Hi everyone, this is the regular Thursday posting to let you know what is coming up in the near future and to let you know the highlights from the last committee meeting.
750km day?
Looking foward to seeing all the flight traces from today, which was touted as a 750km day! If you went anywhere, remember to put it on the ladder and check out what everyone has been up to across the country. Tomorrow will be less windy but just as good, so if you can get the day off, do get yourself in the air.
CFI – Introduction to Gliding Courses – This coming weekend we have the second in our series of “Introduction to Gliding” courses. These courses have been sold to people who have expressed a serious intention to join us as members and learn to fly with us. These days are NOT just an extended, glorified, Trial Lesson; they are an attempt to show these prospective new members how the club operates and give them an appreciation of what it is like to be a member.
The day starts with a number of ground briefings before the pilots are brought out on to the field to fly. Hopefully they will be looked after on the day by a nominated “Ground Coach” and they should have their own instructor & glider, for the day, so should not impact too much on members’ general club flying.
When you see these prospective new members around please do whatever you reasonably can to make them feel welcome and involved both on the airfield and in the clubhouse.
It has taken a lot of effort from the extended club team to get these prospective new members to this point, so we really want to show off all aspects of the club to its full potential.
MGC website
We have made some significant updates to the website to reflect our focus on both members and new members. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, do check the menus as they have changed.
Webcams/ Weather Station
In order to get the weather station data showing again, a replacement computer is currently being sought, and the relevant software will be installed.
MGC branded clothing and merchandise
We are indebted to Peter Turner who has worked tirelessly over the past few months to refresh and extend our range of MGC clothing. This has been no small task! Display items have now been delivered. Pick up your hat from the office £5.50, or order it from the online shop for delivery to your home. We have t-shirts, wind-proof jackets, warm gillets etc, and are available to order in your exact size. Please see the display in the entrance corridor, or ask in the office.
MGC Stand at Church Stretton Community Games, Sat 14th July (10am – 4pm)
We are seeking just TWO more willing volunteers to help Sarah on the stand. If you can help for a morning or afternoon slot, or even just setting up or take down, please call her 07754 070357 or email her at marketing@midlandgliding.club She will be finalising the team on Fri 15th June, but please let her know asap if you can help. It’s a great stand location, right by the food stalls! This is a really good opportunity for us to show the locals everything that’s great about our club.
Prospective Members
The monthly Tours for prospective members are going well and upcoming ones are almost booked up. Next time you’re at the club, take a look at the Your Gliding Journey leaflet, which explains our newly developed Membership packages. The packages are aimed at prospective members / people who want to Learn to Fly, rather than those who simply want a one-off Trial Lesson. When people ask you about gliding or approach you at the club, it would be great if everyone could direct people towards either the Membership packages, the Tours, (or Trial Lessons, if that’s the right option for them). Sarah will be doing a quick pre-dinner talk about this in the next few weeks.
Your team this weekend is:
Saturday: Mike Greenwod, Guy Hartland, Charles Carter, Pete Orchard, Mark Wakem
Sunday: Neal Clements, Matthew Cook, Guy Hartland, William Brewis.
Forthcoming events
Course – 25th-29th June
There are very limited places left on next week’s course, so if you want some intensive flying, then get yourself booked in asap while there’s still time.
Wood week – 7th – 14th July
The infamous Wood Week returns for 2018. Who’s joining us? There are a few spaces left & we’d love to see you 
🌤🌤 For more info or to book your place, call Martin on 01588650206 or office@midlandgliding.club
Prepare your glider for 5kt winds, 5,000 ft cloudbase or just a week of gentle westerleys, with beautiful gliders and excellent company.
Task week – 18th – 27th August
Book your place NOW – please call or email the office asap. Task Week is designed to encourage ALL pilots to fly Cross Country Tasks. As such, it is an inclusive activity, a bit of friendly competition – not an occasion for the club pundits to whizz round and take all the points! It is the culmination of the year’s Cross Country Development Programme and introduces an element of competition prior to pilots flying either Rockpolishers or Regional competitions.
Task Week is open to any pilot holding a Bronze “C” with a Cross Country Endorsement.
We will also have 2 seat gliders participating, to give ALL pilots the opportunity to experience cross country flying, even if you are not yet solo, or don’t yet have your Cross Country Endorsement. This is an excellent training opportunity to fly with some top class cross country pilots in top class gliders. Please book your place ASAP by calling or emailing the office.
In order to encourage more pilots to fly cross country at a level where they are safe and comfortable the event is split in to 3 classes so that pilots compete against other pilots of similar skill and experience level. This year we are introducing a new scoring system to try to even things out between the classes and to avoid the squew given to the results by a single fast flight on a long task.
Please book the week off, ensure this is in your diary, and lets look forward to some wonderful weather. It will help you develop our skills no matter what standard you are at.
Sarah
marketing@midlandgliding.club on behalf of chairman@midlandgliding.club
