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Dennis Wright - Cross Country Pilot
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 |
#2
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Larry,
Thanks for the update, and tell Dennis he is invited and expected at the 1-26 Championships next year in Parowan UT, the last two weeks of June. Kevin R. Anderson 192 "Larry Pardue" wrote in message ... 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 |
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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 |
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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'. JJ-Don't forget the part about these same guys have a bunch of spare time... This subject gets batted around on a somewhat regular basis here, I don't begrudge those with the bucks and time to do what they choose. And for that matter, I suspect this situation has always been present in the sport. Pilots can choose whether to enter the arms' race, or go sports class or 1-26, or not race. How much time and energy we members want the SSA to put into high dollar racing...is something we can discuss as a group. I recently read an article on the Seniors Contest in Soaring...and the author started the article stating he though the SSA was making a mistake not being more supportive of this type of racing. I don't necesarily agree with that author...but that is for another thread. |
#5
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Major Cool - thanks for the vignette. Congratulations to Dennis!
And if he hasn't already been pointed in the direction of "Soaring" mags from the early 1970's, review of the badge pages therefrom will provide some fun reflective moments concerning how fundamental 1-26s were to badge collectors then. (For those lacking magazine issue access, it wasn't uncommon to see more than 50% of badge legs through the Gold level being accomplished in 1-26s.) Looking forward, in soaring there's a lot to be said for learning the basics WITH the basics. Regards, Bob Whelan "Larry Pardue" wrote in message ... 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 |
#6
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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. This says it all. While this thread threatened to degenerate into a diatribe against the high costs of soaring and a paean to the 1-26 (worthy causes, both), the most significant thing to me is that the SSA's top full-time executive joined the ranks of cross-country soaring pilots. I watched him do a great job helping to run the Standard Class Nationals in Hobbs last summer. And this latest achievement provides further hope that our SSA will have the enthusiastist's inside understanding to be able to meet our sport's needs in the U.S. Congratulations, Dennis! Chip Bearden |
#8
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Congrats to Dennis for earning his badge in the way the original founders of
gliding intended. Though long retired from the sport I can well understand how Dennis must feel. I did my five hours in smoky thermals over Stoke-on-Trent (UK), my height off a very low launch at Sutton Bank in Yorkshire both of those in an old wooden Olympia 2. Distance was in a Ka8 from Dunstable. It took fourteen years all told because I was instructing within a year of going solo and could never get into a single seater. In my view all sports are going the same way -- high performance equipment being used against the old low performance goals. I guess the Silver distance should be at least 150Km to level the playing field. Alistair Wright UK Silver 4769 |
#9
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In message , Alistair
Wright writes Congrats to Dennis for earning his badge in the way the original founders of gliding intended. Though long retired from the sport I can well understand how Dennis must feel. I did my five hours in smoky thermals over Stoke-on-Trent (UK), my height off a very low launch at Sutton Bank in Yorkshire both of those in an old wooden Olympia 2. Distance was in a Ka8 from Dunstable. It took fourteen years all told because I was instructing within a year of going solo and could never get into a single seater. In my view all sports are going the same way -- high performance equipment being used against the old low performance goals. I guess the Silver distance should be at least 150Km to level the playing field. Or done in a T31 :-) Robin Alistair Wright UK Silver 4769 -- Robin Birch |
#10
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"Robin Birch" wrote in message ... In message , Alistair Wright writes Congrats to Dennis for earning his badge in the way the original founders of gliding intended. Though long retired from the sport I can well understand how Dennis must feel. I did my five hours in smoky thermals over Stoke-on-Trent (UK), my height off a very low launch at Sutton Bank in Yorkshire both of those in an old wooden Olympia 2. Distance was in a Ka8 from Dunstable. It took fourteen years all told because I was instructing within a year of going solo and could never get into a single seater. In my view all sports are going the same way -- high performance equipment being used against the old low performance goals. I guess the Silver distance should be at least 150Km to level the playing field. Or done in a T31 :-) Robin That's a bit harsh! I did know a guy who did it in a T21b though. The cross country was always the challenge in the UK in the 60s -- there were some quite competent aircraft around but most of us did not own or get to fly them. I scored the 1971 Nationals at Husbands Bosworth and setting a 300k O/R was a big deal -- and only a few got round. Plastic hadn't been invented and everybody flew wooden ships. We got a lot of outlanding practice in those days. Alistair Wright |
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