George B. Moffat Jr.

Last updated
George Moffat Jr.
Born1927 (1927)
NationalityAmerican
Known forTwo time "Open Class" World Gliding Champion
Scientific career
Fields Soaring and Teaching

George B. Moffat Jr. (born 1927) is an American author, twice world champion glider pilot, and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame. He began flying airplanes in 1953, gliders in 1959, entered his first national soaring competition in 1962, and was still an active competition pilot as of 2008. Before competing in sailplanes, he compiled a winning record in International 14 foot Dinghy racing and is still an active sailor.

Contents

Moffat was the first pilot ever to win the Open Class title twice in the World Gliding Championships, has won five U.S. National championships, and is one of only two pilots to have won the U.S. national title in all three glider competition classes (Open, Standard and 15-meter). A holder of the Lillienthal Medal, the highest award in gliding, he has flown competitively in over eight countries.

Biography

George Moffat is one of America's foremost competition pilots and has been soaring since 1958. Aside from winning several Nationals dating from 1969, and setting three triangle speed records, he won the world title in 1970 and 1974. [1]

After only a few days to become acquainted with the prototype Schempp-Hirth Nimbus he flew it in the 1970 World Gliding Championships at Marfa, Texas. He had to modify the aircraft's cockpit to fit in, and became the first person to sample its spin characteristics when, in mid-competition, the glider departed from a steep turn into autorotation. While considering bailing out, he remembered that the spin of the similar Akaflieg Darmstadt D36 could be tamed by rocking the stick back and forth violently. Flexing the wings caused the angle of attack to change and recovery eventually ensued. In spite of these difficulties, Moffat and the Nimbus won the World Championship. [2]

In 1974, he wrote "Winning on the Wind". He placed first in the 1975 Smirnoff Transcontinental Sailplane Race, and won the Coupe d'Europe European Sailplane Championship in 1977 at Angers, France. [1]

He is an enthusiastic sailor, winning the Eastern High Point Trophy three times, and the Douglass Trophy for match racing against Canada. He has written about 85 articles on soaring and sailing in publications such as Yachting, Soaring, Sailplane & Gliding, and Popular Science. He holds an MA from Penn,[ clarification needed ] taught at Rutgers Preparatory School (Somerset, New Jersey), Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey), and was head of the English Dept. at Pingry School (currently two NJ campuses). [1]

Moffat's victory in the 1969 US National Soaring Championship is chronicled in the 1971 film The Sun Ship Game by cinéma vérité filmmaker Robert Drew and his 1974 victory at the World Gliding Championships at Waikerie in South Australia was captured in the film of the championships Zulu Romeo – Good Start.

George Moffat lives in Marion, Massachusetts.

World glider records

Source: Fédération Aéronautique Internationale [3]

Championships

World championships

International championships

Other flying accomplishments

Source: Soaring Hall of Fame [4]

Books authored

Related Research Articles

Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schempp-Hirth Discus</span> German single-seat glider, 1984

The Schempp-Hirth Discus is a Standard Class glider designed by Schempp-Hirth. It was produced in Germany between 1984 and 1995 but has continued in production in the Czech Republic. It replaced the Standard Cirrus. It was designed by Klaus Holighaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schempp-Hirth Ventus</span> Type of aircraft

The Schempp-Hirth Ventus is a sailplane produced during 1980–1994 by Schempp-Hirth, a German sailplane manufacturer. It was designed by Klaus Holighaus and replaced the Schempp-Hirth Mini-Nimbus. Schempp-Hirth manufactured 613 Ventus sailplanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schempp-Hirth Mini-Nimbus</span> German single-seat glider, 1976

The Schempp-Hirth Mini Nimbus is a 15 Metre-class glider designed and built by Schempp-Hirth GmbH in the late 1970s.

The Schempp-Hirth HS-3 Nimbus was a prototype glider built by Klaus Holighaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-2</span> German single-seat glider, 1971

The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-2 is an Open Class glider built by Schempp-Hirth during the 1970s. The Nimbus-2 first flew in April 1971 and a total of over 240 examples of all subtypes have been built until the beginning of the 1980s. It replaced the Schempp-Hirth Cirrus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-3</span> Type of aircraft

The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 3 is a glider built by Schempp-Hirth.

Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasflügel 303</span> German single-seat glider first flown in 1976

The Glasflügel 303 Mosquito is a composite 15 metre Class single-seat sailplane manufactured by Glasflügel between 1976 and 1980.

Thomas L. Knauff is an American writer, glider pilot, flight instructor, former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Pilot Examiner, and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame. He was an early pioneer of ridge soaring in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the 1960s, ultimately setting five world records flying gliders there. He was the stunt pilot in the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Masak</span> Canadian-American engineer, inventor, and glider pilot

Peter C. Masak was an engineer, inventor, and glider pilot. He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in mechanical engineering in May 1981 from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He earned his glider pilot license at the age of 16 and his power pilot license at the age of 18, the minimum ages for both. Peter was a Canadian soaring record holder and represented Canada and later the United States in the World Gliding Championships. He logged almost 2000 hours of glider flight time. He was living in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife Adrienne and their three children when he died.

FAI World Grand Prix Gliding Championships are gliding competitions promoted by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for gliders that are both more spectacular and more easily understood by the public than conventional gliding competitions.

Ingo Renner OAM was an Australian glider pilot. He won the World Gliding Championships four times.

The Schleicher ASW 17 is a single-seat Open Class sailplane that was built by the German manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co and first flew in 1971. It replaced the ASW 12, and was replaced in 1981 by the ASW 22.

Richard H. Johnson was a glider pilot, aeronautical engineer and prolific writer of articles for gliding magazines. He was an 11-time U.S. National Champion glider pilot, 9-time US Soaring Team pilot at the Soaring World Championships, held two World Gliding Records and is a member of the US Soaring Hall of Fame. He flew for 70 years and logged over 14,000 flying hours, including over 10,000 hours of non-powered flight time in sailplanes. He authored over 100 articles on soaring and flight tests of gliders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasflügel 604</span> German single-seat glider, 1970

The Glasflügel 604 is a high-wing, T-tailed, single seat, FAI Open Class glider that was designed and produced in West Germany by Glasflügel starting in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slingsby Kestrel</span> British single-seat glider, 1970

The Slingsby T.59 Kestrel is a British Open class glider which first flew in August 1970. Of fibreglass construction, it features camber-changing flaps, airbrakes, and a retractable main wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lee (pilot)</span>

Douglas George Lee MBE is a glider pilot who was world gliding champion on three consecutive occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanne Schoedel</span>

Susanne Schödel is a multi World Record holder and Women World champion glider sport pilot.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Moffat, George (June–July 2002). "Archived copy". Free Flight. Soaring Association of Canada. Archived from the original on 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2009-01-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Martin Simons, Sailplanes 1965–2000, Equip, 2004, ISBN   3-9808838-1-7
  3. "Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) – Aviation and Space World Records". records.fai.org. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  4. "Archived copy". www.soaringmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)