Date: Fri 13-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SUEZ

Illustration: C

Quick Words:

Nutmeg-Soaring-gliders-Wright

Full Text:

Gliderplane Soaring: A Relaxing, Challenging Sport

(with photos)

"I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,

Where never lark, or even eagle, flew;

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

-John Gillespie Magee, Jr

By Shannon Hicks

When John Gillespie Magee wrote these words, little did he know how they would

parallel the feelings of future pilots and riders in the engine-free ships

called sailplanes, or gliders. The vessels win hearts world over with their

smooth flights, lack of vibration in the air, and clean flying: no smell of

gasoline or exhaust fumes deter from the natural beauty of flying, nor pollute

the air.

Sailplanes, with their long, tapered wings and smoothly contoured fuselage,

were obviously designed for flying...gliding, actually...and the propensity

for speed. The long wings of the planes vs their narrow width (called the

"chord") - the sailplane's "high aspect ratio" - is used in these ships for

maximum flight efficiency. A good pilot can take a sailplane up in the air for

hours, at alternating speeds, where an inexperienced pilot will be unable to

remain airborne for more than 15 minutes.

Nutmeg Soaring Association came into existence in 1956, when four members

purchased a single-place sailplane. From these beginnings, the club has grown

to its standing today, with four sailplanes under its collective belt, two tow

planes and more than 100 members.

Four members are from Newtown - president Linda DeMarco and her husband, Louis

Grondal, and Jim (director) and Martha Wright (secretary). The Association is

the only sailplane ("gliders") club in Connecticut, so members hail from

across the state. A few members have even joined the club from New York,

Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The club flies from Candlelight Farms Airport, a beautiful grass strip located

north of Candlewood Lake, a few miles west of New Milford. Finding the airport

is an adventure before leaving the ground. The drive is along Route 7, then

onto Route 37 towards Sherman, and then a turn onto Candlewood Mountain Road.

Following the residential road is certainly a hilly experience, but no obvious

air fields are seen. In fact, turning into the driveway of the airport, with

its simple sign for "Nutmeg Soaring," the air field still cannot be seen from

the road.

It is only after driving through a field on a dirt road, through a thick row

of trees and turning a corner does the airfield emerge. If making this drive

on a weekend mid-April through mid-November, what you encounter next is a

wonderful sight: flight after flight of sailplanes - singles and doubles -

being towed into the air and released.

You have found Nutmeg Soaring and its members: sailplane enthusiasts.

Depending on the weather, members meet and fly each weekend, one mid-week day

each week and on major holidays. They keep the skies above New Milford busy.

Individual club members own at least 20 additional sailplanes for individual

use, which keeps the skies even busier when club members meet at the airport.

Louis Grondal of Newtown is the former world champion pilot of

radio-controlled airplanes. He has held a keen interest in flying since the

age of two, when he was growing up in Russia. In 1990, after learning how to

fly a sailplane, he joined the Nutmeg Soaring Association along with his wife,

physician Linda DeMarco. Mrs DeMarco is the club's current president.

"I always wanted to fly," Mr Grondal confided. "That's why I started to fly

the model airplanes. [When I saw my first sailplane,] it was love at first

sight."

Linda and Louis each own their own sailplanes, which gives them the freedom of

being able to go up much more than members who need to rely on the club's

planes being available. Sailplanes are surprisingly light - they average about

650 pounds. Packed in its trailer, Mr Grondal tows his plane with his Toyota

Camry, even though his is nearly 100 pounds above the average weight. The

fully-packed trailers are so easy to handle, in fact, Mr Grondal used to tow

his plane with a Ford Escort.

"Of course, I was the only person in the car those times," he said.

Sailplanes are made to go together quickly and fairly easily. From opening the

trailer to pre-flight check, a sailplane can be assembled within 30 minutes.

Wings weigh an average of 120 pounds each; the average sailplane tops off

around 650 pounds. Different considerations such as construction materials or

wing length can increase or decrease a sailplane's weight. Mr Grondal's

airplane, for instance, weighs in at 750 pounds because, he says, "It's built

like a brick house." On a hard landing, Mr Grondal's sailplane is less apt to

suffer damage than a lighter sailplane.

As with any form of plane, weather plays a huge part in how successful a

flight is going to be, or if it will be taking place at all. Nutmeg

Association members are at the airfield in New Milford any time the weather is

good for flying. However, good weather on the ground does not always equal

good flying weather.

Sailplane pilots need to look for "thermals" - warm pockets of air which

provide lift for a sailplane to ascend a few hundred feet or just to maintain

its height. Some of the best places to find thermals are open land areas, like

a farmer's field or a sandy area. Without a thermal to provide some lift, a

sailplane pilot can use his flying skills to remain airborne for some time,

but not as long as thermals can continue a flight.

Thermals cannot be seen, of course, but there are two good indicators for

pilots to watch for. The first is by watching hawks. Hawks are known for their

graceful stretches of flying time, the way they spread out their wings and

circle over and over in a single area. These hawks have found thermals and are

simply using the warm air pocket to do just what a pilot wants to do -

maintain or increase altitude.

The second way to find thermals is to watch for cumulus - white, fluffy -

clouds. Cumulus clouds provide beautiful thermals. "Cloud hopping" is the

practice of increasing altitude over an area of cumulus clouds, then flying

onto the next group of clouds to repeat the process.

Flying a sailplane is something of a relaxing challenge. Nutmeg Soaring owns

two tow planes, a Piper Pawnee and a Piper Super Cub originally designed to be

a crop duster which was converted before the club purchased it. These "tail

draggers" are the perfect design for towing gliders.

Mike Clarke of Southbury is the Association's chief tow pilot. He is the one

who handles scheduling the group's pilots when the club is flying its gliders.

Being in charge of the towing planes, Mike knows how important the right plane

is for pulling the planes into the sky - the safest way to launch a sailplane,

by the way (vs an auto tow, or the now-abandoned boomerang launch of days

past).

"You have to consider the towing strength of your plane," Mike explained. "You

don't want something too powerful." Tow pilots are there to bring the

sailplanes into the air, but a plane that is too strong could pull the

sailplane with too much force, putting stress on a sailplane and causing

premature aging.

Tow planes are advantageous because they place the least amount of stress on a

plane and they offer better opportunities for longer soaring flights because a

tow pilot can help look for lift during an ascent.

Once the tow rope has been released, it can be a contest between the intuition

and skill of the pilot vs the natural pull of gravity, to see which prevails.

Gravity will always be the ultimate winner, but a pilot's largest challenge

lies in finding upward currents. A few weeks ago, Jim Wright, Louis Grondal,

and three other members of the club were able to take off from Candlelight

Farms and fly to Stormville, NY; North Adams, MA; Waterbury, CT; and back to

the airfield, all on the strength of their experience and skill.

So how does one become a sailplane pilot? With membership, the Nutmeg Soaring

Association provides members with a well-maintained fleet of sailplanes and

free flight instruction by FAA-certified instructors. Jim Wright of Newtown is

just one of the retired airline pilots in the club; the club is an attractive

outlet for retired pilots because it allows them to continue flying, in a

different vein. He doubles as an instructor.

The club uses a two-place Schweizer 2-33 as its training vehicle. The

two-place design is most useful for introducing newcomers to the club, as well

as for training. At one time, Schweizer was the most-common American-built

plane, with its headquarters based in Elmira, NY; today, Schweizers are no

longer being made.

In addition to the two-place Schweizer, the club offers members the use of a

single-place Schweizer 1-26 glider. Both Schweizers offer "medium

performance." Also for members' use are two high performance, fiberglass

sailplanes: a single-place ASW-15B and a two-place Twin Grob 103. Safety is

the number one priority for the club, something seen in all phases of Nutmeg's

operation.

Single-place ships are for the pilot to really enjoy the art of soaring.

Generally cheaper, lighter to handle and assemble, single planes are much more

responsive when flying.

Nutmeg is an active club. Members include singles, couples and families, of

all ages. New members can benefit from association with one of the largest

pools of talented and experienced soaring pilots in New England. Long-time

members have built friendships through the years, share and have heard stories

of air experiences, and continue to refine their skills and intuition in the

air.

Flying may not be for everyone, but for a different spin on flying, sailplanes

and the Nutmeg Soaring Association provide a fabulous alternative.

For additional information, visit Candlelight Farms Airport on a weekend

during the soaring season, or contact membership chairman Lisabeth (Betty)

Boyce, 393-1255; Jim Wright, 426-9736; or Linda DeMarco, president, at

426-5051 (evenings).