Issue 1 of the Buckminster Vintage Times

generally helping out with coordinating rallies and
social events, such as the odd low key barbecue’s
in the summer period, not to mention the bigger
events.
Contents
Editors Ramblings
Letters
1
2
The Socialites Corner with Mike Sheehan
Group and Club News
Rally Round Up
2
3
Builders Corner with Brian Griffin
Part 1
All you ever wanted to know about wood
7
History Feature
Part 1
The Baby that never quite grew up
The life of Tadeusz Gora
13
22
Articles
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
25
From the Bookshelf
Glider Pilot Bold, by Wally Kahn
26
Members Photo Album
Les Merritt at Firle Beacon
28
Mike will also be reporting on any Buckminster
Gliding Club News that maybe of particular
importance to the Vintage group, and in doing so,
I too would like to echo Mike’s comments in this
issue on extending our thanks to all those that
have made this venture possible, especially the
Buckminster Gliding Clubs Committee who have
been simply wonderful in their support for the
Vintage Group, so thank you all.
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And as for yours truly? Well I will continue to do
what is needed to keep the group going in the
right direction, and work on the magazine as part
of a concerted effort to make membership of the
group great value for money.
As this 1st Issue of Buckminster Vintage Times
testifies, you will notice that I would like to
involve you all as much as I can, it’s for you, so
please contribute in whatever way you feel you
can. Be it a simple letter to the members,
something to sell, your own article on your past
Vintage experiences, or maybe a limerick or two, I
would love to hear from you. I am especially
interested in your own Gliding photographic
collections, so dig out those albums, and lets see
those photos!
You will also notice that there is a strong emphasis
on our gliding history, and I am keen to see this
aspect of the magazine continue to develop,
especially with our own local history, and as such,
would welcome the opportunity to work more
closely with our own historical group based here
at Buckminster Gliding Club.
The Editors Ramblings..
The idea for a magazine came to me after being
primarily inspired by the need to support the
wood-working group in providing interesting and
practical written information regarding all the
aspects of wood and fabric, whether it be just to
learn a new skill, or work towards an inspectors
rating. Brian Griffin is heading up the workshops,
and will oversee the working bees, along with
Alan Middleton.
Naturally I will be on the lookout for any other
outside interesting historic information, and as
such, have included an interesting article in this
issue that a good friend wrote about one of
Poland’s most famous Glider pilots, Tadeusz Gora,
who died recently. I have also included a book
review column that will deal primarily with books
connected with our gliding past. Despite the fact
that many of books that maybe reviewed being
long since out of print, the advent of the internet
has however, made sourcing even the most rare of
books possible through suppliers such as Amazon,
ebay and notably, Abe Books. So to kick things off,
in this issue we take a glimpse at Wally Kahn’s
excellent book, Glider Pilot Bold.
For the social side of things, Michael Sheehan is
kindly taken up the mantle of keeping us informed
of what’s going on during the year, and will be
Well, there is little more for me to say, than I hope
you find this edition of Buckminster Vintage Times
interesting reading, and trust that it meets with
Well it’s the very first issue of the Buckminster
Glider Groups new rag, Buckminster Vintage
Times! Hopefully this little publication will be of
interest and spur others on to share their early
gliding experiences.
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your general approval. Remember, please feel free
to add any comments that you may have, or any
recommendations of how we can further improve
upon the standard and quality of the material. I
look forward to hearing from you!
The Socialites Corner with
Mike Sheehan..
Happy Reading,
“White Rabbits”! Well, it’s March the first, and
Bruce wants to get this edition of Buckminster
Vintage Times onto the news-stand today and so I
thought that I would kick off with that supposedly
lucky phrase to bring success to the venture. And
the venture does look as though it is doomed to
succeed. From a germ of an idea our vintage
group has grown into a large band of committed
and at times scruffy members, crawling under
floors, shifting rubbish, sawing and banging,
levelling, you name it, in order to give us some
needed aircraft renovation space. I understand
that Brian Griffin can’t wait to get his hands on us
to teach us the black arts of making wood and
fabric stay where it is supposed to be and in the
right shape to guarantee not only flight but safe
return to the ground.
Bruce.
Letters…
The following email is from Australia from Damien
O'Reilly who has just imported into Australia, the
prototype EoN Baby (G-ALLU, BGA 608), from
the Dublin Gliding Club in Ireland.
Thanks Bruce,
I am in Japan until the 17th, and will send you
some images of my EoN Baby when I return
to Australia.
My prototype Baby and that of it's sistership
B002 (now in New Zealand) have straight
backs.
Talking of black arts and the right shape, reminds
me that Graham Kench and myself recently
discovered that we were too manly (ahem) to fly
the Baby and so we have entered into a contest
with each other to see who can get down to 13
stone soonest, with a target date of August the 1st
as a deadline. We need to shed about 2 stone
each. If you can suggest a way to turn our healthy
rivalry into a fund-raiser for our group then Porky
Kench, sorry, I meant of course Graham, and
myself will consider them.
I have a copy of the original blueprint
depicting the three view layout and the
weight / balance / moment arm data.
This drawing shows a straight back. Perhaps
later variants reverted to the Grunau fuselage
shape?
Before we go any further thanks must be
expressed to certain people without who’s help
the group might not have prospered. First, the
committee which so generously responded to the
request from our group to donate the Oly to us in
order that it could be renovated and also for
giving us the accommodation to accomplish that
task. Next, Mike Cook for…….well, for being
Mike Cook and doing what he does so well. He
just listened to what was required and provided it
willingly. To Keith, who is giving his expertise and
energy in helping to set up the workshop. Phil and
Malcolm for the donation of tools and to all of
you who helped out with the dirty tasks or
anything else. Bruce hopes that we will be able to
start renovation work on the aircraft this month.
The sooner we get started the sooner we will be
able to fly our elderly but rather beautiful charges
and to take them away if we want to show them
off and enjoy them. That’s right, take them away
to rallies and hill-soaring sites.
Appreciate the information from you and
look forward to maintaining our dialogue.
Regards
Damien
Damien O’Reilly’s prototype Eon Baby at
Dublin ready to be loaded for shipping to its
new home in Australia.
Events calendar. That brings me to the big event
on our social calendar this year, Saltby’s first
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UK Permanent Rally
Round-up
Vintage Rally. Held over the weekend of the 21st,
22nd and 23rd August. It will be combined with the
1940s dance on Saturday the 21st, which is earlier
than usual so get it into your calendars now. The
event is being advertised nationally through the
VGC magazine. The intention is to open Saltby up
to the VGC world and of making the rally an
annual fixture and extending it to a week-long
event. There will be a BBQ on the Sunday
evening and arrangements are in place to set tasks
if there is enough interest.
Haddenham Rally. May 1-3rd May
2010.
Haddenham is traditionally the first UK Rally of
the year. Haddenham has a long and distinguished
history that stretches back to 1937, and had been
used during the war as the home of the early
Glider Training Squadrons after Winston Churchill
ordered the creation of the airborne forces. (RAF
Ringway was the initial home, but moved to
Haddenham with the formation of dedicated
Glider Forces, with an array of civilian gliders).
Take a look at the Social Events notice board in
the clubhouse. There are scheduled visits to
Shuttleworth on March the 24th and the East Kirby
Aviation Museum to see a Lancaster taxiing on
April the 21st. There are deadlines so that Anita
can arrange group-bookings and transport so get
your names down early. These events are not
expensive.
Haddenham is the home of the Upward Bound
Trust, which was set up with the intention of
instilling leadership and air-mindedness in young
people. The charity was originally started up in
1963 under the name of “Youth and Leadership”,
but soon changed its name to ‘Upward Bound’,
with all it’s founding Staff and Instructors being exwartime glider pilots.
How about some impromptu BBQ’s with us each
bringing what we intend to cook (burn?) to
accompany our woodworking classes as our
scorching summer progresses?
What about us attending a VGC rally in the UK
this year? A look at the events page on the VGC
website Us the link:
http://www.vintagegliderclub.org/ .
Haddenham today is still steeped in its gliding
history, and is one of the most popular smaller
Rallies of the calendar. It has very basic facilities,
and does not even have a proper toilet, (a
situation they hope to soon rectify!), and the club
itself operates out of a small hanger to the
southeast of the field. Despite the basic facilities,
what they lack in creature comforts, they more
than make up for in a friendly grass roots
atmosphere that is increasingly rare in today’s
gliding world.
Finally, almost, what about us hosting the national
VGC rally in the near future?
Finally, finally. This is your group. What events
do you want? Let us know and they will most
likely happen.
Mike Sheehan
Social Sec. BGC Vintage Group
[email protected]
It is a well run Rally with very basic camping
facilities, no running water, no electricity, and
chemical loo’s. But don’t let this put you off, there
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form of toilet block if the camping area is
displaced from the main clubhouse area itself, and
you can expect a good level of comfort and food
availability on site.
is a good choice of B&B’s in the area, whilst a
good many more simply forego life’s more basic
comforts, and camp on site! The club goes out of
its way to make your stay as comfortable and
social as possible with a large marquee, and are
famous for Gayle and the gang’s barbeques!
Naturally you can expect most clubs to have some
limited on-site accommodation available in the
form of bunkrooms, or caravans, but you will
need to expect to book early to secure due to the
typically limited supply.
There is no resident tugs based at Haddenham,
and launching is winch only, however for the Rally
itself, a tug is usually brought in from neighbouring
clubs for those whom wish to aero tow.
This year it is to be held at Bicester, which has
good launching facilities, with both tugs and winch
launching, however it is expected that attendances
maybe slightly down due to the hosting of the
International and Rendezvous Rallies in Tibenham
and Challock.
Despite the basic facilities, Haddenham is one of
the favourite Rallies for many a VGC member, and
as such is more than worth the effort for a group
visit.
UK National Rally, 22nd to 31st May
2010
Generally it is a foregone conclusion that the
group should seriously consider making an effort
to attend the National Rally.
Traditionally the big one of the UK Rally Calendar
year, the National Rally is held at a new venue
each year. It typically lasts 1 week, and will run
over 2 weekends. Generally one of the bigger
Rallies, it is sometimes relegated to second spot by
some of the established Rallies such as Camphill
and Sutton Bank, which can sometimes attract
larger numbers of Vintage Gliders.
Camphill Rally, 18th to 26th June 2010
Camphill Rally has been on the UK Rally calendar
for many years now. It is one of the countries
oldest gliding clubs, and was foundered in 1935,
and is a very pleasant, and well-organised Rally to
attend. As many will know, Camphill is nicknamed
“Damphill”, and at times it certainly lives up to its
reputation! It can get very cold due to its exposed
position, so camping can be rather bracing indeed!
In fact I have referred to this Rally in the past years
as my yearly June “winters holiday”!
The National Rally is normally a very well run
affair, and you can expect a good array of social
events to be organised for attending guests. Some
National Rallies may extend to the occasional trip
to local attractions, however do not expect this
level of organisation from every host club. In
recent years, there has also been an effort to
include model Vintage Gliders at some point in the
Rally, and has proved to be very popular indeed.
The evening meals are great, and again the
Barbeques are very well run. The club facilities are
excellent, and they have a cosy bar and clubhouse
that fits in well with the surrounding Pennines feel.
There are some very nice on-site bunk rooms for
very modest rates, but again you will need to
book early to secure these.
The organisers go out of their way to make
everyone feel at home, the scenery is spectacular,
however Camphill has its drawbacks. It is a very
difficult site to operate from, and will catch the
unwary out very quickly.
There is no aerotowing from Camphill so all
launches are by winching. (Although they have
been known to carry out the odd bungee launch
from the western ridge from time to time!) When
the ridge is working, extreme caution must be
exercised as it can get very crowded with gliders
during the Rally, not to mention gliders launching
directly at 90 degrees to the ridge face up to about
400feet (a.a.l.) due to the very short winching run
in the westerly direction, and therefore directly
You can also expect a good array of pilots from
both the north and the south of the country, and
as the National Rally, forms the focal Rally of the
VGC home calendar.
Expect a good level of camping facilities, however
many clubs will not have facilities to provide for
electricity. Usually most clubs will bring in some
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across the path of soaring gliders on the western
ridge.
landing on difficult and significant surface
gradients.
When the western ridge is working, it is normal to
expect significant roll on finals, so a safe landing
here is all about 3 things; circuit planning, circuit
planning, and circuit planning!
In short, Camphill is not a place for the
inexperienced, and as such great caution needs to
be exercised when considering who flies there. It
can however, be a very rewarding experience,
with some very spectacular scenery. Expect a very
thorough checkout here by resident club
instructors before you are cleared to fly. (If you
don’t, swallow your pride and ask for one!)
The field itself is very uneven and is surrounded by
unyielding stone walls, which together, can
contribute to yet more difficulties for some pilots,
especially those that are not experienced at
General layout of the Camphill site
Sutton Bank Rally, 29th August to 4th
September 2010
Traditionally the last Rally of the UK calendar, it is
a much easier site to fly than Camphill, like all hill
sites however, it is a site that one should not take
for granted. It is a good, safe site for those who
have never experienced ridge soaring before, and
has three good ridges with some good fields below
Like Camphill, Sutton Bank is another of the
countries more famous hill sites. Unlike Camphill
however it has a much better layout of its field,
and is flat with 2 good runways.
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The club itself has a very long and distinguished
history that goes back to 1934, and today enjoys
very good launching facilities, with 2 tugs, a
Pawnee and a Piper Cub, not to mention a very
good winch.
should you find yourself looking back up at the
field itself!
The epitome of true traditional English landscape
that is right out of Wordsworth, the scenery is to
die for, and is further enhanced by its famous chalk
horse on the southern ridge immediately below
one of the clubs runway. Just a short distance
away is the ancient ruins of Byland Abby, and just
cements the joy of flying there. The clubhouse has
good facilities, and there is a good selection of
bunkrooms, but again, book early.
As Sutton Bank is smack bang in the middle of a
tourist area; there are many stunning local walks in
the immediate area, as are numerous tourist
attractions. It has much to offer all the family, and
the lovely town of Thirsk is a 10-minute drive
away. The area also hosts a number of good pubs
and restaurants just a short distance from the club
itself.
Camping is available on site, however tents space
can be limited somewhat, but is not normally a
problem. There is a limited supply of electric hookups in the caravan area, although do not expect to
get one if you are taking a caravan with you.
There is good onsite catering available at
reasonable prices, and the bar is very well kept
and has a nice cosy, friendly feel to it.
This should be considered as one of the “must do”
rallies each year for the group, and as such is a
perfect location to enjoy the EoN Baby and the
Olympia to their full potential.
Ok…so there was one eyesore that was to spoil Sutton Banks
stunning scenery!
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the easier bit, and deciding what to do the most
difficult.
The Builders Corner…
As I said a labour of love…
With Brian Griffin.
Thanks to an enormous amount of effort by Bruce
and other members of the Vintage Group, the
workshop is nearly ready to start getting our
gliders airworthy.
We should start work with the EoN Baby because I
hope this will require less remedial work to make
it airworthy. We have no paperwork or records
for the glider so we much be absolutely sure that
the structure is sound and all repairs and
modifications have been correctly engineered.
My plan is to first rig the glider to get an overall
view of how it looks and how easily it goes
together. We will then manually load critical items
and listen for any noises or creaks which could
indicate suspect areas. These would include the
wings tailplane and fin. This test could well
indicate which areas need closer inspection.
Mike and Keith busy levelling the containers, whilst
the “teaboy” looks on!
Thanks for the words Brian. I would also like
to extend my thanks to both Keith Ford and
Mike Cook, and to all those that have given
their time and help to date, you all know
who you are…Thank you!
The second stage is to have each major
component in the workshop for a detailed
inspection. We must be sure there are no areas of
glue failure, or signs of dampness.
I have 2 small TV cameras that help this inspection
with minimal damage to the ply and fabric
coverings. The main spar cap adhesion at high
stress points must be faultless. If we find anything
suspect we will have to explore in depth by
opening up the structure.
I have included an article that hopefully gives
you a basic understanding of just how timbers
are selected and applied by designers as a
supplement to the planned workgroups.
Part 1.
All the problems we find can be repaired, but at
some point the hours and effort needed cannot be
justified. All these old gliders have to be
maintained and repaired as a ‘Labour of Love’ and
can never be justified as a commercial proposition.
This must be our approach. Before we start any
major rectification work we should make a fairly
deep assessment of the whole project because we
do not want to put 5 weeks work into the LH
wing only to find the RH wing is practically
irreparable.
All you ever wanted to know about
Wood.
This issue we look at the very basics of wooden
glider production, looking at the commonly used
species of timer, their typical applications, and the
processing and selection of aircraft grade timber.
Although it is true that wood is not as strong as
glass fibre, steel or aluminium, it does however
lend itself perfectly to aircraft construction, and
can be so designed that the necessary strength is
achieved with corresponding savings in weight. In
fact, many designers prefer to use wooden spars in
acrobatic aircraft because the wood will better
withstand the bending loads imposed during
aerobatics, and unlike metal, wood does not
weaken from fatigue. This, of course, is an
important advantage to the aircraft builder. Wood
is easily formed into shapes, and what’s more,
woodworking is a skill that is easily mastered by
the novice who usually has just a basic knowledge
of wood construction and some of the necessary
In the past I have set about a repair or rectification
of a glider only to find later that I have made a
mistake which can sometimes be irretrievable. My
method now is to assess the problem, prepare a
plan of action, and then stop! Go away and try to
think it through from start to finish considering all
possible consequences to the whole project. Make
sketches of the plan and go back and look again to
see what you missed. There will be something!
Modify the plan and repeat the whole process.
Eventually you will know what to do and you can
make a start. I find doing the actual repair work is
7
lumber will be of the quality necessary for aircraft
construction.
Primarily, spruce is used in glider production for
the main load carrying areas, and when broken,
good spruce will break with a fibrous fracture, and
all along the broken surfaces there will be tiny
whiskers of grain that have “pulled up”. Bad dry
spruce breaks short, or snaps like a carrot, and the
whiskers are absent.
tools. It is primarily for these reasons that wood
has been the natural choice for aircraft builders
since man desired to emulate the birds.
Hardwoods or Softwoods; What’s the
difference?
The botanical terms of softwoods and hardwoods
indicate the basic cellular structure of the wood
(hardwood structures are more complex) and how
moisture moves within the living tree. They do not
indicate the softness or hardness of particular
timbers. Softwoods generally come from the
coniferous species (e.g. pines, firs and spruces) and
the timber is generally fine textured but not
particularly light. All the hardwoods (e.g. eucalypts
and oaks; even balsa which, at around 160 kg/m³,
is the lightest and softest commercial timber) have
broad leaves and the texture of the wood ranges
from fine to coarse.
Alternatives to Spruce
The most common alternative to Stika Spruce, is
Douglas Fir and White Pine.
Douglas Fir is a very acceptable alternative for
spruce. Its strength exceeds spruce by roughly
23%, however Fir does have a tendency to split
making it somewhat more difficult to work with. It
is also heavier than spruce—about 26% heavier in
fact. Generally you can get away with a smaller
dimensions due to the increased strength, which is
why years ago, a number of aircraft manufacturers
would router out a portion of a fir spar to save
weight.
Spruce
White Pine is 85-96% as strong as spruce. It is easy
to work with and generally fairly ready available.
It is quite a soft wood with good shock resisting
qualities. It cannot be used as a direct substitute for
spruce however, without an increase in size to
compensate for the lesser strength.
Ash
Spruce is commonly found in the northern
temperate and boreal regions of earth, and reach
typically to heights of 66-200ft, and diameters of 8
feet when mature. It has long been recognized as
the best type of wood to use in the construction of
wooden gliders and aircraft due to its light-weight/
strength ratio over other woods, and it is the
standard against which all other woods are judged.
It is easily worked, uniform in texture, resistant to
rotting, and has no odour. It can also be obtained
in clear, straight-grained pieces having very few
defects. This is possible because of the way in
which the trees grow in their natural environment.
Sitka Spruce is probably the most common type of
wood for glider and aircraft construction these
days. (The name Sitka was derived from a town in
Alaska).
Spruce trees typically grow close together, and in
so doing they must grow very tall and fast in order
to obtain the necessary sunlight. Because of this
type of growth they usually have few, if any,
branches except near the very top of the tree. This
facilitates the type of growth necessary to yield
knot free lumber suitable for aircraft use. A fully
mature spruce tree will have taken up to 400 years
to fully grow, and will not yield usable aircraft
lumber until it is at least 5 feet in diameter. Even
with this size tree, only 5% or less of the resulting
Common to both Europe and North America, ash
is a white hardwood with characteristic flecks in
the grain. Its great merit is that it has good
resistance to bending, and is therefore used for
skids and occasionally for the keel of gliders.
Beech
A common tree in Britain, beech is a hardwood
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used for re-enforcing blocks in etc. It was many
years ago, used for making plywood when Birch
was in short supply. In colour, it is a whitish
wood, darker than Ash, and contains short flecks
in the grain.
Trees expand their trunks by
addition of new peripheral
growth layers. In softwoods this
expansion growth can generally
be discerned on the end
surfaces of a cut log as a series
of concentric annual growth
rings. Each ring may display the
growth as a lighter colour
representing the faster growth
during the earlier growing
season (early wood). A darker
colour indicates slower, denser
growth during the less
favourable part of the growing
season (late wood).
Birch
Environmental events will also affect growth rings.
Because of favourable year-round conditions the
rings in tropical — and possibly sub-tropical —
trees may not exist, or may be difficult to discern.
A hardwood used mainly for the manufacture of
plywood, but used on its own in certain
applications. It faintly resembles Beech, but is of a
darker colour altogether. It is also an ideal wood
for reinforcing blocks, tailskid spring-carrying
members, and in some aircraft, where the fittings
of the wings are attached to spars.
The rate of growth is shown by the width of the
annual rings, or the number of growth rings per 25
mm. Generally, for those softwoods typically used
in aircraft construction, the number of radial
growth rings appearing in the end or on the face
of sawn boards, should be at least six, possibly
eight, per 25 mm but fewer than 15 to 18 — and
with a high percentage (50%) of the stronger late
wood. (If the tree is grown too slowly, the strong
late wood bands are too narrow; if grown too fast,
the weaker early wood bands are too wide [in
softwoods], or the late wood cell walls are too thin
[in hardwoods].)
Mahogany
When looking at the machined faces of a board,
visible lines from the growth rings may indicate the
direction of the board grain. For aircraft-grade
timber straight grain is vital. The general lines of
the grain along the longitudinal axis of the board
should be reasonably straight and the maximum
grain slope on all sides should not deviate from
parallelism with the long axis by more than 25
mm in 400 mm, i.e. a ratio around 1:16, or 1:20 if
the timber is for wing spars. (Sloping grain has
many causes; spiral growth, growth around knots
or just the sawmilling process.) Wood will split
along the lay of the fibres, so splitting a sample
length is accepted as a normal method of detecting
grain slope; but there are other less destructive
methods.
A rather generic term, as there is a whole family of
timbers which go by this name. It is a dark timber,
which comes from various places all over the
world, and varies greatly in hardness. It has one
great merit, in that it has very great resistance to
shock loads, hence its use in places like wheelboxes, and in the Power Flying Sphere, for
propellers.
Natures Makeup of Wood
Grain and growth rings
The term grain encompasses both the direction of
the fibres and the texture of the wood, i.e. the size
and arrangement of the cell structures. (Grain in a
sawn board may be described as straight, wavy,
spiral, interlocked, sloping and others. The terms
edge, end and face grain refer to the grain aspect
as displayed in a board.)
Two distinct zones can often be seen in the crosssection of a cut log. The inner darker zone,
possibly more than 70% of the surface area, is the
heartwood, which provides structural strength. The
outer zone is the sapwood, which provides the
tree's nutrient storage and sap flow. As the trunk
expands, the inner sapwood cells are gradually
9
converted to thicker-walled heartwood. Seasoned
sapwood is not as dense as heartwood and the
nutrients contained make it more prone to insect
attack.
The diagram shows a board under tension (the
load is trying to stretch it) and the angle of the
grain to the axis of the load is about 45°. At this
angle the tensile/compressive strength of the board
is probably reduced to less than 25% of its
available strength at the 0° angle, i.e. when the
grain is parallel to the long axis of the board and
to the load.
In softwoods grain angles greater than a few
degrees produce a markedly disproportionate
reduction in tensile/compressive strength —
maybe 25% reduction at just 15° and 50%
reduction at 30°. The decrease in stiffness is
even greater. Hence, as stated previously, the
need to use boards that allow all structural
members cut from them to have a maximum
grain slope better than 1:15 (4°), or perhaps
1:20 (3°) for critical structures, throughout
the component. (The structural member can be
sawn from the board in a manner that produces
minimum grain slope within that member.)
Sawmilling of timber.
Various sawing patterns and combinations are used
to convert logs into boards. 'Live sawing' is used
mainly to produce cheaper 'ready-for-use' material.
'Back sawing' or 'flat sawing' produces boards with
the faces tangential to the growth rings. 'Quarter
sawing' produces an often highly figured edge
grain on the face of the board; consequently, such
boards may be referred to as 'edge grain' boards.
Quarter-sawn boards are the most expensive to
produce.
Effects of humidity and heat
Timber as felled has considerable moisture content
[MC] present as 'free' moisture within the cell
cavities, and 'bound' or 'combined' moisture
saturating the cell walls. The freshly sawn lumber
will loose perhaps 50% of its total weight, shrink
somewhat and become much stronger, harder and
more durable during the seasoning (drying and
stabilising) process. [But as it does so, becomes
more brittle]. The seasoning process also improves
timber workability and the bonding of adhesives
and surface finishes. The target MC for the process
is normally 12% (i.e. weight of water compared to
weight of totally dry wood) but it may vary
between 10% and 15% in temperate climate
conditions; at these levels only bound moisture
remains.
In the image above you can see that all boards,
from the log on the right, would be quarter-sawn
when cut this way. However, if quarter-sawn
boards are specified by the aircraft designer the
expectation may be that the rings are 90° to the
longer cross-section dimension ±10°. Quarter-sawn
boards are less likely to distort or crack during the
drying process and are more stable in service. An
advantage with quarter-sawn softwood is that the
rate of growth is readily seen when selecting
boards.
Within a board, moisture moves from wetter to
drier zones until the MC is more or less constant
throughout. Wood is hydroscopic so the MC of
seasoned wood will adjust to the relative humidity
of its environment — either absorbing water
vapour from the atmosphere or evaporating
moisture into it — until the wood reaches an MC
that is in equilibrium with the atmosphere. The
density of wood changes by about 0.5% for each
percentage point variation from 12% MC; i.e. a
board at 18% MC will be 3% heavier than when at
12%.
Effect of grain slope on strength
Wood is not like aluminium or steel whose
physical properties are mostly independent of
direction. For example, the tensile strength of
timber varies with grain direction and is at a
maximum parallel to the grain and at a minimum
perpendicular to the grain.
The strength of wood is inversely proportional to
the temperature; if the temperature of wood at
12% MC is increased from 20 °C to 40 °C, the
modulus of rupture will decrease by around 15%.
(Rule of thumb: there is about a 1% reduction in
the ultimate strength and stiffness values for each 1
°C increase in wood temperature; and the converse
10
Stability: unless all surfaces and joints are coated
with an impermeable barrier, the absorption or
release of water vapour will prompt dimensional
movement (swelling/contraction) in structural
members which, in effect, changes
tension/compression in the structure.
applies for temperature decrease.) Short-term heat
soaking will not permanently affect strength but
long periods at high temperatures will reduce the
ultimate load carrying capacity and the resistance
to deflection under load.
(The colour of the surface finish has a very
significant effect on the temperature of aircraft
surfaces: in 40° C ambient temperature the
temperature of a white surface can reach 68° C,
light green 84° C, red 100° C and black 110° C. An
aluminium finish is about 75° C, so it is best to paint
your aircraft white. The figures are from an aircraft
maintenance publication that was specifically
referring to fibre-reinforced polymer surfaces.)
Movement is insignificant longitudinally but
generally quite significant in the tangential
dimension (along the rings) — often being more
than twice the movement in the radial dimension
— so it is important to align the cross-section grain
of a structural member so that the extra tangential
movement causes the least stress.
If long-term MC exceeds 20% the wood's
susceptibility to decay or dry rot is greatly
increased — particularly so in warmer
temperatures, and in conditions where free
moisture is trapped within the structure and
oxygen can be absorbed from the atmosphere. MC
changes also affect strength; a change from 12%
MC to 18% MC will decrease the modulus of
rupture by perhaps 25%.
Strength and stiffness.
The most important considerations for an aircraft
designer/builder are the weight, strength and
stiffness of particular timbers. (Secondary
considerations would include workability, stability,
steam bendability, ability to be glued, impact
resistance and ease of surface finishing.) Strength
and stiffness are allied to density, and as the
density of boards from an individual species varies
considerably so does the strength. One aspect of
strength is the load carrying capacity of a length
of timber, usually expressed as 'modulus of rupture
in static bending' [MR] — 'modulus' means
'measure' so it's a measure of the maximum loadcarrying capacity when that load is applied slowly
at the centre point of a beam. Stiffness describes a
length of timber's resistance to deflection under
load and 'modulus of elasticity in static bending'
[ME] is the measure.
Other aspects of wood strength generally
considered are:
•
tensile — resistance to forces trying to pull
the fibre structure apart
•
compressive — resistance to squeezing or
crushing forces both parallel and
perpendicular to the grain
•
shear — resistance to shearing forces that
might lead to fibre separation along/across
a plane
•
The green rectangle in the image above shows
expansion due to moisture intake, though greatly
exaggerated. If it is desirable that minimum allround movement should occur then the longest
dimension of a rectangular section member should
be aligned in the radial direction. The tangential
movement in hoop pine is much less than the
norm for aircraft softwoods and only about 40%
more than the radial movement, thus the overall
dimensional movement in a quarter-sawn hoop
pine board will be quite small.
The timber for solid beams should normally be
back-sawn, particularly in softwoods, as the
strength of the growth rings when roughly parallel
impact — ability to absorb shock loads.
11
to the beam depth provides additional bending
resistance. However, stability considerations would
dictate the reverse, as the movement in the
tangential dimension along the rings may be about
twice the movement in the radial dimension, as
explained above; thus solid aircraft spars are
normally quarter-sawn, though with hoop pine
one might opt for a back-sawn spar because of the
relatively small difference in radial/tangential
movement.
Painting, varnishing, epoxy coating or other
moisture barriers slow the rate of adjustment to
the environment and the wood takes some time to
adjust to the Enviromental MC. So, daily humidity
changes probably have no significant effect but
seasonal changes certainly will. Moisture is more
readily absorbed through end grain because of the
capillary action provided, so special measures may
need to be taken to minimise that absorption.
When constructing an aircraft it is important to
ensure that no spaces within the structure are
completely sealed off from the atmosphere; not
just to ensure moisture movement but also to
ensure that all compartments/cells readily adjust to
in-flight atmospheric pressure changes.
Measuring MC: you can measure the MC of a
board by cutting off a sample, weighing it carefully
and immediately microwaving it for sufficient time
to dry the sample completely. Weigh it again then
calculate the initial MC%, which will be :
([initial weight − dry weight] / dry weight) × 100
For example: initial weight 87 grams, dry weight
77 grams:
([87 − 77] / 77) × 100 = 13% MC
Effects of fuel and other liquids. Avgas,
kerosene and most lubricating oils do not react
with wood and have no significant effect on
strength. However alcohols (as contained in
mogas) and ethylene glycol (antifreeze) will cause
wood to swell and will reduce strength while
present, and have the about the same effect as
water absorption.
BS.
Ref:-
-Standard Repairs to Gliders. Published by
the BGA.
-Recreational Aviation Australia
Incorporated.
-EAA Workshop Papers
In the next issue of Builders Corner, we take a
look at the make up of plywood and the
storage of building materials in the workshop.
12
The Baby that never quite grew up…
Part 1.
Edmund Schneider, and the pre-war history of the Grunau Baby.
Photo: Chris Wills Collection
T
he origins of the infamous Grunau Baby go
Through the procurement of an old exhibition-hall
in Görlitz, in cooperation with the local branch of
the "Bund Deutscher Flieger", and the
"SchlesierGruppe" of the then "Deutschen
Luftfahrtverbandes", the old hall was resurrected at
the foot of the Schiefer Mountains, at the eastern
perimeter of the village. And so in the summer of
1923, with room for a workshop, office, and
clubrooms, the birth of gliding at Grunau was
established.
right back to the roots of modern gliding itself.
With gliding being rapidly developed within
Germany due to the restrictions of the Versailles
Treaty after the 1st WW, the early 1920’s were to
see the first significant breakthroughs in the sport,
right back to a time when the first attempts of
ridge soaring were carried out at the Rossitten, on
the Curonian spit in 1921. With the fast
development of training establishments at both
Rossitten, and more famously, at the Wasserkuppe
in the Rhön Mountains, the two organisations
merged on the 31st of August 1924 as the RhönRossitten Gesellsch (R.R.G.). With the rapid
development of the sport through the focus of the
R.R.G., more and more schools began to be
established throughout Germany, one such school
around that time was based n Silesia, near the
idyllic little town of Hirschberg. (Which now forms
part of modern day Poland and is called Jelenia
Gora, which means Stag Mountain in both
German and Polish).
With the building now in place, training was
severely restricted to the late summer months after
local crops had been harvested from the fields, as
there were no arrangements in place at the time to
lease the necessary fields, and it soon the decision
was made to take advantage of the favourable
slopes at the nearby Galgenberg (Gallows
Mountain), which had a flat summit at 561 m.
New funds were needed however to build a new
hanger and workshop, which was by far from a
straightforward task in the severe economic
climate of wild inflation in Germany at that time!
With a generous donation of timber from a local
Count, this was soon traded for another
dismantled exhibition hall, this time from
Frankfurt, and was relocated at the foot of the
Galgenberg. The actual gliding field was situated
on the flat summit of the Galgenberg, with hangars
and a restaurant (called the "Proske"). On an
adjacent western slope another hanger was to be
located at a later date, and was often referred to
as the ‘C-slope’, because of its potential to allow
students to gain their C-licences.
Situated very close to Hirschberg is the small
village of Grunau, which lies near the first summit
of the Bober-Kartzbach Mountains, which was to
lend its name to what was, perhaps, the most
famous design in gliding history. The foundations
were laid after a number of former WW-I pilots
had begun meeting in Grunau through the local
branch of the Bund Deutscher Flieger, at the hotel
"Zur Post".
One of the pilots had attended a gliding camp in
the Rhön Mountains, and was quick to realise the
potential of the area in and around Grunau,
especially for the new-found art of ridge soaring.
13
The Hanger and School Offices at Grunau with
the Canteen on the left. Falke in the foreground,
all other gliders are SG38’s.
Very early built Grunau Baby 1 showing the
original straight back, and “bath tub” nose.
Photo: From the Peter Reidel collection.
With the completion of the prototype, the first
test-flights of Schneider’s little Baby were carried
out by Paul Steinig, who was to later write:
With a permanent school quickly becoming
established, amongst the first of the schools
instructors, were two Schwabian joiners by the
names of Edmund Schneider and Gottlob
Espenlaub. Both had relocated from the
Wasserkuppe, however with the departure of
Espenlaub in 1926, a third Schwabian - Wolf Hirth
- took over management of the flying school. (At
this time Grunau had become established as one of
the countries three top schools for the sport). With
the schools success, Edmund Schneider married a
girl from Grunau, and in 1928 founded his own
glider factory "Edmund Schneider Segelflugzeugbau
Grunau" (ESG) there.
"As an instructor of the flying school at Grunau, I
had long before been appointed to test-fly the
prototype of the "Grunau Baby". It was a simple
monoplane with its wings placed on top of the
fuselage and supported by wing-struts. It had a
fuselage of hexagonal cross-section, which was clad
with plywood. In fact, it was a smaller edition of
earlier Schneider gliders, the reliability of which
already had been proven.
At last the moment was upon me, and I was very
anxious to discover how well everything would
function. The feeling of great expectation
everybody experiences before any first flight now
also took hold of me. Although every detail had
been accurately designed and checked, the new
"Baby" had not been actually airborne yet. This was
to happen now. The aircraft had been taken to the
southern slope, and was assembled there. At the
edge of the forest, from where pupils usually
started for their A-trials, (30 seconds straight flight),
now stood the "Baby", ready to prove its ability to
fly for more than 30 seconds.
Schneider was quick to recognise the need for a
small versatile glider of a modest price and, with
this in mind, set about designing a simple, but
versatile glider of what was then considered a high
performance. With this simple remit in mind, this
soon was to lead to development of the "Grunau
Baby" in the winter of 1930/31. Naturally all of
Schneider’s earlier design experiences were a factor
in the new Baby, which featured a simple
plywood flat-sided fuselage, which was both
strong and easy to construct.
Everything went without a hitch. Straight from the
start, the fair, beautiful bird of plywood, glue and
linen soared smoothly over the meadows
underneath and did not seem willing to descend. It
flew three to four times further than the
Schulgleiter, [school …] because the ground was
still sloping away. But for the "Baby" this wasn’t
enough. Initially, everybody was quite satisfied with
the result. But the "Baby" had to show more. How
would it handle in thermals? [The first recorded
thermalling flights took place in 1928]. If I
remember correctly, that day the wind had
changed to the southwest, in the direction of the
Grunau C-slope. It was also increasing in force.
What could be more obvious than trying it out
with the new "Baby"? So I prepared for take-off and
by way of the northern slope I flew to the C-slope.
Instantly and without effort height was gained, and
soon I was flying to-and-fro at 200 to 300 metres
The wing however was not so straightforward,
and took its strength and rigidity from the then
relatively new design of a stressed plywood
torsion box ahead of the main spar, which gave a
light, and aerodynamically high performance,
wing. This however, was at the expense of being
more difficult to construct, and consequently,
more expensive to manufacture. With comparable
training gliders of the time relying on internally,
and often externally. wire-braced structures that
made no use of stressed ply for their strength and
rigidity, the payoff was of course that they were
much cheaper to manufacture.
14
above the ridge. The first hour of flight passed very
quickly.
At least half an hour had passed when I spotted an
aircraft beneath me. It was a "Falke" type aircraft. It
became clear it was challenging me. This was the
opportunity I had inwardly been waiting for, now I
could demonstrate the capacities of the "Baby".
However, it never came to a duel, though the
"Falke" did its utmost to reach my "Baby". But it
didn’t succeed. At least, the rate of descent of the
"Baby" was less than that of the "Falke". Apparently,
whoever was flying it clearly got fed up with
constantly cruising under me, and headed straight
back to the hangar on the south slope, because it
was clearly impossible to catch up with me. After I
had completed my first hour, I also returned to the
south slope. There I learned that Wolf Hirth had
flown the "Falke". As soon as he had heard of the
new Baby flying over the C-slope, he had
immediately been interested in a comparison with
the gliders used by the school. He had come up to
the Galgenberg instantly, and had taken off in the
Falke. In this way, the new "Grunau Baby" had
found its way into the news and acquired publicity
with its maiden flight. Its future success was assured.
Wolf Hirth
What was evident however, was the continual
development and refinement of the type through
the constant utilisation of the Grunau Baby by
Hirth at the flying school, where it was constantly
being tested and developed through the demands
as a training glider with the school. The allimportant results of these practical experiences
were incorporated in the development of the
type.
The Grunau gliding-school immediately switched
over to the use of this new aircraft and became due to its greatly improved results of instruction –
the prime promoter for its triumphal introduction.
Soon, "Grunau Babies" were flying over slopes in all
parts of the world.
During 1932, Schneider also designed another
glider named Senator, which was very similar to
the Baby. During the 13th Rhön Competition (in
which 6 GB’s had been entered), the Senator
entered an unaccountable dive, during which the
wing failed, and led to the fatal ending of both
pilot and aircraft. With design strength of aircraft
in those days, largely by “eye” and experience,
Schneider sensibly drew the conclusion that more
scientific approach was needed. Appointing a
young aeronautical engineer from Breslau, Emil
Rolle, stress calculations were carried out on the
Baby’s wing. The wing was redesigned with a
safety-factor of 8, and thus in the process, with its
Gö 535 profile, Rolle redesigned the Baby with a
longer wingspan, increasing its span to 13.5m
(from 12.87m), the cockpit was redesigned with a
redesigned sleeker nose with a single ridge that ran
vertically from the cockpit coaming to the
nosecone.
The rear of the fuselage was to be redesigned as
well. Gone was the straight spine of the Baby 1,
and was replaced by a sweeping rear spine behind
the wing. Both the rudder and the tailplane were
also redesigned, and so the Grunau Baby II was
born..
One of the first of these designated Grunau Baby
II’s was flown by the German pilot Kurt Schmidt to
a new world duration record of 36 hours, which
was not to be broken officially until 1949.
With the important initial success of the Grunau
Baby, Schneider was quick to capitalise upon the
potential of the glider, and as such, turned to Wolf
Hirth who had established his name and
reputation as one of the top instructors in the
country at that time.
Hirth, who has been often been named as the true
designer of the Grunau Baby, had not in fact seen
the Baby for the first time until after the prototype
had been completed, despite Schneider himself
stating that the glider had been designed in
cooperation with Hirth.
Schneider’s son Harry, was to years later explain
the myth however: ‘This was done to improve
sales, because my father had not established a
name yet, while Wolf Hirth was already well
known as head of the Grunau Flying School.’
In 1959, Wolf Hirth himself was to later confirm
Schnieder’s modesty in an article about the Flying
School at Grunau, entitled ‘Schlesischen
Heimatkalender’, he stated: "The type of aircraft
which really made the name Grunau known all
over the world, was the "Grunau Baby", developed
by Schneider since 1931."
15
light and yet strong, and was glued together with
either Kaurit or casein adhesive which were, at
that time, the most common glues available. This
was to mean, especially in the latter case, that
gliders that had not been stored under the most
favourable conditions, (and during the 1960’s over
zealous governing bodies), did not survive the
years, and was to partly contribute towards the
types relative low survival rate today, despite the
huge numbers that were to later be built.
It was by the then days standards, easy to rig, and
soon had established it’s reputation of safe and
pleasant handling qualities, and literally set the
standard by which all other gliders were compared
to at that time.
With the success of the Grunau Baby II, further
improvements to the type came about in 1935 ,
when the cockpit was given a semi-enclosed
cockpit cover and a small windscreen, and
significantly the wing was increased slightly to
accommodate spoilers. Designated the
Grunau Baby IIA, the type also featured new
narrow cord ailerons to aid lighter control in roll.
It is no surprise that the Grunau Baby was to
quickly establish its place in the history books with
some of its extraordinary achievements, such as the
world-record duration-flight of 36.5 hours on
August 3rd and 4th, 1933 with a self-built "Baby"
by Kurt Schmidt in Königberg. Another highlight
was the world-record height-gain of 2,200 metres
on February 17th, 1934 by the famous test-pilot,
Hanna Reitsch who had learnt to fly under the
tutorship of Hirth at the Grunau Flying School in
1932.
Hungarian Grunau Baby IIA. This version
featured a curved back and a new sleeker
ridged nose.
Photo courtesy of Gábor Fekecs.
With the benefit of the ongoing close cooperation
of Hirth and his school at Grunau, Hirth was quick
to advise further refinement of the Grunau Baby
IIA, and soon Schneider had replaced the spoilers
with more powerful Schempp-Hirth airbrakes. The
cockpit was again redesigned with a wider, and
more sleeker nose. Gone was the single ridge that
ran vertically from the coaming to the nose, and a
horizontal flat panel was simply inserted, upon
which the small windscreen was attached.
A small take-off dolly, which could be jettisoned,
was also incorporated, and thus the most famous
of all Baby’s was born, the Grunau Baby IIB.
Wolf Hirth straps Hanna Reistch into a
Grunau Baby II around 1932. This photo was
probably taken at Hirschberg airfield.
Note the canopy and sleeker nose of the GB II.
Photo. Peter Reidel Collection
With its small wingspan, the "Baby" was also well
suited for training in aerobatics, as again Wolf
Hirth was to later write: "I have already let 30
pupils make their first aerobatics-flights with the
Grunau Baby II, and now I can watch without any
discomfort how the pupil tumbles about in the air,
in the most impossible attitudes. I know the Baby
will always go into a straight nose-down dive. The
aircraft will only get into a spin when wilfully made
to do so, but even then comes out of it again
immediately."
The Grunau Baby IIB showing the redesigned
front cockpit.
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel.
Like the Grunau Baby I and II, the Grunau Baby IIB
retained the same qualities, it was easy to build,
16
The humble Baby continued its extraordinary
success throughout the 1930’s despite the rapid
development of much higher performance gliders
that left the Baby far behind. This success was no
doubt due to the all important role it took on in
the mid to late 1930’s, and was a perfect
intermediate club trainer, in which students could
continue to develop their all important flying and
cross-country skills, before moving onto higher
performance gliders.
Its strength allowed a tolerable level of
mishandling, and it was easy to soar in thermals,
and as a result, was popular for students to
achieve their converted Silver-C soaring badges,
which was introduced in 1930. This required a
pilot to remain aloft at least five hours, gain a
minimum height of 1,000m (3,280 ft) after
takeoff, and cover a distance of 50 km (31 miles).
Late wartime NFSK Grunau Baby IIB. Note the
camouflage on upper surfaces. By this time it was
no longer possible to fly cross country in Germany
due to the danger of roving Allied fighters.
Although precise numbers are unknown, there
were over 4000 that rolled of production lines in
Germany and occupied countries, and the Baby
takes its place in history as the most produced
sailplane ever. With such a high production rate,as
one ex-employee was later to recall in 1997: “At
that time, three "Babies" were produced every two
working days”, the type soon necessitated extra
labour, which was provided by the employment
of forced labour, mainly French.
The majority of these Grunau Baby’s were assigned
to elementary training of prospective fighter pilots,
and as the story goes; “that the final test for these
pupils consisted of a dive with the canopy removed,
while the pilot had to shoot at a ground target
with a pistol! If the target was hit, and the pilot
survived, the fortunate pupil was admitted to the
advanced training for fighter pilot!”
The Baby was to end the 2nd World War as
probably the most versatile glider ever, and it was
due to the huge numbers that were manufactured,
that cemented its place in our history for the
years to come.
NFSK Group Grunau Babies, a typical sight in
pre-war Germany.
“Plenty more where they came from boys”!
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel.
Up to the outbreak of war in 1939, it is thought
that there were some 1000 Grunau Baby II’s
produced, as large numbers were adopted by the
Deutsche Luftsport Verband (German Sport Flying
Organization, the DLV) in 1933. This organisation
was to be absorbed into a branch of the Hitler
Youth in 1937 under the title of the
Nationalsozialistiche Fliegerkorps (NSFK), and was
the Nazi organisation whose primary aim was to
It is not known if the SG38 Primary glider was
manufactured in greater numbers, however despite
the SG38’s importance as a very basic trainer, it
was never going to achieve anything like the
versatility and fondness that the Baby
commanded, and has been often referred to as the
Tiger Moth of the glider world.
train military pilots for the Luftwaffe.
During WW2, production went through the roof
to meet the demands of wartime training, and
soon a staggering three-shift, 24-hour working day
was introduced for Baby production!
17
The caption reads:
The caption reads:
“The airman’s pleasure is sacred”,
“The cyclists just in a hurry”…
“I’ve flown my C badge ”!
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel
Grunau Baby II flying over the hills of Budapest.
Photo courtesy of Gábor Fekecs.
18
NFSK Dresden Group
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel
To see a more of Clint’s photos, go to
www.Danielsww2.com
Young minds, young hearts…pre-war German gliding.
Photo courtesy of Clint Daniel
19
Grunau Baby and Minimoa, Hornberg 1939.
Original photo by Greslen Ruth. Courtesy of the Chris Wills collection
49 and the Grunau Baby III were put into limited
production by the Schleicher factory, and again
proved to be an enormous success in the
revitalisation of post-war German gliding.
The Post-War life of Edmund
Schneider.
With World War II drawing to a dramatic close as
Soviet forces swept into Germany from the east,
the Schneider’s were among the many Germans
who fled to the comparative safety of Western
Germany. Amid the chaos of their battle-scarred
nation, the Schneider family (Edmund, his wife and
two sons, Harry and Edmund Jr.) found
themselves in the southern city Stuttgart. Here they
located Wolf Hirth whose glider factory had been
in nearby Göppingen. Hirth helped the Schneider’s
to salvage some materials from derelict buildings
and erect for themselves a shelter amid the rubble
of Stuttgart. For a short time, Edmund Schneider
and his elder son, Harry, found employment with
American forces occupying the nearby
Echterdingen aerodrome.
With the prohibition order on flying in Germany
immediately after the War, Schneider moved his
family further south to start a small business on the
shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in
Switzerland, building wooden boats, where in his
spare time, Schneider designed several sailplanes in
the hope that they might be put into production
later.
The "ES-49" two-seater and an improved version
of the "Grunau Baby", called "Grunau Baby III",
were soon on the drawing board and in 1951,
when Western Germany was reinstated back into
the world of aviation, Schneider was able to show
the "Grunau Baby III" to the world for the first
time in Mühlhofen on the Bodensee. Both the ES-
Schneider’s post-war Grunau Baby III
Edmund Schneider also released the construction
details of the new "Baby" for building under
licence, to interested flying clubs. The price for
such a licence was then DM 90. With the Baby III,
Schneider had modernised the design with an
enlarged cockpit, improved co-ordination of the
control surfaces, and added a landing-wheel
behind the shortened skid. The construction
drawings instructions were also condensed by his
son Harry, who reduced the number of drawings
from over 70 to a mere 39 sheets.
Even as early as 1949, keen to begin glider
production again, Schneider had been investigating
the possibility of emigrating to India, where he
planned to set up a factory to produce gliders.
Negotiations with Indian authorities had been
20
1953. It proved very successful and a number of
good soaring flights were made during that month.
progressing well, when they read a report of the
cumuli-nimbus flight made in Australia by Keith
Chamberlin of the Gliding Club of Victoria. The
Schneiders were particularly interested, because the
flight had been made in a "Grunau Baby II" they
had sold to the Gliding Club of Victoria in 1937.
Out of curiosity, Edmund Schneider wrote to the
club, mentioning in his letter that he was interested
in leaving Germany to set up a glider factory
elsewhere.
About this time, Ron Willis, from Boggabri in New
South Wales, contacted the Schneiders and
enquired about buying a sailplane. Wotherspoon
agreed to sell him the Kangaroo, and then
immediately placed an order with the Schneiders
to build another Kangaroo as a replacement.
As part of the delivery of the prototype
"Kangaroo", the sailplane was soared by
Wotherspoon and Harry Schneider from Grawler
to Mildura, a target-flight of some 203 miles in
only five-and-a-half hours.
The publicity received from this record flight
brought the reputation of the Schneiders to the
notice of the entire Australian gliding movement,
and their name as Australian manufacturers
became truly established, and resulted in several
designs to be manufactured by the Australian
factory, which included the "Kookaburra",
"Nymph", "Kingfisher" and "Arrow".
The letter caused more than a little stir among the
gliding fraternity of Melbourne, and a number of
people immediately began thinking of ways to
encourage the Schneiders to move to Australia.
One such individual was Bill Iggulden, who was
quick to see the advantages of an experienced
glider manufacturer in their midst, and was a
prime promoter of the Schneiders to come to
Australia, even they could not immediately
establish a factory there. Consequently, he wrote
to the Schneiders offering his help.
Despite the difficulties of lack of money, and the
prospect of the increased chances of one day being
able to set up production again in Germany, for
Schneider, the attraction of Australia proved too
much. With the assistance of Bill Iggulden, Edmund
and his son Harry arrived in Melbourne to face an
unknown future with nothing more than a few
hand tools, a circular saw and band saw.
Bill Iggulden provided a caravan as a temporary
home, and helped them to obtain employment
with the Royal Victorian Aero Club at Moorabbin.
There they spent their days servicing the club’s
fleet of "Tiger Moths". After repaying their loan to
Bill Iggulden, the Schneiders were able to turn their
thoughts - for the first time since their arrival - to
their original goal of setting up a factory to build
gliders.
Meanwhile, in Adelaide, John Wotherspoon had
established a factory to produce concrete building
blocks and tiles. One of his employees was a
Lithuanian named Jonas Pyragius, who had been a
glider pilot in his homeland, and had been
acquainted with the Schneiders. When he learned
that they were now in Australia, Pyragius
mentioned this fact to John Wotherspoon, who
became interested in the sport. After some
negotiations, Wotherspoon invited the Schneiders
to move to Adelaide. He offered them a small
workshop, in which to build a high performance
sailplane for him.
It was decided to build an improved version of the
"ES-49" two-seater, to be known as "the ES-49b
Kangaroo". By increasing the wingspan to 18
metres, the glide ratio was raised to 27, making it
a very advanced glider for its day. The
construction began about October 1952 and the
sailplane was test-flown at Gawler on 7 February
Edmund Schneider returned to Germany in 1960,
where he found employment at the SchemppHirth glider factory.
Edmund Schneider died on July 5, 1968 at the
age of 67 in Ravensburg, Germany.
BS.
References: History of the Grunau Baby by Ben B. Schenk
Sailplanes 1920-1945 by Martin Simons
VGC Technical Files
In the next issue we look at the post-war
development of the Grunau Baby, focussing
on the British Production.
21
Championships that took place in Innowroclaw, in
northern Poland.
Obituary
By Jan Szladowski
TADEUSZ GORA – the first recipient of the
FAI Lilienthal Medal, passed away on 4th
January 2010 in Swidnik, south-eastern
Poland, just two weeks before his 92nd
birthday. He was one of the last great links to
pre-war gliding, and as such ends an era of
history that will never be repeated…
Pre-war with Tadeusz and possibly the
nicest pre-war Polish glider, the Orlik.
On 18th May 1938, the name of Tadeusz Gora and
Bezmiechowa was forever entered into the pages
of gliding history. Earlier that day, a club instructor
named Dziurzynski, returned from a short flight
reporting excellent weather conditions. “What are
your intentions for today, he asked Gora? Having
snatched some toast and a cup of tea for breakfast
a short while earlier, Gora replied: “ I am off to
Wilno!!!”
“That is more that 500km!!!” replied Dziurzynski.
“Yes, I know”, came the answer, “That’s where my
parents live”. The then 20-year-old Tadeusz
strapped himself to a PWS 101 (SP-1004) and flew
north, landing several hours later in Male
Soleczniki, just 30 km short of Wilno but 577.8km
away from Bezmiechowa.
Born in Krakow on 19th January 1918, Tadeusz
along with the rest of his family, moved to a
variety of places in the southeastern territories in
the newly independent Poland, due to their
fathers military service. With young Tadeusz
moving schools as his father’s postings required, it
was during this time when attending a sports
aircraft rally in 1933 at Nowy Targ that, at the age
of 15 he was taken up by one of his father’s friends
for his very first flight. The same year his father
retired and the family settled in Wilno (Vilnius;
Lithuania), and Tadeusz was quick to join the local
Wilno Aeroclub, where he trained primaries such
as the “Wrona” and “CWJ”, and soon had gained
his “A” and “B” badges. With so much of a
disproportionate amount of time being spent at
the airfield, resulted in Tadeusz having to repeat
the final year of the grammar school. He was
quoted at the time, “Flying is more important than
school”.
Tadeusz and the mighty PWS 101, Poland’s
most successful pre-war high performance
glider.
As the Wilno club had no instructor licensed to
train young pilots to “C” badge level, early in the
spring of 1935 Tadeusz enrolled at Bezmiechowa,
then one of the four premier glider-training sites in
Poland. He soon gained the “C” badge devoting
all available time to flying gliders and also gaining
experience flying powered airplanes. In 1936 he
gained a sports pilot licence in a place named
Lucko. The “magic” of Bezmiechowa, however,
caught Tadeusz’s imagination and this soon
became his “home” airfield.
This flight was soon recognised by the FAI as a
phenomenal achievement, and awarded Tadeusz
Gora as the first recipient of the newly established
“Lilienthal Medal” in January 1939.
Together with the rest of the elite Polish glider
pilots he began the 1939 season training for the
Olympic Games that were going to take place in
Helsinki (Finland) in 1940. For the first time gliding
was to be included as a full competition event.
Whilst there he attempted a number of challenges,
including, on 13th of May 1937 a duration flight of
just over 18 hours. In September, the same year,
flying SG-3 he won the 5th National Gliding
22
The Olympic Flying Camp at Szolnok Airfield
Hungary 1939. The Hungarian teams
Minimoa, M22, Nemere, Karakan,
2xRhonadler.
Photo courtesy of Gábor Fekecs.
Gora in RAF uniform
With the Olympic Trials being flown during the
politically sensitive ISTUS International Conference
of 1939, flying a PWS 101, Gora took second
behind a compatriot Pole, Plenkiewicz. [Prof.
Georgii and the German team were banned from
attending this last ISTUS meeting by the Nazi
Government. Pressure was also put on the
Lithuania to withdraw as they were by then under
German influence. WW2 was now only 4 months
away]. Later on he declared and flew a distance of
304km from Policho, in Swietokrzyskie Mountains,
to Bydgoszcz, in northern Poland. With his sports
power licence, Tadeusz also helped train others by
flying tugs at Policho airfield.
It was not until 1945, whilst still in Britain, that
Tadeusz was at last to finally collect his FAI
Lilienthal Medal.
At the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939,
Tadeusz headed back to his family at Wilno. He
flew an RDW-8 but landed short at Lucko and was
arrested by Soviet forces invading from the east,
but luckily he managed to escape. In the days of
confusion that followed, he managed to obtain
travel documents at Wilno, and travelled to
Sweden via Latvia. Once in Sweden his intention
was to join the Polish Air Force detachment that
was established from the reconfigured remnants of
the Polish Army in France. Early in 1940 he
reached Lyon in France, via Scotland, where he
commenced training. Soon after, however, with
the fall of France, he was evacuated on 26th August
1940 back to England.
He bravely returned to his beloved Poland in
1948, where at first he worked as an instructor at
the Zar Mountain Flying School, a premier facility
for advanced glider training, and soon became the
CFI there. In addition to his pre-war flights, the 1st
of November 1948 saw Tadeusz fly to a height
gain of 3602m from Jelenia Gora (the pre-war
airfield of Grunau now in Polish hands), which saw
him being awarded Poland’s third Gold Badge in
March 1949. With another height gain of 5038m
He quickly joined the RAF and fought in Polish
Squadrons; 306, 315, 316. He totalled 883 flights
(1062 hours 20 min) in Hurricanes, Spitfire V’s and
Mustangs, and amassed some 160 operational (52
combat) flights. He was decorated with several
Polish and British medals that included Poland's
highest awards, the Cross of Virtuti Militari and the
Cross of Valour.
23
Tadeusz Gora in the then all new IS-1 Sep not
long after his return to Poland
from 1979 to 1981 he trained helicopter pilots, and
even travelled to Libya as part of the PZL-Swidnik
after sale contract held with that country.
in a flight over Zar on 23rd June 1950, Gora added
his third diamond, thus making him the first Pole,
and only the second in the world to be awarded
the FAI Gold Badge with Three Diamonds on 15th
November 1950.
Commencing with the Lilienthal Medal and
throughout the rest of his long and distinguished
career in aviation, he was honoured with several
military medals and distinctions. On his 88th
birthday, in January 2006, he was promoted to
the rank of Brigadier General in retirement. His
civilian honours and awards were equally
numerous and included the freedom of the town
Swidnik in 1998.
At the end of 1953 he qualified with for a glider
Test Pilot licence, and moved to Bielsko Biala,
where he joined the SZD test pilots elite. He also
joined the Bielsko Biala Aeroclub as CFI, where he
was active until 1957.
It was only after 1957, following the considerable
political thaw in the Soviet Block countries after
Stalin’s death in 1953, that Gora as a once Western
alliance pilot, was accepted to fly with the Polish
Air Force in the Warsaw Pact’s coalition.
In reminiscing about his early days in aviation, his
fondest memories were those of his flying in
Bezmiechowa, preparing and training for his 18hour duration flight and the momentous flight to
Male Soleczniki. Following his retirement in 1972,
he engaged much of his time and energy to reestablishing the old flying school there where he
was not alone. The historical significance of the
Polish aviation traditions that were honed in
Bezmiechowa in the early 1920s, not to mention
the ideal terrain for soaring, as well as the stunning
scenery, laid the foundations for the idea that the
flying school, like the Phoenix, should rise again,
and be rebuilt. With strong interest and support
from the Rzeszow and Warsaw Technical
Universities, the school is now a reality. Built in a
local style and on the spot of the old school, the
new Rzeszow Technical University’s Academic
Flying Centre was named after, and opened by
Tadeusz Gora on 21st August 2004.
Tadeusz centre, in post-war Polish
uniform
He took every opportunity, however, to continue
his passion for flying gliders. In 1962, now with the
Air Force rank of Major, he won the 17th National
Championships at Leszno, flying a “Mucha Std”.
Two years later, on 4th July 1964, he surpassed his
best open distance flight since 1938, with a new,
personal best distance of 630 km, team flying
“Fokas” with Adela Dankowska,
The new Flying Centre building set on the top of
the Slonne Mountain range also provides the
backdrop to the biographical film about the life of
Tadeusz Gora – “Gora, A Pilots Diary”, and was
premiered in Warsaw’s King’s Castle in February
2007.
In 1960 Tadeusz was to suffer serious injuries when
he crash-landed a Mig-19, which had suffered an
engine failure soon after takeoff in June 1960. The
injuries were to plague his health during his Air
Force service, which was to see him retire early in
1972 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Tadeusz centre, with Mig 19
The newly completed Salamandra outside the
new Bezmiechowa gliding school.
Now in civi-street, he settled in Swidnik, a major
centre of helicopter production in Poland, where
24
It is in Bezmiechowa that a new replica of the
Polish “Salamandra”, an open cockpit trainer,
made Polish aviation history, when it flew in the
summer of 2009. Built in the former Schneider
factory at Jesow, it is now permanently hangered
at Bezmiechowa, which has served to cement the
new centres renewed position in Polish gliding as it
establishes itself as a forgotten corner of the
Carpathian Mountain range. Tadeusz was
overjoyed at seeing another Salamandra soar over
the magical slopes of his beloved Bezmiechowa,
not to mention meeting old and new friends alike.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
By Graham Kench
B.V.G. Ice Road Truckers
Lets do this weekend. I thought he must know
what he is doing; he wouldn’t drag an O.A.P. into
anything demanding. Not much snow about,
roads clear, ideal chance for a 340 mile dash
(turned out to be a 390 mile crawl), I mean, he is
a professional pilot – we trust these people (don’t
buy a car off him). ‘We will meet some nice
people’ (they are very nice people) ‘and we will
use YOUR 4x4’. It seemed a cinch.
On a number of occasions when visiting “the
centre”, the instructors felt privileged to be able to
take the “old master” up and talk about their early
Polish history. Even before his death in January, a
Rally had been planned in Bezmiechowa in May
2010, to celebrate Tadeusz Gora’s “1938 Lilienthal
Fight” by setting the main task to again fly 577.8
km to the north to Male Soleczniki, now in
Lithuania.
I picked up Bruce at 07.00, had a brew, grabbed 4
bananas and set off for Boland Forest. It started
off well until I missed the M62!! After a bit of
local sight seeing we got back on track again.
Cloud base down to a few hundred feet plus
snow, only 2 lanes open and the hard shoulder
littered with crumpled vehicles. Mmmmm – I
wonder what an Eon, trailer, Freelander and
O.A.P. looks like belly up?
Tadeusz’s life long aviation achievements have
gained a legendary status, not only amongst the
Poland’s aviation community, but has also
captured the hearts of the local people around
Bezmiechowa and its neighbouring region, with
whom he has kept close contacts.
‘We will drive back on a more southerly route’
said the professional we all trust. As we came off
the higher slope we saw fewer crumpled vehicles,
3 lanes, then less snow, it was starting to look
good. Approximately 30 miles to go and the nice
people from Boland Forest advised us of
hazardous snow conditions ahead.
Tadeusz has entrusted his Lilienthal Medal to the
Bezmiechowa primary school as a shining
inspiration to all young people, and the
celebration of the sport of gliding in the very place
where it had all begun for him. (The medal which
is kept in a dedicated strong vault, can be seen on
request by application to the headmistress.)
A few miles further on a more alarming message
arrived. The lovely people from Boland Forest
were stuck in the snow on the way to their club to
see us!!! ‘We may meet them on the way to their
club and help them out’ said the man we all trust.
Mmmm. I thought we were not that well
equipped, we did have a 4x4 but with only 2
bananas left and Bruce in a pair of trainers it
should be quite interesting!! We came off the
main road and hit small lanes level with snow.
We slithered towards a steep decline, a moment of
clarity descended upon me and I decided to stop,
anyway I needed a pee. A 4x4 in front of us
carried on, we lost view of him but he came back
up the hill and disappeared shaking his head.
Bruce absconded on a foot recce to discover that
he was right, not only was there one Boland club
member at the bottom of the red run but 2!!!, plus
a new Audi 8 going nowhere.
It is also worth noting that the school is named
after “Polish Glider Pilots”, and is reflected in the
pupil’s school uniforms with a school badge that
incorporates the famous “three gulls” motif.
Tadeusz Gora was buried with full military
honours on 8 January 2010, in Avenue of
Distinguished citizens at Swidnik cemetery.
The man we all trust came into his element. (The
good thing about getting older is that one can step
back have a pee and pretend to limp, the
impatient normally get on with the job.) One
Boland member who has a Honda 4x4 auto petrol
Translated and prepared from archival and Internet
information by Jan Szladowski.
January 2010.
25
which worked a lot better in the snow (or was it
the driver?) pulled the Audi out backwards with
Bruce driving grinning from ear to ear. These
colonials are so easy to please, mind you the
owner of the 8 did look a little concerned as I told
him The Man We all Trust had a massive hang
over!!! This was a lie but it had the desired effect!
The other Boland car was dealt in a similar
manner.
From the Book Shelf…
We all land up safely at Boland Forest Club. What
a fantastic setting, with friendly and helpful
members. We decided to make an attempt to
drive back with the Eon as the trailer had what
none of my trailers have ever had - lights! The
snow conditions were as bad as ever but at least it
had stopped falling. The better Honda driver led
us to the M6 over less demanding hills to the M6,
God bless him. It took us 2 hours to do 30 miles,
we hit the side roads for the rest of the snow
bound journey.
Glider Pilot Bold.
By Wally Kahn.
Available from the Buckminster Gliding Club
shop.
We finally arrived at the hangar. It was like the
scene in Dr Zhivago when the intrepid pair arrived
at their final snow bound destination after a
romantic journey suffering a multitude of
deprivations – cold, hunger, ice, waist deep snow
and frost bite. (Lara’s Theme should be played
here). We had covered hundreds of miles of taxing
arctic conditions. As we stopped I gazed into
Bruce’s eyes with that massive sense of relief that
we had arrived safely, without too much
permanent damage and with someone I care for
deeply. I realised then that the colonials have no
sense of romance. His remark was, ‘Unhitch, I
know where the Sheehans live, lets blag some
nosh’. We found where they lived and promptly
parked on their neighbour’s lawn – we didn’t
know it was there as it was covered in bloody
snow! The neighbour came out and offered a
New Year’s greeting ‘Sod off and park somewhere
else’; which we promptly did. We had a similar
welcome from Mike but his charming wife took
pity on us cold, hungry and pitiful travellers and
let us in. One coffee, one dram and 4 mince pies
later we were ejected into the cold again.
Glider Pilot Bold has been in print for some 12
years now, and is one of the more familiar books
on the U.K. gliding scene. Many over the years
have read it, and Wally Kahn’s lucid style still
entertains to this day, as Wally recalls many of our
funnier gliding moments.
Who for instance, can better Wally’s recollections
of liberating a Horten IV flying wing in 1945 from
the American hands on the Wasserkuppe? As
Wally wrote, he persuaded the Americans that as
the tail was missing, they may as well let him have
the rest as a souvenir! Or there was the equally
hilarious exploits of the Cambridge Clubs blue
Olympia that took a distinct liking to water!
But as entertaining as these and many other
episodes are, it is of course, a true glimpse back
into our own early post-war social gliding
heritage, and for this fact alone, has carved an
important niche in British Gliding history. It is my
humble opinion that this book alone succeeds far
above many in giving the modern reader a
privileged glimpse of a generation that gave so
much sacrifice, and hope, in the creation of
something better for their own children, as Britain
struggled to come to terms with nearly 6 years of
war, and a fast dissolving Empire that was to
change the fabric of this country forever.
Bruce was dumped outside his house and I alone
attempted the last leg home. The A52 was a bad
as anything that had been thrown at us that day,
apart from the hill. At this point I nearly came off
the road! Thank heavens the nightmare was over.
At the end of each adventure there is always a kick
in the tail, this one in that I am a stone too heavy
to fly the EON, mind you, so is Mike and seeing
what he eats at home I am not surprised!
Wally’s ally was of course his wit and humour, and
he leans upon this gift in spades! But behind the
much-vaulted scenes of hilarity is a lesson that all
gliding clubs of today could do well to remember,
26
and that was the role of the club itself and that of
family.
Back in those days when Britain was often referred
to by many as “austere”, gliding clubs were far
more than what is often referred to as today’s
modern day “men’s” clubs. They were a focal
point for all the family, a place where mum, dad,
and the kids alike could enjoy the simple pleasures
of just being together with others.
Wally’s reflections on his gliding career also give us
an insight into the “golden years” of British gliding,
a time where the word Slingsby was as respected
as Schliecher, a time of exciting development as
the gliding world found itself on the verge of a
whole new technology that was to dramatically
transform the sport.
Despite its somewhat patchwork recording of
gliding history, it is of course primarily Wally’s life
in gliding, and to Wally’s everlasting credit, is
written with the wit of a born storyteller, and the
flair of a scholar, a combination that holds the
reader throughout.
That the book is still in print today is testimony to
its success, and shows that it is still capable of
standing the tests of time.
Glider Pilot Bold is a book that all glider pilots
should read, whether to remember days past, or
to just remind ourselves what gliding should be
about.
BS.
The next editorial deadline for submitting material for Issue 2 of
Buckminster Vintage Times is July 31st 2010.
27
Members Album…
In this issue of Members Album, our very own Les Merritt opens the pages to a Rally at Firle Beacon, the original site of
the Southdown Gliding Club, and were taken in 1972
Viking 1. Designed by Roy Scott, 4 Vikings were built in 1938. The
only survivor, this glider was for many years owned by Lou Glover at
Husbands Bosworth, and was later sold to an owner in Holland.
Minimoa, BGA…, EoN Olympia behind.
Minimoa launching
Developed from the German SG38, the Primary was originally
built as a basic training glider. The type went onto production at
both Slingsby’s and later Elliotts.
Govier 2. German side-by-side 2 seat glider. The type first flew in
1938. This glider is now with a museum group near Birmingham.