March 23, 2025 - Soaring at New Hibiscus Airpark

I have my glider license but haven't soared in 14 years.  Has it really been that long?  Yes it has.  The soaring conditions were optimal in the Vero Beach area, so I got a monthly membership in the club, and got checked out with a flight instructor in the Schweizer 2-33.

The 2-33 was built frp, 1967 to 1981.  From its introduction until the late 1980s, the 2-33 was the main training glider used in North America.  579 were built.  The 2-33 remains popular with glider schools.  I flew in one operated by the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs back in the late 90's.
   
Getting ready for my first glider flight in 14 years.  Tommy is the instructor, and the glider is named Sky Hag.  Named after the club president's first wife, perhaps?
   
Ready to go.
   
Here we go!
   
The tow plane dropped me off in a nice thermal at 3,000 feet.  Flying the tow and thermalling came back very quickly.  Tommy the instructor was excellent.  I think we made it up to 5,000 feet a couple of times.  We stayed up for an hour.  We did a second flight right away, but the second one was a simulated tow rope break at 300 feet.  You just make a U-turn and come back and land.  A third flight was just up to pattern altitude followed by a landing.  And then Tommy declared me checked out.  I thought I would be soaring a lot in the club 1-26 the next two weeks, but sadly it was not to be.  Strong winds every day blew away all the lift and I didn't get to do another glider flight.  But it was fun soaring again.
   
This is Bruce's glass ship -- a Russian designed and built glider.  Bruce got in two flights of two hours each.
   
The tow plane, piloted by Bob the club president.
   
Bruce all strapped in and ready to go soaring.
   
Bruce first in line.
   
Bruce's fleet:  the Champ and the Russian glider.
   
The towplane about to drag the 2-33 up.
   
There's always some interesting planes in the big hangar.  This Hiperbipe is an interesting plane you don't see too often.
 
The Sorrell SNS-7 Hiperbipe is a two-seat, negative stagger, conventional landing gear-equipped cabin biplane designed for amateur construction that was produced in kit form by Sorrell Aviation of Tenino, Washington and since 2015 by Thunderbird Aviation.  It was intended to give full unlimited aerobatic performance without sacrificing the comforts of a cabin-style aircraft.
   
A nicely polished Cessna 140.
   
The Champ and 140 outside in the Florida sunshine. The winds weren't too bad on this day, but enough to destroy any lift.
   
The Club's Schweizer 1-26.
   
 
   
Since it was too windy most of the time to fly the Champ or fly gliders, Bruce decided to build a wheel dolly like the one pictured here for his Russian glider.
   
Here Bruce tapes up his glider so we won't get epoxy on it.
   
Bruce laying down epoxy-saturated fiberglass on his glider.
   
From another angle.
   
I was in charge of cutting the fiberglass strips and saturating them in epoxy.  This was my workstation.
   
To do the bottom half of the wheel dolly, we flipped the glider upside down.  Bruce had made the wooden dolly -- pictured at right -- for a previous job, and it sure came in handy here.
   
The top piece is dry, off the glider, and cleaned up.
   
The bottom piece is still on the glider.
   
Top and bottom pieces.
   
 
   
Previous
Home
Next