I can see why the hobby went nowhere then in W. Germany.
A 400' ceiling is all but useless. Lemme guess, they had to pull umpteen permits and licenses to practice for FAI events. Just moronic.
I believe you still have to take a test to be able to hunt and own a rifle as well in Germany.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !