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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0181.PDF
FLIGHT, 11 February 1955 181 SERVICE GLIDING AND SOARING . . . Soaring Association. There is a parallel case in the Royal Navywhere, with increasing size and complexity of ships, basic sea- manship has become remote from the vast majority of sailors.Nevertheless, nearly all ranks in the Navy are trained in the rudi- ments of seamanship. In the R.A.F., those wanting to learn therudiments of airmanship are forced to fight hard to obtain facilities eagerly given to football, hockey, tennis and other teams. Thisfierce enthusiasm for ball-games coupled with an apathetic tolera- tion of flying is quite an interesting phenomenon—particularlyin some of those who guide the modern Air Force. It is not a matter for congratulation.Sporting flying, of course, does not have to be gliding. The formation of powered light-aircraft clubs would be equally usefulin providing flying for those who do not normally have the chance of getting into the air; indeed, the existence of both gliding andpowered-flying clubs in the Service is extremely desirable. How- ever, the difficulty of forming a group to operate light aircraftin the R.A.F. (or, for that matter, in civilian life) remains great, mainly due to expense. Incidentally, the first light aircraft flying group in the R.A.F.was formed only last year, with the encouragement of the Popular Flying Association. A second R.A.F. group has since commencedoperation and others are in the process of formation—a highly promising tendency which, if the Service is not careful, maylead to still more of its members becoming keen on flying. Gliding and ultra-light powered flying have much in common,and yet gliding remains at once the more difficult and more rewarding. Only by understanding the atmosphere in whichhe flies can the glider pilot remain airborne: other things being equal (which, of course, they rarely are) the quality or durationof a flight depends directly on the pilot's skill. While to some it might appear more "useful" to drive an engine with wings fromA to B, there remains something natural, or certainly leSs un- natural, in using only the wind and the sun and a pilot's knowledgeof the air. Skill and precision in the arts of piloting, navigation, landing,and aerobatics, if one likes that sort of thing, are common aspects of both powered and soaring flight. But few would disagree thatgliding requires—and gives in return—something extra. Not only is skill required and satisfaction given in the air, but there isalso the value of teamwork on the ground. Again there is a nauti- cal analogy—that which exists between yachting and motor-boating. The aeroplane is a transport vehicle; the sailplane, aviation's yacht. These thoughts are not intended as propaganda for gliding.They are intended to suggest a rational reason why active Service support should be given to what is an airman's sport in the truestsense of the term. To those who think that sufficient support is already given, one might ask by what piece of logical reasoningthe transport charges for a gliding occasion may amount to, say, £5, while the same journey would have cost only 5s had theobject been swimming, or shooting, or kicking or throwing a ball around a field. No reasonable person expects Services accountsto be simple, but this seems particularly ridiculous. One wonders The German-built Weihe operated by the Little Rissington club. Only four high-performance sailplanes are at present owned by the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association. why gliding is regarded as a sport by the Sports Board and notby the auditors. As any future expansion of gliding depends on adequate trans-port, the fact that no vehicles are supplied and that high rates are charged are serious problems. Another problem is that ofservicing, which is at the present performed entirely by gliding members in their own time and using materials bought at theclub's expense. Here also the Service could show a more realistic outlook. Co-operation with the B.G.A. Throughout its five-year lifethe R.A.F.G.S.A. has worked closely with the British Gliding Association, of which it is a full member. One member of theG.S.A. Committee, at present S/L. H. Neubroch, represents the R.A.F. clubs on the council of the B.G.A., and there has beenkeen R.A.F. participation in the last three National Gliding Championships. The R.A.F.G.S.A. gliding scholarship scheme, introduced lastSeptember, was the outcome of efforts to link the Association even more closely with the B.G.A. Under this scheme, glidingis made available to Service personnel based on stations not possessing their own gliding clubs but within reach of a civilianclub. Any member of the R.A.F. can apply for a gliding scholarship.If he or she is not already a member of the R.A.F.G.S.A., appli- cation for membership can be made when applying for the scholar-ship. If successful, the applicant joins a civilian club, paying entrance fee, subscriptions and flying charges himself in the firstinstance. The G.S.A. will then refund the first 2s 6d of the cost of each launch, the first 10s of the flying and retrieving feespayable for each flight and, after candidates have completed 50 hours' flying, all entrance fees and subscriptions they have paid. At the time of the Association's annual meeting last month, 12scholarships had been awarded. With the beginning of this year's season and the appearance, one hopes, of good soaring weather,this rate will almost certainly increase: a total of 50 scholarships is available for the first twelve months of the scheme. This development is undoubtedly an important one, having atwofold beneficial effect in making gliding available to more mem- bers of the Service and bringing closer together the R.A.F.G.S.A.and the B.G.A. With the French Service de l'Aviation Legere et Sportive, also,the G.S.A. is in close touch. Under a special arrangement, selected club members are able to visit certain soaring centres inFrance at a nominal cost, apart from fares, each year—a facility greatly envied by civilian club members in this country. The Future. The one aim of the Association, as given in itsconstitution, is "to bring gliding and soaring within the reach of all members of the Royal Air Force, with special regard to thosenormally employed on the ground," and progress is indeed being made towards this aim. Few will deny the value of soaring to R.A.F. pilots. The basicknowledge, which gliding and soaring gives, of how the air behaves, must increase any pilot's understanding of the medium in whichhe operates, with benefit to himself and the Service. But the numbers involved here are relatively small. (Another incidentalpoint is that the object of the R.A.F.G.S.A. is certainly not to train club members as military pilots.) It is to the man on the groundthat gliding has most to offer—and it is from the participation of those on the ground that the Service itself has most togain. I have suggested in this article that R.A.F. gliding as a sportmerits more interest and active support than has been shown up to now by the Service authorities. The first requirement is simpleenough. It is that the principle should be accepted that gliding and soaring are somewhat more beneficial means of encouragingan interest in flying among R.A.F. ground trades than kicking, throwing or chasing a ball, or causing violent bodily injury to amember of one's own Air Force in a boxing ring, or other such pursuits. The second requirement is that someone should pointout to someone that an interest in flying is a Good Thing. Once these ideas (surely not really revolutionary?) are accepted,details can be investigated. It has been suggested that airmen passing out at the top of technical and administrative coursesshould, if fit, be given a short flying course at one of several R.A.F. gliding centres, possibly based at the Elementary Flying Schools.Another proposal is for combined gliding and powered-flying clubs, still on a spare-time basis. A third envisages one per-manent R.A.F. advanced soaring centre. And these are not the only possibilities. But before such schemes can be launched with any prospect ofsuccess, the basic change in attitude mentioned above is essential. The R.A.F.G.S.A. and the B.G.A. are together doing more thanany other organizations today to foster the air-faring outlook in this country. The Services contribution could be so much greater,given half a chance.
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