To help make up for a long, cold, frustrating winter for our long-suffering trainees the club ran an intensive catch-up course over a long weekend, with the intention being to get as much flying as possible for the students booked on the course, focusing on circuits and landings using the winch.
Each day started at 0900 and included 'chalk-and-talk' briefings to supplement the flying. We were lucky enough to have flyable weather for each day of the course, although the winds weren’t favourable for winching at first, so the tug was used instead for the first three days. Not as much circuit-bashing as intended, therefore, but this was made up for by longer flights and the chance to find some lift in challenging conditions. On day four the wind finally settled in a more helpful direction and the stalwart old bus winch came to the fore. By lunchtime the thermals were becoming too hard to resist and the last few launches resulted in climbs up beyond 6,000 ft.
It was great to have such a buzz around the airfield, with lots of activity - more than fifty launches - and tired but happy students (and instructors!) by the end of it. Highlights included soaring flights for all students, Rob getting his Silver height in R67 and Neil converting to the Junior. It was a bit of a change to our usual format but seems to have been a success overall - we might just have to do another one sometime!
Sophie thermalling up above 6,000ft in 115 - photo by Mike.