Location: Mountain Valley Airport at
Tehachapi, CAUSAF Evaluates Blaniks
AFOTEC evaluates Blaniks - June 2000
Around one hundred and fifty flights were made in three Blaniks at Skylark North Gliderport near Edwards Air Force Base, California, in the first half of June 2000. Eleven evaluating and ten other pilots participated in the two-week long operational evaluation.
Blaniks evaluated:
L13AC Blanik N322BA
L23 Super Blanik N400AZ
L33 Solo N315BA
Participating organizations:
USAF HQ AFOTEC
USAF Det 5 AFOTEC
USAF ABA Comm
USAF Test Pilot School
USAF Academy 94th FTS
JP Aviation
Skylark Glider School
Cypress Soaring
US Civil Air Patrol
Brown Air Service
Blanik America
A report from the evaluation is being prepared and is expected to become available in the fourth quarter of 2000.
A Photo Essay
Photos courtesy of Skylark North Gliderport, and of Blanik America, Inc.
Location: Mountain Valley Airport at
Tehachapi, CA
A close-up
A high-shot
Stack of papers: What the evaluation was about - to produce a report.
People:
From left: Gary Aldrich and LtCol.Jerry Egel are helped by Larry Barret before their acro sortie in the L13AC Blanik.
LtCol. Jerry Egle with Maj. Doug Dodson in the L23, with Jim Payne assisting
LtCol. Joe Pacheco in the cockpit of L33 Solo
2ndLt. Matt Acer with Mike Marker in the L23
Here are a few close-up photos of the pilots, some from the evaluation team:
Top row from left: Maj. Doug Dodson, LtCol. Jerry Egel, 2ndLt. Matt Acer, Col. Mike Peters. Bottom row from left: Mike Marker, Gary Aldrich, Sgt. David Richman, Larry Barrett
From left: Jim Payne, Mike Marker, Sgt. David Richman, 2nLt. Matt Acer, Vitek Siroky, LtCol. Joe Pacheco, LtCol. Jerry Egel
Planes:
L13AC Blanik, L23 Super Blanik and L33 Solo at the tie-downs
awaiting another day of flight testing....
Jim Payne applying the seal tape to the L33 Solo
L33 Solo being readied for take-off
Two L23s on the flight line...
TV2 enclosed trailers - the one on the left for the L13AC Blanik, and the other one for L23 Super Blanik
This is where the meetings were held - at Skylark North's operations building
Read more about
the USAF evaluations here
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