Gliding Gossip and News

Gliding Gossip and News

DURING the Whitsun holidays and recent weekends, great public interest has been taken in the demonstrations of soaring and gliding which have been carried out at Fine Beacon, Itford, Sussex, by Herr Kronfeld, under the auspices of the British Gliding Association. For the first time people in this country were able to get a genuine idea of what ” sailplaning ” really means and the graceful evolutions of the Austrian expert’s ” Wien” aroused great admiration and enthusiasm. Fortunately, weather conditions have been very good for soaring during the major patt of Kronfeld’s stay in England, and he has been able to put up some fine shows. On Sunday, June 15, for instance, he took his machine from West Fine Beacon to Bedhatnpton Hill, near Portsmouth. This is by far the longest engineless flight ever made in England, the air-line distance being very nearly 60 miles—a magnificent performance. The journey occupied four hours.

OTHER excellent demonstrations have been made by Herr Magersuppe, also at Itford, on a Kegel ” Professor” belonging to the Daily Express. Some of his turns and ” dives ” on this big-span machine were very spectacular. Previous to his visit to Itford, Magersuppe had his ‘plane at Ivinghoe for a brief period, but owing to there being very little wind he was only able to keep in the air for periods of about ten minutes. SUPPORT was given to the Kronfeld-Magersuppe display by both the London Gliding Club and the Kent Gliding Club at Whitsuntide. The former was there in

KRONFELD AT ITFORD-FIRST INTER-CLUB CONTEST CROSS -CHANNEL COMPETITION.

force, something like 70 members being present. The club’s ” Pruffing was brought down from Ivinghoe where she had previously undergone her initial tests in the hands of Captain Latimer Needham ; on this machine Needham made a splendid flight of 1 hour 5 mins., and incidentally qualified for his ” C ” licence. Two. other members of the L.G.C. also took their” C “tickets,. these being Mr. Marcus D. Manton with a flight of 18 minutes, and Mr. Buxton, of the R.A.F. with 16 minutes. In addition to his ” Prui3ing ” flight, Captain Needham confounded the critics and amazed the crowd by definitely soaring on a ” Zogling ” and remained ” upstair3 for 25 minutes. Mr. Lowe-Wylde, who is the moving spirit of the Kent Club, performed on his ” Zogling ” with his usual verve and intrigued the crowd with the most staggering zoom take-offs. Unfortunately he got into difficulties during one flight, apparently through getting out of wind and the ” Zogling ” suffered a fair amount of damage. Luckily Lowe-Wylde was unscathed.

THE Lancashire Aero Club, the gliding section of which rivals the London Club in achievement and progress, is to meet the latter in a gliding contest. Each club will provide a team of eight pilots and there will be two matches—one at the L.G.C. site and the other in the Cheshire Hills. THE inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Winchester Gliding Club was held recently, when a number of distinguished visitors were present. Amongst these. was Sir Sefton Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation and

President of the B.G.A. He spoke with enthusiasm on the growth of the new sport and promised the new club every possible assistance from the Association.

DERBY and District Aero Club have recently taken delivery of their first glider. Designed by Mr. E. J. Clark, it has been constructed by Sanderson & Holmes, Ltd., of Derby, who are building a second machine of the same type. On test the glider behaved very well

and those members who flew it expressed their satisfaction with the way it handled. Those who tried the machine were :—Messrs. Clark, Crompton, Toft, Smith and Wynn. THE “Albatross ” sailplane, which has been designed by Captain Needham is now completed. Built by the R.F.D. Co., of Guildford, Surrey, it has shown, during its initial test flights, every promise of a very fine performance, its gliding angle and control being astonish

ingly good. As is to be expected with an entirely new type, it has been found necessary to make certain small modifications, however, and as soon as these have been carried out Captain Needham will put his machine through extended trials. FULL details have now been issued regarding the £1,000 Cross-Channel Competition organised by Cellon, Ltd. The regulations are as follow :

DATE.—The competition will be open for a period of two years from June 1, 1930, to May 31, 1932, inclusive, unless previously won.

ORGANISATION.—The competition will be conducted by The British Gliding Association.

COMPETITORS.—The pilot of the glider must be a British subject, and hold a current “C ” Glider Pilot’s licence issued by The Royal Aero Club. GLIDERS.—The competition is open to any heavierthan-air machine, entirely constructed in the British

Isles, not provided with any motive power, and which is not supported either wholly or in part by any gas which is lighter than air, and which has a current Certificate of Airworthiness issued by the Gliding Association in accordance with its regulations at the time of the attempt.

OFFIcur, OBSERVERS.—The British Gliding Association will appoint Official Observers to control all starts.

ENTRIEs.—The entry fee is £5. This fee, together with entry form, must be received by the British Gliding Association, 44a, Dover Street, W.1., at least 14 clear days before any attempt is made. STARTING PLACE.—The competitor may select his own starting place subject to the right of veto by the British Gliding Association. if such point is considered dangerous or otherwise unsuitable. The competitor must obtain any necessary permission from the owner

of the land as a starting place. All starts must be made during the hours of daylight. The competitor is responsible for the observer being notified beforehand of any attempts, and for his being present at the start.

LAUNCHING.—The launching shall be a normal hand launching by the usual methods, only hand traction being used, and not more than twelve persons pulling upon the tow rope or elastic. TOWED GLIDING.—The glider shall not be towed in the attempt to cross the Channel. Any competitor who is

towed otherwise than when launching, in the manner laid down in the above regulation, is automatically disqualified. THE FLIGHT.—The British Gliding Association will issue log sheets, which must be carried by the pilot in all flights in the competition. The observer will fill up the Starting Certificate on the log sheet and hand the same to the pilot prior to the start of any flight in the competition. The pilot, on landing, must fill up the Landing Certificates on the log sheet. This certificate must contain such particulars as will enable the Associ

ation to locate the place of landing, The Landing Certificate must be signed as correct by the pilot and two responsible persons present at the time of landing, or, if none present, resident in the district where the landing was made. The landing must be made clear of the water. SAFETY.—NO attempt shall be commenced until The British Gliding Association shall have been satisfied

that the pilot has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of himself in the event of a descent on to the water during crossing.

The arrangements in connection with any attempt shall be made to the satisfaction of The British Gliding Association.