|
|
|
The first order of business was to bring Paul Schneider and Doug Spencer on as Maintenance and Safety Officers respectively. These are good guys and their contribution will be appreciated.
Next we talked about each glider in the club and what, if anything, might be necessary to get them ready to go by May 6:
2-33:
The wings have been painted by Schmidt Signs of Salt Lake City at a cost of $957 which includes removing all hints of the old paint jobs (top and bottom). Lee Steorts towed the glider down from Morgan after it became apparent that Wayne would not be able to get to it this winter. This final step concludes a long process, but the Utah Soaring Association now owns a beautifully restored all-white Schweizer 2-33!1-34:
Other than a few small maintenance items this glider is looking good for May.Grob 103:
The Grob is wintering down in Jean, Nevada where it is currently assembled and being flown almost every weekend by club members needing a soaring fix. It’s main tire needs a new inner-tube which has arrived from Dresser Tires and will be installed before it flies in Heber. For now the slow leak is not a major problem. Also, the canopy hinge is going to need some epoxy work.The next topic was the eventual need for wing refinishing of the Grob. To compete the entirety of both wings would cost upwards of $18,000. However the wings look pretty fare as they are and perhaps a better way of approaching the problem is to do it piecemeal. This way we can ship it off each winter spending a couple thousand at a time to repair selected areas. Still an expensive proposition.
Anyway we slice it the club is going to need more money in the kitty. To that end we talked about increasing the general membership fees, or perhaps instituting a rental fee. You’ll hear and read more about this one.
Hand in hand with the desire to keep the Grob beautiful is the need to reduce wear and tear. The gel coat cracking on the leading edge and top surface of the wings is due in large part to rough landings. How do we as a club attempt to minimize rough landings? Tough question! One of the ideas we’re thinking about is reducing the time span allowed to maintain “currency”. Perhaps our span of 90 days is too long? Again, you’ll hear and read more about this one.
The Summer BBQ is planned for June 10 and the Fall BBQ is planned for September 16. We’re also hoping to get a “Nephi Week” going mid July assuming we can line up an aerotow.
The next topic was awards. I like the idea of celebrating the achievements of club members. So this year we will hold running competitions in various categories (to be announced soon) with plaques or perhaps small trophies to commemorate the efforts. Your suggestions are appreciated.
And finally we talked about starting a “Get Off The Ridge” program to help members interested in venturing beyond The Pines. We could schedule a couple seminars facilitated by some seasoned X-C pilots, then have one of them take the rear seat of the Grob while the front seat of the Grob and the 1-34 are piloted by X-C newbies.
It’s exciting stuff! May 6 is the Saturday planned for glider assembly, and I’m counting the days. If you just
HAVE TO GET A SOARING FIX I recommend a road trip down to Jean. There’s some info in this newsletters third article and on the web at… http://www.utahsoaring.org/hangar/jean2000/index.htmGive me a call to reserve the glider or just get some info on the place.
David Lane - President
The Perfect Soaring Flight We have all dreamed of having a perfect soaring flight where the thermals are strong, close together, and well marked by Cumulus clouds. Such a condition existed in early September of 1988.My partner, Marc Emley and I made several flights from Heber to Driggs, Idaho (on the back side of the Tetons) and return. We drew straws to see who would fly up and who would fly back. The other, of course, would crew.
I drew the chance to fly from Heber and Marc crewed. I planned an early departure time but waited at Heber for some sign of thermal activity. Nothing in the way of cumulus clouds appeared. About noon I took a tow up the Wallsburg Ridge but found nothing and asked to be towed over Lake Creek. As we arrived at Lake Creek one lonely little bit of a cumulus started to form. After climbing to about 10,000 I thought I’d move on north toward Wanship and Coalville (plenty of good landing fields up that way). As I moved north another small cumulus started to form ahead of me. As I left that thermal another started to form about 5 miles ahead. This was the most unusual thing I had ever encountered - blue sky ahead but as I flew north they just kept forming ahead of me. The only thing I could think of was that a moist band of air was moving from South to North and I was just on the front edge of it. this seemed to be the case inasmuch as there was over-development occurring behind me.
By the time I reached Evanston they were forming on course as well as on either side. By that time I was at about 16,000 feet and able to “Dolphin” fly on past Cokeville and into the Star Valley past Afton and on to Palisade Lake and the Alpine airport. At this point I was down to about 14,000 feet so worked a little altitude there and headed for the Grand Teton. At my last call Marc was just coming out of Cokeville so I knew I had a lot of time to kill. I arrived over the Grand Teton with 18,000 feet of altitude and decided I would keep heading - north till I could see the Yellowstone airport. I finally turned and came back to Driggs.
I figured I had covered about 273 miles in a little over 3½ hours for a ground speed of about 73 miles per hour.
I have never seen soaring conditions like this before and will always remember this flight.
Lee Steorts
Total Maintenance Tips:
The Three P’s
Maintenance doesn’t just mean the annual inspections or periodic cleaning. Prior to each flight, pilot maintenance keeps the aircraft airworthy and ready to fly not just for you and your passenger, but also for the next club member that uses the sailplane. As “Maintenance Officer” for the next year I hope to keep everyone informed of what is needed to keep our sailplanes ready to fly.
This month’s topic is: “Three P’s”
P#1: Preflight: In addition to the normally required preflight before each flight, put this into your toolbox:
While walking up to the sailplane from the parking lot, take a look at the total picture. Does the tire look inflated? Do the wings looks like they are on straight? A view from afar sometimes tells a story.
P#2: Positioning: Moving the sailplane from tie-down to takeoff is a chore.
Keep in mind the wind direction. Should you pull the sailplane or push it?
Ask for help. A wing walker can make all the difference. When it comes to airplanes, I believe that anyone involved in our sport (compulsion), would be honored if asked to help move the sailplanes (one pilot’s humble opinion).
P#3: Personal: Are you as ready to fly as your freshly preflighted sailplane?
Think hydration. Pilots cannot survive in that greenhouse we call our cockpit for very long without getting enough of the H2O.
Be mentally and physically preflighted. Come to the sport ready. Think SAFE, SAFE, SAFE.
Please feel free to call me with any questions about the sailplanes or use our new email system David has put together.
Paul Schneider
Glider Fun Fact: The first man to fly in a glider was John J. Montgomery. It was in 1884 in Otay, California. John sailed 600 feet down a hillside near the Mexican border. (The Book of Gliders, Edwin W. Teal, By E.P. Dutton and Co., Inc, 1930.)
Try Jean!
I’d like to encourage you to partake of the
club’s Grob down in Jean this winter. Cheap flights down to Las Vegas make for a
pretty sweet get-away, or you can do the “road-trip” thing like an old
hang-gliding buddy and I. Here’s a quick run down of the area and facilities:
The Airport - It’s doesn’t get any better. This nowheresville little highway exit about thirty miles south of Las Vegas actually has two runways. One for power and one for sailplanes! And the large area between the two is very landable.
Aero Facilities - The Las Vegas Soaring Association 702-874-1420 operates out of a trailer just east of the runways. They can tow you during the weekends using their Pawnee. Or you can get a tow any day of the week from the fantastic commercial operation there called The Las Vegas Soaring Center 702-874-1010 using a very powerful 1943 Stearman biplane.
The Environs - The airport is in a wide flat valley at an elevation of approximately 2800 feet. A four or five mile long ridge is very close to the northern-most point of the airport and almost perfectly faces the regular breezes. Outlandings in one of the dry lake beds of the area means a fairly routine aero-retrieval.
Lodging - Two hotel/casinos are practically within walking distance. They are the Nevada Landing 800-628-6682 and the Gold Strike 800-634-1359. The rates are good (around $20 during the week and $45 during the weekend), and the food is… well, this is the land of the buffet!
Aircraft Reservations - Give me a call if you’d like to reserve the Grob. I’m maintaining a list and I can tell you when she’s free.
Also, the commercial outfit rents several gliders including a Grob 103 and a SGS 1-34.
David Lane
The Last Word Oops. I got our new Safety (Doug Spencer) and Maintenance (Paul Schneider) Officers mixed up in the January newsletter. Sorry guys…Our Secretary (Jim Krog) is assembling this years list of Duty Officers. If you’d like to influence this effort I suggest you give him a call at (435) 655-9626 or email him at Secretary@utahsoaring.org.
I’m headed down to Albuquerque for the SSA convention and a quick once over of the toys on the floor. I’ll post some pictures in April.
That’s it I guess. Man, I hope I can hang in there for twelve more weeks...
David Lane