Charlie Spratt

John Good wrote a beautiful obit for Charlie Spratt in the June 2009 issue of Soaring. Charlie left us April 10th that year. Good start Good finish!

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:04:01 AM UTC-4, Karl Striedieck wrote:
John Good wrote a beautiful obit for Charlie Spratt in the June 2009 issue of Soaring. Charlie left us April 10th that year. Good start Good finish!

I still miss Charlie a lot.
UH

KS, what is your favorite Charlie Spratt story?

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 10:04:01 AM UTC-4, Karl Striedieck wrote:
John Good wrote a beautiful obit for Charlie Spratt in the June 2009 issue of Soaring. Charlie left us April 10th that year. Good start Good finish!

Yes, I miss Charlie....among many stories...I remember at a contest in "upstate NY" where he was CD....I got stuck for an hour low....finally got up, radioed the site, got a crew member flying a contestant glider....he relayed back to Charlie...."UH doing a finish!...".....Charlie was already into keg (with many others) and gave a "good finish!" Even though he likely didn't see it....back when I upset others since landout scoring was based on slowest finisher.....Charlie was cool....yes, I miss him....
Makes you want to say things to peeps while they are still around.....not eulogies....better, face to face....:-)

A little known secret. Charlie was more competitive than most of the competitors. We needed the last day of a Regional to make it a contest. The day forecast was for strong winds, low thermal tops, weak lift and blue. Charlie set an out and return task with the turnpoint straight down wind just further than the minimum distance required for a valid contest day. When I asked Charlie how he expected the competitors to get home, "not my problem". While everyone ultimately landed out, the minimum distance was achieved by just enough competitors and we had a contest. I landed near the town of Earth and got to tell my crew that I had landed NW of Earth. Loved that guy.

1979, Sunflower Gliderport, Standard Class Nationals. Flapped gliders were permitted to race in Standard Class, but they must either have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed to indicate if the flaps were not at zero. They were permitted to use the flaps up to three minutes per flight. This was to permit use during the critical takeoff and landing phase, and kind of important to those flying PIK-20Bs. Charlie was assigned to be "The Flap Fuzz". His job was to check the seals and timers on all flapped sailplanes when they landed. Since people were landing all around the airport, Charlie needed a way to get around. He was given a small, 100 CC dirt bike. That would only drive in first gear. So, there was Charlie the Circus Bear on this tiny little motorcycle, screaming like mad, doing 10 MPH across the ramp, scurrying from glider to glider when the gaggles came home. And he did it all with a big smile.

Steve Leonard
Wichita, KS

On Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 10:21:00 AM UTC-5, Steve Leonard wrote:
1979, Sunflower Gliderport, Standard Class Nationals. Flapped gliders were permitted to race in Standard Class, but they must either have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed to indicate if the flaps were not at zero. They were permitted to use the flaps up to three minutes per flight. This was to permit use during the critical takeoff and landing phase, and kind of important to those flying PIK-20Bs. Charlie was assigned to be "The Flap Fuzz". His job was to check the seals and timers on all flapped sailplanes when they landed. Since people were landing all around the airport, Charlie needed a way to get around. He was given a small, 100 CC dirt bike. That would only drive in first gear. So, there was Charlie the Circus Bear on this tiny little motorcycle, screaming like mad, doing 10 MPH across the ramp, scurrying from glider to glider when the gaggles came home. And he did it all with a big smile.

Steve Leonard
Wichita, KS

We started going to contests in 1978 when our kids were 7 and 10 years old. They thought Charlie was the greatest. He had model airplanes, fireworks, and a Holiday Inn bath towel and room key so he could stop at any Holiday Inn and jump into the pool to cool off and clean up. Our kids were looking forward to the next contest to hang out with Charlie at the gate. At the end of the first contest day I had barely rolled to a stop when the kids came running up and excitedly said" Dad, you aren't going to believe it! CHARLIE IS AS OLD AS YOU ARE!"

On Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 10:21:00 AM UTC-5, Steve Leonard wrote:
1979, Sunflower Gliderport, Standard Class Nationals. Flapped gliders were permitted to race in Standard Class, but they must either have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed to indicate if the flaps were not at zero. They were permitted to use the flaps up to three minutes per flight. This was to permit use during the critical takeoff and landing phase, and kind of important to those flying PIK-20Bs. Charlie was assigned to be "The Flap Fuzz". His job was to check the seals and timers on all flapped sailplanes when they landed. Since people were landing all around the airport, Charlie needed a way to get around. He was given a small, 100 CC dirt bike. That would only drive in first gear. So, there was Charlie the Circus Bear on this tiny little motorcycle, screaming like mad, doing 10 MPH across the ramp, scurrying from glider to glider when the gaggles came home. And he did it all with a big smile.

Steve Leonard
Wichita, KS

"...have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed ..."

Sounds strange. I can imagine ways that the flap handle could be locked in position or sealed (maybe "warranty void if seal broken" labels). But how does a flap "timer" work?

On Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 3:55:34 PM UTC-4, John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote:
On Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 10:21:00 AM UTC-5, Steve Leonard wrote:
1979, Sunflower Gliderport, Standard Class Nationals. Flapped gliders were permitted to race in Standard Class, but they must either have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed to indicate if the flaps were not at zero. They were permitted to use the flaps up to three minutes per flight. This was to permit use during the critical takeoff and landing phase, and kind of important to those flying PIK-20Bs. Charlie was assigned to be "The Flap Fuzz". His job was to check the seals and timers on all flapped sailplanes when they landed. Since people were landing all around the airport, Charlie needed a way to get around. He was given a small, 100 CC dirt bike. That would only drive in first gear. So, there was Charlie the Circus Bear on this tiny little motorcycle, screaming like mad, doing 10 MPH across the ramp, scurrying from glider to glider when the gaggles came home. And he did it all with a big smile.

Steve Leonard
Wichita, KS

"...have their flaps locked in position, or have a timer installed ..."

Sounds strange. I can imagine ways that the flap handle could be locked in position or sealed (maybe "warranty void if seal broken" labels). But how does a flap "timer" work?

My flap timer was a sealed box with a magnetic switch that closed if the flap push rod moved more than about 1/4 inch. It had to satisfy the CD. Rules allowed 2 minutes of flap time to land. This was on a PIK-20 that had landing flaps only.
UH

On Friday, April 10, 2020 at 9:04:01 AM UTC-5, Karl Striedieck wrote:
John Good wrote a beautiful obit for Charlie Spratt in the June 2009 issue of Soaring. Charlie left us April 10th that year. Good start Good finish!

He wrote a book entitled, "See ya' a the Airport". I've forgotten all the details, but he reveals that there was some controversy with the racing community about his suitability as a national contest director or manager. The book includes some compelling letters of support from some of our soaring royalty (e.g., Ed Byars, George Moffat). Also, positive reviews from others such as KS and Pete Smith.
If you promise to pass it to others, I'll send you my copy. Just provide your address by PM. I'm guessing that our friendly soaring businesses might be hurting during this economic shutdown, so I will buy a book from one of them of at least equal value.