RN Hang Gliding
and Paragliding Club (RNHPC)
Newsletter 2/03
Introduction. Second Newsletter of the year and it is only
June! Scottie is rushed off his feet at
702 Sqn so your Chairman has bitten the bullet and is writing this issue. Hopefully lots of you are safely “back in the
saddle” and have been getting some good flying in. The weather seems to be
better for the hang gliding fraternity so far with stronger winds than in
recent years. In
between flying the Club Committee have been busy with a certain amount of
“admin” that we need to pass on, so here goes.
Easter Exped. We had a very successful Exped to Crickhowell
during the week before Easter this year.
We did a lot of flying off the Blorenge SE face where Dave Moy was the
skygod of the week, blundering around the Crick valley at Flight level
Nosebleed with no map! There was the
usual pile of bent aluminium from the HG pilots’ efforts, but great fun was had
by all. Our numbers were a little thin
on the ground, so put this event in your diary now for next year and come
along. It is the best way to blow away the cobwebs after the winter
layoff. We usually have four wheel drive
transport and there are instructors and coaches on hand to get you back in the
air safely.
Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM was held on the Blorenge during the
Exped. The minutes of the meeting are
attached to this Newsletter and cover the majority of the points I want to
publicise. Please read them along with
the latest Club Constitution that has also been updated since the AGM. You must comply with the Constitution,
in particular have a good look at the section that gives advice about
insurance.
Equipment maintenance. All Club hang gliders, the PG wing and PG
harnesses/reserves were serviced over the winter and are ready for use. As you can imagine we have incurred a
considerable cost doing this, in the order of £1000. We need your membership money and hire fees
to cover this, so if you owe the Treasurer cash please pay up as soon as
possible. The revised procedures for
signing out “flight safety critical” bits of kit, as mentioned in the AGM
minutes, are now in place with the JSHPC.
Anyone wanting to use club equipment should contact the Chairman – Rob Dowdell on Boscombe (9214 807) 2689.
Grant Bids.
A bid is going in to the Sports Lottery for a second Club Paraglider
Wing. Our first, the Nova Xact, has been well utilised since we bought it last
year. Nigel Taylor is co-ordinating the
bid. If you have strong views on what we
should purchase if we are successful in getting the cash, please let him know –
contact him on
Inter-services. The Inter-Services will probably be just
getting underway as this arrives in your letterbox with the HG team defending
the Inter-Services Team Champions title. We have lost our star pilot – Lt Cdr
Rob Schwab – back to Virgin Atlantic so the pressure is on! Rear Admiral Kidner is presenting the prizes
at the PG champs. He is an EP student PG
pilot who has had a taster of the sport with Mr F and is keen to do more
flying. So the pressure is also on the
PG team to do well with the Admiral watching!
We have had a lot of trouble tracking people down in the run up to the Champs.
Please update Scottie with your address, contact number and place of work. If he has this he can put you on the
selection signal which works wonders with your CO for getting time off.
Wingover. Another reminder that Wingover - the JSHPA
annual magazine with competition news, course programmes exped
info and application forms only goes
to those who are on the database held at Crickhowell. If you trained elsewhere
give Crickhowell a ring and get yourself added to the list. Even if you did a
course at the JSHPC you may not have signed up for Wingover when you left and
you will have become lost to the system. There is a £10, one off, registration
fee that seems to put people off, but it is
really worth the cost because it keeps you in touch with what is going on at
the Center.
Conclusion. That’s all for now.
Scottie will give you news of the Inter-Services in his next Newsletter! Fly safely and keep in touch:
Chairman Lt Cdr Rob Dowdell
RWTS,
MOD Boscombe Down, Amesbury, Wilts, SP4 0JF
Boscombe
(9214 807) 2689 and Fax 2231 (01980 662689) or
rdowdell@qinetiq.com
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01963 220248,
Secretary Lt Mark Scott
PTO,
702 Squadron, RNAS Yeovilton, Ilchester,
Yeovilton (93 510) 6070 (01935 456070)
Upsidedownman@supanet.com
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01743 741367 or 07968 420865