Throughout the eighties
however our existence was assured and expansion was rapid.
It was not until
the early nineties however that things really began to boom.
We began a large
programme of renewal with the addition of two second hand GRP
gliders to the fleet and with the largest capital purchase to
date, a new purpose built winch.
At the same time the opportunity to purchase the majority of
the rest of the airfield presented itself and although it left
us financially stretched it was a chance too good to turn down.
We were now in the
situation were we were an undoubtedly large gliding club, with
our own land, excellent launching facilities, a comfortable
clubhouse but with a fleet of gliders that desperately required
replacement if were to move successfully into the new millennium.
With the advent of
funds becoming available via the Sports Council Lottery Fund
in 1994 we began to plan our requirements for a completely new
fleet of gliders.
This, along with the application to the Sports Council took
us over a year of hard work but the reward was, in the Spring
of 1997 we were told that our application for £78,000
for our fleet upgrading project had been successful!
We then went to the
Glider Manufacturers, and for the first time in our history
ordered new aircraft - three in all - taking our expenditure
to over £150,000.
Two ASK21's and a Discus were purchased to replace the old wood
and fabric K13's that had given us so much service for so long.
These new gliders were delivered at the beginning of 1998, leaving
us with a completely modern fleet of aircraft that is second
to none.
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