Deep awe, Willy!
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Some notes surrounding your Valderain mention:
Last year Neil Larson, first USHGA official historian, found Russ Valderain of the
Lead Sled 16' ... first on your list. Neil has posted in US Hawks.
One reference in 2010 online regards a car accessory realm for Russ:
http://forums.corral.net/forums/drag-ra ... iaper.htmlBack in the days ... his wife Carol was super core worker in the USHGA office.
Mike Koman noted on Oct. 15, 2007, the following:
"Did you see the double surface, double taper fixed wing I built? It was really beautiful and had the best glide. Myself, Dave Cronk & Pat Canery [sic, Conniry]flew it before I gave it to Russel Valderain (not sure of spelling). Russel may have photos of it. I searched for Russel on the web but couldn't contact him. If you can tell me how to contact him I would be grateful and could ask him if he has any photos."
And related:
Quote:
Special research call: Mike Koman built a fixed-wing hang glider of double surface and with double tapered wing (chord and thickness). It was of aluminum-tube and wire-rope construction. It had a double-tapered hollowed-out Styrofoam D-tube leading edge that extended back one third of the chord. The D-tube was made by hot wiring block sections of foam using handmade plywood templates of decreasing size from the root to the tip of the wing. Styrofoam ribs between the D-tube sections were capped with thin plywood strips. The trailing edge was thin wedge shaped wood. It was "shrink wrapped" with clear plastic by heating the garage in which it was built with an industrial heater to over 110 degrees. It had its own triangle shaped gray painted plywood trailer where the wings mounted vertically inside the trailer.
David Cronk and Pat Conniry (spell) and Mike Koman flew it; it had a "nice glide angle," says Koman. According to Koman - Dave Cronk said it was "a beautiful wing". Russell Valderain (spell) ended up with the hang glider and may have some photographs. Al or Roger Sutton in Pennsylvania may have some photographs as the wing was largely built in their Sutton Brothers garage in Pennsylvania. The flights were partly in California where Dave and Pat flew it briefly at Redondo/Torrance Beach. Any information on this historical wing of the 1970s early, please send.
Koman and Russ Valderain note by Mike Koman (now legally
Madhava Dasa)
Quote:
Definitely me - don't know the date.
Rope attachment indicates late 1971.
Joe, what I would really like is a photo of my double surface, double taper, Styrofoam cutout
D-tube leading edge & poly plastic fixed wing HG that Dave Cronk and Pat Canery flew
once each and I believe Bob Dart knew about.
It included a big triangular light blue trailer that the wings fit inside vertically like
panes of glass. I gave it to Russ Valderain who I've never been able to contact.
Anyway, thanks for the Wright Brothers posed photo.
One of these days we'll get over there again and visit you near the university.
Madhusudan das (formerly Mike, legal name Madhava Dasa), but please just call me
"Dasa"
Neil might have made recent contact with Russ V.
