NORFOLK HANG GLIDING CLUB - Key Persons
Dave first appeared on the hang gliding scene in 1986, as a student at Lejair. The first things we noticed about Dave, was a nervous twitch he had developed after a recent divorce, The constant fiddling with his NHS hearing aid and his uncanny knack of being able to get at least 3 three greens and four reds in any given sentence (colorful language). Oh.. and what we thought was his daughter.
Dave soon progressed in his flying, and joined the Norfolk Hang Gliding Club with his Calypso Glider. He enjoyed going on club trips and was very successful. Dislocated shoulder at Merthyr and a "Clapped Hands" rigging incident in the Peaks readily spring to mind.
Travel abroad was his favorite. It was at Annercy in France that members discovered that it wasn't his Daughter. Many nights were spent sitting around Dave's tent watching the Picture show whilst the Tilley light was on.
You will be glad to note that the twitch has gone, and the NHS has given him a new hearing aid. Alas he has kept the talent of being unable to utter a sentence without at least 3 greens and 2 reds. Reds and greens increase dramatically when Phil goes XC.
I think this similar system was also demonstrated but he had some technical problems and left early (Or did I imagine this?)
The above are the three founding members and this is how the Norfolk Hang Gliding Club was formed.
Paul was to design and build a payout winch. Greg would finance the cost of the winch and provide a car. I would develop the bridles and supply the towrope. All three would be test pilots winch operators etc.
OXFORD GUY arranged a Tow meet at an airfield near err Oxford. This was a two-day event and was well attended. Only on the first day could I attend and it was fantastic. There was a thick air of optimism. The Norfolk and Suffolk boys all shared ideas, made plans and had a good time. This was it, towing was about to boom.
Day two the 6th of June (not sure of the year but the day will always be in my mind) one of the Suffolk boys known as Woolly was killed during a fixed line tow demo. From what I can remember of the reports he whip-stalled when a weak-link broke.
When I heard this news I was devastated. The Suffolk boys were in a state of shock and the shockwaves reached the whole of the hang gliding community. The BHGA instantly put a ban on ALL towing activates.
I can safely say that he was, at one time, the most experienced winch operator in the UK (Ok the only one, but he was good).
Terry First got in to Hang Gliding in 1973 after meeting up with David Cook and joined the Norfolk Hang Gliding club around 1976issh
He was News letter editor for about a year, and a major pioneer of some of the sites in east Anglia.
Because there were quite few members that lived in the south of the region, a new club,Suffolk Coastal Floaters was formed in 1979. Terry was a major influence in its creation.
More info on terry and stories told can be found here.