On Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 7:32:20 AM UTC-7, India November wrote:
On Friday, May 14, 2021 at 7:49:41 PM UTC-4, Roy B. wrote:
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
Hi Roy,

Thanks for a lovely write-up remembering John's flight which lives on in legend.

An honorable mention must go to Dominique Bonniere who on 15 June last year clocked a flight of 870 km scoring distance (805km triangle) flying his Lak17b "ST" in 21m configuration out of Montreal Soaring Council's airfield at Hawkesbury ON. Nick did not declare his flight but it may possibly be the longest free distance triangle ever flown in Canada. The Soaring Association of Canada awarded Nick the BAIC trophy for his achievement. See the write up at https://www.sac.ca/index.php/en/free...-2020-2-1/file and Nick's flight recording at https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3....l?dsId=7860067

I can only dream!

Ian IN

Congratulations, TB! Outstanding.

But,with apologies, continuing the eastern Canada digression. First, John Firth flew yesterday, posting a 335 point flight on the OLC, still flying serious cross-country after all these years. Second, Nick Bonniere's flight last year "may possibly be' the longest free flight distance triangle ever flown in Canada; 'may be' because the Canadian record declared triangle is 803 versus Nick's free triangle 805.

Cheers, Bruce Friesen