VGC News/Newsletters - Lakes Gliding Club

glider to fit his small stature, (he weighed only 140 Ibs) and inhis book 'Adventure with Fate' he calls flying it the most pleasurableflying of his life.He was a prolific writer publishing at least five booksincluding 'Architect of Wings' a biography of Roy Chadwickthe designer of the Lancaster, and a five volume history ofBritish Aviation from 1902 to 1939. (All published by AirlifePublishing Ltd, Shrewsbury, England.)He was also a designer of boats and his own house. Willwe ever see his like again?Graham FerrierBook Review(The arrival ala major new book on gliding is a rare event, soit was thought worthwhile printing two reviews of MartinSimon's "Slingsby Sailplanes.")"Slingsby Sailplanes A comprehensive history of alldesigns". By Martin Simons and published by AirlifePublishing Ltd, Shrewsbury, England Price £39~95.This is a well produced book in large format. The pagescontain a wealth of information which is the result of veryconsiderable research. The 3-view drawings of each sailplanetype produced by SJ,ingsby Sailplanes, are in my opinion,faultless. They :are both large,one to a page, ,and detailed.These will be of the greatest value both to aer0l110deHers andhistorians alike. There a1'e also many very good black andwhite photographs of each type which show, in some cases.hitherto often unknown details.This is a book of top quality in every way and everyoneinterested in sailplanes should buy it to learn about thecompany which gave the British gliding movement most of its"wings" during the first ten critical years of its existance, andafterwards, into the 1950s when, due to the economic situationin Britain, it was quite impossible to import any gliders.Of course, post war was also a strenuous time for the firmbecause it was now competing with ElIiotts of Newburywhich had built 100 Olympias and 47 £ON Babies etc. It issaid that competition is a good thing and this led SlingsbySailplanes to pioneer the first sailplanes with laminar flowwing sections in 1953 and also the use of plastics in non structuralparts.. The book contains so much information that I amsure that it will be endlessly discussed and quoted for years tocome and therefore I am sure many people will wish to buy it.Martin has written here an important contribution to glidinghistory which I myself value very highly. This is the story ofsomeone who started in aviation as a very young Observer inthe Royal Flying Corps, whQ was presented with a MilitaryCross by the King for bringing back an aeroplane after thepilot had been killed in action. In civilian life, as a cabinetmaker, he was much in demand to repair the first primarygliders which were being used, and mis-used, in 1929130.It is a brave story of how he was known for designing andbuilding very strong, practical gliders for a gliding movementwhich had little money and no hangars. These aircraft areexcellent propositions for restoration, and for flying, as themany still flying today will testify.Martin Simons tells Itheir stories, each and everyone.Chris Wills,President ofthe Vintage Glider Club.As a footnote to the review above, Chris Wills would liketo add that the caption to the picture on page 176 is incorrect,and the girl mentioned is not Philip Wills' daughter but is JillWalker, from Lasham. The person with the hat helping PhilipWills at take-off on the Wasserkuppe in 1937 is Dick Wills,his brother (page 40)On page 43, the top photograph shows Thoby Fisher, DickWills and Gerry Smith pulling the Hjordis. The first two werebrother-in-law and brother of Philip Wills.On page 43 the lower photograph shows PW and ThobyFisher by the nose of the Hjordis. These pictures were bothtaken during the first International Championships on theWasserkuppe in 1937. Bill and Ferelith Wills are anotherbranch of the Wills family who used to fly an Olympia fromLasham.In no way do these small errors spoil the magnificence ofthe book.Chris Wills.SLINGSBY SAILPLANES BY MARTIN SIMONS,PUBLISHED BY AIRLIFE PUBLISHING LTD. AT£39.95.The name of Slingsby is synonymous with gliding and now,with his second large book of gliding history, so is the nameof Martin Simons. His previous book "Vintage Sailplanes"was well received by the gliding fraternity and this one alsodeserves to be praised.The book is clearly laid out with every glider type beingthe subject of its OWI1 chapter, each of which starts with agood three-view a.A. taken from Slingsby's owndrawings.Then follows at least four pages of text describingthe aircraft and putting it into the context of the contemporaryscene and the affairs oflhe Slingsby company, which we mustnot forget, built light powered aircraft as well as gliders, inorder to keep the factory busy. Then follow several pages ofinteresting pictures, unfortunately all in black and white.The early years of Slingsby were characterised by his owndesigns such as the Kirby Kite, Gull and Petrel which allowed much to German designs but as Sling was a furnituremaker by trade and had no engineering training, these werequite remarkable efforts. His grea·t pre-war bread-winner,however, was the Cadet which was designed by John Sprouleand, with the Tutor variant, led to a production run of over500.The war years were spent on military glider work such asthe Hengist, from which the troops were supposed to parachute,but luckily for them was not proceded with.The author tells how, toward the end of the war, Slingrealised that training on single seaters had been very slow,wasteful and allowed bad flying habits to form and that, with asuitable two-seater, proper training could be given; thus wasborn the classic, side by side, T21. To placate the "wind inyour face" instructors, he made the first one with a removabletop half of the nose but common sense prevailed and later thenose became a conventional fixed ooaming. At this time theLondon Club were looking for a two-seater and Slingsby toldDudley Hiscocks that they could try the T21, but not to writeand tell him what a lot of rubbish it was. Fred did indeedreceive a letter from Dunstable, but congratuhiting him inglowing terms for having produced such a docile, forgiving,but responsive trainer.. After some modifications such as aslightly larger wing span, the T21 b emerged and resulted inover 200 being pmduced, and as we all know, they are stillwell-loved and being flown today.28