Over the years the Club has seen lots of changes in its fleet, although for most of that time there have been around three single-seaters and one or two two-seaters. An overview of the changes can be seen in this timeline:
One of the early types to be used was the Olympia 2b. One of these (number 127), in blue and yellow, was affectionately known as “Brimstone”, and many years after leaving the Club was purchased and renovated by a group of Club members of the time and is now based in the Glider Heritage Centre at Lasham.
Our longest serving glider is the much-loved Ka8 (831) which has seen a number of reburbishments over the decades.
For a while in the late seventies and early eighties we had a second Ka8 (748), which had the reputation of flying better into wind than 831 (although it didn’t seem like it on the occasion of the field landing in the picture).
Our first K13 was CGR, finished in blue and yellow, and was a favourite to take on expeditions especially to Competition Enterprise. Much practice was gained in field retrieves and de-rigging…
It was later written off in an accident at Talgarth and replaced by another K13 (199) which was previously privately owned at Husbands Bosworth.
We soon after stripped, recovered and repainted it in a style reminiscent of the RAE ‘rasperry ripple’ scheme, matching Ka8 831.
Its competition number was later changed to L99 and is now again in private hands at Lasham.
K7 (CMZ) was famously landed on a house roof in Aldershot (making the national press!). Much later it was spotted at Perranporth, having been converted to a K13.
IS28B2 (EJA) replaced the K7 and served for many years at Farnborough and Odiham, giving many pilots their first experience of flaps and a retractable wheel. It was sold a little before the Club moved to Lasham. It was last seen at Shipdham in Norfolk, after having languished unclaimed in a hangar at Aston Down for several years.