Greetings!
My name is Frank Campbell and I flew at Morningside for the first time back in 1976…..it was a “magical” place to me back in the early days, and now the future of this flight park seems very bright with the help of Kitty Hawk Kites. I have many special memories at Morningside, but one really stands out for me. I used to spend weeks at a time camping out there during the Summer months in the late 70s and early 80s……one weekday night, I left my campsite and walked up to the launch at the 450. The moon was full and the valley below was lit up in an amazing moon glow. There were two gliders set-up and tucked into the tree behind the launch. As I sat there, I heard one of the jeeps we used back then to transport the gliders to the top coming up the hill, it was getting late, maybe 11:00 or so.
It was Phil Haynes the property owner at Morningside. His dog was running behind the jeep and was bouncing around the jeep as Phil pulled to a stop. His dog was a beautiful Husky whose name I believe was “Streak”. Phil greeted me and proceeded to carry one of the gliders out of the trees and up to launch. I was a bit surprised, the conditions were dead calm, perhaps even blowing downhill slightly. Phil positioned the glider, climbed into his (supine harness) hooked in, and after a few moments away he went….smooth as silk. It was a perfect launch, he made it look effortless. I will never forget that sight, Phil floating across the sky in the summer moonlight. I watched for several minutes as he made his way to the landing area. I recall Phil had a bad leg or hip and always landed on his backside (hence the supine harness). He had really mastered that landing technique, and that evening was no exception, because he nailed his landing dead center on the bulls eye below. “Magical”!
Thanks for the opportunity to share this…….
Best of luck to you guys!
Frank Campbell