CGC - Last Friday for 2011

Last Friday for 2011

30-Dec-11

A Friday tradition/ritual - Bob Hainsworth's self prepared lunch!

Judith Smith took exactly 0.73 seconds to say an emphatic "YES" when I asked if she would like to have the day off from Friday Crew report writing duties ... what was it that someone said re not asking a question unless you know what the answer will be?

The flight sheet says "Duty Instructor: McCarthy. Tug Pilot: Bowtell. AEI: Rodda and Duty Pilot: Hainsworth/Hoch/Mailey/Smith". We were joined by members Shane Tuck (with friend Allan Fay) and Adam French and headed for Runway 12.

While Barry took Allan for a flight in CQC, Judith and Arthur headed off in GYK and I went to collect our Air Experience passenger in my Forester ... only getting to the taxi-way on the southern side of 12 before having no choice but to succumb to a flat front tyre. Of course all on hand were on the other side of the pie-cart and out of view so I walked back to collect the retrieve taxi with a mental plan to head off again in it to collect the AEF passenger from the Aero Club.

This time I made it in to about half way along the track that runs through the scrub between 12 and 06 before running out of petrol and walking back to the pie-cart again to borrow Barry's car to head for the bowser for fuel.

Alas, despite the petrol gauge having shown empty, we found out (after filling the tank ) that it was not a fuel problem but an electrical problem. We unhooked the station wagon from the pie-cart and I towed the retrieve taxi backwards to the pie-cart with (a slightly nervous) Bob Hainsworth at the wheel. Bob eventually solved the electrical problem ... apparently we were lucky to have Allan visiting as he suggested to Bob that he check the fuse!

Meanwhile Judith and Arthur had managed to avoid several "please bring the Blanik back ... we need it" radio calls long enough to achieve the longest flight of the day at 1 hour 42 minutes from a 10:19 launch in GYK ... the story that they are sticking to is that the radio had somehow been knocked of the 118.8 setting during flight!

Seriously however, it was great to see Judith enjoy a lengthy flight ... she quite often very unselfishly sacrifices her own flying opportunities to keep the flight line ticking over on Fridays for members and visitors who drop in on the day.

My air experience flight with passenger Kevin Silver was the next longest flight at exactly 1 hour from an 11:20 launch ... we brought CQC back to (again to keep the flight line ticking over) with a high speed return to the field (to deliberately lose height) from 3,500 feet out over Hazelton's. Passenger Kevin mentioned that he had been in a glider once before when he was 14 ... he had also mentioned earlier that today's AEF was a 60th birthday present ... didn't take me long therefore to figure out that it must have been taken around 1963. Further questions established that it was as part of his Scouting activities at Oakey (and his description of the glider and winch-launch suggested it was probably in a Kookaburra).

The other seven flights were all 27 minutes or under ... all up we had nine flights for the day for a total of 5:13.

CGC - 5 flights for a total of 2:34

GYK - 4 flights for a total of 2:39

We also noticed Bert Persson and Bernard Gonsalves ("Speedy") get away from 06 in their self-launching gliders during the day.

The best score of the day however was Steve Bowtell receiving a 6-pack of Grolsch stubbies as an apology from another power pilot who had unintentionally cut him off in the 12 circuit pattern earlier in the day!

Regards,

Kevin Rodda

VERY BEST WISHES FOR 2012