Winching - Reverse Auto Tow

Frank Whiteley wrote: "Ridgewell, that's the place old Fred had the
steam winch. Of course, he was
shunned by most BGA types.

There's still a story out there somewhere. Maybe someone will ask around
this winter."



It was diesel, not steam, but made from a converted combine harvester.



The saga of Freddie's club is fairly complicated, but he was far more
tolerated by the BGA and quite a lot of BGA types until he made it
impossible to be allowed to carry on in BGA membership.



His achievements in starting a club from scratch, converting a rough
field at Ridgewell into a useable gliding site, backing it with his own
money, and carrying on until illness intervened, were prodigious. We
all recognized those things, and perhaps let him get away with other
foibles for too long. My club has since benefited from his pioneering
efforts, having bought the site in 1991 when it looked like we would
lose the use of North Weald.



Before starting his own club, Freddie acquired a PPL and a Silver C
elsewhere. He went on an instructors course, and failed to qualify.
When his own club had mustered the enough equipment to start, he
appointed himself Chief Flying Instructor (CFI).



In establishing the club, he sought help from, and was given it by, the
BGA, free gratis. He did not join straight away, but did after a while.
The BGA tolerated his lack of qualifications and tried to get him up to
standard, but he was unable to reach the level needed. The BGA tried to
get him to accept a qualified instructor from elsewhere as CFI, but he
refused. He then claimed to be operating in two ways. When there was
no BGA-qualified instructor on the site, he said he had a soaring group
and he was carrying passengers and letting them try the controls. When
his passengers had reached solo standard as he thought, he then called
in a visiting instructor from elsewhere, called it a gliding club that
day, and got the visitor to check out his students so they could have a
BGA A and B certificate. The BGA let this go on for some years, all the
time trying to get him either up to scratch himself or persuade him to
accept outside help. I was on the BGA Executive Committee at the time,
and took an active part in trying to help - to no avail.



During this time, there were various events which brought interest from
outside authorities. One was a tug accident, Fred towing and IIRC
hitting his own mechanical shovel. After one of these, he was again
assessed by the BGA, and a second opinion sought when he refused to
accept the first. Both thought he was not up to instructing. There
were also concerns about the airworthiness of his fleet.



Eventually the BGA delivered an ultimatum. He was in breach of a prime
regulation - not having a CFI with qualifications, and himself
instructing while unqualified. I went personally to try to persuade him
to accept another CFI, and at one time I thought I had succeeded. But
he then dug in and refused to accept it. The BGA put it to a General
meeting and it was resolved, with only his vote against, to discontinue
his club's BGA membership. What would any responsible regulatory body
do?



Sadly, he fell ill and died not long after. His club went moribund.



After his death, several of my friends and colleagues helped to set up
his club again. My club's deputy CFI went to help, and promptly
declared all their gliders unserviceable through neglect. Eight of us
bought them a K7 2-seater to start again. (I have just sold it for
virtually nothing, so lost 1000 sterling on it.) One of my friends
became their CFI and technical officer. I persuaded the BGA to let them
back in without paying a subscription for a year.



Then they lost the use of their site, and went into hibernation again
until we bought it a few years later. Several of their members joined
us - several more were members of both clubs anyway, having helped in
their regeneration.



I think Freddie's family held me personally responsible for the rift,
when in fact I had done all I could, and more than most, to try to help.



I could say more, but that covers the essential part of a strange story.
Somebody else can write up the saga of the combine harvester winches (I
think there were two in succession).



Chris N.