ON TO KITTY HAWK ONCE-IN-LIFETIME GLIDER RACE STARTS NEAR PALMDALE.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer LLANO lla·no n. pl. lla·nos A large, grassy, almost treeless plain, especially one in Latin America. [Spanish, plain, from Latin pl - Forty-five gliders Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes Ltd Abrial
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made hundreds of glider flights at Kitty Hawk in their experiments before the first successful powered flight - by Orville - on Dec. 17, 1903. The centennial glider contest, costing each pilot $25,000 to $30,000 to participate, has drawn fliers from Germany, France and Spain as well as the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . ``It's a one-of-a-kind event that will probably never happen again,'' said Fred Robinson, owner of Great Western Soaring School at Crystalaire Airport, where the pilots took off Thursday. ``It was an exciting thing.'' The East Coast pilots had their planes shipped to the West Coast, as did the European pilots. First stop for the pilots was Jean, Nev., and they planned other stops in Arizona, New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , Texas and Missouri en route to Kitty Hawk, where the glider race will end on the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. . The gliders and sailplanes have no engines and are towed by an airplane to the height of 2,500 feet before being released and riding the wind currents. The gliders travel at speeds up to 160 miles per hour. Robinson said the pilots chose to start the contest at Llano because it is located next to the mountains and offers the best soaring in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , with pilots reaching 15,000 to 16,000 feet at the start of the race. One of the pilots is three-time German champion Natalie Luebben, the only female contestant in the race. Most of the others are retired engineers, scientists and businessmen. The winner will receive a trophy. Peggy Hager, (661) 267-5741 peggy.grimm-hager(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The Wright brothers experimented in planes without engines before their first powered flight in December 1903, and pilots at Llano prepare for glider flights to Kitty Hawk, N.C. Great Western Soaring School |
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