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The Chandelle September 2006 In this issue:
Wellington Gliding Club AGM 2006 The AGM will be held at the Clubhouse Put it in your diary/calendar/Outlook/mobile/head now!
How about becoming a qualified glider engineer The national Airworthiness committee is keen to train new engineers. The role involves maintenance and airworthiness inspections, a responsible and demanding but extremely interesting and satisfying job. GNZ provides assistance for your training. If you are interested, please talk with Tim Ransby - 04 298 8876. Remember - There’s a tow pilot on at our Club every Wednesday from about 11.00 am. Go fly! This week Grae Harrison, Warren Dickinson, Martin Cook and Billy Walker, along with fans and family, head for Brisbane . Their gliders are already there, having been shipped by Barwell Shipping under the auspices of Nigel Smith. The guys will compete in the Queensland State Comp at Warwick Airfield, followed 3 days later and 200 kms to the north, by the Australian Nationals. They’re looking forward to 3 ½ weeks of 7 – 10,000 ft cloud base and thermals to match. Grae knows – it’s his 7th comp in Australia. Security / Operations The Airport Company have requested that the gate to the Trailer Park be kept closed during the Spring is upon us and to date we have enjoyed excellent soaring conditions. The equinox has been good The date of this year’s AGM has been set down for Saturday 11 November. The AGM is your opportunity to As a club we are reliant on our members support the club by volunteering their time, be it as Ground Controller, Tow Pilot or Instructor, Engineer, or Social. Without the contributions made by the members, participation in the sport of Gliding would be a lot more expensive. There have been a number of instances lately where the ground controller has not turned up. The resulting Tow Pilots : Bruce Frethey Finally, there have been a number of people who have expressed interest in taking the Janus down to I wish you safe flying. Tim Ransby.
The Instructors Roster Mid Week Flying – contact Ross or George Rogers. Non-rostered instructors & ‘D’ cats. The training days (see roster – emailed separately) are a chance to do something useful without missing out on the flying - lead & follow, pairs flying, do a Met briefing, set a task & score the flights, debrief day using logger traces etc ? take your pick. Dreaded Trial Flights There is nothing to stop club members booking a ‘Sunday Slot’ in advance via Paul Buchanan for training. Come Friday Paul stops taking bookings & if there are unfilled gaps on the day (see web-page), they can be claimed on a first come basis for training OR by somebody wanting an associate flight. If an unexpected associate flight turns up on Saturday, find out their intentions. If its just ride they are after you can simply sell a ticket & tell them to book next Sunday! All bookings go via Paul Buchanan. If somebody wants to make a booking on Saturday for the Sunday you must confirm there are empty slots (Faxed sheet) & inform the Sunday instructor (who may be working from an emailed copy) Basic Rules - If you want to go X/C be ready. The above – from Mark Wilson CFI Approaches to and landing on Runway 34 Grass – from George Rogers Background – Designated 34 Grass Circuits to 34 Grass should be planned to touchdown either
It is realised that gliders may undershoot the threshold if unexpected sink ( wind gradient) is encountered on short approach.
In these likely situations planning touchdown in the centre triangle is sensible. The Chief Tow Pilot has established appropriate approach profiles for the Towplanes. In exercising the discretion to land short on 34 Grass to the east of the sealed taxiway all pilots are expected to check for any conflicting traffic while on base to confirm they can prudently land at the threshold and clear without creating a subsequent obstruction. Please view at http://www.aip.net.nz/NavWalk.aspx?section=CHARTS&tree=Paraparaumu
Ian Barber: New Zealand’s oldest current glider pilot and instructor
Ian’s interest in flying was sparked when he was 5 years old and his father took him for a flight round Wellington in George Bolt’s 3-seater bi-plane flying boat. Ian won a scholarship to learn to fly a Tiger Moth and had the privilege of flying with Kingsford Smith in the “Southern Cross” from Rongotai Airport. In his youth Ian was a sailor, but soon realised that flying was a lot drier! Ian was in his 20s when he fought in the Pacific with the New Zealand Army during World War II. He met his wife, June, while convalescing in Auckland. They married and moved to Paraparaumu and have lived there since. Ian’s first glider flight was in a Rhonlerch off a winch launch at Masterton. Two years later, in 1960, the group moved to Paraparaumu and Ian has flown at the Wellington Gliding Club ever since - 46 years. In those early days the Club owned the Rhonlerch (hire: 5d per minute), a K7 and two Tiger Moth tow-planes (tows: 15d per minute – for you young-uns that’s 12.5 cents – our current charge is $6.70 per minute!). Ian has flown 23 types of gliders. One of the most interesting was a Weihe, sneaked out of Germany after the War. In earlier years, Ian was a keen model glider pilot and won a world duration record for a radio-controlled flight of just under 9 hours, ridge-soaring the hill behind the boat shop just north of Paraparaumu. “I’ll go back to flying models when I can’t fly gliders any more.” Ian has owned a variety of gliders. He began by buying an L-Spatz along with two others; then he and Peter Heginbotham purchased a K6CR; that was followed by the K6E Echo Tango. Peter then went to fibreglass and Ian bought his Cirrus, Hotel Delta. Ian has just on 3000 hours in his log book. He has instructed for 43 years and remains on the instructor register, having passed his medical recently, by telling the doctor he would have to buy Ian’s glider if he failed him! He served his Club as CFI for 7 years. He has his silver badge and gold height gain. Ian participated in a few competitions but decided he was happy to “float around”. He crewed for his friend Peter Heginbotham at the World Championships in Poland in 1968, visiting the Blanik factory in Czechoslovakia, touring Switzerland, France, England and USA. John Roake was team manager. A memorable day was a competition in Masterton when the task was routed to Turakirae Heads in strong wave. Many of the competitors were dumped and Ian, along with other crews, were summoned to retrieve from “beside lake Ferry”. They couldn’t locate the gliders anywhere on the eastern side and eventually discovered they were in the narrow strip between the western side of the lake and the mountains. On the way one trailer was ripped off the back of the towing car and hurled over a fence by the gale. One of the pilots stayed in his cockpit to weigh his glider down and only prevented it from being blown over a bank and on to rocks, by leaning out, screwing his picket into the ground and hanging on hard to the rope. (A tip to remember.) When crews arrived they had to dismantle by placing wings directly on the ground. The wind force was too great to turn them vertical. It was a couple of days before they could drive the trailers to get the gliders. Yes, like the rest of us he has had a few heart-stopping moments in has flying career. Once, he was competing in his L-Spatz, which had little penetration. On circuit to land out in a paddock, he saw two other gliders already there and in an effort to gain a few points on them, ridge-soared a line of pine trees. That was “rather stupid” as he was whipped round the end of them by the wind and was lucky to make a safe landing in an undulating paddock. We at the Wellington Club are proud and impressed to see our fit 90 year old instructor steadying the wing of the Twin Astir as he launches it into an 18 knot westerly. Young pilot, Luke Tiller, talking to his trainee friend: “That’s Ian Barber. He’s the oldest instructor in the country and a great guy.” Gliding websites The Gliding Stuff website is a 10 knotter! The Gliding NZ website: I asked the editor, Trevor Atkins, what’s new. Gliders For Sale
Standard Cirrus GXA - The best performing Cirrus in the country! Standard Cirrus GJJ - A proven performer in original condition. The ideal Club Class Glider.Fitted with Transponder and Oxygen. Good Parachute. Rosters for tow pilots, instructors and ground controllers for the rest of 2006 are on a separate page emailed to you by Tom Davies. Club ContactsPresident Tim Ransby 04 298 8876 021 141 8707 Treasurer Tom Davies 565 0204 Glider MaintenanceTwo Seaters Chris Norman 297 0444 Single Seaters Simon Tomlinson 293 8330 I/C Parachutes Simon Tomlinson 293 833
The cause of most aviation accidents: When someone does too much too soon, followed by too little too late. Accident Investigator
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