No Flying Sunday 9/14/08

Per Ops Director Terry Wools, there will be no flying on Sunday
9/14/08 due to the appalling weather forecast.

UPDATE:
A very wise decision indeed.

The Fleet Is In ... Service

From: ZASoars

GREAT NEWS - THE MAINTENANCE CREW REPORTS THAT THE ENTIRE FLEET IS BACK IN SERVICE AND INVITES ALL MEMBERS TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE NEXT 6 WEEKS OF USUALLY VERY GOOD WEATHER FLYING OUT OF OUR AIRFIELD.

ALSO :

DON'T MISS THE BRAZILIAN BBQ NEXT SATURDAY ( 2OTH ) AT 6PM AFTER FLYING . THE FOOD IS AUTHENTIC BRAZILIAN AND WE PLAN TO CELEBRATE OUR FIRST SEASON OF FLYING AT OUR OWN AIRFIELD WITH THIS EVENT . BRING YOUR FRIENDS IF YOU CAN .

No flying Saturday [9/13/08]

CISS will not be flying today due to weather. The forecast for Alexandria is “Hazardous Weather Outlook” with 60% chance of rain and thunderstorms. The Fort Wayne wx is “Hazardous Weather Outlook” plus a “Tornado Watch” and 90% chance of rain all day. The metar forecast is for ceilings at 2000’ agl all morning, lifting to 3000’ after 1pm. But by then, sfc winds will be gusting to 22 kts. Visibility and ceilings in Indy should be a little better, but at both Indy and Fort Wayne, forecast winds at 3000’ agl will be 30 kts or greater all day.

Gasoline prices are spiking too, with some stations possibly running out. So it looks like today is a good time to catch up on that honeydo list and get some frequent flyer passes for the better days to come. Don Taylor, Crew Chief filling in for Darren.

As With Katrina, NWS Is Not Mincing Words With Ike

The news this morning is full of stories about Hurricane Ike, which is
about to hit Texas (and is due here sometime Sunday). The headlines
are quoting the expression "certain death" which appears in the
National Weather Service forecast for someplace or other.

That doesn't sound good... I thought I would go read the actual
forecast.

Here it is.

It actually says "MAY FACE CERTAIN DEATH," not "WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH." That is not reassuring in the least:

[...]
SHORELINE OF GALVESTON BAY...15 TO 25 FEET

LIFE THREATENING INUNDATION LIKELY!

ALL NEIGHBORHOODS...AND POSSIBLY ENTIRE COASTAL COMMUNITIES...
WILL BE INUNDATED DURING THE PERIOD OF PEAK STORM TIDE. PERSONS
NOT HEEDING EVACUATION ORDERS IN SINGLE FAMILY ONE OR TWO STORY
HOMES MAY FACE CERTAIN DEATH. MANY RESIDENCES OF AVERAGE
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTLY ON THE COAST WILL BE DESTROYED. WIDESPREAD
AND DEVASTATING PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS LIKELY ELSEWHERE.
VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND WILL LIKELY BE SWEPT AWAY. NUMEROUS ROADS
WILL BE SWAMPED...SOME MAY BE WASHED AWAY BY THE WATER. ENTIRE
FLOOD PRONE COASTAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE CUTOFF. WATER LEVELS MAY
EXCEED 9 FEET FOR MORE THAN A MILE INLAND. COASTAL RESIDENTS IN
MULTI-STORY FACILITIES RISK BEING CUTOFF. CONDITIONS WILL BE
WORSENED BY BATTERING WAVES CLOSER TO THE COAST. SUCH WAVES WILL
EXACERBATE PROPERTY DAMAGE...WITH MASSIVE DESTRUCTION OF
HOMES...INCLUDING THOSE OF BLOCK CONSTRUCTION. DAMAGE FROM BEACH
EROSION COULD TAKE YEARS TO REPAIR.
[...]

Saturday 9/13/08: Weather and Crew Issues

Regarding this coming Saturday 9/13, the crew situation is unsettled.
Don Taylor was scheduled to be operations director that day (having
traded days with me), but he's dealing with an emergency and may not
be able to make it to the airport. I can't make it out either, having
made unbreakable plans to be elsewhere.

However, this may all be washed away by the weather forecast, which
calls for a LOT of rain all weekend.

Stay tuned!

Don's request to the membership - in the event any flying is possible
Saturday - follows:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Don Taylor don_taylor

[ ]...in the event I can't make it, if everyone who comes out on
Saturday pitches in a little, the operation will go just fine. The
one thing that could minimize this problem is that the forecast for
Saturday is not very good. I don't usually wish for bad wx, but I am
making an exception this time :-) Thanks, and I hope to see you
Saturday. DT

Fwd: The exception that proves the rule ?

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

Conventional wisdom has always been that an Easterly wind is no good
for soaring. Or as Bob Gillan would quote " Wind from the east no
good for man or beast " .
HOWEVER yesterday we had a brisk easterly wind, 5 mph on the ground
and a little stronger at flying levels ,maybe 10mph .
The day was as good as it gets in Indiana . And if you checked the OLC
there was a 500 km flight in Michigan and several 300km flights in
Ohio and out of Alex.
Seven CISS members all flew cross country and although the early
cumulus dissipated and only a few wisps showed where the lift was ,
there was plenty of it and strong. The thermal tops were over 6000msl
and average thermal strengths were around 4 knots. One flight log
showed it possible to fly more than 50 miles without turning and maybe
there were more who also enjoyed streets of lift like that. Remember
there will be at least another month of 300km plus days ahead . Be
ready and prepare ahead for the flight you want and above all be
willing to go even if the wind is from the east !

ZA.

Fwd: Club Picnic SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ZASoars
We're hoping everyone will plan to join us for the BRAZILIAN BBQ
planned for Saturday September the 20th after flying.
All are welcome and if you have some friends you would like to bring
along too let Ron Clarke know as we need a headcount for planning
purposes ( tel 849 8983 or e-mail <ZASOARS [at] aol [dot] com> ) .
The picnic will begin around 6pm rain or shine. This will be one of
the first occasions when the whole club can get together with families
since the purchase of Alexandria Airfield.
The picnic will feature various Brazilian Barbequed meats and some
very tasty sides. The cost will be $12 per head and we ask that you
bring your own beverages of choice.

The Social Committee.

Fwd: Wednesday flying is on !

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

The members have spoken and they want to soar !

Come on out this Wednesday ( September 10 ) if you can. Lynn Joyce
has volunteered to tow beginning 1pm .

Ron (ZA).

Brazilian BBQ - Sept 20th

CISS members,

As we are approaching the end of the first Summer at our own field it has been decided that we need to celebrate with a picnic.And by the way its also the Vernal equinox on September 20th - the last day this year when we still have more daylight than dark !

Arrangements are that we will hold a Brazilian BBQ which will include 4 different kinds of grilled meat, accompanied by various delicious Brazilian sides. As well, a unique grilled pineapple desert rounds off the meal. The best news is that the cooking will be done for all.

The party will start after flying on SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH AT AROUND 6 PM. We hope for excellent weather but with plenty of room in our center hangar we will celebrate fair weather or otherwise .

At the end of the evening the club will unveil the beautifully made "Honors Board" which Tod Herrli has built and which recognizes the club members who gave to "Field of Dreams" capital fund .

The cost of the very excellent Brazilian meal will be $12 per head at the picnic - please bring your own beverages .

As we need to know in advance for planning purposes how many will attend please let Ron Clarke know if we should count you in and do feel free to invite some friends. No excuses please , we are hoping for a 100% turnout !

e-mail ZASOARS@aol.com or phone 849-8983 .

Labor Day Flying

We will have flight operations starting at 1 PM on Labor Day. We will have an instructor - so students feel free to come out!

George