Air Cadet Gliding pix in the 80s (pre glass)
ATC Gliders in the snow!
Hi Keith
I remember it well and have been looking for a copy of the film - see my earlier posting here.
Would be good to see that on YouTube.
I remember it well and have been looking for a copy of the film - see my earlier posting here.
Would be good to see that on YouTube.
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Dougie King!!!!!
Dougie King!!!!!
Ex Typhoon pilot RAF and sent me solo at RAF Swanton Morley in Nov 1972. In later years he had a hand in the award of my A cat on wooden gliders before we converted to GRP. After he retired, he went on a cruise in the North Sea and there was a collision with a tanker of some sort during which a Briton, said the news, found himself transported from the cruise liner to the tanker with the force of the impact. Yup, it was Dougie!!!!
Unfortunately, although they both survived the impact Dougie's wife was quite badly injured and Dougie himself suffered from quite severe concussion. I guess he has passed on by now but I still have fond memories of the "skull on a stick" as some of his less appreciative students referred to him!!!
Ex Typhoon pilot RAF and sent me solo at RAF Swanton Morley in Nov 1972. In later years he had a hand in the award of my A cat on wooden gliders before we converted to GRP. After he retired, he went on a cruise in the North Sea and there was a collision with a tanker of some sort during which a Briton, said the news, found himself transported from the cruise liner to the tanker with the force of the impact. Yup, it was Dougie!!!!
Unfortunately, although they both survived the impact Dougie's wife was quite badly injured and Dougie himself suffered from quite severe concussion. I guess he has passed on by now but I still have fond memories of the "skull on a stick" as some of his less appreciative students referred to him!!!
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Ian Ladley
I remember Ian well. When I joined the ACO he was Chief Gliding INstructor at Swanton Morley and later Syerston. He and Lloyd Poulton used to have very entertaining exchanges (for the benefit of us students) and I learnt a lot from him. I remember him teaching me the gentle art of soaring in the Mk3. Absolute gentleman!!!!
I still fly having been the Sqdn Ldr ic of an Air Cadet Motor gliding school (Vigilants) and medically grounded by the RAF fior ACO flying am now chief grnd instructor and fly in the civilian world instructing on gliders and motor gliders. I always remember my early days and progression in Ian's world.
I still fly having been the Sqdn Ldr ic of an Air Cadet Motor gliding school (Vigilants) and medically grounded by the RAF fior ACO flying am now chief grnd instructor and fly in the civilian world instructing on gliders and motor gliders. I always remember my early days and progression in Ian's world.
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Last Barge flight RAF Manston
I remember it well including the beat-up. I remember Bill just wanted to do one loop himself and scrunched me up in the corner as he piled on the 'g'. He then handed over to me to do one whil upside down, and then let me do the beat-up. I also had the honour of captaining his last official flight in grp as well when he retired.
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Heres the BBC Video Circa 1970
Here's the video discussed earlier,
YouTube - COI Film Circa 1970 T53,T31 & T21 at 615VGS Kenley
Enjoy
YouTube - COI Film Circa 1970 T53,T31 & T21 at 615VGS Kenley
Enjoy
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Hello Keith, used to work with you in the Lansdowne Building!
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Thread Starter
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Bl99dy fantastic!! Bit before my time (the gliders were the wrong colour) but the air-ground footage just brought it all back - the Northern Grass, the black (1917) hangar. Brilliant! 
Gnome de PPRuNe
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The video of Kenley is great - I came to live in the area about 18 months later and it's interesting to see what it was like.
I've never seen a T-53 in the flesh and didn't know the Air Cadets had any, or indeed that Yorkshire Sailplanes or Slingsby built many of the type at all. Presumably a victim of the infamous fire (the one at Kirbymoorside, not the much later arson attack at Kenley). Must have made a welcome change from the draughty old Barges on a freezing winter's day though!
I've never seen a T-53 in the flesh and didn't know the Air Cadets had any, or indeed that Yorkshire Sailplanes or Slingsby built many of the type at all. Presumably a victim of the infamous fire (the one at Kirbymoorside, not the much later arson attack at Kenley). Must have made a welcome change from the draughty old Barges on a freezing winter's day though!
Last edited by treadigraph; 15th Jul 2009 at 11:38. Reason: Fire clarification!
Air Cadet T53
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the T53 was only at Kenley for the one weekend, for the making of this film. Only a few instructors got to fly it whilst it was there and I remember one who threatened to throw his teddies out of the cot if he didn't get to fly it!! He is long gone now.
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Not Arson
Just for clarification and to stop the rumour mill kicking off, the fire at Kenley was not arson.
It was an accident, caused by the local ATC Sqn (450) being given permission to store news paper for charity collection in an anti-room off the unused side of the hangar where it was belived there was no electrical power, unfortunately this was not the case and a low level low out put anti-frost tube heater was still live.
The newspaper was stored over the whole flor area of the room to height of about 1.5M and it the covered the heater - the rest is obvious.
It was an accident, caused by the local ATC Sqn (450) being given permission to store news paper for charity collection in an anti-room off the unused side of the hangar where it was belived there was no electrical power, unfortunately this was not the case and a low level low out put anti-frost tube heater was still live.
The newspaper was stored over the whole flor area of the room to height of about 1.5M and it the covered the heater - the rest is obvious.
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Ah, my apologies, somebody told me years ago that it had been arson, but I never saw the actual news reports at the time. 1980?
Sad in any case.
Sad in any case.
I remember Dougie King from my famil flights in the T53 (Halton about 1970). Dougie sat in the aircraft literally all day. On my flight, I quickly discovered it suffered from fearsome adverse yaw; not only did I have to use gobs of rudder to make it turn, but I could feel Dougies feet pressing into in my back every time he turned it.
As someone said earlier, it was Slingsby's answer to the Blanik which could not be purchased by MOD because it was built in an Iron Curtain country.
As someone said earlier, it was Slingsby's answer to the Blanik which could not be purchased by MOD because it was built in an Iron Curtain country.
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Kenley Fire
Has anybody got pictures of Kenley's Hangers before they burn't down? Or even pics of what was left?
Also I note that Kenly featured as a filming location for Torchwood the other day.
Guy
Also I note that Kenly featured as a filming location for Torchwood the other day.
Guy
Mention of VX 275 (Mrs Heppel) was interesting. When it was at Halton, after launch you could hear the wheel vibrating as it wound down; Honey Monster always said it was Mrs Heppel talking!
I had the dubious 'pleasure' of nearly writing her off. One evening I was doing AEG onto what is now runway 02 (unmarked in those days)and found myself with just a bit too much height to get rid of with spoilers AND spot land at the launch point, so I did a 'beat' not taking into account the northerly component of the wind. This 'blew' me south to a point where I realised I would be unable to get over the hangars back to the airfield, so I had to put her down in the small field just south of the main hangar site and in avoiding a herd of cows and a protruding tree stump, I touched a wingtip on the ground and ground looped her.
Apparently there was internal fuselage damage which would normally be Cat 5, but being a presentation aircraft she was sent back to Kirbymoorside and re-built.
I had the dubious 'pleasure' of nearly writing her off. One evening I was doing AEG onto what is now runway 02 (unmarked in those days)and found myself with just a bit too much height to get rid of with spoilers AND spot land at the launch point, so I did a 'beat' not taking into account the northerly component of the wind. This 'blew' me south to a point where I realised I would be unable to get over the hangars back to the airfield, so I had to put her down in the small field just south of the main hangar site and in avoiding a herd of cows and a protruding tree stump, I touched a wingtip on the ground and ground looped her.
Apparently there was internal fuselage damage which would normally be Cat 5, but being a presentation aircraft she was sent back to Kirbymoorside and re-built.
Last edited by chevvron; 17th Jul 2009 at 11:50.
At 613, as well as VX275, we had Sedberghs XN150 and WB971, and could also call on XN149 and WB970 from the RAF Halton Glider Flight (established to give gliding experience to the sprogs/brats).
WB971 was a strange anomoly as it had no facility to fit a 'bomb' (ballast weight) in the nose for solo flying but this did not deter 'Jacko' the CO; he must have weighed over 16 st and occasionally flew '971 solo. Was '971 a 'one off' or did other Sedberghs lack this facility?
Edited to add WG496 was there too!
WB971 was a strange anomoly as it had no facility to fit a 'bomb' (ballast weight) in the nose for solo flying but this did not deter 'Jacko' the CO; he must have weighed over 16 st and occasionally flew '971 solo. Was '971 a 'one off' or did other Sedberghs lack this facility?
Edited to add WG496 was there too!
Last edited by chevvron; 17th Jul 2009 at 11:58.
The Sedburghs at Kirton-Lindsey had no noseweight facility in 1959 when I did my A&B (in Cadet Mk3, of course).
As far as I recall they were a mod introduced in the '60s and retrofitted.
As far as I recall they were a mod introduced in the '60s and retrofitted.