Bronze Legs Galore!!!

The weather has picked up and Wed and Thu both provided some decent soaring opportunities with a number of privateers pitching up and soaring away, including Eric & Clive in thier K6e's and Al in the Duo. Others out included Martin J, John R and Dave G.

Course pilot Charlie continued to progress well benefitting from some soaring tuition on Wed with DW in the K21. He converted to the Astir on Thursday and did several solos and gained both his Bronze Legs with flights of 49 and 50 minutes off the wire despite the weather cycling due to some over-development. To celebrate several of us went out for an Indian.

Good start to the week at Shenington

Not the best midsummer weather, but still 2 fun and very productive days flying.

Monday - We made good use of the weather with Phil Hoy having 3 flights and course pilot Charlie S  accumulating 6 flights before the rain stopped play around 2:45pm. Out flying the Astir were Martin L,  Brent S and Gail J. Others at the club helping included Phil Z, John R and Dave G, with John D and John M turning up later and sitting in on the Stalling/Spinning Lecture/Discussion during the couple of hours we lost due to the rain.
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Charlie after his solo soaring flight.

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Tuesday -  Another good training day with Richard A getting in a couple of flights this morning giving Charlie a break after our A/T for stall/spin revision (thanks to Dave G for towing early). In the end Charlie clocked up 4 training flights and 5 solos, including a 25 minute solo soaring flight from his final winch launch. John R also managed quarter of an hour on his hangar flight. Thanks to Martin L and Phil Z for helping out and Kath for 2 days excellent winch launching.

Derek W returns for the rest of this week and mid-week cover next week.

Sunday - phew what a scorcher!!

A very hot day (near 28 degrees) with lots of flying, quite a few long flights and a bit of cross country  - I understand that Bruno and Dave H landed out in the K13 somewhere near Hook Norton... 
Congratulations to Lucy who re-soled today, and to Martin Lawrence who went solo in the Astir.

Saturday

Flying was a little delayed due to the weather, there were some afternoon flights inclugin visitor Anthony B from North Hill who here to buy Daryl's Astir, sadly he didnt get to fly it but had a flight in the K21 with Bruno and then solo.  A few trial lessons were flown , then Mike's Huntingdons evening group started to fly, helped by Graham P, Paul F and Lee.  Well done to the ever shrinking Phil Z who flew for the first time in 3 years!

Better than it looked!

Take a look at the BGA Ladder...

http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/Enquiry.asp

Another 300km+ flight from Shenington, by guess who...

http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/dscore.asp?FlightID=32167

SGC now has over 50 ladder entries so far this year - let's see if we can double that by the end of the season! GP has a seemingly unassailable lead, but it's wide open for second place (i.e those without a turbo!) with BB (in his K13!!!) and AL hot on my heals!
Take a look...

SGC Open Ladder with Turbo's included:
http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/DispLadder.asp?Season=2011&ClubID=SGC&Ladder=O&PageSize=200&ExComps=&ExTurbos=&Log=N

SGC Open Ladder with Turbos excluded:

http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/DispLadder.asp?Season=2011&ClubID=SGC&Ladder=O&PageSize=200&ExComps=&ExTurbos=Y&Log=N

Better than expected!

Another day that was better than expected. Despite the risk of top-cover and the approaching front Graham P took an early tow and raced round a 300! The rest of us were rather more conservative - I took a winch launch and bimbled round "The President's Triangle" and the continued to potter to Bidford and Deddington clocking up around 180km whilst Mick F took his Discus on a jaunt round the local area, also turning Bidford. Dick & Kath ran the day smoothly as usual with the course members getting some good stick-time in the thermals. Those also at the club today included Hans, Dave L-M, Bruno, Gary, Tim, Suzie and Nigel. This evening we went to The Castle Inn for eats and drinks.

GP Prepares for his flight.

Latest Landing Ever at Shenington!

The party started at 6pm and the BBQ was lit. Mark Steven's band "Rockpool" kicked off the festivities.

After a break in flying for the BBQ at 8pm, we resumed at 9pm for the final fling.

John D finished the day with Alison D, Hans, Lucy and Andy L (who had the 1^st and last flight of the day). After some aeros on the last flight we landed at just before 10pm (official sunset +30mins)

With the hangar safely packed we retired to the bar to catch up, and to see in the following dawn...!!!!!!

Despite a few interuptions for rain showers a total of 77 launches were flown during the day.

Partytime.

"The Old-School"



Kareoke...!

Andy Linfield

The Afternoon session

Yes, I was there too, but not a lot.   After an afternoon nap, to recover from jet lag, I showed up hopefully cerca 4 pm (NO WAY AM!)  which had to be the most dramatic part of the day.  

Although the early showers had tracked on by, after 4 they began to get bigger and bear down directly on Shenington.  With some exciting gusts to herald the arrival of a moderate drenching;  those just landed found it dryer to sit it out in the glider!     But as soon as the rain relented we were launching them off again.    

I got a loverly flight with John D, who let me do the whole thing, bless him; trying to tickle the edge of the advancing cu nimb and hoping to get sucked up, but didn't work.   Chickened out, and downwind the gust began to blow, so cut the corner, stuffed the nose down, and arrived nicely, able to get back to the bus before getting too damp.

But while keeping the paper log (as the laptop had died again) I forgot to ask anybody for money.   If anyone reading this forgot to pay, could you please make sure that Eric receives what is due?    Thanks!

And while I am thinking about it, thanks to Jan and Ian for all their hard work organising such a memorable day, and thanks to those that worked hard preparing the banquet, and doing the cleanup.

Can you believe it?  G-OFER looks like an aeroplane once more!

Mary Meagher

Earliest Ever Launch at Shenington!



Unpacking The Hangar

Preping the K21

Andy & Ian Get Ready To Make The First Launch!

The front had gone through around 03:30BST and Andy & Stuart L had got the ball rolling for the "Dawn 'til Dusk" operation to celebrate the clubs 21st Anniversary by positioning the winch and unpacking the hangar with John D, Jon C and Jane J by the time Jan & I arrived at 04:15. Andy and I took the first launch at 04:41 with John D and his guest Phil S in DVX shortly after. Then the "late-commers" arrived starting with Gavin (who got there to see our landing!) followed by Bob & Sue, John L, Lucy, Dave T, Khardthi (The Human Cannonball - Really, honest!!), Paul D, Dave L-M, Mary and a few of "The Juniors".



Ian & Jan Prepare to fly XXI



Sunrise!

Gavin &  Khardthi in the K13 with Dave T at the wing

Gary B got the first soaring flight of the day at 08:40!!!...and so it went on with the momentum building as Bruno arrived around 09:15 to take over the airfield with Mick F, and Tez as LPC. Dave Perkins soon also arrived and the A/X folks started to roll in, including old member Richard Chapman who had his first flight in 10 years with Phil B. Then our old friend Hans G-H turned up from Germany!



Hans & Bruno

To Be Continued...



Midsummer Soaring

Newmarket Racecourse, East of Cambridge
...

A warm summers day with gently southerly wind creating some good thermal soaring conditions for most of the day. 

Well done to Nigel Clarke and Dave Price who completed 2 hours for their Bronze XC Endorsement.  Former member Martin Paley visited for a flight and his son flew with visiting instructor Peter Molloy (CFI from Dorset GC).  Club member Brian Liddell was on a day course with Dick S. and making good progress towards re-solo.

Bob Playle did over 1hr in the Astir, Terry Turner a half hour in the K13.  Martin Lawrence also flew and kindly crewed for Ian who set off on a big cross country in the ASW20 and clocked up 340km turning Bury St Edmunds and Lower Clopton at the bottom of the Cotswold edge.  John Le Coyte flew his DG over 300km to Kings Lynn and back. The best area being between Northampton and Cambridge.

The Terras

We had a very hectic day on Saturday with 30 members of the TA visting the club, and camping in the front field. We managed to fly all of them at least once, and they drank the bar almost dry on Friday and Saturday night, so I think they had a good weekend!! As we were beaten by the weather on Sunday, a small party is coming back on 27th August to finish off their flights.

 

Jackie Bambrook