Monday 28 May 2018

Sunday 27th May

We decided not to use the winch today due to a disinclination to become the worlds most effective lightening conductor!! Some aviation was committed before the low muggy cloud spread to us. John went flying with a visitor, and then with Mary in triple Charlie. Not the best visibility apparently, but they enjoyed their flights.
















There was lots of fettling on the ground instead, from rebuilding an engine (mega thanks Phil!), to cleaning aircraft, repacking the hangar, stocking the bar and refilling the remaining club flower pots.
 Kittens also kept us entertained! Have to enjoy them now as they do have homes to go to and won't be with us too much longer....


Sunday 20th May

A nice day to fly, though a little blue in places, and hot everywhere! Some of the private gliders went off cross country, and there was plenty of club flying too.













 

 












The kittens have surfaced again and are distracting everyone on the walk between the clubhouse & hangar!














Sunday 13 May 2018

Sunday 13th May

Work commences on the foundations for the new shower/toilet block...Clive sent this photo.
(apparently a good day's flying too!!)


Tuesday 8 May 2018

May Day Bank Holiday Weekend

Well, not quite the 'normal' weather for May Day bank hols, but we had a good weekend nevertheless! 

Saturday was sunny and hot with some small cu, turning into wisps in late afternoon. Our visitors fielded full teams, and pilots from Bicester, Oxford and Shenington launched on smallish tasks from about 11am onwards. Conditions were poor conditions so not everyone got round, but most people made it back to site.


Sadly none of our Shenington pilots (Al C, Alan L, George, Clive & Alistair) completed the full task.
Oops - buggy problems again!!
We had a bbq in the evening, thanks to the efforts of Leslie & Pam Z who did the shopping and prep, and Dan who managed the bbq & cooking. A big thanks to Iain S for winching all day in that hear, and to Alan C for managing what was potentially a chaos of gliders so that the launch point ran smoothly.

Sunday turned out to be blue and even hotter. Some pilots flew but the day was scrubbed mid afternoon as it was uncomfortably hot and not massively soarable. We sent Mick F to be penguin in the K8...

This didn't stop some of the visitors and the local team (Alan L, John W, Clive, Alistair) having a launch. Plaudits today for Jon C on the winch and David S managing the launch point without any meltdowns. Time for another club bbq in the evening.  Lech caught a moment's break while getting the bbq coals going!!

Monday had a mixed forecast so we held till after lunch. As nothing was staying up across all the local clubs (even the red kites!) on 'spot the glider' we scrubbed early at around 1pm. For the weekend, provisional results show Bicester with a win, very closely followed by Oxford and with us bringing up the rear! However the weekend was great fun and I hope it will encourage more of you to get involved next year. We are especially keen to encourage novices to use it as a springboard to do some early cross country without the pressure of doing all the prep/finding crew/worrying about the weather. It is also a great opportunity to get to see the other local clubs, and land at different airfields.

Thanks to all who participated this time, and to Lech, Alan L and Graham P for their efforts organising & hosting. 

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Sadly missed....?!

It finally happened....the Blue loos have been demolished, artwork and all!! Here the gang get started with gusto...

Looks like the boys enjoyed themselves during the demolition process, with some interesting photos!! Joe gave a hand....













I think these are the Sheningon equivalent of the three monkeys!!





Tuesday 1st May 2018


Graham & Al Cook flew 60 on a 310km yesterday. Graham reports 1st leg 137kph under fat cumulus. 2nd leg turned blue and more difficult until climb to 6,200ft. Final leg spread out difficult and slow. Beats being at work!
First leg cumulus
Getting a bit blue!


Saturday 28th April

Graham P salvaged something out of Saturday. He reported the weather clearing midday to give some strong climbs and a cloudbase eventually above 5500 ft. Great lines of energy allowed Graham & Al to average over 90 kph to Cambridge despite a wind of up to 29knts....looks deceptively nice in this photo!