Hi everyone, this is the regular Thursday posting to let you know what is coming up in the near future and highlights of the last committee meeting.
This week
Welshpool
A really BIG thank you to Dave, Nigel, Steven, Roger and Mark and Joan for all their efforts at the Welshpool airshow. It was a huge success because of their enthusiasm and efforts on the day. We were able to make 16 calls as a result to people who expressed interest.
ATC Visit
We welcomed another group of ATC cadets last Saturday with squadrons from Dudley and Stourbridge. It was a hot day and some members kindly found spare sun hats to give the cadets some protection from the scorching sun. A light westerly wind and weak thermals off the ridge ensured that the visitors all had soaring flights under the inversion. Matthew Cook and Paul Fowler were kept busy all day flying the cadets in the K21 and K13. As with the previous groups, the cadets keenly assisted with airfield operations and contributed to an excellent day for both them and members. They all thanked the members for the opportunity to fly and left promising to return. Thanks to Clive Crocker as Number 1, John O’Reilly as Launch Director and other members who all ensured the cadets were given ground training and looked after when not flying.
Land Rover replacements
We have sold Romeo 1 and got more than we expected for it, Marc is now preparing Romeo 2 for sale.
Log sheets
Thanks to everyone who responded about the log sheets, there were some really good ideas and Paul Fowler is coordinating the responses and will propose any changes which will make our logging more robust. You may have noticed that we now have the launch point cones separated by “standard length of rope”. This was first proposed 25 years ago and has now come to fruition!!
Your team this weekend is:
Saturday: Neal Clements, Guy Hartland, Peter Orchard, Mark Wakem and every other instructor who would be willing to volunteer. We will have 4 2 seaters and we have 90 people to fly as well as members so please come along and help us.
On Sunday it will be Alasdair Lewis, Denise Hughes, Peter Orchard and Dave Cole.
Forthcoming events:
Sat 24th June – Recruitment drive and the longest day
Many of you have volunteered to help, thanks very much indeed for that. The interest has been overwhelming, the marketing has meant the phone hasn’t stopped ringing and we have 90 (as at Wednesday) coming to fly. It will be busy, it will be fun and above all it will give us the chance to recruit. It’s not too late to volunteer, if you don’t want to commit to half a day or more then ask the office to put you down for an hour slot, anything at all will be welcome.
8th – 15th July – MGC Wood Week
Roger is leading this year’s Wood Week, which is an opportunity for all gliders particularly those of the wooden variety to get together, admire their beautiful aircraft, and to take part in various “Enterprise” type tasks, either cross-country, height gain, or other fun things like spot landing competitions. It’s always a colourful event, so would encourage you to come along. Equally, if you know of anyone from other clubs who may like to join us, then please let me know & I can email you the poster or further details which you can pass on marketing@midlandgliding.club.
21st July – Glide Britain
There is a possibility that we may host filming team for Glide Britain, who are creating a suite of UK-wide marketing materials & resources, which we hope to tap into to broaden our scope & reach for marketing & promotion. A small part of this includes creation of a short film showcasing different elements of gliding found at various clubs throughout the UK. Please do say hi & make them feel welcome. We may also need a couple of volunteers / characters(!) to speak with them on the day – more details to follow.
19th-27th August – MGC Task Week (party on 27th)
If you’re planning on coming, please book in so that we can start to know numbers. And if you know of people who may wish to join us, please do ask for the info/links (being set up at the moment) so that you can share it with them. This year we are going for a different format with tasks being set inside themselves (wait for it). For example a 200 k task may contain a 150 , a 100 and a 50k task. This way any aspiring badges eg Silver can be accommodated in the same conditions as the bigger tasks. More details to follow but book the week now, the fields are terrific, the organisation is even better and you will make significant progress with guaranteed retrieves and a lot of fun.
23rd Sept – Farmers’ Thank You Supper
See above for info. A great opportunity to thank your farmer, showcase the club & build our reputation as generally friendly folk, all at the same time!
Highlights of the committee meeting held on the 9th of July.
Rain Gauge. We have agreed a lease with the environmental agency
Accommodation block roof. Completed.
Access Road – first experimental laying due 10th of July
Fleet amendments – we haven’t found anything suitable on the market yet
Auto enrolment pension scheme – we are technically compliant, just need to inform the pensions regulator
Land Rover replacements: Gas conversion is pressing as the Vitaras consume a lot of petrol. This will be expedited
ATC: The visits are taking place now on a regular basis.
Simulator: All of the components are ready, the k13 fuselage needs some small repair work and then the simulator will be ready for installation in the TV room
Strategy: The July meeting will concentrate on the finances in depth, the September meeting will be attended by staff and associated business stakeholders and the resulting way forward will be offered to members for discussion in October.
K21 aerobatics: The K21 needs some work on it for it to be used as a fully aerobatic aircraft. This work will be costed.
Caravan park: Concern has been raised about the maintenance of the park now the re-furbishment is complete. A set of options will be made to the occupiers
Data protection: The new Data protection act is to be examined to see what changes if any we have to incorporate into our systems.
Retrieve winch positions: We will initiate a project to have “standard” positions.