Hi Chevron, photographer Keith asked me to be at exactly that height and place for the landing shots, with some spoiler deployed for the photos - I'm just following the brief! It wasn't a bad landing though.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....67e6b77aea.jpg

Much enjoyed your article & all the banter on here.
Interesting to note the number of launches vs small number of hours!
We were so lucky to fly so much - unlike the cadets at the moment.
Happy Memories!

lsh
:E

First flight at 621 at Weston on the Mud in the barge WB991 and several subsequent AEG flights in Mk3s before solo in WB922 (The Royal Barge) at Syerston after 4 days training on 12.8.81...
Went on to be a Staff Cadet at 621 VGS for 6 years... We used the Barge(T21) for AEG and all training was in the Mk3. At our peak we had 4 Mk3s(XA310, XA308, WT877, XN240) and one barge(WB991).
Someone mentioned Dawn to Dusks: I think we did 303 launches in '83(?) as a 2 winch school. This included a fair amount of normal training with landing all over the field as well as 'spot landings' for the AEG stuff. In the last hour I think we did 53 launches by which time we were landing on the waiting cable and keeping the same crew to break the 300 barrier. I think my total was 48 launches with the first one at sunrise and one of the last at sunset! We lost some time early afternoon due to a snarl-up I seem to remember... I also remember someone had wired up the rubber headsets to play music from a Walkman so we took off on the first launch with 'To The Unknown Man' playing in our ears:)

I also remember one of our Landys used to be a hearse and had a hand-throttle which meant we could set off with the Mk3 trailer on the back, set the hand throttle and climb back onto the trailer and influence direction(steering is too grand a term for it:} )by using winch strops wrapped through the steering wheel.

Happy days...

Strangely enough, our 621 Vintage group still has WB922 flying and XA310 too!

Yes there is absolutely no truth in the rumour that I used to pull on an individual spoiler cable (and thus raising only one spoiler) in opposition to the turn being executed if there was a cocky staff cadet flying in the front of a Mk3 - or sometimes in straight and level just for a giggle :)

I flew in T21 WB932 and T31 XA286 and XA311 at Kenley in 1983. Went solo on XA311. Went on to fly at Lasham 1987 - 1992 before giving up when I bought a house.

Resumed flying when I moved to California in 1999 and ended up owning 2 gliders (DG300 and Discus CS) in CA and then in Texas. Last flight was in 2010 due to a growing family. I didn't feel safe not flying regularly, plus 2 friends were killed in quick succession in gliding accidents (probably medical causes on both).

Strange co-incidence. Drove my DG300 up to Minden for a weeks flying in 2000 and ran into one of my original Kenley instructors on a flying vacation. Ended up sharing a house for the week. Small world.

We had a T21 at our Texas club for a while - didn't get a flight in in though, but it brought back memories.


Paul

I'm wondering if maybe there was a programme to retrofit them to Mk 3s as they went to Kirbymoorside for a 'major' because I was the only one there in about June 1965 when the first one (WT871) was delivered from the factory by a Slingsby driver in a Landrover towing a glider trailer. I helped unload and signed for it; he was in a hurry as also in the trailer he had some boats (rowing '8s') which he had to deliver to Henley before dark.
This was followed by, I think, WT 913 a few months later.

VerdunLuck
I've tried to reply to your PM but you've exceeded your quota until you 'dump' some PMs.
Terry

Hi Airclues, you must have been there at the same time as little me. Brian Speckley who became national gliding champion was also dipping his toes in the water at that time

Spoilers or no
 

The real benefit of NOT having spoilers was the ability to learn precision side slipping which became very useful later when one had to do PFL's in non flapped powered machines.
In a real emergency the ability to side slip safely really does make a difference when landing over obstacles or in a limited space.
Of course it was all covered in basic training up to advent of the flapped monoplane types.

Exactly Pobjoy - being able to side-slip accurately is a very useful tool! So chuffed at all the reminisces here (and I know the Editor has also received a very full postbag of T.31 memories). For anyone that's interested, I followed up the T.31 feature with a test of this beauty!
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....beeb67cd3c.jpg

What a gorgeous little MG Dave - K 14 ?
What a cutie :)

Spot-on Ron - and it really was lovely to fly! One with an electric engine and say 90 minutes of battery would make the most wonderful toy - you could scratch down to just a couple of hundred feet (over a sensible field of course) and know the motor would work, unlike a petrol engine!

It did get repaired as WT913 was one of the two aircraft that I flew while doing my Gliding Course in 1983 with 614VGS at Weathersfield. Actually Soloed in WT917.

I was going to suggest the SFS 31 Milan for 'SIY but realised it's not an RF-4 fuselage. RF-4 - there is an aeroplane I'd like - and not just the LDM kit somewhere in my loft... and not the Phantom either...

Hi Treaders, from what I hear I don't think the RF-4 soars as nicely as the -14, but the -31 does.

Digressing slightly I was a little disappointed that no one on here had ever flown WT900, and interestingly for next month's Pilot I'm also testing an ex-mil machine.

Anyone on here ever fly VX924?

Thank you for mentioning that. At Swanton Morely the T31s did not have spoilers but the T21 did. I was beginning to doubt my sanity with all the talk of spoilers and the pictures. It did mean landing way up the field. I soloed in the T31 in 1973 at the age of 16, you had to be 16 to solo but had flown air experience since age 13. Due to poor weather I had to return for a second bank holiday weelend of flight training so took abot 33 launches which was a lot in those days, some would have soloed in one weekeknd with 20 odd launches as I recall.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....061abfe429.jpg
Forgot to post an image of VX924. Note that it looked a little different in service from this great Keith Wilson pic.

Might your gliding have taken place at Henlow? Closer than Halton I think.

I flew '913 on various occasions at Halton and Bovingdon between Dec '66 and Jul '71.
My last ever Mk 3 flight was in XE790 from Halton in Jun '79.