QT at CVS

The last Saturday of the 2005 regular soaring season was a blue-thermal day and nobody got very far from home. Here's Mike Nichols cruising past the drugstore in Alexandria. Google Map of the spot here.

CISS Alumnus Speaking At Aero Club

Marty Hudson sends this:

Kris Maynard, former CISS member and instructor, will speak at the Indianapolis Aero Club monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 8 at the Marten House, 1801 W. 86th St.
Kris recently set an aviation speed record for a cross-country flight in his Aviat Husky from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego.

Cocktails at 6:00
Dinner at 6:30
Advance tickets, members $18, non-members $20
At the door, members $20, non-members $22
Sixteen and under, $10

To make reservations call Gene Symmonds for information at 387-0523

Susan's World of Sailplane Racing

Say hello to Susan's World of Sailplane Racing.

Commercial + CFIG Next?

Larry Pennington just called me with the news that Gunther Voigt passed his private pilot practical test, and added the glider rating to his pilot's license on October 16, 2005! Way to go, Gus! See you at the airport this weekend?

Winding Down The 2005 Season

CISS members made 2005 an extraordinary year for badges, checkrides, and state records (in two states). Now October and the regular flying season are almost over. Soon it will be time to do the annual preventive maintenance on the gliders. Crews of eager CISS members usually meet at the hangar on Saturday mornings in the fall, winter and early spring, fixing every little thing that needs it.
If the weather is nice, we often drag a glider or two out into the sunshine for a few flights. It pays to stay current through the winter because before you know it, the great soaring conditions of April and May will be back, and you'll want to be ready.

THE DREADED PINHOLE EYE

HURRICANE WILMA DISCUSSION NUMBER 14
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 PM EDT TUE OCT 18 2005
WILMA HAS DEVELOPED THE DREADED PINHOLE EYE...

I don't know exactly what that means, but it doesn't sound good. This morning's discussion doesn't sound any better:

WILMA IS A CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE THAT IS MOVING OVER VERY WARM WATERS...TYPICAL OF THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA...AND WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT OF LIGHT SHEAR. HOWEVER...DESPITE THE FAVORABLE LARGE SCALE ENVIRONMENT...WILMA IS NEAR ITS MAXIMUM POTENTIAL INTENSITY AND FURTHER STRENGTHENING IS NOT ANTICIPATED. MOST LIKELY...THE SMALL EYE WILL COLLAPSE FOLLOWED BY SLIGHT WEAKENING OR SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY. EYEWALL REPLACEMENT CYCLES WILL LIKELY CONTROL THE INTENSITY FOR THE NEXT 2 TO 3 DAYS WHILE THE HURRICANE IS OVER THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA. THEREAFTER...ONCE WILMA REACHES THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO AND ENCOUNTERS THE WESTERLIES AND HIGH SHEAR...WEAKENING SHOULD BEGIN.

Oh, well, what a relief...

PW-5 Is Down

The word from Operations Director Pete Detore is that the PW-5 suffered a hard landing today [10/16/05] and will need a little repair before it can be flown again. Let's be careful out there.

Update: Grob in Bluffton now has the glider.

Not The Kind Of Hangar Rat We Usually See

We have a new lead¹ in the golf cart sabotage case, and a suspect is in custody.

ZA reports:

Duane tells me he caught the BIGGEST rat he's ever seen in our hangar. No doubt this was the critter that did the wiring on our golf cart in. He plans to keep the area poisoned so we might remind the members not to bring their favorite dogs² to the field.

Mario L. also suggests we not leave food³ in the hangar.

Footnotes:
¹ Get it? "Lead," like an electrical lead? I crack myself up sometimes - ed.
² Or non-favorite, for that matter - ed.
³ But you know, I've seen quasi-food-like substances such as vinegar and onion potato chips and something called 'sour apple trail mix' left in the hangar all summer with no sign of anything (two, four, or six-legged) trying to eat it - ed.

Probably No Flying Today

The weather today, Columbus Day, doesn't look good for soaring. Ron Clarke will be watching for good days, as he does every October.

Weather Or Not

We had 12 flights today. The sky was overcast in the morning but partially cleared in the midafternoon, with enough lift to stay up and get as high as, oh, 3500 feet msl. Then it pretty much clouded over again and stayed that way.

Okay, THIS weekend looks promising, and I mean it this time

The second weekend of October looks like reasonably good flying weather. Come on out and fly! Plus, we have a tow pilot lined up for Monday October 10 (Columbus Day); you might let Ron Clarke know in advance if you plan to come out and fly that day. Looks like it will be very cloudy, and Dr. Jack foretells poor soaring.