Checks flighted out!

WARNING - this is gliding related post, non-gliding types may find it boring ;)

Today we woke up to the kind of weather scenes that would have English glider pilots quitting their jobs and running to the airfield. The Aussies however appeared confused by the strange weather system and scrubbed the day!! RASP had got the forecast drastically wrong and rather than looking out the window the task setter scrubbed the day - cloud base was about 6000ft and the average thermal strengths were 4-6 kts! (they were even nice large even thermals!). Phil managed to fly 270km without too much of a problem.

Today was also the day that I started the first of many check flights. Narrogin had an English pilot fly here two years ago who forgot about the wind gradient and caused $20000 worth of damage to one of their gliders. This means that the club have the most detailed vistiting pilot check list I have ever seen (the club self insure so it hurts all the members if one of the gliders gets damaged...) So before I am allowed to fly solo I have to demonstrate:

* normal low tow to 2000ft and normal circuit and landing (fairly easy, no problems here)
* a tow which includes boxing the slip stream, and a hook off (the proceedure if you can't release the rope).
* two spins, one in each direction with at least 2 turns for each spin.
*stalling exercises
*circuit modified due to sink
*circuit modified due to lift
*circuit with no altimeter/ASI
* simulated rope break on aerotow
and Demonstrate knowledge of local landmarks/ features
*demonstrate knowledge of local landmarks

Further to fly cross country I have to do a field landing and tow plane retrieve and fly a mini xc flight with an 'experienced instructor'.

So far understandable if a little on the overly cauctious side... however after completing all this I have to have a check flight every day that I want to fly until I have flown 8 days at the site.

I am half way through the above list - I can fly solo once I've had a simulated rope break but got alot more boxes to tick before gettting close to going cross country...

On a slightly different note we met a glider pilot from Sutton bank yesterday. He had some of his first flights with my Granddad as instructor. He was telling me all sorts of stories which is always nice. Incidently he flies regularly at another club over here and suggested I go visit them to fly cross country - its further north (i.e. better weather) and hasn't had any accidents with us dodgy English pilots!