Cambridge University Gliding Club

Over the Easter break a group of CUGC member made the long trek upto Portmoak, Scotland to join in a combined university gliding expedition. Snow in Scotland the week before left some of us wondering how accessible it would be but we arrived to find the only snow was in sheltered areas in the hills. Initially the instructors were worried about the state of the airfield as it was very wet and liable to damage by lots of gliding taking off and landing but it dried out enough for a productive week of flying. Thursday was perfect conditions for the ridge and in the evening several members of the expedition got in to wave and recorded their gold height gain by climbing to over 10 000ft. The next day the conditions would have seen us rushing to rig on a usual expedition but we struggled a bit for that initial enthusiasm. However, we did rig and succeeded on staying on the ridge even in the more challenging conditions.

The only day that looked unflyable from the outset we took a day (or afternoon) trip to Edinburgh and looked round the castle. We also enjoyed the traditional Haggis night in the clubhouse and an end of expedition curry.

Another very enjoyable expedition -look forward to seeing more people on the next one.

CUGC will be sending a team to this competition. It is suitable for pilots of all abilities (even pre-solo) as it consists of various parts such as progress, soaring and cross-country. It is very informal and the social side of it makes it amazing fun. Definitely the best place to meet like-minded young glider pilots.

CUGC are joining NUGC and OUGC in an annual expedition to Portmoak. This will be a good opportunity to improve your flying and try ridge soaring (something we can't do here in Cambridge). There will also lots of good socials.

If you want to join us get in contact with our captain Rebecca as soon as possible.

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. 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.