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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0829.PDF
29 June 1956 831 WORLD GLIDING CHAMPIONSHIPS 63 Competitors from 27 Countries 'T'HE World Gliding Championships begin tomorrow, June 30,•*• and continue until July 12. The contests have been held in alternate years since 1948—first in Switzerland, then in Sweden(1950), Spain (1952) and England (1954). Philip Wills became world champion in 1952, and the British Slingsby Sky sailplanesdominated the Championships. In 1954, at Bradwell Edge, Derby- shire, rain all but ruined the contest. Wills finished second toFrance's young Gerard Pierre. This year, France is the host, and no fewer than 27 nations haveentered 63 pilots to represent them at St. Yan, on the Loire in Central France. Seven nations are represented for the first time.The U.S.S.R. is not competing, but Poland, Hungary and Czecho- slovakia represent the countries of Eastern Europe. Japan, NewZealand and Turkey are also newcomers, and the Saar has entered Ernst Frowein, who has previously flown for Germany (what aboutit, Wales?). Fifty of the sailplanes are single-seaters and 13 are two-seaters. These will compete in separate competitions,although the tasks will be of the same kind for each class—races round a closed circuit, or to a goal and back again. The Teams. Hanna Reitsch (Germany) and Philip Wills bothcompeted in the first World Championship in 1937, and Wills has not missed one since. In addition, two of this year's pilots flewin 1948 and another two in 1950. The British team again have Wills and Stephenson as their solo representatives, but NickGoodhart and Frank Foster are to fly the two-seater. Nick is new to World Championship flying but holds the British height recordand the first British Diamond Badge. Frank Foster flew in Spain and is again relinquishing B.E.A.'s Elizabethans for Slingsby'sslower aircraft. Mrs. Ann Welch is team captain. In the last contest, the British team flew a Slingsby Sky, ElliottOlympia IV and Slingsby T.42. This year they have two Slingsby Skylark 3s and a much-modified T.42. Once again the team willbe well equipped, owing to the generosity of Standard (Vanguard cars), Normalair (lightweight oxygen equipment), Pye (radio) andothers. The financial problems of sending a team overseas have been relieved by the magnificent S.B.A.C. donation of £1,000. The brother of Nick Goodhart, Tony Goodhart, now servingwith the Royal Navy in Australia, is the lone Australian entry and has been lent a French Breguet 901. He now holds the world speedrecord for the 300 km triangle—the first world gliding record a Briton has held for twenty years. Canada is fully represented. Frank Brame, who was C.F.I, ofthe College of Aeronautics Gliding Club while a student at Cran- field, will be back in Europe to fly for them. Dick Georgeson, ofNew Zealand, who bought Wills' Weihe and flies it there, is to borrow a French Air 100, and South Africa is once again to berepresented by Helli Lasch—his fourth World Championship. The Gliders. British sailplanes are being flown by severalteams in addition to our own. Our good customers, the Dutch, will have two Skylark 3s, and Spain will have two Skys. The THE SAILPLANES Type Single-seaters:— SkySkylark III Olympia IV Weihe Meise Zuvogel Air 100 Breguet 901 WLM II Elfe III Orao Me Jasolka B.N. 1 Pik. 3 Also: WSM 40 Demar (Austria) and Gei« Two-seaters:—T.42b Condor IV Kranich III HKS. 1 Canguro Sehweizer 2-25 Kosava Breguet 904 Musger Mg. 19c Country of Design . Great Britain. Great Britain . Great Britain . Germany ... . Germany ... . Germany ... . France . France . Switzerland. Switzerland . Yugoslavia . Poland . Brazil . Finland t (Czechoslovakia), A r I. Great Britain Germany ... . Germany ... . Germany ... . Italy . U.S.A. ... . Yugoslavia France Austria Span (m) 18.018.0 16.8 18.0 15.0 16.0 18.0 17.3 18.116.0 19.0 16.016.7 13.0 .08 (Hungary) 17.818.0 18.3 19.8 19.2 18.3 19.1 20.0 17.4 a.u.w. (kg) 363360 354 335 300 345 337 415 455 330 230 GlideRatio 3032 36 29 26 34 30 35 35 37 27 26 , Eolo (Italy), Mg. 23 545450 430 580 508 562 630 — 31 27 — — 30 33 37 Also: Bergfalke (Germany), Super-Canguro (Italy), Bocian (Poland), and L.13 (Czechoslovakia). . A pleasing impression of the French Breguet 901. Seven are competing; Tony Goodhart, flying for Australia, will use one. Elliott Olympia IV, which has been increased in span since 1954, is to be flown by Bill Ivans (U.S.A.), the holder of the world height record for gliders (42,100 ft). Thirty-two different types of sailplane are competing, more than half of which have not been seen at a World Championship before. Such details as are known are listed in the table, and it will be seen that gliding angles of 1 in 35 or more are now common. This is attributable to the use of laminar wing sections with wing spans of about 18 metres (59ft). St. Yan (village population, 250) is the home of the French School of Aerobatics, and its pilots will do the glider towing, using 20 Stampes as tugs. OSTIV. The sixth Congress of OSTIV, the international scientific and technical organization of gliding, will take place at St. Yan from July 7 to 13. Among the subjects down for discussion are the design of the Skylark and Breguet series, the French and American pressure-cabin sailplanes for high-altitude flying and the problem of a restricted competition class. Plastics, compressed wood, variometer's and pilot training are also the subject of technical papers. A. H. Y. ENTRIESArgentina.—Josi Ortner ( ), Jose Cuadrado ( ), Sadoux and C. J. Dori (Condor IV).Australia.—Tony Goodhart (Breguet 901). Austria.—H. Resh (Mg.23), L. Harrer (Mg.23).Belgium.—Marcel Cartigny (Jasolka), Jean d'Otreppe (Air 100). Brazil.—George Mtinch (B.N.I), Aldo da Rosa (B.N.I).Canada.—J. W. Ames (Breguet 901), Frank Brame (Geier 1), Albie Pow and Oates (Bergfalke).Czechoslovakia.—J. Hollan (WSM 40 Demant), J. K. Kumpos (WSM 40 Demant), Sebasta and Janek (L.13).Denmark.—Aksel Feddersen (Olympia-Meise), A. D. Thomsen (Olympia-Meise).Finland.—J. Jalkanen (Pik. 3), K. Heininen (Air 100), Ossermayer and Kunz (Mg.l9c).France.—Gerard Pierre (Breguet 901), Rene Fonteilles (Breguet 901), Guy Rousselet and Louis Trubert (Breguet 904).Germany.—August Wiethuchter (HKS.l), Hanna Reitsch (Zuvogel), Ernst Giinther Haase and Knieper (Kranich III).Great Britain.—Philip Wills (Skylark 3), Geoffrey Stephenson (Sky- lark 3), Nicholas Goodhart and Frank Foster (Slingsby T.42b).Hungary.—G. Mezo (A.08), L. Kaemar (A.08). Israel.—Menachem Bar (Air 100), Arber ( ).Italy.—G. Ferrari (Eolo), Adriano Montelli (Canguro), Riccardo Brigliadori and Tomasina (Super-Canguro).Japan.—Isamu Oda (Breguet 901). Netherlands.—Otto P. Koch (Skylark 3), W. Toutenhoff (Skylark 3).New Zealand.—Dick Georgeson (Air 100). Poland.—Edward Makula (Jasolka L. Swallow), Jerzy Popiel (JasolkaL. Swallow), Julian Nowotarski and Sliwak (Bocian Z Stork). Saar.—Ernst Frowein (Kranich III).South Africa.—E. Domisse (Breguet 901), Helli Lasch ( ). Spain.—A. Torrell (Sky), I. V. J. Gomez (Sky), Valetta and Llorente (Kranich III).Sweden.—Per Axel Persson (Weihe), Irve Silesmo (Breguet 901). Switzerland.—Hans Nietlispach (Elfe III), N. Dubs (WLM II).Turkey.—Z. Argun (Air 100), E. Subasi ( ), Yaykin and Uygun ( ).United States of America.—Paul MacCready (Breguet 901), Bill Ivans (Olympia IV), Kemp Trager and Miller (Schweizer 2-25).Yugoslavia.—Bozidar Komac (Kosava), Max Arbaiter (Orao He), Zvonimir Rajn and Stepanovic (Kosava),
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