Gliding Gossip and News

Gliding Gossip and News

THE London Gliding Club has been very busy during the past month, and every week-end large numbers of members and visitors have attended the meets at Aldbury. Some very excellent flights have beenTmade by Captain Latimer Needham, Mr. Marcus D. Manton and Mr. C. L. Startup. The two former have now qualified for their ” A ” gliding licences. A considerable number of pupils have been placed under instruction, and while progress appears to be a little slow and there have been one or two crashes with the machines, the work of training is being continued with enthusiasm. On various occasions the club has received a number of distinguished visitors at its ground. These included Sir Sefton Brancker, Colonel the Master of Sernpill, Lady Bailey, Mr. Handley-Page, SquadronLeader Wright, Squadron-Leader England and Mr. Gordon England. A GENERAL meeting of the Kent Gliding Club was held on 3rd of last month, when it was agreed that nonflying members should be accepted as well as flying members. The subscription is ten shillings per annum, and one pound per annum respectively, with an entrance fee of ten shillings. The Club has secured an excellent

site for their activities situated at Lenham, by the White Cross on the hillside of the North Downs. It is easily accessible from the London-Folkestone main road. Anyone interested is advised to get in touch with the ,club’s secretary, Mr. Eric G. Parks, sending their communications to “Nag’s Head Inn,” 76, Week Street, Maidstone, Kent. Mr. Lowe Wylde, who is responsible for the design of the Kent Club’s glider, paid a visit to the Lon4on club’s grounds recently, where he flew his machine and was officially observed while qualifying for his ” A ” licence. He now has the distinction of being the first licenced glider pilot in England.

PLANS are now being made for the formation of a gliding club at Newcastle, where people are particularly keen about the sport. A machine of the ” Zogling ” type, designed by Mr. Alec Bell and constructed by Cramlington Aircraft, Ltd., is already in use at Cramlington Aerodrome and several local pilots have made test and practice flights with it. THE sailplane designed by Captain Needham is rapidly nearing completion at the R.F.D. Works at Guildford, Surrey. Captain Needham intends to carry out tests with this machine in the vicinity of the L.G.C. ground at Albury, and as it will be the first English

sailplane to reach practical form, its performance will be watched with unusual interest.

THE Lancashire Aero Club took delivery of their ” Pruffing ” machine early last month, and it has already been flown by a number of pilots. The initial tests were carried out by Messrs. A. Goodfellow, R. H. Dobson, J. C. Weale, B. A. Meads, Tomkins, R. F. Hall, A. C. Mills, J. C. Lister and H. C. Greg. Their reports state that the ” Prufling ” handles very well indeed, being very stable laterally and easy to land. AS was forecast in last month’s issue of MOTOR SPORT, a gliding school has now been formed in England. Full arrangements have yet to be completed, but it is understood that the school will be run on similar lines to those in Germany ; pupils will live in special quarters at

the ground, courses will be arranged over fixed periods, and for an inclusive fee people will undergo an intensive course of training to qualify for glider pilot certificates A, B, and C. The organisation of the whole scheme is in the hands of Mr. R. G. Russell-Taylor and the directorate comprises :—Colonel the Master of Sempill, L. Howard

Flanders, A . R. Ae. S. , M. I . , A . I . Mech.,E E. C. Gordon England, A.F.R.Ae.,S., and R. F. Dagnall.

A CONSIDERABLE fillip has now been given to the sport of gliding by the offer of big prizes for record flights. M. A. Wallace Barr, who is associated with Cellon, Ltd., the well-known aeroplane dope manufacturers, has offered £1,000 for the first successful cross-Channel flight made by a British pilot in a British designed and built sailplane, between June 1 of this year and May 31, 1932. The prize is to be competed for under rules set down by the Royal Aero Club, and an announcement pertaining to which will be made at an early date.

Mr. Wallace Barr, who has taken great interest in aircraft since the very early days, offered a prize in 1922 of £50 for a glide of 50 miles in a straight line. This prize, which has not been won, is still open.

The Daily Mail has also announced that it will organise a big gliding competition of an international character in the summer of next year. This event will be run in conjunction with the Royal Aero Club, and cash prizes running into several hundred pounds will be awarded. NEWS is to hand of the formation of another gliding club—the Leicestershire Glider Club, with headquarters at the Turkey Café, Granby Street, Leicester. The President is Mr. J. A. Hartopp, and the Chairman and Hon. Secretary are Mr. N. D. Hull and Mr. A. A. McLaren respectively. The Club will have one machine for the use of members in the preliminary stages, and through the generosity/of the _ President they will

operate from an excellent site on his estate at Broadgate. THE Dorset Gliding Club, which was formed last month, has now become affiliated to the British Gliding Association. Mr. Norman Wright has been elected Chairman, Mr. Campbell Johnson, Secretary, and Mr. D. Trapp, Treasurer. The Club is fortunate in having been presented with a machine by a well known Weymouth resident, and applicants for membership are being received in considerable numbers. Subscription to the Dorset Club is now fixed at one guinea, with an entrance

fee of 2s. 6d. until the end of the month, after which it will be increased to 10s. 6d. Enquiries should be sent to the Hon. Secretary, 4, Derby Street, Weymouth. A REMARKABLE flight has recently been cornpleted in the U.S.A. by Captain Frank M. Hawks in a

sailplane, towed by an aeroplane. Starting from San Diego he traversed the entire American Continent and reached his goal without untoward incident. The machine has a totally-enclosed cockpit, and for the flight was fitted with a full complement of instruments, wireless equipment and a telephone connection to the aeroplane, so that conversation could be carried on between both pilots.