Evening star., 1939-06-11

new 5. s. A. program, which Is expected
to include re-opening of activities for
the local area at the Federal Govern
four years ago in the heart of Shenan-
doah National Park. The camp, estab-
lished with the cooperation of the S.
S. A., is at Big Meadows, natural noun
tain-top meadow astride the high crest
of the Blue Ridge. The chief difficulty
at this site-of bringing back to the
starting point gliders which have landed
in the valleys-has been somewhat
lessened by construction of Skyline Drive
Scientific studies of gliding by the
Wright brothers led to their building of
the first airplane SO years ago The
Wrghts made many glider flights from
the dunes at Kitty Hawk, N. c.. Gaping
their performance with a true soaring
flight. by the slope method of more than
9 minutes which stood for many years
as the duration record With the advent
of the airplane interest shifted quickly
from gliding and soaring TO the new
powered flight.
Nearly 80 years were to elapse after
the WrightS completed their glider work
before the advent of organized efforts
to develop gliding and soaring as sport
and for scientific research into flight
without power The National Glider
Association was established in 1880 and
two years later the Soaring Society of
America was founded by group of en-
thusiaStS under leadership of Mr.. Eaton
to carry on and extend the work begun
by the glider group. The society was
able from the start to enlist the aid of
scientific men, who contributed much
to the advancement of the art.
Improves Pilots Work.
There seems to be little doubt that
glider and soaring training improves the
air work of an airplane pilot. Germany
requires that its air transport pilots
have glider training. There are many
instances of pilots having applied
soaring training to emergency situa"
tions with effective results. Levin
Barringer, while in Persia as one of the
pilot members of an archaeological eX-
pedition, frequently employed his soaring
skill to good advantage. Much of the
expeditions aerial exploration and cargo
work was over mountainous desert coun-
try. Other pilots studiously avoided the
heavily broken mountain country, Bar
ringer deliberately used favorable as
cending currents to increase the speed
and range of his airplane. He found
that frequently he was able to gain
considerable increases in speed without
any increase in engine revolutions by
using up currents to increase his lift.
More than once he scared to safe
cessity for forced landing while over
unfavorable terrain.
The society has many records of such
events. One of them is of light-plane
pilot who, with his fuel running low,
shut off his engine and employed ridge
and thermal soaring tactics to travel Is
miles to his destination. He actually
gained 5000 feet of altitude above the
level at which he cut off his engine. All
good light airplanes can be scared, Mr..
Wightman said, if the pilot is expert
enced. The soaring pilot has a good
sense of air currents and is willing to
take advantage of this knowledge in
flying powered aircraft. On the other
hand, some of the poorest demonstra-
tions of airmanship at glider meets have
been given by experienced airplane pilots.
One of the aims of the S. S. A. is to
inculcate better understanding between
glider and airplane pilots. They believe
that the problems of soaring flight and
of powered airplane flight can be solved
the better if those experienced in both
types of flying approach them as COM
mon problems, to the improvement of
aeronautical technique, the increasing of
safety and the greater enjoyment OF
mans conquest Of the air