Kookaburra2011
Ca. 1959: Kookaburra ES-52 glider awaitS launch from Runway 21 at RANAS Nowra - Kim Dunstan.
2687. What a well-named craft ! We wish to know EVERYTHING about it, and Kim Dunstan, who took this photo at Nowra around 1959, has so kindly obliged.
Kim's has sent some notes, which arrived yesterday with the photo sent for the Unofficial RAN Centenary 1911-2011 photostream.
I think Kim's notes are excellent, and allow us to actuallty share the gliding experience.
"... The attached shot (circa 1959) was taken at the end of runway 21 at the Royal Australian Navy Air Station, HMAS Albatross, near Nowra – about 100 miles south of Sydney. It features a ES-52 ‘Kookaburra’ glider designed by Edmund Schneider, who migrated to Australia after WW11 and started making gliders at Gawler S.A. The two-seater ‘Kookaburra’ had an excellent performance and was ideal for training. A total of 35 ‘Kookaburras’ were built and today 11 remain airworthy, lovingly maintained by enthusiasts.
Gliding as a sport was encouraged at RANAS Nowra and a club was formed which was open to all ranks. The gliding club (RANGA) was started in 1954 by RN officer Tony Goodhart, and quickly became a popular recreational activity at the base during weekends and holidays. Gliding was especially popular with the navy pilots and aircrew, but many of the naval airman mechanics and technicians became excellent glider pilots too. Due to changing circumstances – and the stop-go fleet air arm policies of various governments - the gliding club closed in 2004.
A word or two about the picture: With the pilot strapped in and a tow wire stretched along the runway, attached to a three-ton truck, a signal would be given for the tow-truck to take-up the slack. When the right amount of tension in the wire was reached the signal for the driver to ‘go’ was given. At that moment the glider would jolt forward, when with someone steadying the wing for a few paces, the glider would quickly gather speed and within seconds be airborne. With the tow-truck speeding down the runway and the wire whistling in the wind the glider would rapidly gain height. Upon reaching launch height the pilot would disconnect the tow wire, leaving it to drift down aided by a small parachute. Having reached several hundred feet the pilot would circle seeking a thermal to gain altitude then, hopefully, to soar for an hour or more.
Yet, often as not, especially when there was a busy schedule, flights were restricted to making a few lazy circles in the sky, followed by a circuit across the airfield, and a return to the runway. Landing, despite the use of spoilers and airbrakes were often at surprisingly high speeds. Touchdown would be accompanied by loud thumping from the wheel and skid, then with a wing-tip settling onto the runway, the glider would come to rest...'
Thanks Kim. We'd all love to do it. Unfortunately the Dear Old State Kookaburra - after whom Schneider has clearly named his craft - is not so fast in his reflexes now.
Ca. 1959: Kookaburra ES-52 glider awaitS launch from Runway 21 at RANAS Nowra - Kim Dunstan.
2687. What a well-named craft ! We wish to know EVERYTHING about it, and Kim Dunstan, who took this photo at Nowra around 1959, has so kindly obliged.
Kim's has sent some notes, which arrived yesterday with the photo sent for the Unofficial RAN Centenary 1911-2011 photostream.
I think Kim's notes are excellent, and allow us to actuallty share the gliding experience.
"... The attached shot (circa 1959) was taken at the end of runway 21 at the Royal Australian Navy Air Station, HMAS Albatross, near Nowra – about 100 miles south of Sydney. It features a ES-52 ‘Kookaburra’ glider designed by Edmund Schneider, who migrated to Australia after WW11 and started making gliders at Gawler S.A. The two-seater ‘Kookaburra’ had an excellent performance and was ideal for training. A total of 35 ‘Kookaburras’ were built and today 11 remain airworthy, lovingly maintained by enthusiasts.
Gliding as a sport was encouraged at RANAS Nowra and a club was formed which was open to all ranks. The gliding club (RANGA) was started in 1954 by RN officer Tony Goodhart, and quickly became a popular recreational activity at the base during weekends and holidays. Gliding was especially popular with the navy pilots and aircrew, but many of the naval airman mechanics and technicians became excellent glider pilots too. Due to changing circumstances – and the stop-go fleet air arm policies of various governments - the gliding club closed in 2004.
A word or two about the picture: With the pilot strapped in and a tow wire stretched along the runway, attached to a three-ton truck, a signal would be given for the tow-truck to take-up the slack. When the right amount of tension in the wire was reached the signal for the driver to ‘go’ was given. At that moment the glider would jolt forward, when with someone steadying the wing for a few paces, the glider would quickly gather speed and within seconds be airborne. With the tow-truck speeding down the runway and the wire whistling in the wind the glider would rapidly gain height. Upon reaching launch height the pilot would disconnect the tow wire, leaving it to drift down aided by a small parachute. Having reached several hundred feet the pilot would circle seeking a thermal to gain altitude then, hopefully, to soar for an hour or more.
Yet, often as not, especially when there was a busy schedule, flights were restricted to making a few lazy circles in the sky, followed by a circuit across the airfield, and a return to the runway. Landing, despite the use of spoilers and airbrakes were often at surprisingly high speeds. Touchdown would be accompanied by loud thumping from the wheel and skid, then with a wing-tip settling onto the runway, the glider would come to rest...'
Thanks Kim. We'd all love to do it. Unfortunately the Dear Old State Kookaburra - after whom Schneider has clearly named his craft - is not so fast in his reflexes now.