Author Archive for Rand Baldwin

Rand is a Soaring Cafe Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief. Fascinated by soaring since early childhood, Rand learned to fly sailplanes while in graduate school (at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics), and earned his private glider rating at Yankee Soaring in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He joined the M.I.T. Soaring Association in 1974, where he completed his Silver Badge and became a flight instructor. After moving to Huntsville in 1977, Rand flew and instructed on weekends at Eagleville Sailplanes south of Nashville, Tennessee. In 1985, he and a handful of other soaring enthusiasts organized the Huntsville Soaring Club at Moontown Airport. Rand chaired the 1996 SSA National Convention and has served as an SSA Director-at-Large, SSA Governor and State Record Keeper for Alabama. He has set two U.S. national soaring records and many AL and TN state records.

Concordia Progress Report—February 2012

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If you’ve been following the Concordia reports here in the Café, you know that Heinz Weissenbuehler and his team at M & H Soaring spent about six weeks finishing the fuselage at their workshop in Elmira, New York. Like all of you, Bill and I had seen photos of the finished fuselage, but when we saw and touched (nee caressed) the fuselage in Dick’s shop last weekend, we were blown away by the quality of the finish. I’ve never seen another sailplane with a finish that matched Concordia’s. Heinz and his staff did an extraordinary job on the fuselage. The photos and videos below don’t begin to do it justice.

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SSA 2012—News from Jonker Sailplanes

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Uys Jonker, co-founder of Jonker Sailplanes, makers of the 18
meter JS-1 Revelation, gave a very well-attended talk at the 2012 SSA convention in Reno on how refinements in glide aerodynamic design can add up to significant gains in performance over the current generation of 18 meter sailplanes.

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SSA’s “Let’s Go Gliding!” Campaign

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We have published Bill Daniel’s “Let’s Go Gliding!” presentation in the SSA Convention News section of the Café, but I think the campaign is potentially so significant to the future of soaring in the U. S. that I want to highlight it in this more prominent space on our site.

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SSA 2012 Begins!

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The 2012 SSA Convention got off to a rousing start this morning. Soaring enthusiasts of all stripes were quickly gathering near the registration booth at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

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Moontown Airport: Special Services Division

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If you’re a pilot [and if you’re reading this, you may well be one], you’re well aware of the many services small airports provide their patrons. You may have also noticed that many small airfields are frequented by a cadre of semi-permanent residents, which usually comprise a motley array of individuals (accent on ‘individuals’).

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Chilhowee Octoberfest 2011

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From Friday, October 14th through Sunday, October 16th, Chilhowee Gliderport hosted its 38th consecutive Octoberfest.

Chilhowee was founded in 1972 by Mike Reisman and has become one of the largest and most active commercial gliderports in the southeastern United States. The first Octoberfest was held in 1974 as a weekend event for sailplane pilots and their families—a time to enjoy soaring along the beautiful Chilhowee ridge and—on the ground—evening entertainment, good food, and visiting with old friends and making new ones. Many things have changed since the first Octoberfest, but the experience itself remains very much the same.

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Huntsville Soaring Club Christmas Party

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On December 2, 2011, members of the Huntsville Soaring Club gathered with their spouses at The Eaves Restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama to celebrate the 2011 Christmas season and the soaring year just past. The Huntsville club is based at Moontown Airport, a beautiful and very active grass airfield a few miles east of Huntsville.

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