Whilst not much flying has occurred recently, it’s been a busy time at the club. A lot of work has been done since the working bee in August.
David Jones kindly delivered and returned the club parachutes for re-packing. There are two chutes out of time and have been put aside. David has since repaired and painted the wooden window frames of the briefing room and office. Ron Brock has done the annual service on the tractor. All the oil leaks have been fixed and the throttle no longer misbehaves.
Since completing the storeroom , Adam Stott has now turned his attention to sprucing up the men’s toilet and showers. 
Pete Siddall ferried the tug to Parafield on Sept 3rd, and he ferried it back in time for flying on last Saturday.
Thanks to the Dunns who donated a Tasman vario for the ASK21 rear panel after the existing one failed. For some reason the Flarm in the 21 and also the tug are not working. If anyone is tech savvy, maybe you could have a look at them. We have sourced a new part for the OGN transmitter on the igloo antenna which should enhance our coverage.
This last week has been a hive of activity as the LS4, Discus and Adam Howells Kestrel had their annual inspections. Attending was Adam Stott who did the majority of the LS4, JR Marshall from Millicent (SAGA RTO/Air) with his brother-in-law Mike Renehan (President, Millicent GC) as well as John Spronk. John did the Discus with JR’s oversight which has greatly enhanced his knowledge. We managed to burn out the air compressor, so a new one is on order.
David Pietsch has sourced and suppled some longer gas cables to assist in converting to smaller bottles in both kitchens . David has moved his glider into the main hangar as the O’Reilly hangar has been sold.
On Saturday, Andrew Wright and our neighbour Steve got stuck into the clubhouse lawns with two ride-on mowers. 
Due to the heavy thatch they raked and removed most of the clippings. Thanks guys!
With the tug back at 1:30 we were able to get some good flying done. Adam test flew the LS4 and did a commendable flight to Loxton and return mostly between 3 – 4,000ft.
John test flew the Discus and I flew a passenger joy flight in the ASK21 and then took ‘Renna’ Renehan for his first flight in the Duo. Peter Robinson had over an hour in the Duo (scraping away from 750’) and Haidyn and Patrick Dunn shared a long flight in the 21.
Please note that Orange Week dates are a week earlier than on the original planner. They’re from 18-25th November. SAGA have approved WGC to host the State Comps which will overlap the last few days of Coaching Week. Stay tuned for more info.
This coming weekend we plan to have our annual October Long Weekend Regatta. As usual this will be a fun and casual affair with small, achievable tasks, weather permitting.
Welcome to Alannah Jones who has re-joined as an associate member with the aim of eventually resuming flying (especially with Dad in the Duo!) Paul O’Neill who joined last year has regretfully been unable to continue and Cathy Conway has reverted from full flying member to tug pilot member.
We welcome back Doug and Gail Forbes as caretakers again this summer. Yay!
Former member, Bruce Pennington passed away recently at the age of 97. Bruce was a valued member of the club and committee member for many years and was involved in several syndicates of gliders and a motor glider, sincere condolences to his family.
In an earlier email I announced that David Collins and Mark Morgan were the recipients of SAGA Trophies. An article appears on our website. Congratulations guys!
Thanks to all who have assisted over winter so that we can go flying safely over the coming season. My apologies if I have omitted to mention anyone.
Bill Mudge, CFI & Treasurer
