Tuesday 13th May - Course week

'Well it turned out really nice in the end...'

Tuesday morning and all the course members turned up again after their first day so that was a good start......
Ground school lectures to reinforce key learning points and refreshers from Day One were completed by Pete F and Mike S for their respective groups. And then it was off to the launch point, set up again in the South East corner of the field, to start the day's flying - and with great expectations based on a weather forecast suggesting a better day of gliding than yesterday. However as we all know a forecast is simply that and the morning's flying was interrupted on a number of occasions by sharp rain showers, rather more frequently than had been forecast.

Has it stopped raining yet?
Nevertheless with a keen group of 'wipers' standing by to remove rain from the wings and other key surfaces once the showers had stopped, on each occasion of rain, gliders were soon back in the air - at one stage it seemed to the waiting pilots in gliders that it was just like being at traffic lights, with people 'swarming to clean the windows', in this case gliders rather than cars!

During lunch time it was noticed that the sky had started to change for the better with more and more blue sky in the distance and nice fluffy clouds being seen - so with renewed optimism the post lunch flying was soon under way and the afternoon then got better and better with good lift if one could find it and as ever lots of sink to contend with if one could not.

New member Ray
Another good day for the course members and by the end of which 33 K21 flights, for a total of just over 5 hours, had been completed - with the last launch of the day achieving 34 minutes and needing to 'air brake down through strong lift all over the place' that tells you how good the afternoon got...

Chris returns after his course last September
All course members are making good progress with their personal objectives and aims for the course and, all being well............
 
Improving sky late in the afternoon
............ with a good weather forecast for the rest of the week progress will continue to be made with same. - Mike Sl