Alfonso Jurado

Good Morning,

I am entering my 4th year as the 3rd owner of ASW20 #20463, better known as Alfonso's 20. I grew up soaring in New Castle, VA, and saw Alfonso a few times but never really knew him. It is my understanding that he has bad dementia now. I know the former Miami gliderport was his home field, however he never logged any soaring outside contests. I've heard many things, such as him soaring to the keys, aileron rolls with water, soaring with the canopy open, and impossible landouts. In an effort to write down all the legends, myths, and stories, I'm hoping to document all the stories and keep them with the airplane documents. Thanks!

....and yes, it still looks and flies pretty well! (and still manages to get me home)

Jordan
ASW20 'E'

You'll want to get the story of when he landed that 20 on a river bank
during a Chester contest mid 80s, I believe in the town of Lockhart.
Frank or Jayne might remember.
Anybody else on RAS that was at that contest? Chip?

Another source of info: Charlie Spratt's Racing News.
That was the best source of contest info for years,
though I don't know if its been saved and digitized.
Had a few Alfonso stories.

Hope you can visit Alfonso - with dementia, until very late stages,
often the past is quite clear, the more distant the clearer.

Hope that helps!
Best Regards, Dave

On Friday, September 4, 2015 at 8:06:30 AM UTC-5, Echo wrote:
Good Morning,

I am entering my 4th year as the 3rd owner of ASW20 #20463, better known as Alfonso's 20. I grew up soaring in New Castle, VA, and saw Alfonso a few times but never really knew him. It is my understanding that he has bad dementia now. I know the former Miami gliderport was his home field, however he never logged any soaring outside contests. I've heard many things, such as him soaring to the keys, aileron rolls with water, soaring with the canopy open, and impossible landouts. In an effort to write down all the legends, myths, and stories, I'm hoping to document all the stories and keep them with the airplane documents. Thanks!

...and yes, it still looks and flies pretty well! (and still manages to get me home)

Jordan
ASW20 'E'

Here's an Alfonso story for you Jordan: New Castle Contest, vast overcall, most of us ended up in West Virginia. I found myself in a field that formed a hill with ultimately 4 others, Alfonso landed last. While the others and I landed uphill and came to a stop near the top, Alfonso showed us how to land parallel to the slope, keeping the wings equidistant from the ground.. When asked why he said he hadn't practiced that in a while, don't try this at home.
On the same day OH landed about a mile from us and determined that it was right on the Continental Divide between the Atlantic and the Gulf. When using the 'public bathroom' he concluded that half of the stuff was going to end up in either body of water!
Herb

Sunflower Gliderport, Hutchinson, KS. 1985. Pilots were launched, day was called off due to big storms building everywhere. Alfonso was up and flying around having a good old time. After a storm came across the field, and with most everyone else back and in trailers or tied down, here came the Fonz. Fast and low (well below the top of the old control tower where I was standing), he went by, pulled up, and as the nose was going through about 30 degrees nose up, he must have hit some strong "rolling turbulence",as his 20 did a near perfect roll on the way up. The turbulence subsided just as he got to the top, back to wings level. The gear came down, and he entered the downwind leg for landing. No more turbulence was encountered.

He was also seen in the back of his van going from the tiedown to the grid, with his glider in tow, fixing a sandwich or filling a water bottle. I think he had a really low gear in the van, because it could idle along at a slow walk without him in the drivers seat.

Not about flying, but I once heard that he got frustrated with a slow driver on a two lane highway. There was too much traffic to pass in the normal manner, so he did it on the shoulder. This was passed along by another glider pilot that he passed before getting to the slow car that was holding up traffic.

Sorry to hear that The Fonz is not doing well. He didn't like to be in the spotlight, but he sure is great fun to be around. As Dave said, hope you get a chance to visit him.

Steve Leonard

Ha these are fantastic stories. The guy definitely was a legend. When he flew at R4S I was rubbing ropes, but he was in a Ventus then. Dirk bought the 20 from him and I got it from Dirk in 2011. Thanks!

Jordan

On Friday, September 4, 2015 at 3:03:29 PM UTC-4, Echo wrote:
Ha these are fantastic stories. The guy definitely was a legend. When he flew at R4S I was rubbing ropes, but he was in a Ventus then. Dirk bought the 20 from him and I got it from Dirk in 2011. Thanks!

Jordan

Ahhhh Dirk, say Hi from me if you see him.

"Fonz stories", should be some good reading here.

Yes, I've heard of him, "ridge soaring the hotels on Miami beach" ("Always keeping at least 500' above beachgoers...."), trips across the Everglades, etc.

Best story I remember (subject to others clarification) is....

I believe in the SE US at a contest.
Weather went to poop, so an off field landing was needed.
Fonz found a baseball field, he set up a pattern with final from outfield to home plate.
Coming in over trees, he was "high & hot" and was not sure he would stop before the HUGE fence behind homeplate..... so..... he pulled up & over the fence.
ARRRGGGHHHHHH..... what now?
Over trees, the next field was WORSE!!!!
It was low compared to surrounding ground, and had been "sorta cleared" of LOT'S of trees...... "sorta cleared as in, they had trunks ~2' high still anchored to the ground!
OMG......

But, there was a dirt road (a couple feet above the "field elevation") along the right side of the "field", what to do???

He dragged the right tip along the road with the fuselage over the trunk stumps and "ground looped" the mainwheel onto the road and stopped.

When the retrieve crew showed up, he calmly stated, "I had the perfect airspeed on final and great Schleicher brakes so I could stop in the road width".

Go figure.

Hi,

I didn't know Alfonso well, but I met him a few times.

When I was new to soaring I met him and his ASW 20 at a soaring contest in
Albert Lea, MN. I was the scorer for the contest. We were all waiting for
the weather on the launch grid in the early afternoon. I mentioned to him
that I was curious as to whether or not I would fit into an ASW 20 (being
about 6' 3" tall). He said I should try his ASW 20 on for size. He was
very friendly. It fit like a glove. I was surprised that I fit into it.

A few years later a soaring friend said he saw the Fonz do a high-speed, low
altitude pass in his Ventus at his home airport in Florida. Oh yeah, he was
inverted. That must have been something to see... I guess that the
flat-bottomed Ventus wings work fine for inverted flight if your airspeed is
high enough.

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde
___________________________________

"Echo" wrote in message
...

Good Morning,

I am entering my 4th year as the 3rd owner of ASW20 #20463, better known as
Alfonso's 20. I grew up soaring in New Castle, VA, and saw Alfonso a few
times but never really knew him. It is my understanding that he has bad
dementia now. I know the former Miami gliderport was his home field,
however he never logged any soaring outside contests. I've heard many
things, such as him soaring to the keys, aileron rolls with water, soaring
with the canopy open, and impossible landouts. In an effort to write down
all the legends, myths, and stories, I'm hoping to document all the stories
and keep them with the airplane documents. Thanks!

....and yes, it still looks and flies pretty well! (and still manages to get
me home)

Jordan
ASW20 'E'

For those who have never met Alphonso Jurado, I should mention that he was originally from Ecuador; tall, dark, and definitely foreign-looking.

At the 2001 Sports Nats in Montague, the Fonz had just gridded his Ventus when he realized he had left his glider batteries at his motel room... in Yreka, 15 miles away. He pushed his glider off the grid, hopped into his van, and raced off to fetch them.

When he arrived at the motel, there were police cars everywhere, lights a' flashing. The chambermaid had walked into his room, seen the batteries on charge, and called the bomb squad.

Fonz managed to talk his way out of there in time to fly the task that day.


Gary Ittner P7
"Have glider, will race"

ha, love it. Think the rumors are true about why he left for the US?

Jordan

On Friday, September 4, 2015 at 9:06:30 AM UTC-4, Echo wrote:
Good Morning,

I am entering my 4th year as the 3rd owner of ASW20 #20463, better known as Alfonso's 20. I grew up soaring in New Castle, VA, and saw Alfonso a few times but never really knew him. It is my understanding that he has bad dementia now. I know the former Miami gliderport was his home field, however he never logged any soaring outside contests. I've heard many things, such as him soaring to the keys, aileron rolls with water, soaring with the canopy open, and impossible landouts. In an effort to write down all the legends, myths, and stories, I'm hoping to document all the stories and keep them with the airplane documents. Thanks!

...and yes, it still looks and flies pretty well! (and still manages to get me home)

Jordan
ASW20 'E'

Fonz stole a national championship from me. Last day of Sports nationals in Elmira and I went into it with a "comfortable" lead over Fonz.
At start time we were getting to 1700 above Harris Hill with storms in 3 quadrants. None of that comfortable fair and safe stuff back then. When the task opened, the only "reasonable" way to go was north east to avoid the storms, knowing we likely would not be returning. I went that way,of course, and ultimately landed out, along with most everyone else.
Fonz, knowing he had to do something different, went off to the west into one of the storms. It did not work well and he ended up quite low. I recall mention of his climbing away off a tree line. Only the Fonz could do that stuff.
Anyway, he got back and stole my championship from me.
Someday I may forgive him.
I'll always love the Fonz.
UH