Our Aircraft:

Our club owns three gliders.  Two are used for training and post-solo flying and the single seat glider intended for local soaring and cross-country flights.  The word 'sailplane' is often used to describe gliders.  Perhaps intended to emphasize the ability of gliders (their wings akin to the sails of a yacht)to soar using the air's upward movement.

To launch the gliders, the club has its own tow-plane and also is fortunate to be able to use a winch owned by one of its members. 

L13 Blanik Training Glider

An all-metal two-seat glider built in the former Czecho-Slovakia.  The club has owned it since 1976 and it is the mainstay of the club's flying.  It is comfortable, a delight to fly and our pilots learn to fly in it.  Pilots do their check flights in it as it spins well.  Pilots need to be familiar with spin recovery since they sometimes fly close to stalling speed whilst thermalling. This glider is at present out of service.

Grob Twin Astir

This glider was purchased in 2006 from the Wellington Gliding Club. Of fibre glass construction, it has a 38:1 glide ratio, enabling pilots to search a wider area for thermals or get back to the airfield from further away.  Used for trial flights and cross-country training.

PW5 single seater glider

This single seat glider is of the “World Class” design, intended to provide a low capital cost glider of good performance.  It has a 13 metre wingspan and easy to fly and very suitable for early solo pilots to transition to flying single-seat gliders.

Piper Pawnee 260hpTow Plane

Imported from Dallas, Texas in 1996, this aircraft is registered ZK-RWS in honour of the late Bob Struthers and recognises the sterling work he did. It is almost certainly the best towplane in New Zealand, launching a glider to 2000ft above the ground and be back on the ground six minutes later.  Aerotow is attractive because of the choice of height and location to which the glider can be towed.  Features of interest about this aircraft include an airfoil akin to that of a Piper Brave and twin air intakes for the oil cooler.   At Dallas, its role was banner towing.

Winch Launching

The club has an alternative means of launching available to it.  This is winch launching, where the glider kites up on the end of a wire rope being rapidly wound in by a powerful winch.  The glider goes up at a steep angle before levelling out at 1000 or 1200 feet before the rope is released.  The winch is owned by Tim Hardwick-Smith.