Type | Charitable sporting and recreation organisation |
---|---|
Founded | RAF Detling, 1949 |
Headquarters | Headquarters (RAFGSA Centre) - RAF Halton , England and Scotland |
Number of locations | 8 locations |
Area served | All RAF personnel and Armed Forces personnel engaged in Adventurous Training in Gliding |
Services | Adventure Training and Flying training |
Total assets | 60+ gliders, 8+ glider tugs and equipment to operate them. |
Website |
The Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association (RAFGSA) is a voluntary organisation which exists to provide recreational flying to all RAF servicemen and women, in particular those employed in ground duties.
The RAFGSA Centre is at RAF Halton. It has a full-time staff to provide central organisational, training and workshop facilities. [1]
The Joint Services Gliding Centre (JSGC) is co-located at Halton. It is part of the Joint Service Adventurous Training (JSAT) Air Sports organisation which provides training courses for military personnel.
In 1945, the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) in Germany began using captured German gliders to provide recreational flying for RAF personnel.
This resulted in a demand for similar facilities in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association was founded in 1949. The first aircraft, a Slingsby T.21 and a Prefect, were bought in March 1950 and stationed at RAF Detling.
By 1952 27 gliders were being operated at seven clubs around the UK. [2]
In October 1963 the RAFGSA Centre was established at RAF Bicester, absorbing the Windrushers Gliding Club which had been formed in January 1956 at RAF Little Rissington, later moving to Bicester. [3]
In June 2004 the Centre moved to RAF Halton. [4]
Warrant Officer Arthur William Charles Gough BEM, (b. 2 June 1924), for some 20 years ran the RAF gliding centre at Bicester as its Chief Flying Instructor.
In 1975 in the RAFGSA Championships he flew from Aston Down Airfield, near Cirencester, across the English Channel to Holland, beating the previous distance record of 315 miles by a further 3 miles. [5]
On 12 June 1982 he was giving an aerobatic display in a LET L-13 Blaník glider at RAF Brize Norton, but hit the ground and was killed. It was said that an object in one of the wings had become loose during the display and jammed the ailerons. He was then 58 years old.
The 'Andy Gough Memorial Trophy' is awarded annually to an outstanding RAFGSA member. WO Gough is also included on the armed forces memorial and armed forces roll of honour. [6]
Jock Wishart, Ron Newall, Ian Strachan, Con Greaves, & Paddy Kearon were gliding instructors and RAFGSA or BGA competition pilots. [7]
Richard B Stratton (1923 - 2007) FRAeS was a skilled aircraft engineer and a licensed CAA inspector.
He joined the RAF with a wartime commission and served as a flight engineer on Short Sunderland flying boats until 1949 when he joined Saunders Roe as a flight engineer for flight tests of the Saunders Roe Princess large flying boat. Later he was involved in the development of the Saunders-Roe SR.53 rocket plane.
He was skilled in aviation engineering and was an innovative influence in light aircraft and gliding practices These included safe aerotowing, winching and scroll-gear machining and elastic rope bungee launching.
He also successfully converted military de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks to the civil register for aerotowing gliders, which were used by the RAFGSA and other gliding organisations from the late 1960s.
The Chipmunk conversion from military to civil certification was unusual because military chipmunks had Coffman cartridge starters which required the services of a qualified armourer and a licensed pyrotechnic store to keep the cartridges safely.
Dick Stratton's innovation was to disconnect the cartridge linkage, but not the assembly, as it would have altered the balance of the aircraft.
Without "cartridge start" the propeller would has to be swung manually to start the engine, and the CAA was initially reluctant to certify the modification, until Dick pointed out that "swinging the prop" was normal procedure with many other types of light aircraft.
Other modifications included a plywood seat panel over what had been space for a parachute (not essential for aero towing). Another addition was an dymotape embossed plastic label inscribed IAS VNE 120KT (Indicated Airspeed "Never Exceed" is 120 knots) (222Km/h), which was a lower speed than RAF Chipmunks that were also qualified to carry out aerobatics, not needed in an Aero-tow aircraft.
Dick later converted some Chipmunks to accept Lycoming engines.#
He also enabled MOGAS (MOtive GASoline) to be used in some cases where the AVGAS (AViation GASoline) had originally been specified, which reduced fuel costs.
Into the 1980s, He continued to instruct and carry out aerotows. [8] [9]
As well as the RAFGSA Centre at RAF Halton, currently there are six regional clubs run on a voluntary basis and based at or near RAF stations. Each offers initial training for novices as well as cross-country flying for more advanced pilots. [10]
Approximately 60 gliders are in use, including the following types: [11]
Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.
The London Gliding Club (LGC) is a members' club whose airfield is located at the foot of the Dunstable Downs. Many privately owned gliders are based there. It has the facilities to train pilots in powerless flight, and in the skills necessary to fly cross country using nature's sources of energy. Aerobatics and instructor training are also available. The LGC is open 364 days a year and is the second largest and one of the oldest Gliding Clubs in the United Kingdom, smaller only than Lasham Gliding Society. The club provides gliding courses, one day courses and trial lessons for members of the public.
The Schempp-Hirth Discus is a Standard Class glider designed by Schempp-Hirth. It was produced in Germany between 1984 and 1995 but has continued in production in the Czech Republic. It replaced the Standard Cirrus. It was designed by Klaus Holighaus.
The Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus is a high-performance two-seat glider primarily designed for fast cross-country flying, including gliding competitions. Often, it is used for advanced training.
The Schempp-Hirth Mini Nimbus is a 15 Metre-class glider designed and built by Schempp-Hirth GmbH in the late 1970s.
The Schempp-Hirth Cirrus is an Open Class glider built by Schempp-Hirth between 1967 and 1971 and by VTC until 1977. It was replaced by the Nimbus 2.
The ASK 21 is a glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) two-seat glider aircraft with a T-tail. The ASK 21 is designed primarily for beginner instruction, but is also suitable for cross-country flying and aerobatic instruction.
Windrushers Gliding Club was a gliding club flying from Bicester Airfield in Oxfordshire until late June 2020. At its heyday, the club was one of the biggest gliding clubs in the UK, hosting various competitions throughout the year and maintaining the physical presence of the British Gliding Association's shop as well as numerous BGA staff members. The club operated seven days a week, with paid staff running various elements of the club's operations.
Rockton Aerodrome is located in Flamborough, Ontario 1.5 nautical miles west of Rockton, Ontario, Canada.
The ASW 19 is a single-seat glider built by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co, first flying in 1975. It was originally designed as a Standard Class glider, but now mainly competes in the Club Class. The ASW 19 is known for its pleasant handling and some clubs use it as a training glider. It was succeeded by the all-new Schleicher ASW 24.
The Scottish Gliding Union is the largest gliding club in Scotland. The body is based at Portmoak Airfield, Scotlandwell, KY13 9JJ.
RAF Weston-on-the-Green is a Royal Air Force station that was redeveloped after the Great War period. Much demolition took place. The former RFC Officers and Sergeant's messes are located on the opposite side of the road, and are now in commercial use. The station is located near the village of Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire, England.
The University of Nottingham Gliding Club is the gliding club of the University of Nottingham. The aim of the club is to provide affordable flying in order to introduce as many members as possible to unpowered flight. Affiliated with the Cranwell Gliding Club (CGC), the club is open to any full or associate member of the University of Nottingham Students' Union.
A Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) is an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which provides flying training in glider aircraft for Royal Air Force Air Cadets. All current operational Volunteer Gliding Squadrons operate a sole type of aircraft, the Grob G103A Twin II Acro, a conventional winch-launched tandem-seat sailplane known by its British military designation, Viking T1.
The European Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years.
Thomas L. Knauff is an American writer, glider pilot, flight instructor, former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Pilot Examiner, and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame. He was an early pioneer of ridge soaring in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the 1960s, ultimately setting five world records flying gliders there. He was the stunt pilot in the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair.
Wycombe Air Park, also known as Booker Airfield, is an operational general aviation aerodrome located in Booker, Buckinghamshire, 2.4 nautical miles south-west of High Wycombe, England. The airfield celebrated its 50th year of opening on 25 April 2015. It originally opened in 1941 as RAF Booker and was primarily involved in training during World War II, remaining a military establishment until 1965.
Booker Gliding Club was formed in 1978 following the amalgamation of Thames Valley Gliding Club and Airways Flying Club. It is based at Wycombe Air Park. Trading as Booker Gliding Centre, it is a community amateur sports club and a member of the British Gliding Association.
No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is part of No. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Its headquarters is located at RAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire and gliding takes places from several sites throughout the UK using the Grob Viking T1. The RAF Central Gliding School is also under its command.