19/04/17 After operating on 09 for the day we were approached by the 2Excell ATC who politely requested if their jet could depart on 27. That, plus the see breeze with a hint of west in it arriving at Lasham persuaded us to change ends. With very few people at the launch point, changing ends took much longer than it should. The launch point was re-established away from the runway to minimise the impact of the jet's departure on our operation. With only 15 people present in total we had a very quiet evening. After the sun disappeared behind cloud the temperature really dropped but that did not deter Paul H from wearing his shorts!

12/04/17 A brisk westerly wind and the threat of several jet movements meant that we were operating from the pan on the south side of 27. It was really good to see some old and new faces returning for another season, After a slow start the pace picked up and we hit our target for this week.

05/04/17 The season opened with a quiet start operating from the south of runway 34. Maybe the regulars did not know we were starting this week! However, we made the most of the 8 gliders that we were left with achieving just 9 launches short of the target. The first Golden Glider Curry Night was well received by all even though the air experience lot had told them that their evening had been scrubbed and that there would be nobody turning up!!

28/09/16 The final evening was well attended but the lowering cloud and drizzle prevented us from achieving the last target. However, we did manage our best launch rate for the season exceeding the 16lph mark. Tonight was also the final curry prepared by the Chefs2U franchise before the Golden Glider catering takes over. Many thanks to Matt, Dan Brian et al for feeding us over the past 4 years.

24/08/16 After a blistering hot day the predicted thundery breakdown eventually arrived this evening to curtail the flying prematurely. A reduced turnout still managed to achieve 70% of the target.

17/08/16 At last one of those warm summer evenings that have been conspicuous by their absence. A prompt start was made and John R and Keith made use of the last of the day's thermals on their first flight. A good pace was maintained throughout the evening and despite having a real cable break towards the end that cost a few launches 15 launches per hour was still achieved over the evening. Our regular winch driver couldn't make it so cover was provided by Graham S and Ian. The light and variable wind made getting the launches speed right quite tricky. With only a potential of 6 more evenings and 10 hour operational window it is important that we operate efficiently to make the most of our rapidly decreasing evenings.

10/08/16 As an air-ex group were operating, the winch operation that was set up on the north side during the day due to the crosswind had to be relocated to the south side. This was expediently effected by Merv so that launching could commence on time at 18:00. However, with several new and keen members joining the group and the shortening of the evenings and the absense of two of our instructors meant the operation was not as efficient as we could be. At one point there were two K13s parked without crews to operate them which is the first time that has happened for many seasons. Matt Johnston was pleased to resolo after an extended break of many years. Perhaps our normal service will be resumed next week!

13/07/16 Initially delayed by a late 737 arrival and by the time we managed to re-establish the launch point a heavy shower stopped operations for a further 20 mins. An unusually small turnout of the regulars left us a little short handed and over equiped as the 3 baby grobs had to be returned to the hangar unflown. However, those that were there managed to fly all that they desired and again unusually the hangar was packed with some daylight still remaining.

06/07/16 A very pleasant evening where we equalled our best evening total of 47 so far but at a slightly reduced pace than before.

29/06/16 With the Wimbledon Championships running there was no chance of flying as the rain claimed its second evening.

22/06/16 Its hard to update the news for tonight from the French Alps but normal service will be resumed next week. Many thanks to Ed for using WhatsApp to keep Merv in the loop for the logsheets

15/06/16 Thanks for Liam's sterling efforts on the logsheet update for this week.

09/06/16 Delayed initially by rain, launching commenced at 18:36. A steady pace was kept up for the remainder of the evening without Merv, Chris and Julian to help. Enormous thanks to Bea for assisting with the logs at extremely short notice without which this update would not have been possible.

01/06/16 Along with the competitions came some dire weather with strong northerly winds and rain to claim the first evening of the season. However, Chris G and Matt J apreciated some aerotow revision on the simulator. The warming curry was particularly good this week!! Hoping that normal service will be resumed next week.....

30/05/16 Graham S, being in the right place at the right time, really enjoyed his introduction to the south downs ridge today with Merv in E6. The strong northerly wind produced the best ridge conditions so far in Merv's experience. A 334km task between Butser Hill and Lewes completed at a speed of 138kph. Further details here

25/05/16 A very pleasant and our most successful evening to date. The addition of two additional Imperial College students with 496 were most welcome to contribute to the launch total. The regulars, however, were not short changed as Graham F, Adam H Mark O and Chris G did 7,6,5 and 4 flights respectively, leaving us just 7 launches short of the target. In the absense of our regular winch drivers Graham S and Merv provided cover.

18/05/16 Informed en route that due rain, the gliders were in hangar but the launch point was still set up just in case it cleared up. Clear up it did, just long enough for us to change runways and get the DG1000 out and then it rained again! Launching eventually started at 20:15 with two permature hook releases. This was the first time the belly hook had been tested under load having been replaced after the unfortunate undercarriage collapse at Jaca. Only two launches were successful one to 500' and the other to 1300' In summary, not our most successfull evening but Paul really enjoyed the 4:1 instructor pupil ratio. ;-)

11/05/16 A beautiful evening but very quiet, Roger went soaring for 38 mins while waiting for people to turn up, Congratulations to Bea who re-solo-ed after a long break. Apart from one joint pulling through the rest of the evening went smoothly.

06/04/16 A windy and cold start produced some interesting conditions. Flying had been curtailed in the afternoon because the wind was gusting to 38kts. The airfield was set up again as the wind had reduced slightly for the evening. The first launch disappeared on a soaring flight so the rest of the K21 fleet was extracted from the hangar and put to good use. Welcome to Matt, Adam, Chris and Mike who joined us this year. Nearly everyone managed to fly before night was upon us except for Bea and James - must try harder next week!

16/09/15 As the day's flooding continued into the evening, there was no chance of any aviation. Liam

19/08/15 A wet evening without any sign of hope claimed the second non flyable evening for this year.

12/08/15 A slow start turned into a busy evening as more people arrived between 6 and 7pm. With the evening durations rapidly diminishing if you can possibly arrive earlier it will be much easier to fit in extra flights at the start rather than trying to squeeze them in after the sun has set! A good pace was sustained over the evening resulting in the target being exceeded for the third time this season. Let's hope the good weather on Wednesday evening continues for the remaining six weeks.

05/08/15 Delayed initially by rain which eventually cleared, then hindered by change of ends, then finally curtailled by lightning. But we were treated to a spectacular rainbow as we packed the toys away.

29/07/15 A busy evening with the target being exceeded for the second time. Welcome back to Bea who returned to the course after a 11 year break. Graham S completed his solo spinning exercise and Julian refreshed his discus experience. David T may be joining use after videoing a spin entry from a well banked turn on the last flight of the evening!

22/07/15 A very quiet start to a beautiful evening, the afternoon rain passed leaving superb visibility and good thermals well into the evening. A good total of launches for the evening considering nothing occured in the first 30 mins! Soo produced a Soo-prise - a superb chocoholic's delight cake for Merv's birthday that was enjoyed by all.

15/07/15 A superb evening! Our target was beaten for the first time this season with a busy evening and a peak launch rate of 16lph. Our numbers were increased by a guests of Paul H and Jon B.

08/07/15 We had the opportunity to try a DG1001 club demonstrator in it's 18m mode. Six of us manage to fly it and sucessfully avoided having to pay the 5000 euro damage excess! The glider had an anticollision strobe that proved most useful for winch launching as the light faded ;-)

01/07/15 Congratulations to Oleg who completed his first solo

27/06/15 A lot of kit left for us again with so few people meant a lot of hangar flights. Thanks to Chris H for kindly stepping into Rogers place - did anyone notice the difference!! ;-). The evening ended with some light rain. The now traditional curry was enjoyed by all.

20/05/15 Another very quiet evening with so few people we are really short of ground helpers when we have launched 4 gliders. Thanks to David T for manning the retrieve truck and to Graham S who stepped into the winch's seat after completing his course last Friday with Q. Merv will be away for the next two weeks in Sisteron but will still be keeping the logs and stats up to date thanks to Julian.

13/05/15 A lovely evening following a good soaring day. Well done to Graham S for completing his one hour flight - apparently last week's hints and tips on thermalling were very useful :-)! Plenty of launch capacity was available and used by Oleg and Alex, whilst Chris was being kept busy in the tow plane.

06/05/15 The bad weather synchronised nicely with Wednesday this week to claim its first evening of the season. Some hints and tips on better thermalling were distributed between the two stalwarts that turned out despite the weather!

29/04/15 After a day of heavy showers the weather finally cleared for the evening. Norman who was on holiday was greatly missed in the winch, Merv filled in until Ian arrived. Roger P, who was considering leaving at 15:00 was delighted that he stayed on as he not only achieved the longest flight of the evening of 1hr 13m landing just after 19:30. But he was awarded a gold star for persevering against the odds. Two other flights of 30m didn't help the launch rate much! ;-) A couple of cable breaks towards the end of the evening reduced the launch total even further.

22/04/15 Another lovely evening although a little windy and cool. Nice to see the return of Alex and Soo but there is still space for more!

15/04/15 Perfect weather but lonely for the instructors - where are all the students?? Merv(2) solo on K21, James C enjoying almost exclusive use of the G102 and some late flights for Jon B after being delayed by traffic.

08/04/15 Fortunately the day group changed onto 23 so we could launch into wind. Nearly all the kit was left out so we spent a very pleasant evening redistributing it to various parts of the airfield before finally retrieving and putting it all away.

01/04/15 2015 gets underway with a slow start with all the kit put to bed at 16:00 and only Norman and Merv around at 17:50 purely because of a forecast stating that it would be raining!! O Ye of little faith - the kit was extracted and set up and the few who turned up enjoyed 2000' launches until dusk. The kit was put away and then it rained which demonstrates again that if you turn up then you might fly but if you don't you won't!!

24/09/14 A beautiful clear evening to finish the season after a classic cold front clearance and a spectacular sunset. Merv was late again (must try harder next year) however, the shortest evening was well used with a reasonable launch rate making the final total of 714 launches for this season. Nice to see Janet back again after a long absence but just a tad late for this season!. Thanks again for everyone's support over the last 26 weeks it is a real team effort. Looking forward to seeing you at the skittles on Wednesday 29th October at the Golden Pot.

17/09/14 A murky short evening was well ultilised producing our best launch rate of the season. With only one week left the overall total reached might break the 700 mark for the season if the weather permits.

10/09/14 The continued good weather delayed Merv again as he didn't get back from the 400k task until 18:10. another fine evening was enjoyed by all.

3/09/14 A fine evening with a light easterly but the visibility could have been better. Thanks to Norman who stepped into the winch again as Ian couldn't make it. The end of season skittles has been arranged for the 29th October more details here.

27/08/14 The end of the summer was signalled by the weather claiming it's third evening of the season.

20/08/14 Delayed by a few late finishers returning from the Juniors competition. Congratulations to Michele Oddone who completed two sucessful solo flights. The evenings are noticably getting shorter but we managed our best launch rate of 16.3lph. Congratulations to Graham Stallard who completed his fixed price to solo package with a successful solo flight completed on Friday.

13/08/14 Another very pleasant evening enjoyed by all. Soo Kim brought some of her excellent homemade scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam - adding to all our anti-spin devices!

6/08/14 Liam and Merv were on G's cross country course for the week and with the absense of a winch driver a late start was inevitable. Even with 40 mins lost a respectable total was achieved for the remainder of evening with Merv winching yet again. (We really must get some more winchies trained up!)

30/07/14 Another fine evening and our numbers were boosted by three guests including Megan (again) who should consider joining the cadet scheme.

23/07/14 The winch queue was a little depleted as the aerotow attracted a lot of customers tonight. To celebrate Merv's birthday Morag had asked little Mike to make a chocolate cake, and unknown to Liam who had also provided another chocolate cake!!

9/07/14 A moderate northerly wind caused us to operate from the southern end of the short runway. Graham S discovered just how short the short runway is when attempting a CBSA!

2/07/14 With only three students and another fine evening 2/3rds of the flights were solos, where has everybody gone? - they must be on holidays.

25/06/14 Merv was late getting back from his 526km cross-country task and so was late on parade. Yet another quiet evening but a very pleasant one. Graham Foster had the longest flight of the evening (possibly longest that was achieved on any Wednesday Evening so far) landing at 20:10 clocking up an impressive 1:05. A balloon nearly made it to the airfield but was thwarted buy the low level sea breeze that arrived at the same time!

18/06/14 Just for a change Merv was driving the winch again. With an absence of students 2/3rds of the evening flights were solo, including an imperial college student who omitted to lock the rear canopy that subsequently opened on the winch. A reminder that when flying solo the pilot has the reponsibility to ensure that the preflight checks have been completed including a check on the rear canopy that can easily be done by pushing upward on the canopy frames just above the pilot's head.

11/06/14 Delayed

4/06/14 A very short evening! We abandoned almost in time to put everything away before the Cu-Nim arrived bringing torrential rain with hailstones turning the tarmac white. Unfortunately, Julian Roger and James didn't quite make the hangar with the K21 before getting soaked.

28/05/14 The competitions brought the usual dismal weather and it claimed the second evening of the season.

21/05/14 Third week without our regular winch drivers! A very quiet evening as two of our most active members are on a Bronze to Silver course this week. A line of rain to the east fortunately remained there despite the easterly wind and we weren't affected by it until well after dark. This Saturday is the start of the 9 day competitions but it will be business s usual for next week's evening course!

14/05/14 Delayed by jet movement that required us to set up on the south side of 27 and Merv was late to get into the winch for the second week! When launching finally resumed, a good pace was maintainted for the remainder of the evening but there is always room for improvement especially at the launch point. We entertained two pilots from Booker who came for some winch refresher training.

07/05/14 After a change of runway and the absense of regular winch drivers, Merv stepped into the driving seat. Those that made the effort to attend were rewarded with launches to 2300' depsite the apparently unfavorable weather with the threatened showers that never materialised. The pace was generally slowed by a necessary repair of a frayed cable, a weak spring on a retrive hook jettisoning the cable almost at the launchpoint a couple of times and a detachment of the shock rope during the initial transition of a launch.

30/04/14 A warm pleasant evening with surprisingly few people attending. The day group had kindly left nearly all the kit for us to put to good use.

23/04/14 Alas the weather claimed its first evening of the season!

16/04/14 A lovely evening with more people; 35 pleasant flts. Hope to see even more next week!

09/04/14 A nice evening and plenty of gliders, but not a large turnout. We managed 15 flights, with several pilots keen to do the last flights to land by the hangar. A good curry thanks to Matt and Dan.

02/04/14 A good turnout for the first evening after a very wet winter. A cable repair from a break earlier in the day delayed our start to this year's season. A steady pace was maintained over the evening as we shifted some of the cobwebs. Having only just arrived back fron Jaca yesterday morning Merv will be leaving on Friday together with Ed to return there. Next week Roger, Ed and Merv will be absent from the avaiable instructors but we are hopeful that some able substitutes can be found. First the good news - Colin and Werner arrived back with our K21 at 02:00 and the bad news? they discovered that we had left the Norrie hangar open and the fire truck abandoned on the runway. Note to self: must try harder!

25/09/13 The last evening of this year's course was salvaged by a few keen marauders who prevented the weather from claiming yet another evening. However, the deteriorating conditions did prevent us making 700 by 9 launches. Thanks to all who have participated in this season and to all the regular volunteers that really make the group function. See you at the skittles!

18/09/13 A short but crystal clear evening was spent unusually operating at the southern end of the short runway. Another good launch rate produced an evening where the target was met again! Liam arrived as the sun was setting to brief the assembly with the lastest update on the skittles evening and to summarise the booking for the 6 November has been confirmed and the price for the mid range buffet menu is £16 ;-)

11/09/13 Skittles Date Update: Apparently someone else has shown an interest for using the JF skittle alley on the 13th November so Liam has changed the date yet again and we're now looking at 6th November.

11/09/13 The rain moved in from the north to claim the fifth non flying evening. Guy, Soo and John B spent 3 hours in the simulator with Chris and Julian. Meanwhile, Alex Beaton took his white card test and sorted out his paperwork for his solo flight last week.

4/09/13 Another fine warm evening and the target was exceeded for the first time since 24 April! Congratulations to Alex Beaton on his first and second solo flights. With the whole fleet available to us as there was no evening trial flights and spare instructing capacity there just wasn't enough people to fill all the gliders so Merv was using two at a time. Dan Smallbone eventually deciphered the ballast loading chart for the DG and flew it solo. Liam decided to change the date of the Skittles to coincide with Merv And Morag's forth coming visit to Scotland and was persuaded to delay the event to Wednesday 6th November 2013. A poll of the present company was made and it was decided to opt for the mid priced buffet option

28/08/13 Delayed by a change of winch to one that refused to start got us off to a slow start but the pace was resumed when the winch eventually fired up. A busy and interesting evening with very little wind to start that became a significant tailwind for the last 20mins producing some unusually long approaches and landings. If the weather holds we should break the 700 launch barrier in the 6hours 15min left of the season

21/08/13 Another quiet start on a very pleasant evening, initially, there was a shortage of people to operate effectively. Our winch driver notified us of his late arrival and was ably substituted by Michael Harrison until Ian arrived - many thanks from all of us. Ed and Dan were attending the juniors comp at Nympsfield, Dave B was having a well earned rest and Chris was flying the tug for the air experience leaving us short of instructors. Congratulations to Patrick Garaets who soloed on Sunday and completed his second solo tonight. Welcome to Patrick and Max Moran who both did a sterling job retrieving gliders from various corners of the airfield. The evening was finished a little prematurely after the K21 broke the cable prior to the last pair of cables that subequently never materialised, - exactly what Ian didn't want just as the light was fading!

14/08/13 The attending marauders initially questioned Merv's decision to start putting things away before 18:00 but he was proved right as the lowering cloudbase and rain arrived and claimed the forth evening. Guy did one flight with Roger but being the only flight to log the spread sheet couldn't cope with the first and last launch times being the same! Next week is looking more promising although the evenings are noticably shorter these days.

07/08/13 The vintage rally gliders were all flown by 18:00 clocking up 124 winch launces during the day. Initially, we were short of gliders as there was a plan to fly the band that were playing at the barn dance later. With only one glider left at the launchpoint, Q took the second winch away, shortly after that the demand returned as all the gliders were placed back in the queue but we were also short of our second winch driver. Tonight we were joined by 5 new students (3 were from last weeks course that was run by Ed Lockhart and Merv) who all managed to fly as well as the regulars on another very pleasant evening ending with another super sunset.

31/07/13 A busy evening, as we were joined by the scouts who were most helpful and contributed to the best launch rate of the season so far. A lowering cloudbase curtailed the evening early and the hangar doors were closed before the onset of night! Next week the course will be operating as normal as far as the 41st International Vintage Rally will allow and Liam has raised an official complaint that the Irish flag is not on display on the newly erected flag-poles as apparently he is taking part in the rally.

24/07/13 Two firsts tonight, 1, we were operating with the swish new launchpoint control trailer and 2, Julian's first evening as an instructor. Again a relatively slow start due to shortage of people but a very pleasant evening and steady launch rate followed. It was good to see Bea back at the helm doing everything as usual and sorting out the logs at the end of flying. A small hiccup with the last pair of cables lost us a launch but we were rewarded by a super full moon rising as we closed the hangar doors

17/07/13 After another blisteringly hot day the clouds erupted skywards and turned thundery near Reading. We changed ends while waiting for the thunder and lightning to fade away and finally started launching just after 20:00. It was a very pleasant change to actually launch into the light wind, having been at the mercy of the light and variable winds while effecting several launches during the day most of which had a tail wind component even after changing ends. Owing to the late start the flying quota was well below normal but we are hopeful that normal service will be resumed next week!

10/07/13 The weather was pleasant but the strong crosswind produced some challenging conditions. The group was short of nearly every body tonight so we all had to multi-task. Our regular winch drivers both couldn't make it, so Dave volunteered for the first half with the remainder effected by Merv. Julian ended up as launch point controller, logkeeper, wing holder and attaching cables. We were so desperate that we had to put Liam in the cable retrieve truck! With a shortage of instructors, student pilots and helpers we were left with an excess of kit that was all put to good use in the end. With our small resources literally spread over the airfield, we did well to reach 44 launches tonight. Welcome to Paul Hicks who recently solo'd on a week course with Gary, we hope you enjoyed your first Marauder experience and that you will be back for more!

03/07/13 A super evening with the clouds dispersing, improving visibility and the wind straight down the main runway in complete contrast to first thing this morning. A steady pace was maintained for the first 2/3rds of the evening with a burst of enthusiam in the last third produced our second highest total of launches for this year. We welcomed a couple of new faces who single handedly added a dozen flights to the total. With the benefit of hindsight we really should have put the second winch into operation to boost the availability of launches. Sadly it was Soo's last evening before her temporary membership runs out and she is off to help a friend for a couple of months. Soo is adament that she will return in September so we all will miss her enthusiasm and wish her the best of luck. Tonight was the last of the longest evenings so the time available will be fading away fast from now on.

26/06/13 A slow start to a very pleasant evening as I'm guessing quite a few of our members are away on their summer holidays. Tonight was also the first evening that the air experience was operating, although it did not affect us as we were short of student pilots. At last, with Julian's help Merv has managed to catch up with last week's flights so the data is now up to date. We will have to go on a recruiting drive to encourage a few more members to join us, having just passed half way mark, the total flights for this year are well down and it looks like we will be lucky to make 700 for this year.

19/06/13 Warm evening with a crosswind from north. Still in t-shirts by the end of the evening. Very short of people at the beginning of the evening.

12/06/13 With 50ft cloud base, rain and strong winds it's not surprising that the weather claimed it's third evening. If anyone is interested in what Merv and Julian have been upto you can find out here

5/06/13 Bonsoir mes amis! Greetings from France, update a little late as we had a bit of a drive to get to Troyes. At last a really nice long evening where everyone flew to their capacities, but it did turn a little chilly when the sun sunk below the horizon. Hopefully with the help of Janet and Phillip the site should be updated over the next two weeks while Merv is away - watch this space!.

29/05/13 The competition day was scrubbed early due to the weather and unfortunately, so was the evening (having optimistically left the airfield setup!) Principles of flight was the subject for the lecture. Forecast for next week is much more promising and it will be Merv's last evening until he returns from the club expedition to Sisteron towards the end of the month.

22/05/13 Last minuite notifications of the absence of 75% of our winch driver corps meant we had to barter with Flora for him to do 45 mins overtime in exchange for a few launches until Merv could take over for the rest of the evening. Another day where the evening turned out much better, a reasonable pace was maintained but there is always room for improvement!! If anyone fancies becoming a standby winchie (you will get priority to fly before winching), for those very rare occassions when Mike and Ian are both missing, Val is offering to provide training for any willing volunteers - Your group needs you!!

15/05/13 Despite the bad forecast the showers were unusually developing to the east leaving the airfield in a beautifully clear and soarable airmass. Three flights in excess of 25mins between 19:00 and 20:00 didn't do much for the launch rate!

8/05/13 The expected clearance eventually materialised at 20:00 - just too late to use. In the meantime, Chris provided a comprehensive briefing on circuit planning.

1/05/13 Merv was delayed by a late arrival back from an aborted attempt at a 500km flight. Meanwhile a beautiful evening continued, marred only by a genuine cable break which consumed some of our available valuable launching time causing a reduction in flights available. The evening was finished with a spectacular sunset which will herald the possibility of another good day tomorrow.

24/04/13 An unusual early start was possible as there were enough people (just) to take over the launch point just before 17:00 to try to make up for the previous three weeks shortfall. Some welcome new faces appeared and also some of the missing old school turned out which boosted the demand considerably. Almost unheard of - both our winch meisters were unavailable tonight,so Dave Bowtell jumped into the harness and did a stirling job. So for the first time ,but hopefully not the last,the target was exceeded and some lost ground was regained. A reasonable launch rate of 13ph was achieved, at last the launch point appeared to be returning to it's former self. That said there's always room for improvement ie how do we split 4 aircraft between 2 queues answers on a postcard please!

17/04/13 An early start was made on a very windy and gusty evening in an effort to include some of Roger P's flights. For those that were treated to a ride back to the launch queue after their landings - don't get used to it as it was purely to aid protecting the gliders in the stong winds. Liam arrived back from South Africa with a broken toe, but that's still not a good enough excuse for not using enough rudder! So far, we've had a different extreme each week starting with cold, followed by wet and now wind, perhaps next week we will have some extreme heat which would be nice for a change!

10/04/13 Not to be put off by the depressing forecast that quickly turned into reality, one flight was made just prior to the rain arriving! Roger P and Merv(2) had flown during the afternoon but unfortunately too early to be included in the statistics! An early curry was swiftly consumed followed by a useful session in the 'Simmo'lator and even Werner was most impressed by the debrief in the bar afterwards using Merv's flexible piece of string (you just had to be there!). Must admit, the forecast for next Wednesday is not looking too promising at the moment. But we're hoping that the current trend of the daily rain clearing away for the evening will continue.

03/04/13 A strong and bitterly cold wind provided challenging conditions for those that chose to brave the weather for the first evening. Some excellent 2000' launches were provided by Ian and Mike but we ran out of customers after 16 launches. Welcome to Guy and Soo, we hope you enjoyed your first evening with us! We were treated to a flurry of snow as we put the kit away.

17/10/12! Liam will be finalising arrangements and confirming numbers this Thursday (17/10/12) for next week's Skittles Evening. If you want to come and haven't yet out your name down (or if you think there is any chance of confusion over whether or not you are coming), please e-mail Liam at lslyons(at)hotmail.com or phone him on 07865 386657 ASAP! If Nigel is reading this, Liam can't remember if you told him you're coming or not, so please phone ASAP!

10/10/12 Spotted the deliberate mistake about the date for this year's skittles its Wed 24th October not 31st as previously advertised, hope to see you there!

03/10/12 Congratulations to Roger Pusey who qualified for his A Badge today, having missed the last two evenings he would like to say "Sorry I didn't manage it on a Wednesday evening, but my thanks to the Wednesday evening instructors who helped. Particularly Roger who seemed to get the short straw more than most!!"

19/09/12 No data - No report

12/09/12 Remote update from Jaca, thanks to Janet and Phillip for the transfer of information that has enabled this week's update. Considering the run of frontal weather the UK has been subjected to it is a credit to you guys to continue where Merv has left off, to bring the total to 549. With a bit of luck we may just make 600 launches for the season which is apparently more than the Ulster Gliding club has managed over this season. Keep up the enthusiasm, with Julian (and E6) following Merv to Jaca on Friday there are very few of you guys left. PS I hope Keith got his beanie hat back!!

05/09/12 Congratulations to Merv (2) on going solo - well done!! A brisk pace was maintained over the evening to achieve our best single winch launch rate of the season of 14.7lph! Merv is off to Jaca for the remainder of the season, so the target will be to acheive a total of 600 launches for this year ie another 77 launches required over the next three weeks.

05/09/12 Next week, Liam is going to present some options for our annual end-of-season celebration. The Jolly Farmer has looked after us very well for the last couple of years, but if anyone has any interesting and viable alternative suggestions for our outing, please e-mail Liam on lslyons@hotmail.com by Saturday 8th September, to give him time to look into it (and no, Ed, we're not going to Stringfellows in Aldershot!). Remember your cheque books.

29/08/12 The front cleared 1 hour later than ideal but we are grateful for what we received. The moderate wind and use of k21's resulted in 3 actual cable breaks that were efficiently dealt with by the crew. All but 2 flew which was a good effort overall.

22/08/12 Merv, who was running a week course, effected a demonstration of an actual field landing in a k13 for one of his students, so was obviously delayed! Meanwhile, a jet movement prompted a relocation of the launch point and a change of direction while towing the cables caused the cables to cross and twist together. The next launch used both cables and took some time to untangle the aftermath. Liam being the resourceful chap he is, swiftly changed on to the aerotow (even though they don't count!)

15/08/12 No report

08/08/12 Delayed update as Merv in France. Weather was poor to start with and no instructors showed up. G and Gary were kindly waiting until we decided whether we could fly. Keith had decided not to come due to WX. Due to lack of anyone to run the operation we had to cancel; G & Gary helped us put all the kit away, but it was flyable from around 7:30/8pm. Ho hum, there goes the fifth evening!

25/07/12 At last! a balmy summer evening with soaring to be had but where is everybody? A very relaxed pace was effected but still achieving a respectable 13lph including a change of ends. Merv is off to France for the next two weeks but is confident that the 500 launch figure will be reached - we might just scrape 700 launches this year if we're lucky.

18/07/12 Rain stopped play claiming its fourth evening of this season. Merv was not present as he was not very well, the few stallwarts that were, were treated to the olympic airspace briefing!

11/07/12 The wet weather continued with some heavy showers passing nearby but not affecting the operation. The first three launches resulted in soaring flights so again more gliders were required at the launchpoint! Marjorie brought two guests along from Belgium and appreciated some of our 2000' launches. Next week Colin is planning to give a briefing at 18:00 on the forthcoming Olympic airspace.

04/07/12 The sum total of this week's club launches was 4 winches that were effected this afternoon, as it had been raining for 2.5 days before, then the rain returned! We retired to the clubhouse where an impressive number of the evening course turned up considering the awful weather and forecast. Undeterred, on the strength of a bright spot on the distant horizon, more gliders were prepared and the launchpoint was relocated so we were ready for the break in the clouds. The launching restarted at 19:30 only to be interupted by a 737 arrival that was alledgedly due in 15 mins but it didn't arrive until 50 minutes later. The low clouds disappeared leaving a spectacular sunset to end what turned out to be a successful evening with 18 additional launches added to the total.

27/06/12 A slow start as there was very little activity during the day requiring more gliders to be brought into service at the launch point. Chris brought a new addition to the launch point in the form of a megaphone that was put to good use throughout the evening! Liam 'latecomer' Lyons was advised to step away from the glider as he tried to sneak an early launch but he managed to snaffle another soon after.

20/06/12 A very pleasant evening for one of the longest of the season. The gentle easterly wind provided very favorable conditions for winch launching with most launches reaching 2000'. Our numbers were boosted tonight by guests who thoroughly enjoyed their experiences. With the long evenings at the moment, there is an ideal opportunity to use the spare capacity by bringing a friend/relative/workmate/spouse - so don't delay ask a friend today!! We are getting so desperate that we even flew Phil from the kitchen! There was a shortage of curry and lasagne tonight as there was a massive group of 4 trial lessons who apparently were like a plague of locusts devouring everthing in front of them.. perhaps next week the office will let Phil know so he can put some extra portions of curry on to feed the hungry Marauders when they finally arrive at 22:00

13/06/12 A slow start as the wind that was turning into a nasty tail wind forced a change of ends. Congratulations to Simon Hewitt on his first and second solos and to Louie for successfully completing his first solo aerotow - well done chaps!. Initially the dreaded boom had returned as the grass had been soaked over the last week but it dried out sufficiently for us to revert to normal operations. We operated two winches for the first time as a representative from Skylaunch had Mr Cheng from China to train as a winch driver complete with an interpreter. Only one cable break tonight on the winch with the 'good' cables on it!

06/06/12 Today was not a competition day so there were no finishers to interupt the evening. However, the cables were determined to get in on the act with 4 actual cable breaks that slowed things down a bit. Considering the run of appalling weather recently, the evening was good but the strong winds and rain are to return tomorrow just for a change.

30/05/12 Another fairly relaxed evening with a relatively small group who enjoyed a very pleasant evening. Jim P managed a short soaring flight at 19:30 for 16 mins in the K6e. Liam and Sarah enjoyed their flights in the T21 that was making a special appearance. If we carry on with our current performance the projected total for the year will be around 750 launches. However, next week, the comps will be running and could restrict our evening total if the weather turns out to be good.

23/05/12 At last the ground has dried out in this mini heatwave so the booms are off!. A shortage of people, aerotowing practice and again being soarable to 20:00 has not helped the launch total but we're getting used to this relaxed pace of life!

16/05/12 At last a super evening, with soaring available to 19:00 which didn't help with the launch total for tonight! Our usual shortage of people at the start of the evening and still using the boom for cable retrieving reduced the number of launches even further, but fun was had by all.

09/05/12 Just for a change the weather claimed its third evening but it didn't prevent some revision for the instructors on operation with large jets, altimeter settings and rules of the air, the two students might have learnt something too! Ho hum maybe next week....

02/05/12 Low cloud prevented the day group from flying. The cable retrieve boom was resurrected to protect the grass that is water logged from the incessant rain of the past few weeks. We can't remember using the boom as late as May before. Roger H managed to persuade Roger P not to abandon the evening so he took his advice and had the first flight of the day just before six. Most managed to get their allocation of three flights until the forecast rain arrived at eight which finished the evening a little prematurely. It just goes to show that if you turn up you might fly but if you don't you won't!

25/04/12 Merv sensibly delayed his return from France to avoid the dire weather that claimed the second evening of the season.

18/04/12 As predicted many days in advance the forecast came to pass and the rain arrived to claim the first evening of the season. Lets hope that this is not setting the pattern for the remainder of the season - only time will tell.

11/04/12 The absence of Ed and Dave didn't help together with persistent showers, however the first three flights were unexpected soaring flights with strong lift to 3000' in front of a shower. So a very relaxed evening ensued despite Bea's best efforts to drive the evening forward.

04/04/12 A later start to this season, however, the showers avoided us and the good turnout made good use of the available kit and time. Hopefully next week we will be up to speed with two winches and more gliders. Liam was pleased to discover that he didn't miss the first week after all.

28/09/11 Off to a flying start but didn't quite beat our best launch rate for this year We were just 3 launches short however 20Lph was very respectable. With the exception of Nigel M (and Liam who actually arrived after dark when everyone else had gone home!) we managed to fly everyone who turned up. A lovely warm evening as the sun set to close the 2011 season with a grand total of 1044 launches. The seeds for this year's early morning course have been sown and should germinate on November 5th 2011 - further details available from Merv if you are interested....

21/09/11 At 18:17 today we achieved our 1000 launches despite the return of an 737 that was out on an air-test and a failed tow out of cables. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this year's magnificent effort. Next week the target is to try to better our best launch rate of 21.5 per hour in the final hour of this year's season so that everyone might fly at least once!!

21/09/11 Liam's Blog - Liam has started collecting money for the skittles night on Wednesday 26th October 2011. £14 gets you a nice buffet meal, 2 games of skittles and a chance to win some amazing prizes(!). Partners very welcome. If you haven't already paid, please bring your pocket money next week or Liam will be bankrupt. And for goodness sake make sure Roger pays....

14/09/11 We are now only seven launches short of the all-important target of 1,000 for the season. Towards the end of the evening, Marauders were treated to a very impressive giant orange moon, low in the sky, as they began hangar landings. Liam is organising the traditional end-of-season skittles evening. After a positive experience at The Jolly Farmer in Blacknest last year, he is planning to hold it there again on the evening of Wednesday 26th October 2011 (subject to confirmation). He hasn't worked out the price, yet, but it will be in the order of £10 to £12, so bring your money or chequebooks next week. Wives and girlfriends very welcome (but it is strongly recommended not to invite both to the same event). Food will be a vast 'pre-stall' buffet (vegetarian as well as meatetarian), like last year. Put the date in your diary! (And can someone make sure Roger pays this year?!!)

7/09/11 A slow start as Q told us that the winch with the good cables had a problem with it's engine and the other winch had a cable that had past it's use by date. This was confirmed as we had two genuine cable breaks that used up valuable time. That said we did well to only fall short of our target by 2 launches and most of the launches were getting 2000'+. The weather for next week looks promising (at the moment) so if we can get off to an early start and use two winches then this year's thousand launch target should be well within reach. Liam sent his apologies for tonight but has volunteered to organise this year's end of season skittles evening and he promises to be here next week and will be taking names and monies.

31/08/11 Another good performance with a good turn out that is keeping us on target for 1000 launches. Just under 20 lph achieved as Dave B insisted on launch failures and spent a lot of time walking back from the other end of the airfield and the late return of the King Air used up some precious time at the end of the evening. Yet another lovely sunset!

24/08/11 Delayed by a long task that was set for the Nationals pilots on a tricky day meant that there were competitors who had not been accounted for until 18:30. A good turn out tonight, even Merv put in a brief appearance at 18:00 but only to collect Fred's trailer after abandoning him in a field just south of the M4! Many thanks to Julian for his assistance in getting us back in time for the curry evening and to Bea for driving Merv home!.

17/08/11 Delayed start as rain persisted longer than anticipated even though the clearance was unusually moving into wind and the day group had packed everything away. Personnel were down as Dave Bowtell is on a trip to the Mynd but the few that were here were treated to a very pleasant evenings flying with launches to 2100' in the K21 and a spectacular sunset both captured on Graham's compact video camera.

10/08/11 Congratulations to Keith who completed his 100th instructional flight tonight!! A tricky strong cross wind provided some challenging conditions that were enjoyed by all. The sun's reflections on the bus windscreen delayed the launches for a short while as it was veiling the signal lamps until a makeshift screen was fixed in place. The two winches were running smoothly until late in the evening one cable strand refused to enter the azimuth head and caused a build up to snag and break the cable, jamming the cable on the drum. We were unable to rectify this so the remaining cable was parked at the side of the landing area - that will keep Q busy tomorrow!.

03/08/11 Another good team effort exceeded the target on a perfect evening. Liam decided to sample some aerobatics and discovered that he did not have the stomach for it (anyway Liam, as you already know, aeros don't count) Gary made a brief appearance with a guest for a couple of flights.

27/07/11 A good team effort exceeded the target on an evening with a light but significant northerly crosswind. Keith was encouraged to do extra to make up for Roger's holiday.

20/07/11 Delayed by a persistent rain shower that lasted for 30 mins but it cleared to leave a pleasant evening with launches to 1700' in the very light wind conditions. The instructor to student ratio was so high that Merv had to import some of his students from his week course! Proving once again it you turn up you might fly but if you don't you won't! Welcome back to Laura and Rob who called in for a quick social visit.

13/07/11 Operating from the narrow end of the medium runway restricted the operation somewhat. We started with a large group of people wanting to fly that suddenly changed into a large number of gliders with only a few people to fly. Apologies to Tom who very kindly stayed on for some unscheduled (and unpaid for!) overtime as our winch drivers were late on parade. The forecast for next week does not look too good - let's hope it is wrong.

06/07/11 A strong gusty wind provided some lively conditions! The evening was limited by a 737 airtest that was due to take place at 10am ATC time! The lack of a second winch driver, and another genuine cable break together with several weak link breaks, a shortage of instructors and the early arrival of the rain also didn't help. However a good time was had by all.

29/06/11 A personal best for the Marauders achieving 70 launches even with Merv being late on parade as he landed out at Milton Keynes and Mark using 4 k13s for guest flying and two genuine cable breaks. Well done to all keep up the good work!

22/06/11 The timing of the clearance was perfect for us as the heavy rain ceased at 17:30 leaving a beautifully clear evening with a moderate westerly wind giving 2000' launches. However, we did lose 35 mins waiting for an inbound jet to arrive that was unusually on time. Congratulations to Liam on his successful conversion to the Duo Discus which he liked very much.

15/06/11 The weather claimed it's first evening of the season with the rain stopping by 19:00 but the low cloudbase remained continuing with the pattern of bad weather coinciding with the longest evenings. Half price winch launches will be available on Lasham's longest day event on Saturday 25 June between first launch (04:10) and 09:00 so please come along and grab a couple!

08/06/11 Another good but cold evening with our numbers down again provided a relaxing pace for the evening. That together with only 5 gliders, a slow jet movement, a migration of runway directions and young Dan breaking the cable with the K21 meant we under achieved by 8 launches. Nigel arranged (and awarded the points) a spot landing competition that was duly marked on technical merit, artistic flare but most of the points awarded were deducted for various misdemeanours. Louie and Ed were in first place with 9 points followed closely by Liam with 7 points and Chris Sterritt bringing up the rear with -2 points!.

01/06/11 A beautiful evening, ideal conditions, but where were all the people? A steady rate was maintained until we put the second winch into operation and a few more people turned up. Congratulations to Jon Bareford who completed two solo flights. The fire brigade were called when we spotted thick black smoke coming from the trailer park on the other side of the avenue. Meanwhile, Liam tried soaring in the pungent fumes and managed to get some aerial shots of the action. There was smoke still coming from the site 24hrs later.

25/05/11 A troublesome wind that could not decide which direction it was coming from produced more long landings than usual and with numerous practice launch failures kept most of the kit away from the sharp end. However, the target was exceeded again keeping us on track for this year's thousand.

18/05/11 Delayed for 1/2 hour by the tail end of the cold front that cleared to leave a pleasant evening with a beautiful sunset. The only gripe of the evening was Liam wasn't happy about the loss of his steak!

11/05/11 The weekly update will be delayed for 24 hours or so as illness and wedding anniversaries got in the way - hopefully watch this space.

04/05/11 Merv arrived at Sisteron at 22:00 after a long drive from Jaca, but thanks to Phillip Allen has managed to update the statistics for tonight. The group did well to beat the target - keep up the good work chaps!

27/04/11 The cramped southern end of the medium runway restricted our operation somewhat. However the brisk NE wind provided launches up to 2000'. We were joined briefly tonight by Our CFI Colin with Sue, and Daniel and Ella both wearing their 'Merv's Mini Marauders' T shirts complete with Merv style moustaches!

20/04/11 The group is growing quickly and will require an efficient launch point to provide enough launches for everyone. The target was exceeded by 11 but some people still hadn't flown - must try harder next week. Also next week will be Merv's last before he departs for Sisteron via Jaca to collect the Duo for the forthcoming Lasham expedition so a replacement Merv is being sought for the following three weeks.

13/04/11 Apologies for the late update but my computer was hidden in the bar and not found until too late! The start was delayed by a premature day group action to return all the kit to the hangar owing to an imminent arrival of heavy rain according to the rainfall radar that never materialised. We were joined by Val who was practicing for her basic aerobatic instructors rating with Jon Ross. Having re-established the launchpoint and completed 22 launches it reminds us that rule one of basic weather forecasting is to look out the window!

06/04/11 An even better turn out - amazing what the absence of clouds and appearance of sunshine will do for the numbers. A brisk pace was maintained throughout effortlessly exceeding the target by 20 launches although not without a few start of season fumbles. Congratulations to Graham Foster who completed his Bronze C by completing the written paper with only 10 days grace left. Well done to Matt Evans who was sent solo by Jon Ross. The restaurant's new list system was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of customers it may work well for the smaller groups but the efficiency of service was better with the hot plate servery in our humble opinion.

30/03/11 A good turnout for the first in the season especially as the weather was dire all day. With little prospect of flying the kit was prepared however, a few gaps in the cloud appeared and eventually allowed us to fly. Welcome back to Bill Calcutt and Chris Forrest after gaps of 10 and 4 years respectively. New for this season - the catering chaps would like a pre order for food so make sure your name and choice is on the list or you may be disappointed!!

10/10/10 Arrangements for our Skittles Evening have now been finalised. We will be going to the Jolly Farmer, Binsted Road , Blacknest, Alton , GU34 4QD . A good real ale pub with a traditional skittles alley that has been able to take us at relatively short notice when we found out our usual venue has just decommissioned its skittles alley! Please aim to arrive by 7:00 pm or earlier so we can make a timely start to the skittles competition. Rather than individual meal choices, Liam and Laura have negotiated a buffet of hot and cold food including chicken wings, sausage rolls, quiche, samosas and a variety of salads; there will also be suitable vegetarian options. They had a hard job persuading the management not to charge them double when they heard that Nigel Mallender was coming along, as news had reached them that he regularly ate all the chips in Lasham’s restaurant. If you haven’t already paid, please bring your dosh on the night (as Liam has already spent his pocket money this month!). Roger, have you paid yet? Of course he has!!

29/09/10 Rain claimed the second and final evening however a good turnout enjoyed a pleasant social evening in the bar! The skittles venue has been booked for Wed 20th October and is the Jolly Farmer, Binsted Road, Blacknest, Alton GU34 4QD - subject to being checked out by Laura/Liam.

22/09/10 1000 launches completed! Delayed by an enthusiastic Saturday evening Youth Group who have transferred to Wednesday Days. However at 19:00 young Dan and old Ed completed the 1000th winch launch for this season - Well done to everyone who contributed to this achievement - we couldn't have done it without you! Most people flew despite 1 cable break. 1 'kaput' tow out truck (in the words of Jim Pritchard!) but that got a second lease of life at the end of the evening. Skittles details and venue still to be confirmed - keep an eye on the website for news.

15/09/10 A strong moist westerly wind provided more 2000' launches, and a respectable 14 lph was achieved using a single winch with only 5 gliders. The target was exceeded yet again. Merv will be in Ireland next week and is looking forward to hearing news of the Marauders clocking up 1000 launches next week weather permitting of course. If flyable we will be also attempting a remote logsheet posting from Ireland on Thursday morning. Apparently the French Horn has just up-rooted it's skittle alley to have some carpet laid. We have been assured that our end of season skittles will still be able to be held but if not we have an alternative venue on standby!

8/09/10 Another very pleasant, although short, evening followed a very wet and miserable morning. Limited by the lack of gliders as there was a last minute booking of an air experience group. We did well to exceed the target by 20% not counting Graham Robertson who managed to blag a flight in the Stemme.

1/09/10 The second winch was not available as it developed a leak, so to compensate we moved the existing winch back to give an extra 500'. The evening finished with another spectacular sunset.

25/08/10 Early update as Lasham competition weather claims first evening this year! Liam announced the date for this year's skittles evening on Wednesday 20th October so make a note in your diaries.

18/08/10 We were fortunate in that the heavy showers passed us by to the south leaving us with a very pleasant evening. The winch launches were provided by a diesel powered Skylaunch with some elastic plastic cables. Even though aerotows don't count Liam was most disappointed after running around frantically that time ran out before his turn! Well done to James Chappell and Phillip Allen for completing their solo aerotows in glass. Phillip also converted onto the G102 and passed the bronze theory paper - not bad for an evenings work! Finally Keith managed to break the cable on the last launch which we left unfixed and Fred spotted a large tangled mass of cable that had been abandoned on the airfield (not by us!!) which we retrieved and left in the back of the truck so tomorrow Q will be pleased ;-)

11/08/10 Delayed by some technician fiddling with the camera attached to 778 while John Simmonds and Chris Sterritt used it to shoot some video for an advert. Despite the late/slow start and a real cable break the target was easily exceeded. Phillip Allen provided the entertainment by completing his solo spin that was watched by all. Thanks to Graham R for stepping in for Mike in his absence in the second winch.

04/08/10 Amazing that the mid afternoon thunder storm that left the airfield under 2" of water cleared to provided a challenging evening with a brisk NNW wind making launches and landings most interesting. Keith has confirmed that all of the airfield is in fact landable having visited most of it this evening.

28/07/10 A relaxed evening with a spectacular sunset keeping us on target. Mark Adams flew his Mother and encouraged some more aerotows but as Liam is well aware that aerotows don't count!! We witnessed the unusual sight of a K13 returning with the aerotow rope still attached as the tug pilot refused to take any more of their out of position exercises! Well done to Paul Lewis for his conversion to the K21, Daniel for his excellent no airbrake approach, Phillip for soloing the DG1000 and Liam for running out of energy at the top of a loop.

21/07/10 Another bright evening with white fluffy clouds but suprisingly breezy produced a steady flow of launches to break-in the new cables that were so kindly fitted just for us. Keith's absence was sorely felt by the queue of people awaiting check flights. Good to see John Caton's return to solo flying helping to deal with a small backlog of kit.

14/07/10 Despite very gusty conditions and an inbound ATC movement, we achieved a respectable 25 launches. A pity more people weren't here, as a great night was had by all, with Louie achieving a respectable 22 minutes at 8:00 pm, making his flight the longest of the evening. However, Laura was a very close second with 21 mins. Curry and calm were restored to the canteen, and Nigel calmed our nerves with Wallop and Doom. Afterwards, we looked at the many photographs, (Hint - password lasham) taken at last month's Hanger Party, and wondered just how many hands Nigel and Merv had between them. Is this the end of the summer?

07/07/10 After a miserable morning the drizzle finally cleared mid afternoon leaving a flyable window. Those that flew were rewarded with spectacular views of cloudscapes highlighted by a beautiful sunset. Well done to Phillip Allen for finishing his white card and to Keith for marking the white card test without the aid of the answer sheet!!

30/06/10 The last of the really long evenings with a steady performance again exceeded the target. Congratulations to Nigel Mallender for retrieving the Nympsfield 'Wooden' plate and the Dunstable plate (with a little help from Gary) over the weekend. The Marauder table at the 1940's hangar party was awarded a prize for the best table theme - Nigel M, Jim and Myriam, Peter R, Morag, Merv, and Julian Richardson all dressed up and behaved as big kids under the loose control of head mistress Louise aka Ms Poppy Cock. A great time was had by all.

23/06/10 A slow start with only 3 out of 8 instructors plus many extras produced a good result in the end. Thanks to Russell G for providing the aerotow facility for Liam's exclusive use!

17/06/10 Interrupted by 2 ATC movements means we missed the 500 total by 7 for the halfway mark - Don't worry, Merv will be bringing back some bad weather from France for next week so you guy's can have a rest!

10/06/10 Congratulations to Fred Baggs for achieving his first solo

08/06/10 Delayed update due to flying all day every day and late into the evening (its a hard life at Sisteron!) but here is the report for 2 June: Reduced total due to first hour good soaring with flights over 1 hour in duration, over 5 hours soaring from first 10 flights. Congratulations to Louie for completing his first bronze soaring flight of 32 mins Apparently someone has stolen my pen!

26/05/10 Congratulations to John Goodwin for completing his first solo tonight. Merv will be away for the next three Wednesdays as he will be instructing on the Sisteron Expedition but he will return for the longest evening on the 23rd June. The target may well be increased to 100! but we will need to recruit more people to achieve the century. Let's hope the pattern of the last few seasons does not repeat as we have lost a significant number of the longest evenings in the past.

19/05/10 A smooth operation but chilly evening enabled everyone to achieve as much flying as desired. Highlight of the evening was Owen's first attempt at a no airbrake approach and landing which not only used 90% of the airfield but also added 1:20 to his flight time!

12/05/10 Delayed by passing shower, wind reversing and two consecutive jet movements a good recovery was made until a cold shower terminated the evening just short of the close of play. Hangar packing and repacking made us late for the curry which had run out again!

05/05/10 Another good performance achieving a peak 21 lph with two winches however, a break on the tow out reduced the launch rate for the last half hour causing us grief sorting out the birds nest and finally having to bump start the retrieve truck with its flat battery. The restaurant not only ran out of curry but rice also and turned Merv into a vegetarian for the evening!

28/04/10 An excellent performance on what was supposed to be the warmest day of the year so far. We matched last week's efforts but only using one winch as the other was unavailable tonight - a good team effort!

21/04/10 Congratulations to Nigel Mallender for completing his Silver height, distance and duration in a single flight. A slowish start as a shortage of instructors for the winch queue was generated by demands for Falke field landings and aerotow refresher flights. The two winch operation was running smoothly until a worn joint seperated just before the close of play.

14/04/10 A dull day turned into a bright evening with the second winch making its first appearance this season meant there was sufficient launches for everyone. The target was exceeded by nearly 50% and a good time was had by all

11/04/10 Congratulations to Phillip Allen who completed his first solo and commiserations to Nigel Millander for flying 62 km in K13 L99 on his 50km attempt and falling foul of the dreaded 1% rule this weekend.

07/04/10 A tricky evening with a 90deg crosswind and the dissipating front depositing on us. Chris Sterritt's birthday was celebrated with the quietest rendition of 'Happy Birthday' ever sung by Andrew and copious amounts of beer and chocolate cake that was enjoyed by all. Congratulations to Nigel Millander who passed his Bronze paper with flying colours.

31/03/10 Back at last! A breezy but bitterly cold start with a reasonable turn out considering the weather. A jet movement (or lack of) reduced our already small time window by 1/3rd. The 2000' launches were enjoyed by those that flew. The evening finished with a real cable break just for a change, and then it snowed

30/09/09 A spectacular finish to the season with the clouds parting to provide an exceptional sunset as a back drop for the last session of the 2009 season. Winter Wednesdays have begun and will absorb those who can't face the early start of the EMC which will start on the 25th October 2009 @ 6:30. See you at the skittles evening on the 21/09/09.

23/09/09 The penultimate evening weather was kind to us and with a good turnout we had a busy evening including a cable break. Liam has been recruiting for the skittles evening and has prepared the list which will replace the 'new 2008' sheet! when Merv gets Frontpage loaded

16/09/09 No update as computer died!

09/09/09 At last we're flying again. Congratulations to Louie on sucessfully completing his first solo - on the cross runway. Time is running out fast as we now only have only 3.5 hours left in total - make the most of it.

02/09/09 With no chance of the rain clearing the second evening in succession was lost Liam has booked the skittle alley at the French Horn for Wednesday 21st October for our end of season do - menu and further details to follow.

26/08/09 It's official - winter is here. Strong winds and drizzle and an expected clearance that never arrived made another exciting washout. Dave B provided the entertainment with briefings on winch launching and circuit planning. A potential new member was enlisted - another Mervyn - will you be able to cope with two of us?? Only 5 short evenings left - nevermind it will soon be Christmas.

19/08/09 Delayed start by a change of runways with an excess of aircraft. A beautiful warm evening but with a shortage of instructors and a worn out cable failing twice, meant that a few only had one flight. There was an interesting K21 launch on the aerotow hook - not achieving full height! Unusually there was a suspicious amount of space in the hangar after we finished packing - did we forget something?

12/08/09 After another competition day scrubbed, the evening turned out to be the best part of the day even with a shortage of regular pilots a creditable 40 launches were achieved.

6/08/09 An impressive 52 launches were achieved as some weak thermals lingered into the earlier part of the evening. Vintage gliders were amply represented, with the T21, the Bocian and the K6E making appearances. Merv attempted to scare the daylights out of Daniel by introducing him to aerobatics, while Rob Ward completed his first solo flight in the Falke as part of his NPPL course. A good evening was enjoyed by all who attended, with better weather than expected. The only disappointment was Nigel’s reluctance to serve pies to his loyal regulars in the bar afterwards! But he did give in after much pressure was applied!

29/07/09 Slow start as not many marauders to re-establish the launch point as the day group were convinced that there was no hope of us flying tonight. A short sharp shower delayed the start but the clearance behind was worth waiting for only to be curtailed by that Norweigian jet (again) that is past its sell by date faffing about for 20 mins while our slot disappeared to the north east. Packed up early as the real rain was on the horizon - so much for global warming!!!

22/07/09 Highlight of the day was seeing the Vulcan for the second time this year at the Odiham Family Day! However, plagued by two jets and two cable breaks and a flat battery on the second winch tow car a good time was had by all. Welcome to Jon and Julie and now that schools out for summer Bea was able to attend and fly for the first time this season.

!5/07/09 Another quiet evening however there was a lot of interest in the PW6 demonstrator provided by Roger Hurley. Liam was awarded the best dressed pilot of the evening for flying in his suit. However later, he risked life and limb by running in front of a live winch cable when he realised he had picked up the wrong wing tip. This only goes to prove that if your wearing the "wrong trousers" this can seriously affect your judgement!!

1/07/09 Congratulations to Phillip Smallbone (and Ed) who was let loose on his first solo by his dad Ed. Another warm and more action packed evening compared to last week including a very precise balloon landing in the south of the airfield by our friends at Adventure Balloons. Gary was flying his newly aquired Stein Adler (Rock Eagle) on aerotow as there was a problem with the belly hook.

24/06/09 At last a warm summers evening with a brisk easterly wind providing launches to 2000'+ It must be the holiday season as we were thin on the ground (again). But for those that flew early, were rewarded with soaring flights and the ample launch heights for the remainder of the evening enabled a significant amount of spin practice. Superb visability and a magnificent sunset finished the evening

17/06/09 For the third year in a row the weather claimed one of our longest evenings, unfortunately the forecast was spot on and the clearance arrived at 23:00 just a fraction too late. But on the brighter side it looks like the weather is on the up for the weekend which is some consolation. It is rumoured of a longest day early start being organised for Sunday starting at 03:00 in preparation for the first launch at 04:09 - the question is are you up for it? Merv will be...

10/06/09 Today was the perfect example of why it’s a mistake to decide whether to come flying based on the weather during the morning. It may have been tipping down at 10 o’clock this morning but with blue skies, light winds and excellent visibility this was one of the finest (not to mention longest) evenings of the summer. Dave Bowtell ran an efficient two-winch operation that rapidly mopped up the launch demand for launches - despite some people flying 5 times. Liam was disgusted to arrive with over an hour’s flying time remaining to find gliders being put in the hangar. Where were you all?: Anyway Nigel has got Moonshine back in the bar! Merv says wot no 6X??

03/06/09 After the scorching weather of the last few days colder air arrived along with frontal cloud at lunchtime. Despite a grey and chilly evening and the absence of Merv, we still enjoyed a successful evening with 41 launches achieved only marred by when AQN sustaining some minor damage on the ground. Thanks to Gareth, Gary and Laura for keeping the launch point operation slick.

28/05/09 Merv's off to Jaca again (just for a change) on Friday night - just as the weather here is turning good. So for the next 2 weeks the helm will be taken over by Dave Bowtell and the rest of the usual suspects. Normal logging will be in use for the next 2 weeks - the office staff will appreciate some legible handwriting!

27/05/09 We treated the dozen that turned up to some refreshing glider washing and DI'ing - It makes such a difference to apply a little TLC to the kit. Then we went flying - using 2 K13's we achived a respectable 8.5 launches per hour including a late departure from ATC. Once again demonstrating if you turn up you might fly but if you don't you won't!

20/05/09 Congratulations to Alex James on his solo acheivement - well done. Tonight's 63 launches together with a most expeditious arrival by the Norwegian 737 movement and 19 air experiance flights on runway 23 made a busy but most enjoyable evening. Gary finished the evening with a solitary flight in (on) his primary which he managed to complete 250 degrees of a turn before landing!

13/05/09 The thirteenth was unlucky for us as we lost our first evening to the weather. However it was not totally unflyable as Gary celebrated his retirement by flying some of his ex-colleagues in the motor glider under a retrictive cloudbase.

Meanwhile, we derigged the Duo as it was clearly unserviceable having had the canopy smashed by the winch parachute/weak link assembly landing on it after a genuine cable break. Apparently, on Monday, the Duo had landed normally in front of the winch launch point and as the two pilots were in the process of opening the canopy the parachute struck - it had drifted significantly from approximately 1500'. Remember if you find yourself in the 'downwind dropzone' keep a good lookout for falling debris as the cable can break at anytime with potentially deadly consequences. Having had personal experience last year when a shock rope landed on my car that was parked on the peritrack causing £5000 worth of damage to the roof.

Gary's party evening was still going strong at 01:30 Thurday morning when I left - a great party cheers Gary

06/05/09 Matched last week's total of 45 but in shorter time hence the improved launch rate. Unusually, we packed up early as run out of customers - it made a change to be closing the hangar doors whilst still daylight!

29/04/09 An excellent evening albeit a bit cold. Target easily achieved and exceeded including a change of runways. Gary P spent the whole evening retrieving a twin Grob from Abingdon and the Southampton K8 From Bicester after a flight that qualified for a complete silver badge (height duration and distance)in one trip.

22/04/09 Liam is after some sponsership for a good cause AbleChildAfrica so should you wish to contribute please visit www.justgiving.com/liamlyons

22/04/09 With a significant number of instructors missing and 50% of our winch drivers out of action we still managed to exceed our target. Congratulations to Mike Pritchard who achieved solo status today - well done Mike.

15/04/09 Delayed by an extended 737 air test at start and its return at the end shortened our window further. Operation from the short runway in a brisk SE wind slowed the operation. But considering the rest of the day we had the best (and made the most) of the weather. Welcome to Chris Warren who joined us this week.

01/04/09 Special April 1st offer - for one night only Lasham Gliding Society waives launch fees for any evening course achieving more than 43 launches! (Evening being the crucial word!)

24/09/08 The weather claimed it's fifth night to bring the season to a close. See you at the skittles in October.

17/09/08 While Merv's away sunning himself in Jaca the marauders exceeded their target to break the 900 launches for this year - well done everyone. Congratulations to Nigel on mastering the aerotow and to Myriam for passing Uncle Bob's 21 test! At last the 'new skittles' page is actually new for this year!

10/09/08 The evenings are getting dark really early these days! - if you want to fly you must be here early. Gallant Liam sacrificed his turn for Hélène who said "It's not as scary as it looks and I felt in very safe hands"

03/09/08 Important info - Skittles booked for 29 October/Merv away in Jaca on 17th September and 1st October -

so last evening is now Wed 24th September

03/09/08 From inside the weather looked perfect - but outside the strength and gusts of the wind claimed the fourth evening. On the plus side belated congratulations to Laura on completion of her red card flying test. Another white card test completed ably by Dan (the smallest) Smallbit. Laura and Liam have been voulnteered to organise this years 'New Skittles"! Whilst Alex is coding an online menu selector which needs to be active soon to be of any use - watch this space....

20/08/08 Very short but busy evening incorporating a jet movement change of runway and four launches providing an impressive launch rate of 26 per hour!

13/08/08 No flying tonight - too busy celebrating Andrew's 4th birthday. Well done to Rob Law and Phillip Smallbone successfully completing thier White card tests.

06/08/08 No Competition flying again! - small weather window used well before the rain and Thunderstorm curtailed our activities. Well done to Liam for mastering his new K6E just prior to its transition due at midnight.

30/07/08 Congratulations to Paula Greasley for going solo last weekend - apparently Gary P didn't wan't to fly with her anymore! Quote of the evening in response to Paula's post solo questionaire 'What was the best part of your training?' Merv said 'Coming on a regular basis with a great bunch of guys!' Another smooth performance including a change of runways exceeding the target but creating a few headaches whilst resolving the logsheets later.

23/07/08 Delayed by a phantom ATC movement that never materialised, we recovered well for a reasonable launch rate of 19 ph. Our numbers were bolstered this week by the University Task Week members and their gliders. For those of you who are missing the total launches for this season the answer is 696 to date (hopefully the glitch will be resolved shortly)

16/07/08 Welcome to our latest instructor recruit - Dave Allen - we had an excellent instructor/pupil ratio of 4:1 initially!

02/07/08 A beautiful evening after the rain cleared at 16:00. Congratulations to Brad Duncan for his successful first solo flown on 31/05/08. At the peak of the season we now have capacity for new members - come and join us.

25/06/08 Congratulations to Liam And Alex for their successful first flghts on type in the G102 and Discus respectively. Another very pleasant and soarable evening where the launch capacity exceeded the demand - I hope everyone who wanted to fly flew as much as they wanted to.

18/06/08 Late start after unpacking hangar, windy evening reduced numbers but increased launch heights to 2000' With only three gliders operating a relaxed pace was maintained throughout the evening. The forecast rain arrived eventually at 00:30.

04/06/08 A beautiful summer evening provided both soaring opportunities a notable crosswind early in the evening, but became calm and cool later. Dave Bowtell not only took the helm during Merv's absence, but seems to have tamed the retrieve winch: his skillful driving ensured there were no major snarl-ups, allowing a steady pace of winch launching throughout the long evening for a so-far-unofficial total of 57 launches, plus 4 aerotows. Look out for the official statistics and attendance records which will be published after Merv returns to our green and pleasant land next week.

28/05/08 Our first Merv-less evening was a washout. Rain and low cloud prevented any flying. The promised clearance appeared about 3 hours late, just after it got dark. Had it been just a bit earlier, we could have operated as normal.

21/05/08 A fine evening with a number of soaring flights. After flying the Bocian to Parham and back with Nigel during the day, Gary opted for a change of scene by clambering into a tug and providing a number of aerotows to supplement the busy two-winch launching operation. The only thing missing (from curry, at least) was Merv, who departured for Jaca immediately after the sun went down. Statistics and attendance will be updated after his return.

14/05/08 Despite a late start due to runway change we achieved 50 launches exceeding the target by 5! A tricky evening with a blustery north easterly wind produced some interesting departures and landings. Congratulations to Richard Peate who solo'd on Monday Evening (apparently due to shift commitments) - likely story anything to get out of buying a round of beers!

07/05/08 Delayed by a sluggish outbound jet we soon recovered to maintain a smart pace for the remainder of the evening. The retrieve winch was feeling poorly after a break so we gave it a rest to convalesce.The low sun and height of the lights again proved troublesome - but much improved as darkness fell! Congratulations to Laura completing 95% of her red card flying test with guest instructor Clive Thomas.

30/04/08 The last two days incessant rain ceased for 1/2 hour enabling a quick 4 launches before it started again. Many thanks to Mark Wills, Mick Wells and Trevor Hills for standing in on the depleted instructor corps giving an excellent instructor pupil ratio of3:1! - if the weather had been more favorable I am certain they would have all been kept really busy. I hope Ed and Chris are having better weather in Jaca this week.

23/04/08 Congratulations to Paul Lewis on going solo. The retrieve winch operation was rapidly replaced by the two winches after a break occured when the parachute snagged on the runway edge during a normal retrieve.

16/04/08 A cool but pleasant evening with the low sun interfering with the lights delaying a launch or two. Despite this the target was reached, even with a slightly lower launch rate. Congratulations to Dave Penney for re-soloing after four years lay off - its about time! The good news is the second winch is back online - the bad news was we only had the one winch driver - maybe next week?

9/04/08 Another good day after the weekends snow! More new faces stretching our capacity with only one winch. Apparently the second may be coming on line soon, watch this space. An early start gave us the edge to easily beat the target, but there were a few areas where we could have done better. The presolo list is now full for the moment as we need to provide 45 launches for them alone. If everyone is to fly then we must become slicker in our operation. (Note to self - Must Try Harder!)

2/04/08 A super evening after a miserable day got us off to a reasonable start to the 2008 season. With only 3 instructors, no winch drivers and a good turnout. We managed to fly most - but not all.

11/03/08 This season's list has been posted just inside the entrance to the clubhouse for a few weeks now and is beginning to fill up so if you want to join us, sign up soon (or if you can't get to the clubhouse send us an email). The first evening will be on Wednesday 2nd April.

25/10/07 Saturday early mornings return this Saturday 27 October @ 06:30 at hangar doors

25/10/07 Skittles results - congrats to James and Sara (also last years ladies winner) for best scores and Paul for surviving the token Killer game. Highest flyers this season were Paul and Janet with 46 each and with an unbeatable 100% attendance record Pete Robey. Mike and Ian were given a vote of thanks and their small reward was collected in their absence by Merv - don't leave it to long to retrieve them guys! Many thanks to Laura and Liam for organising another great end of season do!

26/09/07 Bitterly cold end to the season with a strong northerly providing 1700' launch heights from the short runway. A new distraction appeared on the landing area - a number of young spritely bullocks took a fancy to the grass on the other side of the ineffective fence that was indeed greener! Fortunately, 'Farmer' Dave was on hand to round them up.

21/09/07 Skittles list posted click here

Skittles update - Date confirmed for 24th October. Laura has started collecting £11.00 per person, if you wish to attend the end of season event please make sure that Laura knows who you are and has your money!! This years menu choices and guest list will be appearing here shortly - don't forget partners are welcome too.

19/09/07 A window of opportunity appeared at 18:00 which we used. 50% of the time available was used to set up the airfield leaving us just under 1 hour to fly. With launches to 2000' and single winch operation a good launch rate was achieved. Photographic evidence was obtained after all the parachutes were reunited with their bags by WEC members - how long will that last?.....

12/09/07 Merv arrives straight from work at 21:00 - just in time for a curry and to do the logs! Another good evening with an enthusiastic performance. Only two weeks to go - new provisional date for skittles is Wed 24th Oct as 17th was already booked.

5/09/07 Good turnout on a beautiful evening. With no air experience group requiring part of the K13 fleet we were able to fit in an impressive total of 43 launches. One real cable break and one K13 that repeatedly dispensed with its cable during the ground added some interest to proceedings, while a number people enjoyed floating about and enjoying the scenery from the T21.

29/08/07 Merv off to Jaca on Friday for a week (just for a change), may not be back for two weeks owing to work commitments. Proposed date for end of season skittles is Weds 17th October at the French Horn, Alton. Price/Menu/Time to be confirmed see Liam/Laura for further details in the last few weeks. list and menu choice will be posted here when available.

29/08/07 Delayed by a slight over run! of the BMI fly in (as expected) and our winch drivers were so enthralled by the displays that we had to send a search party out for them!! (not expected - but I suppose they deserve a little time off!!) Very busy evening with a record attendance of 33 and also short of two instructors made for a hectic time for all. However the stats prove that two winches can easily out perform the retrieve winch set up - well done everyone!!

22/06/07 Weather claimed its third evening - but spare a thought for the poor regionals competition pilots who are yet to fly. On a brighter note Chris and Gary are joint leaders of the comp ( even though they are sharing the honours with a few other pilots). Rumour has it that if the remainder of the comp is scrubbed then they will have beaten some pilots who have aquired some penalty points on the admin front - fancy being beaten by a Grunau Baby and Capstan! Next week sees the return of the BMI Fly-in so the airfield is likely to be busy.

15/08/07 Expected clearance slow to arrive, however everyone that wanted to fly flew. Congratulations to Laura who gained silver height in her K6E last weekend. Good luck to Gary (Grunau) and Chris (Capstan) in the Lasham Regionals that start this weekend. Not forgetting Ed(ASW20) who is in a class of his own allegedly to avoid facing the stiff competition from Gary and Chris. Volunteers will be welcome for retrieve crews!

8/08/07 Delayed start as the last of the competitors finished their 300/500's on this mediocre day! Smooth performance on a beautiful evening produced a respectable launch rate that almost equalled the acclaimed retrieve winch (alledgedly the fastest thing since sliced bread) Demand has arisen for one (or more) single seat aircraft for next week - in the lull between the comps we will see what we can do....

01/08/07 Congratulations to Chris Sterritt on completion of his 500km Diamond distance, Alex Popple for achieving 5hr Silver/Gold Duration (both flown on Monday) and Peter Robey also completing 5 hrs on Tuesday. Well done to Liam for his sucessful conversion onto DG1000 - he now has his sights on the single seater fleet! A good performance for a single winch (second one not available) even with a real cable break but the nights are noticably drawing in so we need to try to utilise the early part of the evening more efficiently.

25/07/07 Second evening to be lost to rain . Congratulations to Janet on successful completion of the white card test and to all the people that turned up on such a dismal evening! (apologies to anyone that I missed on the attendance front but it is Merv's best guess from Spain).

18/07/07 A glorious evening with another beautiful sunset interupted by the retrieve winch which was finally relegated to the side lines to make way for the return of the two winch operation. Wow! what a difference - such a relaxed and effortlessly efficient launch rate that soon consumed all the gliders at the launchpoint. This together with the excessive demand for gliders used for air experience led to a somewhat reduced launch rate. However a good time was had by all. Merv's imminnent fiftieth birthday is to be spent in Jaca so he will be missing presumed flying (again) next week.

11/07/07 An excursion is planned to Dave Bowtell's field for this coming Saturday 14th and Dave has also offered to provide us with some of his excellent sausages in a roll (I'm sure there will be some for the vegetarians amongst us) It would be good to have some idea of numbers who wish to partake - let us know if you are keen to attend.

11/07/07 Has summer finally arrived or is it just a pleasant break between the storms? Even with a 30 min break while searching for the free end of the retrieve cable and the parachute making a bid for freedom the target was easily achieved and all flew as much as they wanted.

04/07/07 Well Done - halfway mark achieved with 500+ launches achieved - but its all down hill from now on..Good turnout depite the forecast. Apologies received from Martin,Alex and Gary who apparently parted company with his motorbike earlier and hurt his wrist.The rain held off until the end of the evening but with more than our fair share of retrieve winch cable breaks limiting our performance, These were mainly due to the length of grass obscuring the view of the end of the retrieve cable until it was too late. Apparently the tractor mowers now live outside the Norrie Hangar ready for voulunteers to cut the grass in the mornings beforew flying commences...

28/06/07 Graham Essex has posted his photos from Weds 27th slide show here.

27/06/07 Persistence Prevails Over Precipitation! Predicted front was late in arriving but did not stop us re-establishing the launch point in the rain despite some doubts about the likelihood of flying. Nevertheless we were eventually treated to 29 launches, a perfect rainbow, a spectacular sunset and some very enjoyable flying between the downpours.

20/06/07 One of our longest evenings turned into a very relaxed evening for a change! With only six ab-initios present the pressure was off and eveyone had their appetite for flying fully satisfied. Extra care was required when packing the hangar as the preparations for the this weekend's 'Roaring Forties' event were well under way. Everything was packed away well before night started which is a most unusual occurance for us!

13/06/07 After a beautiful day, the rain moved in and brought the evening to a premature end. Nevertheless we achieved 16 launches despite a delay caused by a break in the retrieve cable. Thanks again to Dave Bowtell for ably stepping into Merv's shoes and getting everyone working hard. Apologies to those who didn't fly tonight - but the next two weeks are the longest evenings of the year, so weather permitting, we'll have the chance to to get everyone flown.

06/06/07 A busy evening with a slow start due to change of runway and secondment of a number of K13s to the evening air-ex group. Many people were able to practise crosswind circuits and landings, while with 778, 45 and 775 all back from Jaca glass conversions were a popular choice too. Bertie the Bocian's return to service was welcomed, and special thanks are due to Dave Bowtell for taking up the reins while Merv is away in Spain, Gareth James for manning the retrieve winch, and Laura for organising the list and logs.

30/05/07 After the persistent rain of the day that ceased just in time, the sun and blue skies appeared and the evening turned out very well but with a mighty cold wind. A prompt start unpacking the hangar and setting up the airfield produced a steady launch rate that was initially limited by the small number of people. Morag, Merv and Alex are departing for Jaca in 24 hrs so Dave B will be cracking his whip for the next two Wednesdays - hope you guys have good weather and some fun while we're away.

23/05/07 Welcome to Jim Randall and Richard Civyer who joined us this week. Another fine performance that was interupted momentarily by an inbound 727 and one minor shock rope break (perhaps not so minor for Mark's guest!) The first Wednesday A/X of the season reduced the number of K13's available initially but in the meantime the DG1000s were put to good use.

17/05/07 New page added to update the group members list (at last) and to provide a breakdown of the figures behind the Stats graph. Sorry about the size of the page if your not yet on broadband.

16/05/07 Delayed update as Merv lost his memory... stick. Deteriorating conditions led to a premature ending to the flyimg. Congrats to Liam on passing the white card test and to Daryl and Rick for staying awake during one of Merv's scintilating lectures!

09/05/07 Good turn out of 14 in total for first (and hopefully last!) non flyable evening - shame about the weather! White card pass for Laura, simulator aerotow practice for Martin and approach and landing practice for Paul and DI's for Nigel and Janet meant the evening was not wasted. Apologies received from Ed,Alex,Liam and Graham Foster.

02/05/07 Nice to have a horizon at last! after so many pea soupers. Another well attended evening with a brisk easterly - not entirely sure which runway we were landing on as there were as many different landing directions as there were launches! Tonight was our first solo evening on the retrieve winch without the guidance of Uncle Bob - and its still in one piece. The addition of the new green buggy was put to good use to return the gliders to the queue. K13 L99 was derigged ready to depart to Perenporth together with the K21 and a large portion of the group for the May bank holiday weekend. Have a great weekend - see you next week.

25/04/07 Sorry about the absence of news updates for the past couple of weeks but I'm back on the case! I'm not sure but is this the first week we have had a trouble free operation with the retrieve winch? Maybe it was the quality of the main winch drivers that made all the difference (Guess who!) A productive evening with the target being exceeded by over 50%! - that's more like it. We are currently running at 60% capacity for presolo students so we have space for a few more. The MM recruitment office has been actively targeting the membership via the onelist! We would appreciate your views on the course especially from the new members that have joined us this season - all comments to wecourse@yahoo.co.uk gratefully received.

28/03/07 Is 2007 going to be the year of the retrieve winch? - only time will tell. With a good turn out despite the absence of the day time flyers and two instructors, a respectable total was achieved. The total could have been higher had we not lost 25% of the evening repairing a break in the retreive winch cable, and then had to end the evening prematurely to accommodate an unexpected 737 arrival. We still have plenty of space for more students if you would like to join in.

02/10/06 2006 Skittles list added - to see who is/is not going and check your meal choice click here

27/09/06 Well done guys we made the target of 900 for this season! As for beating the retrieve winch apparently six gliders were not enough to fully utilise the ample supply of cables provided by John Gibson who was delivering pairs of cables to an empty launch point! Liam has been busy collecting the cash for the skittles bash for which the menu choices are chilli,fish pie, steak and kidney pie, bangars and mash and veg neopolitan pasta. For those of you who have not paid up you need to contact Liam soon as there is less than a week to go!
Congratulations to Mark Adams for finishing the course by buying a third share in a DG101 '395'- from pre solo to private owner - not a bad start - don't burn yourself out Mark!

20/09/06 Merv arrives back from Jaca again! followed closely by Gary. Tonight's performance has left us with a mere 26 launches to achieve 900 for this year. We will need a slick operation and some reasonable weather to achieve our target - but it is possible. If we start early and get the momentum going surely we can beat the mere 18.9 launches per hour set by the retrieve winch system? Liam has started the ball rolling for this year's skittles evening - apparently he's inviting the whole club! Skittles night is Wednesday 4th October at the French Horn from 18:30, Liam wants your money in advance - £10 per head by next week - watch this space for menu choices!

30/08/06 Now late in the season - aren't the evenings getting short especially when the airfield is shared with Shona's BMI fly-in. A busy and fun evening was had by all. Merv's off to Jaca again on Tuesday (just for a change!) so you guy's can have a nice quiet and relaxed time over the next three weeks. A couple of volunteers to keep an eye on the logs/stats would be most welcome. The time has arrived to think about this year's end of course function - the traditional skittles or maybe something different? Again a volunteer to organise the event would be appreciated!

23/08/06 The Lasham Regionals competition was not the only thing to be scrubbed by the rain - the weather claimed its second evening. On the brighter side Mark, Ben and Pete successfully completed their white card test.

09/08/06 Potential disruption by the 18m Nationals was skillfuly avoided by the competitors by completing the 300+Km at speeds of up to 144.2 Kph! - thanks guys. Congratulations to Hugh Rivett-Carnac on the start of his solo flying career - well done Hugh.

27/07/06 Sorry Liam - I almost forgot - Congratulations on your first and second solos - well done!!

27/07/06 Apologies for the late update but the airfield suffered a power cut after a series of minor lightning flashes were followed by a very close strike somewhere on the southside at 22:57. A massive flash and almost simultaneous bang plunged us into darkness. It was bad enough for us in the clubhouse but for those camping! on the south side....

25/07/06 Gary Pullen flew to Dunstable in Bertie taking 2 hours 10 mins - very respectable for a Bocian! Shame about the rest of us who have to go to work on the best days....I'm sure we'll hear all about it on Wednesday. Apparently we've had the plate for so long now that Gary returned it to Dunstable, found not many people about so he left a note in their bar and brought the plate home.

19/07/06 This week's excuse - Shortage of our regular winch drivers and a change of runways produced the shortfall in the target. A very hot day! but the weather was kind to us as it rained briefly at 23:00!

12/07/06 With a pleasant and soarable evening we struggled with a lack of gliders initially. With three K13's missing and 4 required for the evening air experience leaving us only two! Another good performance with only one winch managing a peak launch rate of 18 per hour which is only one behind the retrieve winch's best performance on this year's course. Apologies to the few who we did not manage to fly this week - we will do better next week!!

5/07/06 Another late start with limited turn out (thanks to the weather) and we had to empty the hangars again. However, we were rewarded not only with a very pleasant evening's flying with launches to 2300'+ but 'free' drinks in the bar courtesy of Mark Adams to celebrate starting his solo flying career - Cheers Mark! Apparently, there is only just enough change left for a bag of nuts for the monkey!.

21/06/06 A windy, cool but soarable evening was enjoyed by all. Just the one winch and three K13's initially limited our performance, at this rate we'll be lucky to make 1000. Shame about the curry that ran out courtesy of the air ex guests! But thanks to Gerald for the caramel shortbread - very nice. Appologies to Dave D and the boys for leaving the bird's nest as a result of the parachute detaching at the weak link on the last launch. It was too dark (and late) to fix it - sorry guys.

14/06/06 Two winches in operation resulting in a creditable performance allowing for changing ends,a much reduced turnout of 26 and dealing with a single puncture in the retrieve truck involving 4 wheel changes! The 1200 is still possible - but only if the whole team pulls together and becomes a little slicker...

25/05/06 Brief update as Merv is imminently departing for Jaca - Dire weather last night produced first total loss of the season. The stats graph had to be rescaled, this time for the wrong reason - to fit the revised targets in. The better weather must be on its way - good luck for the next two weeks - see you in three.

17/05/06 With undamped enthusiasm we set up the airfield and achieved two launches! before the frontal system arrived bringing the forecast heavy rain. A turnout of 17 was very good considering the forecast. The simulator was put to good use as John R has fine tuned his aerotowing skills.
The highlight of the evening was Laura's excellent home baked chocolate brownies - could this be adding to Merv's anti-spin device on a regular basis?
An entertaining discussion followed on Lasham in general......

10/05/06 After a hot and humid day the trigger temperature was reached and Cu nims appeared curtailing our winch launching after just 6 launches. We are very grateful to Uncle Bob for doing a sterling job providing alternative aerotow launching. An initial enquiry only produced five people that wanted to fly but by the end of the evening we (with Uncle Bob's help) had logged 18 launches. Even Eric recognised Bob's efforts and has now learnt Bob's name!

03/05/06 Late report! As requested by Uncle Bob - A creditable performance by the retrieve winch at last producing a slightly higher launch rate - to be fair best to date. However, it did not manage to clear the queue this time! So the question is.... can it do better or is that it?

26/04/06 At last the weather was pleasantly warm and calm bringing a good turnout of 29. Retrieve winch not well again (quelle domage) Operated on one winch initially owing to lack of a second winch driver, after second winch established, a joint on the plasma cable seperated reducing our cable capacity to 75%. Good performance overall to exceed our target for the first time this season.

19/04/06 Another delayed start as airfield deserted at 17:00. Decided to give the retrieve winch another chance, quickly discovered that 4 gliders were not enough. However the usual retrieve cable break gave us the chance to regroup and get another glider. Overall the retrieve winch operation was on a par with the two winch operation but the cable break and lack of gliders did limit its perfomance. However, from a personal point of view the 'weak link' in the system is the time taken to co-locate the rings and glider. The argument that the retrieve winch requires one less person appears to forget about the poor sod who has to collect the rings. I would rather be driving the second winch than collecting the rings and delivering them across a vast expanse of grass at a reasonable speed. The two winch operation effortlessly delivers the same launch rates with a much more relaxed approach to all participants. I therefore remain in favour of the two winch operation at present.....

12/04/06 Delayed start as retrieve winch causes problems again! However, our traditional two winch operation recovered some of the lost time until the single plasma cable broke (NOT OUR FAULT) Why oh Why did we not invest in a third tost winch with good old tried and tested steel cables??!! Appologies to Janet who suffered yet another unintended cable break. Who needs this new fangled technology? The target may be reduced if we have to persist with this yellow and blue elephant.....

05/04/06 Still early in the season and beautiful sunshine today brought out additional casual fliers, which meant a struggle to get eveyone flown.

29/03/06 Merv arrives back from Jaca at 5.50 just in the nick of time to start the 2006 course!

23/09/05 Skittles list added check your meal choice here

14/09/05 Congratulations to John Radley and Allan James on completion of their first solo flights

31/08/05 Yet another washout - threat of lightning kept winches away - what has happened to the summer?

24/08/05 Skittles Night update - apparently the Golden Pot's skittle alley is no longer available so the venue has changed to the French Horn.

24/08/05 Unfortunately the clearance arrived just a little too late at 19:30 - alas another washout!

17/08/05 Good News - Thousand Launches achieved two weeks ahead of target!
              Bad News - however Merv's moved the goal post!

A good evening with 4 flights over 1 hour and two bronze duration flights for Vic Binstead and Rob Ward

11/08/05 Pritchards' success - Congratulations to Jim for his silver distance to Aston Down and to Myriam for completing 5 hour duration despite being air-sick three times into her hat!!

07/08/05 Dunstable arrived to reclaim the plate - at least they came in a K7 albeit with a following wind!

03/08/05 Brian and Gary get the plate back from Dunstable. Read all about it.

29/07/05 Merv, Bea, Chris, Jeremy and Alison go of for a weekend of hill soaring in Talgarth. Jeremy gets his name into the Trailer Driver's Hall of Fame - he's the first person in living memory to get a trailer up the 'wrong way' into the site. Don, Talgarth CFI, later said "I was most impressed, we all thought that it was impossible. In honour of this feat, we have decided to call the turning 'Anscomb Corner'. Jeremy was unavailable for comment, but it is rumored that AC will be added as a new BGA turning point in 2006.

PS It rained all weekend and no flying was done. 

27/07/05 Ed Smallbone currently leads the A Class regionals - and if the current weather continues he may well stay in pole position. Well done Ed - Keep it up.

27/07/05 Return of the Regional competition brought another washout - winter has returned! - making for an easy update and early night for Merv!
With the evenings getting shorter we will be collecting names (and cash in advance as there was a shortfall last year) for the traditional end of season skittles evening. The venue will be at the Golden Pot c/w buffet (- unless anyone has any other suggestions) Cost is likely to be around £11 per head Date TBA...

17/07/05 and 18/07/05 Two brave attempts at regaining the Dunstable Plate by Chris Sterritt/Merv in the Capstan BRW And Gary Pullen in K13 L99 both ending falling short of the target. Chris and Merv landed at Halton and Gary at Thame. Since then the weather has been dire but the season's not over yet!

7/07/05 Following the previous successful field excursion, another trip is provisionally planned for a week on Sunday the 17th July (subject to glider and tug pilot availability) anyone interested please contact us
(see who's going)

6/07/05 Despite a 33% reduction in the turnout a busy evening with even the instructors paying! ensured that the target was achieved. We were rewarded by one of the most spectacular sunsets we've seen in a long time - Shame about the camera!

1/07/05 A few pictures from the trip to Dave's field can be viewed here and at Graham Essex website here and some from the evening of 22 June here

29/06/05 A small weather window between Tuesday's thunderstorms and Thursday's rain allowed us to beat the target yet again. However, the launch rate did suffer from the lack of pilots initially, thermals and a genuine cable break!

19/06/05 Field landing in Dave Bowtell's field planned for next Sunday 26th June

19/06/05 Has Gary finally flown himself out after 24000' of spinning!!? Congratulations on surviving his instructors course - time will tell.

12/06/05 Merv is back in England, but the matadors continue flying. Chris & Bea fall out of their plane, but it's no accident...

06/06/05 Merv's Matadors!! See how the Jaca trip is going. Clearly, Merv arranged the best conditions for himself!

04/06/05 To make up for last weeks bad weather Merv has increased the targets pro rata and also arranged for some decent weather for next week - so make the most of it!!!

01/06/05 No flying: rain showers and fog having settled over Lasham (and most of southern England) during the afternoon despite a clear start to the day. Merv got his timing right for going away! A dozen or so still turned up hopefully, and Dave Bowtell stepped smoothly into group leadership mode and used the time to give an interactive lecture on law and theory based on the Bronze written paper, while another part of the group familiarised themselves with the simulator.

25/05/05 A busy evening and a large air experience group of 26 that reduced our capacity slightly! Congratulations to Daren Kershaw on his first solo and to Jim for making it back to the airfield!
Merv Ed and John will be away next week so Dave Bowtell will be in charge for the next two weeks - hopefully there will be enough instructors left to go round.

21/05/05 An alternative viewpoint 'from the other end' on the evening operation of 11 May 2005 from our winch driver Mike Sankey - read his comments

21/05/05 Instructors Required John Caton will be absent on holiday for next two weeks and Merv will be off on his annual pilgrimage to Jaca for two weeks leaving this coming Friday - Any offers of help will be greatly appreciated

18/05/05 Apologies for the late update owing to Merv's imminent departure for Scotland at 04:00! A good turnout and an enthusiastic start soon enabled us achieving 24 launches per hour initially. Then a Jet departure that should have been long gone a 17:00 held up proceedings and forced the overall average down. We recovered well achieving 26 lph afterwards giving an overall figure of 20 lph. Without the jet we could potentially have made 70 plus launches!!

11/05/05 At last, with not a rain cloud in sight, we managed another respectable total taking into account we were two regular instructors and two gliders down, numerous gliders returning late from great distances and even a hot air balloon arriving on the airfield. Thanks to Max Dowding for standing in at the last minute and for sending Bea on her well deserved and well flown First Solo - Congratulations Bea

4/05/05 Yet again, after the weather did its best to dampen our spirits limiting the day's club flying to 3 aerotows and a motor glider flight - the sun shone through. Even after a slow start, as we had to unpack the hangar and set the airfield up again! we exceeded our target by 33%!! a brilliant team effort by all. Congratulations to Nigel Foy who completed his first solo and to young Andrew for nicking Ed's Beer (like father, like son). We also need to thank Dave Dripps for his sterling effort in resurrecting both our unserviceable winches from the dead - Well done Dave!

27/04/05 Despite a waterlogged airfield after this afternoon's thunderstorm restricting us to one winch operation together with the boom - the team did well to only fall short of the target by 3 launches. Our thanks are extended again to Bob Bickers who stepped into Mike and Ians winch driving seat as they were unusually both absent.

20/04/05 Congratulations to Dave Bowtell on completion of his Full Cat Rating and to Rob Ward on his First Solo, and Merv wishes to thank all the marauders that were responsible for his award of the Peter Davis Trophy (for the second time) for outstanding contribution to group flying at the AGM

13/04/05 After another damp and dismal morning the evening brightened up for us! Slow start as two ATC jet movements plus a high speed braking test shortened our operating window. Good team performance as we exceeded the target again! We welcomed the return of Keith Bassett as a much needed additional instructor. The absence of club kitchen staff was well catered for by Dionne and Aaron at the Royal Oak who coped admirably with the group invasion of 24 that arrived at 21:00! (not everybody went). The meals are very good and are worth the extra pennies!

06/04/05 At last we're moving again after last week's fog bound first evening and today's cold front passage. Despite having to unpack the hangar and set up the airfield first launch was at 17:57 and we managed to get 17 marauders flown with an average launch height of 2000'

29/09/04 A huge vote of thanks is extended to all the pilots who contributed not only a substantial investment but also an enormous amount of enthusiasm over the season. A final attendance figure of 19 on the last short evening notwithstanding the weather conditions was an impressive tribute dedication of the group. We certainly have had the worst season, at least in terms of weather, that I have experienced over the last 15 years, but the team has made the most of it! Here’s to next season – may it be substantially better not only for the Marauders but for everybody! See you at the end of season Black tie do on the 16^th October and or the Skittles/Curry evening on the 20^th October – All the best - Cheers Merv

29/09/04 Poor weather yet again didn’t dampen the spirits of the Marauders - The Primary was extracted from the rear of the hangar and completed the final 17 launches required for the 1000 target including a bungee launch. Pilots included Russell Gammell (makes a change from a 737!) Farmer Dave who swapped his tractor for three launches, Chris Sterritt, Ed Smallbone and (of course) Gary Pullen. Note Merv’s not allowed to fly the primary due to family pressure!! (Full report to follow)

22/09/04 Another winch driver for the Marauders - Jeremy gets checked out and provides 24 good launches

15/09/04 Impending food crisis for next week - there may be a slim possibility that we will be attempting self catering evening next week. Discussions are to be ongoing during the week to come. If you wish to partake or even help please let us know!

08/09/04 Congratulations to Steve Atthews on his successful completion of his first solo - followed by another just to prove it was not a fluke!

25/08/04 First appearance of young master Andrew Sterritt (12 days old) on the course celebrated with copious amounts of Moet & Chandon!

17/08/04 Bad weather won't stop the Marauders! Merv's arranged with Shaun Lapworth for the group to have a go on the Lasham simulator in the event we don't actually fly!

14/08/04 Gary, Brian & Chris start the Saturday EMC

13/08/04 All Out! At 9:43 on Friday 13th of August, Bea gave birth to a little boy.

07/08/04 Dave Bowtell gets the go ahead form the insurers to operate out of his field this year - when its ready (in the next couple of weeks) - Watch this space for further details

05/07/04 Regionals week. Our very own Ed Smallbone is vying to retain his crown. Send us your guess as to his overall placing at the end of the week, and the best guess wins a mystery prize.

30/06/04 The plate goes missing. A Dunstable pilot recently turned up at Lasham to retake the trophy. Now we can't exactly say they cheated, but a wooden glider was not used. So all you intrepid people, get into something wooden and shoot off there to bring the trophy back to where it belongs.

30/06/04 Solo he may be, but grounded within days! Read about the ridiculous lengths some members will go to just to get new ab-initio pilots into the group.

25/06/04 Solo and Solo Again Two new solo artists - but can they hold a tune?

25/06/04 Merv predicts 1000 launches by the end of September. Will all pilots please bring night vision goggles from now on. For legal reasons, nobody will be allowed to be in the air for more than 30 minutes after sunset.  :o)

23/05/04 Ed and Jeremy go even larger in the Duo Discus

Ed saved loads of cash by taking Jeremy flying on the 'day of days'. See the flight and barograph details.

02/06/04 Dave Bwye has his 100 Km Diploma Confirmed

29/05/04 Merv is off to Jaca for a little R&R flying 'Fred', his beloved glider. Does anyone else have a name for their glider? No, you're not that daft are you?

Bob Bickers will take over as ÖberLieutennant for the next 2 Wednesdays.

22/05/04 Gary and Merv Go Large

Our intrepid heroes chase after the plates in L99.

22/05/04 How I never done it: another field to the collection

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