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A typical scene on Harris Hill. Junior Members can usually be found anywhere there is activity; HHSC would surely grind to a halt without the debonaire line crews! A modern fiberglass sailplane departs the earth. When the line gets busy, the crews work in an atmosphere similar to a NASCAR pit stop crossed with an aircraft carrier flight deck! Only much safer. Really.
After about 40-50 flights with an instructor, you will take to the skies solo! This was the first solo flight for a Junior who now has his Private Glider Certificate. A congratulatory soaking with water usually follows, regardless of the air temperature! A Junior Member has made it! An FAA Flight Examiner arrives at Harris Hill to administer the oral exam and flight test for the Private Glider Certificate, the rating that finally allows a pilot to carry passengers. A glider pilot may later go for the Commercial and Certified Flight Instructor Certificates, allowing him/her to fly passengers for hire and give flight instruction, respectively.
Flying above Harris Hill in a single seat Schweizer 1-34. The 1-34 is the third ship a student learns to fly. Junior Members fly the '34 free of charge for rental, paying only for the towplane. Imagine flying for an hour on $3! Only at Harris Hill. HHSC's Schweizer 1-26E takes to the air for the first time since being refinished over the winter. Many Junior Members helped out with stripping the old paint, and everyone who put in time signed their name inside the cockpit. The sling on the front lineman's arm is from a non-soaring injury!
The Harris Hill hangars. The main hangar's roof makes it hard to get lost! Harris Hill, 11:03 Zulu. Fog obscures the Chemung Valley. In three hours time, the towplanes and gliders will emerge from their hangars. Canopies will be polished, equipment carts will be positioned, and a hundred other things will need to be attended to. Will a Junior solo today? Earn a certificate? Go cross-country for the first time? When the fog lifts, anything can happen. When you have wings, cloudbase is the limit!

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© 2004 Ryan Smith