Screw Pile Developments

Summer — Year Six

The Graufels massif, the highest mountain on Hundeerde, rose sheer and vast from the floor of Graufelstal Valley, its peak and side ridges trailing off into a jagged chain of lesser alpine peaks that made them seem like foothills in comparison. The boys had seen Graufels before from the air, which only became visible after crossing the headwall saddle.

Three summers had come and gone since the boys had made their first solo flights. Over the last three years they had all now clocked over one hundred hours in the air, time that had both honed and turned their flying into real skill. The flight up the Greyfall Valley to Headwall Station and back, riding the ridge wave, to them, felt as familiar as the road up to the farmhouse. The southwesterly wind, which provided the needed lift, was now a familiar and trusted friend. It would have been easy to call it routine. However, nobody ever did, certainly not out loud, and not really, even to themselves.

Progression to solo soaring in single-seat gliders, followed by the first real cross-country flight, flying further from their home airfield at Veldmeer than they had ever been. The saddle traverse from the Greyfall Valley, up and over the headwall to the Graufelstal Valley, which had once seemed like an impassable barrier, had now been conquered more than once. Crossing the saddle revealed the massive sentinel, waiting, sitting silently, the pinnacle of every Veldmeer pilot’s training — the Graufelswand sheer rock face and Graufels itself, the massif almost filling the visible horizon, dominating the view from east to west. It looked big even from the headwall saddle; however, the closer you flew to it, the larger it became, very solid and very immovable. This was not a mountain that you approached with casual intent. It was a mountain that demanded absolute competence and respect — anything less could be fatal.

Timo’s words directly after his very first flight still filled every boy’s mind:

“…fly to the face, without slamming into it, and then right around the peak.”

Words he had repeated, on loop, with relish, ever since — and at any opportunity. No one treated it as a joke. The payoff of the achievement would be great, but the risk was real.

Veldmeer Airfield – Morning

Everyone had been watching the weather like a hawk for over a week and today was looking like it would be the one where all the needed pieces would fall into place: a warm south-westerly wind that would activate the ridge lift along the Greyfall Valley, combined with the afternoon sun warming the rock of the sheer Graufelswand, to provide the lift required to achieve their ultimate goal — an orbit of the Graufels summit itself.

The two instructors and five pilots had taken seven single-seat gliders out of the hangar at Veldmeer Airfield and were in the process of carefully checking them over, by themselves first and then a second time by someone else.

Toby threw the can of spray over to Raven, and he soon had the catch releasing smoothly.

With glider checks completed and minor issues sorted, a level of nervous excitement surfaced among the young pilots as they retreated to the airfield briefing room.

Timo was half talking to himself, his nervous energy starting to bubble over.

Timo gave a little yelp.

Toby looked across to Raven, slightly exasperated.

Raven smiled wryly in return, considering the proposition for just a moment.

Raven looked across to Seb, who had been quiet all morning.

Truth was, while Seb may have been quiet and calm externally, internally his thoughts were a cacophony — the very things the others had said out loud, running through his head on some kind of loop of their own.

Fly to the face without slamming into it.
Purely for safety.
Within parameters.
We’re a team up there. Always.

Today there was no fast. Today required patience, focus and teamwork.

---

Veldmeer Airfield – Briefing Room

Daan took a long slug of his coffee before starting his briefing.

Daan tapped his tablet a couple of times and the flight plan came up on the screen at the front of the briefing room.

Graufelswand Flight Plan

Ceiling & Summit

• Graufels summit: 13,058 ft
• Prominence: 1,079 ft → saddle/col ≈ 11,979 ft
• Orbit height: 12,500 ft (~500 ft below summit, ~500 ft above saddle)
• Hard ceiling: 13,000 ft
• Veldmeer elevation: 1000 ft above MSL

He tapped to the next screen.

Radio & altimeter

• Circuit Channel for takeoff/launch
• Switch to: Chatter Channel once all seven gliders are at 2000 ft
• Altimeter reset: (field-zero → true sea-level height) at 2000 ft point
• Callsigns: Daan = Flight (lead glider), Vera = Sweep (rear glider)
• Full Formation = Grey Flight, the rest of you will use first names

Weather conditions

• South-west wind is steady at 12 knots, gusting to 18. Building during the afternoon. Bearing variable 210 to 240 degrees.
• Clear with unlimited visibility.
• Greyfall wave and Graufelswand face are expected to be working.

He then tapped to the staged altitudes and go/no-go checkpoints.

Stage	Target	Notes
Winch launch	Aim for min. 1500 ft	Range 1000–2000 ft; natural variation
Rendezvous above airfield near valley mouth	2000 ft	Channel switch + altimeter reset
Greyfall Valley Wave	Wave must be working to proceed	Go/no-go #1 Wave working – proceed to Headwall Wave not working – abort to Veldmeer
Wave transit up Greyfall Valley to Headwall	Min. 5000 ft once at Headwall	Go/no-go #2 All at 5000 ft – proceed to traverse Any below 5000 ft and unable to climb – abort return to Veldmeer
Traverse — saddle crossing into Graufelstal Valley	Min. 5000 ft, maintained	Go/no-go #3 All at 5000 ft – proceed to Graufelswand Any below 5000 ft and unable to climb / unable to cross back – abort land at Steinbach airstrip.
Transit across Graufelstal to the face	Min 5000 ft maintained	Rendezvous at Graufelswand
Graufelswand Face Check	Min. 5000 ft, all seven gliders present	Go/no-go #4 Lift working – proceed All seven present at min. 5000 ft before the climb starts Face lift not working – hold / abort return to Headwall saddle if at 5000 ft or Steinbach if below.
Face Climb	Climb to 12,500 ft	12,500 ft – ceiling for 30 minute oxygen window
Pre-Orbit	Confirm all seven at 12,500 ft	Go/no-go #5 All at 12,500 – proceed to orbit Any below 12,500 and unable to climb – abort, return via headwall saddle if above 5000 ft
Orbit	Maintain 12,500 ft, Approx. 15 km circumference	13,000 ft hard ceiling above; ~500 ft clearance below summit and above saddle
Return	Min. 5000 ft to re-cross Headwall saddle	Any below 5000 ft, land at Steinbach Once crossed – controlled descent to Veldmeer
Veldmeer circuit & landings	Usual circuit join Switch to circuit channel	Safe sequential landings

There were a few moments of silence before…

Vera narrowed her eyes slightly and gave him the look that she had reserved just for him — for years.

---

The Flight

Following a light lunch, and one last potty stop, one by one, the seven gliders of the Grey Flight were quickly launched skywards, winched straight up at 45 degrees, the almost direct headwind assisting with their ascent. One by one, the number of gliders circling near the mouth of the Greyfall Valley slowly grew.

The seven pilots all switched to the chatter channel, ready to make their run up the Greyfall Valley.

Each glider acknowledged again on the chatter channel and turned towards the left-hand ridge of the Greyfall Valley, seeking the wave of rising air that would convey them up to 5000 feet and the next waypoint at Headwall. The wave did its work and before long all seven gliders were circling high above the Headwall homestead.

Grandpa Jake stood on the stone bridge, listening in on his scanner, a couple of the other boys beside him, craning their necks skyward and trying to count the number of gliders — not an easy task from the ground.

Once confirmed that all were present and at the desired height, Daan gave the go for the headwall traverse.

The formation of gliders disappeared over the ridge of the headwall and out of sight from those watching from below. The traverse did not take long, and soon the expanse of the Graufelstal Valley opened out beneath them.

The new sight of the Graufels massif greeted the pilots of Grey Flight. Graufelswand, the sheer south face loomed before them, filling the horizon from side to side. As they continued northwards the south face grew larger and larger with each passing moment.

Inside her cockpit, Vera smiled to herself. If any teacher could survive five years of Timo, it should be a fair match to flying around a 13,000-foot massif, albeit with the aforementioned Timo.

There was a moment’s silence and then came Seb’s call.

Vera thumbed her mic for the briefest of moments.

The others made their way over, slowly joining Timo’s thermal. Initially there were three in a triangle formation, then as the fourth joined they adjusted their formation to a square. The last three joined lower, forming a triangle as the warm air blowing off the face propelled them upwards.

The lift from the warmed rock face remained strong, and around ten minutes later Timo topped out at the desired 12,500 feet.

The view from his small cockpit at 12,500 feet was like nothing that Timo had ever seen before, rows upon rows of jagged mountains forming neat ridges with deep glacial valleys carved in between, and if he squinted just enough, he thought he could catch a glimpse over to the Greyfall Valley, and Veldmeer thousands of feet below.

Like, commuters stepping off the top of an escalator at a busy train station, the remaining six gliders popped out of the thermal, all confirming their height at 12,500 feet.

The orbit began, Daan taking the lead and the rest following line astern, as they made their way around the looming peak of Graufels, the view gradually changing as they made their circular orbit. Small pockets of snow still clung to the rock in patches, and above, the rings swept around the full arc of the visible horizon, the deep blue of the upper sky blending to indigo, with just a few stars visible.

For some of the pilots, it almost felt as if their glider was stationary as the peak of Graufels just 500 feet above, gradually rotated beside them. Looking down, the saddle sat just 500 feet below, the ever-present sheer wall reminding them: look, but don’t touch.

Raven, who had up to this point been fully focused on his flying, the climb and keeping the correct spacing between himself, the others and the rock, now found he had just a moment or two to fully take in exactly where he was. It was then that almost subconsciously he took his non-flying hand and touched the central stone on his necklace.

His thumb hovered for the briefest moment over the radio switch, but then he spoke quietly to himself.

In ones and twos, the gliders reappeared from around the northern shoulder of the peak.

Soon all seven were accounted for, back to where they’d started — the sheer face of Graufelswand rising to meet them once again as the circuit closed.

Except this time, nothing about the moment felt the same, each of the seven experiencing something slightly different. The click of a radio keyed briefly was heard, but then, for a few moments, simple silence. Each pilot was lost, just for a moment, in their own private thoughts.

But such moments are fleeting, and soon the radio clicked open again.

The seven gliders of the Grey Flight then turned to retrace their path, back over the saddle, the Greyfall Valley, down the ridge, and home to join the circuit at Veldmeer Airfield.

Wheels down, one through seven.