Radio Control: Soaring
I'VE READ "How Fred Flies." The Fred we're talking about is Fred Weaver of San Jose, CA. Fred was the third person to achieve LSF Level V, completing this rigorous test in 1976. (John Baxter and Steve Work got their Level V's in 1975.) With the Gliders and equipment available in those days, finishing Level V was an especially tough job-still is, for that matter! Fred is a three-time winner of the very popular and prestigious Visalia Fall Soaring Festival, winning last year with his trusty Airtronics Cumic. You can appreciate that, with these credentials, Fred has built up a storehouse of Soaring knowledge . . . which would be wonderful to burrow into if we could.
Radio Control: Soaring
NEW: The Westwind from Max Mills Models. Last month's column had Tom Thompson's personal impressions of Max's Southwind polyhedral-winged Standard Class Glider. This month Max himself tells us about his straight-wing version called the Westwind: "The Westwind is designed for the person who has been flying an entry-level Sailplane and has become proficient at landing and thermaling and is ready to fly a new type and style of model. The straight wings of the Westwind are designed for the pilot who has little or no experience with aileron-equipped aircraft. The very positive roll control and wing planform of this model make it extremely predictable to fly. The launch portion of each flight is a pleasure, not a hair-raising experience.
Radio Control: Soaring
THORNBURG IS BACK! RC Soaring more or less began in the mid to late Sixties, and one of the pioneers at the time was Dave Thornburg of Albuquerque. NM. He was considered by fellow competition fliers as a leading Soaring guru all through the Seventies. He even moved to California to be closer to the "big action." Dave wrote a series of articles for Model Builder magazine in the late Seventies and early Eighties, and they've come to be recognized as classics. You often still see references to them in magazine columns and club newsletters. "Thornburg's 12 Rules of Soaring" should be memorized by all Glider fliers.
Radio Control: Soaring
More about the National Soaring Museum: Last month Pete Carr mentioned the NSM in his report describing the return of RC Soaring contests to Harris Hill. This month Cal Weiss of Cleveland continues by telling us more about the history and current activities of the museum: "Flying weather is just around the corner. The old models have been repaired, new ones built, and plans are being made for the summer's activities. I'd like to suggest for everyone that these plans include a visit to the National Soaring Museum located near Elmira, NY. "In early 1930, veteran German glider pilots Wolfgang Hirth and Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer helped U.S. enthusiasts search for a prime soaring site in the East. They selected Harris Hill, and for the next 30 years this was the soaring capital of America, hosting the first National Soaring Contest in the fall of 1930. The pilots who gathered and flew here were responsible for the growth and development of American glider flight. How appropriate, then, that this be the site of the National Soaring Museum.
Radio Control: Soaring
TWO exciting new competition Sailplane kits are first on my agenda to tell you about this month: Hi Performance Sailplanes' Warrior, and Competition Products' Phoenix. Because the write-up on Ed Berton's Phoenix is pretty extensive, let's have Karen and Ron Wagner of Hi Performance Sailplanes up in Seattle go first in describing their new Warrior: "Doug Flett of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada might be hard to find on a Sunday unless you know where Jerico Beach is in North Vancouver. He'll be there flying his new Warrior from Hi Performance Sailplanes. Doug feels it has all the potential that was anticipated during the plane's conception.
