to pass the exam, early solo and instructors alike, come along. Watch the notice board, newsletter and web for details.

Winter is also the perfect time to keep your handling skills ‘hot’ for the coming season. Whether it’s spin checks, aerobatics, field landings or Bronze flying tests, let’s get them done now and maximise our all too brief season.

Anybody who is not sure where to go from here, or would like to know how to get onto the next stage, come and speak to us at the club and we can design an action plan for yourself, and get started straight away.

Let’s keep the ball rolling and give next season every opportunity to be our best.

Matt

Licence Renewals Just to confirm last month’s newsletter item. If you have a JAROPS PPL, UK CAA PPL or NPPL, you must do 12 hours flying in the last year of your two year validity period. This must include six hours as P1; 12 take off and landings and an instructional flight of at least one hour with an instructor.

I now have CAA approval to do this. The BGA have agreed a tug pilot specific instructional flight with the CAA and I am now a CAA/BGA examiner for this flight. I would recommend this version if you tow at Booker.

If you have a JAROPS style licence with a class rating page and the letters TMG on it, you may renew in either aeroplane or motor glider.

If you have a CAA UK SLMG PPL endorsement on your UK CAA licence, you must do five hours every 13 months in motor gliders and have your log book signed to keep this valid.

I am at the club all winter and spring in the workshop, if you have any queries or need to do your one hour flight, drop in or give me a ring.

My job is to select, train and supervise full time tug pilots for the summer and to do what I can to make sure that we as club pilots fly in such a way as to

1. GIVE GOOD SERVICE TO THE MEMBERS and

2. SAVE THE CLUB MONEY.

I want to fly with as many people as possible over the coming months, and I will make suggestions on any flying that doesn’t fall within the terms of reference of these two objectives.

I think that a few things worth mentioning are:

1: Please fly with a sense of urgency – do all you can to save time between launches. Landing short would appear to be a lost skill at Booker.Please come in as low and as slow as you SAFELY can. Landing deep all the time is a luxury we cannot afford. Please talk to me if want help with this.

2: The aim should be to do a glide approach – it’s safer, quicker and less expensive than motoring in.

3: Give great thought as to when to start up (or indeed if to start up).

4: Please inspect the aircraft with a view to spotting problems before they get expensive.

5: Please give thought as to when to refuel the tugs. The best time is not always when they are empty.

I would also re-iterate the points that David Richardson has made.

The responsibility for making sure your licence and medical is up to date is yours.

DAVE WATT

From the Office

Please note that with effect from 1st November there has been an increase in the cost of trial lessons for member’s guests to £33 per flight.

To those of you who know Keith Ford, we have been informed that he is back in hospital and that it would cheer him up if you would like to contact him.

He can be written to or visited at

Frank Ellis Unit

The Churchill Hospital

Old Road Headington

Oxford OX3 7LJ

Or if you wish to telephone him, on 01865 741307 (just ask for Keith)

Final note – the booking forms for Jaca 2003 are now available in the office.

T21 FOR SALE

The club's vintage T21 is for sale.

Built in 1947 it has been at Booker since 1984.

It has a Cosim Vario and trimmer fitted!

Any club members interested in forming a syndicate contact David Richardson at the club.

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