On Nov 7, 5:52*am, Jim Beckman wrote:

Gotta feel sorry for somebody with so little imagination. *I transitioned
from power to gliders in 1975, and trained almost exclusively in 2-33s
(and the occasional Blanik). *Perhaps it was different, already being a
pilot, but the first revelation of what even a ratty old 2-33 could do in
the air was amazing. *So it didn't look all that great, it had those big,
big wings. *And when you're inside the heap, it doesn't look so bad.


As a kid 5 decades ago, I asked my Dad for a new Schwinn 10 speed
bicycle for Christmas.
I got a balloon tire hand-me-down instead. I fixed it up, rode far
and wide on it and I was very happy.
In high school I longed for a 1967 Porsche, but got a 1956 Volkswagen.
Sure had fun in that VW back seat at the drive-in movies.
Later I saw a new Datsun 240Z, but settled for a Mercury Capri.
Sure had a lot of fun in it cruising the Florida Keys.
In 1968 I soloed a 2-33 at the Schweizer school in Elmira, NY.
Ran the ridge at Harris Hill. Sure had fun and I'll never forget that
day.

My old bike, the '56 Volkswagen, the 2-33; just means to an end to be
one with the machine, one with the world.

Turning away from soaring because of how the glider looks just doesn't
seem valid to me, but that's just me.
I don't care to argue about it. Nobody is wrong. If you can afford to
buy a nice lookin' glider for your club, then buy it for them.

Then again, if you younger folks want to fly something "pretty" down
in southwest Texas . . . you know where I am.

Burt
Marfa Gliders Soaring Center
ASK-13, DG-1000T, Blanik L-23 (for sale, soon to be replaced by a new
ASK-21.)

P.S. By the way, I'd love to find a really nice Schweizer 2-22 -- now
THAT is a cool lookin' glider! A Grunau Baby would be amazing to own!
Talk about "SOUL" -- those old, ugly gliders (and for that matter the
older gals) have it!

Sing Along (funky style): "It's not what you look like when you're
doin' what you're doin'. It's what you're doin', when you're doin',
what you look like you're doin'."
"Express Yourself" - Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm
Band (1970, and sounds fine on something called a "vinyl record".)