The View From Above

I promised that someday I would share the photos of my glider outing, so here they are. These pictures were taken in May, 1990. The location is the Ith Hills of Central Germany...


Getting Prepared


My Pilot & His Father

Hans Udo (on the right) was a business colleague of mine. He was a terrific friend and host. He loved to travel, so his nickname was "Worldwide". He's retired now. He took me into East Germany in February of 1990 shortly after the wall came down in Berlin. That was still before the re-unification. It was exciting to visit a communist country. Those will be pictures for another day. Udo's son on the left was my pilot. He now flies for Lufthansa.


A Glider Take-Off

At this flying club they don't use planes to tow gliders into the air. They use a large truck-mounted cable winch. A VW Beetle is used to unwind the cable and take it out to the glider. They hook the cable onto the glider. When the pilot gives the signal the winch starts up, pulling the glider into the air. When the glider reaches a certain altitude, the cable is released and a small parachute (which you can see in the photo) slows the descent of the cable back down to earth.


A View From Above... Escherhausen Germany


Hawkeye Checks Out A Single-Seater


Circling To Gain Altitude


Last Flight Of The Day