Sun Ship Game on Youtube - Complete

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:47:22 -0700, smithcorp wrote:

Great to see the dress code for flying back then. Collared shirt and
chinos. Reminded me of a book I looked at with history of gliding in
Western Australia, with photos from the 1930s era of chaps in primary
gliders wearing shorts with ties. Tally ho!

That *is* fairly formal wear in Australia and New Zealand and exactly
equivalent to seeing similar pictures from America and Europe showing
pilots in jackets, ties and trousers. Arriving at the office wearing a
jacket, shirt, tie, neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Aug 25, 9:44*pm, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:47:22 -0700, smithcorp wrote:
Great to see the dress code for flying back then. Collared shirt and
chinos. Reminded me of a book I looked at with history of gliding in
Western Australia, with photos from the 1930s era of chaps in primary
gliders wearing shorts with ties. Tally ho!

That *is* fairly formal wear in Australia and New Zealand and exactly
equivalent to seeing similar pictures from America and Europe showing
pilots in jackets, ties and trousers. Arriving at the office wearing a
jacket, shirt, tie, neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.

--
martin@ * | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org * * * |

Oops - typo - I meant wearing shirts with ties (not shorts). But
there's quite a difference between the sportswear of then and now,
that's for sure.

On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:31:08 -0700, smithcorp wrote:

Oops - typo - I meant wearing shirts with ties (not shorts). But there's
quite a difference between the sportswear of then and now, that's for
sure.

Now there we agree. Pictures of competitors from the 50s at free flight
model flying competitions still kill me. Wearing shirt, tie and jacket
while launching a power model with its oily exhaust plume or wearing them
while retrieving models on a typical wet, windy competition day makes
even less sense than rigging a glider while wearing the same clothing.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

Martin Gregorie wrote:

neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.

I wouldn't call shorts and socks "sensible" and I'm glad it is not more
widespread. I would agree with shorts and sandals (without socks), though.

On Aug 26, 1:50*am, John Smith wrote:
Martin Gregorie wrote:
neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.

I wouldn't call shorts and socks "sensible" and I'm glad it is not more
widespread. I would agree with shorts and sandals (without socks), though..

This sartorial disaster (long socks, tailored shorts, short-sleeved
shirt and polyester tie) still holds some sway in the hotter parts of
the country (Queensland towns, Darwin etc) as business attire for
older gents, but its going the way of the safari suit. Socks and
sandals - nothing says English tourist or expat than this! Still, I'd
love to see the people that fly vintage gliders in neat period
clothing - be something to see.

I'm sure there's a whole thread's worth of potential in a discussion
about gliding apparel. In the summer I'm a polo shirt, cargo shorts
and trainers bloke because it gets hot under that canopy and I don't
get high enough yet to get cold.

smith

Thank you for posting this

I had not seen this movie and had an interesting response to this
video. I was a 14 to 17 year old crew for a pilot flying in the CA
regional and national competition starting a year after this movie was
made. I don't remember there being quite as much carnage. Mostly
focused pilots a little on edge that howled at the moon at the end of
the contest. I do remember a very memorable bikini. Not sure if it’s
the same one. Hazy adolescent memory of the lovely Suzanne Moffat.
These folks seemed so larger than life to me then. It is interesting
to have them pop out of a stylized time machine and viewed with 2009
sensibilities. I met a 14 year old version of myself on a recent
flying trip. Highly in need of a hair cut and a bath. It is reassuring
to see that some things don't change.

Rodger (7D)

On Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:07:45 -0700 (PDT), Guy Byars
wrote:

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 US Soaring Nationals
in Marfa TX, I have put the entire movie "The Sun Ship Game" on
youtube.

I have received some very interesting notes about the movie, from a
close friend of the Director. My translation is a bit poor, I'm sorry.
I hope you all can understand anyway.

Aldo Cernezzi



Some words on the film: AFAIK, The Sunship Game is the only real
movie, not a documentary, dedicated to soaring competitions.

It has been filmed at a great expense (about 300-400,000 USD in 1969,
equivalent to at least 10 million Dollars today), privately financed
without any perspective of reasonable revenues -- by the Director and
producer Robert Drew, for one of its great passions, soaring.

I came to know Bob Drew thanks to an italian soaring pilot, Enrico
Ferorelli, who later was to become one of the great professional
photographers in New York. In the 80's I usually was in NY once a
month for my work. Bob, Enrico and I shared partnership in an LS3.
It was Bob Drew that, after a successful competition in Rieti, asked
me to organize, in order to film it, the first flight on the slope of
Mt. Everest in a glider. The movie was not made because, during the
tests in Bishop (California) the TV cameras mounted on a Calif A21
failed to work in the very low temperatures. The idea to make the
soaring flight on the Himalayas, was later realized anyway, with good
scientific results but without a movie, in 1985.

I mention all this only in order to emphasize that, having known him
quite well, I consider Bob an exceptional person, and his movie, which
in 20 years I have probably watched and shown over 20 times, is a true
masterpiece dedicated to soaring competitions. Its beauty is revealed
gradually, when, through repeated viewing, one understands the untold
in the conversations between the pilots. I recall in particular a
confession: "…soaring pilots - a champion is speaking -we become aware
that our talent, when we win a contest, is inexplicable; and we live
therefore with the fear of losing it…"

I suggest a visit he http://www.drewassociates.net/ to see how much
and what Robert Drew, as one of the prominent figures of the "cinema
verité", has filmed in its professional life. The Sunship Game is not
even mentioned in his professional biography. This movie is a
wonderful "gift" that this director-soaring pilot has given to the
world of soaring.

The loss of the original soundtrack, which included the song "Down to
Earth" by the Bee Gees, reduces the aesthetic experience of the film.
The Sunship Game does not offer only beautiful video clips of soaring,
of which we now have many, but it's certainly a true work of art
illustrating competitive soaring and its human dimension -- the choice
of music, IMHO, is an inseparable, essential part, of the storytelling
that Bob has created..

A few notes:

1. The Sun Ship Game is still protected by copyright. The DVD edition
can't be found in commerce because the Drew Associates did not succeed
to come to an agreement for the use of the music soundtrack with the
owners of the Bee Gees' rights. If you happen to own a copy, you
should keep it for you and show it to your friends, but, as a friend
of Bob, I suggest we don't promote its copying -- it just belongs to
him.

2. The plot of the narration is based on the major difference in the
personalities of the two protagonists, Gleb Derujinsky, US (an
advertizing director, the first one to appear in the film, on a
bicycle in New York) and George Moffat, XX (a professor, who appears
in a classroom teaching English literature).
Gleb, an instinctive pilot, is described as "unbeatable when he's in
top condition", but he's also sometimes inconsistent. Moffat, on the
other hand, is a cold "analytical-numerical" pilot flying a modified
Cirrus with longer wings, but we finally see that he's also "human
after all" through his flying and the suffering against Wally Scott
who had a new ASW-12.

George will win (at least) two World Championships, Marfa 1970 and
Waikerie 1974. Gleb, instead, will drive form Marfa to Mexico in order
to get a divorce, always followed by Bob's movie cameras.

The movie features a gallery of prominent figures of soaring. Between
many others, Klaus Holighaus, Stouffs Sr., and Hal "The Judge"
Lattimore, contest director.

Most of us know more about George Moffat and what his life in soaring
was like after the Marfa Nationals, but what became of Gleb
Derujinsky? Other than what we know from the movie, does anyone know
what Gleb went on to do? Did he continue to soar? Is he still
flying?

WD

I think Gleb still lives in Durango Colorado.

He and his wife, for a long time, ran a jewlery store there, and for a
while Gleb was active in their soaring club, giving instruction.

To add to his online RAS resume, Gleb was also a top fashion
photographer in NYC, his ex-wife Ruth, a fashion model. And for those
who remember, was the guy who shot the Alka Seltzer "On the Rocks"
commercial.













On Sep 8, 9:15*pm, Whiskey Delta wrote:
Most of us know more about George Moffat and what his life in soaring
was like after the Marfa Nationals, but what became of Gleb
Derujinsky? *Other than what we know from the movie, does anyone know
what Gleb went on to do? *Did he continue to soar? *Is he still
flying?

WD

Whiskey Delta wrote:
Most of us know more about George Moffat and what his life in soaring
was like after the Marfa Nationals, but what became of Gleb
Derujinsky? Other than what we know from the movie, does anyone know
what Gleb went on to do? Did he continue to soar? Is he still
flying?

WD

http://www.glebderujinsky.com/