Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

Hubbard learned to fly a glider while at George Washington University.
He acquired the uniquely appropriate nickname of 'Flash' and liked
to be described as a 'daredevil speed pilot and parachute artist'.
However, he had become much enamoured of late with the infant sport of gliding and the idea of
learning to fly and he was able to use his influence at the newspaper to stimulate interest in the
formation of a university gliding club. On 1 April 1931, the Hatchet reported that an initial meeting of
the George Washington University Gliding Club was to he held soon. The club had secured the use
of a Berliner primary trainer and plans were being made to buy a power glider to train students for
power flight. Anyone interested, the report concluded, should contact L. Ron Hubbard at the Hatchet
office.
Thereafter, Ron made sure that the activities of the gliding club were extensively covered. On 15
April it was reported that 'several GW men who are well versed in the science of aviation and
motorless flight' were expected to attend an initial meeting the following day. 22 April: 'Glider Club
Begins Training at Congressional Airport.' 13 May: 'Members of Glider Club Try Out Theories In Air.'
Ron adored gliding and spent a great deal of time hanging around at Congressional Airport in
Rockville, Maryland, hoping to cadge an extra flight and a tow in the Old Ford that pulled the gliders
into the air. He never hesitated to cut classes if it meant 'going up' and he relied on his fellow
students to brief him on the content of the classes he missed. It was not an ideal way to qualify as
a civil engineer.
Although Ron was elected president of the gliding club, it rather appeared from the reports in the
Hatchet that he was in danger of being overshadowed by his vice-president, one Ray A.
Heimburger. The 13 May story noted, for example, that Heimburger was the first member to release
his tow-line in the air, at the height of forty feet, while Ron was still 'trying his hand at the art of
making turns in the air'. Einstein's theories were a 'pipe', Ron was quoted as saying, 'compared to
the navigation of a motorless ship'. A few weeks later, Heimburger won second place in a spot
landing contest at the Curtis Wright Air Show in Baltimore; another GW student took third place, but
Ron did not merit a mention.
If there was any jealousy between the president and his deputy, it was forgotten on 13 July when