"Four-On-the-Floor-Gang" Streideck

On 8/25/2010 8:56 PM, tienshanman wrote:
On Aug 24, 1:29*am, tienshanman tienshanman.
wrote:-
Can anyone steer me toward a downloadable copy of
""Four-On-the-Floor-Gang" written by Streideck?-
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--
tienshanman--
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IIRC it's in Soaring, November 1986.-

Thanks. But I am overseas without access to the magazine.

--
tienshanman-

are you an SSA member? it is available on www.ssa.org

I am not a member; in fact I'm not much of a "joiner" at all.

Your honest forthrightness is appreciated! FWIW, neither am I a "joiner"
(something I suspect is true of a not insignificant percentage of SSA members).

That said, I *did* join SSA (1972), and have remained a member continuously
ever since, despite - at the risk of freshening old wounds, :-) - considerable
reason(s) *not* to do so over not-so-distant decades.

Why have I "stuck with the program"? I happen to think "what it (the SSA)
stands for" sufficiently important to do what I can to keep the program going.
Along the way, I've monthly had a (generally pretty good) magazine to
absorb/enjoy (and, learned gobs from said magazinal absorption).

And as Tony previously noted, now *all* the magazines (from 1937 on...) are
available to membership online. Major cool resource!!!

Have fun with the silly sport, and rotsa ruck on your next life move!

Regards,
Bob W.

A memorable tale, worth getting a copy of.
Without reviewing them all and having not read the article in decades,
I would vote "the four on the floor gang" the best article in the
magazine's history.
Believe that one or two of those gliders will be at the AS-W20 get-
together in Tehachapi on Sept. 4/5/6?
Jim

I'm not much of a "joiner", either (not affiliated with any local
soaring club despite being within driving range of half a dozen). But
I've been an SSA member continuously since 1965 despite--as longtime
RAS readers may recall--being quite vocal about what SSA has done well
and what could have been improved. Some may imagine me as an SSA
"shill" because I was on the board of directors for nearly 10 years or
because I've defended due process in a few situations where I felt the
organization was being tried and convicted in a court of public
speculation. To the contrary, there are still a few SSA directors
today who are said to harbor a grudge because of my insistence on
independent oversight following the CFO-caused financial scandal a few
years ago, now mercifully a dim memory with a happy ending.

The point of all this? I've never thought of cancelling my membership
to show my displeasure when I disagreed with SSA or was angry with
what I perceived was poor performance. They're all we've got. We're a
tiny sport and SSA is heavily dependent on volunteer efforts. The new
online archives ARE a wonderful tool, and not only because I got a
kick out of searching for my name the other day and found all kinds of
small mentions I'd forgotten about. It's a great example of what
SSA can do by leveraging our volunteers. I was in Hobbs in July for
the Std. Class Nats (AKA "the great flood") and saw first hand the
commitment and enthusiasm of the staff there. And I know many of the
directors, all of whom are concerned with doing what's right for US
soaring (even though I don't always agree with them). Things aren't
perfect but they'd be a lot worse without SSA.

So go ahead and "join" anyway, even if you're not normally inclined.
You'll be helping the cause of soaring in this country and--
indirectily--perhaps in other parts of the world. Plus you'll get the
magazine, access to the archives, a cool SSA decal...and an annual
appeal for donations to worthy soaring causes!

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA