This update from Robert Smits

The Ka-8 has been purchased and is now owned and registered by the first Vintage Kiwi Syndicate. We are 18 pilots, 12 from the Auckland Gliding Club, 5 from Piako and one from Rotorua. All together we must be the largest syndicate in the country, and we're even bigger than some of the gliding clubs in the country!....

Chairman is Robert Smits, Secretary is Rae Kerr, and Treasurer is Anna Doerr.  Contact persons for flying are Rae for Drury and Anna for Matamata.  The syndicate is now closed, but we have decided to look into buying more vintage goodies either into the syndicate or by building new syndicates in about a year's time.

All in all it was a long road to get people convinced that an initial $500 could get you a real flying glider (some didn't believe it and thought we were going to build one...) but now we have a remarkable group of people. One would think that the syndicate was build up of pilots already owning Vintage gliders, but actually and remarkably enough we are all very experienced pilots and most own their own modern glass ships (Nimbus, ASW-17, Discus, LS-6 and more) and all are VERY enthusiastic about saving the Ka-8, and having fun flying her. The syndicate gave VK a real boost in membership numbers.

The Ka-8 will now be flown at all Vintage Rallies and Mini Rallies around the country - and has already been at Taranaki, Matamata and Taupo several times, clocking up more hours than she'd ever done in her previous life.

We'll soon have an extra canopy for open cockpit flying and wishes for the future are to acquire an ASK-13 or Ka-7, before we'll have a look at the real old stuff like Rhonlerche or worse... Time will tell!