Schweizer 2-33 gliders at Boulder Airport, Colorado, August, 1981

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Schweizer 2-33 two-place gliders at Boulder Airport, Colorado, August 1981

Edited by David Barth December 2015. Photos were taken by David Barth and members of the Denver Soaring Council (DSC).

Members of Denver Soaring Council (DSC):

Bill Williams was the chief pilot

Mark Klee was the pilot of the DSC Super Cub

Bob Keith

Marv Hicks

Jack Buschmann

Jim Snow

Dave Davis

Vince Lawrence

Harry Valas

Fred Hooper

A Schweizer 2-33 glider turning from left base to final
for the unpaved glider runway at Boulder, Colorado,
Summer, 1981.

Gliders are often stored in trailers to keep them out of the weather and to provide a way to move them to another airport.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo was taken by DSC member David Barth.

Schweizer 2-33 glider owned by Denver Soaring
Council (DSC), May 1982.

A couple who took a ride in a Schweizer 2-32, 3-place glider owned and operated by Cloud Base. Friends of the photographer, they posed in front of a two-place Schweizer 2-33 glider in May 1982.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado, August 1981.
Photo was taken by another member of DSC.

DSC member David Barth is in the yellow shirt, and DSC Chief Pilot Bill Williams is wearing the white hat.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado, August 1981.
Photo was taken by another member of DSC.

DSC member David Barth is in the yellow shirt, and DSC Chief Pilot Bill Williams is wearing the white hat.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo of DSC member David Barth was taken by
another member of DSC.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo was taken by DSC member David Barth.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo of DSC member David Barth was taken by
another member of DSC.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo was taken by DSC member David Barth.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at Boulder Airport, Colorado,
August 1981. Photo was taken by DSC member David Barth.

Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider owned by Denver
Soaring Council (DSC) at beginning of tow at Boulder Airport,
Colorado, August 1981.
Photo was taken by DSC member David Barth.

Schweizer 2-33 Glider being towed over
Boulder, Colorado, 1981.

This is the view of a tow plane from a Schweizer 2-33 Glider heading southwest over Boulder. In the background are the flatirons (large, nearly vertical slabs of rock) and foothills west of Boulder. To the right is Boulder Airport and at the lower right, the approach end of east-west runway 26 can be seen.

A Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider being towed aloft
from a grass strip at Salida, Colorado, 1981.

Sometimes a glider club tows its gliders to another airport just to experience flying in a different area. Flying gliders is rarely a cross-country experience due to the problem of finding "lift". Very experienced glider pilots can find sufficient lift in optimal weather conditions in order to fly cross-country, but generally speaking, a glider flight is rarely more than a few miles from the airport.

Expert glider pilots can get lift from roads because the road is usually hotter than the surrounding land and heat rises from it to lift a glider if there is not too much wind to distort and displace the column of warm air.

Another source of lift is orographic lift from winds flowing over a hill or mountain. Like ripples caused by a rock in a stream, waves form. The challenge is to get into the portion of the waves that are rising instead of those that are descending. The position of these waves doesn't move. At Boulder there is often a mountain wave that crosses the city at above 10,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL). A glider flying at around 40 knots can get into this wave and sit there for hours, until the wind speed drops as evening approaches.

Scattered clouds can indicate rising air from fields that causes water droplets to form the cloud. These are sometimes called "cloud streets" by glider pilots who fly long distances. However, when a cloud street ends, the pilot must find lift from other sources, such as roads, to stay aloft.

A Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider being towed aloft
from a grass strip at Salida, Colorado, 1981.

A Schweizer 2-33 two-place glider being towed
east of Boulder, Colorado, 1981.

The tow plane is turning to the north. Generally, a tow goes to about 2,000 feet where the glider pilot releases the tow rope and was on his or her own. 2,000 feet above the surface was usually enough to enjoy a 15 or 20 minute glider ride, unless the pilot finds lift. A higher tow cost more money, so 2,000 feet was a logical compromise.