Well, I'm back at work after flying at the 2003 Air Sailing Sports Class contest. It was a real hoot, and I had a great time every day. I didn't win, or even come close. But I did finish in the top half (barely). I got speed points every day, showed an occasional flash of competence, and had an occasional stroke of blind luck. I'll post a write-up of it elsewhere on my Web site.
I was expecting that when I got back, there would be some big cardboard boxes of foam cores for the HP-24 tail waiting on the doorstep. Specifically, for the rudder, vertical stabilizer, and the aft 6' of the tail boom. But they're not here yet. I guess I'd better call and see what's up.
Coming up in a couple of weeks, I'll be spending two weeks at the Standard Class National at Montague. There, I'll be ground crew for Doug Gray, who is flying DG-300 Delta Victor in the contest. That will be a good opportunity for me to hobnob with the rich and famous, and also measure their sailplanes.
And, a couple weeks beyond that, I'm on the schedule to speak at the Sailplane Homebuilder's Association western workshop at Tehachapi. I still don't know what exactly I'm going to talk about, except in the most general way. I think I'd like to take a few steps back from the HP-24 project, and explore some of the philosophical foundations of homebuilt sailplane development. Us liberal studies victims are great for stuff like that...
page updated 14 July 2003 all text and graphics copyright (c) 2003 HP Aircraft, LLC