The committees discussions of late have centred around what to do about the two-seaters. Most of you will be aware that K13s EBZ and FPX suffered a mishap which will keep them out of service for quite some weeks, this has left us desperately short of two-seaters at the busiest time of the season. We evaluated the option of buying a K13 to tide us over then be sold on, but all those on the market were of such poor condition that this was not viable. Fortunately, we have been able to retain the K13 on short-term loan from Lasham for a longer period. This is how we shall get by for the short remainder of the season, leaving us one K13 below strength. This is really our only option, since there is nothing suitable to borrow or hire, so two-seater capacity will be stretched for the next few weeks. We plan to protect as far as possible the club training and intensive course programmes at the expense of trial lessons if the need to prioritise two-seater use arises.
You may be aware that the plan was to sell FPX sometime in the near future and replace it with a younger K13 or a K21. Accordingly, this machine will not re-enter service at Booker, and has been replaced with a K21 which will arrive sometime in November. EBZ will have additional refurbishment work carried out while it is repaired and should return in immaculate condition. We also plan to refurbish FWN in the near future, so including the use of the BBC glider, we will start next season with a fleet of 3 very tidy K13s and 3 K21s. Every cloud has a silver lining…………
Competitions: As you know we are holding the 15m Nationals next year. We need lots of support to do this - if you think you may be able to help in any way please let G, the office staff or Dave Byass know. We have yet to decide whether we shall run a Regionals next year, but if we do it will only be possible if we get sufficient volunteers to help since the staff will be tied up with the Nationals. So if you, the membership at large, think we should run a Regionals next year please come forward to one of the names above. We will make the decision in the next couple of months.
There is still some availability for Aboyne 2000, anyone interested please contact David Richardson.
6 beds Week 1 2 beds Week 2 5 beds Week 3
TUG PILOTS – AUGUST 2000 JULIE ANGELL ROY HIGHFIELD ANDY PERKINS NEIL ARNOLD DOUG HILTON GLYN READ WAYNE ASPLAND TIM HIRST DAVID RICHARDSON TED BELBIN KAT HODGE MIKE RICHARDSON PAUL BRICE KARINA HODGSON DAVE SARNEY DAVE BYASS ALISTAIR KAY ROY SCOTT TONY CROWDEN PAM KURSTJENS SHEP SHEPPARD G DALE GERRY LEECH ALISTAIR SMITH BOB DAVEY HILARIE LUXTON GUY SUTHERLAND ED DAVIES JACK LUXTON ELAINE TOWNSEND JED EDYVEAN JAN MCCOSHIM ROLAND WALES MIKE EMMETT MARY MEAGHER JEFF WARREN RICHARD GARNER TOM MOUTRIE DAVE WATT ADRIAN HEGNER PAUL MURPHY PETE & SALLY WELLS
CHECK PILOTS
JULIE ANGELL DAVE BYASS BOB DAVEY DOUG HILTON DAVID RICHARDSON GUY SUTHERLAND DAVE WATT
RETRIEVES BY TUG
FIELD RETRIEVES Below is a list of people who may carry out field retrieves without restriction. (Permission from a staff member will still be required except in the case of an evening course where there is no full time member of staff available, they may then carry out the retrieve at their discretion provided that the tug can be spared. They will liase with the evening course instructor in charge to ascertain this).
JULIE ANGELL DAVE BYASS BOB DAVEY DOUG HILTON DAVID RICHARDSON GUY SUTHERLAND DAVE WATT
Individuals not on this list may occasionally be asked to carry out a field retrieve. This can only be authorised by Dave Byass or myself and only for a specific retrieve. AIRFIELD RETRIEVES
The staff member in charge will evaluate the situation in which a retrieve from an airfield is requested and will choose the best qualified to do the job from those available at the time.
In the absence of a member of staff (i.e. during an evening course) the same conditions apply as to field retrieves – the retrieve will therefore need to be carried out by one of the pilots named above unless DR or DB can be contacted.
DAVID RICHARDSON
From the CFI
Not much to say this month as we are all very busy! Upcoming events in the club year;
Instructor checks – get those return forms completed by the end of October and get the check flights done asap!
Instructor meetings – coming up in November, watch this space.
Bronze C lectures – we will have 30 new solo pilots here this season so our winter programme will be based around getting them up to speed. For the rest of you, revision is always useful… Details in the next newsletter.
Aboyne – still a few spaces available. How about some of the newcomers giving it a go? Talk to me or Dave Richardson.
Finally, to put a stop to any rumours; yes, I am going to New Zealand for a short sabbatical after Christmas; no, I am not planning to stay there!
Airspace
This year has seen a couple of members involved in airprox’s in controlled airspace. Both incidents were made unintentionally and fortunately did not pose a high risk to anyone.
Although glider pilots are now well represented on the Airprox Board, and the representatives are very supportive and helpful, the whole experience is a very stressful and upsetting one. The majority of us view airspace as a hassle, but with the skies over the United Kingdom becoming increasingly crowded more care than ever is required. The majority of large airlines now do most of their training in the surrounding area thus making the region we fly in a very active and potentially hazardous place.
On a good day with streets heading through the corners of airspace in particular it can be a tempting idea to blast on. However, this might mean you end up crossing the path of someone on Instrument Training who will not see you at all due to the screens being up. With closing speeds at the lowest around 120kts! you will probably not have time to react when you have only one set of eyes on the job of navigating, planning, flying and lookout. The risks are greatly increased.
A lot of pilots are now flying with moving map and airspace capability on their GPS. If you have access to this then I would strongly recommend that you use the equipment to the best of its ability. This of course cannot take over from looking out the window, but should hopefully reduce the number of infringements. Remember that some of your gliding colleagues are spending a lot of time and effort defending our rights to the airspace in which we enjoy the best sport in the world. So help these people help us and avoid encroaching airspace at all costs.
Finally, please note that access to Dunstable is now greatly reduced. A detailed diagram of this area is on display in the briefing room now. The airspace in this region is now under Luton’s control and a call on 129.55 has to be made before landing at Dunstable. This means you need a RT license or you have to phone Dunstable beforehand to receive prior permission and landing instructions.
From the Office
When you are next in the clubhouse, please take note of the paintings that are currently on display, they have been painted by Mary Meagher and are for sale. If you wish to purchase one of these paintings please ask at the office for the prices. Mary also undertakes private commissions – please contact her for more details.
Clubroom Conundrum – No 1 in a series from Roy Scott
An aerotow retrieve with a normal climb, as section of towed level flight and a normal gliding descent.
In which section of flight is the wing supplying most lift?
A. The climb B. Level cruise C. The descent
Answers to Roy Scott!
CFIs final turn
We all know that space can become limited if lots of gliders land in close succession. Please get your glider off the field as soon as practicable if it is in the normal landing area. On runway 17, if you land South of the hard runway please either roll to the boundary hedge or move your glider asap - although not in the way of landing traffic it will obstruct take-offs if left in the middle of this area.
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