Lore from The Log of 4A, September 7, 2002.

Today a memorial soaring event was held in Bryan to honor Dick Schreder. In the morning the forecast was promising. Light south wind, much dryer than usual for Kansas City, forecast high in the 90s. Though I didn’t go to Bryan, I chose to honor Dick's memory in the most appropriate way I could. My HP 18 had not flown here in Kansas City all summer. Today I apologized to my students, wife & kids. No lessons in the 2-22 or games with the kids today. I told them I planed to leave early & soar late if I could, I hooked up the trailer and went to the airport.

I assembled early and pushed the ship to the end of the runway at my club's base, Richter Field. As I prepared for the flight I was struck again with what a magnificent machine this 18 is. The lines of the 18 are sleek in the extreme. From the completely reclined seating position to the V tail it is a unique ship clearly built for speed. The attention to detail on this particular 18 makes it as nice a ship to handle and fly as it looks like it should be. The dolly system in the trailer, the one man rigger, the tow out gear, the well fit forward hinge one-piece canopy, the fit of the fairings, the quality of the glass work in the fuselage, the smooth shape & snug fit of all the flying surfaces all set a standard of craftsmanship and attention to detail I hope to emulate one day.

I took the first launch of the day. Takeoff was smooth and uneventful if more than a little dusty. On tow it was clear that this would be a good day. Strong lift and strong sink made tow interesting. Climb rate on tow varied from about 100 fpm to 1000 fpm. Off tow I worked a modest thermal.. In the second thermal I was amazed to see that there were dozens of corn leaves. As I climbed out I resolved to make some significant cross country miles and struck out to the south. I crossed over Garden City then headed toward Butler (about 30 miles out). The good thermals were all marked with dried corn leaves. If you spotted one floating rapidly away from a cloud you could fly in the opposite direction straight into the core. Progress to the south was very easy, the clouds were almost all working, the corn showed exactly where to go. I reached Bulter in short order then pressed southwest toward Fort Scott Kansas.

To this point I had been able to stay over 5000 agl. As maximum altitudes of 5000' are very unusual in the Kansas City area, this gave an entirely new perception of distance. Destinations that were typically many slow climbs away were reachable with a single thermal. Much of the terrain between Bulter & Fort Scott was wet and there were few landing areas. Visibility was only about 15 miles so most of the time I could not see areas I might end up landing if the day quit. The lowest I got on the way south was 3500 agl. With every mile and minute south the anxiety level built just a little Fort Scott seemed an appropriate turn point. It was a former glider school site and was further south than I had ventured from Richter before. With the limited visibility, cloud shadows made ground features come and go. I was within 10 miles of Fort Scott and had yet to see it. As I thermalled up the sun broke through and the city appeared as if from nowhere in an area that had moments before been merely dark & featureless. I pressed on over the city to the airport on the far side. A cloud street tempted me to press on further south but as September days often quit early, it seemed prudent to begin getting closer to home. Just north of Fort Scott I hit a low of about 3200 agl. With no airport for 20+ miles ahead on course and a good 15 miles of wet lands ahead I took a weak steady climb to get a mile high before proceeding. The wind behind me made the miles ticked off effortlessly. When I chose to be picky I got average climbs of 4 to5 knotts with peaks of 7 or 8. I quickly covered the miles back to Richter Field and then picked up a few other turns within 15 to 20 miles of Richter, even flew over my home and the town of Peculiar Missouri.

I worked a couple of weak thermals to the very top to see just how high I could get. I finally reaching a peak of 8200 msl (7300 agl). As the hour grew late I reflected on what a fantastic day it had been. I thought about the 1100 hours my Dad had spent in this glider, the many hours Dick Schreder spent designing it, and how fortunate I am to be the beneficiary of all the labor that went before me to build the ship and make the flight possible. Finally I gave in and made a 30 mile final glide back to Richter, crossed the runway at about 700 feet and 120 mph. I circled around and dropped the flaps to make a classic HP pattern. Downwind started high with a little over 60 degrees of flaps, made a steep base and final. I gradually cranked on full flaps on short final to make a nice gentle touch down. Landing was few minutes before 6:00.

Flying very conservatively I had racked up 300km in a little over 4 hours. The conditions would easily have supported a six hour flight. In my 10 years of flying in the Kansas City area this was far and away the best soaring day I had experienced. Fitting that it should come on the day of Dick’s memorial fly in and that I should enjoy it in an HP.

196 miles 46.11mph