Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
Sunday flight of RU at Franconia
Moshe writes:
It was hot, even at 6000 feet, with no significant shade from clouds. I got to 6500 feet, tossed in rotor in the lee of Lafayette, but couldn't find any wave lift. The WSW wind (Nook said 15 knots but I think it was stronger) blew me farther away.
Coming back to Cannon I lost some 2500 feet in sink, and there I joined 3 other gliders in a gaggle turning to the right, which I am not good at. Barely climbing there, that's when I noticed the wetness in my seat. Turned out the Camelback water spout got stuck under me, and thus my sorely-needed drinking supply turned into a puddle in the seat pan. That was not fun.
I kept scratching anyway, trying unsuccessfully to make headway upwind, and making a couple of low saves near the airport. Finally, in the fourth hour, the cu got nicer and I got a bit of shade at 7000 MSL, going near Moosilauke. Sure got exhausted!
I see that other people struggled too, e.g., Tim spent a whole 2 hours scratching, often lower than I got. But, they were eventually rewarded with finding the wave and going to 12,000 feet. I never found the wave; perhaps I need to learn where to look for it!Send your stories and pictures to me!
Weekend report June 30 - July 6
The preparation phase
MONDAY
Pete and Rick drove to Franconia and delivered 3J and RU.
TUESDAY
Pete and Rick drove to Franconia and delivered PM and the golf cart, and drove back home. Then they went back to Franconia by air with the Blanik in tow, and returned to Post Mills by air.
WEDNESDAY
Pete and Rick took the day off.
THURSDAY
Evan drove from home to Franconia and dropped off his car and trailer. Andy flew to Franconia in the Champ, picked up Evan, and brought him back to Post Mills. Evan then flew the towplane back to Franconia, towing nothing. Karl towed the fuel trailer from Post Mills to Franconia. Pete drove his truck back to Franconia, towing nothing, and checked in at the establishment across the street from the airfield. This completed the preparation phase. Rick took another day off.
The flying phase
FRIDAY, the Fourth of July
The first day of our encampment was cold and fairly miserable. Henry took a couple of practice flights, which involved towing up to the ceiling of 1500 feet AGL and gliding back down. Andy towed. The Franconia towplane was having some engine troubles, and their club asked ours to provide some tows. This is a Fourth of July tradition.
SATURDAY
Saturday started out overcast, cool, and quite windy. We initially thought it would be a loser of a day. Fortunately, the wind was on the ridge, and everyone who wanted to get in the air did so, with the exception of Henry, who spent the day helping everyone else fly.
The sun broke out in the middle of the afternoon, and several pilots made it into the wave.
Tim (AT), Skip (JS), Dan, (EA), and Paul (S1) posted good flights, but the best one was by Andy Lawrence (PM), who reached 13000 feet. The Blanik flew several times, with Bill instructing. Rick and Dakai made it to 8100 feet on the last flight of the day, and landed at 7pm.In all, we had 21 flights on Saturday (including a few tows for FSA, whose towplane engine was still not yielding to the ministrations of their mechanic). Andy did all the tows, allowing the other three PMSC towpilots time to enjoy their day.
Thanks to Judy's last-minute organizing, we had a traditional cookout in the back yard of the Kinsman Lodge, where a few of us were staying and a few more were camping out. A lot of people contributed, and a few probably still owe Judy a small amount for groceries. The evening ended with some low quality fireworks and some high quality stargazing.
SUNDAY
Sunday was a beautiful day from end to end. Tim (AT) took off first and was one of the last to land. He went up north and made it up to 13000 feet. Evan (T8) and Dan (EA) made it to similar heights. Moshe (RU) spent several hours practicing low saves in the vicinity of the airport, and Skip (JS), Dennis (DC), Pete (3J), and Andy Lawrence (PM) chased each other back and forth on the ridge. The Franconia club again benefited from our visiting towplane, as the consensus on the status of their engine converged on "ruined." For the third day in a row, Andy did all the tows, for a total of 46 for the weekend.
Greg organized the retrieval of all the equipment. Thanks to the hard work of Pete, Karl, Angelica, Annie, Andy Lawrence, and Andy Lumley, everything got packed up and brought back home by the end of the day.
Monday it rained. A perfect weekend.
The only thing left to do was the laundry.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Weekend report June 21 - 22
Another terrific weekend for the club!
We expanded our operational footprint to three airports in two states, accomplished some good flight instruction, welcomed back an old member, and racked up over 3000 OLC kilometers.
Saturday started out with a quick trip in the Cub to Springfield by Kevin and Rick to help Dennis assemble his glider. When we left him, he was still looking for a towpilot. Fortunately, he found one later in the day and had a short practice flight. Afterwards, he was able to hangar the glider in preparation for further flying on Sunday.
Back at Post Mills, the conditions were good enough to get up and get away for one long (T8) and several medium sized (ZP, BA, EA, JS, S1, RU, PM) cross-country flights.
Two of those flights did not quite make it back to Post Mills. Greg and his guest Mike flogged the Blanik up to Franconia and landed at Dean on the way home. Andy Lawrence must have decided they needed company, and he landed there, too. In an uncharacteristic display of efficiency, the club leapt into action and executed two simultaneous retrieves, getting everyone home in time for the cookout (it didn't hurt that this was the longest day of the year).
The cookout was well attended:
The flying on Sunday was even better. Iron Man (T8) was the first to take off, and the last to land. In seven and a half hours, Evan flew 600 kilometers, which is an all-time distance record for flights out of our humble airfield. Congratulations, Evan!
Moshe (RU) took a 300 km trip that included the far side of the Green Mountains, an area gliders don't normally visit. Thomas (ZP), Greg (JD) and Dan (EA) chased each other around a quadrilateral with vertices at Mount Hunger, Burke Mountain, Mount Washington, and Post Mills.
Sonny (LT) flew our stock 100 km FAI Triangle (Post Mills, Harvey's Lake, Dean) and was happy to get home after a low save over Mallory Farm, a place with which he is familiar.
Skip (JS), who took off exactly 3 hours after Evan, flew a somewhat smaller bow tie course which included a low save at Dean. Andy (PM), and Doug (PM) combined to put another 200 km on the 304's odometer.
The local guys had a good time too. Henry explored the area in 3J for 2 hours. Dakai made his first flight as sole manipulator of the controls and kept the 2-33 in the air for an hour. Karl flew the Blanik three times, including an introductory ride for Matt Hausler, and an end-of-day flight with Lane that went to 7300 feet. Tim and Christina went for a short flight and took that great picture of Lake Morey and the river.
We were very happy to see Carl Hausler on the field again after a long absence. Although he didn't actually get in the air this weekend, he has told us that he wants to become active again. Welcome back, Carl!
The weekend ended the way it began, with a trip to Springfield (this time in the Champ) to see Dennis (DC), who had another nice flight in the Ventus.
That's it. A very successful weekend with lots of happy pilots. Thanks to Doug and Andy for towing, and to Bill for instructing both days.
We expanded our operational footprint to three airports in two states, accomplished some good flight instruction, welcomed back an old member, and racked up over 3000 OLC kilometers.
Saturday started out with a quick trip in the Cub to Springfield by Kevin and Rick to help Dennis assemble his glider. When we left him, he was still looking for a towpilot. Fortunately, he found one later in the day and had a short practice flight. Afterwards, he was able to hangar the glider in preparation for further flying on Sunday.
Back at Post Mills, the conditions were good enough to get up and get away for one long (T8) and several medium sized (ZP, BA, EA, JS, S1, RU, PM) cross-country flights.
Two of those flights did not quite make it back to Post Mills. Greg and his guest Mike flogged the Blanik up to Franconia and landed at Dean on the way home. Andy Lawrence must have decided they needed company, and he landed there, too. In an uncharacteristic display of efficiency, the club leapt into action and executed two simultaneous retrieves, getting everyone home in time for the cookout (it didn't hurt that this was the longest day of the year).
The cookout was well attended:
Andy, Andy, Bill, Dan, Ella, Evan, Karl, Keith, Greg, Mary, Mike, Mike, Moshe, Paul, Peter, Petey, Rich, Rick, Sue, Sue, and Sueand the only complaint was that we ran out of food again. Perhaps we should be better organized, who knows?
The flying on Sunday was even better. Iron Man (T8) was the first to take off, and the last to land. In seven and a half hours, Evan flew 600 kilometers, which is an all-time distance record for flights out of our humble airfield. Congratulations, Evan!
 |
| A 600 kilometer bow tie |
Sonny (LT) flew our stock 100 km FAI Triangle (Post Mills, Harvey's Lake, Dean) and was happy to get home after a low save over Mallory Farm, a place with which he is familiar.
Skip (JS), who took off exactly 3 hours after Evan, flew a somewhat smaller bow tie course which included a low save at Dean. Andy (PM), and Doug (PM) combined to put another 200 km on the 304's odometer.
The local guys had a good time too. Henry explored the area in 3J for 2 hours. Dakai made his first flight as sole manipulator of the controls and kept the 2-33 in the air for an hour. Karl flew the Blanik three times, including an introductory ride for Matt Hausler, and an end-of-day flight with Lane that went to 7300 feet. Tim and Christina went for a short flight and took that great picture of Lake Morey and the river.
We were very happy to see Carl Hausler on the field again after a long absence. Although he didn't actually get in the air this weekend, he has told us that he wants to become active again. Welcome back, Carl!
The weekend ended the way it began, with a trip to Springfield (this time in the Champ) to see Dennis (DC), who had another nice flight in the Ventus.
That's it. A very successful weekend with lots of happy pilots. Thanks to Doug and Andy for towing, and to Bill for instructing both days.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
WGC 2014
Here is some basic information about the World Gliding Championships (WGC), and about the US Soaring Team.
The WGC takes place every two years. It is split into two separate competitions, with three classes of gliders in each. Sometimes, the interval between competitions is one-and-a-half or two-and-a half years, because they occasionally go to the Southern Hemisphere, where it's summertime in January.
Usually, about 20 countries participate in each Championships. Each country is allowed to send two pilots per class, not counting the reigning champions, who are automatically invited. USA tries to send a full complement of pilots to each contest, which means 12 pilots total for the two contests.
This year one of the WGCs is in Finland in June (it has already started), and the other one is in Poland in July.
The contest in Finland is for the Standard, Club, and 2-seater classes. Here is some information and links to help you follow along:
Karin Schlosser, one of our pilots, is writing her own blog. Unfortunately, both bloggers are currently reporting that the weather in Finland is really lousy.
The other contest is in Poland, and it is for the Open, 18 Meter, and 15 Meter classes. Here is the info:
The WGC takes place every two years. It is split into two separate competitions, with three classes of gliders in each. Sometimes, the interval between competitions is one-and-a-half or two-and-a half years, because they occasionally go to the Southern Hemisphere, where it's summertime in January.
Usually, about 20 countries participate in each Championships. Each country is allowed to send two pilots per class, not counting the reigning champions, who are automatically invited. USA tries to send a full complement of pilots to each contest, which means 12 pilots total for the two contests.
This year one of the WGCs is in Finland in June (it has already started), and the other one is in Poland in July.
The contest in Finland is for the Standard, Club, and 2-seater classes. Here is some information and links to help you follow along:
We have some connections to this contest. Both of our Standard Class pilots are members of GBSC and have flown out of Post Mills. The principal author of the US Team blog is PMSC member John Good.
Contest site: Rayskala, Finland Dates: June 22 - July 5 Contest website Scores US Team blog, Twitter Karin's blog
Karin Schlosser, one of our pilots, is writing her own blog. Unfortunately, both bloggers are currently reporting that the weather in Finland is really lousy.
The other contest is in Poland, and it is for the Open, 18 Meter, and 15 Meter classes. Here is the info:
Rick (DB Crew) will be there, and will be one of the Team bloggers and tweeters.
Contest site: Leszno, Poland Dates: July 27 - August 9 Contest website Scores US Team blog, Twitter
Slacker Friday
Evan, Rick and Karl went flying on Friday, and Keith towed (Thanks, Keith).
The conditions were good but there was too much wind for a normal cross-country mission. Evan (T8) was the smartest: he flew up to Franconia and joined Jim David (US) on a wave hunt. They were successful, and Evan made a nice climb to 13800 feet. From there, he made it almost halfway to the North Pole.
The conditions were good but there was too much wind for a normal cross-country mission. Evan (T8) was the smartest: he flew up to Franconia and joined Jim David (US) on a wave hunt. They were successful, and Evan made a nice climb to 13800 feet. From there, he made it almost halfway to the North Pole.
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