Foundation of club
The 1st inaugural meeting of the “Cambridge Gliding Club” was held on the
12th of February 1935, its formation having been sanctioned by the
University on the previous day. It was founded by a group of undergraduates
including John FitzRoy, Duke of Grafton; John Paget; Oliver Fitzwilliam; Ralph
Slazenger; Don Maclement; Keith Turner; and John Pringle.
More photos from one of the original album can be found here.
The Club was originally founded by and for members of the University, and on the 16th of May 1935 it changed its name to the Cambridge University Gliding Club. Soon, the Club would pioneer soaring from winch launches, and made a name for itself running camps at hill sites in Dorset. Even before the start of WWII, aerotowing was undertaken from both Marshall’s Airport, Cambridge, and R.A.F. Duxford, where the first soaring flight took place in March 1939.
AFTER THE WAR
After the war, the Club extended membership outside the University, and to an increasing extent became the local gliding club. Flying recommenced in February 1946, initially at Caxton Gibbet and at Marshall’s, but then later also from Bourn airfield.
Dual training commenced in 1950, when the Slingsby T21b Bluebell was bought – amazingly, all training up until then was by the solo method!
From 1951, after a brief spell at Gransden Lodge, all club operations were concentrated at Marshall’s. The Club fleet grew to include a second two-seater, and the first private glider was admitted in 1960. For many years regular camps at the Long Mynd, home of the Midland Gliding Club, were a popular part of the Club’s activities.
FLYING AT DUXFORD
By 1968 air traffic at Marshall’s had made it necessary to move winch operations, and the lease of the by-then disused Duxford airfield was negotiated. After a few years, the restriction of aerotowing at Duxford was lifted, and the Club united its operations there. Meanwhile, the Club fleet, especially private glilders, grew steadily.
In the mid-70s, the Cambridgeshire County Council bought Duxford airfield and entered into an arrangement for its shared use by the Imperial War Museum. Unfortunately the Museum’s presence led to curtailments of the Club’s weekend flying, and in 1991 the Club moved once again to its present site at Gransden Lodge. The Club’s first 600km flights were made in 1990, just before this move – a fitting conclusion to the Duxford years.
In 1985 the Club celebrated its Silver Jubilee, and fully assumed the role unwittingly foreshadowed by the founding members when they re-christened it the “Cambridge Gliding Club”.
SPLITTING INTO CGC AND CUGC
In 1996 a ‘new’ Cambridge University Gliding Club was established, having split off from the Cambridge Gliding Club. CGC would now be an ordinary gliding club, while CUGC would be a true university club. The two clubs continued to operate side-by-side; indeed, to this day, CUGC remains affiliated to CGC and uses its airfield, aircraft and clubhouse.
The ‘new’ CUGC once again started from scratch. Beginning with just a few members, it has grown to a thriving club of around seventy members. In 1998 CUGC was the beneficiary of a legacy, enabling it to buy its first glider: a newly refurbished Schleicher Ka8b “CU”. This glider provided an early solo facility for club members, and was often seen on expeditions around the country. In this same year CU flew in the Inter-University Task Week held at Sutton Bank, hosted by Durham UGC, with CUGC winning the award for wood class. The following year CUGC hosted the IUTW at Gransden Lodge.
In 2000 another legacy enabled CUGC to buy an enclosed trailer for CU, and it flew its first Silver Distance flight in June of that year. In 2009 the original CU was sold and replaced by a new CU, an ASW-19b with much greater performance.
Today, CUGC continues to prosper, with nearly seventy members. The Club runs regular expeditions across the country, and takes part in the annual Varsity match against Oxford UGC and in the annual Inter-University Competition.
Memories written by the CUGC Alumni
Stories from the 60s by Ian Wilson
I have received an e-mail via CUGC Alumni, the first I can recall seeing, which I found interesting as I was a member from 1960 – 63, at that time flying from Teversham airfield.
Here are a few memories which might (or might not!) be of interest.
The CFI was Ted Warner. Initial training was in T21b ‘Bluebell’, then early solo flights in the Swallow which had a strange open canopy replacing the normal one for the first few flights.
Then came the Olympia in which I did all three Silver C legs, the 5 hour being at Summer camp at the Mynd. One valiant volunteer drove the Ferguson tractor all the way towing the T21.
I attempted a triangle for the cross-country which also involved my first time in cloud. The Oly had no horizon but I found using turn & slip and ASI easier than expected and foolishly allowed myself to be carried away and went up to 10,400 ft. Then came a flash and a bang and I became worried about a carpeting from the CFI for flying in a thunderstorm my first time in cloud. The compass was an old undamped one and went on spinning interminably each time I straightened up until I realised I needed to make ever-smaller increments until heading in the right direction. Once out of the cloud map-reading was difficult with iced canopy and although starting from a good height was sinking fast with so much ice. When it melted I could hear lumps hitting the tail. It was something of a fluke to see the airfield straight ahead but landed a mile short so did not quite qualify for the Silver C triangle.
Winch launches were 5/- and aero-tows £1 but my means were limited and did few aeros. My second dual was in an Eagle with ex-wartime Luftwaffe pilot Siegfried Neumann behind. The club’s tug was on C of A so a Tiger Moth was borrowed from the flying club which had a non-optimum propeller pitch for towing. The day was very hot and still and I saw the boundary hedge fast approaching with the Tiger still on the ground. An anxious German voice announced he had taken over but at that point the Tiger became airborne. The pilot must had had strong nerves!
I came back a couple of years later for a week Summer camp. I took an aero-tow in the Dart 17R but just after passing the boundary saw the Auster bank sharply and suspected there was a problem. Seconds later I was cast off over the cement pit and with houses below had few choices. Fortunately the wind was light and I was able to land back facing the wrong way at the edge of the airfield as there was nowhere else without crashing. The tug pilot later apologised that he had lost partial power but I reassured him he was entirely correct to cast me off as a glider is designed to fly without as engine whereas an Auster is not.
For some years I flew at Camphill but sadly when our son was born he had critical breathing problems and we came close to losing him many times, though eventually he became healthy, so sadly my gliding days came to an end.
Part two:
I have set out a few memories below. Some may be of no interest or of dubious relevance so you can pick and mix whatever you like and you can use them in any way you wish.
I joined the club in autumn 1960. We flew from the south side of Teversham airfield, generally known to us as ‘Marshall’s’ after the firm who ran it. It was conveniently within cycling distance of the city. On the north side were Marshall’s hangars where they serviced aircraft such as RAF Canberras, civilian airliners and smaller fry such as Doves. When these arrived or left, or needed test flights, we had to stop flying for the runway movement. This wasn’t too bad when we operated parallel to the runway but on days when the wind dictated launching across the runway we had to winch the cables in then pay them out again which did disrupt flying.
Also on the north side was a flying club with its Tiger Moths and the University Air Squadron with Chipmunks. Once, when driving the winch I saw a Chipmunk late on its approach then spotted a pig where it was about to land. I broke a radio protocol when starting my warning “urgent message to tower” to urge them to wave the Chipmunk around, or there might have been rather a nasty mess.
One airline, Derby Airways, served Cambridge about twice a week with DC-3s or Argonauts. For one of our older pilots, Harry Boal, the sound of the Argonaut’s Merlins brought back memories as he had been a wartime Lancaster radio operator. They also used the runway and delayed us somewhat. Departing from relevance a little but perhaps of interest to present-day airline passengers, I was later to fly on Derby Airways DC-3s from the then Derby airport at Burnaston, now the Toyota site. The airport was grass only and for night landings a Landrover would lay out paraffin flares. Would the CAA allow such today? About 10 years ago I was pleased to read that at least one Derby Airways DC-3 was still going strong, in the Caribbean. When the airline moved to East Midlands I flew in the Argonauts too, which were well liked until one crashed in Stockport with heavy loss of life and then people were less keen on them. A fuel valve selected shut was slightly open and had allowed fuel to be pumped away from the tanks feeding the engines.
We started dual on the T21b, named Bluebell, the only glider in the club to be named. When I arrived it was being given a thorough D.I. since a T21 at another club (I think Dunsfold) had dived vertically into the ground, so the elevator cable and hinges were being inspected VERY carefully. (An elevator hinge failure caused the RAF’s worst peacetime disaster when it happened on a Hastings, killing 41). It later transpired the instructor had suffered a fit – appallingly he had never told his club he had once suffered from epilepsy and tragically had killed both his pupil and himself.
Next was the Swallow, used for early solo flights. For a time there was another Swallow in the hangar. Curiously, it had been build from plans by a man who wasn’t a pilot and had no desire to fly it but just enjoyed constructing things. He also made a trailer for it. I don’t know what happened to them.
Then came the Olympia 2b which was privately owned but club operated. The owner didn’t fly often so was effectively a club aircraft. It was lovely to fly and forgiving of our errors.
Later someone bought a Sky from Holland and that too became club operated.
For a while a Skylark 3f joined the fleet, also privately owned but club operated. Sadly its life was short. An older pilot named Clark, whom I never knew, most foolishly attempted rolls in it, the wing failed and his parachute only partly deployed. What if the spar had withstood the treatment for that flight then failed on the next launch with another pilot? The owner did not wish to replace the aircraft. On meeting by chance in the street another pilot also named Clark whom I did know he was a little taken aback when I greeted him saying “I’m glad to see you – I thought you had been killed!”
The highest performance single-seater was the Skylark 2, a bit less forgiving than the Oly and lower performance than the 3f.
Finally the Eagle provided high performance dual training including aero-tow checks.
The tug was a Tiger Moth, I think G-AHUE.. It was marginal on power for the 2-seaters and in fact the rather draggy T21 was hardly ever aero-towed. If it was out of action the flying club would bring one of theirs’ over with pilot. In one oft-related incident a new tug pilot lined up with the glider then before the rope was attached opened up, took off, climbed, then landed back with the classic comment “nothing to this towing business, is there?” The glider pilot sitting in the cockpit was not pleased. I think your tugs of today have more reserves of power and more reliable engines but the Gypsy was really 1920s and in some respects WW1 technology.
The winch, called the Brute, was an old Canadian Ford lorry with the accelerator pedal between the clutch and brake, but one soon adapted. It towed one of the trailers to the annual camp at the Long Mynd, another as previously related being towed by the tractor. MoT’s hadn’t quite arrived and I don’t suppose either would have passed. The winch also was straining with heavier gliders and another winch, the Beast, was being finished by a team but at least initially gave a good deal of trouble.
For cross countries, retrieves could be a problem as few members had tow-cars. I think that was partly why I attempted a triangle for my Silver C. As I mentioned earlier, I landed a mile short. The club president tried several times measuring with string on his map as he was most keen it would qualify as I think a triangle Silver C was rare at that time, indeed possibly unprecedented in the club, but it was just outside the 1 km allowed. Also my turning point pictures were of dubious quality – it was the first time I had realised how hard it is to take good turning point pictures whilst flying! To overcome the retrieve vehicle problem an arrangement was later made with the local taxi company to use one or two cars which had hooks. It must have been rather costly but I expect the club negotiated good rates and it would perhaps have been an interesting change for the drivers
The Mynd camps gave an opportunity for bungee launches, hill and wave soaring. The tale was often told of how the Midland Club tried a horse on one occasion, there were variations between accounts but most ending with the hapless horse bolting, and I never knew which version was the reality.
Of the people, Ted Warner was the rock behind the club, performing all maintenance and for most of my time was CFI. He was well liked and respected by all, amusing but firm when we did stupid things, which most of us probably did. He was tolerant of my thunderstorm escapade and actually smiled whilst chiding me, but he and some of the older men had been through the fire of war and were perhaps more tolerant than a CFI would be today.
Siegfried Neumann had been a wartime Luftwaffe pilot and I was told he arrived at the club as soon as it restarted when he was still technically a prisoner of war. Apparently at first he had pupils parade as though they were in the military until he was quietly told that wasn’t the way in civilian life. I believe he had been arrogant until he had a crash then became less cocky. By the time I knew him I found him likeable and amusing. He had a pleasant wife, I think Finnish, who also instructed occasionally.
If you have any questions on any of the above I| will be happy to try and help before this part of your history is lost.
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