Glider landed in Christchurch suburb?

[planecrazy]

Finally found an old image I knew I had buried, just under sixty years ago this glider
landed in, from my vague memory, Westminster Park in the suburb of Miarehau.

By the look of the young fella standing alongside her, yours truely, would have been
mid sixties 1964 to 66. Can remember a couple of days after the event she was
dismantled and taken away.



Be great to see if anyone here knows more, the type of glider and does she still
exist, the date and was it Westminster park, pilots name?

Yep a long shot, don't know till you ask I guess?

Thank you.......

[johnnyfalcon]

Looks like a good ol' Canterbury Nor'Wester blowing

[davidd]

There was another glider which made a precautionary landing in Hoon Hay at about this time, maybe a little later, in fact it was on the Hoon Hay Domain. It featured in the local newspaper at the time, including a photograph, and one of my friends was there at the time, he is in the photograph too! Think the glider was Canterbury Gliding Club, a two seater as I recall, might have been a Scheicher Ka-7, does the registration GDN make sense?

[planewriting]

Feb 6, 2023 9:18:26 GMT 12 davidd said:

There was another glider which made a precautionary landing in Hoon Hay at about this time, maybe a little later, in fact it was on the Hoon Hay Domain. It featured in the local newspaper at the time, including a photograph, and one of my friends was there at the time, he is in the photograph too! Think the glider was Canterbury Gliding Club, a two seater as I recall, might have been a Scheicher Ka-7, does the registration GDN make sense?

GDN was registered to the Wigram Aviation Sports Club on 5 August 1963 so is a contender. The Canterbury club registered two-seater ZK-GDQ, a Slingsby T49 Capstan on 18 December 1963.

I have just sent an email with link rnzaf.proboards.com/post/312963/quote/30822?page=1 to Geoff Soper of the Canterbury club for his comment.

[davidd]

Have decided to check through my large packet of newspaper clippings (I started on this drudgery about 1964, but gave it up about 20 years ago!) However my memory was correct, still have the clipping, date of the newspaper was Tuesday, 8th October 1966. Name of pilot, Grame Brough, and my old schoolboy friend Richard Morling is peeking over his left shoulder (as viewed from front). Actually quite a large herd of children surround the pilot and aircraft resting on the domain, with boys seemingly outnumbering the girls for some reason. Pilot's recall of the incident: "I just ran out of air" he explained. After being cast off at 3,500 feet he intended to return to Wigram, but encountered a lot of down-drafts above the hills and lost height. "I chose the domain as I knew it was smooth, and there was nobody about," he said. Mr. Brough lives nearby in Tankerville Road. The sailplane was manhandled about a quarter of a mile to a paddock where a towing aircraft landed and towed it aloft again. It landed at Wigram."

As can be gathered, the domain was practically on the edge of the city in those days, but since then whole suburbs have sprung up, so such a recovery would not be so easily accomplished today, if at all. I have also checked through the appropriate AHSNZ Journals of relevant dates, but nothing appears to have been recorded. However, the aircraft is definitely recorded (by me) as a "Ronadler 2-seater", although as I did not see it myself, cannot understand why I did that!

[planewriting]

Feb 6, 2023 11:04:00 GMT 12 davidd said:

Have decided to check through my large packet of newspaper clippings (I started on this drudgery about 1964, but gave it up about 20 years ago!) However my memory was correct, still have the clipping, date of the newspaper was Tuesday, 8th October 1966. Name of pilot, Grame Brough, and my old schoolboy friend Richard Morling is peeking over his left shoulder (as viewed from front). Actually quite a large herd of children surround the pilot and aircraft resting on the domain, with boys seemingly outnumbering the girls for some reason. Pilot's recall of the incident: "I just ran out of air" he explained. After being cast off at 3,500 feet he intended to return to Wigram, but encountered a lot of down-drafts above the hills and lost height. "I chose the domain as I knew it was smooth, and there was nobody about," he said. Mr. Brough lives nearby in Tankerville Road. The sailplane was manhandled about a quarter of a mile to a paddock where a towing aircraft landed and towed it aloft again. It landed at Wigram."

As can be gathered, the domain was practically on the edge of the city in those days, but since then whole suburbs have sprung up, so such a recovery would not be so easily accomplished today, if at all. I have also checked through the appropriate AHSNZ Journals of relevant dates, but nothing appears to have been recorded. However, the aircraft is definitely recorded (by me) as a "Ronadler 2-seater", although as I did not see it myself, cannot understand why I did that!

Thanks David, I think you are saying that the domain landing was by the K7 GDN and that this thread concerns another glider. Incidentally, GDN is still on the register as GDN Syndicate Temuka. Looking at the photo opening this thread, I think it may be of a Skylark II of which the club had examples on the 1960s. There is a skid under the fuselage and the fuselage frame also looks like a Skylark II as does the high wing mounting. What we do not know still is, who is the pilot? Geoff Soper says he will ask around.

[Dave Homewood]

Feb 6, 2023 11:04:00 GMT 12 davidd said:

date of the newspaper was Tuesday, 8th October 1966. Name of pilot, Grame Brough,

Force-landed At Domain

A young pilot who landed his sailplane at Hoon Hay Domain yesterday afternoon said last night: “I just ran out of air.”

“It was not an unusual experience and is something which is expected when you’re gliding,” he said. The pilot, Mr Graeme Brough, aged 25, of Tankerville street, said he had been towed aloft from Wigram airport in a Rhonadler two-seater sailplane to an area about Heathcote above the Port Hills.

At a height of 3500 ft he cast-off from the towing aircraft and had intended to make his way back to Wigram. However he encountered a “lot of down-draft” above the hills and lost much height. “I chose the domain as I knew it was smooth and there was nobody about,” he said.

Other members of the club manhandled the sailplane along a newly formed but unopened road for about quarter of a mile to another paddock. A towing plane then landed at the paddock and with Mr Brough at the controls the sailplane was lifted into the air.

“When we got to a reasonable height I again cast, off and took about 10 minutes to make my own way back to Wigram,” he said.

PRESS,  25 OCTOBER 1966

[oj]

I was a member of the Wigram Aviation Sports Club in 1965 (non-flying).
Graeme Brough could well be the Topdressing pilot featured in some "training" films about Wanganui Aero Work just a few years later? ...

Here is one mention of him in the Ag Board:
"ZK-DMZ c/n G356 Registered to Transfield (NZ) Ltd., Auckland October 1973. Crashed Pukenui, Ashley Clinton, 6May74. Pilot Graeme Brough."

[madmax]

Graeme Brough was killed in an accident involving Barr Bros (HB) Airtruk ZK-DMZ on 6 March 1974 at Pukenui Station.

[Geoff Soper]

I've sent an email with our Clubs fleet history. Glider is a Slingsby Skylark. either ZK-GBX (Skylark 2b) or ZK-GCB (Skylark 3f). The earlier Skylark 2b ZK-GCB was hit by a Railcar at the Waddington crossing in Sept 1959 and both it and its trailer were destroyed!

[planecrazy]

Feb 7, 2023 17:06:28 GMT 12 Geoff Soper said:

I've sent an email with our Clubs fleet history. Glider is a Slingsby Skylark. either ZK-GBX (Skylark 2b) or ZK-GCB (Skylark 3f). The earlier Skylark 2b ZK-GCB was hit by a Railcar at the Waddington crossing in Sept 1959 and both it and its trailer were destroyed!

Well that narrows things down to GBX as the photo was taken post 1962 as I was born in 1962,
if GCB was destroyed in 59 we have our mystery solved.

Thanks everyone, great stuff........

Some more digging and found the below with in this link below, she has been an adventurous old girl....
nzcivair.blogspot.com/2012/12/bx-at-lake-station.html

It was built in the UK and allocated the British Gliding Associations BGA889 identity.
Its first flight in NZ was on 27-02-1960. It undershot striking a fence post at Wigram on 06-02-1965. It moved to the Hauraki Aero Club at Thames from 24-02-1969. During a winch launch from Thames on 27-01-1969 the winch wire broke and the glider landed in the sea. It was damaged again when it struck a wire during an out landing at Walton on 10-11-1977 and undershot Thames on 26-03-1978. It then went into private ownership with B E Wiggins of Hikutaia and then to D J W Bird of Rotorua on 24-06-1985. Next in line was David and Sarah Edgar of Rotorua from 01-11-1997. It was involved in an air to air collision on long final to Taupo on 13-10-2001 with the PW5 ZK-GSD. Both surviving. Next came Colin McGrath and John van Ham-Etches at Taupo from 18-10-2002 and then Colin McGrath and Peter Bergman from 13-03-2003; followed by sole ownership by Colin McGrath from 04-04-2005. On 29-10-2012 ownership passed to Marc Edgar of Nelson.

[planewriting]

Referring Geoff Soper's posting above, actually it was the Skylark IIb ZK-GBH c/n FMD-4-5854-1083 (indicating a Fred M Dunn kitset construction number) that was in the trailer that was hit by the railcar at Waddington on 19 September 1959, not Skylark IIIB ZK-GCB. (I think that is a typo). The Skylark IIb was restored by Fred with c/n FMD 20/1083/1718 as ZK-GCM and registered to Des O'Connor of Christchurch. It crashed in the Gebbies Valley on 4 June 1966 when flown by another pilot and was cancelled six days later.

Geoff Soper, a long serving member of the Canterbury Gliding Club, has separately emailed me "Have looked at images, Def not a Ka6, it matches our Skylark 3f (ZK-GCB)or Skylark2b ZK-GBX and time line right. Skylark 2b very similar which was sold in 1969".

I agree it is not a Schleicher product (K6 or K7 - [ZK-GDN]. I concur with Geoff that the glider in the photograph is a Skylark.