THE GO-1 WOLF - Martin Simons Photo
The cowbell rang to open the 35th International VGC Rally in Slovakia and four Vintage Gliders Australia members made the trip. They were Herb Robbins, Martin Simons, Dave Goldsmith and Ian Dunkley with wife Pat. They were certainly not disappointed, in that they were greeted by perfect weather, pleasant location, over three hundred friendly colleagues and over 100 vintage sailplanes of every description.


NITRA AERODROME (BOTTOM LEFT) NEAR THE CITY
The airfield was a large all-over grass field capable of accommodating three rows of winch launches, a landing space for gliders, two rows of aerotow launches and a landing strip for tugs and powered planes. There was no limit on the number of entries to the rally, and most were hangared.

Laszlo Revy's Hungarian Cimbora two-seater
      A variety of towplanes and winches operated efficiently side by side to keep the flight line moving. Generally launches continued throughout the day as many pilots of the open cockpit aircraft and primaries returned to thaw out, and different pilots sampled the wide variety of low, medium and higher performance aircraft present. Operations were overseen by the Chief Instructor of the Nitra Aero and Gliding Club, and only a few instances of minor damage, mostly to gliders on open trailers, occurred.

SZD-8 JASKOLKA LEADS THE GRID
Over one hundred gliders present ranged from the Zlin primary, via ULF-1 and two seater primary, right through the range of intermediate and aerobatic sailplanes, to the higher performance types like the SB-5 V-tail, to the big two seater Kranichs and T21, and on to the Phonix, the fibreglass trailblazer. Motor gliders included the K14, and Tandem two-seat Motor Falke brought by David and Margaret Shrimpton
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THE SLINGSBY TUTOR, “PINK PANTHER”
            Some wonderful paint schemes were noted, with every colour of the rainbow and a deal of “courageous” colour selection! Finishes were generally of a high standard, some exceedingly so. Struts and bracing wires were imaginatively decorated with flags and appropriate (imitation!) furry animals! One couldn’t help but notice the difference in the grid line-up with that of current gliding championships! It seems that sometimes, all around the world, glider pilots just want to have fun!

THE HABICHT PUT ON A SPARKLING AEROBATIC DISPLAY
            Aerobatic displays were presented on some late afternoons by the Harbicht, Lunak and Blanik, all with smoke canisters attached to their wingtips. The Lunak and Harbicht developed some co-ordinated displays that were quite spectacular, with appropriate music over the PA’s, and including dual aerotows by the Wilga.

MY ADRENALIN PUMPED IN THIS 1950 2G PRIMARY!
I had very enjoyable flights of 195 minutes in a K8, 1 hour in the T21b and 1 hour in the Go 1 Wolf, plus a memorable circuit in the 2G two-seater primary from Denmark. Martin and Herb also had long flights. Thermals were normally in plentiful supply and well marked by cu, going to heights of up to 7,000 feet. There was a control zone based at 8,000 ft  over the field, and pilots avoided the restricted area around the nuclear power station 22 km to the east!

THE RECENTLY REFURBISHED FRENCH FAUVETTE
The facilities at Nitra airfield, including the large hangar, would have been struggling to handle us all, if it wasn’t for the huge white plasticized tent and wooden flooring hired for the event. This had been used with great success at the Polish Rally at Gliwice, and so was brought to Nitra especially for the rally. All briefings, ceremonies and parties were held in this tent, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Side areas included a kitchen and a coffee shop, and no doubt this arrangement contributed materially to the great success of the whole rally.

THE VGA T-SHIRTS SOLD OUT ON THE FIRST MORNING
The Australian team ran a table in the flea market to sell Vintage Gliders Australia monogrammed T-Shirts, which sold well. Note for next time:- we also could have sold quite a few furry kangaroos!! We also used this opportunity to pass out some copies of Soaring Australia to those interested, as well as encouraging visits “down under” with information about Australia wherever possible!