tow pilot The prototype Pawnee first flew 50 years ago (this year) and the Auckland club has owned CEB now for 40 years last July. While it may be a freak of design, have the aerodynamics of a powered brick and to the average glider pilot, is just a means to an end, for a Over time the gliders change, the instructors change, and new club members arrive to learn to soar. The one thing that never changes – the smiles and sense of wonder! Class photo from a recent Piako “Learn to Fly Course”.
50 year old design to still be performing well, still providing a great service, puts it in a class of its own. I was appointed the Auckland CTP in early 1987. In June of that year, we decided to take CEB out of the air for a major airframe overhaul. While the memory is getting a bit dim, there are a few things that still stand out in my mind. The main one was the terrible condition of the airframe when stripped… almost a basket case. A downside with a Pawnee is that it was designed at a time when cotton fabric was used. In normal use, it would be replaced every 5 to 10 years or so depending on use, which enables regular in depth inspections. However “Modern” ceconite fabric tends to last longer than the structure it is covering, making in depth inspec-
165 people turned out for the Piako Gliding Club’s 50th Birthday Dinner. Here Chris Hector proposes the Toast To Absent Friends. The man who started it all, Lew Hale entertains the crowd at Piako’s 50th Birthday Dinner – complete with the model that he used in 1957 to explain the concept of gliding to the uninitiated.
The social side of the earlier days of soaring is legendary, and the combination best exemplifying that spirit of adventure and camaraderie was the Air New Zealand Derby of the 1970s which saw gliders and crews – including a strong contingent from Piako - charging up and down the North Island between Kaitia and Wellington being amiably and extravagantly hosted by clubs along the way. Perhaps the romance seems to be going out of soaring these days with less swashbuckling and less time in modern life available for the pursuit of aerial activities. Piako, though, finds itself bucking the trend with membership growing slowly. With course-based training for members now becoming well entrenched at Piako, with new tools such as simulators being explored as an aid to training, and with our next single-seater
tions quite difficult. Six months of effort in 1987 saw the following work completed. The fuse was completely stripped of everything (except the flap lever) and sand blasted. We found no less than six holes in the tube structure forward of the cockpit and behind the engine caused by internal corrosion. We discovered a disused crew window, hinged up from below to allow a passenger in the little bay behind the engine to have some limited vision. The hinge points had not been welded correctly and were not sealed, allowing water inside the tube structure in that area. So as well as replacing all affected tubes, we took the opportunity to remove all the equipment from that area which was not needed. This included the crew door and frame, the floor and everything else. A new stainless steel battery box was made for this area and attaching points welded to the airframe. All tubes were then internally filled/ washed with linseed oil. New side panels were made, along with a new titanium alloy firewall and a new instrument panel. There were two significant changes made. The first was to remove the wing tanks and install a hopper tank. There had been a succession of engine stoppages on take off when using Mogas. An even earlier installation of a cowl flap changed the engine cooling
on order for the club fleet we are confident that the Piako Gliding
Hard to miss due to its new colour scheme Auckland’s Pawnee’s attractions are
Club will be thriving when it is time to celebrate our 60th birthday
more than skin deep.
and beyond. The challenges of moving our sport forward may have changed over the past 50 years, but the commitment to meeting them head on has most assuredly continued. While many of the current challenges appear to be ground based, it is heartening to recently see Piako’s Steve Care set a new National Record for 100km Out and Return in both the Open and 15m Classes on the Kaimais proving that there are definitely still new limits to be explored in the Waikato skies, and pilots willing to push them. Happy Birthday Piako. 36
December 2007
