Paul Blanchard
Encyclopedia
Paul Harwood Blanchard, author of 'Elementary Gliding' and one of the early CFI
's of the Cambridge University Gliding Club
(not to be confused with Paul Blanshard
).
Paul Blanchard (b.24th Dec 1923, Cleveland, Ohio, USA d. June 22nd 2011, Chinnor, Oxon, UK) was Chief Flying Instructor of CUGC
1947-49 and will be remembered particularly for the authorship of Elementary Gliding – A Pupil’s Manual. Paul graduated in Natural Sciences from St John’s College in 1948, becoming CFI in his third undergraduate year.
He had written the first version of Elementary Gliding and offered it to the BGA
and the Surrey Gliding Club, but they were not interested in marketing it. So he asked CUGC to produce and distribute it. The result was a duplicated ‘Second Edition’ dated February 1952 ‘compiled by P.H.Blanchard’ with technical drawings by Roger Austin and cartoons by Pete Sullivan, both CUGC members. It incorporated improvements made by other Club members as well, particularly Ken Machin (later CFI). The next edition no longer carried Paul’s name (with his agreement) but just that of the publisher ‘Cambridge University Gliding Club’.
In 1955 a printed version of this appeared, published by Thermal Equipment Ltd, a small company founded by glider pilots, and since 1958 subsequent editions have been published by the BGA, all again under the original author’s name. The fact that it was the CUGC ‘Pupil’s Manual’ rather disappeared. Philip Wills
wrote an introduction referring to Paul as having been ‘Chief Instructor of the Surrey Gliding Club’, and later editions even stopped mentioning in the acknowledgments that Austin and Sullivan were CUGC. But Bluebell (CUGC's T21
) remained immortalised in the frontispiece, complete with the former cement works chimney near Marshall’s belching the smoke that that generation so often thermalled in. The CUGC archive contains Ken Machin’s copy of the first printed edition autographed by the author ‘With best wishes from Paul’.
Apart from the illustrations, the major CUGC input to Elementary Gliding was the idea of a square circuit as opposed to the prevailing practice of loitering downwind doing S-turns towards the airfield until arriving in position for the final approach and round-out.
CUGC had developed square-circuit training in response to the introduction of dual ab initio instruction in Bluebell (1950) and improved airbrakes. It proved a lasting contribution.
CFI
CFI may refer to:* CAD Framework Initiative, a standardization organization for CAD systems in the EDA area* Canada Foundation for Innovation* Canal France International* Canonical Format Indicator, a field in the IEEE 802.1Q protocol...
's of the Cambridge University Gliding Club
Cambridge Gliding Centre
Cambridge Gliding Centre is a gliding club based near Cambridge in the United Kingdom on the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire county border. Nearby major towns include Bedford, Cambourne, Huntingdon, Royston, Sandy, St. Ives and St...
(not to be confused with Paul Blanshard
Paul Blanshard
Paul Beecher Blanshard was a controversial American author, assistant editor of The Nation magazine, lawyer, socialist, secular humanist, and from 1949 an outspoken critic of Catholicism....
).
Paul Blanchard (b.24th Dec 1923, Cleveland, Ohio, USA d. June 22nd 2011, Chinnor, Oxon, UK) was Chief Flying Instructor of CUGC
Cambridge Gliding Centre
Cambridge Gliding Centre is a gliding club based near Cambridge in the United Kingdom on the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire county border. Nearby major towns include Bedford, Cambourne, Huntingdon, Royston, Sandy, St. Ives and St...
1947-49 and will be remembered particularly for the authorship of Elementary Gliding – A Pupil’s Manual. Paul graduated in Natural Sciences from St John’s College in 1948, becoming CFI in his third undergraduate year.
He had written the first version of Elementary Gliding and offered it to the BGA
British Gliding Association
The British Gliding Association is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 85 gliding clubs which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members , though a further 17,000 people have gliding air-experience flights each year.-History:A...
and the Surrey Gliding Club, but they were not interested in marketing it. So he asked CUGC to produce and distribute it. The result was a duplicated ‘Second Edition’ dated February 1952 ‘compiled by P.H.Blanchard’ with technical drawings by Roger Austin and cartoons by Pete Sullivan, both CUGC members. It incorporated improvements made by other Club members as well, particularly Ken Machin (later CFI). The next edition no longer carried Paul’s name (with his agreement) but just that of the publisher ‘Cambridge University Gliding Club’.
In 1955 a printed version of this appeared, published by Thermal Equipment Ltd, a small company founded by glider pilots, and since 1958 subsequent editions have been published by the BGA, all again under the original author’s name. The fact that it was the CUGC ‘Pupil’s Manual’ rather disappeared. Philip Wills
Philip Wills
Philip Aubrey Wills CBE was a pioneering British glider pilot.-Early years:Philip Wills was from a wealthy family, and at the age of 21 he was able to buy his first aircraft, a de Havilland DH.60 Moth. On 20 January 1929 he was badly injured when his Moth crashed at Duxford Aerodrome, in which...
wrote an introduction referring to Paul as having been ‘Chief Instructor of the Surrey Gliding Club’, and later editions even stopped mentioning in the acknowledgments that Austin and Sullivan were CUGC. But Bluebell (CUGC's T21
Slingsby T.21
|-References:* Ellison, N.H. British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970. A & C Black, 1971* Simons, M. Slingsby Sailplanes. Airlife Publishing, 1996 - ISBN 1-85310-732-8...
) remained immortalised in the frontispiece, complete with the former cement works chimney near Marshall’s belching the smoke that that generation so often thermalled in. The CUGC archive contains Ken Machin’s copy of the first printed edition autographed by the author ‘With best wishes from Paul’.
Apart from the illustrations, the major CUGC input to Elementary Gliding was the idea of a square circuit as opposed to the prevailing practice of loitering downwind doing S-turns towards the airfield until arriving in position for the final approach and round-out.
CUGC had developed square-circuit training in response to the introduction of dual ab initio instruction in Bluebell (1950) and improved airbrakes. It proved a lasting contribution.