Volume 16 No 1 Feb 1965.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

IT wasn't just having to get used to atrailer~the car was something of achange too. An aged and irascible cow,of a noble and now extinct line; and incomparison to the delicate manoeuvrabilityof the Sprite I'd been used to,she felt like a rusty tank.And then, of course, there was thetrailer, all 30 miles of it-I beg yourpardon-feet. At least it was no widerthan the car, and comparatively light,but the prospect of having to cope withit-and in public at that-'--appalled me.My first introduction to the businesswas relatively easy, apart from havingto hitch the trailer on to the noble cowby myself, which turned out simpler thanI'd expected, since by sheer luck I'dplaced the car in exactly the right spotto lower the hitch on to the ball.Hanno and 999 had landed only 10miles away, but between us lay the fullsurge of a town's rush-hour traffic. Inegotiated the airfield gate without takinga post with me, and prepared for thecha{)s to come. It was just as well that Ihad forgotten to put the number-plateon the back-I'm sure a lot of peoplewould dearly have loved to report mefor everything from nearly taking thecorner of a house with me, to holdingup all the traffic in three directions atonce.By the time I eased the noble cow andcontraption on to the main road I wasnear to being a total wreck-I personally,that is, not the trailer.I found 999 without any difficulty; shewas conveniently parked by the road.Bursting with pride at my remarkableefficiency, I s.lid alongside and wahedsmugly for the well-deserved praise dueto me. Hanno slanted an eye at the towbarand then at me. "Next time, try lockingthe hitch in place before you start,"he suggested.I deflated rapidly to knee-higb-to-agnatsize, and watched his competentsupervision of two worshipful yokels dismantlingand stowing 999.On the return trip Hanno graciouslyallowed me to drive. 999 hung behind,heavy as my sense of responsibility."Come on, you can go faster tbanthat," urged Hauno."I can't-she keeps yawing.""Then you're just not handling the carproperly!"I gritted my teeth and said nothing.The noble cow wallowed down the road,trailer trundling spongily. "I think I'dbetter drive," said Hanno finnly.Cringing with humility, I changedplaces with him.We continued at a fairly smart pace,when suddenly the trailer slewed acrossthe road, heaving the car into a series ofviolent metronomic yaws. Hanno'sknuckles gleamed whitely on the wheel,and we waltzed gradually to a standstill."I think I'd better check the tyre pressure,"he said.It wasn't exactly necessary., being alltoo obvious that one tyre was very tiredindeed. Hanno made no further mentionof my inefficiency on the way home.The next occasion provided no pitfalls;a long haul to Moreton and some difficultyfinding 999. I spent ages tackingin the dark across a one-time airfield,29