Weekend Report April 23 - 24

Another brisk, blue and breezy April weekend with good participation and some great flying conditions. The air has been so clear that, from the ground, you can see the tow rope dangling behind the towplane shortly after release.

Saturday was a bit difficult, due to a moderate crosswind, but that didn't keep Eric from getting two hour-long flights in the Blanik, with climbs to 6000 feet. Henry, Don, and Dakai each gained experience taking off and  landing in wind, but we decided to call it quits after one flight each.

The early end to flying allowed us to get an early start on the cookout, which took place indoors and drew 11 hungry members.

Sunday surprised us a bit by starting out as windy as Saturday. This was initially discouraging for those of us planning to fly the trainers, but it didn't stop the hotshots from getting off the ground early.  Andy towed 9 single-seaters in a row (one of them twice) before the first instructional flight of the day.

Evan (T8), Greg (JD), Tom (2W) and Dan (EA) were in the air for over six hours and flew all over northern New England.  Moshe (RU), Tim (AT), Doug (PM), Dennis (DC), and Mark (HG) had shorter, but just as impressive flights.  Dennis missed his 5-hour Silver/Gold duration by 4 minutes!

Meanwhile, back at Post Mills, Andy Lawrence^*, Gregg, Henry, Dakai, Lane, Don, and Rick flew locally and discovered that the house thermal went to 7000 feet.

Iron man Andy towed, without relief, both days.

The 1-23 and the yellow golf cart are out of service, hopefully not for long.

^*Our duplicate name situation is getting out of hand. We have a Greg and a Gregg, 2 Bills, 3 Andys, 2 Ricks, 3 Annies, 2 Marks, 2 Sams, and innumerable Petes and Sues. Any suggestions about how to keep everyone straight on the logsheet and in PMSC News will be appreciated.