Dublin Gliding Club Members & Irish Pilots Phil, Sean, Colin & Ken all landed in Shenington for their 3rd visit on 18th March. Phil very kindly wrote us a report on their long weekend!
We landed late Friday evening
and were welcomed by Russell, whom helped open the bar and set the welcoming
tone for our visit !
Saturday: Paul F was duty
instructor and launching from the farmhouse towards eight acre, got myself,
Sean and Ken reacquainted with the winch. Ken's first launch went off in
spectacular style as his cap departed, much to it's owners surprise !! Midday
a call to the LPC from the clubhouse brought us all back for 'Boston Bean Soup'
and some delicious pudding courtesy of Mary ('Mary Meagher' but no relation to
Sean !!) The food was super and the banter great; with many dubious flying
stories recounted. The weather on Saturday was marginal and no soaring was
achieved but proved a great start to the visit. After hanger packing and
some light refreshments, Sean retrieved Colin who had flown in to BHX and, while
the SGC AGM was in full flight, Russell, Phil and Patrick bent our arms to dine
with them at the Moon & Six Pence; a relaxing evening with great company in
a fine establishment at very reasonable prices. Debriefing continued at the
SGC clubhouse bar; with all of us retiring late in denial of the next day's
planned activities !!
Sunday: A later than
usual start was had due to the previous evening's activities, however, Graham P
soon had us down at the farmhouse end again winching towards the eight acre. Russell got Colin acquainted with the winch (and the art of tail wheel tuning
on the K13),while Sean, Ken and I pressed on with circuit bashing in anticipation
of Bruno's arrival next day. Midday, Mary came to the rescue again with
not one but two offerings of hot soup and apple pie - delicious as ever and extremely
well received. In between flights, Sean and I snuck off to find a JS1 and
Duo-Discus hiding down the back, with Russell and Phil taking the latter for a
spin on aero tow later in the day. Sunday evening Ken cooked for us all
in the SGC clubhouse and Russell and Dave joined the crew for an extended debrief.
Monday: Bruno arrived and
marshalled us to eight acre (literally) ! We winched towards the farmhouse
and, while the sky started out clear, top cover rolled in by midday. Nonetheless, Sean got signed off on the K21, while I got signed off on the K13
and later converted to the K8. Christine appeared with some trainee tuggies
in tow (excuse the pun) while Colin and Ken pressed on with advanced winch
training; multiple cable breaks with some intended / some not ! Sean transported
Ken back to BHX and the rest of us packed the hanger, while Bob and Jan had yet
again to press us very hard to accompany them to the Falcon, where yet more
stories of increasing incredulity about flying, gliding and trailers were told.
Tuesday: Tuesday morning
dawned and again Bruno had us out and flying by 9.30am, with circa. x30
flights completed by lunch. Sean tried in vain to find some thermals, while
Colin got signed off in the K13 and then, for a breather from winching, took an
aero-tow with Christine. Bruno was pushing hard and just after lunch jumped
into the back of the K21 and encouraged me to 2500ft off a 1000ft launch (not
bad given the day) with a selfie or two taken to simulate map reading, while
Carole demonstrated what a real short field landing was to the DGC delegates !! Finally, a great day ended when the winch ran out of gas (literally); and
to be honest, probably just moments before the pilots did. After debrief and
quick goodbyes, Sean took up driving responsibilities and delivered Colin to
BHX and the remaining crew safely to Holyhead for a 2am sailing.
Last but not least, all
of the aforementioned activities would not have been possible without the voluntary
SGC ground crew / pilots who are the essential ingredient to smooth
running of the club: Carole, Mary,
Leslie, Lech, Alan, David, Phil, Dave, Patrick and Robin; without the support
of whom none of us would have got into the air (literally). In particular a
special thanks to Eric, Bob and Jan for the lengths you went to support our
visit. All genuine and dedicated club members.
In summary, our third
'safari' to Shenington was (save the weather) our most enjoyable yet, with
almost x100 flights completed over not more than x72 hours. We hope to be back when the
soaring weather arrives; with perhaps a glider in tow.Our sincere thanks to all
of our friends at SGC for making it a great visit.
Phil, Sean, Colin &
Ken
