Volume 34 No 4 Aug-Sept 1983.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

windlass. Then there was a larger windlasswhich allowed two men to hinge the wholeladder up 10 an angle, or down'lO lie flat onthe chassis. The chassis had four large rubberwheels and a hefty towbar. Screw jacksat e,ach corner allowed the wheels to belifted off Ih.e ground. The ladder was upwhen we found rt, so we cranked and woundit down till we h,it someone's caravan, andwound it up a bit again. When the busyexhibitors saw that we wanted the thing, theysprung to our aid. We all wound jacks andwindlasses, pushed and pUlled, until the thingthal had been out of the way, was moved welland truly into the way. The milling throngs,perforce, slowed down, stopped, and decidedthat more help was needed, though not all ofthem knew where we wanted to go and evenfewer knew why. At this moment, Silke camerunning from the other hall. "Daddy, the menhave eome with the lark litter, and they arewailing." Klaus ran 0'" at great speed, and Iwas left surrounded by strong, sweating,happy Bavarians and Swabians, who beganto ltiok somewhat less cheerful, and suddenlywere using the sort of German that I havenever been able to understand. They were allvery strong. "Moment, /;Jilte", I cried, and ranafter Klaus. We never wen! back.Wood and many nailsWith the help of the Hyster, we soon 'gotthe Skullsplitter down and with ropes, blocksof wood and many nails, stowed it safely inIhe orange monsler which Herr Seufert hadat last managed to get into the showground.He backed into the hall through the largedoors, across the green tennis courts. I hopeno one slips on the oil.Three hours later than we had intended,we were on the road again and Herr Seufertwas happily munching. The chocolate supplyran out as we were running swiftly down theAlb Scarp. Her Seufert demonstrated how,when driving a motor bike sidecar in a race,one had to take the most efficient line throughevery corner. He only hit the kerb a little bitonce.As we 'ground slowly into the home stretch,Klaus's touchy neighbours were just ending,their late night stroll and turned in at tlileirgate as we opened the monster's doors. Wetiptoed about arid whispered, silently extractingnails and gently laying wings, lail andfuselage, complete with dummy pilot, on theground' outside the house, before creeping inwith il to the garage. When the van wasempty, Herr Seufert, starving now, climbed in,Jet the brake off, and rolled silently down thehill like a ghost into the night. We' heard himstart the engine at the corner. The neighbour'slight had been oH for an hour, and Iam sure his slumbers were undisturbed.At breakfast next morning, I had a fit ofthe giggles. 11SITE SECURITYGremlIns got at Bill Scull'. article in thelasl Issue, p112. The section that wasunder attack should have read as follows:Cotswold GCAston Down is a beautiful air1ield. ns runways arein good condition and long enough to allow theCotSwold club to operate a reverse"pulley system oflaunching. This is good enough to obviate the needfor aeroiow (Which is just as well as the land iscovenanted against the use of aeroplanes).The prospect 01 purchase did not daunt the club(indeed they had been fund raising for several years)even though the planned disposal by auction didcomplicate matters. As if the purchase of the landthey wanted wasn't enough of a problem the clubwas faced with the need to buy parts of the runwayfrom other prospective purchasers with Crichei Downrights. One potential purchaser caused considerablealarm by not taking up his rights but fortunately hemade this decision in time for the club to persuadehim otherwise and pass it on to them.The tension as the auction day approached wasnerve jangling; some of us couldn't bear to attend.The upshot was that the club acquired the site butthe "selling on" and exchange of land went on forsome considerable time afterwards.The Ouse GCAfter many years of operatng from Rufforth thisClub moved to RAF Church Fenton. When Church'!=enton changed its (RAF) status they had to moveagain and for a time they were homeless. Withoutany site the membership number dwindled because,of oourse, one must go on gliding! Bu! many who didgo elsewhere maintained their commitment to theclub as events were to prove.When part of the origil'lal Rufforth s~e came up fordisposal the prospect seemed too good !o be true.The immediate problem was their resources werelimited because, l~ suspect, they had never conceivedof buying a site or finding one to buy. However theclub quickly raised funds by various ploys - loans'from members, life memberships etc. 'Eventually thecase they made to the Sports Council was goodenough to get a grant in aid of £40 000.Needless to say there was another team of expertswith Dick Boddy, the club's chairman, playing a leadingrole.Since the acquisition of the site there have beenproblems with footpaths, rights of way and anothermore critical faclar. A disused airfield does notrequire planning permission for its use. If you buy partof aA airfield there is nothing 10 stop someone elsebuying or operating from another pM 01 the sameairlield!. The "catch 22" in this situation Is that theplanning authority say it's Q maller for !he CM and:the CM that ~'s a matter for the plannngauthority(and neither will grasp the nettle!). Clubs that mightfind themselves in this situation be wamedlDoncaster and DIstrict GC (now Burn GC)It would be a serious omission 'not.to tell you aboutthis club. They typify the shrewd Yorkshire approach(the 'penny oank!) of steadily accumulating fundsfrom regular, healthy annual surpluses due in part tocarrying their own risks on club gliders and a goodsafety record. For a long time the, club has beenthreatened with the loss of its site - the Councilowned Doncaster air1ield; they had even won a Sec·retary of State appeal against attempts to move themoff.A new prospect appeared in the form of Bum airfield(near Selby) and negotiations with the owners,the Central Electricity Generating Board werestarted. The shortened version of the story (a saga!)is that the club now have a 21 year lease with anoption to purchase.So, it's all happened in Yorkshire (not forgettingthe Cotswold GC) thus bearing out the statementthat "where there's muck there's brass". The varioussecure sites are a tribute to the club managementswith the determination and ability to carry the jobthrough - let's hope there are more to come.Make Insurance problemsjust plane sailing .• •CONSULT THE AVIATION INSURANCE SPECIALISTSFOR AN IMMEDIATE QUOTATION CONTACT: MATIHEW BELL OR STEWART PEARCE,GLIDERS, SAILPLANES,MICROLlTES, BALLOONSAND POWERED AIRCRAFTFACILITIES AT LLOYD'SBolmes/BulbertMarine & Aviation Limited14 Devonshire Row, London EC2M 4RHTelephone (01) 247-7311Telex 8955708172 SAILPLANE & GLIDING