The gliders we fly are required to have periodic inspections, in terms of time, and hours flown; the most common inspection is the annual inspection. Many pilots back-load their inspections, so that they don't have to find a mechanic in the most popular (and busy) time of the year - spring and summer. Also, if something is found to be amiss, you have 5-6 months to sort out the problem, order parts (typically from Europe), and get a new inspection. If you do your annual in the spring and a problem is found, it is conceiveable that you could lose most of the season.
Last weekend, two gliders were inspected; on Thursday, four more were done - Ron's Lak-12, my SZD-55, and two club gliders - the L-23, and the ASK-13 two seaters. Steve S is our mechanic. Here are some pictures from the annuals. Martin L and Ron S got the club gliders ready, and had the ASK-13 finished by the time I had put my glider back together.
For new students and pilots, you can learn a lot about glider structures and how they work by helping with inspections. I highly recommend offering to help. Learning how to adjust brakes, what 'looks right' for your Daily Inspections, etc will help you throughout your gliding career.
The weather; well, summer is over... the club house thermometer read 2C when I got there, and was up to 18C after a lot of firewood went into the stove. We do have a shortage of wood, folks, let's work at that on Sunday and the days following. Wood needs to dry for a season before it's usable; let's fill the sheds with the trees that have fallen this summer.
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| BQN ready for another year. Good DI on the first flight, folks! |
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| All inspection panels off, and in a cramped position checking the internals |
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| Facing a way you don't experience often (this is in fact more uncomfortable than it seems; the rear stick keeps trying to 'get familiar') |
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| Light drizzle just starting to fall; ops overseen by the barn owl |
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