John Hardy, Sr. was a close friend and he will be greatly missed. He was the patriarch, heart and soul of the El Paso Soaring Society.

The club's tow plane has been grounded for weeks waiting for a new engine, and two of the three club gliders were to be sold to pay for it. The remaining club glider, the Grob 103, would have been kept and shared among the fourteen club members. The winch, which has rarely been used, was intended to keep the club alive until the tow plane could be repaired.

Let's all lift our postflight cans of beer high: John, I will miss you dearly. Thank-you for all you have given to me, and to your club.

I'm off tow,
Chris Fleming
F2