Letter from the Vintage Glider Club
Some excellent inspiration for your next 1:1 scale project.
We are pleased to have as our friends the Vintage Glider Club, which is based out of Basingstoke in the UK. We’re honoured to receive the occasional, informal but always entertaining update on activities. In turn, we like to pass them along to readers. And, yes, we are officially predicting quite a few scale BG-135s at next season’s meets! — Ed.
Hello RCSD Readers!
First, about my K-14 (G-AWVV — though the letters haven’t even been put on yet) might be finished this year. Not sure. However, there are two more flying, in the UK. I am familiar with David Shrimpton’s example — G-BSIY. It was covered in Pilot magazine about three years ago. The other one, I fear I can’t remember even the registration.
I’m just back from the UK National Rally of the VGC, at a lovely site called The Park, in Wiltshire. The attendance was thin, and I think that’s a shame. [RCSD contributor] Chris Williams did put in a cameo appearance, with two mates, but without any models. Oh well — it’s a start.
Justin Wills was there with his Rhonbussard. He did a great flight of 125 kms I think.
Your readers will also be interested in this cutie — the BG-135. BG Stands for Birmingham Guild (not British Glider?) and I think 135 must be the span. It looks so like the Fauvette. I owned one of those, even in the same colour scheme, from 1997–2003. My Fauvette is now owned by Jurgen Doppelbauer who adores it; it’s painted in rather vivid green and yellow — fuselage and wings, respectively.
I had a flight in the BG-135. Flies beautifully of course. Only a few were built — such a shame. It then morphed into the Swales, which had a t-tail and I think 15 metre span. The trouble was, German gliders were available off the shelf, and only a die-hard Brit-o-phile would have bought one of these home-grown products.
For the rally, our Slingsby T.21 (1950’s silver/yellow, WJ306) was aerotowed by this handsome Chipmunk, from Middle Wallop, which is the Army flying centre in Wiltshire.
I hope these snippets are of interest. Best wishes and until next time,
Resources
- Vintage Glider Club — From the website: “The Vintage Glider Club (VGC) was founded in 1973 by vintage glider enthusiasts under the vision of Chris Wills…The club’s objective was and still is to maintain and preserve the rich gliding history of yesteryear and to ensure that the machines which charted the path of gliding history will still be here for the next generation to experience and enjoy…”
- The Park — Listing from the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust website.
Andrew Jarvis is the President of the Vintage Glider Club. All images provided by the author. Read the next article in this issue, return to the previous article in this issue or go to the table of contents. A PDF version of this article, or the entire issue, is available upon request.
