John Douglass and Jeremy Knight have been up in Shennington, on Tuesday 5th, doing their cross country endorsements. The day started off with a long briefing on how to land in fields. If I remember correctly you just hang around a likely looking field hoping some unexpected lift saves your bacon. If the lift fails to turn up by say 500′ just pop it on the ground – simples! Actually now I think of it that’s completely wrong isn’t it? Oh well, wotever. Thoroughly briefed, we both planned routes round Bidford (can’t be found from the air), Bicester (can’t be found from the air) and Banbury (somebody moved it). John set off first and two hours later returned a fully fledged cross country competitor following an attempt to land down wind and an intimate liaison with the end of a field. Then it was Jeremy’s turn, and he too returned 2 hours later having passed despite forgetting to plan a landing until 300′ – still got it in just the right side of the hedge mind you 🙂 All in all a great fun day made better by the excellent thermals and great visibility. At one point there was even 8 up on the vario which isn’t bad in a motor glider that’s nearly as old as me. I am sure we would both like to thank Shennington for making us so welcome and Bruno for some challenging but really fun instruction.
So the two of us are back at Shalbourne next weekend – you have been warned.
Jeremy Knight
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