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A few singers from
the "Schwäbische Männerchor", Herbert Gruber, Fritz Ruf, Ron Fett, Rod
Hamell, Hans Geiblinger, Chris and Ernst Steudle, Jim Fitch, our President
and Claus Koerbel went out to Sandhill Soaring Club to experience an
exciting glider ride.
On
September 29th, 2007, three gutsy guys, Jim Fitch, Hans Geiblinger and Claus
Koerbel went aloft. The rest of the fellows were either to corpulent to fit
into the cockpit or to chicken hearted to take a flight. We were towed up by
a tow plane in a high performance glider and at about 6000 feet altitude we
were released. The pilot let us maneuver the glider. We were allowed to make
180 degree turns and a few shallow dives. What a thrill it was!
All we could hear was a whisper of the wind and we soared along like a
seagull. It reminded me of my first glider ride at age fourteen. That was in
1944.
The glider model I flew back then was known as the model SG-38. It was a
simple glider constructed in a minimalist way, comprising only of a wing,
rudder, elevator, control stick and two pedals.
Before we were launched from a Sandhill, two bungee cords were pre-tensioned
by a total of 22 boys, 11 on either side, and two boys holding back the tail
of the glider. The command of the instructor was as follows: Ausziehen,
Laufen, Los", which translates into Pull, Run, Release". The command Pull"
was given to tension the bungee cords, followed by the command Run" which
meant to pretension the bungee cords. Once the instructor yelled: Release",
the 2 boys holding the tail section would release the tail of the glider so
that the SG-38 catapulted off the Sandhill. As a result, we as pilots in
training were accelerated off that Sandhill in the fashion of a slingshot.
We experienced the famous adrenaline rush. The flight lasted about 10 to 12
seconds but it felt like an hour. I landed quite skillfully on the skid of
the plane as we were taught. The next levels of training would have taken
place in the A, B and C divisions. We were made the Garanten" for the
glorious Luftwaffe. Thank full for the providence not to have been
sacrificed for the past ideology.
I
would like to mention one extraordinary incident. Many members of the
Soaring Club were outstanding in welcoming and hosting us at their place.
They were a mixed bunch of fellows, Germans, Austrian and Americans.
One in particular I have to mention. His name is Jerry Schultz, a jolly old
chap. When he found out that I flew the SG-38 he almost went ballistic. He
was so excited, he yelled at the rest of the guys to come over to the hangar
to meet Joe Feather, the owner of a disassembled SG-38 which was displayed
at the hangar. Joe acquired the plane from somebody out of Pennsylvania. He
is trying to rebuild the glider into a flight-worthy condition, which will
take a lot of money and man-hours to complete. 2000 of these gliders were
built starting in 1938.
Jerry Schultz said to me What are the odds of meeting somebody like me. The
odds are one in a million!"
To
conclude this story, the guys of the Schwäbische Männerchor are grateful to
have experienced this outing. Especially Jerry Schultz who paid for my
flight in the high performance glider. In return, he and his fellow pilots,
including their wives, are cordially invited to our Christmas Concert on
December 15th, 2007.
Claus Koerbel |
