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Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 22:44:46

Title: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 22:44:46: Nipped over to Kevs last weekend for look at my LPG. Bit of a tweak and a test drive to a suitable watering hole north of Alton somewhere... Ooh I know, says Kev. My gliding club, they have a bar. So off we go...

... Amazing place. Mahoosive and imaculate mile long runway. Various jet planes, Jumbos and large hangers at one end, gliding club at the other.

100's of glider trailers. Owners Mobile homes for weekends/holidays on site. Canteen and of courses a Bar with outside seating to watch proceedings. How very civilised. Kev mentioned he might take a flight the next day. So, Sunday lunch time the next day it was with the girls along too.

Drinks in the Bar (bit clouday a.m.) spot of lunch. P.m. brightened up so outside for a view of gliders taking off on the wynch. That's got some go. Two lengths of mile long steel cable with a small parachute on the end to keep the cable tort as the wynch pulls it back in from release. 500ft(?) in 3 seconds iirc...? :-\ it's a quick takeoff anyway.

By now there is a queue up the other end of the airfield, suns out, conditions are good so the fun bit begins, for me anyway. Building the glider.

What an utterly fascinating, brilliantly simple, obviously well developed since the beginning of flight, piece of kit the glider is. Beautifully slim, strong, as you might expect, but also quite heavy. Almost too heavy for one person to put together alone, so they have cleverly designed the trailer where the glider lives and various brackets and trolleys to aid attaching wings, that have a span considerably wider than the the length of the body, to their appropriate fixing points. You need to know your port and starboard at this stage to avoid flying backwards and upside down, I guess. ;D

Anyway, here is a video of take off behind a tow plane, and some gay phone pics. On a lovely sunny day in Alton.
Thanks Kev. Thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

I must have done something right helping him build the glider as he made it up and down again with all the wings still on. :y

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/08475B1F-7A84-4E85-B5FF-0C07F2D75CC0-7240-0000023E0D0B8AEE_zps69c75f45.mp4

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/7F3E14DC-6193-4207-A242-507AB9093A1C-310-000000013F5CC46C_zps36df0e24.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/368BC1D5-2D3D-4719-96D3-633302BF2ECE-294-0000000045438ADC_zps5f164677.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/9C84F8B2-1F62-42CE-97BE-8CF9BAE04ADB-294-0000000242DE3051_zps4d79a742.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/F15E66E1-B12B-459B-B947-654D2FE9D4FD-294-00000002668BBD37_zpsd69bcfc9.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/9951082F-62DB-4D3D-A7C2-DB8E89CC9EBC-294-0000000298E65601_zps95b02415.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/AF6CB7CB-953F-49C3-985A-E5B29F16DA88-294-00000002E7F24357_zpsa9f299b5.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/E968B114-A0D3-4BB1-BA29-73EC3323BC94-294-00000002F2F5F457_zpse3afabf3.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/525841B0-461B-46A4-A56E-4F856B349A0C-294-00000002FA192859_zpsab4ae89d.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/C5430C10-75B5-4F8F-B980-4B14CDFF7BD8-294-0000000301E9A39F_zps16e0e231.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/D7AAFC99-7B16-4ED2-BEBA-F59DF346416A-294-0000000309A17767_zpsba5a3aeb.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/7EE4414E-9F90-496E-B9CE-23D02F8202B1-294-00000003106450ED_zpsee401c75.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/3C72DA22-11CF-4861-9047-21079EB9611D-294-0000000318044BCA_zpsd85f7e70.jpg)

(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/1C59613D-0B63-4191-B848-D342F39EE47E-294-000000031E1761C9_zpse26bc37e.jpg)
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 22:53:18: Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code? :-\
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Mr.OmegaMan on 14 June 2013, 22:54:01: Quote from: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 22:53:18
Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code? :-\
Works fine on laptop :y

Looks fun ;)
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Steve B on 14 June 2013, 22:57:08: works fine :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Andy B on 14 June 2013, 23:00:09: Quote from: OmegaMan2.2 on 14 June 2013, 22:54:01
Quote from: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 22:53:18
Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code? :-\
Works fine on laptop :y

Looks fun ;)

Works on my lappy too :y

Looks to have been a good day out. :y :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Vamps on 14 June 2013, 23:02:13: Looks like fun........ :y :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: PhilRich on 14 June 2013, 23:07:35: Looks like a fantastic day out Chris! The kind of day that adds more days to your life rather than the other way around! ;D Thanks for sharing :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: YZ250 on 14 June 2013, 23:09:30: Glad you had a good day out. :y
Familiar sight for me. Never been in one but I was born and bred in Haddenham Buckinghamshire, where there is still an active glider club. We used to ride our motorbikes around the perimeter road and treated it as our own private race track. :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 14 June 2013, 23:27:42: Looks great!! 8) Bet you were temped to give the Mig a blast down the runway!? ::) ;D
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: chrisgixer on 14 June 2013, 23:41:47: Quote from: Ex-Sir Tigger on 14 June 2013, 23:27:42
Looks great!! 8) Bet you were temped to give the Mig a blast down the runway!? ::) ;D

Actually no. A live airfield that. May look like just a big expanse of grass from the perimeter road but a glider or tow pane could drop in at any minute. And you don't hear them coming. Even the tow planes are quite quiet.

And there's a mile long length of 5mm steel cable flying about too.
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Terbs on 14 June 2013, 23:51:13: Is it a case of liking gliders.......or just too bloody tight to buy petrol for one with an engine ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: tunnie on 14 June 2013, 23:51:23: Looks like a great day out, brilliant pictures :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Kevin Wood on 15 June 2013, 00:15:50: Before any rumours develop about me being towed by a 4 pot, I'd like to point out that that tow plane has a flat six in it. :P
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Kevin Wood on 15 June 2013, 00:17:11: Oh, and thanks to Chris for his help getting the wings on and off. :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: Rods2 on 15 June 2013, 00:43:31: I presume that is Lasham with the airline maintenance facility in the background?

Where I worked at RAE Farnborough I often used to see the gliding club there having fun.
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: 05omegav6 on 15 June 2013, 01:09:15: Perfect weather for it :y

Only ever been to Lasham at night when I was working at Gatwick many moons ago ::)
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: chrisgixer on 15 June 2013, 01:10:42: It is indeed.

Noticed Raf odiham between there and Farnsbog too. Is that used?
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: 05omegav6 on 15 June 2013, 02:38:28: Odiham is/was a Chinook base :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: chrisgixer on 15 June 2013, 07:49:19: Quote from: ex taxi al on 15 June 2013, 02:38:28
Odiham is/was a Chinook base :y

Ah, so that's where they're at. Used to live in Burghfield, south of Reading. We could here them, especially at night. Boom boom boom, from bloody miles away.
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: 05omegav6 on 15 June 2013, 08:30:23: Noisy buggers they are ;D

Get them over our way occasionally :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: omega3000 on 15 June 2013, 11:59:08: Great pics and video , we use to watch those gliders when we were little ... :) I like the nice touch of carpet in the cabin ;D :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: cam2502 on 15 June 2013, 13:46:23: Now that's my kind of day out! Looks like a good day was had by all :y :y :y
Title: Re: Thanks to Kevin Wood. A day at the gliding club (Pics)
Post by: ozzycat on 15 June 2013, 14:36:42: looks like a good day was had by all great pics and video :y :y