International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) Elmira, NY
Sunday, August 21, 2005

Today I flew off of historic Harris Hill in Bill Batesole's SGS 1-26,
serial number 003. (It was flown by Bernie Carris in the 1955 US
National Contest.) I found cloudbases to 7,000' and the Harris Hill
ridge was workable.

But best of all was sharing the sky with a Slingsby Kirby Kite, a
Bowlus Baby Albatross, a Frankfort Cinema, a SGS 1-21, a Focke-Wulf
Kranich, an EoN Olympia II, Schleichers Ka-2b, Ka-6, Ka-7, Ka-8 and
many more. Most are covered in fabric over wood or steel-tube,
painted or trimmed in yellow, blue, red, green, burgundy - just like
the color photos and postcards of the old days. If you don't know what
these vintage sailplanes represent, you are missing a huge part of
soaring history, and how our modern sailplanes evolved. Thanks to all
who restore and keep these wonderful sailplanes flying.

So I feel like I'm in a Twilight Zone TV episode, five decades back in
time. It will happen to me all this week at IVSM. A Swiss Moswey III
is promised to appear. (It's easy to recognize: Delicate fuselage,
gull-winged, yellow with red trim and a Swiss cross on the round
rudder. Stunningly beautiful.)

The people are here as well. Alan Patching from Australia sat at our
table at supper. Lew Hull at 88 is the probably the oldest pilot, but
many of these vintage glider enthusiasts are relatively young - many
own gliders older than themselves! Several second and third
generation soaring kids are here - now in our fifties. We share our
memories of Harris Hill when we attending the 1950's contests with our
parents. Special memories. Sacred ground.

Museum Director Peter Smith (son of soaring legend Stan Smith) and the
excellent NSM staff have our National Soaring Museum in fine shape.
For more info see www.soaringmuseum.org
Your $ contributions are welcome to help maintain this archive of
soaring.

Reporting from my time-warp on historic Harris Hill,

Burt Compton