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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0335.PDF
FLIGHT International, 1 March 1962 337 SPORT AND B U S I N ESS "The main hope for the future is an increase in aero-towing . Private View BY ANN WELCH LOOKING at the tattered remains of my last wartime half-• millioa map, with its clearly outlined woods, dotted Roman roads, and various useful snippets of information such as golf courses, I realized what an excellent map it was for glider pilots. Perhaps there is a huge store of them mouldering peacefully away somewhere that could be released as no longer secret, and which pilots could decorate with the gay panoply of the latest exercises in airspace during the dark days before the spring thermals. Apart from the obvious nostalgia that the study of one's old maps brings back—the paper abraided away by a nervous thumb-print which marked the last hopefully recognized landmark on some for gotten flight, or the airfield name jumping to life where one tried to edge in between more circuiting aeroplanes than are probably airborne at the same time in the whole of England today—the most fascinating thing about such maps is the measles-rash of airfields with which they were covered. By comparison, today's are an arid desert of undiscovered territory. There is obviously no question that many of these airfields had to go, but it is sad that opportunities were lost for ever in the absence of a bold and enthusiastic policy for future aviation. Now there is a change of heart, but it is almost too late. There are airfields still coming up for disposal, but many of these are of little use because, whereas Service airfields can well be away from centres of popula tion, civilian clubs need to be close. The difficulty now for gliding is that owners of old airfields who have had them back for some time have fenced and altered them to their own requirements, and that new land is not only expensive but invariably part of somebody's valuable farm, and therefore not available. Of the 40-odd civilian clubs, only eight own their own sites or possess a long-term lease. The remaining clubs operate with little or no security, and it is extremely difficult for new ones to find homes at all. The immediate result of this insecurity is that clubs are unable to establish themselves on a permanent basis, and there fore operate less efficiently than they otherwise could. The cost of flying, like everything else, is troubled by inflation, and income from this source alone is barely enough to cover necessities. With its own site a club can run a clubhouse, make it pay, and cater for a paying public as well. This last source of revenue has been barely tapped except by a few far-sighted established clubs. There is no doubt that the public which roams the roads at weekends is finding this pastime less agreeable each year, and longs for some where peaceful to roost away from the noise and diesel fumes. Where any effort is made to encourage them, by arranging a car park with a reasonable view of the gliding and making refreshments available, the response is considerable, and steadily increases as the visitors get to know the place and return regularly. A lesser problem of site acquisition, but nevertheless a crucial one in some respects, is the length of the run required for winch opera tion. Anything less than 1,200yd on a fiat site is rightly thought to be too limiting for full training. This, if multiplied by two or three directions, necessitates the equivalent of a wartime runway airfield. Single-strip fields are not so practical on a small island as they are on the Continent, where there are fewer strong-wind days, or in mountainous regions where the winds tend to blow along valleys. The main hope for the future, since land is unlikely to cheapen, is an increase in aero-towing for launching. This is practical only if the training gliders are suitable for this purpose, both in their handling characteristics and by possessing a good gliding angle. The new Slingsby T49 two-seat trainer has been designed with this problem in view. With it, the cost of glider time in the air from an aero-tow should be comparable to that with winching. With the use of aero-towing for general training purposes the size of airfield needed is reduced, an 800yd field with reasonable approaches being adequate. This represents a reduction of over 50 per cent in the land required. There is nothing new in using aero-towing as the only, or main, means of launching club gliders: several European countries have already changed over and others are following. Even if some winching is thought desirable for brushing-up a pupil's approach and landing skills, this can perfectly well be done from the 500ft or 600ft launch obtainable from an 800yd field, in concentrated sessions with the winch got out for the purpose. Since there are no winch factories to be put out of business, an increasing changeover to powered aircraft for launching is at least supporting the appropriate industry. There remains, however, one deep-rooted difficulty in the acquisition of sites. It is the resistance to aeroplanes of country people and local councils. The same arguments are always put forward. They are convinced that the noise will be incessant and very loud, and they invariably say "But if you bring your little aeroplane here, what guarantee do we have that this won't be another London Airport in three years?" If only they really knew!
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