Not tracked my photos down yet but I have got my logbook of the time.
My first air experience flights in a glider were from RAF Linton-on-Ouse on 20th April, 1974 in a T21 WB939, I wrote the name of the P1 on the first flight as John Brown and for the second and third flights as 'Butt', which I suspect is a mis-spelling as I think I remember he was of Indian origin. The first flight was a heady nine minutes, the others three. I was fifteen.
Then I attended RAF Spitalgate. On Monday 19th August I made four flights in T31 '799' as P2 with my P1 being Fl. Lt. Johnstone. Each flight was 3 minutes. On Tuesday 20th August I made seven flights with the same P1. Not all these flights were three minutes - there was one of 11 minutes, one of 7 and one of 5. Wednesday 21st was more intensive - no less than fifteen flights. One was of four minutes and all the others were three, barring four practice cable-breaks. This marathon was then followed by the three solos, each of 3 minutes duration.
I had one further flight as P2 to a Fl. Lt. Beeston in a different T31 - '794' - which I logged as 'bad flying act'. I can't remember what that constituted but as the flight lasted an impressive four minutes it can't have been too crazy.
As far as I recall once the third solo was over I never saw Fl. Lt. Johnstone again. The over-riding impression all this left on my sixteen year old mind was of the tremendous efficiency with which everything was organised - for example the Land-Rovers with their custom-designed trailors to retrieve the T31's and whisk them back to the launch point. I also wondered what the point of it was because even at that tender age I realised that though I had taken my first step into the air and could tell my family and friends that I was 'a pilot', I could hardly claim much expertise in flying!
It took me almost a year to fly again - a four minute hop in a K13 at Morridge. But that's another story.
In my logbook I wrote the full registation of the T31 as 'XY799', but a couple of years ago 'Shortstripper' pointed out that this was a mistake and the registration was actually 'XE799', which I see from
Slingsby T.31 is now being restored. Hope someone manages sometime to fly her for more than four minutes...
Anyone know anything about the gentle, mushroom-loving Fl. Lt. Johnstone?