It may be global warming or maybe just plain old Hoosier luck but a
bunch of us had a goood time today flying the Blanik . Thanks to Bob
Currie the tow pilot a number of club members got to enjoy some quite
amazing gliding conditions on Christmas eve 2006.
The sky was clear, the winds almost nil and the mere opportunity to
soar on December 24 was a real thrill. The scenery was spectacular ,
we all got a little sun tanned (I kid you not) and some of us are now
current again. I've lived in Indiana for over 25 years and don't
really remember such a good day in late December.
So be sure to keep Jan 1 open . 87Z has now been "annualled " - it
does need another 45 minutes of "running in " time before towing , but
any interested tow pilot will be willing I'm sure to take care of that
before we start the 2007 season in style on Jan 1 .
Merry Christmas and see you Jan 1.
ZA.
This Saturday we were blessed with a bit of sun and light winds - so work proceeded on the Grob and the hanger. With Chris Carpenter as lead for maintenance, the Grob is now put away - wings off and tucked in by the trailer. All surfaces were washed, compounded then waxed and the fittings lubricated. The hanger has been straightened up a bit and we even tried to wash 1/4 of the floor - around the stored Grob. Afterwards it was off to Rachel's Hi-Way Cafe for a great lunch - bad (good!) jokes and great food.
Hi All
Weather looks warmer for our Saturday workday this week. Our focus Saturday will be on completing the Astir and PW 5 (see Below) along with getting at least one of them on its' trailer.
[. . .]
Anyone else that is able is welcome to come out and enjoy the camaraderie.
Thanks
The Maintenance Crew
The Carpenters are hosting a Halloween costume party at our home on October 28th at 7:00 PM.
Although not a CISS event, all of our CISS friends are invited.
Please RSVP by email if you plan to attend.
Chris
On a cold and windy Saturday last weekend Mike Nichols and his sometimes able assistant, Don Taylor, introduced a passle of Boy Scouts to soaring. There was a weekend Camporee with over 2000 Scouts at the American Model Association field and Reese Airport near Muncie. A number of Young Eagle flights were given and Mike set up his Libelle right next to the airplanes and the FBO. The transportation van would drop off the Scouts for a glider intro at the time of their flight. Mike brought his not insignificant collection of Soaring and EAA magazines for free distribution, and many of the boys walked off with something to read and dream about. In addition to the Scout introductions, a number of EAA members and Scout leaders also were curious and we did our best to encourage them to come visit us at Alexandria. As a sidelight, we got to see some huge radio control model warbirds and a jet engine powered R/C model fighter jet fly some routines. And a "full scale" Army Apache helicopter dropped in to the delight of all in attendance, young and old.
DT
We had a "thermal deficient" day. Cloudbase was very high, but the strong winds al ground level, and even stronger higher up, broke up and
disorganized the thermals.
Ed Escallon took 2 practice flights in the Grob.
Mr. Whitworth took 3 instructional flights where he REALLY learned about crosswind landings.
George Saunders saw the perfect chance to try some "unusual landing conditions" (his words)
Dick Hutch gave it his best try, but even he needs some lift to stay in the air.
Thanks to Tod and Mike Beckage for the always fun and enthusiastic work they do as crew, to Larry Pennington for the instruction and Mike Nichols for the tows, George and Ed for helping, and to Nyal Williams just for showing up to cause trouble :)
Mario Lazaga
Mario reports:
We had a good day to fly. Not great but good and fun.
Ceiling was around 4500 MSL. Thermals were narrrow and capricious.
However, we had 7 planes in the air at one time.
In the following order:
Ron Clarke in ZA,
Mike Nichols QT,
Kurt Ristow 8UP,
George Saunders G102 CS,
Tom Ruble CAT,
Gerry Simpson IZ
and yours truly (Mario) G103
Everyone flew XC except George and Mario.
Unfortunately, after 2.5 hours of flight to Converse and back, in
uncomfortable conditions, Gerry discovered that his logger didn't record
a single point, because, his GPS never acquired enough satellites.
( Checklist item: Antenna working properly?)
Thanks to Larry Miller for the tows, George for his help moving planes
around. And congrats to all the XC-points hungry pilots.
Folks,
Larry Miller has kindly offered to tow beginning around noon tomorrow. Please let me know how many of you would like to participate and I'll confirm with Larry.
ZA.
--
We have a commitment from several pilots so YES we will be flying tomorrow . First tow at 12:30 so plan accordingly .
Lynn, Bob - here's you chance to fly gliders instead of the tow plane !
Cu at the field ,
ZA.
| Rope Break | $16 |
|---|---|
| Up to 1000' | $19 |
| 1001'-2000' | $26 |
| 2001'-3000' | $33 |
| 3001'-4000' | $48 |
| Carpenter | 4095 |  (Red tail) |
|---|---|---|
| Wools | 2546 | |
| Clarke | 2226 | |
| Nichols | 2100 |  (Kestrel) |
| IZ (Simpson/Lazaga) | 1228 | |
| Weber | 1056 | |
| Rutledge | 918 | |
| Taylor | 791 | |
| Newill | 730 | |
We had a fun, great day to fly:
Great soaring weather. Puffy cumulus clouds everywhere.
29 flights
First flight took off at 10:30
Last flight landed at 18:20.
9 instructional.
3 guest rides
1 newspaper reporter.
Many flights lasting more than 3 hours.
1 land-out
At some point there were 9 ships in the air.
Even a plane from Caesar Creek flew over Alexandria and returned to Ohio (without landing here.)
Thanks to Mike, Cheryl and Todd for crewing like only they can, to Larry Miller for the guest rides, Ms Holcombe for the pictures, Rick Whitworth for all the work, Gerry Whitson for his 7-hours towing marathon, Olaf for giving Gerry a short break, and to all who came to the airport to make it a great day.
Mario Lazaga
Contrary to last nights email there are people at Alexandria now and soaring will occur. Pete Detore reports that at 10:00 am the sky is blue and clear, and an instructor is on the way to do instructional flights.We regret the error.
This last Saturday, July 8th, David Newill completed the last of his Silver Badge requirements.
He flew to the airport formerly known as Terry(TYQ) and back to Alexandria(I99) in a little less than 3 hours.
He is the third member of our club to earn Silver this Summer. Most probably he's not the last of the year.
Congratulations Dave!
"Thursday was a good soaring day (if you had patience). Lift got better as the day progressed and the dewpoint dropped.*Actually, I was anxious to get started and took a 2000 foot tow before conditions were soarable. 15 minutes later I was back on the runway looking for a 3000 foot tow. I took my second launch at 2PM and even then had to tiptoe my way out on course. The round trip to Terry took me two and a half hours.
Darren made an excellent o/r flight in his ASW 15 to Indianapolis Executive (Terry) starting out when conditions were only barely soarable.* ZA chickened out of a 200km triangle speed attempt as the speed was too low (maybe regretting the decision as he flew back to Alex in the best air of the day).
This time of the year what it takes is the passage of a front ( hardly cold!) and then to spring into action the next day - if you're lucky enough to be able to. Unfortuanately many frontal passages result in backing up warm fronts that then bring in hot/moist air (this coming friday and saturday) which means the conditions go downhill for a day or so. Maybe 7 or more flights today in total - George, Larry, Jim, Nyal were there. Thanks for towing Bob."
Thanx to a little push from George Saunders (who leaves town on Friday) and a quick review of Dr. Jack it looks like we might get some good soaring in Thursday. Bob Currie will tow from 12:00 noon on.
Let me know if you're interested and we'll know how many to expect.
Ron (ZA).
It pays to be determined.
Last Saturday, June 24th, Dan Dewitt flew his last leg for the Silver Badge by staying airborne 5 hours and 10 minutes after release.
The flight was "uneventful" but not boring. In his last hour of the 5, he circled at pattern altitude for almost an hour, unable to reach the stronger clouds just a couple of miles away. But his persistence payed off, and he was able to climb enough to get out of trouble and into the list of Silver Badge recipients.
This is an actual picture of Dan, taken by Mario's nephew from the Grob 103 as they circled in the same thermal.
Congratulations Dan.
I wanted to give CISS club members the first chance to buy my ASW-15. If you're interested, please contact me via email.
Here are the details.
Interior = 9.0
Exterior = 9.0
1970 ASW-15
- Gelcoat and Winglets done 1995 by David Nelson.
- Garmin 90 GPS
- EW View Data logger and software
- Cambridge Mnav w/vario
- Winter mechanical vario
- Total time = 1855.3 (as of 06/22/06)
- Last annual 11/01/05 by John Murray (Eastern Sailplane)
- Shredder trailer with passive venting. I've towed N15LJ to Moriarty, NM the last two years.
- All tow out gear; tow bar, wing dolly, and tail dolly. All in great condition.
- Terra 720 radio (not working)
- plantronics headset, ptt switch on stick and small speaker behind pilot.
- Two wing stands and one tail stand.
- Cloth Canopy cover.
- Some spare parts, new tire tube and extra tail wheels.
- Canopy was replaced in mid 90's and frame reinforced with carbon fiber by
Nelson.
- Wedikind safety clips installed for aileron and divebrake connector rods.
(Big plus when rigging)
- Max takeoff wt. = 700 lbs.
Empty wt. = 516 lbs.
======
Max pilot wt. = 184 lbs.
Improvements since May 2004, when I purchased N15LJ
- New Seatbelts (2006)
- Modified tow hook from offset CG position to Aero position (done by Eastern Sailplane in 2005)
- Installed new tow hook at same time
- Oxygen system (I've used this equipment the last two years in Moriarty, NM)
- EV54 Steel bottle
- Regulator
- Aerox Flowmeter
- Oxysaver cannula
- Laptop computer for running EW View and SeeYou Software
- One person (Udo) assembly dolly with all accessories (purchased 01/01/06)
- Relief system
N15LJ is a great first sailplane. My last flight was Diamond Distance.
Asking price is $21k. Pictures upon request.
. . .a hearty thanks to Pete, Craig, Chris, Ron, Nyal, and John Haynes who disassembled and reassembled the Astir on Saturday. Also assisting were Terry, Mario and Dan. Notes and pictures will be put together to make an assembly instruction sheet. Chris has offered to make some improvements to the trailer. Thanks to their hard work, the Astir was disassembled, put in the trailer, reassembled and ready for flight by 1 pm. THANKS!
Well, at least we tried. Stupid weather! See you all on Saturday, when the big fun will be de-rigging and re-rigging the Astir to see if we can actually get it back into the trailer.Dear Midweek Flyers:
Who wants to fly on Friday? It looks like a GREAT post frontal day - lift 500+, cumulus 2+, cloud base 7000, lift to 10,000. Winds out of the NNW at 10-15 mph. I suggest we arrive at 11:00 and start towing at 12:00. I've sent an email to tow pilots to see if we can catch a ride.
We had a hot and HEEOOMEED day.
But the flying was good.
We had a very active day, with 18 flights, of which 10 were by Students, 5 by Robert Holcombe alone.
2 tow/rope break exercises, one first solo flight (Ed Escallon).
George Saunders flew the Astir for the first time.
Terry Wools, Kurt Ristow and Gerry Simpson did more than 3 hours, and even crew members got to fly at the end of the day.
Thanks to Mike Nichols, Ken Harry, Scot Ortman.
We had a fun, smooth flying day.
Hi-five Jerry Simpson, our latest Silver Badge recipient. He earned his Silver Duration and Distance legs Saturday in his LS-4 by flying to Boone County and back, then hanging around Alexandria for two hours to complete 5:20 minutes. His Silver altitude had long been achieved.Meanwhile:
His flight to Boone County Airport took about 1:30 minutes; his flight back to Alexandria about as long.
Dave Newill has accomplished the 5+ hours Silver Duration. He took off about 30 minutes before Jerry Simpson, and managed to stay up all 300 minutes and then some.
The weather for Sunday looks very bad for flying. Strong crosswinds up to 19MPH starting very early in the morning and staying all day, about 65% chance of rain and low ceilings, all while most pilots are still rusty early in the year.The National Weather Service isn't any more upbeat:
The tow pilot and the instructor of the day also prefer to play it safe and have expressed doubts about Sunday.
So, we have to bow before mother nature once again, and declare Sunday a no-fly day.
Use your Sunday to read the G102Astir flight manual and study for the pre-solo written test.
Sunday: Occasional rain. High near 60. Breezy, with a southeast wind around 22 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
The radio has been removed from the Blanik 809S for repair [and] users should plan on bringing a handheld until the Microair is repaired and re-installed.
Mario flew the LS4 for the first time 2 weeks ago. Dan flew the LS4 for the first time a week ago. Jerry Simpson flew the LS4 for the first time last Saturday. Only Jerry gets a picture!
The Maintenance Crew would like to remind all members that when ground handling the Blaniks; that pushing them backwards on the grass may subject the tailwheel to stresses that can result in the damage to the tailwheel support structure. This is especially true when moving the glider from the hard surface to a soft, wet surface.Craig Bixby
Therefore, always moving the glider forward is preferred. Though it may not always be the most expeditious. So, if the glider is moved backwards use care to ease the stress on the tailwheel support assembly.
Well, Daylight Saving Time has its advantages and disadvantages. From a pilots perspective, it's great to have that extra daylight and lift until late. From a crew's view - it's a long hard day (not that we'd give it up!). Crew 8 finally left the field at 7:30pm - Yes - 7:30! - (the new LS-4 trio were still grinning ear to ear as Jack and I drove off). Let's see - 11 hours - if only the crew was unionized we could collect overtime (Nyal will head off any attempt to do so).
I don't think I've stayed that late in a long time. We had 32 (or was it 33) flights for the day. Many BFR's accomplished and a number of guests out to see what the heck we crazy people were doing. So make note future good day crews - bring dinner too!!
Thanks to those that helped out keeping us running.
Next time it's MY turn to fly - Ken
We have a new hangar dolly which works pretty well, but the ramp for it was not built to last and needs be replaced with a similar but more robust version. It could be constructed using 1" wooden wedge shaped laminations like the other ramps used on the old dollies. The glue should be a strong waterproof wood glue or expoxy. The two pins on the new dolly ramp work fine, but would need to be fastened to the new version more securely. One has already become detached from the ramp. No special tools are required other than a good table saw and some cabinet clamps, a few hand tools, paint, etc. If someone examined the present setup, the task becomes clear. And perhaps some other construction method could work also. Anyone feeling handy?
Of course a ramp could be made of metal if a design could be light weight and capable of holding 800 pounds or so. But that's another kettle of fish.
“The storm that impacted central Indiana Sunday night was a derecho.” said John Ogren, Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. A derecho is a widespread and unusually fast-moving thunderstorm complex producing damaging straight-line winds over hundreds of miles. They can also produce small tornadoes within the high wind areas. “The difficulty in surveying damage after a derecho is that often times the tornado damage is masked by the larger area of high wind damage.”Several tornados hit different parts of Indiana (and other states). Downtown Indianapolis was not hit by a tornado, but by winds of 100 MPH or more.
Today, Saturday, we had a good day of flying. Not of SOARING but of gliding.
The ceilings were low, and it was 100% overcast, but we had MANY flights, and a couple of firsts.
It was a chance for pilots to take their first flight of the year with an instructor, do your BFR, do your 3 flights/ 3 months etc.
Sunday was as good as it gets in March. Thermals to 5000 + agl and 5 knots lift under beautiful cumulus clouds.
It was however quite cold and if unprepared an hour or more at cloudbase meant reconsidering the original task! ZA did fly 42 miles o/r - almost without thermalling after the start as cloud streets were everywhere.
We saw a good turnout of club members and a few issues to deal with. One Tow Plane that wouldn't start and the other that had fouled plugs to begin with. One Blanik with a gimpy wheelbrake which will be worked on next weekend. The PW 5 is rigged. Several folks took care of their BFR's and several private ships were Weight & Balance checked in preparation for the season.
Don't ever think that just because it's still cold that the soaring is not good - All that is needed is a good temperature difference and a Post-frontal day. That's what we had! Keep a good look out for similar opportunities in the next week or two.
Size and location:
Centered on 394551N 0861023W:
30-nm-radius TFR up to 17,999 ft MSL with inner 10-nm-radius no-fly zone up to 17,999 ft MSL
Effective time:
30-nm-radius TFR: 1255 local until 1610 local March 24
10-nm-radius no-fly zone: 1315 local until 1550 local March 24
Requirements for flight 10-30 nm area:
Limited to arriving or departing local airfields
Must be on active VFR or IFR flight plan
Squawk discrete code obtained from ATC
Two-way communication with ATC
No loitering
Operations not authorized: FLIGHT TRAINING, PRACTICE INSTRUMENT APPROACHES, AEROBATIC FLIGHT, GLIDER OPERATIONS, PARACHUTE OPERATIONS, ULTRALIGHT, HANG GLIDING, BANNER TOWING OPERATIONS, AGRICULTURE/CROP DUSTING, BALLOON OPERATIONS, ANIMAL POPULATION CONTROL FLIGHT OPERATIONS, AND COMMERCIAL CARGO/CARRIER OPERATIONS THAT FAIL TO MEET OR EXCEED THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S DOMESTIC SECURITY INTEGRATED PROGRAM STANDARDS, AIRCRAFT OPERATOR STANDARD SECURITY PROGRAM (AOSSP), DOMESTIC SECURITY INTEGRATION PROGRAM (DSIP), TWELVE FIVE STANDARD SECURITY PROGRAM (TFSSP), OR ALL-CARGO INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROCEDURE (ACISP)
[T]he Central Indiana Soaring Society (CISS) will be visiting with us on the weekend of May 20th. If any of you want to watch or join in the fun, let us know. The group hopes to bring a two seater so they can give rides to pilots who’ve never experienced soaring before. And, once again, the group is asking other soaring groups to consider joining them for a soaring weekend.
There is NO CISS meeting this Thursday, March 16th. We WILL be meeting Saturday, March 18th at the Alexandria Airport from 9 to noon for our mandatory Spring Safety Meeting. See you at Alex this Saturday!
TORNADO PUTS AFSS OUT OF SERVICE
A tornado ripped the roof off the Terre Haute, Indiana, automated flight service station (AFSS) on February 17, taking out many of the antennas and damaging radio and other equipment. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Telephone calls have been rerouted to other flight service stations, but Terre Haute radio frequencies are out of service. Adjacent AFSSs are providing in-flight services to pilots in or flying over Indiana using their own radio frequencies. A temporary roof already has been placed over the Terre Haute facility, and work is progressing on a new permanent roof. Radio repairs and recertification are scheduled for completion by March 16. The Terre Haute AFSS is targeting March 17 for return to full operations.
Many thanks to all who helped with the Maintenance projects over the winter. As of this Saturday (Feb 25) ALL the club equipment has been annualled and is ready to go. The gliders and Tow planes have been cleaned and polished and we would really like to see them kept nice and clean for the rest of the season!
Once again THANK YOU to all who helped. Enjoy the flying season ahead.
The Maintenance Crew.
We're almost done . A good day of work tomorrow (Saturday 2/25) and everything should be ready for the season! We'll celebrate with lunch afterwards.
Come on out and help finish off the work on the Blanik and get 87Z cleaned up and polished.
Cu at the field (around 9:30 am)
The Maintenance Crew.
Late Monday afternoon ( Feb 20th ) it was an amazing sight.
Right over the Indy area was a prominent wave system. This prompted me to call flight service and as I suspected the winds were just what you would expect for wave conditions :
3000msl 230 17 knots
6000msl 280 27 knots
9000msl 280 42 knots
12000msl 270 49 knots .
Attached are some photos I took from my deck .
One of the few times I wished I'd had access to a motor glider to go
explore .
ZA.
L to R: Richard Carlson of the SSF, Ron Clarke, former CISS member Brad Hays.
There will be a funeral mass [Tuesday] in Columbus [Ohio]; I don't have time or place. Thursday he will be taken to South Bend for burial in a family plot. John was a long-standing member of CISS and he became an instructor during the last two or three years of his membership and before he had to withdraw for health reasons.
Services are at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Westerville, OH.
Condolences may be addressed to dispatch.com (that is the Columbus newspaper e-mail.) Family requests NO flowers. Donations may be made to one's favorite charity* in memory of John McCarthy. Anyone doing that should request an acknowledgment be sent to Karen Fisher (his daughter) [address removed - call me for it - ed.]
There is NO monthly meeting Thursday, February 16th. Our next membership meeting will be our Spring Safety Meeting on Saturday March 18 starting at 9 AM. The March edition of Wingtips will have the details about our Safety Meeting and our guest speaker. Look for your next edition of Wingtips around Feb 27th.
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