General Discussion Board. Public access. The opinions expressed here may not reflect official York Soaring policies and procedures. Posts deleted after 240 days.
Hi Charles, This flight sequence has been credited with a jump in the number of glider pilots participating in the sport in the period that followed.
YSA owned a Schweitzer 123 for a number of years. It was capable of modest cross country flights. On the initial take-off roll it was hard to see forward until the tail lifted off the ground. Just like the WW2 cartoon character Chad "what no fags (cigarets)"
I never felt comfortable in the 1-23, it felt very nervous in flight as if it was always on the edge of dropping a wing. It's possible I was flying it too close to the aft CG limit - I didn't do enough flights in it to experiment with different loading.
When I first joined YSA and was doing my obligatory progression through the fleet, I took one of them up (which ever one I could still fit into weight wise). I already had several hours in the one COSA owned for a while. After landing Richard Sawyer asked me how I liked it. I said "It's nice, flies a little better than the one COSA has, and it spins really well." Richard..."You spun the 1-23!?" Me..."I did." Richard...."Nobody is supposed to do that" Me...…"Well, no one told me not to." Richard...…."It spins really well, huh." Me....."Yep."
Son Erich spun KJT inadvertently while I was watching from the ground as was Dave McKenzie back in the summer of 2002. Afterwards we asked Erich if that was him that we observed. He said yes is was...as he was thermally close to stall at 4300 ft. when it "let go". He did 2 1'2 spins before recovery. Good thing YSA takes spin training seriously. Piece of cake according to Erich who was 16 years young at the time and enjoying a summer at YSA hang'in with the Air Cadet crowd.
KJT taught me an early lesson about the Lake Huron lake front sometime around 1975. I was attempting an FAI 300 km triangle and chose Goderich as my second TP. Bad mistake right there. On the day in question I had to penetrate the lake front to reach my TP. Baffled by the incomprehensible geometry of the situation, I never reconnected with the booming thermals above me after rounding the turn point. As I waited for a retrieve, sitting in a farmer's field on the cold side of the front, I contemplated my folly and ate the mandatory slice of humble pie. Several lessons: mainly, don't choose turnpoints on the wrong side of a lake front, or away from the lift that you based the flight on. Second, understand how the lake front works. Then it becomes a wonderful assist on cross country flights. Third: Steak dinners all round for the rescuers. They are worth it.
Name the date Charles, Pick the place, I would be glad to deliver.