Cross Country Gliding Course (May 2017)
Following on from Sunday's excellent soaring day - the weather prospects for the cross country course starting on Monday looked less than perfect. Pretty crap in fact with rain predicted for the entire of Monday, and probable throughout the week thanks to two areas of low pressure pushing bands of rain up the length of the UK.
The third and final field I chose was a ploughed field that was counter-intuitively slap bang in the middle of an actual airfield. In this case, it was marked on the map as being disused and the concrete runway was clearly in a state of disrepair, therefore a softer surface made more sense.
With that, field landing checks were completed and signed off and that was the end of flying for the day, with navigation theory again being the subject of the afternoon.
Monday 15th May
As predicted, Monday was a washout. People come to a gliding club to go flying and so in that regard, it wasn't the best start to the course. The flip side to that is that people tend to visit a gliding club only on flyable days and that leaves no time for theory work (In this country, if it's flyable, we fly!). So whilst it rained outside and we were missing nothing, we covered topics such as thermalling techniques and field landings, it's always good to hear pilots stories too and some of the instructors had field landing experiences (both good and bad) to share with us.
Tuesday 16th May
Tuesday began much the same as Monday, with a continuation of the low pressure which brought more low cloud and rain. In the briefing room, we discussed navigation. In the morning, we planned a task and spent the session discussing all of the different airspace in the areas we planned to fly through or near.
The afternoon provided signs that the weather was starting to clear as one front departed and before the next one, which was not far behind, came through. Two of the course members stayed on for a task planning excerise, whilst myself and one other rigged Astir KRN which had returned from its ARC and instrument fitting.
The club offers evening flying once a week, this year on a Tuesday during the spring/summer months for ab-initio pilots (pre-solo). As if it had been planned, the weather cleared up sufficiently to allow flying to commence from about 5pm, with a moderate south-westerly activating the local ridge and generating lenticular cloud which offered the prospect of some evening wave flying.
Three or four ab-initio's arrived along with the duty instructors for the evening and began flying both of the K-21's. KRN was test-flown and performed as expected, with the instructor having only good things to say about the newly fitted S80 variometer.
Nobody managed to contact the wave, even from a high tow. I had planned to have a flight in KRN but it was around 8:00pm at this point and the aircraft was still being enjoyed by another course member. A K-21 two-seater was sat on the launch point going begging, so I jumped in and took a solo flight. Releasing intentionally at 1,000ft was a new experience, albeit on the ridge which other aircraft had proved was sufficiently working to stay airborne. I remained at between 900-1,000' for the next 55 minutes, just missing an hour by virtue of the fact that I didn't check my watch when I took off! By the time I returned, everyone else packed the hangars. I landed long on Runway 20, put the glider to bed and joined those who remained on site in the bar.
Wednesday 17th May
I woke up and immediately looked out the window to see what the day offered, I had already arranged with another instructor who had not originally been part of the course to do some motor glider work today so even though it wasn't a day for pure gliders, two of us managed to get a flight before the weather once again called proceedings to a halt.
The week before, I'd had the field landing brief (so now I'd had it twice!) and we had flown over the Vale of York into the flat area near Easingwold to practice field selection and approaches.
This time, we went east into the hills where the suitable fields were fewer and further between, many being either too small, or sloping too steep. My first approach was into a perfect greeny-brown looking field with a distinctive green blob in the middle, it was an excellent size and I knew I would be able to spot it again after taking my eyes off it. On the first attempt, following a short discussion about wind direction I had become momentarily confused and set up a circuit for an unnecessary downwind landing. It was flat, and plenty big enough, but since there was no reason not to land upwind, that's what we should have done. We set up again, and this time I made the circuit in the correct direction and nailed the approach.
Having moved onto a different location, we did the exercise again. I picked what appeared to be the best field in the local area and with some height in reserve, flew closer to get a better look. The intention was to orbit the field and check for obstructions, but as we approached, I noticed the livestock. I was lower now, and so had to make a secondary choice with more pressure and there were no good downwind landings available - with the wind being manageable, I selected a crosswind approach into a clear, cut and upwardly sloping field and the approach was textbook.
The third and final field I chose was a ploughed field that was counter-intuitively slap bang in the middle of an actual airfield. In this case, it was marked on the map as being disused and the concrete runway was clearly in a state of disrepair, therefore a softer surface made more sense.
With that, field landing checks were completed and signed off and that was the end of flying for the day, with navigation theory again being the subject of the afternoon.
Thursday 18th May
The only really flyable day of the week arrived, as evidenced by a packed morning briefing - many of the clubs instructors had arrived to fly their own gliders on what had promised to be a good soaring day.
We course members stayed for an additional briefing and decided on a task from Sutton Bank Start South (SU1), to Pocklington (POC), Rufforth South (RU1) and back to Sutton Bank again, which was a cross country route of around 92km. We drew lots to see who would fly in what and when.
I ended up with the last flight of the group in the lower performing of the two gliders available, although a DG-500 is still not to be sniffed at, I don't find it quite the pleasure to fly as I do the DG-1000, the hot-ship of our club fleet.
The first two course members launched and headed off on their adventure, making it back to base in just over an hour in the better of the days weather conditions. A couple of the private owners tagged along, with one deciding to carry on still further, and ending his day in a field north of Northallerton.
Whilst the first flights were underway, I finally took the opportunity to fly KRN for the first time with the intention of completing my two hour soaring flight necessary to complete my cross country endorsement. Conditions locally were challenging, with some pilots resorting to their engines, and some finding themselves back rather sooner than they'd anticipated - and I was one of them. My attempt ended after 24 minutes. I arrived back low in the circuit and hit sink there, causing me to shorten my final approach and turn in earlier than I would have liked - but good training results in safe landings,
In the afternoon, I readied myself for the navigation test and took off in the DG-500. We joined the DG-1000 in the air and both struggled to maintain any kind of height, with their better glide range, they were able to sample the skies further out and found better climbs beyond the local area, whilst we could make nothing locally and returned to the site after 21 minutes. It was not going to be my day. The DG-1000 went on to complete the course for a second time, and we considered a second attempt in the 500, before deciding to fly the sortie under engine power in the Rotax Falke.
Everything was where I expected it to be, and so my navigation check was completed and passed.
We course members stayed for an additional briefing and decided on a task from Sutton Bank Start South (SU1), to Pocklington (POC), Rufforth South (RU1) and back to Sutton Bank again, which was a cross country route of around 92km. We drew lots to see who would fly in what and when.
I ended up with the last flight of the group in the lower performing of the two gliders available, although a DG-500 is still not to be sniffed at, I don't find it quite the pleasure to fly as I do the DG-1000, the hot-ship of our club fleet.
The first two course members launched and headed off on their adventure, making it back to base in just over an hour in the better of the days weather conditions. A couple of the private owners tagged along, with one deciding to carry on still further, and ending his day in a field north of Northallerton.
Whilst the first flights were underway, I finally took the opportunity to fly KRN for the first time with the intention of completing my two hour soaring flight necessary to complete my cross country endorsement. Conditions locally were challenging, with some pilots resorting to their engines, and some finding themselves back rather sooner than they'd anticipated - and I was one of them. My attempt ended after 24 minutes. I arrived back low in the circuit and hit sink there, causing me to shorten my final approach and turn in earlier than I would have liked - but good training results in safe landings,
In the afternoon, I readied myself for the navigation test and took off in the DG-500. We joined the DG-1000 in the air and both struggled to maintain any kind of height, with their better glide range, they were able to sample the skies further out and found better climbs beyond the local area, whilst we could make nothing locally and returned to the site after 21 minutes. It was not going to be my day. The DG-1000 went on to complete the course for a second time, and we considered a second attempt in the 500, before deciding to fly the sortie under engine power in the Rotax Falke.
Everything was where I expected it to be, and so my navigation check was completed and passed.
Friday 19th May
It rained again for the final day of the course and thus prevented any flying yet again. In the morning, we went through the flight traces of the gliders that had completed yesterdays task and analysed them in detail using SeeYou. Gliding really is the Formula 1 of the sky, with tactics playing a very strong part in competitive racing being very evident - perhaps it would be difficult to make a live spectator sport of it, but the drama is there.
In the afternoon, I stepped out into the hanger to perform a daily inspection on one of the clubs two seaters - an essential part of what must be done before any aircraft takes to the sky. As a qualified pilot, part of my responsibility will be making sure that an aircraft I'm familiar with is safe to fly by someone who is perhaps not so familiar (particularly in the case of our club K-21's which are used by pilots just starting out).
I have done daily inspections a few times before with club pilots and knew what to look for; with my instructor for the day being a BGA inspector - the test was a little more detailed than I had been used to but I picked up some valuable tips of extra areas to check, and passed the oral test as required.
Course Debrief
At the end of the course; I may have only had six flights in marginal conditions but I both learned a lot, and progressed my bronze and XC qualifications almost to the point of completion. All that remains to do is that elusive two-hour flight (when the conditions allow it) and a general flying skills test - and then I'll be done and dusted, next stop Silver (after having a little bit of fun, of course!).
In the afternoon, I stepped out into the hanger to perform a daily inspection on one of the clubs two seaters - an essential part of what must be done before any aircraft takes to the sky. As a qualified pilot, part of my responsibility will be making sure that an aircraft I'm familiar with is safe to fly by someone who is perhaps not so familiar (particularly in the case of our club K-21's which are used by pilots just starting out).
I have done daily inspections a few times before with club pilots and knew what to look for; with my instructor for the day being a BGA inspector - the test was a little more detailed than I had been used to but I picked up some valuable tips of extra areas to check, and passed the oral test as required.
Course Debrief
At the end of the course; I may have only had six flights in marginal conditions but I both learned a lot, and progressed my bronze and XC qualifications almost to the point of completion. All that remains to do is that elusive two-hour flight (when the conditions allow it) and a general flying skills test - and then I'll be done and dusted, next stop Silver (after having a little bit of fun, of course!).
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