(Reposted) Wisdom of the Elders

Recycling an old post - for the benefit of our newer members:

One of the perks of being state record keeper is having access to the old soaring records. I've spent some time organizing these files lately (and entering them into the database on the SSA server) and I found this observation in a faded old document:

It is interesting to note that in this part of the country the high bases, strong winds, and good visibility occur in May and early June. Unfortunately a great many pilots are not mentally ready and physically equipped at this early stage of the soaring season to take advantage of the best weather. This results in fewer really good flights being made and a reduced number of record attempts.

CFIG Joseph N. Bearden Jr. wrote those words in a record application for a flight made on 4 May 1968. It was a Senior Class absolute altitude record flight to 10341'.

Fwd: No Thursday or Friday Flying (May 1 and 2)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
Fellow Pilots ,

I've checked a number of forecasts and unfortuanately the weather will
not be good enough for safe operations tomorrow or Friday . Basically
the winds will be too strong ( 15 -25 out of the south , and higher at
altitude ) .
Regrettably I don't believe we will be able to fly safely . Thanks
Lynn for offering to tow - maybe next time !

ZA.

Fwd: Flying this week ? (UPDATED)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
Looking ahead it seems to me that Thursday may be a reasonable soaring
day . Any interest in putting a day together - or does anyone think
one of the other days may be a better bet ?

Let me know and I'll try get us a tow pilot if there's enough interest .

ZA.

UPDATE:

Fellow Pilots ,

There was good interest expressed for flying on Thursday . However it now looks like we will be under the influence of an approaching warm front that day and forecast conditions do not look good ( especially strong winds aloft ). If things change for the good I'll let you all know as we have a tow pilot who has volunteered .
Your comments welcome .

ZA.

Auction Action

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

Many thanks to all the members who helped at the Airport Auction today
. Marty and crew did a first class job of traffic control and security
management at the field !
As a result of members advice and encouragement the club has acquired
many VERY useful items at extremely favorable prices. Kurt obviously
missed his calling as his uncanny abilities at knowing when to raise
'em and when to fold 'em in the bidding game proved he was the best by
far the club had to offer when it came to spending our funds well !
Thanks also to those who stayed to the bitter end to clean up and get
things ready for some flying tomorrow .
I believe most will be very appreciative of the much needed items that
the club now owns after the auction .

ZA.

Saturday Flying To Start Late (If At All)

Because of the auction at the airport, flying operations on Saturday, August 26 will be delayed. We'll get the aircraft out and fly (weather permitting) after the auction is over, but not before.

The auction will last at least until early afternoon. There may be a large crowd.

The CISS duty crew will be there at the usual time in the morning to help out with crowd control and to safeguard CISS property.

UPDATE: The weather forecast doesn't sound too promising:

Today: Showers and thunderstorms before 8am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. High near 64. West wind between 14 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

CISS In The OLC

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

Our club is doing quite well this year in the OLC (On Line Contest )
in the world .

As of today we are :
345 th place in the World ( The Southern Hemisphere countries have had
a whole summer already )
37 th place in the United States ( ahead of some very good clubs too )
2 nd in our region ( Region 6 ) . Caesar Creek members have filed 21
flights compared to our measly 16 !

We can definitely improve our standings provided we file more flights
. If you need help doing this contact Ron or Mario or Tod or some of
the other pilots who have been filing their flights . Onward and
Upward !

Ron (ZA)..

Vacuum needed

The Club needs a vacuum cleaner for the carpet in the office. If you have an old upright you'd like to donate - we would appreciate it. Contact Kurt Ristow and bring it to the airport when you come next.

George

Fwd: Monday soaring

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

Fellow Pilots ,

Tomorrow , Monday April 21 should be a whole lot better than either of
the weekend days just past ( I have looked at the forecasts ). Larry
Miller has kindly agreed to tow beginning at 12 noon.

Come on out to our new airport and soar with us if you can !

ZA. .

No Flying Saturday

I don't think this would be a good day to be our first day at OUR new airport. 50-70 % rain and high of 57. It's unlikely we'll be able to get the equipment out and have it out long enough to launch even for take off and landing practice. See you tomorrow for the official celebration and cook-out!Marty

The Earth Moved

Did you feel the earthquake this morning? It woke me up, and I heard things rattling around on the bookshelves.

The dog was extremely concerned, but he was determined to protect his people from the big bad earthquake trying to get into the house.

Fwd: Historic First For CISS

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

If you had in mind being the FIRST to fly off our newly owned Airfield
- You are too late !
Today, the first day in the rest of our soaring lives at Alexandria
presented challenging conditions , but a few of the dedicated were up
for it .
I was out at the field quite early but several were even earlier . Joe
Gieseke , Bob Currie , Olaf Tessarsyk and at times Pete Detore ,George
Saunders and Dan de Witt all were around and about . But Dick
Hutchinson had his name on the list FIRST.
We have the photographic evidence and despite some very strong cross
winds several pilots made local flights ( Darren , Bob and Ron ) , but
Dick was the first . Lift was as good as 5 knots to 4500msl but all
of that was secondary to the notion that we were the first to fly off
the newly owned field . Come on out just as soon as you can it's a
great feeling to be flying off our own field .

ZA.

Celebrate!

Looks like rain for Saturday -so we have moved our BBQ celebration to Sunday, April 20 at 6pm. Pete has BBQ ribs for us - bring something to share and a $5 donation - and family and friends.

George

The Airport is ours!

We closed on the airport - the keys are in my hand! The lastest Wingtips will be coming shortly with pictures and details. Thanks to EVERYBODY. You are the BEST!

George

Fwd: Soaring this week

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

Fellow Pilots ,

Tuesday 15th ( tax day ) - Larry has agreed to tow 10:30 - 11:30 .
ZA plans to fly .

Thursday 17th ( CISS should own the airfield by then ! ) - Bob Currie
will tow beginning 10:30 . Joe , Olaf and ZA plan to fly .

Come on out if you can but note the short tow window tomorrow .

ZA.

ps. I believe that soaring was possible for at least 91/2 hours here
today . Don't miss the goood weather in the next 8 weeks !!

Fwd: Soaring this week

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
Fellow Pilots,

The weather looks quite good this week and I have a commitment from 2
tow pilots to tow :

Larry can tow tomorrow ( Tuesday 10:30 - 11: 30 am )

Bob can tow Thursday from 11:00 am on.

Please let me know if you plan to fly and if we have enough interest
we'll make a general announcement .

Thanks .

Ron.

Fwd: No flying Sunday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: mario.lazaga

Dear fellow CISS members,

The weather for Sunday doesn't look very inviting to fly.
In fact it looks bad.

It will be wet, windy, cold, and there is even a chance of snow and
light rain all day.
The grass runway would be closed and so woud the taxiway.

By 9:00pm on Saturday it didn't look like it would change for the better, so..

I am officially cancelling operations for Sunday, 13th April.
Let's be patient and hope that next weekend will be better.

Mario Lazaga

Flying Still Cancelled For Saturday, But Read This Unrelated News

By popular demand, you can now subscribe to this weblog by email. Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of this page, enter your email address in the box next to the button that says "Subscribe." You should get an email with instructions. Follow those instructions to join the group.

Then every new weblog message should be automatically emailed to you.

You shouldn't get any spam as a result. No one can post to this list except the list managers and the weblog itself.

Consider this experimental!

Fwd: CISS flying cancelled for Saturday

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Don Taylor
CISS flying cancelled for Saturday

Based on the detailed forecast for tomorrow, Saturday Apr. 12, we have
decided to cancel flying for the following reasons:

winds will be in the 20 kt range, gusting much higher,
precipitation
overcast skies
windchill temps in the 30s
Take a look at this website
and see if you agree! That's the bad news. The good news is that it
will not be a day you'll have to do any yard work either. Better days
lie ahead.
Don Taylor, Crew Chief.

Region 6 Contest at Caesar Creek, June 7-13

Caesar Creek is hosting the Region 6 soaring competition in June.
Spread the word. (Behold the power of the internet . . . )

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subj: The Mystery Region 6 - 2008 @ CCSC...

Hello All,
I am sending out a small and friendly reminder that the CCSC is
hosting the Region 6 - 2008, June 7th-13th and we are looking for
contestants. The information about the contest is available at the
link below. We have had some issues getting in the SSA mag and so
would also like to ask you as previous contestants to consider
entering and possibly pass this note on to any others that may be
interested in a fun 6 day Regional meet.

Thanks again for you past patronage,
Andrew Dignan
--

Contest Manager Region 6
Region 6 2008 Contest Website
CCSC Website

Subscribe to this Weblog

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: George Saunders
Darren,
Someone suggested to me that we could make the blog more effective if
people from the club subscribed to it. That way, whenever there is a
new posting, people will get an automatic email message about the
posting. What do you think? Could this work?

George
= = = = = =
Yes, to subscribe to a feed from the blog, scroll all the way down to
the bottom of the page and click the link to the Atom feed. Or this
link.

-Darren

HOMECOMING BBQ Saturday April 19th

Celebrate!

If all goes according to plan, we will be the proud owners of Alexandria Airport on April 16^th. To celebrate we are going to have BBQ pork ribs Saturday April 19^th at 6pm at the Airport. We’re asking a $5 donation for the meat. Bring something to share that goes with pork ribs. Bring your own meat to BBQ if you like. Bring the family. Bring your friends. Let’s celebrate our homecoming!

George

Congratulations!

This morning Alexandria Airport was rezoned from from Agricultural to Institutional zoning for continued use as an airport. We are all set to close on the property April 16^th! We could still use help with the down payment. Send your tax deductible gift to our treasurer, Scot Ortman, as soon as possible.

Keep looking up!

George

Fwd: On Line Contest

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

The season is under way ! Check it out . CISS is in second
position behind Caesar Creek in Region 6 .

We are also now 28th in the US , and ahead of Chicago Glider club.
Just wait 'til the ridges stop working and the Eastern and Western
pilots have to start flying thermals - we will then be their match (
maybe ) .

Please submit your flights after each cross country flight . John
Weber and I flew 100 miles yesterday and I even submitted my puny 32
miles today ! John - how about submitting your good flight from
yesterday - with those short wings you will probably add good points
!

ZA.

Fwd: YOU MADE IT HAPPEN

---------- Forwarded message ----------
> The first phase of the "Field of Dreams" campaign to raise funds for our down payment has been very successful thanks to the generous members of our club.
>
> All being well, the CENTRAL INDIANA SOARING SOCIETY will own its own airfield and facilities before the end of April 2008!
>
> The Capital Campaign Committee would like to say THANK YOU to each and every club member who stepped up to help us raise sufficient funds to complete the purchase of the field.
>
> At the time of writing this update no less than 62% of members contacted have sent in contributions to the drive - that's exceptional support and speaks we believe to the intense interest and love of soaring that our members hold.
>
> As a result of this generosity each member will enjoy both immediate benefits like being able to have full use of the airport facilities but also have helped establish a permanent home for what will continue to be the premier glider club in Indiana. Our club is almost 50 years old and finally we will have our own home !
>
> By the way - It's never too late , and for those of you who have been thinking about giving but not gotten around to it we would love to include you on the list of contributors that will go up in the club house this year . If you are able to help us in the final week of phase one of the fund raising drive give Scot Ortman or Ron Clarke a call and we'll send you a package which you can review and decide how best to help our campaign. Every single contribution will be gratefully accepted.

As we move into phase two of the campaign, we hope to raise additional
funds to reduce our mortgage over the next three years and keep our
flying affordable.

Again, THANKS! YOU ARE THE BEST!

Weekend Weather

After the wettest March in 45 years, we should have good weather for the coming weekend:

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind between 5 and 7 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. Southeast wind around 6 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. South southeast wind between 6 and 13 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

ZA: "Wednesday was interesting"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
Date: Apr 3, 2008 10:25 AM

Wednesday was interesting . Dr. Jack had forecast good conditions with
the possiblity of 4-500 ft/min thermals . After a tow to 2000agl the
next 45 minutes were spent trying to climb above that height and
success was achieved only once ( to 2700agl ) .
The explanation for the poor conditions was two fold I believe . First
the extremely WET conditions around Alexandria . As well a thin
overcast prevented effective heating of the ground so the thermals
that formed were very weak. *
Tod Herrli however took full advantage of the uncrowded take off list
and made 5 training flights with George in the rear seat.
Thanks to Larry for pulling tow duty .

ZA.

* Bob Gillan also use to advise " Wind from the East no good to man
nor beast "