Get your kicks on Route 66

[India Four Two]

When I was getting my kicks on Route 66 a few years ago, I didn’t know about this museum or I may have been tempted to drive the 300 miles east from Winslow, where I joined the highway and stood on the famous corner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Tc3PkfgoU

I've flown five of the types in the museum, including "The Barge". :)

http://swsoaringmuseum.org

[treadigraph]

Flown in two as a passenger! Excellent find... The short-coupled thing coded EN rings a bell but I cannot recall the type...

[longer ron]

We were only 160 miles away from there a few years ago (Antonito,NM to Chama,NM on the Cumbres and Toltec choo choo) but we only had 12 days for our (mostly) Colorado road trip and just did not have time to do everything :(,great collection of gliders though - we did a quick visit to Elmira on one of our USA road trips but the weather was cr@p.
I have flown a few types in the collection inc T31,T21,Ka4,Ka6cr,Grub 103 and Blanket L13.

[DaveReidUK]

Flown in two as a passenger! Excellent find... The short-coupled thing coded EN rings a bell but I cannot recall the type...

AB Sportine (LAK) Genesis 2.

[EXDAC]

Blanket L13.

That would be LET Blanik L13 I think.

I'm glad the museum is still there. George had planned to do it for a long time and I think he died close to the time it opened.

[EXDAC]

AB Sportine (LAK) Genesis 2.

I flew the original Genesis 1 (serial 001) back in 1996. That was at the time the design team was still experimenting with different span horizontal stabilizers. My log notes include "very heavy in roll but good roll rate. Light in pitch. Lots of rudder friction. Very docile in stall with full aileron control. Gear hard to use, Good wheel brake." I enjoyed flying it but I didn't buy one.

[treadigraph]

AB Sportine (LAK) Genesis 2.
Thank you!


Blanket L13.
Would that be a thermal blanket?

[longer ron]

That would be LET Blanik L13 I think.
.

It would be a 'Doink Doink' Blanket ;)
I actually used to love flying the old Blanik (from the front seat - hated the rear seat) and used to 'Doink Doink' around the sky in them - both in Africa and UK - they really did used to Doink Doink and talk to you in rough gusty african thermals :).
I also did quite a few hours in my half of a T53 - but because it was 'John Brown' built - it did not 'Oil Can' quite so much as the lighter Blanket L13.

[longer ron]

Would that be a thermal blanket?

Got it in one Treadi :)

[treadigraph]

Flew in a Blanik several times aged 7/8 at Nakuru in Kenya - don't recall any doinks in the air though. I do recall it lifting the rear (drive) wheels of the Pontiac tow car off the runways once or twice, presumably around the time the release should have been pulled! Other club gliders I recall were a Swallow and a T-21 - the only flight in the T-21 I recall was terminated by a cable break.

[India Four Two]

There is a Genesis 2 in Alberta, which I have seen and towed on occasion.

It looks odd in the air and doubly so on tow.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yKaC-88a-Ho


I presume that giant fin and rudder is a direct result of the very short tail arm. I wonder what the drag is like compared to a conventional tail?

[longer ron]

Flew in a Blanik several times aged 7/8 at Nakuru in Kenya - don't recall any doinks in the air though. I do recall it lifting the rear (drive) wheels of the Pontiac tow car off the runways once or twice, presumably around the time the release should have been pulled! Other club gliders I recall were a Swallow and a T-21 - the only flight in the T-21 I recall was terminated by a cable break.

You were a lucky boy to fly out there :)
I was going to book a gliding holiday out there many years ago but work and finances got in the way LOL

rgds LR

[meleagertoo]

Nakuru? Do you mean Mweiga?
When was that?
Were Peter and Petra Almendinger running it then?
Seem to recall a Blanik in bits in the shed in '93.
Never seen such thermals!

[treadigraph]

LR, wish I'd been old enough to fly!

Mleager, nope, Nakuru, this was 1970/72. Blanik was written off in an argument with a fence I believe. German team came out Easter 72 with some serious equipment. Walter Neubert captured the 300km triangle world record.

All quite a distance from Arizona though!

[longer ron]

LR, wish I'd been old enough to fly!



Indeed - thermals in Africa can be quite epic (sharing thermals with some birds could be epic too :) ),one day I was flying the club's Skylark 3b and joined downwind for landing - hit a corker of a thermal at 600' and rode it all the way up to 11,500 ' AGL - by the time I got to the top I was kernackered and my shins were bruised from hitting the instrument panel during the very rough and gusty thermal ride - wouldn't have missed it for the world :).

Of course what goes up must come down - so there could be epic 'sink' as well - I almost had to land out at the old Guinea Fowl Air Base one day (lovely looking grass field then) - luckily I found some low down lift and got away,after I landed I found out that GF was then occupied by the Army 5th Brigade who had a bad reputation so lucky not to land there LOL.

[India Four Two]

This is what I love about PPRuNE. We’ve gone from “Route 66” to “Out of Africa”! :)

[longer ron]

Indeed IFT :) and thanks for posting the thread - we would have visited that museum but we only just managed to squeeze a 12 day trip in before my OH's Brother became very ill (the USA is so big it is always a case of what don't we visit :) ),it was lucky we did it because eventually he died and we were tied down by various things for a couple of years and then along came covid :(.
I have got to the age now where I seem to get a new medical problem every month LOL so foreign travel would be tricky at the moment.