(1923-1975) SSA Vice President; Author; World/National Records
Eaton Trophy 1975; Barringer Trophy 1960; Silver #250 1956; Gold #70 1957; Diamond #15 (Int #117) 1958
Joe Lincoln has made for himself a legacy of involvement, performance, and the printed word for which he will be long remembered in the soaring world.
He wrote a book titled Soaring for Diamonds, describing his first years in soaring. It was the first American book on soaring in 24 years. Later he published two more books, Soaring on the Wind, and On Quiet Wings, a Soaring Anthology.
His honeymoon was a circuit of all the sites of previous World Championships to gather material for this book. In another field, he authored The Windows of Trinity Cathedral, the stained glass for which was created at his Glassart Studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also tried his hand at magazine publishing for a while with Phoenix Point West, a quality regional periodical .
The Arizona Soaring Association was formed during Joe's first year in soaring and he served as its President and in other capacities. His regional prominence resulted in his election to an SSA Directorship in 1958 and he chaired the Society's Publicity Committee and was an SSA Vice-President in 1959 and 1960.
His first sailplane was a Bowlus Baby Albatross which he flew in the 1956 Nationals. He was a partner in a Pratt-Read sailplane. Then he purchased a Schweizer 1-23D which he named Cirro-Q. He entered it in a number of Nationals and used it to complete his Diamond Badge. In 1960 he flew it 455 miles to earn the Barringer Trophy for the longest flight made in the U.S. that year. Cirro-Q has been donated to the National Soaring Museum.
His next sailplane was Cibola, a Schweizer 2-32, thereafter used for many multi-place record attempts, some successful, and other long flights. The most recent sailplane he acquired was a Nimbus II, for single-place record attempts.
In 1967 he set a U.S. National Multi-place Distance Soaring Record of 500.64 miles, using the 2-32. This made him one of only 30-some pilots in the world at the time to have exceeded 500 miles in a sailplane. In 1970 he set a World MuItiplace Out-and-Return Record of 404. 59 miles, and in 1971 he flew a World Multiplace Record for Speed Over a 100-km course, of 72.932 mph. In 1973 he ranked 16th in the U.S. for best-flight-average, with 376 miles.
But it was his writing about his soaring experiences that was unique and helped others identify with him. In addition to his books, there were many classic articles in Soaring magazine, including "Beginner's Luck" (M-J & J-A '57), "Flight to Variadero" (Nov., '60), "The Retrieve" (Feb., '62 ), and "The Walk Out" (June, '67). He wrote the reports of the 1969 Nationals and the 1970 World Championships at Marfa, Texas.
He received the Eaton Trophy in 1975, the Barringer in 1960, earned Silver #250 in 1956, Gold #70 in 1957 and Diamond #15 (Intl #117) in 1958.
Adapted from Lloyd Licher article, Soaring, July 1975, page 10