In This Issue: Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, Inc. July, Out West with Aeolus.

Transcription

1 Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, Inc. July, 2015 In This Issue: 1 Out West with Aeolus, Mike Smith 2 From the Board, Mike Smith 3 Hold Above Fairfield, Brian LaBorde 5 M-ASA Publicity at Udvar- Hazy, Glenn Collins 6 New M-ASA Members 7 News 8 Upcoming Events 9 Club Racing News, Rick Fuller Out West with Aeolus Cathy Williams Hello from Cathy Williams and James Joao. We just had 4 fantastic days of soaring out of Beaver Utah. Joined a group out of San Diego called The Skid Row Gang. See attached picture of some of the "gang" waiting for a tow. Nine 1-26s having a ball! Saw 15.8 knots on the vario at times. Spent quite a bit of time cruising at mph while climbing - often while trying to avoid 18000'. Not something I experience often in the The mountains are spectacular and the fields more frequent then I expected. Flew up to Nephi yesterday and down to Parowan and Cedar City a few days ago. James is great crew. He had a Grob flight when we stopped at Moriarty on the way to Beaver. No 2 place available at Beaver. Now we are driving to Minden and the 1-26 Championships. Practice and contest are June 30-July 8. Should be back at Fairfield by mid-july. 10 Soaring with Roger, Part 2, Mike Smith 13 Duty Schedule, Ricardo Cibotti 14 For Sale and Wanted Banner Photo Fetching gliders, fetching sky Beaver, Utah. Photo courtesy Cathy Williams Nationals, Minden, NV. Photo Gary Swift. 1 P a g e

2 From the Board Mike Smith New Members We would like to welcome more new members to MASA, Glenn McNatt, Jeff Schwartz, and Andrei Schwartz. Please introduce yourself to them and make them feel welcome when you see them at the field. Tow Planes The issues with the towplanes have been resolved. The vent on 58L has been modified slightly and all indications are that the venting system is working as it should. 99Z was taken over to Charles Bender to have the exhaust inspected. He found a crack in one of the pipes. The exhaust was sent out and repaired, and also to have the exhaust pipe extended. Charles has re-installed and checked the exhaust. He also did some fabric repairs and installed rubber stoppers (like 58L) to keep the fabric from being damaged by the window handle. He repainted the fabric and the red stripe where the repairs were made. With these issues taken care of, I m hoping we ll get a break from unexpected maintenance for a while. Board Meeting The board is planning to meet on Saturday the 11th of July. If you have any issues that you think the board should be aware of, please try to attend. See you at the airport! Whom to call M-ASA Club Officers and Directors: President Mike Smith Vice President Bob Jackson Secretary Holland Ford Treasurer David Pixton Director Mike Smith Director Preston Burch Director Willy Hackett Director Bob Jackson Director Dave MacVeigh Safety Officer: Paul Rehm Membership Chair: Steve Shelton Duty Scheduling: Ricardo Cibotti Chief Instructor: Dave Weaver Chief Tow Pilot: John Machamer Convector Editor: Erik Nelson Website Manager: Wayne Elseth For Godfathers and other support staff, please visit 2 P a g e

3 Hold Above Fairfield Brian LaBorde As many of you know from talking to me I am also an instrument rated pilot and love getting into any aircraft cockpit I can. Two weeks ago a friend of mine who owns a beautiful Columbia 350 (N6502A) asked me to be his spotter pilot while he worked under the hood staying current on his instrument rating. I of course quickly agreed and we planned to fly from Lancaster to Hagerstown and back. Since he was under the hood he was of course shooting a complete IFR practice approach and choose the ILS 27 shown here. The day was VFR with partial overcast and ceilings around 4500 AGL. We were cleared to the initial approach fix (HAIGS) and decent to All of this is fairly standard for a full ILS approach. What became unusual, especially for a VFR day was when Potomac Approach asked us to hold as published at the HAIGS intersection to wait for other traffic to clear. Ironically earlier as we boarded for our flight I asked my friend if we could divert over W73 so I could see if anyone was rigging to fly given the weather. He said he had already filed and that would not work. So imagine my surprise upon entering the entry hold that I was circling right over Fairfield at 4000! I had no idea that there was a published navigation point much less a hold that close to the airport. It is also noteworthy that these holds are not usually published on the VFR charts. For illustration purposes I overlaid the IFR plate over the VFR sectional which shows W73 / Fairfield and the hold position. As you can see the hold point is just of the north corner of the airport. W73/Fairfield Ok, ok I know what your response is, and I heard it when mentioning it to some at the airport this past weekend. Brian, when they are IFR we will not be flying! While in general true the risk is still there. Saturday and Sunday were completely overcast and there were a few gliders flying. Flights were mostly the club Grob ships that were working students. Saturday in particular there was lift to be found with a deck around If you are a glider near cloud base, legally flying 500 below cloud base, and a jet pops out of the clouds onto the hold flying IFR then it could quickly become an issue. 3 P a g e

4 I am writing this to simply raise the awareness of the members, not to change anything we are doing. If flying on an overcast or partially overcast day then it is possible for instrument traffic to descend out of the clouds onto the hold point north of the field. Be aware and possibly give a little more than 500 vertical clearance to hedge your bets. Fly safe! Brian LaBorde (Bravo Lima) Mel Donahoo fixing 2GB s electrical issues. Photo Ricardo Cibotti. 4 P a g e

5 M-ASA Publicity at Udvar-Hazy Glenn s DG draws a crowd at the Smithsonian. Photo Jeff Rose. I wanted to send out a short note expressing my thanks to Li Cao, Rich Matheus, Chris Ruark, Paul Rehm, Jeff Rose and Steve Shelton. These guys all came out Saturday to help display OB at the 2015 Innovations in Flight family day at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It was a long day which started with a sprinkle or two. But overall the weather held and a fine event was held. Museum attendance for the day was just over 15,200. Glenn Collins 5 P a g e

6 New M-ASA Members Jeff and Andrei Schwartz Hello All. We have met a few folks at the airfield so far, but wanted to introduce ourselves to the wider club. My son (Andrei) and I (Jeff) joined up a few weeks ago and are having a great time learning to soar. I have had a power rating for a few years now and am looking for to the challenge of this addon. Andrei (14) is taking flying lessons for the first time. We're looking forward to meeting more of you. Seems like a great club. Glenn McNatt He is a journalist with the Baltimore Sun and soloed a 2-33 and 1-26 back in the 80's but never received his rating. He joined our club to complete his training and get his glider rating. Glenn Collins has volunteered to be his instructor. 64G discovered some rather soft spots underfoot when landing after recent heavy rain Photo Andrew Crabb. 6 P a g e

7 News In Memoriam -- Leo Buckley Condolences to Pat Buckley and her family on the passing of her husband, Leo Buckley, Jr. at home in Salem, Virginia on June 16. Leo was a kind and talented man, and well known in local and national soaring circles. He was a key founding member of Blue Ridge Soaring Society in New Castle, and had become an integral part of sailplane racing in our country as a longtime scorer and contributor. He was the official scorer at the 2012 World Gliding Championships in Uvalde, Texas, and remains a favorite at M-ASA for lending his unsurpassed skill, patience, and professionalism to the Region 4 North Contest these last few years. He will be sorely missed. Memorials can be made to The Cloud Fund, named after BRSS tow pilot Jeff Cloud, who helped establish the fund to support and assist young people in their desire to learn to fly gliders. Checks payable to The Cloud Fund, mail to Kevin Kochersberger, 102 Highland Circle, Blacksburg, VA Mandatory Glider Transponder Proposal From the SSA: The FAA will consider new safety requirements for certain aircraft known as gliders that do not have engines or motors. Gliders would be required to use transponders to identify their position in the air under the advance notice of proposed rulemaking from the FAA. Proponents of the rule say it would increase airspace safety. The rules come at the request of members of Congress following a collision between an airplane and a glider. The public has 60 days to comment ending on 8/17/ P a g e

8 Upcoming Events U.S. Standard and 15-Meter Nationals Harris Hill, NY July 24 August 4 Practice July 24 and 25, contest July 26-August 4. Contact: Rebecca Murphy, (607) and Region 4 South Contest New Castle, VA September In September the Blue Ridge Soaring society will host its 33rd Annual Regional Contest. Due to the size of our facility we must limit our field to 42 entrants. The Classes will be: Standard, 15M and 18M. Contest dates are September 21 thru 26, with official practice day of Sept. 20. Please be sure to submit your application prior to the July 23 preferential deadline. Contact Patty Smith, (540) Region 4 North Contest Fairfield, PA October Come fly the beautiful and historic Gettysburg area of Pennsylvania and enjoy the possibility of thermal, ridge and wave flights amidst the autumn colors. Practice October 10, contest October Classes: Standard, 15-Meter, 18-Meter, Sports. Contact Mary Nelson, (540) and M-ASA Convector Newsletter Bob Jackson and the new Copyright L. Photo Peter Kern. 8 P a g e

9 Club Racing News Rick Fuller The local news reminded me that we ve had the wettest spring, with over 10 inches of rain, since That was reaffirmed when my daughter said during a recent visit that our Your front yard looks like a jungle. It was again confirmed when Rich Carlson and I agreed to land in the grass on 33L during my flight review and proceeded to roll about 50 feet leaving the Astir caked in mud. The soaring conditions have been less than well soarable this year. While we have had great opportunities for training flights, we flew no Task Day flights in June. Hopefully the soaring gods will let the sun shine in and make up for the lost days before the end of the season. Task Day scores are listed at Championships Keep your eyes on the 1-26 National Championships being held this year at Minden, NV, July 2-9. Cathy Williams is competing in her Schweizer 1-26B nicknamed Aeolus. The link to the championship results is here: Reflections of 9S. Photo Chris Ruark. 9 P a g e

10 Flying with Roger, Part Two Mike Smith M-ASA President Mike Smith checks in from the US Open Class National Soaring Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico, where s he flying with Roger Buchanan in the jaw-dropping, two-place, 26.5 meter AS-H 30Mi: Greetings from Hobbs. I ve been watching the Eastern weather from a distance and I thought you might like to see some more inviting weather pics. We ve had 3 really nice days of soaring. Roger and I are learning a lot and figuring out how to make his 30 go faster. First photos are Big Springs Texas. If you zoom in you ll see all the windmills. Last one is SS (Ron Tabery). He looks far away but he really was within 100 yards when I snapped the picture. 10 P a g e

11 11 P a g e

12 12 P a g e

13 2015 Duty Schedule Assignments Date Operations Director (OD) Tow Pilot Assistant OD (AOD) 07/03/2015 Jim Lewis Gordon Daniel Andrew Crabb 07/04/2015 Rick Fuller Peter Hackett David Brunone 07/05/2015 Mike Higgins Bob Jackson Jacob Anderson 07/11/2015 Guy Pfeffermann Wayne Elseth Kai Rasmussen 07/12/2015 Brian LaBorde Glenn Collins Bob Whitehead 07/18/2015 Don Emert Pete Welles Edward Morgan 07/19/2015 Mehrdad Bayat Bob Andrew Edward Sauble Jr 07/25/2015 Kent Waymire David Pixton Kristina Waymire 07/26/2015 John Mitchell Buddy Denham Jeffrey Ezell 08/01/2015 Ben Mwendwa John Machamer Jeff Schwartz 08/02/2015 John Slifer Jim Chick Ralph Beidelman 08/08/2015 Peter Kern Peter Hackett Donald Bonsteel 08/09/2015 Mark Segall Gordon Daniel Alan Fullerton 08/15/2015 Jim Hogue Bob Jackson Victor Torhonen 08/16/2015 Kolie Lombard Glenn Collins Paul Jr. Nassetta 08/22/2015 Michael Hearn Pete Welles John Ulvelstad 08/23/2015 Peter Blacklin Bob Andrew Li Cao 08/29/2015 Mark Philip David Pixton Riley Campbell 08/30/2015 Mike Vance Buddy Denham Kristina Waymire M-ASA Duty Notes: Members assigned to operations duty must be on site in enough time to start operations by 10:00 a.m. and stay at the field until operations are concluded. Each person listed on the duty roster is responsible for that day s assignment. In the case of no-shows, the person acting as OD should indicate this fact on the flight sheet. No-shows will be fined $100. Every effort will be made to accommodate the new member s stated duty preference whenever possible. M-ASA Scheduler: Ricardo Cibotti (cibottir@verizon.net; ). 13 P a g e

14 For Sale, and Wanted Wanted: ILEC SN-10. Have one sitting on the shelf unused? Let's talk. Mike Higgins M-ASA and Region 4 North Contest Merchandise Hats, short & long sleeve t-shirts, polo shirts, and sweatshirts in various colors and sizes. Contact Mary Nelson at region4n@yahoo.com or Hangar Syndicate I am willing to invest in a share of a new hangar, so as to house my assembled Ka8, if a few others join me, so that together we can build a hangar that meets our needs. Please let me know if you are interested enough to figure out the math of how much it would take to build such a basic hangar. Guy Pfeffermann, guy.pfeffermann@gmail.com Luscombe Tail Dragger club has openings. FDK Luscombe, a KFDK based Luscombe club is looking for additional members. We keep the membership to 6 members so that the aircraft is available when you want to fly. Get your conventional gear time in a Luscombe 8E. Contact Wayne Elseth luscombe@elseth.net Janus (4S) Silent Soarers Inc. has corporate shares available. Glider is currently hangared at Fairfield. Low cost access to an excellent high performance two-seat sailplane. 39:1 L/D with outstanding climb characteristics. Completely refinished prior to the 2010 season. Basic instruments, MicroAire radio, oxygen, trailer. Intent is to maintain corporate shares at 8 to ensure sailplane availability. Contact Glenn Collins (pwrlessflt@msn.com) or Tom Jones daedelus@mindspring.com) 14 P a g e