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Frank Colver |
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· Colver Soaring Instruments, Variometer, and HG history · FrankColverFlexiFloaterLittleNorco.jpg · HangstatByColverREADINGmag.jpg · MattColverInSkysailAndCronksailOnGround.jpg · MattColverLaunchingAtLittleNorco.jpg · RichardMillerINFrankColverSkysail.jpg |
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Some selected
links: · USHawks has several notes on Frank Colver. Use the search tool there. o Also: Frank Colver's Hang Gliding Photos from 1971 o · The Origin and History of Colver and Roberts Variometers note by P. R. Gazis · Winter Hang Gliding See Colver vario in use. · Another photo off of our web of the Colver Variometer · Use of the vario by Collector Guy Ken de Russy, see photo.\ Oregon Hang Gliding · Antique Hang Glider and Single Surface Festival video · Rob Kells (RIP) ·
Special
on David Cronk "David
Cronk, To Catch the Wind" by Robert Wald in THE OCEAN MAG ~ DECEMBER /
JANUARY 2011 |
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October 30, 2014, David Raybourn replies: Frank... thanks for your kind words! Joe F and Ken D... thanks for the great links and keepin' the dream alive... I agree with Mike M and Dave C, that in side-by-side comparison, no vario has matched the speed and sensitivity of the Colver. In a flight at Hull Mt. in my Fledgling 1a, I can still hear that high-pitched tone on my original tall/up audio only unit, going to an octave so high I thought it was broken. The audio tone was pegged for about 8 seconds as I slammed into an elevator at about 50 feet off the top of the ridgeline. There is no sound quite like that sound! The sport was stagnating in the northwest until the Colver vario made more bird-like flight possible in our spotty, textured lift. The tiny bubbles required a quick vario response and quick reflexes. Thank you, Frank!
David Raybourn =================== October 30, 2014, Frank
Colver replies: Thank you, Dave! You made my evening
with that. I think that maybe all that is needed is to collect some of those
stories in one place. I wish I had phone recordings of the stories I got from
callers (sometimes @ 2:00 AM) about flights they had made and now they
needed a repair ASAP because conditions looked good for the next weekend. When the time came that I no longer
supported the vario with repairs I had some very emotional pilots on the
phone. I swear that one guy sounded like he was crying. I told him that some
very good varios were on the market and he said
they couldn’t replace the Colver. I felt bad for him and others that I could
no longer support with parts and repairs. I should put some batteries in mine and
see if it still works. Thank you, Dave! You made my evening with that. I
think that maybe all that is needed is to collect some of those stories in
one place. I wish I had phone recordings of the stories I got from callers
(sometimes @ 2:00 AM) about flights they had made and now they needed a
repair ASAP because conditions looked good for the next weekend. When the time came that I no longer
supported the vario with repairs I had some very emotional pilots on the
phone. I swear that one guy sounded like he was crying. I told him that some
very good varios were on the market and he said
they couldn’t replace the Colver. I felt bad for him and others that I could
no longer support with parts and repairs. I should put some
batteries in mine and see if it still works. : ) Thanks, Dave, and I
hope we can get together in the Utah canyon country again soon. Frank |
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October 30, 2014, by Mike Meier of Wills Wing: Hey Frank, Still have mine, and it still works. (The extra end plate riveted to the top with the Velcro pad was for my Thommen altimeter.)
This is my second one actually, my first was the larger original version in
the taller case. Long after the pressure transducer varios
came out there was still nothing that could touch the Colver in sensitivity.
Rob Kells and I were both flying your vario
when we took first and second at Grouse Mountain in 1980, and that ultra-high
sensitivity in the light thermals there was a key advantage for us. The other
thing I remember was how, when you reached the top of the scale in strong
lift, the pitch of the audio went so high that it disappeared. When
that happened on the X2 scale, I knew I was in the Owens Valley and going up
like a rocket. The
best flights I ever had were all with your vario, Frank. Thanks a lot. Sincerely, Mike
Meier Wills Wing |
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Oct. 29, 2014, note from Dave Cronk, hang glider pioneer:
In the pre-Colver vario/standard-Rogallo days, I purchased a new PZL (Polish) mechanical vario (designed for sailplanes) along with the required reference flask, and a spidery static source system. It was accurate, but had a slow response time and no audio. It was expensive, and it was a clunky package. Nevertheless, using this system, I had a clear advantage flying against the Wills brothers and other top pilots, particularly when mountain flying. Nobody seemed very interested, and I thought: Great, I will have this advantage for years to come. Unfortunately for me, this advantage was short-lived.
A few months later Mike Arrambide showed up at my house with Frank's tech wonder; it was compact, very sensitive, had great audio, and was relatively inexpensive. I was astounded that Frank had designed this exquisite instrument specifically for hang gliding. It was perfect for the time. Hang gliding was changed forever. I used Frank’s vario from that day on, never looking back.
Thanks for your profound contribution Frank!
Regards,
Dave |
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