Hi everyone, this is the regular Thursday posting to let you know what’s going on & what is coming up in the near future. Neal is away flying in Jaca, so you have me, Sarah, doing the honours again this week. This may be a bit lengthy, as there are lots of things happening over the summer that I want to let you know about!
Last week:
Access road
There has been a lot of activity on the above since the AGM and Tim Mason, Charles Carter & Howard Bradley are getting ready to do the first phase of work (Dates to follow if you would like to help), and have a plan for the second phase as well. More details to follow shortly, after the committee meeting tomorrow.
Trip to Jaca
A number of members are on their annual 4-week pilgrimage to Jaca, Spain at the moment, enjoying mixed weather with some excellent flying on the good days, both in the mountains and the lower hills. I’ll upload a photo below, which may inspire you to join the expedition next year…
Going Cross-country?
Land-out packs are now available in the office. Please pick one up before you head off. If you are lucky enough to land in a field however far away, we encourage you to give the pack to your friendly farmer. It contains an invitation card they can send us, so that we can invite them to the Farmers’ Thank You supper, which will be held on 23rd Sept (No need to buy a pack when you get it from the office – you only pay for their meal if they turn up to the supper!)
Weekend outlook:
Your team this weekend is: Steve Foster, Matthew Cook, David Brown, Tony Deitrich, Guy Hartland, Paul Fowler, Denise Hughes, Glyn MacArthur. Paul will be flying the ATC Cadets who are joining us on Sunday. We have a number of places available on the pre-solo and early-solo flying slots. To Book one of these email mgcbooking@gmail.com & Mark will get you booked in. Places not reserved by 5:00pm the day before may be claimed “First come, first served” on the day.
Forthcoming events:
Subscriptions
Please, if you haven’t paid your subscription, contact the office without delay. Our club needs your subscription in order to survive and thrive.
3rd – 5th June – Aim Higher practical course
This course is filling up fast, and I urge you to get your bronze so you can take advantage. 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.
3rd – 9th June – Aerobatic Intro Week [Edit – this has been postponed, so as not to clash with the Aim Higher course]
Sat 24th June – Summer celebration
Mac is organising this “longest day, open day” recruitment drive on the 24th of June. The promotion for this is well under way now. If you can help by putting a poster(s) up in your locality, please grab one from Martin. We emailed it out as a pdf to all members recently & would be grateful if you could circulate it to your friends who may be interested in booking a flight slot (for just £25). There will be tours, talks, catering, video displays, so it should give people a really good ‘Taster’ to see if membership could be for them. You can also encourage them to find out more details on our facebook page here.
Here’s how we’re approaching it: “If you’ve always wanted to learn to fly, please join us for a Gliding Taster Day on the Longest Day of the Year. We will be flying from 5am until sunset around 10pm!
Bookable flight slots £25
Experience flying over beautiful Shropshire & Wales at dawn or dusk
Discover what gliding is all about
Gliding talks & presentations
Guided tours of the airfield, clubhouse and facilities
Meet all the members, staff & volunteers (we’re very friendly & don’t bite!)
Find out if gliding is for you
Special deals & offers available on the day for those wishing to become members
REGISTRATION & PRE-BOOKING ADVISABLE, although you can also turn up on the day & we will aim to fly everyone!
To book a flight slot for you and your family or friends, please contact Martin on 01588650206 or office@midlandgliding.club”
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). Flying starts at 5am and continues until 10pm. Please drop Neal an email at chairman@midlandgliding.club if you would like to help out for a shift, everyone is welcome and I guarantee you will have a great day.
Sun 28th May – Bank holiday fly-in & mini party [Committee agreement to not proceed this year, but to consider holding one next year, so that we have plenty of time to prepare & make it a great day]
8th – 15th July – MGC Wood Week
Roger is leading this year’s Wood Week, which is an opportunity for all gliders particularly those of the wooden variety to get together, admire their beautiful aircraft, and to take part in various “Enterprise” type tasks, either cross-country, height gain, or other fun things like spot landing competitions. It’s always a colourful event, so would encourage you to come along. Equally, if you know of anyone from other clubs who may like to join us, then please let me know & I can email you the poster or further details which you can pass on marketing@midlandgliding.club
21st July – Glide Britain
There is a possibility that we may host filming team for Glide Britain, who are creating a suite of UK-wide marketing materials & resources, which we hope to tap into to broaden our scope & reach for marketing & promotion. A small part of this includes creation of a short film showcasing different elements of gliding found at various clubs throughout the UK. Please do say hi & make them feel welcome. We may also need a couple of volunteers / characters(!) to speak with them on the day – more details to follow.
5th-13th August – Simon’s Cross-Country Week
This popular week involves a mixture of ground briefings, in-air demos, set tasks, dual & solo flying, and post-flight de-briefs. So whether you are looking to hone your expert skills, or want to get your first Silver distance under your belt, this week is for you. Please book your place now with the office.
19th-27th August – MGC Task Week (party on 27th)
If you’re planning on coming, please book in so that we can start to know numbers. And if you know of people who may wish to join us, please do ask for the info/links (being set up at the moment) so that you can share it with them.
23rd Sept – Farmers’ Thank You Supper
See above for info. A great opportunity to thank your farmer, showcase the club & build our reputation as generally friendly folk, all at the same time!
Sarah marketing@midlandgliding.club
