Nyal Williams Recognized for Contributions to CISS

On Saturday November 19, several CISS members shown in the photo below took a break from their maintenance efforts to buy lunch for Nyal. Mike Nichols presented Nyal with a Plaque as a token of appreciation for his outstanding contributions to the club during his many years as a member.

 

Not shown is Dick Hutchinson who provided the photo. 

Ron Clarke Article in Cumulus Soaring News Letter

Paul Remde's latest news letter is filled with lots of interesting photos and information on soaring. There is also some commercial content for Cumulus Soaring but Paul has put a lot of effort into this. It is worth a look. One of the articles was written by Ron Clarke covering his flight last spring at Seminole Lake Gliderport with Karl Striedieck which you should not miss if you have not seen it. It is available at:


http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/newsletter/2011-11/

IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A GLASS SHIP TO BE HAPPY!

Saturday July, 29th, was expected to be a cold day and I dressed warm being the tow pilot on duty. well, that was the plan. It turned out to be completely different - besides the temperature.

We started as usual not before 10 am. the wind picked up to 10 Kt from West. Initially, it was sky clear and only a few flights. Around lunch time the first CU's came alive, still with increasing winds from the West. After lunch I towed 6 ships, three of them private gliders and also Marlon, who just got his license a month ago. The the thermals all of the sudden got very strong and the ceiling increased to 6000 ft MSL.

The Grob was taken, so the last plane left was 809S - well, I got the high score - i thought I pulled it out to the east end and even got a student, Jim Robertson, who didn't fly this year and was crew. But there was not much traffic and he asked if he could get a flight. No problem. Chris Murawski, who took over tow pilot duty in the afternoon, towed us up straight into the wind.

Well, we started slow with 1-2 knots. Then, we moved West and while doing that we hit a big one and got up to 8000 ft MSL! the visibility was about 80+ NM and it was perfect.

Meanwhile Marlon got the message to land after 1:45 h flight with BOB, the 1-34. Capt. Miller waited for him to take him home in Mark and his new Pitts to the Anderson Airport.

Meanwhile I landed safely and Jim experienced his first flight to 8000 ft MSL in a glider in Alexandria. The private ships were still out enjoying the 7 Kt updraft.

For October 29th 2011, this was a total unexpected day and provided great pleasure to Marlon, myself - and hopefully Jim Robertson.

Just a quick note to everybody who thinks end of October is not worthwhile to come out and enjoy soaring.

Thanks again Larry for giving Marlon the "ride of the year". Truly 809S was my high score since I got a perfect soaring experience!

Sincerely,

Olaf Tessarzyk

2011 Final Scheduled Weekend

Many members took advantage of the nice weather Friday, Saturday and Sunday for some late season flying activities.

Todd Rutledge, Brad Hayes, Gerry Simpson, and John Earlywine posted OLC flights which put CISS in first place in Region 6 going into the winter slowdown. Many other pilots made glider flights on Friday and Saturday.

Gerry Simpson hit a milestone of 500 hours of glider time with his Friday flight. 

Rick Hansen braved direct crosswinds of 12 gusting to 19 on Sunday in the Grob. Possibly this was because he was crew chief and wanted to have a flight on the log to show for the crew's efforts.

Rick Hansen also soloed in the J-5 on Friday and is shown below with his instructor Larry Miller. 

Gel Coat 2011 Article on Soaring Cafe

Frank Paynter has put a nice writeup and some pictures of the Gel Coat "Jamboree" on the Soaring Cafe.

The link to the article is:

http://soaringcafe.com/2011/10/gelcoat-2011-at-central-indiana-soaring-society/

Ron Clarke's Gel Coat Jamboree

The CISS hangar was turned into a glider repair shop the past few days as several members honed their skills under the watchful eye of expert David Nelson. David has a reputation as one of the best in the country, and has "tuned" the gliders of pilots representing the US in the world competitions. Todd Rutledge should be able to identify the folks working on their gliders from the photos and add a few points to their handicaps for the CISS contest next year. Some minor repairs were also made to the Grob rudder. Thanks to Ron for setting up the event and to all the members who participated. There is already talk of "next year" for another few days of fun and fixing the little nicks and dings that seem to accumulate over the flying season. 

Congratulations Tom Beckenbauer

On Sunday October 23, Tom Beckenbauer soloed in Blanik 303BA. 

Tom's primary instructor was Dave Stanley and his tow pilot for the flight was Larry Miller

Crew Duty Trades and Substitutes

Several members have reported challenges in finding replacements when they are unable to attend a scheduled crew date. 
One new proposal is to recruit a pool of members willing to fill in on a standby basis in exchange for flight credits. The member unable to make a crew day would be billed for the cost of the flight credits in the event they could not find a substitute.
The CISS Board is interested in everyone's ideas and opinions on the best way to address this challenge. 
If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to complete a short survey and share your thoughts and opinions. 
The survey is available at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8BHNP9C

Evaluate your Soaring Knowledge

Thanks to Mike Meister who has provided the following tip.

"In looking for online Bronze Badge material, I came across the Soaring Safety Foundation online quiz.  http://www.soaringsafety.org/dl/bbstudyguide.html

It would also be an excellent oral prep for a commercial or perhaps an advanced private pilot preparing for a checkride."

This link goes to a group of very well done 20 question tests with capability to grade your answers and also an opportunity to see the correct answer and a reference to additional study material.

The ON LINE GLIDER CONTEST ( OLC ) 2011

For those Club Members who haven't looked through the results of the 2011 OLC Sailplane contest I'd recommend you spend a few enjoyable minutes checking these out .I only wish there had been such a system years ago to record and compare flights . It's really instructive. 

 

Our group of cross country fliers within the club really did an outstanding job compared to any of the other clubs in the four State region ( Ohio , Indiana, Michigan , Kentucky ). Thirteen pilots covered over 15000 kms of cross country flying posting 103 flights - right at 150 kms on average each flight .

 

Surprising to me the months in which we flew the most were July , August and October . April was a disaster ( only 1 flight ), May slow and September  was only average - you will no doubt remember the Contest in which we never managed to fly a task !

 

 

Flight Distances covered were:

• 500km +   -   1   flight
• 400km     -    0   flights
• 300km     -    9   flights
• 200km     -   14  flights
• 100km     -   36   flights

With 13 club pilots posting flights CISS and Alexandria airfield exceeded any other club in the region in flights claimed and cross country flight takeoffs  ( Ionia field in Michigan did have postings from 17 pilots but many were there for the Regional contest including some of us ) . Our total number of cross country flights posted totalled 103 flights - an excellent number .

 

Reviewing this data makes me think :

• More club members could be enjoying more cross country flying especially as we have the Schweizer 1- 34 ( and maybe the Grob ) for such use. I'd recommend more members log and post flights on OLC in future years . If you're not familiar with the process feel free to ask me or any of the cross country pilots, we'd love to have more members participating and the new season has just begun ! 

• 300 km flights are quite possible out of Alex.on many days in the season and should be the goal of many more members , especially those who are after their SSA Gold Badges 

• We should have a target of leading the Region in OLC points in 2012 . We finished a strong second to Caesar Creek in 2011 - How about it guys ?

• OLC is a possible vehicle to use for our "Club Contest"  - We could for example specify a task length and then use the OLC speeds for each pilot who exceeds the distance . Lets hear your views .

Happy landings ahead ,

Ron (ZA)

 

 

Ron Clarke wins 2011 Region 6 OLC Contest

CISS OLC leader, Ron Clarke, did all he could to help us win the Region 6 2010 OLC Team Contest. He finished in first place in Region 6. Congratulations Ron. 

Unfortunately, Caesar Creek beat us by about 4 average flights for the Region 6 team title. We finished 2nd and were ahead of 3rd place Ionia by about the same amount. It was very close. 

13 of the 43 pilots in the Region 6 results were from CISS. These pilots flew 9,355 miles with 107 flights. 


 
Thanks to Ron, for his efforts promoting this activity, and we can easily finish first next year with everyone's help. 

If you have not been participating and would like some assistance, ask anyone on the list above for some advice. It is free and really easy.

Congratulations Mike Meister

On October 8, 2011, Mike Meister successfully completed his practical test for the Commercial Glider rating. 

 Mike Rielage, DPE is shown congratulating Mike following the check ride.

Current Sectional Charts for SeeYou

The following is from the rec aviation soaring newsgroup. Lynn Alley provides up to date sectional charts for downloading for use on SeeYou.
==================
The US sectional charts on my website (in CMR format for SeeYou and
georeferenced TIFF format for GoogleEarth, Global Mapper, etc.) have
been updated to the most recent versions.  Moving forward, I plan to
issue new updates every charting cycle, so that the charts will always
be current.
Some have asked how these are different from the charts you can
download from the FAA.  The answer is that the format that the FAA
provides can't be used directly with SeeYou -- the charts have to be
reprojected and reformatted first.  I also trim the edge material on
both the CMR and TIFF format versions such that the charts tile
together seamlessly.  This is a big deal if you happen to fly near the
border areas.
My website can be found at http://www.soaringdata.info.  In addition
to the sectional charts, you can find current US airspace and airport
data in formats commonly used by popular glide computer and task
planning software.  All of the materials on my site are free, and
freely redistributable.
Happy Downloading!
Lynn Alley
"2KA"
===============
 Using these current charts on SeeYou, you can print out a local segment of the sectional chart centered on Alexandria for use in the cockpit. I laminate these using clear shelf paper and they are quite durable.

To prepare a local chart, you need to do the following:
1. Open a flight that is not from the desired area. (use a flight from another location, or download an .igc file from olc which is out of the desired area)
2. Move to the center of the area you would like to print
3. Adjust Zoom setting for this area

Then you will want to print what you see:
1. File->Page Setup->Route
2. Set "Print what" to Selection

CISS Tow Pilot Acheives Milestone

CISS Tow Pilot Lynn Joyce recently made his 2000th Glider Tow.

 Lynn is one of the dedicated CISS Tow Pilots for weekend operations and also frequently volunteers to tow the weekday glider pilots.

Thanks Lynn and Congratulations!

 

New CISS Member

New CISS Member Welcome new member Lou "Duke" Koelsch Duke holds a commercial pilot airplane certificate and will be adding a glider rating. He is shown below with tow pilot Lynn Joyce following his first solo glider flight on September 10th. .

Stall/Spin Awareness: How to Avoid the Base-To-Final Turn Accident

Mark Rottler has located an upcoming EAA webinar on Stall/Spin Awareness which might be of interest to CISS members. It is on Thursday, Oct 20, 2011 8:00 PM - 9:22 PM EDT.

Everyone is welcome and you need not be an EAA member to participate. Just go to the following link to register and receive further information and details.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/140228027

Former Club Member

Another Club Success:  Yesterday I ran into an old ( actually quite young ) club member . Both of us were in line buying ice creams at a store on the north side of Indy .   I asked Gene what he had set out to do after high school as the last time I had seen him was just after he had soloed in one of our Blaniks as a "high schooler ".  That day in late October 2000 I remember well as he completed his longest flight ( 2 hours ) in the chilly but great soaring conditions over Terry Airfield that early Fall afternoon.   Gene Pecar told me that after graduating he joined the US Air Force . He further told me that his reason for being in town was that he had just ferried an Air Force Jet out of Hurricane Irene's path at Andrews Air Force Base into the mid west ! He told me that he has flown a number of high performance jets including F -16's and from what I could tell he really enjoys his work . Wouldn't you too enjoy stopping over in your old home town after ferrying a high performance jet out of a Hurricane's path . I did invite him out to visit us next time he's in town .   Well done to our Club Glider Instructors who helped Gene towards his chosen career.

[Ron Clarke]

New CISS Member

Welcome new member Ken Lites.

Ken has moved to Indiana from the Chicago area and holds a Private Pilot Glider Rating.

Marlon Tessarzyk is CISS's Newest Private Pilot Glider

After a couple of years of patient waiting, Marlon became old enough to meet the FAA requirements and completed his Private Pilot Glider check ride on August 13. Josh Daisey was the crew chief, assisted by Gina, and Chris Hall was the wing runner for the event. Lynn Joyce was the tow pilot.

Marlon looks quite happy with his accomplishment, and DPE Ron Ridenour is also smiling. A good sign. Although not shown in the picture, Marlon's instructor and father, Olaf,  was also smiling.

iPhone app for OLC Flights

 Ron Clarke has been encouraging everyone to support CISS in the On Line Contest and the club is now in first place in Region 6.

The following suggestion was on the RAC newsgroup.

"You might consider the iPhone app GlidePath.  If you already have an
iPhone, it is only $10, and it's approved for OLC flights, and is very
easy to email logs or submit them to OLC straight from the phone"

Are there any CISS iPhone owners who might be willing to try this and see how it works? Any of the pilots presently posting flights on OLC can help answer any questions about the contest.

Discus A For Sale

One of our Labor Day Contest participants has upgraded gliders and has
his Discus A for sale.  From Michigan, his name is Glen Betzoldt and he
can be reached at glenbetzoldt@hotmail.com or ph 517-260-7797 if you
want more information. (posted at request of Don Taylor)

New CISS Member

Welcome new member Tom Beckenbauer.  Tom holds a private pilot airplane certificate and will be adding a glider rating.

CISS / SSA Exhibit at AMA 75th Anniversary Celebration

A number of CISS members and families helped promote soaring and CISS at this event. Volunteers included Mike Nichols, Don Taylor, Lynn Joyce, Ron Clarke, Nyal Williams, Rick Hansen, Gardiner Dennis, Doug Heim, Larry Miller along with his wife and grandchildren, David Waymire along with his wife and daughter, John Day, Olaf Tessarzyk and his wife and son, Dick Hutchinson, and Emily Grant.

The Condor simulator was very popular and many future glider pilots had a chance to try their skills. Mike's Libelle also attracted a lot of attention including Shuttle Commander "Hoot" Gibson.

Everyones efforts paid off with 3 people coming from the event to Alex for FAST flights on Sunday afternoon. Several others have indicated they will be visiting the airport soon.

The SSA donated a FAST flight won in the raffle by Scott Marquette from Indianapolis.

As you can see, everyone seemed to be having fun and there was a lot of activity.

CISS at the AMA 75th Anniversary Celebration

Many thanks to all the CISS members who have helped at the CISS/SSA booth at the AMA event.

I think most will agree that it has been an opportunity to meet some interesting people and have some fun. The general consensus is that we will sell some rides and may get a few new members. Time will tell.

Emily Grant spent a good part of the day Friday checking out young future pilots on the Condor Flight Simulator. She had one doing rolls without using the rudder and many landing on their first flight. This lady has a lot of potential as a future CISS instructor.

On Thursday, Mike Nichols had the opportunity to visit with shuttle commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson. While their conversation was out of earshot, the rumor was that Mike was telling Hoot that he should not anticipate much trouble stepping up to a "slippery" glass ship like the Libelle. Hoot has been flying a glider with a max L/D of 4.5 with a best L/D speed of 200 kts called the shuttle. He got his glider rating in a Schweizer 2-33.

 The event is on through Saturday and Sunday the  16th and 17th of July. If your schedule permits, come on out and enjoy the action.

CISS tow pilot Ed Escalon will be flying EAA Young Eagle flights from the adjacent Reese Airport on Saturday.

Nate Zitnick Solo July 10, 2011

Congratulations to Nate Zitnick, CISS's newest solo pilot. Nate is shown below with his wing runner (and father) Bob and CISS instructor Olaf Tessarzyk celebrating his accomplishment. 

Nate was also on crew duty, but Crew Chief Tod Herrli gave him a break to go flying. Bob also got a break for a couple of flights. A great day and a lot of fun at the glider port !

Gardiner Dennis Solo July 9, 2011

Congratulations to Gardiner Dennis, CISS's newest solo pilot.

Gardiner is shown below with his parents, Bob and Sally Dennis, and his grandmother Helen Wells celebrating his accomplishment. 

Shortly after this picture was taken Crew Chief, Josh Daisey assisted by Chris Hall helped Gardiner  cool down by treating him to the traditional bucket of cold water.

Outstanding Flights from I99 on 8 July

On 8 July, Ron Clark flew from Alexandria to Ionia Michigan a distance of approximately 165 miles. This will be an new Indiana state distance record for a flight to declared goal.

Jerry Simpson flew to Kendallville Indiana and back on the same day, a distance of approximately 152 miles round trip.

Congratulations to Ron and Jerry.

If you have been letting the hot summer weather convince you to stay away from the airport, it might be time to reconsider.

Koltad Scholarship Opportunity for CISS Youth Members

Here is an opportunity for any youth solo student who has earned their C Badge. What could be better than having fun flying and having an opportunity to make it help pay for school.

Congratulations Ron Clarke an Outstanding Flight

On Monday June 13, Ron Clarke had the longest flight in the United States posted on the OLC with a scored distance of 533 km. During his 6 hour 58 minute flight he went up to Bryan Ohio and logged a total straight line flight distance of 395.6 miles according to the SeeYou statistics. He only spent 27% of the flight time thermaling in average thermals of 3 kts. Maximum altitude on the flight was 7146 ft.

Ron has been been encouraging CISS members to participate in the OLC and help the club win the Region 6 competition. This flight shows we have an excellent leader. Congratulations Ron.

Lee Bottom's Ginger Davidson Wins Hoosier Hospitality Award

Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman Makes Presentation At State Capitol

Lee Bottom Flying Field's Ginger Davidson was recognized on Wednesday by Indiana’s Lt. Governor Becky Skillman for her outstanding contributions to the tourism industry. During a ceremony at the State House, Ginger received one of twenty-two 2011 Lt. Governor’s Hoosier Hospitality Awards which recognize a high level of service in tourism-related jobs.

 

(L-R) IN Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, Ginger Davis

“These are just a few of the Hoosiers who go the extra mile to make guests feel welcome,” said Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman. “Indiana’s trademark hospitality is a result of their hard work and positive attitude.”

Lee Bottom Flying Field

Ginger’s award was unique in that it also represented an airport as a tourist destination. Through her continued hard work and efforts to promote airports as something more than a place where airplanes land and take off, she has brought positive attention to an industry long overlooked for its tourism potential.

submitted by: David Newill

Autographed Copies of Condor Cross Country Book Available

Frank Paynter has published a book on Cross Country Soaring using Condor Flight Simulator.

Frank participated in more contests than any other US pilot in 2009 and is scheduled to particiapte in 12 this year. He also races on Condor during the winter season and writes the Condor articles for Soaring Magazine. He is putting his practical knowledge into tips for improving your cross country and racing skills using Condor.

More details regarding the book are available at:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/books/Paynter/CrossCountrySoaringWithCondor.htm

We can pick up autographed copies from Frank at the Region 6 North Contest and have them at Alex Airport on June 11th. They are $20. Any CISS members who would like an autographed copy should email John Earlywine at jke4034@aol.com by May 23rd.

'Bob' has new Friends

'Bob' joined the flying fun at the airport on Sunday May 8th. Todd Rutledge and Don Taylor both made flights and reported they were pleased with the flight characteristics of the 1-34.

Todd and Don join Nyal Williams and Ron Clarke (2 flights) on the growing list of CISS pilots who have flown the new 1-34. Make plans now to join this elite group. The Make and Model checkout list is available on the CISS Web Site in the Documents section. Copies of the 1-34 Handbook are also available there. Complete the single page of questions and bring them to the airport, complete a cockpit familiarization discussion, have your logbook endorsed to keep the insurance company happy and you are all set to join the list. Todd, Don, Nyal and Ron can answer any questions you may have based on their recent flight experience.

Congratulations

On Sunday May 8, David Waymire accomplished his first solo glider flight in the CISS Blanik L-23.

He is an experienced airplane private pilot and wants to add his glider rating in the near future.
Congratulations David!