Photo of L. Gale Abels at work on HP-11A serial number 38, the ship that he and Sidney Flook completed and flew in 1968. Mr. Abels passed away a few years ago.

Mr. Abels sent me this photo after I spoke with him briefly in 1990 or so. I always liked it because of its "film noire" look. It is a succinct visual summary of the basic contradiction of sailplane homebuilding - the passion for the wind and the open sky that strangely finds release in the labor of chilled hands in chilly basements.