Let's start out on a light note...
"Feathers", a trade publication serving the California Poultry Industry Federation, recently noted that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has been using a unique device for testing the strength of airplane windshields. This is a weapon that launches a dead chicken against the glass at approximately the speed of the aircraft's normal flight. The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the impact of the carcass, it will survive a real collision with a bird in flight. The British wanted to test a windshield on a newly developed high speed locomotive. They borrowed the FAA's chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, went through the engineer's chair, broke an instrument panel and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly. The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: "Use a thawed chicken".

...Then go to a darker one.
You may have noticed (surely during preflights) that the canopies of "our" beloved ASK are becoming more and more crack infested. Several weekends ago, I found the rear canopy cracks had converged at the upper rear corner of the vent window, and had become displaced, i.e. not flush. I had to disassemble the frame of the vent window and take a sharp knife edge to the surfaces to get the pieces to come together again. This past weekend the cracks had not "traveled" anymore. Bill Vickland, Bob Michaels and I looked at the cracks and decided that to prevent anymore spreading we would need to drill-stop them. We found it necessary to drill 3 more holes in the glass. As we performed the chore, we kinda guessed at the cost of new canopies. My guess was "somewhere around $800 apiece". Bill Vickland said, "more like $1,200 apiece". Well, I wasn't satisfied, so I called John Murray, the dealer for ASK's and asked him, "how much for 2 new canopies". He told me to sit down, because he was sure that I wasn't going to be prepared for the answer.

John pulled out the book and and gave me the following info-(be sure you're sitting down, too). Canopy glass-$1,850 ea. x 2 = $3,700. Labor to install-(if done by experts that have a lot of experience-no rookies) 32 hrs. per canopy (2) = 64 hrs. x $45/hr = $2,880. Let's see, $3,700 + $2,880 + $150 shipping = $6,730! Six thousand, seven hundred and thirty dollars for the "glass" to cover our heads while flying this glider.

Now, if I've gotten you're attention, I would like to suggest that we be much more careful in our handling of this valuable piece of aircraft. If these cracks become worse, someone(?) is going to be out a lot of money, or out of a glider to fly. I don't know about you, but I don't have the cash. I'm becoming kinda fond of flying the K and you'll find me becoming kinda possessive, so if you hear me correcting you or anyone else about the way it's handled, please don't take it personally (but I am taking it personally).
Any comments??
-Kevin Fleet

Birds Fly-Men Perch?
On Saturday, 18th of April, during the hanging of the bird poop tarp in our hangar both Tom Bird and I fell from a scaffold that we had set up in order to afix the tarp and furring strips to the rafters. Neither of us were seriously hurt, a very fortunate outcome for sure, although as I write this, I have a lot of aching muscles in the strangest places.

The scaffold, a one-foot wide wooden plank, was supported at one by a step-ladder and at the other by Tom's utility trailer, the tail-gate of which, when folded up in the closed position, provided a sturdy horizontal edge upon which the scaffold six feet above the floor.

We had been at work some four or five hours, and nearly finished with the hanging in our hangar when the accident happened. It's instructive to list the series of events that led to the accident. The tarp strips were 16ft wide; so, it required three strips for the job. We had done the two side strips first and were about 3/4th of the way along the center strip. We had found it most efficient to place our scaffold parallel and between two rafters so that we could afix one set of furring strips, then turn around and do another before we had to move the scaffold. Moving the scaffold required moving both the utility trailer and ladder. The ladder was easy, but Tom had to drive his van with trailer attached forward and jockey it backward such to put the tail-gate in the new position. This was becoming a little tedious to do, because we were working at the back-center of the hangar, and he had to cramp the wheel and jack-knife the trailer hard to get it into position.

SO, we detached trailer from van and jockeyed it by hand(rst event leading to mishap). Greg then decided that it would be easier to hand us supplies which were in the trailer, if he were standing in the trailer(second event). Our progression of work on the scaffold required Tom to start down next to the step-ladder with me holding and aligning the opposite end of furring strip. We would then work our way to the trailer end of the scaffold. By now I'm sure everyone knows exactly what happened, when Tom and I approached Greg in the trailer. Our combined weight was enough to teeter the trailer. That end of the plank only went down a foot or so, but the surprise was enough for us to lose our balance. That accident snuck up on us one little innocuous step at time; we never saw it coming.

Tom went down first with me right after him. I think I crouched instinctively, I guess, before I left the board so that I wouldn't have as far to fall. I was pretty much laid out horizontally with my right side down except for my upper body turned enough downward such my hands were first to contact the floor, followed right shoulder and then hip. Why I didn't break the neck of that femur like everyone else that falls like that I'll never know.
Safety is not just for flyin'.
-'289' Bob Collier

Bird-Poop Warriors-Unite
Hey, remember Collier's solicitation on this ? Well, Bob and Tom Bird, with a little help from me and Greg Stanfield, did put the ceiling in the Collier/Bird hangar--the prototype to work out the process. That took about six hours.

There are "four" hangars left to do--the two of the CLub's and the two in "my" hangar, that houses the Club's Sprite. I think that it'll go faster in these hangars because we have (a) a little experience now, and (b) Shane's generously volunteered scaffolding and a nail gun!

Hangar Party Date May 2, Rain Date May 3! We need volunteers!

Each work party is a minimum of four people, and one or two more are useful in getting things moved around and set up. Depending on the turnout, we may try to field two "teams" or work in shifts -
Let's do it!
Your Loyal Scribe and Chief Weekday Weenie-Jim Kellett

Meet the Member...Norm Crump
G. Norman Crump minibiography: I was born in 1932 in Granite Falls, NC near the junction of Burke and Catawba County with Caldwell Co., to parents descended from German Lutheran and Scotch-Irish, Dutch, and Irish Protestants most of whom got to NC before the Revolutionary War. Some fought in that war; one, a Hessian Soldier fought for both sides and became a Crump after being captured at Charleston fighting against the British. I am married to a Lutheran Pastor whose church is Mt. Zion on the top of the ridge between Quicksburg and the airport. We have two sons and a daughter. Our oldest son graduated from the Naval Academy, served his time, and is now finishing his third year of Medical School at S FL U in Tampa. Our other son and daughter became attorneys and practice in Dayton OH. I graduated with a BSEE from NC State U and joined a once famous company that has ceased to exist named Westinghouse in Long Range Development or R&D. I've been awarded 5 to 7 patents all of which made money for someone else. Some of my most satisfying accomplishments were: Variable Polarity Plasma Arc Welding Process and Equipment for the Process which was used to salvage NASA's Space Shuttle Program, the tooling for the first Titanium Heart Pacemaker Case and Hip Joints, Damage Control Welding Equipment for all Naval Vessels, the method now used to apply the copper rotation bands to steel artillery shells now the Govt. Std., and the first UL approved epoxy powder primary or major insulation applied directly on the iron cores of motors and generators, and the first commercial arc welding robots.. Amy and I are this week celebrating our first year in New Market. I couldn't find the time to learn to fly gliders or airplanes until I retired, but I got interested in gliders in the mid-sixties when I was assigned to Buffalo NY. I have originated the homily that jet jockeys scream with the eagles while gliders soar gracefully with the buzzards.

Maintenance Report
In the next few weeks I will install the Delcom radio in the 2-33 with a timer to prevent draining the battery when the switch is left on. Be aware that the Delcom radio has a small four position switch located next to the power on-off switch which makes small changes in the operating frequency. If this switch is not set for zero (0) you will not be transmitting on 122.8 although that is what the primary frequency indicators will tell you. You may actually be on 122.825, 122.850 or 122.875.

I will also install the Sprite radio in the panel in the next couple of weeks. The annual inspection for the 2-33 is due in June and before that time we must strip the paint from the fuselage, prime it and repaint the fuselage, and tail feathers. This process will take about four working days which can be spread over two or three weeks. I am reluctant to schedule a work party on the weekend and I need to know how many people may be available during the week. Please drop an email if you think you might be available mid week. This is not a commitment right now, as I recognize you would need to know exactly when we are planning to do it. I just need to know how many might be available if we scheduled it during the week.

Another option will be to do it over two week ends (four days) and expect everyone to put in some time on the project. People could leave the project to make a flight, and we could build in a BBQ or picnic as part of the effort. Any comments???
-Bill Vickland

Safety Corner
"Tim and Lisa should be proud of their legacies in the club. With their almost constant presence last year, Tim and Lisa had a major part in setting up the launch area which always included a 100 foot grass runway kept clear of staged sailplanes. From what I have seen this year, we are carrying on with their fine example.

I view keeping the grass runway clear as a Murphy's Law strategy. If we always keep the runway clear no one will need to land short, but if we stage sailplanes across the runway a short landing will soon follow."
-John Ayers

Kellett's Law Vindicated!
I'd scrubbed the day because it was raining in the morning-raining everywhere. But I had to go down anyhow to put the battery back in the towplane, and Fred Mueller came down anyhow with his nephew Hunter because he had some work to do on his new glider. I raised some of the hangar doors that had loosened enough to drag on the ground and was polishing some gelcoat rash out of the fin on my Cirrus when Norm Crump showed up. Fred had changed the tire on the Club car, and Norm used his and the Club's airtanks to fill them (and the spare) and put some fix-a-flat in both and ran it up and down the driveway to try to get them operable again.

So we were all there working on stuff when the sun broke through. A quick call to Fred Daams who most graciously drove up from Staunton to give us tows! Hooray for Fred!!

Fred Mueller took his nephew for his first glider ride (the first tow was about 3:00 PM), and then took his first two flights in his new LS-3a!. It was an absolutely perfect day for first flights in a new glider-dead calm, clear visibility. A very happy Fred Mueller had a big smile on his face and the twinkle of badges in his eyes as we put his plane back in the trailer!

Which serves as a good reminder to the membership that "where two or three are gathered together, soaring is with us". All you need is an agreeable towpilot (the key factor!) and enough ground support (including a person responsible for "OD" duties) and you got a Club flying day! You don't really have to wait until "they" organize one for you!

So several rather tired Skyliners spent the day. Remember: "A Bad Day at the Airport Beats a Good Day in the Office Every Time!"
-Jim Kellett

Log this...

• Robert Shallenberger email address : rshall@gte.net
• Please change Linn Buell's email address to linn_buell@hotmail.com

• Guide to the Blue Ridge-

Found a book online that looks like a really good reference to the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley area. Seems an excellent resource if trying to plan fun things to keep family members busy while you are biking or flying the valley.
http://www.insiders.com/blueridge/main-recreation.htm.
-Richard Freytag

A couple of new changes at the airport:

1. The airport has a water line and air line down at the end of the long thin hangar (old chicken coop building). Soon they should have hoses hooked up and once this is done Club members plus hangar tenants will be asked to wash their planes or put air in their tires in the grassy area there where the Club used to keep a glider tied down. We will do this as long as everyone who uses it remembers to turn the water off and the valve to the air hose after use. This will make it easier for people to wash their planes or get air, especially on the weekends when the ramp area can get crowded. Linda will be sending everyone a notice on it once we have it set up.
2. On Friday(April 17th) Linda had the pay phone taken out of the pilot's lounge and a jack and phone put in on her 740-9454 line. This will be a toll restricted line, meaning 800 number calls or local calls can be made, but no long distance calls or operator assisted. I've noticed that most people carry a cellular with them now anyhow, plus as I understand it this change will still permit credit card calls, so it should not be a significant change.

Just in time for Mother's Day
We have a stock on hand of 100% cotton (they will shrink!!), long-sleeved, white T-shirts with the official Skyline graphics front and back (small one on left breast, large one on back). A modest inventory will be left in a clear plastic bag in the Club car at the field. Sizes available are small, medium, large, and extra large. I suggest buying a tad big. $15.00 each payable to Skyline Soaring, recorded by the DO in the "other" column on the logsheet.

Say "Hi" to new member Kevin Borgstrom (yes, Borgstrom, not Bergstrom) e-mail (home) dlb@visuallink.com and (work) KevinB@Judds.com.

Kevin works for a printer in Strasburg-one that prints a whole bunch of national magazines (like AOPA Pilot, e.g.!). He's a neighbor of Jim Kellett, and discovered Skyline Soaring when he saw Jim futzing around in his driveway on the Cirrus panel! Kevin's also an auto racing veteran, so he clearly understands how to prioritize the use of his disposable income, a prerequisite knowledge requirement for soaring that's NOT in the FAA regs, but nonetheless true!

Editorial note-The Ethics Committee of the National Association of Mountain Soaring Site Newsletter Publishers, in cooperation with the National Association of Newsprint Pulp and Pablum Publishers, has mandated that no material published for public consumption appear without the following phrase: El Nino! As always Skylines is in full compliance with the ECNAMSSP and the NANPPP.