With Barely A Month To Spare

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.

I've Been Saving This Image For Months

ZA:

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.

We Get Wave

Ron Clarke sends this photo:

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.

The Heat Is On

It may be hard to believe with the cold weather, but we're less than a month away from some good soaring weather (and the annual safety meeting). Regular CISS flying starts on March 25 and in past years, Indiana state records have been set as early as the second week of April. May, less than three months away, is prime altitude season. Conditions change fast and good days come without much warning this time of year. Get yourself and your glider ready for the strong soaring conditions of springtime NOW. Miss it and you'll be kicking yourself all summer!

Safety Minded

L to R: Richard Carlson of the SSF, Ron Clarke, former CISS member Brad Hays.
A dozen CISS members made the trip to Elgin, Illinois for the Chicagoland Glider Council Spring Soaring & Safety Seminar on February 18, including me, Don Taylor, Kurt Ristow, Dan Dewitt, Gerry Whitson, Nyal Williams, Terry Wools, Pete Detore, George Saunders, Craig Bixby, Ron Clarke, and Ken Harry. For the twelve of us it was just a warm-up (in sub-zero weather) for our own safety meeting coming up next month, featuring Richard Carlson of the Soaring Safety Foundation. 

Final Glide

Nyal reports that longtime CISS member John McCarthy passed away Monday morning.

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.]

John gave me a lot of encouragement during the whole A-B-C-Bronze badge stage, and was the official observer for one of my silver badge flights. I am sorry to hear of his passing.
*See yesterday's post if you can't think of a favorite charity.

Hooray For The IRS

The word from Don Taylor, via Nyal Williams, George Saunders, and Jim White, is that the application for 501(C)(3) status has been approved. CISS may now accept tax free donations, effective the date of the application (9 July 2005).

No February Meeting!

The board voted to restructure our meeting schedule, so (as George Saunders reminds us)

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.

No Play And No Work

Craig Bixby says there won't be maintenance work on Saturday, February 11 because it will be too cold.

However, Ron Clarke sent me an email that they may try to fly tomorrow afternoon, February 9. Communicate your interest to Ron right away if you want to participate. No flying February 9! Not enough interest.

Waiting For The Sun

Last weekend as I was on my way to work on the ASW-15, I spotted this aviator near the pyramids just north of 86th Street. In turns, she was surveying the area from the top of a sign and enjoying a tasty mouse.
Is that a picnic basket behind her?

Buteo jamaicensis.

Help Wanted Postponed!

The Saturday work crew needs as many helpers as possible tomorrow, starting around 9:30am at the hangar at Alexandria. They will be working on the Blanik landing gear and will need strong backs to lift the glider. They wanted to do the work last weekend but didn't have enough help. They also want to wash the tow plane, 87Z, while it is still in the heated hangar. Please try to make it out tomorrow morning. Postponed due to the snow! Check back next weekend.