Volume 16 No 1 Feb 1965.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

ALAN DEREKPIGGOTTLASHAM today is known and respe-ctedthroughout the GlidingWorld. A great deal of the credit forthis. hapj)y state of affairs must go toDerek Piggott, who has been our C.ELfor ten years.It was in 1953 or 1954 when I metDerek at Farnborough during an AirShow. The Surrey and Army Clubs hadjust decided to operate jointly at Lasham.and we :.vere looking for a C.F.I. Derek(known in the Air Force as Alan) hadbeen CP.\. o1'the Home CommandGliding School at Delling, and hispraises were sung throughout the itA.F.and A.T.C. Gliding Schools. Beforejoining Delling, he had been an ~.IR.A.F. Flying Instructor on the exammingfli~ht of the Ce~tral Flying School(thal is the top top In Service Instructing).We offered him the job at Lasham andwere delighted when he accepted. Notonly did he come to Lasham, but he evenbrought his glider repair genius-oneCl'\. Warren Storey-with him.Since then the world knows of Derek'sachievements. He is absolutely fantastic.The man never walks. he runs. He n~vetstands still, he is always doing somethmg.He Worked so hard that he wore outshoes at a faster rate than even theShoe Trade Research Institute could do.Various shoe firms were persuaded tooffer him their indestructible shoes buteach time Derek ma:naged to wear themout at Lasham in under six weeks. Eventuallya s'pecial pair was made whichseemed to last nearly six months.What of his .achievements? In soaringhe had beld the two-seat,er height recordby reaching 18,000 feet in an open T-21with a cadet. He reached 25,000 feetwithout oxygen in a thunderstorm whicshkilled numerous people on Ascot Day.The glider was struck repeatedly bylightning but Derek did not mind-~esays that he cannot remember certalOparts of the flight due to lack of oxygen!He flew the English Channel in an. openPrimary for the Dajl~ M~jl Air Race.Having reached Par~s, he returned,jumped into an Olympia 419, was towed18to the coast of France and soared, toParis.He has talCen part in 'various NationalChampionshil's-always ,doing extremelywell although each time he was flying anew and strange glider. H,e tested glidersfor Elliotts and Slingsby's; he has donemost things. One could go, Oil and on-jumping out of the Bocian over. theAirwork hangar, Manpowered 11lght,where he was the first person to getaiJborne by his own exertions, his aerobatics...This is a Vale/e-and yet we hope thatone day Derek will get fed up with themake-believe wdrld of the ClOema. andreturn to us. Now he has a film behindhim---entitled "Those Magnificent Menand Their Flying Maehimes". Next yearhe hopes to do another. During thewinter he wants to write another book(his first one-"Gliding; A Handbook onSoaring Flight"-is superb) and ,,":orkon 'his pet scheme of the po~e~ed tr~l1nerwhich will probably revolutlOOlse ghdmgtraining.Derek Piggott-this is your life. Fromthe start-Aviation. Winning the ModelAircraft World's highest trophy, takingpart in the World Model Aircraft Chaml'ionshipsin America, winning a RoyalAero Club medal for services to gliding.all your' fantastic achievements in th-efield of gliding and flying, your c1eyerschoolmistress wife and your two chIldren,both of whom have won scholarshipsto Millfield School-surely aunique family.We will remember you for the thousandsof hOlus you have spent on theground and in the air at Lasham, helpingus to fly; giving pleasure, encouragement,teaching, advising, correcting, enthusing-beingDerek.The life of a full-time instructor ingliding is a fairly un-few'lrding task. Inthe main, gliding types tend to be ratherselfish and ungratefuL But I am certainthat there must be hundreds of gliderpilots throughout the world who do saywith pride and sincerity-l was taughtto glide by DEREK PIGGOTT.All of us surely say that too-thankyou. Derek, for your len years of work,inspiration and unceasing efforts on ourbehalf.WALLY KAHN.(Reproduced from "Lasham & Gliding")