Engineered Systems LtdProgramme and Project Management by Ed Johnston |
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A great and social affair, though as
competitors I find these always flat affairs. You have the
tension to unwind and opportunities, successes and faults still
fresh in your mind while still looking forward to a long journey
home.
There was food and drink a plenty, a
marvellous spread being laid on for a modest 20Euro and most of
the competitors, crews and organisers being present. We had a
fantastic meal and certainly the crews and organisers were
steadily letting their hair down as the night progressed. The
results were confirmed with a participation certificate and gong
for all pilots being handed out by Vitas and two very pretty
assistants, though the Dutch team thoughtfully held back their
pilots from receiving their prizes in person, fearing that a
picture of them kissing the girls might leak to their loved
ones! Needless to say, they escaped at the end of the ceremony
and claimed their chased embraces.
Some had to go already, from our number
Gary had to get back to go to work on Monday, setting off to
drive through the night. Others, me included, really could not
justify waiting until after noon and the official closing
ceremony to set off on the 1400 mile journey, so packed up the
party at about 11 for a good night’s sleep (or as good as yet
another wedding at the hotel would allow).
I settled the bill and got to the field
around 8am and eventually got Devin packing up his gear. He
eventually completed his fond farewells to his particular
admirer who worked in the bar and we got going around 9.30.
The drive home is a natural anti-climax,
with first the
potholes of Lithuania and eastern Poland to be negotiated and
the competition to look back on rather forward to. A few little
mistakes as we chatted and missed a turning, or TomTom unable to
recognise a better, sign posted route to the better roads not in
its database. Despite this we made good progress eventually
getting onto the one excellent road in Poland, then on and
across the German boarder before stopping.
We had a bit of excitement stopping, first missing an obvious good place to stop, then finding a town with a small hotel down a tiny road which we declined, followed by a fraught straggle through a town on the edge of a thunder storm to a small pension at the edge of town, down another tiny track. Fortunately they had a room beer and food, so despite the lost hour of motorway time, we stopped, fed and dropped to bed, Devin in his sleep reaching for my hand no doubt in fond recollection of the previous evening’s companionship.
Up at a reasonable 7am breakfast the next
day, we set of at a steady pace for Eindhoven. We were only 80k
from Berlin when we stopped and after passing the capital, the
next phase seemed to take much longer than I expected;
perception and reality of the distance from Berlin to the
boarder did not quite match up! We were passed by Andy Lincoln
on the way, he having dropped Steve off at the airport and no
doubt driven through with few if any stops. Russell passed me
after dropping Devin off, both driving faster and longer having
left after picking up his bronze medal. No sign of the others
though with Chris leaving early to get to Magdeberg and a
rendezvous with Hugh Kindle to get him and glider back from
there to the UK after he dropped his hire car. Likewise Nick was
leaving later and probably driving slower too.
After dropping Devin off at his place was
an appreciative farewell for a job well done. Fortunately no
retrieves were needed but the job of a crew on the ground is
often under-estimated and less appreciated.
Then once more, the longer than expected
trip to the channel where I arrived just in time for an earlier
crossing which for £20 this way seemed like a good deal compared
with the way out. I paid the cash and almost drove straight onto
the 17.45, a decent meal and an hour wandering round, stretching
my legs.
Eventually getting onto the correct side of
the road, I dropped the glider off at Dunstable and when home,
simply picked up my overnight back then fell into bed at about
10.30 without unpacking the car.
It is surreal to wake up in the grey
drizzle of the UK, rather than the pine forests with the
prospect of another competition day ahead. Getting you mind
round work, team,
projects rather than met, energy lines and competitors. Which is
the reality and which the fantasy?
Eventually I got back into the rut of work,
despite the frustration of not having the leave to fly the 15m
Nationals and being thoroughly knackered. After a few weeks, the
competition (and the summer!) seem like a distant memory.
Ground equipment, especially the radio, did
not perform at the beginning of the competition and was not
particularly useful as we got further into it. Some better
equipped and funded teams had people on the ground dedicated to
the weather and tactics, staying in constant contact with
pilots.
It is unlikely that we will suddenly get
funded with sufficient cash to hire met men and tacticians, but
on most days there is a significant amount of spare and educated
manpower on the ground able to assist in these areas.
A really good innovation was the Dutch
team’s use of trackers on their team gliders. With more rapid
update and no time lag, they were able to communicate with their
pilots and guide them on how they could help each other. This
feels like a really cost-effective innovation
As a team of 3, we mostly worked well
together, despite having only 2 compatible styles and one (me)
rather different. Over all the information exchanges were
accurate and timely and it was only when I got out-voted and
flew in a direction against my preference (a 60/40 thing not
sufficiently strongly held to go my own way) did I start to get
a little frustrated.