Name that sailplane

The Contest ID on the rudder is a little hard to read, so I guess we'll call it "1H" for now.

Updated 04/04/10: Now it's "TH."

Annual Meeting February 13

I wasn't there, so I have no official report. I heard a rumor that there was a shakeup in the Board of Directors. I'll await publication of the minutes, like the rest of the rank-and-file.

Name that club member

Breakfast in the woods

Twenty of us enjoyed a homemade breakfast in a homemade home today. Thank you, Mike and Sue, and we'll be back, now that we know how to find the place.

Note that next week's breakfast will be on Saturday, February 13, at Andy and Judy's house, to be followed by our annual meeting. Don't miss it if you can.

Safari news

Friend-of-the-club Roy B is back in Bloemfontein. He reports that the season is winding down and the foreigners are packing up to go home. He sends this picture as an illustration of how tough the conditions are getting. His email address is in his blog, in case you want to send him a note of sympathy.

Technology transfer

Did you know that our seemingly frivolous avocation has spun off some fantastic commercial applications?

First, there was the Gravity Plane, a concept so obvious, I'm surprised it took this long to make it to the almost-practical stage. The video tells the whole story.

Now, we have the Air Trailer, a brilliant application of one of the most straightforward and easy phases of flight, the aerotow. Their website needs work, but the video is just as convincing as the one on the Gravity Plane.

Both projects probably need investors. I hope I'm not too late.

We're still dining

The PMSC breakfast season is underway. The first breakfast, at EBA's, was well attended. The second one less so, probably because there wasn't a maintenance project going on at the time.

The PMSC Calendar of Events, accessible from our web site, includes the breakfast schedule. You can also print out a version that will fit on your refrigerator door.

Boredom Fighter

OK, it's winter, and you need something to do. Today's trivia challenge is to identify both aircraft in this photograph, and the location where it was taken. A fabulous prize awaits you.

Don't let this happen to you - VII

World Sailplane Grand Prix

Today was the first contest day of the World Sailplane Grand Prix, an event that is held every two years. The Grand Prix format is intended to bring spectator appeal to our sport. We wish them luck with that.

The contest is in Chile, and you can watch it live on the internet. The races start at about 1300 EST. The last day of the contest is January 9. One of the contestants is blogging.

We're still fixing

This past weekend Andy, Andy and Tim began clearing out the hangar we'll be using to work on gliders this winter. They're optimistic about getting the heating system working soon, and then they'll be expecting a lot of volunteers to show up.

We're still flying

After a few mechanical missteps, we now have three airplanes on skis, ready to fly. Andy, Tim, and Rick are standing by for suitable flying weather and volunteer shoveler-pusher-passengers.