1st Pan-American Gliding Championships Erik Nelson - Mid

Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, Inc.
http://www.midatlanticsoaring.org
1st Pan-American Gliding Championships
In This Issue:
1… 1st Pan-American Gliding
Championships, Erik Nelson
8… From the Board, Mike Smith
9… TFR Waiver Updates, Glenn
Collins
10… Club Racing News, Rick Fuller
11… 1,100 km Flights April 24,
Mike Higgins
14… Soaring in Idaho, Holland
Ford
15… Duty Schedule, Ricardo
Cibotti
16… For Sale and Wanted
Banner Photo Lance, Victor,
Jacob, Duncan, Riley and
Michael in training for the Grob
Pushing Olympics. Photo by
Mike Higgins.
May, 2015
Erik Nelson
I was fortunate to take part recently in the first Pan-American Gliding
Championships, held in eastern Tennessee in the middle of April. The
contest was the brainchild of a small group of U.S. soaring pilots, hatched
during the World Championships in Argentina a few years ago. The
Europeans have held a continental championship every two years since the
early 1980s, providing them a major competition with FAI rules in the offyears between the Worlds. The South Americans have had an intermittent
continental championship as well, and the Chileans have hosted two
Sailplane Grand Prix races. Realizing that those opportunities have raised the
IGC rankings and WGC performances of the involved pilots, the US team
members, and their Canadian counterparts, looked forward to a similar
championship in which they could participate. Sarah Kelly Arnold was among
them, and volunteered to organize and submit the application, using her
Chilhowee Gliderport in Benton, TN as the site. Rather than limiting it to
North America, she aimed large and gained approval for a Pan-American
competition to include pilots from North, South, and Central America plus
the Caribbean.
The idea was well-received at the FAI, and initially a Club Class contest was
scheduled for September, 2014. This was subsequently changed to April,
2015, a 15-meter Class was added, and the Club class modified to a
“Handicap” class that expanded the FAI range of allowed gliders to include
modern Standard Class and second generation 15-m ships. Each country’s
national organization was allotted a maximum number of entrants in each class. After all entrants were
submitted, additional reserve pilots were allowed. This resulted in a large U.S. contingent, myself
included, augmenting the core Team. To keep a competitive balance with the smaller teams, the U.S.
pilots were split into pairs in each class, with separate radio frequencies. I was lucky to have the top-
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ranked U.S. 15-m pilot, Sean Murphy (XC, Ventus 2b, Harris Hill), as a teammate, and we prepared
jointly over the winter. I’d flown the Standard Class Nationals at Chilhowee in 2013 (thanks, WM!), and
was able to share some information on local conditions and terrain. Our similar gliders, flying styles,
personalities, and sports backgrounds made syncing up easy and fun.
I was at the Seniors in March when we got the word that the runway at Chilhowee, resodded the
previous fall, had not fared well in the prolonged 2014-15 winter. The PAGC was moved from Chilhowee
to McMinn County Airport in Athens, 12 air miles to the northwest. From a soaring standpoint, this was
a little problematic, since the local ridge just east of Chilhowee can be key in getting race days started
early or at all. For me, Sean, and our crews, the new site also meant a longish drive from our
accommodations on the Ocoee River, in the other direction.
Arriving in eastern Tennessee on the first official practice day, I immediately appreciated the need for
the change in venue. There was standing water in many fields,
including the sod farm next to the grass runway at Chilihowee.
McMinn County, with its large paved aprons, long runway,
hangars, and spiffy FBO building made for a great site. Amazingly,
the officials and workers there went out of their way to
accommodate our last-minute takeover of their facility—it would
be hard to overstate their hospitality. The other neat feature at
McMinn was the Swift Museum (as in Piper/Globe) and parts
warehouse. There were beautiful static and flying examples of
the breed.
The opening ceremonies, International Night, and all other meals were held at Chilhowee. There’s a
large pole barn, from which the resident glider trailers had been
vacated. It made for a perfect gathering spot, augmented by
western sunsets and aircraft in repose. For the “Farewell Party,”
the doors of the adjacent hangar were opened and a bluegrass
band set up inside. They were unusually good, and the acoustics
serendipitously perfect.
The penultimate practice day was the Saturday before Easter, and
a “MASH”-era helicopter dropped candy to a huge crowd of kids
on the main ramp. Some blew away, but the organizers had
anticipated this and had plenty in reserve. (One unused bucket of
sweets served as a nice reward upon turning in our logs to the Scorer for the rest of the contest.) After
the candy drop, we got 5E through the technical inspection (exactly 15 meters!). The Handicap Class
flew dry, while 15m was limited to a wing loading of 9 lbs/ft2. For some AS-W 27 and ’29 pilots, this
meant no water ballast at all; my lighter Ventus 2 has a large wing area and required more water than I
care to disclose to reach 9lbs. Kind of eye opening considering the dry regional contests we routinely
fly…
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After the scrutineering, I launched around 15:00 and started the
practice task around 15:30, well after the others. This was a racing
(“assigned”) task with four turnpoints, 180km. It was blue and
windy, and the lift was hard to find alone over the flats. The high
ground was better, even the barely perceptible little knolls and
slopes scattered between the rivers. Despite starting 50 minutes
apart and never in radio range, teammate XC and I finished with
the exact same speed and time on course. One can only imagine
how unnerving this show of Team Ventus sympatico was to our
opponents. The topic was overshadowed that evening at the
Pete Alexander and Bill Gawthrop.
Mexican restaurant by U.S. Handicap pilot Ryszard Krolikowki’s
retrieve. RW had landed out behind the nearby Bi-Lo, in a wet field he
called a “rice paddy.” This attracted FOUR police cars, and meant a 500’ carry to the road. They found
fish heads in the field, presumably left by local raptors--ominous foreshadowing.
The last practice day was marred by thick, high cirrus with little light reaching the ground. A 3-hour
assigned area task was called, but most pilots either did not fly or stayed local. At 9lbs, XC and I found it
hard just to stay up. We worked on team stuff and eventually made a start at 15:30. Only Bill
Gawthrop, last year’s Open Champion flying John Godfrey’s ’27 QT, came with us. We tiptoed to the
first turn circle and bee-lined back to McMinn. QT couldn’t quite make it and landed 9km out. That
night, the welcome party at Chilhowee featured BBQ and a lot of anticipation for the contest ahead.
Unfortunately, the difficult weather that was to plague the PAGC began on Day 1. Weatherman (and
Handicap competitor) Tony Condon called for overcast with 80% chance of rain, and the day was
canceled at the briefing. With nothing else to do, there followed an impromptu seminar on the
differences between North American and international contests. With input from the FAI and IGC
stewards, Competition Director Rick Scheppe (also the SSA delegate to the FAI), Deputy Director and
Task Setter John Good, pilots, and team captains, the session was interesting and high-yield. It struck
me as very emblematic of the PAGC as a whole—part hard-core competition, part collective learning
experience, part international cooperation and
camaraderie. I suspect this sort of thing wouldn’t
happen at the Worlds.
The next day was washed out, too, but racing finally got
started on Wednesday, April 8. With a stationary front to
the north and rain to the west, high clouds were forecast
to slow heating in the task area. Two-day rain totals
were 1.4 inches in Athens and 0.9 inches in Cleveland. A
five turn, 3.25-hour AAT was called, nominal distance
384km. XC and I started after the other US pilots and a
little before the Canadians. We did a good job staying
together until the last turn area, when he got a little low
and scurried into the hills for a save. I flew an overcautious final glide, losing time and 30 points to Jerzy
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Szemplinski (Canada), but good enough for 2nd for the day. QT, Mark Keene (7K), and Juan Mandelbaum
(Argentina by way of Boston, MA) landed out.
It took three tries to get Day 2 into the bag. On the first (April 9), an approaching cold front pushed
winds aloft to 20-25 knots. The weather report understated, “stronger winds may lower the quality of
thermals.” After a task change on the grid, we had a three turn, 3-hour AAT to the south. XC and I had
difficulty getting up and coordinated before the start. The thermals were shredded and weak, and there
was no climb near the start line, so we were already disconnected from the clouds upon starting. Sean
was able to get going several minutes ahead of me, and I followed his trajectory from the course line
east and downward. We ended up trying to get back up on the ridge near Chilhowee, falling into a trap
that apparently had also claimed most of the earlier starters. The hills didn’t work, and the flats were in
shade from the high spread-out, so I followed XC in to land. The runway at the gliderport was closed,
but the adjacent sod farm was landable with hard-packed dirt abutting the airport boundary. There
were already six other gliders on the ground there, and as I rolled out near the pole barn, Mark Keene
caught my wingtip—first time that’s happened on a landout. We started counting gliders and checking
SPOT to see if our miserable performance meant a no-contest day or a disaster. Ultimately, only Jerzy
and Sean Fidler (7T) were able to go the minimum distance,
each nipping the turn areas and squeaking home. They’d
avoided our trap, staying west away from the hills’ siren song
and keeping connected with the cloud bases. After the
shortest flight and retrieve in memory, we headed back to
McMinn relieved that the big javelin had cost us no points.
The second attempt (April 10) was marred by spitting rain—
we rigged in it, gridded in it, and derigged in it after the short
racing task was scrubbed. The International Night party was
wonderful. The Canadian team captain had gone to the
nearby gun store and picked up a BB-shooting 9mm-lookalike.
Mixed with distilled spirits and pent-up competitive streaks,
this proved an entertaining sideshow.
Jerzy Szemplinski aims for gold.
Finally, we flew again on Saturday, April 11. We had a four-turn, 298km racing task, first a short leg
northeast, then 134km south-southeast, and a jog northwest for a skinny bow-tie more or less along the
wind. It was blue, and XC and I were able to execute our planned late start from a good position on the
line. We had a fast run on the first two legs, and pushed hard from the flats near Cleveland on an
eastward deviation into the hills near the Georgia line. The last 20km into the hills were ominously
smooth, and it was clear we had entered a different air mass. The foot-off-gas coasting turned into a full
panic stop as one hill after another failed to yield a climb, despite reasonable sun on the ground. Soon
we saw multiple 15m gliders landed out along the main road south. We jettisoned the water and helped
each other stay up, eventually getting stuck on a small ridgelet in Chatsworth, Georgia. We were
alternately above, below, and around a cell tower, and were eventually joined by a flock of Handicap
gliders just reaching the area after a longer run in the good air back north. With that many gliders and a
lot of birds, what lift existed was well-marked, but was consistently capped at about 2000’ msl (10001200’ agl). Bands of cirrus moved in, and the lower gliders would land. Ultimately, I bubbled up a little
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higher and decided to see what lay a little farther south. I crept toward the third turn, passing over
more landed gliders and sliding steadily lower until I was over the last landable fields I could see. I was
still more than 25km from the turn at Pine
Log, which was one of the peaks up in the
national forest and beyond a large
reservoir. I picked a good field, but there
was standing water in the landable parts
and it took a lot of figuring to decide on a
target. Finding lift, I was able to keep the
Ventus up fairly easily and pick a second,
better field, but with the lowering sun it
was topping out even lower than before.
The wind had also come up, pushing me
south over the unlandable trees with every
turn. There was an airport at Decatur,
about 20km away, and I tried for a long time to get there. But it was upwind, and I kept retreating to my
field. Phil Gaisford, U.S. Handicap pilot, joined me in his Discus 2 before landing. I made one last push
upwind, reaching an Argentinian-flown AS-W 15 circling about 10km from Decatur. Finding nothing, I
scurried back to my field and landed behind Phil. The Argentine joined us a minute later.
It was a long wait for the crew, since we were 75 miles or so from home. My ever-patient mother
showed up with the trailer and news of 100% landouts in each class. It was almost dark as we rolled out
of the field, and we made it back to the house pretty late. It’s very nice to be able to email the scorer
your log in cases like that. As it turned out, my 5 hours of flying, 60% circling, and paltry 128 km were
enough to win the day.
So what happened to the soaring on the second leg? In the post-mortem, there were some interesting
explanations by the amateur meteorologists in our midst, having something to do with subsidence,
winds aloft, and streaming of cold air down the narrow topographic channels in the southern task area.
I can only say that it made sense at the time…
The next morning’s forecasts had widely divergent predictions. A large wad of cirrus was just south of us
and looked to be moving our way during the early afternoon. With several days of poor soaring weather
on tap, the officials were determined to get a day in the books, and changed the call twice before
settling on a minimal, 148km racing task. This confined us to a small area to the northeast, where the
sun was forecast to last the longest. There were six close-in turnpoints, separated by the shortest legs
I’ve flown in a contest--25, 32, 21, 23, 13, 28, and 6 km! In addition, the maximum start height was
raised this day to 6000’ msl. This, and a few unlucky quirks, ultimately made for a strange race for our
tandem. First, the grid rotation that day put XC at the front and me at the back. While the main gaggle
connected right away and climbed over 5500’ right next to the start line, the last few of us towed into a
particularly bad cycle, and struggled to get away from the airport. Jerzy and the other U.S. pilots took
early, high starts at cloudbase—an advantage amplified by the short task. Unfortunately for him, XC
gave up his position with that group and instead waited for me; we started together, 28 minutes behind
and more than 1000’ lower than the ultimate winners. We had an unspectacular run, lacking the flow
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we needed and doing too much deviation on the extremely short legs between turnpoints. We were
also very cautious during two trips into the lake-filled areas at the eastern side of the course, and got
separated towards the end. It felt like a bad day when we landed, confirmed when we began to hear
how fast the main gaggle had gone. Worse, the predicted cirrus never arrived, and the sky just got
better and better as we sat on the ground. We talked about rewatering and doing the task again—there
was ample daylight and we would surely have improved on our meager 80-ish km/h. Ultimately, we
opted against it; though the day was significantly devalued, I lost 138 points to Jerzy, after having been
just 7 behind.
Ordinarily, one can rally from this sort of setback by climbing right back on the horse and getting ‘em
next time. Unfortunately, the rain cycle resumed at this point, and we missed the next five days. On the
second (Tuesday April 14), we rigged and gridded in the sprinkles, launched a sniffer, relit a sniffer, and
threw the 15m class up at 15:05. At the front of the grid, I released at 2800’ msl above the widespread,
scraggly little cu. I dumped the water, fell out, and relit, along with Jerzy and three others. We were
able to stay up the second time, and a gate opening was announced at 16:00. Just as were positioning
for a start from our lofty 2200’ above ground, a second
announcement canceled the day.
And so we had three more days of nonflying and, for
me, regretting our disastrous Day 3. The contest was
scheduled to close on Saturday morning, the 18th, but
officials obtained permission to add an additional,
“reserve” day, so travel plans were changed and we
assembled, watered, and gridded as usual. The
weather was little better than before, with weak local
soaring conditions and certain overdevelopment.
Desperate to obtain a fourth contest day and with it an
official Championship, the directors called a 2-hour,
four-turn AAT with minimal distance 102km.
Off tow, there were thick high clouds and scattered,
wimpy cu with bases about 3100’ msl and lift <1 knot. XC and I dumped the water and headed for the
line, situated a long way from the last cu. By the time we got a start and headed down the first leg, we
were below release altitude. We were picking fields before connecting with our first climb, but with a lot
of cooperation eventually got it going and caught up with the fleet. We lucked into a solid climb, then
another, and soon XC, MS, and I got above and ahead of most of the other 15m ships. Meantime,
unbeknownst to us, Jerzy had gone back for a second start. We had a good tempo, but could see a wall
of blackness moving towards us from the east, with bands of rain heading towards McMinn. This put
the last three legs in the dark, and complicated the geometry of the flying we had left to do. We stayed
as far west as we could, making a very large deviation to the last cu and getting as high as possible. Then
it was a long, smooth glide into the blackness, cutting the last two turn circles short and heading for
home. Home, unfortunately, was by now under the rain, and it was a race to see if we could glide into
the finish cylinder and get on the ground before it all broke loose. The air was turbulent and the rain
ahead looked heavy, and it was going to be a difficult decision whether to fly through it (not
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recommended) or abandon hopes of a finish and turn tail for a field landing. Luck prevailed, and the
rain had only made it to the southern half of the airport when I arrived, getting a finish and rolling out as
things got squirrely. XC and Jerzy made it, too, along with Sergei Morozov (MS, Canada), though he’d
just missed the last turn area and reportedly had a very exciting arrival. It rained, hard, for the next
several hours, so we had to put the gliders away wet. This was small potatoes compared with the
calamities experienced by the other 15m pilots and the entire Handicap class, in fields or at other
airports when the storm hit.
Eventually the rain quit, and I got 5E dried off as we waited for the final results and awards ceremony. It
was a long wait, as the outlanded pilots trickled in to turn in their logs. 15m had an official day, with me
finishing first and XC second. Jerzy was a close enough third to retain his overall lead, beating me by 126
points and winning the first Pan American GC gold medal. I was invigorated by the fun, challenging flight
we’d just completed, and happy to have overcome the Day 3 disaster to get on the podium after all.
The real drama, however, was in the Handicap Class, where they needed three pilots to go 100 km
(handicapped) to get an official Championships. One was confirmed right away, Tony Condon making
116km in his Std. Cirrus. Then came Sergio Reinaudo (Argentina), 103km in his borrowed AS-W15B. The
FBO lobby was by this time filled with pilots, crews, and officials, and each new returning pilot was
greeted with cheers and libations on their way to the Scorer. They were all soaked by rain, muddy, and
even barefoot, and there were plenty of stories. Sarah Arnold had pizzas delivered, and the affair
became quite festive. Finally, the only unscored pilot was Ryszard Krolikowski, accounted for but
overdue and rumored to be dealing with a difficult retrieve. When he finally arrived, he was dripping
wet and caked with dirt. Another soggy Tennessee field and lots of red mud, with a long uphill carry to
the trailer. But he was all smiles, especially after the Scorer announced that he’d flown 121km and the
day would count. This left U.S. pilots Phil Gaisford and Robin Clark (RF, LS-6) first and second overall,
and Reinaudo in third. Canada won the Team Cup with the highest average score.
After the awards and an abbreviated closing ceremony, I hit the road a little after 10pm, exhausted but
happy with the silver medal and the prospect of seeing my family after more than two weeks away.
Fittingly, it rained all the way to the state line. I’ll be back to fly in Tennessee someday, surely, but only
after my shoes have dried.
See the contest website,
http://pagc.chilhowee.com/, for full details, and
check out Maria Szemplinksi’s wonderful photos at
http://pagc.ggc.aero/.
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From the Board
Mike Smith
New Board and New Members
We will be having the first meeting of the new board of directors on Friday, May 8th. As such, there
really haven’t been any new board decisions.
On the other hand, we would like to welcome three new members to MASA. Paul Nassetta, Kurt
Focke, and Douglas Rhoads. Please introduce yourself to them and make them feel welcome when
you see them at the field.
Pawnee 58L
In other news, the restoration of 58L has been
completed. Charles Bender has again done an excellent
job (he also restored our Super Cub) and as Bob Jackson
remarked, “We now have two airplanes that look too nice
to fly!”
Thanks also to Paul Rehm for being willing to put in the
long hours to repair the wingtips. When he showed me
the end result, I was impressed with his work, and also
with the very thin structure of the wingtips. They could best
be described as delicate. That being said, please don’t push or pull on the wingtips. To move the
Pawnee, push on the leading edge of the wing or the forward (large) wing struts. There should
always be a person on the tail for steering.
We’ve started the season with some good soaring weather. Hope to see everyone at the field.
58L coming back to life. All photos by
Chris Ruark.
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TFR Waiver Updates
Glenn Collins
With the TFR in place this weekend, this is a good time to put out the call for help. Each year we need to
sit down with the FAA and Secret Service and submit paperwork to renew the waiver. I need to get
everything in order during the first part of May. Any M-ASA member not on the pilot approval list who
wants to be added needs to complete the request form and get it to me. The form can be found in the
"club documents" section of the members only part of the web site. I'll print some and leave them in the
clubhouse as well. When you complete it don't leave it for me to find it. I won't be looking. Mail, fax or
e-mail it to me per the instructions.
The rest of you need to check your waiver information. Aircraft types and registration numbers do
change and need to kept accurate. All club members are associated with the club owned equipment.
Private aircraft must be on file via the waiver list.
If you are not sure you are approved or need to see the list to verify your information, the list is posted
in the waiver book, and a copy is also on the OD clipboard. You can also view it in the "club documents"
section of the members only part of the web site.
My intent is to complete the package and submit it on May 15th. Any update requests received after the
15th will not be included in the renewal.
Photo by Tom Jones.
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Club Racing News
Rick Fuller
The 2015 Task Day competition started with a 2.5-hour Modified Assigned Task (MAT) on Saturday April
18th. The first warm (75 degrees) spring day was a welcome sign that our long underwear could be
shelved until next fall. The assigned task was to mandatory turnpoints at Union Bridge and Hanover
Quarry, then to any pilot-selected turnpoint. The blue sky and high thin cirrus hid many stronger-thanforecast 6-7 knot thermals to 7500 feet along the turnpoints between York and Woodsboro in the
Fairfield valley. Mike Higgins (WM) won the day with a handicapped speed of 53.27mph. Rick Fuller
(CL) was a distant second place with a speed of 40.43mph. Ricardo Cibotti (2GB) achieved the first two
turnpoints then found the thermals sparse, landing out five miles west of Hanover. Task Day scores are
listed at http://www.midatlanticsoaring.org/?page_id=3098. Come join the fun.
Pan American Gliding Championships
Congratulations to Erik Nelson (5E) who earned second place on the podium in the 15-Meter Class at
the 1st FAI Pan American Gliding Championships held April 6-18 at the McMinn County airport in
Tennessee. Competitors represented Argentina, Brazil, Canada and the United States in Handicapped
and 15-Meter Classes. Erik won the second and last days of the weather-shortened competition that
used an added reserve day in order to achieve a valid contest. Final results are at:
http://soaringspot.com/1st_pagc/results/.
Two Big OLC Flights
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that on April 24th Mike Higgins and Baude Litt each flew over 1100
km on a day that included weak wave, thermals and ridge lift. Baude said he flew a personal best
duration of 12 hours and 20 minutes; Mike flew for 11+45. Flights took advantage of strong ridge lift on
the Bald Eagle, Tussey, Nittany, Tuscarora, Lewistown, Mahantango and High Rock ridges. See their
flights on OLC here: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc2.0/gliding/flightsOfClub.html?cc=1341&st=olcp&rt=olc&c=C0&sc=&sp=2015.
Photo by Tom Jones.
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1100km Flights, April 24, 2015
Mike Higgins
Congratulations to Mike Higgins and Baude Litt, who each flew more than 1,100 km from Fairfield on
April 24. Judging by the flights posted, it was the best Appalachian soaring day so far this year.
Morning Wave Climb Out... LBL launched about 0720 with WM right behind and found 2 - 5kt wave,
with cloud markers over the hills west of Fairfield. This photo is looking east at the rising sun during
the initial climb to 12,500'.
Working Wave Upwind... The sky was completely blue south of the Potomac, but all over PA there were
beautiful cu already forming with a 6k' cloudbase. Rather that heading south in the blue, LBL and WM
both decided to drive straight up wind in the wave, against a 50kt headwind to get to the Tuscarora and
the front ridges. This photo is from WM's cockpit while climbing in a wave bar over the Hagerstown
Valley. Notice the cu in the distance over the ridges. After hopping through 3 wave bars, LBL dove down
onto the Tuscarora and WM down onto the Lewistown Ridge.
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Running Lewistown Ridge at 100kts. The morning ridge worked great -- shown here with WM
cruising at over 100kts and still maintaining hundreds of feet above ridge top. The conditions really
screamed for water ballast to increased speed and comfort, but the -10C to -15C wave temps
precluded that.
7kt Climb... Using ridge and strong thermals, both LBL and WM worked upwind to the
front ridges and ran a full lap between Williamsport and Cumberland. The thermals were
booming, WM is shown here with a fairly modest 7kts, but both WM and LBL had some
thermals with the averager in the 11 - 13kt range.
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Last Leg Down High Rock Ridge... Mid afternoon, LBL headed east to Hawk Mountain and the
Blairstown Ridge, and WM headed south to run the Tuscarora and Sleepy Creek Ridges. Both
pilots made it back to the local High Rock Ridge about 7pm for a final short run down to Mason
Dixon before landing back at Fairfield. Photographing the setting sun from the High Rock Ridge is
a great way to end a long flight. On OLC, LBL logged 1139 km for 1227 points, and WM got 1131
km for 1173 points.
Whom to call…
Safety Officer: Paul Rehm
Membership Chair: Steve Shelton
M-ASA Club Officers and Directors:
President – Mike Smith
Vice President – Open
Secretary – Holland Ford
Treasurer – Rick Fuller, Acting.
Director – Mike Smith
Director –Preston Burch
Director – Willy Hackett
Director – Bob Jackson
Director – Dave MacVeigh
Duty Scheduling: Ricardo Cibotti
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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 www.midatlanticsoaring.org.
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Soaring in Idaho
Holland Ford
This picture of the Grand Teton, up close and personal, was taken by wife last fall from the back seat
of a Blanik L23 which I rented from Teton Aviation in Driggs Idaho. We were at ~13.6K feet,
which put us a couple of hundred feet below the summit. There was nothing to use for scale, so I
thought we were close enough. I wanted to circle the summit, but the lift/sink is very unpredictable,
and I did not want to find sink on the far side and have to land at KJAC, a very busy airport. The trip
back to Driggs, ten miles west of us, was an easy glide out of the mountains.
We usually try to stay at one of the ski lodges at ~9,300 feet on Targee mountain. It is very scenic, and
helps with acclimatizing to the altitude. We have been flying once a year in the Tetons for 10 or more
years, and less frequently, out of the Boulder County Airport into the mountains.
-- Holland Ford.
M-ASA Convector Newsletter
May 2015
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2015 Duty Schedule Assignments
Date
Operations Director (OD)
Tow Pilot
Assistant OD (AOD)
05/02/2015
Mel Donahoo
Bob Jackson
Edward Sauble Jr
05/03/2015
Guy Pfeffermann
Glenn Collins
Val Brain
05/09/2015
Don Emert
Pete Welles
David Brunone
05/10/2015
Jim Hogue
Buddy Denham
Mehrdad Bayat
05/16/2015
Jim Homer
Bob Andrew
Lee Ellis
05/17/2015
Tom Jones
David Pixton
Riley Campbell
05/23/2015
Ben Mwendwa
Jim Chick
Duncan Campbell
05/24/2015
John Mitchell
Gordon Daniel
Edward Sauble Jr
05/25/2015
John Slifer
Bob Jackson
Steve Kidd
05/30/2015
Jean Posbic
Peter Hackett
Jeffrey Ezell
05/31/2015
Peter Kern
John Machamer
Edward Morgan
06/06/2015
Michael Hearn
Wayne Elseth
Paul Jr. Nassetta
06/07/2015
Mark Segall
Glenn Collins
Donald Bonsteel
06/13/2015
Kolie Lombard
Jim Chick
Kurt Focke
06/14/2015
Peter Blacklin
Pete Welles
Victor Torhonen
06/20/2015
Mark Philip
Bob Andrew
Alan Fullerton
06/21/2015
Mike Vance
Buddy Denham
John Ulvelstad
06/27/2015
Preston Burch
David Pixton
Kristina Waymire
06/28/2015
Rick Latoff
Jim Chick
Lee Ellis
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;
301-229-2407).
M-ASA Convector Newsletter
May 2015
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For Sale,
and Wanted…
Schempp-Hirth Mini Nimbus C
Serial # 120 built in 1979.
Carbon fiber wings, 880
hours. Fresh complete refinish and painted with
polyurethane finish.
Always hangared with good
trailer and new tires; last
annual April 2014 (will be
annualed shortly); recent
O2 bottle check and refill.
Cambridge L-NAV and
GPS recorder. Becker 4201
radio. Excellent brand new finish and flies great; easy auto-hook-up assembly.
Asking $34,000 firm. Contact Jean Posbic at 240 405 9217 evenings,
Maryland.
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 843-907-0738.
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.pfefferman@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 443-718-9359 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)
M-ASA Convector Newsletter
May 2015
Copyright 2015
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