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Letters Comte may bring ELFE PM3 to U.S. Nationals [[image - photograph of a Kookaburra sitting on the ground]] [[caption]] The ES 52B Long-wing Kookaburra, a development of the ES 52 Kookaburra, work horse of Australian soaring clubs. It is a two-place trainer of conventional wooden construction, with the side-by -side seats slightly staggered. More than 30 of the ES 52's were built with 37.3-ft. wings, a skid ahead of the main wheel, and maximum glide ratio of 20 to 1. The B model features a three piece wing of 47.5-ft. span, tandem wheel undercarriage and a maximum glide ratio of 24 to 1. [[/caption]] [[image - photograph of the SSA emblem]] [[caption]] The SSA sew-on emblem. 2-7/8 in, in dia., gold-yellow and white on blue, available from SSA, Box 66071, Los Angeles 66, California. [[/caption]] Dear Sir: I have always had the wish to participate once in the U.S National Contest, especially if it is held in Texas or California. Now that it is going to be in El Mirage I feel that it will be the right moment. For this purpose I would like to bring along Switzerland's fastest sailplane, the ELFE PM3. It would help matters considerably if this ship could afterwards be sold in the U.S., as the expenses would be too high to ship it twice across the Atlantic. I hope I find a buyer through this letter. The ELFE PM3 was built in 1956 as a prototype, but has been flown very little. For our Swiss weather it is somewhat too heavy and too fast. Its performance is similar to the HP-8 which I have seen in Koln and I am certain can do very well in places like Texas, California, etc. The best gliding angle is calculated well above 40:1; it is one of the fastest ships in the world. The ELFe M which I flew at the last world Championships in Koln is a simplified and lighter version of the ELFE PM3. The latter is built of all-wood monocoque (sandwich) construction and is extremely strong. I very much hope that I shall be able to attend the Nationals and am looking forward to it. RENE COMTE C.F. Ballystr.17, Schoenenwerd (SO), Switzerland Stirrings in Vermont Dear Lloyd: Many thanks for your letter about the Schweizer 1-7 "Pterodactyl" We Altosauri often wondered whether she still flies and with whom and where. Our pre-war soaring days are one of our fondest memories. I surely wish we had been doing airplane towing then and really putting in some soaring time. I am going to copy your information about Pterodactyl and send it around to her old friends. I got back into soaring a bit in '61 and hope to more in '62. Daughter and son-in-law, Margot and Johnny Macone, with a few others have formed the Sugarbush Soaring Society in Waitsfield, Vermont. This is a big and growing ski center and may possibly become an active soaring center in the summer time. They purchased a Schweizer 2-22 last July and now have dreams of a 1-26. They have been doing airplane tows out of a little mountain grass strip in Waitsfield and getting excellent soaring, some of it was soaring to substantial altitudes. ALAN C. BEMIS Westford Rd,. Concord, Mass. Hawk Soars in Wave Dear Lloyd: May I too make a comment on birds soaring in waves. At Pincher Creek last October I soared near a hawk at 16,000' above and in front of the roll cloud. The hawk was obviously using wave lift since it had its wings in the high speed cruise configuration and was headed into the wind (it was not circling). Perhaps birds are not seen at 30,000' because of lack of oxygen and extreme cold, even for them, but they do use waves. On other occasions I have seen them enter clouds too. If only my sailplane would hatch sailplanes! RUDY ALLEMANN 386 Cottonwood, Washington BIBLIOGRAPHY ON SOARING: Recent articles or items on soaring which have appeared in non-soaring publications. Aviation News Illustrated, Nov.-Dec., 1961, pp. 8-10 & 27. Pilot of the Month, Harland C. Ross, "Super Sailsman;" and "Flyweight Flyer," story of Alan Rose's solo as a 90-lb., 14-year-old. Aviation News Illustrated, March 1962, p. 25. News note on Torrey Pines Meet and photo of the winner, John Williams. Aviation Week, April 2, 1962, p. 87. Photo and data on Russian An-13 sailplane with turbojet engine; data on two new Russian Standard Class sailplanes, the Amur and MAI-60, the latter with an L/D "close to 40." Flying, April, 1962, p. 31. Full page photo of Briebleb BG-12B sailplane as background for Gill Robb Wilson's monthly poem. Journal of Geophysical Research, March 1962, pp. 1041-1050, "Turbulence Measurements by Sailplane," and pp. 1051-1059, "The Inertial Sub-range of Atmospheric Turbulence," both by Dr. Paul B MacCready, Jr. Scientific American, April, 1962 pp. 130-140, "The Soaring Flight of Birds," by C. D. Cone, Jr. Sport Aviation, April, 1962, pp. 12&40. Activity of the New Englang Soaring Assn. at Hiller Airport; and photos of Frank Kelsey, SSA State Governor of Utah, flying an early primary and working on his 17th glider. Sport Aviation, April, 1962, pp. 18-20, "Charles Fauvel and His Flying Wings," part one of two parts; emphasis on sailplanes. Pg. 36, "The 'Flightsail,'" photos and article on a Rogallo wing glider. Sports Illustrated, April 2, 1962, p. 98, and Time, March 30, p. 25, full-page Rambler ad with color photo taken at Elsinore, Calif., showing two sailplanes in background. "1962 U.S. Aircraft, Missiles and Spacecraft," published by NAEC, pp. 129-131, photos and info on sailing planes in production by Schweizer, SOARING
