Here`s - Southern California Soaring

Southern California
Soaring
A P ubl i c a tio n of the Reg io n 1 2 So ar i ng Co unc i l
M a rch /A p ri l 201 3
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sub sc ri be @s oca ls o a ring .co m
Back In The Saddle Safety Meeting
& 2012 Awards
One of RESCO’s most successful,
rewarding events is the Spring refresher day initiated by Jim Payne as
SSA Director. Jim borrowed the
name from his Air Force days following a stand-down for air mishaps.
Initially in a hangar at Cal City, then
Rosamond, the EAFB Test Pilot
auditorium, Orange County, Cal
Tech and now at AV College, pilots
are encouraged to be entertained and
enlightened by peers and pros as
speakers. Applying the tips and protocols should make for safer pilots
and fewer misadventures in 2013.
Pilots, crew, friends are all welcome.
Register on-line at
http://
tinyurl.com/a5j6phl for only $35.
Coffee and gossip is from 8:30 to
9:00, while late registrants pay $40.
“Scared Witless” , 3 first person
stories of simple errors with nearcatastrophic results run till 10.
Mark Grubb will review Mountain
Flight Safety for those flying close
to ‘the bumpy bits’. A panel will
cover Premature Termination of
Tows, a Soaring Safety Foundation
session, Towing Signals. Catered
lunch at 11:45 includes Dan Rihn
training on Condor Flight Simulator, plus videos.
Walt Rogers explains Sierra
weather forecasting. Mike Reid
covers Owens Valley XC decision
heights, techniques, maps, airspace
Cont’d
on
page 2
Barringer Trophy Winner of 2012
The Barringer Trophy was established by
the first President of
SSA , to commemorate
the longest straight
flight made during the
US Nationals. Contests
stopped using free-
distance tasks around
1968, due to increases
in L/D, >300-mile
flights and fatigue in
long returns for subsequent race days. The
trophy was adapted by
SSA’s Board with the
Barringer’s approval to
the longest annual
straight line flight by
FAI badge rules. This
trophy has been held
by Region 12 pilots for
many years, most notably by trading between
Cont’d
on
page 2
Inside this issue:
BITS & Awards
1
Doug Armstrong
2
AMA Display
3
Calendar
4
SSA Board Report
5
Dust Devil Dash
6
Awards
7
Crystal Reunion
8
Page 2 Mar/Apr 2013
Southern California Soaring
B.I.T.S. . . . . continued from pg. 1
Doug Armstrong - Final Glide
Airspace access. At 2 pm the Crystal Squadron will
review the 2012 season , 2013 plans, and the Combs
2012 Trophy winner. 3 pm will announce a surprise
speaker. 4 pm will see Region 12’s SSA and OLC
awards of 2012 being presented.
A beloved friend to soaring and esteemed weather
forecaster was lost to us on March 5, 2013. A celebration of Doug’s lifelong service of teaching wx forecasting and sharing at contests and camps will be held
near his home at the Minden Airport, 7 p.m. on April
6. See Calendar for details. From Reg. 12 friends:
The location is AV College, 3041 W. Avenue K,
Room SSV-151, Lancaster, CA. Map link: http://
www.avc.edu/information/common/documents/
campusmap.pdf .
Event Coordinator: Mike Reid, SSA State Governor
2012 Barringer Trophy—Kevin Wayt
. . . . Continued from Page 1
Mike Koerner and Henry Combs through the 1980s.
Henry’s legacy of straight-out flights led to the establish-
Mike Koerner: On April 17, 1984 Doug called Henry
Combs and told him that 18th or 19th would provide favorable weather conditions for a long downwind flight. It
was a good call.
Doug, with his expertise in soaring
meteorology, was an integral part of Henry’s wave campaign. His knowledge, access to weather information and
understanding of soaring were unparalleled and indispensable. And though Henry and I were technically competing, leap-frogging over each other’s records, it was a
gentlemen’s competition to be sure. Henry shared
Doug’s forecast with me.
903 miles later, with what is still the U.S. distance record,
I am forever indebted to Doug.
I was fortunate to meet with him, for the first time in
years, at the Reno Convention last February. I’m glad I
took that last opportunity to again express my gratitude.
Doug was a great source of lift for many in the soaring
community. We’ll miss him greatly.
ment of another trophy for multiple straight flights.
Region 12’s penchant for distance flights spawned the
Dust Devil Dash in 1985. Last summer Kevin Wayt flew
the Dash with his wife Marisa as crew.
Kevin flew his Ventus C 17.6 m from Tehachapi, CA
to Burns, Oregon for a scored distance of 587.3 st. mi.
Here’s his story:
“Yes, all kudos go to my beautiful bride, Marisa, for
driving over 17 hours that day!! She drove the 3 hours to
Tehachapi in the early morning, cleaned RW and made
my lunch, then took off driving while we were still in the
pilot meeting, an hour before I launched! She pulled into
Burns, OR 14.5 hours later!! A week later we were in
Kevin Wayt: Ah heck that just wrecked my day…how
sad. Doug was such a great man and soaring weather
forecaster, he helped me so much in my first Regionals
nearly 40 years ago when I was 16 years old and has
never stopped helping us with our soaring forecasts!! Doug, you will be missed my friend…
Jackie Payne:
We really miss Doug Armstrong's weather
input but hopefully he's looking down and vicariously enjoying
the speed run. Does anyone remember the hymn, Nearer My
God to Thee.....I had to stop myself from emailing Doug for a
detailed weather explanation of the high cloud overlay. What
a gentleman he was!
From Doug this January .. and so Typically encouraging:
CONGRATS...KEVIN… & special thanks to your wife
for retrieve...(please say hello to your Mom too)...!! (I'm
amazed that you youngsters from many years ago keep
soaring young)...!! have a wonderful day and best wishes
for soaring this year...Doug
Southern California Soaring
Mar/Apr 2013 Page 3
AMA Glider Display
Public Outreach for Soaring
The annual Academy of Model Aeronautics convention was held at the Ontario, CA, convention center
Jan. 11--13, 2013. Cypress Soaring club's Lewis
Hykes was the organizer of this year's glider display
and staffing effort. Radio control modelers were abundant, and children and adults enjoyed sitting in Scott
Lance's AS-W 15 (sans canopy).
Potential pilots or guest riders were supplied with
copies of Soaring Magazine. Literature promoting Cypress membership, SSA Youth memberships, SSA's
FAST program, directions to ssa.org were freely distributed. Photos of kids mostly and kids-at-heart were
taken and will be widely shared and publicized. Two
Spruce Goose model at Ontario AMA convention
Volunteers manning the booth were: Scott Lance,
Gary Timbs, James Neff, Art Wallace, Mike from Boron, Lewis Hykes, Cypress Soaring Club; Larry Jolly,
So Cal Douglas Soaring Club; Cindy Brickner, Region 12 Director; Rich Farrell, Region 12.
Other Region 12 sailplane pilots seen enjoying the
show? Marc Silverman, Joe Brownlee, Gary Ittner, Pat
Russette. Gary Fogel from AGCSC was a seminar
speaker. All you others missed some fun and good
times passing along the aviation virus. Volunteer for a
shift next year, and then afterwards enjoy the gorgeously detailed models on display.
SSA and AMA have forged a formal cooperative MOU in 2013.
AS-W 15 on display at AMA, kids wait to be seated.
Hibernation of SoCalSoaring
videographers/bloggers interviewed the Saturday volunteers The winner of 'most popular newbie question'
was, "Do you learn in a single like this, or a twoseater?" Perhaps next year's display will sport the Cypress PW-6 or Krosnow, to allay some of the public
fears of solo learning! All clubs and commercial sites
benefited from this exposure, as referrals were often
given to the 'closest' soaring organization to the inquiring person's hometown, LESC, Krey Field, Crystal,
CAP 41, Tehachapi, Warner Springs as needed.
Southern California Soaring has been dormant for a
while, lacking a volunteer to assist in collecting information and compiling a publication.
This issue is edited by your SSA Region 12 Director,
Cindy Brickner, to spread the season opening information and encourage anyone who wishes to assist the
communications in Southern California to step forward
and help further interaction between clubs and businesses to enhance soaring education and activity in Region 12.
Contact Cindy to assist at editor@socalsoaring.com .
Page 4 Mar/Apr 2013
Southern California Soaring
Calendar of Events
3-30-2013
Back in the Saddle Safety Seminar & Region 12 Awards, AV College,
3041 W. Ave. K, Lancaster, CA 93536. $35 preregistration, $40 at the door.
Contact Mike Reid at
michael.r.reid@gmail.com
4-6-2013
Doug Armstrong—Celebration of Life, 7 p.m. Flight Line Restaurant, 2214 Meridian Blvd,
Minden, NV, 89423, 702-782-1333. RSVP to gboettger@aol.com or call 775-781-5160.
4-6-2013
Crystal Reunion. RSVP to Carol (Moe) Fagan at carolfagan@antelecom.net
4-20/21-13
LVVSA Spring Roach Lake Auto Tow Days, Jean, NV. $10 guest member fee plus $10 per
launch. www.LVVSA.org and click Safaris link/tab. Contact jimwynhoff@cox.net .
5-16/19-13
Central Calif. Soaring Club Spring Contest, Avenal, CA.
6-3/8-13
Region 9 Contest, Moriarty, NM.
6-25/29-13
Region 9 Super Regional, Hobbs, NM.
6-25 to 7-4
15 Mtr/Open Class Nationals, Hobbs, NM.
7-15/20-13
Air Sailing Sports Class Contest, Reno, NV.
8-12/17-13
Region 11 Contest, Truckee, CA.
8-22/29-13
1-26 National Championships, Moriarty, NM
10-19-13
SSA Board of Directors Meeting & Barnaby Lecture, Denver, CO.
Any group may ask to have their events calendared.
Support your local soaring vendors.
www.soaravenal.com
Southern California Soaring
SSA Board Meeting, Houston, TX
February 28, 2013
Business items that would be of most interest to
SSA members are that the membership grew slightly
in 2012 over 2011. The financial status of the organization is stable, with a net worth increase of ~$27,000.
The 2011 FY audit was complete and unqualified. The
SSA Foundation reported an average investment return
of ~11%. This means SSA's management practices
and bookkeeping are continuing in a responsible manner. Members wishing to arrange a bequest to SSA are
asked to contact Ms. Layton in Hobbs. The SSA merchandise function will not be contracted out at this time.
Programs that are yielding returns are: the FAST program, an
initial ride and training book package that offers a good incentive to
first flight customers to continue
with lessons; the Let's Go Gliding
program, with trailer graphics and
web linking to publicize soaring
while transporting sailplanes to
events; the AirVenture/Kid Venture booth space at Oshkosh,
growing each year, this effort has partnered SSA and
EAA in providing aviation training to youth as followup to the Young Eagle ride program; the Introductory
Member category, to allow youth-pilot promotional
efforts with USAFA, CAP and AMA programs.
In 2013, SSA expects to interlink the SSA web page
and the Soaring Safety Foundation's web site in a more
meaningful way, to encourage cross-site accessing of
training materials and make clear the Board's concern
with continuing safety and training as a priority. The
SSA Group Insurance plan will expect a small premium increase mid-year of 2013. Separately, there will
be another enhancement this year for contest organizers, extending the coverage to volunteer workers under
the standard coverage.
Mar/Apr 2013 Page 5
Contest rules amendments were approved as submitted by the Rules committee. National contest sites
were approved for 2014 as follows: Sports Class Nationals, Midlothian, TX; 15-Meter and Open Class,
Montague, CA; Standard Class, Hobbs, NM . A request for sanction forwarding to IGC for a Continental
Club Class Championship for 2014 was submitted by
Chilhowee Soaring Association, and was approved.
SSA will have no financial participation in the event.
Lane Bush, Georgia SSA Governor, unveiled developments in the sailplane tracking program. Contests
can upload files daily, pilots will link automatically
through their SSA member blog and can include post
flight comments. This will be a nocost enhancement in member benefits
and a public outreach tool via web
real-time access tracking. The Board
thanked Mr. Bush for his efforts with
Mr. Bogdanovich and Mr. Easton on
implementation.
See:
http://
www.ssa.org/myhome.asp?
mbr=6867486834
Then choose a
pilot you think is currently flying.
Click, and be jumped to their tracking
page.
Annual SSA Awards were presented as follows: Warren Eaton Trophy - Ken Sorenson for production of
the 2012 World Gliding Championships in Texas, Kolstad Youth Scholarship to New York's Daniel Sahzin,
Spratt Award -David Coggins, Texas; Exceptional
Achievement - David Stevenson for update of state
records archive to ssa.org, Robert DeLeon for Let's Go
Gliding ad campaign; Barringer Trophy - Kevin Wayt,
Region 12 for 570 mile flight during the Dust Devil
Dash from Tehachapi to Oregon.
The next SSA Convention will be between Feb. 14
and March 9, 2014 in Reno, Nevada. A confirmed date
will be announced later. The 2016 convention will
move east or central, on the Board's direction. October
19, 2013 will be the next Board of Director’s meeting,
in Denver, CO. The Barnaby Lecture is often colocated. - C. Brickner, Reg. 12 Director
Page 6 Mar/Apr 2013
Southern California Soaring
2012 Dust Devil Dash Results
This was a big field, responding to the best forecast
in several years Dashing. Begun in 1985 by Rob Morgan, and ably managed, launched tallied and ballyhooed by Ian Cant, the Dash is one of several US distance handicapped events. Note: US-made glider 2nd
place!
This year’s Dash also yielded the flight netting the
prestigious Barringer Trophy, for longest flight in the
US for the calendar year. Congratulations on all the
flights made possible by talented, dedicated CrewPilot
ID
Glider
Handicap
Landing Distance [st mi]
H'cap distance
Kevin Wayt
RW
Ventus C 17.6m
0.88
Burns, OR
587.30
516.824
Garry Dickson
024
1-26A
1.65
16 mi S Hadley, NV
241.60
398.64
Danny Sorensen
KMI
Discus 2A
0.91
Elko, NV
420.50
382.655 3
Marty Eiler
11W
ASW-27
0.88
Elko, NV
420.50
370.04
Tom Serkowski
5Z
ASH-26E
0.87
Elko, NV
420.50
365.835 5
Thorsten Streppel KD
LS-6A
0.90
Winnemucca, NV 401.80
361.62
Jeff Byard
AU
Genesis 2
0.96
Austin, NV
309.10
296.736 7
Tom Riley
TR
Spirit
0.94
Austin, NV
309.10
290.554 8
Bill Laningham
DB
ASW-24
0.94
Austin, NV
309.10
290.554 9
Jim/Tom Payne
5DT
DG 1001M
0.88
Minden, NV
279.20
245.70
Christian Macklin 33
ASW-27
0.88
So Lake Tahoe, CA 276.10
242.968 11
Doug Fronius
XS
ASW-20
0.91
Hawthorne, NV
238.20
216.762 12
Paul Trist
17
Discus B
0.94
Tonopah, NV
217.40
204.356 13
Doug Levy
042
1-26A
1.65
Lone Pine
104.80
172.92
14
Tom Braberk
FTR
H304C-Z
0.94
Bishop
157.00
147.58
15
John Shmoldas
7X
Discus B
0.94
Bishop
157.00
147.58
16
Oscar Alonso
RO
ASW-24
0.94
Bishop
157.00
147.58
17
Jonathan Delbruck XIX
Sparrowhawk
1.17
Lone Pine
104.80
122.616 18
Cam Martin
J
Libelle 301
0.98
Lone Pine
104.80
102.70
19
George Powell
029
1-26A
1.65
Inyokern
50.90
83.985
20
Ron Hodge
417
1-26D
1.60
Inyokern
50.90
81.44
21 Persistence award for relights
Tom McMullen
559
1-26E
1.60
Mountain Valley
0.00
0
22
1
2
Position Comments
Congratulations
The only off-airfield landing
4
6
10
Southern California Soaring
Mar/Apr 2013 Page 7
2012 SSA Awards
Barringer Trophy - longest straightout flight
Congratulations on these accomplishments. Region 12
has very motivated, focused pilots who find many
ways to measure their soaring performances.
Kevin Wayt
Exceptional Service
Chris Mannion
Most Active SSA Instructor
Combs Trophy - most >500 km straight flights
Most A, B, & C Badges Issued
Dick Ensign, Lake Elsinore Soaring Club
2010 Mike Koerner
2011 Karl Sommer
2012 Peter Kovari & Barry McGarraugh
OLC Club Gold League US
Series of speed performances over 12 weekends
2. Hole in the Wall
6. Southern Sierra
7. Warner Springs Gliders
10. Tehachapi Soaring
OLC Individual US
Best 6 flights for total distance, from top 50 US
1. Jim Payne
4. Kevin Wayt
16 Ed Salkeld
17. Russ Owens
29. Gary Ittner
34. Tom Serkowski
38. Mark Grubb
39. Danny Sorenson
OLC Distance Region 12 Club rankings
Club
km total
Flights
Pilots
Avg/Pilot
Rank by Average
Warner Springs Gliders
80,532.96
272
27
2932.33
5
Tehachapi Soaring
60,831.54
185
18
3388.22
3
Southern Sierra
60,958.79
161
17
3533.61
2
Hole in the Wall
Crystal Squadron
Santa Ynez
Cypress Soaring
126 Association
Antelope Valley Soaring Club
Lake Elsinore Soaring Club
42,972.65
12,219.13
10,066.25
6,586.55
3,354.77
2,697.09
690.9
112
34
47
33
24
20
18
9
5
5
3
5
1
1
4738.50
2288.60
2008.40
2593.79
1178.39
3153.26
1278.26
1 Efficient !
7
8
6
10
4 Mike Malis
9 Pete Weiderk
Warner - most pilots, most flights. Hole in the Wall, most efficient. AVSC and LESC, one pilot each.
Page 8 Mar/Apr 2013
2013 Crystal Reunion
April 6, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Southern California Soaring
Checks must be received by
March 27 (so we can plan!). Please
make out your check to Carol Fa-
Crystal Airport
32810 165th Street East
Llano, CA 93544
We are planning a reunion of all
friends who enjoyed flying, camping, working or 'just hanging out'
at Crystal over the years. Ron
Gregg, Geri Silveira, Carol Moe
Fagan and Deb Moe Dickinson are
planning this event with our hosts
being the Southern California
Soaring Academy (SCSA). We
would love to see you, and share
old photos, memories and stories
of the 'good old days'. NOTE:
Please spread the word to all your
Crystal friends. Everyone is invited!
Prepaid registration of $20 per
person includes dinner and beverage (BYO adult beverages) AND
50% off all glider rentals and tows,
and a raffle ticket. PLUS free instruction on Saturday and Sunday.
Please bring your glider or at
least one good soaring story. And
again, please spread the word;
we're looking for our old friends,
new friends and anyone who
‘experienced Crystal’. We look
forward to seeing you again!
Schedule: 9 am Sign in, meet,
fly, talk, fly, talk, share.
11:30 – 12:30 SCSA provides lunch.
5 pm Raffles of gifts, SSA items,
Appetizers, sliced sausages, fruit,
veggies, chips & dip.
gan and send it to her at P.O. Box
603, Pearblossom, CA 935530603. If you don't want dinner,
come out and hang out with us
anyway. Camping is available on
the field. Crystalaire Lodges at
661—944-1231 will give a discount, let them know you are attending the Crystal Reunion.
There are many hotels nearby in
Palmdale. For details call Carol
at: 661-733-2247 or SCSA at 661944-1090.
5:30 pm
Dinner: Caesar Salad,
Chicken, Tri-Tip, Garlic Bread,
Santa Maria beans (little red beans,
seasoned), Fresh Salsa, Mac &
Cheese, Cakes, cookies, Drinks,
Coffee, Tea, Milk, Water, BYOB
(bring your own booze).
Program: after dinner Late evening: Hangar stories by the fire pit
for those staying late or camping on
the field.
— Carol Moe Fagan
(Thanks, Fred. — Ed.)
Southern California Soaring
Military Low-Level Changes in Owens
Military flights in California and parts of Nevada are
conducted in accordance with a Users Handbook that
is available to us to review. See:
http://www.edwards.af.mil/shared/media/document/
AFD-070103-052.pdf
Any reading on the R-2508 site is informative, but
you should pay particular attention to the updated pro-
tocol for Low-Level flight across the Sierra Nevada,
Inyo, White, and Panamint Mountain ranges.
Page 45 in the pdf document shows the accompanying illustration. Jets will operate within 200 agl up to
1500 agl and up to 2 miles alongside the marked path.
Mar/Apr 2013 Page 9
Sailplanes are NOT mentioned to the DoD users in this
document. Input was provided on glider operations in
March 2013, but the document won’t be updated to
DoD users until 2014.
Traffic runs clockwise on this route. Crossing points
for gliders are likely to be Olancha, Keeler, the Inyo
crestline north to Tinemaha Reservoir, then the turnpoint close to Wildrose on the Panamints, near Trona
Airport and Trona Gap if traveling south toward Cal
City. Jet traffic is NOT on frequency with Joshua and
NOT required to monitor or use a VFR frequency on
this route. It can be active with no NOTAMs, any day
of the week or weekend. LOOK OUTSIDE ! Ask
Joshua for activity status. -- C. Brickner
Re gi o n 1 2 S oa ri n g Cou n ci l
5783 Edmonds Way
Mojave, CA 93501
Phone: 760-373-1019
E-mail: editor@socalsoaring.com
Www.socalsoaring.com
Support Local Soaring Businesses
Www.ssa.org lists all affiliated
clubs and businesses.
Www.socalsoaring.com lists all
Southern California clubs and
schools.
Changes or updates to your Emailing address should be sent to
editor@socalsoaring.com .
If you find value in this newsletter,
or Region 12 programs, please support the site and your Regional Director with a donation, address
above.
Photo: Russ Owens at Torrey Pines.
California Dreamin’