Gransden Times by Paul Harvey

Gransden From the Chair: Club News and Events: Just Beat It: Derek Coppin

Times

July 2010

When the tide goes out

Sarah Kelman flies: Gransden Stansted Luton

The song remains the same

Emilie House on flying the interclub league

Bluebell at 60

Life in the back seat

Sixty Years On

Open Day

10,000 hours 72,000 launches ÂŁ500,000 in revenue

Gliders have come a long way in 60 years. Where next?

James Kellerman on training to be a BI and why you should

Joshua Hope wins the first Neville Anderson Award

the point of the issue is...

he first cuckoo of spring says that winter is over. The first pleading email for a winch driver, from Jo in the office, says that the summer trial flight season has begun. The pattern is so well established that the globalwarming lobby monitor that first email for evidence of climate change: in truth, it's the best data they have. I am certain that the hassle of arranging crew puts members off inviting family, friends and colleagues to go gliding in the evening. Does it have to be like this? The last issue of Gransden Times carried ads for all the club vacancies and Richard Brickwood was pleased with the response: but those emails from Jo keep coming. On a more cheery note, the Euro is falling against the pound which might just put that 端ber ship you've

Contents Club News and Events: Pages 4-5 Phil Jeffery breaks the 500Km record in the 20m class. A Junior nearly catches fire and if it had, we have a new ASW24 to console ourselves with. Neil Goudie talks us through the changes for the Regionals

Just Beat It: Page 6 CFI, Richard Maskell, outlines what is and is not acceptable when doing a racing finish. The 'Law' has a view too

Their life in your hands: Page 7 James Kellerman swaps his ASG29 for a K21 and talks us through becoming a BI. It's not just for budding ASCATs

Chocolate and flowers: Page 8-9 Bluebell is 60, and all pilots of her should qualify for a heating allowance. On April 29th, the club gathered with Ted Warner (her first pilot) to celebrate the club's first two-seaters. But how will we view the K21s in 60 years time?

been dreaming about in reach; or a new LX900. Of course, if you own an 端ber ship already then you might be feeling ambivalent about it. The future of the 端ber ship is speculated about on page 15. For the second year running we have had a great start to the season. Phil Jeffery has set a new 500Km record in the 20m class and Sarah Kelman set a new record for Gransden - Stansted - Luton. It is a record unlikely to be beaten unless Iceland goes up in smoke again - and I am not referring to that country's economy. The story starts on page 13. The next big club event is the Regionals, starting on 21st August. Neil Goudie explains the changes to club operations and accommodation on page five. There have been a few changes to Gransden Times with this issue. The masthead change is the most obvious but the page design has also been cleaned up. The intention is to make the magazine easier to read and navigate. I hope you agree. Paul Harvey, Editor, Gransden Times

The Song Remains the same: Page 10 Emilie House takes an LS7 WL to Wittering for the inter-club league. You can read her lyrics on page 10.

From the Chair: Page 11 Richard reports that unemployment is falling in the Gransden Lodge area of the country with the appointment of new grass cutters and maintenance personnel: the boy, George, will be pleased. But there's a 贈4,000 bill for road resurfacing. RIB remains chipper.

CGC Open Day: Page 12 Joshua Hope wins the first Neville Anderson Award

When the tide goes out: Pages13-14 Iceland took it's revenge on the UK last April with a fireworks show that grounded every airliner. But it didn't stop Sarah Kelman visiting Easyjet's depots at Luton and Stansted in her ASW28

Sixty Years On: Page 15 Between Bluebell and the K21 glide angles doubled. What will they be in 60 years time? Spray-on solar panels, boundary layer control, hypersonic vacum trains and the end of jet travel. No one will tell me I was wrong.

Gransden Times is produced by Moltenlight.com for The Cambridge Gliding Centre Ltd. (www.glide.co.uk) All material is the copyright of contributors. The views expressed in Gransden Times are not necessarily those of the Cambridge Gliding Centre Ltd or its editor. For more information contact: gt@glide.co.uk

July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 3

New Speed Record for Phil Jeffery

t 116.6Km/h Phil Jeffery set a new 20m, 500Km triangle UK record on 22nd, April, 2010, in his 18m Ventus 2CXT, 64.

The task was: Gransden Lodge, Bicester Tower (1),

Junior now a 'Hot' Ship unior, HEK, nearly caught fire whilst being towed to the

Rubbing tyre burnt HEK's wheel-well launch point (22) last April. A broken wheel bearing allowed the tyre to rub against the wheel-well. By the time the damage was noticed, the wheel rim and bearing case had been destroyed. The glider was unservicable for three weeks.. In 2006, a Duo Discus Turbo from CGC was destroyed by fire due to a binding wheel brake. GRT 4

GT news

Scunthorpe (2), Garboldisham (3), Gransden Lodge. The record was previously set by former club member and 18m world champion, Phil Jones, in a Ventus 2B at 108.84 Km/h in 2002. After his 4h,25m flight, Phil, a retired airline pilot, said: "I didn't set out to break the record but I always set out to fly as fast as possible. "There were no particularly mega climbs - the best was 6.2 and the average 4.6, but I had good lines of energy. "This was a nice change after my pathetic attempts on the previous two days so I won't be giving up gliding quite yet." In 1995 Phil set a new outright UK record for the 100Km triangle at a speed of 133.97 Km/h, flying an LS7.

More than hot air

indfarms – the one at Graveley was refused but went to appeal. Although this may not DIRECTLY affect us at GRL having an eight pylon, 450’ obstruction, on a final glide from the north 6nm away from GRL is not to be welcomed. The main purpose in showing interest is that there is a revised application for the anemometer mast at Arrington. That is a precursor to an application for a wind farm which could be less than 1.5nm from the end of 22 and 16.That really could affect us and so we have come out strongly against it. IF the mast application is approved and IF a windfarm application follows we really will need everyone’s help in trying to get it refused. There are many strong reasons why it ought to be and much local support on our side. Watch this space.

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

his issue's font cover picture was taken by club member, Sarah Kelman.It was shot on a Nikon D300 with an exposure of 1/640 sec at F11 on a 38mm lens with a 'film' setting of ISO 200 . Sarah set her camera to take two pictures per second and then merged the images using the 'layers' feature in Adobe Photoshop CS3. The glider is our K21, HTV, launching on runway 04 in April.

Call of Duty

he cub is still short of Winch drivers – really all solo pilots should be on one of the senior rosters, usually starting on the Launch Marshals’ or Winch drivers’ rosters. If you’re a new solo pilot, please do join one of those rosters. Please contact me (at rosters@glide.co.uk) for more information. Training is provided for both roles. The first set of duty rosters for the winter season will be prepared in Mid August. The availability page is now open, and lists the dates for which we will be require a rostered crew, and a reminder of your rostered roles. When recording your availability, please leave afternoons allowed on at least one weekend day and please only exclude date on which you are unable to attend the airfield. The news page of the Operations sec-

tion of the club website http:// www.glide.co.uk/ops/ will be kept up to date with the information about the roster preparation. Recently, there have been a few instances of members not arranging swaps in good time. Please do keep track of your duties, and sort out any necessary swaps early. Remember that the most effective way to find a swap partner is to phone around. If you do chose to try the email lists first, please do so early and be prepared to phone around if you do not get a suitable reply. Please to not leave it to the office to try to arrange your replacement. In order to arrange swaps it is necessary for rostered members to be able to contact one another. There is a contacts list on the club website. The list needs to be opted-in to, and a majority of rostered members already are. The list is only viewable by logged in members so please do opt-in if you are not already. To aid keeping track of your duties, there is now a personalised “unified” duty list on the website. It’s the “Your Duties” item on the “Your Profile” menu. This brings the weekend duty rosters, the weekday instructing and weekday tug rosters together onto one list. It also allows Instructors, BI’s and Launch Marshals to access details of bookings and operations on their upcoming duty days (a link appears where this facility is available). Steve Kaszak, Rosters Manager

Boy's Toys

X Avionics recently announced the LX9000, with a large (5.6") screen and vario. Coming shortly is their new MiniMap and vario sytsem. They recently announced the LX166 with final glide display and vario - see page 16.

Normal service will be resumed shortly The GRL Regionals are held in August. Neil Goudie, Competition Director, explains the changes to club operations

he Gransden Regionals will run from the 21 to 29 August 2010. For those of you new to the sport this is the opportunity to watch competition gliding at close hand. As the name suggests, this competition is held locally and is generally the first serious competition that budding racing pilots enter. It is a handicapped, i.e., each glider has an assigned handicap rating according to its calculated performance (an old wooden glider may have a handicap of about 80, whereas a modern machine may have one of about 109). Each day (one task) has a maximum score of 1000 points for the winner; this can be devalued if very few gliders get around the task (the idea being that if only a small proportion of gliders get home, then luck probably had a lot to do with it!). The scores are assigned according to the speed relative to the winner. This year we will have around 50 gliders competing in 2 classes and we would expect launching to take place around mid-day with finishers arriving back from mid to late afternoon. Although, inevitably, the club operations can be delayed during launching (which takes just over one hour) we try to integrate the competition into the club normal flying operations as much as possible. In fact, with extra launching capacity, nine days of on-site catering and bar open every

evening it is great time to bring friends and family along to see the club. There are a number of events planned for the week for competitors which club members can join in with, keep an eye on the website and email for more details about Curry and Hog Roast nights. The small print. The competition infrastructure will be set up from the weekend before. The east trailer park has to be moved to a temporary area at the west end of Runway 09/27. A reminder about this will be sent out to members in midAugust but if your trailer is in this area please can you move before Sunday 15th August. On Wednesday 18th August Judith (our caterer) will be setting up in the kitchen. Please can members remove any food from freezers and fridges which are in the kitchen. Unfortunately, food will be disposed from the Thursday onwards. From Friday 20th to Sunday 29th August the kitchen will be unavailable for general use. Please ask Judith if you need to access to the kitchen. A tap for drinking water (especially designed for Camelbaks!) has been installed in the disabled toilet. All non competition pilots must obtain permission from the competition Launch Marshal before towing out to any position other than the back of the grid. People allowed to tow to the front of the grid should expect to clear the grid as instructed by the Launch Marshal. Club Launching during the Regionals As we said it is important

that we integrate the competition into the normal operations as much as possible. Although we try to satisfy all our members and visitors it is really up to everyone to make this work. To this end the competition, and club, launching operations, will be the responsibility of Julian Bane (Competition Launch Marshall) from the beginning of the day and until the last of any launching of any gliders related to the competition (or periods of any significant competition 're-lights'). Due to the fact that more and more competitors come to the competition without a dedicated crew the Competition Launch Crew will now only launch gliders directly related to the comp (i.e. both classes, official HC entries, official snifters and comp relights) and will hand over to a rostered, or appointed, launch marshal like any normal club day. Club members can tow out to the back of the grid (behind any official HC entries) in preparation for club operations providing there is room. If there is no room please await instructions from the Launch Marshall to decide where to park. Any pilot wanting to launch off the front of the grid must contact the Competition Launch Marshal first (the marshal will be available on any ground radio at all times other than during briefing). Pilots who tow out, without warning, to the front of the grid, or any other point, will simply be directed to the back of the grid. If we can all work this procedure then there is a very good chance we can efficiently launch gliders before and after the grid launch with the minimum of confusion! Hope to you see you there.

FLY's First Flight

FLY behind club Pawnee with Robert Welford on the test flight - 26 May 2010

he best things in life are worth waiting for. The latest addition to the club fleet had better be very good indeed. Bought in autumn last year, FLY, an ASW 24, eventually flew for the first time under club ownership on 26 May. After months of refurbishment, which included a new paint scheme, lettering and nose hook, registration and re-wiring, FLY took off into the blue with Robert Welford. FLY replcace a Junior in the hanger. Another glider which took to the air again was CUGC's ASW19, CU. The glider now has a panel that lifts with the canopy and a new nose hook has been fitted. The glider is also available for club use.

July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 5

Good Finish Competition finish: make sure you know where you can do them

Michael Jackson implored us to 'just beat it'. Richard Maskell lays down guidelines for comp finishes

n light of some of the flying done so far this year I'd like to clarify what I consider acceptable flying / airmanship when it comes to high speed low flying. Some of us, myself included, enjoy finishing a cross country flight with a "practise competition finish". Roughly this involves building up speed during the last phase of the final glide, arriving low and then pulling up and joining the circuit. After a fatal incident several years ago the BGA introduced guidelines for such flying during competitions. Primarily this banned hedge hopping where competitors flew the last field in ground effect (very low). Its unclear from the current

GRT 6

competition handbook what the exact recommendations for heights are as it states: Competitors shall be reminded in the local rules that all pilots must be aware of and fly within the requirements of CAP393 ANO Rules of the Air Section 2 Article 5 (low flying rule) and Section 1 Article 74 (reckless or negligent endangerment of any person or property). To meet this requirement, regardless of the position of the finish line, all approaches towards the airfield should prescribe a descending profile(other than to go-around where necessary), the landing area should be in the pilot's sight, and the airfield boundary must be crossed at a height which cannot endanger persons(seen or unseen), vessels or property. I understand that these are competition rules but

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

they give a good indication of the legal / CAA view and therefore are reasonably applicable to finishing non comp cross country flights. I don't believe we currently have a problem with pilots flying too low while finishing a flight, however I am very concerned about where they are flying. This whole area is a minefield for CFI's. One approach is to ban them all together, another is to set minimum heights, draw lots of diagrams etc. This just tempts some people to work around the rules. Clearly pilots have differing levels of experience and ability. Learning how to manage the energy in a glider is an advanced skill and takes some training, practice etc. My primary concern is that anybody doing this sort of thing doesn't endanger other people on the ground or in the air. So under no circumstances should such low level flights pass over or aim at people, structures or vehicles. This

includes the clubhouse area, car parks, trailer parks etc etc. The "pullup" must not cross the approach line to an active or potentially active runway. If you are arriving back late why shouldn't somebody else be coming back low from the other direction? The flying orders already say that you shouldn't plan your final glide and/or competition finish in such a way that you do not fly through the circuit or the extended centre line and approach-arc of the runway in use at Gransden Lodge. If you have any doubts about what is acceptable then err on the side of caution, you could always check with the CAA's legal department to see what they mean by "reckless or negligent endangerment of any person or property". I am happy to discus this with anybody if they feel it needs clarfication. Basically it comes down to good airmanship and common sense.

Their life in your hands In the first of an occasional series, GRT looks at the jobs members take on. In this issue we look at the role of BIs. James Kellerman has recently qualified: so, what's it like training for the back seat ?

here are many reasons for becoming a Basic Instructor: free flying, meeting new people, impressing young things with your flying prowess but the strongest reason, I believe, is the joy of sharing your passion with other people. I had one further motive - the need to become a better trained pilot. Flying training is odd. You tend to become invisible to scrutiny once you have soloed. Yes there are the annual checks but they are a very small window in the life of an active pilot. It is a little like passing your driving test. Once the test is over you get on with it and never (hardly ever) get re

'...my first passenger had 2,000 hours in gliders and was a former Canadian national champion' tested. I will admit to being a very nervous passenger and would ‘ground’ nearly everyone I have ever had a lift with. Poor judgement, random gear changes, poor positioning on the road, careless cornering and the unnecessary use of brakes with poor speed control are common. Hang on a minute; that sounds just like all the problems you might experience with a poor pilot. First stop was to sit in the back seat of the Puchatz and take some pre course rides with senior instructors. The message was loud and clear, ‘DO NOT CRASH’ and I thought that this was a reasonable starting point

when passenger flying. The next message was ‘DO NOT TAKE ANY UNNECESSARY RISKS’ and I was happy with that. The final message was ‘MAKE IT FUN FOR THE PASSENGER’ but not the same sort of fun that you might want out of the flight. It’s for the pupil stupid. I’m beginning to understand. Ten flights later and I had overcome my fear of backseat flying. Now I would need the approval of the CFI to do the course. Would he simply convulse with hysterical and uncontrolled mirth at the thought of me becoming a BI? He held his composure James Kellerman well and the first hurdle was crossed. The courses are run by the long suffering and infinitely patient Alan Dibdin. The syllabus itself is not exactly rocket science but the added value came from the Alan ‘extras’ gleaned from his cross-country flying and training experience. A whole weekend in the middle of winter was needed. The field was water logged and as a consequence we were the only people flying so the other victim, Colin Hinson I were able to complete the ground school and flying exercise. We completed the course with Alan adding cryptic comments that still allude me. Not a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ but something subtle like, ’competent’ or ‘good’. I was too embarrassed to ask what the terms meant but no matter as the final arbiter is still the CFI, Mr Big. The acceptance (or not) flights were with Richard Maskell. The mantra was clear in my head: CBSIFTCBE DON’T CRASH. My

in his ASG 29E flying was it’s usual mix of indifferent but safe circuits, cable breaks and landings. Mr Big seemed satisfied and the papers were duly signed. The big day arrived on the eve of CGC's 75th anniversary dinner. Loads of ex members turned up for a flight and there were no BIs to be found except me. My first passenger had 2,000 hours in gliders and was a former Canadian national champion from many moons ago and had forgotten more about gliding than I learned! The second flight was with my son, Nicholas, and was a very special experience for both of us but that is another story. All passengers and pupils are precious and when you fly your own family you owe it to your own conscience to be properly trained. Do the BI as extra training even if you never intend to fly a passenger. You will feel happier about your flying. July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 7

Chocolate and Flowers

Sixty years ago Bluebell joined the fleet. There was no Champagne - she was christened with chocolate. Ted Warner, her first pilot, joined the celebrations on April 29th. Paul Harvey crashed the party

hocolate? This really had me baffled. What make? Plane or milk? Liquid or solid? I also needed a reminder as to what it's like to fly a T21b built in 1950 in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire, and called Bluebell. On hand, to remind me, on an overcast morning on 29th April was a moonlighting Easyjet captain with strong family ties to CGC's first two-seat training glider: Robert Bryce-Smith. As a treat for club members he has brought along his BA pilot sister, Susie. The pair launched first (after some sibling squabbling resolved by Bryce) with Robert taking the left hand seat and BA picking up the launch cost. As flights in Bluebell don't last long, 10 minutes later I'm strapping in and readying myself for Bluebell's 72,000and-something flight and adding another four minutes to the 10,000 hours clocked to date. Stepping into Bluebell is like getting into a classic car; there's a sense of bemusement. You know what you should do, but it doesn't seem quite right doing it. CBSIFTCBE still applies but she has spoilers that are irrelevant and a trim only a Mayfair hairdresser would charge

for. There's only one setting for it and that's back. Though the fixed seating is upright the controls fall easily to hand except for the airbrakes, which one has to lean forward for. Cut out of the plywood and aluminium dashboard is a glove box containing a hooter; Robert explains that: "it's mid 20th century FLARM." The cockpit is a world away from the 'Land of Leather' cabins in the P1's day job. In knots: the ASI starts at 8, stall is 22, best glide 32 and approach is 40.

'all-out' is remarkably smooth - like a train pulling out of a station. There's no feeling of being drawn into an event horizon' Best L/D? Somewhere in double figures. The optimum winch speed is 35Knts on a dedicated white strop. Time for the launch. With wings level I pull the stick off it's forward stop and run it around the

Fathers and sons: from left to right, Robert and Bryce Bryce-Smith, Ted and Peter Warner at CGC, 29th April 2010. GRT 8

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

Robert and Susie Bryce-smith: look who's in the left hand seat box, stretch my legs on the rudders and try the spoilers - all controls feel well weighted and harmonised. We'll see. Because the ailerons are at the wing tips the wings must be level to check them and Susie is on hand to help, as well as confirming spoiler operation. The stick feels very heavy relative to a modern glider because of the poor single-tab trim, and this doesn't change in flight. There's no fin tank. As the strop and parachute snake away and align with the cable, the acceleration on 'all-out' is remarkably smooth, quiet and undramatic - like a train pulling out of a station. There's no feeling of being drawn into an event horizon. Also, because the nose hook is well forward of the CofG, the angle of climb is limited and this limits the launch height. Today, with only five knots on '22' and drizzle, we get 900ft. Robert hands me the controls at the top and I ignore his advice of, "do everything slowly" and bank to the right as though in an LS7. With the tight turning circle, there's a risk we'll bump into our own rudder. As there is little lift, Robert suggests I take off some bank and explore the stall. At this point I should remind dyslexics about the difference between a K21 and a T21: it's more than 60 years. The T21 will spin in an unhurried dignified way and it likes to be recovered in an unhurried dignified way too. There was little warning of the stall and still less of the wing drop. After about 90 degrees of rotation I applied full right rudder and eased the stick forward. After spinning the Puchacz, recovery seems to take an age but the ASI needle swept past 40 Knots and we returned to level flight. There was something else I had forgotten and that was how cold one could

Sixty years on: Ted Warner in Bluebell with son, Peter, 29th April 2010. Ted first flew Bluebell 60 years ago to the day get in Bluebell and though she's 60 years old, there's no cold-weather heating allowance. All this playing around has taken it's toll and at 700ft we join the circuit. Robert's brief is to keep a close watch on the vario as prolonged and severe sink will mean having to abbreviate the circuit we are about to start onto 22. Just beyond the boundary of 22 I turn in and Robert suggests 40 knots is a good approach speed. On finals I release the back pressure on the stick and open the spoilers. Magically the ASI reads 40 knots: but Bluebell has done this 72,000 times before and knows her way home.

extend to the wing tip. After landing, the rain started and Ted Warner arrived with his son Peter. There was an excellent turnout and after tea and cakes, Ted flew Bluebell again. Ted , who has flown and instructed in her countless since that day in 1950, said: "It's always a joy to fly Bluebell. I long ago stopped counting how many thousands of flights I've made in her or the hundreds of people that she and I have taught to glide. I'm happy to see that the latest generation of pilots are just as fond of her as I am, and are taking

such good care of her." Richard Brickwood said: "Ted was our Chief Flying Instructor for many years, and Bluebell was the main training aircraft; together they were the mainstay of this club for over two decades. We owe them both a huge debt of gratitude, and are proud to continue their work teaching young people to fly." One thought: will we remember the Grob and K21s with such affection in 60 year's time? (Additional reporting by Andrew Watson)

'Will we remember the Grob and K21s with such affection in 60 year's time?' There's one final reminder from Robert the ground run. Because the pilots don't sit in the middle, one has to look directly through the wind deflector on your side during landing, otherwise you tend to veer to one side. One final point: concentrate on keeping the ailerons neutral as they

An eventful life: Bluebell crashed into Coldhams Lane Post Office circa early 1960s July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 9

The song remains the same

Fresh from her agriculture sabatical at last year's GRL regionals, Emilie House enjoys a fine tradition that is the Interclub League

t is perhaps slightly ironic that, having spent the duration of the 2009 Gransden Regionals wishing for a glider that would penetrate into wind better than a Junior, I was now sitting in a beautiful, shiny LS7 WL (it used to be mine, so look after it, Ed), staring gloomily at an overcast sky. If I was at the gliding club I’d probably have pulled the Junior out to scratch around in the no doubt weak and broken thermals, but I was at Wittering and about to take part in the Inter-Club League. I’d had a slightly impromptu attempt at the Gransden round of ‘Inter-Scrub’ last year, where I managed to get a couple of points for the club by getting past Y before chickening out and coming home. For those of you not familiar with the format, there are 3 classes: Novice, Intermediate and Pundit. Scores are on a ‘grand prix’ style system, with the day winner in each class getting 6 points, second place 5, and so forth, and anyone who takes a competition launch automatically gets 1 point for their club. This was the first time I’d competed at a different site, and I took the day off work beforehand to make sure I had everything I needed – and to get a bit of extra flying in! It turned out to be an interesting day, with my first landout of the year, a fairly late return to Gransden, and a landout story better suited to the bar than to print! I set off for Wittering the next and arrived late, at 10:30, to be told there was a re-brief at 11, so I hadn’t missed anything. My glider was rigged and ready to go in 30 mins, and I headed off to briefing. The task was a 125km polygon to the south with a fallback task of 85km, and several airfields along the way. It was carefully planned to avoid nasty airspace – a good thing for me as I still haven’t invested in a PDA. It was clear that it was going to be a hot and humid grid squat while we waited to see if the sky was going to be

GRT 10

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

capable of holding 18 gliders in thermals. Tasks were re-set for the 3rd time that day, and I made my way from the front of the grid to my glider parked at the back, repeating the mantra, MEM-XXXMAD, to check I had the turn points in my GPS. I was soon greeted by a cheery man whose name I don’t know, and later on Phil Jeffrey, ensuring that I not only knew the new task, but also that I had everything I needed: something to clean the old task off my map with, a pen to draw the new one on, and a general question and answer session with the man himself, were all part of the service. The pundits were at the front of the grid, and the EB28 pilots launched themselves as a ‘sniffer’ and only just got away. Russell soon followed them in his JS1 (with a very funky curvy tailplane) and when they reported 2kt climbs at about 2,000ft the grid was launched. I took a very lengthy aerotow behind G-FLKE, the motorglider based at GRL before BODU, and despite the 6,000ft of runway at Wittering, I still had to pick out fields as we crossed the airfield boundary at around 200ft… Incidentally, and as I had noticed the previous day, there aren’t many landable fields about at this time of year! I scratched around for about 20 minutes, enjoying the change of scenery and the very inviting huge runway at Wittering just beneath me, which was getting significant use as gliders fell out of the sky and took relights. I soon became one of them, and entertained regular users of tarmac runways with what they perceived to be an undershoot but what was in fact a deliberately short landing so that I could see just how far a glider would roll along the runway - it turned out to be quite a long way! I hung around at the launch point for a while and saw several other novices (in fact all but one) land back and take a relight or two. I learnt from their experience and didn’t take a relight myself, but instead parked my glider up at the rigging area and did what glider pilots do best on mediocre days; sit around and tell stories… One novice got around the task, and everyone else landed out or back. Peter Belcher and Phil Jeffery got on the board for Cambridge with third place in their

respective classes, and were beaten by Hus Bos and Cranwell. That evening we were treated to an excellent dinner, a cheap bar and a spectacular thunderstorm. My tent stayed intact and even more impressively, entirely dry, and I awoke the next morning to drizzle and a blanket of cloud. Briefing was at 11, but by 11:30 we had scrubbed for the day and we all made our separate ways home. Overall, although not a great deal of flying was done, my ICL experience was an enjoyable one. Glider pilots by nature tend to be very helpful, but this can sometimes be lost in the heat of competition; not so at ICL. The comp director, his team of helpers, and fellow

despite the 6,000ft of runway at Wittering, I still had to pick out fields as we crossed the airfield boundary at 200ft… competitors alike were all friendly and helpful at all times, from rigging to retasking, to cooking me a special veggie meal! If you want to get started in flying in comps, this is a great way to begin – it’s only a couple of days, so not a huge time or financial commitment, there are only about 17 other gliders to look out for (not the daunting 50 as in the regionals) and you will always be able to find someone to help you out if and when you need it!

From the Chair Richard Brickwood

hat a great start to the year. As the Club points tables show, April and May produced some glorious flying weather although early June is doing its best to live up to the traditional British summer of three fine days and a thunderstorm. We all hope that the season soon reverts to our preferred mode of cool nights, hot days and evenly spaced cu stretching from horizon to horizon. Meanwhile, a quick summary of where we are from the Chairman’s perspective might be in order. Not bad actually. Membership continues to grow (another 17 so far this year), including a number of “rejoins” who are warmly welcomed back into gliding; it is certainly good to see M19 back in the trailer park rather than the long term store of the Romney Hut park. Thanks to a terrific effort by a whole team of people led by Robert Verdier and Robert Welford. FLY, our ASW24, is now in the fleet and, frequently, in the air. Details of the conversion qualifications were recently advised by Richard Maskell – and the Flight Manual is on the web site. Form an orderly queue at the launch point having read the manual AND having been shown how to rig and de-rig her! The SitsVac column in the last Gransden Times produced a great result so a big “thank you” to Paul Ruskin who has taken on Airfield and Ground Equipment Maintenance from Rhod Turner

(just in time to get the Case tractor fixed when the hydraulic pump drive sheared). Please refer any equipment failures to Paul in future either directly or through Robert Verdier, Paul Dickinson or Jo in the office. Then we can get them fixed. Luckily Ashley Weller, who trades as Performance Fabrications and who now does all our “heavy” maintenance and servicing, has all the kit and skills to do the job on site which will speed it up and keep the cost down, but it is still significant. Paul Ruskin also arranged for the entrance track mortar bomb holes to be filled. Please drive slowly and carefully; anything else takes money to repair, £4,000 so far this season. Thanks too to Lorna Sleigh, George Cheeseman and Josh Hope for agreeing to add to the grass cutting crew. Now, as soon as we get the Case back on line, we can continue with where we left off.

the role of S&G correspondent. It would be very helpful if you could let Lorna know of suitable events/achievements/stories which she could use in the column. The Regionals – at the last count this was up to 48 entries which only leaves two available before the list is full. Another great result for which Neil Goudie and his team deserve huge credit. It’s a lot of work getting it even this far. Now all they have to do is actually run it – but to an organisation put together by Neil that’s a walk in the park. Web Site – a lot has been done, mainly by Jason Holloway, to get glide.co.uk further up the response pages when gliding is put into a web search engine. Even the early results look good and it will be fascinating to see how these are supported by the more established figures towards the end of the year.

'...UKIP MEP, Stewart Agnew,

certainly enjoyed his flight, but is about to discover that there's no such thing as a free launch..' Martin Pointon also responded and has taken over George Sanderson’s role of Internal Publicist which will, we hope, continue to build upon George’s work on publicising events, courses and expeditions in plenty of time for everyone to know about and join in on them. Lorna Sleigh also volunteered for

Evening Classes – Tony Cronshaw, aided by David Jockinen, has had a recent push on recruiting into the evening classes as sign-ups are somewhat down on last year, perhaps as a result of the Open Day being a bit slower too. (Actually Open Day was manic on occasions but, overall, the number of public

attendees was somewhat down. The R&R Committee are already reviewing how to correct this for 2011). A key Open Day guest was UKIP MEP, Stewart Agnew, who listened attentively to several conversations on EASA, Pilot Licensing and Standardised Rules of the Air. He gave us several good pointers as to how to begin to combat Eurononsense and offered to help wherever he could. He certainly seemed to enjoy his flight in a DuoDiscus courtesy of Richard Maskell. Given that the Standardised Rules of the Air are about to come alive again it is possible that Stewart is about to discover that there is no such thing as a free launch. Evening Flying – we only have about six slots still available for Evening Flying Groups through to the end of the season. We would love to fill those too partly because they are great fun, partly because the revenue is a “nice little earner” and partly because we do need to make the Club assets work for us whenever we can. If you have booked a Flying Evening for friends, colleagues or neighbours in past years now would be a really good time to repeat the experience and, as you know, Jo in the Office will make all the arrangements so you simply need to bring your friends along and have a great time! See you at the launch point. Richard Brickwood, Chairman, CGC

July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 11

CGC Open Day 2010 T

(l to R)Tony Cronshaw, Martin Gregory and Jason Holloway at 'checkin'

Andrew Watson reports on the first Neville Anderson Award.

his year's open day showed how valuable these occasions are and the spirit of the club. Joshua Hope turned up at last year's open day and joined the club. This year he was

Former Mayor of Cambridge, Russ Mcpherson with Richard Brickwood awarded a commemorative bursary in a ceremony at our annual Open Day. Anna-Marie Della Sala and Delphine de Groot presented the Neville Anderson Young Pilot award in memory of Anna-Marie's husband, who recently died aged 53 after a short illness. The award's first recipient is Joshua Hope of Orwell. Joshua, a pupil at The Leys School, joined the Cambridge Gliding Club after first visiting during its 2009 Open Day. He is now a cadet member with 50 flights and ten flying hours under his belt. Anna-Marie Della Sala said: "Neville was always thoughtful and kind, and gentle in a caring and charismatic way. Other than his love for his family GRT 12

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

and friends, he loved to glide. It is very important to us that Neville is remembered. "This year Delphine, Neville's sister, and I have donated ÂŁ200 to recognise and encourage young pilots in developing their flying skills and achieving their goals. This will give them opportunities to maybe enter competitions, assist with their general training or develop their cross-country flying skills. "We're delighted to present this first 'Neville Anderson Young Pilot Award' to Joshua Hope, a very active member of the Club who is working towards going solo by his 16th birthday. We hope this token will assist him in achieving this goal, and would love to know how he progresses." Joshua Hope said: "I'm extremely grateful to Anna-Marie and Delphine for this generous award. Coincidentally, it was exactly a year ago that I first visited Cambridge Gliding Club, at last

Flight information on the Open Day year's open day. Having already flown in a friend's light aeroplane, I already knew that I enjoyed flying, and was very happy to be accepted onto Cambridge Gliding Club's cadet scheme. It was great to begin flying gliders, and also to be entrusted with responsible jobs on the ground like using the club's two-way radios. The award money will help me work towards my goal of going solo on my birthday in April next year." The weather, in contrast to most of this season was not the best. This no doubt was a major factor in the reduced attendance at this year's open day. However, the momentum of the election did bring out the Mayor of Cambridge, Russ Mcpherson, and local MEP, Stewart Agnew. Even though the election was three days prior. (Additional reporting and pictures, Paul Harvey)

Anna-Marie Della Sala (left) and Delphine de Groot with Joshua Hope

When the tide goes out Once in a lifetime the forces of nature provide access to forbidden places.This time the force was volcanic and the places Stansted and Luton. Glider pilot and Airbus captain, Sarah Kelman, writes in a week when the UK stopped flying

pril was an extraordinary month for air travel. Ash from the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, drifted over Europe and the authorities responded by closing controlled airspace to IFR traffic. It was also a period of settled high pressure with very reasonable soaring conditions, so, on Sunday April 18th, I decided to take the opportunity of a lifetime and explore two areas usually high on a glider pilot’s “avoid” list – the Stansted and Luton Control Zones. This was a flight of principal. I had been seconded to the BGA Airspace Committee at the start of the winter and had first hand experience of the sort of battles the Committee have been waging for years. NATS (the UK air traffic service provider) and the Civil Aviation Authority continue to

'The ramp at Stansted was a ghost town, but gave me a great thermal off the apron' stare in disbelief at the sort of flights we achieve on a regular basis and at the sheer volume of glider movements on a nice day. They also adamantly believe that gliders can easily transit Class D controlled airspace without understanding the nature of cross country soaring flight nor the needs of gliders. Controllers I have met are understandably reluctant to allow an unpredictable glider into their airspace as they have little or no experience of us. The Airspace Committee is continuing to try to introduce some basic appreciation of what we do into recurrent air traffic controller training and have a DVD planned to assist this. So, this was a perfect example to give my local controllers some first hand experience of a gliding cross

so kept calling to ask my position and to give me traffic information. It was also tricky as conditions went blue at the zone boundary and I was nervous of the easterly wind drawing in stable air from the Thames estuary, and because I was not permitted to climb above 3500ft into the Class A airspace as this was “contaminated”. The other challenge was VFR navigation. The area looks quite different on a half mill chart compared to the instrument approach plates I normally fly with.

..and explore two areas usually high on a glider pilot’s “avoid” list – the Stansted and Luton Control Zones'

Hazy approach into Stansted: not volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull, just haze from a 'lazy' airmass. Sarah heading south into Stansted in her ASW28 country. Initially I was going to just set Gransden – Stansted – Luton Gransden but this looked a little short and I wanted to use proper waypoints. So I studied the chart and decided that Gransden – Newmarket – North Weald – Northampton South – Gransden would be suitable and take me (with a minor detour) via the Stansted and Luton control towers. As I don't carry a transponder, I called Essex Radar early to get a feel for whether I would be allowed to cross so I could head off into darkest East Anglia instead if necessary. Stansted is infamous for rarely permitting any VFR crossing by anything, and it seemed like every man and his dog was on the frequency to get a transit to the overhead or a low approach down the runway. It was almost as busy as when I’m trying to get a call in my Big Orange Airbus during the easyJet rush hour. The controllers had been refusing light aircraft without transponder so I was pleasantly surprised to be granted the crossing. The radio work was quite intense as they only had an intermittent primary radar trace on me

The Stansted ramp was a ghost town of abandoned airliners but did give the expected great thermal off the apron. I had the airspace to myself as all the light aircraft wanted to fly as low as possible whilst I was up at 3400ft. I turned North Weald comfortably and set off for Northampton via the Luton overhead. This part was especially challenging as I would come close to the area where the Class A drops to 2500ft amsl (around 200ft above ground). Stansted tried to get me a clearance through this but failed and I was having starting to struggle with

'I don't carry a transponder, so I called Essex Radar early to get a feel for whether I would be allowed to cross' the workload of scrabbling along so low down and changing from Essex to Luton Approach for the next >> July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 13

clearance. Luton was much quieter and made a nice respite in the radio chatter which was fortunate as I found it quite awkward to get back up once clear of the low Class A boundary. The Luton ramp was even more packed than Stansted had been, with corporate jets double parked on all available tarmac.

With that detour complete, I headed due north over Luton town and back to the cumulus to make my last turnpoint. All in all, the flight in itself was an unremarkable 230km at 87kph in probably the worst soaring areas of the day, but certainly a unique experience in recent soaring history.

The ramp at Stansted: a great source of thermals

Luton (left), as few glider pilots

have seen it: Sarah on a busman's holiday.

And inset, the 'ramp' as seen from above. But will Stelios appreciate her dedication? Note the black yaw string. Nuts about Nats - Sarah explains: 'Nats had banned all IFR flights. Heathrow, and also the airspace above the Luton and Stansted CTAs is all Class A. Rules of class A mean that no VFR is allowed, therefore, as Nats had stopped all IFR flights, this meant that nobody could go there! How ridiculous is that'. About the author Sarah Kelman is a Captain on the A320 for EasyJet when she is not flying her ASW28 from the Cambridge Gliding Centre. She also sits on the BGA Airspace Committee

Derek Coppin 1941 - 2010

n Thursday 24th of July, we bade farwell to Derek at Cambridge Crematorium, a ceremony followed by a buffet at the Golden Ball, Boxworth. Derek took up gliding in 1975, flying from Booker originally and then spending 20 years at Lasham, where his son Garry is also a member. Upon taking early retirement in 2004, Derek relocated GRT 14

www.glide.co.uk July 2010

to Cambridge and became a valued and popular member of Cambridge Gliding Centre. He was quiet and easygoing. Adjectives relevant to describe how he was seen at the club include, knowledgeable, generous with his time and assistance, encouraging, supportive and pro-active. If a job needed to be done Derek would start and complete it before the need was flagged up. He would quietly act whilst many of us would wonder what to do and always seemed to have the right tool for the job! Derek was an accomplished, determined and modest pilot, quietly achieving long distance flights, the drama they entailed only being apparent when the recorded traces were examined. He allegedly flew down the High Street in Wantage on the way back to Gransden and read the "sale" advertisements on the way!

Derek’s enthusiasm was infectious and he introduced many members into flying by taking them up on trial flights most Wednesdays during the season. He was also a skilled winch driver and found time to drive the winch for at least one working day of the week. Just before Derek was taken ill he flew to Lincoln, winning the “Kellman Clock” for the longest flight between the dates when the clocks are put back in October and moved forward again in March, an award he has sadly been unable to receive due to his incapacity and untimely death. Late into his illness he made many cross country flights as principal pilot in his syndicate two-seater, until his heart attack finally grounded this courageous and determined man. His absence from the airfield and clubroom is very evident to all the members. We miss his modest, motivating presence and he will not be forgotten by his friends at Cambridge Gliding Club.

Sixty Years On B

The year is 2070. Glide ratios are one hundred to one and our biggest threat is the Green Police. Paul Harvey has seen the future

luebell at 60 really is a time to reflect on just how far gliders have come. Even the material used in today's modern glider (carbon, aramid, amides) had not been invented when Bluebell was just a pile of balsa wood and Bostick. Indeed it was only a fluke (he forgot to turn the oven off) that Wallace Carothers invented the polymer, nylon, in the 1930s whilst working at DuPont. And he was only working on that because video games hadn't been invented. As a measure of his creativity, he committed suicide by drinking a cocktail of lemon juice and potassium cyanide, in 1937. But Carothers changed the lives of millions of women and probably quite a few men too. Bluebell, technically a T21, but referred to in 'performance circles' as a greased house brick, was, as David Cameron said of Tony Blair, "the future once." Then, an aspect ratio in double figures was a novelty; in 2070 100:1 will be the norm for 30m gliders. These glide angles are not a flight of fancy, they just need a change in the gliding rules. A forecast. Within 10 years the IGC will allow the use of suction pumps to control the boundary layer and the 18m class will be achieving 70:1 and you'll need two 300Km flights for your silver C. There will be conditions of course - the energy to drive the pumps will have to be carbon neutral, and that means biofuels. Peri tracks will be dug up and tailer parks cultivated to grow the biofuels to feed the pumps. And the use of biofuels will open up a whole new area for bureaucracy. At competitions, officials will check your fuel for fossils: one ammonite and you're out. The driving force will not only be the Green Police, but the glider manufacturers. Today's Jonker 29 XJA Mk10 is the end of the road. Classical aerodynamics has nothing left to offer: we are at an evolutionary dead end. We probably arrived there with the LS6 a quarter of a century ago. The manufacturers need something new to sell. By 2070, spray-on solar panels will power the pumps and pilots will look forward to blue days. Indeed, what we now see as a classic gliding day, of evenly spaced cus', will become a challenge to find the best lift and a route in the blue to make the best glide. If the solar panels are really good, then managing the stored solar energy will be a core competitive advantage. And that's where new software will come into play.

'At competitions officials will check your fuel for fossils: one ammonite and you're out'

'In the hypersonic vacuum train passegers will be put to sleep. No hosties, no security, no duty free'

We can be certain that some form of aerial WiFi will be developed. Glass panels (already the norm in commercial jets) will be superseded by miniature projectors on your glasses beaming critical data into your eyes. Head-up displays will be old technology. The brains behind the panel will have to compute new parameters, which are currently managed intuitively by our top pilots. Satellite data (cloud coverage and IR hotspots) will be streamed continuously into the onboard computer. Atmospheric data modelling will constantly be refined with data transmitted by other glider pilots, nationally, and the best thermal sources plotted. There will also be thermal finding software based on the noise an ascending thermal makes, with the frequency indicating the strength of lift. Once in the thermal, differential total energy systems, detecting the relative air velocities caused by horizontal and vertical air movements, under each wing tip, will indicate where the best lift is. For the differently gifted, an electric motor will get you home - with the jeers and ridicule from fellow club members: that much will remain the same. Glider ownership will be over 10,000 in the UK with over a thousand gliders in the air on half-decent days. The top pilots will be able to trade in their Japanese lingerie models every 18 months - much as F1 drivers do today. And in 2070 gliding will be the only affordable form of aviation. Only the military will have jets. But what of commercial travel? The death of the jet won't stop people travelling internationally. However the days of getting up at three o'clock in the morning will be over. Construction will begin in 2035 on a trans-global rail tunnel network linking all the continents. The trains will run in a vacuum. In the hypersonic, magnetic levitation, monorail vacuum train, passengers will be stacked at check-in and put to sleep. It will be as great a revolution in inter-continental travel as containerisation was in the 1950s. There will be no hosties, no security, no duty free. And when you are asleep there's no class, no comfort, no status and no time. Troublesome passengers will get sodium thiopental, which is currently reserved for the United States's naughtiest prisoners. Criticise the Green Party and they will add potassium chloride to the preflight cocktail. Older members will reflect that it was like this at the end of the Brown era.

'Wthin 10 years the IGC will allow the use of suction pumps to control the boundary layer'

'In 2070 gliding will be the only affordable form of aviation. Only the military will have jets'

July 2010 www.glide.co.uk

GRT 15

Sponsor of Gransden Regionals 2010 The LX9000 (left) is a high-end vario navigation system with an extremely bright colour 5.6" (140mm) display. Running well proven LX8000 firmware with multilanguage interface, its simple and logical user interface is designed for top-level competitors, club operation, as well as for gliding beginners. It offers user friendly data exchange using the supplied SD card. Integrated FLARM collision avoidance system is available as an option. It will compute for complex tasks such as assigned area manipulation and offers real-time flight optimisation according to FAI and OLC rules.

Personal Flight Recorder: (BGA approval for evidence of continuous flight is imminent) Only ÂŁ99.00 incl delivery and VAT to any UK address (includes NiMH batteries and USB charger)

MiniMap & Vario

y er v g n n p i a o m o M Co s ini io M LX & Var LX 8000

The LX8000 (above) is a high performance vario navigation system with an extremely bright colour display. A simple and logical user interface is designed for top-level competitors, club operation as well as for gliding beginners. User friendly data exchange is by use of SD Card or USB interface. LX8000 has an integrated FLARM collision avoidance system (option) and flight recorder to IGC specification for all flights. LX8000 copes with complex assigned area tasks. During flight,it shows the optimium solution according to FAI and OLC rules.

Please go to www.lxavionics.co.uk for full information

NEW - LX166

The new LX166 (above) system consists of two 57 mm units. The vario unit has no controls and serves as a vario with audio. All controls, and the graphic display are on the control unit. Six push buttons and one rotary switch ensure user friendly operation.The unit can receive NMEA, and also Flarm data, at several baud rates thanks to its auto detection function. A stand-alone port serves as data and power source for a PDA, to run Winpilot, SeeYou Mobile and others. A Bluetooth option is also available. The LX 166 is plugand-play connectable to Colibri, LX 20, Volkslogger and any Flarm unit - all can be powered from the LX 166. A particularly useful function is continuous presentation of final glide to home airfield. And it does lots more too!!