Auckland Gliding Club Birthday Celebration

[Peter Lewis]

I attended the Auckland Gliding Club's 80th Birthday event today.

A nice low-key event held under hazy skies but very little wind.

There were of course many gliders both Club and private parked outside for the troops to inspect.

AMS Flight Apis 13 ZK-GNR



PZL-Swidnik PW-5 "Smyk" ZK-GXF



The tow aircraft for the day were the hired Piper PA25-235 ZK-JWW



and the long-term Club tug Pawnee 235 ZK-CEB



John Pheasant in Tiger Moth ZK-BFF was at the stip in the morning, and did several circuits prior to carrying out one aero-tow for old times sake. This Tiger towed for the Piako Gliding Club at Waharoa back in the early 1960s prior to a sale to the Auckland Gliding Club in 1964. As far as I know, it never towed at Auckland, being used as a spares source for their other Tigers at that time.



Of course several gliders were active throughout the day, including Schleicher ASK21 ZK-GAK/2



and Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus ZK-GDX/2



Glider displays included an aerobatic demonstration, and low-level passes by Schleicher ASW 27 ZK-GZM



At one stage, ZK-CEB showed its muscle-power by carrying out two and three-ship aero tows, which certainly lengthen the take-off run



Noisier attractions during the day were provided by Extra EA 300/L ZK-XRA, Harvards ZK-MJN/NZ1052 and ZK-JJA/NZ1053, and a single pass by the Strikemaster ZK-STR



One of the highlights was a rare appearance by Elliotts EoN Olympia 2B ZK-GAA which was dusted off and reassembled for the first time since 1982



Elliotts EoN Baby ZK-GAF was scheduled to fly during the day, but eventually did not do so.



Finally, for those who have had a tough year and wonder where God is during these troubled times, I can report that she is alive but not well in one of the hangars at Drury

[corsair67]

Fantastic selection of images there, Peter.

Quite a lot of development in gliders since the Olympia 2B was the newest thing around.

Also, it's good to see the Pawnee's have had such a successful new lease on life.

[flyjoe180]

Good photos, thanks Peter. Poor old GOD.

[philip]

Great photos. Gliding is next on my to-do list.

[expatkiwi]

Apr 30, 2011 20:43:51 GMT 12 Peter Lewis said:

One of the highlights was a rare appearance by Elliotts EoN Olympia 2B ZK-GAA which was dusted off and reassembled for the first time since 1982

I was one of the 4 Squadron ATC cadets in 1982 that helped with some of the work on ZK-GAA. This glider is a piece of aviation history.

[kevsmith]

Interesting to see the photos of both the Baby and the Olympia.
Thanks Peter!
When I was involved in the early 60's,the Olympia was all silver and the Baby was red fuselage and silver wings. The baby was the first single seat machine after a student had gone solo inthe T31 (ZK-GAD) and the progression onto the Olympia was usually straight forward after that.
Did my first aeros inthe Baby and all of my Silver C in the Olympia at Ardmore (5 hours) Thames (50km and landing near Waharoa) and Waharoa (height gain of 1000 metres in easterly wave).

[silentflyer]

I am after any fairly recent photos to use in an article on ZK-GAA. Have already contacted Peter, but if anyone else has shots, please let me know. I am aware that the NZ library service also has photos in their archive as well BTW.... Cheers SF

[skydognz]

GAA is in my hangar at Matamata. We have removed the fabric from the wings and inspected the airframe with the intention of returning to flying condition

[silentflyer]

Hi SD,

I have been close contact with Roger Brown and he has been liaising with me with regards to access to drawings etc here in the UK. If you need any parts, let me know as I am coming down your way in October.

Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs or anything, have your inspectors had much past experience with Aerolite glue? I sent some general do's and dont's to Roger. If you want an article we did on Aerolite glue, let me know and I will get it to you. Makes for interesting reading if nowt else.

Whats the general condition under the fabric like? It should be ok if she has been under cover all these years. Not being funny or anything, have the inspectors down there done much on old Vintage gliders? They are not like wood aircraft/homebuilts etc and need a little bit of re-jigging your thinking due to the lighter structures, especially when re-fabricing. For Annex II gliders most people here use a lightweight fabric like ceconite. Dont over-taught the fabric as the trailing edges will start going in all sorts of directions a few weeks later! Most tend to over-tighten, (you can get away with it on more robust structures), but resist the temptation to get a really drum-tight surface, but no doubt your inspectors know this already. 

Finally, dont start tapping the glue joints to check how sound they are with any hard object as Aerolite crystallises and you will shatter the glue joints, but again, I am not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, your inspectors should already know this if they have any working knowledge of Aerolite (which is NOT a glue you guys deal with down there as far as I am aware on a regular basis at all). 

Any doubts, get in contact with Mike Strathern down in the South Island, he has had plenty of experience with Aerolite and British wooden gliders.

Happy restoration,

SF

[Peter Lewis]

Aug 19, 2019 21:08:38 GMT 12 silentflyer said:

I am after any fairly recent photos to use in an article on ZK-GAA. Have already contacted Peter, but if anyone else has shots, please let me know. I am aware that the NZ library service also has photos in their archive as well BTW.... Cheers SF

Have responded to your PM

[starr]

I remember when the Auckland Gliding Club were operating from Ardmore in the 50s. Three Gliders I remember were GAA, GAD (training dual), and GAF. Mainly auto tow launches. Did have a wnch at one stage and also Aero tows with Tiger Moth. I have a photo of our old farm taken from one of those gliders. Can't remember who gave it to me.

[planewriting]

Aug 23, 2019 14:52:07 GMT 12 starr said:

I remember when the Auckland Gliding Club were operating from Ardmore in the 50s. Three Gliders I remember were GAA, GAD (training dual), and GAF. Mainly auto tow launches. Did have a wnch at one stage and also Aero tows with Tiger Moth. I have a photo of our old farm taken from one of those gliders. Can't remember who gave it to me.

I am pleased to say Starr that all three of those gliders are still in existence. The Eon Baby GAF is airworthy. T-31 GAD is under restoration and all going well so will Olympia GAA in the near future.

[starr]

That is good to hear.