French hangar packing is an entertaining thing to watch and even more amusing if you are involved in the pushing, pulling and shouting. Today was no exception with the entire hangar having to be emptied to get out an LS 6 and then repacked in a different order. By the time we had done this, DI the Duo we are renting and towed it to the launch-point we were a little way down the launch queue.
By 11:30 Merv was getting itchy feet and launched with Martin Conboy as P2 on to one of the local hills called Malaupe. The radio remained silent for 20 mins before they gained enough height to contact us. This didn’t really inspire the RAF GSA contingent to launch and it was probably about an hour later before Alex and myself got airborne in the Sisteron club Duo.
As we aerotowed out I went into sheep mode and let the tug pilot take us in the same direction as the previous 3 glider had been towed, towards St Genis. Releasing above the top we did one run along it and were going down it fast. At the point where the computer said we were 75 meters above glide back to Sisteron one part of my brain reminded the other part that it’s a rented glider with a hefty excess, so home we went. A low save in the circuit saved the embarrassment and cost of a relight and we were then back in the game.
Everyone did two and a half to three hour flights with reliable conditions on the rock faces giving people good practice at climbing away from low level. By late afternoon Merv and Ed Foxon managed to reach Pic de Bure but with the upper wind coming from the North the climb up the southern side was slow.
Colin.
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