So that new members could
start serving their ops duty before autumn, and John Farris’ flight-physical
issue, We have had to revise the ops schedule. This means some of what was published in previous
months is no longer valid. You
may or may not have duty when you thought you did.
Please double check.
Big May Day.
Many of you missed an
educational general membership meeting and cross-country seminar on Saturday,
24 May. A short and sweet general
membership meeting started at 9:00 AM. George
Applebay gave interesting presentations on the Southwest Museum and on a
planned parking ramp near the Ops tie-down area.
Billy Hill then started the XC Seminar.
He pointed out the many planning factors in going cross-country and
what kind of survival and tie-down gear to take with you.
Some pilots took a break for lunch while others prepared their
sailplanes.
Only four pilots wanted
to go cross-country: Billy Hill
led the Libelle and Twin Astir around the area in his Discus, and Brian Resor
paired with me. Billy will report
on his gaggle elsewhere in this issue. The
following is a summary of Brian’s and my flight.
The day didn’t start
to develop until well after noon, so sailplanes started stacking up in the Ops
area before anyone had the guts to take off.
Once the flood gates opened, Kevin Ferguson did an outstanding job on
Ops getting everyone airborne. I
took off at 12:54 and Brian was several sailplanes behind me.
By the time he climbed out and we departed McIntosh on course at 14,000
ft, it was 1:37.
It wasn’t a
particularly strong day, but Brian made the best of it in his Standard Cirrus.
I simply tagged along in my ASW 27 and helped him decide where to look for
better lift. We turned Mountainair, Manzano, the north end of South Mountain,
and Clines Corners. Once I knew Brian had the field made, I let the
water-laden ASW accelerate ahead on final glide and landed at Moriarty at
3:25, with Brian 2-3 minutes behind me. A
distance of 113 nm/130 statute miles in 1:47:30 for 63 knots/73 mph average.
Not bad for the 1971 vintage sailplane that Brian flew.
Meantime, other club
members were busy in the 2-33 and 1-26 competing in Steve Schery’s
spot-landing contest. Bob Carlton
won in the 1-26 with a perfect score. I
tried to compete on my landing, but the cones were a little too close together
for a glass ship to be able to stop. I
scraped the underside of the ASW 27 belly braking so hard and still blew past
the second cone. Perhaps our 6200
ft field elevation and the resulting true airspeed on final approach should be
more of a consideration in future contests.
After everyone landed,
Mitch Hudson started the BBQ fires in the hanger and served hamburgers and hot
dogs, provided by ASC. Other
people contributed beer and Margaritas. Many
lies were told, some about soaring. Overall,
a very good day!
Libelle Unavailable
from 30 Jun through 5 Jul.
Don’t plan on flying the Libelle locally then. The board approved
Mitch Hudson’s request to take it to the Region 9 contest.
ASC Significant Events Calendar |
|
|
14-15
Jun |
Leader/Follower
XC Training |
|
17-26
Jun |
Sports/World
Class Nats, Harris Hill, NY |
|
19-22
Jun |
Durango
Excursion |
|
21
Jun |
Club
House Clean-up |
|
23-27
Jun |
Women
Soaring Pilots Meeting, Moriarty |
|
30
Jun-5 Jul |
Region
9 Contest, Hobbs, NM |
|
3
Jul |
Board
Meeting |
|
15-24
Jul |
15-Meter
Nationals, Lubbock, TX |
|
7
Aug |
Board
Meeting |
|
16
Aug |
Local
Leader/Follower XC Training, Gen Membr Meeting/BBQ Beer Bust |
Let’s keep trying to make soaring more fun!
ASC Website:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/acechase/
News
from Durango
Olin Kane
The
250 hp Pawnee now sports a new Hoffman 4-blade propeller and is
noticeably quieter. We
also have a 235 hp Pawnee to back it up.
No more anemic Super Cub tows. We
still give rides in the two Blanik L-23's and have an L-13 and a SGS 1-26 for
training and rental. Our private ships include a Libelle, Hornet, Mosquito,
ASW-20, ASW-27, Cirrus and a Ventus. Pretty
decent fleet for a small town. The soaring has been great.
A LS-4 and a ASW-20 were down from Telluride recently to fly off grass.
Come on up and play with us.
Hanger
Cleanup
JD Huss
It
appears there is a minor faux pas [for you fiter pilitz that is pronounced:
“faux pas”] with the date for the club’s clean-up day.
We are in conflict with the ASC outing to Durango, CO – which means
several of you will be ducking out on our grunt-like festivities [our fearless
President among you – so I’m told]. Fear
not! While your names will be
muttered in vain while we are scrubbing the toilet – we wish you the best
and [truth be known] we would rather be with you in DRO than 0E0.
I also understand that only nine [9] of you go to DRO – so there will
be plenty of us left to get the work done.
In
spite of this little setback, I am still planning on having our “CLEAN-UP”
DAY on Saturday, June 21. I would
like to start at 9:30 AM with the intention of finishing about 1:00 PM.
Among the items that need attention are: Painting the bare wood on
the hangar doors with oil-base primer [I would like to have six volunteers
to take this on], Hooking up the swamp cooler [Mitch Hudson has
volunteered to take this project on – THANKS, MITCH], Vacuuming the
window sills and furniture [if I could have three or four volunteers for this
– and if someone could please bring a SHOPVAC], Sweeping out the
clubhouse [we have plenty of brooms], Mopping the clubhouse floor [and
mops], Cleaning out the ops van, Cutting the weeds from around
the front of the clubhouse [four volunteers with rakes, hoes, and other garden
tools – we have “ROUNDUP”], and Three or four able bodies to help Mark
Mocho and me sort through the stuff on the hangar floor and storing it
overhead or tossing in the dumpster.
At
the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I am not interested in wasting time
sweeping the sand out of the hangar – that effort is good for one day only!
Bob
& Laurie Carlton and Mark Mocho will be recharging the O2.
The club parachutes are being re-packed, and should be back in
the locker in a few days.
Guys
– this is your big chance! Show
your wives that you do have domestic talents!
Please mark your calendar for Saturday, June 21 0930.
ASC Awards
– 2003
Renny Rozzoni
I
misplaced this article back when Renny wrote it. Sorry bout that! Consider
this a mid-year reminder I guess. K.F.
For those of you that weren’t able
to make the annual club banquet in January at Garduno’s on the Green, I
wanted all of you to be aware of the “festivities” and I wanted to
publicly recognize the many outstanding ASC members that received awards at
our dinner.
The
banquet was well attended and we were fortunate to have several speakers
including Don Taylor with Eclipse Aviation who gave a very interesting talk
regarding the status of the new Eclipse jet. Don also explained the many
benefits of jet ownership for the club and it is my understanding that Paul
and the board are “considering” an Eclipse jet for towing operations (It
is believed that the jet should be able to “quickly” tow 3 sailplanes
simultaneously….)
Our
speaker list also included a brief talk by Billy Hill on upcoming club X-C
soaring events and the club was also treated to a very interesting ASC club
history (with handouts) by Ken Harper. Paul Chase then recognized and thanked
both the incoming and outgoing board members and also thanked all of the
appointed club officers and many other volunteer club members who truly
“make it happen!”
The
speakers were then followed by the presentation of the club awards. The
following is a listing of all the club’s award winners. Congratulations
goes out to all!
Most
Instruction in 2002 – Jim Wier – 67 Flights
Most
Tows in 2002 – Bob Wright – 115 Tows
Aero-Tek
Award – Longest Flight in 2002 over 300KM originating from Moriarty – For
a flight of 358 miles on May 31, 2002 – Art Hale
1-26er
Award – For his excellent flights in 2002 including a a flight of 98 miles
and 124 miles – Winner – Mitch Hudson
ASC
Safety Award – For his tremendous efforts in keeping our sailplanes and
towplanes in safe and airworthy condition – Mark Mocho
ASC
X-C Award – Classic Class – For pilots with less than a Gold Badge – 2
longest handicapped flights…
1st Place – Mark Mocho
2nd Place – Steve Schery
3rd Place – Mitch Hudson
Ain’t
Soaring Fun Award - For the ASC member who had the most “fun” in
2002…This club member earned this for his “fun” trip to the 15M
Nationals at Tonopah….Paul Chase
Harland
Ross Award – For Soaring Excellence – For his week in and week out flying
and his contest flying in 2002. Our winner finished 3rd at the Region 9
Contest at Turf finishing 3 points out of 2nd and only 83 points out of 1st.
The winner was…Jim Cumiford
Paul
Scates Award – For Outstanding Service to the Club – For his numerous
hours in getting a new engine for 10Z. For his research and coordination in
purchasing a “Certified Millenium Pre-Owned engine.” The club was very
fortunate in having Jon Daffer on the case!
Paul
Callies Award– Advancement of Soaring – This year the board wanted to
recognize a long-time club member who has been serving the club for over 30
years. His many years of service included designing and supervising the
construction of the club’s hangar and handling negotiations over the years
for our leases with the City of Moriarty. He’s held many board positions in
the club over the many years, been heavily involved with many contests and
also was involved in the two SSA Convention held in Albuquerque…and the
winner was…Ken Harper
A
big thanks goes out to Sheri Nevins for planning and organizing this
outstanding event. “Best Supporting” thanks goes out to Steve Work and
Peter and Mary Bilan for their support of the banquet!
Weekend operations procedures
(updated
and approved by the ASC Board 3/14/2003)
1.
The default time for starting operations is 9:30 am summer (April-Oct) and
10:30am winter (Nov - March). These times may be adjusted by the chief instructor based on
instructor/student needs.
2.
Operations personnel should take out clubhouse and hangar trash, sweep
clubhouse floor, and clean bathroom. Routine
maintenance and clean up should be performed on the van and in the hangar.
Report problems on the chalkboard
4.
Launches will be suspended if the headwind exceeds 25 knots, or the 90 degrees
crosswind component exceeds 15 knots, or there is lightning nearby.
5.
The Chief Ops for the day is in charge. He/she
can:
a. Refuse a tow to any member for just cause (not limited to
safety).
b. Change the
launch order for good cause (e.g., efficiency or safety).
c. The Chief Ops,
instructor, tow pilot, or safety officer alone can shut down operations for
reasons of safety.
6.
The Launch List
a. Pilot cannot sign up unless glider is at the flight line or
airborne.
b. Pilot/glider launch in order listed (subject to 5).
c. Pilot can pass without losing place in line.
7.
A pilot in a club ship is limited to a maximum of 1.5 hours flight time
when other pilots are waiting for the ship (unless on a special activity such
as a badge attempt approved by the ASC board).
8.
Club Aircraft. A member is
responsible for a glider from the moment he/she unties, unhangars, or accepts
glider until he/she ties it down or hangars it or gives it to another member
(NOT the Chief Ops).
9.
Further details and rules can be found in the ASC Operations and Policy
Manual, particularly Annexes D and E, page 25
Badge Flying How To
Brian Resor
One
way to get yourself going in cross country soaring is to follow along the
route of the SSA's Badge program. This
is not a bad idea. Each step
provides a definite goal and will provide a nice progression toward bigger and
bigger flights. Plus, if you have
declared that you are flying a badge task and have permission from the club,
you get highest priority in the club aircraft of your choice for the flight
(hopefully the 1-26 or the Libelle) for as long as you need that day.
Often
there is a lot of frustration when it is time to document the badge flight.
When I say documentation I mean both paperwork and flight path.
If planned ahead correctly, documenting the flight is really no big
deal. If you are unsure of the
rules and paperwork before the flight, then there is a good chance you'll
spend lots of time afterwards trying to figure out how you can bend the
written rules to make them say that what you did was okay.
I know because I've done it a few times and I've observed for pilots
who have done it. Some of the
most experienced pilots who fly badges and records have screwed up the claim
on a good flight at least once.
First,
you need to have an Official Observer (OO) around on the day of your flight.
The OO is an SSA member who holds at least a Bronze Badge or a leg of
any higher (Silver, Gold, Diamond) Badge.
Airport Managers can also serve as an OO in case there are no other
qualified glider pilots around. The
OO is supposed to verify the flight declaration and perform the post-flight
analysis to make sure that the claim is good before it is sent to the SSA.
I'm
going to focus here on the use of data loggers for flight documentation.
I will try to mention some of the details for those pilots who are
using the club's barograph. My first badge attempt was with a barograph and camera.
I have been lucky enough to use a data logger ever since then.
I really don't know how to prepare a barograph.
If you plan to do it, make sure to do your research and get it right.
It involves quite a few details.
Ideally,
the Silver Badge should be completed first before trying to document any long
distance flights. The Altitude
Leg is easy: gain 3280 feet from the lowest point in the flight.
Forget that and go for the Gold: gain 9843 feet from the lowest point
in flight. Duration is a
different story. Spending 5 hours
in a row going up and down near the airport is not my idea of fun.
Unless you like this sort of local flight, wait until you fly some real
cross country and the 5-hour duration will fly by because you're having fun. However, you don't think your soaring skills are developed
enough to be able to stay aloft for the 5 hours if you had to, then you
shouldn't be attempting cross country yet.
By the way, you don't need a barograph to earn the 5-hour leg as long
as your official observer is at the field the whole time and can verify that
you were aloft for 5 hours.
The
Silver Distance leg of 50km is easy on a good day, but it's a good way to
practice getting all the details of documentation right before you go and mess
up during perfectly good 300 or 500 km flight.
A great task is from Moriarty to Mountainair and back for a total of
just over 100 km. Both Estancia
and Mountainair airports are safe landing sites.
If you really want to be prepared, then I suggest taking a drive to see
each of them from the ground.
Before
the flight, either do an electronic declaration in your approved data logger
or fill out a paper copy and have the OO sign it.
When using a datalogger, either is acceptable. A nice paper declaration form is available on the SSA website
and I like to use it instead of an electronic declaration.
If using a camera and barograph, take photos of the declaration form
with the turnpoint camera while it is mounted in the aircraft.
Make sure the camera is mounted securely and pointed out the left side
of the cockpit with the left wing tip in the frame.
Some sort of smudge (perhaps by a grease pencil) should be marked on
the canopy in the camera frame so that the OO can determine if the camera was
disturbed during the flight.
For
a 50km task, the maximum allowed tow release height is 1640 ft above the
elevation of the finish point (the location of your landing) according to the
1% rule. Since the proposed task
is actually 100km and it returns back to Moriarty, you are allowed the full
3280 ft AGL tow if you want it. Just
take a 2k tow as usual and you'll be okay.
Document
your release altitude as soon as you get off tow. This is called "notching" the barogram.
With a barograph, you need to locate some lift, then leave the lift,
dive 200 feet and hold for about 10 seconds and pull back up, gently (thus,
the notch). Then, go find your
thermal and climb out to begin the task.
For datalogger users, all you have to do is perform a tight 360-degree
turn as soon as you get off tow to mark your tow release.
This is called the "GPS notch."
Once
the release altitude has been documented and you climb to a comfortable
altitude, it's time to start the task. The
start point for camera users for this task is best declared as the "tow
release." The tow pilot will
verify the release location after your flight.
For datalogger users, you probably should have declared a start point
at the Moriarty turnpoint. This
then requires you to fly through the start sector before you begin the task.
Start and finish sectors are 90-degree sectors that are centered
180-degrees opposite the first and final legs, respectively.
When
you arrive over Mountainair, you must pass through the turnpoint sector.
A turnpoint sector is a 90-degree sector that is centered 180-degrees
opposite the bisector of the incoming and outgoing legs of the task.
Note that this definition is different from a start or finish sector.
Camera users need to round the turnpoint in a counterclockwise
direction (if the camera is on the left) and take a turnpoint photo while
banking. Basically, point your
wing at the turnpoint and take a shot. Go
ahead and take a few shots to make sure you got it.
If your are way up at 15,000+15 MSL above Mountainair, then either you
are going to have to do a near 90-degree bank to see the turnpoint or you will
have to simply fly a few miles past it to get a good photo.
GPS users only have to get a fix in the sector.
You've
now flown your Silver Distance leg. Even
if you land at Mountainair or land at Estancia on the way home, you have flown
the distance and will earn the leg. However,
if you land at Mountainair and you took a 2k tow (instead of 1640ft tow) the
flight is no good, though, because your start height was too high for the
distance flown.
In
this case, both camera users and datalogger users can land at home and call
the task finished. Datalogger
users might want to get in the habit of passing through the finish sector,
though, because the Diamond Goal leg down the road requires a closed course to
be flown (also make sure that your start fix and your finish fix are within
1km of each other). Camera users
flying a closed loop task need to make sure they don't start from a tow
release that is more than 1km from the airport where you intend to finish.
Once
on the ground, camera users need to take one last photo of the declaration
with the word "FINISHED" written in big letters across the whole
thing. Both camera and datalogger
users should make sure their OO is around to help out.
Finally,
the OO will help you check all the turnpoints, altitudes and paperwork (or get
some help from someone who knows what they're doing). Camera users, make sure and have the film developed with
instructions not to cut the photos apart.
The photos all need to remain in the order they were taken.
The use of a date back camera is not sufficient.
Also, your barograph or datalogger needs to have been calibrated within
the 24 months before the flight or within a month afterwards.
You have 6 months after the flight to turn in the paperwork for the
badge before the claim is no good.
There
is an updated application form (within the last year or so) for SSA Awards on
the SSA website. It is much less
confusing to use than the old one. Make
sure to get the appropriate signatures (pilot, towpilot, and OO).
If you used a GPS datalogger, you don't need the towpilot's signature
for anything.
As
I wrote this I remembered how many things there are to learn about flying
badges and records. I've only
skimmed the surface here. The
reason I wrote this article is so that if you are thinking about flying your
first badge leg, you can make sure and ask the right questions about the
procedures before you fly the task so that you are not disappointed
afterwards. Some important
points: get an OO who knows what
they're doing to help you out, notch the barogram, and make sure to
successfully record the start and each turnpoint.
The Relativity of Being Low Billy Hill
If there is a negative side to flying sailplanes in the
Western part of the country, it’s the fact that we can be forty plus miles
from Moriarty on a good day and still be within a comfortable gliding distance
from our home field. Perhaps you
are asking, why is this a problem?
In the
beginning stages of cross –country exercises where short distances are
flown, remaining within gliding distance of the home field is important.
It is at this point we are honing our navigation, thermaling and cloud
reading skills and we shouldn’t be distracted by thoughts of landing away
from Moriarty.
Phase
two is getting far enough away from 0E0 that we will have to work a least one
thermal in order to be able to make final glide. This brings up the issue of getting low.
The
prime dictum of cross- country flying has always been, “get high and stay
high.” That’s sound advice,
but in reality, it’s not always achievable.
During
the course of a cross-country flight wherein I led Bill Stewart in the ASC
Libelle and JD Huss, with Tim Mitchell in the back of the ASC Twin Astir, we
had two occasions where we were within five thousand feet of the ground.
On the first occasion, we were seven miles north of MountainAir.
On the second, we were four miles north of the Sandia East airport. So, did that make us low?
If we
use an average sink rate of 250 feet per minute plus five or so minutes to
glide to MountainAir and arrive at 1000 feet AGL, that should give us about
ten or so minutes to find a thermal. The
same would have been true for the second time we were down to 5000 AGL and
just a few miles north of Sandia East.
While
enroute to MountainAir, we were within gliding distance of at least two
private airstrips as well as the one at Estancia.
During our northbound run out of MountainAir, we passed those same
landable areas as well as additional ones to the north of Moriarty.
The
point here is that once we are committed to the cross-country flight, Moriarty
should be put on our mental back burner and not considered relative to the
task at hand, except that our goal is to return to it.
Gear
changing is an important part of cross country flying and we were required to
do a modicum of down shifting in order to get back up and on course.
Generally, pilots with little or no experience at cross-country flying
tend to make gross corrections in centering thermals rather than fine and
perhaps on-going changes throughout the circumference of the circle which
defines the center of the thermal. This
becomes more acute when a pilot becomes distracted by the possibility that he
or she might not make it back to the home field.
It is at this point the individual should recognize the fact that they
actually are within a comfortable radius of a landable site.
Armed with this knowledge, they should then focus their attention on
the task at hand which is to get back to altitude and continue with the
day’s flight.
Even
though the task area had become overrun with blow-off and cirrus, the lift was
still good and in some places excellent.
Once we had extracted our selves from our second low point, we made a
climb to 17,300 feet and did a fifteen-mile glide into the turn point at Santa
Fe. From there we reversed course
with the intent of making a final glide home. Because the clouds home looked
good there was no reason to believe we would need to circle at any point
during the last leg. In fact the
closer we got to Moriarty, the higher we got on glide path.
This meant we had made about a fifty plus mile glide without circling
which brings us back to the reason we fly here and are blessed with such
excellent conditions.
Where’s My Roster?
This
month I was blessed with a number of great articles (And the Banquet article I
lost). Plenty for 6 pages v. the
usual 4. To keep printing and
postage costs in-line, mailings
need to be limited to your bill plus 3 sheets. I expect the roster inserts to
resume next month as normal.