January. The No37 Edition of Wings.
1st January. The Avon Club Newsletter mentions that John Burgess is stepping down as editor, and that the position is being filled by Tony Williams and Phillip Gibson.
1st January. The Avon Club Newsletter runs an article from John Croll about flying experiences of club members.
February. The No38 Edition of Wings.
February. Derek Bennett died from injuries he received from an accident.
February. Collin Bissett died from injuries he received from an accident while flying a Wills Wing SST at Aviemore Scotland. Witnesses said he became detached from the Glider just after take off.
Geoff McBroom dropped out of the manufactures race, and closed down.
Waspair brought out the Falcon V designed for the beginner through to intermediate and is a slow flying easy to handle, easy to land glider. The design features a cambered sail, defined tips and two degrees of billow. The airframe was completely anodised and could be supplied in a breakdown version folding to just two metres. There were no deflexers. With a leading edge of 18ft 2in, a keel 12ft, and a sail area of 190sq-ft. The nose angle was 102 degrees, the billow 2 degrees, the aspect ratio is 4.45, and the span is 28ft 6in. it’s all up weight was 46lbs.
March. The No39 Edition of Wings.
4th March. 'Flight International' runs an article on the growth of Hang Gliding in the UK.
April. The No40 Edition of Wings.
1st April. The Avon Club Newsletter runs an article from Bob England about his local flying experience.
15th April. The Avon Club Newsletter runs an article from Ray Willis about his local flying experience.
Early 1978 An article about Greg Stokes appears in the Tripex Magazine.
In early 78 Hiway Hang Gliders brought out the Super Scorpion It was their first machine to have fully cambered sail and an absence of deflexers. The Mk 1 was a very simple airframe which was strong, reasonably light and easy to rig. The control frame uprights had a curve at the top and rigging was achieved by swinging out one upright which locates with a spring button. As the uprights were of 1 1/8in x 17g they were quite easily damaged. The early Super Scorpions were extremely easy to fly, being light in both pitch and roll, but with just the right amount of damping. One of the main virtues of the glider's handling was the ease with which the glider would roll, even without any pitch co-ordination. This allowed moderately flat turns and 360s to be achieved easily. The glider was supplied in sizes 'B' pilot weight up to 10st and 'C' for heavier pilots.
Later in the year they also brought out the Spectrum. The Spectrum came in two sizes was a sporty machine designed to put the fun back into flying. The glider complied with FAI Class 1 Competition regulations. Although an intermediate with a conservative 105 deg nose angle, it generated a lot of lift to give the high performance gliders a good run for their money. The large model had a leading edge of 18ft 6in, a keel of 15ft, and a sail area of 193sq-ft. The nose angle was 105 degrees, the span was 29ft 5in, the aspect ratio was 4.45, and the all up weight was51lbs. The pilot weight range was between 10-14st.
May. The No41 Edition of Wings.
9th May While flying along the Mundesley cliffs in Norfolk, Terry Aspinall has a near miss with one of Bristow’s Helicopters returning from an oil rig. The incident was reported and Terry was found guilty by the C.A.A. but with no further action being taken against him, for violating the approach path to the helicopters landing zone. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Norfolk club as they were given official authority to fly the site. While Notams were published at the nearby Coltishall RAF base, that when the wind was in a north to north east direction there was a possibility that hang gliders would be flying the northern coast line. This was all a little strange because the Norfolk Club had been flying the site for more than four years and nobody had complained before.
18th May. Paul Renouf died from injuries he received from an accident.
21st May. Nick Lawler died from injuries he received from an accident.
Pete Taylor taking off from Seaford Sussex captured on film by Don Liddard.
May Waspair also brought out the Gryphon 3. Developed from Miles Handley's brilliant original concept designed glider the Gryphon 111. The braced airframe eliminated the use of cross boom together with its attendant drag, weight and rigging penalties. Claiming an L/D ratio better than 11:1 and sink rate of around 2.5ft-per second made it a perfect cross country glider.
Bob Dear flying his Gryphon. Quote from Bob "I remember the Gryphon as being the one on which I had the most fun. It was rigged as tight as a drum and was actually quite twitchy to fly, but was amazingly manoeuverable and aerobatic for its time. Maybe that is why I still have a deep feeling of nostalgia for that particular period in my hang gliding experience".
Birdman Sports brought out the Moonraker 78 as their ultimate machine for experienced pilots with cross country flying in mind. The glider had diffused fixed tips, with a deep subventral fin and fully battened sail. The air frame was in 2in O.D. x 18 G tube. The sail was made from 3.8 oz Howe and Bainbridge Dacron and could be supplied to customer's colour choice. Two sizes were available the 175sq-ft and 210sq-ft. The 175 having a nose angle of 130 degrees a span of 35ft, and a root chord of 7ft.
25th to 28th May The Open Scottish Hang Gliding championships were held in the Cairnwell Mountains Braemar Aberdeenshire. Final results were 1st Bob Bailey 509.1 points. 2nd John Bridge 445.1 points. and 3rd Mick Evans 384.1 points.
Skyhook Sailwings Ltd brought out the Safari. Its leading edge was 20ft 7in, the span 35ft 8in, the keel was12ft 5in and with a root chord of 9ft 8in. The small version weighted 52 lbs.
June. The No42 Edition of Wings.
A collection of photos taken by Don Liddard during 1978, and also includes Pete Tayors launch from the Seaford Cliffs Sussex.
June. The Long Mynd Hang Gliding Club release their June edition Newsletter.
6th June. Ray Clements died from injuries he received from an accident.
7th June. Garrett Taylor died from injuries he received from an accident.
Chargus Gliding Company came out with the Vortex their first contribution to the intermediate glider market. It was supplied in two sizes, and followed the Super Scorpion deflexerless concept but with the addition of vortex generators. These were little holes cut in the wing tips just behind the leading edge to give a lower stalling speed than normal. However it was difficult to assemble the control frame and bolt-on cross booms, like the Mk 1 Super Scorpion. The Vortex 110 had a leading edge of 19ft, a keel 12ft, and a sail area of 196sq-ft. The nose angle was110 degrees, the billow 0.68 degrees, with an aspect ratio of 4.6, and span of 30ft. it was priced at £397.00 including a bag and VAT. The Vortex 120 had a leading edge of 19ft, a keel of 12ft, sail area of 204sq-ft, while the nose angle was120 degrees. Billow was 0.68 degrees and aspect ratio 5.23. A span of 32ft 8in and priced at £415.00 including a bag and VAT.
The Chargus Hang Gliding factory based at Gawcot photos taken by Don Liddard.
July. The No43 Edition of Wings.
16th July. While flying at Devils Dyke 2 pilots (Ian Grant & Ian Dawler) have a mid-air collision 200 feet above the take off point. Both survived the crash, considering them selves the luckiest pilots alive. This was the second time in 1978 that a mid-air collision had taken place. The first being in January.
British Hang Gliding team photo at Kossen 1978
29th July. 'Flight International' magazine ran an article on the rapid growth of hang gliding throughout the world and especially the UK.
August. The No44 Edition of Wings.
September. The No45 Edition of Wings.
2nd-3rd September. Sadly by now the 1978 Mere event had lost its importance in the flying calendar owing to the success of the newly formed Hang Gliding League the year before, and was open to members only. Therefore it was deemed a fun event and everybody was issued with an Events card for the competition. The entry fee was £2 for the first event you entered, and a further £1 for each additional event.
The timed precisions winner was Mike Stainer flying a Super Scorpion 60 points, 2nd Mark Silvester 50 points, and 3rd Tom Knight 45 points.
The Saturday glide angle winner was Dave Thomas flying a Gryphon, 2nd was Tom Knight.
The Sunday glide angle winner was Tony Williams flying a Vector and received a Sliver name inscribed Tankard, while Mick Gregory flying a home built crossboomless glider came 2nd.
While the cross country winner was Dave Thomas who managed to fly 4 fields from take off. Special wards went to John Ivens for the longest carry up and shortest flight down. While Mike Collis received a special award for spot landing on a judge.
Mean time the press was having a field day. Anything that resembled a hang glider was almost front page news and during this period many unusually story's appeared in the media, like this one of Graham Slater.
12th September. John Humphreys died from injuries he received from an accident.
13th September. Robert Phillips died from injuries he received from an accident.
17th September. Bob Bailey and Bob Calvert both set a new British and
European distance record while flying in the last day
of the Atlas Express National Championships, the final British league
competition of the year. They took off
from Llandinam in Wales and landed
30-6 miles away near Pembridge,
beating the previous British record
of 24 miles. The flight was made
almost entirely in thermal lift, and
was less than half a mile short of the
qualifying distance (50km) for the
cross-country part of the Delta Silver
international soaring badge. Bailey
was flying a Wills Wing and Calvert
a Hiway Super Scorpion, both being advanced
Rogallos in Class II. The record was recorded in the 30th September edition of 'Flight International' magazine.
23rd September. Tim Gilbert died from injuries he received from an accident.
30th September. 'Flight International' runs an article from 'Anne Welch' reporting on the world Championships that were held in Kossen Austria. The meeting involved several UK flyers, In Class 2 Bob England flying a Birdman Moonraker 78 came 2nd, Johnny Carr came 4th and Bob Calvert flying a Super Scorpion came 4th. In Class 3 Mick Evans came 2nd flying a Gryphon 3, and Lester Cruse flying a Fledgling came 21st.
Chargus also brought out the Midas Super E which had some special features, amongst which was an adjustable C of G strop, large diameter cross boom and short or long keel option. Triple tubular wing posts gave greater strength to the airframe and more control to the canopy shape. Aircraft push pins were used for uncomplicated and rapid assembly. Another feature was the floating truncations which greatly contribute to the machine's incredible speed range, glide ratio and sink rate. The Midas Super E sail was made from American Dacron sail cloth. Its leading edge was19ft 10in, the root chord was 8ft, while the sail area was188sq-ft and nose angle was110 degrees. Its aspect ratio was5.7, L/D was 9.5:1, and mean chord was 5.74ft, with a keel of 17ft 5in, and span of 32ft 9in.
October. The No46 Edition of Wings.
1st October. John Randall died from injuries he received from an accident.
17th-22nd October. Brian Milton captaining the BHGA team in America, while flying for the coveted 'American Cup' (the world championship of Hang Gliding) and lead the British team to victory. Later Brian wrote an article of the event, that appeared in the 'Flight International' magazine.
November. The No47 Edition of Wings.
November Brian Milton just back from the USA, was test flying his glider and training for a future powered hang glider flight from London to Paris. While flying his Soarmaster powered unit about 200 feet above the Dorset country side, his glider caught a large gust of wind under its right wing. The glider then turned on its back and plummeted to the ground, as the wings collapsed around him. Brian struggled desperately to open his parachute, but he never made it. Spectators feared the worse but when he opened his eyes his first words were “I’m Alive! That’s really great!” By a miracle he wasn’t badly hurt. A bruised eye, a cracked shoulder and fifteen stitches to his chin were the total of his injuries.The accident did not put him off flying and he continued to live the charmed life we all became used to. Because of rumours that were circulating as to why the accident happened, Brian released an article giving his side of the story. There was also another unknown magazine that ran the story.
Flexiform Sails came out with the Skyline which had no wing wires, just a simple rugged airframe and a carefully cambered sail. Low weight and advanced sail technology gave it a superbly light inertia free feel to the handling, so important when flying close to the hill or thermalling. Roached tips, short keel and high aspect ratio contributed to its performance, whilst mellow slow speed characteristics add to the pleasure. The Skyline was offered in four sizes covering a weight range 8-16st. The medium Skyline for pilots between10-12st had an aspect ratio 6.4, a sail area of 175sq-ft, a span of 33ft 8in, and a keel of 8ft, It’s all up weight was 49lbs, and was priced at £475.00 including VAT and bag.
Eclipse brought out the Super Eagle. It is believed that Phil Fouracre, a well known West Country pilot was the owner of a Super Eagle. He lost faith in the machine after spinning it whilst flying over the Quantocks.
Keith Reynolds won the 1978 Alvin Russell award.
December. The No48 Edition of Wings.
December. An article appeared in the London Evening Standard newspaper about the Haynes Brothers business and of their first flight1972.
28th December. Christopher K Read died from injuries he received from an accident.
