KRONFELD ON GLIDING AND SOARING.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

PROGRESS OF SAILPLANING 319
as well as many of the foremost air experts of Great Britain.
The short time at our disposal was crowded with giving
demonstrations, explanations and reports. The interest
taken in the lectures I gave in Maidstone, Portsmouth,
Folkestone, and London was merely a small indication
of the enthusiasm with which the British sporting community
embraced this new sport.
On Whitsunday in the course of a three hours' flight
from Itford Hill I twice succeeded in picking up a strong
rising current under alto-cumulus clouds, which carried me
to a height of two thousand three hundred feet above
starting level.
On the 15th June I reached Portsmouth from Itford Hill,
following the Downs as far as Petersfield and coming
down on Portsdown Hill late in the evening. This was
the first successful major long-distance flight in England.
Whilst I was engaged in inspecting the country near
Weymouth for a further demonstration Karl Magersuppe
carried out a flight of three hours ten minutes duration
on the aist June.
Only by exploiting very carefully indeed, every small
up-current from the slopes of the hills did I manage to
bridge the gaps in the range of the South Downs. The
effort raised general enthusiasm in England since the
success apparently provided the proof that the English
countryside actually permitted carrying out of long-distance
glides.
Since then strong ties of mutual friendship have bound
me to the British air sport community. I regard as one of
my greatest privileges the fact that I was given the opportunity
of demonstrating to His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales the art of soaring flight. Shortly afterwards, at
the beginning of July, I had to return to Germany for the
Rhon Competitions. With a heavy heart I took leave of
England, and my sailplane " Wien" accompanied me
across the Channel, as yet unaware of the fact that the next
time we should both take a view of these waters would be
from the air.
In order to raise the standard of the efficiency of both the
pilots and the machines, minimum standards set for the nth