RSGC Longest Day 2026
This weekend saw the passing of Summer Solstice, the day with the greatest amount of daylight hours during the year, with sunrise at 04:40 and sunset at 21:37. For gliding clubs across the country, this usually results in an 18-hour flying day! With there being only one 4 o’clock in most of our club members’ day, Brad took charge in organising an evening session, preceded by a club BBQ.
Before the flying evening, there was still a full flying day to get through. With the kit DI’d, Wing Commander Biggles Haynes led the morning brief as DI.
First up, new MEF bursar, Matthew, a training Weapons Technician training at RAF Cosford, and, most likely, our ex-armourer himself, CFI, Gally’s, new favourite club member. Whilst on hold after basic training, he was shipped to RAF Cranwell, where he flew with RAF Cranwell GC, getting himself well on the way with his training, when he wasn’t firing blanks at training officer cadets.
MEF student Lewis was next up in R22 with veteran instructor, Geoff M, and the pair of them managed a 53-minute soaring flight… nice going, chaps!
Keeping on a role with new faces, new member Andrew flew next with Colin in R35. The pair managed to soar for over an hour on their second flight, providing Andrew with the opportunity to hone his skills for his up-and-coming SPL skills test. Andrew is also a member of Staffordshire GC at Seighford.
The colonel was eager to take the next launch in EEO. It appears we have some budding youths giving the Colonel a run for his shillings, as Lewis extricated his camera from his backpack, with all the lenses and trimmings.
After a change of tug pilot to John “don’t tell ‘em your name” Pike-ard, student pilot and RAF Air Cadet, Robin was next in the, literally, hot seat, with Richard Bucket as his guide for the day.
Lord Upton-Waters, having been allowed on day release from the care home, launched in 243, and during his flight, fired up the iron thermal for a test run as the syndicate draw ever closer to the mystery of its defective operation. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed a soaring trip north of an hour.
After the good padre has launched to the heavens, student pilot, Ged was up in R35 with Geoff M. Ged managed to beat his son, Robin, at the post with a longer soaring flight, totalling 1 hour 6 minutes. Nigel and student pilot, Douglas followed in R22…
John Pike-ard fancied a go in something without an engine, thus, extricated himself from WG, and handed the keys to Colin. Launching in his hot ship, EEO, he managed a 54-minute soaring flight… won’t be many hours before he can fly the Duo now! #Vulcanbomber followed eagerly in R35, once we ensured he’d delivered the cake safely, and lasted 36 minutes bumbling around in the thermals.
The last few flights of the club day were from Geoff M (with the colonel’s new photography apprentice, Lewis), Laura (with Colin maintenance apprentice, Ben), and the good Wing Commander Boggles and The Vicar rounding off the day, once again beckoning to the Lord’s calling. Congratulations to Ben who has now completed his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Great to see he is still keen to carry on learning to fly… we’re looking forward to seeing this young lad progress!
So, end of the day, right? Blog finished? Not quite… keep your reading specs on!
With Sunday being Summer Solstice, one of our BI’s, Brad, had arranged a club BBQ, followed by some evening flying to commemorate the occasion. With flying over, last-minute.com preparations were made for the BBQ, and with the sides and rabbit food (or salad, as I hear it is called) prepped, the BBQ was assembled and lighted. Many thanks to #Vulcanbomber for providing us with his BBQ, and to his son, #Vulcanbomber-Junior, for instructing him on how to operate it.
The Colonel had dressed in his best for the event, and was serving nibbles in between meat batches from the BBQ….
“More nibbles, Sir?”
With everybody having eaten, we kicked the flying evening into gear, with the first launch being at 19:23, piloted by Simon and Douglas, followed by Laura and Robin. Besides been a joyous experience, flying in the evening allows our students to continue practicing and progressing through the syllabus in calmer conditions due to the airmass stabilizing later in the day.
Student pilot, and RAF Air Cadet, Jenson, flew next in R22 with Simon, once again with Laura not far behind in R35 with Ben.
The last two flights of the evening were with Simon and Brad in R22, carrying our further FI training as Brad nears the end of the syllabus, and Laura and MEF bursar, Matthew in R35. Not wishing to fatigue our tuggie, we called it an evening at that.
Overall, a cracking day had, with the flying day lasting 10hrs 15mins from first launch to last landing. It was great to see so many members and families at the BBQ, and hope to persist with these social events in the future. A huge thank you to our G-Queen, Laura, for taking on the DI role for the flying evening, and to Colin, who, after a days DI duty, kindly stepped in as our only tuggie for the evening. Without the two, the flying evening couldn’t have happened. Plus, an additional bonus, there have been no reports of food poisoning… yet!
Crub News
New CFI. Rumours abound that in a bid to take over as the CFI of the world renowned and prestigious Shawbelly Gridin Crub, the Ex-Dear Leader Lieutenant-Commandant Kim Al Swan has made a successful escape from internment and has been spotted in Wales.
