Evan
Congratulations on a a truly outstanding flight.

While not "in the Eastern US" the very first North American 750 km triangle was done by John Firth in a Kestrel in Ontario.
It was one of the most remarkable and simply audacious flights ever done in a glider. In 1977 John conceived of a 750 km attempt on what was then the "new" FAI record triangle distance. Even with the remarkable flights being done out of Texas in the late 60s and 70s and Streidick's record setting Appalachian ridge flights, nobody (much less some silly bloke in eastern Ontario Canada) had ever attempted the 750km FAI triangle. I once asked John how he came to even think of it and he said, "well I was getting rather bored and it seemed sort of interesting at the time . . ." Nobody else in his club was even flying cross country!

John declared the flight several times before succeeding. It was done in July of 1977 in his 19m Kestrel over a course that took him from near to Ottawa, southwest to Bethany, up to South River and then across 50 miles of the completely unlandable Algonquin Provincial Park and then back on toward his start. Thermal strength was only in the 4-5 kt range. The last leg of the flight was in the blue. His time on course was over 9 hours. He started at 10:00 am with all the ballast he could get into the Kestrel and landed after 7:00 pm. No computer, no moving map, no GPS - just an electric vario and 2 turnpoint cameras to prove the turns. To put it all into perspective, today, after 44 years and with infinitely better equipment and hugely better weather support, nobody has yet done an FAI 750 km triangle in New England.

Today, at an age that I don't dare ask, John still flies a PIK 20E motorglider out of a little airport in Ontario. I want to be like him when I grow up.

John posts here once in a while and his flight is worth remembering.

ROY