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[chrisgixer]

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.

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.



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

[chrisgixer]

Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code?

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code?

Works fine on laptop 

Looks fun

[Steve B]

works fine 

[Andy B]

Hmmm, video no worky. Can anyone see what's wrong with the code?

Works fine on laptop 


Looks fun

Works on my lappy too 

Looks to have been a good day out. 

[Vamps]

Looks like fun........

[PhilRich]

Looks like a fantastic day out Chris! The kind of day that adds more days to your life rather than the other way around!   Thanks for sharing

[YZ250]

Glad you had a good day out. 
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. 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Looks great!!    Bet you were temped to give the Mig a blast down the runway!?   

[chrisgixer]

Looks great!!    Bet you were temped to give the Mig a blast down the runway!?   

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.

[Terbs]

Is it a case of liking gliders.......or just too bloody tight to buy petrol for one with an engine

[tunnie]

Looks like a great day out, brilliant pictures 

[Kevin Wood]

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.

[Kevin Wood]

Oh, and thanks to Chris for his help getting the wings on and off.

[Rods2]

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.