How About Story Time

At 20:16 12 May 2020, wrote:
On Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 2:40:32 PM UTC-4,

wrote=
:
Maybe this is a good opportunity for some of us to share some
stories of
=
our experiences.
I'll go first.-
=20
Another story:
I started out as a child. I saw gliders at Harris Hill when we flew a
kids
=
contest as part of the Nationals in 1955.
Fast forward to out of college and finally flying gliders.
I bought a 1-26D during my second real year of soaring and set
out to do
my=
badges. I had literally dreamed of that first real cross country
flight
fo=
r most of my life. Visions of a long distance flight landing late in
the
da=
y, and all that stuff.
Time for my first distance flight.
The appointed day comes. It is a beautiful day. I prepare and take
my tow
a=
bout noon. I proceeded to notch the barogram to the ground in
record time.
=
No give up- lets try again. New record for barograph notch time.
Obviously it was not the time for me to make the flight, so I went
about
do=
ing some training flights with my sister. We had no problems
soaring with
e=
ase.
This, of course, proves that the heaviest object known to a glider
pilot
is=
a barograph on a badge flight. =20
About 4:00 I decided to take a tow and at least do my altitude leg.
Having given up all hope of cross country, I managed to notch
without
falli=
ng down and gained about 4000 feet in short order.
A cloud street beckoned to the north east as far as I could see so I
turned=
and headed over toward the Hudson river. I don't think I circled
until I
g=
ot to the river. There I climbed to cloud base and made the glide to
a
sing=
le cloud a few miles past the river. I topped that and made a
straight
glid=
e landing at Danbury airport, a little over 50 miles from home, but
good
en=
ough for Silver distance.
After anticipating this flight for much of my life, it was so easy and
such=
a non event that it still is one of the greatest letdowns of my life.
The sense of adventure has remained and there have been lots of
rewarding
f=
lights since.
UH


My Silver distance was done in a 1-26 after someone else had
finished their 5 hour flight in that glider that same day. It was at
our club's annual summer encampment to Wurtsboro. It took 2
evening thermals and a landing in a farmer's field 31.7 miles South
along the ridge back in 1966...

RO

Like most "old timers" on this newsgroup, I got my Silver Distance in a 1-26. I needed it to fly in the 1-26 Championships (then called the North Americans) at our airport in Richmond, IN in 1969. I'd flown in three contests with a handful of XC flights but none met the requirements of 50 km straight out.

So the day before the contest opened, I took off headed north and came to earth 49 miles away in Portland, IN. I was worried that I wouldn't have time to send in the documentation.

About half way through the contest, I finally mentioned it to an official. "Oh," they laughed, "You've flown a contest before. That's good enough."

FWIW, In that 7-day contest, I had 9 flights over 4 flying days--including 3 on one day when I relit; relaunched and landed out, then rushed back on the trailer for a relight; and launched again.

I had never completed a task when we launched on the last day. When the contest was over, I still hadn't, having slid to a halt about a mile short of the finish. Only 2 days were scorable. It was a no contest but they went ahead and scored all 4 days anyway so they could hand out some trophies.

In a way, that early contest captured so much of what has been frustrating about soaring over the years: wx that turns bad just as the contest begins; frequent landouts; lots of effort and expense for very few contest days; and coming frustratingly short of a goal. It's amazing to me that I'm still involved 50+ years later since not much has changed.

Chip Bearden
JB

I rented my LS-6 to a member of the British team that competed in the 1990 Per-worlds held at Minden, Nv. I believe the pilot that flew my bird was Martin Wells. It was a package deal for use of the bird and a crew (Pat & me). We enjoyed being around some of the worlds best pilots and I told the British team a little about the local area and what to expect flying each days task.
After about 5 days flying, Martin asked if he could have the wing tape replaced on his ship. I replied, Martin, that’s lucky tape, it has served you well for 5 days.......if you replace it, you’ll surely land out! Don’t you know anything about Soaring? He chuckled and said he wasn’t suspicious and wanted new tape anyway !

You guessed it...........I changed the tape and Martin landed out the next day!
Cheers,
JJ

The Fonz reused his tape religiously and his chops were often busted over it. He said something like " You guys can bust my balls all you want, but you don't get it - this is my lucky tape".

In his honor I reuse my tape at least once, wrap it around my spray can of lithium grease when disassembling. Quite handy actually, and eco-friendly!

OK, I need to get out in front of the "reuse of tape" thing before I get hammered here. I've taken too much grief from other pilots over the years, and not just from the ones who "helpfully" removed my tape during derigging and balled it up, eliciting an agonized groan from me.

I've been reusing tape since at least the mid 70s. I buy fairly inexpensive white electrical tape and apply it new early in the season: nothing special except I use two pieces per wing panel, one on top and one on the bottom so the strips are of manageable size. Thereafter, I peel the tape off, then lay it down flat on the interior of the Cobra trailer sidewall. MUCH easier than wrapping it around a beer can or putting it back on a roll of tape. Nearly everyone wants to smooth it down very lightly so as not to wear out the adhesive.

Wrong. On every brand I've used, the trick is to smooth it down almost as firmly as you would on the wing/tail. The main places the adhesive can get tired are in the inch or two at each end where your fingers touch it. That's also where lightly applied tape flips up and attracts dust.

It's usually good for a dozen flights at least. It stretches, so over time I'll snip off an inch or two from each end (thereby solving the problem of weak adhesive). Really hot weather (Uvalde, Cordele) are a little tougher on it, I'll admit; it may "creep" a little more than brand new tape. Colder weather affects the adhesive, too, but if I'm careful, it doesn't lift up.

How much money do I save? I have no idea. I use less than one small roll each season so by the time I go to stock up again, I've forgotten what I paid last time.

It's eco friendly. And honestly, I think my taping goes a bit faster: all the strips are pre-cut. Just peel them off and stick them on, no cutting required.

The select club of pilots who reuse tape already know this stuff. The rest of you can scoff.

Chip Bearden
JB

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 4:55:28 PM UTC-7, wrote:
OK, I need to get out in front of the "reuse of tape" thing before I get hammered here. I've taken too much grief from other pilots over the years, and not just from the ones who "helpfully" removed my tape during derigging and balled it up, eliciting an agonized groan from me.

I've been reusing tape since at least the mid 70s. I buy fairly inexpensive white electrical tape and apply it new early in the season: nothing special except I use two pieces per wing panel, one on top and one on the bottom so the strips are of manageable size. Thereafter, I peel the tape off, then lay it down flat on the interior of the Cobra trailer sidewall. MUCH easier than wrapping it around a beer can or putting it back on a roll of tape.. Nearly everyone wants to smooth it down very lightly so as not to wear out the adhesive.

Wrong. On every brand I've used, the trick is to smooth it down almost as firmly as you would on the wing/tail. The main places the adhesive can get tired are in the inch or two at each end where your fingers touch it. That's also where lightly applied tape flips up and attracts dust.

It's usually good for a dozen flights at least. It stretches, so over time I'll snip off an inch or two from each end (thereby solving the problem of weak adhesive). Really hot weather (Uvalde, Cordele) are a little tougher on it, I'll admit; it may "creep" a little more than brand new tape. Colder weather affects the adhesive, too, but if I'm careful, it doesn't lift up..

How much money do I save? I have no idea. I use less than one small roll each season so by the time I go to stock up again, I've forgotten what I paid last time.

It's eco friendly. And honestly, I think my taping goes a bit faster: all the strips are pre-cut. Just peel them off and stick them on, no cutting required.

The select club of pilots who reuse tape already know this stuff. The rest of you can scoff.

Chip Bearden
JB

Thank you for helping me feel much better about my situation. I now know that since I can afford cheap tape fresh each day, I am actually doing pretty well.

Our late instructor, AC Goodwin, would use tbe same tape on our Standard cirrus for an entire year and it was stored outside. When I joined, I gave him a 10 roll pack of white electrical tape to use. When he went west 10 years later, helping his wife clean up some stuff I got 9 of those rolls back You really cant teach old dogs new tricks! 😂😂

CH

Just remembered another funny story from the 1990 per-worlds at Minden. Charlie Spratt was the CD and during the second days pilot briefing, one of the Brits stood up and said, “I say, old chap, we can’t understand a single word your saying�! Everybody just roared, some one said, “you don’t understand Souther?Another offered a quick course in Southern Speak.........you got your, Hugh, your Hugh-a and your Uh- Hugh...........that’s 50% of the dialect!
Charlie took it well and I believe he even assigned an interpreter!
Good memories,
JJ

On Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 2:40:32 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Maybe this is a good opportunity for some of us to share some stories of our experiences.

The "Private airport, or Field?" thread reminds me...

Decades ago when I was just a little glider pilot, I flew my Ventus B
in the nationals at Harris Hill. And as the weather there often dictates,
found myself about to outland...

A nice cornfield beckoned, adjacent to a private strip.
The cornfield looked better, but a I thought I could squeeze into the narrow
mowed bit of the airfield. And my insurance policy had just been updated
with a higher deductible for outlandings (not private listed airports).
So, I chose badly...

Late on final it was clear I'd made a mistake. Tried to get it down and
stopped in the wide-mowed turn-around at the end of the strip, but failed
to get it slowed enough. Ground-looped and dinged an aileron.

The owners were incredibly hospitable, fresh baked cookies and such.
But presently "there's another glider coming" !!
First I called on the radio, but got no answer.
I ran out into the middle of the strip and gestured frantically
towards the adjacent cornfield. The glider kept coming.
I kept waving and jumping about. The glider turned final towards me.

I thought, now, I've seen groundloops from above, from the side,
from the rear (and of course from the inside, aarrrgggg).
But I've never seen one from directly in front.
So I just stayed in the middle of the runway and watched.
It was Herbie, flying an ASW-20 Rudy had provided. Floppy wing,
well bowed with the landing flap and deployed spoilers.
Herbie touches down, hits the brakes, and the wing starts to unload
and droop. It actually takes a while before the wingtip finally lowers to
catch the grass, then the groundloop quickly turns and stops the glider.
Quite a spectacle.

What bozo here hadn't thought about, however, was:
In a groundloop, if the pilot fails to get the stick hard forward,
the tail digs in. In this case a glued on rubber skid.
This was before the days we got modern and learned about tailwheels.
The rubber stretches a fantastic amount before it peels off,
at which instant the skid rebounds and flies off.
Damn near killed me - missed my ear my inches as it whizzed by at warp speed.

Herbie was really ****ed.
Why didn't you call me on the radio?
I had, before running out.
Of course I didn't hear you, I turned the radio off!
Didn't you see me waving?
I thought you were just saying hello...

Anyway at least he didn't damage anything!

Private airports over the years have served up lots of surprises:
live stock, mowed narrow, interesting light installations to dodge,
and of course "no airport here any more"...

Be careful out there,
See ya, Dave "YO"

Dave’s story got me thinking about the time I landed in low crops in Butte Valley, Ca. The farmer was there immediately and quite irate! My choice was between his field or the sagebrush, so I took his field. I used all my best excuses, adverse weather forced me down.........your field saved a broken Glider and maybe a broken pilot, etc. He finally calmed down and we even shook hands............then I saw another Sailplane turning final into the same field! If memory serves me, it cost us both $200 bucks, each to get out of his crops!
I have always chosen the best field available, then deal with the consequences on the ground. That philosophy lead me to landing on the ramp at Edwards AFB, one Sunday afternoon! I was flying a contest out of El Mirage, Ca. The final leg found me trying to fly behind a thunderstorm.............deadest air I have ever seen! It became obvious that I wasn’t going to make home. My first thought was to put it on the Dry Lake (Rogers Lake), but I figured that would lead to me talking to a kid with a Carbene! Next, I thought I’d land on the runway, but figured that I’d be blocking the runway for a while and probably end up talking to the same guy with a Carbene. Next, I checked out the ramp.............which looked almost deserted! So, I called the tower, but got no reply (later realized Edwards Tower had changed frequencies, and I didn’t have an up to date sectional). By then I was below 1000 feet and must choose the best place to put her down, right away. I chose the ramp, turned final at 300 feet over a KC-135 and rolled to a stop right in front of the tower, well short of the B-52 sitting on the far end of the ramp!
Note, this was in 1975........well before the terrorist environment we now enjoy. The Air Police met me before I opened the canopy and there were some Carbene’s pointed my way............. I showed them my Retired AF, ID and told them adverse weather forced be down. They bought it and everything was cool after that!
JJ