This Weekend

For those of you who ordered a club logo shirt, they're in, and Ron Clarke will have them at the field on Saturday and Sunday. Don't forget to pick yours up.

Tuesday Flying

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
Fellow members ,
Larry Miller has kindly agreed to make a few tows between 1:30 and 2pm
[Tuesday April 24]. So if you can make it please plan to be ready to
launch at 1:30 prompt !
I'll be at the field about 12 noon to help.

Cu there ,

ZA.

Parachute Reminder

Those of you who sent your parachutes off to be repacked with the rest, please remember to pay Ed Escallon. The packing cost $60 per 'chute and he fronted the money out of his own pocket.

(ZA says that several people have already picked up their parachutes but haven't paid Ed yet!)

Sunday Crew Report

Sunday, April 22nd, was not a very soarable day, but it WAS a good day.
Although it was uncomfortably windy, we had 12 flights.
A new student took instructional flights, some pilots took after-winter refreshing flights. Tom Eaton had a BFR, Chris Carpenter took some acrobatics instruction from Dale Igram and we had some nice visitors at the airport. There was a lot of very strong lift, but it was very turbulent, and surrounded (of course) by strong sink.

Thanks to tow pilots Tom Eaton and Lynn Joyce, crew members Tom Ruble and Jim White, and specially to Jack Hensel, who walked the length of the airport 8 times, for about 4 miles walking the wing.

At the end of the day, we again verified that placing the plane's wheels and dollies in the marked spots IS the fastest, easiest and most effective way to put the planes in the hangar.

Mario

Saturday Crew Report

Finally a weekend day with good weather!

Crew 5 had a great day on Saturday - some +32 flights at last count. Crew was on site at 0900 and first flight was off pretty soon after that. Last flight landed about 6:10. Many flyers got themselves back in currency, lots of students flew, youngest flyer (Olaf's son) at 12, oldest was Ray Bolafka's guest - forgot his name. Hope he comes back - he is a radio repairman and was ready to take on our squelching base radio! As a prior power pilot, and a sailor, he seemed very interested! Even the crew got to fly!

Here is a picture of Ms. Herrli - Tod's wife - after her first flight! Larry Miller was the IP. Tod's son, age 13, got in at least three, maybe four flights!

Dave Newill

Shirts Are In

Many club members have already picked up their new club Golf or Sweat
shirts at the field. Ron will be out there again Sunday so if you would like yours come on out and pick it up.
Thanx ,
ZA.

Friday Flying 4/20

Friday flying is on for April 20. Currie will tow. The plan is to get the club ships out around noon.

The Parachutes Are Back

The parachutes are back from being repacked. They are reportedly sitting
on the couch in the hangar, which, if the rumors of mice are true, is
not such a good place for long-term storage.

Fwd: Good Friday again this week !

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars

Fellow Soaring Pilots,
It's a Good news, Bad news outlook for soaring the days leading into this weekend .Dr Jack says Friday will be the best day to soar if you can make it . If you can't then the weekend looks wet and with little promise of thermals. If anyone is interested in Flying Friday;let me know - I'd suggest a slightly earlier start - say 12:00 noon. Also any Tow pilot that could help with a few tows please say so .
ZA.

Fwd: The Cold Doesn't Matter

From: ZASoars
I've said it before and today proved it ! The high temperature today was in the 53 degree range but lift was very strong - up to a measured 800 ft / min average on our flight log . Thermal tops were above 7200msl I know as I heard Kurt Ristow call out that height . We ( Tod Herrli and I ) saw 6700 before moving on as we had a course to fly ! Some very good cumulus clouds helped mark the lift early in the day but it turned "blue " later although the lift was still just as strong.The secret to good thermal days is of course a good lapse rate ( Sun heating the ground and the temperature dropping rapidly with height) . You don't have to figure it out DR. JACK does it for you and I can honestly say he is seldom ever wrong . Today was a good example. Become a believer, check Dr. Jack and keep looking ahead for good days like today . If you are able to , plan a day's vacation to come and fly if you can when you see such conditions shaping up ahead. As usual we need to thank our Tow Pilot Larry Miller for getting us into the skies. ZA.

Easter Sunday

There won't be instructional flying today, Easter Sunday, because there's no instructor scheduled.

How about this cold spell we've been having?

No Flying Saturday

No flying today, Saturday April 7, due to the cold, wind, and mostly-cloudiness.

From the National Weather Service:
Today: Scattered flurries after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. Breezy, with a west northwest wind between 13 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

Easter Sunday: Flying Yes, Instruction No

Nyal asked me to post a notice:

There will not be a scheduled instructor at the field on Easter Sunday (this coming weekend). They've had difficulty scheduling an instructor for this date, and in past years few students have shown up for instructional flights on Easter Sunday anyway.

Regular flying and crew duties are NOT cancelled for that day. There WILL be flying on Easter, weather permitting.

Save Money, Buy (Tows) In Bulk

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars

The Club has agreed to a  "Reduced Tow Costs " offer for the start of the 2007 Soaring Season. 

 

The way it works is that members who would like to take advantage of the offer should send a check to Gerry Whitson our treasurer with one of the coupons you received at the Safety meeting  ( or a note ) indicating their preference  for either:  
10 - 2000 ft tows  (  $ 240 ) ,  or   for 10 - 3000 ft tows ( $290 )  .

 

Gerry will make a note of the date on the check and bill the member for their next 10 tows at the reduced rate after that date. 

A saving of  $2  - 4 per tow is what you will benefit and the Club hopes that in this way we'll get members to come on out and start flying earlier in the year ( and more frequently ).  

 

The Membership Committee

Please Complete The SSA Survey

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: cheryl

The SSA is sending out a rather extensive survey along with a letter from the Future Restructuring Task Force to you in your mailbox.
If you haven't gotten it yet, you will get it soon.

We absolutely need to get responses to the survey from as many members as possible; prior surveys yielded only around 5% response rates. We need at least 25% to feel like we got legitimate results.

 

To help in this matter, I will personally collect the surveys and mail them to the SSA.  Please take the time to complete this survey and get it back to me.  Your input matters -- to us and to the SSA as a whole. 

 

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Cheryl Beckage

Away Weekend

With the arrival of spring, it's time to start thinking about where CISS will hold away weekends this year. The following sites are possibilities:

• The island of Nikumaroro, known for its hospitable outlanding sites,
  
• Roswell, New Mexico, with its world-class medical facilities in the unlikely event of an accident,
  
• the Ellsworth Range, where katabatic winds make for challenging soaring.
  

If you have a preference, or another suggestion, leave it in the comments! Remember, the club doesn't work without its members!

Never give up !

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars

Today , April 1 looked like a possible scrubbed flying day on account of strong winds. But as often happens the winds were respectable in the early morning . As a result the "early birds" at the field got to fly . I believe Terry Wools did his BFR and I know Todd Rutledge and John Morrical as well as Jack Hensel got to fly . Then the winds became too strong for safe takeoffs and landings.

So remember to come on out early on doubtful days as your chances are good early in the day that you'll get a flight or two in.

 

ZA.

 

ps. There were 3 new members who showed up and will probably make their first flights on the next flyable weekend. Keep up the good recruiting work, remember the goal is 1 new member per month ! That will help keep our costs down.

 

pps. One of the new members has flown MIG 21's and MIG 17's. See if you can figure who he is.