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Page 16
Soaring (not WAR..ing) in the 1940's
Hattie Myers Junkin

For these lads, anything less than 10,000 ft. altitude or a hundred miles from take-off is just "stuff" when they get under way.  They get up in the clouds and do thermal soaring.  The cumul-nimbus (thunderhead to you) is avoided as once sucked up into one, a pilot can suffocate or freeze to death...The aforementioned German pilot was lucky.

Bob Stanley feels that every pilot should have instrument flying instruction, carry a vaiometer which I understand is a variation on the old altimeter.  All carry barogrpahs as in 1930 and 1931 and they wear their parachutes.

Gus Heller who built and lfew Haller-Hirth sailplanes, was the first Soaring caterpillar I ever saw in 1931 when his 'chute opened just in time to cushion his landing..a little bit.  Another German lad felt his ship being drawn up into the cloud, the cowlromew [[?]] off, he opened his safety belt and nature did the rest, yanking him right out of the cockpit.  Pulled his ripcord when clear of the cloud not wanting to be sucked up again.  His ship landed in pretty good attitude RIGHTNEAR THE PILOT, who only had two under arm bruises but learned plenty.

Bob Stanley has had so many thrilling adventures all of which I have with all Soaring Meets in newspapers and commercial and my own camera pictures, hard to choose one.  He won his Golden "C" with the American record of 17,264 ft.  Prior to this flight from Big Flats airport at 700 [[?]] ft. foundideal soaring conditions, reaching 8000 ft. over Ithica, N.Y.  Over Richford he found a cloud that carried him up to 16,300ft.  Not a thnder cloud so not as turbulent.  Continuing his upward climb hail broke thru his cowling and filled his cockpit to about a half inch.  Whenhis instruments froze and fog too densem Bob Stanley flew out of the cloud which extended another 5000ft. so he headed for his destination Watertown.  The sun and thermals were sinking.  He had flown from above 90 on the ground to thirty or less in the clouds.