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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0544.PDF
544 FLIGHT, 4 May 1956 i Club and Gliding News SHAPE FLYING CLUB WITH the object of bringing together those members of theAllied armed forces stationed at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, Paris, who were interested in private flying,the SHAPE Flying Club was formed in November 1953 under the presidency of General Lauris Norstad, U.S.A.F. During the past2i years of operation the club has made steady progress, despite language differences and widely differing customs. On the socialside, the club's activities haye contributed much to the goodwill and understanding which exists among all ranks of SHAPE, whoaffectionately refer to the club as the "SHAPE Air Force." The club owes its origin to the work of a few keen Allied AirForce officers and the generous help given by the French Ministry of Civil Aviation who, by making a loan of aircraft, enabled theclub to overcome its most difficult problem—the lack of adequate finance for the purchase of equipment. Amongst other problemswhich had to be solved was a rather unusual one, as far as flying clubs are concerned, involving the laws of France. Since themajority of members were non-French nationals, the club was classified by the police as a "foreign association" and deemedsubject to the laws governing such associations in France. These now rather ancient laws were designed to prevent foreign associa-tions from plotting the overthrow of the French Republic and, as may be imagined, are hardly conducive to running a flying club.However, the club's honorary legal adviser, M. Jean J. Bertout, with the co-operation of the French Government, was able, after muchnegotiation and written assurance from high-ranking SHAPE officers, to obtain authority (possibly for the first time in Frenchhistory) for a foreign association to operate private aircraft. Today the club is well established, has a membership of about fifty, andoperates with three aircraft from the well-known private airfield at Villacoublay, 12 miles southwest of Paris. The aircraft fleet consists of one Morane MS.230, a high-wingfully aerobatic open-cockpit monoplane; a Stampe SV4c, similar to the D.H. Tiger Moth; and an N.C.853.S, which is a high-wing,enclosed, side-by-side monoplane. All the aircraft are of French construction and have given most reliable service. The MS.230and the Stampe are used for flying training, while the N.C.853.S is reserved for pleasure flying by pilot members. Much planning went into paving the way for the establishmentof the SHAPE Flying Club since S/L. William R. F. Cooney, R.A.F., club chairman, first conceived the idea for the organiza-tion. At the recent annual dinner, held at the "Rendezvous de la Chasse" near Paris, S/L. Cooney referred to the unique positionof the club, reminding members that it was probably the only really international flying club in the world. Representatives ofthe majority of the 15 member nations of NATO could be found Two of the aircraft operated by the SHAPE Flying Club at Villacoublay: (top) the N.C.8S3 and (bottom) the Stampe SV4. These machines were presented on loan to the club by the French Minister of Civil Aviation. in the membership list, and it was pleasant to be able to welcome a representative of the Federal German Army, Lt-Col. Max R. Schwerdtfeger. Reviewing the club's activities during the past 12 months, thechairman was able to congratulate James Schauer (hon. treasurer and a founder member), U.K.; John Doerr, U.S.A.; JeanDrummen, Netherlands; and Robert Chagnat, France, on obtain- ing their Private Pilot's Licences. On behalf of members thechairman thanked the committee for their hard work during the past year, particularly the chief flying instructor, W/C. John D.Sidebottom, A.F.C., R.A.F., and his able assistant, M.Sgt. Robert Alexander, U.S.A.F. The chairman also referred to the encour-agement given to private flying in France: that country, he thought, was the only NATO State having a government departmentdevoted to the promotion of private flying; while the recent deci- sion to remove all tax from fuel used by private aircraft hadbrought flying within the reach of a wide range of the population. During the coming year several members of the SHAPE FlyingClub are planning to make goodwill flights to neighbouring NATO countries, and the club would be glad to welcome members ofother flying clubs visiting Paris. Inquiries should be addressed to the secretary, Mile. Helene Olivier, Intelligence Division,SHAPE, Paris. AN informal discussion meeting to review progress and suggest•**- future plans was held at the Rronfeld Club, 74 Eccleston Square, London, S.W.I, on Wednesday, April 25th. Some 60members were present. In addition to the Wednesday evening general-interest talks and film shows, which have provedextremely popular, it was suggested that specialized instructional lectures should be held at the club on Thursdays. The building-up of a reference library of aeronautical books was also proposed. As many members now begin their weekend flying on Fridayevenings, the club will be open during the summer season on Mon- day, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings only. AT Croydon Airport on Saturday last, April 28th, the six- winners of the W.J.A.C. scholarships for 1956 were intro- duced to Lord Brabazon of Tara and to the chief flying instructorsof the clubs where they will train. The occasion was the naming by Lord Brabazon of Auster Aiglet Grey Dove II, the newW.J.A.C. aircraft which has succeeded the Corps' Fairchild Argus Grey Dove I. The winners of the scholarships are Valerie Weller,Anne Marsden, Francesca O'Kane, Peggy Nye, Isobel Jones and Sylvia Quenet, whose scholarships have been respectively spon-sored by the WJ.A.C; Lea Bridge Industries, Ltd., Southend; E. K. Cole, Ltd., Southend; Gough Cooper and Co., Ltd., Dart-ford; Phoenix Grinding, Ltd., Birmingham; and Leon M. Berner and Co., Ltd., Birmingham. Flying training will be carried outat Fair Oaks Aero Club, Southend Municipal Flying School and the Midland Aero Club, Elmdon. RECENTLY formed at Stapleford Tawney Aerodrome, Essex,is the works flying group of Edgar Percival Aircraft, Ltd. Operating Tipsy Trainer G-AFWT (formerly owned by theHome Counties Flying Group), the group expects its flying charges which will cover fuel and oil costs, to be £1 5s per hour. FAIR OAKS Aero Club logged 4,700 flying hours and gained90 P.P.L.s during the twelve months ended March 31st. A club flight to Beauvais, involving the available fleet of six Tigersand two Austers, is planned for Sunday, June 24th. ENTRIES for the World Gliding Championships at St. Yan,France, from June 29th to July 13th, have been received from a total of 27 countries. They are South Africa, Germany,Argentine, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Spain, U.S.A., Finland, France, U.K., Hungary, Israel,Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey and Jugoslavia. A maxi-mum of three sailplanes may be entered by each country, although several countries have entered only one. One sailplane (Breguet901 or Air 102) will be loaned by France to the teams of thirteen of the competing countries. The British team will comprisePhilip Wills and Geoffrey Stephenson (each flying a Slingsby Skylark 3 in the single-seater class); and Nick Goodhart andFrank Foster (Slingsby T.42B) in the two-seater class. Accommodation for 800-1,000 people, in chalets and tents, isbeing arranged at the St. Yan centre where, during the champion- ships, 20 towing aircraft will be in use. For the championshipsto be valid, a minimum of three competition tasks must be suc- cessfully completed, including one free-distance flight and oneout-and-return flight to a nominated goal. Additional tasks which may be set include races over specified triangular courses of100, 200 and 300 km. GLIDING activity at clubs and centres in the Netherlandsduring 1955 accounted for 48,403 launches and 7,237 hours —both figures being substantial improvements over the previousyear's results. A total of 116 sailplanes and gliders, including Slingsby Sedberghs, Prefects, Skys and Skylarks, are registered.
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