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.

FMI: www.soaringmuseum.org/ivsm2005/, www.vintagesailplane.org, www.harrishillsoaring.org