The day started with Sam Clift flying in in his comanche just after first light, and leaping out of the plane and on to the back hoe to continue working on the mound with Tim Carr. Sam flew out again at about lunch time - all he did was work!! Chris Bowman did the working bee briefing at about 9 am and Matthew Minter did a flying briefing afterwards.
Whilst work continued apace, some flying had to be fitted in. Greg Nelson flew a couple of times with Matthew and then went solo in the Grob - I thought it was his first solo in that glider and was heaping congratulations upon him, but it turned out it was his third so no congratulations were in order at all. After the flight he rushed off to move surplus stuff away from the airfield with his crane!
Peter Kemp had a flight with Matthew too, and then Harry Medlicott and a friend flew together in the Grob.
After a break for lunch, Chris Bowman flew the LS7, David Bull his Discus, Nigel Holmes the Junior and Matthew Minter the new Discus 2 NSO. Nigel Holmes had a great flight getting to 6500 ft - his comment - better weather than summer! The weather was blue, but the thermals were quite good for a short period of the day.
While I was up flying the tug, others continued with the tug hangar tidying, and John McLeod has moved the bench into the tool room, so that we will no longer have sparks from the grinder potentially damaging aeroplanes. I still reckon there is more stuff to throw out, but we have certainly broken the back of it, and all the bins are full. You can see the walls of the hangar, and it appears much bigger now.
David Bull changed the microphone in the Junior yet again ( the new one from Macca didn't work), installed a downpipe from the new club house guttering to the rainwater tank, and got the faulty electric motor out of the evaporative air conditioner in the flight centre. Ray Tilley continued work on the Jantar. The glass needs to cure for three days or so before it can be painted. Another group set to work on the tie down area, and Tim drove the back hoe all day, rearranging the mound in preparation for a shade shelter at the southern end of the runway.
Todd did work on the tie down area taps and other plumbing, and also shovelled dirt in to low parts of "his" grassed area. I think there was more wood collecting done too.
The working bee has been a great success, and the club looks heaps better now. Thanks to all who volunteered their labour. Many went home today, but those of us who are still here enjoyed another of Ann Bull's great meals this evening.
Jenny
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
19th May - Working Bee
All the workers and the visitors assembled for a briefing on jobs to be done, and then got stuck into it.
The mound is in the process of being removed, the machinery shed has been cleared out, and the tug hangar emptied so that it could be given a good clean out. What a load of junk we had!!!!
We have tried as much as possible to move non aviation related stuff out of the tug hangar, so if you want 2 stroke oil, tractor oil, vehicle engine oil etc, you will find it in the machinery shed. The tool room has been cleaned and tidied, and all punctured tubes in the tyre cupboard thrown out! Its amazing how much bigger the tug hangar looks. There is still more work to be done on this.
Allan Monroe, Peter Kemp, Chris Bowman, Vic Hatfield did a lot of the clearing out of the machinery shed - which was a big task. Also there was significant wood getting for the fireplace. Sorry if I missed anyone - there was so much going on I couldn't see it all.
Other jobs of note done was the complete replacement of the guttering on the club house by Christian Linnet - sincere thanks for this. Ray Tillley has been repairing the underside of the Jantar, and Jay, Sam and others have been repairing the hangar door where the Junior lives - the hinges were all but cracked off and it was in a dangerous state.
David Bull was up on the flight centre roof cleaning out gutters, and the air-conditioner has been cleaned up too. Justin Smith was seen doctoring that!
Geoff Sim repaired the electric fence at runway 14 end yesterday, and removed a lot of rubbish from around the place. John McLeod did lots of jobs, including repairing tow ropes, helping with guttering, sawing wood, going to the tip and washing up!
Ann Bull supplied morning tea and lunch for the workers, and a great dinner at the end of the day.
Although the intention was to do lots of work around the place, there was some flying done as well. There was a window of opportunity in the middle of the day when the soaring conditions were quite good, and apparently 6500ft was on offer. We had a number of passenger flights to do, and our two visitors Tony and Andy wanted to fly - after doing a good stint at working bee jobs in the morning. Since there was no rostered tuggie, Jay Anderson or I had to tow or fly passengers - I elected to tow being to dirty and grubby to associate with passengers! Jay did two passenger flights in IUR and Tim Carr took Bob and Sue Kiprovitch up in the Duo Discus. Bob is surveying out site for us.
In addition to the AEF flights, Andy McCallum managed a second one hour soaring flight in the Junior, plus another solo flight to achieve his C certificate. Well done Andy. He is a member of Darling Downs Soaring Club, but we are trying to twist his arm to fly with us too. He lives only 2 hours by Jabiru away.
A huge day, finished off with a great meal and great company, as usual.
Jenny
The mound is in the process of being removed, the machinery shed has been cleared out, and the tug hangar emptied so that it could be given a good clean out. What a load of junk we had!!!!
We have tried as much as possible to move non aviation related stuff out of the tug hangar, so if you want 2 stroke oil, tractor oil, vehicle engine oil etc, you will find it in the machinery shed. The tool room has been cleaned and tidied, and all punctured tubes in the tyre cupboard thrown out! Its amazing how much bigger the tug hangar looks. There is still more work to be done on this.
Allan Monroe, Peter Kemp, Chris Bowman, Vic Hatfield did a lot of the clearing out of the machinery shed - which was a big task. Also there was significant wood getting for the fireplace. Sorry if I missed anyone - there was so much going on I couldn't see it all.
Other jobs of note done was the complete replacement of the guttering on the club house by Christian Linnet - sincere thanks for this. Ray Tillley has been repairing the underside of the Jantar, and Jay, Sam and others have been repairing the hangar door where the Junior lives - the hinges were all but cracked off and it was in a dangerous state.
David Bull was up on the flight centre roof cleaning out gutters, and the air-conditioner has been cleaned up too. Justin Smith was seen doctoring that!
Geoff Sim repaired the electric fence at runway 14 end yesterday, and removed a lot of rubbish from around the place. John McLeod did lots of jobs, including repairing tow ropes, helping with guttering, sawing wood, going to the tip and washing up!
Ann Bull supplied morning tea and lunch for the workers, and a great dinner at the end of the day.
Although the intention was to do lots of work around the place, there was some flying done as well. There was a window of opportunity in the middle of the day when the soaring conditions were quite good, and apparently 6500ft was on offer. We had a number of passenger flights to do, and our two visitors Tony and Andy wanted to fly - after doing a good stint at working bee jobs in the morning. Since there was no rostered tuggie, Jay Anderson or I had to tow or fly passengers - I elected to tow being to dirty and grubby to associate with passengers! Jay did two passenger flights in IUR and Tim Carr took Bob and Sue Kiprovitch up in the Duo Discus. Bob is surveying out site for us.
In addition to the AEF flights, Andy McCallum managed a second one hour soaring flight in the Junior, plus another solo flight to achieve his C certificate. Well done Andy. He is a member of Darling Downs Soaring Club, but we are trying to twist his arm to fly with us too. He lives only 2 hours by Jabiru away.
A huge day, finished off with a great meal and great company, as usual.
Jenny
Friday 18 May
Another sunny stable day. Only three people flew, five if you count the tuggie and I, the rest busying themselves with work around the club. People are arriving for the working bee.
Andy McCullum notched up another few flights towards his C certificate, having achieved his B certificate. Geoff Neely (towing) and I drove out to Gainey's airstrip to assess it for use for out-landing practice. The owner said it needed slashing, and that he had planned to do it soon anyway, and that he would have it done for us by about 3 pm. How great is that?
We were able to do the out-landing exercise in the afternoon, and all went well.
John McCloud took a break from gutter cleaning duty, and took off in his Cirrus IUZ. He was able to stay up for over an hour. Better and more adventurous pilot that those of us that flew, may have been able to venture away from the field, but I think it would have been slow progress.
David Bull went into Tamworth to visit Bearfast for the first time - and then understood why we all think it is such a great shop. He only just restrained himself from buying more tools!!
Ann Bull cooked dinner for all the troops - the number swelled from 9 to 17, but she just coped! Another great social evening at the club.
Last day in charge - Jenny
Andy McCullum notched up another few flights towards his C certificate, having achieved his B certificate. Geoff Neely (towing) and I drove out to Gainey's airstrip to assess it for use for out-landing practice. The owner said it needed slashing, and that he had planned to do it soon anyway, and that he would have it done for us by about 3 pm. How great is that?
We were able to do the out-landing exercise in the afternoon, and all went well.
John McCloud took a break from gutter cleaning duty, and took off in his Cirrus IUZ. He was able to stay up for over an hour. Better and more adventurous pilot that those of us that flew, may have been able to venture away from the field, but I think it would have been slow progress.
David Bull went into Tamworth to visit Bearfast for the first time - and then understood why we all think it is such a great shop. He only just restrained himself from buying more tools!!
Ann Bull cooked dinner for all the troops - the number swelled from 9 to 17, but she just coped! Another great social evening at the club.
Last day in charge - Jenny
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday 17 May
Another sunny but rather stable day. The weather forecast indicated similar conditions to yesterday, but today there were tantalising cumulus clouds over to the north east, but out of our reach.
We set a duration task - with a bottle of wine for the longest flight. Even with this inducement, some at the club could not be persuaded to take to the air, preferring instead to clean gutters, collect firewood and repair radios and flarms in gliders! We appreciate their work!
For those that did fly, The longest duration was achieved by Geoff Neely in the "new" discus 2 NSO with 1 hour and 52 minutes. He did not however venture far from the airfield. Second place was taken by Tony Edge with a flight of 51 minutes in the junior late in the afternoon, and third Geoff Sim and Ian Barraclough with 44 minutes in the ASH 25, and fourth Alan Monroe with 40 minutes also in the Junior. Fun to see the interest in the flight sheet times at the end of the day. I'm sure scratching is good for you!
Andy McCullum polished off his solo flights to attain his B certificate, but couldn't quite crack the 1 hour mark needed for one of the the C certificate requirements - and neither could anyone else except Geoff Neely!
Juho had to go in the afternoon, so I did the last two tows myself - nice to stay in practice.
The Std Jantar is out of the air for a day or two, as Ray Tilley is repairing the damage to the underside of the fuselage done some time previously probably due to a wheels up landing by the look of it. Thanks very much to Ray.
Another convivial evening in the club house followed thanks to the culinary expertise of Marga Tilley and Ann Bull.
We set a duration task - with a bottle of wine for the longest flight. Even with this inducement, some at the club could not be persuaded to take to the air, preferring instead to clean gutters, collect firewood and repair radios and flarms in gliders! We appreciate their work!
For those that did fly, The longest duration was achieved by Geoff Neely in the "new" discus 2 NSO with 1 hour and 52 minutes. He did not however venture far from the airfield. Second place was taken by Tony Edge with a flight of 51 minutes in the junior late in the afternoon, and third Geoff Sim and Ian Barraclough with 44 minutes in the ASH 25, and fourth Alan Monroe with 40 minutes also in the Junior. Fun to see the interest in the flight sheet times at the end of the day. I'm sure scratching is good for you!
Andy McCullum polished off his solo flights to attain his B certificate, but couldn't quite crack the 1 hour mark needed for one of the the C certificate requirements - and neither could anyone else except Geoff Neely!
Juho had to go in the afternoon, so I did the last two tows myself - nice to stay in practice.
The Std Jantar is out of the air for a day or two, as Ray Tilley is repairing the damage to the underside of the fuselage done some time previously probably due to a wheels up landing by the look of it. Thanks very much to Ray.
Another convivial evening in the club house followed thanks to the culinary expertise of Marga Tilley and Ann Bull.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
16th May
The weather continues to be stable high pressure - warm and sunny but with challenging soaring conditions. There are a few more in residence today with John McLeod, David and Ann Bull and Ian Barraclough arriving last night and Alan Monroe this morning. We had maintenance issue with the Tug, which Juho was able to fix thanks to the spare we have on hand, and the tug was ready to fly before the glider pilots were.
The task for the day was definitely duration !
The ASH25M ( or the two post-coder as it is now known) definitely won the day with over two hours, and they only started the iron thermal once after launching. Next was probably Andy McCullum with a flight of about 50 minutes late in the day. Any is racking up the solo flights to get his B certificate, and now only needs one more. He has been practising aspects of the syllabus in the process, side-slipping, flying level on aerotow and so on. He has not managed a one hour soaring flight yet. Tony Edge had another flight in the Jantar, and reported being more relaxed and comfortable than yesterday. Alan Monroe had a short flight in the Junior while Andy had some lunch, but was too tired after his drive from Sydney to fly again.
David Bull and John McLeod elected not to fly, and spent the day on the club hangar roof cleaning out gutters - Thanks guys, your work is appreciated.
The task for the day was definitely duration !
David Bull and John McLeod elected not to fly, and spent the day on the club hangar roof cleaning out gutters - Thanks guys, your work is appreciated.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday 14th May (Jenny Ganderton)
First day standing in for Ian - and another beautiful Keepit day. We have two visitors, Tony Edge from South Australia, and Andy McCallum from Toowoomba.
Tony has come to do some cross country training, but unfortunately today was not a day for cross country - the thermals only went to aerotow height!! Here's hoping we get more unstable conditions later in the week.
Andy McCallum is a Jabiru pilot with about 600 hours who started gliding at Darling Downs. Predictably he is not having much of a problem flying gliders (his Jabiru has been a glider once!!) Today he flew the Junior - first flight in a single seater. Well done Andy! We are hoping he will have his B and C certificates by the end of the week - the A is already in the bag!
Tony has come to do some cross country training, but unfortunately today was not a day for cross country - the thermals only went to aerotow height!! Here's hoping we get more unstable conditions later in the week.
Monday, May 7, 2012
TUAM LKSC by Allan Buttenshaw
Hello All,
From the desk;
Week one saw Jenny and I repair the Clubhouse broken window and sash cords, all works well now.
(Allan puttying the window)
The new seals were fitted to IUR’s canopies and they are now “settling in”.
I
managed to transfer bulk fuel in tanks with Ian before he left then
took delivery of PULP and have some 2400 liters of mix for the tug.
Avgas has been delivered too!
During the week of no bookings 19 flights were made over 2 days.
Saturday the club 2nd
Grob, GFP was rigged with help from Dave Shorter, Vic Hatfield (Duty
Instructor) and others, it then flew several AEFs on the day.
Sunday
was a reasonable day, notable achievement was a first solo in the
Junior by Jay Vine, a promising junior cadet member, of note, his
father, an instructor at BAE, is interested in flying the tug!
I
have done some watering on the grass area and attended to a minor
disaster with the plumbing that needed a “Technical tap” to relieve a
stuck switch.
All in all a rewarding week, some aspects of Saturday's flying will be reported on by the CFI,
Plans
for this week are; 50 hourly on Junior and relocating club Jantar to
Garry Ransby’s hangar and fitting of GFP with GKD into the centre club
hangar. GKD will go into the back I hope, it has only a few hours to
it’s next 100 hourly!
Regards,
Allbutts.
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