During the 1987 regionals at Minden a Pilot (Jerry Hartshorn??) was flying
north above a broken towering cumulus cloud base near Air Sailing. He
finally reached the end of the cloud canyons with no way to go further
ahead. He turned around to retreat and clouds were blocking that direction,
too. He was completely encircled by clouds. He then circled "until my
wheel started rolling". He had landed on a mountain top near a small pond,
but being above cloud base for so long (and still above cloud base!) was not
sure exactly where he was (this was before GPS). The glider and pilot were
unhurt and the pilot was able to contact an airliner to share his
predicament. He spent the night in the glider, with it raining most of the
time. He used his parachute for insulation. Finally, by the end of the
following evening, he was lifted out by a helicopter, after they finally
figured out where he was. The next three days were spent unsuccessfully
trying to get the trailer to the ship in thunderstorm and flash flood
conditions. The glider was finally retrieved by helicopter, IIRC. True
story.
-Bob Korves

"John Shelton" wrote in message
link.net...
Fellow soarists,

I did not make myself clear. My apologies.

The production company is not making a slasher flick. It is trying to find
EXPEDITIONS with an element of danger that might include a survival
segment.

In soaring, we have plenty of possible danger. These guys are seeking
expeditions. What comes to mind is the distance attempts in South
America...except they are motorgliders.

I am afraid that if we show a Pratt-Read glider back in the Dark Ages when
even I had black hair (any hair), it will be nice but it won't get any
kids
to come tromping out to the airport.

I apologize for being a glasshole but something where we can show off.
Kempton Izuno has been my model for the Kit Carson of soaring these days
but
being a city boy and hiking in the dark, eating Powerbars after the
shelf-life date has expired while being scared of those scraggly little
nags
out there is not going to hold up the next episode where a guy takes a 50
foot drop in a kayak into Class V water to save a burning child from a
sinking terrorist. (Sorry, Kemp, but that IS a little bit too urban.)

I am still trying to get them to bite on a real-time adventure in which we
don't retell a story. We mount one up and do it. We put our guy in a ship,
send him off on the wing to the Great Basin, and take our chances with the
outcome. I think that is rigged so much in our favor that it cannot go
wrong...even if our pilots talk like Duck Decoys.

But they are the money and we are the beggars. I promised them that I
would
be straight with them. Luckily, this is Los Angeles and you don't ever
have
to tell the truth. You just have to start every lie with the phrase
"Honestly,...".

Anyone know of anyone going out to the desert on a 1000K attempt that went
wrong? Or running the ridge for a record and ending up in the love scene
from Deliverance? Or getting low over a Ku Klux Klan rally, catching a
half
knotter off the burning cross and getting away to complete a Diamond
flight?