Westbury EMERGENCY Landing Field

Following even more incidents (!) Brent Pullen (Westbury Site Officer) has recently spoken to both the landowner and the tenant farmer. For now, the best advice we can give to anyone who finds themself going down is to go and apologise to the farmer, if present, immediately upon landing and to carry along the noticeable track which runs through the centre of the field and then along the side of the field to the gate to pack up. We are continuing to work on the situation. The following, earlier messages still stand:

After further incidents, notice is hereby given that the 25 pound fine for driving into the bottom landing WILL be enforced rigorously as of now - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Could all pilots please note that the Westbury ONLY HAS AN EMERGENCY BOTTOM LANDING FIELD.

It is NOT OK to take off in the hope of finding a thermal to keep you up - if there are other pilots (particularly people like Chris or Ron) on the hill but not flying, please ask yourself why! The farmer who rents the EMERGENCY landing field is becoming increasingly unhappy, firstly at the number of people using his field and secondly at their behaviour. Obviously there are occasions - e.g. when the air has been lifty but you then get drilled with no reasonable warning - when there is no alternative but to use the field; this is why we MUST keep the tenant farmer and the landlord sweet.

If you do HAVE to land in the EMERGENCY field, please heed the following rules:

1. Land as close as possible to the fence which runs perpedicular to the main road, on the left of the field;
2. Carry your glider to the entrance to the field before packing it up;
3. Do not drive into the field - the farmer pays a large amount of money for this field and, following recent incidents, we have agreed a £25 FEE for anyone driving into it.

Further points:

PG pilots - if you take off and find no lift in the bowl, you are unlikely to find any anywhere else so put it in on the spur to the right of the horse (yes, I know there are fences but YOU chose to take off).

I recently admonished someone for landing in the field before the EMERGENCY field - they said they couldn't make the EMERGENCY field. In this case they made their decision TOO LATE (and, in the case in question, they shouldn't have taken off in the first place). They then proceeded to walk back up the face of the hill. THIS IS RIGHT OUT! You must walk out of the EMERGENCY field, turn right along the road until you reach the footpath which runs up the spur and then use that to get back to take off.

You MUST NOT land in the field at the top of the ridge to the left of the main take off, or on the slope below it.

There is no landing field AT ALL below the NNE face. If you're going down you MUST make every attempt to put it in on the slope below the path.

Apologies for SHOUTING but the farmer is very upset and I am not alone in my perception that adherence to Westbury Site Rules is slipping markedly.