Definition:-
vintage adjective (from the past)
produced in the past, and typical of the period in which it was made:
a vintage plane
a vintage car
a vintage glider
When you think of vintage, maybe wine springs to mind, (maybe wine springs to mind anyway, in which case I would recommend that you seek help: one shouldn’t drink alone.) Maybe cars, or motorbikes but these can be extremely expensive even though you may think that they shouldn’t be. Aeroplanes on the other hand are expensive and everyone knows that’s a fact. What about vintage gliders? Are they expensive to buy? Almost certainly not, in fact some can be had for nothing. Are they expensive to run? No more and often quite a bit less than the normal run of the mill club glider and a lot of club gliders can be classed as vintage when you consider the definition above. But what about the sort of flying that can be achieved in a vintage glider? This is where you could be disappointed. The really old wooden gliders of yesteryear probably aren’t going to provide the soaring opportunities that we expect today. So what’s the point of buying a vintage glider? The point is, if you buy the right glider at the right price you can enjoy superb flying relatively cheaply.
A quick look at the classified adverts on gliderpilot.net will tell you that there’s a vast price point range. As I write this, it ranges from £500 through to £225,000 although there are also a couple for free. The majority though are above the £40,000 mark and there are a lot around £100,000. However, look closely and you’ll find one or two 1970s’ designs with over 40:1 glide angles that look like the modern gliders of today and are at that attractive price point of less than £10,000. These are now classed as vintage, aren’t fashionable, aren’t perceived as competition winning designs and consequently can be purchased for a song. A big thank you to all those people who think that if they buy the latest and most expensive equipment they can win that competition: you’re keeping glider ownership costs down for the discerning purchaser, or poor people as we’re also known.
So if you’ve always thought that owning a nice glider was beyond your means, think again. Think 1960s’ and 1970s’ designs. Hunt out the Astirs, Cobras, Cirri, Darts, Fokas, Jantars, Kestrels, Libelles, Nimbi, PIKs, Vegas etc. and surprise yourself at the affordability, style and performance.
The photos show the Strubby based 1977 Astir CS and 1978 Vega gliders on a visit to Sutton Bank in May 2024. They don’t look like vintage gliders do they?
