Mon, Jul 31, 2006
First Year For Sailplane Club At OSH
In their first year at
Oshkosh with a large static display, the Soaring Society of America
has done an impressive job with three fully assembled sailplanes on
exhibit including a Grob G-103 SL self-launching motor glider with
a retraceable pod-mounted engine.
SSA's goal at the Oshkosh air show is inform pilots about how
fun and how safe the world of powerless-flight can be.
"One of our aims is to let people know that glider pilots can
fly cross-countries. Most people are not aware of that," stated
Kathleen Winters, long-time soaring pilot. "A lot of people think
that we just take a tow up, glide around for a half hour and land.
That's not the case. We can stay up for 8 hours or so and safely
complete flights of hundreds of miles."
It (soaring) has such sense of accomplishment," said David Nuss,
SSA's Region 6 Director.
"Anytime you stay aloft
for more than 20 minutes, you've really done something right.
Cheated nature almost. Additionally there's a sense of camaraderie
in soaring that exists nowhere else in aviation.
"We're really enjoying helping people see what is available to
them through soaring," said Anne Mongiovi, SSA's Volunteer
Coordinator. "I'm really glad that the people here get to see what
types of aircraft are participating in this sport. The interest has
varied from young people who are just entering aviation to
power-pilots wanting to transit to gliders.
Mongiovi concluded with, "I soar because my husband is an
instructor and he took me for a ride. I was sold from the first
flight."
More News
Inversion to Launch Reentry Vehicle Demonstrator Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 This fall, the aerospace startup Inversion is set to launch its Ray reentry demonstrator capsule aboard Spac>[...]
"We are excited to accelerate the adoption of electric aviation technology and further our journey towards a sustainable future. The agreement with magniX underscores our commitmen>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: OX5 Aviation Pioneers Each year a national reunion of OX5 Aviation Pioneers is hosted by one of the Wings in the organization. The reunions attract much attention as man>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]