Air Force vs the Navy. A Contest Within A Contest.
Slide Show from Stephen Michalik
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Additional Photos from George Powell, "Hawkeye"

1-26 Association
A Division of the Soaring Society of America
629 N. Monroe Street
Arlington VA 22201
July 24, 2002

Lt. Gen. John Dallager
2304 Cadet Drive
Suite 342
United States Air Force Academy
USAFA, CO 80840-5001

Dear General Dallager:

We, the officers and members of the 1-26 Association, wish to express our sincere
gratitude to you, to the Air Force Academy generally, and to the staff and cadets of the
94th Flight Training Squadron for hosting the 2002 1-26 Championship Soaring
Competition at the USAFA Bullseye Auxiliary Field. The contest, conducted between
July 1 and July 11 of this year, ranks among the most successful contests of our 34 year
history of 1-26 National Championship events in terms of efficiency of operation, safety,
spirited competition and, equally important, great social interaction. The success of the
contest can be attributed to the outstanding management exercised by Col Hal Hoxie and
Major Clem Countess, and the dedicated effort put forth by the members of the 94th FTS.

As you may know, this was the second 1-26 Championship contest hosted by USAFA,
the first having been conducted in 1981 on the site of the 94th FTS at USAFA. It too was
a very successful event. I believe that these events, as well as the participation of the
USAFA cadets in our annual Championship contests, produce significant benefits to the
Cadets, the Academy at large, the 1-26 Association, and the Soaring Society of America.
We sincerely hope that the Academy will continue to encourage the cadets to participate
in our annual contest. The participation of the cadets undoubtedly has great impact on
the young people of our country who may see soaring as a step toward a flying career in
the Air Force, and it will undoubtedly promote interest in aviation careers among the
young people of our country.

The 1-26 is undoubtedly the safest single place glider that might be used for basic and
cross-country training. The Schweizer Aircraft Company design enclosed the cockpit
with sturdy construction to protect the pilot. As a sailplane, its performance is not
impressive, but as a training machine, particularly for cross-country training, its safety
record is unassailable.

Although the fleet of 1-26 gliders is aging, the aircraft is tough and remains one of the
safest gliders available. Its durability makes it an excellent training vehicle with a low
maintenance history. Therefore we believe that the Academy would be well served to
retain the few Schweizer 1-26 gliders that augment its current fleet.

Again, I wish to thank you personally for permitting the Academy to host the 2002
Championships, and I wish to thank the management team and staff of the 94th FTS for
their fantastic efforts. Additionally, I wish to thank Mrs. Kathy Hoxie and Mrs. Lydia
Countess for their efforts in promoting the social activities of the event, which
contributed greatly to its overall success.

We will be looking forward to the continued participation of the Cadets in our events and
hope that you and the staff of the Academy will host another 1-26 Championship Contest
in the future. Thank you.

                                           Sincerely,
                                           
                                           
                                           Clayton W. Vickland
                                           President.	

1-26 Association National Championships

Bullseye, CO

Cumulative Summary

Provided by Tom Pressley
Last updated 07/11/02

Scoresheet Created on Wednesday July 10, 2002 - 23:45 by Winscore

Daily Results

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 Official Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 1 Task: Assigned ID Name Distance (Miles) Radius 1 Bullseye 0.00 5.00 8 High Mesa 12.58 - 19 School/Track 30.73 - 27 Finish Line 42.65 - Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 1 ** Official ** Cumulative Contestant Day 1 Results Remarks Rank Points ID Name Glider Rank Points Speed (Miles/Hr) Distance (Miles) Code Penalty Points 1 1000 440 Quas, Bob SGS 1-26D 1 1000 44.02 42.65 2 970 192 Anderson, Kevin SGS 1-26B 2 970 41.96 42.65 3 937 244 von Hellens, Bob SGS 1-26A 3 937 39.63 42.65 4 912 097 Willis/Steadman, Marvin/Fred SGS 1-26A 4 912 37.92 42.65 5 896 233 Michalik, Stephen SGS 1-26A 5 896 36.82 42.65 6 826 358 Hudson, Mitch SGS 1-26A 6 826 31.94 42.65 7 789 190 Hurni, Bob SGS 1-26A 7 789 29.35 42.65 8 777 542 Schmelzer, Oliver SGS 1-26E 8 777 28.51 42.65 9 765 009 Westbrook, Mick/Michael SGS 1-26C 9 765 27.68 42.65 10 758 238 Vickland, Bill SGS 1-26A 10 758 27.19 42.65 11 756 517 Williams/Steenman, Pat/Matt SGS 1-26E 11 756 27.03 42.65 12 752 322 Denaples/Root, Pat/Bob SGS 1-26B 12 752 26.78 42.65 13 723 403 Rothe/Hoxie, Christopher/Hal SGS 1-26A 13 723 24.76 42.65 14 718 390 Hutchinson, Vern SGS 1-26B 14 718 24.45 42.65 15 713 357 Walker, Jim SGS 1-26B 15 713 24.10 42.65 16 707 264 Barkow, Tom SGS 1-26A 16 707 23.65 42.65 17 682 185 Reid, Frank SGS 1-26A 17 682 21.93 42.65 18 675 189 Mott, Dick SGS 1-26B 18 675 21.45 42.65 19 645 144 Blomquist, Del SGS 1-26A 19 645 19.34 42.65 20 567 604 Reid, Jayne SGS 1-26E 20 567 - 37.87 21 465 609 Jousma, Irn SGS 1-26E 21 465 - 31.04 22 463 480 Schwartz, Ron SGS 1-26A 22 463 - 30.94 23 408 483 Vredenburg, Pete SGS 1-26A 23 408 - 27.24 MD 24 313 053 Palmquist, Neal SGS 1-26A 24 313 - 20.90 MD 25 280 470 Bentley, William SGS 1-26D 25 280 - 18.68 MD 26 84 412 Team Zap, Zapata/Powell SGS 1-26A 26 84 - 5.64 MD 27 54 142 Countess/Matticola, Clem/Mark SGS 1-26A 27 54 - 3.63 MD 28 19 091 Miller, Norm SGS 1-26C 28 19 - 1.30 MD 29 15 641 Fredrickson/Siesser, Jay/Nick SGS 1-26E 29 15 - 0.98 MD 30 14 553 Riley/Boudreaux, Ryan/Josh SGS 1-26A 30 14 - 0.95 MD 31 0 545 Ward, Tim SGS 1-26A 31 0 0.0 31 0 234 Almquist/Beckman, Ron/James SGS 1-26A 31 0 DNS NVS Codes: MD Flight less than minimum distance of 30 Miles NVS Did not make a valid start. Thursday, July 04, 2002 Official Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 2 Task: Assigned ID Name Distance (Miles) Radius 1 Bullseye 0.00 5.00 3 Calhan 14.99 - 8 High Mesa 36.01 - 19 School/Track 54.15 - 27 Finish Line 66.08 - Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 2 ** Official ** Cumulative Contestant Day 2 Results Remarks Rank Points ID Name Glider Rank Points Speed (Miles/Hr) Distance (Miles) Code Penalty Points 1 1923 244 von Hellens, Bob SGS 1-26A 2 986 33.27 66.08 2 1752 542 Schmelzer, Oliver SGS 1-26E 4 975 30.93 66.08 3 1745 233 Michalik, Stephen SGS 1-26A 6 849 - 59.00 4 1734 238 Vickland, Bill SGS 1-26A 3 976 31.21 66.08 5 1726 009 Westbrook, Mick/Michael SGS 1-26C 5 961 27.84 66.08 6 1669 440 Quas, Bob SGS 1-26D 9 669 - 46.47 7 1635 192 Anderson, Kevin SGS 1-26B 10 665 - 46.22 8 1463 480 Schwartz, Ron SGS 1-26A 1 1000 36.40 66.08 9 1459 264 Barkow, Tom SGS 1-26A 8 752 - 52.22 10 1362 358 Hudson, Mitch SGS 1-26A 18 536 - 37.25 11 1327 322 Denaples/Root, Pat/Bob SGS 1-26B 16 575 - 39.94 12 1307 190 Hurni, Bob SGS 1-26A 19 518 - 36.01 13 1295 390 Hutchinson, Vern SGS 1-26B 15 577 - 40.10 14 1282 144 Blomquist, Del SGS 1-26A 11 637 - 44.29 15 1266 357 Walker, Jim SGS 1-26B 17 553 - 38.41 16 1224 609 Jousma, Irn SGS 1-26E 7 759 - 58.76 TP 87 17 1170 604 Reid, Jayne SGS 1-26E 13 603 - 41.92 18 1128 097 Willis/Steadman, Marvin/Fred SGS 1-26A 26 216 - 14.99 MD 19 1094 185 Reid, Frank SGS 1-26A 21 412 - 28.60 MD 20 1060 517 Williams/Steenman, Pat/Matt SGS 1-26E 23 304 - 21.13 MD 21 1028 403 Rothe/Hoxie, Christopher/Hal SGS 1-26A 22 305 - 21.17 MD 22 899 053 Palmquist, Neal SGS 1-26A 14 586 - 43.69 TP 43 23 834 483 Vredenburg, Pete SGS 1-26A 20 426 - 29.60 MD 24 675 189 Mott, Dick SGS 1-26B 31 0 DNS NVS 25 636 553 Riley/Boudreaux, Ryan/Josh SGS 1-26A 12 622 - 43.21 26 576 470 Bentley, William SGS 1-26D 24 296 - 20.59 MD 27 320 142 Countess/Matticola, Clem/Mark SGS 1-26A 25 266 - 20.65 MDTP 31 28 300 412 Team Zap, Zapata/Powell SGS 1-26A 26 216 - 14.99 MD 29 224 641 Fredrickson/Siesser, Jay/Nick SGS 1-26E 29 209 - 18.10 MDTP 52 30 219 091 Miller, Norm SGS 1-26C 30 200 - 13.92 MD 31 216 234 Almquist/Beckman, Ron/James SGS 1-26A 26 216 - 14.99 MD 32 0 545 Ward, Tim SGS 1-26A 31 0 DNS NVS Codes: TP Turnpoint penalty MD Flight less than minimum distance of 30 Miles NVS Did not make a valid start. Friday, July 05, 2002 Official Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 3 Task: Modified Assigned Task Minimum Time 00:30 ID Name Distance (Miles) Radius 1 Bullseye 0.00 3.00 21 Springs East 6.94 - 27 Finish Line 16.87 - Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 3 ** Official ** Cumulative Contestant Day 3 Results Remarks Rank Points ID Name Glider Rank Points Speed (Miles/Hr) Distance (Miles) Code Penalty Points 1 2815 244 von Hellens, Bob SGS 1-26A 4 892 35.21 38.29 2 2651 542 Schmelzer, Oliver SGS 1-26E 3 899 35.77 40.48 3 2607 238 Vickland, Bill SGS 1-26A 7 873 33.58 38.29 4 2555 440 Quas, Bob SGS 1-26D 5 886 34.67 38.29 5 2521 192 Anderson, Kevin SGS 1-26B 5 886 34.66 40.71 6 2463 480 Schwartz, Ron SGS 1-26A 1 1000 44.13 38.29 7 2462 233 Michalik, Stephen SGS 1-26A 15 717 20.74 34.10 8 2120 358 Hudson, Mitch SGS 1-26A 14 758 24.14 38.29 9 2116 322 Denaples/Root, Pat/Bob SGS 1-26B 12 789 26.71 38.29 10 2115 190 Hurni, Bob SGS 1-26A 10 808 28.22 52.48 11 2076 604 Reid, Jayne SGS 1-26E 2 906 36.35 41.45 12 2063 357 Walker, Jim SGS 1-26B 11 797 27.29 38.29 13 2062 390 Hutchinson, Vern SGS 1-26B 13 767 24.88 38.29 14 1912 185 Reid, Frank SGS 1-26A 9 818 29.06 34.10 15 1848 009 Westbrook, Mick/Michael SGS 1-26C 25 122 - 6.94 MD 16 1768 053 Palmquist, Neal SGS 1-26A 8 869 33.27 34.10 17 1755 264 Barkow, Tom SGS 1-26A 21 296 - 16.89 MD 18 1523 517 Williams/Steenman, Pat/Matt SGS 1-26E 17 463 - 26.42 MD 19 1507 609 Jousma, Irn SGS 1-26E 22 283 - 16.14 MD 20 1404 144 Blomquist, Del SGS 1-26A 25 122 - 6.94 MD 21 1346 403 Rothe/Hoxie, Christopher/Hal SGS 1-26A 20 318 - 18.15 MD 22 1250 097 Willis/Steadman, Marvin/Fred SGS 1-26A 25 122 - 6.94 MD 23 1039 483 Vredenburg, Pete SGS 1-26A 23 205 - 11.73 MD 24 997 142 Countess/Matticola, Clem/Mark SGS 1-26A 16 677 17.43 38.29 24 997 553 Riley/Boudreaux, Ryan/Josh SGS 1-26A 18 361 - 20.62 MD 26 797 189 Mott, Dick SGS 1-26B 25 122 - 6.94 MD 27 619 412 Team Zap, Zapata/Powell SGS 1-26A 19 319 - 18.19 MD 28 576 470 Bentley, William SGS 1-26D 31 0 DNC 29 404 641 Fredrickson/Siesser, Jay/Nick SGS 1-26E 24 180 - 10.30 MD 30 285 234 Almquist/Beckman, Ron/James SGS 1-26A 30 69 - 3.96 MD 31 219 091 Miller, Norm SGS 1-26C 31 0 DNC 32 122 545 Ward, Tim SGS 1-26A 25 122 - 6.94 MD Codes: MD Flight less than minimum distance of 30 Miles
July 8, 2002 Clearer skies clip wings of glider pilots Competitors grounded again at contest on Air Force field Tim Tadder The Gazette Jim Walker points out a "sniffer," or a glider used to test flying conditions, to competition director Tom Holloran at the 1-26 Association Championships for glider pilots at the Bullseye Auxiliary Air Field near Ellicott. By David Philipps The Gazette For glider pilots hoping to race through the Colorado sky, Sunday was a disappointing day. The pilots, contestants in the 1-26 Association Championships, a national competition for gliders, spent the day searching for cumulus clouds in the sky over the Air Force Academy's Bullseye Auxiliary Air Field near Ellicott. But the clouds never came, keeping the gliders on the ground. The cotton ball-shaped clouds are a sign of rising hot air masses, called thermals, on which the gliders can soar. But the only clouds in the sky were thin veils of cirrus clouds. "Come on cirrus, vamoose! Get out of here!" Stephen Michalik yelled at the sky as he sat in the shade of his plane's wing. After waiting a few hours, Michalik, who drove from Oklahoma, settled in with his crew, hoping the proper clouds would form as the day heated up. Until then, Michalik said, "There ain't nothing to do but sit and cuss at buzzards. Everyday they get to practice. I envy that." The competition is devoted to the Schweizer 1-26, a vintage glider that has not been made for 30 years. The pilots from around the country have seen a mix of good and bad weather during the soaring competition that started Wednesday. Sunday was the second day they'd been grounded. Because glider planes have no engines, they are at the mercy of the elements. Once they are pulled by tow planes to a height of 2,000 feet, the gliders release the tow rope and sail through the air, with the pilots looking for the cumulus clouds that show where the air is rising. Hot air can come from a dark-colored field, a patch of trees, almost anything, said Randy Rothe, a soaring instructor at the Air Force Academy. "There's a new Safeway in Falcon with a big black parking lot that heats up really well," Rothe said. "We'll circle over it and gain several thousand feet." Riding the thermals, a glider can stay in the air all day, traveling hundreds of miles. "It's you and Mother Nature together," said Jim Walker, a veteran pilot from Colorado Springs. "That's what makes it exciting." Only two scout gliders, known as "sniffers" because they search for good thermals, were towed and released Sunday. They headed off into the sky and soon were as small as swallows. The pilots on the runway gathered around radios to hear the report. It wasn't good. Everyone packed up for the day, knowing they will return. The annual competition, which is held in a different location every year, runs through Wednesday.	Saturday, July 06, 2002 No Fly Day No flying on Day 4. Sniffers Tom Pressley and Hal Hoxie flew 13 and 15 min, respectively, under overcast skies and intermittent rain. A steak dinner at the airport in the evening capped off a needed rest day. Sunday, July 07, 2002 No Fly Day Sunday was another no fly day. The sniffer turned circles for over an hour waiting for the cirrus to dissipate, to no avail. The weather reports for the final three days are looking promising.
Monday, July 08, 2002 Preliminary Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 4 Task: Modified Assigned Task Minimum Time 02:00 ID Name Distance (Miles) Radius 1 Bullseye 0.00 3.00 8 High Mesa 14.58 - 27 Finish Line 32.18 - < Schweizer 1-26 Class Day 4 ** Official ** Cumulative Contestant Day 4 Results Remarks Rank Points ID Name Glider Rank Points Speed (Miles/Hr) Distance (Miles) Code Penalty Points 1 3643 244 von Hellens, Bob SGS 1-26A 15 828 34.17 68.29 MT 2 3619 542 Schmelzer, Oliver SGS 1-26E 4 968 41.30 86.44 3 3552 238 Vickland, Bill SGS 1-26A 5 945 40.12 96.75 4 3524 440 Quas, Bob SGS 1-26D 3 969 41.34 82.01 MT 5 3368 192 Anderson, Kevin SGS 1-26B 11 847 35.11 71.35 6 3346 480 Schwartz, Ron SGS 1-26A 6 883 36.96 77.05 7 3321 233 Michalik, Stephen SGS 1-26A 10 859 35.72 73.28 8 3094 190 Hurni, Bob SGS 1-26A 2 979 41.86 91.86 9 2985 358 Hudson, Mitch SGS 1-26A 8 865 36.04 80.49 10 2859 322 Denaples/Root, Pat/Bob SGS 1-26B 17 743 29.85 59.07 MT 11 2848 009 Westbrook, Mick/Michael SGS 1-26C 1 1000 42.91 85.65 MT 12 2795 604 Reid, Jayne SGS 1-26E 19 719 28.63 55.99 MT15 13 2737 390 Hutchinson, Vern SGS 1-26B 23 675 26.36 71.65 14 2677 357 Walker, Jim SGS 1-26B 27 614 23.28 52.03 15 2620 264 Barkow, Tom SGS 1-26A 8 865 36.07 85.65 16 2597 053 Palmquist, Neal SGS 1-26A 13 829 34.23 72.14 17 2585 185 Reid, Frank SGS 1-26A 24 673 26.30 52.03 MT