8:30pm Thursday 22nd May 2008
By Andy Chiles
If you are going to send yourself thousands of feet in the air without even an engine to help, you would have thought using the latest equipment would be a good idea.
That's not the way the Vintage Glider Club looks at things.
They delight in taking to the skies in contraptions made of wood and canvas, many of them older than the members themselves.
Glider pilots from the club flocked to Parham Airfield, near Storrington, this week to take part in their annual sevenday national rally.
They have all chosen to eschew modern carbon fibre for the authentic feel of the traditional aircraft.
Retired aeronautical engineer Bob Boyd, 60, a member from Shalbourne in Wiltshire, had travelled with his 1936 yellow Slingsby model, one of the oldest and rarest in existence.
He said: "I've been doing this for 25 years. I think we all feel like we want to preserve these beautiful planes. It has been wonderful flying here and enjoying the coastal views."
The skies were filled with colourful vintage gliders as well as dozens of modern versions. Argus reporter Andy Chiles got to experience his first ride in a glider, courtesy of a 1960s model. Members came from around Britain and from as far as Germany to fly their own gliders and try out others.
Among them was Peter Underwood, from Dunstable in Bedfordshire, still flying at 80. Visitors were welcomed on to the airfield to watch the spectacle.
There were more than a dozen of the classic gliders, some dating from the early years of flight, and about 50 newer models.
Geoff Stilgoe, a member of the Southdown Gliding Club, which hosted the event, said: "People realised in the 1970s these gliders were an important part of our heritage. Before then old ones were just burned on November 5 or thrown out. Now they are lovingly restored. The older gliders are much more attractive to look at. Because they are wooden they can be painted different colours. The new planes have to be white because it reflects the heat, otherwise the material can melt."
The rally moves to a different location each year but members hope it will soon return to Parham.
To watch footage of Andy's flight, click here.
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