2nd Annual CRRC Cape Cod Slope Soaring Trip, 1996
[Photos courtesy Dan Ross]
*** These are thumbnails of larger images. Click on any thumbnail to see the
full-size image.
For the second year in a row, the annual CRRC trek to Cape Code ran headlong into a
steady East wind. The wind direction on that first weekend in October provided ideal
conditions for soaring the dunes of White Crest Beach, on the ocean side of the Cape.
Helmut Lelke offered his house in Brewster as a meeting place. He was joined by Dan Ross,
Bill Dimpfl, Fritz Bien, Tom Bauer, John Blaser, and Dave Walter.
Just a few of the ships that took to the sky. Present in the picture are a Sagitta 650,
two NSP Sparrows, several of the ubiquitous Spirits, and two home designs from the fertile
mind of Helmut Lelke. |
That's me (Dave Walter) hefting my NSP Sparrow. It's my favorite sloper... well, actually
it's my only sloper. Nevertheless, it's a real smooth machine that just begs to be flown
with its wing tips mere inches from the dune wall. On this day I was able to fly
continuous Cuban Eights. |
The Sparrow on a low pass. The water isn't as close as it appears in this photo. |
Our photographer, Dan Ross, showing off his Sparrow and Sagitta. Both flew beautifully,
and Dan has swallowed slope soaring hook, line, and sinker. |
Bill Dimpfl and Fritz Bien lean into the wind as they battle it out with their power slope
scale ships. |
This P51 Mustang, nicely built by Bill Dimpfl, could easily be mistaken for the real
thing. |
We get a view of Dave Walter's best side while he directs the Sparrow down the ridge. |
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