Doris Grove is an American world record breaking glider pilot,

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

, and a member of the U.S.

Soaring Hall of Fame The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of gliding, soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, s ...

. She was an early pioneer of

ridge soaring __NOTOC__ Ridge lift (or slope lift) is created when a wind strikes an obstacle, usually a mountain ridge or cliff, that is large and steep enough to deflect the wind upward. If the wind is strong enough, the ridge lift provides enough upward f ...

in the

Ridge-and-valley Appalachians The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three se ...

in the 1970s, ultimately setting three world records flying gliders there, and becoming the first woman to earn the FAI 1000 km Diploma. She was also a stunt co-pilot in the 1999 film '' The Thomas Crown Affair''. Grove currently lives near

State College State College is a borough and home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University. State College is the largest designated borou ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

with her husband Thomas Knauff, another hall of fame glider pilot. They owned and operated the

Ridge Soaring Gliderport Ridge Soaring Gliderport was a public-use Glider (sailplane), glider airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Unionville, Centre County, Pennsylvania, Unionville, in Centre County, Pennsylvan ...

Julian, Pennsylvania Julian ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is located in Huston Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popula ...

, which they founded in 1975. Sadly, the glider port closed in 2022.

World glider records

*Single-place glider, Feminine **Out-and-return distance: 731.27 km, 7 April 1979,

Schleicher ASW 19 The ASW 19 is a single-seat glider built by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co, first flying in 1975. It was originally designed as a Standard Class glider, but now mainly competes in the Club Class. The ASW 19 is known for its pleasant handling ...

**Out-and-return distance: 1000.86 km, 11 Mar 1980,

**Out-and-return distance: 1127.68 km, 28 September 1981, Piper Memorial Airport,

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is a city in, and the county seat of, Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan ...

Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 2 The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-2 is an Open Class glider built by Schempp-Hirth during the 1970s. The Nimbus-2 first flew in April 1971 and a total of over 240 examples of all subtypes have been built until the beginning of the 1980s. It replaced th ...

Other flying accomplishments

*1000 K Diploma, first woman, U.S. #12 (Int #24) 1980 *SSA Exceptional Achievement Award 1981 *Eaton Trophy (with T. Knauff) 2000 *Certificate of Appreciation (with T. Knauff) 2005 :''Source:

.''

Books authored

*''Federal Aviation Regulations for Glider Pilots'', 1996 *''Accident Prevention Manual for Glider Flight Instructors'', with Thomas Knauff, 2nd edition, 1993, (No ISBN) *''Accident Prevention Manual for Glider Pilots'', with Thomas Knauff, 1992. *''Judgment Training Manual for Glider Pilots'', with Doris Grove, 1985. OCLC 61776977 *''Glider Basics from Solo to License'' with Thomas Knauff, et al., 1st ed, 1984.

References

American aviation record holders American flight instructors American glider pilots American women flight instructors American women aviation record holders American aviation pioneers Glider flight record holders People from State College, Pennsylvania Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{aviation-bio-stub