The Shadow Beneath Me

I'd only made it to Suffolk once this year and I was eager for one last trip there to see the team before the year ended. The forecast for Sunday looked perfect with a light westerly wind blowing straight down the runway. My first shock of the day was the increased Dartford Crossing toll; it was now £2, a 50p increase on last time! Fortunately, I found some spare change in the glove box as I approached the toll barrier!

Once at Mendlesham I was warmly greeted and pleased to see some new faces. More pilots had turned up on the day than expected, so a helmet queue was set-up and one by one, pilots were winched into the air. The weather was perfect, blue skies, a gentle westerly breeze; all ideal for easy take-offs, smooth tows and stress free landings, just what I needed after many months without any winching!

Tow 1

My first tow everything felt natural. After launch I carefully checked which release lever before I operated it as I didn't want to double release. Thereafter it was smooth all the way up to 690 feet ATO where I released. Once freed from the towline, I pulled on full VG, stuffed the bar and screamed [as fast as I can on the Sting], back to launch. A quick couple of 360's burnt of my remaining height and I touched down will a full flare and embedded the keel in the soft mud in the process! Apparently it looked like a perfect landing!?

Tow 2

The only notable event on my second tow was a small thermal that lifted the glider during tow which snapped the weak-link. Fortunately this happened almost at the top of the tow so I was able to enjoy the full descent back to the landing area, prolonged a little longer by that small thermal that I reacquainted with on the way down!

Tow 3

By my third tow, the sun was low in the sky and the small fluffy clouds from earlier had now dissolved hinting that nothing was happening. As expected, the tow was smooth all the way up to 700 feet where I released. Unknown and invisible to me was an inbound Shadow Ultralight, flying low towards the Mendlesham runway. The first I became aware of this was when it passed directly beneath me as I began to circle down to landing. I did wonder if the pilot of said aircraft had actually seen me and for a few moments wondered what might have happened if all this had unfolded 30 seconds later! With those closing thoughts I set-up and safely landed beside the runway.

Tow 4

I decided that my fourth tow of the day would be my last as I didn't want to de-rig and short pack my glider in the dark. Other pilots had tried little out and returns, that is, see how far they can fly from the winch and return for a safe landing. Most had made it just beyond the northern perimeter road, so this was my challenge. The wind was still a westerly but had dropped. Take-off required a bit of a run compared to earlier launches, but the tow to 700 feet ATO was smooth. After I had released, I pulled the VG full on and set off towards the northern perimeter road. Fearing I wouldn’t make it back to launch, I bottled out about 200 meters short and turned around. It was an ill-founded decision and I easily made it back to launch with height to spare.

Safely down, I retreated to a patch of grass and packed up my now damp glider ready for the return journey to Sussex and that increases £2 toll charge!