Volume 21 No 3 Jun-Jul 1970.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

SAILP .. NE·...&Ol-,DI: ..• :. . ..... ..•.....Ci",:a'.I{.::"·. . .. . .... .

SAILPLANE& GLIDINGOFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE BRITISH GLIDING ASSOCIATIONEditor: Alan Slater, MA, F.R.Met.S.Associate Editor: Rika HarwoodClub News Editor: Yvonne Bonl'lam - Subscriptions: Frances TannerAdvertisement Manager: Peggy MlevllleCommittee: Philip Wills, Chairman - G. Harwood - M. Bird - G. LockeCONTENTSPeter Scon-An AppreciationOur New Chairman ..Hairy Aeroplanes-Fact or Fancy?More About ThermalsModel Sea Breeze FronuA Welsh Obstacle CourseThe Standai'd Class ..Third London AirportCamphill AirspaceLuton ZoneThe Gipsy Flies ..An Extraordinary Easter ..World Championships-Entries ..1970 Symposium on Competitive SoarinKIn the Absence of a BunlleyKronfeld News ..Aviation An ..Flying aR

B.G.A.General Regulations:"The onlyacceptablecameras are theKodak INSTAMATIC25 and 33 cameras"~The Kodak 'Instamatic' 25 and 33 cameras have been specified bythe British Gliding Association as the cameras to be used incompetition gliding.This is why,They're easily loaded. The film is in a cartridge which simply 'drops-in'to the camera. It only 'drops-in' one way, so you can't misload. There'sno film threading-no fumbling. They have double exposure preventiondevices, so you can't take 'two-an-one: You have a choice of eitherblack-and-white prints, colour prints or colour slides. Their large eye levelviewfinders let you compose your picture easily, instantly. They're light·,compact and easily stowed away when not in use;a pocket will do. The 'Instamatic' 25 camera costs just ~£2.18.10: The 'Instamatic' 33 camera costs £4.3.6.' ~• Aecommer

PETE~ SCOTT - An AppreciationBy KEN WILKINSONIN this issue of SAILPLANE &. GLIDING.the tirst to which ] could contributeas Chairman of the BOA, I should liketo say two things. .First, that I greatly apprecIate theopportunity I have been given or carryingon the work of two very distinguishedprevious incumbents.Secondly, on behalf of the Association,some words of appreciation for PeterScotfs work as Chairman.We have been fortunate to catch himfor two years and to have the benefits ofhis experience in running an associationof kindred kind. ~he result has been achange in .style, a greater economy oftime and effort for everyone concerned,whilst continuing the administration ofour affa:irs in a highly effective manner.Peter, as many of YO\ll will know, isnow taking a leading part in EuropeanConservation Year and was unable to dothis and continue as BGA Chairman. Wein the BGA wilf wish him well in thisimportant work and hope that usefulresults will be achieved. Certainly he isbetter placed than most, from his knowledgeof wild life and skill as an advocate,to urge tbe matter on.As the Minister of State said at theBGA Ball, Peter is remarkable for doingso many things and doing them all well.His appearance on the gliding scene hasadded two more achievements to histally-those of top class soaring pilot andadministrator. This habit of BGA Chairmenalso being National Champions isan uncomfortable kind of precedent forpeople who come after, setting as it doesa double standard of excellence.It has been a pleasure and privilege,Peter, to have you in the thick of thingsin the gliding world and we hope to seeyou airborne in our midst once moreafter your present year of special effortelsewhere. It was a fitting tribute and agreat pleasure to all of us to eject you aVice-President of the Association inrecognition of your contribution togliding. For the present I propose to letthe system for running the BGA thatyou did so much to c(eate haNe time toprove itself. For the next year 1 think weshould let it run along the lines laiddown "and get some experience of thenew-style BGA. We must, of COllrse,always be ready to adapt to changingcircumstances and must be sensitive tothe needs of the membl:rs-Qut that is adifferent question.OUR NEW CHAIRMANBy PHILlP WILLSIHAVE known Ken Wilkinsefl for over30 years, since his Dagliog days atDunstable, where he was one of the earlymembers of the Imperial College GlidingClub.During the war, he was in the AerodynamicTest Flight (Airborne ForcesResearch Unit) at RAE Famborough,and very much involved in the developmentof troop-carrying gliders-on oneoccasion he had rapidly to de-involveItimself and bale out of a Hotspur on atest flight.Towards the end of the war he waso;:oncerned in the assignment given to aparty, including Fred Slingsby and my-self, to go round Germa.ny and find outwhat gliding developments had takenplace during the war. We had authorityto label any gliders of interest we cameacross so that they could be transportedto Farnborough for investigation andtest.We duly found and labelled all sortsof goodies, including the tail-less HOItenIV, a Reiher and a number of Weihes.After many vicissitudes they all arrivedat Farnborough, except the Reiher,which had become the pet of a certainFighter Squadron who hung on to it forso long that, by the time it fetched up inEngland, it was too rain-sodden to be179

SOUTHD'OWN AE,RO SERVICES LIMITEDoffers YOU a complete gliding serYice whether your sailplane ismade of wood, metal Or glass-fltire.Big stock of aircraft ply, instruments, aero-tow rope, etc. etc.Send s.a.e. fen' price list.Call In, write or phone ­KEN FRIPPSOUTHDOWN AERO SERVICES LIMITED,LA$HA.M AIRFIELD, ALTON, HAMPSHIRE.Telephone: Herriard 359 or 0256-83 359Stoc,kists tor all PZL Instruments and EquipmentAgents for Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd.Dorset Soaring CentreforSERVICE ATMOSPHERE SCENERYThe Centre where private owners are welcome. We combinea fine site with seven days a week professional operationfor Soaring, Training or Power Flying. We cater for all needsfrom 1st Flights to Diamonds. Professional staff are readyto help yOU Rig, Launch, and R'etrieve you, or give you firstclass instruction on a modern fleet.It is not too late to visit for a course or a holiday at ourSoaring Centre. 3 miles Shaftesbury, 17 miles Salisbury, 25miles Yeovil, 28 miles Bournemouth.DORSET FLYING CLUB,Compton Abbas Airfield, Shaftesbury, Dorset.Fontmell Magna 328180

Pe/er ScatI (le/I) and Ken Wilkinson (11 Ihe BGA Ball.repairable. Ken saved the Horten bysending a Halifax to collect it, and Isaved the Weihes (two and a half ofthem-the half consisting of a machinesawn up by me into bits small enoughto go into my Anson) by various tlnofficialmeans.From RAFs investigations and subsequentwork by the BGA TechnicalCommittee, of which Ken was Chairmanfrom March 1946 to 1948. stemmed thestability and handling requirements forBritish gliders built into ARB Section EBritish Civil Aircraft Requirements whjchhave proved ~ model for the post-wargeneration of gliders.In 1945 I followed my ATA bossGeTald d'Erlanger into BEA, and we set(Jut to build up BEA from scratch. Ken'swas (I think) one of the 30,000 letters ofapplication to join which we opened,and he came in on the Project Engineer~ing side. A few years afterwards hetransferred to the Planning side andestablished a section to plan routes andaircraft fleets. He transferred back toengineering in 1962 and in 1965 wasappointed Chief Engineer, a tremendouslyresponsible post involving veryhigh technio;al qualifications allied to theability to handle and lead a large numberof men and-most difficult of an-theirUnions. He slIcceeds in this by allying aquiet authority with an invincibleintegrity and good bumour, and in 1969he was appointed to the SEA Board.For five years ~e was Chairman of theSilver Wings Gliding Club at Booker,an cl is at present Ov! the Board of theAirways Aero Associations Ltd. and ofo,peration Sigma.He has 'been a member of a Skylark 4syndicate which is just becoming anASW-15 syndicate, and is flying in theOpen Class Nationals at Doncaster thisyear. Ken has one weakness-he is theprototype Willing Horse. As a result, hemust be one of the hardest-worked menin the country. "We must make sure we don't presshim too bard. But his reputation andauthority in the various Mi.nistries willbe of the' gr,eatest possible use to us. Weare indeed fortunate to have him as ournew Chairman.England's onI,y A",iat.iQn BookshopThe books, 'm_p-I, pleM. photos you W&n' on Aviationere here :- we stock nothing, else!w. BUY or EXCHANGENow Ayail.bl.. - Our NEW " ••i58

GLIDE AHEAD WITH A 'BLANIK'HOLDER OF THE WORLD 2-SEAT DISTANCERECORD AND MANY U.K. RECORDSUnsurpassedin Performance and ReliabilityFully Aer'obatieDelivered U.K. £2,275 (including instruments)Now fifteen years in production and 1500manufacturedA World Champion that cannot be beatenGet with it - join the ~BLANIK? set and progressin the 70?sDistributor for U.K., Eire and Canadll:Peter Clifford Aviation Limited, Oxford Airport, Kidlington, Oxford.Tel. Kidlington 4262Cables: Cliffair, OxfordSole Exporter for Czechoslovak Aviation Produds:Omnipol Limited, Washingtonova 11, Prague 1, Czechoslovakia

HAIRY AEROPLANES -By KEITH EMSLlEHE conclusion,s reached by J. RederT in his "Fur & Feathers" article .(1)are very different from my own readmgof this subject. Perhaps I caR dIspel afew fallacies.Additives in water can reduce the skinfriction under a turbulent boun~~rylayer, but do not delay the transItionfrom laminar to turbulent flow (~). Theywork due 10 the elasticity of their longchainmolecules (i .e. they store energy).Some of the known additives also reducethe viscosity of the water, but even thosethat leave viscosity unchange~ hav~ ~enshown to reduce the skm t,rlctl

In practice, wind-tunnel models areroughened to trip the boundary layer.toturbulence, lest the laminar layer shouldstall ear!y, and give a misleading representatIonof the full-size aircraft. Soit seems much more likely that the seagullIS cleverly using his winter overcoatto trip transition to avoid a laminarseparation just when this was about tocause an ignominious stall.Finally, I would suggest that 'silent' isthe wrong word to describe the owl'sflight. This is an absolute word, in thiscase implying zero drag, which is impossible.'QUiet' would be acceptable, butthen so is a sailplane. Is an owl quieterthan a sailplane of the same size andweight? Probably not!Can we now allow our boundary layersto grow turbulent gracefully, and concentrateon practical ways to reduce theturbulent skin friction?References1. J. REDER, "Fur & Featbers", SAIL­PLANE & GLIDING, Dec. 1%9, p.470.2. W. D. ERNsT, ''Turbulent Flow of anElasticoviscous Non-NewtonianFluid", A .I.A.A. JOllrnal, May 1967,p.906.3. M. KRAM~R, ''The Dolphin's Secret",New Scie.ntist, 5th May, 1%0.4. T. B. BENJAMIN, "Effects of a FlexibleBoundary on Hydrodynamic Stability",Journal of Fluid Mechanics.Vol. 9. No. 4, p.513 (1%0).5. R. L. SMJ1H, "Skin Friction of CompliantSurfaces with Foamed MaterialSubstrate", Journal of Hydronalltics,April 1%9, p.100.6. A. RASPET, "Performance Measurementsof a Soaring Bird", GLIDING,Autumn 1950, p.145.MORE ABOUT' THERMALS8f LLOYD HUNTERIN the Feb-March, 1970, SAILPLANE &GLIDING, Nicholas Goodhart discussedmany aspects of the free-floatingthermal. There is one important aspectwhich was not mentioned: what is thecriterion for staying in the thermal oncethe glider is centred?In Fig, 2 of Mr. Goodhart's article thesinking speed of the glider in turningflight is plotted on the same co-ordinateas the total lift distribution of a thermalin which it is assumed that the vertical. floating velocity is just equal to the circu-6lation velocity of the outer streamline ofthe vortex-ring flow.In Fig. I below, this diagram is reproducedwith the addition of a segmentof a curve representing only the lift dueto the circulation of the vortex-ring. It isclear that unless the sinking speed curveof the glider lies below the circulationlift curve of the thermal it will be impossibleto achieve a stable orbit in thethermal. In the example shown, unlessthe circling radius is less than about 300ft. and more than about 60 ft., the gliderFIG.•1200 400 600 800 1000R.ADIUS FEET1200184

flG.a2·5 KTS 2·01 I0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200will sink slowly through the thermal andthe thermal will go on up without theglider.Such an event is not an uncommon experience.How many times has one hadthe experience of finding a reasonablethermal on a day with cumulus and beenfrustrated by having the lift 'die' whenone is still 1.000 ft. OT more below thecloud base? The presence of the still vigorouslooking cloud testifies to the factthat it is still being fed from below andyet it seems unreachable. This experiencecan be easily understood in terms of thevortex-ring model of a thermal.Referring to Fi&. 1 and assuming thatthe pilot chooses to circle in a turn withabout a 400 ft. radius, it is clear thatalthough he wiU be climbing relative tothe ground at a rate of about 2 knots,he will be sinking relative to the thermalat a rate of about 0.5 knots. In thiscircumstance it is merely a matter of timeuntil he will drop out of the bottom ofthe thermal and lose his lift.To estimate the achieved climb whilethe pilot still has lift, we must refer toFig. 2 which is an enlargement of theright-hand half of the circulation patternof a vortex-ring plotted to the same scaleas the equatorial lift distribution of Fig.1. If we assume that the pilot enters theRADIUS HETthermal at an altitude of 2,000 ft. aboveground and, say, 200 ft. above the equatorialplane of the thermal, he will becircling at point A of Fig. 2. He will sinkthrough the thermal at a rate of 0.5kno:s until he reaches point B where thestreamlines are more or less horizontal.From this point on, he will sinkthrough the thermal at his normal sinkrate of 1.25 knots until he leaves thethermal at point C. The distance AB,being 500 ft., will require about 590 sec·onds, during which time he will rise 590x3·.4=2.000 ft. relative to the ground.In the remaining distances. BC, of about380 ft., he is sinking at r.25 knots, whichrequires 180 second_so In this lime heclimbs another 380 ft. above ground.His total altitude gain is then 2.380 ft.before he loses the thermal. If cloud baseis at about 5.000 ft. above Around, hefinds that the lift weake'ls 1.000 ft. belowbase and finally 'dies' 620 ft. below baseand he is left wondering what put thecloud up there.* * •NICHOLAS GOODHART WRITES: The biggest!!lap in soaring knowl'edge at presentlies In a detailed understanding of theslructure and nature of the thermal. Atbest, of course, such understanding can185

only be of a statistical nature since we allknow that no tWo thermals are ever thesame, but we still have a long way to gobefore even this lever of knowledge isreached.My object, therefore, in writing 'AboutThermals' was to stimulate thought andexperiment to al:ld t

--,-------~---------- -~ - -,---~---~--------------------------------------- ~ MODEL SEA BREEZE FRONTSBy JOHN SIMPSONHE first version of the model isT shown above. Unless it is stirred, thedense cold water will flow almost unmixedalong the floor of the bath.It is not easy to see and measure thisflow and ,we .had to abandon a ~omewhatkinky plan to paint the inside of ourbathtub black and connect the cold tapto a milk tanker. However, part of alaboratory was set aside for some ell,perimentson water fl'ow in long perspextanks.Surges from a burst dam, or even the~ronts of .pancake mixture being pouredmto a frymg pan are not suitable modelsfor scaling up, to atmospheric size. Inthese cases, it is merely the air that isbein,g undercut by a fluid which has 800times its density.In the atmosphere, wa,rm air may beundercut by air about 3°C colder; this isonly just I per cent denser. The cold bathwater, or better still, a salt solution in aperspex tank, can easily be madeprecisely one or two per cent denser thanthe fluid it is undercutting. These areabout the proportions found at seabr,eezefronts or a! some thunders!ormoutflows.Examples of such "density currents"are: - the inflow of salt water under thefresh water when a lock gate is opened~the flow ef escaping methane in a minetunnel; the flow of hot water over apower station cooling pond; and someavalanches of airborne dry sn0W.Shape of the headThe model density currents wereusually made by releasing a lock-full ofsalt solution at one end of a 6-foot longtank of tap w~tl?r. The advancing frontof .the .den~er flUId soon forms a "head;'which IS higher th~n ~e following flow,and has a nose proJectmg a short distanceabove the ground. This can be seencle~rly !fthe dense fluid is marked by awhite pIgment such as titanium oxide oreven ~ilk. ft then looks just like' anadvancmg cloud bank, with the typicalbulges and buttresses of cumulus clouds(see" Fig. 2). If these buml'S and bUlgesare smoothed Qut, it is found that theprofile of the head is almost the sameshape, whatever the overall size of theflow.Upcurrents at the frontWe measured lines of flow by "streakphotography". Particles of aluminiumpowder in the water were brightly litfrom above. As the front of salt solutionapproached, a time-exposure of about~ second produced a series of curvedstreaks, giving tile speed and directionat any point. Fig. 3 is derived from thiskind of measurement, scaled up to atmosphericsize. The tigures agree with thosemeasured near Lasham on 1st June 1%6,and described in S & G, Feb.-Mar.,1967, p. 12.Lobes at the froDtDensity currents advance unsteadily byprojecting forward a series of buttresses187

Fig. 4. Successive plan positions ofadvancing frOnl.or lobes. This process has been seen atreal sea-breeze fronts by glider pilotswho have described "tongues and bowls".The formation of such lobes in themodel was studied by shadowgraph tech-188niques, using the refraction of light dueto the changes of density.Fig. 4 is drawn from a series of movi-eshadowgraphs, showing the developmentof lobes. The interval between successivepositions is t second, and the depth ofthe flow is 5 cm.Not many of the bulges reach a widthgreater than the depth of the undercuttingcurrent; the average width turnsout to be just over half this depth. Thefew atmospheric measurements so far,e_g. in S & G, Feb.-Mar.. 1969, p. 46.have given lobe-spacing about equal tothe dej:lth of the dense air.Billows behind the headFig. 2. A density current in the transparenttank.It has long been argued whether theseminor cold fronts overhang, and in somecases at least. a long overhanging nosenas been shown to be temporary. Thetank experiments suggest that such anover.hang· develops above the cleftbetween neighbouring lobes.We arranged a projector lamp andcylindrical lenses to form a narrow fla.tbeam of light at right angles to thefront, which cont'line

In simple terms, provided that thefractional difference in density of thetwo liquids is the same in the atmosphereas it is in the model, then the ratio ofthe square of the speed to the depth ofthe flow must be the same in both cases.Measurements made on 54 sea-breeufronts past Lasham give reasonableagreement, but the temperature differencesare usually small and hard 10 measureaccurately. Figures from workers inUSA and in the Sudan on cold thunderst

A WELSH OBSTACLE COURSEBy JACK HARRISONThere are regular complaints from readers who don't like "How Idunnit" articles. Well, I always enjoy reading other pilots' accountsof their flying, so at least some of you might enjoy reading aboutmine.HE scene is set in Shobdon, on a dull,T cold March day. Wind is NE 15-20knots. Cloud 8f8 strato-eu, base 2,500ft., expected to rise and perhaps breaklater. In these wintry conditions, littledid I realise what a spectacular flight layahead of me. A map of the area will enableyou to folIow "How I dunnit".I .had a sneaking suspicion that theremight be wave to the SW of the BlackMountains despite met's forecast that thewind/temperature structure was quiteunsuitable for waves. My ambitious planwas. to ridge-soar, with maybe a littlethermal thrown-in, round to the SW ofthe Black Mountains. How the others atShobdon laughed!My first ridge was to be the one justto the NW of Madley airfield, near theriver Wye. We entered a trace of cloudon tow at 2,500 ft. (all heights asl). Icast off some seven miles s{)uth of Shobdon.Not daring to risk getting down·wind of my ridge, I headed SE to clearthe cloud. My 'trace of cloud' seemed toextend for ever, but fortunately gavelift, so I held 2,500 ft. When I finallybroke clear, I was, not to put too fine apoint on it, completely and utterly lost.I dithered, flying first one heading, thenanother.Eventually I spotted a minute ridgeto the west of me. Landing was imminent."What an anti-elimax", I thought. Icouldn't believe I would make it to thatridge, especially as some high groundhad to be crossed first. But I did and, tomy delight, 1 could hold 1,100 ft. I nowknew where I was. Well to the NE ofthe River Wye, 4 miles upwind of whereI should be. Don't bother looking formy hillock on the map. It only exists inthe mind!Soon a thermal came along. "A coupleof S-turns and then I'll circle away". IS-turned too long, and the first circle wasin 4 knots down. But my luck held, and190minutes later I was circling again. Thistime I stayed in lift.The Madley ridge worked well to 3,000ft. The overcast was breaking now, andcloud lift took me to 4,000 ft. I stayedon the hill, and settled down to 3,000 ft.again. "Now for the dash to the mainNE face of the .Black Mountains-amere 6 miles. There's bound to be a littlethermal on the way to help".Nothing but sink. I was over the delightful1ynamed 'Golden Valley'. Therewas nothing Golden about it on this occasion,with its minute 45·degree slopingfields. Absolutely nowhere to land, andsinking fast. My pulse ra·te was interesting.I hardly need have worried. Ithrew myself at the mountain wal1, halfwayup. The vario hit the stops-up. I!low worried fo: the safety ~f my newlyInstalled £25 Instrument ID case theneedle developed a permanent set!I Was breathing again. I tried to convincemyself that with no significant hillsupwind to produce killing wave sink, themountain simply had to work. I hadtaken no more chance than, say, takeoffin a single-engine aircraft. If the enginefails immediately after take-off, Iforce-land. If the mountain lift failed,I would force-land. An engine failure ismore Iikely.The difficulty nQW was to keep clearof cloud-8/8 at 3,200 ft. I had a lookat the NW end of the mountain ridgebefore turning south again. At cloudbase, I quickly made my way south toAbergavenny. The lift was certain andpowerful. My nerves had completely recoverednow; I could relax. I crossed theUsk valley, and sat on the Blorenge. thehill just to the SW of Abergavenny. Itwas still 8/8 where I was, but to thewest, high up the vallev I could see sunshi~e.'A wave gap'?' The wave had towaIt. I couldn';t resist continuing southalong the hiII to Pontypool. I hoped for

a glimpse of the South Wales Club'snew site near Usk town, but I wasn'tcertain where to look. ·~

the Black Mountains. That had seemedsufficiently ambitious. So what to donext? How I wished I had 131.2 Mbz.London Ai,rways would have been S.Qoverwhelmed by a request from a gliderto cruise north along Amber 25 at FL80 that they simply would not have refused.Yet with the wave lying where itdid, a level cruise was quite feasible.I toyed with the idea of trying to flynorth along the second wave, to the westof the airway, but conditions didn't looktoo good in that dir~ctiolil. 'If only I canget to the lee of the Brecon Beacons,there's bound to be good lift' but I couldsee 1)0 wave gap in that direction. I darenot risk to flyover complete cloud cover,so I went due west, and was soon atanother big gap, just to the west ofBrecon town. Despite an extensive searchI could not find any 11ft.I frantically searched my maps for asuitable into-wind slope. I even studieda I inch to the mile map but could findnothing suitable. I was sure that theBeacons must have some suitable slopes,but it was hard to tell from the map. 1sank below cloud-still with no definiteplans I wandered around to the SW ofInBrel:on. At 2,500 ft. it was time to getinto a good area for landing. I flew towardsthe town. At last a hill appeared.·Is it into wind?' With two playing fields,then a military airstrip selected for landing,I dropped onto the ridge. It facednorth, and gave little better than reducedsink. By now I had a plan. TheBrecon Beacons were clear of doud.They were exciting and inviting, and hadseveral into-wind slopes. A thermal fromthe ridge would drift me towards tbeBeacons. To the lee of the mountains,now clearly Visible, was the wave gap Ihad anticipated.Two knots, I cautiously circled. Fourturns later I was back at 1.500 ft. Suddenlyfour knots down. 'Can r reach themountain?' My courage failed me, althoughundoubtedly I could have madeit. Seconds later, the M-lOO was insheep pasture. Just as the flight had begunin failure wh.en I was lost, so itended in anti-climax.But in those middle three hours, I hadhad the most e1\citing, and at timesfrightening, flight of my life. Landing 45kms. from the s.tart, it wourdn't evenhave been Silver distance!IRVIN ·TYPE EB.B21IGHTlEIGHTGLIDER PARACHUTEASSEMBLYApproved by theAIR REGISTRATION BOARD(Certificate No. E.929S)A compact parachute assembly designed specificallyfor usel by pilots of British and continentalgliders and suitable for canvas or pat'! type seats.The Irvin EB.62 is equally suitable for installationin light aircraftFor full detlllls writ" to:SeRVICE MANAGER,IRVING AIR CHUTE OFGREAT BRITAIN I.IMITED,LETCHWORTH, HERTS.rei: 6262. Tele.x: 82198.

THE, STANDARD CLASSTHE ~harp rise in the price of glidersin recent years has led to ex.tensivecontroversey ,over the future of theStandard Class. It was argued that sinceStandard Class gliders were no longercheap, there was 110 reason to continuewith the restrictions which were intendedto keep the costs down. Why not have 15me~res as the only limitation,

SELECTED AIRDAND/HIGH VHF COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVERS ATTOP DISCOUNTS. SAVE OVER 15% - For limited period.Rec. 'lice£44.T7.6OUR PRICE34 gOS.IC••h only)pip 91·£52.10.0OUR PRICE42 0/1$.IC••h only)pip 91·"JufHltte" HA S018A S liand. N~w mod~l "Interceptor" 1662 8 Band Do-Luxowith AFCfBFO. Bands lInd Frequencies: Modol. With AfC/BFO. Bands & Frequencies:Aircraft (Improved) 108 to 134 Mc. Aircraft (Very sensitive) 108 to 134 Mc.HIGH VHF (PB) 148 to 174 Mc.HIGH VHF (PB) 148 to 174 Mc.FM 88 to 108 Mc. MARINE 1-6 to 4.6 Mc. FM 88 to 108 Mc.AM 540 to 1600 Kc. .. MARINE 1.6 10 4.2 Mc.Impressive and robust design in chrome and AM 540 to 1600 Kc.black leather finish wilh carrying and shoulder LW 150 to 350 Kc.straps. Size approx. 91"x6f'x3f'. Weighl SW 3.7 10 9 Mc., SW 9 10 22 Mc.Silbs.Brilliant tonal quality due to 6" x 4" speaker.BOTH RECEIVERS PORTABLE SOLID STATE Exquisilely finished in chrome and blackMAINS/BATTERY. Complelewith balferies. leather with padded ends.STOCKTON PARTNERS. IRtGHOWGATE. GRIMSIY. LINCS. T.I. 0472 58815/64196IMPORTS. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DISTRIBUTORS.THE BALL ELECTRIC VARIOMETERNew high performancediaphragm-variableinductance illStrument withreservoir and adjustable totalenergy function selfcontainedEuropean Representative:HEINZ H. SULZER &RUDOLF HAENYIngenieurburo:CH·8200 SchaffhausenSwitzerlandTelephone 053 5 1344194

10.3 CertificltiDD10.3.1. CERTlFICAlTE ,OF AIRWORTHINESS­The air(:raft must have a currentC of A which permits cloud flyingwhen carrying a pilot and parachutetogether weighing at least99 Kgs. A C of A which is. r~cognizedby the .country entenng theglider will be accellted. .10.3.2. DOCUMENTATlON~The followingcertification shall be submitted ,tothe organizers for each glider enteredin the World Championshipsnot later than 48 hours before thestart' of the championships:-This is to certify that glider type......... number flown bypilot ......... at an AUW of .........Kgs carried out the foDowing testsat (p,lace) on(date).TEST 1. With the drag-increasing deviceopen in a vertical dive through1,000 metres the maximum speedattaiDed was km/h. indicatedairspeed. km/h.equivalent airspeed.TEST 2. When dived at the maximum permissible'speed with the drag-increasingdevice retracted (. ........km/h. IAS= ......... km/h. EAS)the device was opened fully in notmore than 5 seconds and functionedsatisfactorily.TESTS. When dived with the device openat 75% of the speed given in Test2 the device was retracted satisfactorilyin not more than 5 seconds.The glider tested differs in no significantrespect from the gliderentered in the championships.Signed (Airworthiness Authority/Manufacturer). Date ......10.4 World Gliding c:::umpio-mJIIJGliders with .fixed-hinge flaps willnot be accepted in World GlidingChampionships before 1974.THIRD LONDON AIRPORTThe Air Space Committee of the British Gliding Association, is usingevery ploy to persuade the Roskill Commission that the only sensibleplace for Third London Airport is Foulness. One of these is thecircular printed belOw which is being sent to most of the interestedparties known to the BGA and who are located in the SE of England.All members can help by giving even wider circulation to this note,by reminding loca'l councils,. badgering MPs or even including theinformation in their after dinner speeches! 00 please heJp to spreadthe message. 'If one of the inland sites is chose" it will be a blackday indeed for most of the clubs in the SE of England.TONY DEANE-QRUMMONDChairman, BGA Ai,. Space CommitteeTHE British Gliding Association is thecentral body ~harged with lookingafter the interests of all gliding clubs inthe UK_ In the SE alone there are sometwenty-one gliding clubs, the total mem'bership of whom is increasing a,t a rateof 7-8% annually, These clubs providea. recreational need and a healthy, invIgoratingand challenging sport for allages and walks of life living in theLondon conurbation or in other parts ofthe SE.The particular problem concerning thegliding clubs is one of air space. Any ofthe inland sites for the Third LondonAirport will expand the needs of controlledair space to a point when glidingclubs may cease to exist in the SE ofEngland. On the other hand, the controlledair space connected with Foulness islargely out to sea and has only smalleffects on our interests.There are many other objections to theinland sites. We wish, however, to pointout two major and fundamental issueswhich have much wider implications thanthose concerned solely with gliding.The comparisons of costs which havebeen made 0) show that the estimatesfor the four possible sites are largely195

similar and well within a normal marginof error associated with such very longterm projections of costs. Totals are allwithin 5% of each other. The costs attributedto gliding alone (2), within tbefigures quoted, might vary by plus orminus 30%. We see no reason to believethat the other costs are likely to be muchmore accurate.A more important consideration is theeffect that by far the largest airport inthe world witb its four widely separatedrunways might have on those who noWlive in tbe SE of England. The trulyenormous inves:ment involved and hencethe need to operate to capacity throughoutthe twenty-four hours; the pollutionof the area in its widest sense and includingthat of the very large amount ofland involved with all that this implies;the noise and nearly continuous flyingby large jet transports, mean that manythousands, even millions of people willhave their way of life disastrously andpermanently changed for the worse. Wecannot believe that these fundamentaldisadvantages make any of the inlandsites acceptable to any responsible andfar sighted person with the best interestsof all of us who live here in mind.The British Gliding Association doesnot have the financial resources, nor mayits opposition to the inland sites count forvery much in quantitative terms, butthere are important principles at stakeand it is very ready to use its influence(and its voice if necessary) to supportany case for Foulness as a future site forthe Third London Airport.P. A. Wn..LS, P"esident­British Gliding AssociationReferences(I) The Roskill Commission on the ThirdLondon Airport (Vol. VII)(2) Vol VU, Chapter 17.CAMPHILL AIRSPACEIRWAY Amber 1 from London toA Manchester is being widened andfrom May 28th will just include Camphillby It miles. After considerable negotiationthe base of most of the airwayincluding that at Caphill will be at FL65Ṫhis airway has been found to benecessary because of gross overloadingof ATC sta'ff, and the resultant possibleCOBB-SLA TER INSTRUMENT CO. LTD.Write for details of Introductory OfferSole Manufacturers of:Cook CompassesandElectric Variometerswith Audio UnitBarographs CalibratedCosim VariometersVenturiesWater TrapsTotal Energy UnitsNew Cosim Audio Unit works with PZL, Cosim or Electric VariosLeaflets from:'COSIM' WORKSDerbyshire DE4 2GGDARLEY DALEMATLOCKTelephone: Darley Dale 2344/5196

AWoburn@Henlow·... ~GLIDING ACTIVITY " ••~ ~JLUT .. ' •:':'6luton ••••••••••••••••• LUTON SPEC IAL :~. QRULES ZONE .:~ ~ •••••,'BPK''.:,;",.,-hazard developing to passeng~r aircraft.T e National Air Traffic Control Serviceshave agreed that this airway willbe ona trial basis only and it will bereviewed in the autumn of this year,when alternative sites for VOR andNDB beacons will b~ 'considered. Thismay allow Camphill to be once again inthe clear. The ,results of summer operationswiil also then be available forinformation.Charts relevant to this increa~ in (:ontrolledair space are shown on NOTJ\M273/1970.LUTON ZONENOTAM No 114/1970. dated March 3.announces the imroduction of the Lutonspecial rules zone and special rules areaon April 2. On the same date changes inthe minimum-noise rout~ings, as definedin Notam No 115/1970. becomes effec·tive. The sha,pes of the zone and area ,areshown in the map, but the use of partsof the zone and area by gliders and tugaircraft from Dunstable will be alloweddepen~ing OD the runway in use at Lutonand subject to specified weather minima.THE GIPSY FLIESN 7th and 8th April the prototypeO Gipsy 12/15, described in S & (;for August, 1969 and i1lustrated below,was flown for the first time. The pilot,Derek Piggott, CFl at Lasham, will becarrying out. its flight testing programme,and we hope to include a report on thisin our August issue. The designers areconsidering calling it the BG-IOO.197

THREE COUNTIESAERO CLUB LIMITEDBlackbus"he Airport, Camberley, Surrey(ON A3D T'RUNIC lOAD - 45 MllilS. FROM ~ONPON)Special Courses for Glider Pilots to obtainPrivate Pilot's licenceSilver C conversion from £'62.0.0Normal Courses for Private Pilot's Lj~enceNight Flying - Instrument Flying - RfTBoard of Trade Approved Courses 35 hoursResidential -Courses availableLicensed Bar. Diners Club Credit Cards accepted.Barclaycards acceptedC.F.I. Derek JobnsonYATELEY 3741 (Management) 2152 (OJ)eratlons)For Sales - Ring Cottesmore 360Service-Ring Bottisha'lli 323or write to:CAMBRIDGE SAILPLANESTHE SOLE UK AGENTS FOR BOLKOW GLIDERSOffer the PHOeBUSin two ve.rsions15 metre£2,380(ex works)11 metre£2,700(ex works)Delivery within a few weeksWell proven (over 200 built)E*cellent handling* Very easy to 'rigCambridge SailplanesSwaffham Road, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9DU.198

AN EXTRAORDINARY EASTER .ByRoger Barrett~";,' ..... . ",' .·1Oi: .... "'"~'HE London Gliding Club restaurantT was full of pilots, crews and Pressmen.Briefing was taking place: theforecast wind was 330°/10 lets. on thesurface and the task was going to bepilot-declared goal. N-one seemed surprisedthat the time was 6.30---6.30 am.that is.The date was last Easter Saturday and,yes, you are right, only balloonaticswould get up early enough for the resultsof the day's task to be available beforethe time most gliding competitions starttheir briefing. (Th.e wino being calmaround dawn is a theory balloonists have,rather like glider pilots' conviction thatthe best part of the 'year for soaring isthe first week in June; it aiD't necessarilyso.)The whole thing started in 'quite .asmall way. Ten pilots at Dunstablebought themselves a hot.-air balloon in1968, called themselves the LondonBalloon club, and by the winter werelooking around for something to do morechallenging than hopping over the Bedfordshirebits of the National Grid."Let's invite some other balloons toDunstable for Easter" someone said. Weended up by having the first ever hot-airballoon competition in Britain withentries from France, Ireland, and Swedenas well as the UK contingent. TheO~server offered to give a trophy to theWinner.So . . . we had to dream up sometasks and a scoring system to suit. I supposeit was rather like those glidingcomps. in the 1930s; we reckoned no-onewas going to take the thing too seriouslyand there was general agreement that wemust at all costs keep it simple.- . - .It looked as though we had a readymadeanswer for scoring-WallyWallington's Placing System. Indeed thisis what we used-quite successfully too.Task-setting raised a couple ofinteresting problems. (1) We had differentsized balloons taking part with differentpayloads in each which meant theirendurance varied between 45 mins. t()something over two hours. We wantedeach balloon to fly on to the limit of itsgas supply so more people would getmore fun and we didn't want to getinvolved in handicapping. (2) We did notwant tasks that encouraged ballooniststo land close together-all on oneunsuspecting farmer's prize winter-wheat.By Easter, and three diagram-filledtablecloths at the WC favourite IndianRestaurant later, we had come up with ashort list of five tasks that seemed tomeet our conditions.Came Good Friday, and the Marchlion was still flexing its muscles; 1,5 knotson the surface is an almighty gale forhot-air balloons.. The task for the daywas cancelled but a brave (or foolish)Englishman domiciled in Sweden, by thename of Patrkk Furlong, managed toinflate his balloon and was soon to beseen over the AS overtaking lorries. Hisflight and subsequent demolition of ahedge on landing was filmed by the BBCfrom a helicopter and appeared on TVNews later that evening. The only otherdamage was a burnt Furlong bottom,caused by a fitting breaking off a gascylinder during the landing and a blastof ice-cold propane being squirted in anunfortunate direction. Luckily it did notcatch fire.So to Saturday when we bad that199

crack of dawn briefing. Sucoess at last!All th.e balloons got away from thelaunchmg field near Silverstone and,embarrassingly enQugh, the organizers'"London Pride" balloon won the daywith a landing just t mile from GwenBellew's declared goal. She shed anObserver photographer on landing (thewind had got up by then) but he wenton snapping away as the balloon leaptoff the ground again. Mr. Furlong (thingsseem to happen to that guy) go,t caughtin a dreaded thermal-he claimed 10 ft!sec., very nasty! -and was whisked up to2,000 ft. He overflew his goal by 30 km.and on landing near Watford was greeted(in.his own words) by a 'real rustic'­Who later turned out to be Lord Arran!On Sunday we took advantage of theupstickability of balloons and changedour launchpoint to Woburn Par~ (bykind permission of the Duke) to get tbebest shelter we could find from the forecastdue-westerly br,eeze. The task was tomaintain minimum angular deviationfrom a set line, but the lowering cloudbase(around 1,000 ft) and poor Visibilitydid not give much scope forexperimenting with wind shear at highaltitudes. The aforesaid Mr Fu.rloJlg'scontributions to this day's memorablemoments were first to take-off and climbso that all we could see was anapparently unsupported basket speedingalong just below clOUd; at this stage hisSwedish passenger forsook his navigati,ngduties and coaxed splendid Wagneriantones out of a :brass born '! Patrick thenflew on ... and on ... and on. Back atDunstable 'tim Newport Peace wascoping with telephone caUs from balloonistsand their retrieve crews; hecouldn't understand a relay of calls hewas getting from viIll!.ges to tbe northeastof Woburn, all reporting the Currentposition of our friend Furlong. Theseeventually ended at HuntingdoD andwere explained later by Patrick; ev~rytime he came within earshot of a friendlyCIlOSSFELL ELECTRICAUDIOYARlOMETERSNOWis the time to fit outfor the seasonElectric Vatiometersproved over ten years.Available with or withoutAudio.Agents throughout the World,Crossfell "ario~eters10 Borrowdale Road,Malvcl'I1, WO~,EngIaDd..200native he would blow his horn to attracta.tt.entiQO and ask the ,astonisbed bystanderto phone tbrough a positionreport. Who needs radiQ in a ballpon?With ,thoughts of getting the Dunstableorganisation really tuned. up for thisyear's Sport Class we decided to tryanother task later that same day, I hadtQ admit it was 'blowing a bit but after aspot of nailbiting decided that the ta$kwas on; this time maximum angulardeviation from a line. 1 wanted to giveeveryone as much encouragement as possibletQ' flyaway from the Sundonballoon·trap (known to DUlilstable hal­Ioonists as the Clapham Iunction of theNational O,rid) so set the line dose to itTime waSc getting on and as silto'clock approached no-one seemed at allkeen to go-and I didn't 'really blamethem. Then Mike AJexander, an AirLingus pilot .and senior pilot of theDUblin Balloon club. said he would havea go. He got the balloon inflated and innext to no time was airborne and copingwith violent curlover; but he survived all

this, pressed on and was soon lost tosight.The rest reflected but made' no moveto follow. It needed at least one moreIilalloon to fly for the task toeount sofellooW London Club member Tim Godfreypersuaded the .task-setter ~o climbaboard "London Pride" and follow theIrisb. There didn't seem to be any fuleto stOp us but it was like needing onemore glider to pass Y in a Nationalsand seeing Ann Welch step into het ownmachice to: clinch a contest day.Suffice to say that half-an-hour tater wearrived, by complete coincidence, in thesoftes-! ploughed field in the whole ofBedfordshire; Twenty minutes later. twoglider pilots from Nympsfield. GilesBulmer and Terry Adams, followed us,in tbeir balloon "Jester" and. incredibly,landed in exactly the same field-thoughthey managed to find a six-foot deepditch and completely disappeared fromvie,w at the, end of their landing run.Honours were even, as the scorers couldnot separate the angteof all three balloonsthat had taloen off.And, that was that because the nextday, Easter Monday, you may recall itwas blowing so hard that even gliderPLANNING?Why rack your brains to plan the perfect clubfleet when Alexi!lnder Schleicher's have done,it for you. From the first impressioneble flightin a glider to the day you seriously aspire tothe World Championships. Alexand.rSchleicber's rllng,. 01 glide.rs provide acomplete and logical step by step pro.gressionfrom the smooth and simple to the smoothand sophisticated. Range of gliders include:ASK 13 Robust and docile performancetwo-sealer trainer.K 88' Training single-seater ....ith verygood handling and performance.K 6E High performance Standard ClasssillOle-seater.ASW 15 Standard hiOh performancesingle-seal.er designed lor competiti.... flying.ASK 14 Single-seater powered saih~~e....ith excellent 'engine off' glide performance.ASK 16 T....o-seater powered glider urderconstruction.Trailers for all' our types can be deliveredon request ....ith srecial to....ing and brakesystem.Glider Dust and Glider All-weather Covers.pilots noticed. The Irish won the eventand The- Observer Trophy. The LondonBalloon Club came second and the Hot­Air Group third.Amazin.gly people said they mightcome back and do it all again sometime.• * •Postscript: I cannot seriously believethat anyone reading this will want tofollow up an interest in ballooning. Howev~r.'if you do, please write to theBrItIsh Balloon and Airship Club, ArtilleryMansions, 75- Vi.ctoria Street. S.W.LMembership is £2 per year and you willget a Newsletter plus meetings and film·shows on lighter-than-air topics for yourSUb.Spare parts end construction materiels Iromstock or sho.Herm delivery.Write for Brochlo!l"e and Enquiries withoutobligation to:ALEXANDERSCHLEIGHERSE

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS43 Entries Open Class (as at 17.4.70)Comp. Previous PlacingsNo. Pilot Country Sailplane 1%8 1965 1963 1960 1958 1956 1954AR R_ Rizzi Argentina CirrusAH R. Honin"ger .. Cirrus 6-0 12-0 5-0 I-a 33-0AJ M. Jinks Australia Diam.18 32-0 29-SAE J. Rowc .. J

MARFA, TEXAS 21st June -4th July45 Entries Standard Class (as at 17.4.70)Comp.Previous Pla'Cinl,5No. Pilot 1 Country ISailplane 1 1968 1965 196~ 1960 1958 1956 1954HE 'L. Urbancic Argentina Std_LibclleLW A. Araoz Phocbus 1514 M. Howland Australia Std. LibeUeSX R. Martin Phocl;ms 15.10 E. Sehraffl Austria LS-IIl O. Fahrafellner LS-l126 5-20 H. Stouffs Belgium LS-IG 5-S 11-0 27-S21 B. Zegels Std. LibcJ1e 10-055 C. Junquira Brazil Urupema 44-0lE. Schubert (Pro)..';jional) 46·5TR C. Yeates Canada Std. Libclle 9-0 9-0 9-S 12-014 W. Mix Std. Cirrus 21-5J. Lyon Chile (Proyisional)WR N. SeiSlrup Denmark LS-I 10-S 4-5 17-5MS H. LindhartStd. :LibelleS. HamaJaincn .Finland (Prol-';siona/) 39-0 41-034 J. Mallern France LS·lc35 J. C. Gomber! WA-26 19-571 C. Greoves Gt. Britain Std. Libclle71 A. (;ough Std. CirrusKG D. Innes Guemsey Std. Libellc 30-546 E. v. Brcc Holland ASW-15 29-S 10-5 31-S 20-5AW E. Reparon ASW-15 14-S 21-S6X G. Petroczy Hungary Austria SH-l 17-S 17-0VO K. Tury 0-2 13-0CV L. Magnusson Iceland 1-34 43-S9R I. Loughran Incia Ka-6cR 44-S>l() G. Perolli Italy Std. Libclle41 F. Piludu Std. Libelle50, A. Cam::ron N. Zealand Std. LibeJJe 11-0 41-S51 R. Reid ASW-15 18-S30 T. Johanncs~cn Norway Std. Cirrus 21-5 28-537 J. Wroblewski Poland Kob.. 15 14-0 1-023-S 18-S38 F, Kepka Kobra 15 3-S74 :~. Mouat-Biggs S. Africa Std. Cirrus75 R. Clifford ASW-15 26-S77 S. P.odling Sweden Std. Libclle 13-S 20-S78 W. H_sson Std. Libelle80 U. Bloeh Switzerland ASW-15 6-S 19-58\ H. NictIispaeh Std. Libclle 9-S 20-0 19-01 A. Smith USA LS-Ic I-S \9-0~s-4 T-4TP R. Allemann Std. Libelle84 H. Rci:hmann W. G'

1970 SYMPOSIUM ON COMPETITIVE SOARINGBy NICK GOODHARTOLLOWING on their successful 1969F Symposium held at Manns Choice',Pennsylvania, Soaring Symposia organisedtheir 1970 version at Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, on 21-22 February. Like itspredecessor this, too, was a great successwith some 80 or so people signing up forthe we~kend of lectures, panel discussions,and informal question and answersessions.The participants came from all overthe Eastern United States and enjoyed athoroughly well organised symposium.Ed Byars ran the whole thing withmilitary precision and it was a real joyto know that each session would startdead on time and finish similarly. Between9 o'clock on Saturday morning andnoon on Sunday 1It hours were spent inthe conference room and at meal timesth:: various adjacent restaurants hadmany tables where the conversation Wasentirely gliding.The panel of eJ\perts assembled. to givethe. talk·s and anSWer the questions oncompetitive soaring consisted of A. J.Smith, reigning World Standard ClassChampion, Dick Schreder, master gliderdesigner and builder (ll ~esigned andbuilt with his own hands 10 10 years),George Moffat, reigning US Champion,and myself from UK to talk aboutSigma. In addition Gene Moore wasthere to follow up his previous year'slecture on total energy variometers withmore real information on how to makea total energy system that actually works.In the USA where the individual cellsof gliding knowledge and t;Jl.pertise ~re sowidely spread out, there IS a partIcularneed for opportunities for gliding peopleto foregather and exchange ideas. This isthe v.acuum that Soaring Symposia istrying to fill and the symposium did sovery successfully. The many pilots whocame were able not only to hear the topexperts on competitive soaring doingtheir best to explain why they were thetop experts, but also to bear the questionsof other pilots and to get a:n understandingof the 'problems botbenng otherpeople. At $25 per head they got abargain.204As might be expected, the high cost ofhigh performance gliders, even StandardClass, was a big point of discussion;pilots clearly felt that to do justice toIhemselves they had to have a gliderbelonging to the glass-fibre Wortmann/EppIer aerofoil er-a but they could notpossibly afford it unless it was to remaina viable top competition machine formany years. Despite the good intentionsof the Standard Clas.s this had oot happenedand now the neWS that flaps wereto be allowed in 1974 pUshed the possibilityof stability still further into thefuture. This rapid change not only meantthat pilots had to change gliders toofrequently but also that manufacturerscould not e)(pect a decent production runto enable them to lower costs.During the discussions noticeabledifferences between European andAmerican philosophy became apparent.On the one hand USA still conductedFrom the new edition of:THE GLIDINGBOOKAn impressive learn of civil and service expertshave combined to produce this exciting newedition covering every conceivable aspect ofgliding. 33 photographs, diagrams, 36s.Pubr.shed by KAYE & WARD194 Bishopsgale, london, E.C.2.

their National Championship in theOpen Class whereas in Europe the 'StandardClass was increasingly beingaccepted as the premier class; 00 theother hand Europe was rapidly eliminatingdistance tasks while the .USA stillconsidered they were an essential part ofa Natio:JaJ Championship. (fhe first Std.Class Nationals will be held at ElMirage. USA from 21-31 July.-Eo.)On variometers it was apparent thatvery few pilots had ever had reallysatisfactory total energy. The reason forthis was all too clear when Gene Mooreshowed a successful system he haddeveloped and also showed how easy itwas to unbalan~e it and that in any caseit could only be balanced for onealtitude.Ed Byars and Bill Holbrook, theorganizers of the symposium, plan topublish the proceedings as soon as theyhave had time to transcribe and edit thetape recordings. This wi,lI be a valuableaddition to any soaring library and thenext best tiling to atttending the actualsymposium.GLIDERFINANCEFinance for your glider or aircraft pur.chase can be arranged byCOUN DONALDBurghley Finance Company ltd.15 Broadway, Peterborough,Tolopho••• '_bo

, .A Bonus OfferHonour of the World.InChampsTo cel~brate our first World Championships and to intrO~ll!.oreforeigrn readers to Soaring Magazine, the Soaring Society of America--ismaking a special offer: If you subscribe to Soaring for one year beginningwith the July 1970 issue. we will send you the preceeding four issuesabsolutely free as a "World Championships bonus gift". These four bonusissues include three very special publications that you will want to keepand refer to often: The March and April issues (each 48 pages) containPart I and Part II of the 1970 V.S. Sailplane Direetory (performances,specifications, deseriptive comments, and photos of all the 170' differentsailplane models a(;tive in the V.S. - which includes most of the signifieantgliders tIying throughout the world).The May issue is a typical example of Soaring's usual monthly readingf.are; it features an article on airfoils by Dr. Wortmann, a round-up of thelatest developments in the field of auxiliary-powered sailplanes. a provocativeproposal for a challenging new contest task, and an exciting. accountof a sailplane pilot whose sport glider wound up in an eyeball-to-eyeballconfrontation with an RAF fighter over the Suez Canal at the height ofthe African campaign in World War 11.The June issue is another special one which will serve as a "programme"for the World Championships at Marfa this summer. It will havephotos and biographies of the contestants plus a great deal of backgroundmaterial concerning the contest itself; and, as, an added ,alttaction, it willfeature the fascinaling resu1ts of a painstaking and comprehensive flighttestingprogramme by Paul Bikle which measured the performance of fiveof the latest fibreglass ships that will be competing at Marfa. And, ofcourse, Soaring will be devoting a complete, future issue (plus additionalfollow-up articles later on) to reporting in depth the contest results andhappenings that will take place in the booming skies over Marfa.SQaring is a large and handsome magazine with 8+ x 11 inch pages thatideally display the dazzling pictorial work of Alex Aldott and other outstandingsoaring photographers and artists; To be ene of the more than13,000 gliding enthusiasts who enjoy Soaring every month, the subscriptionprice for 12 issues (plus the four bonus issues) is $8.00 (apply to your postoffice for an International Money' Order and write SSA that the money iscOIil1ing). If you would rather have the four bonus issues only, the priceis a mere $2.50,Soaring Magazine,P.O. Box 66071,Los Angeles, California 90066, V.S.A.206

poses. Ideally, we would have used abungey, but in the absence of one wereckoned a 150 ft. of rope behind a carwould do the trick-it did, too. WithJohn in his Cortina and myself in theK·6E it was just like a normal auto-towlaunch, except that it only lasted a fewseconds and release height was about 50ft. up. It was enough though, and a quickdash through some sink brought me tothe slope, somewhat below launch height,but with enough in hand to land at thebottom should things fail to work.But work they did. Averaging a knotand-a-halfup, on a beat some :ZOO yds.long, soon found me at 600 ft. above thelaunch, A few exploratory forays alongthe ridge proper, towards Watlington,convinced me that our first choice ofslope was the best bet. Returning to theoriginal beat, and by now getting thehang of this novel (to me at least) typeof soaring, I reached a maximum heightof 1,100 ft. above the ridge and watchedthe model gliders still soaring way below.I w,as amazed how far out from theridge one could fly and still be in lift.Later, whilst making a few passes overthe launch point, I returned the friendlywaves of those on the ground. In factthey were more than friendly waves; theywere trying to keep warm and wereindicating their desire to go home. It wastjme to land anyway, as dusk was fastapproaching and I wanteD to land backon the top near the trailer. I anticipatedthis being a bit tricky, and it was; theleast said about it the better. Theapproach was very hairy as I had underestimatedthe severity of the curl-overbut, fortunately, the touch-down itselfwas adequate, though more by luck thangood judgment. I learned a lot on thatflight and I had certainly never experienceda more enjoyable one.. The following Sunday brought a repeatIn tbe weather but with a stronger wind.F~lIowing the same procedure, againWith John in his Cortina, another shortauto-tow was made but in far more turbulentconditions. After another mostenjoyable but very rough ride I played itsa.fe and landed at the bottom, againWith that sense of satisfaction and wellbeingwhich one feels having achievedsomething. That feeling stemmed, I think,not merely from the few hours' flyinglogged whilst others were grounded, butfrom the sense of freedom gained in theDIY atmosphere away irom the organisationof the club-come to think of it,there were no launch fees to pay either.John and I had thought we werebreaking new ground with this exploit atBeacon Hill and it was only some weekslater, whilst reading a copy of SAILPUl'fE& GLIDER, dated August, 1939, that werealised we were DO less than thirty yearsout. Members of the old Oxford GlidingClub used to try for their C's inPriiflings, on the same slopes, havingbeen launched from their field, next tothe Lambert Arms, some 400 ft. below.Thanks for the help, John, your turnnext time,.EDITORIAL NOIE:- RAFGSA membersfrom Bicester also have used this ridgefor 5-hour duration flights.KRONFELD NEWSESPITE the lack of news in the lastD issue, the Club is still very much inbeing. Membe.rs will have received thesummer progr~mme and the posters forthe dubs will be distributed soon. Adate t,o note now is 29th July when theBritish Team will be telling of theirexperiences at Marfa.The Club has reverted to summeropening, that is Tuesday and Wednesdayevenings only.AVIATiON ART SOCIETYFROM the 18·21 June we shall havea full scale exhibition of members'work at The Biggin Hill InternationalAir Fair and again from the 11-26 Julywe shall be exhibiting at the World AerobaticChampionships at RAF Hullavington.If you are visiting either ofthese events do call in and see us. Forthose wishing to enter handing in daysare 11th June and 6th July.We always try to have a small exhibitionof pictures on view at the Kronfeldclub; any enqurries regarding these,Exhibitions or membership of the SQCietyshould be addressed to the Hon. Secretary,Mrs. Bonham, 1I Great Spilmans,London S.E.22. Tel. 01-693 3033.207

FLYING & INSTRUCTINGN visits to clubs and meeting instructorsI am always asked questionsOon the same subjects. It would appear tobe worth while discussing some of themand I would stress that the followingare my own ideas and, like any personalopinions, arguable.Nevertheless. argument, discussion andpractical experience have led me to theseviews. Reasoned argument has alwayshelped me to improve my knowledge,and it is my belief that none of us, fromthe T-31 and winch strugglers to thesophisticated motOr glider and aerQtowoperators, can afford to put our headsin the sand and be blind and deaf toother people's experience.This month, then, the first of the discussiontopics:The use of the AltimeterThis instrument has been a continualsource of argument, some reasoned,much emotional. Opinions vary from­'Throw it away altoget,her', to 'At 100 ft.pull back on the stick'.Why do we have an altimeter in thefirst place? We use it for:-1. Confirming judgment of height at thetop of wire launches.2. Confirming height judgment in tbeapproach pattern.3. Determining when to release on aerotow.4. Determining when we are getting nearto base of controlled airspace duringcross'country flights, and also in conjunctionwith final glide computers,MacCready rings, etc.5. Again on cross-countries to help usmake decisions about landing.There are no doubt many other occa-~08sions for its use, but these are the onesthat spring most readily to mind.What are the limitations of the altimeter?There are three main ones affectingthe glider pilot:-(a) Because of the pleasing lack of vibrationin the glider, it will stick andtherefore overread on the descent andunderread on the climb.(b) Because it is a pressure instrument itmust be set to a da:um pressure. (Bymeans of that little knob at thebottom of the face.) The commonones are:-(i) QNH-i.e. altimeter will readheight above sea level.(ii) QF£-i.e. altimeter will readzero when on the ground at takeoffpoint.(iii) 1013 mb. (29.92 in. Mercury)-­to obtain a height reading inflight levels in controlled airspace.It follows from this that if eitherground pressure (QFE) or sea levelpressure (QNH) changes the altimeterwill no longer be using correct datumand will be meaningless.(c) In-flight accelerations will affect thepressure round the static source andg will affect the needle causing fairlysignificant errors.We can now examine the disadvantagess!Jown above in the light of glider opera­tJons:-(a) Sticking: This is not too importanton the climb as the glider will behigher than indicated. The worstproblem could be the possible subsequentargument with the tug pilot,who will be using a well vibratedinstrument, about the height of release.On the glide, the overreading

~AIRTOUR ~ PRODUCTSNAVIGATION EQUIPMENT FOR GLIDER PILOTS"".'. .,,f •,.t " ,Alrtour CRp·s ComputerThe construction of the CRP·8 has beenreduced to the simplest I'Ossible method, verylight and very thin. It has been designed tomeet the requirements for the Glider Pilot andHelicopter Pilot, both who reguire one handoperation made possible by the wind arm. Withhigh and low speed scale.Accuracy to the highest standar,d. £2 195. 6d.\.:i'lil!'llH,:'HFf; I'/,., l. ill.Airtou.,. PP·4 ProtractorThe Tricolore Instant Protractoris designed for quickreference to glider headingand plotting on topographicalcharts, embodies nautical andkilometer scales and quadrantalrule. This Protractor iswidely used and is especiallysuitable for glider pilots. 10s.KS.3 Glider Knee BoardOriginally designed for theWorld Championship, 1965.They are now used extensivelyfor Glider Competition workand cross country flights,made of white P.V.C. with.....,....... "__,,._..~ valcro straps, pencil holdersand sharpeners supplied with- Glider Flight Log, £1 15s.BRITISH MANUFACTURERS OF FLYING AM) HAVIGATlONAL EQlfJPMENTAIRTOUR PRODUCTS - DISTRIBUTED IY All' TOURING SHOPS 'liMITED· El.STRU AERODROMf • 10REHAMWOOD • HERTFORDSHIRE. TELEPHONE, ELSTREE 4110209

FRDMLIGHTWEIGHTGLIDERPARACHUTEType 719Slirn and trim, GO's latestassernbly forglider-rnenchosenfor the World GlidingChampionships, Texas-has a24 ft, canopy and a nylon3~point hook and D harness.The pac1

is very significant for the glider willbe lower than indicated. This errorcan be as much as 300 ft. on a tattyaltimeter and becomes "interesting"on the approach.(b) Changing datum pressure: This onlyreally matters on a cross-eountryflight. Now a pressure decrease of onemillibar wjIJ make the altimeter over·read by 30 ft. The converse is truefor a pressure increase. Unless one isflying into a howling depression theerrors due to pressure changes are unlikelyto be significant. Moreimportant is the fact that the terrainheight will change and this is whereaccurate navigation and heightjudgment are necessary.(c) Acceleration effects: These arenoticed most in the initial part of awire lalJnch. It is vital that the transitionfrom the gentle to steep climbis performed with reference to groundobjects (trees, buildings etc.) and notto the altimeter. .Having said all this, we can nowformulate some simple hints which willhelp inexper,ienced pilots to avoid beingcaught out.First, in the approach pattern judgeheight by reference to the ground,supplemented by the altimeter whilejudgment is- being gained. rememberinghowever the fact that it will most likelybe overreading. A correct reading maybe obtained by a judicious bonk on thepanel (not the'instrument, please!). This,of course. doesn't mean making like awoodpecker with your finger.Secondly. on cross-eountries be awareof the effects of pressure changes.Always know your position within reasonablelimits, so that if you get lowyou will know the height of the ground(spot heights, contours, ajrfield heightsetc. on your map) before you becomestartled by its proximity. When flyingover high ground. abandon the altimeterearly and use judgment. Remember thatthe method of subtracting ground heightfrom altimeter height will only work ifthe altimeter is set to QNH.Thirdly, when flying below controlledajrspace, which may give you a climbproblem in IMC. set the altimeter to1013 mb. unless controlled airspace baseis given in height above sea level. Don'tforget to write down the sub-scale settingbefore changing, so that once the controlledairspace has been negotiatedQNH may be reset.'Fourthly. on wire launches start theclimb purely on height judgment andignore the altimeter when dealing withlaunch failures.FinaJly, don't. after all this, sit in thewreckage saying, 'well the altimeter reada thousand feet, then all of a sudden Inoticed ... '.ROGER A. NEAVESMORE CLASS WARBy MARTIN SIMONSIT IS encouraging to see that my pleafor classes has brought forth somepositive response. Thanks, both to SimonRedman and Ann Welch. [or their suppprtof the main idea .. Support and criti­CIsm has come from other areas too, and1 think it is true to say there is a widespreadagreement that more classes wouldbe a good idea.It does, unfortunately, Seem to bewrong for Ann to say "It is not expectedthat anyone would build gliders speciallyfor the new class". One of the main ideasof establishing a class system is preciselythat designers and manufacturers wouldthen be encouraged to turn their attentionto producing better gliders of moderatesize and cost. This being the case,it does not make sense to talk of frequentrule changes in the interests off1ex.ibility. I know of three 'old' Stand~rdClass projects in Australia alone, whIchhave been thrown into chaos by the actualand threatened changes in the Classrules. At present, any pilot who does notfly in Standard Class Contests is driven211

hangarwarehousesupermarketclubhousechurchConder design, fabricate and erectSteel Frame buildings of all typesCONDER Conder (Southern) Ltd. Winchester Tel. 63555~~ructioo Conder (Midlands) Ltd. Burton-on-Trent Tel. 5377Conder (Northern) Ltd. Darlington Tel. 66406Conder (Scotland) Ltd. Curnbernauld Tel. 25681Conder Sales Office, 120 Pall Mall, S.W.1. Tel. 01-930 9122For your next job call in Conder212

to the vastly complex monsters if hewants to have the best chance of winning,and if the Standard Class rules themselvesare subject to change, designerswilI be effectively discouraged from attemptingany further improvements inthat area. The right sort of flexibility issurely the kind proposed before. We canhave as many new classes as we like;paper is cheap. It matters not at all ifsome elass does not prove popular andremains forever vacant. Contest orga!liserswould need only to announce thattheir meeting would be o,pen to elass x,or to classes x and y, for the administrativeproblem to be solved. This could bedone immediately-no 'official' CIVV announcementis necessary; a club couldadvertise such a contest tomorrQW fornext week if they wished, and theycould devise their own class formulatoo.In Germany already something lik-ethis has happened, the criterion of theclass being apparently one of cost inDM. Unfortunately, as was realised longago, when the Standard Class rules Were'debated, Cost comparisons aTe hard toestab.lish across international frontierswhen labour charges differ, etc., so weare, driven to some sort of obiectivegeometric formula which will certainlynot directly J\educe costs, but which mighttend to keep Costs under control, in thelong run.The details of the formulae laid downare relatively unimportant providing werecognise that we are talking about severalclasses, not one new class which willchop and change from time to tim'e. Theidea of limiting aspect ratios has merit,out in my preliminary thinking aroundthe main idea it djd not seem the bestapproach. This is simply because itdrives the designer to employ other, moreexpensive and complex, methods of pro,.ducing the best sai,lplane in a class. For~xample, Ann's 'Aspect Ratio 20 Class',In t!1e terms she expressed it, wouldadmIt the BJ-3 now. If this class were 'setup and contest held over a period ofyears, it would almost cenainly meanthat the. BJ-3 type of sailplane would befurther developed, and eventually anyonehoping to win this class would have toto have such an aircraft.I do not find this alarming, but I sus­Pect Ann does. Such big and heavy vari-able ge,ometry could be excluded from~h~ '~spect ratio 20 class' quite easily bymSlstJng on fixed area wings-but whysbould such eXl;lusion be attempted?And Why should we not encourage thedevelopment of 18 m. variable geometrysailplanes by setting up a class for them-leaving the 'flaps in' aspect ratio to thedesigner, and limiting only the span?This was one of my proposals, and, incidentally,I would admit also the variablespan sailplane, which might in theend prove possible and, aerodynamically,more efficient. Simultaneously thereshould be a class for the fixed areaIS m. madlines-Skylaorks coulc competehere, and designers might produceimproved machines in this class too,with higher aspect ratios. Ann wouldexclude Skylarks from the '20 class'while admitting the BJ-3. I'm sure shedidn't intend that.Of course, if the 'elass' fonnula was tobe changed every five years, the developmentof new designs envisaged would nottake place, because it would not be worthanyone's while to set about it. The newclass would not be a class at all, butwould simply be a device for allowingelderly gliders t/i) have some competitions.Very well, I have already Suggested therecould be a veteran and vintage, class forgliders designed prior to 1950. A meetingrun on these lines could be great fun, andwould possibly show us we are not suchclever pilot.s as we think we are. Whynot run a 'dated' class contest for machinesof the Skylark, K-6 era too? This isthe sort of f1e.xibility we want.* * *ANN WELCH WRITES: Of course I agreewith Martin's idea of lots of classes. I putforward the aspect ratio proposal simplyin order to start the ball rolIing-ideashave to be turned into uts and boltsbefore' they can be effective. My purposein writing down some rules was in thehope that others would do likewise withtheir good ideas.The Americans have an ingenious wayof using veteran gliders in c,ompetitions.The pUll

AT THE BALLGeorge Burlon making Ihe final bid of£70 for camp. no. 7.Andy Cough in his element as auclioneer.Photos by PETER WARRENPalricia Walson (lefl) receivingIhe California illEngland Trophy fromMiss Ann Roberls.214

BGA NEWSAnnual Awards 1969The British Gliding Association haspleasure in annoullcing the followingawards for 1%9:CALIFORNIA IN ENGLAND TROPHY to awoman pilot for the longest flight: toMrs. Patricia Watson (Surrey & HantsClub) for a 322-km. triangle; CheltenhamRacecouf·se, Pittsford Reservoir, Lashamon 30th July. Skylark 4.DOUGLAS TROPHY to the Club puttingforward three flights by three differentdub members in club aircraft, aggregatlngthe largest cross-country mileage:to the Surrey &: Hants Club for the followingflights:-C!uis Lovell-331 km. triangle on 17thApn1. Gerry Paddick-3lS km. triangleon 22nd May. Peter Horne-316 km.triangle on 30th July. Total distance-­965 km. All in Dart 17R.FllANK FOSTER TROPHY for the fastestspeed round a 100·km. triangle: toGeorge BUtton (Imperial College ClUb)for a lOO:S-km. triangle at 95.4 km/h.;Jolly Farmer. Newbury Racecourse,Lasham on 14th JUne. SHK.PE. HA~ILAND CUP for the greatestgalO In heIght: Not Claimed.MANlO CUP for the fastest speedround a pre-determined 30G-km. triangle:10 Nicholas Goodhart (Anny Club) for a3IS-km. triangle at 71.9 km/h.; BathRacecourse, Stratford Theatre, Lashamon 22nd May. SHK..ROHERT PERFECT TROPHY to the ClubWith the highest ratio of neW full instructorratings to ClUb flying membersIn a two-year period: Not claimed.~E~GER CuP for the best closed c;r­CUll performance in a two-seater: to B.J. Wlllson and Harry Daniels (SwindonClub) for a 200-km. triangle at 64.43km/h. Blanik.Vou: Cup for the longest m:e-declaredgoal-and-return flight: to Alan Purnell(Surrey & Hants Club) for a 350-km.goal-aOO-return on 19th April. Cirrus..WAKEFlELD TROPHY for the longestflight: to John Cardiff (London ClUb) for~~~~~:r' eat's cradle flight On 20th May.ational Ladder Trophies 19C19~NtGMA TROPHY to the pilot flying aPrivately-owned glider w,ho has scoredthe mo~t. points in the National LadderCompetltJon: to Alan. Pur,nell (SurFey &Hants Club) 5,185 pomts In four flights.. L DU GARDB PE.',CH TRoPHY to thepIlot, all of whose flights were made ina cIub-owned glider, who has scored themost points in tbe National Ladder Competition:to Chris Lovell (Surrey &Hants Club) 5,039 points in four flights.Qaims for Annual Awards 1970Simple claim cards are available fromclubs so that pilots can claim best performancesfor Cups and Trophies moreeasily.In an effort to award the Trophies tothe most worthy performances of theyear it has been decided to accept claimsnot ooly from the pilots themselves, butalso from club officials, observers, etc.,on behalf of the pilots.Claim cards have been sent to allClubs and should be completed and returnedto the BGA as soon as possibleafter the date ,of the flight. The docume!1tationappertaining to the flightclaImed should be kept by the personsconcerned until called for by the FlyingCommittee.Lilientbal Medal for 1969The FAI has announced that the LilienthalMedal for 1%9 has been awardedto Eric Nessler of France.Executive Committee of ManagementFollowing the AGM and the AprilExecutive Committee meeting the undermentionednow comprise the ExecutiveCommittee of Management:K. G. Wilkinson, Chairman.C. R. S:mpson, Vice-Chairman.1. C. Large, Hon. Treasurer.loge Deen, General Secretary.Joan Cloke.A. W. F. Edwards.A. W. Gough.D. H. G. Ince.R- A. Neaves.J. C. R iddell.Ann Welch.D. C. Westerside.T. S. Zealley.CO-OPT'!!\): J. E. G. HarwoQd. F. G.Irviog.215

World Championships AppealDonations from the followinggratefully acknowledged. (PeriodFebruary to 17th April.)AnonymQus (five individuals)Armstrong. J. S.Avro Gliding ClubBaker, E. /'I.Barrows, J. R.Barton, K.Bath & Wilts Gliding ClubBenoist, J. O.Bcnnion, C. G.Be'ntalls of KingstonRioeSler Rotary ClubBromwell, D. G.Bri:kwood., Ltd.Car/ton. M. R.Chide!, D. C. L.Clare. B. A.Ooke, JoanCole, R. T.Conway, M.Corkell, I.Craven, J. L.Croshaw, Wg. Cdr. J. G.Cru~ders Gliding ClubDanwell, J. G. B.Davies. P.Diokson. R.Dorset Gliding ClubDrew, H.Drobinski, B. H.Eldridge, A.Durno, K. J.EJsden, C. and Pa rtncrsEyans, Maj. J. A.Far/ey, Dr. F. J. M.Fielden, J. S.Fitchett, F. L.Foster, E.Fosler. Mrs. PatFrodsham, R. D.Fursman, S.Gee, M. I.Gilman, B.Goodbody. Gp. Cap!. R. R.Gornall, J. H.Gu••t, P. H.Hales, E.Harper. W.High Easter GroupHobbis, T. G. B.HobdaY, r.Hook, A.How••, Maior R. D.lackonin. V.leffe,ies, H. E. A.Jefferson. B.Kearon, Air Cmdr. /'I. W.Kclly, B. T. _K.nw~>rthy. A. T.Krzystek. T. J.Lane, Air Cmdr. D. W.L-atimer. B. H.L.••. B. 1.L.ett.. C.L.ctts, A. T.L.ewi. A. RLilburn. D. W.Marol, R. A.Marriot!. S. H. E.Martin, R. J.216are18thMaslow.lti, H. A.Masters, B.Maxwell Joseph Tru.tMidland Gliding ClubMiers, R. E.Min.on, D. J.New, J. E.Nureombe. K.Odord Gliding ClubPage, R. R.Partridg., P. J.Phillips,P.Polkingborne, P.rUnell.Polish Air Force Ass.Pozerskis. P.Pratelli, P. J.Proctcr. R.Provin., J. P.RAF Germany Gliding Ass.Redman, 'S. J.Redshaw. L.Richardson, C. G.Robotham, W.Rothm.ns of PaJl Mall'Saudek, V.Sansom. M'Scat!. ·P. M.'Sling.by Sailplan•• Ltd.Smith. G. K.Soc. British Aireraft Corp.Somerscalcs, R. W.Stanley, J. H.Stcvcnson. J. N.Tarnow, A. and H.WeaLSon. A. J.Webster. J.Weston, A.Wes

Competition No. 7The auction of this number which washeld after the BGA Dinner was a greatsuccess. After Andy Gough hadexplained that. bidders. would have to'pay for the hIghest bId they made heacted as auctioneer making a splendidjob of it. Amon,gst the bidders were:H. Dimock, D. Illee and A. Deane­Drummond, J. Hempseed (SGD). P.Home, K. Wilkinsoll, P. Scott,. R.Barrett, T. Zealley. 'The final battle wasbetween Ralph Jones and George Burtonthe latter's highest bid being £70. Thetotal of £280 raised has been added tothe World Champs Appeal.Tb Cburcbill G.6ding Award for 1969he Award, which will be ~f theorder of £50', will be given to assist someproject organised and carried out by anindividua.l glider pilot.Eligible projects; which should alwaysinclude flying, would include meteorologicalresearch and explorations byglider of sea breeze fronts or mountainwaves, invention or development ofglider instruments including flight testing.research and development of improvedtraining or soa·ring techniques,or exploration of or invest~gation iotosome quite new aspect associated withgliding. Application would have to befrom British subjects, resident in Britain,but the project work: would not be confincl to this country.Application forms obtainable from theBGA office should be returned not laterthan the 30th June, 1970.Whltbread Bursary Awards for 1970It has been agreed that an Awar,d of£10 will be made to young glider pilotsw,ho gain their Bronze C before their19th birthday.. This Award win oot be' made automat­Ic.ally and it is the responsibility of thepilot to claim the Award at the same timeas applying for the Bronze C endorsement.The ac!UaJ, money will be sent tothe Club 'Treasurer to be set against fut­Ure flying fees..In the event of a large number of ap­~llcallons being received during 1970. therst twenty only will receive the Award.ThiS scheme will operate until furthernotice.COME AND BUy •••••... the new BGA tie, made interylene/crimplene and fully lined.Colour: navy l)lue with white FA1motif. Price: 24/· plus 1I· postageand packing.We also have a large selection ofbooks and accessories to coverall your needs I Office openMonday - Friday, 09.30 - 17.30(including lunch time!)Personal callers welcome or writefor a "What to Buy" leaflet to:BGA,Artillery Mansions,75 Victoria .Street,London, S.W.l.PROOEEDINGS OF THE1970 $YMPO.SIUM ONCOMPETITIVE SOARING* The bound and printed words wilbcomplete grllpKs, slletches lInd vosulllart as transcribed and presented inFebruary at Pitlsburgh.* A. J. Smith, :Dick Schreder, GeorgeMoflat and "Nick" Goodharl discuss;"The Standard CllIss - Present andFuture", "How to Practice to ImproveContest Performance", "Future Comp

SWISS DIAMANT -DIAMANT 18 - FIRST U.K. 500 km. TRIANGLE.WORLD'S LEADING SAILPLANEDIAMANT16.5DUTYFREE:Diamant 16.5 £2,500 approx. Glide angle 1:42 at 55 kts.Diamant 18. £3,050 approx. Glide angle 1:45 at 55 kts.The superb finish and camber changing flaps give the highestinter-thermal speeds plus the ability to out-elimb the rest.We are so sure of the superiority of DIAMANTS that we havebought a large quota for delivery in 1970 and can quotealmost immediate delivery.Write for technicalinformation, credit arrangements andillustrated leaflet to the sole U.K. Agents:THORPE AVIATION LIMITED, 15 Broadway, Peterborough. Tel. 68818Appointed factory trained repairer and parts stockist:JOHN HULME, .SottisnlllTl, Climbs. Telephone Bottisham 323Man ufacturers:Flug -und Fahrzeugwerke AG, 9422 Altenrhein, Switzerland.21B

FIRST AB-INITIOBy A. E. SLATERHEN OTganized gliding began herein February, 1930, after the formationof the British Gliding Association,people seemed to. have only the vaguestidea of how begmners cOl,lld be taughtto glide. But J had kept in touch withGerman gliding since 1927, taking themagazine Flllgsport, visiting the Wasserkuppe,and acquiring the standard textbooks.So, of course, J was determinedto become the first Briton to get a glidingcertificate without having first flownaeroplanes.The London Gliding Club operatedthen in !1 naHOW valley above Aldbury,near Tnng, and coveys of experiencedaeroplane pilots would come along andbe allowed to fly down into the valleyfrom whichever side of it faced thewind. We needed their subscriptions, buttheX tended to crQwd out the genuinepupIls, and I only got six hops in over amonth. That coveted A certificate wasreceding far into the future unless J didsomething about it. So I confirmed aresolution, already half formed, to takea course at a German gliding school andget ahead of the other ab-ioilios.So I applied to the Rhon-Rossitten0esellschaft, the German gliding organ­Ization, named after its two gli·dingschools: one on the Wasserkuppe in theRhon Mountains. and the other at Ros­Sllten on the Baltic coast at the far endof Germany. They said there was noroom at the Wasserkupoe. but offered mea place on a course at Rossitten throughoutMay.I had hoped for the historic Wasser­~~ppe, w.here the world's first soaringbights of o'!e, two and three hours hadh~en made ID 1922. But Rossitten had aI~torytoo. It was on a narrow sandySPll of land,. 60 miles. long and a half totwo n'lIles WIde, formmg the Baltic coast?h one side and enclosing a lagoon ont other. The spit consisted of a lineo Sand dunes, up to 200 feet thick~Ostlv c~nflue!1t except for a gap around111~ fishlOg Village of Rossillen. Twosc~es beyond the. vill~ge was the gliding001, and at thiS pomt the dunes beganagain, to continue to the far end of thespit, where there was a break for thelagoon to empty itself into the sea withthe town of Memel (now Klaiped~) justbeyond.Of course, tbe dunes made a wonderfulsoaring ridge, and sure enough in 1922there came along an East Prussianschoolmaster called Ferdinand Schulz-aremarkable character who knocked togethera crude glider out of odds andends (they called it Fliegende Besenstock-"flying broomstick"). It had no rudderor fin-the birds could do withoUL andso could he. In the machine Schulz setup a world's duration record of 8 hrs.42 mins. in 1924 (imagine all the turnshe had to make without a rudder!);later, in a conventional Westpreusse.nsailplane, he made a world's distancerecord of 37.4 miles from Rossitten toMemel in 1925, and another durationrecord of 14 hrs. 7 mins. in 1927.At the gliding school we were usuallycalled at around 6.15 am by the Instructor,Herr Lorenz: "Guten Morgen,Mister, biue aufstehen"; then had breakfast(slices of grey bread spread withsome jammy concoction)\ and at 7 amformed a procession to take a ZoglingPrimary to the nearest sand dune. Later,when we were launching from thesummit, we were joined by a couple ofhorses to pull the glider back to the top.They were shod with wide-based shoesto prevent their hooves from sinkinginto the soft sand.The softness of the sand made this siteideal for primary training. You coulddive steeply into it witbout damagingeither yourself or the glider-provided awingtip did not hit first. (The German~called this a "Petroleum Bore".) Onepupil, on his first launch, lost his headand pulled hard back; a strong windgradient took him up, and up, and up,till at last, having reached the highestpoint, he could be seen trying to get outof his seal. Fortunately he was too panicstrickento be able to undo the straps.He came down vertically and sufferednothing but a scratc.h on the elbow,though the glider was not so lucky.On 13th May. on my 19th launch, Jhad a first try for the A Certificate,making 28.2 seconds. You had to fly aZtigHng pretty carefully to keep airbornefor 30 seconds during a descent from219

under 200 feet, and I had seven moreattempts on the 15th, making 25.2, 24.0,23.2, 29.8. 29..6, 24.0, and finally 31..6seconds. ~e trouble was that,. frommuch reading of the aviation news, I wasonly too well aware that most flyingaccl~ents. at t.hat period were due tost~lhng (mcludlng two airliners); so, withthIS background information in mind itneeded a lot of will·power to pull ri~tback to speed-for-minimum-sink:.The geophysics of a continuous lineof sand dunes produces an odd effect onits suitab~li.ty as a soaring site, in thatthe prevallln~ wind cannot be a soaringwmd. Sand IS blown up the windwardface a~d then falls over the top intodead aIr on the lee side, where it takesup its maximum possible angle of slopeof about 25 degrees. Good soaring istherefore only possible in a nonpre.vailingwind blowing up a steep slopewhich has. already been created by aWind blowlOg in the opposite directionThis 60-mile spit of land, caned th~Kurische Ne.hrung, runs from SSW toNNE; so soaring had to be done ineast.erly winds, and When they came, thebegmners, had to stand down. One conti!)u~usline of dunes starting near theglIdmg school descended on its east si

Lt. Dinort tests his brainchild.raised a hand and said "Heil!", andmistook this for a local convention, notknowing that they were only the workshopstaff, who must have formed asort of Nazi "cell". So next morning, oncoming in to breakfast, I did the same(for the first and last time). Loud protestsfrom Oer Fahnrich: "One must not say'Heil'-it is bolshevistic ..... etc. But hesoon became friendly, overcome withcuriosity as to the nature of an exenemy;and before I left, when the twoHobson brothers had arrived fromLancashire to take part in the nextcourse, he became still more friendly andall four of us were going around togetherlike buddies. Oer Fah:uich foundthe inter-war years lacking in opportunityfor adventure, and said he hoped therewould be another war. I have not heardwhetner ne survived it. I did see himagain. in 1933 on the Wa"Sscrkuppe; hew s 10 Nazi uniform, having evidentlyovercome his reluctance to say "Hei!".The head of the school was RittmeisterRohrer. an ex cavalry captain, who spentrnost of his time administrating but occasionallyrode over on horseback to see~e ~Iiding..A stocky little man, he gave\ e ImpressIOn of suppressed energy, as1 ht: was made for bigger things than~~nnlOg a ~mall gliding school; he g~tIS chance m 1934 when he was put In~arge of the German Nationals on theasserkuope and enjoyed himselfh~g~ly. Then he disappeared from the~hdlng scene and I heard later that head become a priest.Another local cbaracter was Lieut.OjMrt, who had beaten Scbulz's recordwl~h 14 hrs. 48 mins. in 1929, in apnmary type machine which he choseto ~y through the night, guided byhUrricane lamps which kept blOWing outand had to be re-lit by shiv,ering helpers.He was not on the school staff but Wasbusy in the workshop bUilding a curiousmachine with a vertical panel at eachwingtip. One of the workshop staffexplained that this was to prevent skiddingoutwards on tbe turns when slopesoaring.(At this period almost everyprominent glider pilot, except SchuJz.was obsessed with the "cosine law" andafraid to bank on the turns for fear oflosing excessive height.) Dinort was toodedicated t,o remember mealtimes, andit was regular routine for Der Rittmeister,tcn minutes after lunch began,to go outside and shout "Deeee-noort!".Altogether the trip cost about £40; Ihad 46 launches and my longest flightwas 53 seconds. But on returning toEngland I had to unlearn one habitbrought back from Rossitten. Owing toa Zogling's elevator being far more sensitivethan its ailerons, we were taughtto hold the right forearm parallel to theleading edge of the wing, and work theailerons by moving this forearm in thedirection of its length. while the elevatorwas worked by the hand only, using thewrist as fulcrum. It was a clever ideabut an uncomfortable position; and backin England, no longer under the watchfuleye of Herr Lorenz, the elbow soonbegan drifting back, with the result thatwhenever one put on right aileron thenose came up, and with left aileron thenose went down-most disconcertingwhen trying to land in gusty weather.The sand dunes around RQssitten wereused during the last war as a trainingground for the German Afrika Korpsin preparation for their campaign inNorth Africa under Rommel. But now.although the Lithuanian border is stillwhere it was On the map, the whole area.including Konigsberg (now calledKaliningrad), has come under Soviet administration.and I don't expect ever tosee those dunes again--except perhapsfrom an orbiting space station. But myihstructor, Herr lorenz. is still around.and at the World Championships in 1960at Butzweiler we always sat next to eachother at briefing.221

INTERNATIONAL GLIDING RECORDS (Co~

IIBmSH NATIONAL RECORDS (Correct as at 13.5.70)OistaAcCHeight GainAbsolu,e AltitudeGo.al FlightGoal If< ReturnlOO-km. Trian"le300-k.m. Triangle5W-km. TriangleDistanceHeight GainAbsoJute AltitudeGoal FlightGoal & ReturnlOO-km. Triangle300-k"". TriangleDistanc.cHeight GainAbsolate AltitudeGoal FljghtGoal & ReturnlOO-km. Triangle300-km. Triangle500-km. TriangleAbsolute AltitudeSiDglo-Seato..P. D. Lane (in Germ.). 1.6.62. Skylark 3FG. J. Rondel. 18.6.60, Olympia 2D ..H. C. N. Goodharl (in USA)). 12.5.55, 1-23H. C. N. Goodhart, 10.5.59, Skylark 3 ..A. li. Warminller (in SA). 13.1.66, Std. AustriaE. Pcarson (in Rhodesia), 10.10.69, CirrusE. P~rson (in SA), 3.1-69. Cirrus (sre opposite page)Anne Burns (in SA), 25.12.63, Std. Austri.aMlllli-SealehL. Welch and F. G. Irving. 14.5.55. EagleR. P. Saundby and· B. Robens. 7.6.64. Blanik ..(see oppositeAnoe Bu.ms and Janie 0e5eh (in USA), 5.1.67. 2-32 ..W. A. H. Kahn and J. S. Williamson. 12.4.58, EagleA. !'t. Warminger and R. Tucker (in SA), 4.1.69, 2-32E. Pearson and A. Martin (in SA). 7.1.68, Kranich 3A. H. Warminger and R. Tucker (in SA). 29.12.68, 2-32Single·Seaters (Women)Anne Burns (in SA). 31.1.61, Skylark 38Anne' Burns (in SAl. 13.1.61. Skylark 38Anne Bums (in SA), 13.1.61, Skylark 38Ann Weleh. (in Poland). 20.6.6'1. Ja5kolkaAnne Burns (in SAl. 6.1.66, Std, AustriaAnne Burns (in SA). 12.\.63. Skylark 30Anne Burns (in SA).31.12.65. Sld. AustriaAnne Burns (in SA). 25.12.63. Sld. AustriaMulti·Seaters (Wo..eDAnne Burns and Janie Oeseh (in USA). 5.1.67. 2-327418.87011.500579602119.2104103.3',249.12010,55052854584.093.6103.39.,519km.m.m.km.km.km/h.km/h.km/h.524 km.page) 5.410 m.9.519 m.528 km.545 km.83.52 km/h.93.6 km/h.km.m.m.km.km.km/h.km/h.km/h.m.UNITED KINGDOM RECORi)S (Correct as at 13.5.70)DistanceHeight GainAbsolute AltitudeGoal FlightGoal & ReturnlOO-km. Triangle200-km. Triangle300-km. Triangle400-km. TriangleSOO-km. 'rjanglelOO-km. GI. SpeedlOO-km. G I. Speed300-km. Gl. SpeedSOO-km. GI. SpeedJ)iSlanQeHeight GainAbSOlute AltitudeGoal FlightGoal & ReturnlOO-km. TrianglelOO-km. Triangle300-km. IrianglelOO-km. 01. SpeedlOO-km. 01. Speed300-km. GI. SpeedSiD.~J..Se::ltenH. C. N. Goodhart. 10.5.59. Skylark 3G. J. Rondel, 18.6.60. Olympia 28G. J. Rondel. 18.6.60. Olympia 20 ..H. C. N. Goodhan. 10'.5.59,. Skylark 3J. S. Williamson, 30.8.64, Olympia 419O. E. Burton, 14.6.69. SHKJ. S. Williamson. 7.6.69. Dart 17RH. C. N. Goodhart. 22.5.69, SHKA. D. PurneH, 19.4.69. Cirrus .D. B. James, 9.6.68. Diamant 18K. A. HaFrison. 13.4.69. SHK ..l. W. Straehan. 2.6.63. Skylark 4E. A. Moore, 27.5.57. Skylark 2H. C. N. Goodhart. 10.5.59, SkylarkMulli-Soato..L. Welch and F. G. Trving. 14.5.55. Eagle ..R. P. Saundby and B. Roberu. 7.6.64. BlaoikR. P. Saundby and B. Roberls. 7.7.64, B1anikW. A. H. Kahn and J. S. Williamson. 12.4.58. EagleB. J. Willson and H. Daniels. 27.1.69. BlanikB. J. Willson and H. Daniels. 19.4.69, manikB. J. WiIIson and H. Daniel,. 20.4.69. BlanikB. J. Willson and H. Dands. 15.5.66, BlanikD. B. James and K. O'R;ley. 27.5.57. Gull 2J. S. Willi~l1lson and D. K~rridRe. 9.4.S5. Eagle ..W. A. H. Kahn and J. S. Williamson. 12.4.58. EagleSi!!&le-Seuters (Worn,.,.,)DistanceAnne Burns. 10.5.59. - Skylark 30Height Gain Anne Burns. 10.5.59, SkYlark 38AbSOlute Alljtude Anne Burns. 10.5.59. Skylark 30Goal ,Flight Anne Burns. 12.4.58. Skylark 38Gooal & Relurn Anne Burns. 26.5.63. Olympia 419lOO-km. TriangllOO·km.Tri.ngl; Anne Bums, 22.8.64. Std. AustriaAnne Burns, 25.7.59'. Skvlark 30 (see opposite page)WO-km. Triangle78 0 Anne B"rns. 28.6.66. SHK-km. Trian")e'OOO-kk m Anne Burns. 5.8.67, SHK ... 1. S".ed Rik. Harwood. 27.5.57. Olympia 28- - In. G I. Soccd Anne Burns. 2.6.63. Olympia 419JOO-lkm. C.I. Sp=ed Anne Burn.s. 12.4.58. Skylark 3D579 km.8.870 m.9.300 m.579 km.441 km.95.4 km/h.74.7 kmlh.71.9 km/h.66.36 km/h.53.8 km/h.128.4 km Ih.114.3 km/h.92.1 km/h.90.7 km/h.408 km.5.410 m.5.800 m.312 km.324 km.77.57 km/h.64.63 km/h.55.8 km/h.96.5 km/h.56.2 km/h.69.2 km/h.4545.1005.60030921560.069.360.260.683.085.563.9km.m.m.km.km.km/h.km/h.km/h.km/h.km/h.km/h.km/h.223

KeepingDOWNthe costs of goingUP.. --:it»The Scheibe Falke revolutionises gliding training. The utilisationobtainable, together with simplicity of operationresults in an operating cost of less than £3 per hour. Theinstructor alone can cope with a course and does not needa winch driver, tractor driver, tow car driver or tug pilot.Slingsbys' are now making this delightful motor glider, andcan offer early delivery to U.K. customers. We also intendto offer a leasing scheme whilst your Falke is on C. of A. sothat clubs have 100% utilisation.Price £3,600 ex works Kirkbymoorside.Write for details and delivery to:SLINGSBY SAILPLANESKIRK8YMOORSIDE, YORKSHIRE, ENGLANDTelephone Kirkbymoorside 751 Telex 57911 .224

OTOR GLIDING AND THE FUTUREBy PETER WARRENprevious considered, but inexperienced,comments on the motorglider have brought down the wrath ofsome purists upon my head and I havebeen accused of wanting "power flyingn the cheap".It wa with some gratification thereforethat I read the two articles on motorgliding in the April·May edition ofSAIl-PLANE & GLIDING. written byacknowledged experts in the pure-glidingfield, and confirming every aspect ofmotor gliding for which I have arguedin previous letters to the Editor.The article by Derek Piggott onpowered training (see S & G April-May,p. 12]) is a complete vindication of themotor glider for alI levels of instruction,and its author has long foreseen the advantageswhich he now clearly ilIustrates."There is no aspect of gliding trainingexcept the actual launch which cannot bedone quic'-er and better in a motorglider.""At Lasham . . . glider training hasvirtually ceased ... "These quotes from so eminent a glidertyp: as Derek Piggott cannot fail toconvince everyone of the direction inwhich the whole gliding training schemeshould now be steered. For training themOlor glider is in. But already I haveheard the cry, "What shalI we do withall the newly trained pilots being churnedout by the motor glider?" The answeris the single-seater medium and highperformance motor gliders and the proofof this is in lan Strachao's article "TheProof of the Pudding". (See S & G April­May, p.I29.) Flying a K-14 motor glideron 'Airways patrol' during the Nationalsat Lasham last vear he made a fascinat~ngSi- hour flight for less than 25rn!nutes of .engine·on time ina machinew.'th a K·6cR performance. During thisflIght he did "speed flying. ridge soaring,scratching, field selection and two finalg!tdes, ,all on a day when most othergliders were forced down". Don't let anyPundit call that "power flying on thecheap."! lan Strachan's admission of theJOy and success of his motor gliding mustconfirm him as the first of the newconverted.Without doubt we now have in sight anew concept of gliding in this countryand throughout the world. Eventuallythe winch a!1d to~ car can be scrappedexcept on ndge sItes. The aerotow willremain for those who have the time andmoney for pure gliding, which willalways remain the ultimate in skill andpleasure. And the vast majority of peoplewho fly for fun and enjoyment and wantminimum expenditure of both time andmoney wiIl fly powered gliders.Motor gliders will clear the biggestbottle-neck in gliding-the launCh andground handling-and will enablemachines to spend more time in the airand less on the ground. Its self·launchingcapability will also solve another problemwhich will otherwise limit theexpansion of gliding, that of sites.Because it does not need 1,000 yards ormore to be launched the motor glidercan operate from hitherto impossiblesjtes. Using a trailer as a hangar a syndicatecopld fly from any suitable fieldgiven .the owner's permission. Almost anyalrfi.eld could be used, especially withsimple 'Tadio faCilities, with the actualgliding taking place well away from thepowered aircraft traffic pattern. Inaccessibleridges can be reached, sea-breezefronts explored, there is no limit to thepossibilities. Groups or clubs from thesmallest to the largest can oper~te inareas free from the plague of restrictedair space which means more clubs canspring up to really cope with the demandfor gliding and gIve value for money.My own flying club operating fourAusters manages to fly about 1,800 hoursper year, flying mainly at weekends. Withmotor gliders I see DO reason why itshould not be possible for a gliding clubto approach these sort of figures withthe consequent enormous boost to glidingwhich would give a new image to themovement as a whole.The man-in-the-street has alwayswanted to emulate the birds. Here is ourchance to show him how at a price hecan afford, and who knows, I may evenbe able myself to switch-off, sit back, andsoar.225

Yourfuture: No fixed plans yet?If you, as a spectator" Vi:ll\:h a real prQfessilmalat work-whether he is icing aThere are hundreds of RAF pilots whcleft school without a clear idea what theycake, flying an aircraft or doing anything were going 10 do to 'earn tlreir living. .else-you cannot help but be impressed bythe way he does it: It all seems so effortless;But now they are accomplished andsuccessful aircrew officers. Perhaps theyso easy.never thought they could make it. !lutAnd yet your good sense tells you it they did. Maybe you could too.can't be anything of the sort. It's far too Ages, 17 to 26th birthday. You need' atcomplicated.least 5 acceptable, O-Ievels (or equivalent)So, you say to yourself-"This chap incJudin~ English language and mathematics.must be a natural. I could never do that."And this, very probably, is where you Visit the nearest RAF Careers InformationOffice-address in' 'phone book-orare wrong-at least as far as flyin~ aircraft----------------­is concerned.,send this coupon.To GrotJl) Captain E:. B.tchelar, RAF. Ad.Slld House New Irate for the J'ob'(S96KZI). London. wo. _ •Plr:u, srntf "tt' information aboul/lying commissiOlf.' military salary now In force.mlheRAF.I I 'Name...__....I Addres•..-----------_.._-present and/or intended educational qualifications. -L226I With this coupon Plea~~~~i~.a:·a ~~~~. no;~-';;~;'~-;;;;;;; loE~:JiI"i:;~~~~J

MEDALS - BULLETINS - "JOY"The Soaring Society of America is pleasedto announce the availability of an impressivemedal eommeroorating the 12thWorld Soaring Championships, which willtake place from June 21 to July 4 atMarfa. Texas. A daily contest bulletinservice will abo ~ available worldwide(details below).WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS COMMEM­ORATIVE MEDAL: The ohverse sideportrays an advanccd~esjgn sailplane overNorth Americ.a-y with a "lone star" (Texasstate insignia) marking the contest !lite.The reverse earrie. the SSA emblem. Themedal was designed by defending WorldStandard Class Champion A. J. Smith ofSouthficld, Michigan, U.S.A., and i. availablein two 5izes: J'" diameter, in bronze(SIO.OO: 600 struck) and Ir diameter. inbron?e (S3.00: 2,500 struck) or .999 finesilver (SI5.00; 1,000 Mruek, rim serialised).WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAILYBULLETIN: Published by SSA and maileddirectly from Marfa daily, the bulletinwill provide daily and cumulative !Scores,informat.ion on events, etc. Next bestthing to being there; be th.e fint to knowwhat's happening! S4.50 for IS bulletinsmailed as printed maller: add S1.00 if firstclass postage ovc.rseas is desired: or, rorairmail. add $5.00 for Europe, S3.6O forSouth America, and S6.60 for other are..."mE JOY OF SOARING": SSA'. newsoaring training manual, written by Diamond.badgepilot eark: Conway with theguidance of a review board of top instruc·tor-pilot•. Large format (81~- x 11-). 168pase•• weighs 2 pounds, hard-cover bookwith 4-eolour ja~kel. Profusely illustratedby GiI Parcell 4rawings and 10 full-pagephoto. of ",i1plan.. in f1igbt. Adopted a.j~Ui~~~~~ b{nt:~d::~of~TA~jil::~I~oa~(pilou-beginner to expert. Price: S5.15.Payment i. ben made by InternationalMoney Order available from Post Officebut write SSA Ihat money bas been sentaod what it is for.SOARING SOCIE:TY OF AMERICAP.O. Box 66011LOS ANGELES, CALlF. 90066U.S.A.SAILPLANE AND ENGINEERINGSERVICES LIMITEDHoImfield Road, BuxtonDerbyshireAdje>inlng ASJRing Buxton 4365 NOWC'S of AREPAIRSTRAILERS, STEEL TUBEAND WOODEN FRAME,COVERED PLoY OR ALUMINIUMFor SalePREFECT 30 B & GRUNAU 3NEW, OPEN TUBULAR STEELMUlTI-PURPOSE TRAILER TOFIT ASK 13, K.8 AND SWALLOWCOIL SF'~ING IND, SUSPENSION,LIGHTS AND FITTINGS.FUTURE EVENTSMa,.30,June 7. Standard Sport ClassNationals at Dunstable.June 13-21. Western Regionals at Nympsfield.June 14-21. Scottish Regionals at Portmoak(revised date).June IS-July 4. World Championships atMarfa, Texas.June 27. Open Day at Ouse GlidingClub.Ju)y 4th. Air Display at Wycombe AirPark,July 11-12. Air Lea-gue RaJly at Sywell.July 11-19. Dorset Regionals at ComptonAbbas.July 13-25. Coupe d'Europe de Vol aVoile at Angers, France.July 25-August 2. lasham Regionals atLasham (revised date).July 25-Augusl Z. Northern Regionals atSulton Bank.August 8-16. Wycombe Regionals atBooker.August 22-28. Inter·Club Soaring Meetat Lasham.Augost 22-31. Open Class Nationals atDoncaster.227

MEDIATORBy H. C. N. GOODHARTOR some years now, there have beenF occasional references in the Press toan Air Traffic Control System calledMediator. Recently, at the request of theBGA, National Air Traffic Control Services(NATCS) gave a presentation tomembers of the Civil Aircraft ControlAdvisory Committee (CACAC) to explainwhat the system consisted of. Thisdid not fully answer the question of whatthe policy would be in the future for theintroduction and use of this system, butit is possible to see the way things aregoing and, bearing in mind that the finalfully-integrated system is costing of theorder of £IOOm, the system obviouslyimposes constraints on future p0licy.The BacKKI'Ound to MediatorAs long ago as 1960, it was decided atCabinet level to integrate the defenceand ATC requirements. This system wasgiven the code name Linesman/Mediator-the name Mediator referring to theair traffic control element.The system, which has proved to be acomplex technical development, is stillnot in operation. It will be introducedinto service in a series of steps startingin mid-1971 and going on through until1976.The Principle of MediatorThe plan is based on a small numberof carefully sited large radars which, together,provide coverage of the wholeUK from 8,000 ft. upwards; lower altitudesare, of course, covered nearer eachradar: Radar cover is deemed to existwhen a blip appears nine out of ten timesthat the radar illuminates a ten squaremetre target, e.g. Canberra. ICAO hasaccepted this for ATe rad.ars.The strength of a radar return willdepend on:-(a) Effective echoing area of the target.(b) Range.(c) Height.For gliders, the effective echoing areaat the frequency concerned is of theorder of one square metre. It varies with228the construction of the glider, as well aswith the aspect presented towards theradar. Thus, depending on range, height,aspect, etc., a glider may be seen, butcertainty not over the whole officialcoverage of the radar sets.Unfortunately, the radar sets also use atechnique called MTI, which is designedto eliminate echoes from slow-movingand stationary targets. This system isnormally used over a large part of thecoverage of the radars and will substantiallyreduce, if not eliminate, gliderreturns.The Introduction of MediatorThe existing ATC system for controlledairspace is based on a procedural systembacked up by radar. In the first stage ofMediator these roles will be reversed. Inaddition, a middle airspaee--off airwayserviee will be provided over the southernpan of the UK. This will be progressivelyextended northwards, and the presentUpper Airspace-above FL 2Soservicewill be centralised at West Drayton.What this Means from the GUdinl Pointof ViewBasically, NATCS has gone for asystem with which there seems no prospectfor gliders to integrate. The -effectivenessof the system will depend largely onthe carriage of SSR, a piece of equipmentprobably more ei'l:pensive than theglider, and the primary radars are unlikelyto have a sufficient probability of seeinggliders at all times. Legislation will beproposed for the mandatory carriage ofSSR transponders by aircraft operating inUpper Airspace and controlled airspace.One thing tbat is clear, therefore, is thatgliding will have to be extremely alertover the n~xt few years, to ensure that amodus operandi is established which willenable the sport to remain viable.However, there is a brighter side to thecoin. 'rhe effect of going to full radarcontrol is to reduce the planned minimumseparation between aircraft under controlfrom the SO- miles or more, often requiredby the procedural separation rules, to thefive miles required for radar control.Consequently, unde.r radar control thecapacity of any piece of controlled airspaceis enormously higher than it wouldbe under procedural control. For instance,

twO aircraft passing eac~ ot~era! thesame height In a ten-mde-wlde airwayshould be 'pra~ticable and n?rmal? thusallowing chmblI'ig or descending all'craftto go through flight levels alreadyoccupied by other aircraft. At worst, thismust reduce the pressure fllr more controlledairspace: at best, it could evenmean the elimination of some existingcontroIled airspace.Depending on how gliding approachesthe probI.em, it might be. possibl~ to cooperatet? so~e degr~ with Mediator bymeans of a smgle glider frequeney. For,while the radars wiU not see the glidersat all times, there will be times wh.enthey are visible and it may be a help toa controller to identify an echo. Such asystem might, for example, allow airwayscrossing in IMC.The Long Term FutureLooking some time into the future, myguess is that N ATCS visualise a progressivelowering of the base of upperairspaCe, Le. the level above which thereis area control as opposed to airways.This gets progressively more difficult asone gets do~n into middle airspace, andthe progressive lowering seems likely tocome to rest before it gets much belowFL 200.Thus, the airspace in which mostgliding is done looks like continuing as acontrolled airspace/FIR system with in­·creasing provision of radar advisoryservice in the FlR.. If traffic in the FIRever gets to levels at which, even withan advisory service, there is too high aco,llision risk, there will obviously be ad.em.and for increasing co-operation withthe radar collision-avoidance system.This could reach the point where aiL aircraftare required to be in touch withthe radar controllers.Fitting gliders into such a system wouldbe difficult. Problems would be:-(a) Low echoing area.(b) Difficult identification problem.(c) Coptinuously varying height(d) Need for multi-channel radio.A reaIly cheap transponder wouldsolve a, band c- A solution to d isalready approaching, as radios becomeboth reliable and relatively cheaper.THE KESTRELhas in our opinion, the best glide, comfortand handling of any open class glider availabletoday. Ring us for details of comparisonglide3 made with the C .... sand D .... t; alternativelywe will take part in any test youarrange.Price: £3,350 ex works'-SLINGSBY SAILPLANESKirkbymoorside YorkshireTel. Kirkbymoorside 751 Telex 57911229

GliDER PllOIS-I

GLIDING CERTIFICATESDIAMOND HEIGHTNameClubNo. J. Rae SGU~~~ 1- G. Smith SGU3/100 A. R. Milne SGUNo.247248'49250GOLD CNames. G. DaviesM. BirdR. BradleyP. PozerskisN(lm~G. H. CrashawG. C. ColJinsM. BirdR. BradleyA. D. DukeB. WardA. M. BishopJ. A. StentonK. MeK.1. HenryJamiesonG. H. UpsonCOMPLETEClubAirwaysLondonS. CommandlononGOLD C HEIGHTClubYork.hircCoventryLondon'S. CommandBristolin FranceTwo RiversAirwavsSGU'SGUBristol26.10.69I. 3.70I. 3.70196927.726.529,1219.3.7019694.724.1026.529.12197020.224.13.21.31.31.31.3NameS. W. G. ShardR. C. M. CollisonP. PozerskisNameS. G. DaviesS. J. EastonNo.256825692570257125722573257425752576257725782579258025812582258325842585GOLD CNameR. C. BuUP. J. HardingW. K. CramerJ. R. BoyesP. C. DaviesN. Wilkinsr. W. PritehardJ. H. HuntA. K, BullB. LoganJ. D. WalkerA. R. LeviJ. M. BrownF. W. SageC. A. RookeM. EdwardsP. L. HattonK. V. PayneClubBicesterBiceslcrLondonDISfANCEClu/>AirwavsNo. J 'Gl.C.SILVER CClubLakesBristolKentCotswoldPortsmouth NavalHeronFour CountiesWrekinMidlandHumberFour CountiesStaffo~hire642 G. S.Esse-xFenlandEast MidlandFour CountiesMidland19701.36.319.3196925.77.629.11.6929.2.7025.35.427.34.45.43.44.4

willing to supply him with all necessary data as the Busicom flashes it out.Harlech. Merionelh.ROBIN HARPERJACK HARRISON WRITES: - 1 feel that Robin has missed the point. We're not claimingthat a Placing System is going to ma~e the scorer's task easier. All we are saying isthat pilots, and the publ.ic, l.:an unclcfstand the concept behind a Placing System,whereas they are baffled by the present points system .. If a Placing System happens tomake the SCo~er's life easier-and despite Robin's remarks, I believe it does-then somuch the better.NATIONAlS AT DONCASTERDear Sir,When I hea~d the venue and date chosen by the BGA for the 1970 Open ClassNationals, I felt so strongly abollt it that I decided tQ seek the opinions of all the 160pilQts on the current rating list in the form ,of a circular. Pilots were asked to statew.hether or not they considered Doncaster to be a suitable site and whether or notthe date was ~oo late in the year. I am sure ,the pilots who r,eplied and S & G readeTSwill be interested to know the findings of 'this circular and I give below an analysis ofthe replies:-Replies were received from 68 pilots of which 21 were for Doncaster as aNationals site and 46 against (I 'don't know'). 22 pilots were satisfied with the timeof year but 41 pilots were opposed to it (5 'don't knows').- As you will see, a large majority share my views, and although the Ex,ecutiveCouncil have stood by their original decision, at least a protest has been registeredand the pilots themselves have had a chance to put their own views forward. To quoteone comment "I think that the choice of National site and time should be dictatedonly by the. consideration o(maJ\imising the chance of hav.i.ng a good competition.Other considerations (like sUPJXlrting an up-and-oomil'lg club) are irrelevant".I personally am going to fly at Doncaster., if I don't get lYJIched first, and I sin-NOW A VAILABL£THEORY OF FLIGHTFOR GLIDER PILOTSR. C. STAFFORD ALLEN(Chief TeChnleal Officer of the B.G.A.)2nd ed. 255This revised edition of Stafford Alien's book should arouse great interestamong pupil glider pilots and all members of gliding clubs. It is the mostup-to-

cerely hope th~t despite an the odds agains~ it, we. sh~1I have a succ~ssful week'sgliding, and let s hope that next year the Nationals site IS chosen for flYing and notpolitical reasons.ThruxlOn, Hants.R. JONBSP.S. Apologies to those pilots who did not receive the circular (160 were posted) butsome addresses we had were rather sketchy.CHAMPIONSHIPS STRUCTUREOpell letle.r (0 Tom Zealley on his article, S & G April-May, p.l17.Dear Tom, ~The article on a future British Nationals Championships Structure by you is fullof interest. 1 am sure you will agree that any such restructuring is bound to be acompromise. 'The advantages of what is being pr'oposed must outweigh the obviouscracks in the edifice. I, for one, am not ,entirely sure that they do.lt was a great step forward when the BGA realised that an 80 glider Nationalswas no longer practical in the UK. This led the way tQ tbe present Sport and 'OpenClasses at separate sites and of equal status. As someone who has competed .in the:last two Sport CI:ass Championships I am sure aB those who took part would agreethat both were really very great successes. On both occasions we were lucky withthe weather.This produced plenty of challenging tasks and therefore fair competitien.But much more important was that everybody enjoyed themselves. This wasbecause all of us were flying gliders within reach ,of each other from a performancepoint of view after handicapping and the average rating of the pilots was atleast as good ,as the Open Class, if not better. This produced a mental and personalsatisfaction which contributed greatly to the enjoyment. Although J ,did not competein the last two Opens, the same sort of atmosphere was noticeable by its absencewhen I visited Lasham-and this was no fault of the organisers or the site.It will be a very great shame if the lessons of one cannot be applied to the other,or alternatively, to leave well alone for a few more years.May 1 point out some of the obvious snags?It is suggested that the top dozen or so pilots should compete against each otherso that British Team sel~ction is made more easy. In that case I can see no reason fQrmaking \x)th Championships of "equal standing". Clearly the Sport Class would bein the second league. This would inevitably take away some of its enjoyment andwould force the best pilots to "go to glass"-if they could afford it. I do not believethis to be in the wider interests of theBGA.1 cannot see the argument against applying handicaps in the proposed 'Open.However clever the handicappers are, there is bound to be advantage in flying thebest-particularly if separated by moce than about 5-8% from its nearest rival.The new breed ())f Open Class gliders is in a race apart from the Standard Class andthis includes the latest glass"fibre ships. The only thing that is relevant is that bothlots of pilots would fly on the same day. Anybody who thinks that a pilot of aStandard Class glider can be compared with a pilot of an ASW-12 or Sigma, eventhough they do 'the same tasks, must be missing something in his logic.One of the unstated aims of the suggested new structure may be to give a fillipto the new 'Open Class gliders. It could' be argued that handicapping may remove' some@f the advantages to be gained by buying the latest and best~ven though thismay be by a factor of two or three in financial terms oVer the best of the StandacdClass. In fact, inclusion of handicapping does give the pilot qf a mere Kestrel (orsomething equally exotic) some chance against Sigmas and the like.I, for one, will be most sorry to see the Open Class degenerate in the same wayas has happened on (Qc Continent. There, genuine Open Class gliders of the news.Chlo OI have become one-off, manufacturers' prestige specials and tre.ated as such. Therea fight for 'places happens in the Standard Class.1 am all for better (faiiTer?) selection of our team-and writing as ,a former';nember perhaps I can speak with some authority. But surely if change is requiredhen one answer should be to put all the "possibles" in Standard Class gliders (all the233

latest types have practicaliy identical performances) and let them fight it out. Whichof the two competitions the Standard Class should be incll!ded in, I do not thinkmatters greatly. It will be much more dependent on the likely numbers of glidersavailable. But let. n0body think that the "other" leagtle is equal. It Illever can be.lf these proposed changes are made I believe muc!'l of the enjoyment and satisfactionof tbe present Spot{ Class will also go. We will be left with a two-leaguecompetition which thllee years ago was found Wanting. Is not this proposal yet anotherway of making a change for change's sake?Chobham. Surrey.ToNY DEANE-DRUMMONDTOM ZEALLEY (Chairman, Flying Committee) writes:-1 don't want any change forchange's sake, but the present ,structure ,is. being criticised and Tony does so himself.Handicapping eould well be applied to tbe Open and Standard Classes of the Fly-ingCommittee's scheme, but then, to avoid too wide a spread of gLider performance itwould be necessa.ry to specify handicap limits to ,ensure, more or less, that onlythe latest "glass" ships were able to enter these two Classes.We must offer an arena for the display of the latest Open Class exotics. Becausethey will be few, their class can be flown simultaneously with another class and wepropose this should be the latest Standard Class ("glass") ships. As long as the,glider performance levels are fixed judiciously, prices being what theY are, there willcontinue to be ~trong support for the Sport Class. I therefore do not share Tony'sfears that the Sport Class will degenerate into a "League 2". British Team selectioncould well be considered sepaxately_nIROW OUT mAT CUSHIONDear Sir,I read with interest the article "Throw out that Cushion" by C. G. Deland in yourOct.-Nov. 1969 issue. p.417. For some time at the Royal Aircraft Establishment,Farnborough. we have been experimenting with ventile, incompressible cushionswhich might with advantage be used in gliders.Briefly, we were looking for a suitable comfort pad for 'ejection seats whichwouLd not increase the li~elihood of spinal injury on ejection. Water-fiUed cushionsare an obvious possibility, but these were rejected for several reasons.It occurred to us that a woven clotn bag of sphemidal particles would act as ahigh hysteresis or "thick" fluid with the advantage that the cushion would be ventileand permit some escape of perspiration through the interstices of the particles. Also.without compression the "beads" could. fh~w to take up the posterior topography ofthe user and se avoid areas of very high pressure.Because of their cheapness and ready availability. various natural seeds wereused to explore the effect of particle si:;:e.

SOME PUDDINGDearWas Sir, there any' "fi . th f th t I St h ' . t t' . I (Slgnl cance In e act . a an rac .an s m ere~ 109 ar~lc e Onhow to get round a difficult .triangle by startmg up an engme) was accompamed by ahalf-page advertisement on the Thomas Organ-"As easy as ABC thanks to colour.Gla: COLOR-GLO THE SYSTEM WHERE THE KEYS LIGHT UP TO SHOW you' HOW TO PLAY?Marlow, Bucks.GERRY BURGESSAdverlislmenlS. with temitranc.e, should be sent to C.heiron Press L-td., :; Crawford SI'N.l. London,Wl (01- 93' 2814). Ral' 2/- a wo,d. Minimum 26/·. Box numbe.. 8/- extra. Rep"" to Boxnumbers &hollld be unt la the same add,.es.,FOR SALEDART-17Rw. WQrlmann Wing. SmoothlineCanopy. Retractable Wheel, completewith trailer. All in NEW CON­DITION. £2,100. Slingsbys. TeL Kirkbymoorside751.GRUNAU BABY 3. Delivered cheap togod home. Phone: Shifnal 475.MUCHA STANDARD SAILPLANE infirst c:lass condition. Complete withinstruments, oxygen, trailer and para'chute. £775. Southdown Aero ServicesLtd., Lasham Airfield, Alton, Hants.TIGER MOTH. Complete with towinghook and fine pitch wooden propellerApprol[. 10 months, to run on C. of A.Very good condition. £1,500 o.n.o. BoxNo. S.O_ 332.EAGLE 3 "Odin" believed best in thecountry C of A. April 1971, £1,250 inclusiveof trailer. Wilsonc, 23 Dene Crescent,Holborn Dene Estate, Ryton, Co. Durham.SLINGSBY PETREL.. 18 metre. Excellentcondition. Superb low speed performance.Fully instrumented. Excellenttrailer. Syndicate dissolved. Seen Dunstable.£500 ono. TeI. Denham 2735.!-21, ID-year C of A given 1969', canopy,IRstruments include }>ZL Turn & Slip­Bal.last weight fitted. Spare skids andSpnngs. £700. Delivered in VK. D. Mac­~ey, Bridgend, Aboyne. Aboyne 2152.p CAMBRIDGE 130.4. also Ranger.~~6th recently overhauled. Swadlinco~e9.RELIABLE two-drum winch. EasilytJwffied. £100 ono. Details J. Teesdafe,ngton Stamford (3888) Lincs.K-6E two and half years old, all white,Comp. No. 357 as new. FQlI panel, superioroxygen, pye bantam radio, newparachute, Winter barograph, works trailer.Price £2,500 No offers. B. Wallter,Fern Hill House, CAM.. Nr. Dursley,Glos. Phone Dursley 2848 & 3209.T-21B-superb condition, C of A untilFebruary 1971, £671. Contact: HenryDoktor, Yorkshire Gliding Club, SuttonBank, Thirsk, Yorkshire. Phone Suttan237.WINCH P·6 engine, single drum, 730yards cable, with spare parachutes, easytowable behind car. £ISO ono. TelephoneWorcester 26676, or write M. Muecke,63 Corner Gardens, Worcester.K·6E. Excellent condition with fitted'trailer. Instruments, Pye Bantam. Oxygen,for sale separately. Box No. S:G.343.The SURREY & HAMPSHIREGLIDING CLUB has f'or sale SKY­LARK 3F No. 160 for £860. with trailer£900. C. of A. to March 1971. Bill Dean,Treasurer, Pale Fa.nnhouse, Chipperfield,Kings Lang]eY,. Herts. TeI. Home, KingsLangley 63122, Office, 01-606 8888 ext235 or at tasham, Hetriard 270.GLIDER RADIOOur mode-l T'R6701-S has 2 channels, 1 watt trans'miner and seft.itive, ,"vied r.e·eiv•. N••ds pnly.erial and 12 yolt supply. A.R.B. approv.•d. Price£65. F"II d.t.ill I.nl Dn rllqU"t.We 'also stock .11 types of vehicle aerials and sometimes,hive secondh_nd .,•.,id. seh lvaililble .,reeson"ble prices.G. E. STOREY & CO.P.O. Sox 4,SUNSURY·ON·THAMES, Middx.Telephone 84422235

FOIt 'SALE ICqnt.1SPERRY 3C Electric horizons. 3.75 in&.face ,diameter. Overhauled. £35 each.P & P. 12/6d. Perranti Mk. 6 Standbyelectric horizQns, 3.IS ins. face djameter.Prices on application. Southdown Acro'Services Ltd., Lasham Airfield, Alton.Hants.SHACKLEl'ON AVIATION L'ID. areEurope's la,rgest aircraft dealers. Wealways have a large supply of singleandtwin-engined aircraft from £650 upwards.Gliders, Cars, Aircraft taken inpart-eltchange. Hire purchase available,.All enquiries welcome. Head office: 175Piccadilly, London, WJ. 01-493 2448.Telex.: 263973.NEW 1970 BLANIK. Just arrived inU.K. Immediate delivery. £2.275 plusduty. Peter Clifford Aviation Ltd.,Oxford Airport, Kidlington, Oxford. Tel.Kidliogton 4262.G. AVIZ two seater powered glider.The best of both worlds. Light aircrafttouring at 2t gph or the thrill of soaringwith the advantage of powered take offand return. Brand new permit to fly untilFeb. 71. ElCicellent condition throughout.£1.500 or part. exchange for Nipper.Walker, WESTON-S-MARE 23362evenings.DlAMANT 18, Camp. No. 38.;lbout 40 hours, unmarked, £2,8.50.Aluminium trailer and competitionpanel available too.'C. C. Donald,15 Broadway, Peterborough 68818.KITE 1. rebuilt and finished in blue andsilver'. Complete with 12 months' C. ofA. Basic instruments and covered trailer.£310. Southdown Aero Services Ltd.,Lasham Airfield, Alton, Hants.EAGLE 3. Full panel, oxygen. parachute,trailer. 10 year C. of A. Excellent condition.A. Parrolt, Sturminster Marshall(Dorset) 286. Evenings.DASH MOUNTED PYE CAMBRIDGEON 130.,4 MCS. £65. Phone DRONFIELD4184 EVENINGS.236GENUINE reconditioned stHl grey ... I.:A.F. FlyingOver.Us.S.".U.,. si.z,s up to5'7" 50•• Lorge,sins up 106' 3"57•. 6d. p & p4•. 6d.E. R,.A.F. Beck 0'Soo, Type 24p.nel nylonPM.d1"•••.l.spocMd ..d,_eked bylicelt1ed skydiver.£12 ..chp&pIS•• in U..K.•i.A.F. 8-day Aircr.ft docks, blind new, 2i" x 21.. ••pilnel mou:ntin-g complete with ,creW'. £" 19,. 6d.,p & p 3•. 6d.Ex R.A.F'. Safe.y haln_Sf.s, known as "z.1.I harnesses,H" Blue. NyJon adjustable ".bbing wirh inSlaht qu'ick,.1.,.54', used b",' in oood condition. rd••1 ,for yowlglider O~ car, £.6 6J...ch p • P 31. 6d.TCH',paulin & Tent ManufCiQuriilg Co.101/3 B,ixlon H:JI, London, S.W.2. 01-674 0121/3K·13. Syndicate based at REDHILL.Syndicate members required. Share £250.Apply Robert Heam, 53 Havering Drive.Romford 65655.SF-27M. Shares available in neW singleseat, retractable engined, high performan~e(33: 1 at 43 kts.) sailplane. Descriptionin S & G April 69. Write to PeterJeffers, 2 The Embankment, Wraysbury,Middx.SKYLARK-2. Enclosed trailer., instruments,parachute. 'First class condition.£800. Bo)'( No. S.O. 341.• 1001 et.aiae B:arpi.. ".."al eYtT7••el •Hu~e stocks GOVERNMENT SUKPWSCLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT. ine. Ilyinllsuils, from !Ss.; flying helmets. anorab. out.door clothing. campina. immcn5e variety ofrni'scelIaneous eXaGovemment eguipment. 'Everso usefuJ-yo.\l will be Sure to find' somethioKYOU need_n

THE FINEST Skylark 2B in existence.specially bui~t for t~e I%OWorl~ Championships.FItt.e~ With. P.Z.L.. AIr Spee~indicator, sensitive altImeter, P:Z.L. van·ometer and total energy Unit. Burtonelectric variometer and audio. Eh compass,and. e~ectric turn .and s.'ip. Res.!~redto its ongmal champIonship condItIon.Regardless /:?fexpense, recovered a!Ldpainted t~ hIghest standard. 10 year ~­spectron IllS! completed. Offered WIthgood covered trailer. £875 Os. Od. SouthdownAero Services Ltd., Lasham Airfield,AltoR, H;mts. Telephone Herriard359.1959 T.3Ill. BGA No. 967. C of A to endof November 1970. Very good condition.000. Grunau. C of A to end of October1970. Details from Trent Valley Gliding·Club, Sturgate. Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.TeI. Brigg 2003..WANTEDWANTED. Dart-l7p-" K-6E or similar.With or without trailer and /

CLUB NEWSOARINGh;is not really got under way yet with the very late cold sprin,g, althoughS" Good Friday seems to have been a fairly good day over most 0f hte country.Clubs in Yorkshire have been busy~ all four report in this issue: the Yorkshire clubat Sutton Bank; Ouse at Rufforth and the newly formed clubs Leeds operating fromPocklington, East Yorkshire and the Hambletons from Dishforth.Copy for the August-September issue, typed double-spaced on foolscap, please,should reach me not later than 10th June, and that for the October-November issueby 12th August. Please send news to me at 11 Great Spjlmans, Dulwich, London, SE22_ TeL 01-693 303.3.21st AprilAQUILA'THE settling down period at Enstoneis now almost over and we are veryhappy that we have achieved such friendlyand co-operative relations with theEnstone Eagles Whose facilities we share.EVl;:n the unfriendly weather has< .now relemedand we have been able to experiencesome of the promised lift-and accompanyingsink.Congratulations are due to RichardvOOdon who is the first of the Eagles toobtain his A and B with Aquila; ElizabethCla.rke, who obtained her C and isnow convjnced that it .is more difficult todescend from cloud than to reach it; andMalcolm Lassan who, in an attempt toachieve a Silver distance, managed aflight of 15 miles and a very good gainin height which, we hope, is the first legof his Silver.Commiserations to our CFI who underestimatedwind and rate of climb(sink?) and, as a result, had to land atKidlington, thus providing an exampleof how the most experienced of pilotscan get caught out, .and allowing us poormembers the chance of a supercilioussmile or two.The new canteen/control trailer nowbeing built by the Eagles is ,almost2311YVONNE BONHAM (MRS.)Club News Editor.ready for duty and we look forward toteas and hot snacks at the launch point,also to a 'comfortable seat and enclosurefor the duty pilot.In gener,al M'arch has been an ,interestingmonth, flight ,times of every combinationbetween 10 minutes (l)f acro-towto 50 minutes from a wi,neh launch, andgood aircraft utiliSation promises betterflying to ,come.A.E.C.BATH AND WILTS'W"E'VE been robbed! While the painton our new clubhouse was stillbarely dry some anti-social intrudersm.ashed his way in, loicked a hole in theCFI's office door, and got aWay with ,aparachute, a barograph and a la,rge pieceof blue caTpet ,of which we had hardlyhad time to become proud.The carpet is probably down in theblighter's lounge by now. But may we .askall S & G readers to look out for theotber two items. The parachute is a greylrv.in EB62, number A152272. The barographis a Winter, num\:!er 49513. If afurtive .chap offers you a bargain .in thebar please c.heck the number before youhuy.

Our annual, dinner at Cheyney Courtwas a great success with guest of honourDennis Corrick. Chairman of the Bristolclub, presenting our Ladder Tropby toCFI Ron Lynch.March brought some exceJl'ent soaringand a few cloud climbs of the kind that.make Silver pilots think Gold height isjust possible after all.The clubhouse has been 'opened andwarmed, enthusiastically if not. formally,with an extremely 'good party'.At present another orgy is under way-the C of A bit. The Skylark SF angT-21c are done; the Swallow and Bocianfollow soon. And one or two syndicatemachines are shining and fiying again.lU.C.COTSWOLDAFTER: a long and dreary winter withnot much flyillg. things are at lastlooking liP in the Cotswolds. (Mostlyground-bound members, enviously, atthermalling gliders!)Soaring has started .in earnest, and asecond K-7 recently acquired, wi'll improveab-initio facilities, cross-countryflying training and the 'launch rate.Congratulations to John Boyes foropening the season with his Silver distanceflight, let's hope it is the first ,ofmany Silver's, Gold's and--dare we hope-Diamonds! .April has been Club 'Safety Month',with flying, ground and written tests tofind the most safety conscious pilot. Withthe strong winds of the past few weekends,the timing could not have been better!Visits to places of interest and lectureshave stimulated e'Veryone's interestand aWareness.With three dub two-seaters and twosingle-seaters we should be able to have'something for everyone" so come and seeus.G.H.COVENTRYWE have held a second successftll exhibition,this time at the BirminghamBing'ley Hall, tryinl:l: to persuade thepublic to take up gliding.Our course instructor, Bill May hasgained TV fame at last, following a recentvisit by the ATV Film crew; heappeared in a sbort film about the joysand frustrations of gliding. in glorioustechni~olour for ,those who Can afford it.Our new CFI, Vic Garr, is advoc;atinga good deal more cross-country flyingand has ,checked out a batch of keenpilots to savO-ur the trials and tribulationsof navigation and bumpy fields. With theseason starting, everyone is bringing theiracquisitions out of hibernation.We are currently negotiating arrangementswith the Midland Aircraft PreservationSociety to make their base atHus.bands Bosworth. They ha,ve quite acollection of historical gliders, so visitorsplease do not think that it is our newClub fleet!Part of the exhibition at Birmingham.239

With safety in mind, it is hoped thatwe shaIl be running Parachuting coursesfor glider pilots in the near future, asthis proved to be of great interest andamusement to ,our members last year.V.M.CUMBERNAULDTHE main feature of interest in- past few weeks has been the progressof Gur proposed new site at Dry­themen by Loch Lomond. The last twoweekends have been spent by CFI JohnHenry, in getting our more experiencedsolo .pilots familiarised with the site.What a difference to Cumbernauld! PeterSCon would be in his element as there isan abundance of wild life around Drymen.Also we have marvellous Views ofLoch Lomond, The Campsie Fells andthe Clyde Estuary.A large hut has been purchased fromthe. GPO at Ayr which is to be erectedat Drymen. Great fun was had by all indismantling it prioT to removal to thenew site.While the T-21 is in dock for its C ofA, 'flying is carried out on the Eagle butSo far we have had little luck with theweather at weekends.E.N.D.DERBY & LANeSRECENT weekends have been very. changeable; some have been washedout; some snowed out and some cloudedout, whilst others have been very good.We have had quite a lot of wave flying;one Saturday found gliders soaring at3,000 ft. with monotonous regularity, andrecently I counted eleven gliders above2,000 ft. and several Silver heights couldbe claimed.Wave and ridge soaring enabled all themembers of our first Scouts course thisyear, which started over Easter, to havemore than an hour-and-a-half flyingtime.Eric Boyle, our CFI, has now corn·pleted 1,000 hours gliding, he also drivesa tug and we make the short trek toDoncaster to try our hands at aerotowing.This has become an annualevent and later this year we will :act ashosts to Doncaster who will invade ourridges.At our annual Dinner-Dance heldsome time ago, Roger Neaves, Chairman240of the BOA Instructors' Committee anda BEA Vanguard pilot was our Guestspe.aker. It is encouraging to .know thatnot all airline pilots are against us th~edays, and. we take comfort in the factthat some at least wish us to s.hare ;thejoys of the air. The following day ourguest visited us on the field and borrowedthe K-13 for .a quick circuit.'SQme weeks ago about 16 memberswent over to Manchester to listen to alecture in 'Gliding-The Years of Progress"by Ann Welch. Her talk was mostinteresting and we particularly enjoyedher colour slides; some of World Championshipsand others 00 National Championshipsheld at Camphill. p.a.DEVON AND SOMERSETSINCE the last notes there have beenfairly heated discussions on the economicPQlicies involved in running glidingclubs in general and this one in particular.Apart from decisions on whether ornQt to purchase additional club aircraft,it apparently requires the wisdom ofSolomon, if the policy is to buy, todecide on the type.Careful examination of membershipstatistics is needed in order to assess theprobable demand for types un

ESSEX AND SUFFOLKDESPITE tbe non-arrival of spring atthe time of writing, tbe mixture ofbright ~r.iods and snow showers that weare recclvmg locally from the North seaare producing some good thennals. Weare not the only ones to enjoy them asshown by the many seagulls circling at agreat height.Our K-7 has now returned from Cambridgecomplete with new fabric on thefuselage and once again resplendent inwhite. With a greater number of membersnow qualified to do cross-countriesin the K-6 we are looking forward. to aseason successful in this respect as it hasbeen somewhat neglected in past years.Starting on 27th July we shall be flyingfor three weeks from Ipswich. Anyprivate owners and visitors will be welcometo join in this, which is for us anew venture, as well as at our normalweekend-only flying activities at Whatfield.During this time the club TigerMoth will be standing by to provideaerotows.The anllual dinner was much enjoyedby those who attended-the venue wasmuch more congenial this year.M.L.HAMBLETONSOUR first full year produced 4,800launches which is most encouraging.After a few relights the club finallygot off the ground with a modest fleet ofa T·3!. T-21 and Olympia lB. We flyfrom (and usually back to) Dishforthairfield in the Yale of York.We have many people to thank for thislaunch rate but two must be singled out.One is Gerry Kemp who not only flogsus around the airfield from 6.30 am to10.00 pm on occasions, but spends nearlyall his spare time in the workshop doingCs of A and maintenance.The other is Les Glendennin~ whoseems to live in the hangar-worklJlg onthe ground equipment when he is notmotoring around the country collectingsPare parts..We are greatly indebted to them all,frlom the instructors borrowed from othercUbs, to the wives and girlfriends whomake the tea and the members who scrubt h e hangar floor on the rare occasionwhen it is not flyable.~lan Swales is to be cQngratulated on!'emg the ~rst member to qualify as anInstructor since the club was formed. Heis also our landing-out specialist. -In 1910 our numbers have been increasedby a block membership of 50Leeds University Students, so we are havingto consider increasing our fleet. Int~e prev~iling westerly wind we are nicelysituated ID the lee of the Pennines. Wavesoaring is therefore a favourite pastimeof those brave enough to have an aetotow.t.brough the rotor. In fact, one ortwo Gold heights were obtained fromhero last year, but so far our own membershave only managed the Silver.In the summer a small party took theOlympia to the Mynd to find out what abungy launch was like. At least one ofthem found it an exciting experience, andthey all enjoyed the ridge soaring. Wehave also had a few visits from otherclubs. Notably a group from DunstableWho were so intoxicated by their waveflights that they accepted a challengefrom our bottle walking champion. Ibelieve the 'losers' round' cost them morethan their aerotows, so perhaps they willhave spent the winter months practising.D.E.B.IMPERIAL COLLEGEOUR 40th anniversary was heraldedby a congratulatory telegram fromAustralia-not from the Queen, butPaul Minton, our Yice-PresidenL Ourcelebrations, combined with the BGAwere greatly enjoyed, and considerableamusement was caused when the ClubHorseshoe (for the biggest bog of theyear) was presented along with the othertrophies. An educational attractionduring the evening was a reaction testingmachine supplied by the British Schoolof Motoring. At least one of our membersknows that alcohol has a disastrouseffect on bis reaction time!After much hard work the C of A onour Skylark 4 has been completed intime for Easter, and has already earnedone Silver C distance.Our training is progressing well, withwhat seems like more new solo pilot~than we can count. We were verypleased when Dave Chatterton and JohnNoble went solo, as both had come to241

SHEPLEY LANE,HAWK GREEN,MARPLE,CHESHIRE.postcode: SK6 7JWA complete service to Gliderand Light Aircraft Owners.REPAIRSOVERHAULSMOD.IFICATIONSTrailers for all typesFully qualified staff with yearsof experience.Telephone: 061-427 2488Reasonable prices, efficientservice, and first class work.ScheibeSF-27 MHigh performance singleseatself-launchingsailplaneNo. more waiting for launches! No more retrieves! With engine rptracled this is agenuine standard class sailplane with 1 in 34 glide angle.Order now and bp ready for the new pilot licensing requirements.Also SF5-31 single-seater as described in DEC·JAN Sailplane & Gliding.CRYSTAr.. ENGINEERING LTD., 13 Pound Crescent, MarIOW'~Bucks. Telephone Marlow 5740 (evenings) Lane End 254 (day) "'7"J"1,' ~PElER JEFffRS BERl PAGf PE1ER ROSS -242

us in October as ab-initios. Such rapidtraining amply demonstraJes the .effect ofcombining t~~ motor-ghd~ With conventionaltralnmg, but. also Increases theressure on our singLe-seaters. The~me between Christmas and Easter hasbeen exceptionally frustrating for ourearly solo pilots since t~ey have notbeen able to get near a smgle-seater asthe Skylark was at Dunstable and Portmoakbefore its C of A. This situationwas only slightly alleviated when ourK-S arrived ~ecause, naturally,. all theexperienced pilots wanted to try It out.We have discovered that the easiestway to organise an expedition is toborrow a car and trailer (from twodifferent people) and go. This is approximatelyhow it seemed that our Captainand Equipment Officer found themselvesat Poppenhausen to eolle

weekend when soaring was quite goodwith winds from the southwest. FrankPozerskis has started the season well witha Gold height climb to 15,000 ft. atPortmoak, and has since done two weekendtasks in his Cirrus.Excessive wet weather has resulted invery - muddy ground ·on the ai.rfield,though the new road ~d.tarmac m thevicinity of the Club bUIldIngs has savedus from wallowing in mud indoors-forthe first time in the Club's history!Fortunately the ground. does dry outrapidly, once we get a spItng anticyclone.The Luton Special Rules Zone andSpecial Rules Area were effective fromApril 2nd, and so far this ha~ not.provedto be inconvenient. A flashmg 1Ight ~onthe Clubhouse, operated by Luton ATe,indicates when aircraft arc using runway080 into Luton. at which time we cannotuse the area to the south and southeastof the Club. Visiting aircraft should notethat these arrangements with Luton onlyapply to Dunstable based gliders andtugs, and an approach to the Club fromthe southwest must be made over or tothe west of Ivinghoe Beacon to avoid thewestern end of the Special Rules Area.Flights from Dunstable to the northeastor east must now be carried out viaHenlow.We are currently assessing two tugaircraft, an Aiglet and a. Terrier, with aview to hiring them dunng the summermonths. These belong to Paul White,who is available most of the time to dotugging. If we reach a satisfactory agreementwe may well redllce our fleet ofTiger Moths to two. Paul was ratherfortunate recently when he had a totalengine failure at 500 feet with a I

Bermuda, the Club was gett!ng into its1970 soaring season. Cynl Hockleystarted the ball rolling on the ~th Marchwith a flight of t hour IS mm., and aclimb to 4,700 ft., in the club Skylark.(Jordan Magson, on the same day, flewjust over an hour and climbed to 5,000ft also in the Skylark.'Although I am loving the sunshine, thetropical fruits, and silvery-sand beaches,fringed with palm trees-and the deepblue sea as warm as milkI-I am achingto get back to Rufforth, to reach my5000. Since leaving England my best hasb~en seven hours, climbing to 24,000 ft.But that was in an RAF Hercules!A.H.S.OXFORDUR nineteenth AGM was held inApril for the first time. Th~ oper~tionalyear will in future termmate InSeptember to ease OUT Treasurer's .burdenand give time for the new Committee toregularise new .functions before the startof the soaring season. .,Members were told that Laune Wmgfieldhad retired earlier in the year asSecretary and Director of tJ;le. OxfordGliding Company Ltd. He lamed theBoard of Directors in 1939 and wasdeeply involved with Professor H. H.Price. Ray Stafford A~len and Mrs.Kronfeld in the reformation of the clubafter the war. Club flying commen~ed atKidlington in 1951 with an Eon Prnn~ry,Cadet and Olympia and has game~momentum ever since. Members unanl­·mously voted - to 'continue. the happyassociations with Mr. Wmgfield andelected him as Vice-President.For the first time in its history, ~eclub has voted for a small ExecutIVeCommittee' seven instead of eleven.!?ower is given to call certain m~mbers!n an advisory capacity. It .will J:IeIDteresting to see whether meetmgs Willstill take five hOUTS!Dave Roberts, our .eFl, was pleased topresent the Simpson Cup to MalcolmROberts for his momentous strugglerOund a 200 km. triangle in his K6E,never exceeding 2,000 ft. This is theseCond time he has won this trophy­Where is the spirit of competition. chaps?C. J. T. J. H.SCOTTISH GLIDING UNIONCONSIDERABLE interest is beingshown in our Regional Competitionin June and we guarant.ee our Scottishhospitality will make you feel welcome.To enable us t.o complete the necessaryarrangements, we would be grateful ifthe contest forms could be returned assoon as possible.We are sorry to lose Roger Constableand Alasdair Milne to Lasham andBooker respectively. Both were presentedwith "containers" one fQr holding beerand one for books, as expressions oftheir friends' esteem. The position ofCFt has been filled by !an Dandie, andRobin Shaw is the new Safety Officer.The spring wave season started mid­February and continued throughoutMarch and many height claims were submitted.The launches and hours achievedduring this period were: Launches byclub gliders 1,147 with 552 hours.Launches by club private gliders 175with 215 hours. Launches by visitinggliders 408 with 775 hours. ArthurDoughty (Thames Valley) flew 36 hoursin one week and Chris Wills (Surrey &Hant.s) 41 hours in ten days. The best.waves occurred on Feb. 20th and March1st, 2nd, 19t1) and 20th (see GlidingCertificat.es for these dates, p. 231).During this period we were also visitedby five members from the TwentscheZweefvlieg Club in Holland, one ofwhom gained one of the four five-hourdurations claimed. The complete scoreso far comprises 4 Diamond heights, 15Gold heights, 1 Silver height and 4 Silverdurations. P. P.SOUTHDOWNOUR AGM on March 7th was heldthis year in Selmeston Village Hallas we found the Clubroom rather smalllast. year. The meeting was preceded bya substant.ial tea provided by Joyce Headand helpers and ended with a raffle inaid of Club funds. Awards presented thisyear were as follow.s:-Distance in club aircraft: Jim Green.Firle to Tangmere. Olympia 460, 37miles. Height in club aircraft.: JohnLovell, 4.900 ft. at Firle. Most meritoriousFlight: Gordon Newberry for aflight at Sutton Bank..245

RAFGSAequips with 60cians series 'E' ...• . you too can step into your own 'E' type!Bocian 'E' universal Club, and training sailplaneerosscountry Aerobatics Cloud FlyingNORCO AVIATION LIMITED. Surrelt Rd., Hoywarcls Heath, SussexConcessiQnna;res lor Motoimport. Warsaw. PolandTa"phone Hav.ards H...rh- 51771 Teln 87189SOUTHERNSAILPLANESoffer the most comprehensive service to glidingin BritainMajor and minor repairs to wood, glass.fibre and metalsailplanesSailplane tuningInstrumentsOverhauls and Cs of ATrailersSparesSOLE V.K. AGENTS FOR SCHEMPP-HLRTHOpen Class CirrusStandard Class CirrusLet us send you details of these superlative machinesThruxton Airfield, Andover, Hants TeI: Weyhill 373From 1st 'une, 1970, DUI" address will he:MEMBURY AIRFIELD, LAMBOURN, BERKS. TeI. Lambourn 774246

After so many non-flying weekends,interspersed by a f~w mediocre nor~westerlies,Good Frtday was ~ cra~kl!lgday with good northerly wmds. JlmGreen c0l1'!pleted his Silver C with again of hClg~t of 3,~00 !t. Alan ~attained his Sllv~r hetght 10 the syndicatePirat. The syndicate 460 soared above5000 ft., the club K-13 to 4,500 ft., ande~en the club T-21 reached 4,JOO ft._truly splendid day.The Easter members' course had twogood and two mediocre days. ChrisHughes returned to us from Bristol andran the course with Alan Curry. DorothyWalson went solo, as did Jim Lister, andDon Knight re-soloed and converted tothe Swallow in the course of the we_ek.To end the course, our deputy CFI followedAlan Curry's example of GoodFriday by landing the T-21 with a pupilat the bottom of the hill, giving coursemembers useful practice in de-rigging andrigging the T-21-even the best of uscan be caught out! K. M.SOUTH WALESTHE winter has seen the exodus of theclub to our new site two miles NEef Usk on part of Lord Raglan's estate.We have already carried out some fiy!ngth.anks to the Swindon club provldmgaerotow facilities. Regrettably t.here wasno wave. They fmm over the site ~nmost days with a westerly comportent Inthe wind-up to 25,000 ft. the met.peoplc tell us.The site has a 950 yards strip runningE to Wand is suitable for aerotows; ithas a stream running alongside whichjoins the river Usk. The Ross motorwayruns past the site so it should be easy tofind. Champagne awaits the first visitorto glide in.By the time this is in print a partywill have gone to Shobdon and Portmaak,let's hope the weather will beexciting for them. In the meantime~anny Roberts, our new CFI, will havehiS hands full handling visiting tug aircraft-wehope! L H. S.STAFFORDSHIREANY readers will have read in ther' National Press of the mid-air col­ISlon between the club's Tiger Mothand a privately owned Olympia 463 inwhich Ken SherrifI, who was fiying thetug, was kiIled.Ken joined our club in 1967. He wasalready a PPL holder and soon beganaerotowing. He later took on the job oftug secretary and dealt with the considerablepaper work as well as flying dutieswith the quiet efficiency that was hisway.Ken wasted no time in adapting hisability as a power pilot to the techniquesof soaring, starting to instruct in 1968and gaining his Silver C last year. Hisenthusiasm for life, for flying, and thegood sense and' understanding he displayedin the air, also became apparentat committee meetings which he attendedin his capacity of Vice--Chairrnan of theclub. Ken's death will leave gaps in clublife which will be very hard to fill; butfor the privilege of having knoWn himwe must be grateful.To his wife and family we extend oursincerest sympathies.Our CFI, "Doc" BradweIl, was morefortunate as he baled out, though be cuthis arm so seriously th;l.t he had to holdthe pressure point to stem the bleedingas he parachuted down. We are glad toknow that he is now out of hospital andon the road to full recovery. A. J. D.SURREY AND RANTSLASHAM is r~~rting a. series of weekendCOinpehtlons thiS year and thefirst day was Sunday, 5th April. AJOO-km triangle, Stockbridge, Hungerford,Lasham was set and the weatherlasted until mid-afternoon so most of theeleven contenders completed the course.Anne Bums won in her Cirrus at 60km/h. with Wally Kahn second at 58km/h.The 19th April saw a similar sort oftriangle; this time 119 km. Ramsbury,Middle Wallop, Lasham. Of the tenpilots taking flart only three completedwith Wally Kahn in first place with ahandsome margin, followed by BenWatson and Paul Thompson. The resteither abandoned the task or landed out.More changes have occurred iD ourfleet. We have sold Skylark 3 No. 160;Skylark 4 No. 103 and Dart 17R No.329. A new l>hoebus 17 No. 266 has justjoined the fleet.247

A cutting from theIpswich Evening Starsent in by C. E. Hall.Perhaps this is the answerto our prayers.Our cross-country season has stalieorather tentatively with some ,out-andreturnsof about 25t) km. in the first fewdays of April, but the spring northwesterlieshave produced more sno·w thanthermals so far. At present, mid-April,there is only just a hint of plant life orany of the usual spring artistry in ourbit of the countryside.Surrey & Hants has done well in theannual .pot conecting and five of theseven BGA Cups and Trophies awardedthis year were won by Surrey Clubpilots.Three members took: a Sky-lark 4 toPortmoak for a week in March. A Goldheight and one field landing occurredduring the 47 .hrs. 52 mins. that it flewfrom 27 launches-we will hit a badweek one year! C. L.WORCESTERSHIREALTHOUGH regular readers of S &G have not heard from us for sometime we have by no means been standingstill. The Club has been quietly consolidatingwith an increase of membersand gliders. To cope with these increaseswe have enlarged our operating areas atboth ends of the runway and with ourself-made road for t,he tractor now wellestablished, we have continued flyingthroughout the winter, thus proving thatthe time and money spent on the roadwas a good invesment last year; thi5year's improvement being the laying of aTarmac floor in the hangar.1968-69' was a comparable year withthe previous year, hours flo·wn being upby 150. There was oneqay whenthermals must halle ellen been risingfrom our icecream parlour, because no248less than five lads did their 5 hour legsover our site. It was a sight for 'soar'eyes. As the season wore on, many Silverand Bronze C's were completed..We recently had a film evening-thestar attraction being a gliding film madeon the site with CFI Bob Baker in thelead part. Cameraman Harry Griffiths isto be congratulated .on a fine productjon.The annual dinner was again a greatsuccess, our guest of honour being Lt.Col. Naomi Christy. During the eveningthe club awards were made 10 Jim Tylerfor the best gain of height (6,000 ft.);CFI Bob Baker and his wife Olga fertheir cross-country flight to Bath in theBlanik. While Andy Coffee won theaward for the best all rounder. Our newclub magazine "Cloud base" appeal'S tohave been given an enthusiastic receptionby the members and we look forward tothe next issue.Bickmarsh appears to be a hive ofactivity with preparations well advancedfor the task week in June against theCotswold Club, and we will be strivingfor a win this year. We have replacedour old Auster with another Auster anda Terrier which should hell' aero-towingthroughout the season.We are to take delivery of a K-8 inJune which no doubt will increase oursoaring hours further.R. B. & J. M.YORKSHIREPAST visitors to Sutton Bank, on revisitingus this coming summer, maywonder if they've arrived at the sameplace.We are in the process 'of being rejuvenated.The old blis~er hangar has

one. The caravans have been moved to~ different part of the site, which is soonto be sUlTolJnded by a screen of trees,and a new glider rigging are~ and glid~rpark are now under ,constructIOn. We Willsooo also have a new car park and allIhis should be completed by JUly.Parts of the long runway have beenploughed up and re-seeded and, in additienwe now have water mains andelectricity, a big improvement on t.he'old days'.It .has been said that when thetrenches were being dug for the electricity,the ancient relics found were partof an early Roman Gliding Club, but noofficial confirmation of this has beenforthcoming.The winter has almost passed, but certainlynot unnoticed. Even at Easte"r. wehad snow on the !Wound each morningfor two weeks, and on Easter Tuesday,the Club was actually completely' snowedup for a day.But flying has still gone on and to theClub fleet has noW been ,added a K-7, toreplace our faithful old Eagle, and weplan to replace the T-21 with anotherLONDON SAILPLAN6 LTD.C'.ofA"MAJOR & MINOR REPAIRS TO, ALL TYPESSCHLEICHER'S PAINT FINISH' A SPEClliLlTYINSTRUMENT PANelS MADE TO, ORDERBAROGRAPH ,AND A.S.t. CALIBRATIONWe i:llso stock a targe range of spl!lr. parts for ellSc:hleicher Sailplan••Canopy bubbles, Main-sle.id" TaU-skids, Shoclc .bsorb·fm, Roloase hooks, Metric size" bolh, Sheer pins," Splitpjn~. e~c. Cable and fitting), 'v.lh.ets. Tyres alJd Tubes,Fabric Rhodius (Ge,man) Dope, and F'iniihes. 'RepairDrawings for full range. A. I,a,g. stock of Bitch Ply,Po/ish Pine and tested Sp,uce, with ce,tificate,.British Spares: Standa,d A.G_5. p.rl" nuts. bolts.waShers, wing nuls, Mfety pins, d'8inage eyelef"~un9i6 cord, fabric. dop.s {ceJlonl.nd titanine}. relus.nooh, tyres and tubes for most types.All released spares and materials: CompC'ehensivest?::k of instruments an.d ac~.uo,i". Plus a srock 'ofrn~sct!lla"eous tools. hailer paills, J. W. Calcu,l.tors.Air Maps. Came,as, Films. Dry Batteries. ele., etc.Write. call or t.'ep~one:D. W. PATON, London SailplanesLtd., Tring Road, Dunstable, Beds.Telephone 63419K-7, I.ater in ,the year. We also hope toacq-nire a Scheibe Falke soon.For the coming seaS0 Scotland merely to flyin Wave. Weak wave cOQditions prevailedat Bicester on several days and helpedat least one pilot to a Bronze leg.The BGA annual Dinner-Dance wasattended by a dozen or so centre members.Ev:eryone h~ a good time,especially Andy, who was a great successas

Marfa, he admitted that his enthusiasmwas mainly due to a secret ambition totry his hand ,at ",calling the bids".Official photographs of our WorldChampionships Team and aircraft weretaken at Bicester in March, to appearlater ID a well known colour su,pplement.Con Greav.es has smce made a liaisonvisit to Texas to make arrangements forthe Team for the competitio"n itself.Centre courses continue with goodsupport, 'the most successful being therecent Ins~ructors Course completed byfourteen pilots. J. H .. G.EAST MIDLANDSTHE first big event this year was ourexpedition to the Welsh hills nearShobdon. We took three gliders for twoweeks and succeeded in both flying wellover .100 hours and in gaining a coupleof. Gold C heights. The cross-countrymileage flown was also quite impressive.Back .at Swinderby operations continueas usual except that we now have anAuster for aerotowing. This has made asignifi~ant ,improvement to our soaringand IS probably ,the most importantdevelopment the club has yet seen. Howeverwe still offer both winch and autolau'nchingfor those who feel inclined.For the information of visiting andpassing gliders we now have a base radioon 129.9 MHz and 130.4 MI-iz. Radio orno radio, visitors are always welcome.J. D.FOUR COUNTIESGOOD Friday heralded the start ofour first taskftraining week thisyear, everybody being aroused by anun.usuaJly wide awake en at around7.15 am: The first launch was made at8.20 which set the seal for the rest ofthe week.Rather predictably bad weather harriedus the whole time but only gave us onecompletely unflyable day. JeTTY Walkerand lan Pritchard both completed theirSilver C's with distance flights.Statistics, excluding conversions, forthe week were as follows:-Hours flown: J18.5£. Total Lau'1ches:585. Cross-Country Miles: 272. Firstsolos: 4.Congratulations also to Trev Gorelywho took the K-6cR to SUllon Bank and25

lidervvorkC of A OVERHAULS and REPAIRSby L.Glover. senior inspector,Husbands Bosworth Airfield. Near Rugbylel: Husbands Bosworth 375months has been due, to a large extent,to the efforts of Jim Pignot, who is on avery welcome detachment from Fenlands.If club members were transferred betweenclubs in the same way as soccerstars. then Jim would command a veryhigh price indeed. He has put a splendidcanopy on our "barge", and has beenbusy on all our other aircraft to see thatwe have a first class fleet for the comingseason. It must be stressed that he willnot be here' to benefit from his work inthe soaring season as he returns home inMay. Phoenix owes a debt of gratitudeto Jim for all his work on behalf of theclub.Soaring got under way at the tail endof February, and Roger Hodgson ran anab-initio course in March, at Geilenkirchen,by kind permission of the Germancivil gliding club there, and of theMinistry of Defence, Bonn. The coursewas highly successful, the results: 7 students,7 A and B certificates, and mosti~portant, swinging Angle-German relatIOns.We are still trying to forget Easter,which probably affected most clubs iDthe same way. Snow every day, andwinds of 30 kts. or more! ,Our new Tost winch, after one or twoteething trouble.s. is now functioning verysmoothly and will show its worth as theyear goes on. For this magnificentmachine we owe thanks to Jimmy Bawden:who has worked extremely hardbeh~nd the scenes putting the groundequipment in order. We are pleased toreport that Jimmy has been processedthrough the milt at Bicester and is nowon.; of the instructional sta.ff.• he Tost winch is a fully automat;cmodel, ~() to match it we feh the neccfor an automatic tow-car. The club hastherefore taken delivery of a Daimler 3.8automatic for retrieve purposes. and nowboasts the cushiest limousine in thegliding world, walnut facia, leather upholstery,the lot! The bodywork externallyis admittedly a bit tatty. but theinterior is magnificent. R. M. W.TWO RIVERS(RAF Laarbruch)LTHOUGH our launch rate throughA the winter months. was not as goodas we would have liked, things are noWstarting to improve. The first new solopilots of the year are Larry Ketelhut andAl Monk, and our first C was gained byGerry Hassett who m~naged to stay airbornefor seventeen mmutes.The expedition to Issoire turned out tobe a success in all ways. Leigh Hood andMick Slater managed to take the K7 upto 21,600 ft. on one of the better wavedays of which there were at least ~e.venout of the sixteen days of tbe expedltJon)and are in the process of claiming theBritish National two-seater Gain ofHeight Record. Alan Bishop climbed to17,700 ft. and claimed a Gold height,Mick Slater to 12.000 ft. and a 4.000 footaerotow to' claim his Silve, height.During the Easter holiday We had asmall dub meet, with pilots joining fromthe local German and Dutch clubs, andfollowing this an ab-initio/soaring fortnightat Wesel airfield in Germany.At present we have a T-21, twoSwaIlows, a K-13 and K-6cr plus ourthree privately owned airetaft a Ubelle,Fauvel. and a Delphin. The K-7 has justfinished being resprayed and the OXYl;enequipment removed and should be flymgagain soon. Last but not least we hayeour Skylark 2 in the workshops on Itsmaior.During the season we plan to operatethree cables and the Auster for aer.otowing.Already we hav.e managed 134launches in one day usmg thIs system.The first launch being at ten o'clock andthe last at seven o'clock, and using theAuster for two and a half hours.We welcome Dennis Wales back as ourbar and social member.ANON.251

We should be p.leased to receive news for. this section from every country inthe world where SO:i'Nlg is done,-A. E. SLATE~. Overseocs News Editor.ARGENTINACHAMPIONS.-A lisl of national. Cbampions for the past 15 years,1955-69, shows that Rolf Hossinger hasheld the position 5 times (startrng 1959,the y,ear before he became World Champion),Alberta Ataoz, Rainer Bockschand Rogello Berretta twice each, andSchwartz, Penna, Urbancic and Picchioon~ each. Roberto Rizii won the 1970contest (as reported ill the last issue),AviacioltAUSTRALIALONG Tow.-A tow of 1,622 n.m.(I ;865 statute miles or 3,006 km.)was made from Colac in Victoria (SWof Melbourne) to Peafl:e airfield atPerth on the west .coast of Australia. todeliver a Blanik at the lattcrplace intime for a week-end display and aninstruction course. Bill Riley flew the"Lake" tug, with a range of somethingover 200 miles, and Val Carson tookturns with Bob Rowe, whom they pickedup at Waikerie, at flying the Blanik.except occasionaI1y when theY flew ittwo-up. They made 10 stOI'$ fl>r refuellingon the way, including two ,overnightstops, and reached their destinati,onat 3.08 pm on the third day.They reached Cedune. on the coast inthe middle of the Australian Bight.nearly half-way, with five minutes oftwilight to spare, But they only made 467miles on the second day, having to waitfor ,a thundery front to mOVe awaynorth~ast. Petrol was commercially252available a1 .every stop but one, wherethey had to get some from the store ofthe Flying Doctor service at Cook .on thetranscontinental railway.. They took emergency rations, 4 gaUonJars of water; a VHF eme~gency beacon,and a first-aid kit. As an extra pn;cautionagamst forced landings far from civilisation,they were particularly careful not tooverstrain the tow-r,ope. for fear ofwealc.ening it-. As Val Carson wrote;-"The tope wcmld not fail unlesswrench~ throug!'J poor station-ke.ep'ing.There IS a certam amount of skill andc?-,operati.on between tug-pilot and gliderpIlot needed to ensure this d~s nothappen. For my part this means constantconeentration and anticipation atthe expe~se of admiring the countryside,map-readmg or any other diversion, formote than a second or two.~The towing technique was to climbs!owly at 70 knots in the low-tow positIOnto above th~ inversion. then to flyat &5-95 knots IAS till 20 miles short ofthe destinatiolil, then d~scend at 200 feeta minute at the same speed unless it wasturbulent. when they wouild slow downto 80 knots.Total flying time (except when circuiting)was 21 hrs. 23 mins., average groundspeed 76 knots, and fuel used. 210gallons.A lls/ralian GlidingAUSTRIADECENTRAUZEDCoNTEsT 1969.­. Points are stated to be given for thet?ree best flights of the year, but thelist shows only 1 or 2 flights as having

een evaluated. In a list of 127 corntitors.Leopold Leitner is the winner~th 795 points and two Bights totalling638 km. In a Junior Class of 24, FrapzAcbatz of Grimming wins with 758points and two flights totalling 599 km.HAl'/S WOLF, who has led the Austrianinternational team four times, including1954 at CamphiJI, is 60 years old, havingbeen born in London on 20th March,1910. He is now honorary president ofthe Salzburg section of the AustrianAere Club.AlIstroflugDENMARKGESTEN is a. new gliding centreestablished In conjunction withKolding Flying Club, situate\! 15 km.south of Vandel and 25 km. from Kolding,at 55° 33' N., 09° 11' E.. The runway,280°/100., is 100 m. wide with alength given as 700 m. in the text hutI,loo m. on the map. Tbe fleet consistsof a K-7 and two K-8, with a priva'teK-6 and Mucha Standard. The Cadillacwinch has a 340-hp. motor with automaticgear.DANISH NATIONALs.-The Open ClassChampionships are from 30th May to7th June and the Club Class from 1Ithto 17th July, both at Arnborg.FlyvEAST GERMANYIN LILlENTHAL'S MEMoRY.-The inhabi-. tants of Stalln, in the Rathenowdistrict, stimulated by people from theloc~ flying field and helped by twoartists, have put up a sort of combinedrestaurant, bar and museum, dedicatedto. "the first flyer, Otto Lilienthal". AWind band performed at the opening andt~e hunting fraternity collected a wildPIg. for the kitchen department. PhotocOPiesand models illustrating Lilienthai'spioneer activities hang round thewalls.DECENTRALIZED CO!'ln!Sl" 1970.-PointsW,11I be awarded fQr the three best~ghts, .done on different days, during. e perIOd 15th March to 31st August,~n each of two classes in both an lndivifual and a Team contest (three pilotsTom the same district make a Team).he two classes are: (I) unrestricted byaIrcraft performance; and (2) aircraftwith a gliding angle of 1 in 32 or worse.Flights can be Triangle, Goal-and­Return, or Goal Flight, all of at least100 km., or Free Distance of at least200 km.Open Contests are being held atTaucha in May and at Klix from 24thMay to 6th June.Flieger ReVile (formerly Aerosporr)FINLANDNORDIC RALLY.-Tbis event, with. entries from North Europeancountries, will be held this year atNummala, near Helsingfors, Finland,from 20th to 28th June, together withthe Finnish national rally, which will behandicapped on the BGA system.Fly VFRANCEOMING EVENTS.-The 5th InternationalMountain S,oaring Cham­Cpionship is at Vinon fTOm 30th June to11th July. For the first time there will betwo Classes: Open and Standard. Ifsufficient two-seaters turn 111', there willbe a Class for them too. The maximumnumber of competitors is 40. Latest datefor entry is 1st June; entry fee 250 F.Apply to Association A~ronautiqueYerdon-AI"illes, 19 Route Nationale deSt-Antoine-13-M,arseille (l5e).Huit Jours d'Angers is from 13th to25th July.STATISTICS FOR 1969.-Exclusive of theNational Centres aDd. MiHtary glidingsections, there were 149,824 fiying hours(22% above the previous year) from283,363 tows and 3,212 winch launches.Apart from the National Centres.there were 949 gliders. The proportion of"recent" types has risen to 67% from41% in 1966.ITALYAN invitation to a British pilot totake part in the Italian NationalGliding Championships, to be held atRieti from 2nd to 12th August has beenreoeived from the Italian Aero Club. Thepilot should have at least a Silver C and300 hours' flying. Applications for entryshould be received by 20th July andshould be made through the BGA, whowill give further particulars.253

RHODESIAHE Rhodesian Department of CivilT Aviation advises that holders ofSilver C or higher gliding qualificationswill be required to meet the followingrequirements for the grant of a privatepilot's licence.They must pass the private pilotmedical examination, pass the privatepilot aviation law and navigation andmeteorology examinations, and producesatisfactory evidence of not less than 20hours' flying experience as the pilot of.apowered aircraft, subject to the sameconditions as power-only candidates.They must also pass a general flighttest wit.h a departmental examiner uinthe course of which the applicant will berequired to demonstrate his competencyto carry out normal and emergencymanoeuvres on the aeroplane to whichthe application relates".Wings over AfricaSWEDENTATISTICS have now been compiledS for Swedish gliding during 1969.Total gliding time for all clubs was29,900 hours and the number of flights63,300. There were 621 C certificatescompleted, 43 Silver C's and 16 GoldC's. In addition there were 3 DiamondC's. 240 gliders are on the register. Ofthese 121 are two-seaters (119 of whichare Bergfalkes, the standard type usedfor training).National ChampionshipsThese were held at Oerebro in Juneand were favoured with quite goodweather. Winner was Goran Andersson(Phoebus) with Goran Ax (also Phoebus)as runner·up and Sture Rodling in 3rdplace (Std. Libelle). The sixth competitionday offered some very goodweather. The task was free distance overtwo dog-legs through a turning-point.Considering the fact that the pilots hadcross or head wind' for the whole flight,the result was very good indeed. No lessth.an 19 pilots exceeded SOD km. Thewinner (Silesmo) flew 645 km.An outstanding altitude flight wasmade on 23rd August by Bert Persson ofthe- Arooga Glioing Club. Using aMucha Standard, he reached a maximum254height in a cumulonimbus of ap:>rox.32,000 ft. (9,660 metres) with a gain ofapp. 9,200 metres. This beats the r"cordof' Per-AxeI Person from 1947 (gain8,070 m.) which was for many years alsoa World Record. Ben Persson emigratedto Australia later in 1%9 and, shortlyafter arrival, promptly set up a. newAustralian record with a climb In acunimb to 34,000 ft. in a Blank Tois isapproximately 10,SOO metres and comfortablybeats the previous record ofapprox. 7,000 metres. Bert thinks h(. willlose a little of the height record"d asthe needle went over the edge of thebarograph paper. He is already hol~erof 6 Australian records. among ,vhlchare a two-seater Goal Flight (450 km.)and a two-seater Out-and-Return (510km.). It should be noted that. during theabove-mentioned altitude flight, Bertstarted his climb from as IQw as 200metres, so the gain should be quiteimpressive.B. MICRANOERSWITZERLANDWAVE WEEKENo.-During an exceptionaldevelopment of Fohn ,vavesover the weekend 10th-11th January, fiveHeight Diamonds and one Gold CHeight were achieved by members (If t!leArosa and Uigern Clubs' and FntzBlatter (Arosa), who alrc~dY hacl hisHeight Diamond, climbed to 10,200metres a.s.l. (33,464 ft.) in a Diafllant,achieving a climb rate of 43 km/b.(23.2 knots) between 4.000 and 8,()(lO m.Pilots released at 800-1.000 metres a.s.1.Launches were from Bad Ragaz. andHeight gains for badges were },~OO.5,540 and again 5.540 m. by Lligern p!lotsin a Ka-6. and three other Arosa pilotsclimbed 5,685 m. (Mucha). 7,74:5. m.(Diamant) and 8,470 m. (27,780 ft...10 aKa-6). One pilot, in a single /lIght,qualified for Silver C Distance as well asGold and Diamond Heights. .SILVER, GOLD & DIAMOND.-Durmg1969, 8 Height Diamonds and 2'7 forGoal Flights were earned in Switzefland.but no Distance Diamonds, so the totalnumber of Three-Diamond pilots refllainsstationary at 14. New Gold C badgeswere 14, and Silver C 59. bringinkl theSwiss totals to 178 and 1,186 respectIvely.Aero ftevue

WEST GERMANYMOTOR GLIDER RALLY.-For the firsttime this event will be officiallyrecognized as a Competition. It will beheld from 6th to 14th June at BorgFeuerstein.There will be two classes: (l) singleseaterS,and two-seaters flown solo; (1)tWo-seaters flown two-up. Tasks will be:Goal Flights, Triangles and GoaJ-and­Returns.AerokurierCORNISH GLIDING & FLYING CLUBGliding courses in modern fleet from MAY11th - B.G.A. categorised instructors - finesoaring - lovely coastlll airfield - ideal fora different family holiday.AERo-TOW COURS!S AVAILABLE.060ils with plf!QJur~ from: The

INDU TO ADVERTISERSAir TQUring Shops l.td. 209Ball Engineering Company 194Beaumont Av.iation Literature 181BOACInside Front CoverBristol Gliding Club 256,British Gliding Assoeiation 2)7Burghley Finance Co. Lld. 205Cambridge Sailplanes 198Classifieds 235-237Peter Clifford Avialion Ltd. 182Cobb-Slatcr Instrument Co. Lld. 196CQnder Group Services Ltd. 212Gornish Gliding Club 255Crossfell Variomete... 200Cryslal Engineering Lld. 242Derbyshire & Lancashire Gliding Club 255Doncasler Sailplane Servioes 186Dorsel Gliding Club 180Gliderwork 251J. Hulrne 205Irving Air Chute or Great Britain Lld. 192Kaye '" Ward ~~~:~kGf~~~g Club 178Lasham Glidinij Sociely 255Victor Laurence (Merchants) Ltd. 236London Gliding Club 25,5London Sailpl>!)es l.ld. 249Mio;lland Gliding Club 236Norco Avialion Ltd. 246Oliver & Boyd Ltd. 232Pye Telecommunications Ltd. 230'RAF Recruiling 226RFD-GQ Ltd. 210Sailplane '" Engineering Services 227Alexander Schleichcr Sellelflugzeugbau 201Scottish Gliding Union Inside Back CoverSlingsby Sailplanes Lld. 224. ]J9Soaring SoeiclY of America 206. 221SOaring Symposia 217. 237SOLllhdown Acro Services I,ld. 1806Soulhern Sailplanes 24Speedwell Sailplanes 242StocJston Parlners 194G. E. Slorey '" Co. 236Tarpaulin & Tent ~fg. Ltd. 236Thames Valley Gliding Club 256Thorpe Avialion Ltd. 220Three Counties Aero Club Ltd. 198Torva Ltd.Back Co'verWaikerie Gliding Club Inc,West Wales Gliding Association189Inside Back 'CoverWorcester Gliding Club Inside Bac\< CoverWyeombe Gliding Club Ins~de Back CoverYorkshire Gliding Club InSide Back 'COVeTGLIJ)ING HO",IDAYSWhy not learn 'to fly at our thermal and hillsoaring site in the Cotswolds? Instructiongiven in dual-control sailplane by qualifiedinstructor. Re,sidential course fee £32 perwe.k, Non residential £23 per week.Camping facilities are available.Wril~ IlK d~'Gj/a to:Hon. c_ see,.t.IY,JRISTOL end GLOUCESTERSHIREGLIDING CWI,My.pd••Id, Hr. Stroud. Glos.,....phoc>o UIoy 342.Get-away - Go GrlCling !WMkl,. Holid• ., Courses for B.ginl'lers and othersApril - Nov.mberWinch 0' A.'oto. uunchestprb'.ssionaJ Instructorsth.rMaI .nd Ridg8 SoaringMod.rn Lsid.ntial Clubho.... wifh licensed InIrVisiting Glid«s !fiery welOOfMfo' '.11 d."''', apply 10:KENT GUDING CLUBChollock, Hr. AshIOld'. Ko.'.y,ol."hono Ch.llock 301 01 274MIDLAND GLIDING QUB LIMITEDLONG MYND. SHROPSHIRET.lephone: UnleV 206,8UNGEE LAUNCH?''??Where else?5 mile ridge - frequent .....ave.Excellent c1ubhQuse, comfortablebunkhouse, dining room - 3 meals aday -snug ,bar.S d~y cOl,lrses for ab-initios, advancedpilots and private owners.Club fleet includes Ka 13s, 460sandSwallows.Asso

SCOTTISH GLIDING ·UNIONpORTMOAK, SCOTLANDWELL,BY KINROSSTelephone: Scotlandwell 243THE WAVE SITEExcellent Hill, Thermal and WaveSoaring In beautiful surroundingl;;Comfortable Clubrooms, excellentbedroom accommodation, fullcatering and barSeven days per weekBalanced Club FleetResident InstructorAero Tow FacilitiesCOURSES FOR BEGINNERSAND OTHERSJUNE TO SEPTEMBERVisitors and visiting aircraft welcomeWrite to the Secretary lor furtflerdetailsADVANCED BOOKINGS NECESSARY IN WRITINGWEST WALESWj'hybush Airfield, Haverfordwest,PembrokeshiteThe Club is ,e"tr.lly situ.red 10f' ove, 70 mile, ofN.lional Park cOAJlli,.e off.ring unspoil' b.acMs .ndexcellent f.cilities 'or open lit holid.Y1.Gliding Holidi)Y Courses open .ny -...It during summer.launching from thr.. runwl,. by ."lo~lowInd aerO·low.For the beljJinnef'. instruction 0" sid...bY"'iide SIi"gsbyT·21 and ••1. Oft P~.te, Olyjnpia .63 .r S!

TORVA· "Clubman" Multi Purpose Trailerfor yourPowered SailplaneOne-Seat SailplaneTwo-Seat SailplaneDUST AND HEATSHIELDLOW LOADING--­HEIGHTINDEPENDENT RUBBERSUSPENSION_JOCKEY WHEELSTUL LIGHTWEIGHT'SEE THRU' FRAMEI - DRIP DRY FLOORCORNER LASHING POINTDETACHABLE~ TAILBOARDPhoto shows one supplied to British Gliding AssociationTORVA Ltd., Pavilion Square, Scarborough