It’s a Small World

Or how to spread the Soaring Bug...

Or how to spread the Soaring Bug...

rigging the northern birds

rigging the northern birds

This one is not a breaking news story, however sometimes the small things in a glider pilot’s life show that it’s worth the effort! We were surprised to have a foreign guest at our small glider port, but let’s start with the beginning of the story:

Last Saturday, after a long and busy winter season without a single flight, my club in Aukrug (North-Northern Germany)  was one of the first to open the new season. Business as usual – which means rigging the overhauled and polished club ships, cleaning up the facilities, sweeping the hangar, have lunch with the crowd, follow a safety briefing and… finally practice some winch launches. Well, after a sunny morning, the afternoon weather was really not too inviting, barely good enough to test the winch and try some short launches. I have to admit that from time to time I still suffer from homesickness; I lost my soaring soul somewhere in the Western US. However, together we finished a successful beginning of the 2014 season. Having survived some rain showers gave hope for better conditions…

Sunday’s forecast again was mixed, in fact while the soaring outlook was pretty optimistic the pedestrian weather was talking rain. Sometimes you really don’t know what to believe! A small crowd decided to give it a try and gathered in the morning to open the hangar. Björn, one of our instructors who has a two-hour drive to the field, arrived with a car full of young people. Had he asked the right meteorologist? The small group came over and Björn introduced us to his guests: “We have brought a visitor from America. Tyndall, could you tell Elke your uncle’s name?” “Yes, of course, he is John Seaborn.”

Germany meets America (Bjoern, Tyndall, Elke, Jochen, Alex)

Germany meets America (Bjoern, Tyndall, Elke, Jochen and Alex)

Are they kidding?! John, alias A8 and member of the US WGC Team, had been our “trailer neighbor” in Boulder, CO. Of course I know him! The days when he rigged his Ventus 2 had always been wonderful soaring and learning experiences. John was a great resource for us flatlanders, as he helped us to understand the secrets of soaring in the Rockies. Unbelievable that his nephew – who told me he lives in Bend, OR (home of Windward Performance, the Perlan and the DuckHawk) – was now visiting our small wet, flat and green field to have a first introduction into our sport?! He should have asked his uncle to take him up and above the mountains…

Of course the rest of the Sunday played out beautifully: Not only Björn and Tyndall could take advantage of the cold air behind a front which had passed during the night. They managed to catch some first spring thermals and enjoyed an hour of much more than just pattern work. Another crew was even able to log some first 80 km under a 1800 feet cloud base. Maybe those 10 degrees Celsius (around zero under the clouds) were not the warmest welcome for an American visitor, but after his first glider-flight ever Tyndall explained he would love to get a glider pilot’s and a powered license one day. In the evening, he left the field with a big smile infected with the soaring bug. Good job!

Now we leave it up to our American friends to take the young boy under your wings. Here is John’s first comment when he was surprised to find our pictures in his e-mailbox: “Ok you have just confirmed my belief in the small world theory. How perfect that Tyndall got a ride in the Duo Discus. Now he needs to go out to the Bend Airport and start making friends with the local club!”