Thanks again Richard,

Nice pictures.

I was in Ithaca once and visited Harris Hill briefly, but was leaving via a commuter airline. Tried to get a glider flight in but my scheduling was too tight and I had to leave before a glider was available.

Maybe one of these days, but I doubt it unless there is some sort of event that makes the trip worth while. It's a long way to go for a museum visit and a glider ride. The area is noted for its vineyards but wine gives me a headache. I prefer good scotch. I only get headaches half the time with scotch!

Pete

Originally Posted by PeteSchug

It's a long way to go for a museum visit and a glider ride.

Pete

Pete,

The NSM may be a bit far for you, but I really enjoy being on the road and my trips are like a task that takes weeks instead of a day.

I planned this leg of my trip to be at Old Rhinebeck on a Sunday morning to see their WWI aircraft fly and got a ride in one of their New Standard D-25 biplanes. After Rhinebeck, I drove west and found a motel near Harris Hill that evening. In the morning I was at the NSM before they opened their doors and took 640 pictures and got a sailplane ride and was finished by 2:11 pm (this was the time stamp on the last picture I took at NSM). From Harris Hill it was less than an hours drive to the Glenn Curtiss Museum and took my first picture there at 3:11 pm and spent the rest of the afternoon there until they pushed me out at closing. I then headed north for Canada to meet a Flying Flea builder in Montreal. I crossed the finish line on my Texas driveway a week later.

Rather than make your trip just about the NSM, visit the other museums on the way. It is the premiere US sailplane museum you can see more vintage sailplanes there than anywhere else in North America. I don't think I will be there again, but I will always be glad that I made it there and took a flight.

Richard

Being a New Yorker I only own a car if I need it for work. I rent if I want to take a trip, so even though I would like to visit the museum I winds up costing a small fortune.

I've logged about a hundred-fifty glider flights so the main reason for flying there is to see Harris Hill. Wurtsboro, where I learned to fly is very possibly a better flying site, with a ridge that runs from Port Jervis to Ellenville, probably about thirty miles, that is active when the wind is out of the west, which is most of the time.

A car is a pain in the butt where I live so I've learned to do without. I rent when I visit friends in Vermont or take a commuter rail ride to my flying buddy's house to fly RC. My total cost for rental during the year is far less than annual insurance in this area. Parking is a nightmare and garage space is hard to find.

That's why I mention only going if there's an event of some sort, like a gathering of vintage sailplanes or a major contest.

If I move to Vermont I'll get a car but not while I'm in NYC.

Pete

I am back....... Guys I appreciate all the great information here on the HP-8. It is obviously a mile stone design and worthy of being remembered....I need to go on a short trip to Germany tomorrow but will start sketching the plans when I get back. I am hoping to go to El Mira next month and get a look at the HP-8. I think that Pete is right the transition on the bottom line of the fuselage appears to be a little bit unusual. I have looked at the photos and can't tell if the fuselage has a kink in it, or if the forward fuselage has greater curvature than the tail boom, hence the unususual look.. I mentioned I just got back from towing my full size Cirrus back from South Carolina. The Cirrus is an open class glider so the trailer is very long. We stopped traffic everytime we got gas... here is a photo topping up in Midland Texas, Saturday.. LJ

so...whatcha got in the trailer??

Originally Posted by tonycondon

so...whatcha got in the trailer??

Originally Posted by Larry Jolly

..I just got back from towing my full size Cirrus back from South Carolina. The Cirrus is an open class glider so the trailer is very long.....LJ

You're welcome!

Tony,
I am fortunate to fly both full size and models.. I fly my Discus #64 originally prepared for Ray Gimmey and have been looking for a vintage/classic glider for several years. I searched long and hard considering a Phoebus, an HP-11, a Zuni ll, and settled on Schemp Hirth Cirrus #37. I am looking forward to a little clean up and then flying it around the country... I definitely want to fly with Dean at Montague and maybe McCook next year in Nebraska...LJ
Not bad for 44 years old......

just joking around as that is the typical question I get at gas stations when trailering my 100%scale gliders.

Dean is hosting a vintage rally next year at Montague, over July 4 weekend I think. Is there an event going on in McCook? As far as I know there isn't a glider operation there any more but if there was something going on I'd be tempted to come up there with one of my gliders. I'm in Wichita, KS.

Originally Posted by tonycondon

so...whatcha got in the trailer??

icbm.....

The two most asked questions....NAESSSCAR.....or Boat...
No it's a sailplane....you know..a glider....A plane with No Motor......
Your right it's a boat..............LJ
I did notice than when getting passed on the road the guys looked the women looked staright ahead...

Larry, if you go through Va. look up Jim Kellet at Skyline Soaring Club (they fly out of Front Royal). He's been flying an Open Cirrus since the 1980s and knows them inside out.

Here's a close-up showing the slight unevenness of the fuse bottom.

Larry,

If you are able to get a look could you take a picture of this?

Pete

Originally Posted by Larry Jolly

The two most asked questions....NAESSSCAR.....or Boat...
No it's a sailplane....you know..a glider....A plane with No Motor......
Your right it's a boat..............LJ
I did notice than when getting passed on the road the guys looked the women looked staright ahead...

I bought a trailer in Bishop, Ca many years ago to fit my HP-14T into. I passed the same trucker several times and stopped in the Phoenix area for a break and to eat. I pulled into the truck parking area and he pulled in next to me about the time I was getting out... His words, verbatim... "Whatcha got in thar, a submarine?"

Originally Posted by PeteSchug

Here's a close-up showing the slight unevenness of the fuse bottom...

I'm betting that this is an artifact of the photograph, and that the actual transition between forward fuselage is smooth. Dick did incorporate a cusped transition between forward and aft fuselage sections on the HP-10 and several similar subsequent designs, but I think that the HP-7 and HP-8 have a smooth transition at this point.

But a photo from the NSM could easily prove me wrong on this.

Thanks, Bob K.

Originally Posted by hpaircraft

I'm betting that this is an artifact of the photograph, and that the actual transition between forward fuselage is smooth. Dick did incorporate a cusped transition between forward and aft fuselage sections on the HP-10 and several similar subsequent designs, but I think that the HP-7 and HP-8 have a smooth transition at this point.

But a photo from the NSM could easily prove me wrong on this.

Thanks, Bob K.

Hi Bob,

The slight indent is visible in at least one other photo. It matches one of the three-views. I chose that picture because it shows it best.

I have my doubts about anyone getting a chance to photograph the fuse since they probably have a jammed storage facility and I expect it would take a crew of several people to move everything and put it all back afterwards.

I'd volunteer to help but I'm seventy-four and have had a couple of bouts of sciatica so might be more of a liability than an asset. Back in the days when the HP-8 was stationed at Wurtsboro it never occurred to me to take photos or examine the various sailplanes.

I never carried my camera when flying because I thought of it as a jinx. The only time I carried it on horseback riding my horse ran away and we crossed three roads at a full gallop. I let her run wide open on the last long stretch then just before the cobblestone downhill in front of the stable pulled her up sharply. I never carried the camera on a horse again nor did I ever take it flying.

Weird, I know, but I was on a very placid horse just so I COULD take photos. Irrational as it sounds I never took the camera on a horse again and that stuck with me throughout my flying career. Nowadays I've always got cameras with me but nothing like sailplanes to photograph.

Pete