Hi everyone, this is the regular Thursday posting to let you know what is coming up in the near future.
Last week:
Sunday flights
Rob Hanks did 244k Darcy did 144k and John Kingsley did his Silver with an out and return. Its all hotting up and a good start to the season. Thanks to Mark for the heads up on the weather.
New members
We welcome Nigel Evans. If you see Nigel please ensure that you involve him in all of our operation and offer him the warm welcome he deserves.
Llanbedr Expedition
Midland GC visited Llanbedr again this year 18th to 24th March along with members of Staffordshire GC and Wrekin GC. Due to an unavoidable change of plans by the airfield we had to change our dates to a week later, which was annoying at the time but extremely fortuitous in the end, as the week we were original booked to go it rained every day except one, which was flat calm. The facilities at the airfield were much improved from last year with palatial toilets, briefing room, kitchen and chill out room in the hangar. We caught the end of the bad weather as the first two days were washed out. Monday to Thursday saw improving conditions with quite low cloud and Westerly winds which made the ridges work, but most flights were fairly short allowing people to have a good practice at aerotowing. Last year we said we would never get such amazing conditions again, but on Friday the wind turned to the East, wave set up and we were all treated to to many hours of wave flying up to 11,000 feet in crystal clear air with snow on the mountains and no clouds. We enjoyed the views of the whole of Cardigan bay, Ireland was clearly visible, and we could fly all over Snowdonia with several people flying over Snowdon. Saturday conditions were similar but very difficult to get into the wave, the new shiny version of 494 managed 8,000 feet and a trip over Snowdon again. Once again LLanbedr proved to be a fantastic place to fly from.
Look at the video here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdj1pIOEm-o
Member survey
We have had 72 responses and some fabulous feedback, see the AGM below for details of how we will feed back and make use of the results.
Weekend outlook:
Your team this weekend is: Neal Clements, Denise Hughes, Peter Orchard, Dave d’Arcy, Steve Male, Glyn Macarthur.
Forthcoming events:
Simulator
Dave Crowson’s bad leg has not prevented him from putting in a huge amount of effort into improving the club’s offerings and in particular he has moved the simulator on a significant stage . All that is needed now is some DIY help so he can fit the technical bits, bobs and various gubbins required to make the K13 fuselage appear to fly. If you can handle a saw, screwdriver or hammer please contact Dave directly to help finish this off. A simulator is an extremely useful aid to our training from early to quite advanced.
Juniors over Easter
The Club will be running a course for junior members over the Easter holidays from 10 to 13 April with a dedicated instructor and glider. Junior members may attend for just one day or more. Any members interested should book a place through the office
AGM
The meeting this Saturday is an important one, the AGM itself will be reasonably short and tight but the strategy session afterwards will help set the tone of the club for a long time in the future. In addition can I ask you to consider coming on the committee. The current committee is working extremely well and this is exactly the time to add to its quality. The role isn’t onerous but it is important and rewarding.
You all should have received a full set of papers for the discussion after the AGM. Our thinking is to quickly go through the highlights of the survey (some very interesting feedback in there) then discuss the fleet and the infrastructure. Howard Bradley will be on hand to explain the research and proposals for the access road and I have invited the staff along to help answer any questions you may have. We are really looking forward to seeing you at what, I believe, will be a very formative meeting for the future of our club.
If you havent received the email containing the papers (some were in a zip file) then please email the office for a copy
MGC Cross Country Refresher Week – for ALL aspiring or active cross country pilots!
This week runs from 17th – 21st April 2017
This is a great week for aspiring and early (and experienced) cross-country pilots with a structured training opportunity to refresh their cross country skills prior to the main period of the cross country flying season. Expect to hone your abilities in the following areas:
- All aspects of ground school you will need
- Motorglider training for field landing / navigation practice
- Aerotow training & revalidation will be available if required
- Advanced handling techniques
- Cross-country tasks will be set, planned, flown and debriefed (in your own glider, or as P2 in a club glider/Duo Discus.
- Dedicated days/slots, instructors, and aircraft available
If you are interested in, or intrigued by the thought of, flying what seem like unimaginable distances in an aircraft that has no apparent means of propulsion, then this is for you! You can find out more by clicking here for the poster or here for full details of how the week will work.f
June the 3rd 4th and 5th. Aim Higher practical
I am absolutely delighted to tell you that Kevin has agreed to provide a “practical” aim higher course on the above dates. This means we get the best of both worlds, the theory then followed by the practical after we have all had a chance to practice. We are really privileged to be able to offer this combination this year so get your bookings in to the office as soon as you can. We are already getting applications and I think this will be a popular one.
Summer celebration
Mac is organising the “longest day, open day” recruitment drive on the 24th of June. In addition we want to increase the activity and the interest for members. Years ago we used to run a “dawn to dusk” day and we are going to combine the two. It is fantastic fun, we run in shifts and do “shedloads” of launches (or words to that effect). Please drop me an email at the address below if you would like to help out for a shift, everyone is welcome and I guarantee you will have a great day.