Ambitious

John Good will be attempting a long ridge flight tomorrow. He is planning an early takeoff from Eagle Field in Pennsylvania and a start just north of Altoona. His turnaround point could be as far south as Knoxville, Tennessee, which would result in a total out-and-return distance of around 900 miles. Or maybe he'll land at Altoona in time for breakfast, you never can tell.

If he remembers to turn on his tracking device, we'll be able to follow his progress on the web.

Good luck, John!

BLIPspot renewed

The BLIPspot forecasts for Montpelier, VT have been renewed for 2010 (by me - anybody want to help me pay for it?). They can be accessed via this link, which has been added to the list of Weather Links on the right.

If you are not familiar with the BLIPspot, see my long note from last year

- Moshe

Argh! Don't let this happen to you!

A good friend of ours, Mark Koepper, landed short at Sterling Saturday and made the news. Mark's okay.

Tom Knauff calls this the "Silly Season" because of the silly things we see pilots do in the course of getting current again. He has a point. This is a good time to be extra careful, extra aware.

-T8

1H becomes TH

Tom finally got around to putting a permanent contest ID on his sailplane and trailer. From now on he'll be known as TH, which is a lot easier to remember than 1H.

Here's a picture of him getting in some practice at Springfield this weekend.

Projects

The Blanik is on the field (not yet assembled). Tim, Andy, Christopher and Charlie have been working on its undercarriage. After a great deal of struggle with stuck bolts in inaccessible places, they have succeeded in removing both the wheel and the oleo strut. We have a new tire and we're awaiting shipment of the strut rebuild kit from Blanik America.

In the meantime, the golf cart has been put back on the road, and the L-19 tailwheel has been overhauled. Also, Andy has been squinting at the 304 trailer with the idea of replacing the brake actuator and coupler.

There are yet more pre-season projects. Contact Andy to volunteer. Let's be ready to go on Assembly Day (corrected date: April 10).

Backpack repack

If you've ever wondered what's inside that expensive seat cushion, you could ask this guy:


Click here to see Skip's photo-documentation of his recent trip to Pepperell, Massachusetts.

Airport scales

What is it about eccentric museum owners and dinosaurs?

Here's the latest on the growing pile of lumber at the airport, courtesy of the Valley News (click to enlarge):


Obviously, the museum owner was not influenced very much by our poll.

First flight

Congratulations to Tom Hopper on his first flight in his new LS-1. Here's a picture of his first touchdown:

and here's a nice picture of Tom explaining how he did it:

The only thing he forgot was to turn on his flight recorder, so we don't have the first flight log from TH yet.

Tikes on Trikes

A PMSC Glider Ride was donated to the Tikes on Trikes Silent Auction last Saturday. It was a benefit for the Child Care Center in Norwich. The winning bid was $95. There were three other bids over the retail value of $70. It was the only item in the auction that went for more than the retail value. The PMSC got a little exposure.

Tim

It has started

Congratulations to Tony for the club's first XC flight of the new season. He recorded 126 km in central Florida yesterday and hopes to do better today. Stay tuned.

Let's break a few of these

The New Hampshire and Vermont state soaring records are up to date on the SSA website. Our club is represented by Kevin, Nancy, Mike and Steve. Let's add to the list this season.

Name that sailplane