CSC early days - the seventies

A 1970s hang glider in Borrowdale. Credit: Roger Middleton (1977)

The inaugural meeting of the Cumbria Hang Gliding Club was held at the Globe Hotel, Cockermouth on the 9th January 1975. For at least twelve months prior to this there had been some rudimentary attempts at flight. Father and son team, Roy and Dennis Richards from Workington had been striving to coax their home built glider into the air since late 1973. Independently meanwhile, Dave Weeks from Keswick was attempting the same a few months behind them. Dave's attempts suffered a set back however when he became the first reported hang-gliding accident. The Keswick Mountain Rescue Team Report for 1974 states: "...a crosswind forced his triangular gliding frame into the hillside" (13/4/74). The result was a broken thigh.

During his enforced idleness Dave decided to advertise in the West Cumberland Times and Star to see if anyone else was interested. The outcome, in December 1974, was a meeting at the Ship Inn, Harrington. Those present included Martin Fortune, Bill Short and his sons, Eric and Doug, Roy Corbet and, of course, Dennis and Roy Richards (Roy is remembered as a VERY quiet lad in those days). Last to arrive was Dave, a stranger to all those present but easily identified by a considerable coverage of plaster! The humour of the situation was not lost and the club almost began life as the "Broken Leg Club".

At this time the longest flight was measured in seconds rather than minutes. Neither Dave Weeks nor the Richards on their early Skyhook had met with much success. Dennis Richards is noted as saying that, "...there isn't a hill steep enough to get airborne from!". They were soon joined by the Short trio who acquired a CB 240 (Curved Boom - 240sq. feet), which seemed a great step forward at the time.

Following the formation of the Club (subscription £3 for flying and £1 for non flying - the Club had to take out its own 3rd Party insurance in those days and this was quite costly) flying got seriously underway.

An early hangie

The first organised meet took place at Bewaldeth, with the CB 240 quickly showing its potential with a flight of 25 seconds from two thirds of the way up the hill. Within weeks this was eclipsed by Martin Fortune who managed a whole six minutes on his new Argus 216. This record was short lived in more ways than one when an hour later Eric Short raised it to 15 minutes, then as the wind picked up, brother Doug made the first, unplanned top landing. So ended an eventful day. By the end of the year everyone had made flights of over an hour and endurance flights were given up. Top landings retained their mystique for a little longer.

Experience and confidence gained on the smaller hills soon led to attention being turned to the high mountains. One of the early highlights was a flight from the summit of Fleetwith Pike down to Buttermere. So impressed were they by the experience that the following evening Martin Fortune, Dave Weeks, Eric Hindmarch and Roy Richards flew from the summit of Skiddaw. The descent took a mere 6 minutes! Only some weeks later, and not without some annoyance, did they discover that Ken Messenger had "pirated" the same flight just ahead of them - local pride was wounded.

Slowly the number of sites grew. Overlooking Keswick, Latrigg enjoyed a burst of popularity, landings being made on the as yet unopened Keswick by­pass. One such landing, captured embarrassingly on cine film, witnessed the neat removal of the rear part of Eric Hindmarsh's trousers on a barbed arrestor wire strung inconsiderately across the road by contractors. The black coal slides at Lowca, on the coast, still exerted a strong pull despite their unappealing nature. The growing popularity of the sport was brought home by a mass flight of thirteen gliders from Skiddaw. So ended the long, hot summer of 1976 described in the Secretary's Report as, ".... the year of the mountains, but also for some reflection". The last point alluding to the tragic death of one of the Club's founder members on Binsey.

The New Year began badly when Eric Short had a crash whilst learning to fly prone but with time he went on to make a full recovery. This salutary reminder of the risks of the sport caused others to take stock and approach the summer with added caution. Membership now stood at just over twenty and the performance of the new second-generation gliders was viewed as remarkable. A comment from the 1977 report sums it up admirably: "... To take off half­way up a mountain, go over the top, soar to 500' then to 1000' above the summit and fly downwind to land six or seven miles away; this is really something."

More visiting clubs began to come to the Lakes for inter-club meets and members began to venture further a-field. Martin and Roy entered the first Scottish Open at Tinto putting up creditable performances. The Club featured on local radio and television which increased the funds, if not the public's confidence in hang-gliding. These experiences prompted a change of Club policy towards publicity and further requests for displays and demonstrations were politely declined.

By the end of the year the number of sites had been extended to twelve. One of the new additions was Black Combe, described as having "great potential". On the minus side low flying aircraft were becoming a noticeable hazard and threats of a different kind were looming for Lowca and Wolf Crags. However, 2,500 flights had been logged totalling over 400 hours with only the one accident of any note.

Early in 1978 the first hang-gliding school, 'Top Flite', run by ex RAF pilot, Roger Middleton based itself in the area (at Rookin House). The school initially gave cause for concern with fears of congestion and site problems. However, these fears proved groundless and the school was painlessly integrated into the local scene. Many new members found their way into the Club via Roger and were to form the nucleus of the Club throughout the eighties.

The derelict black coal tips at Lowca were landscaped by the council and after due consultation with the Club it was even contoured to make it more suitable for hang-gliding. The sight of grass was viewed as a great improvement. The bridle track below Wolf Crags was re-classified but vehicle access remained. Dave Weeks especially deserved credit for his negotiating skills that led to the sport being viewed in a favourable light by both the National Trust and National Park Authority.

Several accidents occurred, most spectacular being a mid-air collision over Walla Crag. Both Ian Grant and Ian Dowler were fortunate enough to be able to limp away from their gliders. Over confidence, especially amongst the more experienced pilots was starting to become a contributory factor in accidents.

The first real XC flights were starting to be flown. Roger Middleton flew from Bewaldeth to Caldbeck, a distance of 7 miles. Roy, Martin and Tony Rathbone followed a veering wind from Souther Fell around to Bassenthwaite while Dave Weeks discovered the unexpected when he gained over 1000 feet in convergence on, of all places, Lowca. So ended 1978.

In February 1979 the first Annual Dinner was held followed closely by a BHGA Safety Conference in Keswick. Under pressure from the National Park Authority the Club declared itself against the new trend of powered hang-gliding within the confines of the National Park.

The first of many Club trophies was purchased; the Competition Cup. The winner was to be decided by an annual internal Club competition. Alas, attempts to run the event continually ran foul of the weather and it was given up in disgust to be replaced a year later by the XC Trophy.

Increasing numbers of members were being drawn from the south of the county and this resulted in the discovery of some new sites, the most notable of these being Ellerside, Whitbarrow, Barkin and Farleton. The last two sites mentioned being secured through the activities of the Lancaster crew of Ian Ferguson and Chris Putley.

Cross-country flights became more commonplace and Roy Richards was showing a talent in this respect. The following year would see him joining the newly formed British League. Meanwhile, father Dennis brought power into the area in the shape of his home built Catto hang-glider. During the summer a large group travelled to sample the delights of Irish flying and the potential encouraged Roy and new pilot Chris Taylor to visit again the following summer.

A new site guide was put together by Dave Foreman and the whole site system reviewed. Towards the end of the year Roger Middleton and 'Top Flite' left the area and moved to the south of England and better weather.