January. No25 Edition of Wings.
23rd January. During a B.H.G.A. council meeting, a motion is passed to invite Francis Rogallo to become an honorary member of the B.H.G.A. Its left to Chris Corston to make contact with Francis and to make the offer.
February. No26 Edition of Wings.
13th February. Chris Corston has a serious accident that left him paralysed from the chest down.
William Corbit died from injuries he received during an accident.
The BHGA introduced an F.I.A. Sporting licence for all competition Flyers. This was followed up with a new Pilot Rating system. Licences were to be produced when flying on club controlled sites. They also made available a Pilots log book.
March. No27 Edition of Wings.
1977 also saw the birth of the British hang glider league under the control of its founder Brian Milton. That first year Johnny Carr came second.
Geoff McBroom brought out the Lynx 18 and claimed that it was a delightfully pleasant glider to fly, with an incredibly low sink rate with an L/D of 7:1 and priced at £405.00 including VAT.
The Chargus Gliding Company bought out the Midas E and the Vega 11. The Midas E had an unusual short chord at the keel. The leading edge was 19ft 11in, the keel is 8ft.3in, with a sail area of 188sq-ft and nose angle of 110 degrees. It had a billow of 1.6 degrees, and an aspect ratio of 5.7, with an L/D of 8.5 to 1. The Vega 11 is offered in two sizes 'A' 195sq-ft and 'B' 220sq-ft. While a Vega 11 'B' had a leading edge of 19ft 8in, a keel of 15ft 7in, and a sail area of 220sq-ft, with a nose angle of 100 degrees. The billow is 2.25 degrees, and aspect ratio is 4.09. With a root chord of 15ft 3in, and a promising L/D of 7 to 1.
Birdman Sports brought out the Firebird S and the Moonraker77. The Firebird 'S' is for new E.P.C. holders to intermediate pilots. Two sizes were available, the 190sq-ft and 215sq-ft. This glider replaced the existing Firebird. Having an L/D of 6.5:1, with a minimum sink rate of 280 fpm. The leading edge was 19ft, and nose angle 96 degrees, with an aspect ratio of 4.12, and span of 28 ft. Priced at £363.00 ex VAT.
The Moonraker 77 was a high performance glider suitable for more experienced pilots. Very light to control with a wide speed range. Winner of several speed and speed range tests in the 1977 British League. It had a very clean sail even at maximum speed. Approx performance L/D of 8:1, with a minimum sink rate of 200 fpm. It had a leading edge of 20ft, a nose angle of108 degrees, with a span of 32ft and a sail area 190sq-ft, the aspect ratio was 5.38, and billow 0.5 degrees. The root chord was 10ft, and priced £440.00 ex VAT.
Flexi Form Skysails added to their production range the Vector. It was specifically intended for the pilot who has ridge soaring experience and was looking for a glider that could extend his flying pleasure and offer the potential for cross country flying. Flexi-Form considered that the glider was both lighter and faster to fly compared with its competitors. The sail was tightly stretched across the entire span and was cambered to provide an airfoil section. The Vector was available in kit form. In kit form the B and C models were priced at £430.00. While ready to fly it was priced at £500.00 and included VAT and bag. The Vector C had a sail area of 180sq-ft, a span of 36.5ft, with a keel of 7ft 6in, and a nose angle 114 degrees. Its aspect ratio was 7.4.
Waspair brought out the Falcon 4 for intermediate and advanced flyers. This glider had a very low stall speed, with a glide angle of 8:1 at 20mph and a sink rate of 3ft 6in per sec at 14mph. Its leading edge was 21ft, with a nose angle of 100 degrees. The root chord was 14ft 6in, while the keel was 16ft, and having a billow of 2.25 degrees. The sail area was 200sq-ft, with a span of 32 ft 6in. Aspect ratio was 5.18.
Avon Kites brought out the Hustler with a leading edge of 19ft 4in, a keel of 10ft 2.5in, and sail area of 172sq-ft. It had a nose angle of 107 deg, a billow of 0.3 deg, an aspect ratio of 5.65, with a price tag of £450.00 including VAT and bag.
April. No28 Edition of Wings.
Hiway Hang Gliders brought out the Scorpion which had a very low sink rate. As a result Cross country thermaling flights on Scorpions were of common occurrence. The low stall speed made take-offs and landings a delight and top landings could be made in lighter winds. The A and B Scorpions had 1 3/4 inch cross spars, C and D had 1 7/8 inch. The Scorpion had a totally folding ‘A’ frame with a removable bottom bar. The cross spar was split to facilitate storage and carriage. The Scorpion C’s leading edge was 20ft 11in, the keel 10ft 9in, the sail area was 220sq-ft, and it had an aspect ratio of 5.3. It weighed 56 lbs and was for a pilot weight range of 11-14st, priced at £464.00.
Len Gabriels Skyhooks Sailwing Company brought out the Sunspot, which featured a fully battened and cambered sail. The airfoil section was maintained at the rear by a shaped keel pocket. The control frame could be split and folded without removing parts, giving maximum strength and eliminating the risk of failure. Quick detachable cross tube ends allowed the wings to be folded in without tools or unfastening screws or wing nuts. There was also a detachable nose pin for bottom wires and an over centre tensioner for top rigging wires. The Sunspot was offered in two sizes for optimum pilot weights of 145lbs and 180lbs. The large model had a leading edge of 21ft 9in, and a span 34ft 10in. Its root chord was10ft 9in, the keel was13ft 10in, and sail area was 215sq-ft. It’s possible to distinguish between early Sunspots and later examples by the shape of a reinforcing patch at the centre of the trailing edge. Early Sunspots have a rectangular reinforcing strip whilst later models have a triangular one.
The Eclipse Company brought out two gliders the Eagle and the Eagle 210 which was developed from the SK 90 series. The Eagle 210’s leading edge was 19ft 8in, with a preformed keel of 15ft 6in. The sail area was 221.5sq-ft, with a nose angle of 99 degrees, and a billow of 1.75 deg. The aspect ratio was 4.395 with a span of 31.2ft.
The Eagle 2 intended for the more experienced pilot, but was still very easy to fly with no nasty characteristics. The glider had three deflexers, folding ‘A’ frame, reversible rigging for seated or prone flight. The medium Eagle 2 had a Leading edge of 20ft 6in, and a keel of 10ft. The sail area was199.3sq-ft, a nose angle of 109.2 degrees, with a billow of 0.4 deg. The aspect ratio was 5.664 and span was 33.6ft.
16th-17 April. The Long Mynd Invitational Competition takes place.
18th April Mark Southall flies 10.6 miles from Hay Bluff and landed just out side of Abergavenny in Wales. It being the longest flight of year so far. An article in 'Flight International' magazine reported it in their 30th April edition. It also mentions Anne Welch taking delivery of the new Presidents trophy from its designer and constructor Allan Franklin. The trophy is to be awarded to the UK pilot who fly's the longest distance of each year.
24th April Gerry Breen flies 13 miles from Tredegar to Newport. Taken from "Tredegar to Newport" by Bob Wishart, Wings magazine June 1977.
26th April Greg Stokes apply's to join the Welsh Hang Gliding Club.
Gerry Breen established a proprietary hang gliding club based at the Welsh Hang Gliding Centre in Crickhowell.
May. No29 Edition of Wings.
Stephen Doel died from injuries he received from an accident.
Spring 1977 is the time when hang gliding changed forever in the UK, as many pilots discovered that they could attempt and succeed in cross country flying using thermal lift. Almost every weekend saw personal, local and national records tumble as more and more pilots became house hold names as information of their exploits became available in the BHGA wings magazine.
To prove a point, the following is an exstract taken from an article by Mark Woodhams
“Hang Gliding changed forever in just a couple of months in the spring of 1977. Distance became the new goal in Club flying. I was fortunate enough to be the Editor of the SHGC’s Windsock throughout this period. The March issue covered Miles Handley’s Ditchling to Offham out and return on his new Gryphon 2. By the May issue Mike (the Golly) Robertson had followed a cloud street out from the Dyke on a Hiway Scorpion up to 2000 ft and along to Ditchling. Only 4.5 miles but no one had left the Dyke by the front door before. On Easter Monday Roger Sylvester climbed to 4000 ft above the Dyke to 360 forty consecutive times back to earth on his Wasp Falcon 4. It was reported that Mark Southall had flown 12 miles to Abergavenny and Gerry Breen’s Tredegar record breaking flight was reported as 20 miles. Bob Wisely flew from Beachy Head to Cuckmere Haven trying to repeat the out and return flight recently completed there by Johnny Carr, Miles Handley, Paddy Monroe and Steve Goad. Then to cap it all, Ray Sigrist and Graham Slater completed the Newhaven to Brighton cliffs out and return for the first time. On 1 June Johnny Carr on Gryphon 2, Geoff Lowery on SST and Paddy Monroe on Scorpion flew from Ditchling Beacon to Shoreham Airport, Worthing and Steyning respectively, overflying the Dyke en route. On 26 June Dave Roberts flew the 11.5 miles from the Dyke to Peacehaven topping out at 4650 ft. It was the most exciting time in free-flying that I can ever remember. And it was happening all over the country at the same time in most of the other Clubs. Flying would never be the same again”.
15th May. Nigel Milnes flies 22 miles and makes height gain of 6,000ft from Swinyard Hill in the Malverns to Castle Farm, Madley. Taken from "Nigel Milnes - 22 miles and 6,000 feet" by Bob Wishart - Wings magazine June 1977.
15th May. A group of pilots assembled at the Pandy site, in an effort to be the first to make a cross country to Hat Bluff. They were Ken Messenger, Dave Weeden, Mark Southall, Roy Hill, Brian Milton, Bob Wishart, Andrew Hill, Dave Raymond, and Ashley Doubtfire all flying Birdman Moonrakers while John Hunt was on a home built Phoenix 4B. The wind was 25 to 30 mph with some thermal lift. Dave Raymond and Ashley Doubtfire were successful and completed the 10 mile run on their own. The great obstacle in the Pandy-Hay Bluff run, is a 1 mile gap in the ridge, and up until then it had not been jumped.
June. No30 Edition of Wings.
June. Ann Welch and Gerry Breen bring out a book called 'Hang Glider Pilot'. Published by John Murray (paperback) £2.75
4th-7th June. The Scottish Glen Grant Open Hang Gliding Championships take place at Minto. Class 2 results were as follows. 1st Bob Bailey Wills SST, 2nd Keith Reynolds Wasp F4, 3rd Jan Ketelaar Wasp F4.
Photos of Andy Rowe flying a wasp 229B3 at Beachy Head Sussex, taken by Don Liddard.
Photos of Jo Binns taken by Don Liddard.
Photos of Tony Bereford taken by Don Liddard.
June. A letter accompanied the June edition of the Wings magazine from Brian Milton explaining how flyers were chosen to represent the B.H.G.A. at the upcoming Kossen World Championships.
21st June Ken Messenger becomes the first person to cross the English Channel in a hang gliderflying from England to France. Sadly his accompanying friend Brian Milton fell a little short and landed in the sea. Both Brian and his wife Fiona had organised the whole event, and made all the arrangements including sponsorship. The whole event was covered by most of the national newspapers. The Gliders were manufactured at the Birdman factory and Brian’s was sponsored by “JB Whisky”, while Kens was sponsored by “Olympic Holidays”. Both gliders were dropped from hot air balloons over the Kent coast. Having taken off from a field near Canterbury. Brian released early at 14000ft while Ken released later at 18000ft, as he was directly over Dover Harbour. The flight over the Channel was uneventful other than the severe cold he felt in his hands. He crossed the coast on target with 7,000 feet to spare and was able to fly down the coast to Calais and back to the planned landing spot near Sangatte where Bleriot had taken off from when he first flew to England in 1912. One of those silly things happened when he came in to land. Naturally it is essential to land into wind which he did. The only problem was all the Photographers were looking in the opposite direction out to sea. They had missed him as he passed over them earlier and was too high to be seen. However, Brian had a quite different tale to tell. It turned out that he had encountered severe sink in the middle of the English Channel and had made a forced wet landing. In true typical Brian Milton style he was picked up by a passing Russian trawler whose crew had great difficulty in understanding what this mad Englishman was doing swimming around in the middle of the English Channel fully clothed. (Source: Kens Messengers Web Site).
24th June Bob Wills is killed in the USA while filming a TV commercial. The helicopter filming Bob flying moved from a pre-arranged spot and its down wash flipped Bobs glider over.
Len Gabriels designs a small engine that looks like a fan, that he hopes to fix to a hang glider to assist with take offs from the flatlands.
Don Liddard has a collection of photos taken around this time.
Don Liddard take photos of the Chargus Midas E.
Angus Pinkerton's idea of a hang glider was captured through this early reading on the subject, and in 1977/78 he under took a mathematical project while at Glasgow University on "The Thermalling Potential of Hang Gliders". (he concluded that they would have very good XC potential, since they were able to use much smaller thermals than sailplanes, as long as small thermals were more common than large ones, even with the performance that hang gliders had then.
July. No31 Edition of Wings.
1st July the Norfolk Hang Gliding club is forced to close its sites to BHGA rated pilots only, and they must produce their licence upon request. Apparently beginners had been turning up and flouting the rules that had been agreed by the Norfolk club and local land owners and authorities.
August. No32 Edition of Wings.
September. No33 Edition of Wings.
The Mere event held in early September was sponsored by 'Hieneken', and they dispayed their very large hot air ballon that held 22 people (2 tier basket).
The winners of the event were as follows
Class 1 1st Mike Pickman. Mike was the only pilot to hit the spot.
Class 2 1st Phil Matthewson (Aus Moyes). 2nd Steve Moyes (Aus Moyes). 3rd John Ogden (Moyes).
Class 3 1st David Cook (VJ23). 2nd P.Stenzsvaa (Nor Fledge). 3rd Mike Collis (Tweetie).
By 1977 Class 1 was for Standard Rogalos. Class 2 was for open class weight shift and Class 3 was for Rigid wings.
The 1977 Mere competition was also a time when UK flyers first saw a Keel pocket that was being used by Bill Moyes on his latest gliders. Article and photos.
Mere was also the meeting that introduced the UK flyers to the Foating Tip. Article and Photo
October. No34 Edition of Wings.
November. No35 Edition of Wings.
Bob Bailey flies 24 miles from Carlton Bank to near Swinton. Taken from "Carlton Bank to near Swinton” by Bob Bailey - Wings magazine November 1977.
December. No36 Edition of Wings.
The December edition of Wings included a B.H.G.A. logo sticker.
10th December. 'Flight International' ran an article 'Hang-Gliding Review' by Anne Welch.
Brian Woods became the first winner of the Alvin Russell award.
During the year the Skyhooks Sailwing Company had been experimenting with a Canard wing, and it made its first maiden flight on 25th December (Christmas day). Len Gabriels says, ‘I built three of different sizes. The smallest was incredibly agile and totally safe whatever the conditions, although they never went on sale. Fliers were only interested in performance. Whilst they were incredibly stable in pitch which was my concern, the forewing spoiled the performance compared to flying it with the foresail removed, which we did in several experiments. Like that it was a very good wing, but basically I never liked the idea of not having a cross boom and having a nose extension carrying the loads, a view that was shown to be right when two died as the overloaded front boom bent and collapsed on a trike at 800 feet. (Not one of our wings).
