What?

Purchased from the North Wales Gliding Club in August 2003, "Denzil" is SUGC's first single seat glider. This fine aircraft is available to SUGC members for free soaring!

The "K-13" is the main type of training aircraft flying at Lasham. It has a wood and fabric wing structure, and a fabric covered fuselage with a steel tube frame. Whilst it may not look as pretty as some of its fibreglass counterparts, it is very stable, comfortable to fly, has great visibility from the cockpit, and it easily capable of a number of aerobatic manoeuvres. Lasham has several K-13s, and it is almost certain that if you learn to fly at Lasham, you will fly your first solo in one.

The "K-21" functions as the Society's advanced trainer, since it features better cross-country performance and aerobatic capabilities than the club's other two-seaters. Best described as a plastic K-13, the K-21 is a more modern fibreglass aircraft designed for the same role. It is well known for being very stable and docile, almost to a fault.

Owned by a syndicate of members, the T21 is a vintage sailplane dating back to the '50s. It has two seats, mounted side by side in a very roller-coaster like cockpit... with no canopy. Ask nicely and you might just get a flight in this excellent machine.

SH3 is a Schempp-Hirth Discus, the shiniest (and therefore most advanced) glider type in Lasham's club fleet. It has a retractable undercarriage that gives a best glide ratio of 42.5:1, SH3 is one of three Discuses (Discii?) available to Lasham's more experienced members. It has the ability to carry up to 190 kg of water ballast to help it punch into wind; a significant amount considering that the empty weight is roughly 230 kg.

A very modern two seat glider, first flown in 2000. 776 is the sport variant, it has the option of two different wing tips, one 20 metre with winglets and an 18 metre version cleared for aerobatics. As expected with a modern glider type the glide ratio is very good: 46.5:1. The glider can also carry a substantial amount of water ballast.

Lasham's latest toy, the Grob 109, is a self-launching motorglider that has a glide ratio of 28:1 with it's engine off and propellor feathered. It's perfect for trips to the Isle of Wight, or much further afield.

Those lucky enough to have flown in the air cadets may know the Grob 109 as the 'Vigilant'.

Wood wasn't good enough for SUGC member Laurie Gregoire (mostly because he couldn't fit in it), so what better solution than to buy your own Astir. From Norway. As you do. A sign of the times shows his newly-imported glider required G-CKMC registration down the side of the fuselage. Following repair work on the undercarrage and installation of UK-spec instruments, KMC's successful maiden flight in December '05 looks set to make this a regular sight over Lasham skies.

After vowing never to fly French ever again, who would have expected Pete Smith to look to to the land of crossaints when he and Jim Clarke purchased their new toy (okay, maybe it was designed and made in Germany). With slightly less performance than its younger cousin the Discus, the Cirrus is still a favoured cross-country machine. Pete and Jim have decided to keep their machine's comp number as "N", pronounced "Nuh!", or in French "Neuuu!".

Tony World's other toy, "933" the ASW-27 was easily the shiniest aircraft at Lee-on-Solent, featuring flaps, winglets, and a glide computer. "933" also broke the SUGC bunfight curse, being the first glider to survive more than a year after being rigged on the lawn outside the Union.

The Ka-7 is the forerunner to the ASK-13, it has very similar construction except that the Ka-7 has a high wing - the instructors head is virtually in the wing root! The glide ratio is (at best) 27:1. First flown in 1959, 370 were subsequently built.

Lasham's two twin-drum winches - the best pull of your life - capable of launching gliders to heights "up to" 2000ft AGL from alongside the main runway at Lasham. Comes complete with a heated cab, cable repair kit, and the January 1982 issue of S&G.

Romeo Golf is one of Lasham's tugs. Built with a steel tube frame and covered in fabric, it is a proper vintage style aircraft. It is based on the famous Piper Cub, but with a much more powerful engine so that it can tow gliders, and a super quiet exhaust is fitted to keep the neighbours happy.

Oscar Yankee is one of Lasham's Robin tug aircraft, originally designed as a four seat touring aircraft. With only one pilot aboard it has plenty of power to spare for tugging gliders. A four-bladed propellor and custom exhaust make it a (relatively) quiet aircraft.

Chugging up and down the field pulling back the winch cables is usually performed by the mighty retrieve vehicle, in the form of a rapidly disintegrating Range Rover. This vehicle features several modifications such as the Mk-B door locking mechanism, a climbing frame in the back, and a big can of gas for fuel. Rocket boosters are on order.

The Lasham Bus can often be spotted creating a smoke-screen up and down the airfield. No-one is really sure where it came from, and some say it changes the colours of its checks with the seasons. If you're really lucky (or clinically insane) you might just get to drive it.

Just in case anything catches fire there is always the might of PNGC's fire truck to come and hose things down. A modified series three land rover with a water tank on the back, the fire truck also carries various types of cutting, hacking and chopping tools. A flashing light and siren are also included.

The club's one hundred and forty seven tractors provide all the brute force needed to pull gliders, winches and trailers around the airfield.

Also known as "Mini-me" or "Thunderbird 1". The goly buggy has a maximum speed of about 3 mph, but is very useful for pulling around gliders, trailers and caravans.

Owned by the Faulkes Flying Foundation, this DG 505, "KAW" came out to play during the Lasham expedition in July 2002. Brand new several months before, and coming complete with an intrustor with a sense of humour, this aircraft was certainly a bargain at a mere �5 per flight.

The K-21's alter-ego, the Grob 103 is also known simply as the "acro" or sometimes "twin pig". Built by the same company responsible for the Astir, this aircraft has similar brick-like handling qualities. Not satisfied with abusing K-13s on training flights, JV hijacked Syerston's acro "R15" in the summer of 2002. Something which Four Counties Gliding Club immediately regretted when he managed to bounce it, instructor and all, 5ft into the air on landing.

Four Counties were also insane enough to give Richard P access to their K-18 "R36" (wing pictured opposite). With much the same performance at the Junior, the K-18 has much in common with the K-8. A very nice aircraft to fly, but a very rare find since very few were built.

(Also in the picture is "222", a V-tailed SHK-1)

Another rare aircraft is the K-23, which is effectively a single-seat K-21. A very comfortable and easy aircraft to fly, it has more or less identical performance to the Junior. Dave Waller and Richard P. hijacked "EVV", the Midland Gliding Club's K-23 at the Long Mynd in Janurary 2003. Their excuse; they just found it hanging around...