Boettger Short Of Glider Goal

Editorial Staff

Sunday, May 06, 2012 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Gordon Boettger's attempt to fly over 900 miles in a glider from Minden, Nevada, to Rapid City, South Dakota, was unsuccessful.
He was forced to land in Twin Falls, Idaho, about halfway to his destination, due to deteriorating weather conditions.
Boettger was aiming to utilize high-altitude mountain waves for the flight, a technique he previously used to set a 1,321-mile flight record.

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Gordon Boettger, who was hoping to fly more than 900 miles in a downwind glider dash from Minden, Nev., to Rapid City, S.D., was forced to land about halfway to his record-setting goal. Deteriorating weather prompted him to land in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Boettger was trying to ride a mountain wave, the high-altitude winds that ricochet off the western mountain ranges of North America and persist for hundreds of miles. Boettger set a record last year by surfing a mountain wave for 1,321 miles.