This is normal

The airport is closed to all operations until the runways dry out.

You now know more than the transient pilot considering Post Mills as a possible destination.  The official FAA NOTAM that the pilot would receive in his briefing is "Airport Closed.  No further information available."  No wonder we hardly ever get visitors.

Anyway, this is perfectly normal.  We expect the mud to dry up, and when that happens, we'll be on alert for management to reopen the airport.

Mountain Flying, Explained

You may remember my previous criticism of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation for a bit of misinformation in its online course on Mountain Flying.

I am happy to report that the course has been overhauled and republished, with a much more accurate portrayal of mountain waves. We've gone from "Beware of these clouds" to correctly identifying lenticular clouds as marking smooth air that can be "good for gliders:"

Click image for larger version

OK, so the rotors are still turning the wrong way in this illustration, but that is minor compared with all the improvements over the previous version.

AOPA gets full credit for going to the trouble and expense of improving this online course. If only the FAA were as conscientious about the accuracy of their published materials.

By the way, AOPA has recently increased the amount of attention paid to the communities of pilots who don't fly airplanes. They have published excellent pieces on proficiency and cross-training, and have regular blog posts about soaring. We can thank SSA members Chris O'Callaghan, Val Paget, and Bill Daniels for this.

AOPA is a good organization. Join or renew now.

Photos from the trip

If anyone is interested, there are pictures from my version of this escapade into southern climes beginning here.

Use the My Photo menu to access the remaining 5 photo sets arranged chronologically from left to right (most recent to oldest) on the first line of the photolinks.

JS

News from the North

The vagabonds decamped when the Tennessee weather turned for the worse.  Faced with the unattractive choice between sitting in the rain or driving in the rain, Skip, John, and Rick elected to come home.

Our Chilhowee adventure was a qualified success.  We enjoyed four days of thermal flying, southern hospitality, glider fettling, and weird food.  The principal goal of our trip, ridge flying, was not met, but there's always next year.  We're happy to be back in flying shape, ahead of the rest of you.

Meanwhile, Tony reports that the weather in Zephyrhills is still excellent.  He has flown nearly every day and has been duly initiated into the local secret society.

News from the South

On Sunday, four club members went flying.  Many of the flights are on OLC.  Tony (in Florida) has been racking up the kilometers in 7H, with a couple of outlandings (both at airports).  Skip (JS), John (X), and Rick (S2) are in Tennessee where the weather has been quite good.  The cumulus clouds in the background of this photo are in the Smoky Mountain wilderness, where John ventured today, reaching 9300 feet on a 300km flight.

The weather in Tennessee is about to take a turn for the worse, so it isn't clear what the vagabonds will do next.  The weather in Florida is always perfect for flying, according to Tony.  He's planning to stay put until the end of mud season, with an occasional trip to visit Carol on her bicycle odyssey.

Contest Crewing

This season I'm aiming to fly in three regional contests (trying to make up for some of those lost years...). I'll be going to the Region 5 North contest at Perry SC in April, then Region 2 at Mifflin in May and finally Region 4 South at New Castle in September. As of the moment, I'm crewless for all three. If you are interested in seeing competition soaring up close, crewing is the fastest way to get involved. All three contests will have an active social life after flying. Only essential requirements are that you can drive a stick shift, have a driver's license and travel well. Contact me for further details.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

XC season has begun

Tony is off to an early start with this flight.

Soaring Trivia

For glory, not beer. What soaring movie was nominated for an Academy Award?
Hint: It's a soaring movie not a movie with soaring in it. The 1968 version of the Thomas Crown Affair won an Oscar that's not the answer.

Second chance to name that club member

Nobody got it right the first time. Have a good look at the guy talking at 1:40 in this video:



Read his blog here.

Name that club member

Who's the guy with the radio?


Kevin, Andy and Mike are not eligible for this one.

Breakfast meeting

We may still be a few months away from the beginning of flying season, but we began our fine dining season in style last Sunday at the LumRuss.  Fifteen cabin fever folks fell in for a fantastic feast of fresh fish, fruit, frittatas, and waffles.

Judy and Andy outdid themselves as hosts and chefs, but Emma, your sushi was a little bit dry, I'm sorry to say.

As usual, the breakfast was followed by the annual general meeting, which, as usual, was much less memorable than the breakfast.  Luckily, Diane volunteered to take notes in lieu of our club secretary, who was probably out preflighting his glider in Florida and not thinking of us at all.

Pending publication of the minutes, I hereby submit what I can remember of the meeting:

• We have some money in the bank, assuming we still have a bank.
• We talked about setting some personal goals for the upcoming season.
• We admired a beautiful 2-33 paint scheme.
• The Club Officers' mass resignation was mass refused.
• Gregg failed to show up to present Andy with his prize.
• Andy and Rick received some nice certificates of appreciation.

Some other things were discussed, but I guess we'll have to wait for the minutes to come out.

Win Beer

Answer all questions correctly win free beer*
1. Who is the PMSC member in the above photo?
2. Describe/name the project.
3. Name the public location where this photo is on display(this blog doesn't count).
* The winner's beer will be delivered to some as yet undetermined PMSC party and if the winner isn't present- Hard cheese their beer will be consumed for them.