It's International Vintage Sailplane Meet Year
The International
Vintage Sailplane Meet is getting underway in Elmira, New York.
(Can't place Elmira? It's near Horseheads. Did that help?)
Out-of-the-way Elmira is not only located in some of the most
beautiful scenery in America, it's also where Schweizer Aircraft
once built thousands of gliders, including the 1-33 that many
American glider pilots trained (and still train) on.
Elmira is also home to two of the main sponsors of the event:
the National Soaring Museum, and the Harris Hill Soaring Club. The
Vintage Sailplane Meet will take place at Harris Hill's private
gliderport, which is also the location of the museum. The Harris
Hill club offers club-owned aircraft to members at attractive
rates, and has a full menu of training and social activities.
The meet, which runs from August 20th to 27th, is a gathering of
vintage and classic sailplanes. OK, you ask, who defines that?
Well, the rules, and the definitions are straightforward: "A
vintage sailplane is one that was designed before 1958. A classic
sailplane must have been built at least 30 years ago."
If I were a sailplane, I'd be both vintage and classic, and
perhaps someone would restore me. But I digress.
The IVSM is a cooperative venture of the National Soaring
Museum, the Harris Hill Soaring Corporation, and the Vintage
Sailplane Association.
The show, of course, is a display of these historic, engineless
aircraft. The rally part involves some competition -- rather like a
vintage auto race, enough to get the spirit of the thing without
risking one's neck or one's multi-year restoration for a plaque or
trophy. They'll be "duration events and short cross-country flights
over safe terrain," the sponsors promise.
Along with the event trophies -- for cross-country champ and
longest flight (duration or distance) -- show judges will eye the
best of the fine old sailplanes and make awards for best
Restoration, best Schweizer, and the catchall, "Best Looking
Glider." Geez, aren't all gliders beautiful?
The soaring won't all be historic. The public is welcome, and
glider rides will be available for a reasonable fee. For those not
totally absorbed by soaring history and lore, there are plenty of
other attractions in or near the Elmira area, including the WIngs
of Eagles Museum (warplanes), the Corning Glass Museum, the
Rockwell Museum of Western Art, and several Mark Twain related
sites. The Watkins Glen racetrack has two
driving schools scheduled this week if silent flight can't
hold your interest (no idea if they are fully booked, though). The
region is also noted for its wineries.
Glider pilots admit just a tincture of snobbery with respect to
their power-plane counterparts, much like sailing yachtsmen have
for powerboat drivers. But, much more than the clubby yacht crew,
the glider riders are always eager to welcome new pilots to the
magical world of silent flight. An airplane pilot can often pick up
soaring relatively quickly, and every pilot who does it insists it
makes him a better powerplane operator, too.
If one name is synonymous with American soaring, it's got to be
Schweizer, which is also a sponsor of the International Vintage
Sailplane Meet. It's been a long time since Schweizer built
gliders, but it still operates a glider school at Elmira-Corning
Regional Airport. Schweizer today is an independent arm of
Sikorsky: building helicopters, acting as Sikorsky's
rapid-development Hawk Werks, and building glider-derived
surveillance aircraft for national security missions. A side
Schweizer tour may be available to Meet attendees.
This event is not only a must-see for vintage sailplane fans,
but it's a must-see NOW. If you miss this meet, it might be a while
before you see another. They've only been holding it every five
years.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.13.24)
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