It is an untrue but picturesque Myth: “Vintage & Classic Gliders are only brought out on the calmest and finest of days, loved, fettled and flown by a bunch of geriatric old timers, washed and lovingly put back to bed.”
Off airfield vintage flying in Ireland, the red Olympia won.
“VINTAGE KIWI”
A LIVING MUSEUM. Ian Dunkley
It is now over five years since the idea of a vintage gliding club
Pilot Members. All our current glider pilot members are members
for New Zealand was discussed with Gliding New Zealand and their
of GNZ gliding clubs. Any member who wants to learn to glide
support obtained. World-wide, the number of glider pilots is, in most
will have to join a GNZ club and our international members need
cases, declining whilst within the same countries the membership
affiliation with GNZ to fly. This means we do not need the flying
of vintage clubs is increasing. NZ is no exception. We now represent
organisation of a formal gliding club yet we are able to recruit
a membership equivalent to nearly ten percent of NZ glider pilots,
members to our sport.
placing us within the top five ranking clubs in the world. “Vintage Kiwi” is not a business but a movement for change so we neither compete, nor suffer competition from the existing clubs. Achievement of our objectives is often assisted by efforts outside of our organisation, ie members within the mainstream clubs that help with restoration of a glider or the organisation of a rally, “The Vintage & Classic Glider Club of New Zealand Inc” is an incorporated society: this enables us to go on the fundraising trail. It also has the unfortunate side effect of requiring us to develop a
Airfields. We do not need one, for all our flying is done as guests on a GNZ club airfield under the control of the CFI. In the case of expeditions to non airfield sites we would need to enlist the enthusiasm of a GNZ club to join us, and to host the event. Gliders. Vintage Kiwi, thanks to donations and other arrangements now have our own vintage and classic gliders under restoration. To these can be added those owned by syndicates of VK members, other syndicates, individuals and, most welcome, some gliding
management system and controls. The development of rules led
clubs who operate old gliders.
to the realisation that rather then being some kind of gliding club
Museums. There is already a “Vintage Kiwi Collection” at Classic
we were in fact potentially a flying museum; but without a building
Flyers Museum at Tauranga and a number of other museums that
and operating gliders without an airfield. What does that mean?
already display gliders and have the ability of displaying more. We
The following is an outline of what we are currently doing, how we
are assisting them in this by passing on gliders that are unsuitable
operate in various areas and our plans for them.
for restoration to flying condition.
30
February 2008
