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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2094.PDF
23 July 1954 107 (Above, left) The Hungarian Super Fergeteg, with pilot Karsay in the cockpit. (Above, right) Runner-up in the individual championships, Gyorgy Mezo (of Hungary) prepares to fly the Junius 18. (Right) Anglo- Russian conviviality at Leszno: to the right of Charles Ellis (in check shirt) is Alexander Yrkevich, Ukranian designer of the flapping-wing "Koshuk" glider which flew during last month's Soviet Air Day cele brations at Tushino Airport, Moscow. the Polish system, of course, there is absolutely no likelihood of a Jaskolka getting into incompetent hands. As regards performance, the minimum sinking speed is approximately 0.75 m/sec at 70 km/hr, and the maximum gliding ratio is 1 :28 at 80 km/hr. Mr. T. Kostia, the designer, pointed out that a high gliding-ratio had not been the prime consideration. His chief aim was to obtain a performance curve flatter than most, as modern soaring technique does not demand a high gliding-ratio except for the final glide, whereas speed between thermals is all-important. The appearance of the Jaskolka can be seen in the accompany ing photographs, which show also a number of the other compet ing aircraft and pilots. The countries taking part in the contests were Poland, Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, U.S.S.R., Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, France and Great Britain. Poland's gliding organization, being common to other East Euro pean countries, is worth noting. We first became aware of the philosophy behind it upon entering the reception hall at Prague Airport. "Leisure," a large and quite attractive poster informed us, "is the Right of Every Working Man." Once that has been accepted as part of the creed, it is only natural that there should be a government department to look after leisure. In Poland this is the Department of Culture and Sport, which is responsible for policy and finance in regard to all gliding matters. The Polish Aero Club is the part of this department responsible for operational and regional affairs, every town of any size having its gliding club. As a result, anybody in Poland can join such a club for a purely nominal subscription and enjoy first-class theoretical and practical instruction from a highly competent staff. Whilst we were frequently told of the advantages of this system (under which "everybody can fly") as compared with our own methods, we soon discovered that the removal of financial barriers does not necessarily open up a sport like gliding to one and all. There is a pretty stiff medical which would "plough" many of the pilots in British clubs and, although there are extremely well-run classes to give technical gliding knowledge to boys of 14 to 16 who have not had the benefits of a higher education, it is clear that an above-average I.Q. is a requirement, as well as a near-perfect physique, for anyone wishing to pursue gliding as his chosen sport. Poland never was a rich country, and the war devastation which still remains to be healed commands the highest efforts from the whole community. It is not surprising, there fore, that she is not prepared to squander her limited resources upon those least suited to benefit from them. Discipline, which is non-existent at British clubs, is not very evident in Poland either. There is not the faintest similarity in this respect to Hitler's N.S.F.K., and yet everything appears to run smoothly and efficiently without over-organization. Maybe it is because a youngster, having been accepted by a gliding club for training, realizes he has been elected to a corps d'elite and fears nothing so much as being thrown out. (In which event his flying days are over—there is nowhere else for him to go!) What I saw has convinced me that in her gliding movement Poland is getting excellent "value for money" (a capitalist phrase D which will annoy at least one of my Polish friends, but I can think of none better) and I am certain that the reason for this is diat the Polish Government has ihad the good sense to place the control of the sport in the hands of experienced soaring pilots, and has permitted them to develop the sport with the least possible interference. The standard of flying and soaring seen during our stay was impressive. Apart from one collision in cloud, no damage occurred to any of the 36 competitors and ten tugs taking part throughout two weeks of most intensive competition flying.' Admittedly the country was not difficult for forced landings, being without stone walls, hedges or substantial fences, and was extremely flat, though of course highly cultivated. The most hazardous operations were undoubtedly the air-retrieves from unbelievable situations, calling for the type of airmanship so seldom exploited these days. This is where the extensible wheel of the Jaskolka came in. Extended, it facilitated manoeuvring the aircraft, by peasant-power, through thickly growing crops and enabled the fully extended flap to be used to advantage for quick take-off from rough ground. With the aid of an ancient ex-Russian PO-2 biplane with 125 h.p. engine, I was hauled out of a field (heavily spread with "muck") only 180 metres long, and this in a dead calm. The length of the tow-line, incidentally, was 20 metres. Statistics, it is said, can prove anything; but if we accept the F.A.I. "Silver C"as an indication of a qualified soaring pilot we find that on a quantitative basis the only country to excel Poland is, not surprisingly, France. Like Poland, France has, if not a "free- for-all," at least a "free-for-the-under-21s" gliding movement run by the Government. Taking into account the larger population and the much larger technical and industrial facilities available, however, it is unlikely that the French movement can claim to be superior.
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