M-lOO S STANDARD SINGLE-SEATER (Avionautica RIO series production) A practicaJ. efficient, robulIt and versatile sailplan,,: from first solo f1yinll lo "diamonds" and competition ftyins! Y
to Lake Tahoe, partly in Nevada but with the larger area in California; a wonderful sight fr,om the drive round the rim of the lake to Stateline, with its smart and attractive lure of slot machine halls, which we avoided with grim resolution. Next day it was evident that the strong sun was just about cooking my face. so it was agreed that I must have a genuine western hat-a ten·gallon type with brim turned up each side (we were in the Pondarosa country, of course). The western stores in Carson City tried hard to fit me up; nothing large enough there. Dick said that Bridgeport. a town in the mountains, would be sure to have big hats as it was real l:owboy country. One storekeeper looked at me very hard when I said I doubted if he had my size. "Wanna bet?" he said. "No, just a wid.e hat my size," I asked. He failed to find one. ''There never has been a hat made size 7t, and I guess you know it." said he. However he did try. I gave it up and made the best of a jungle hat that I had picked up a few years ago in Cape Town. (My! how we soaring folks travel around.) From Bridgeport we motored on to Bishop in the High Sierras. It was the opening day of the fishing season and the .airstrips of all small towns we passed through were packed with small private aeroplanes. There was very little soaring activity at Bishop that day. It is a very impressive site with high and massive mountains throwing up powerful rolling clouds. Next afternoon we rode through the desert to Tehachape where Fred Harris runs a very lively Holiday Soaring School situated in the hills. Thermals seemed to be boiling up aU over the place; they were really vigorous even at ground level, whirling up the sand and desert debris to a good height. When motoring along the road. Dick suddenly said: "Here's one coming acr{)ss our path." As it struck us the car shuddered in an alarming way. At the soaring site a large thermal suddenly aplleared. collecting anything it could pick uP. and made towards a line of parked sailplanes. There was a mad rush to hold the machines down; a canopy cov,er was caught up in the whirl and . went off into the distance in a lively sky dance. What an exciting place for a soaring school! Fred Harris is a cheerful fellow with years of flying experience. He had a long spell as a "crop duster", until he and his wife Goldie decided to have a more peaceful life for a spell, and so took over the holiday school at Tehachapea difficult name for me to get right in conversation. I have adopted the habit of referring to it as Fred Harris's place; it is easier that way. The mountains around the site go up to nearly 5,000 feet. Two steep valleys converge at Tehachape, and so the airstreams, roaring down both of them. really get lively when they meet at the site. The Southern Californian Soaring Society members just love this place. We were now nearing Los ngeles, and after a short stay in the Mojave Desert to take pictures of the flowering cactus and the weird Joshua trees, we passed through Lancaster and Palmdale to the San Fernando Valley and Tarzana; a really wonderful week of travel. The next week we visited the Marine Park, also Disneyland-both most enjoyable. On the Sunday morning Dick suggested breakfast out somewhere. Off we went to the Roy Rogers Apple Valley Inn in the high desert, about 60 miles away! "Californians are like that," Dick said. "kinda restless on Sundays!" However, there was more to it than breakfast at midday in a desert restaurant. We were now quite close to El Mirage-Gus Briegleb's Soaring School. a very popular site indeed, run by a very popular character, and supported by his wife Anne and their two sons. As we arrived at the school a very impressive-looking sailplane was just· laking off. a war-time Pratt-Read sideby-side two-place ship which I should imagine is very spacious and stable in flight. I've always been .given to believe that no other country but Britain had a side-by-side sailplane. We live and learn. Gus showed me his treasured album of the photos he has collected over the years. Recent additions were of an experimental high-speed sailplane without wings! Gus helped the research authorities with the design of this extraordinary aircraft and built the prototype of wood. An Air Force test pilot flew the thing at 343
- Page 1 and 2: SAIL A &GLIDI October-November 1966
- Page 3 and 4: SAILPLANE &, GLIDING OFFICIAL ORGAN
- Page 5 and 6: CALIFORNIAN HOLIDAY By FRED SLlNGSB
- Page 7: A gaggle, assembly, dope, or produc
- Page 11 and 12: a most interesting visit to the Soa
- Page 13 and 14: Guo (sharply): Are you referring to
- Page 15 and 16: THE GERMAN NATIONALS EARLY a hundre
- Page 17 and 18: B.G.A. NEWS Association Secretary R
- Page 19 and 20: THE CARE AND FEEDING OF PASSENGERS
- Page 21 and 22: "A.h, bwt lift in clowds is much bi
- Page 23 and 24: V-TAILS By JOHN GIBSON HE recent in
- Page 25 and 26: LONDON REGIONALS 30th July - 7th Au
- Page 27 and 28: would also be possible. Pilots were
- Page 29 and 30: Final 3L7 2.8 5.8 Total Place PI/or
- Page 31 and 32: uckling of the whole wing upper sur
- Page 33 and 34: FLYING IN THE U.S. NATIONALS By R.
- Page 35 and 36: course ran S.E. diagonally across t
- Page 37 and 38: "TURN LEFT AT READING" Some Thought
- Page 39 and 40: SKYlARK FURTHER l.INES OF LAUNCHED
- Page 41 and 42: others could be seen along the fron
- Page 43 and 44: 1250 Regular asClockwork Every fiv~
- Page 45 and 46: lost. An urgent plea over the radio
- Page 47 and 48: silver colIectio.n from Burton, Bur
- Page 49 and 50: ular lesson, and above an what he i
- Page 51 and 52: RIETI 1966 By PHIL.lP WILLS W· HEN
- Page 53 and 54: FIRST GOLD FOR WALES By IAN SHATTOC
- Page 55 and 56: all around with large flat areas of
- Page 57 and 58: GLIDING CERTIFICATES DIAMOND FOR HE
- Page 59 and 60:
quent flying. Anyway, on one of the
- Page 61 and 62:
winners of each Clas3 as National C
- Page 63 and 64:
idea of his position. This person w
- Page 65 and 66:
the demand for its se"rvices and sa
- Page 67 and 68:
FOR SALE (continued) HIGH performan
- Page 69 and 70:
BRISTOL E are pleased to note that.
- Page 71 and 72:
Our holiday courses h.ave been high
- Page 73 and 74:
land is under consideration, as we
- Page 75 and 76:
enough to -make it impossible to dr
- Page 77 and 78:
Mick Ensor made our "highest" this
- Page 79 and 80:
AUSTRIA T HIRTY-FIVE pilots. flew i
- Page 81 and 82:
"4 came through, Karsten Christense
- Page 83 and 84:
nine completed, three faste! a seco
- Page 85 and 86:
NORWAY "T"'HB THIRD NORDIC GLIDING
- Page 87 and 88:
SWITZERLAND A NEW ELFE.-The designe
- Page 89 and 90:
[WO rubber springs. The fuselage ha
- Page 91 and 92:
Scottish Gliding Union PORTMOAK. SC
Change language