The gliding history of the 50ies is mainly centered in the years 56-60. During this
period the Royal Aeroclub had the full support of the Royal Air Force.
In cooperation with the Yougoslav Aeroclub, instructors were trained in Vrsaz in the year
1955. Some Roda and Cavka gliders were bought from Yougoslavia. Many Cavkas have been
built in Greece in the KEA factory in Phaliron. A Weihe was also bought from Yougoslavia.
Every summer of these five years, a fully staffed gliding training center was operating in
Tripoli (Peloponese). Launching was exclusively by winch.
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Gliders in Tripoli. In the foreground is a Grunau Baby that has survived the war.
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A Cavka ready to take off.
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Arriving in Tripoli: In the first row chief engineer T.Panagiotou, chief instructor P.Tsakoniatis, instructor S.Panagotas,
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Trailer for the Cavka and Roda gliders (they used the same wings). Third is KEA technician A.Avdis.
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Instructors and students: **Standing 1.Chief instructor P.Tsakoniatis 2.Student E.Paidiotakis 4.Instructor P.Argyrakis **Seated 1.Student K.Kavathas 3.Instuctor N.Mauromatis 4.Instructor S.Panagotas 5.Student I.Siniosoglou from Edessa 6.Technician A.Audis.
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A Roda ready to take off. In the background is the prewar Grunau Baby. Unfortunately, after the closing of the center in 1960, the Air Force burned all surviving old-timers as outdated material.
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A Roda being hooked.
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One of the many celebrations that took place in Tripoli. Parents were flown from Athens by Air Force DC3s. It was a costly operation. No wonder it did not last for long.
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A Roda taking off.
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Signals to the winch were by waving a flag.
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A Cavka in front of a hangar. Those WW2 hangars were named "tolle" after the French name for metal sheet.
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The Weihe with the crowd of another celebration.
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Kiki and Niki Panagiotou.
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Instructors and students: Student N.Simigdalas, technician A.Audis, student Niki Panagiotou (or is it Kiki?), instructor G.Peschke, the commanding officer, student Kiki Panagiotou (or is it Niki?), student E.Kypriotis.
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Another celebration: we can recognize T.Panagiotou, N.Simigdalas, A.Audis, the Panagiotou sisters, G.Peschke P.Tsakoniatis.