Sailplane & Gliding 1966 - Lakes Gliding Club

eserved for my use-they knew that I
adore oranges. Every morning I got at
the tangerines and absorbed the "vits".
Word soon got around to the soaring
people that the Slingsbys were in the
district, so Lucy and Dick organised a
"get together" at their house. About 46
people turned up, some coming from
over 80 miles away and intending to get
back that night. The Americans think
nothing oi such mileage for an evening
out.
After a lot of good natured chatter
about World Contests at South Cerney
last year, I was caUed opon to answer
questions and had about an hour of
good natured bantering. "Why had I
come to California?" "For a good holiday,"
I said, and Fluff and I meant to
have it, with their blessing.
I was told that there were a number
of high-performance ships in the construction
stages and I got a pressing
invitation to call and see them all
during my stay in California. Eventually
I did so.
Dick took a week's vacation from his
'work as research and development engineer
at one of the Howard Hughes
armament plants. a.nd he planned a
2.ooo-miJe motor trip to take in some of
the gliding sites and also a two-day visit
to the Yosemite National Park.
On our way up to Yosemite we
caUed to have lunch with Vern Older·
shaw and his wife at Bakersfield in the
fruit and vegetable district of California.
Vern is the President of the Southern
California Soaring Society, and a postal
official. He was using his spare time
designing and building a "two-place
ship", which he hopes to complete this
year. Vern is an expert craftsman. and
has built a few types over the years he
has been interested in soaring. He lives
in a spacious single-storey house with a
lu.xurious swimming pool and gardens.
He actually planned and built the house
himself. These Californians are certainly
workers.
Travelling northwards we called in at
Livermore, Ted Nelson's place which
had a large hangar of unique design
from which the "ships" could be taken
in or out from both sides without obstructions.
When we arrived, Ted had
just returned from a cruise afoOund the
San Francisco district in a Humming-
340
bird, a motorised two-place sailplane
which he developed about 12 years ago
with the assistance of Harry Perl.
I had a wonderful opportunity 10
examine the Hummingbird in great
detail. Ted says he can take off fully
loaded in a hundred yards, climb 10 a
few thousand feet, retract his engine, and
enjoy thermal soaring for a few hours
over a wide range. Then. if necessary,
he can g.:t out the engine, start it up and
motor home in comfort. Ted Nelson
designed the 50 h.p. engine, with a very
low power/weight ratio; Harry Per! de:­
signed the airframe, and the result is
the answer to the age-old question:
"Why not put a little: engine in it~"
The Hummingbird has a very short
take-off run, and Ted assures me that its
performance as a sailplane is remllrkably
good. As onc would imagine. the initial
cost is high. It was quoted in the American
magazine Aviation in 1954 as 7,000
dollars. I doubt if it would be allY less
than 12,OO() dollars these days.
Ted Nelson has handed over the production
and market rights to the Nelson
Aircraft Corporation. P.O. Box 551,
Irwin. Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He told me
that the design development and prototype,
including the official charges for
Type approval (A-T.C.). cost him a very
large figure, in fact in the region of
300,000 dollars. High indeed!
After our visit to see Ted. we pot up
at a super motel at Freemont where we
met Jerry Morris and his wife Joan.
Jerry is a Slingsby Sailplanes Agent for
California. and lives in San Jose. Both
he and Joan are enthusiastic soaring
pilots and operate from Truckee, close
to the Nevada border about 30 miles
west of Reno.
The following evening Jerry- and Joan
organised a get-together at our motel
and about 35 soaring pilots and their
wives turned up for dinner. We talked
soaring and sailplanes until a very late
hour.
The next day we made a trip to Hayward,
not far from Freemont, to sce
Les Arnold's Soaring School.
Les Arnold is quite a character and
well loved by all tbe S.S.A He runs a
very efficient ~tablishment. and has a
fine fleet of sail-planes including a Hummingbird
and several aeroplanes. Les has
been keen on soaring for many years.