Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, October 29, 2021

Soaring over California

by Larry Grooms fly, what does the weather ahead look the top restoration award presented by For Cam Martin, all rides are spe-
special to Aerotech News like, do I have enough altitude to press the Vintage Sailplane Association. cial. Almost 50 years ago, someone
on? It’s a three-dimensional chessboard On the return trip, it was a center- gave him the gift of a first glider ride.
TEHACHAPI, Calif.—When Cam strategy,” Cam says. piece of the Soaring Society of Amer- “Without that,” he says, “all of this
Martin came to Edwards Air Force As glider contests go, the Dust ica’s flight line display at the EAA’s might never have happened.”
Base to help NASA’s Flight Research Devil Dash is simple. It‘s a day-long, Oshkosh Fly-In. Back in California, Although soaring can be done at just
Center promote its work and tell its straight-out distance challenge. How Cam and his LP-49 were featured at a about any time of year in many places,
story, he trailered his sailplane along far can you fly your sailplane before “Plane Crazy Saturday” at Mojave Air long distance cross-country soaring
with him. the sun sets? This year Cam served as and Space Port. Returning to New York tends to be a seasonal activity, roughly
Back East he had been flying gliders chase crew for one of the other contes- for the 2021 IVSM, Cam’s LP-49 was aligned between the spring and autumn
for years, circling over the farmlands tants — and for them (Tom Coussens & in the spotlight on indoor display and equinox. Cam explains that the dura-
of the Midwest and cruising for hours Zulu Niner) the answer was 218 miles now part of the permanent collection of tion of a glider flight can vary widely
along the forested mountain ridges of — “Tehachapi to Tonopah,” just like the National Soaring Museum. from day to day and season to season.
the Appalachians. Soaring over the the song by Little Feat. As a commercial operation, Skylark Wind and weather conditions aside,
desert and the mountain peaks border- The winner of the 2021 Dust Devil North is a place where people come to Cam says “the unsung heroes are the
ing the Owens Valley with 100-mile Dash went a bit over 420 miles, win- buy a flight in a sailplane. Cam is one tow-plane pilots. They have to think
visibility was the stuff of legends. Courtesy photograph ning a custom tee-shirt and a year’s of the ride pilots there. There are sev- about the characteristics of two very
Of the many glider sites in and Cam Martin worth of bragging rights. Cam says, eral two-seat gliders available for rides. different airplanes, their’s and the one
around the Antelope Valley, serendip- “Everyone flew hard and came home His favorite has orange stripes on the at the end of the tow rope 200 feet
ity brought him to Skylark North at safe with new stories to tell. That was tail, a comfortable front seat and a great behind them. They are very adept at
Tehachapi’s Mountain Valley Airport. Cam Martin flies in the high-altitude the whole point. All will be back for view. It also has a fun secret — “It’s knowing where to go to find the best
Here was one of America’s most enthu- mountain wave that creates spectacular next year.” the one Neil Armstrong flew for his TV air to help the glider pilot get off to a
siastic and eclectic glider communities. lenticular clouds and joined in the hap- The smooth, flowing, eye-pleasing show,” good start.”
Disney and Neil Armstrong filmed tele- py gaggle of gliders that soared from shapes of sailplanes are dictated by the Cam says, “I try to shape each flight Cam Martin credits the Soaring So-
vision episodes here. Military test pi- Tehachapi to Mount Whitney’s sum- rules of aerodynamic efficiency. And experience to match each guest. If a ciety of America for expanding and
lots routinely train here. The youngest mit — and back. He has flown in Te- occasionally a particular sailplane will person received the flight as a gift, they deepening his enjoyment of soaring
of teenage student glider pilots learn to hachapi’s “just for fun” events — New stand out as especially appealing. For might be just a bit tentative.” He adds, by opening new challenges. He says
fly here. Since the winged Spaceships Year’s Day “polar bear open cockpit” Cam that sailplane was the Laister LP- “Other expectations span the range “The Soaring Society of America of-
of Mojave return to Earth as gliders, flights, and a spot landing contest “who 49, an American glider created in the from interested, to intensely curious, fers a series of internationally recog-
those rocketeers are occasionally seen can land closest to this traffic cone?” 1960s by engineer and soaring pioneer all the way to the adventurous person nized Soaring Badges that guide pilots
here too. Some of the out of the way event. But of all of these the ultimate Jack Laister. Eventually Cam located who has had ‘Fly in a Glider’ on their to ever more advanced soaring skills.
hangars are home to the antique and is the Dust Devil Dash, flown each year one, bought it, flew it, and competed bucket list for a long time and can’t It’s a way to fly and never get bored.”
classic gliders of the 1930s, 1940s and the Saturday after Labor Day. with it in his first Dust Devil Dash. wait to strap in.” Cam has logged approximately
1950s, some are flyable and some await Contestants fly with little more than In spare time initially afforded by Cam continues, “The glider itself 1,000 hours in sailplanes over many
restoration. a map, compass, GPS, air-speed indi- a government shutdown, he began is very accommodating — we can go years and holds a commercial sailplane
But of all of these, the elite are those cator, altimeter and a list of usable air- restoring it to better than new condi- sightseeing and have an aerial tour of rating. He flies a classic 301 Libelle,
long-distance cross-country sailplane ports, off-airport lakebeds and fields. tion. A pair of Jack Laister’s previ- Tehachapi, we can demonstrate the call sign “Blue Jay” from Tehachapi’s
pilots who race, engineless, for hours Highways don’t work because glider ous sailplanes were named “Yankee sheer elegance of unpowered flight, or Mountain Valley Airport.
along the rocky ridges and crests of wings are too long and low to miss Doodle” and “Yankee Doodle Two.” we can go through the nuts and bolts of
the Sierra Nevada Mountains, cover- signposts. Pilots also have a radio for Cam’s LP-49 became “Yankee Doodle how airplanes fly.” In the end the goal Editor’s note: This is part three of a
ing hundreds of miles, and, hopefully, communicating to the crew below tow- III,” finished in a red, white and blue is always the same — “We want people three-part series. Look for part three
returning home by sunset. (The alterna- ing an empty trailer while chasing the tribute scheme patterned after the 1939 to have a marvelous experience and tell in the next issue of Aerotech News and
tive is an exercise in patience while the glider to points unknown. original. all their friends.” Review.
pilot waits for the retrieve crew to bring Cam says the pilot is confronted by In 2016 Cam flew it at the Interna-
the trailer, disassemble the glider, and the need to make constant best deci- tional Vintage Sailplane Meet, hosted
drive home. It usually costs the pilot a sions based on changing conditions. by the National Soaring Museum in
steak and a beer along the way). “Where should I go, how fast can I Elmira, N.Y. “Yankee Doodle III” won

Courtesy photograph Courtesy photograph
Cam Martin sits in his glider. Cam’s custom plates: X-PLANES

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