It's not spring yet, but winter has already given way to some great soaring weather, and there have been a number of rather substantial flights since we began our 2002 soaring season. As we take our birds out of their nests and shake the dust off their feathers, we have lots of things to check. Take the time to do a very thorough first-of-the-year preflight. Has anything taken up residence in the protective spaces of your ship since you flew it last? One spring day, I landed an airplane at 4 PM, parked it, tied it down, and then decided to fly again at 7. Why preflight? I had just been up. But a quick check revealed a fresh nest complete with egg cooking slowly on a cylinder head. Our ships have been sitting plenty long enough for new residents to take ownership. Be sure to check for wear and corrosion as well. Make sure all controls are free and properly lubed, gap seal tapes well adhered, and check all the other things that can deteriorate over a few months of inactivity.

While on the general topic of safety, I want to thank Dave Weaver for an outstanding safety presentation. Most of you were there. The rest of you will attend the virtual presentation thanks to the camera skills of Dick Otis. We all learned a lot about ground procedures. Let's do our best to keep our group ops safe. Lisa Sergent has volunteered to take over the duty of Chief Duty Officer. She will be working closely with Dave to make sure our DOs and ADOs are well trained. Most of you will pull DO or ADO duty on a regular schedule, so you'll be interfacing with Lisa on training. Our ops manuals are on the web. Be sure to read them before you take on a new duty.

Before you fly, it's a good idea to preflight yourself as well. How long has it been since your last flight? You need a spring check if (a) you haven't flown in 90 days, or (b) if you're a student, and (c) if you need a flight review. Be sure your currency and skills are up to the task before you challenge yourself with high winds or turbulence. Then, have fun and stay safe.

Now to the subject of the Grob. Big thanks to Shane for the use of his truck to tow it back from Erie, PA, and to George III and Geoff who drove the 850 miles to retrieve it. Next, a big thanks to Jim Garrison for all his advice on how to wax it and prepare it for flight, and to everyone in the work crew who spent about two days compounding it down and waxing it. It's looking pretty good. Anyone who can fly the K will transition easily to the Grob. But it does have its peculiarities. The controls are ever so slightly different, and it is a bit more pitch sensitive on landing. So you will need a landing or two (or three or four) before you begin to feel comfortable in it. But it tows beautifully, and has a clear performance edge on the K. And it's very roomy. Another thing is that the wing attachment and control hook-ups are very different than any other ship we have on the field. Be sure you learn how to preflight it before you go off in it as PIC.

The Grob also has a few rough edges, which we will work out with time. But it may take some time. The first is noise. You will notice a distinct difference between the K and the Grob. We have already tracked down one source of noise-the canopy seals, and we have applied some weatherstrip tape. That has quieted it quite a bit, but it still makes some interesting sounds, particularly when it is cross-controlled. Be patient, we will get it quieted. It also needs some replacement parts, such as window vents, which I will get soon. And a vario repeater for the back seat will help. Despite these issues, there are about 10 of us checked out in it already. It's gonna be in demand, particularly as we pick up some new members this spring.

You will notice that the K plus the Grob span a significantly greater space than the K plus Ms. Daisy. We have moved the Grob into the space previously occupied by the K. This is because that hanger door is wider, and the Grob has a greater wingspan than the K. The K now sits where we used to park Ms. D, and there is substantial overlap on the K and the Grob's wings. Be sure to weight the lower wing of each ship to ensure that the wings don't get into an argument over whose space belongs to whom. Getting both ships into their nests requires a bit of Chinese puzzle solving-and a dolly for the K. Don't try it alone. Get some help and instruction the first time that you try to pull out or put back either ship. We all need to learn how to get the ships in and out of their hangers safely. The tow car fits snugly in front of the Grob's wing. Be careful putting it there and getting it out.

Finally, along with spring come new members. We have a long history of welcoming these members and making them feel part of the Club. Let's be sure to keep up that tradition. And let's take the time to educate newcomers in our way of doing things. That's important even for experienced glider pilots because procedures differ from one club to another, and we want to be sure we all know what to expect when we're at the field.

Happy soaring.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

The answer is Yes!! Soaring is really a crazy sport, but you already knew that. Saturday, February 16 was warm and sunny, but a Cold Front (with a Capitol C) went through on Saturday night and Sunday had a bit of everything. The day provided it all-Rain, Sleet, Snow, Wind, Cold, Sun, Clouds, Lift, Sink and-oh yes-Wind for the ridge. A good warm up for Petersburg.

On my way to FRR at about 7:30 AM, driving out of Madison, Virginia, the puffy clouds condensed together and got darker. Soon it started to rain, quickly turned to sleet and then I was IFR in a snow shower for about 5 minutes. While you might think otherwise-this is a good omen for a great soaring day!! When the air is cold and moist enough to produce snow out of puffy clouds, the thermal index is going to be really good. The wind on the ground was not strong this early in the morning, but by the time I got to FRR, it had picked up out of the west / northwest pretty well. I met Kevin Fleet with his Libelle and Rob Creedon (ADO) at about 8:30 AM. Kevin's favorite Sunday morning radio station was predicting accumulations of snow. We did not really believe this, but went to the hanger to escape the cold and see what developed.

After a while in the hanger, Bill Bentley arrived to tow and Dick Otis to instruct. Both had tales of driving through snow and sleet, but the clouds were getting higher with solid looking bases and while the wind was picking up-it was not too strong-looked to be about 15-20 Kts. Kevin was ready to assemble the Libelle so we got out the ASK-21 and the Pawnee and made ready at the 27 end of the runway. It was blowing hard enough that we did not erect the tent so we moved Dick Otis's GMC in position behind the card table to block the wind. By the end of the day we had a small fort built out of SUVs around the card table.

Kevin Fleet was first off in his Libelle and reported lots of lift, strong sink and turbulence over the radio. Take-offs appeared OK, but we waited expectantly for the landings. Greg Ellis was next with Dick Otis in the ASK for some instruction. Both Kevin and Greg flew for about an hour and then returned-they were shaken but not stirred. Both reported very strong lift, shear, bumps, cold, sink and wind. They also found snow virga coming out of the cloud streets in the valley and reported that the pattern was "interesting". G. Hazelrigg flew the LS-1 for about 40 minutes and returned. Jim Kellett and Dave Brunner flew the Grob for an hour to test the new, improved canopy seals (verdict-a success) and also reported the pattern as "interesting". Hazelriggs and Kellett decided that it would be a good day to go to the Mill early.

Dave Weaver arrived and flew the LS-4 down the ridge and back for the longest flight of the day at 100 min. He reported that the ridge was really humming and Dave Brunner and I began thinking about arranging another Grob flight. A new temporary member, H. Hochstrasser from Switzerland flew with Dick Otis. Dick did two more instructional flights with Steve Wegner and Raul Fumagali so they could get some experience with wind. Total of 9 flights, 4 instruction and 5 private. By about 4 PM all concerned felt they had as much fun as they could stand so we put the planes away and went to the Mill. Thanks to Rob for his work as ADO, Team Hazelrigg, Dave Brunner, Steve Wegner, R. Fumagali and especially Fred Winter for helping. Dick Otis put in a tough day getting bounced around in the rear seat of the ASK while instructing. Of course-many thanks to Bill Bentley for towing in the wind and bumps.

-- Jim Garrison

Winter is such a long, dark and dreary time of year for us glider folk. So this winter, George, Geoff and I busied ourselves with a winter project. I thought I would pass along our experience to any of you who are thinking about projects of your own. Our project was to fabricate a new backrest for our LS-1. The one that was in the ship curved in such a way as to hurt our backs after an hour or two in the air. Our project was lots of fun and a good learning experience. We formed the backrest out of fiberglass. So step one was to make a form upon which we could lay up the glass. Ah, but our ship was at FRR and we needed to work at home, 60 miles away. We took the old backrest, attached a piece of sheet aluminum ($6) and bent it to the shape of the seat we wanted. Then we bought a bag of polymerizing plaster ($10) and made a cast. Oh, that needed reinforcing tape ($6). Lots of shaping and sanding ($3), and we had a mold. Then we added a coat of wax ($5) and three coats of mold release ($13). Next, we laid up the glass ($75 for glass and epoxy). It was fun researching the different kinds of glass and resins and picking the ones we wanted to use. Then we needed to cut the glass form to fit our ship-a new Dremel tool and cutting disks ($95). Some velcro for the attachments ($3). A vinyl covering and foam to cushion the vinyl ($15), and of course glue to hold the vinyl on. It actually took a bit of iteration to find glues that would work properly ($15), and a new glue gun ($5). Then we needed to cut the glass form to fit our ship-a new Dremel tool and cutting disks ($95). Some velcro for the attachments ($3). A vinyl covering and foam to cushion the vinyl ($15), and of course glue to hold the vinyl on. It actually took a bit of iteration to find glues that would work properly ($15), and a new glue gun ($5). Then, of course, we needed a new headrest (some of you might call it a pillow-$10). Put it all together along with about 40 hours of labor, and we have our new $200 backrest. Such is the way with airplanes. But, thinking about it, Gehrlein would have probably charged about $2,200 to make it, given the time it took. It was a great experience, and we learned a lot too. We also learned more by fixing our radio, which had decided to quit working again. We now are pretty familiar with our electrical system. Such is the process of getting to know your ship.

Experiences like ours are very important for those of you who are just starting your soaring careers. They give you a basis for making good decisions both in flight and on the ground. I hope you all can take advantage of whatever opportunities may come along. I urge you to search for opportunities to help another club member assemble or disassemble a ship or to go on a retrieve. Some of my best experiences have been going on retrieves. I've enjoyed every one.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

This article is only available to club members.

Club members, please follow this link:

http://members.skylinesoaring.org/MEMBERS/?jmilgram

Magic Moments
Operations Report, February 8, 2002-

Five flights, all by member Joe Lingevitch.

Interesting day, in MANY ways-thanks to Eric Litt's generosity, we had a very-last-minute planned extra day (Eric, I think, felt sorry for so many people getting left out when we got weathered out yesterday!).

First off, it was for the first time in recent memory a rock bottom minimum staff day-just the three of us! So, good time to learn/practice unassisted xwind takeoffs, right? Yep. So that's what we did.

Second off, Joe got back to solo status. (he'd soloed in a 2-33 a few times at Bermuda High last November, but had never soloed in the K-21) So, after a couple days' flight instruction dealing with the unique FRR environment and the "new" K-21, he got signed off, and set out on his very first K-21 solo after lunch. There were the merest hints of lift (it was a totally blue day), so I mentioned that if he could stay up for 45 minutes, he'd get his "B" badge.

A little over an hour later, he called in at 6500' over Front Royal.

I called Dulles approach to alert them that we had "gliders" between 6000' and 9000'

Another twenty minutes, and Joe called in from 9000' "in zero sink".

Two hours and twelve minutes after takeoff, he finally managed to get it down. B and C badges-if he'd had a barograph, his 6100' gain over low point would have easily earned silver. We discussed waves-which he'd never flown in before-over early dinner.

Some fifth solo flight, eh? You shoulda been there.
-- Jim Kellett

Piet has worked up a great system with its own domain name. As part of that you get lots and lots and lots of emails (and the directors get more-thank you all for that honor by the way!).

Just as a help, a year ago or so, Piet also has set up an email address for each of you. Piet's email is 'pbarber@skylinesoaring.org', mine is 'rfreytag@skylinesoaring.org' and yours is '<first initial><last name>@skylinesoaring.org'.

If you change your email address then just tell Jim Kellett or me or, lastly, Piet, and all mail sent to your skylinesoaring.org email address including email not from skyline soaring, will find your new email box.

Feel free to use this email address as your own. Just part of the membership package.
-- Richard Freytag

Land's End logo items: For each member who missed the Annual Meeting and the Safety Meeting there is a catalog and a guideline sheet in the hangar. Land's End suggests that we limit our selections to the Corporate catalogs provided to us rather than catalogs received in the mail. The Guidelines are available on our web site, but you will need your catalog in order to review specific items. http://skylinesoaring.org/STUFF/ (The capitalization in STUFF is important)

Costs are as follows: In quantities of 6 or more of the same item the logo embroidery charge is $ 5.50 per item. In quantities less than 6, the logo embroidery charge is $ 11.00 per item. So it's more economical to order in quantity. Shipping is additional.

Experience shows that Land's End (as well as PJ) can become confused by too many different sets of color specs. So it is imperative that we KEEP IT SIMPLE! We recommend that the items selected should be the following colors: Navy Blue, Black, Dark Green or White in order to get the best display of the logo and lettering. Since the logo is composed of Blue, Orange and Yellow its visibility will be severely compromised by selecting clothing colors that resemble the logo's colors.

Members can select any item color in the catalog BUT neither SSC or PJ will be responsible for the results.

The plan now is that each member can submit their order form to Phil Jordan who will in turn send to Land's End in groups to insure the lower rate where possible. SSC now has a Corporate Account with Land's End. Your order will be shipped to you directly and yount Royal. will reimburse the SSC for the items and shipping costs.

We were aiming for March 1 for our first big order, but the response, while good, still leaves us short of 6 items in some cases. We have devised another color combination for medium value garment backgrounds. This will allow the logo to read better on the red, khaki, yellow and medium blue clothes. While waiting for a proof of that combo, the door is still open for inclusion in the first large order. So let's extent the deadline up to March 8th. That will allow another payday for most Jump right in and order your Spiffy logo items today!

Grob bytes
as the Curmudgeon says "good to know stuff"!

I was reading the Soaring Safety Foundation website and found a note about PIOs in Grobs. From personal experience, I can say, the scenario described can be fully realized in the ASK-21 as well.

http://soaringsafety.org/ssf/ic8.htm

This is a really good website.-Richard Freytag
-- Fred Winter

...when stepping into the rear cockpit (yes stepping, you never need to put your muddy feet on the seats of the Grob), the temptation is to hold onto the roll bar between the cockpits and lower yourself into the seat. This puts your fingers in a perfect position for the student to close the front canopy on them.

-- Bill Bentley

Richard is most correct in saying that the K is also prone to these severe oscillations. I have done it myself, and have replaced at least 3 tail wheels as a result of others having "the ride of your life". At least on the K, that has been the only damage. From the SSF story, it seems that the Grob may not be as strong, so the damage may be greater.

The primary cause is too much speed when touching down. The best response if you get into the situation is to GENTLY lift the nose, allow the speed to dissipate, then flare normally. The ideal touchdown is one where the main and tail wheels touch at the same time.
-- Fred Winter

A caution for instructors; when stepping into the rear cockpit (yes stepping, you never need to put your muddy feet on the seats of the Grob), the temptation is to hold onto the roll bar between the cockpits and lower yourself into the seat. This puts your fingers in a perfect position for the student to close the front canopy on them.-Bill Bentley Richard is most correct in saying that the K is also prone to these severe oscillations. I have done it myself, and have replaced at nt Royal. least 3 tail wheels as a result of others having "the ride of your life". At least on the K, that has been the only damage. From the SSF story, it seems that the Grob may not be as strong, so the damage may be greater.

The primary cause is too much speed when touching down. The best response if you get into the situation is to GENTLY lift the nose, allow the speed to dissipate, then flare normally. The ideal touchdown is one where the main and tail wheels touch at the same time.

-- Ed Lehr

...that you can get almost any airplane to PIO. Note that NASA pilots got the Space Shuttle to PIO on one landing. A plane will not PIO if you land in a full stall configuration. We don't do that with gliders, but if they are landed in a low-energy configuration on the main and tail wheels simultaneously, they will not PIO. Bottom line: don't land on the nose wheel hot.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

I did all my primary work on a a Grob 103. I believe the empennage is weaker than the K and have seen one damaged in a PIO. The thing all should be aware of is that the brakes will snatch full open in a microsecond if you take your hand off the handle.
-- Ed Lehr

One of the most common sources of extreme expense on the Grob is replacement of the canopies that pop open just after take off. I think Woodbine lost two or three including mine. The cost in 1983 was about $2000. The problem is that the canopies are not securely latched and come loose in flight. This of course can cause more damage than just the canopy if the PIC is easily rattled by the lost canopy. I suggest very stringent check lists for all pilots, and maybe the ADO should get a confirmation from the PIC that the canopies are locked securely.
-- Bill Vickland

One busy day at Woodbine, I was giving an intro ride and after asking for "wing up", the rider's wife ran up with a camera for him to use. The "full time" wing runner put the wing down and opened the forward canopy delivering the camera, then closed the canopy again and I assumed locking as he always did; so we launched.

While bounding across the runway /obstacle course, I noticed a rattling that was different but was too busy to investigate and too far along to stop. When safely airborne on tow, I looked about and noticed the forward canopy latch was in the unlocked position. Putting the Grob into a skid to the right, I asked in as calm a voice as one can with your heart in your mouth to "push that red knob by your left elbow forward and down".

Jerry (my boss) had made it clear that if we lost a canopy in either of the Grob 103s or the SGS 2-32, it would be $3000 out of our pockets. Someone long ago told me that to ASSUME is to make an ASS out of U and ME. I certainly proved it on that day.
-- Bill Bentley

In the seventies, I observed (at a wave camp in North Carolina) a G-103 losing its REAR canopy while on tow-it popped open with such force that, when it hit the wing, it shattered. The instructor/pilot simply reached up, closed the now-frame, released, and landed.

Two days and $3000 later (this was nearly thirty years ago!!) we flew the Grob again.

This thread should not be considered a "knock" on Grobs! Can you imagine what we'd be talking about if we'd been flying 103s and had just bought our first K-21-and all the horror stories we'd be sharing about how the K-21's rear canopy could open, peel off, and hit the tail? Yes, it's happened. It's all in what you're used to. Heck, when we first moved from 2-33s to K-21s, we were all hyper about how hard it was to learn to fly a high performance glider and put up all kinds of hurdles to "allow" pilots to fly it! And it's actually, in many ways, stronger and much more forgiving than the 2-33! Go figure.

Gotta know what you fly, and fly it accordingly.
-- Jim Kellett

To repeat from last year; when on tow, NEVER let yourself get in a position to look down at the tow plane. If you are close to the ground (below 1000 ft. AGL) and go high, the tow pilot's hand will be moving toward the tow rope cutter. There are too many cases where gliders have gone high on tow at low altitude and forced the tow plane to crash. At least with the TOST reel and cutter, we tow pilots have a reliable way to protect ourselves.

When the Pawnee is back-tracking on the runway for glider hook up, Ground People, DO NOT walk toward the plane until it has swung around and stopped at a 45 degree angle in front of the glider, with it's tail towards you. The sight of someone walking out in front of us as we taxi toward the glider puts extra stress on the tow pilot by our wondering what will happen if one of our brakes should fail. Hitting a glider's wing with the prop will make the insurance company unhappy, but chopping the ADO to bits with the prop would be worse.

Again, Ground People, if the Pawnee should start to move while you are holding the rope DROP IT and keep clear of it. Pulling the rope out of the moving plane can cause injury if the rope catches on the reel. This is even more likely now that there is 30 to 50 feet of excess rope on the reel. While rewinding/unwinding, the rope can slip off the reel and bind on the reel's shaft, causing a sudden stoppage. The tow plane should never be moved if anyone is touching the tow rope.
-- Bill Bentley

• Welcome to new member Scott E. Kinsey,

  Scott holds the PPL(G) rating with ca. 165 hours in gliders, and ca 20 in other aircraft.

• On February 22nd, Mark Ballinger completed the requirements to qualify as one of our club's tow pilots. Congratulations, Mark.
  -- Bill Bentley

• I would like to thank Richard Freytag for his "Breakfast at FRR" on Saturday, February 23rd. For those who weren't there, Richard prepared a pancake breakfast, which he served from 8-9 AM. As we move into warmer weather, it might be nice to organize such events and to get broadened participation in them. Soon, our summer training season will be in full swing. Let's try to get an early start, with first training flights off by 9:30, and give everyone a better chance to fly. It just might be that Breakfast at FRR will become a good way to start our training days, and it could provide the impetus to get going early. Thoughts?

  And, for those of you who have yet to venture out to FRR, the weather has been great so far, with many outstanding flights already in the few weeks that we have been flying. Come out, bring a friend.
  -- George Hazelrigg, Jr

• Vested Interests: Futureflight in a three-piece suit<8A> The Navy is working on a new vest that will (one day) make flight a more complete sensory experience. The "Tactile Situational Awareness System"-or vest, as we like to call it-is worn as part of the pilot's cooling vest and incorporates a network of tactile stimulators that can be programmed to vibrate in correspondence with certain flight or aircraft conditions. In other words, a fighter pilot could actually feel where the aircraft has suffered damage or be presented with a physical representation of the aircraft's attitude that goes well beyond "seat of the pants" flying. When fine-tuned, a pilot can fly the aircraft through very precise maneuvers while receiving attitude and course input from the vest alone, as it gently nudges the pilot back on course-and they've actually done this.
  -- AVflash Man does this thing have great commercial potential or what?

• No end to new NOTAMS-The FAA might be letting up a bit on airspace restrictions, but the NOTAMs keep coming. Monday October 22, the agency issued another directive in the interests of national security, which seems to emphasize a continuing nervousness over VFR flights. The FAA would appreciate it if pilots flying VFR would NOT circle or loiter in the vicinity of power plants, dams, reservoirs, military installations, etc. If you're flying into or out of an airport, or authorized by ATC, then, okay. And if you MUST loiter, at least listen on VHF 121.5 or UHF 243.0, if you can. We have a feeling you might have company-soon, and close to your wingtip- if you neglect to pay attention.
  -- AVflash

• NEVER trust Mother Nature. She's a bitch and will kill you first chance she gets
  -- Resident Curmudgeon

• Note: while the editor and staff of Skylines would never condone profanity, it seems the message above is so intrinsically valuable, we'll risk censorship just to bring it to you. Have A Nice Day!

• STILL HERE but my Schleicher Ka-7 has finally got to go. Too many things going on in my life to do it all. First priority is going to my Jet glider project which one day I hope to have looking like a 1/3 scale U-2 recon bird, turbine, noise, black paint and all. Possibly even some "amateur radio E-lint package" to boot. Ham radio satellites are my other great passion<8A>along with the THORP T-18.

  Glider Details: Schliecher Ka-7 two place glider, fresh annual in Feb 2002, only about 770 total hours and no wrecks or dings, two varios to choose from RICO audio type and a very sensitive (good) silent vario for both front and rear seats. Terra 720 radio, open trailer, new canopy and fabric three years ago. This is a composite design of steel tube, plywood, fiberglass, Dacron fabric and spruce. Very good shape. $9.0K to club members, with some cost flexibility. Might be able to help with transfer of the hanger also. No guarantee on the hanger deal. Great fun soaring machine-I've loved it for the past two years. Many many enjoyable afternoons of 'free' flying and no one to call me down.
  -- Glenn Baumgartner