Show Soaring Not Always Costly By STANLEY JAMES JAi Soaring can be an expensive sport but it can also be inexpensive inexpensive in inexpensive in- in expensive which is one reason for its recent growth th in the United States A t p champion suc such sis as s Ben Green Eliza of Elizabe Eliza Eliza- beh be l cHy N North 4 North rth Carolina who Carolina a yh holds th the worlds world's distance record record record rec rec- ord of miles might have in one sail plane ANOTHER group of less endowed endO endowed en en- dO dowed lcd enthusiasts might own owna a sailplane between them with an investment of or less less than a thousand each in their club or partnership equipment One can buy a reason reasonably bly efficient used sailplane sailplane sailplane sail sail- plane for sometimes including trailer In measuring performance the glide ratio is important This is simply put the ratio ratio of or distance horizontally I to dis dis- dis- dis tance vertically or drop in flight A glider with a 23 to 1 ratio will travel feet horizontally horizontally horizontally hor- hor while losing 1000 feet in height in normal windless air which is seldom fond md BUT champions look T for Cor r moreth more more- Just th than nj t- t that that hat one figure which applies to the most efficient speed of or the parti particular par- par ti ul r glider They I look ok for Cor fora Cora a sailplane which will travel at a good ratio at many speeds and at high speeds For inthe inthe in inthe the final analysis soaring is a racing sport The champions win because they make the best speed and travel the long longest longest longest est distance because they are arc making this speed during the sunny hours of or the day which allow s soaring aring The world distance record was set this year by Greene Inan in inan inan an 12 which has a glide ratio well up in the forties Corties Greene started from Crom Odessa Texas and landed milesa miles a way away w a y T The h e international championships were held in Texas this year at la l Marfa and another American George Georg Moffat won the open open class class world title MOFFAT'S sailplane a Nimbus has a a glide ratio of 51 to 1 That means if he were feet over the local airport he could travel fifty miles in a straight line before beCore landing landing and and of course he would almost certainly find some thermal lift in that distance distance distance dis dis- tance and therefore be able to go further Gliders which students learn in often have a r ratio tio of less than 19 to one and medium performance gliders are those with a ratio above that up to 29 to 1 1 Above 29 one is in the high performance category The most popular glider or sailplane sailplanes in use in the U S today is the 26 1 a medium performance glider which can be bought either in kit form or pr already assembled Several hundred of these are scattered throughout the country coun coun- try T t T |