KRONFELD ON GLIDING AND SOARING.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

ii2 KRONFELD ON GLIDING & SOARING
are doing pioneer work. I set out upon my endurance
flight of fourteen hours and forty-three minutes inspired
by the sublimity of this idea and encouraged by the
tradition of Ferdinand Schulz who was so closely connected
with our Rossitten.
On the afternoon of October igth, 1929, we drew the
machine to the starting place on Predin Hill, near Rossitten.
The breeze blew gently over the Kurische Haff from the
east with a speed of only eighteen feet per second. The
afternoon sun shone enticingly from a blue sky flecked with
fleecy clouds. The Flying School pupils were diligently
practising gliding under their experienced instructors,
Arndt and Lorenz. The members of the launching crew
grouped themselves eagerly around me, as with my pockets
stuffed full of chocolate and sandwiches and with a ginger
beer bottle on each side for balance I was heaved up into
my airy seat by willing comrades. " Barograph all right ?
Ready ? Pull out! Run! Let go ! " The launching
rope fell at 3.20 p.m. and the machine rose in an upward
current that gave me a good height to start off with.
After a short test of the flying area I settled upon a
" pendulum " flight of about three quarters of a mile long.
I tried to fix in my mind exactly the contours of the country
at the turning places in order to be as well prepared as
possible for the forthcoming night flight. The first few
hours passed unusually quickly, as thoughts concerning
my plans for the night helped to pass the time. Meanwhile
the sun was approaching the horizon over the Baltic Sea,
and gazing at a wonderful, red, glowing evening sky, I ate
my supper comfortably, floating along almost in silence
and accompanied by ever-changing flocks of birds of
passage. They flew trustingly close beside me and greeted
me with their cries. Then, almost suddenly, came the
mysterious darkness, with a cloudy sky and fresher breeze.
The expected moon, which was to have lighted my course,
did not appear, so now it became urgent for me to quickly
obtain some artificial light from below. Captain Rohre,
the Director of the Flying School at Rossitten, started to
make the necessary arrangements, but they took time.
In my airy seat I began to feel distinctly ill at ease ; below