Flyfunston

My good buddy Andrew Whitehill was generous enough to gift me with a very cool Stratus-5 a little while ago. Thanks again Andy!

The wing had been in storage for 15 or 20 years. The glider bag had rotted away long ago so she spent all that time uncovered in the rafters of a barn. When we unfolded the wing some old nut shells fell out! I guess a little rodent must have felt at home. Thankfully the sail was unharmed.

It took me a few practice flights at Marina Beach to figure out the CG and make sure she was flying right, then a few weeks ago I brought her back to the Fort and got her soaring again.

John Taylor shot some really nice photos, you can find them at; http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p32/ ... Stratus-5/

I have another Stratus-5 that Ernie Camacho gave me almost two years ago. Thank you Ernie, you got me started! I finally got her into the air last month, but we don't have any photos of her yet.

It's really great to get these famous gliders back in the air over their historical roost. There is a lot of history tied to these gliders, as a number of our veteran pilots who flew them can testify.

Check out page 60 of the April USHPA mag to see beloved Funstonite Dan Racanelli wanging his Strat over Telluride. And of course everyone remembers what Dan Murphy could do with his. With our brothers now gone, I feel it's our duty to keep these gliders flying in their honor.

More to come......

I want to fly one...
Diev