The call by Thursday duty instructor Mike Sloggett to scrub the day and reschedule to Friday after yet another indifferent weather forecast proved to be a wise decision. The (very) cold northerly wind along with the warm sun produced some cracking thermals but the associated heavy sink and gusty crosswind required good circuit planning. Under these conditions, if you connected with a thermal at the top of the launch you were away. If not it was straight into circuit for your second reduced -cost launch!
Various Annual Card Reviews were started or completed with Chris Wool spending most of the day going round and round whilst looking at the green fields below with two slow flying / spin avoidance instructional flights. The instructor team was boosted by James Flory and Ron Johns who worked through the relatively short flying list whilst Simon Jordy looked after the two First Flights visitors.
Pete Startup 230 and Dan Hender JDP flew their own gliders with Pete going to Knowstone and Beaminster 156km, whilst Dan went to Barnstaple and Cerne Abbas 232km before returning home.
Most people had good soaring flights with Richard Lean being the last to land at just before six, only after realising that all the gliders and ground equipment had been packed away and most of the cars had gone home! – Mark Layton
