Civil Air Patrol purchases L23 Super
Blaniks
The
U.S. Civil Air Patrol purchased over twenty brand new L23
Super Blaniks for their CAP Chapters. The CAP Chapters in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona,
California, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington have already received
their attractive new L23 Super Blanik two-place gliders. Here is
one of them in flight.
At its November 1998 meeting, the
National Executive Committee of the Civil Air Patrol unanimously
approved purchase of fifteen L23 Super Blaniks. Blanik America
received the order in late December 1998. First deliveries
started in the spring of 1999. More purchases followed.
Here is the first one of
over twenty L23
Super Blaniks just prior to shipment from LET factory, painted in
the new attractive CAP design scheme.
During June through August 1998, CAP
used four L23 Super Blaniks with great success at national glider
flight academy encampments in the southern and southwestern
U.S.A., teaching tens of cadets how to fly a glider and enabling
them to fly it solo. At one of them, at the National Glider
Flight Academy in Pine Mountain, Georgia, 9-20 June, 1998,
fourteen cadets attended, seven soloed, and one added a glider
category to his private pilots license. Cadet Acevedo
became the first to solo at the academy and in the photo at right
above is congratulated by CFIG LTc. George Harrison, GAWG.
Earlier in 1998, the
Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters ordered one new L23 Super
Blanik with TV2 enclosed trailer for use in CAP encampments
around the country.
Top officials from CAP also tried out the new L13AC Blanik at the 1998 SSA Convention held in February in Portland, OR..
Shown in and around the new Blanik are Jacalyn O'Neal, John Sharp, Glen Atwell from the National Headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol, and Charlie Meason from the Georgia CAP wing.
Charlie Meason of the
Georgia chapter of Civil Air Patrol (which received their Super
Blanik in August 1997) wrote us, "...Everyone at MGSA
has been very impressed with the CAP L-23, so it's been some good
advertising for you. Our program is getting a LOT of attention,
especially within CAP."
The Georgia Wing inaugurated their new Blanik L-23 glider known as "Silent Eagle" during a formal rollout ceremony and first official flight Dec. 6, 1997. More than 150 wing members and special guests gathered for the ceremony which was held at the Walton County Airport in Monroe, GA. January 1998 issue of Civil Air Patrol News.
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