tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35858463051401945872012-02-16T22:55:58.975+11:00Lake Keepit Soaring Club NewsJenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.comBlogger3071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-50658506113438222322010-11-04T23:31:00.000+11:002010-11-04T23:31:19.470+11:00

Today was a bit more stressful, lots of clouds and some pretty ones not working at all. I planned to go to Bingara and cut across Terry Hai Hai to the plains but in Barraba there was almost no sun and I could see rain in the distance. I headed towards Kaputar but it was a struggle. As I was going to cut to the plains, Ian in the ASH radioed that there was 7kts 10km north of Kaputar, I climbed to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-52222177321784432502010-11-04T18:24:00.000+11:002010-11-04T18:24:28.926+11:00

Jacques did his first couple of flights in the club's LS7, and I persuaded him to tell us about them:- "I first did little bit of soaring around to get used to the LS7 and landed, I thought doing an outlanding on my 1st landing would not be very wise. After a little rest I was planning to go to Boggabri Mullaley and return. All was good in Boggabri so I pushed a bit to Banbaa and I wanted to go

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-3791218565725185172010-11-02T11:36:00.000+11:002010-11-02T11:36:24.750+11:00

My partner John is back in Aus for 6 months :-) and we travelled up to Lake Keepit on Saturday afternoon by car, towing the Mosquito trailer. Arrived at about 10 pm and found I had left my gate pass in the other car in the hangar at Keepit! However a phone call to the Park Manager sorted things out and he came to the gate to let us in. The emergency code wouldn't work for some reason. On Sunday

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-46558471588500263612010-08-31T10:55:00.000+10:002010-08-31T10:55:23.779+10:00

Sunday was the first day I have been at Keepit for a while which was good enough for a real X-country. The Puchatek rudder was re-installed by Bob DIrks, thanks are due but lack of paper work stopped it from flying. All present helped rig the DG after its form 2. Having no students I flew the Pik. I went with Trevor west, Jay Anderson and John Stewart off to Manilla , then along the range to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-34588592435831816492010-08-09T19:06:00.000+10:002010-08-09T19:06:11.876+10:00

I was supposed to be standing in for Vic on Saturday, and had intended to arrive at the club on Friday evening. However my RAA instructor rating test at Narromine happened to fall on Friday, and as I had another chap with me that had to go back to Cowra on Friday afternoon, I had to delay my departure until Saturday morning. BIG MISTAKE!! Arrived at Cowra aerodrome at 7.15 am to find the plane

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-2596203016336544172010-08-09T18:32:00.000+10:002010-08-09T18:32:07.286+10:00

The week started with having 1 student - Jim Burford - for 3 days from Tuesday. Jim was here for 6 days in June and wanted to come back for further training and advancement. We achieved this with Jim just about ready to solo in GFP. Jim will return shortly and after signing up as a full member, continue onto the Junior. A great 3 days work Jim. Arie van Spronssen from Central Coast called me

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-2995299694275519142010-08-02T10:21:00.003+10:002010-08-02T10:23:11.234+10:00

Saturday was showery after about 2" or rain overnight. As far as I know no-one even considered flying. Sunday started with a clear blue morning with hints of cloud development and a moderate NW wind much stronger at altitude. Access to the club was rather restricted as the Peel River had risen to just over the bridge adjacent to the Alternate Activities Centre. Cars couldn't cross safely, but

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-5922661809355103512010-07-19T15:54:00.000+10:002010-07-19T15:54:04.686+10:00

Arrived at Lake Keepit by car :-( . I had to drive up because the plan was to tow the Mosquito down to Temora for its annual inspection - not because there was any problem with the aeroplane. In fact the Brumby is coming along nicely now- undercarriage problems have be solved, and electrical wiring problems solved so instruments and GPS's are now all communicating properly! Only need cabin heat

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-57037731831196505762010-06-15T20:31:00.000+10:002010-06-15T20:31:13.098+10:00

I was rostered to fly the tug on Friday 11th June, as Juho was not available. My plane had its first 25 hour service (on its third engine) on Thursday, so I flew up on Friday morning. Arrived about 10 am just in time to meet Vic, Al Giles, Gerhard and Jim Burson for a cup of tea. It was very cold. I don't have any cabin heat yet - but its coming! Vic and Jim got the Puchatek out and I got the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-50275504281293163462010-05-22T21:36:00.000+10:002010-05-22T21:36:35.761+10:00

Flew up to Lake Keepit in my new Brumby on Thursday morning, just in time to get to my aviation medical with Dr Henderson in Manilla. Fortunately he was happy with my state of health, so I am legal for another two years. Grey overcast weather, great for power flying, but pretty ordinary for gliding, and Friday was much the same. Spent a relaxing day at the club, just walking, sleeping and

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-44447198510373094962010-04-17T15:52:00.000+10:002010-04-17T15:52:23.128+10:00

After the competition was over, things were still very busy at the club. We had quite a few overseas visitors, and some more very good weather and high cloudbases. Rod Tizzard, Hamish Johns and Phillip May went solo. Peter Robinson got his diamond goal and gold height, and I managed to get my gold height some fifteen years after completing the other two tests for my gold badge!! My partner John

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-30031468333874821082009-11-20T11:30:00.004+11:002009-11-21T00:08:04.341+11:00

Good looking trace from the temp flight, but the weather actually feels sort of stable and hot like yesterday. Forecast 42 degrees in Tamworth again today and tomorrow. Keepit is usually hotter than Tamworth. After telling us earlier that pilots did not want us to call a rest day, the people setting the task said that in Europe, they have an enforced rest day after 7 days continuous flying.

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-92221398680051812132009-11-19T21:30:00.003+11:002010-01-01T12:44:22.212+11:00

Yet another flying day!The weather forecast today did not promise much, but there was talk of storms over to the east. There was high cloud to the west but quite a long way away.First of all we had a meeting of the protest committee, with resolved in favour of the the protesting pilot. I hope they make the rules clearer for the next comptetition organisers. Then there was the task setting

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-79891629073452971742009-11-18T21:49:00.002+11:002009-11-18T22:09:04.578+11:00

The pilots are keen to keep flying, but I and safety officers 1 and 2 (Vic Hatfield and Trevor West) and also Witches Cauldron staff are feeling very tired. We are sitting on the ground in 40 degree heat while the pilots get high and cool.The forecast today was problematic - a one degree change in expected temperature made a large difference to the predicted outcome. The task committee set a bit

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-44838885685562909332009-11-17T23:12:00.003+11:002010-01-01T12:46:46.107+11:00

Eight days flying on the trot was a bit too much for some to take, and a few of competitors wisely decided to have a rest today. For those that flew it was quite a wild ride!We started off by setting the task for yesterday's weather as usual! We set 3.5 hours for both classes and sent club class off first again as otherwise the grid shuffling meant that some were either right in front or right at

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-34029666629242901132009-11-16T21:52:00.002+11:002009-11-16T22:11:07.240+11:00

The best flying day yet!!It was really hot today, very difficult for those of us stuck on the ground. The aviation weather promised showers everywhere, but it was wrong - although there are some storms about now - after dark. The temp trace indicated a good day, but the blipmaps seemed to indicate that the day would end early. The task committee set two tasks, one to the west and the other to the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-20668814427048427462009-11-15T20:32:00.003+11:002009-11-15T21:14:44.384+11:00

Task setting was difficult today. A brisk southerly was forecast to come in in the afternoon, so Bruce wanted to keep the field to the east, where it was thought the southerly would not have such a great influence, but we didn't have quite enough turn points in the right area. Eventually we set Gunnedah 20km, Bingara 30km Edgeroi 40 km and Splitrock 20 km with a 3.5 hour task time for Sports

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-87865546152153201352009-11-14T20:59:00.001+11:002009-11-14T21:27:33.446+11:00

Pilots are requesting that the briefings be briefer, so I think I will have to apply a strict guillotine tomorrow! This morning the pilots were a bit restless, and were not paying serious attention to the safety briefing, and had obviously completely switched off by the time the operational briefing came around, judging by the number who did a right circuit instead of a left circuit at

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-43871368937840331092009-11-13T22:20:00.002+11:002009-11-13T22:33:58.481+11:00

After the change that came through last night, it was overcast in the morning, making a temp trace impractical. So we relied on Harry's experience and the aviation forecast (always pessimistic) and the blipmaps to set the task.Thunderstorms were expected in the afternoon - a double edged sword. Good lift where the storm is, but no live at all where the sun is blocked out, or in the blue

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-47577922542231559632009-11-12T23:02:00.002+11:002009-11-12T23:30:26.243+11:00

Everyone managed to get back from their outlandings yesterday, and only one pilot elected not to fly today. However the scorer did not get all the traces until later in the day, so the scores he posted last night were very approximate. However he's got them all now. Peter Trotter won Club Class and David Jansen Sports class.I had a call from a landowner in the morning today saying that he has a

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-66760842498620383232009-11-11T21:11:00.003+11:002009-11-11T22:15:48.580+11:00

A difficult day for the pilots, but much easier for me - at least at the launching side of things.We gridded at 1105 after observing a minutes silence for remembrance day, and the gliders started taking off at 12.30 on the dot. Greg Smith (I think I put Wilson yesterday) took off earlier as a sniffer, but soon climbed out, so we launched the whole field as quickly as we could.Still short of rope

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-21566852429532251722009-11-10T21:25:00.003+11:002009-11-11T21:03:03.122+11:00

Today was a difficult day for me. I wrestled with computers and printers to start with and was unable to get the weather briefing onto the task sheet as I had intended.The weather itself was very difficult - high pressure, very little cloud - only over Mt Kaputar - and a late start. The same task was set for both classes except that sports class had two hours, and club class had 2.5 hours. Club

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-84837136743904339542009-11-09T20:51:00.002+11:002009-11-09T21:04:53.612+11:00

Last Friday and Saturday were very rainy - brought about by the airfield irrigation no doubt. The roof in the flight centre is leaking again! Must clean out the gutters.Lots of pilots about on Sunday - visitors for the comps. Some needing AFRs would you believe! We had about 30 launches and used both IGR and MRP to tow. The other tugs from Queensland arrived in the afternoon just before the rain

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-58438162178516905612009-11-05T23:58:00.002+11:002009-11-06T00:45:38.295+11:00

Flew home to Cowra on Saturday - booming thermals and Cu everywhere - all the way home. Maybe it wasn't as good at Keepit as there were a couple of outlandings - I know because I took the calls! Vic has only just converted to flying a self-laudnng Pik, and had a problem with the motor not starting, had to land with it half extended - not pleasant. Just shows you have to have a paddock picked

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-10636481902255883562009-10-30T20:13:00.002+11:002009-10-30T20:26:44.506+11:00

No flying on Thursday - pity because the sky looked fantastic for most of the day. Todd came out to do more work on the irrigation systems and Juho helped. I tried to catch up on emails and tidy up the hangar a bit. All the work on the irrigation system must have worked because in the late afternoon the heavens opened and we had a deluge. Very heavy rain - and the flight centre roof is leaking

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-77224523141191433872009-10-28T20:22:00.002+11:002009-10-28T20:38:56.361+11:00

Monday was wet all day, lots of rain - just what we needed to fill the tanks and lay the dust on the airfield a bit. Sam spent some time on Sunday spraying weeds - he was looking particularly for Kahki weed but found very little. I think he did a pretty good job on the weeds last year quietly, and as the spring has been so dry, few have germinated so far this year.Tuesday was a bit miserable

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-40333973780490628802009-10-27T14:45:00.003+11:002009-10-28T09:56:43.666+11:00

On Friday morning Allan Buttenshaw and I rigged our gliders at Kentucky. Ray Tilley was already there with Marga, and Harry Medlicott flew over during the day. Todd and Garry had arrived the day before. Bruce Taylor briefed us about flying the New England Tableland in the morning and set us a short task to Guyra then Walcha and back to Kentucky. Brad Edwards Pawnee arrived about mid-day to tow us

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-77284150198021210572009-10-26T11:42:00.003+11:002009-10-27T14:45:17.659+11:00

Juho Rossi arrived over the weekend, but had picked up a nasty virus on the plane, so wasn't feeling very flash for most of the week. So I flew the tug :(Brilliant weather for most of the week. Our visitor from Caboulture David Austin, having flown with Gerhard on the weekend, took to the air in the Jantar on Monday. He is an experienced pilot who had not had much opportunity to go cross country,

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-76231655262821799912009-10-26T11:17:00.002+11:002009-10-26T11:42:13.323+11:00

Drove home on Friday night so I could collect my glider from Tom Gilbert at Temora after its Form 2 and a couple of minor repairs. Great to have it back again. Meanwhile I think I missed the best gliding weekend of the year! Fantastic cu all the way to Temora, and all the way back again on Sunday.Lots of flying at the club - John Clark did his first 500km flight.Not very many postings on the OLC

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-62800257293634558212009-10-26T11:06:00.002+11:002009-10-26T11:16:43.972+11:00

OK so I'm late again with posting the news!Friday 16th was another very windy day - straight across the strip. However the thermals were very good. James and Sean Davies had another flight each - they coped so well with the cross wind that I signed off that part of their training! However the conditions were not really suitable for emergencies and circuits so they were happy to leave a little

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-25280739154258581922009-10-15T23:13:00.002+11:002009-10-15T23:52:09.255+11:00

Is it really a week since the last blog? Time flies.Friday last week was a good day, but nobody flew. Saturday must have been good, because there were a lot of flights on the flight sheet, but very little activity on Sunday it would seem. Apparently when taxying MRP the tail wheel fell off! This was due to two broken leaf springs - one must have been broken for quite a long time, and we didn't

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-38814807239242923502009-10-08T21:31:00.002+11:002009-10-08T21:45:09.437+11:00

Another really good day with high cumulus, and ripping thermals. Bit breezy from the SW, but not too bad. Easily a 300km day if anyone had attempted it.Ian McPhee and Ken Flower were working on the Pik 20E known as "Nick's Pick" - I think Gerhard was getting involved too. Geoff Sim was around too, and quietly serviced the quad bikes. Vic Hatfield came out, and we urged him to fly, but UMC, the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-49363231229466764712009-10-08T01:10:00.002+11:002009-10-08T01:35:46.839+11:00

Flew back to Cowra on Sunday - straightforward trip except that there was a huge rainshower sitting over Cowra when I got there. I flew around it - about 5 nm away from Cowra all the time. Debated diverting to Young, but in the end dived into the rain and landed at Cowra. It was actually not as bad as it looked but a trifle damp! Stayed rainy all afternoon at Cowra - hard to believe it was just a

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-62269207505550287612009-10-08T01:09:00.001+11:002009-10-08T01:09:41.836+11:00

I was duty tug pilot on Saturday 3rd. It was not such a bad day, and it was great to see our hard-working Manager actually flying a glider for relaxation for once. She probably had the best flight of the day - the conditions were fair to marginal, but she stayed up after the second relight (Jenny to Phil: "Hey Phil, this time please take me to a cloud that is working!! - sorry Jen). Allbuts was

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-32593162455327893632009-10-08T00:57:00.002+11:002009-10-08T01:07:50.294+11:00

Busy days, hence late with the blog.Been doing quite a bit of towing, while the glider pilots had all the fun. Thursday and Friday were quite good soaring days, but with a bit of over-development later on.On Thursday John Trezise flew the club Jantar, Al Giles flew his Jantar, Vic Hatfield flew the cirrus - but didn't post his flight to OLC, so he's in trouble! Allan Buttenshaw flew the Grob with

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-83161676001195106522009-09-30T20:03:00.002+10:002009-09-30T20:17:27.834+10:00

Busy day on Sunday with 19 launches according to flight sheet. Airforce cadets were flying. Very windy day.No flying appears to have happened on Monday - our Qld visitor for the week became ill and went home. But Dave Turner and Gerhard were at the club. Dave was doing the Form 2 inspection on the hornet GMZ.On Tuesday I flew back from Cowra, arriving at about 11.30. Dave and Gerhard wanted to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-22042554694598070772009-09-27T23:19:00.004+10:002009-09-27T23:48:18.524+10:00

Friday was clear and blue, but a bit breezy from the west. Evidently the blipmaps must have been quite optimistic as John Hoye came out to fly with Steve Hedley in OZ, the Nimbus 3dm. Gerhard Stuck and Tim Carr were at the club and quite a few visitors from the Warringah Radio Control Society.OZ took off first and disappeared for the afternoon. I heard later they had been around the back of Mt

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-85983861257449048702009-09-24T22:00:00.002+10:002009-09-24T22:13:54.050+10:00

Dust dust dust yesterday, and raging winds. No flying obviously. Never seen a dust storm like it - you couldn't see the horizion, and the sky was an eerie yellowish red. Spent the day making a headrest for the Junior - I am quite pleased with the result! Ray Tilley alternated between working on the Junior form 2, finishing off the Grob, and fixing some cracks on the noses of Garry's twin

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-48996520499650693782009-09-23T10:18:00.002+10:002009-09-23T10:27:29.856+10:00

Rain Rain Rain here yesterday. We do need the rain, but it does get a bit depressing. A day for maintenance. Ray Tilley is here beavering away on the gliders - finishing the paint job on the Grob, and the form 2 on the Junior. He has given me a mission to make a headrest for the Junior so I had to go into Tamworth to get the materials I needed. Got the club car radio fixed (missing PIN) while I

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-67495542263463222182009-09-23T10:03:00.002+10:002009-09-23T10:08:57.201+10:00

On 21/09/2009, at 16:50, Jenny Ganderton wrote:> Apparently there were some good flights over the weekend, but no-one> has either posted them to the OLC or written any of them up on the> chat group. I heard that John Stewart got to 10,000ft and flew about> 170km. Come on guys - don't hide your light under a bushel!There were some good flights on Saturday, but the definition of "good"must

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-15610595599035963032009-09-21T16:39:00.002+10:002009-09-21T16:50:05.854+10:00

Thought I'd better try and start writing the blog on a daily basis, before anyone complains again!Flew back to Lake Keepit on Monday morning - delayed by finding a Cessna 172 in front of my aircraft in its Cowra hangar with the doors locked and the parking brake on. Not very considerate. Had to fly through a few showers on the way up, but not too bad a trip.Arrived to find that Ray Tilley is here

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-68680288163705222252009-09-18T20:07:00.002+10:002009-09-18T20:25:54.886+10:00

Quiet on Monday and Tuesday - fortunately because after the frantic week last week I had 1/2 a million emails to deal with - or so it seemed. Took me most of Monday to catch up with them.Internet connection dropped - you wouldn't think that was very important, but you wouldn't believe how much people go on about it if they cant connect. Spent most of the day on Tuesday restoring the right IP

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-59805669296443864462009-09-18T19:34:00.003+10:002009-09-18T20:07:06.165+10:00

Hi allI have been severely ticked off by Marketa in the Czech Republic for not keeping my blog up to date, so here goes.On Wednesday the 3rd September disaster struck. I was rushing to launch Ken Flower in the Puchatek for its test flight after form 2, and didnt connect the towbar on the tug to the bike securely enough. When I stopped the plane continued, and rolled into the back of the bike,

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-50012361288792650042009-09-01T22:50:00.002+10:002009-09-01T23:25:01.163+10:00

Maintenance week is over now, and four Form 2 inspections completed on Club Gliders, several private gliders done also. Weather during the week was perfect most of the time - a couple of days were a bit hot for comfort. As well as getting lots of work done, we all had a fun time, thanks to the superb catering put on by Wendy Medlicott and Marga Tilly with assistance from Maria Hackett. Not having

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-28781995880695881572009-08-14T10:24:00.002+10:002009-08-14T11:07:52.628+10:00

Beautiful sunny day! Not much cu about, and a westerly breeze - I think it would have been soarable.John Hoye came out to the airfield as we had a vist from 61 Probus members from Gunnedah and Narrabri. They just wanted to "look around". Not quite sure what to do with so many visitors all at once we came up with a plan. Set up about 30 white chairs in the Flight cente around the computer screen

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-13322447907466883962009-08-11T21:18:00.002+10:002009-08-11T23:05:56.609+10:00

Very ordinary weather here today. Thunderstorms and showers, and strong winds. Occasional sunny periods though. Kangaroos seem to be enjoying itMade a new control column boot for the Junior out of grey vinyl and sewed it in place on the seat pan. Looks quite spiffy. New canopy cover next on the list.Spent much of the day printing out ADs and ANs as a reference for our upcoming maintenance week -

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-71927679181517321112009-08-10T17:17:00.002+10:002009-08-10T17:34:28.239+10:00

Another quiet day at Keepit.Flew home without incident on Saturday, and called in at PG Aviation to see the progress of my Brumby. Now sitting on its undercarriage (tailwheel of course) waiting for installation of instruments before final assembly.Meanwhile Vic and Ken Flower flew to Armidale in Ken's Grob 109 to get our Callair back. They must have been successful, because its sitting in the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-26952694327381731942009-08-07T12:54:00.002+10:002009-08-07T13:08:08.490+10:00

Pretty quite here at the club at the moment. The weather has been absolutely beautiful, and there are some fantastic cus in the sky today. Makes you wish you had a self launching glider!I have been pottering around doing odd jobs, trying to fix things and sorting the tools out - a never ending job. Also making a start on the Junior form 2.Went to CASA briefing on "Airmanship" and "Operations at

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-31759934134343542592009-08-05T11:12:00.002+10:002009-08-05T12:02:56.128+10:00

Ian Barraclough and Al Giles in residence. The day dawned sunny after a very cold night, but a little high cloud around. Blipmaps indicated there might be thermals to about 5000ft, but it didn't look that promising. Wind forcast to be more or less straight up the strip.Ian wanted to get current winch launching again, so once again Garry Speight came out. What would we do without him? He was able

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-64536228076825606982009-08-03T22:20:00.002+10:002009-08-03T23:15:30.406+10:00

Its been fairly quiet at the club since I got back from UK.My first week back, the weather was pretty cold and miserable. The committee decided to get some work done on the tug while things were quiet, so I flew it up to Armidale, met Todd there who drove me back to Keepit. Todd has been doing heaps of work on the aeroplane up there.We brought back the Puchatek fuselage, and eventually managed to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-56117952624347642942009-08-03T21:27:00.003+10:002009-08-03T22:19:55.247+10:00

Something to be said for getting on the plane dog tired. Slept nearly all the way the the UK and arrived quite fresh! Met by my partner, John, who took me to Croydon, where we both grew up! A trip down memory lane.Spent the rest of my holiday in Dorset apart from a weekend in Shropshire visiting rellies. First day in Dorset was sunny, and we went to the beach, which sported lots of people

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-36822429811495805472009-06-20T13:19:00.002+10:002009-06-20T13:39:45.734+10:00

Raining in Cowra on Sunday but cleared up enough for me to attemp to fly back to lake keepit on Sunday afternoon. 3 students booked in for a course on Monday, so wanted to make sure I got back on time.However there was a strong headwind, and showers of rain, and as I got to Coolah it became obvious that I wouldn't be able to get through the weather and make it to Keepit by last light. Coolah was

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-82249466281538638222009-06-20T13:14:00.002+10:002009-06-20T13:19:22.580+10:00

After the long weekend I was hoping to fly back to lake keepit, but again the weather was useless, so I ended up driving again. Picked up some spare tailwheel tubes from the bike shop in Gunnedah on the way back. On Monday I learned the very sad news that Bruce Clark, one of my most reliable volunteer mid-week tuggies, died in a trike accident in Rustherford. Shocking news.As it was very quiet at

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-27735126654602121242009-06-20T13:08:00.003+10:002010-01-01T12:39:36.092+11:00

Thursday 4th was a quiet day, mostly spent trying to fix club computer - at least make it more reliable. However not much luck there.Quite a few turned up on Friday for the long weekend - so it was the tug for me! Jay Anderson brought up Mary Gordon, Cristy Rowe came up and quite a few others.On Saturday I had to drive home as my plane was in Cowra - not such chore as it was a long weekend. It

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-4743617540106357912009-06-03T18:25:00.002+10:002009-06-03T18:46:44.086+10:00

Monday was drizzly in Cowra. I took off in the Jabiru to come back to work, but as I reached Cudal, the rain got thicker, the ground higher and the visibility worse - I thought better of it and turned back to Cowra. Hoped in the car and drove to Lake Keepit - got here about 3 pm to find my gate pass wouldn't let me in. Glad it wasn't the middle of the night!Jenny Luff was at the club - unable to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-38566496244541045982009-05-29T19:37:00.002+10:002009-05-29T20:12:21.562+10:00

Friday dawned foggy and damp. Chris Bowman decided to head home, but joined the club as a full member before doing so, and plans to come back soon.Garry Speight and Rob de Jarlais came out to fly, and we had visitors Gus Furnell and his partner Chris from the USA visiting. Gus did a course with Garry and Ian McPhee in 1994 - before the fire! He works for Vans the makers of the popular RV aircraft

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-56803429142875072412009-05-29T00:06:00.002+10:002009-05-29T00:25:58.986+10:00

Cold and a little overcast in the morning - there was no great rush to get the aircraft out. Gerhard turned up - very opportune for Richard as today we made him fly the Jantar standard. Gerhard is the absolute master at helping people to get comfortable in the Jantar and briefing them to fly it. Phil Anderton came out to tow for us - thanks Phil.Chris and I did four flights in the  Puchateck -

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-57273784856460811162009-05-28T23:49:00.002+10:002009-05-29T00:06:36.384+10:00

Another good soaring day - at least in the middle of the day. Garry Speight towing, Richard Fethers and Chris Bowman flying. Today was Richard's day to fly the Junior.  He attacked the task with some trepidation - was worried about the creaking noise the trim makes, so we took the seatpan out to show him what makes the noise. Thus reassured, I left him to it to do the DI and did a couple of

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-35216070527405419952009-05-27T01:43:00.002+10:002009-05-27T02:15:16.661+10:00

Thursday and Friday last week had rotten weather. Not much going on here. I went into Tamworth to get a few bits and pieces for the club.Nick Singer, Dave Turner and Darian Thom turned up on Friday night to run the weekend operations. Wind was strong from the east on Saturday. I took off on runway 09 in the Jabiru and was airborne by the time I had crossed the main runway! There was lift and

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-53418405904735736412009-05-20T18:02:00.003+10:002009-05-20T18:35:05.695+10:00

Weather at Lake Keepit was pretty good, but a bit windy on Saturday. I elected not to fly home as the weather forecast for Cowra was terrible, and I was worried about getting back again in time for my students on Monday morning. Stayed at home and tried to do tax returns (late) instead - what fun.Sunday was very busy with airforce cadet flying - tug up and down all day. Weather clouded over - the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-11565577891097790552009-05-20T17:29:00.003+10:002009-05-21T13:26:18.524+10:00

The usual suspects came out to the airfield on Thursday to help test Harry's winch. Present were John Hoye, Vic Hatfield, Harry Medlicott, Peter Shiels, Ken Flower, Trevor West, Geoff Sim and Bob Dircks.Geoff and Bob were working on Geoff's White Lightning, but we managed to rope them in - no pun intended. John Hoye took the first launch on the winch in the Grob - but still the engine coughed and

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-38185816403868463832009-05-13T23:37:00.002+10:002009-05-13T23:58:30.897+10:00

Cold in the morning but excellent looking Cu by mid-day. Wendy came again and finished cleaning the cabins and flight centre. Looked at the sky and thought someone ought to be up there at cloudbase!Ian Barraclough turned up in PPH the supercup from Warnervale. I said to him quick, get a glider I'll tow you up. He said no get yours I'll tow you.  I gave in and got the Mosquito out, but it was 3

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-45931471919422566252009-05-12T00:36:00.002+10:002009-05-12T01:12:16.161+10:00

Flew back from Cowra at great height - bit boring! Beautiful sunny day with good looking cumulus clouds towards Manilla.No one here except Wendy the cleaner and me! I see from OLC that they had good days in Queensland both Saturday and Sunday, and our mate Geoff Pratt flew over 500 km! However he's lost his lead in the the winter comp to Jo Davis.Looks as if it will be rainy in Qld tomorrow, and

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-49739181928519062292009-05-08T22:59:00.002+10:002009-05-08T23:17:45.788+10:00

Soaring was a bit dissappointing today. Nice sunny weather but not a very good cross country day. Bill Shean went home - he did heaps of mowing on the tractor while he was here, for which I thank him very much. John Trezise stayed for the day, but did glider maintenance - only a few hours left on the Grob before it needs another 100 hourly, also Junior near its 200 hourly.Allan Buttenshaw and

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-84217261703190891852009-05-07T20:28:00.002+10:002009-05-07T20:57:09.614+10:00

Wednesday there was quite a bit a cloud cover at times during the day, but overall a good day.Geoff Pratt self launched at about 11:30 am and headed north for the clouds, returning about dusk! He did 332 km, (actually more like about 412, but OLC missed some of the turns so he only got 332) and is currently 7th in the world for the day! He's still leading the decentralised GFA comp for

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-87976871947138587242009-05-05T19:35:00.003+10:002009-05-11T13:28:20.767+10:00

Got back to LKSC on Monday morning - beautiful day for flying. Not many around for the fourth day of the 4 day weekend, but those that stayed were rewarded with an excellent soaring day.Bill Shean has returned to the club and getting current again after a long break. Matthew Minter has been instructing, while I fly the tug. Its a nice change to be in the tug once in a while!John Trezise flew in

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-72422855540054897522009-05-02T11:39:00.002+10:002009-05-02T11:52:35.841+10:00

Wednesday and Thursday this week were quiet at the club. Gerhard went home, but Geoff Pratt flew and flew. He's posted all his flights on OLC, and now he is leading the GFA decentralised winter comp.I have been doing the 50 hourly on the Puchatek, but trying to fix up a few little bits at the same time. Cleaned all the gunk off the rudder pedal adjustment, so it works now. Please DONT lubricate

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-54585362054693400682009-04-29T10:04:00.002+10:002009-04-29T10:15:47.667+10:00

A bit overcast in the morning but it cleared up, and we had excellent looking cumulus. It was however rather windy - from the west.Little Petunia turned up in the home of getting wave but the thermals disrupted it. We debated as to whether to fly from runway 27 and go round the corner, but elected in the end to use 32. First to launch was Geoff in his Pik he flew over to the Kelvin range in

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-76922304308120925542009-04-27T23:45:00.002+10:002009-04-28T00:08:44.247+10:00

Thursday and Friday last week were quite good flying days. Clouds on Thursday looked brilliant, but all I could find was sink! Jim Hackett had a similar experience after self launching in his ASH 26. Gerhard however had a good flight in his Jantar and soared for about 3 hours. He posts all his flights to the OLC, which is great for publicising our club.On Friday Geoff Pratt from Cairns turned up,

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-79632970094849053982009-04-23T00:52:00.002+10:002009-04-23T01:05:08.247+10:00

Quite windy yesterday but sunny with quite good cu. Cloudbase about 6000 ft. We didn't fly until midday as we were waiting for the wind to moderate a little. It did so and turned more along the runway (14) while there was thermal activity.Sean (father) and James (son) are doing very well, and the soaring conditions enabled them to get their turns more polished and get used to seeing the area from

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-83477385605601329252009-04-20T19:39:00.002+10:002009-04-20T19:50:03.667+10:00

Cool days over the weekend. John and I kept a low profile, but the competitors flew on Saturday. Not sure who won! On Sunday, there was quite a brisk south easterly wind. Everyone went home surprisingly quickly although the sky looked OK. Only John Stewart and Ken Flower flew. John and I got started on the annual inspection on my Jabiru.Harry's new winch was assembled and tested, but something

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-50161036827181421572009-04-17T23:22:00.002+10:002009-04-17T23:42:09.203+10:00

Tuesday was a miserable day with low cloud and rain, but a couple of hardy souls took to the air. Allan Buttenshaw got current again after not flying a glider for over a year. There was no task in the regatta.On Wednesday the sun started shining again, and everyone was much more optimistic. Unfortunatel we were unable to Brad Edward's Pawnee, as there was an excessive maggie drop. Juho cleaned

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-75321980379334081452009-04-17T23:16:00.002+10:002009-04-17T23:22:43.994+10:00

Good Friday saw quite a few pilots at the club, but the weather was indifferent. John and I decided to go to Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo! Went on the early morning walk on Saturday - was really good. After that we went to Forbes to look after my garden there and I fell through the planks of a deck and damaged my knee. I should stick to gliding!Meanwhile back at the club, tasks were flown on

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-42891473070347725502009-04-09T23:58:00.002+10:002009-04-10T00:16:11.050+10:00

No flying today - John McLeod from Gympie came again and we spent the morning doing A B and C certificate questions. Then he made himself busy attaching new ropes to the tie down cables. Even the one at the north west end is now visible. Needs some roundup spraying along it though. Chris Carr came out and worked on the orange tractor all day - the runways look really good now. Some high cloud

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-63071072720197440882009-04-08T23:55:00.003+10:002009-04-09T00:10:53.478+10:00

Another day in paradise!A cool night followed by a nice sunny day with great looking clouds. Only Greg Dennis and John Clark flew - I drove the winch for Greg. He got away first go again and had a good flight, which he has posted on the OLC.John Clark self launched in his DG808 and flew to Bingara and back. He has promised to post on OLC tomorrow. John Patton some mowing with the Deutz tractor

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-40903717090113491452009-04-07T21:36:00.002+10:002009-04-07T21:47:24.850+10:00

Greg Dennis came down from Mt Isa for a second fix for the season. Greg had no problem getting used to winch launching again. Al Giles was around and drove the winch for Gregs first two flights, with John as wing man. Then I drove the winch and launched Al in his Jantar and Greg solo in the Grob. Both got away first launch, and Al did a good cross country flight - cloudbase around 8500 feet, but

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-77657659230695626972009-04-07T21:28:00.002+10:002009-04-07T21:36:13.481+10:00

The tug went to Armidale on 29 March for its 100 hourly, so we have been using the winch since then - should be back in the next day or two. Brian W turned up on Tuesday to fly. He went up with Gerhard on the winch - they got away for a good soaring flight. Brian is from Germany but works in China - he flew from China to Melbourne then drove to Lake Keepit for two days flying with us, and then

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-79124191132452402472009-04-07T21:15:00.002+10:002009-04-07T21:28:32.600+10:00

John Patton is now fairly well hooked on gliding, but is also keen on F1 motor racing. While he is here in Australia he thought it would be a sin to miss the Melbourne Grand Prix. Gerhard stood in for me for the Friday and Monday, and we took off to Melbourne.Flew the Jabiru to Cowra, stayed the night, then off to Melbourne the next day. Stopped for fuel at Corowa - absolutely deserted now - not

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-5158342402262713832009-04-07T21:00:00.002+10:002009-04-07T21:14:55.310+10:00

Another long time between blogs!What has happened since the last? Our visitor Rowland Ogden from England did not quite manage to get his silver C distance with his marathon flight in the Junior because he towed up too high! However a couple of days later he graduated to the LS7, and did it with no problem.Meanwhile I was continuing to train my friend John, and he has now done 4 solo flights in

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-32647358606120452072009-03-11T21:44:00.002+11:002009-03-11T22:07:29.609+11:00

Tuesday was rather windy from the east - only Rowland flew in the Junior. He soared for an hour or so but got a bit far down wind so came back and landed. Wind speed increased as the day went on so no one else flew. John Trezise and Gerhard worked on reinstalling the Jantar radio which has been repaired and installed another boom mike.On Wednesday the forecast was for more strong winds from the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-22476014168549185282009-03-11T20:34:00.002+11:002009-03-11T20:41:17.998+11:00

Flew back from Cowra on Monday morning - head wind again - arrived about 10.15 am, expecting a very quiet week. However Rowland Ogden, visiting from England turned up - I had forgotten he was coming - and another chap Michael, turned up wanting an air experience flight.Michael was travelling around making his way down to Victoria to offer his help rebuilding after the bushfires. I flew him in the

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-39009918101188964812009-03-11T20:25:00.003+11:002009-03-11T20:34:18.631+11:00

I see it is a long time since I last blogged but Robin and Peter Shiels have filled in some of the gaps.With March here already things are quieter mid week. My friend John from England has been learning to glide, Bart Hellemens made his debut in the Junior - he does just fit in! Rod Loder has been here doing the form 2 on the DG 400 HDB, and then flying it.Friday 6 March was busier, with Dave

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-66370764093378483232009-03-11T20:10:00.000+11:002009-03-11T20:11:01.276+11:00

I arrived at the Club on Sunday morning under grey skies - high cirrus as far as the eye could see.   There were a number of members present but no one was showing much enthusiasm or urgency. Wendy and Marga were just landing in the Jabiru after doing a temp trace flight. Surprisingly, with the weather forecast aided by the temp trace and dew points, Harry Medlicott was able to predict

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-53039286922611751832009-02-23T20:19:00.000+11:002009-03-11T20:24:08.917+11:00

Hello again everyone,Sorry but I forgot to mention others that flew on the weekend.Steven Black came up to Lake Keepit with Tim Carr and both flew twodays, Dave Turner also got to fly the Hornet a couple of times, BobEmery got in a couple of hours in the cirrus and Phil Anderton got tofly a glider again for a while.Jeff Cornfoot from Kingaroy spent the week here flying and leavesTuesday. He

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-72283636221602989322009-02-22T20:12:00.000+11:002009-03-11T20:18:26.867+11:00

Hello People, For all those that thought the weather was not going to be any good, sorry you made a mistake. Christian Flew 350km on friday along with Sam Clift 323km, Mathew Minter over 300km. Heights to 11,000 ft  at Coonabarabran. There was quite a lot of flying on friday with a couple of visitors retraining and two post solo pilots flying in the Jantar and Grob. Saturday was not quite as

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-5624412230010375262009-02-18T18:02:00.004+11:002009-02-18T18:32:22.159+11:00

Wow its been a long time since I last blogged! It has been very busy at the club and I have been doing lots of training. Long days, and no time to blog!Since the last one Lauren Goddard and Bart Helleman have gone solo, Flyn Gryseels got his silver C and so did Paul Roche. Juho has become addicted to gliding again, and grabs the chance to soar if anyone else will fly the tug!Mark Jones and Ken

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-63996046785220179442009-01-04T21:20:00.002+11:002009-01-04T21:31:32.347+11:00

Another opportunity for the 750? The weather didn't quite comply. It was a good day, but it didn't get going until quite late. I launched at 1230 and couldn't get higher than about 4000 ft asl. There were clouds to the north, and I crept along taking everything until I was able to climb to cloudbase at Mt Surprise. From there, the clouds seemed to be aligned toward the south west, so I decided to

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-28932154922870001712009-01-04T21:10:00.002+11:002009-01-04T21:16:01.110+11:00

Stayed at the club this weekend in the hope of doing the elusive 750 km! However the weather on Saturday did not seem that fantastic, and I was so tired after the busy week that I couldn't get my act together in time anyway. Had a problem with my tail dolly wheel, and didnt manage to launch until 1430.  Conditions had improved by then. The rest of the pilots were on their way to Edgeroi silo, so

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-22726886479379013872009-01-04T20:42:00.002+11:002009-01-04T20:50:43.866+11:00

Very busy this week. Two students from Southern Cross Gliding club, Jaques Graells and Brian Kranz, plus heaps of other club members flying. Austen Damm visiting from Arizona, USA was flying with Garry Speight too.Weather during the week was hot and windy, the students got quite good at crosswind take offs and landings. Juho pushed the cross wind capability of the tug to the limit. One day there

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-61023497053462439822008-12-29T20:42:00.003+11:002008-12-29T20:54:17.038+11:00

Flew Dad back to Cowra on Saturday - grey and overcast but uneventful flight. No flying at Keepit that day. Flew back to Keepit on Sunday morning, very humid with a lot of cu, but very low cloudbase.Some gliders were flying, most landed quite early  - about 2 pm. I pulled the Mosquito out of the hangar and look a launch at about 4 pm. The couldbase had gone up to about 6000ft, and there were some

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-38767942980315378252008-12-25T23:37:00.002+11:002008-12-25T23:41:24.093+11:00

Opened present from club - very nice thank you all very much.Started preparing Christmas lunch for Dad, but looked as if it was going to be a good day. Gerhard and Robin going flying. Turned oven off, and delayed lunch until evening, got glider out. All a bit of a rush, but launched just after Gerhard. Managed to fly 430 km, Barraba, Bingara, Moree, Keytaa and and back to Lake Keepit. Excellent

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-55085115368906991142008-12-25T23:31:00.002+11:002008-12-25T23:36:59.570+11:00

Lots of rain yesterday. Overcast this morning but brightened up later. Juho Gerhard and I up on the flight centre roof unblocking gutters. Gerhard had a theory about where the water is coming in, but we were fresh out of silastic. I went in to Gunnedah to get some more, will he had Juho moved the airconditioner and prepared the surface.When I got back they used silastic and flashing to block up

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-34565120926199560442008-12-23T10:28:00.002+11:002008-12-23T10:38:31.434+11:00

Flew home to Cowra on Saturday - head wind, but lots of good cloud streets to fly along - thought it must have been good for the gliders. Tim brought out his father and father in law, and also wife and daughter.  Sunday was a good day too, good XC flights by Gerhard, Jay Anderson and Garry (all on OLC). They were the only ones who flew. Gerhard had a decent sort of XC flight on Saturday too.Flew

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-5016490335547008392008-12-20T00:58:00.002+11:002008-12-20T01:08:25.668+11:00

Not such a good cross country day but quite soarable. After the storms yesterday, the wind turned westerly, and not many clouds - at least not close to the airfield. Nigel did two more solos in the morning before the wind got up, then we had a break while Gerhard and Dave Turner launched. We called a task Barraba, Tambar Springs and back, but in the end, no one attempted it.Over lunch I did the A

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-59992081691370960642008-12-18T22:54:00.002+11:002008-12-18T23:04:48.208+11:00

The forecast and the actual weather seemed to match up, but the pressure chart was indicating less wind.As the wind was strong and gusty, not really suitable for Nigel to fly solo again, we took the Grob out for him to get some experience in a fibreglass glider. The lift was very good - cloudbase around 7000ft. Dave Turner flew his hornet also, and Matthew Minter took the LS6 for a whirl early in

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-87708651372124072072008-12-18T22:12:00.002+11:002008-12-18T22:34:34.548+11:00

An excellent day.  Light northwesterly winds, and cumulus.  I didn't think there would be clouds judging by the aviation forecast, so we called a modest 300km task, Splitrock, Premer, Manilla Lake Keepit, with 20 km circles around splitrock and Manilla, 40 km around Premer. 308 km point to point.Garry Speight flew in his twin astir and invited Patricia Healy to accompany him, which she accepted.

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-19849290826512782272008-12-17T01:54:00.002+11:002008-12-17T02:05:07.937+11:00

Garry came out again to fly the 185.The prognostications from the blipmaps indicated good thermals rising to 9000ft later in the afternoon, but no cloud.It was already working well by the time Nigel and I launched at about 11.30. Ray Tilley turned up and returned the Junior - fixed. Thank you so much Ray. He also went flying - disappearing for 4 hours and 56 minutes. However he wouldn't tell me

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-45833305285751221042008-12-17T01:44:00.002+11:002008-12-17T01:53:50.984+11:00

A pleasant sunny day with good thermals, but a stiffish south westerly wind exactly 90 degrees across the main runway. Nigel Holmes returned to the club to try and complete his pre solo training with Patricia Homes, who we are trying to persuade to learn to fly, but she insists on only being a passenger!First on the agenda was flying the tug to Armidale for its 100 hourly. Juho did this, despite

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-82508462240441908242008-12-17T01:43:00.001+11:002008-12-17T01:44:44.012+11:00

Rain, Rain and yet more rain. Unable to get home for the weekend once again. Its making the grass on the runway grow really fast.

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585846305140194587.post-71407272307429204222008-12-17T01:18:00.002+11:002008-12-17T01:43:18.703+11:00

Not much flying today. Flynn had a mishap with the Junior - on the ground not in the air. He was very annoyed with himself. However Ray Tilley was on site, and concluded that he could repair it. I managaged to complete the trailer registrations and the Junior was derigged and Ray took it back to Armidale. Later on Robin and Flynn flew together in the Grob, but were unable to go cross country. No

Jenny Gandertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493381808649101138noreply@blogger.com0