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The
Open Cirrus Association
Newsletter Volume III, Issue 1
Enclosed you’ll find a new Status Sheet for Gary Nelson’s No. 70 (N8145) which includes a nice picture! Please replace your old sheet with the new one. Not much luck in locating any "new" planes. I’m still wondering if any of you Texas pilots might not get some info from Juan Bach, ostensibly a big Cirrus wreck rebuilder, who may have some interesting records in his files! The Bottom Line So far this newsletter has been supported by - and in the last few weeks, we’ve had a couple of VERY generous contributions from Jim Spelman and Gary Nelson!! Thanks to these donations, we’re in pretty good shape - only having the postage to send out another "substantial" newsletter, but with a little cushion for future postage - we’ve got enough for at least one or two more issues in hand.. If you like these notes and haven’t made a donation, think about it. … In a similar vein, what gets distributed here comes from you! So don’t be shy - share your experiences, anecdotes, stories, ideas, whatever! By the way, Bob Wicks generously provided 18 copies of a set of pictures on his restoration so we didn’t have the expense of trying to duplicate them! Thanks, Bob! commentaries on maintenance Bob Wicks (No.4, N49ME) provided the enclosed photographic record illustrating some very interesting aspects of his major restoration! Have you ever seen a better "before and after" set of pictures?? Just as a reminder, this classic-among-classic ships is the one (with the Charlie India contest number) flown by Gleb Derujinskky and featured in the film "The Sunship Game". Bob’s pictures show how he created new, larger inspection access holes in the floor of the cockpit. Bob, were these "permanent" holes, or did you have them filled back in? Has anyone else fitted inspection access holes in their Cirrus? The issue is relevant given the several instances of known needs for servicing "under your butt" in these older ships (see, e.g., Charlie Yeates’ notes on rusted release cables in the May, 1996 Newsletter. Also, Frank Whitley’s report in the February 1997 Newsletter about badly rusted rudder cables that required cutting out the seat pan and modifying it so it could be unbolted easily. II. Schempp-Hirth Support? Inspired by these reports, I took No. 67 to the excellent repair shop run by the Gehrlein brothers near Erie, PA back in mid-November. I asked them to "open up" the seat pan, thoroughly inspect (and clean and lubricate and repair as appropriate) whatever they could find there. Being an FAA approved fibreglass repair shop, they were reluctant to add "holes" in the solid cockpit shell without some kind of confirmation from the manufacturer about the possible effect of such a mod on the type certificate. They therefore sought in writing - twice! - technical information from Schempp-Hirth about replacing the solid cockpit pan with a "removable" one. After two months with no response from Schempp-Hirth - not even an acknowledgement - I wound up bringing No. 67 home with none of the planned repairs done on it!! I’d still like to do this. After nearly 30 years, I think such inspections are certainly appropriate on my ship, and I suspect that they might be recommended on many or most in the general interest of keeping these planes safely flyable. I’ll try to find another competent shop which would be interested and willing to do this. Anyone have any recommendations?? Anyone have any idea about the effect of these mods on the type certificate?? COMING EVENTS February 26-28, 1998 Soaring Society of America annual convention, Portland Oregon. Anyone interested in another get-together of Open Cirrus fans? (We did that at the last two conventions.) If so, I’d suggest sharing a table at the Vintage Sailplane Association’s luncheon scheduled for noon on Friday, February 27. Just buy a ticket to that luncheon and we can congregate to snag a table before the luncheon begins. April 4-12, 1998 Marfa Spring Thermal and Wave Camp, Marfa Municipal Airport, Marfa, TX. Contact Dick Johnson, 14058 Brookcrest Dr., Dallas, TX 75240, (972) 239-5462. This is a favorite haunt of Gary Nelson (No. 70) who definitely plans to be there, and is hoping to attract other Open Cirrus pilots to fly with! May 30 - June 1, 1998 Vintage Sailplane Association Eastern Regatta and VSA Annual Meeting. Contact Jim Stoia, Rt. 4 Box 685, Manning, SC 29102 or call him at (803) 478-4764 [fax (803) 478-4760]. May 29 - June 1, 1998 Vintage Sailplane Association Western Regatta, Skylark North Gliderport, in Tehachapi CA. Contact Wayne Spani, 25672 Chrisanta Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, or Jeff Byard via e-mail at jbyard@the-grid.net Desiderata Burt Compton (No. 33) indicates that he might have a few copies of the fabulous film, "Sunship Game". Interested? Contact him directly. This is a real collector’s item for anyone interested in the Cirrus No. 64 (N11NC) We still don’t know the whereabouts of this plane, but in the process of searching on the internet newsgroup, we picked up a neat story about it’s early life from Duane Eisenbeiss, eisenbeiss@compuserve.com. Duane writes: "… However, I did know ‘Ned’ Corry when
he bought the ship [No. 64] as its first owner. (Bill Foley was the Schempp-Hirth
dealer.) Ned and his wife Pat were both glider pilots. When they first
took delivery of the ship Ned told Pat that ‘He’ would make a few flights
first to make sure that the ship was fully ‘checked-out’. On one of the
early flights Ned flew the whole flight with the gear down. When coming
in for the landing he, of course, raised the gear. (He knew that he was
supposed to do something with that handle.) Pat lay sunning herself on
a lawn chair in front of the club hanger. Ned and the Open Cirrus came
to a skidding stop in the grass just opposite of where Pat was lying in
the sun. When Ned opened the canopy Pat yelled over to him and said, ‘Honey,
is it checked-out enough for me to fly now?’ I lost track of the Corry's
after they moved to MI. "
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