Jan/Feb. No49 Edition of Wings.
3rd February. Angus Pinkerton finds himself on the Tinto hills south of Glasgow, sheltering from a snow storm behind a glider. While attending one of Brian Harrison's hang glider school classes. He managed to get off the ground twice that day, in between the showers, while held down by tether ropes in a strong wind.
February. Saw the Hiway Hang Glider company move its factory to South Wales.
March. No50 Edition of Wings.
April. No51 Edition of Wings.
7th April. Paul Maratos dies from injuries he received from an accident.
28th April. Mark Hammond dies from injuies he received from an accident.
May. No52 Edition of Wings.
4th May. Fourteen pilots met at "The Admiral's Head" in Great Bealing Suffolk where the idea of forming a Suffolk club was discussed. A fortnight later the national body, the British Hang Gliding Association (BHGA), were informed of its formation. The club was added to the BHGA club list and a request made by the BHGA to seek "member club" status. This was undertaken and the Suffolk Coastal Floaters Hang Gliding Club (SCFHGC) became a BHGA "member club" in their meeting on 23rd September. David Cook was elected president and Terry Aspinall became the Secretary.
Chargus Gliding Company brought out the Cyclone. This was a high aspect ratio machine which utilised a tight sail and preformed battens, and was designed purely for experienced pilots with cross country and competition flying in mind. It also had single deflexers and unusually a tip to control frame wire and was very sensitive to turning on the various turnbuckles. Handling was a little difficult until the pilot had adapted to the machine's peculiarities. Pitch and roll on the small 165 model were fairly light which normally lead to quite a lot of pilot induced oscillation. On the large 180 model roll was much heavier, leading to possible discomfort in rough air. In 1980-81 the Chargus Gliding Company brought out the Mk 11 Cyclone which featured a floating keel which improved the handling. The Cyclone 180. Had a root chord of 7.66ft, a sail area of 180sq-ft, a span of 36 ft, an aspect ratio of 7.2, and was priced at £595.00 including a bag and VAT.
The BHGA brought out a Pilots Handbook No2 Editon1/79 edited by Anne Welch and designed to explain to would be flyers what hang gliding was all about. The same time they also came out with the Observers Handbook Edition 1/1979 to show what was expected of an official observer to the sport of hang gliding. While the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) brought out their latest edition of Cap 85 'Aviation Law for applicants for the Private Pilot's Licence' to help pilots understand Air law, this was also a time when power was being added to some of the gliders and their efforts were being tested at a few of the local airfields.
Waspair brought out the Laser. The Laser was designed for the intermediate to advanced pilot and was suitable for competition, cross country thermaling or just plain ridge soaring. The machine had taken over a year to develop. The Laser slices through turbulence with its cambered fully floating battened sail. Having no deflexers and a strong easy to rig airframe it allows the maximum time possible in the air. Laser 190 had a leading edge of 20ft, a keel 8ft, a sail area of 190sq-ft, with a nose angle of 120 degrees, with an aspect ratio of 6.2, coupled with a span of 34ft 6in, and billow of 0 deg.
12th May. Bob Bailey flies 50 miles from Littondale to Hartlepool. Taken from "Fifty mile flight and the big if" by Bob Bailey - Wings magazine June 1979.
17th May. Pete Hargreaves flies Open Distance of 110.2km from Kettlewell, Yorkshire. A National and local record Taken from "68.8 miles” by Peter Hargreaves Wings magazine June 1980.
Hiway Hang Gliders came out with the Vulcan, which had been designed to supersede the Super Scorpion. It was much like a Super Scorpion to look at, but had a higher aspect ratio, much tighter sail and more double surface. Unlike other fourth generation machines the Vulcan did not use preformed battens. Its leading edge was19ft 8in, with a span of 34ft 5in, a nose angle of 180 degrees, aspect ratio of 8:1, root chord of 9ft 2in, sail area of 184sq-ft, aspect ratio of 6.45, its packed length was 20ft , while in knockdown its length was 14ft, and weighed 57 lbs. The pilot weight range was between 11.5 to17st, and priced £640.00.
June. No53 Edition of Wings.
6th June. The BHGA brings out a new Pilot Rating System for all pilots.
16th June. James Payne dies from injuries he received from an accident.
16th June. John Ogden dies from injuries he received from an accident.
18th June. Lorraine Evans dies from injuries she received from an accident.
25th June. Peter Closterman dies from injuries he received from an accident.
1st July. Les Osbaldstone dies from injuries he received from an accident.
July. No54 Edition of Wings.
Don Liddard has a collection of photos taken during 1979.
A new company known as Vulturelite joined the manufactures market bringing out the Emu. The Emu was a glider offering a genuine performance increase, while remaining easy and forgiving to fly, it was also the first production glider to combine the advantages of a bowsprit type airframe with a flex-batten cambered sail. The absence of a crossbar together with the low drag aerofoil section achieve a considerable drag reduction and consequent performance increase throughout the Emu's broad speed range. The sweep angle reduced induced drag at low speed, improving the sink rate and reducing tip stall tendencies. This combined with a short span and low roll inertia gave an extremely quick roll rate and a circling ability unequalled in any other flexwing glider, allowing efficient confident soaring in the roughest of thermals. Pitch stability and control was excellent a result of advanced sail camber and flexible battens, allowing the sail to blow down at negative angle of attack adopting a reflexed section. This augments the positive pitching action of the defined tips without the potential danger of preformed ribs near the leading edge. The large version had a leading edge of 17ft 6in, a nose angle of 140 degrees, a span of 35ft, an aspect ratio of 6.3, a sail area of 195sq-ft, with an all up weight of 52 lbs. Pilot weight was between 10 to 15st and was priced 533.00 +VAT.
Birdman Sports brought out the Cherokee which had a mellow handling characteristic that was suitable for intermediate right through to expert pilots. Birdman ultilised all the latest techniques and knowledge accumulated from their wide experience of all aspects of hang gliding. The Cherokee sail was built in 3.8 oz material with 6 oz reinforcing panels. It was fully cambered and was the result of a constant R & D program pursuing higher performance and better handling. The airframe was of 1 3/4 x 18 g HT30TF aluminum, inner and outer sleeved where appropriate. The control frame was of 1 1/8 x 14 g and folded with the removal of a single button pin. A centre box system was used to allow quick and easy rigging. The Cherokee medium size glider had a leading edge length of 19ft 4in, a keel of 13ft 2in, a root chord of 10ft 6in, the sail area was170sq-ft, with a nose angle of 120 degrees. Its span was 30ft 6in, while the aspect ratio was 5.47, and weighed 61lbs.
Eclipse brought out the Super Eagle79 at the attractive price of £433.00.
Skyhook Sailwings Ltd brought out the Silhouette which was a fourth generation machine. Later they also brought out the Cutlass was a fourth generation glider with a 35% double surface, and preformed battens. The Cutlass was produced between 79 and 84. The medium weight 66lbs and was priced at £810.00.
August. No55 Edition of Wings.
August. Saw the first national tow meet organised and set up to enable different clubs and privateers to demonstrate available static line towing techniques. This was held at the Little Snoring airfield in Norfolk, and was hosted by the Norfolk Hang Gliding Club. There was a big turn out and many differing ideas were on display. Sadly one of the demonstrators Gary Philips who came from Tenby in Wales was badly injured when his glider tucked and crashed into the ground just after take off. This brought towing to a stand still for a time as clubs and people went back to their drawing boards. An article of the event appeared in the Norfolk Club magazine of the event, and there were a couple of videos taken during the event. Don Liddard was also at the meeting and took many photos of the event. Gary Philips make a miraculous recovery, but It took 2 years of dedicated nursing and care.
August. The Long Mynd Hang Gliding Club release the August edition of their Newsletter.
August. also saw Graeme Baird complete a 21 mile flight from the Long Mynd site.
The annual early September Mere meeting, became known as 'Clubman Mere'. The Sunday Glide angle competition included a 360 degree turn on the way to the bottom. Not sure of other competitions and winners?
Scotkites has a name and location change when they move to a new factory in Glasgow and call them selves Eurowing Ltd. Led by Brian Harrison the company gave up on designing and building and instead concentrated on building american Electra-Flyers Corporation products under licence.
September. No56 Edition of Wings.
September. The BHGA invited us to join the 500 Lottery Club.
October. No57 Edition of Wings.
October. Heralds the birth of Solar Wings Ltd a new Hang Glider manufacturer, headed by designer Dave Raymond, with Cliff Ingram and Mark Southall. They will be opperating from Marlborough Wiltshire.
Later in the year Waspair also brought out the Gannet. The Gannet was a new cross boom-less machine designed by Bob England. Its leading edge was19ft 5in, with a span of 35ft 6in. The nose angle was136 degrees, and had an aspect ratio 8:1, with root chord 7ft, while the sail area was 155sq-ft.
November. No58 Edition of Wings.
Another new hang gliding manufacturer is born under the name of Southdown Sailwings and run by Ian Grayland.
Some time during 1979 the 'Woman's Own' magazine ran an article on hang gliding called 'Out of Town' by Irene Heath.
December. No59 Edition of Wings.
29th December. 'Flight International' publishes an article about the Royal Aero Clubs end of year awards night. Which were presented by their President his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. David Cook was awarded the Bronze Medal for his historic flight across the English Channel to France, flying his home built powered VJ23 on the 9th May 1978. While the British Hang Gliding Team was awarded the 'Prince of Wales Cup' for their historic winning of the 'American Cup' in America. Most believe that it was Brian Milton's formation of the British Hang Gliding league that helped their win.
Bob Calvert won the Alvin Russell award
