[Land-speed] Gliders/Sailplanes

[neil at dbelltech.com]

Bob;

I was in Germany too but in '62-'63. I joined the local German Aero Club in
Babenhausen where I was stationed and our instructor was an old
Messerschmitt fighter pilot who spoke no English. The club used a winch for
launching the gliders from a grass field behind the kaserne. The first time
he had me in the glider he did a side- slip to lose altitude for landing and
that scared the crap out of me-- I had no idea what was happening!

After I returned to the States and found out how expensive it was to fly
here I abandoned the idea. It was fun though!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ 

-----Original Message-----
From: land-speed-bounces+neil=dbelltech.com at autox.team.net
[mailto:land-speed-bounces+neil=dbelltech.com at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of
BWANA343 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 6:02 PM
To: speedtimer at beyondbb.com; land-speed at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Land-speed] Maxton/Laurinburg 1944 (non LSR)

In a message dated 9/28/2007 8:39:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
speedtimer at beyondbb.com writes:

glider  training off of  Redondo Beach. They would tow the gliders with a  
winch down the hill side and release them over the cliffs 


When I was stationed in Germany with the 4th AD in 65/67 we used to get  
glider rides with the local Sailplane club for $5 @ trip. They were all  
Ex-Luftwaffe Old Farts Like Us, only in the Air and w/o Engines.
Not a lot of soldiers went up and these junior Red Baron wannabees  needed 
very little encouragement to show you their stuff, ala rolls, loops,  dives,

etc. The scariest part of the trip was the takeoff, when you were winched
up to 
what you thought was vertical before the line was dropped. After that it
was 
all fun, if your lunch stayed put. 
Bob, got pix someplace, W