Hi Ed, thanks for the inspiration!! I started 20 years ago flying sailplanes. I had a BobCat 4 channel for first saiplane an it was slapped together kind of project! Flew fine until the building misses took their toll. So my next sailplane was a GL. borrowed plans from a friend that had the rib templates copied and proceeded to build my first scratch built sailplane. I even had a 3part wing. She was a beauty to fly and so i built 4 more in the following 12 years. In so many years I had the Gentle Ladies, two 4m scale ventus, a scratch built hlg, a sailaire, a widstar, an scratch built apogee dlg, andmost recently i have a new sailaire that need to be finished, a viking mk i and a moulded emerald td ship.
Now, why5 GL you would say? Well, here's the story. My first scratch built was a beautiful transparent blue and solid yellow deco. she was there to make me happy, (no i mean it,) i had no need of a histart cause she would speckout 3 out of 5 hand launches. But what really got me hooked with her, happened one morning in my flying field in hometown Quito - Ecuador. Lots of witnesses, brand new club hi start and I was upfirst going to show everybody how safe it was to launch with a high start. Got her all ready, checked radio, ok, so my dad volunteered to hook it up in the line. 1...2 ... 3... let er go ! I shouted and off she went. Perfect level wings, nice climb angle, crowened the top of the pull without hesitation, slid off the ring and after 3 seconds, caught a thermal and performed a beautiful spec out. I smiled to the "wows'" from spectators and as my dad approached me, i asked: did you flipped the switch off?? He just grabbed his face and said, "but i thought you turned it off!!"
HUnngg, the god of lift embrased her as her own, and she was going OOS (out of sight) in and out the blue sky. It had been only 5 minutes into what I thought was 1 hour and couldn't help it, but tears rolled down my face as I resigned to turn the radio off and "walk" (aka read run desperately) downwind as much it would allow me. I guess hungh was moved by this kid running behind his sailplane begging for it to come back that she started to circle downwards and kind of heading back to the flying field.
I was overwelmed with joy. she was coming back after all, trailing along the flight line which happened to be a small rolling hill with trees all over it, short trees though but full of thorns (native variety from south america) She kept circling to the right, lower and lower . making lazy circles on top of the hill, on top of the trees. My joy vanished one more time, it couldnt be true. So i stood there at the side of the paved landing strip, watching her go behind the trees.
My dad and some friends tried to chase her and the rest of the crowd whent "ohhhh" . I turned my back and brazed myself to hear the covering ripping against the thorns when somebody shout, "shes coming back!!!" I turned around and glimpsed at her inbetween the tree tops, when all of the sudden she rised one more time over the tree tops, barely touching the leaves and branches flying back towards where i was standing for the most perfect catch!
She lived for 12 + years until I had to move to the USA and left her back, perished in the hands of a friend while slope soaring in extreme windy conditions. RIP.
I still have my last two built and most likely they will stayt with me and my oldest son if he ever whants to fly a Lady anytime.