Cambridge University Gliding Club

The forecast had been touted as one of the best winter flying days on offer, with clear skies and a north-westerly wind onto the ridge. The bar chat of the night before had finished on a decision to try and fly the day as a dawn ‘til dusk, but finding myself the only one up in time I returned to bed, and then promptly overslept! Because of the forecast there were a lot of people out and about, and private gliders were sprouting wings all down the trailer park. Unfortunately it never became quite as good as promised, with a little local ridge-scratching all that was possible. The wind direction was quite fickle, and not strong enough to work properly, so when it ‘switched off’ the ridge gliders fell left, right and centre on the field (leaving me only way down the winch end!). It was a good day’s flying, and worth sticking around for, but unfortunately didn’t quite live up to expectations. After packing up and paying up we left, and almost missed Graham’s train in Stroud.

Overall it was a good and fun expedition. Winter expeditions are bound to have non-flying days, but it was a shame that they were all grouped together, and taking up the central chunk of the time spent there. The facilities were very good, the rooms were small, but pleasant and very cheap thanks to CUGC’s support of the expedition by halving accommodation costs, and the people were very welcoming. Just a shame about the weather! Oh well, better luck next year.

And then there were two, as only Graham and I were left, and no-one planned to join us despite the optimistic forecast of wind on the ridge. However, tonnes of people descended on the club wanting to fly, including a group of students from Bristol Uni GC. Everyone was stumped for a while by the locking away of the hangar keys in a combination safe, to which the combination had apparently changed. Once we got out there it was a crowded but efficient launch point, with lots of keen people keeping busy and keeping warm! It was a full and busy day, interspersed with a few snow flurries and diving into the kitchen to defrost ourselves. The bar was also busy that evening, and very sociable, especially re-discovering how small the gliding world is (“oh, I know them too!”).

Wind turbine definitely visible, so up early and DI-ing kit, fetching batteries and parachutes etc. ready to grab the weather window when it came. Unfortunately Will and Oliver had to leave before it really arrived, and so missed out on the better weather to follow but hey, at least we completed the jigsaw together. We were held back again by misting canopies and a heavy snow shower, but got a few good flights in, with my last being a lot of fun – aeros on the ridge as the lights were coming on in the valley, very pretty.

Not quite such a poor outlook this morning (I can see the wind turbine – just), hurrah! Despite efforts in getting kit out and ready, again the weather was slow to clear, and once it had the canopies fogged up continually, and the wings froze. It seemed like everything didn’t want us to fly! However it just about improved enough, though then the limiting factor was a lack of instructors. Dave and I had a very pleasant 40 minute flight, with a little bit of ridge and a little bit of wave, and everyone who wanted to managed to get into the air (just!). Andy J headed back towards Cambridge, into the snow, as he had no wish to be trapped on the hill. In the evening the four of us went over to the local pub in Nympsfield village, and were pleasantly surprised by its huge fire and good food! Oh, and we finished the jigsaw!

You guessed it; the day dawned grey and miserable – we were stuck in a cloud. The jigsaw and the open member’s area it was in were the central parts of the daily routine, and in the early afternoon (when it had become slightly less grey, though not by enough) we escaped it by going for a walk around the hills. Graham, Oliver and I went down the wooded valley, catching glimpses of the large manor house, and also a big buzzard. We found a pleasant, circular path to follow, though it brought us back to the airfield with light and energy to spare, so we crossed to the Cotswold Way footpath and followed it to the Nympsfield Barrow and view point. By this time the cloud had finally lifted a little way, though too late in the day to help with getting any flying in. Later I cooked a stir-fry and we retired to the bar to play Dingbats, which Will won surprisingly quickly, so we all carried on until getting bored of it.

The day dawned grey and miserable – we were stuck in a cloud. Procrastination got to such high levels that a 1000 piece circular jigsaw, a yin-yang of the Lord of the Rings, was unearthed and started. Sporcle (online quizzes) proved quite popular, and in order to keep from going crazy we went out Christmas shopping in Stroud (leaving Will to his ladybirds and keeping an eye on the weather). Down below the cloud level it was a reasonably pleasant day, and we aimlessly wandered for quite a while, finding a few bargains, particularly in the Works, but managing to avoid the lure of the many bookshops. We returned, advanced the jigsaw a little more, and sent a hunter-gathering team for dinner – curry this time, and it was very good curry too! More use was made of the bar, with many pool games played (and lost, by me).

The day dawned grey and miserable – we were stuck in a cloud. The slightly-less-keen weekday instructor Dave advised us not to start getting anything out, then proceeded to show is why with a bit of a met brief. This was followed by an in-depth site brief, including ridge lift principles, both of how it is formed and how to fly a ridge. This was finished for lunch, then various levels of industry were shown, with Will studiously getting on with behaviour analysis of ladybirds (not kidding!) and the rest of us exploring the many procrastination options available. This shortly led to the set-up of a flight simulator in the bar, where mountain soaring was practised by all, with Oli-the-power-pilot probably doing best at it. We finished off the day with a lovely home-cooked Bolognese after the guys went hunter-gathering to Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and all of the roundabouts in Stroud, many times! We were also joined by Andy Jude, a Gransden member with many connections to CUGC (like giving lifts everywhere – thanks!).

The day dawned grey and miserable – we were stuck in a cloud. The keen duty instructor Sid had everything ready and everyone raring to go, unfortunately the cloud wasn’t quite as motivated and stayed put. Philippa and John returned in an Oxford direction, and the rest of us headed for Gloucester. We then proceeded to loose each other, but find a few Christmas presents, in a large shopping centre, followed by a walk around the docks and cathedral, before hitting the all-you-can-eat oriental buffet. Andy L, Oliver, Graham and I stuffed our faces and enjoyed challenging the all-you-can-eat tag, especially the bits brought to the table on large skewers! After dropping Andy at the train station we set off back to Nympsfield, where we were joined by Will Winter and briefed on the bar...but didn’t make much use of it.

We (Becca Ward, Graham Spelman and Andy Langton) left Cambridge bright and early, in good spirits despite an uncertain weather forecast, and managed the A14 and avoiding Birmingham with little trouble. Shortly after reaching the M5 we heard from the Bicester team (Philippa Roberts and John Verril), who were there ahead of us, to say that the airfield was stuck in a cloud. Assuring them we wouldn’t be long (hahaha), we made plans to walk somewhere for lunch if the weather didn’t improve.

We reached Stroud, and picked up Oliver Kay from the station, in perfect time, with no navigation issues. “I know the way from here” said Andy, so I trusted him (foolishly) as he drove us up the wrong hill, over the wrong common and down the wrong road. Frustrated map reading and a lucky signpost put us back on track, and we found the airfield just in time as the cloudbase was starting to lift.

All eager to fly, we started dragging gliders out without thinking to change from our trainers – feet were soon wet and cold (it was really cold out there), but smiles kept us going as nearly everyone got the chance for a quick flight. After flying (and having changed shoes and defrosted), we set out in two cars to hunt for a pub. Unfortunately, not having learnt today’s lesson, Andy was leading the way. We ended up in Minchinhampton (nearly to Aston Down-another local gliding club), at a pub that wasn’t doing food. He redeemed himself shortly after, finding a nice country pub doing posh, but very nice, food. This was, of course, the place he’d been looking for all along!

Booking for our three trial flight days this term has now opened. They will be held on Monday 2 November, Friday 6 November and Monday 16 November.

Remember it's just £20 to experience the thrill of gliding. Booking is online (follow the trialflights link above) and book soon to avoid disappointment.

Hope to see you there!