Identification Help Please!

[B Sharp]

Was Wilber Wright still the CFI at that point Vince?
Brian

[Paul_Williams]

Nice Oly memories, Brian,
I shall now make Robbie gasp and shake his head.

One of those perfect soaring days - so you oversleep, have no time for breakfast, your syndicate don't materialise, one kind soul helps you rig and after he leaves some yells ....... shame about the flat tyre ! and you borrow a pump and everyone vanishes, so you push the glider to the launch point all by yourself (complimentary free hernia).
By this point you are really too knackered to be interested but take a launch anyway around 1.45, into a really booming day.

After three hours it dawned on me that 5 hours might be possible but as I hadn't noted the exact launch time - I figured I needed to fly until 19.10 to be safe.......IF the thermals lasted. The first four hours were spent roaming around at 5000ft until the lift started to fade. The next 45 minutes were spent over the local village between 1500 and 800 ft - hurling abuse through the clear vision panel at any two seaters that came over trying to steal my thermal. Eventually I had to leave the village and retreat to the airfield -where all flying had now finished.

By now I was getting desperate as I didn't know exactly how much longer I needed and really didn't want to find I had landed just a few minutes short of 5 hours. Although some trees were giving some reduced lift with an impending evening thermal, it wasn't enough so totally gutted I turned for a base leg (too low for any circuit ) and found some feeble lift over the corner of the peri track at 600ft.

By now all other gliders were packed away in the hangar, so I gently wound the Oly round to avoid scaring the thermal away.
The lift was smooth and steady and weak but hey - it was lift ! Completely aware that at this height there was no room for mistakes, I circled the Oly at 32 kts (!) and I maintained height for ten minutes until in the last 5 minutes I gradually descended to 300 feet just inside the airfield perimeter. I simply abandoned the turn to land straight ahead.

Result- 5 hours 9 mintes - a result down the wonderful characteristics of the Oly.

As for the CFI - he congratulated me and said the last ten minutes weren't a problem because all flying had ceased - but do that again and my spherical ccessories would be removed !
Paul

[RobbieB]

I rest my case

[B Sharp]

My apologies to Vince, It would appear that I should have referred my previous "Wilber Wright" comment to Robbie instead.
Brian.

[John Vella]

I think you are looking for Wilbur Wright Brian.

[B Sharp]

I can do lots of things quite well John, but spelling isn't one of them.
Brian.