Hi everyone, this is the regular Thursday posting to let you know what is coming up in the near future and give you highlights of the last week and tell you the results of last week’s committee meeting.
Last week:
This week has been task week. The weather has been disappointing to say the least. 11 gliders have entered which is a good number and we have done some flying but not being able to compete. This has been par for the course for most other competitions this year. Hopefully El Nino will have disappeared next year.
We still managed to achieve great things though:-
For many years now we have been suffering with the results of the sheep making themselves comfortable against the hangar overnight and leaving the apron covered in mess. This makes hangar packing unpleasant and makes the hangar smell. Howard Bradley has been running a project for some time now to try to alleviate the situation. The end result is that we are running an experiment this week with an electric fence. So far the results look extremely positive. Please help us with this experiment by offering your feedback to Howard directly or to me.
Nigel Holmes has done a fantastic job for cross country pilots by introducing a landout pack. The purpose of the pack is to improve our relations with farmers so making land outs nicer and, hopefully, improve recruitment. Please see the bottom of this blog for details of the pack and how to get one.
Birthday honours
We celebrated 210 years of birthday and 120 years (at least) of Mynd dedication on Wednesday with Nigel Holmes, Glyn McArthur and John Stuart. A fantastic party and a fabulous cake made by Denise Hughes (see attached photo).
PR
As many of you may be aware Paul Fowler does a lot with the Shrewsbury School, he does a fantastic job and below is an extract from their in house magazine.
“The day started with us unpacking the hangar and wheeling the gliders out on to the airfield. Once out, we were all briefed on the day’s circuit and the likely changes in wind direction. The morning was good, however the thermals had not developed much energy so we flew a simple circuit a few times. We stopped for lunch around 1:15, by which time we were all starving. The Gliding Club’s café was very much appreciated and I think by far the most popular meal was the ‘ham, egg and chips’, which was delicious. After a good morning we were delighted to find some fantastic thermals developing.
After clearing the airfield of sheep and horses (for the second time in the day) I flew in a shared thermal with what looked to be a buzzard following us up until around 3000 feet before pulling out and doing multiple reduced G dives and a spin as well. I stayed in the air for around 40 minutes and struggled to descend in the strong thermals in the end, resorting to stalling and opening the air brakes.
Once I touched down, it was nearly time to go. So after a fantastic day in the sun, we repacked the hangar and left for school.”
Weekend outlook:
The weekend looks complicated and a bit uncertain. With a bit of luck it will be taskable. With or without a task we can offer instructional flying and the singles seaters are available. Why not come along and join in the briefing at 10:30. If you haven’t been to a task briefing before you will find it absolutely fascinating.
Forthcoming events:
Juniors
The Juniors are coming!! Great news, once again they have chosen the Mynd for their Winter series. It will be in February and more details later.
First aid course
On the 7th of September we are offering a first aid course. This will be run by Mark Rogers a current paramedic and will be £30 a person, for a full course. Each person will be issued with a certificate which is valid for 3 years and the course lasts a day. If you are interested in obtaining this certificate then please contact Sian Leavesley at sianleavesley@yahoo.com to book a place. We only very occasionally get an opportunity to host beneficial courses like this and places are limited.
Launch directors
The current launch director system was implemented by a previous CFI because of pressure from members regarding the running of the field whilst instructors were flying. The role is absolutely vital and we are running out because some are moving on to instructing. Can I ask those of you not in the instructing cohort to contact Charles Page directly on charlesmpage@yahoo.com to apply. You will be given full training and the rota is not onerous. In addition you will be able to have priority on the launch list!!! I cannot emphasise enough how important this is to all of us and to you as an individual member you will find it enormously rewarding.
Motorola radios
As you may know, in the past Alex Rowlands did a fantastic job of equipping our ground equipment with Motorola radios. These are now starting to fail and the technology of Private Mobile Radio has moved on quite a bit. I am delighted to be able to say that Peter Orchard has taken on board the project to re equip the “ground fleet”. If you have any knowledge or expertise in this area then please contact Peter directly, he would love to hear from you. The first milestone is for us to understand what is available that will meet our requirements. Peter is contactable on pete_orch@ntlworld.com.
Farmer Land out Packs
We are introducing a “field landing pack”. The purpose of the pack is to ensure we have good relationships with the farmers that we meet when we land in their fields. The pack includes: a Go Gliding booklet, a First Flight explanation and a voucher, a DVD showing the club in its best light and last but not least a postcard which will enable the farmer to claim their First Flight. The packs are in envelopes marked “FIRST FLIGHT OFFER”. Upon landing the pilot will handover the envelope and this gives an opportunity to both thank the farmer and engage them with our sport.
To obtain your pack please go to the office and sign the voucher and complete the first part of the envelope. The landing details and the dating of the voucher will be completed at the field landing. Please can you take a pack and leave it in your cockpit ready in case you land out!
The farmer will then be able to call to book their flight which will be paid for by the landing pilot (at first flight members standard rate).
In the pack is a postcard. If possible, when talking to the farmer, complete the card and bring back to the club. If you cant find the farmer then they will be able to post it back. The purpose of the card is for us to be able to invite them to a “farmers and locals evening”. We intend to hold one of these annually both to thank the locals and generate interest in the club.
If you already have contact details of any locals or farmers would you be kind enough to let Nigel Holmes know so we can build a database of local contacts.
Nigelholmes418@gmail.com
Neal Clements
Chair.
