Ridali Airfield (; et, Ridali lennuväli) is an
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, about north of
Võru
Võru (; vro, Võro; german: Werro) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish.
History
Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, according to the wish of the Empress Cather ...
in the vicinity of
Ridali - a place known for its scenery, lakes, fields and forests, giving
glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
pilots many visual reference points to navigate by. The airfield was used during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and in the early 1960s it started serving glider pilots. The first gliders to fly in Ridali were
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
KAI-12s (improved design from the Czech
LF-109). The only way to launch
gliders was by using the Czech winch "Herkules". By 1968, the club already had two KAI-12s, three
Blaníks, two towing winches and a
Yak-12 for aerotows.
Ridali Airfield is currently the home of Ridali Gliding Club ( et, Ridali Lennuklubi).
Aircraft in service
See also
*
List of airports in Estonia
This is a list of airports and airfields in Estonia.
Airports
Airport names shown in bold indicate the facility has scheduled passenger service on a commercial airline.
, - valign="top"
, Antsla
, EEAA
,
, Antsla Airfield
,
, 0 ...
References
External links
Ridali Gliding Club
Airports in Estonia
Põlva Parish
Buildings and structures in Põlva County
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