Soaring King

There is a hospital on top of the ridge in Cumberland, Maryland, about 95 miles southwest of the home base of the Mifflin Soaring Association in central Pennsylvania.  About 45 miles northeast of Mifflin is the small town of Nisbet, just across the river from Williamsport.  A system of ridges connects the two. Last month, Dan MacMonagle declared that he would fly down to the hospital, then up to Nisbet, then back to the hospital, then home, for a total distance of 761 km. Then he did it!

In his five seasons as a sailplane pilot, Dan’s soaring achievements have qualified him for several legs of FAI Badges.

Because he’s lazy For some reason, he hasn’t made any pre-flight declarations or post-flight claims until this flight.

With the help of Jim David and Rick Roelke, Dan completed the necessary paperwork and submitted a sextuple claim to SSA, which might be a record in itself.

Last week, Dan got the word from SSA that this flight has earned him:

• Silver/Gold Duration (5 hours)
• Silver Distance (50 km)
• Gold Distance (300 km)
• Diamond Goal (300 km declared)
• Diamond Distance (500 km)
• FAI Diploma (750 km)

And, best of all, he gets to wear the PMSC “Soaring King” medallion on his T-shirt. Congratulations, Dan!