On Saturday, April 14, 2007 5:01:43 PM UTC-4, Robert Gaines wrote:
Any idea how far an older sailplane has flown? What
are some of the best Ka-6, SHK, LO-150 or Elfe flights?

Canadian straight distance to a goal flight - 571.3 km; Charles Yeates; Austria SH-1 CF-PZP; from Rockland, ON to Fall River, MA. Easier in the days before 9/11!

From the Canadian FREE FLIGHT archive:

CHARLES YEATES flew 355 miles (571 km)
in an Austria SH-1 from Rockton, ON to
his goal of Fall River airport, Massachusetts
on the Atlantic coast on 13 August 1962.
The flight, at 77.1 km/h, took 7-1/2 hours
and earned him the Canadian distance to
goal and 500 km speed to goal records.
Cumulus started at 10:15 at 2500 feet and
rose to 7000 feet in late afternoon, and a 20
knot tailwind helped. Near Stowe, Vermont,
Mount Mansfield poked up into the clouds
at 4200 feet. He had to ridge soar in this
area for awhile until the clouds cleared
away. In the lee of this ridge there was a lot
of sink but conditions improved quite
quickly thereafter. After crossing a 25 mile
clear gap near Lebanon, lift increased to
600 ft/min or better. While in this blue area
he was looked over by a Phantom jet whose
pilot lowered gear and flaps to slow down
while circling for a good look.
The last part of the flight was straightforward
and he arrived at the goal at 3000
feet. Struck by the scenery, he took another
thermal and flew east along the shoreline
of Cape Cod past New Bedford to Falmouth
before returning to Fall River for a landing
at 6:30.
Charles had studied the route for 18 months
and had made attempts in 1961 which
showed him the lie of the land, as along
much of the course airports were the only
landing option.