A New Glider!

The weather forecast suggested a trip to Metfield for winching, but like normal, everyone meets at Mendlesham first so that's where I was headed. Earlier in the week I had been in communication with Mark, a pilot that I met in Spain back in 2001. He was keen to try winching, so I gave him directions to Mendlesham and by 11am he'd arrived and everyone debated where to set-up.

The local farmer had just harvested his wheat, so he kindly allowed us to use a new field that better suited the wind direction - a stone’s throw from Mendlesham's main runway (Mickfield Hall). This allowed the winch to be perfectly aligned for the prominent wind direction (south/south west).

Today was also to be my first flight on my new glider, the AirBorne Sting 3:168. This glider is about 10cm longer than the Target so I needed to short-pack it to squeeze into my garage. Subsequently, each time I rig it, I have to rig it from short pack by carefully slotting in and aligning the outer leading edges and re-securing the sail. After I had rigged my glider and completed a very thorough and paranoid checking of everything, I was ready to go!

The first flight went very well, a full tow to around 900 feet and using some broken thermals, I was able to extend the flight. The new site is quite picturesque, flying over Mickfield Hall you can see the moat surrounding the buildings; the fact that I was able to admire the view was a good sign that I felt comfortable on the new glider. Shortly later, it was time for my first landing on it. Being within the optimum weight range on this glider, it seemed to float along on forever. My first landing required 2 or 3 steps before I was stationary. Well, that was the worst of it over [landings were my main concerns; no problem!].

In the meantime, Mark had started his tow conversion. His initial flight looked quite scary and involved a PIO. He looked very relieved to be on the ground afterwards! After subsequent flights he was doing very well and finished the day with a circuit bringing him back to the launch point.

For me, 3 further flights on my new glider, some of which involved some weak broken thermals, confirmed I was hooked! However, the day felt very long and with heat of the sun and all the running around, took its toll and I was knackered! It was time to for me to pack up and conclude the day.

A bit later, we all decided it was time for a pub meal. Mark kindly bought a round for everyone and we were then told they'd run out of food! Damn! It was now late so it was time to hit the road and return to Sussex - the journey back was another adventure!