Gliding stories
Thread Starter
I am not sure if any of our current syndicate members have a pet name for the old girl,the average age of the members is on the 'mature' side and I am happy to report that I am not the oldest
Just need the rain to stop/cloudbase to lift a bit so's we can do some flying LOL
Thread Starter
Dec 83 climbed the thing up to 5,400' AGL (which was approx 10,100 AMSL - as the field was at 4,700'),nice and comfy on the ground in shirtsleeves but effing cold at cloudbase LOL.
Last edited by longer ron; 29th Dec 2021 at 09:35.
It might be
I am not sure if any of our current syndicate members have a pet name for the old girl,the average age of the members is on the 'mature' side and I am happy to report that I am not the oldest
Just need the rain to stop/cloudbase to lift a bit so's we can do some flying LOL
I am not sure if any of our current syndicate members have a pet name for the old girl,the average age of the members is on the 'mature' side and I am happy to report that I am not the oldest
Just need the rain to stop/cloudbase to lift a bit so's we can do some flying LOL
It would be nice to get a spot of better weather, for gliding and power flying. There are a couple of (power, obviously) aeroplanes still stranded at Perth by the grotty weather & low cloud since before Christmas.
Thread Starter
Aha - the old girl had a complete repaint a couple of years ago so the name had obviously disappeared before I 'joined up',I never used to meet many of the syndicate members because we used to fly on different days,however the bad weather over the last 12 months has tended to 'squeeze' us into the same flying day,I think the record last year was 6 members on one day
A couple of the syndicate I have still never met LOL
A couple of the syndicate I have still never met LOL
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Plenty of hours in Ka8's, probably the best early solo single seater ever built. Wouldn't bite you, would soar in next to sod all lift, you could actually "hover" it if the wind was right and so very easy to fly as well rig / de-rig
If anyone's looking for a restoration project, drop me a PM; we have 2 that you could probably have for the value of the canopies...
On October 16th, one of the members of my gliding club did the best flight in the world that day, flying 1600 km (863 nm) in the wave in an Arcus M, averaging 180 km/hr (97 kts).
I've just listened to a very interesting podcast where Chester described his flight and Tyler, another club member and air traffic controller, described the necessary ATC arrangements.
https://thethermalpodcast.libsyn.com...mal-episode-29
An amazing achievement. I was at the airfield that day and was watching his progress on FR24. I didn’t think he was going to make it back before sunset, but he was helped by a tailwind component on his last southerly leg, which gave him a groundspeed of 124 kts!
I went to tow him back to the hangar after he landed. I’m amazed he could stand up after 9 hours in the cockpit.
To put the flight into a UK perspective, it would be like taking off near Peterborough, flying to Eastbourne and back TWICE, and then flying to Dumfries and back.
I've just listened to a very interesting podcast where Chester described his flight and Tyler, another club member and air traffic controller, described the necessary ATC arrangements.
https://thethermalpodcast.libsyn.com...mal-episode-29
An amazing achievement. I was at the airfield that day and was watching his progress on FR24. I didn’t think he was going to make it back before sunset, but he was helped by a tailwind component on his last southerly leg, which gave him a groundspeed of 124 kts!
I went to tow him back to the hangar after he landed. I’m amazed he could stand up after 9 hours in the cockpit.
To put the flight into a UK perspective, it would be like taking off near Peterborough, flying to Eastbourne and back TWICE, and then flying to Dumfries and back.
Thread Starter
Blimey 9hrs is a long time in a glider cockpit - good effort.
My longest flight was 6hr 16m during my 300k badge flight but my barogram/barograph trace was nowhere near as high and predictable as the one posted above
It was an out and return and the return leg was hard work due to seriously changed conditions compared to the outward leg
My longest flight was 6hr 16m during my 300k badge flight but my barogram/barograph trace was nowhere near as high and predictable as the one posted above
It was an out and return and the return leg was hard work due to seriously changed conditions compared to the outward leg
Agree with the earlier comments about the K18 - I did my Silver C in one, 25 years ago, no electric varios etc, just a basic mechanical vario and feel. Lovely handling and pretty good performance for a wooden ship. I loved her. Also agree with the need to stay upwind of the airfield in a K8. I got a well deserved bollocking for drifting downwind in a weak thermal and scrapping back over the hedge instead of making a field landing (lots of good options.) Got away with it, by luck, not skill.
I'm both intrigued and amused by your wife's memories. Did you ever find out what made this hooting sound by any chance ?
Plenty of hours in Ka8's, probably the best early solo single seater ever built. Wouldn't bite you, would soar in next to sod all lift, you could actually "hover" it if the wind was right and so very easy to fly as well rig / de-rig
Plenty of hours in Ka8's, probably the best early solo single seater ever built. Wouldn't bite you, would soar in next to sod all lift, you could actually "hover" it if the wind was right and so very easy to fly as well rig / de-rig
I agree, a fun early solo machine, very relaxing and confidence inspiring to fly. Hard to penetrate upwind in, but pleasant for early cross-country 'drifts' down or cross wind for a Silver distance. The thought of doing a restoration is tempting - it is a shame (but unsurprising) that so many older wooden ships are disappearing now.
* 151kts at SL in the Arcus M, reduces somewhat with altitude.
K18 looking towards the Connor pass after auto tow from Fermoyle strand county Kerry
My first flight in a K18 was a couple of years prior to taking this shot from my first Kerry safari. Fabulous machine..iirc one of our CFIs got enveloped in cloud whilst ridge soaring and inadvertently turned into the mountain. Said it suddenly got dark and he heaved on the stick, pancaked into the mountain slope. Fortunately no injuries but it took the best part of a day carrying the glider off the mountain. Kerry taught me a lot wrt micro meteorology as I too was enveloped when orographic cloud started forming upwind and below me…one of those sixpence /half a crown moments.
photo taken with hand held, wide angle canon through the DV of my phoebus C. Prior to GoPro days so some of the most memorable flights not recorded but stored in my bonce.
Thread Starter
Mine was sometimes the opposite end of the scale LOL,it was an Out and Return from Old Sarum - Ha'penny Green - Old Sarum in Sept '89 my Launch time of 1230 was kinda late - my Club at the time were not interested in x country flying and kept feeding club gliders into the launch queue in front of private owners and when I finally got to the front it just happened to coincide with the brand new (homemade) Winch appearing,I refused to be launched in my little libelle by this totally untried contraption (it would have been its first ever launch
) and I had to drive our dump truck up to our tried and tested old winch to get my cable.Anyway I got away ok and the outbound leg was good fun with a fairly classic climb/cruise sawtooth profile on the barograph but as I neared the TP I could see the sky behind me changing to flat Battleship Grey,there was a decent thermal near my TP so I got my photo and headed south.I had a dodgy 30 mins or so just south of the TP where I was tiptoeing along at 46/50 Kt just trying to stay airborne (near Kidderminster on the barograph below),I reached the Cotswolds ok and had to fly a compass heading due to the bad vis/haze into the afternoon sun.I popped out of the haze just south of the Cotswolds and there were just 2 clouds visible to the south - I headed for the slightly darker one near Pewsey and joined another glider searching for lift ( something like an Astir) - he found it first so I went over to join him,I remember thinking to myself ''I am not going to fail now'' so I took the thermal for every foot I could and got my highest climb of the day (5,600'),of course when I left the thermal I soon realised that I had plenty of spare height to get back to OS so I gradually put the nose down and flew much of that last leg at near vne,I still had enough height to dog leg around to the west to cross the Caravan at 50 feet/120 Kt to announce my arrival and a gradual climbing turn into the circuit.The club were surprised to see me back as a Sea Breeze Effect had penetrated that far inland and they had no local soaring after 1530.I could not walk after I landed as there was an air leak around the nose hook and my feet were frozen in my light summer shoes
321 Km on the map I think and by far the furthest I had ever been from the airfield,of course the downside of an O/R is the distance from home but it was a really easy turn point photo and fairly easy nav except for the haze over the Cotswolds.
Great write up longer ron. You’ve obviously got a good memory!
I love the picture of your barograph trace. Today’s pilots have no idea how lucky they are - no more smoking barograph drums, no more grease marks on the canopy nor struggling to get a TP photo from the correct quadrant.
I forgot to mention that after my friend Chester landed from his record flight, I asked him why he had flown around the airfield for 15 minutes before landing. “To get used to flying slower than 100 kts.”
I love the picture of your barograph trace. Today’s pilots have no idea how lucky they are - no more smoking barograph drums, no more grease marks on the canopy nor struggling to get a TP photo from the correct quadrant.
I forgot to mention that after my friend Chester landed from his record flight, I asked him why he had flown around the airfield for 15 minutes before landing. “To get used to flying slower than 100 kts.”
Thread Starter
Great write up longer ron. You’ve obviously got a good memory!
I love the picture of your barograph trace. Today’s pilots have no idea how lucky they are - no more smoking barograph drums, no more grease marks on the canopy nor struggling to get a TP photo from the correct quadrant.
I love the picture of your barograph trace. Today’s pilots have no idea how lucky they are - no more smoking barograph drums, no more grease marks on the canopy nor struggling to get a TP photo from the correct quadrant.
.Agree about barograph smoking etc - I had a Winter Battery operated one which was in lovely condition but soon realised my mistake buying it LOL - unlike the clockwork baro's there wasn't that reassuring tick tock from over the shoulder to confirm the damn thing was working
I got back into gliding a couple of years ago after a 22 year break and it has taken me a while to get my head round (and catch up with) some of the advances in peripheral technology - Hell I even have a 'Smart Phone' now with a GPS moving map display which is really handy for 'Wave' flying when lucky enough to trip over some wave,as B Pew alluded to with his recent post and pic.
Thread Starter
Thread Starter
We were over that way for a road trip last september but unfortunately we got some inclement weather in the Dingle area - so never got the view.
Not complaining though we only had 3 days of rain in our 2 week hol so well pleased with that
We managed 2 aviation museums and drove down most of the west coast staying 2 or 3 days at some locations,our rough route was ferry Cairnryan to Belfast and then drove west to County Donegal - then in stages down to Baltimore for a lively Boat Trip,we did a little of the South Coast but had a time restraint because of my OH's work and we returned via Rosslare/Fishguard to drive north via a couple of steam railways
L Ron…lucky with the weather..normally wait for three forecast dry days before we wander over to the other side of the ireland..sometimes we wait months.
One kerry safari was virtually no wave flying as too hot and sunny!
Another I flew over from the south of France and hired a car for ten days..didn’t get airborne as it lashed down everyday and one of the guys towing the K13 hit a bank so we all chipped in a score or so towards repairing his Volvo.
I was generally one of the volunteers de Kerrying the gliders which involved a lot of drying, brushing, hovering followed by washing all of the bearings out and regreasing.
‘But the flying was great..auto towed my pheobus of Inch..slope soared with just enough height to get back to the beach and after a while I found a sweet spot where two low wave systems met…Airspace is 7,000ft and club rules are that you have to go through the beach master to contact Shannon to climb higher…quit at 12,000ft as light fading and I needed enough time to de rig. Rather dark especially with the canopy misting up so sideslipped using the DV window which continued to the beach.
But even best was flying along the seaward side of Mount Brandon (3,000ft +) with a cloud base of 1,000ft at VNE….and 500 yards from the mountain over a force 5 sea state to avoid going into a stronger lift band and cloud.
and you tell that to the youngsters…..
Inch strand ..phoebus C ..first glider to do a 300km in uk according to late owner who had a mid air at La Motte du Caire..club gliders in the background
One kerry safari was virtually no wave flying as too hot and sunny!
Another I flew over from the south of France and hired a car for ten days..didn’t get airborne as it lashed down everyday and one of the guys towing the K13 hit a bank so we all chipped in a score or so towards repairing his Volvo.
I was generally one of the volunteers de Kerrying the gliders which involved a lot of drying, brushing, hovering followed by washing all of the bearings out and regreasing.
‘But the flying was great..auto towed my pheobus of Inch..slope soared with just enough height to get back to the beach and after a while I found a sweet spot where two low wave systems met…Airspace is 7,000ft and club rules are that you have to go through the beach master to contact Shannon to climb higher…quit at 12,000ft as light fading and I needed enough time to de rig. Rather dark especially with the canopy misting up so sideslipped using the DV window which continued to the beach.
But even best was flying along the seaward side of Mount Brandon (3,000ft +) with a cloud base of 1,000ft at VNE….and 500 yards from the mountain over a force 5 sea state to avoid going into a stronger lift band and cloud.
and you tell that to the youngsters…..
Inch strand ..phoebus C ..first glider to do a 300km in uk according to late owner who had a mid air at La Motte du Caire..club gliders in the background
Last edited by blind pew; 4th Jan 2022 at 15:45.
Thread Starter
So as soon as the car was done and the weather was looking at least 50/50 we did a flurry of bookings 2 days before departure LOL
Thanks for the Ireland gliding pics - we did have a quick look at Inch Beach - knowing its gliding connection,but we did not have the time to do any flying/club visiting.
Thread Starter
Agree with the earlier comments about the K18 - I did my Silver C in one, 25 years ago, no electric varios etc, just a basic mechanical vario and feel. Lovely handling and pretty good performance for a wooden ship. I loved her. Also agree with the need to stay upwind of the airfield in a K8. I got a well deserved bollocking for drifting downwind in a weak thermal and scrapping back over the hedge instead of making a field landing (lots of good options.) Got away with it, by luck, not skill.
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