For those who have been following the HP-24 kit sailplane project, on Saturday 25 June we did the first flight of Doug Gray's w/n 24-03. The flight itself was unremarkable; the controls were effective and well harmonized and glider showed good stability throughout the tested regimes. The test...

At 23:55 05 April 2020, Gregg Ballou wrote: ...Yearly flu has a higher body count... Quick update: Some time in the next few days, US deaths from Covid-19 will exceed 250,000. That's in about 9.5 months since the first death reported in early February. At that run rate...

At 23:55 05 April 2020, Gregg Ballou wrote: ...Yearly flu has a higher body count... Quick update: In the six months since the first US deaths in early February, deaths from Covid-19 are now around 150,000. --Bob K.

HP Aircraft is hosting another of its "Akaflieg" build sessions at our Arnold CA facility from 27 January through 2 February 2020. At this session we'll be installing wing internals (spars, ribs, control system parts) in a new set of all-carbon wings for HP-24 sailplane. We might also be making a...

On Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 11:51:03 AM UTC-8, kinsell wrote: https://onenewsnowcom... https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/onenewsnow/

On Friday, November 24, 2017 at 7:30:09 PM UTC-8, Steve Muhli wrote: I am planning on going to the SSA convention in Reno in 2018 to check out the new stuff... We'll have a customer's HP-24 there, you can try it on for size. Also, it's EAB, so we can easily customize to suit. --Bob K.

There is still room for a couple more attendees at the Spring 2017 Akaflieg at Arnold CA 17-22 April. The Winter Akaflieg was pretty well attended, so this time we got a larger cabin. At our Akaflieg events you learn that making high-performance sailplanes from high-tech composites is something...

Just FYI, we're convening another one of our Akaflieg gatherings at our Arnold, CA 95223 workshop 21 through 27 January 2017. As at previous such events, we have dorm-style accommodation at a rustic cabin (with WiFi, of course), with catering and a guest speaker in the field. We charge $75/day,...

I'm gearing up to make a couple sets of water ballast release valves for HP-24 kits, and I'm curious if there might be any interest in them as retrofits for other gliders. I've seen some really goofy setups where you have to manually connect hoses inside the fuselage, with awkward arrangements of...

Thanks to everyone who participated! Brad, let me know if you want 6mm or 8mm and I'll send you the extra one. Just FYI there are still slots available in the Akaflieg we're planning for 21-27 January 2017. It looks like that session will be dedicated to making wing skins for 24-06. We also have...

Earlier, Wiktor Kozlik wrote: It looks like two ETAs are going to fly during WGC in Leszno... Was the open class glider weight limit increased or the ETA's weight reduced? Good question. I don't know the answer, but I did some digging to

Does anybody know where the prototype HP-18 ended up? I have lost track of it. I checked the FAA database, but there is no useful information there. Thanks, Bob K.

Hi RAS, For the next two weeks, I am offering a discount on the basic HP-24 sailplane kit. Here's what you get and here's how it works: * You get the basic HP-24 15-meter sailplane kit with all-carbon structure, 500 lb empty weight and 825 lb gross weight, retractable 500x5 undercarriage,...

Back in the old days (you know, like the 1980s?), the standard pressure breathing O2 regulator for wave flying was the A14. They were (relatively) cheap and common, and pretty much all of the players like Bikle and Harris used them. Does anybody have a sense of what is being used these days? I...

Hi all, I'm looking for any information I can find about a sailplane pilot named (I think) Hutch Hutchins. Last I heard, he flew in Southern California, and he once owned a Ventus. Is he still around? Where did he fly? I'm trying to track down a piece of soaring lore that he was allegedly involved...

Just as an experiment, I thought I'd clarify the Subject content and see if I can make this sink out of sight faster. Please do not reply. Thanks, Bob K.

On Feb 3, 5:27*pm, "Karl Striedieck" wrote: For all you Spratt watchers, Charlie received a new kidney today (Tuesday). Standby for progress reports. That's great news! And now you've got me wondering if Charlie's good fortune is related to this CNN...

This just up on CNN: ...A weathered sweat shirt, cash and a pilot identification card with Fossett's name were found Tuesday near Mammoth Lakes, police Chief Randy Schienle said. The ID did not have a photo, he said... http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/01/fossett.discovery/index.html

This is an interesting piece of news from the helicopter industry: STRATFORD, Conn.,- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced an agreement to acquire Schweizer Aircraft Corp., a privately owned U.S. company specializing in the...

Somebody posted on this topic a while back, but I can't find it now. So my apologies for repeating it: For how long is the PW-5 the official glider of the World Class? Are there any provisions in the FAI or IGC rules for the eventual retirement of the design and a switch to a second-generation...