Volume 40 No 4 Aug-Sept 1989.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

STEVE BROWN
IIs1rikes me,that it's high time the College Gliding
Fraternity was organised into a cohesive and
united force. We all know the problems. Unless
"paler" is a Rothschild we all feel the cost of this
compulsive sport where it ,l1ur:ts us the most ... in
the grant cheque, Of ooursethe Students' Unions
are quite happy to fork Qut occasionally tor capital
equipment, but there still comes a lime when
an aerotow becomes the difference between a
smiling bank manager and having to creep
passed an unpaid 'landlady.
As students we face certain unique and distinct
problems, quite apart from the financial fret.
First, there's a three year turnover from fresher to
graduate, secondly, gliding clubs are invariably
situated off the beaten track (and the rugby or
socoer club seems to monopolise the Union
minibus). Thirdly, when the soaring season finally
gets under wP'l, we are clobbered first with the
spectre of exams and then with a scattering tothe
four corners of our "green and pleasant land" as
the summer vacation finally frees, us from
noughts and crosses in the back row ot the lecture
theatre. However the worst problem by tar is,
I'm afraid, a universal complaint ... apathy!
As with all college clubs, the leg work and running
around is done by tile minority of
enthusiasts. H'ow often have you heard the
phrase, "I'd reall'llike to, but ..." It's normally
the one just before Mr A. Student, on his way out
to yet another all night wing-ding, laments his
essay deadline that passed a week ago, It's a sad
fact of life and the enthusiasts have to reconcile
themselves with, thefact that, without tlleir efforts,
the Union would soon be casting' around for a
buyer for its K- or K-8.
with gliding the
emus is fairly
and squarely on US."
TraditiOllal sporls don't have to fight so hard to
justify themselves. Sink or win (i nearly said
swim), the boating- club will still be able to beg for
a new £11 000 boat oomplete with £200 blades,
simply because there's an established hierarchical
interest. However, with gliding, albeit a contender
for Olympic recognition, the onus is fairly
and squarely on us,
To be fair lhe elwirQl1m~ntis, now changing. At
Bocker, where lhe University College London
Club operates, Mike Cuming, the manager and a
member of the BGA Executive, is taking a particular
interest in encouraging young blood and
"Tall Chris" Rollings has, been both sterling and
long suffering with his ,invaluable assistance.
However, we face all the same difficulties I have
outlined. As far as the first problem is concerned,
we at UCL have nQw started to recruit among our
a1umni. We hope this will 'foster a more permanent
core to the membership and that past members
will retain lheir links with us when they finally
have the money to pay for 1heir habit. (We have
one instructor member already, but we want
more.)
Transportation - and I don't mean to Botany
August/September 1989
~GLIDEAMUS
IGITUR...'
Steven Brown bemoans the problems facing students who
want to fly and suggests overcoming them with a
countll'ywide'scheme
Steve, amature studen'
at University College
London studying "alian,
is captain of his college
gliding club. He started
gliding last February
and has a Silver badge.
His Club has 36 memo
bers and owns a K·13
wlili:ch they Uy at
8qQk~r.
Bay - is something of a chestnut. We circulate a
list of members' telephone numbers and indicate
car ownershij') or access. We also have a regular
rendezvous Thursday evenings where members
can arrange the following weekend's travel.
Unfortunately, the nature of college life in the
capital does cause us some problems in this respect,
but we're working on it.
I should like to propose an idea for discussion.
To wit; a countrywide system of reciprocation
under an umbrella body of university and college
gliding clubs. Of course, certain well funded and
established university clubs will be raising their
eyebrows at this point and see it as a clandestine
ploy to use their gliders, but it seems to me that
many college unions already have some sort of
reciprocal arrangement for sharing sports and
social facilities. It needn't be that interlopers from
other colleges should 11'1 as cheaply as home
members (heaveA forbid), but a glider can be
much better utilised earning money for its club
than being locked away in a hangar for the sole
use of the lucky stud'ent who happens to live
around the corner.
Countrywide co-operation would also open
the way for more exciting Ihings; trips abroad to
fly in the Alps, whicl1 would be unthinkable for a
small student group on a limited budget, would
suddenly become feasible simply because of a
larger number of potential participants; a national
student squad; expeditions to other unfamiliar
sites with the guatantee of local student help;
increased purchasing power (our chancellors
would approve of that wholeheartedly): but, most
importantly, we could create a pressure group
that would have real power and potentia! to put
across our point of view. In real terms we are the
gliding pundits of tomorrow. With a British
Students' Gliding Association everybody would
come to realise it.
a
MAIDEN FLIGHT OF DG-500 ELAN TRAINER
The DG-500 trainer had its maiden flight at the end of April. It has a 18mwing span and is said to
be very manoeuvrable and good for serious cross-country flying as well as training. The large
two-piece canopy is excellent for inflight visibility.
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