Date: 11-29-00
EXPLORATIONS #1928 - SOARING
By PAUL THOMPSONVOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special
English program, EXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about a
dream that is as old as the human mind. The dream is
flight. Today we tell about how that dream has led to
the sport of soaring. Soaring is flying in an
airplane without an engine.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Every sport has a history. But few sports have a
history that goes back one-thousand years. It was
then that a Roman Catholic monk built a device to fly.
History records say his name was Eilmer of Malmesbury
England. He reportedly jumped from a building with
wings he had built. He floated down for about two
hundred meters before crashing. He broke both his
legs. It was not a good flight, but it was a
beginning.
One of the most famous inventors and artists designed
a flying device in the fifteen-century. The Italian
inventor-artist was Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo
designed bird-like wings for a man to wear. His
drawings survive to this day.
VOICE TWO:
Real flight by humans developed very slowly because
early inventors like Leonardo tried to make wings that
moved. Leonardo and other inventors studied birds.
They used the birds' method of flight for their
designs. Their idea was that a person would wear
wings on their arms and move them up and down just as
a bird's wings move. The idea always failed. We now
know that a human does not have enough power to move
wings fast enough to fly.
The first real flights took place in Eighteen-Forty-
Nine. British inventor George Cayley built a winged
machine called a glider that carried a man. But it
crashed after a short flight. In Eighteen-Eighty-
Three, an American, John J. Montgomery, made the
first, controlled flight in a glider. In fact, he
made several. Then Otto Lilienthal of Germany made
about two-thousand flights in simple gliders during
the Eighteen-Nineties. He built a tall hill from
which to launch his flights.
Americans Wilbur and Orville Wright flew several kinds
of gliders. They also improved methods of controlling
their glider flights. Their successful experiments
with gliders led to the first aircraft powered by an
engine.
VOICE ONE:
The gliders of long ago could only stay in the air for
limited amounts of time. Usually they were launched
from a high place. They slowly floated or glided
down. Modern technology has made the glider a high
performance machine. It can stay up for many hours.
It can reach many kilometers into the sky by riding on
the hot air that rises from the ground. It can carry
one, two or more people.
Modern gliders are built from space-age lightweight
metals, or plastics. They can carry radios, oxygen
needed for extreme heights, and many flight
instruments.
Many modern gliders or sailplanes look more like
insects than birds. They have narrow, rounded bodies,
with long thin tails. Their wings are extremely long
too.
There is very little room inside. The pilot does not
sit straight. The seat permits the pilot to almost
lie down in an area enclosed by a plastic top. The
top is clear. This lets the pilot see very well in
every direction.
VOICE TWO:
A pilot controls a sailplane or glider much the same
as other aircraft. Control instruments called
ailerons are built into each wing. With one aileron
raised and the other lowered, the plane will turn in
the direction of the raised aileron.
Another control is on the tail. It is called the
elevator. It swings up and down. The elevator makes
the plane move up or down.
The tail also has a control that moves from side to
side. It is called a rudder. It helps direct the
plane. The pilot controls the rudder with foot
pedals. The pilot uses a device called a stick to
control the ailerons and elevators. Moving the stick
from side to side moves the ailerons. Moving the
stick forward points the glider down. Pulling back on
the stick makes it go up.
In front of the pilot are several instruments. One
shows how high the glider is. Another shows the air
speed. Another is a compass that shows what direction
the glider is flying. And another tells if the
glider is going up, or down.
VOICE ONE:
The modern glider is like those designed hundreds of
years ago. It has no power. It can get into the air
only with help. In the United States, a powered
airplane usually pulls the glider into the air. The
glider is usually pulled up to one thousand meters.
Then the rope used to pull the glider is released.
The glider is on its own.
Every school child knows that hot air rises. Glider
pilots learn this fact. They learn how to use it. As
hot air rises from the ground, it creates enough
pressure to permit a modern glider to rise. It
provides the power to keep the glider in the air.
When the glider has risen as high as the pilot wants,
he steers the glider away from the hot air. A glider
pilot who has enough rising hot air can keep the
aircraft in the air for several hours.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Howard Hoadley lives in the southern state of North
Carolina. When Howard is not working, or sleeping,
Howard thinks about flying. Howard loves to fly.
When he is not flying gliders, he is talking about
flying gliders. Or he is talking about glider
equipment, good places to fly gliders and about his
friends who fly gliders.
He has very little interest in flying airplanes that
have engines. He thinks they make too much noise.
Flying with Howard is safe. It is also fun.
Howard flies from a very small airport in beautiful
North Carolina farm land. Crops grow next to the
landing field. There are powered airplanes at the
airport but Howard only cares about the ones that pull
the gliders into the air. On weekends and holidays,
gliders land and take off every few minutes.
VOICE ONE:
If you have never been in a glider before, Howard
always takes time to explain how it works. He shows
how to use the safety belts. He explains each of the
instruments and what they do. He shows how the
controls work. He makes each passenger feel good
about trying a new experience. And he tells his
passengers that they will have a chance to fly the
glider themselves once they are safely in the air.
The glider Howard usually flies can carry two people.
One sits in the front and one behind. Howard, as the
pilot, rides behind the passenger. Howard and the
passenger both have a complete set of flight
instruments and controls.
The glider is launched with safety as the first
consideration. A person on the ground provides
support for both the pilot of the glider and the pilot
of the plane that will pull the gilder into the air.
That person controls the launch and uses hand signs to
communicate with both pilots.
When everything is ready the sign to go is given. The
person on the ground runs along with the glider to
keep its wings level for the first few feet.
VOICE TWO:
The take-off area is covered with grass. So the ride
is not very smooth. Howard tells his passengers to
expect to feel many bumps in the first few moments.
The glider moves faster and faster, as the airplane
pulling it gathers speed. Within seconds both
aircraft lift off the ground. The ride now is very
smooth. You can hear the sound of the airplane engine
in the plane that is pulling the glider.
VOICE ONE:
It takes a few minutes to reach the height where the
rope holding the glider to the airplane is released.
When the rope is released, the glider turns to the
right. The airplane goes left.
Now no loud sound is heard in the glider, only the
sound of the air passing under the glider's wings.
The clear plastic glass that covers the front of the
glider provides a beautiful sight in all directions.
The ground far below is green. There are dark green
trees, green corn, and grass. A farm is seen in the
distance. And, far below is the airport, with
aircraft lined up in a row.
VOICE TWO:
Howard looks to make sure there are no other aircraft
in the area. Then he tells his passenger to place his
right hand on the stick and his feet on the rudder
pedals. Howard takes his hands and feet off the
controls.
Howard tells the passenger, "Now, turn to the left.
Move the stick to the left and press the left rudder
pedal at the same time. . . stick and rudder together
always. Now try pushing the stick forward a little.
Now turn to the right."
Howard sounds happy. Then he says one of the most
exciting things the passenger will ever hear. . . . , "Now
you are really flying. . . all by yourself."
(((THEME)))
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written and produced
by Paul Thompson. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next
week at this time for another EXPLORATIONS program on
the Voice of America.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/