Reynard primary glider damaged near Halifax.
This Reynard glider was bought by the Halifax Gliding Club and was built to order at a factory in the Leicester area in Autumn 1930. It was delivered in late-October / early-November 1930 and after erection and rigging was test flown but appears to have never had a BGA registration applied for. Where the test flight and then a subsequent flights were made is not stated in local newspapers but by mid-December 1930 the club were using a site at Withens, near Wainstalls. Just prior to 15th November 1930 it was given a series of trial flights, probably at the Withens site, but crashed while on one of these flights. The glider sustained minor damage and the pilot was slightly injured. The Reynard was quickly repaired. On Sunday, 14th December 1930 the Halifax Gliding Club held their first proper flying meeting on a site at Withens, near Wainstalls. The club stored the glider in an old barn near Withens Hotel and the lane leading to the gliding site was several inches deep in mud and water. The surrounding fields had snow on them and were also wet and a cold wind was blowing but despite this the glider was removed from the barn and rigged. In the late afternoon it was ready for flight. A short initial flight was made without incident. A short time later another flight was undertaken but the landing was rough, it bounced twice and then on the third touchdown the skid dug into the ground. It came to rest with the undercarriage damaged and the pilot's seat dislodged. The glider was carried back to the barn near Withens Hotel where it was later repaired. I cannot find any reference to the glider being flown again in local newspapers until May 1931. In May 1931 the Halifax Gliding Club joined forces with the Calder Valley Flying Club who had used at site at White Lea before May 1931. Both clubs re-sited to Sykes Farm, Cragg Vale, Mytholmroyd on the edge of Blackstone Edge. Avro 504 G-ABML was bought for the Calder Valley Flying Club use. After August 1931 there is no mention of either club in local newspapers, this came after a public disagreement in the newspapers between members of both clubs. What happened to the Reynard glider is not known.
Historian Graham Sharpe has vague information that during October 1931 it sustained damage when it was accidentally launched when the bungee was taught but with the cockpit empty, it was fired into the air, looped and crashed. It was later taken to Saltaire for repair but what happened to it after this date is not known.
Pilot - Name unknown.