It's just over 5000 gliders have been manufactured by SZD Bielsko. The 5000th glider is a SZD-59 Acro, which production has been restarted after some break prior to privatization of the factory. Here are some photos to look at: http://www.gorpol.pl/Default.aspx?tabindex=11&tabid=12&sid=12 Regards,

There is an article in a daily newspaper on a jubilee glider: Here's a link if anyone can read Polish: http://miasta.gazeta.pl/katowice/1,35056,2399972.html BTW, the 5000th SZD Acro went to one of Berlin's clubs. Regards,

Steve Arndt of New Hampshire flew a 500 km declared distance goal today in his homebuilt "Magic Dragon". The glider he built is a modified Carbon Dragon (longer span, winglets, etc) with really beautiful attention to detail - I recall an empty weight of around 180 lbs! Steve launched on...

Lake Tekapo area is beautiful. (Link below.) Michael World-record attempt ended sooner than expected when he landed in Kaikoura on Saturday afternoon when his oxygen supply started to fail. Nick Reekie, originally from Southland, was attempting to break the world record for a...

Have you ever pulled up behind a car at a stop light and seen one of those 13.1 or 26.2 sticker? Those arrogant runners... We can do better. I have been thinking about a new business opportunity, and think it would be neat to "advertise" our own accomplishments. Why not have 300K/500K/750K/1000K...

Congratulations to Derek Piggott for his flight on 15th Aug in the Club Class Nationals at Lasham. 504km in a Russia Me7 all 12.6m of it in 7hrs 14 min. He was 80 last year and still puts the rest of us to shame with his energy and enthusiasm for gliding. He disproves the theory about old and bold...

I had a fun 500km FAI triangle flight on Saturday out of Cedar Valley, Utah to get my Silver badge so I can fly my first contest in Logan in a few weeks and took an HD video camera along to document the progress. There was plenty of virga but also crazy strong lift. Take a look at 3:10 in the...

The following company is now selling 50mm Hitch Balls for $19.95 plus shipping. You can order via their web site. I am not affiliated with them, but I did just buy a hitch ball from them. The Hitch Corner 10677 W. Centennial Rd. #103 Littleton, CO 80127 Metro Denver Area - 303-904-1558 Toll Free...

I stumbled upon this source for the difficult to find (in the US) 50mm trailer ball. Better yet the ball stud is 3/4", and not metric, so it is bound to fit your ball mount. No more asking your friendly airline pilot to buy some in Germany and having to evade customs on the way back. ...

The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot anywhere else in the world...

The Colibri II GNSS Flight Recorder manufactured LX Navigation (www.lxnavigation.si) has gained IGC-approval with effect from 20 November 2011 for "all flights". For IGC-approval levels, see para 1.1.4 of Annex B to the Sporting Code for gliding. This brings the number of IGC-approved Flight...

I've been looking through some old Soaring magazines and in the June, 1977 issue there's an article about a record flight by Bob Rodwell to 51,849 feet on March 29th of that year. Can someone tell me why that isn't the current altitude record? Sounds like he's lucky to be alive after having...

I wrote the following article and submitted it to Soaring for publication because it was something I was interested in and I thought others would be too. It was rejected because the subject matter wasn't suitable for soaring. Greg Cole is doing something extraordinary at Windward Performance and...

http://www.nswgc2006.com.au/entries.php -- Mal www.mals.net

I was sent a link to this interesting video shot from a control tower that shows purported 55kt wind gusts (microburst?) almost blowing some SuperCub tugs right off the runway except for some quick thinking getting them airborne by the pilots (in the right way). Not to mention lots of people...

Standard aviation brake fluid is know as "5606". I comes in a red can. Any aircraft repair facility will have lots of it and might sell a pint when needed. It is what use in my airplanes equipped with Cleveland brakes.

I have two instruments from a glider imported from Germany recently, both are 57mm. Altimeter is a Winter. ASI is a Winter, pulled from a DG 300p; 0-300 KPH. Email for pictures; located in northeastern US. Thanks

Hi All, Have a 57mm (2-1/4") Winter altimeter for sale. It has an error where the QNH and actual elevation are off 500-600 feet. No idea if its a simple positioning error of the 100' needle, or if it has internal problems. It does seem to keep the same proportional relationship at all...

Very good condition Was in my ASG29 for appx 10 years. Worked flawlessly. Some minor adjultments to one of the corners for fit. Visible face is flawless (no scratches). $175 includes shipping in the USA. Contact SMFIDLER GMAIL for questions or to purchase Photo's: ...

I have 2 winter varios for sale. Both are the smaller 57mm size. Both are 10knot scale and in excellent condition. New in 2009. Capacity flasks are not included, just the varios and mounting screws. Email me offline if interested. Thanks, Mark