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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0729.PDF
74530 May 1958 Line-up of competing gliders at the R.A.F.G.S.A. championships at South Cerney last week, witn a iulo iedoergn coming m (o land. CLUB AND GLIDING NEWSG ENERAL agreement with the opinion that a "Golden Age"was a personal state of mind, usually coinciding with the youth of the individual concerned, was evident at theKronfeld Club on May 21 during a debate "That the Golden Age of Gliding has now passed." More-precise definitions of thegolden age of gliding were given by the two proposers of the motion, Peter Fletcher of Dunstable (who said 1937-39) andWally Kahn of Lasham (who said 1910-30). For the opposition, an eloquent Lionel Alexander of Cambridge pointed out some ofthe disadvantages of the old days, and C.F.I. John Ellis of Oxford seconded. Floor speakers put forward various contrasting estimates andopinions. To many the age under discussion had not yet arrived, and designer F. N. Slingsby disclosed that, as a manufacturer, hehad been chasing the golden age for 28 years and had not yet caught up with it. Other views concerned the unrestricted intakeof gliding pupils; the lack of advanced-scaring training; and the relative merits of contest flying with an objective and of just"flying for fun." The final vote, chairman Dudley Hiscox announced, showed a large majority against the motion. By wayof emphasis, a telephone call was received at that moment giving news of Sgt. Gough's eminently golden-age-worthy flight toHolland. THE general report of the Kuala Lumpur Flying Club for 1957includes the admirable news that, "On the social side, the house sub-committee have raised the curry lunches on Sundays toa standard unequalled in Kuala Lumpur; the club at times being filled to capacity and the demand for curry straining catering tothe limit." On the flying side, a new Tiger Moth and a Chipmunk had been added to the fleet, and there had been a number ofchanges in the instructional staff during the year. Flying hours for 1957 totalled 1,050—the highest figure for the last three years.Among the flying events of the year had been the club's participa- tion in the Malayan Air Rally at Kluang in July. A number ofbursaries are to be awarded by the club to enab'e young Malayan citizens to learn to fly up to P.P.L. standard at subsidized rates. AEROBATIC participation at the Exeter Aero Club air displayon June 28 will include the 56 Sqn. Hunter team and a Jet Provost formation from the Central Flying School. The Fleet AirArm and the U.S.A.F. will be represented, in addition to other R.A.F. units. An inter-club spot-landing competition for membersof the Exeter and Plymouth Aero Clubs will take place on July 12, and other events at Exeter during July will include the com-petitions for the Parkhouse Navigation Trophy and the Bennett Airmanship Trophy. XJIGHLIGHT of the R.A.F. Gliding and Soaring Association-*•*• championships at South Cerney, near Cirencester (May 17-26), was the outstanding flight on May 21 by Sgt. AndrewGough in a Slingsby Skylark 3 to Heerlen in south-east Holland, a distance of 346 miles. This is the longest distance flown in asailplane from the United Kingdom. Gough, representing the R.A.F. Wessex Club, Andover, released from a Chipmunk aerotowlaunch at 11.15 a.m. and was observed over Folkestone at 2 p.m. prior to crossing the Channel. His landing was made near theDutch/German border and some eight miles short of R.A.F. Geilenkirchen at about 7.25 p.m. Pilot and sailplane were flownback to this country in a Valetta on May 23. Sgt. Andrew Gough of the R.A.F. Wessex Club, who set up a new British distance record on May 21 by flying the R.A.F.G.S. A. Skylark 3 from South Cerney to Heerlen in the Netherlands, a distance of 346 miles "FLIGHT" photographs A MIDSUMMER air display will be organized by the NorthLondon Aero Club at Panshanger on Saturday, June 21. Parachuting, gliding and Tiger Club aerobatics are included onthe programme. Membership of the North London club con- tinues to rise: two additional instructors are being engaged, andthe aircraft fleet now comprises two Tiger Moths, three Taylor- crafts and one Autocrat. TyiNNER of the Dr. Mervyn Hall Memorial Flying Scholar-™" ship for aborigines, founded by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia, is William Bennell, aged 19, ofPerth. Having passed medical and flying-aptitude tests in Perth, he is now undergoing flying training at Bankstown Airport. Among the officials and visitors at the South Cerney R.A.F. Gliding Championships were (upper row) A. Cdre. G. J. C. Paul; Air Marshal Sir Raymond Hart, R.A.F.G.S.A. president; G/C. R. R. Goodbody, chairman; G/C. G. F. Lerwill, CO. of South Cerney; and (lower row) F/L. R. C. Salmon, assistant controller; S/L. R. B. Stratton, operations controller; F/L. J. A. G. Ross, tugmaster;Mrs.M.Sharman, timekeeper;and F/L. B.B.Sharman, hunchmastet. Below right, a hangar view of some of the competing aircraft.
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