I know this news has been passed around locally, but not to the listserv.
Unfortunately I found out the day after the funeral memorial had taken place.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-Warmann&pid=182916219 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-Warmann&pid=182916219
One of our great local competitors, Bob was quite the character.
The last time I saw him was at an outdoor contest at Bong in 2015.
He was flying a catapult launch glider. He had it trimmed ok and was wanting to put up an official flight.
This was a typical summer day at Bong, hot and thermally.
We knew a thermal was coming just from the air.
Bob just waited and waited and waited.
Someone calls out to him that he was going to miss the thermal.
"Bah!' he called out dismissively, looking around, still checking the air.
FINALLY, he pointed the glider upwards and let her rip - and it transitioned right into the center of a boomer.
Next thing we know it is a speck in the air. I was the only one who could still see it.
It maxed out and Bob thought it was lost forever. I never took my eyes off of it, knowing I would lose it if I did.
Luckily it wasn't windy, so it didn't drift more than 1/4 mile away. It popped out of the thermal and I got a good bead on it as it came down and found it within a couple of minutes of arriving in the general area.
Bob was waiting in his car along the road and gave me a ride back to the flying area, very gracious, very thankful that it was recovered.
I am glad to have known him.
Regards.
Mike Kirda
Received on Fri Dec 09 2016 - 07:16:11 CET