The National Landmark of Soaring program acknowledges people, places and events significant in the history of gliders and motorless aviation in the United States. It is administered by the National Soaring Museum. The program was established in 1980. [1]
The title of National Landmark of Soaring has been granted 16 times. [1]
Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city was founded in the early 1880s as a water stop; the population increased during World War II, but growth has stalled and reversed somewhat since the late 20th century. Today, Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art. Attractions include Building 98, the Chinati Foundation, artisan shops, historical architecture, a classic Texas town square, modern art installments, art galleries, and the Marfa lights.
Johnnetta Betsch Cole is an American anthropologist, educator, museum director, and college president. Cole was the first female African-American president of Spelman College, a historically black college, serving from 1987 to 1997. She was president of Bennett College from 2002 to 2007. During 2009–2017 she was Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art.
The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago is dedicated to the study and conservation of African-American history, culture, and art. It was founded in 1961 by Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, her husband Charles Burroughs, Gerard Lew, Eugene Feldman, Bernard Goss, Marian M. Hadley, and others. They established the museum to celebrate black culture, at the time overlooked by most museums and academic establishments. The museum has an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution.
The Sisu 1A is a competition sailplane built in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally designed by Leonard Niemi as a homebuilt sailplane, its first flight in 1958 showed such promise that Niemi decided instead to manufacture it in series production. Niemi formed the Arlington Aircraft Company for this purpose. The Sisu 1A quickly proved itself as the most competitive American sailplane ever developed, winning the 1962, 1965, and 1967 U.S. National Soaring Championships. On July 31, 1964, a Sisu 1a piloted by Alvin H. Parker became the first sailplane ever to fly farther than 1000 km.
The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located on top of Harris Hill near Elmira, New York, United States.
The Schweizer SGS 2-33 is an American two-seat, high-wing, strut-braced, training glider that was built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The yaw string, also known as a slip string, is a simple device for indicating a slip or skid in an aircraft in flight. It performs the same function as the slip-skid indicator ball, but is more sensitive, and does not require the pilot to look down at the instrument panel. Technically, it measures sideslip angle, not yaw angle, but this indicates how the aircraft must be yawed to return the sideslip angle to zero.
William Hawley Bowlus was an American designer, engineer and builder of aircraft and recreational vehicles in the 1930s and 1940s. Today he is most widely known for his creation of the world's first aluminum travel trailer, the Bowlus Road Chief, which Airstream imitated in 1936 to create the Clipper. This followed his prior famed work as the Superintendent of Construction on Charles Lindbergh's aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis. He also designed and constructed the innovative but unsuccessful XCG-16A experimental military glider ordered by the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, appearing as XCG-16 in the list of Vincent Burnelli airplanes. In popular culture he is usually referred to as Hawley Bowlus.
Marfa Municipal Airport is three miles north of Marfa in Presidio County, Texas. There is currently no scheduled airline service to the airport; until 1960 Trans-Texas DC-3s stopped at the former Marfa AAF, now abandoned, at 30.256N 103.882W east of Marfa.
The Schweizer SGS 1-26 is a United States One-Design, single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The Schweizer SGS 2-8 is an American two-seat, mid-wing, strut-braced, training glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The Schweizer SGS 2-32 is an American two-seat, mid-wing, two or three-place glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
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.
The Laister-Kauffmann TG-4 was a sailplane produced in the United States during the Second World War for training cargo glider pilots. It was a conventional sailplane design with a fuselage of steel tube construction and wooden wings and tail, covered all over with fabric. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem under a long canopy.
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
The Franklin PS-2 is an American, high-wing, strut-braced, single seat, glider that was designed by R. E. Franklin and produced by the Franklin Glider Corporation starting in 1930.
The Schreder HP-12 was an American FAI Standard Class glider designed by Richard Schreder for the 1965 World Gliding Championships.