Ref Leon's plan for the K21s...
For the umpteenth time. (Please excuse the all-caps, but it's central to the disposition and siting of VGSs before The Cull.)
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT ALL THESE CONVENTIONAL GLIDERS?
The Vigilants were used by a majority of sqns because there was- and is- a chronic shortage of suitable airfields for conventional gliders. Tern Hill and Little Rissington are the only Vigilant bases where conventional gliding was practical. The ACO has had to sink millions (which could have been used to help fix or buy aicraft) into making the latter a viable site for Vikings- most of which will likely be flushed down the toilet when DIO number crunchers finally realise just how much they can get for a giant brownfield site in the Cotswolds.
Yes, we operated the Viligant like a light aircraft, but our reason for being was to train cadets to fly them properly, rather than let some joy-riding old boy or bored truckie chuck them upside down for half an hour. AEG, and latterly GIC, was simply a side function of building up a sustainable cadre of new instructors.