Oh i was just remarking upon it as many people still say today “we don’t have enough experienxe with composites”.
Michal wrote:
flights outside local area (15 NM and more from your home airport) had to be planned with air force and they have the authority not to approve flight -with no explanation
How did that work for gliding cross countries? Looking at those Soviet stamps, there were quite a few different (and rather nice looking) gliders produced which looked like they were built for cross country contests. With a glider, you have to go where the lift is – so a flight plan done to the minute and only in a certain direction just can’t be done. Was it a case of telling the military “We have a competition running from ABC to XYZ, here’s the pilot list”, and the military would accept that the gliders would wiggle their way somewhat randomly to XYZ?
normally flight plans were to submitted the day before but glider flight plans were accepted in the morning -as well as recovery of gliders by aerotow. Each flight was assigned “poradova” – this was a 4 digit number to be used for communication with military – you were obliged to monitor their frequency once outside airport area and use this number as identification. As far as I know nobody followed that rule. Gliders were planned in a batch – all 12 gliders from the airport usually the same route and were assigned “poradova” with /A, /B, /C……
of course, the flight plan for gliders was kind of approximate term – for example my silver C flight was planned as LKKU-LZZI (that time it was LKZI) but even before take-off I did know I am heading to LZDB only as LZZI was too far for me, I didn´t have that long ruler to draw a line to my map. And remember, glider flying that time didn´t know today´s rules. Your route was to be declared before the flight, not the free flight option we know today. Flights were recorded using barographs, turning points confirmation by camera picture with wingtip in the picture was only starting….
Yesterday as I cruised around my US base, I noticed an ever increasing number of Yak 52s and 50s scattered around the place. Even recognizing that the former east block was a big place, they clearly built a lot of planes and its really interesting to know how they were operated originally, Thanks for the detailed posts on the subject.
Like our 13 year old dog who moved across the world for her retirement, it also makes you wonder what they ‘think’ of this bizarre change in cultural and geographic scenery, or what they would think about it if they were human. 
Like the dog, they seem to adapt OK once they settle in.
I started flying gliders in Romania at age 15 back in 1985. We were 2 classes of 20-30 students each year, with about a quarter reaching licensing stage in 2-3 years. Being so many the norm was a max of three 5 minutes flights a day, but not every day :) Every vacation was spent on the airfield, it was really great, we first had Blaniks, sold for pennies elsewhere then IS28B2 and IS29D2 which are still flying.
Even today flight instruction is free for age under 22 but the funding is weak but so the youth interest.
Time to revisit this old thread… how many new people flew in the former communist countries?
I did, although Yugoslavia was far from Soviet block countries. Started flying gliders 1983 when I was 16. It was normal sport activity like any other – playing football or basketball or jumping with parachute.
Me personally, I am far too young (born in 1988) to be affected by the cold war. To me, all of that is history- but I know that flying was possible to some extent in Eastern Germany (GDR) to recruit new pilots for the military. Apparently there were some restrictions, and you had to join a paramilitary organisation called Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik . But being born in western Germany and far “too late”, I do not have any firsthand information on that system.
I google translated the history of our gliding club in Estonia..
