Way to go, Dennis and congratulations on successfully
cutting your umbilical cord. Cross country flying is
what this sport is all about. I remember my Silver
C in a Duster, like it was yesterday. Great sense of
accomplishment.
I too wonder where this sport is headed when I see
1/4 million investments in ship & motorhome at our
contests. Little wonder we don't attract new blood
to this sport when newcomers see what is perceived
as 'rich old men, playing airborne polo'.
Welcome to the club,
JJ

At 04:00 24 July 2005, Larry Pardue wrote:
Soaring Society of America Executive Director, Dennis
Wright, came to SSA
from powered flight but made a commitment to get a
glider rating. He did
that quickly after taking the position.

This afternoon, Dennis made the most significant flight
a glider pilot can
make, in my opinion. He flew silver distance, and
he did it the old
fashioned way, with low technology and a low performance
glider. The way,
it seems, that the badge leg was originally meant to
be earned.

About 2:30 Dennis took off from Hobbs, NM, hooked to
some discarded
oil-field wire being pulled by the club Chevy pick-up
truck. After climbing
up to about 6,000 feet AGL he lit out north for Tatum
with a nice tailwind.
His equipment was a chart, a barograph and a camera.
Dennis made it to his
goal of Tatum fairly quickly but his intent was to
return to Hobbs, in order
to avoid a retrieve. He quickly found out about 1-26's
and headwinds, which
were as high as 15 knots. He told me that it felt
like there was a giant
bungee pulling him back toward Tatum.

Dennis persevered, and never did get too low. Patience
was needed for the
many climbs while drifting backward with the wind.
Judy will be the judge
of the technicalities but I watched the takeoff, the
turnpoint and the
landing and know it was a flight to be proud off.

Sometimes I am a bit afraid the sport is being suffocated
with high
technology and high prices but all that stuff is surely
not necessary. This
flight will be billed by the club at the sum total,
including tow, of $18
(with a discount for the flight time on a badge flight).

I find it refreshing that our (US) Executive Director
not only sees to the
office but does grunt work at contests, drives the
launch car for the local
club and gets a big kick out of flying a 1-26.

Larry Pardue 2I