Members' area

Rather a grey and dismal start but the forecast promised better conditions later in the day and with a full complement of trial lessons to deliver we set the field up in hope that the forecast was correct. The first couple of winch launches found cloudbase but we did manage to get to 2000' on later aerotows. We had a group on a Hen weekend in the Cotswolds who only told the Hen that she was going gliding on Sunday at 11 o'clock the previous evening, they left with some big smiles! Later flights in the afternoon found some gentle thermals for some extended flights.

BGA statement:

The Government is changing the law to remove most of the restrictions that were applied to address the Covid19 pandemic.

The BGA encourages clubs and their members to continue to comply with Government published guidance, and to consider others as well as themselves in maintaining a cautious approach to the ongoing risk of infection.

With this in mind, the club has prepared the attached document which is also on display in the clubhouse. Please stay safe and consider others so that we can continue to enjoy our sport as we come out of the Pandemic.

Despite solid overcast at 1,600' and an irritating cross-wind, we managed a full day's flying. Visitors Lyndsey and Alex enjoyed their introduction to gliding on the One Day Course. Cadets Jack and Brandon continued to progress well, both of them getting to grips the winch launch. Meanwhile, Martin Hayward and Tom J were working on their Friends & Family ratings with Simon Lucas and Mike Weston respectively. Instructors John Huband and Tony Parker flew an enthusiastic group of UWE students. Many thanks to Martin Hayward and Alistair Lomax for driving the winch.

More pics of ENK's progress

Here's a pic of ENK as it enters final preparation for return from Slovenia to the UK.

Low cloud and drizzle had cleared by mid-morning to give a perfectly satisfactory training day. Members under training who were put off by the poor forecast missed out. So few were present that they enjoyed an unusual bonanza, getting in far more flights on K21 and K8 than they expected. A new member with experience elsewhere soloed on the K21 and K8. Two aerotow trial lessons were done, one of which resulted in the individual deciding to join on the fixed price to solo scheme.

There is no change yet in the arrangements for 2-seater instruction flights at Aston Down. In accordance with the Covid-19 regulations approved by the DfT and BGA, while at the club, social distancing and the other mitigations to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 will remain as they were, namely;.

Use the hand sanitiser provided.
Disinfect vehicles, gliders and other equipment before use.*
Maintain 2 metre social distancing when on the airfield.
Wear a face mask when in the clubhouse and bus.
Keep windows and doors open to allow good ventilation.
FFP3 masks must be worn by both occupants when flying club 2-seaters.

It is important that we continue to be cautious. It would be a real shame to see the club's first transmission of Covid-19 at this late stage.

* Suitable wipes are located in the parachute room or on the Bus.

A bunch of keen UWE students persuaded the sceptical duty crew to get a glider out, despite the promise of all-day showers in the forecast. The students turned out to be right, as we only saw a few short showers before lunch, after which it turned into a lovely afternoon. Everyone got a few flights each, and we also managed to fit in a winter refresher, and a re-solo - well done Jindra. An excellent day, and a perfect example of why it always pays to be an optimist! Many thanks to Phil Guthrie and Richard Burgoyne for driving the winch, and to all the students and cadets for helping out on the ground.

A good steady 15 knots with occasional gusts all day but straight down the strip, so some good launches. Started with a BI renewal for Jonathan and some practice for the bronze tests with Elliott while Tim got on with flying the UWE students. There was some thermalling to be had and new junior Jack had a long flight completing a good number of exercises. The K23 was flown and the thermalling enticed out both Duos to give their owners some sporting flights, John Mac went in search of wave but had limited contact. Everyone coped well with the gusty wind and we managed to fly all day without any rain, although there were a few spots as I left the airfield.
Thanks to everyone that helped and especially David Roberts for driving the winch all day (we need more winch drivers and a rota!)
Mike W.

On Wednesday we commissioned a new radio and signalling system on the bus, replacing the old and unmaintainable system which has served us well for many years.

The new system is a slimmer version of the old system with a few new features. Firstly, winch and airband radios have been moved and are now hanging down from the roof of the bus, along with the PA system and the main power switch. It is worth noting that the handset for the winch radio is on the desk and the handset for the airband radio has been mounted on the roof, to avoid any confusion.

The light controls now consist of 3 separate buttons instead of the rotary control. These are a yellow button labelled 'take up slack', a green button labelled 'all out' and a red button labelled 'stop'. The take up slack and all out buttons must be held down for the signal to remain on, with the stop button being a latching button that you rotate to turn off. The idea behind this is to stop people from setting the lights to 'take up slack' or 'all out' and then getting distracted and leaving the lights on whilst not looking at the signaller.

Please note that the two emergency stop buttons on the side of the bus and the external buzzer are not yet connected (we ran out of time and daylight). These will be reconnected as soon as possible.

A short guide on how the new lights operate will be available on the bus soon. If you find any issues with the new system then please let Max Lazenby or Matt Page know.