My Flying

Get a phone call at 7pm that Friday evening. There is a free slot open in the radio course to be held at the Algoa Flying Club, would I be interested? It's very early in my flying "career", and I really don't need a radio license yet, or have the funds, but let's do it any way.

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Early morning rain and strong winds. No flying.

Time
Temp/DewPoint Humid Wind           Pressure

8:10 AM SAST
16.0°C / 15°C  91%  WSW 14.5 km/h  1007.0 hPa

9:07 AM SAST
18.2°C / 14°C  76%  WNW 25.3 km/h   996.8 hPa

11:30 AM SAST
19.8°C / 12°C  62%  SW 19.3 km/h   1007.7 hPa

12:37 PM SAST
22.4°C / 10°C  44%  SSW 52.9 km/h   997.9 hPa

Arrive early, 9:30. Not much happening. Hang around here, hang around there. Not a cloud in the sky, light SE blowing. Decision taken by instructor F(2) to fly. He wants to aero-tow, but the tug pilot can't as the club first need to comply with certain procedural documentations. My wallet breaths a sigh of relief. Winch battery dead. Lots of battling and it eventually starts 20 minutes later. Wing walk the Twin to 08R.
Two students and a pax. Pax goes up first, I insisted.

Get taught how to connect the winch cable to the glider and about the safety back pressure release. Apparently good lift at the ridge. My turn, go through the check list. The instructor adds to previous instrument check: radio set to correct frequency and is working and compass is working. Instructor also goes through a cable break drill.

South-easterly has picked up now. Instructor launches. I kind of fly to the ridge with lots of help from the instructor. The lift there is sufficient to keep us at about 1000ft (which is a few hundred feet above the top of the ridge).

We spend about 20 minutes running up and down the ridge. In this time I practice rudder and stick co-ordinated turns, about 30 to 45 degrees. After about four turns I start getting the hang of it, though I am controlling the pitch, the instructor has set the trim. Execute a few successful turns. Still find flying from A to B hard. He then explains crabbing to me.

Crabbing - As the wind is blowing at about a 50 degree angle to the ridge you actually need to point the glider into the wind to get it to fly from one point to another. Try this, but not very successful. At about 25 minutes the motion-sickness gets worse. Instructor lands straight in from the ridge with lots of crabbing. Total time 20 minutes (Cost = 71,00ZAR).

Arrived again just as the Twin is being towed to 16L. Wind is blowing a light SE and everyone is hoping that the ridge will provide some lift. Two other students arrive. This would be my first proper training flight. First student flight (we each get two) revealed that not much was happening on the ridge and thermal activity is low. Unusual as it is hot enough, about 32ºC

Anyways instructor F(4) takes me through the pre-flight check procedure.

CB SIT C BUF : Controls, ballast, straps, instruments, trim, canopy, brakes, undercarriage, flaps.

• Controls: All controls must have free movement.
• Ballast: A minimum of 70kg in front seat. Also ensure that no ballast is present in the cockpit from a previous flight and that the tail-dolly off.
• Straps: Safety straps secure and tight for myself and person in backseat.
• Instruments: Altimeter to zero, tap the side to ensure zero, VSI and ASI at zero.
• Trim: Trimmed for takeoff, set to neutral.
• Canopy closed: We normaly leave this until last if it’s a hot day.
• Brakes: Airbrakes, fully open on both sides, half open on both sides. Locked.
• Undercarriage: Down and locked.
• Flaps: Not applicable on this aircraft.

Instructor launches. First flight on the way to the ridge the instructor finds some lift. We go up to about 1250ft. My turn at the controls. Tried some straight and level flight. Not very successful. The feeling of the controls is completely alien to me. The stick needs very little movement and I can't feel any aerlon control. Pitching yields more response as speed quickly increases and decrease and the rudder needs large travel. No lift at the ridge. Back on the ground within 11 minutes.

Short break and the second flight. This time no extra lift on the way to the ridge. Managed to fly straightish with sort of level wings, once up and once down the ridge. Instructor takes us down from 700ft to land on 16L with no circuit. Flying time 6 minutes. Total time "at" the controls for both flights, about 5 minutes (instructor gave lots of input so I'm not sure as to what I did and what he did). Cost = 100,60ZAR.