The Kennemer Zweefvlieg Club (KZC) is a Dutch Gliding club, and the only such club based in an urban periphery (what in Dutch is called a "Randstad"). The club was founded in 1945. The airfield from which it operates is Langeveld, situated amongst the dunes of the Dutch west coast between Zandvoort and Noordwijk . The club flies on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from March till November. Wednesday evening flights give passengers the chance to fly in a two-seater glider. The club is equipped with a former RAF MEL-winch with six cables.
7-474: The KZC is one of the few clubs in the Netherlands that is able to benefit from what is called Ridgelift . When the wind blows from the northwest, it is deflected upwards by the local dunes: if the speed of the wind is great enough, the uplift provided by the air rising from the dunes is strong enough to match a glider's weight, and it is possible to fly parallel to the dunes without descending. Gliders then land on
14-584: A duration record of 11 minutes in 1911. However the sport of soaring started in Germany after the First World War. In 1921, Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer broke the Wright Brothers’ 1911 soaring duration record with a flight of 13 minutes. In 1922, Arthur Martens became the first glider pilot to use an updraft rising along a mountain slope to stay aloft for a lengthy period, with a flight over an hour. Ridge lift
21-401: Is generated when the wind blows against a hill , ridge , escarpment or ocean wave , causing the air to rise. In meteorology this is known as orographic lift . The wind creates a region of rising air directly above the slope, which may extend some distance upwards and outwards from its face because the airflow follows the upward contour of the hill. However, at near vertical cliffs , there
28-560: Is usually an area of turbulence with descending air near the base of the cliff. Downwind of the hill, lee waves can form; these are also used by glider pilots to gain height, but this should not be confused with slope lift. Near slopes rather than vertical cliffs, the strongest lift is often to be found in a flight path that intersects with an imaginary line emerging at right angles from the slope. Long mountain ranges such as those found in Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in
35-410: The beach for derigging and transport back to Langeveld by trailer. (The airfield is too far from the dunes for gliding back there ro be possible.) The KZC owns gliders of several different kinds, enabling it to accommodate the needs of variety of members, whether they wish to train as pilots, participate in competitions, fly with passengers or fly cross country. Included in its fleet are: Furthermore,
42-449: The club possesses two self-built oldtimer gliders. They were assembled in the 1960s in the Fokker factory: 52°17′46″N 4°30′24″E / 52.29611°N 4.50667°E / 52.29611; 4.50667 Ridge soaring Ridge lift (or slope lift ) is created when a wind strikes an obstacle, usually a mountain ridge or cliff, that is large and steep enough to deflect
49-503: The wind upward. If the wind is strong enough, the ridge lift provides enough upward force for gliders , hang gliders , paragliders and birds to stay airborne for long periods or travel great distances by 'Ridge soaring'. Although unpowered aircraft are usually descending through the air, they will climb if the surrounding air is rising faster than their sink rates. Model glider enthusiasts refer to this technique as "slope gliding" or "sloping". Orville Wright used ridge lift, setting
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