Famous people in soaring

On Aug 31, 8:44*am, wrote:
The Pik was 2 gliders ago. *Steve Morse now has a Pipistrel Sinus.







On Friday, August 31, 2012 1:30:20 AM UTC-7, ppp1 wrote:
Steve Morse from Deep Purple. He owns Pik-20e and has a private

airstrip in his house.

On 31 elo, 09:07, Ramy wrote:

While Neil Armstrong was one of the most famous glider pilots, he wasn't the only one.

Other famous people who where also glider pilots which I recall:

John Denver

Christopher Reeve (Superman)

Sully (Hudson landing pilot)

Others?

Ramy (just signing my name, not claiming to be famous ;-)

would this be the same Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs?

Paul MacCready. I believe he is widely known for Gossamer Condor and Albatross, and the general public doesn't know that he was a leading glider pilot. That was true for me, before I started flying gliders.

I seem to remember an interview with Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns on TV's M*A*S*H)that mentioned his glider flying. There was also a photo of him sitting in the cockpit of a wood sailplane that he was either restoring or building.

Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns on TV's M*A*S*H)was an aeronautical engineering student before turning to acting. I remember seeing an interview long ago in TV Guide that had a photo of him sitting in the cockpit of a wood glider he was building (and apparently flew).

On 9/17/2012 8:34 AM, wrote:
Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns on TV's M*A*S*H)was an aeronautical
engineering student before turning to acting. I remember seeing an
interview long ago in TV Guide that had a photo of him sitting in the
cockpit of a wood glider he was building (and apparently flew).


A search of his name in the online "Soaring" archives will find (at least) one
letter from him talking about his homebuilt project...A modified Pioneer II as
I recall. I seem to also recall (in another issue?) a picture of him/it.

Geez...the things stuck away in memory recesses!

Bob W.

On 09/17/2012 3:16 PM, BobW wrote:
On 9/17/2012 8:34 AM, wrote:
Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns on TV's M*A*S*H)was an aeronautical
engineering student before turning to acting. I remember seeing an
interview long ago in TV Guide that had a photo of him sitting in the
cockpit of a wood glider he was building (and apparently flew).


A search of his name in the online "Soaring" archives will find (at
least) one letter from him talking about his homebuilt project...A
modified Pioneer II as I recall. I seem to also recall (in another
issue?) a picture of him/it.

Geez...the things stuck away in memory recesses!

Bob W.

link to a photo on IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2305857536/nm0513271

On Sunday, September 16, 2012 2:48:42 PM UTC-7, Brad wrote:
On Aug 31, 8:44*am, wrote:

The Pik was 2 gliders ago. *Steve Morse now has a Pipistrel Sinus.















On Friday, August 31, 2012 1:30:20 AM UTC-7, ppp1 wrote:

Steve Morse from Deep Purple. He owns Pik-20e and has a private



airstrip in his house.



On 31 elo, 09:07, Ramy wrote:



While Neil Armstrong was one of the most famous glider pilots, he wasn't the only one.



Other famous people who where also glider pilots which I recall:



John Denver



Christopher Reeve (Superman)



Sully (Hudson landing pilot)



Others?



Ramy (just signing my name, not claiming to be famous ;-)



would this be the same Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs?

It certainly would.

On Monday, September 17, 2012 12:16:16 PM UTC-7, BobW wrote:
A search of his name in the online "Soaring" archives will find (at least) one
letter from him talking about his homebuilt project...A modified Pioneer II as
I recall. I seem to also recall (in another issue?) a picture of him/it.

Geez...the things stuck away in memory recesses!

Actually, it was a BJ-1B Duster, I remember seeing periodic updates in the Duster newsletter back in the day...

Marc

On Monday, September 17, 2012 8:34:09 AM UTC-6, (unknown) wrote:
Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns on TV's M*A*S*H)was an aeronautical engineering student before turning to acting. I remember seeing an interview long ago in TV Guide that had a photo of him sitting in the cockpit of a wood glider he was building (and apparently flew).

I remembered a photo of him and his wife sitting in a composite flying wing that he designed and they built. Looking for it in the archives I found it in the Aug '79 issue page 11. I wonder if he ever flew it and how it did fly.

On Saturday, September 15, 2012 5:04:38 PM UTC-7, Jim Logajan wrote:
Ramy wrote:

While Neil Armstrong was one of the most famous glider pilots, he

wasn't the only one. Other famous people who where also glider pilots

which I recall: John Denver

Christopher Reeve (Superman)

Sully (Hudson landing pilot)



Others?



Susan Oliver, who played the character "Vina" in the "Star Trek" pilot

episode, had acquired a glider rating (as well as a number of other pilot

ratings.) See:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Oliver



Some scenes of her from the Star Trek pilot episode:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F5pAFhByU8



Here's a video that appears to show her in her Aero Commander 200 that she

used to fly the Atlantic in an attempt to become the first woman to fly

solo from New York to Moscow:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM77SEPJQFA



Her book, if you can get a hold of a copy, is an interesting read with

plenty of material that most pilots can relate to. No glider content in it,

though.

Nice you should mention her. She made an episode of "The American Sportsman", a popular ABC TV show about soaring at El Mirage, California in 1972. She spent a week there flying and filming the show. I got to fly with her for a total of 4.2 hrs in the 2-33 and a 2-32. She was very lovely and gracious. She was the real deal as far as flying goes. On her solo Atlantic crossing, she had to take off from a one-way strip at the head of a fjord in Greenland, and made a dead reckoning circling instrument departure to get out of the fjord, and could see some wrecks on the cliffs of some others who had didn't make it doing the same thing. I heard that later, she also flew sailplanes at Black Forest in Colorado.