Steve Hunt from Hiway had once mentioned that the powering up of a hang glider was started at Hiway as early as 1975 when he had completed some drawings that coupled a 240 glider and a small VW engine. I just knew we would get there in the end". Not quite what I was looking for, but the ideas were starting to flow. Terry Aspinall: "A couple months later I saw an article and photo about Bill Bennett in an American hang glider magazine as a seated pilot and with a power pack strapped to his back. Whatever the wind direction and conditions, well that was the theory". No, leave it running and then you could fly anywhere you choose. Who in their right mind would want to go looking for a thermal that might take them some distance, but it might not have been in the direction you wanted to go. I don’t mind admitting that I never did switch my engine off and why should I. (He says with tongue in cheek) Well that was the theory anyway. All I needed was a means of getting me in to the air and then I could switch the engine off, look for a thermal and head off into the sunset.
If anything was to go wrong it would be my fault and nobody else would have to be involved. By strapping on an engine, it was totally down to me. This seemed to be an answerer to my prayer, where as in towing several people and contraptions were needed to get you into the air. Terry Aspinall: "Then quite by chance and around the same time, word spread amongst the Hang gliding clubs that it might be possible to strap an engine onto the glider or the flyer. However the inventors carried on regardless, believing in their idea and knowing that they could eventually sort the problems out". Unfortunately there were many problems and a couple of terrible accidents, two of which I witnessed and both placed a temporary halt on the project for many of the would be flyers. Oh what thoughts of joy for a flatland flyer. Terry Aspinall: "Imagine my excitement when the local Norfolk Hang Gliding club started experimenting and playing around with a contraption that just might be able to tow a Hang Glider up in to the air. At that time flying to New York with Freddie Laker was being advertised at only £50 per trip, maybe that was a cheaper way of getting into the air?". Then we would be able to spend more time participating in our chosen sport. I once made the remark that it would be cheaper to change our sport, from wing to sail.
Although having said that I’m sure I could count on the fingers of both my hands the number of calm days on the east coast of Suffolk during a ten year period. It also became a regular comment that as we were driving west it seemed that all the cars towing boats behind them were heading east to the so called calm waters of the east coast.
David Cook, Brian Griffiths and later my good friend Alan (Snowy) Snowling), that the drive was wasted flying time.
On many occasions I remarked to my fellow flyers during different trips, (i.e. Terry Aspinall: "Living in the flat lands and on the east coast of Suffolk, where the highest sand dune measured only around 20 to 30 ft high, and taking a one direction wind (gale) to fly, meant that if I wanted to fly most weekends I would have to travel from one side of the country to the other.
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