Another scorching hot day. Operating 2 winches and towing out 4 cables worked really well - congratulations to the team that built the truck.
The private several gliders headed out to do Thrapston -Chievely, but it all went a bit Pete Tong in the East. Simon Buckley and Mike Weston made it round, but Baz landed at Hus Bos, Tom ended up at Cranfield and had a long aerotow home, and Richard was aux vaches in a firmly locked field near Bicester. Spurning the herd, Doug Gardner headed for Lasham and then dowm to the West Country, turning Roadford for a 500k - outstanding!
Meanwhile, yours truly took Felix up to Edgehill and back in the DG500 for his first cross country. He obviously hadn't read the script that says your not supposed to circle in 5kt cores when your instructor can only seem to find 1kt gusts. Back at the ranch, John Huband was kept busy instructing (sorry, John) and Dave Gardiner gave Tom Watley excellent value on his one day course.
Quotes of the day:
1) 2pm 3,000' over MOD site near Gaydon
P1: "See those sheds down there, they're ammo dumps"
P2: "Oh, I wonder what they keep there"
2) 7pm in a field somewhere between Bicester and Aylesbury::
Pilot (having just waited 3 hours for retrieve to arrive): "You did put the trestles in the trailer, didn't you?"
Hapless syndicate partner: " Er...no"