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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1083.PDF
5 August 1955 195 were grouped together in the Open section, while the T-21Bsection was marked separately. Tasks for the two sections were chosen by Ann Welch and John Neilan (who was also chieftug-pilot) from a range comprising free distance; pilot-declared goal; distance in a specific direction; and goal, out-and-return,and triangular races. "Free distance" was the task set for Tuesday, July 26th, theforecast being for east-wind conditions similar to those of the previous day. The actuality consisted of an east wind consider-ably stronger and gustier than on the previous day, and one which made the aero-tows even more interesting—at least from the tugpilots' point of view. The tug pilots had by this time become accustomed to theunseen hand holding their machine back on take-off (especially when towing the two-seaters): we now experienced the feelingof fingers pushing and prodding the Tiger in various directions during the subsequent towing climb, also. Certainly when sub-jected to so many influences—being poked in the nose by gusts, lifted bodily by thermals, having one's tail kicked around bypressure on the rope and, quite incidentally, being controlled (sic) by the pilot—the Tiger could be excused any possibleneurotic tendencies. Our normal procedure was to climb at 50 kt to 2,000ft, wherethe sailplane released, and then to regain the site as quickly as possible, dropping the rope over a marked area on our finalapproach to land. An intriguing concept to be remembered on the climb was that the Tiger was being flown by two pilots, notone; if the tug's nose went down, for instance, the cause would not be a forward stick-movement by the tug pilot, but rathera backward one by the sailplane pilot, causing the Tiger's tail to be pulled up. Launching was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Times of indivi-dual launches were decided this year not by ballot, but by the pilots booking vacant times on the launch-point take-off boardwhen the aircraft were rigged and ready. By noon little con- vection was apparent, an unexpected amount of high cloud re-maining above the broken lower layer, and not until 12.30 did Rivers, in the Derby and Lanes Olympia, move his aircraft outto take the first launch. He landed back after, only 20 min, however, and it was not until one o'clock—when Wills (releasingat only 1,200ft from his aero-tow) seemed to be doing well—that the main rush to take launches began. Under chief marshal Bunny Austin, the two-minute launchintervals were maintained to a close accuracy. The five Tigers, Chipmunk and Auster were turned round briskly between tows,the work of the tug ground-handlers proving extremely helpful in the gusty wind conditions. Making a singularly bouncy arrivalat 2.30, after releasing Cliff Dowdall's Olympia at the standard 2,000ft, I found all the sailplanes were away. Early that evening the landing reports began to come in, andone soon caught the feeling that this was definitely one of the better days. For people were talking in terms of Weymouth,Lyme Regis, Exeter and Plymouth. When the little flags were seen spattering the map outside the control tent the picture becameeven clearer; they formed a continuous string out to the west- southwest, hitting the coast at Weymouth and lying in a particu-larly thick gaggle around the edge of Lyme Bay. Beyond Plymouth, there was one solitary flag—at Fowey, 169 miles away fromLasham. And there was no prize for guessing that this was entry No. 13; sailplane type, Sky; pilot, Philip Wills. Foster and Deane-Drummond had both landed at RoboroughAirport, Plymouth, a distance of 144£ miles; and David Ince in Preparing for a polished performance . . . the Olympia IV, the only pilot to fly north of Dartmoor,achieved 141 miles to Halwill Beaworthy, ten miles from Oke- hampton. In the T-21B section, Robert Williams of the HomeCommand Gliding School, Detling, flew 82 miles to Burton Bradstock, and Alan Pickup of the Midland G.C. was runner-up with 80 miles to Bridport. The Surrey club's Olympia RedO, No. 25, flown by A. Sanders, was damaged on landing on theboulder-strewn beach near Seaton, after a flight of 94 miles. Sanders, Stuart Morison and Christopher Wills had been flyingRedO in the team class; they transferred to a replacement Olympia for subsequent flights which, however, could not beofficially recognized in the championship results. As a con- cession to those who would be travelling the road from Devonto Lasham in the small hours, "Open section" briefing on Wednesday was to be at 10 a.m., instead of nine. David Ince,whose crew encountered trailer trouble on the outward journey, arrived back just after noon. No landing report was received from the triangular-shaped,boomerang-like flying saucer allegedly observed from Lasham Slingsby T.42 "Eagle" flown by Welch and trying. **m
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