Sailors of the Sky

[[email protected]]

Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
Geographic:

http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html

(Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)

Johan Larson

[Paul Remde]

Hi Johan,

Awesome! I've been wanting to read that article for years. Well done!

Paul Remde

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
> Geographic:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>
> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)
>
> Johan Larson
>

[Shawn]

Paul Remde wrote:
> Hi Johan,
>
> Awesome! I've been wanting to read that article for years. Well done!
>
> Paul Remde
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
>> Geographic:
>>
>> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>>
>> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)


I found a copy of that National Geographic, and the one with the article
about ridge running the Appalachians, in a thrift store. Lots of NGs
have been hoarded out there for years (by parents of baby boomers I
think). Almost any issue is easy to find if you look in the right
places (ARC thrift stores in the Denver area). Oh yeah, good & cheap
clothes too. :-)


Shawn

[[email protected]]

Shawn wrote:
> I found a copy of that National Geographic, and the one with the article
> about ridge running the Appalachians, in a thrift store.

Would you mind checking the year and month of the issue that contains
the ridge running article?

Johan Larson

[Shawn]

wrote:
> Shawn wrote:
>> I found a copy of that National Geographic, and the one with the article
>> about ridge running the Appalachians, in a thrift store.
>
> Would you mind checking the year and month of the issue that contains
> the ridge running article?

March 1978 Here's a link to an auction for that issue on eBay
http://tinyurl.com/yca3wu



Shawn

[[email protected]]

Shawn wrote:
> wrote:
> > Shawn wrote:
> >> I found a copy of that National Geographic, and the one with the article
> >> about ridge running the Appalachians, in a thrift store.
> >
> > Would you mind checking the year and month of the issue that contains
> > the ridge running article?
>
> March 1978 Here's a link to an auction for that issue on eBay
> http://tinyurl.com/yca3wu

Thank you.

Johan Larson

[Roger Worden]

I read that article when I was a kid... and then remembered it when I got
into soaring a few years ago, hoping to find it again someday. What a
well-written article! I'm going to bookmark it and point interested people
to it as an introduction. Though it's 40 years old, not so much has changed,
has it?

Thank you!!

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
> Geographic:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>
> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)
>
> Johan Larson
>

[[email protected]]

Roger Worden wrote:
> I read that article when I was a kid... and then remembered it when I got
> into soaring a few years ago, hoping to find it again someday. What a
> well-written article!

I'm convinced it is the best introduction to soaring I have read. Even
with some experience behind me, it had something to teach me: I had not
known that the variometer was what made cross-country soaring possible.

> I'm going to bookmark it and point interested people
> to it as an introduction.

By all means do. You might also consider using your browser's Save
function to make a private copy. I plan to leave the page up
indefinitely, but things happen.

> Though it's 40 years old, not so much has changed,
> has it?

I am of two minds about that, actually. On the one hand, a certain
nostalgia is nice. But on the other, it feels like we have spent a
generation of time, and haven't accomplished very much. We are still
flying basic gliders not very much like the 2-22s and 2-32s that they
flew forty years ago. What change there has been has come at the high
end, almost exclusively.

Johan Larson

> > http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html

[Greg Arnold]

A great article. Great photos. It was what got me interested in
soaring when I was a kid. I wonder how many other present-day pilots
got their introduction to soaring through this article.

Looking forward to also seeing the Striedieck article on Johan's website.


Roger Worden wrote:
> I read that article when I was a kid... and then remembered it when I got
> into soaring a few years ago, hoping to find it again someday. What a
> well-written article! I'm going to bookmark it and point interested people
> to it as an introduction. Though it's 40 years old, not so much has changed,
> has it?
>
> Thank you!!
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
>> Geographic:
>>
>> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>>
>> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)
>>
>> Johan Larson
>>
>
>

[Jack]

wrote:

> ...it feels like we have spent a
> generation of time, and haven't accomplished very much.

[....]

> What change there has been has come at the high
> end, almost exclusively.

Sure, for the same reason people rob banks: "That's where the money is."

The problem may be that nobody in the US is building metal gliders that
commercial operations and clubs can leave tied down on the flight line
and run through a full season's schedule without babying. And by
"building" I mean "producing" for the market, not just showing at
conventions and on websites.

How many investors in new US production are here on r.a.s.? One? None?

---

Thanks for posting this, Johan. It's a winner.

> <http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html>



Jack

[Greg Arnold]

wrote:
> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
> Geographic:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>
> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)
>
> Johan Larson
>

That is a great photo of the Sisu over the Chicago waterfront. I
presume they trailered the glider to Meigs Field just for the National
Geographic photographer?

[Mike[_8_]]

Johan,

If you are interested, there is also a soaring article in the Dec 1961
issue of "Life" magazine. Features a Schweizer SGS 2-25.

Mike


wrote:
> Here is "Sailors of the Sky" from the January 1967 issue of National
> Geographic:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/sailorsofthesky.html
>
> (Warning: the page contains more than a megabyte of images.)
>
> Johan Larson

[[email protected]]

Mike wrote:
> Johan,
>
> If you are interested, there is also a soaring article in the Dec 1961
> issue of "Life" magazine. Features a Schweizer SGS 2-25.

Thanks, Mike. I'll put that on the list.

Next up is "On the Wings of the Wind", by Howard Siepen, from the June
1929 National Geographic. I expect to have it ready shortly after the
holidays.

Johan Larson

[Mike[_8_]]

Look forward to seeing it Johan. Do you already have the magazine?


Mike


wrote:
> Mike wrote:
> > Johan,
> >
> > If you are interested, there is also a soaring article in the Dec 1961
> > issue of "Life" magazine. Features a Schweizer SGS 2-25.
>
> Thanks, Mike. I'll put that on the list.
>
> Next up is "On the Wings of the Wind", by Howard Siepen, from the June
> 1929 National Geographic. I expect to have it ready shortly after the
> holidays.
>
> Johan Larson

[[email protected]]

Mike wrote:
> Look forward to seeing it Johan. Do you already have the magazine?

Ordered, yes. Arrived, no.

> wrote:
> > Next up is "On the Wings of the Wind", by Howard Siepen, from the June
> > 1929 National Geographic. I expect to have it ready shortly after the
> > holidays.

Johan Larson

[[email protected]]

Mike wrote:
> Johan,
>
> If you are interested, there is also a soaring article in the Dec 1961
> issue of "Life" magazine. Features a Schweizer SGS 2-25.

Mike, I have tried to find that article by looking on this website:
http://www.originallifemagazines.com

Here are the articles I have found in LIFE that seem to have anything
to do with gliders or sailplanes:

LIFE Magazine July 18, 1938 Camisoles
Pg. 48 ... Sailplanes Soar Over Elmira

LIFE Magazine September 7, 1942 CG-3 Cargo Glider
Pg. 52 ... Aviation ... War Gliders

LIFE Magazine July 19, 1943 Woman Air Force Pilot Shirley Slade
Pg. 30 ... The Week's Events ... Atlantic Gliders

LIFE Magazine August 16, 1943 How Strong is Japan
Pg. 30 ... The Week's Events ... Death In a Glider

LIFE Magazine May 27, 1946 Ozark Farmer
Pg. 119 ... Aviation ... Sailplane Soaring

LIFE Magazine May 24, 1954 Kaye Ballard
Pg. 153 ... AVIATION ... Whirly Glider Takes the Air


I couldn't find anything in the month of December, 1961:
http://www.originallifemagazines.com/searchmagazine_result.php?search=1&month=12&year=1961&keyword=&covers=1&articles=1&Submit=Search
(you might need to glue that URL back together)

Did I miss something?

Johan Larson

[Mike[_8_]]

Johan,

I have two old (4 sides) pages from "Life" that my son recently found
between pages of another magazine. They are very old B&W and it seems
to be more of a pictorial type with captions, not a feature. On the
title page is printed,"Free as a Cloud Over all
Outdoors"......"Photographed for LIFE by BOB GOMEL". There is a
handwritten notation on the page that says Dec 61, but the date does
not appear in print on any of the pages. The pages are in very poor
condition with parts of the captions torn and worn.

Mike



wrote:
> Mike wrote:
> > Johan,
> >
> > If you are interested, there is also a soaring article in the Dec 1961
> > issue of "Life" magazine. Features a Schweizer SGS 2-25.
>
> Mike, I have tried to find that article by looking on this website:
> http://www.originallifemagazines.com
>
> Here are the articles I have found in LIFE that seem to have anything
> to do with gliders or sailplanes:
>
> LIFE Magazine July 18, 1938 Camisoles
> Pg. 48 ... Sailplanes Soar Over Elmira
>
> LIFE Magazine September 7, 1942 CG-3 Cargo Glider
> Pg. 52 ... Aviation ... War Gliders
>
> LIFE Magazine July 19, 1943 Woman Air Force Pilot Shirley Slade
> Pg. 30 ... The Week's Events ... Atlantic Gliders
>
> LIFE Magazine August 16, 1943 How Strong is Japan
> Pg. 30 ... The Week's Events ... Death In a Glider
>
> LIFE Magazine May 27, 1946 Ozark Farmer
> Pg. 119 ... Aviation ... Sailplane Soaring
>
> LIFE Magazine May 24, 1954 Kaye Ballard
> Pg. 153 ... AVIATION ... Whirly Glider Takes the Air
>
>
> I couldn't find anything in the month of December, 1961:
> http://www.originallifemagazines.com/searchmagazine_result.php?search=1&month=12&year=1961&keyword=&covers=1&articles=1&Submit=Search
> (you might need to glue that URL back together)
>
> Did I miss something?
>
> Johan Larson

[Johan Larson]

Mike wrote:
> I have two old (4 sides) pages from "Life" that my son recently found
> between pages of another magazine. They are very old B&W and it seems
> to be more of a pictorial type with captions, not a feature. On the
> title page is printed,"Free as a Cloud Over all
> Outdoors"......"Photographed for LIFE by BOB GOMEL". There is a
> handwritten notation on the page that says Dec 61, but the date does
> not appear in print on any of the pages. The pages are in very poor
> condition with parts of the captions torn and worn.

Hmm. The Dec 22 1961 issue did have an outdoors theme. Are any page numbers
visible?

Here is the table of contents from that issue:
http://www.originallifemagazines.com/searchmagazine_view.php?id=458

Johan Larson

[Mike[_8_]]

Unfortunately no.

The closest thing to a page number is "continued", but gives no number.

Mike


Johan Larson wrote:
> Mike wrote:
> > I have two old (4 sides) pages from "Life" that my son recently found
> > between pages of another magazine. They are very old B&W and it seems
> > to be more of a pictorial type with captions, not a feature. On the
> > title page is printed,"Free as a Cloud Over all
> > Outdoors"......"Photographed for LIFE by BOB GOMEL". There is a
> > handwritten notation on the page that says Dec 61, but the date does
> > not appear in print on any of the pages. The pages are in very poor
> > condition with parts of the captions torn and worn.
>
> Hmm. The Dec 22 1961 issue did have an outdoors theme. Are any page numbers
> visible?
>
> Here is the table of contents from that issue:
> http://www.originallifemagazines.com/searchmagazine_view.php?id=458
>
> Johan Larson

[Johan Larson]

Mike wrote:
> Johan Larson wrote:
>> Mike wrote:
>> > I have two old (4 sides) pages from "Life" that my son recently
>> > found between pages of another magazine. They are very old B&W and
>> > it seems to be more of a pictorial type with captions, not a
>> > feature. On the title page is printed,"Free as a Cloud Over all
>> > Outdoors"......"Photographed for LIFE by BOB GOMEL". There is a
>> > handwritten notation on the page that says Dec 61, but the date
>> > does not appear in print on any of the pages. The pages are in very
>> > poor condition with parts of the captions torn and worn.
>>
>> Hmm. The Dec 22 1961 issue did have an outdoors theme. Are any page
>> numbers visible?
>>
>> Here is the table of contents from that issue:
>> http://www.originallifemagazines.com/searchmagazine_view.php?id=458
>
> Unfortunately no.
>
> The closest thing to a page number is "continued", but gives no
> number.
>

OK. It sounds like the article your fragment is from isn't quite the sort
of thing I am looking for. And between the National Geographic articles
and some of the other Life articles, I have quite a full plate.

That said, it probably wouldn't take you more than a trip to the library
to verify the source of your fragment; there are only four magazines in
Dec 1961, and one of them is a very strong candiate. If you hit paydirt
and are able to match the fragment, you should be able to write up your
find, search, and conclusion as an article for Soaring. Including a few
scans, it might take a page or two, and sounds like the sort of thing
they are interested in.

Johan Larson