Weekend report August 29 - 30

The forecast for Saturday was good, but reality was even better.  They told us we would get 2 or 3 knots to 5000 feet, ending at 5pm, but in fact we enjoyed 4 knot climbs to over 6000 feet, and there was still lift at Post Mills after 6pm.  Nobody complained about the inaccurate forecast.

It was a combination of cross-country flying and test-prep flight instruction.

With most of the serious xc guys out of town, Evan (T8) was the only one who flew far.  He took off first, racked up 524 km (including a couple of motor runs) and landed last.  This is his seventh >500 km flight out of Post Mills this year.  Amazing.  His first and third turnpoints were at Jay Peak and Killington.  In between the two he flew to a spot near where New Hampshire, Maine, and Quebec come together, not near any known turnpoint.

He made a couple of kerosene-powered saves at Morrisville and Montpelier.  The towpilots thank him for not landing at either of those two places.

We tried our first lead-and-follow cross-country instruction with more than one student.  It sort of worked.  Five of us headed out on the standard 100 km training triangle (Post Mills, Harvey Lake, Brushwood Road).

Dean Memorial airport (just short of the Brushwood Road turnpoint) is the safe place to land for the entire task.

After an informal briefing, five gliders were launched between 12 noon and 1pm, and we left for Harvey Lake at about 1:30.  Three made it around the course, and only two managed to stay together the whole way.  We have a lot to learn about pre-flight planning, programming and using our glide computers, using our Flarms, and communicating efficiently.  But it was a good start.  More ground and flight instruction is needed!

Back at Post Mills, it was intensive test-prep for many of the potential candidates for flight tests next month.  Jeff, Erzo, Friedrich, and Kevin all flew (both solo and with instructors).  Don towed 18 flights in total, and Moshe and Mark instructed.  Mark didn't get a chance to fly his new glider (DG) until after 4pm.

Sunday was a rainy loss.  Zach drove all the way from Burlington to work on the 2-33.

Weekend report August 22 - 23

 The sky looked terrible on both days of the weekend.

We had 10 flights on Saturday under the overcast.  It was nice to see Mark using his new CFI rating to conduct some ground school at the beginning of the day.  He also flew with Jeff and Erzo in preparation for their flight tests.  Friedrich and Mathias had some solo practice, and Kevin got some instruction from Greg.  The sun finally broke out at the end of the day, enabling a couple of extended flights.

Sunday was a washout.

Friday Slackers

During the flight tests last weekend, it was noted that the oil consumption in the towplane was getting a bit excessive.  A hasty arrangement was made with our new mechanic, Noah, and the L19 was delivered to Dean Memorial airport for some maintenance on Sunday after flying.

We expected to get the towplane back on Wednesday, which would be in plenty of time for the forecast good soaring weather on Friday.  In the end, however, there were delays and more things to fix than originally anticipated.  As the forecast for Friday got better and better, we stood by nervously as Noah, Andy, Mark, and Don worked on the L19.  It was finally back at Post Mills and ready to go on Thursday evening, and eleven Slackers got the word that Friday was a go.

The day started early, and we had four gliders in the air by noon.  It was difficult at first, with light winds and an uninspiring ribbon of blue sky along the river.  It wasn't too difficult for the high performance guys to glide out to the clouds to the west, but conditions were difficult around home.  Despite this, Jeff (505) managed to stay in the air for 1.5 hours at the beginning of the day.  He wasn't done yet.

We had a surplus of towpilots, and both Mark (PM) and Tim (BU) were able to go flying after towing.  They flew together between Lebanon and Moosilauke, giving Mark his first real taste of cross-country flight in a glider.

Moshe (RU) and Peter (HG) flew west to the Green Mountains.  Moshe came home via Franconia, and Peter reached 7500 feet after getting low near Bailey.  It was Peter's first 250 km flight.

Meanwhile, the conditions back home improved, and Dave B (NT) and Jeff (505, again) flew for 4h35 and 3h11 respectively.

Leslie (H) flew for five hours and 162 km in the Libelle.  He spent 45 minutes stuck at Dean on the way home, eventually landing there.

The longest flights of the day were achieved by Greg (JR), Shawn (SB), and Evan (T8).  Greg and Shawn flew together for 450 km, with turnpoints at Jay Peak, Old Speck, and Mount Ascutney.  Evan had the longest flight of the day (549 km).  He flew along the Canadian border from Jay all the way to Rangeley, Maine before heading back to Post Mills.

All day towing

2026 has been a great season for PMSC.  We have had 432 flights so far, with roughly three months to go.

In a normal year, we get only one day with more than 20 flights.  And, usually, it takes more than one towpilot to do that many tows in a day.

This year we have had:

• July 11    21 flights towed by Tim
• July 25    24 flights towed by Tim
• Aug 15    24 flights towed by Andy

Honorable mention goes to Don, who has had two 14-tow days this year.

Of course much of this is attributable to our enthusiastic members and the good weather we've been having.

But you've got admire these three guys for doing the hard work of getting the rest of us into the air all season long, and especially on those three days.

Be sure to thank them.

Weekend report August 15 - 16

 In addition to the successful flight tests over the weekend, we had a few more noteworthy flights.

On Saturday, Greg and Moshe (our notable test-prep instructors) wisely concluded that their work with applicants was done, and they went flying.  Greg (JR) flew a 514 km quadrilateral, with the first leg going southwest to Mount Snow, where he reached his high point (6800 feet) at 2:11pm.  He landed back home at 7pm.

Moshe (PM) showed up not planning to fly, but he was able to spend a couple of hours getting refamiliarized with the 304.  That makes 8 different glider types for him this year, all flying out of Post Mills.

Tim (BU) flew 226 km, including an out-and-return to Twin Mountain, and Evan (T8) took a late start and flew a South Carolina-shaped flight all over Vermont and New Hampshire (384 km).

Shawn (SB) flew with Greg for 300 km but was unable to make the last leg from Plymouth to Post Mills.  He arrived at Plymouth at 3000 feet, struggled there for a bit and eventually landed.

Kevin went to get him.  Shawn and Kevin were the only ones who missed the party and the beautiful sunset at Post Mills.

By comparison, Sunday was a quiet day.  Toby took his flight test in the morning, before anyone else arrived at the field.  Newly-soloed Mathias disappeared in the 2-33 for a couple of hours, and new member Phil Gerding flew PM for the first time.

Then the towplane went to Dean for maintenance, and we're hoping to get it back for some more flying before next weekend!

Certificates

We had a very special weekend on August 15 and 16, with four new certificates or ratings.

Throughout the summer, and thanks to the prodding and prompting of the flight instructors, led by our cheerleader-in-chief, Greg, an unusual number of glider pilots have been preparing for their flight tests.

When you look at it closely, this requires a significant effort from all concerned.  Ground school, knowledge tests, more ground school, flight test prep, IACRA, scheduling the examiner, getting the paperwork in order, organizing volunteers for the big day, etc.

This year we have had an unusually large number of pilots, towpilots, and instructors willing to put in the work to get the job done.

Mark Brisson took the first flight test on Saturday.  Mark holds the most FAA ratings of anyone in the club, 13.  He extended this to 14 by adding a Glider rating to his flight instructor certificate.  Congratulations to Mark for becoming our newest CFI-G!

Next up was Zach LaRochelle.  Zach took a few practice solo flights on Thursday, and he was obviously overprepared for his flight test in the 2-33.  Congratulations to Zach on his new Private Pilot Certificate!  When asked who his first passenger would be, he didn't have a clue.

Finally, on Saturday, Dave Baxter took his practical test to add Glider privileges to his Private Pilot certificate.  Congratulations to Dave for his additional rating in gliders!  It isn't widely known that Dave has the PMSC record for the greatest number of students instructed.  He has taught 2000 hang glider pilots how to fly!  It is possible that the new rating means that he has officially retired from hang gliding.

On Sunday Toby Schine had an early appointment with the examiner, and by noon he was finished with his flight test in the Blanik.  Congratulations to Toby for adding a glider rating to his Commercial Pilot Certificate!

Obviously, none of this would have been possible without Ed Winchester, our new Designated Pilot Examiner.  Ed traveled from his base (Adirondack Soaring in Saratoga County, New York) to spend both days of the weekend with us.  Ed worked tirelessly all weekend and we do appreciate his willingness to come to Post Mills.  Ed is an experienced glider pilot and a glider-only DPE (the best kind).  He told us that there are only seven of them in the United States.  Nobody knows why they are so scarce.  The average distance between glider-only DPEs is about 700 miles.

And the best news of all is that we will have another handful of applicants ready for their flight tests next month, and Ed is willing to come back and do it again!