To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 US Soaring Nationals
in Marfa TX, I have put the entire movie "The Sun Ship Game" on
youtube.
Some notes about the movie on youtube:
To get under the 10 minute limit, the movie is broken into 8
parts.
The original movie had numerous musical tracks from the BeeGees. I
had to mute/remove these for youtube. Youtube has a very clever music
scanner that flagged them as copyright violations. So you will
experience silence instead of the BeeGee tracks. No major loss.
In some places, the audio and video get out of sync by a second or
so. But since most of the dialog is in the form of voiceovers, this
is not a serious problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSj_POL6u0w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACpksxkyOTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvQU4OqqVxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eenw-cueqio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae14HGvxSgc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfzMYIcrTMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCT5-lyw8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzJmNSdA1u4
Nice one..
Al
Hi Bernie,
I'm getting audio only on some of the half dozen or so media players
that I have on my system. No joy on any video.
Thanks for doing this!
Tony
VLC will play it.
Bye
Andreas
Yes, it will. Thanks, Andreas!
Tony
The torrent is still active. I converted the file to DVD using the
program 'ConvertXtoDVD'.
They sure crashed a lot when out-landing.............. and landing at
the field!
1) Did I see Moffat cutting the tips off of his Open Cirrus and gluing
on tip extensions? Was this a certified glider? if so, was it ok to
make field mods like that back then?
2) Found it interesting what Gleb found important to think about
during a contest..............Kids or Competition, not judging, just
making an observation..............I have no kids myself, so thinking
about nothing but competition is cool in my book.
3) Is competition really as filled with broken gliders as we saw in
the video?
4) flying near thunderstorms..............tempting, everybody probably
does it a few times until they get the crap scared out of
them............if they haven't yet, then they will!
Brad
I think one thing the film was contrasting was that George was very
focused with good spousal support, while Gleb had a lot of domestic
issues to deal with, while going through a divorce, that ran over into
his contest flying.
Mike
>A couple of thoughts:
>
>1) Did I see Moffat cutting the tips off of his Open Cirrus and gluing
>on tip extensions? Was this a certified glider? if so, was it ok to
>make field mods like that back then?
Not only Moffat's ship was modified, Gleb's was, too.
Here's the story about George's Cirrus:
http://www.classicsailplane.org/Cirrus/Individual%20Aircraft/cirrus23.htm
>3) Is competition really as filled with broken gliders as we saw in
>the video?
Not today anymore - although I know of a recent one in Europe where
quite a few gliders were damaged. But I'm pretty sure that nowadays
pilots tend to convert 500 ft into a safe outlanding instead of using
Moffat's method of getting another 7 miles...
But:
Competitions taking place in mountains are very, very dangerous - the
fatality rate of Grand Prix's that took place in mountains is
devastating in my opinion (3 top pilots killed within the last 2
years). There have also been quite a couple of fatalities in the last
years in competions that took place in the Alps (Switzerland, Rieti).
Andreas
'TonyV[_2_ Wrote:
> ;703587']-
> http://tinyurl.com/nuxw2s
>
> Currently converting the avi to DVD format; will post again if there
> are any issues with the video.-
>
>
> Hi Bernie,
>
> I'm getting audio only on some of the half dozen or so media players
> that I have on my system. No joy on any video.
>
> Thanks for doing this!
>
>
>
> Tony
--
tienshanman
I have not used torrents before. When I go to download the sunship
file, it downloads a 54.3 KB file only. I can't open this file as
windows doesn't recognize it (using window XP pro and Firefox). Is
there a program to use for downloading torrent files that I need to
get? Is the 54.3 KB file the file that will do the actual
downloading? If so how do I open that file?
Thanks!
WD
Not to mention chain smoking at the high Marfa elevations.
> They sure crashed a lot when out-landing.............. and landing at
> the field!
There was a prevalent attitude at that time which said the way to win
was to take chances - i.e. "no guts, no glory". You still hear that
occasionally from uninformed sources.
Dick Johnson, like most top pilots, would patiently explain that the
way to win was to be careful, conserve your personal energy and fly
well every day - you couldn't win by crashing your glider or landing
out in remote places that took all night for a retrieve.
They'd say things like. "Know your limits and don't exceed them". "If
you're not good enough to win, taking chances won't improve your
score." "Study, practice and come back next year."
Even if some of these yahoos didn't crash, they scared themselves so
badly they couldn't concentrate. Back home, they'd try to explain
their poor performance by saying 'everyone else' took chances to win
that they weren't willing to take thus perpetuating the "no guts - no
glory" myth.
That said, many 1969 gliders were better designed for rough field
landings. Many still had nose skids and high wings for good brush
clearance. Lighter wing loadings made for slower landings.
Once you have downloaded and installed the client, simply double click
on the torrent file to open it and start the download.
> I have not used torrents before. When I go to download the sunship
> file, it downloads a 54.3 KB file only. I can't open this file as
> windows doesn't recognize it (using window XP pro and Firefox). Is
> there a program to use for downloading torrent files that I need to get?
> Is the 54.3 KB file the file that will do the actual downloading? If
> so how do I open that file?
>
Opera 9.64 seems to handle torrents as just another download - at least
the Linux version does.
--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |
Thanks for the replies!
Now to try to convert it and burn a dvd. Will use the suggestions
made previously.
Thanks again,
WD
Great to see the dress code for flying back then. Collared shirt and
chinos. Reminded me of a book I looked at with history of gliding in
Western Australia, with photos from the 1930s era of chaps in primary
gliders wearing shorts with ties. Tally ho!
> Great to see the dress code for flying back then. Collared shirt and
> chinos. Reminded me of a book I looked at with history of gliding in
> Western Australia, with photos from the 1930s era of chaps in primary
> gliders wearing shorts with ties. Tally ho!
>
That *is* fairly formal wear in Australia and New Zealand and exactly
equivalent to seeing similar pictures from America and Europe showing
pilots in jackets, ties and trousers. Arriving at the office wearing a
jacket, shirt, tie, neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.
Oops - typo - I meant wearing shirts with ties (not shorts). But
there's quite a difference between the sportswear of then and now,
that's for sure.
> neatly pressed shorts and socks is normal in the
> Antipodean summer. Its a sensible concession to the climate. I'm just
> surprised that it isn't more widespread in regions with hot summers.
I wouldn't call shorts and socks "sensible" and I'm glad it is not more
widespread. I would agree with shorts and sandals (without socks), though.
This sartorial disaster (long socks, tailored shorts, short-sleeved
shirt and polyester tie) still holds some sway in the hotter parts of
the country (Queensland towns, Darwin etc) as business attire for
older gents, but its going the way of the safari suit. Socks and
sandals - nothing says English tourist or expat than this! Still, I'd
love to see the people that fly vintage gliders in neat period
clothing - be something to see.
I'm sure there's a whole thread's worth of potential in a discussion
about gliding apparel. In the summer I'm a polo shirt, cargo shorts
and trainers bloke because it gets hot under that canopy and I don't
get high enough yet to get cold.
smith
I had not seen this movie and had an interesting response to this
video. I was a 14 to 17 year old crew for a pilot flying in the CA
regional and national competition starting a year after this movie was
made. I don't remember there being quite as much carnage. Mostly
focused pilots a little on edge that howled at the moon at the end of
the contest. I do remember a very memorable bikini. Not sure if it’s
the same one. Hazy adolescent memory of the lovely Suzanne Moffat.
These folks seemed so larger than life to me then. It is interesting
to have them pop out of a stylized time machine and viewed with 2009
sensibilities. I met a 14 year old version of myself on a recent
flying trip. Highly in need of a hair cut and a bath. It is reassuring
to see that some things don't change.
Rodger (7D)
>To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 US Soaring Nationals
>in Marfa TX, I have put the entire movie "The Sun Ship Game" on
>youtube.
I have received some very interesting notes about the movie, from a
close friend of the Director. My translation is a bit poor, I'm sorry.
I hope you all can understand anyway.
Aldo Cernezzi
>
Some words on the film: AFAIK, The Sunship Game is the only real
movie, not a documentary, dedicated to soaring competitions.
It has been filmed at a great expense (about 300-400,000 USD in 1969,
equivalent to at least 10 million Dollars today), privately financed
without any perspective of reasonable revenues -- by the Director and
producer Robert Drew, for one of its great passions, soaring.
I came to know Bob Drew thanks to an italian soaring pilot, Enrico
Ferorelli, who later was to become one of the great professional
photographers in New York. In the 80's I usually was in NY once a
month for my work. Bob, Enrico and I shared partnership in an LS3.
It was Bob Drew that, after a successful competition in Rieti, asked
me to organize, in order to film it, the first flight on the slope of
Mt. Everest in a glider. The movie was not made because, during the
tests in Bishop (California) the TV cameras mounted on a Calif A21
failed to work in the very low temperatures. The idea to make the
soaring flight on the Himalayas, was later realized anyway, with good
scientific results but without a movie, in 1985.
I mention all this only in order to emphasize that, having known him
quite well, I consider Bob an exceptional person, and his movie, which
in 20 years I have probably watched and shown over 20 times, is a true
masterpiece dedicated to soaring competitions. Its beauty is revealed
gradually, when, through repeated viewing, one understands the untold
in the conversations between the pilots. I recall in particular a
confession: "�soaring pilots - a champion is speaking -we become aware
that our talent, when we win a contest, is inexplicable; and we live
therefore with the fear of losing it�"
I suggest a visit here: http://www.drewassociates.net/ to see how much
and what Robert Drew, as one of the prominent figures of the "cinema
verit�", has filmed in its professional life. The Sunship Game is not
even mentioned in his professional biography. This movie is a
wonderful "gift" that this director-soaring pilot has given to the
world of soaring.
The loss of the original soundtrack, which included the song "Down to
Earth" by the Bee Gees, reduces the aesthetic experience of the film.
The Sunship Game does not offer only beautiful video clips of soaring,
of which we now have many, but it's certainly a true work of art
illustrating competitive soaring and its human dimension -- the choice
of music, IMHO, is an inseparable, essential part, of the storytelling
that Bob has created..
A few notes:
1. The Sun Ship Game is still protected by copyright. The DVD edition
can't be found in commerce because the Drew Associates did not succeed
to come to an agreement for the use of the music soundtrack with the
owners of the Bee Gees' rights. If you happen to own a copy, you
should keep it for you and show it to your friends, but, as a friend
of Bob, I suggest we don't promote its copying -- it just belongs to
him.
2. The plot of the narration is based on the major difference in the
personalities of the two protagonists, Gleb Derujinsky, US (an
advertizing director, the first one to appear in the film, on a
bicycle in New York) and George Moffat, XX (a professor, who appears
in a classroom teaching English literature).
Gleb, an instinctive pilot, is described as "unbeatable when he's in
top condition", but he's also sometimes inconsistent. Moffat, on the
other hand, is a cold "analytical-numerical" pilot flying a modified
Cirrus with longer wings, but we finally see that he's also "human
after all" through his flying and the suffering against Wally Scott
who had a new ASW-12.
George will win (at least) two World Championships, Marfa 1970 and
Waikerie 1974. Gleb, instead, will drive form Marfa to Mexico in order
to get a divorce, always followed by Bob's movie cameras.
The movie features a gallery of prominent figures of soaring. Between
many others, Klaus Holighaus, Stouffs Sr., and Hal "The Judge"
Lattimore, contest director.
WD
He and his wife, for a long time, ran a jewlery store there, and for a
while Gleb was active in their soaring club, giving instruction.
To add to his online RAS resume, Gleb was also a top fashion
photographer in NYC, his ex-wife Ruth, a fashion model. And for those
who remember, was the guy who shot the Alka Seltzer "On the Rocks"
commercial.
Gleb still lives outside Durango... being the first owner of the Sisu
I have (s/n 101, N6390X) I contacted him some years ago to talk to him
about that (what a great excuse!) and visited him there a few years
back, still keeping in touch. He raced a Std cirrus through the 70s,
and continued to soar and instruct into the 90s before getting really
frustrated with somebody at the club there, after which he tore up his
ticket (literally...) never to fly again. I told him to please send
stuff like that to a museum or at least to me next time, and one day
shortly after that he sent me the compass from Charlie Item (visible
on top of his cowl in Sunship) which was given to him by Schreder (who
'liberated' a bunch from the Navy and gave them out to his friends)
which needless to say is a very proud piece of my collection. I also
talked with a fellow that was given a glider ride by Gleb- 260 miles
in a 2-33! with a 55 mile final glide! said he didn't look once at the
ground but rather kept his eyes glued skyward, although the fellow
riding with him was white knuckled looking down for most of it. This
guy was really in awe of his stick skill and soaring intuition to say
the least. He's not soaring or flying anymore, but he also had a power
ticket w/instrument rating.
In addition to other of his achievements mentioned, he was a serious
top bicycle racer before WWII, played piano in Canagie Hall at age 9
while his mom danced, is the son of a famous sculptor (forgot name,
but made the bronze Roosevelt bust in DC for instance, other
sculptures visible in Sunship are his...), is the grandson of famous
Russian classical composer, made the first known carbon fiber bike
frames- which were then bought by the US olympic committee and reverse
engineered forming the foundation for more to come, made seargent at
age 19, field promoted after laying a road through un-passable mud for
Patten while in an army engineering team in Belgium after the 3
previous teams failed, while a top fashion photographer in the 50's he
went on that first round-world trip on the new 707 as such in addition
to the many covers of Harpar's Bazaar and other pubs his pics were on/
in, raced for Ferarri, and much much more. Apparently he was quite the
life of most any party he was at, and was a heap of fun to be around.
Truly an amazing person, and obviously a personal hero of mine. Oh,
and just about every woman around him had a big crush on him...
BTW, a lot of these are things I learned from others that know him and
did not come from his own bragging, although he really does have a lot
to brag about in my opinion.
-Paul
PS. Sunship Game is a very special movie to me, and I too think the
mangled youtube version is a travesty to that work of art, but I'm
glad others have gotten to see/appreciate it that otherwise may not
have.
PPS. when/if Robert Drew gets things straightened out with the
Beegees, there may be extra scenes included in the real DVD release
since a little birdie suggested it to him and he was warmly receptive
to the notion ;)
> PPS. when/if Robert Drew gets things straightened out with the Beegees,
> there may be extra scenes included in the real DVD release since a
> little birdie suggested it to him and he was warmly receptive to the
> notion ;)
>
That sounds something to look forward to. I'm also disappointed by the
resolution of the posted version and will certainly buy a DVD when it is
produced. Hopefully it won't be region-limited.
Count me in for a copy. Maybe if we show enough interest, it will
encourage Mr. Drew to pursue the rights.
--
tienshanman
"tienshanman" <tienshanm...@aviationbanter.com> wrote in message
news:tienshanm...@aviationbanter.com...
--Michael
They also solve problems like true airspeed, mach compressibility, F/C
temperature conversions, mph/kts conversions, etc. Just about any kind
of problem that might need solving for planning or executing a flight.
Ed
Yup, a flight compuiter and it didn't need batteries and was readable
even in the brightest sunlight!
Used to compute speed to fly and final glide altitude before those
transistor things came along. Not quite as configurable as the
modern silicon wonders. Changing to a glider with a different polar
required making, or buying, a new "prayer wheel".
I expect mine is still in a box somewhere with the cameras and the
photo books. I got a refund on the barograph before I got stuck with
that.
Andy
Actually no, it's not an e-6b. I have one of the circular glide
computers from that era, set up for a 301 Libelle. There are several
versions but the one I have has a side to place a sectional chart (or
portion of one) and a spiral set of lines to show glide distance into
a headwind. You twist the correct line over your current location and
I think it indicates the correct altitude for final glide, or some
combination thereof.
If someone is really interested I can post pictures on my website. m
l b ( at ) m i k e b a m b e r g . c o m (remove the spaces, replace
the at) drop me a line and I'll go through the effort.
Mike
... text deleted...
>Actually no, it's not an e-6b. I have one of the circular glide
>computers from that era, set up for a 301 Libelle. There are several
>versions but the one I have has a side to place a sectional chart (or
>portion of one) and a spiral set of lines to show glide distance into
>a headwind. You twist the correct line over your current location and
>I think it indicates the correct altitude for final glide, or some
>combination thereof.
>
>If someone is really interested I can post pictures on my website. m
>l b ( at ) m i k e b a m b e r g . c o m (remove the spaces, replace
>the at) drop me a line and I'll go through the effort.
>
>Mike
I presented a paper at the 1991 OSTIV meeting detailing a software
program, written in HP BASIC, to compute the required parameters and
plot the graphic overlay for this type of final glide computer, which
Helmut Reichmann called a "Stocker" calculator. On my copy of
Reichmann's "Cross Country Soaring", the descirption of the computer
is on page 120.
The program I wrote was designed to drive an HP plotter which
generated an overlay what would be printed on a transparency and
overlaid on top of a sectional map.
If anyone is interested in ancient historical artifacts, send me an
email and I'll forward a copy of the paper.
Bob
I have a link on my Soaring Links page "Theory, Equations & Spreadsheets" to
a site in Melbourne (link below) which includes a program to calculate and
plot a Stocker final glide calculator as described in Helmut Reichmann's
book Cross Country Soaring.
http://www.gliding-in-melbourne.org/resource.htm
More interesting links are here:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/soaring_links/theory.htm
Good Soaring,
Paul Remde
"Bob Gibbons" <rcgi...@ieee.org> wrote in message
news:iqtla5do58heukbom...@4ax.com...
TJ Johnson
PIK20 FN
Taking away the original music would severely damage the weirdness
quotient. Taking the Bee Gees out of the film would be akin to telling
the Horse Child that there isn't going to be any breakfast.
Unthinkable.
Jim Beckman