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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
Oliver Smithies, along with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, was awarded
the *2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine* on Monday. Oliver Smithies flies a Grob 109B motorglider out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, and is an SSA member. Apparently, glider pilots CAN be a credit to their community if they put their minds to it! Congratulations, Oliver! -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly * "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org |
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
At 03:48 10 October 2007, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Oliver Smithies, along with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, was awarded the *2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine* on Monday. Oliver Smithies flies a Grob 109B motorglider out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, Probably not; Horace Williams Airport is a goner, thanks to a lack of recognition of the worth of aviation in that community. At one time this airport was the longest grass strip in the US -- 4900ft. Horace Williams, a faculty member in the early 20th century, donated that airport to the university with the stipulation that it remain an airport. At one time the university operated a fleet of Cessna Mixmasters to ferry doctors with expertise all around the state on an emergency basis. It was a beautiful program. How they set that and the stipulation aside is a puzzler. Where does he really fly? Congratulations to him! and is an SSA member. Apparently, glider pilots CAN be a credit to their community if they put their minds to it! Congratulations, Oliver! -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly * 'Transponders in Sailplanes' http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * 'A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation' at www.motorglider.org |
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
Nyal Williams wrote:
At 03:48 10 October 2007, Eric Greenwell wrote: Oliver Smithies, along with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, was awarded the *2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine* on Monday. Oliver Smithies flies a Grob 109B motorglider out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, Probably not; Horace Williams Airport is a goner, thanks to a lack of recognition of the worth of aviation in that community. At one time this airport was the longest grass strip in the US -- 4900ft. Horace Williams, a faculty member in the early 20th century, donated that airport to the university with the stipulation that it remain an airport. At one time the university operated a fleet of Cessna Mixmasters to ferry doctors with expertise all around the state on an emergency basis. It was a beautiful program. How they set that and the stipulation aside is a puzzler. Where does he really fly? Congratulations to him! I can't be sure - I just caught the tail end of an interview on NPR, and I thought that was what they said. Airnav.com and the FAA NOTAMS still seem to think Horace Williams is in operation with a nice paved runway, so I don't think a Grob 109B would have any problems flying out there. -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly * "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org |
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
As far as I know, Dr. Smithies still has his G109B at Horace Williams
airport (IGX) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. The airport is still open. I don't know how many private aircraft are still based there, but I believe the number is greater than zero. The university's (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) program for flying doctors to places around the state is still based there. They have a mix of Baron's and maybe one C-90 King Air. I don't think they use any single engine aircraft now. Some in the university and the NIMBY's (Not In My BackYard) want the airport closed. The university has plans to turn the area into a bunch of buildings for classes and research called "Carolina North." But before they can close the airport, the North Carolina State legislature has told the university they have to find a suitable home for the flying doctors. Plans are for them to build a hangar at the Raleigh Durham International Airport and move the operation there, but there's some resistance from some of the doctors to have to drive on the heavily trafficed Interstate I-40 versus the easy drive to the local Chapel Hill airport. They know they will lose time getting to the airport where as now, they can get to the Chapel Hill airport pretty easily and quickly. What happens in the end? Probably, the airport will be bulldozed, raped and scraped into oblivion. Sigh. Three or four (or more) years back, the community was "successful" in kicking out the local private flying club where you could learn to fly in 152's and also fly 172's and a Mooney and maybe a 182 and also a couple of Pipers. They got kicked out because the NIMBY's were, oh hell, who knows what the damned NIMBY's think. Whatever, they were powerful enough to get the club kicked out. Dr. Smithies did at one time own an L-13 Blanik. Our club bought it from him and we've used it for several years now as our primary trainer. I think he also owned a Schweizer 1-35. I think I heard it was Serial Number 1 and that it now belongs to the Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, USA. While gliding operations are not allowed at the Chapel Hill airport, Dr. Smithies still flies his Grob there. (I think.) Ray Lovinggood Carrboro, North Carolina, USA (3.12 kilometers southwest from the Horace Williams airport, according to Google Earth) |
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
Hi Ray and Nyal!
Horace Williams is still fighting. As you both know I had an Ercoupe there from Sept. 2001-Dec. 2003. Dr. Smithies still had his Grob there when I left, althought I didn't see him fly it much and never got a chance to meet him. He had been swiped from the University of Wisconsin by a better package from what I've heard, and as you know I left North Carolina to come back to the University of Wisconsin, so I was very interested in meeting him, but never got the chance. The dim wit chancellor has had this idea about "Carolina North" for years, and Horace Williams (IGX) was squarly in it way. He wanted it gone, but the medical school staff really balked at closing it down. There were some NIMBY types who didn't want it open, but there were also some very interesting (and powerful) North Carolinians who lived elsewhere who saw the value of the UNC outreach program (called AHEC) for healthcare in rural areas. Those outreach programs then directly translated into patients coming to UNC for their specialty care. It was also very popular with UNC alumni to fly back to Chapel Hill. A good friend of mine, who is a local lawyer in Chapel Hill (and very prominent EAA Young Eagle supporter) has been one of many key people who have helped fight the closing of Horace Williams. The fact that it still is open today is testament to his work. On two different occasions (in '02 if I remember correctly) I received certified letters kicking me out of the airport and telling me I had to relocate. It didn't happen either time due to legislative fancy work to keep it open. This Carolina North thing hasn't moved much from what I understand (Ray, help me out here) since I left in early '04. There were all sorts of additional issues such as a toxic waste dump (bordering on Superfund status) in the woods that the university had been dumping crap from labs into for a very long time. So the airport was only one part of the puzzle. I hope and sincerely desire that Horace Williams stays open FOREVER! I've told my wife (a graduate one of UNC graduate programs) that we will not donate a cent until the current chancellor goes away and Horace Williams stays open. It has a long and interesting history that deserves to be preserved. (Presidents Bush and Ford both learned to fly there when it trained pilots during WW2). Ryan |
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
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#8
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
Oliver Smithies, Nobel prize winner, glider pilot, and SSA member, is
also an AOPA member. Here is more information from AOPA about his aviation life: http://www.aopa.org/epilot/redir.cfm?adid=13244 And more information on his work that won him and two others a Nobel prize - see the sidebar on the right for links to an interview and mo http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/m...007/index.html -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly * "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org |
#9
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
Eric Greenwell wrote:
Oliver Smithies, along with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, was awarded the *2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine* on Monday. Oliver Smithies flies a Grob 109B motorglider out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, and is an SSA member. Apparently, glider pilots CAN be a credit to their community if they put their minds to it! Congratulations, Oliver! Nobel prizes just lost a lot of respect with the award of the Peace prize. ...lew... |
#10
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Nobel prize winner is a glider pilot
On Oct 12, 11:40 pm, Lew Hartswick wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote: Oliver Smithies, along with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, was awarded the *2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine* on Monday. Oliver Smithies flies a Grob 109B motorglider out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, and is an SSA member. Apparently, glider pilots CAN be a credit to their community if they put their minds to it! Congratulations, Oliver! Nobel prizes just lost a lot of respect with the award of the Peace prize. ...lew... This is nothing new. Henry Kissinger also got the Nobel Peace Prize. If you want to start making political points, then there are plenty of people who will argue the toss with you. Personally I suggest we just drop the subject. |
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