Sisu 1a, s/n 101, N6390X

[Paul Hanson]

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the destruction
of Sisu 1a, s/n 101, N6390X.
We had a big storm blow through Avenal Ca and there
was much damage. She was tied out (claw anchors, ratchet
straps with screw shackles, wings on stands, tail elevated)
but the ground liquefied and it was blowing at a steady
60mph, gusting higher.
I found the ship on it's back, about 650 feet from
where I parked it, complete with said claw anchors/spikes/ratchet
straps/shackles. The 1-35 next to the Sisu was tied
up the same but was unharmed, fortunately for IT'S
owner. Although the 1-35 was hanging on by it's fingernails
it was still hanging on and any other portable tiedown
would have simply failed, and much sooner. The only
difference between our tiedown jobs, was his were spiked
in 2 months ago and mine were in since May or so (bad
idea). He is actually lucky that his ship was out there,
because his open trailer it goes on was significantly
overlapped by the Libelle trailer that was next to
it and would have been badly damaged/destroyed were
it there still.
We also had a 2-33 break chains and fly across the
street, landing on it's nose and back, 2 hangers destroyed
as well as the collapse of our new hanger that was
under construction. There was lots more damage at the
airfield as well as all over the county, with doors/roofs
ripped off buildings downed powerlines/trees etc. It
looked as if a tornado went through, but it was just
damn windy as well as completely saturated (the mud
here is very slick due to the fine particulate nature
of the dirt).
Pat, if you're reading this, I got lots of pics to
show you...

In Tears,
Paul Hanson

PS. Please allow me to grieve in peace, I DO know proper
tiedown practices, and regularly school others on the
subject (painful irony). My ship was not supposed to
be out there this month either, but...

[wby0...@aol.com]

Paul,

I'm very sorry to hear this. I know you must be sick. I know how
much work you put in to bringing that ship back to life. Just remember
that many of the great pilots who's history you've labored to preserve
and honor have also lost ships to similar circumstances. See you at
the convention pal.

Matt Michael
Ames Iowa

On Jan 5, 10:22 pm, Paul Hanson

[Matt Herron Jr.]

Paul,

Sorry for your loss. I know how much you loved that ship.

Matt (Jr)

[cherok...@gmail.com]

Paul,

you have my deepest sympathies. Another tear or 100 are being shed
for you and the glider from Iowa. See you in Albuquerque. :(

[Burt Compton - Marfa]

Paul,

So very sorry for your loss of the Sisu.

Thanks for carefully restoring # 101 to flying condition and
trailering it around to the SSA Conventions and the Vintage Sailplane
events for all of us to enjoy. Thanks also for sharing with us your
research on the Sisu and designer Leonard Neimi.

Take care,

Burt
Marfa

[Tim Hanke]

On Jan 6, 8:07 am, Burt Compton - Marfa <FBComp...@aol.com> wrote:
A sad site.....http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/articles/2008/01/06/news/
doc478076a5c8649598404834.txt

[Mike I Green]

Hi Paul,

My sympathies. It has been a hellish several days out here.

MG

[Hans Disma]

Hi Paul,

That is really sad news. Especially after it had taken so long ( over 10
years ! ) to get it restored after many desperate attempts by several
"restorers" and finally had it completed by a man of his word; George
Applebay.

I know you wanted to sell her and was very tempted to buy it back from you
but I waited to long to make that final decision and now it is too late.

Kind regards,

Hans Disma

"Mike I Green" <mgorril...@MEcomcast.net> schreef in bericht
news:FvCdnXix0fvVhx_a...@comcast.com...

[Paul Hanson]

Hi All, thanks for all the kind words. If anyone wants
to see some preliminary pics check out our club website
at:
www.soaravenal.com I will post a link to the damage
pics I took as soon as I post them to a URL. Also,
here is a link to some news coverage (unfortunately
they interview someone who was not even there (before,
during or after) and is not a glider history buff;
made obvious by his lamenting over our crappy/easily
replaced 2-33 without mention of the real loss. And
people wonder why gliding is dying pffft!)
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=5871282
Looking forward to seeing y'all at the convention.
This story ain't over yet...

Paul Hanson

PS. I did not 'want' to sell her, economics was forcing
my hand to find a new caretaker. I had found one too,
even with all my strings that were attached. Those
strings were:
1. it keeps it's markings/historical exterior (no gap
seals etc)
2. no holes will be drilled (anywhere, save necessary
repairs)
3. I get to fly it once in a while (insurance to include
'guest pilots')
4. it gets displayed when/where appropriate (by new
owner or myself if new owner is unavailable)

At 15:24 07 January 2008, Hans Disma wrote:
>Hi Paul,
>
>That is really sad news. Especially after it had taken
>so long ( over 10
>years ! ) to get it restored after many desperate attempts
>by several
>'restorers' and finally had it completed by a man of
>his word; George
>Applebay.
>
>I know you wanted to sell her and was very tempted
>to buy it back from you
>but I waited to long to make that final decision and
>now it is too late.
>
>Kind regards,
>
>Hans Disma
>
>
>
>
>
>

>'Mike I Green' schreef in bericht

[skylar]

I am a total stranger to you and I just happened on your story as I was
searching the net for Sisu pictures. When I was a youngster I used to hang
out at the local gliderport and run wingtips for rides and other such
freebies. One guy there flew an SZD Foka and I thought the supine flying
position was the cat's pajamas...until one weekend he showed up with a new
Sisu. That V-tail was the most radical thing I had ever seen on a sailplane
and it has influenced all my model sailplanes ever since. It was with great
sadness that I read about the demise of your ship, especially the part
about finding it on its back. Anthropomorphism (?) made it sound like a
giant regal bird that had passed away. My condolences.

--
Message posted using http://www.talkaboutaviation.com/group/rec.aviation.soaring/
More information at http://www.talkaboutaviation.com/faq.html

[tjv...@yahoo.com]

Hi Paul. Came across this post and don't know if you are still active in soaring or not. My 89 yr old father has one of the last production Sisu's and needs to get rid of it. It is not completed. Fuselage is skinned, and he has the aluminum skins for the wings, but it would take some building, and the right person to get this historic piece of aviation in the air. If you yourself, or anyone you know of, may be interested, please let me know. Trying to find a good home for it.

[Tom Vaughan]

On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 7:15:26 PM UTC-7, bob.kuy...@elastica.co wrote:

> On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 3:46:09 PM UTC-7, Tom Vaughan wrote:
> > Hi Paul. Came across this post and don't know if you are still active in soaring or not. My 89 yr old father has one of the last production Sisu's and needs to get rid of it. It is not completed. Fuselage is skinned, and he has the aluminum skins for the wings, but it would take some building, and the right person to get this historic piece of aviation in the air. If you yourself, or anyone you know of, may be interested, please let me know. Trying to find a good home for it.
>

> Tom, your best bet might be to donate the ship to the Southwest Soaring Museum for a tax write-off. They will give it a good home.
>
> Thanks, Bob K.

Thank you Bob. We are considering that. It is actually located in MD. I may be hauling some things from MD to CA in the not too distant future, so thought I would put this post out.

[de...@xcsoaring.com]

[de...@xcsoaring.com]

[Dave Nadler]

On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 6:46:09 PM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
> ...My 89 yr old father has one of the last production Sisu's

> and needs to get rid of it. It is not completed. Fuselage is skinned,
> and he has the aluminum skins for the wings, but it would take
> some building, and the right person to get this historic piece
> of aviation in the air. If you yourself, or anyone you know of,
> may be interested, please let me know.
> Trying to find a good home for it.

Contact Dick Butler, who recently restored another Sisu.
Dick is able to complete construction ;-)

[k...@richmond-cap.com]

Tom,

There is a group of Classic sailplane enthusiasts that would be interested in the project. Please contact me privately.

Kevin

[chip.b...@gmail.com]

Glad to see there's still interest in this amazing sailplane. This was THE glider to lust over when I was a kid in the mid 60s. Not one but two Sisus used to show up at our Wright Memorial Glider Meet in Richmond, IN (hosted by the Soaring Society of Dayton, precursor of the Caesar Creek Soaring Club), flown by national champions Dean Svec and A.J. Smith. I understand that Dick Butler has A.J.'s ship in its original condition, which I would dearly love to see. If memory serves correctly, both the National Soaring Museum and National Air and Space Museum have Sisus and I believe I've seen them both.

As a bit of totally irrelevant trivia, those who have heard me on the radio at contests over the years may recall my use of "Jake Baker" as a call sign with my crew and close flying buds, in lieu of the standard Juliet Bravo. This originated with Dean Svec's use of "Jack Baker", which were the last two characters in his "N" number (believe it or not, from memory: N252JB). My father either misheard Dean at one contest or altered the pronunciation himself and began using it a few years later when he ended up with "JB" as a competition ID. And I've used it ever since.

I just checked and, curiously, Dean's former Sisu (SN 105) was reregistered as N252J (i.e., dropping the "B") in the past and the FAA shows it as being in OK now. I don't recall what competition ID was on it in those days and the contest reports I checked from that era don't include them.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

[jamesrc...@gmail.com]

SISU 1A N253JB is owned by Steve Parker and still flying at Marfa, TX I have recent photos and will try to submit (need assistance)

Jim Callaway
ASH 25, K6E, SHK, LS-3a

[rshe...@gmail.com]

Please contact Dean Gradwell as he is very interested. He tried to post last night in his sleep but was unsuccessful. :-) The 2 posts from de...@xcsoaring.com are from Dean.

Rick Shelby

[chip.b...@gmail.com]

> SISU 1A N253JB is owned by Steve Parker and still flying at Marfa, TX I have recent photos and will try to submit (need assistance)

Jim,

From the FAA records, Steve Parker's Sisu is SN 110 (N253JB). The one I was referring to that Dean Svec owned is SN 105, with the N number changed from N252JB to N252J. The registry doesn't have an owner name and the registration is expired, with last location in OK.

I assume the "JB" in these two N numbers more than coincidentally refers to Jack Baugh who, IIRC, backed Len Niemi in Arlington Aircraft. Since only about 10 or so were built (not counting the prototype Sisu 1?), I wonder if N253JB was originally Jack's personal airplane built late in the cycle.

There's another Sisu, SN 106 (N622W) at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky that I would have thought was his, though. I vaguely recalled mention of a swap somewhere in the distant past that allowed one owner (Baugh? to donate a Sisu to a museum. Just looked it up and it was between Al Parker and Baugh, so the latter could donate Parker's world-distance-record-setting glider to the Smithsonian's NASM. Which means that...I don't know. :) Is Steve Parker related to Al Parker?

Is it possible that Dean Svec ended up with the first one built for Baugh? Now I'm deep into speculation. But unlike, say, certain runs of Schweizer gliders (e.g., the 1-23 series), it doesn't appear that Arlington used a block of N numbers for the series production. So someone had two numbers already allocated with the same initials but built 5 serial numbers apart.

There's a paper that covers the Sisu's history but I couldn't find a publicly available copy: "Arlington Sisu 1A: Rise and Demise of America's Most Successful Competition Sailplane and the Beginning of the Era of Fiberglass" by Russell Lee.

[Steve Leonard]

Chip,

Steve Parker is Al's son. I believe the one he now has (N253JB) is the one the Parker Family took in trade for N1100Z, the 1000 KM Sisu. As you stated, the trade was made by Jack Baugh in 1967.

N252JB (FAA registry has the number wrong) was lost in a stall/spin accident in 1998. Both 252J and 252JB show in the FAA database as having been Sisu 1 A serial 105.

Interesting stuff on the one in the Aviation Museum of Kentucky. By its serial number and registration with the FAA, it is N622W. I believe this was, at one time, Red Wright's Sisu? But it is on display with the registration N255JB. It is hanging in that museum, along with Jack's Nimbus 2.

Steve Leonard

[Tom Vaughan]

Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

[Peter Smith]

On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 7:35:09 PM UTC-4, Tom Vaughan wrote:
> Hello Dean, contact me privately if you would like info on the Sisu.

Here, as of June 5, 2013, are the NSM's records on the Sisus:

100 (prototype) N7983A 1s5 owner John Ryan, subsequent owner Jerry Robertson, current owner C.L. Kirchner
101 N 6390X, 1st owner Gleb Derujinsky, current owner Paul Hanson
102 N 1100Z, 1st owner John Randall, subsequent owners Al Parker, Jack Baugh, current owner National Air & Space museum
103 N 6391X, 1s5 owner A.J. Smith, subsequent owners Jack Steen, who loaned it for several years on display at the National Soaring Museum, now owned by DicK Butler.
104 N6392X, 1st owner Bill Ivans, current owner Timothy O'Donnell
105 N252JB, 1st owner Dean Svec. No longer registered, N# reissued
106 B622W !st owner Red Wright, subsequent owners Jack Baugh, National Soaring Museum. Signed over from NSM to Kentucky Aviation Museum
107 N1003 1st owner Gordon House, subsequent owner Bernie Paiewonsky (who passed away last week), now owned by National Soaring Museum
108 N1110T, 1st owner John Ryan, current owner Galen Fisher
109 N331A, 1st owner Dale May. destroyed
110 N253JB 1st owner Jack Baugh, subsequent owner Al Parker. Current owner Steve Parker

[Waveguru]

Didn't the one Paul Hansen own get destroyed due to inadequate tie downs?

Boggs

[Tom Vaughan]

Does anyone know of s/n 111 ? It's competition number had a 1 in it and the plane may have had some red or yellow trim on it. My father has the stabilizers and ruddervators from it. It was damaged in a stall/spin.

[Peter Smith]

On Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 8:58:40 PM UTC-4, Waveguru wrote:
> Didn't the one Paul Hansen own get destroyed due to inadequate tie downs?
>
> Boggs

IIRC, once Paul got over the initial shock, he realized that the damage wasn't as bad as he first thought. It probably wasn't totaled, but I don't know whether he's yet had it restored.

[Peter Smith]

I've never seen any indication that there was a s/n 111. All the records show that there were the prototype (100) & ten production builds. If you could provide information indicating otherwise, that would be very informative & useful.

[chip.b...@gmail.com]

Great info! Thanks. Lots of memories.

Chip Bearden

[Tom Vaughan]

On Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 8:41:47 AM UTC-7, chip.b...@gmail.com wrote:
> Great info! Thanks. Lots of memories.
>
> Chip Bearden

Steve Leonard has helped clear up the mystery of ship s/n 111. Tail feathers from wrecked s/n 109 were returned to Niemi, repaired, and issued the new s/n 111 on 12/17/68. Sailplane s/n 111 was to be the structural test model for the type certificate and is the project my father has been the custodian of since the early 70's. This plane, I hope, will be a brand new, vintage glider for someone who will really appreciate it.

[Morgan]

Paul's Sisu is still damaged and in its trailer at Avenal. I think there may even be extra wings in the trailer. I recall looking in there at one point trying to identify what was in the trailer and it was stuffed to the gills.

Paul has stepped away from soaring for quite some time now.

[David Salmon]

In the January 1967 National Geographic there is a feature "Sailors of the
Sky", with a nice picture of Dale May in N331A soaring over Chicago
lakeside.
Dave

[gau...@gmail.com]

Anyone interested in a SISU 1A project or parts? I have access to the structural test specimen fuselage (from the certification effort), tail feathers from a crashed SISU and new everything else from Leonard Niemi himself to include: canopy, skins, stringers and push rods for the wings (the wings haven't been put together yet). Call or text 410-294-2910 Arnie