Sailplane Club Active

After almost two years of existence, the Gisborne Sailplane Club can now boast a membership of some 40 active men, who, after a lot of patient work, are able to realise their ambition - to take to the air, dependent only on wind eddies and thermals to keep them aloft.

Their sailplane, a T31 Slingsby two-seater trainer, was purchased last year from New Plymouth. Little could be done with it, however, until the club also managed to equip itself with a twoplane (the Tiger Moth pictured above).

To the uninitiated, the prospect of hanging in space, with no support other than that provided by the tremendous 43ft wingspan, is a rather frightening one. The fact is," though, that a sailplane is at least as safe as a powered aircraft, if not more so, and many times safer than a car.

No one, however experienced, can adequately describe the thrill and satisfaction which come from a successful flight by sailplane. To be virtually floating in space, some thousands of feet above the ground, is a sensation vaguely akin to that of standing atop a high snow-covered peak.