Open and 20m class UK Nationals Gliding Programme

Official Programme: ÂŁ4.00

pen ONationals 20 ÂŁ1.00 donated to EAAA

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Open Class and 20m Nationals Supporting the East Anglian Air Ambulance Cambridge Gliding Centre 1-9 August

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ompetition has always been a driver of innovation. Competition has been the catalyst for ever-increasing glider performance and as competition event organisers we must learn to innovate too. This has been foremost in my thoughts when organising the 2015 Nationals.

So while this competition is aimed to be safe (of course), and efficiently and smoothly organised, I’ve been determined to make the 2015 Nationals set new standards of being fun and enjoyable for everyone involved - pilots, crews, CGC club members and visitors – and to make these Nationals an event.

The Open Class is expected to be fiercely competitive, with a significant number of current or previous World and European Gliding Champions, British team members and past UK Nationals winners. The new breed of ‘agile’ Open Class gliders has changed the class – but the big wingspan gliders may still win out in weaker weather in the hands of a skilled pilot.

The 20m Multi-Seat Class Nationals is less well established in the UK (but also has its share of British team members) and it should be an interesting contest between older Duo Discus/DG1000 and the newer Arcus.

Capitalising on the ability for live tracking, spectators will be able to follow these exciting races in real time, guided

by a running text commentary. This will be accessible via the competition website (and we’ve boosted the onsite internet bandwidth to help) and for those who want to come along and be part of the competition ‘buzz’, on a super large screen in the briefing marquee.

With the spectator experience, gliding becomes accessible to the general public and local and regional media – newspapers, radio and television – will be covering the competition.

A whole range of improvements and extras have been arranged to enhance the event feeling for everyone; professional catering throughout the competition with some special theme evenings, real beer and (almost) local cider, live music on the Saturday evenings, fly-ins by historic aircraft, one or two surprises…

The CGC clubhouse has undergone a major external and internal refurbishment, almost entirely done by a core group of volunteer club members, and additional facilities organised. Even the notorious entry road has been resurfaced.

This Official Programme is also a novelty for UK gliding competitions, and I hope you enjoy it and keep it as a souvenir.

None of this would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, who have also contributed to an impressively large prize fund and even free ‘goodies’ for the pilots.

So let’s hope for some good weather to allow safe and spectacular racing, and aim to maximise the fun factor for everyone in this Nationals.

Iain Baker, Competition Director

SKYCRAFT Propulsion Systems

UK Nationals 2015 - 3

Nine Days in August

Picture: Richard Baker

3

Director’s Welcome

5

Competitor Profiles

18 Dancing With the Wind Paul Harvey reviews Jean-Marie Clément’s new book

22 Home from Home

Meet some of the Open and 20m MS entrants, their gliders and clubs

: Looking Ahead 14 FLARM Iain Baker speaks to FLARM’s founders and examines the past, present and future of FLARM

Robert Bryce-Smith explores the history of Cambridge Gliding Centre

28 Gransden at War

A new book by Chris Sullivan reveals the history and bravery of airmen at Gransden Lodge

Cambridge Gliding Centre’s Nationals Team Director

Iain Baker

Cadet Coordinators

Richard Brickwood Greg Monaghan

Deputy Director (Non-Flying)

Richard Brickwood

Cadet Leader

Finn Sleigh

Deputy Director (Flying)

Peter Baker

Tug Master

Gavin Goudie

Control

Lorna Sleigh / April Baker

Scrutineering

George Sanderson

Administration

Joannne Presland

Start / Finish

Sue Bayford

Meteorology

Hugh Brookes

Scoring & IT

Bob Pursey

Airspace Officer

Neil Goudie

Public Relations

Richard Brickwood

Safety Officer

Robert Theil

CGC Website

Richard Baker

Task Setters

Iain Baker / Peter Baker

Social Media

Jason Holloway Richard Brickwood

Publisher: Iain Baker Design and Production: Paul Harvey Print: Spingold Graphics, CO64NT,UK Cover: Sarah Kelman

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20m Multi-Seat Class Competitors Pilot P1 Chris Alldis Brian Birlison Ian Cook Julian Fack Paul Fritche Jon Hall Wendy Head Claudia Hill Julian Hitchcock Mark Holden Phil Jeffery Richard Large Chris Lewis Tony Moulang Steve Pozerkis Paul Rice Brian Scougall Liz Sparrow John Tanner Kim Tipple Rod Witter

Glider Duo Discus Duo Discus Arcus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus DG1001M Duo Discus Duo Discus Arcus Duo Discus Arcus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus Duo Discus Arcus Arcus

Comp No 494 802 AR JF 2UP KA 871 LGC RV KPE 72 38 8F A1 HB1 440 XX 620 220 291 LEW

Club Midland Gliding Club Cotswold Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Midland Gliding Club Southdown Gliding Club Midland Gliding Club Cambridge Gliding Centre Lasham Gliding Society Southdown Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Cambridge Gliding Centre The Gliding Centre Cambridge Gliding Centre Kent Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Essex & Suffolk Gliding Club Scottish Gliding Centre Deeside Gliding Club Deeside Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Lasham Gliding Society

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Open Class Competitors Pilot Richard Browne Russell Cheetham Andy Davis Rory Ellis Iain Evans David Findon Pete Harvey Tim Jenkinson Steve Jones Shaun Lapworth Stafford Lintott Alistair Nunn Graham Paul Peter Reading Paul Ruskin Colin Smithers Angus Watson Robert Welford Picture: Sarah Kelman

Glider JS1c (21m) JS1c (21m) JS1c (21m) ASG 29 JS1c (21m) Nimbus 4d JS1c (18m) ASH 31 (21m) Nimbus JS1c (21m) Nimbus 3DT JS1b (18m) Nimbus 4DM ASH25 (25.6) HPH Shark ASH25E ASH25 (25.6) ASG29

Comp No XS E1 80 9 XZ 48 N1 TJ ZB PE WZ 60 942 28 M25 RC W8

Club The Gliding Centre The Gliding Centre Bristol & Gloucestershire GC The Gliding Centre Herefordshire Gliding Club Bidford Gliding & Flying Club Windrushers Gliding Club London Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Lasham Gliding Society The Gliding Centre Lasham Gliding Society Shenington Gliding Club Lasham Gliding Society Cambridge Gliding Centre Cambridge Gliding Centre Cranwell Gliding Club Cambridge Gliding Centre

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UK Nationals 2015 - 5

20m Multi-Seat Class Competitors

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Chris Alldis

hris Alldis lives in Birkenhead and is a barrister by profession.

He began gliding with the Air Cadets at 631 VGS, RAF Sealand near Chester, and went solo in a Slingsby Sedbergh (T21) in 1966. He later became an instructor with the Air Cadets and

stayed with them until 1987 when family considerations forced him to choose between the Air Cadets and civilian gliding with the Midland Gliding Club (Long Mynd) which he had joined in 1970. He has been flying gliding competitions, both Regional and National, since 1981 and continues to instruct at the Midland GC.

Club: Midland Gliding Club Glider: Duo Discus - 494

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Brian Birlison

have been flying nationals for nearly 20 years, I’ll get it right some day and until then there is always the next competition. Having been flying since I was 13 and instructing since 18, I enjoy adding new pilots to the gaggle for even more competition. I

really enjoy racing the Duo Discus as I get a chance to share the experience with my wife Estela, and longsuffering crew Frank who brave it as P2 on alternate days. These days I’m best known as owner of Echo… the universal gliding dog.

Club: Cotswold Gliding Club Glider: Duo Discus - 802

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Iain Cook

ain Cook learned to fly at Wessex Gliding Club near Andover, flying a T.31 and landing out in a ploughed field on his first flight. He later flew a T.38 primary solo back to the hangar in a snow storm as nobody else was that daft, age 15! Although he has flown

in South Africa, Australia, Spain and France, he rates his best flight ever around Mount Cook in NZ in an ASH 25. Ian says he enjoys the buzz of competitions, even though he’s only ever managed to win one, the 18m Class Nationals in 1989.

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Arcus - AR

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Jon Hall

on Hall began gliding in 1988 at Woodford, Manchester. He’s also been a member at Nympsfield and at Ontur in Spain and has also flown gliders in France, the USA and Australia. Jon has 1700 hours and two diamonds. Jon says he last flew

a competition 15 years ago but recent retirement as a museum designer and the acquisition of a share in a Turbo Duo has prompted him to have another go with syndicate partner Richard Bennett. “After all, how hard can it be?”

Club: Midland Gliding Club Glider: Duo Discus - KA

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Wendy Head

endy Head started gliding in 1991. Over 2200 hours later, with an Instructor Rating and two diamonds, the Diamond Height is still proving elusive, as does the 750 km UK Diploma - despite several close attempts! Wendy’s passion is cross country flying and also flying abroad Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre

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(French Alps, Spain and South Africa) where it’s possible to combine good wine and great weather with flying.

Wendy says it’s a great escape from the day job, where she manages a software / hardware development team working on fleet and vehicle tracking systems.

Glider: Duo Discus - 871

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Claudia Hill

echnical translator, Claudia, started gliding while at university in her native Germany. She shares a glider with husband, Nick. She caught the cross-country bug early on in her flying career and was talked into flying her first regional competition in 2006, and her first national championship

in 2010. A string of good results culminated in her qualifying for the Women’s World Championships in France in 2013. “A nice thing is that gliding gives you what you want to get out of it – be it cross-country flying, aerobatics, instructing, leisurely sight-seeing flights, pottering about at your gliding club...”

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Duo Discus - LGC

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Julian Hitchcock

ulian started gliding in 1995 flying T21s out of Tangmere with 461 ATC Squadron. Unfortunately Tangmere closed before he could go solo at 16, and he didn’t return to the sport until aged 35 when on holiday camping next to Bembridge watching

a Blanik soaring the cliffs. Now with 2700 hours and a Full Cat SLMG Instructor Rating what he wants most of all from gliding is to just enjoy it and share the sociable experience with mates which is why he flies twoseaters. Julian runs a private nursing home in Bognor Regis.

Club: Southdown Gliding Club Glider: DG1001M - RV

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Mark Holden

ark Holden started gliding at a young age with his father at Lee-on-Solent and went solo on his s 16th birthday. As he started to get into competition flying, Mark moved to Lasham over ten years ago. He has competed in Nationals, Junior Worlds and competitions in

Europe, normally flying a Ventus 2cxa. Mark says, “Mountain flying is something I particularly enjoy and I am looking forward to doing more of it when time allows”. For the day job Mark works in Flight Simulation and Training for Rockwell Collins throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Duo Discus - KPE

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Phil Jeffery

hil first went solo at RAF Martlesham Heath with the ATC in 1955, then started gliding proper the following year at Dunstable whilst an apprentice at RAF Halton.

Phil had a gliding sabbatical from 1964 until joining

the Cambridge club at Duxford in 1986. He restarted competition gliding in 1987 and has flown at least two every year since, mostly nationals but a few regionals and a couple of Europeans. “I’ve now amassed 7000 plus hours of gliding which would have been less had I found out how to fly faster”.

Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre Glider: Duo Discus X - 72

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Richard Large

ichard started flying at Cranfield Institute in 1969 after being introduced by Heinz Karney, a German ex-WWII pilot. He soon went solo after 7hr 41min and 47 launches.

The BGA tested new and prototype gliders at Cranfield in the 60’s and

70’s and the test pilots, Howard Torode and Pete Bisgood, let him fly some (‘Some I wouldn’t fly for love or money’). Keith Scott, Lyveden’s CFI, introduced Richard to the delights of cross country flying and they both moved to Hus Bos 20 years ago Richard moved also. I have been at HB for 20 years. and have 2400 hrs,

Club: The Gliding Centre Glider: Arcus - 38

UK Nationals 2015 - 7

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Chris Lewis

hris Lewis learned to fly at Rufforth, but dropped out of gliding after university due to lack of time and funds.

Retirement cured both of these, and he joined Cambridge GC in 2005, After completing his Silver C with a 150km triangle in the club Pegasus,

he took the plunge and bought SY, an LS7WL. In 2011, he joined the 8F Duo Discus syndicate. This is his first two-seater competition. With Gold C and 2 diamonds under his belt, the time has come to trade up the LS7, and an HpH Shark Jet is on order for next season.

Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre Glider: Duo Discus - 8F

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Steve Pozerkis (right)

teve Pozerskis says, “Given that my parents met whilst at the gliding club, I didn’t really have a chance of doing anything else in my life. My childhood was spent growing up at Hus Bos, helping at the launch point and gradually working my way through the gliding syllabus. Having soloed in

2003, I flew my first competition (the Juniors) in 2006 at Dunstable. Since then I have regularly flown Nationals and Regionals – with a win in the 2013 Bicester Regionals.” Steve now has around 750 hours and flies at Lasham Gliding Society in what’s left of his student loan (ASW 20).

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Duo Discus - HB1

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John Tanner

ohn Tanner started flying in 1994 and currently has 1900 hours, 800 flights, and 80 field landings (so statistically he has a 10 % chance of landing out). He also has an ATPL (commercial pilots licence) with 1800 hours, 6500 flights and apparently

one failed landing. John is now an air traffic controller based at Prestwick, responsible for Northern England and Eastern Scotland airspace. He says he is usually successful at keeping the commercial planes inside all that pesky airspace.

Club: Deeside Gliding Centre Glider: Duo Discus - 220

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Kim Tipple

natural flyer, Kim won the UK Cross Country Hang Gliding Championship in 1987 and represented Britain in international competitions between 1987 and 1991. He took up gliding in 1994 and won the Open Class Nationals at Cambridge in 2004. He loves sharing

the “amazing air currents with his gliding mates and various other forms of wildlife.” Kim’s gliding ambitions are modest – to fly with and beat the world’s best pilots and to fly over Mount Everest in a glider. He now lives in Somerset and works as a self employed builder. He maintains an interest in sailing and gardening.

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Arcus - 291

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Rod Witter

od Witter discovered gliding by serendipitous chance when, in 1970, he was posted as an Engineer Officer on short service commission in the Royal Air Force to RAF Lindholme near Doncaster. There he was given the secondary duty of responsibility for the RAFGSA Humber Gliding

Club’s Engineering affairs. Rod currently flies at Lleweni Parc airfield in North Wales. The Arcus M that he is flying in this competition is mainly stationed at Nympsfield near Stroud in Gloucestershire and is operated by Dan Welch to give advanced gliding experience.

Club: Lleweni Parc Glider: Arcus - LEW

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UK Nationals 2015 - 9

Open Class Competitors

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Russell Cheetham

ussell Cheetham is a highly experienced and successful competition glider pilot with European Gliding Championship titles in both Open and 18m Classes.

He holds the record for the longest free distance flight in the UK, a

massive 1020 km flown in 2004.

Russell represented Great Britain in the 18m Class at the 2015 European Gliding Championships in Hungary, flying his JS1c-18m. Russell showed his form in early season 2015 training by finishing second at the Hahnweide competition.

Club: The Gliding Centre Glider: JS1c - E1

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Andy Davis

ndy Davis flies at the Bristol & Gloucestershire GC at Nympsfield and is a British Team member and coach. He went solo at Keevil just after his 16th birthday and is one of that rare breed, a double World Gliding Champion. He was the silver

medallist in the Open Class in the last World Gliding Championships and will be coming to the UK Nationals fresh from flying in the 2015 European 18m Class Gliding Championships in Hungary in his JS1c-18m.

Club: Bristol & Gloucestershire Glider: JS1c - 80

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Rory Ellis

ory has 1700 hours gliding and is a Full Category instructor and has a MotorGlider Instructor Rating.

He has a Silver C with two Diamonds.

“Some day I will get around to doing the remaining height gains, maybe?”

Rory has been flying competitions

since 1993 and he enjoys competition flying with its associated challenges, every day is different. Rory flies for Cathay Pacific as a First Officer on Boeing 747-400 and 747-8F aircraft.

He has 14,800 hours on powered aircraft, of which over 1700 hours is glider towing.

Club: The Gliding Centre Glider: ASG29 - 9

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Iain Evans

et another British team member, immediately prior to the 2015 UK Nationals Iain will be competing in the 2015 European Gliding Championships, his first competition representing Great Britain. Iain earned his place in the British team by

finishing in the top three in the 2014 Open Class Nationals, though he is no stranger to international competition having raced in Spain, Hungary, South Africa and Germany. Iain’s crew is his partner Rose Johnson who has competed in four Women’s World Gliding Championships.

Club: Herefordshire GC Glider: JS1c - XZ

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Pete Harvey

ete Harvey flies at Windrushers Gliding Club at Bicester and is a British Team member. After success in international hang-gliding, he won three consecutive European Open Class Gliding Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2009 – an unprecedented achievement.

Just before the UK Nationals he is flying in the 2015 European Open Class Gliding Championships in Hungary in his JS1c-21m. For his sins, Pete is Chairman of the British Gliding Association.

Club: Windrushers GC Glider: JS1c - N1

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Steve Jones

teve grew up in a gliding family - his father Ralph was eight times UK National Champion and competed in a record 59 UK Nationals. With his brother Howard, Steve is the current World Gliding Champion in the 20m Multi-Seat Class after

winning six days out of seven (they were only second on the last day!), and he has previously won World and European Gliding Championships.

Steve is currently 29th in the IGC world ranking list. Steve’s day job is managing Southern Sailplanes.

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: Nimbus

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Shaun Lapworth

haun Lapworth flies at Lasham.

He says, “I’m a club pilot with ideas above my station though I’ve managed all three diamonds without resorting to airline travel.” Modestly he omits to mention that he also holds the British National records for 300

km and 500 km achieved in a JS1c in South Africa at a blistering 168 kph.

Shaun would love to go to a World or European Gliding Championship as a competing pilot instead of being the British Team captain so he kindly requests that all the other pilots to slow down a bit please!

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: JS1c - ZB

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Stafford Lintott

tafford learned to fly at the Kent Gliding Club from the age of fourteen and was sent solo a week after his sixteenth birthday. He has 1000 hours gliding and 300 hours power.

He says his best flight ever was a 350 km flight with Mike Moulang in a Duo Discus at the Two-Seat Competition

at Pocklington which inspired him to enter competitions.His ambition in the Nationals is simply to do the task and finish. Stafford says, “The level of experience in the competition is far beyond my skill set, so to take part and finish and have a good week will be my goal.” His job is to manage the technical roll out of 4G for two mobile networks.

Club: The Gliding Centre Glider: Nimbus 3DT - PE

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Graham Paul

raham Paul started gliding at Dunstable (London Gliding Club) when he was 14, and went solo on his 16th birthday. However, due to other commitments of work and sport, (he was in the British fencing team for over thirty years and competed in four Olympics), he gave up gliding until taking it up again some thirteen

years ago. Progressing from a share in a Vega, a Standard Cirrus, and a Duo Discus, Graham now owns a Nimbus 4DM. Graham says, “Despite having over 2500 hrs, I still feel that I have lots to learn.”

Club: Shenington Glider: Nimbus 4DM - 60

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Peter Reading

eter Reading has been gliding since 1975 and he joined the Imperial College Gliding Club at Lasham in 1977. Peter has flown competitions sporadically, when he can get leave on the right dates (from his day job as an airline pilot). Peter has flown several

750 km flights in the UK and likes to fly overseas whenever possible.

He seems to spend most of his nonflying time agreeing airspace. During this Nationals he will be flying with Teddy Szemberg O’Connor and Egor Kyshtymov, both students at Imperial College London.

Club: Lasham Gliding Society Glider: ASH 25 - 942

UK Nationals 2015 - 11

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Paul Ruskin

aul Ruskin started gliding in the early ‘80s after a brief encounter with the RAF. Following a career in the Cambridge Hi-Tech area, which involved a fair amount of European travel in a Mooney 201, he started gliding again some six years ago.

The purchase of an ASW20 led to several entries in the Gransden Regionals and one in the Club Class Nationals, all of which were highly enjoyable.

The opportunity of entering the Open Class at Gransden seemed like a good chance to try out a new Shark.

Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre Glider: HPH Shark - 28

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Colin Smithers

olin first flew a glider in 1985 (actually on the last week of his honeymoon at the prompting of his fiancé) but he only took up gliding properly two years later. The time pressures of work - Colin is co-founder & chairman of Plextek, and founder &

CEO of Redtail Telematics, two of the National’s sponsors - plus numerous other diverse interests have meant he has only accumulated around 1000 gliding hours in the intervening thirty years. When not being an entrepreneur and family man, Colin enjoys ham radio competitions and classical piano playing.

Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre Glider: ASH25 - M25

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Angus Watson

ngus (‘the coat’) Watson was introduced to gliding at RAF Marham by the scouting movement in 1983. Later that year he moved to Cranwell Gliding Club and went solo on his 16th birthday. He has become a serious competition pilot initially

flying an Oly 2b, before progressing to an Astir, LS7, LS8 and currently competes regularly in his vintage ASH 25wl (G-SINK) at national level. As a full category instructor he teaches not just basics, sending students on their first solos, but also any of the advanced aspects including competition techniques.

Club: Cranwell Gliding Club Glider: ASH25 - RC

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Kevin Atkinson

evin Atkinson started gliding at the age of 13 at Ouse Gliding Club (now York) and flew his first solo on his 16th birthday. He had a full career flying noisy military jets for various organisations, the last being with BAE Systems at Warton, before retiring to concentrate on his

real passion and challenging form of flying – gliding. He is currently the BGA Aim Higher club coach lead for promoting the advancement of teaching soaring and cross country at club level training flights.

Kevin will be sharing the flying with Angus Watson -see above

R

Robert Welford

obert starting gliding in 1987 and since then he has accrued over 3000 hours experience, 3 Diamonds and a UK 750 km. He is currently CFI at Cambridge Gliding Centre, but his passion is flying cross-country in his ASG29. Robert also enjoys mountain

flying and his most memorable flights have been experienced in the French Alps flying from Sisteron, including rounding the Matterhorn. His day job involves providing technical consultancy and contract research and development. He also enjoys hill walking, cycling, and skiing.

Club: Cambridge Gliding Centre Glider: ASG29 - W8

12 - UK Nationals 2015

FlyByWire Aviation Art

A

rtist Pieter Grobbelaar uses detailed drawings to create accurate wire sculptures, using carefully shaped fine wire delicately soldered together to give a detailed precise 3D model. Although almost any product could be modelled, Pieter specialises in aircraft of all types, including gliders, WWII fighters, general aviation aircraft, helicopters and airliners. The models are fine works of craftsmanship in their own right.

Each model is mounted in a bespoke framed display case for wall mounting. The display case often includes a mirror to add a side view of the model, with the background customised with logos or images and signed by the artist, and the frame has an engraved placque. These artworks are only

An ASW27 B (292): choose from nickel, rhodium, or gold plate with gold, silver or copper frame

Pieter Grobbelaar +27(0)836753147

produced to order and to specific individual requirements, and so each one is unique.

Models are usually made from copper wire, and finished in either copper, nickel plated, gold plated or rhodium (white gold) plated. Models can also be made from solid silver sterling wire or 18ct gold wire. The displays can be produced in a variety of sizes, even up to a huge A0 frame.

As part of their sponsorship of the 2015 UK Nationals, Jonker Sailplanes have generously agreed to commission two models for the winner in each of the Open Class and the 20m Multi-Seat Class. The winner will receive a personalised model of the winning glider, mounted in an A3-sized frame with a background image chosen by the winner and including a placque recording pilot details, and glider type and registration.

The models will be produced after the 2015 Nationals and the award ceremony will be at the 2016 BGA Conference.

flybywire49@hotmail.com www.flybywireaviationart.co.za

UK Nationals 2015 - 13

Safety is No Accident !

The greatest leap forward in gliding flight safety in the last ten years?

Iain Baker examines the past, present and future for FLARM.

T

he Visual Flight Rules principle of “see and avoid” is wholly reliant upon pilots maintaining a good lookout. However, in many situations it is difficult or impossible to see a conflicting aircraft simply because the pilot’s view is obscured by a wing or another part of the aircraft.

Because the human eye is best at detecting relative movement, so a glider approaching head-on – with a closing speed of perhaps 200kts - is difficult to see until a few seconds before a possible collision, leaving minimal time for the pilots to react

other in gaggles.

FLARM was invented in 2004 by three Swiss glider pilots, Urs Rothacher, Andrea Schlapbach, and Urban Mäder, following fatal mid-air collisions between gliders including some of their close friends. All three are experienced pilots - Urs and Andrea completed a 1040 km flight in a Nimbus 3 in 2003 and all of the FLARM Technology management team continues to fly – but they are also engineers with many years of experience in electrical engineering and entrepreneurship.

The three envisaged a system that

crowdfunding, with fellow glider pilots convinced of the merits of the new product. To speed up development, FLARM Technology teamed up with several avionics manufacturers to produce a range of products from displays, standalone devices to fully integrated avionics systems.

The Classic FLARM devices only work if conflicting aircraft were equipped with FLARM, so pilot communities and individuals actively promoted other pilots to install it.

Remarkably, the number of FLARM installations grew exponentially through word of mouth – without any

FLARM’s founders, pilots and engineers: Urs Rothacher, Andrea Schlapbach and Urban Mäder and take avoiding action.

Gliders have always flown close to each other while thermalling, and habitually fly at high speed along popular alpine routes such as the famous Parcours des Combattants near Digne-les-Bains in France.

By the early 2000s gliders were being equipped with sophisticated navigation systems with moving map displays, and pilot lookout was becoming increasingly secondary to operating these systems. By 2003 midair collisions were the single biggest cause of fatal gliding accidents.

Existing systems were expensive, required too much power for gliders, and could not be readily reconfigured for gliders which fly close to each

14 - UK Nationals 2015

would provide another detection method, not just “see and avoid” but “detect and avoid”, and provide location information to help the pilot decide what avoiding action to take.

Building on an anti-collision concept developed and patented

by ONERA (the French national aerospace research centre) and subsequently uniquely licenced to FLARM Technology, the three Swiss developed prototype systems that combined a high precision GPS and a radio transceiver with an anti-collision algorithm tailored and enhanced for gliding, into a compact, low power and affordable unit.

Volume manufacturing was financed by one of the first examples of

conventional marketing efforts.

Today, there are more than 25,000 aircraft installed with a FLARM system. In central Europe, virtually every glider has FLARM fitted and many glider pilots would never fly without it. In March 2013 FLARM was made mandatory for all gliders in France and the latest version has EASA approval with minimum change installation approval to minimise the installation costs.

So how does FLARM work? Each FLARM device contains a highly sensitive, state-of-the-art GPS receiver that is used to determine position and altitude. Deriving speed, acceleration, heading, track, turn radius, vertical speed and other parameters, a very

.

FLARM in Arcus 291 over Corby. Picture: Paul Harvey

UK Nationals 2015 - 15

Breitling Lockheed Super Constellation is the largest aircraft fitted with FLARM

precise predicted flight path is calculated. This predicted flight path is encoded and sent over an encrypted radio channel to all nearby aircraft at least once per second.

At the same time, the FLARM device receives the predicted flight paths from all surrounding aircraft. Using a combination of its own and received flight paths, an intelligent motion prediction algorithm calculates a collision risk for each received aircraft based on an integrated risk model. The FLARM device communicates this, together with the direction and altitude difference to the intruding aircraft, to the connected FLARM display. The pilots are then given visual and aural warnings of collision risks.

The newest FLARM devices which are based on the improved PowerFLARM technology also incorporate a very accurate ADS-B and transponder (SSR) Mode-C/S receiver. This enables all transponder equipped aircraft to be included in the collision prediction algorithm and is especially valuable when flying in airspace shared with General Aviation

16 - UK Nationals 2015

aircraft.

In addition to issuing collision warnings, many displays also show nearby aircraft on a “radar” screen.

This helps pilots to “detect and avoid”, before a collision warning becomes necessary.

Another feature is an innovative obstacle collision warning system.

Using an integrated obstacle database, the system warns when the pilot is about to fly into a wind turbine or other type of obstacle. It can even warn of complex ‘segmented’ obstacles such as power lines and cable cars.

Other options include integrated IGC-approved flight recording and engine noise level monitoring for motorised gliders.

‘...the current FLARM tracking network has triggered concerns with some pilots not wishing to be tracked...’

The latest version of FLARM is PowerFLARM, using a new

© Hans Domjan

technology platform. Compared to Classic FLARM, PowerFLARM has among other things improved transceiver range (over 10km is typical with external antennas), high sensitivity GPS receivers, interference protection, antenna diversity - meaning it is possible to have one antenna on top of the aircraft and one below to eliminate blind spots.

PowerFLARM is also optionally equipped with an integrated ADS-B and transponder (SSR) Mode-C/S receiver. ADS-B aircraft are shown like FLARM aircraft, but within the inherent limitations of ADS-B positions. Transponder equipped aircraft are shown with approximate range and altitude difference (ModeC/S).

Two versions are available, PowerFLARM Core for use with a separate display, and PowerFLARM Portable with an integrated display.

One of the unexpected outcomes of the widespread uptake of FLARM is the ability for real-time tracking of aircraft. Since 2007 websites such as Flightradar24 have been collecting

aircraft ADS-B signals and presenting aircraft position and tracks on a map, with other data such as speed, height, route, aircraft type and registration.

Independently of FLARM Technology, a loose affiliation of glider pilots have developed a network of ground-based receivers that collect FLARM signals, decode them and distribute via internet sites such as live.glidertracking.com.

This has demonstrated the potential gains from real-time tracking, most notably making gliding competitions into spectator events, and with the consequent opportunity to access major sponsorship for the first time.

With internet access, anyone anywhere can follow a gliding race in real time, and if the competition organisers can provide a text-based running commentary on a competition-specific website, then everyone is drawn to that site.

Real-time tracking of the Sailplane Grand Prix final attracted hundreds of thousands of website hits.

With this potential level of interest, gliding can offer something tangible and valuable to sponsors, with the ability to transform gliding competitions from being self-funded

FLARM ‘radar’ display

into major commercial sporting events. A further spin-off with heightened public awareness of gliding is the possibility of reversing the global trend of declining gliding membership.

But (there’s always a but), the current FLARM tracking network has triggered concerns with some pilots not wishing to be tracked, and possible breaches of German privacy laws.

FLARM Technology has added a

‘Privacy’ option in the latest release of FLARM, instructing third party receiving stations that the received ID and position data must neither be stored nor made accessible in any time dimension (real-time, delayed, or archived) for any purpose.

Aside of real-time tracking, FLARM can also assist with SAR. Each FLARM device continually broadcasts aircraft GPS position and

‘...the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight began to fit PowerFLARMs in all their aircraft in 2014’ altitude together with a unique ID. FLARM devices also record the flight and make the recording available in a standardised IGC-file. In addition to recording the flight track in the IGCfile, a selection of the clocked 3Dvectors and IDs of received FLARM broadcasts from other aircraft are recorded in an encrypted form as well.

This means that aircraft that have been flying nearby leave their traces in the FLARM device’s IGC-file.

The reason for this recording is that the pilots get the opportunity to check the quality of their FLARM installations and in particular of the transmitter/ receiver and of the antennas. This is by uploading an IGC-file to http:// flarm.com/support/tools-software/ flarm-range-analyzer/.

Should an aircraft whose FLARMID is known be reported missing, then FLARM Technology is able to reconstruct its flight track by using the IGC-files of other FLARM-devices.

The more aircraft whose FLARM IGC-files can be accessed and that have been flying more or less in the same area and on the same day, the better the reconstruction This method has been successfully used in several accidents, most significantly in March 2015 to locate a crashed glider near Saint Auban and allow the SAR team to rescue the surviving pilot.

So what of the future? The expanding market today is within the powered aircraft community. With the shortcomings of ADS-B for collision

avoidance purposes, many pilots and aircraft owners are looking for ways to not only feel safe, but to be safe.

FLARM Technology’s long term ambition is that every GA aircraft is equipped with FLARM. The largest aircraft equipped with FLARM is the Breitling Lockheed Super Constellation. Here in the UK, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight began to fit PowerFLARMs in all their aircraft in 2014.

UAV/UAS (drone) operators and other manufacturers from all over the world are currently looking for technology that allows them to fly in non-segregated airspace. Tests have been conducted by ONERA in April 2013 and FLARM Technology is currently working with several of

Standard FLARM display

these companies to integrate FLARM into the UAV environment. One idea is that UAVs could fly in formation for aerial surveying and maintain distance through FLARM feedback to control systems.

Overall FLARM Technology sees its future in concentrating on systems design within general/light aviation and glider domains, and continuing to licence FLARM to any company that wants to develop its own OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) FLARM devices. For several years they have produced a FLARM OEM board that can easily be integrated into other hardware, and the majority of FLARM devices sold today are actually from OEMs. Accidents are not prevented through luck, but through improvements in training and taking advantage of technology.

Cambridge Gliding Centre is an active supporter of FLARM as a valuable safety aid. It is installed on all the CGC club fleet, both gliders and tug aircraft, and CGC members are encouraged to install FLARM and use it in their own gliders.

UK Nationals 2015 - 17

Dancing With the Wind Once in a generation an outstanding book on gliding appears.

In 2015 it is Jean-Marie Clément’s, Dancing With the Wind.

Paul Harvey reviews

I

Three Nimbus 4DMs converge over the Andes, while the author, Jean-Marie Clément (right) snaps them

t’s 25th November 2003 and Jean-Marie’s wave flight over the Patagonian desert is ‘turning to agony’. It is then that he remembers his first job in 1970 at a tissue manufacturer in the USA and applies the principles of Giorgio Bidone’s hydraulic jump to climb to safety. I suspect most of us would have been looking for somewhere to land.

Dancing With the Wind is a rare combination of enthusiasm and technical expertise that engages and educates through stunning photographs and clear illustration.

It could only have been written by a man who has applied thoughtful fundamental analysis to his love of gliding, especially the complex mysteries of wave soaring. Jean-

18 - UK Nationals 2015

Marie also happens to hold six world gliding records.

The 304 full colour pages are divided into 12 chapters. Some review well-trodden areas, but even in the familiar area of Slope Soaring, Techniques and Tips he provides superb explanations and insights, such as why there should be a slight slip towards the inside

‘I realised then that there was less than a meter remaining of my right wing…’ of the turn. And why the greater the angle between the wind and the crest, the more the flow curl behind the peak is disturbed.

Jean-Marie is also concerned with safety and in the chapter,

Slope Flying - the Real Dangers, he covers some of the risks.

Collision, cables, loss of lift due to vegetation, crossing a ridge downwind – due to variometric anomaly – crossing a col from the leeward side, thermal strength exceeding control authority and deceptive plateaus, to list just a few. The section also reprints accounts and explanations of some notable Alpine accidents to get the message across.

The most novel and illuminating revelations in Dancing With The Wind are the chapters that explore the formation and use of classic mountain lee waves and the atmospheric hydraulic jump (Bidone’s jump). JeanMarie explains the basic physics,

using stunning pictures and clear diagrams to illustrate, if the science is a bit tough. Then he adds to the theory with qualitative explanations and observations as to how to use the wave that are based on his own personal experiences and explorations.

The chapter Theories on the formation of waves covers the basics of wave propagation and the importance of thermal activity but the relative unimportance of wind speed. There is a clear account

‘...peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) of even the young and fit falls below 90 per cent’ and ‘anaerobic cerebral metabolism begins...’ of the Scorer parameter and its importance for a wave to ‘prosper’.

Much of these explanations are supported by his flight traces superimposed on satellite pictures.

The next chapter, Atypical waves, explores his research flying in the lee of Chilean volcanoes, which produce waves similar to that of a powerboat’s wake, with inflight pictures to support it. Other atypical waves systems include inversion wave, convective wave and cold front waves – where the mass of cold air acts as a barrier.

Jean-Marie attributes his success at the European Championships in 1988 at Issoudun, France to his ability to exploit a low altitude wave system despite it being in the flatlands.

It was in 1819 that Bidone, a mathematician and hydraulic engineer, first identified the hydraulic jump. Essentially, the jump is caused by a fast fluid flow down a slope and a barrier

triggering a sudden upwards jump in the fluid which can dramatically exceed the height of the barrier. The height of the jump is proportional to the difference in the speeds of the fluid before and after the trigger.

Jean-Marie’s Bidone’s jump over the Pyrenees with classic comb cloud novel insights reveal how the and loads contains some interesting well-known characteristics of a pilot accounts to reinforce the water hydraulic jump translate to issues with flying too fast. Emilio an atmospheric hydraulic jump, and Dansey lost control of his ASW20 how these can be recognised and flying over the Susa Valley in then used by glider pilots. northern Italy: This is no nebulous, “…the ventilation window theoretical lift. Satellite pictures opened suddenly and I immediately and dramatic photographs are used closed it. At that moment I felt a to explain the aspects of a hydraulic great shock followed by shaking, jump, such as the well-defined like I was sitting on a jackhammer upwind cloud edge near the trigger at a frequency of 10Hz; this lasted a and the comb cloud downwind. few seconds, during which I tried to What characterises Bidone jump gently reduce my speed by gently lift from lee (rebound) wave is its pulling on the stick that I was greater extent, weaker nature and holding with both hands. its formation at higher altitudes.

“I realised immediately the Daniel Rossier, a Swiss presence of flutter but not by pilot, flew 1400 km partly using feeling any vibration through the hydraulic lift and the book contains stick, as is the case in aileron an explanation of his flight. flutter. Then the glider rolled and However, research into atmospheric ‘What characterises Bidone hydraulic jumps is largely in its jump lift from lee wave is its infancy and heavily focused on greater extent, weaker the Owens Valley and the T-REX nature and its formation project – Terrain Induced Rotor at higher altitudes...’

Experiment. Perhaps by opening our eyes to the phenomena and then spun inverted. I realised then sharing his understanding, Jeanthat there was less than a meter Marie will trigger glider pilots to remaining of my right wing…” explore Bidone’s jump and add new Wave flights would be hugely insights. compromised if we did not have On a different topic, the oxygen systems and Jean-Marie chapter titled Determination of dedicates an extensive part of the speed-to-fly and limiting speeds book to oxygen: basic physiological

UK Nationals 2015 - 19

aspects, applied research, and management of EDS. Dr. Heini Schaffner, a Swiss glider pilot and anaesthetist, oversaw the chapter, and there are sound medical explanations for the effects of high altitude flight on glider pilots.

New European regulations in 2014 state that oxygen should be carried above 10,000 feet because then peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) of even the young and fit falls below 90 per cent and anaerobic cerebral metabolism begins. Sounds scary, and JeanMarie demystifies the medical jargon.

The book covers the measurement of oxygen saturation, types of delivery and even different types of oxygen. In Patagonia, his stomping ground, only industrial oxygen is available but works fine if the bottles are kept upright. There then follows a detailed look at

EDS, including the limits on tube length (1.5m). So what if you are in the front seat of a Duo? There is a way to compensate by changing the tube diameter.

There also needs to be a good fit between cannulae and nasal size with a real risk of hypoxia if the cannulae is too narrow pulsoxygrams are produced to support this statement. One way of further enhancing oxygen delivery is via the reverse flow A-14 mask which works (essentially) by using expiration pressure to keep more lung alveoli open and hence improve gas exchange.

There’s more: Cheyne-Stokes breathing, the dangers of talking at altitude and raising the question of whether we should be carrying CO2 cylinders as well as oxygen.

John Williams says of Jean-Marie: “He’s been a truly pioneering pilot in the Alps and

Special Offer Trade in your old Classic FLARM and upgrade to

PowerFLARM and save £150

Contact Mike Pettican 07788 986 362 LX Avionics Ltd www.lxavionics.co.uk mike.pettican@lxavionics.co.uk Offer valid until end November 2015 on presentation of this programme

20 - UK Nationals 2015

in the wave of Argentina. I heard him speak non-stop for two hours at a seminar he gave in Scotland, and afterwards realised this was only scratching the surface of his knowledge.”

With Dancing With The Wind Jean-Marie has tried to share all his accumulated knowledge and fascinating insights, and has created the definitive text on wave soaring.

A

s a company which was founded and achieved success within the local technology cluster, CBNL is proud to support Cambridge Gliding Centre.

CBNL’s market-leading wireless infrastructure is established in more than 40 countries and has been used to build some of the world’s most modern mobile and broadband access networks.

CBNL has recently marked its 15th year in operation and is proud to have seen its Cambridge R&D facility create innovative solutions which now serve over 70 communications providers, including seven of the world’s largest top ten mobile operators.

For more information about career opportunities at CBNL, visit www.cbnl.com

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UK Nationals 2015 - 21

Home from Home Club stalwarts Anthony Edwards, Robert Bryce-Smith and Andrew Hulme revisit the club’s past and find it has gone back to the future

T

he 1930s began with the Great Depression and finished with the start of the Second World War. Gliding was very much in its infancy, materials and design were cumbersome and knowledge was almost non-existent. Yet a group of Cambridge undergraduates had a dream of taking to the skies no matter what obstacles were in their way, and almost certainly formed the first flat site gliding club.

The Cambridge University Gliding Club (CUGC) was formed by a small group of enterprising students in 1935. Initially operating from Caxton Gibbet, CUGC pioneered thermal soaring from winch launches - initially with a Zögling, a BAC VII two seater and the Cambridge 1 (“The

‘Bluebell was the club’s first high performance two-seater and was entered in the Nationals in 1957’ Pons”) gliders. The Cambridge 1 was specified by CUGC members and built at Dunstable for the club as a glider to bridge the gap between the old primary gliders and higher performance aircraft.

The club quickly became famous for running expeditions to hill sites as it was forced to find soaring conditions outside the thermal soaring season.

Ralph Slazenger owned all the CUGC gliders until he handed

22 - UK Nationals 2015

Bluebell’s recent assignment was to act as a camera ship for the cover L to R: Peter Joslin, Robert Bryce-Smith, Sarah Kelman and Alan Dibdin

them over to the Cambridge University Gliding Trust in 1952.

At the outbreak of war in 1939 the club had trained a large number of glider pilots, achieving around 10 per cent of UK Silver Badges and became proficient in aerotowing at RAF Duxford and Marshall’s (as Cambridge Airport was and still is known).

After war forced a six year pause to gliding, John Pringle rescued the Cambridge 1 from its wartime resting place at Dunstable and flew a memorable flight over

Cambridge students prepare a Kranich

London in mid-1945. Shortly afterwards flying started again at Marshall’s and Caxton. The following year saw a move to Bourn Airfield and the first club camp to the Long Mynd.

The club showed its ambitions at a difficult time after the war, when Ted Warner was employed full time in 1946, first as a ground engineer and later as a gliding instructor continuing until 1986.

He was CFI for much of this time and was the fabric of the club. He taught most members

Robert Bryce-Smith pilots Bluebell in her natural environment - the circuit

to fly, headed the “No 2 BGA Test Group” and ran instructor courses. His quick dry wit was used to keep the many students (with massive brains and equally ambitious ideas) in check! Ted only recently died in 2011 and was held in very high esteem by the entire club and ex-club members throughout the UK. The club fleet in the late 1940s consisted of a Kranich, several Cadets, the Cambridge 1 and a Tutor.

In May 1950, the club purchased a brand new Slingsby T21b affectionately named “Bluebell” which heralded the end of ‘solo training’, a slow progression from ground slides with the instructor cycling beside yelling out patter, to low hops and finally 360° turns. Bluebell was the club’s first high performance two-seater and was entered in the Nationals in 1957. She was the club’s main trainer until 1980, although a privately owned Eagle, and later, a private K7 were also used.

Bluebell remained on the fleet until taken over by a syndicate in 2007 and resides in her new home

in the roof of the club’s hangar at Gransden Lodge when she is not flying.

Bluebell is much loved, although it’s hard to know how much of her is original. Rather like “Trigger’s broom”, she suffered a few bruises over the years. Bluebell made a visit to the Cherry Hinton Post Office in Cambridge (literally) in 1964, which required a complete new

‘Ted’s quick dry wit was used to keep the many students (with massive brains and equally ambitious ideas) in check!’ nose from Slingsby, and she had an argument with a cyclist on the perimeter track at Marshall’s.

Many repairs were made over the years including the tail having to be fixed back on.

Mynd Camps quickly became part of the club’s DNA. At its peak, the club would take most of its fleet, including the winch and tractor the 160 miles and take over the site for four

equally spaced fortnight camps.

It was common for the newest two students to be asked to drive the tractor (with Bluebell in tow) leaving Cambridge at dawn. The main convoy of club equipment would pass this poor unsuspecting novice somewhere in the Midlands to swap to a relief student who would arrive on the hill sometime after supper!

The club winches were, at this time, self-propelled. “The Brute” was an ex-War Department Canadian Ford lorry with a two drum winch that made many trips to the Mynd. “The Beast” (a much larger winch) always stayed at home and an ex-War Department Wild winch on a four wheel drive army truck was used for expeditions (and sometimes towed Bluebell in a convoy that would surely attract police attention these days!). Later the “Scott Winch” took over and was used as the main winch, and for expeditions.

Members quickly honed their ridge (and later wave) soaring skills along with becoming experts at bungee launching.

UK Nationals 2015 - 23

Unusually, this flat land club owned its own bungee until the late 1970s. It was obviously used during Mynd Camps but it also found its use during camps to other sites.

A June camp would sometimes see three 5 hour flights achieved in the same glider. A 5am bungee launch, back to bed, breakfast then change pilots over midmorning. Then another crew change late afternoon.

Members later developed autobungee replacing the bungee crew with a Land Rover. Members later developed a system using “land anchors” to pre-stretch the bungee. These camps saw bungee launching wooden single seaters from impromptu hill sites until last year!

The club fleet in 1955 was Bluebell, a Tutor, a Prefect and an Olympia 2b.

In the 1950s, many members attempted flights from Cambridge to Exeter for their Gold C distance. A downwind dash using the spring northeasterlies was the most likely way to achieve this Gold Distance (300 km). In May 1957 John Hulme attempted this flight, but due to strong winds, overshot Exeter and so decided to continue and reached Truro, only landing when coastlines closed in from both sides. This was a new UK National Distance Record.

The club also had its fair share of heroic failures - many involving failed bungee launches. One infamous event was the club’s Oly 2 which thermalled for too long in cloud and drifted away from the coast near Felixstowe and couldn’t quite get back to the beach. Minor damage was caused by the lifeboat’s grappling hook for the tow back to dry land. Later the same aircraft

24 - UK Nationals 2015

Oh dear, Mr Postman: Bluebell at Cherry Hinton Post Office 1964

was bungeed off the Great Orme (Llandudno, North Wales) with inadequate lift – only to land in the sea yet again! A downwind ditching was made all the more exciting by the glider submerging for a few seconds allowing the pilot to observe fishes through the canopy before surfacing with no damage.

Through the generosity of John Burton (a long term member), a brand new Olympia was bought and made available for club use,

‘In the Duxford days it was common to share the circuit with a Spitfire.

When “Memphis Belle” was filmed – some members even appeared as extras helping to crew the six B17s’ with the generosity continuing when John allowed us the replace it with a K6CR after that Olympia undershot into the Chalk Pits in Cambridge and was written off.

Ted Warner developed a CUGC Instructors Course. He would train new instructors in Bluebell each Saturday morning during the winter and leave them to practice their new skills over the rest of the weekend. In

addition, the Test Flying Group would regularly contribute to the UK’s commitment to test all new gliders going onto the BGA register.

The club has always held its position as one of the leading cross country clubs. The first 300 km triangle was flown by Tony Maitland in 1971. A most memorable flight was a 500 km triangle flown by Steve Longland in his Skylark 3G in 1974 from Duxford, ...believed to still be the UK record for the lowest performance glider to complete a 500 km triangle.

Marshall’s was the club’s home throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Sir Arthur Marshall and later his son Sir Michael have been vice-presidents for many years.

Their support to CUGC was invaluable and included regularly donating to the Club the rent paid by the Government for basing and operating 105 ATC Gliding School at the airfield. However, due to increased commercial and military traffic, Marshall’s became aerotow only in 1969.

Winch operations commenced at Duxford (now that the RAF had vacated). Unusually the club operated from both sites (perhaps three sites if you include

An unused still from Brideshead Revisited (BACVII)

the Mynd) with Bluebell and a couple of Swallows providing ab-initio training from Duxford and the K7, Olympia 2b then K6CR and Skylark 4 plus a growing number of private gliders aerotowing from Marshall’s with three tugs. Initially Duxford had strict operating restrictions – less than 1000’ and keep within the boundary of the airfield – though it was surprising how many altimeters stuck at 1000 feet on some flights. These restrictions were quickly lifted heralding a gradual shift in operations towards Duxford from Marshall’s. In 1982 the club ceased permanent operations from Marshall’s and Duxford became its only site.

The “Duxford Days” could be remembered for mixing it with warbirds. It was common place to share the circuit with a Spitfire. When “Memphis Belle” was filmed some members even appeared as extras helping to crew the six B17s! However, the 1980s witnessed the Imperial War Museum grow at Duxford with increasing restrictions to gliding caused by air displays and visiting traffic. Gransden Lodge was identified (amongst other possible sites) and eventually a long term

lease was signed in 1991. So the following year saw the club return to a site it once used in the late 1940s and for the very first time, the club had control of its destiny.

Gransden Lodge was a wartime airfield. Its concrete runways had been dug up for aggregate in the 1950s. However the club used the existing perimeter tracks and planted grass on the footprint of the old runways (albeit somewhat wider than the RAF 100 foot wide runways).

Members literally handpicked 120

‘The most notable flight was

by Phil Jones in 2004 who flew 982 km during a 1000 km attempt; landing around 8pm on the wrong side of the A1’ tonnes of rubble which was used for the foundations of the club complex. The hangar, winch hut and clubhouse/workshop were given to the club by members or associates. Work parties spent much of 1991 building the current site. The front office, Scout hut, bunkhouse and shower block were built more recently.

Gransden Lodge is a purpose designed gliding site with three runways, plenty of space with

good approaches. It’s ideally situated geographically to enjoy some of the best thermals in the UK with little airspace restriction.

The move to Gransden saw the club operate a mainly wooden fleet of gliders, two tugs and a home built (“Picking”) winch. By the end of the 1990s CGC had an all-glass fleet (two K21s, a Grob Acro, a Puchacz, two Juniors, Pegasus and two Discuses), two tugs and two SupaCat winches, plus of course Bluebell.

Whilst CUGC was always open to non-university members, the club became CGC in 1996 to avoid the perception that the club was exclusive. CUGC was then reformed for present university members to fly within CGC’s operation (and they now own an ASW19).

More recent developments have included a change of tug fleet to two Robins, a Falke motorglider for training (owned by the Hertfordshire Scouts but operated by CGC) and a brand new SkyLaunch winch.

Although it only hosted its first rated competition in 1993 the club lead the way with thermal cross countries. Many records have been held or are currently held by members. CGC has produced many competition winners including Sarah Kelman who has been Women’s World Champion three times and was British Standard Class Champion in 2010.

Over thirty current members have flown their 500 km flights.

Peter Baker flew the first 750 km UK Diploma from Gransden in 1996 followed by Iain Baker (no relation) flying the second one the following day in a Vega. Since then a total of seven members have flown their 750s from

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Gransden. A most notable flight was by Phil Jones in 2004 who flew 982 km in his Ventus 18m during a 1000 km attempt, landing around 8pm on the wrong side of the A1.

The club held its first Nationals in 1998 - and 2015 will be the fourth hosted by CGC. Members now tend to visit sites abroad, including groups flying in the Alps, the Pyrenees and South Africa, plus individuals competing in various overseas competitions. Smaller club run camps to UK sites have continued since the days of the much bigger Mynd Camps.

CGC has always been a forward thinking club with a wealth of experience. It is never afraid to pioneer and think outside the box (not always to the BGA’s comfort!).

The site, whilst leased, is secure until 2037. CGC employs two full time instructors during the week, office staff and a workshop team. Membership remains strong, the club is asset rich and its future exciting.

A Unique Wedding or Party Gift

Airdisplays.com 07785 538317 Money from programme sales will help fund Cambridge Gliding Centre’s chosen charity, the East Anglian Air Ambulance

E

ast Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is a 365-day-ayear helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. We receive no regular funding from the government or National Lottery. The Charity relies on the people of East Anglia and their charitable donations and community fundraising to raise the £8.6 million we need this year to continue saving lives.

Since the charity began in 2000, we have attended over 16,000 missions and have touched many thousands of lives across East Anglia. EAAA attended 1,730 missions in 2014, which is equivalent to 4.7 missions every day. EAAA medical crews have enhanced clinical skills and are the ‘gold standard’ of pre-hospital emergency care. This is because our crews are made up of a doctor and critical-care paramedic, who provide critical lifesaving treatment and bring the emergency room to even the most inaccessible corners of East Anglia.

In April, the EAAA took delivery of a big yellow package: a new, state-of-the-art helicopter! The H145, which will fly out of the Cambridge base, is larger than its predecessor; and it can carry enough fuel to fly for over two hours, with a range of 300 nautical miles (335 miles). Whereas the current HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service) team comprises a pilot, a doctor and a critical-care paramedic, the new aircraft will be able to accommodate two pilots and three HEMS crew, as well as a patient. Extending the reach

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Your new best friends? Let’s hope not and effectiveness of the EAAA medical teams enables the charity to play a leading role in training the next generation of pre-hospital clinicians. More space also means that more can be done to help patients during the transfer process.

Thanks to significant funding from the LIBOR fines fund, the EAAA will be getting another H145 in Norwich early next year.

For more information on the work of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, visit www.eaaa.org.uk or call 08450 669 999.

You can also follow us on Twitter at @EastAngliAirAmb or ‘like’ our Facebook page – East Anglian Air Ambulance Charity.

www.glider-equipment.nl info@glider-equipment.nl

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There is a heroic and dark side to Gransden Lodge, with WWII raids on Hamburg and Dresden, and dropping food to starving Dutch civilians. Cambridge member, Chris Sullivan, unearths Gransden’s past

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oday, the peaceful countryside to the west of Cambridge is mainly given over to agriculture, but for some years in the mid 20th century things were very different, as then the area contained many airfields from which Allied aircraft flew to war. Gransden Lodge was one of these airfields, built in the early 1940s as one of the bases for the rapidly-increasing number of squadrons of the R.A.F.’s Bomber Command.

When the airfield first became operational in 1942, the two units

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that were initially assigned to the new station were both involved in top-secret work related to radar.

The first of these, No. 1418 Flight (later the Bombing Development Unit), carried out A Mosquito of No. 142 Squadron (Bill Brown) trials of some of the inventions that were constantly Bernard (later Sir Bernard) Lovell, being produced to assist the R.A.F. who, after the war, became famous as The equipment under test was very a radio astronomer and director of the varied, ranging from bombsights Jodrell Bank radio telescope, and Sir and autopilots to, most significantly, Henry Tizard, one of the driving forces the Gee navigational system and behind the creation of the country’s the H2S ground-mapping radar, the wartime radar defences. latter of which the unit developed The ebb and flow of the war for operational use. Both of these meant that within a year these units were to be vital to the success of the were moved away to carry on their Allied bombing campaign against the vital work at new bases, and the Axis. The other unit, No. 1474 Flight station became the home of No. 405 (later No. 192 Squadron), flew many Squadron, the only Canadian squadron hazardous monitoring to be part of the R.A.F.’s élite No. 8 missions across Group, the Pathfinder Force. Initially Europe, attempting flying the Halifax, the squadron soon to unlock the secrets converted onto the famous Lancaster, of Germany’s radar and this aircraft became the workhorse systems. One of for the squadron in its task of marking these operations, targets for the remainder of Bomber to determine the Command. While at Gransden Lodge characteristics of the the squadron was commanded, Lichtenstein airborne in turn, by the two most famous radar, was of such Canadian bomber pilots of World importance, and was War Two: Johnny Fauquier and Reg completed against Lane. Fauquier, after leaving No. such odds, that it 405 Squadron for a period at a desk was mentioned in job, voluntarily took a drop in rank the memoirs of Sir to command No. 617 Squadron, the Winston Churchill. Dambusters, and Lane, post-war, rose During this period, to the upper echelons of the Canadian the nature of the air force. Before this, whilst still work being carried serving in the U.K., Lane flew the first out meant that Canadian-built Lancaster, the ‘Ruhr Gransden Lodge was Express’, across the Atlantic, and it visited by some of the was from Gransden Lodge that this country’s, and indeed aircraft took off for its first missions the world’s leading in November 1943. During its time scientists including based at the station, No. 405 Squadron

Planning a sortie in No. 142’s Briefing Room (Bill Brown)

took part in many operations that have, for various reasons, become famous or infamous. These included the raids that caused such huge devastation in Hamburg and Dresden, the attack on the German rocket research facility at Peenemünde, the gruelling campaign of the Battle of Berlin with its high casualty rate, and many others. However, it also participated in operations that must have been more

‘...there was a lighter side to life at Gransden Lodge, with many sporting events, parties, concerts and film shows...’ satisfying, such as dropping food to starving Dutch civilians and flying released prisoners-of-war home from liberated Europe. In addition, despite the grim business of the war being waged, there was also a lighter side to life at Gransden Lodge, with many sporting events, parties, concerts and film shows being organised, along with the inevitable pranks carried out by the boisterous Canadians, some of which earned them a measure of notoriety in the surrounding villages.

In late 1944, No. 405 Squadron was joined by another squadron of No. 8 Group, No. 142 Squadron.

This squadron was part of the Light

aircraft of No. 53 Squadron that were employed in trooping operations, which included carrying out long-distance flights to India. After the cessation of flying activities, the airfield was subsequently the venue for the first post-war motor races in the U.K., and for many years was earmarked as a possible Cold War base for British or American forces. The potential uses for Gransden Lodge included acting as a base for bomber or transport aircraft, and, more chillingly, as the site for a hospital to be used by the Americans in the event of another war.

Thankfully this was never required, and by the late 1960s the airfield had been decommissioned, and the roar of Merlin engines had been replaced by the song of hovering skylarks.

Finally, in the early 1990s the wheel came full circle and flying began again in earnest, when the airfield became the home of the Cambridge Gliding Centre, one Britain’s leading gliding clubs. Since then, Gransden Lodge has matured to become one of the foremost soaring centres in the U.K., and once more flyers take off from the airfield to fly long distances, pitting their wits against the weather, but now with nothing more than pleasure in mind. Long may it continue.

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Night Striking Force (L.N.S.F.) that frequently, and in all weathers, flew missions against Berlin using the Mosquito. A second Mosquito bomber unit of the L.N.S.F., No. 692 Squadron, flew alongside No. 142 Squadron for a few months at the very end of the war. Other units, non-operational but still of great value to the war effort, were also based on the station. Their roles included operational training (the Path Finder Force Navigation Training Unit); blind-landing training (No.1507 B.A.T. Flight); providing fighter aircraft to allow bomber crews to train in techniques for self-defence (No. 1696 B.D.T. Flight); and the unglamorous but essential duty of guarding the airfield from enemy attack, which was carried out by several R.A.F. Regiment squadrons.

After the war’s end, Gransden Lodge’s use by the bomber squadrons was wound down, but the station continued to be used until February 1946 by a mixed air and ground-based unit that pioneered radarassisted airborne mapping and as a base for the transport Gliding restarts at Gransden Lodge 16-Sep-90

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30th International Moth Rally

Woburn Abbey Saturday 15 August and

Sunday 16 August (Gates open 10.00am on both days) For full details and online booking go to:

www.mothsatwoburn.co.uk

Flying Display on Sunday.

Trade stands and exhibition.

Gathering of vintage, historic and classic vehicles.

Public admission to the aircraft park on both days.

Reduced rate for advance purchase tickets.

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