Saturday 7th Flying High

A quieter day than usual, Saturday saw many pilots away at the Bidford Regional gliding competition.

Those pilots that arrived at Snitterfield however had a purpose in mind.

Soon after her check ride, Emily launched in the SZD Junior attempting both her 2 hour bronze duration and her FAI Silver height gain.

The Silver height gain achievement requires a climb of 1000 meters (3281 feet) above the lowest point recorded on a flight logger after the glider’s launch.

Emily succeeded in gaining her height gain during the day’s early soaring conditions and stayed up to complete her 2 hour soaring duration for her Bronze endorsement.

Emily’s father Ed also wanted his Silver height gain and launched in his current favourite glider the club’s Standard Astir. Ed had difficulty contacting the lift initially. He came back for a couple of relights but kept trying for the goal.

The third launch got him away with a solid climb taking him toward his height gain but also on a task around local turnpoints totaling 43km. Once Ed completes his Bronze Cross-Country Endorsement , he will be able to fly further afield in the club’s gliders.

Later in the day, Emily also flew through a series of checks of her general handling and launch failure handling with senior Stratford instructor Steve F to clear her ‘off checks’.

All new solo pilots at Stratford are required to complete at least 20 days of check-flights with instructors each flying day before they can fly solo. Once the check days are completed, the pilot can be considered for the ‘off-checks’ test. If they meet the required standard, they will be signed off and will be able to fly solo on subsequent days without a check flight subject to conditions and the duty instructor’s discretion.

Later that weekend, with a shortage of winch drivers at Snitterfield, newly qualified winch driver Ed was pressed into service as a fully-fledged cat 1 winch driver which includes daily inspection, towout and set up of our 340bhp Skylaunch 2 winch.