Sisu 1a, s/n 101, N6390X

SISU 1A N253JB is owned by Steve Parker and still flying at Marfa, TX I have recent photos and will try to submit (need assistance)

Jim,

From the FAA records, Steve Parker's Sisu is SN 110 (N253JB). The one I was referring to that Dean Svec owned is SN 105, with the N number changed from N252JB to N252J. The registry doesn't have an owner name and the registration is expired, with last location in OK.

I assume the "JB" in these two N numbers more than coincidentally refers to Jack Baugh who, IIRC, backed Len Niemi in Arlington Aircraft. Since only about 10 or so were built (not counting the prototype Sisu 1?), I wonder if N253JB was originally Jack's personal airplane built late in the cycle.

There's another Sisu, SN 106 (N622W) at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky that I would have thought was his, though. I vaguely recalled mention of a swap somewhere in the distant past that allowed one owner (Baugh? to donate a Sisu to a museum. Just looked it up and it was between Al Parker and Baugh, so the latter could donate Parker's world-distance-record-setting glider to the Smithsonian's NASM. Which means that...I don't know. Is Steve Parker related to Al Parker?

Is it possible that Dean Svec ended up with the first one built for Baugh? Now I'm deep into speculation. But unlike, say, certain runs of Schweizer gliders (e.g., the 1-23 series), it doesn't appear that Arlington used a block of N numbers for the series production. So someone had two numbers already allocated with the same initials but built 5 serial numbers apart.

There's a paper that covers the Sisu's history but I couldn't find a publicly available copy: "Arlington Sisu 1A: Rise and Demise of America's Most Successful Competition Sailplane and the Beginning of the Era of Fiberglass" by Russell Lee.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 3:01:33 PM UTC-5, wrote:
SISU 1A N253JB is owned by Steve Parker and still flying at Marfa, TX I have recent photos and will try to submit (need assistance)

Jim,

From the FAA records, Steve Parker's Sisu is SN 110 (N253JB). The one I was referring to that Dean Svec owned is SN 105, with the N number changed from N252JB to N252J. The registry doesn't have an owner name and the registration is expired, with last location in OK.

I assume the "JB" in these two N numbers more than coincidentally refers to Jack Baugh who, IIRC, backed Len Niemi in Arlington Aircraft. Since only about 10 or so were built (not counting the prototype Sisu 1?), I wonder if N253JB was originally Jack's personal airplane built late in the cycle.

There's another Sisu, SN 106 (N622W) at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky that I would have thought was his, though. I vaguely recalled mention of a swap somewhere in the distant past that allowed one owner (Baugh? to donate a Sisu to a museum. Just looked it up and it was between Al Parker and Baugh, so the latter could donate Parker's world-distance-record-setting glider to the Smithsonian's NASM. Which means that...I don't know. Is Steve Parker related to Al Parker?

Is it possible that Dean Svec ended up with the first one built for Baugh? Now I'm deep into speculation. But unlike, say, certain runs of Schweizer gliders (e.g., the 1-23 series), it doesn't appear that Arlington used a block of N numbers for the series production. So someone had two numbers already allocated with the same initials but built 5 serial numbers apart.

There's a paper that covers the Sisu's history but I couldn't find a publicly available copy: "Arlington Sisu 1A: Rise and Demise of America's Most Successful Competition Sailplane and the Beginning of the Era of Fiberglass" by Russell Lee.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

Chip,

Steve Parker is Al's son. I believe the one he now has (N253JB) is the one the Parker Family took in trade for N1100Z, the 1000 KM Sisu. As you stated, the trade was made by Jack Baugh in 1967.

N252JB (FAA registry has the number wrong) was lost in a stall/spin accident in 1998. Both 252J and 252JB show in the FAA database as having been Sisu 1 A serial 105.

Interesting stuff on the one in the Aviation Museum of Kentucky. By its serial number and registration with the FAA, it is N622W. I believe this was, at one time, Red Wright's Sisu? But it is on display with the registration N255JB. It is hanging in that museum, along with Jack's Nimbus 2.

Steve Leonard

Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 7:35:09 PM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

Here, as of June 5, 2013, are the NSM's records on the Sisus:

100 (prototype) N7983A 1s5 owner John Ryan, subsequent owner Jerry Robertson, current owner C.L. Kirchner
101 N 6390X, 1st owner Gleb Derujinsky, current owner Paul Hanson
102 N 1100Z, 1st owner John Randall, subsequent owners Al Parker, Jack Baugh, current owner National Air & Space museum
103 N 6391X, 1s5 owner A.J. Smith, subsequent owners Jack Steen, who loaned it for several years on display at the National Soaring Museum, now owned by DicK Butler.
104 N6392X, 1st owner Bill Ivans, current owner Timothy O'Donnell
105 N252JB, 1st owner Dean Svec. No longer registered, N# reissued
106 B622W !st owner Red Wright, subsequent owners Jack Baugh, National Soaring Museum. Signed over from NSM to Kentucky Aviation Museum
107 N1003 1st owner Gordon House, subsequent owner Bernie Paiewonsky (who passed away last week), now owned by National Soaring Museum
108 N1110T, 1st owner John Ryan, current owner Galen Fisher
109 N331A, 1st owner Dale May. destroyed
110 N253JB 1st owner Jack Baugh, subsequent owner Al Parker. Current owner Steve Parker

Didn't the one Paul Hansen own get destroyed due to inadequate tie downs?

Boggs

On Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 5:26:29 PM UTC-7, Peter Smith wrote:
On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 7:35:09 PM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

Here, as of June 5, 2013, are the NSM's records on the Sisus:

100 (prototype) N7983A 1s5 owner John Ryan, subsequent owner Jerry Robertson, current owner C.L. Kirchner
101 N 6390X, 1st owner Gleb Derujinsky, current owner Paul Hanson
102 N 1100Z, 1st owner John Randall, subsequent owners Al Parker, Jack Baugh, current owner National Air & Space museum
103 N 6391X, 1s5 owner A.J. Smith, subsequent owners Jack Steen, who loaned it for several years on display at the National Soaring Museum, now owned by DicK Butler.
104 N6392X, 1st owner Bill Ivans, current owner Timothy O'Donnell
105 N252JB, 1st owner Dean Svec. No longer registered, N# reissued
106 B622W !st owner Red Wright, subsequent owners Jack Baugh, National Soaring Museum. Signed over from NSM to Kentucky Aviation Museum
107 N1003 1st owner Gordon House, subsequent owner Bernie Paiewonsky (who passed away last week), now owned by National Soaring Museum
108 N1110T, 1st owner John Ryan, current owner Galen Fisher
109 N331A, 1st owner Dale May. destroyed
110 N253JB 1st owner Jack Baugh, subsequent owner Al Parker. Current owner Steve Parker

Does anyone know of s/n 111 ? It's competition number had a 1 in it and the plane may have had some red or yellow trim on it. My father has the stabilizers and ruddervators from it. It was damaged in a stall/spin.

On Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 8:58:40 PM UTC-4, Waveguru wrote:
Didn't the one Paul Hansen own get destroyed due to inadequate tie downs?

Boggs

IIRC, once Paul got over the initial shock, he realized that the damage wasn't as bad as he first thought. It probably wasn't totaled, but I don't know whether he's yet had it restored.

On Friday, August 26, 2016 at 2:03:06 AM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
On Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 5:26:29 PM UTC-7, Peter Smith wrote:
On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 7:35:09 PM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

Here, as of June 5, 2013, are the NSM's records on the Sisus:

100 (prototype) N7983A 1s5 owner John Ryan, subsequent owner Jerry Robertson, current owner C.L. Kirchner
101 N 6390X, 1st owner Gleb Derujinsky, current owner Paul Hanson
102 N 1100Z, 1st owner John Randall, subsequent owners Al Parker, Jack Baugh, current owner National Air & Space museum
103 N 6391X, 1s5 owner A.J. Smith, subsequent owners Jack Steen, who loaned it for several years on display at the National Soaring Museum, now owned by DicK Butler.
104 N6392X, 1st owner Bill Ivans, current owner Timothy O'Donnell
105 N252JB, 1st owner Dean Svec. No longer registered, N# reissued
106 B622W !st owner Red Wright, subsequent owners Jack Baugh, National Soaring Museum. Signed over from NSM to Kentucky Aviation Museum
107 N1003 1st owner Gordon House, subsequent owner Bernie Paiewonsky (who passed away last week), now owned by National Soaring Museum
108 N1110T, 1st owner John Ryan, current owner Galen Fisher
109 N331A, 1st owner Dale May. destroyed
110 N253JB 1st owner Jack Baugh, subsequent owner Al Parker. Current owner Steve Parker

Does anyone know of s/n 111 ? It's competition number had a 1 in it and the plane may have had some red or yellow trim on it. My father has the stabilizers and ruddervators from it. It was damaged in a stall/spin.

I've never seen any indication that there was a s/n 111. All the records show that there were the prototype (100) & ten production builds. If you could provide information indicating otherwise, that would be very informative & useful.

Great info! Thanks. Lots of memories.

Chip Bearden

On Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 8:41:47 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Great info! Thanks. Lots of memories.

Chip Bearden

Steve Leonard has helped clear up the mystery of ship s/n 111. Tail feathers from wrecked s/n 109 were returned to Niemi, repaired, and issued the new s/n 111 on 12/17/68. Sailplane s/n 111 was to be the structural test model for the type certificate and is the project my father has been the custodian of since the early 70's. This plane, I hope, will be a brand new, vintage glider for someone who will really appreciate it.