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Caboolture Gliding Club

Soar like an eagle on silent wings in a friendly, cooperative club atmosphere from our base at Caboolture Airfield on Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast. New members and visitors are always welcome.

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Second K6 at Caboolture

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21-May-09:
After a four-day road trip to Locksley Airfield (near Nagambie in VIC), Kevin Rodda and "Bushy" Bill Wheatley have arrived back at YCAB with Romeo Victor (an Australian built Edmund Schneider ES-KA6-1).
        
With Bernie "Speedy" Gonsalves' VH-GSR (a German built Alexander Schleicher Ka6-CR) having been in residence at Caboolture for some time, there are now two K6's at YCAB.
This now makes a total of four K6's in South East QLD with VH-GTW at Warwick (Air Force Cadets) and VH-GN0 at Boonah (Nigel Arnot).

  

The ES-KA6-1 is a version of the Alexander Schleicher Ka6-CR (designed by Rudolf Kaiser) manufactured in Australia under license by Edmund Schneider Ltd.
In 1963 two K6’s were flown 876 km by Karl Betzler and Otto Schauble from Germany to France, setting a world distance record. In 1964, Wally Scott of the US flew his Ka6-CR to a world goal of 837 km.
  VH-GRV packed in the trailer at Locksley and ready to travel.  Mattresses between fuse and wings - snug as a bug in a rug!
      
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Back at YCAB in Hangar 22. Another K6 (VH-GNB) in flight.

Some VH-GRV History:

Romeo Victor was originally a QLD aircraft, having been purchased new from the Edmund Schneider factory in Adelaide in July 1962 by Marj Pegler from "Cornwall Station" near Quilpie. It was later owned by Ian Aspland at Kingaroy before spending time in the 1970's at the Goondiwindi Soaring Club and the Charlieville Soaring Club (both clubs no longer operate).
"Georgious Romeo Victor" (as it was affectionately referred to by Marj Pegler) was then stored under a house in Charlieville for some 18 years between 1981 and 1999 before being purchased by Barry Deeth who stored it in his hangar at Caboolture for another three years.
It was then purchased in 2002 by Thomas Dattner of Mullumbimby NSW who, with the assistance of Allan Rundle, restored it at Tyagarah Airfield (Byron Bay) before it was sold in 2003 to Walter Dietz (Mangalore Gliding Club, VIC). It has been stored in a hangar at Locksley Airfield since it was last flown in Apr'06.
On 11-Jan-65, Max Howland took a 1200' winch-launch in Romeo Victor from Benalla VIC at 1130 and landed in Narromine NSW some 5 hours and 15 minutes later "with 4000' to spare" to achieve his second Diamond Distance. On that day Ian Aspland also made it to Narromine in a Mucha while Maurie Bradney landed at Dubbo.
Only two weeks later, on 19-May-65 (and in his very next flight ... also in Romeo Victor), Max achieved Diamond Height with a barograph certified height gain of 17500' from a 700' car-tow launch at Oakey QLD.

With three Diamond's under his belt, he now had his full Gold C and this placed him at No.1 at that time on the Australian Register. Max's comment ... "but only No.412 on the International Register ... which rather puts we Australian pilots into context".