Ridge Soaring Gliderport sale

[groshel]

For you gliders guys…and I know a couple of you are here…

Ridge Soaring Gliderport in central Pennsylvania was sold a couple of weeks ago…..Going to be a horse ranch.

Most assets were auctioned off yesterday…everything was extremely worn with the Scout going for about $30K …we made an offer of $32K for one of the ugliest Pawnees in existence.

No others bids on that one and it was pulled from the auction..guess it didn’t meet reserve.

This gliderport was the start point location of mthe out and back FAI glider records.
Multiple 1600 km records set back in the 70s. Also scenes from the Thomas Crown Affair were filmed there.

A bunch of us are trying to assemble a club out of the people remaining to still allow ops in this part of the state. Our regional contest at a nearby airport for one week a year doesn’t hack it!

Chris

 

[DavePA11]

Sad to hear. Believe that was the place I went to while at Penn State University for intro flight… I’ll have to look on the sectional.

 

[groshel]

Sad to hear. Believe that was the place I went to while at Penn State University for intro flight… I’ll have to look on the sectional.

Most likely

A big part of this new effort is to try and support the University Soaring club in some way...

 

[Dogscout]

groshel, was there a ground launch winch with the Ridge Soaring stuff?

Thanks. Dogscout

 

[DavePA11]

This was the place with red arrow... Too bad they are closing down.

Check out the Sentimental Journey flyin at Lock Haven in June for fun time in green arrow!

Fly-in To Lock Haven | Sentimental Journey

Sentimental Journey – Fly-in to Lock Haven, PA, Held each year. We celebrate the history and heritage of airplanes.

www.sentimentaljourneyfly-in.com

 

[groshel]

groshel, was there a ground launch winch with the Ridge Soaring stuff?

Thanks. Dogscout

Karl Striedieck runs a winch out of his strip 4 miles to the southwest on the ridge top where as Ridge Soaring was down on the floodplain in the narrow valley.

Both Karl at Eagle Field (photo) and partners Doris Grove and Tom Knauff at Ridge Soaring are the biggest names from US soaring history since the 70s.

Karl has flown at the “Worlds” contests many times. I spent a week at Paderborn Haxterburg Germany in 81 following him and the US team.

Karl, Doris and Tom are in all in their 80s now. Karl has the stamina and sharpness of someone half his age…He’ll be 85 next month.

He knows every ridge from southern NY down into Virginia like it’s his back yard…which it is!

 

[Ak Kurt]

Really cool stuff Chris! I used to have a SZD-55, I bought it from Ray Gimmey in 1992. I flew it in Washington and Texas, sold it in 1996.

I wonder if Ray is still alive. The competition number on my old 55 was 7V, N817V.

Kurt

 

[groshel]

-55 is a nice ship but very rarely seen. Maybe a few up in Canada. The Poles made interesting lightweight gliders before all the new hi tech composites came out

Karl was a Alexander Schleicher dealer for years but both he and Tom fly Duo Discuses. Got a couple in the area …great for ridge running.

if anyone is interested get a hold of a copy of A Fine Week of Soaring.
One of the bestdocumentaries of soaring in the eastern US.

SOP Is running 100 kts. one wingspan off the ridge for a couple of hours

Amazon.com: A Fine Week of Soaring. : Movies & TV

Find A Fine Week of Soaring. at Amazon.com Movies & TV, home of thousands of titles on DVD and Blu-ray.

www.amazon.com

Fly Husky’s own “Glider” aka Bill Brine makes his film debut in it!

Chris

 

[Ak Kurt]

Just ordered a copy of the DVD Chris, thanks for the heads up!

Kurt

 

[groshel]

And another soaring video..done in a very different style is The Sunship Game

Amazon.com: The Sun Ship Game : Robert Drew, Robert Drew, Anne Gilbert Drew, George Moffat, Gleb Derujinsky: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: The Sun Ship Game : Robert Drew, Robert Drew, Anne Gilbert Drew, George Moffat, Gleb Derujinsky: Movies & TV

www.amazon.com

An early 70s story of a nation soaring contest in Maria Texas

Both films are such a contrast in the way they’re done and what they document and where they are shot.

 

[Glider]

Ridge Soaring was a special place. I spent many nights in the bunkhouse over the years.
The housing development, improved roadways and general growth of State College have really put a damper on that section of the ridge for soaring.
Most glider traffic has moved to Mifflin County Airport that is about 7 ridges to the east of Ridge Soaring. Mifflin is on the network of north south ridges.
Mifflin sits in the “Big Valley” and makes for some nice local flying with lots of places to land. The jump to the south from the Big Valley is over some wild unlandable terrain and water. Not for the faint of heart on ridge only days. There is an active club at Mifflin, tows available and a really nice bunkhouse.

I fell in love with Huskies at Mifflin; at a Mifflin soaring contest I landed my glider just shy of the airport. I ended up on a short dogleg runway at the base of the ridge to the east. I called for a retrieve by trailer and the voice on the other end said I’ll be there in 5. 5 minutes later a Husky landed.
I was airborne just as the runway doglegged to the right. Butch, in the Husky kept the inside wheel of the Husky on the ground around the corner as he was not yet at flying speed.
At that very moment as Butch made the dogleg on the ground I knew I needed a Husky.

 

[groshel]

Ridge Soaring was a special place. I spent many nights in the bunkhouse over the years.
The housing development, improved roadways and general growth of State College have really put a damper on that section of the ridge for soaring.
Most glider traffic has moved to Mifflin County Airport that is about 7 ridges to the east of Ridge Soaring. Mifflin is on the network of north south ridges.
Mifflin sits in the “Big Valley” and makes for some nice local flying with lots of places to land. The jump to the south from the Big Valley is over some wild unlandable terrain and water. Not for the faint of heart on ridge only days. There is an active club at Mifflin, tows available and a really nice bunkhouse.

I fell in love with Huskies at Mifflin; at a Mifflin soaring contest I landed my glider just shy of the airport. I ended up on a short dogleg runway at the base of the ridge to the east. I called for a retrieve by trailer and the voice on the other end said I’ll be there in 5. 5 minutes later a Husky landed.
I was airborne just as the runway doglegged to the right. Butch, in the Husky kept the inside wheel of the Husky on the ground around the corner as he was not yet at flying speed.
At that very moment as Butch made the dogleg on the ground I knew I needed a Husky.

Bill,

When Butch decided to sell to sell his very early Husky I was interested but ran into a better deal and it went down to the Daytona Beach area

I crew the contests at Mifflin..manage camping and retrieves….my wife is Treasurer and handles the retrieve desk.

We’ve never been a club since we have no equipment only Glick’s 180 to tow as needed. And the airport management is a little hard to work with on contest sweet.

With Ridge Soaring’s closure, a group of us from Ridge and Mifflin are having a meeting on April 10 to see if we could form a club with gliders and tow ships. Don’t know where yet!

My Husky is set to tow but never has and and it’s really too nice to tow. I’m on the edge of listing so it would free up dollars to buy a Pawnee.

I’ll make a decision by next week so keep a look out on the Fly Market.

Chris

 

[Glider]

Bill,

When Butch decided to sell to sell his very early Husky I was interested but ran into a better deal and it went down to the Daytona Beach area

I crew the contests at Mifflin..manage camping and retrieves….my wife is Treasurer and handles the retrieve desk.

We’ve never been a club since we have no equipment only Glick’s 180 to tow as needed. And the airport management is a little hard to work with on contest sweet.

With Ridge Soaring’s closure, a group of us from Ridge and Mifflin are having a meeting on April 10 to see if we could form a club with gliders and tow ships. Don’t know where yet!

My Husky is set to tow but never has and and it’s really too nice to tow. I’m on the edge of listing so it would free up dollars to buy a Pawnee.

I’ll make a decision by next week so keep a look out on the Fly Market.

Chris

Sorry to learn there is no full time soaring club at Mifflin Co. Airport.
The Pawnee is a fun plane. Karl’s brother, Walter Stiedrieck had a 260 hp Pawnee in Vermont that he used to towed gliders at Springfield Vt and use as a recreational power plane.
Best of luck with the new soaring club.
Bill

 

[Ak Kurt]

I just watched “A Fine Week of Soaring”. Great video! Bill, you have not aged a bit, you looked the same in the video as you do today.

Kurt

 

[groshel]

Some non Husky news…Just to update the glider folks on this forum..

A couple of us have formed a new glider club here in central Pa. Central Pennsylvania Soaring Association is now in operation and is a recognized 501c3.

We’re blending many of the old Ridge Soaring crowd with some of the Penn State Soaring club people and also members of the MIfflin Soaring Association. We have about 18 members now and hoping for 24 by year’s end.

I picked up a nice a 2-33 for starters plus the old PSU club’s 2-33 that is part way through restore. The PSU guys also have a Grob102 that needs a bit of work.

Last week I did a prebuy on a 58 C182 which we’re now collecting money for. Should have thay on the line towing by months-end. It would have been nice to see how my old Husky would have yanked some of the local gliders in the air but it really was too nice to tow with regularly.

We’ll be operating out of PSB and N16 for now…maybe back over to RVL someday.

Chris

 

[johusky]

When I bought my Husky it was set up for towing. All has been removed if you ever consider a Husky I would consider donating it.

 

[Clifford]

Sad to hear about another airport / gliderport shutting down. But very glad to hear there are tenacious souls making new things happen!

Yes, current Husky driver and past glider guy here I bought Gren Siebles (sp?) ASW-20 and he let me take contest number TT with it. Moved to power planes 25-30 years ago (bad with time). I still fly airplanes ending in TT; I re-registered our Husky to 16TT and have another xxTT number reserved for the next airplane.