The Cumberland Soaring Group has been operating out of the Cumberland Airport for forty years and in that time soaring pilots have come from near and far to partake of their sport. This activity had drawn individuals that have excelled in their professional life and at the same time participated in the avocation of soaring. Some of those individuals and their accomplishments follow.
Alvin Gene Moore, a local sailplane and powered aircraft pilot, was known for his inventive mind. He invented a laminar jet angular rate sensor that has no rotating parts. This invention has many applications including a variometer, a replacement for gyroscopic instruments used in aircraft for instrument flying, an instantaneous rate of climb for powered airplanes, and his previously described wave machine. The rate sensor was used in the Copperhead Missile by the US Army Field Artillery as a guidance system for missiles after firing from an artillery piece. It was Moore’s variometer that impacted the operation of sailplanes in our area to a large degree. Gene’s demonstration variometer instrument was simply mounted in a common lunch bucket and, by raising or lowering it by hand, an indication of lift or sink was immediately indicated on the instrument’s dial and needle. This demonstration rapidly impressed pilots on the value of a new sensitive variometer for soaring flight. Gene Moore thus became a nationally known authority concerning variometers in the soaring movement. Further refinements of Gene’s variometers are used today in the sleek modern carbon fiber high performance sailplanes.
Dr. Edward F. ‘Ed’ Byars came to the CSG in 1960 with his flying wing glider, designed by Al Backstrom, called the EBP-1 Plank. The flying wing had a 40 foot so-called Hershey Bar wing with no fuselage or empenage beyond the trailing edge. In the middle of the wing on the center of gravity, was a small enclosed pilot compartment. On each wing-tip was a vertical fin that contained a ruddervator that when opened acted as a drag on that wing tip. The ailerons were placed on the outboard section of the trailing edge with the elevators inboard next to the pilot compartment. Ed had provided both plans and materials to Herman Lindner, a teacher at Champaign High School in Illinois, and Lindner along with his class constructed the silver and red Plank.
From the ground during aero-tow take-off the Plank looked unstable and difficult, especially in pitch, but Ed said that was due to over controlling by the pilot and that it was not too hard to fly. However, it did not have good control harmony as the elevators and ailerons were sensitive, and the rudders were barely adequate. Since the rudders operated independently of each other it was necessary for the pilot to hold both feet off the rudder pedals and to rest his foot on the pedal only when desiring rudder input. In the small cockpit this uncomfortable position resulted in undesired rudder movement from the pilot. Pushing both rudder pedals down and both rudders open into the slipstream acted as spoilers.
Pilot protection was poor in the event of a mishap and although it was interesting and fascinating aircraft the Plank was not a practical sailplane. During one of Ed’s first attempts at flying the Plank, his wife Betsy overheard a local pilot say to a friend that “I bet he cracks it up on landing”. This story was told recently by Ed’s son, Guy, telling about the anxiety that Guy’s mother endured until Ed had actually returned safely. The Plank was later owned by the famous Dick Roberts and others. It now resides at the National Soaring Museum at Elmira, NY.
Ed Byars resided in Morgantown, WV, and was a member of the faculty at West Virginia University rising to become Dean of the College of Engineering. Ed contributed much to aviation at Cumberland with his engineering background and with his enthusiastic love of lying with both airplanes and sailplanes. At various times he owned and flew to Cumberland a vintage Beechcraft Staggerwing, a Piper Cub, a Cessna 170, a Beechcraft Bonanza, and a twin engine Beechcraft Travel Air. A vintage Schweizer TG-2 WW II training glider, a Schweizer 1-23, a Schempp Hirth Standard Austria, a Glasflugel Kestrel (both from Germany), and a Pik 20B from Finland were his modern sailplanes. He made many early exploratory flights with a low performing Schweizer 1-23 to Norfolk, VA for his Diamond goal flight and an out and return flight to Frederick, MD. Most out and return soaring cross-country flights are made either north or south, to eliminate flying into the prevailing west winds. Byars established several Maryland and West Virginia soaring records and won many soaring contests. After retiring from the university he served from 1980 to 1985 as Executive Assistant to Bill Atchley, President of Clemson University in South Carolina. Ed served as a director in the Soaring Society of America for many years before retiring as Chairman of the S.S.A. Among his notable accomplishments in soaring is the co-authoring with Bill Holbrook the book Soaring Cross Country. He is a Three Diamond pilot and is one of the few pilots to have flown over 1,000 kilometers on a soaring cross country flight. Ed was inducted into the Soaring Hall of Fame. Ed Byars now resides at Clemson, SC at his own fly-in community and still competes in soaring contests flying a state of the art high-performance sailplane.
This photo, taken in the 1995, shows Ed Byars in his LS-7 state of art sailplane, with Bill Holbrook and Bob Poling. Byars still competes in soaring meets around the country.
Jack Wagner and others owned an interesting 1930’s vintage sailplane manufactured in Europe, called simply the Weihe (pronounced via). The Weihe had a large wooden and fabric three piece wing with a landing gear dolly that was dropped from the craft after take-off. This sailplane performed well in weak soaring conditions. On landing the pilot was required to land the Weihe on a skid that was mounted beneath the fuselage.
Don Wasness was a superb electrical engineer working at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory who contributed outstanding advice regarding radios and supporting antennae. Don is a superb sailplane pilot who later moved to South Carolina where he became a champion pilot competing in many sailing contests in that area.
Dr. Bill Rogers was head of Dental Research at the National Institute of Health prior to his retirement to Arizona. He still flies a modern state of the art two place motor glider which has a self contained launching engine.
Dr. Melvin Nida was a professor at Salem College located in Salem, WV.
Bill Holbrook served for years as Chief Pilot of the Kelly-Springfield Flight Operations and later retired to Tucson, Arizona. It was he, along with Dr. Robert K. Poling, who founded the Cumberland Soaring Group.
Dr. Robert K. ‘Bob’ Poling maintained an extended dental practice in Cumberland. ‘Doc’ Poling, along with Bill Holbrook developed an intense interest in soaring and later co-founded the local soaring group, which has long endured.
David Long, prior to his retirement, worked as an engineer at Westvaco and has been an active member of the CSG since its beginnings. He first soloed a Piper J-3 Cub in 1947 and has owned many aircraft and gliders since.
Thomas Herndon served as an engineer with Allegany Instruments Company and is a longtime member of the CSG and now lives in the Baltimore area.
Wilfred Schuemann was a prominent and outstanding engineer at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory. Wil was an intense and eager sailplane pilot who explored with his high altitude and long distance soaring flights. While flying at the CSG he used his two sailplanes for extensive soaring research. With his novel ideas of aerodynamics he was consulted by German sailplane designers which influenced modern sailplane design. Wil has moved from the area and his enthusiasm has been missed from the local club.
Jack McGonigle is a long time premier soaring pilot who never flew powered aircraft. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA, bases his sailplane at Cumberland, and continues to be a staunch member of the CSG, as he has for 40 years.
The Cumberland Soaring Group has had but three Chief Instructors during its long existence, those being Bill Holbrook, Jack Wagner, and currently Marvin Holland. All three possessed Federal Aviation Administration designated sailplane flight examiners certificates. The CSG’s outstanding safety record is reflected in the sound teachings of these three and the other instructors that have assisted the club.
Bill Holbrook was especially adept with working with young teenagers. He gathered four youngsters, exposing them to his gentle guidance, and taught them to become soaring pilots, all four soloing by age fourteen. The first of this group was his daughter, Lisa, who was a quick learner and quickly soloed the Schweizer 2-22 trainer. Progressing to the more advanced single place Schweizer 1-26 glider, Lisa was having an excellent day and was prolonging her flight much longer than Bill anticipated. She did not land until after her father had departed on a Kelly flight. Bill worried about his daughter, unnecessarily perhaps, throughout his trip and return to Cumberland. Lisa graduated from The College of Wooster, in Ohio, and now, as Lisa Lofthouse, operates several picture frame shops in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
On the left is Bill Holbrook and daughter, Lisa, in front of Bill’s Super Cub. On the right are: Lisa Holbrook, Gary Dayton, David Poling, and in the cockpit, Tim Long.
Timothy Long was the second to solo under Holbrook’s tutelage. Tim has experienced a long aviation career that began with soaring. After gaining his pilot’s license for powered aircraft he built up his flight time by serving as a tow pilot. First serving as a line boy for Nicholson Air Service, he progressed as a pilot for the Nicholson airline, obtained a BSCE degree from West Virginia University, and then became a pilot for an international charter service flying large jet aircraft. Captain Tim Long returned to Cumberland and became an aircraft commander for the Kelly Flight Operations. Tim continues to fly his Pik sailplane and also a beautiful Aeronca 7AC ‘Champ’ and bases both aircraft at Cumberland.
Gary Dayton was the third of the youngster to solo. It is not known if he continued with flying, but after graduating from Embry-Riddle University, Gary was reported to be an Assistant Manager at the Baltimore-Washington Airport. Dayton is now a stock broker in the Hanover, PA area.
The youngest of the group was Dr. David R. Poling who soloed at age 14. David progressed rapidly and enhanced his aviation skills by soloing the family Piper J-3 Cub at age 16. By age 17 David had acquired his private pilot’s license for powered aircraft. He then quickly went on to acquire enough flight time to qualify as a tow pilot for the CSG, towing members and visitors for two complete seasons. He continued his higher education by receiving engineering degrees from West Virginia and Virginia Tech Universities. David is currently a Doctoral Engineer employed by the Boeing Company specializing in aerodynamics as a Program Manager. David remains active in soaring and also owns a Cessna Skylane for pleasure flying.
Dr. Steve Diehl as a teenage member of the CSG flew the Schweizer 2-22 low performance trainer for a five hour period, a feat no other club member has duplicated. Steve later graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, then medical school at WVU. After separating from active duty, Steve practices radiology in Holidaysburg, PA. He flies his Pik sailplane locally and bases his Cessna Skylane at the Bedford, PA airport.
Helmet Kantor and Dieter Ennulat, were two former members of the youth movement of Nazi Germany where they learned to fly gliders during WW II. For a period of time they based their beautiful German K-8 sailplane at the local soaring club.
Bill Holbrook and Ed Byars based a factory sponsored two-place Schweizer 2-32 sailplane at the CSG for two years in the 1970’s. They used the 2-32 at attempts in multi-place soaring distance records amassing long flights in the process. Ed related that on one difficult and turbulent flight, approximately two hundred miles down a ridge in Virginia; they were surprised to suddenly see Karl Striedick flying formation with them in his single place high performance sailplane. Karl had begun his flight from his own mountain air-strip twenty-five miles north of Altoona, PA.
Eberhardt Gyer was a former German Focke Wulf 190 fighter pilot during WW II who had learned the art of soaring in Nazi Germany. He was the leader and talented instructor pilot of a soaring group from Detroit, MI. This group based their gliders at the CSG for a few years during winter months, flying winter wave flights. David Poling, as a new teenage tow pilot, would be awakened with a German telephone salutation of, “David, vee are here, veer are you?” Eb’s meaning was why David was not at the airport with the tow plane ready to aero-tow our sailplanes. Young Poling quickly learned the forceful techniques of German gliding activities and their insistence in being towed no matter what winter weather problems existed. David recalled that he really learned how to master the strong gusty winter cross winds and how to cope with the violent turbulence of the rotor area and the leeward wind side of nearby Knobley Mountain. However, after becoming an aerodynamicist and a more experienced pilot, Poling felt that not only was the operating limitations jeopardized in this activity but also the structural integrity of Bill Holbrook’s Piper Super Cub tow plane. Ironically, Jack Wagner, the Chief Flight instructor for the CSG at the time, was a highly decorated former Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crew member during WW II. David Poling stated he was present at a social gathering at Jack’s home where Wagner displayed to Geyer photographs of his 8th Air Force B-17 bombing missions over Geyer’s home country. The former adversaries were friendly and apparently got along well.
At one of the CSG’s sponsored Mid-Atlantic Soaring Meets one of the participants was a US Army Lieutenant Colonel, based in the southern states. The Colonel arrived at the Cumberland Airport flying an Army twin-engine aircraft. He deplaned and the Army craft departed. Shortly an Army Sergeant arrived driving the Colonel’s retrieve car towing a trailered sailplane. The Colonel placed high in the meet and after the Sergeant departed with auto and sailplane. Shortly the Army aircraft arrived and quickly departed with the Colonel.
True soaring aficionados look upon powered aircraft with disdain as machines that are expensive, noisy, give off noxious odors to further pollute the air, use a natural resource for fuel, and are generally obnoxious. They feel the same about the tow plane but endure this necessary evil in order to get their beautiful sailplane into the atmosphere. It is there where he feels relieved at the moment of release from the tow rope. Now the enjoyment of pure freedom is upon them, true natural flight can be enjoyed to the fullest, and there is no engine to bother them as they relish in their sport.
Several CSG pilots have been presented awards by the international controlling body of sporting aviation, The Federation Aeronautique Internationale. These awards are given in the form of highly visible and coveted soaring badges through the Soaring Society of America for outstanding achievements in soaring flight. Members receiving this award from the local club are; Bill Hobrook, Ed Byars, Jack McGonigle, Bob Poling, Jack Wagner, David Long, George Nash, Gene Moore, Don Wasness, Larry Minch, Bill and Dave Boehmer, Leland Ransom, Bill Rogers, Wil Schuemann, Paul Parker, and Phillip Contreras. Also in this special group are the more recent soaring achievements by active pilots; Marvin Holland, Larry Albin, Tim Long, Clyde Reeves, Dan Bookwalter, David Poling, Gary Phillips, Steve Diehl, Fred Bane, and Mike Pittard.
Most pilots, however, enjoy both powered flight and soaring as well. Bill Holbrook provided the local soaring club with their first tow plane, a Piper Super Cub. Later a special Cessna 150, with a large engine, served the club’s needs. There have been numerous other powered craft at Cumberland used to launch the soaring pilots. They include a Bellanca Citabria, Piper Pacer, Piper Super Cruiser, Piper Cub, Piper Cherokee, and Piper Pawnee. Several Cessna aircraft have been used such as the Skyhawk, Skylane, 180, Birddog, Stationaire. Also used have been an Aeronca Champ, Aeronca Chief, Stinson, L-5, Shinn, and a Taylorcraft.
That reliable Cessna 150, acquired in the early 1980’s, to this day supplies the CSG’s need for a tow plane. The tow plane, which has been the launch vehicle for hundreds and hundreds of successful hook-up and release of soaring craft, has long held an affectionate name. What could be more appropriate than – you may have guessed – to be called ‘The Happy Hooker’!
The CSG Cessna 150, the ‘Happy Hooker’, with current President Keith Sines and Chief Flight Instructor Marvin Hubbard.
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Wings Over Cumberland 