At 20:16 12 May 2020, wrote:
On Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 2:40:32 PM UTC-4,

wrote=
:
Maybe this is a good opportunity for some of us to share some
stories of
=
our experiences.
I'll go first.-
=20
Another story:
I started out as a child. I saw gliders at Harris Hill when we flew a
kids
=
contest as part of the Nationals in 1955.
Fast forward to out of college and finally flying gliders.
I bought a 1-26D during my second real year of soaring and set
out to do
my=
badges. I had literally dreamed of that first real cross country
flight
fo=
r most of my life. Visions of a long distance flight landing late in
the
da=
y, and all that stuff.
Time for my first distance flight.
The appointed day comes. It is a beautiful day. I prepare and take
my tow
a=
bout noon. I proceeded to notch the barogram to the ground in
record time.
=
No give up- lets try again. New record for barograph notch time.
Obviously it was not the time for me to make the flight, so I went
about
do=
ing some training flights with my sister. We had no problems
soaring with
e=
ase.
This, of course, proves that the heaviest object known to a glider
pilot
is=
a barograph on a badge flight. =20
About 4:00 I decided to take a tow and at least do my altitude leg.
Having given up all hope of cross country, I managed to notch
without
falli=
ng down and gained about 4000 feet in short order.
A cloud street beckoned to the north east as far as I could see so I
turned=
and headed over toward the Hudson river. I don't think I circled
until I
g=
ot to the river. There I climbed to cloud base and made the glide to
a
sing=
le cloud a few miles past the river. I topped that and made a
straight
glid=
e landing at Danbury airport, a little over 50 miles from home, but
good
en=
ough for Silver distance.
After anticipating this flight for much of my life, it was so easy and
such=
a non event that it still is one of the greatest letdowns of my life.
The sense of adventure has remained and there have been lots of
rewarding
f=
lights since.
UH


My Silver distance was done in a 1-26 after someone else had
finished their 5 hour flight in that glider that same day. It was at
our club's annual summer encampment to Wurtsboro. It took 2
evening thermals and a landing in a farmer's field 31.7 miles South
along the ridge back in 1966...

RO