Safety is one of those topics we can be a bit hesitant to talk about with total frankness. Yet it is a topic that affects all of us. As you know, we recently had an event in which a glider incurred significant damage. Fortunately, the event did not include significant damage to the pilot. Nonetheless, we are once again reminded that we do need to think about and talk about safety. Most of all, we need to take actions to be sure we are safe.

It has been said that flying is an inherently dangerous activity. I would prefer to believe that, while it can be dangerous, it doesn't have to be. Practically anything we do could be done unsafely. We can cross the street in an unsafe way, we can brush our teeth in an unsafe way. But we can also choose to do these things safely, and that, I believe, is also the case with soaring. There are many things that determine whether we are practicing safe soaring or risky soaring. Some are pretty obvious-low level aerobatics, particularly if we are inexperienced in aerobatics. Some are much more subtle-taking a tow with a 5 kt quartering tailwind. Some things that pose hazards might not be associated with flying at all-stepping on the tow rope behind the tow car while it is moving. The trick is to be able to recognize decisions or actions we might take that are risky, to recognize that there are alternatives, and to consciously make the decision to take a less risky alternative. Remember, we control our entire soaring environment, from the hanger up, and we can choose to make it all safe.

Now I have heard arguments that soaring contains an element of risk, and the only safe thing we can do is to stay home; arguments that safety is not our number one priority, flying is. I don't like to think of our priorities ordered this way. We fly; we have a club because we have had a strong safety culture. I for one joined the club in large part because of its safety culture. And we owe it especially to our student pilots to maintain this culture. Some people argue that safety relates to experience. But the data just don't justify this conclusion. Surprisingly, student flying is just as safe as flying with highly experienced pilots. So what does make us safe as opposed to not safe?

Now I speak from the engineer in me, and my deep conviction that Murphy was an optimist. If anything can go wrong, it will. To be safe, we have to cultivate an environment in which it is difficult for things to go wrong. Part of this environment deals with our personal decision making. I think that we are quite safe as long as we each operate well within the bounds of our capabilities. This leaves us with two problems: knowing our bounds, and safely expanding them. We come out on a windy or turbulent day, we see other people flying, and we say, "I can do that too". Unfortunately (actually fortunately), we have some really capable people in the Club. Just because they can handle 25 kt winds and make it look simple doesn't mean that we all can. We each have to judge our capabilities for ourselves. Here, I urge you to err a bit on the conservative side. If you only think you can handle the conditions, don't do it alone. Take a ride with an instructor to prove that you have the capability. Remember, our instructors don't charge for their time. So there is no real penalty for taking that ride. Be sure that your preflight check doesn't stop with the airplane. Preflight yourself as well. Are you really up to the task?

Student pilots get lots of supervision. Our instructors do their best to be sure that student pilots do not attempt to exceed their capabilities. Licensed pilots have to make these decisions for themselves. Still, the Club imposes rules even on licensed pilots with respect to the use of Club ships. Club ships may be taken on cross country flight only if certain conditions are met. These conditions include both pilot preparation and ground preparations (the pilot must hold a Bronze Badge, schedule the airplane, provide for a retrieve and so on-by the way, not many member-owned vehicles can tow the K and Grob trailers). But our Club is in a period of transition, and we are moving toward a club that includes many member-owned ships. What rules should apply to the use of privately owned ships at FRR? The best policy might be to have no policy. But this would demand that we all, individually, take great care to operate safely. The bottom line, when it comes to safety is, either we all as individuals take the responsibility to act in a safe manner, or someone else will do it for us through the imposition of rules. So I want to urge all of us to think long and hard about our capabilities before we set off in our own ships. I would urge that we each get at least our PPL-G rating and that we also get our Bronze Badge before we go solo cross country. These things are merely a demonstration of a minimum skill level appropriate to the task. I would also urge some amount of cross country instruction. Again, it's not the cost that keeps us away.

Our Club is greatly benefitted by our highly competent instructional staff. These people are present on the field much more often than not. When in doubt, consult them.

While on the subject of safety, I want to bring up the issue of safety on the ground as well. It is extremely important that Duty Officer show up on time for the day's operation, that the DO take charge of the ground ops, and that the DO assume full responsibility for the safety of the ground ops. We have an Operations Manual. You can download it from our web site. We are in the process of revising that manual. It contains much important information. Please be sure to read it. The Board of Directors has recently set a high priority on getting better training for our DO staff as well. But remember, when you are DO, you are in charge and you are the person directly responsible for safe operations throughout the day.

The Assistant Duty Officer is another position that carries responsibility for safety. If you get ADO duty, be sure that you are properly trained. It is the duty of the DO to assure that the ADO is adequately trained. As ADO, you must know the standard American SSA soaring signals. You must be constantly aware of all traffic on and near the field. You must clear the pattern before beginning a launch. And you must stop the launch if you see anything that could pose a hazard.

Skyline Soaring has won a great reputation for safety. Some of that has been luck. A lot more has been the result of the dedication of a group of very experienced people who have had a deep concern for safety. I want to preserve that concern and nurture it. Another change in Club operations has taken place over the past several years. The Board of Directors, which once consisted of experienced pilots and instructors, now includes many of us who are much less experienced. To emphasize safety, therefore, I want to be sure that the Club maintains a Safety Committee that can draw upon the expertise of our highly experienced pilots and instructors, and the Board will rely very heavily on the advice of the Safety Committee on issues that are directly related to safety. In this way, I hope that we can assure that we will maintain our strong culture of safety.

My sincere hope is that I continue to see every one of you out flying for many years into the future, and that we preserve our culture of safety while we continue to enjoy the great sport of soaring.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

At the annual membership meeting some of you may remember me giving a little speech about taking your obligations to the club seriously. I talked mostly about the members who are scheduled for duty. The tow pilot, flight instructor, duty officer, and assistant duty officer. I tried to generate some enthusiasm for meeting your obligations to your fellow club members by showing up on time and ready to carry out your duties.

Since the beginning of the season, I have not seen much consistency in the application of this theme. I have seen tow pilots and duty officers fail to show up when scheduled and I have seen flight instructors show up late for duty. As a reminder, the current version of the operations manual states that operations begin at 1000 unless there was some prior agreement between the principals (DO, tow pilot, flight instructor) to begin operations at a different time. Such agreements should not be made casually and should only be done when some factor prevents an on time start of operations. Members scheduled for duty should arrive at the airport in time to begin operations as scheduled. This means that the tow plane check flight should be completed before 1000 and the DO should have the operation set up and sailplanes ready in time to begin operations at 1000. The flight instructor should arrive in time to prebrief his first students and participate in / supervise the sailplane preflight. The general membership should be made aware of any change in start time.

When we don't start on time (or at all) the club looses revenue and we potentially prevent or impede the progress of members toward the achievement of their personal goals. Clearly, the tow pilot is the most critical link. Without him, we don't operate. However, the DO is also very important to the operation. Only certain members approved by the Board are allowed to perform the duties of DO. When a DO fails to show the operation tends to become disorganized and the potential for a compromise in safety exists.

In the past, fines were levied upon individuals who failed to meet their obligations. I don't think this was particularly effective and I don't propose that we try it again. We have a core group of people that are always reliable and ready to help. There are others who have less enthusiasm for assigned duties. Since Skyline is a club, we depend on each other to make the club work. I'm personally not very interested in pressing folks into service that don't want to take the job seriously. I'd much rather see us adopt the European system of taxing individuals who don't have the time or desire to contribute work hours to the club.

I really don't have a good answer to what I see as an ongoing problem. I'd just like to see everybody stand up and meet their obligations so that all of us can reap the benefits of an outstanding organization. If anyone has any comments or suggestions on how to improve operations in this area please pass them on to me or any of the other members of the Board.
-- Dave Weaver

Part of the fun of flying sailplanes is definitely the challenge to fly higher, go further, and endure longer. Although there are other components to the badge system, it's really based around these, and for good reason. This season has been really conducive to the badge thing so far, and I thought I should take advantage of it while I could.

The Thursday crowd is a fun bunch to fly with. Compared with the weekends, it's a bit more relaxed on the ground, and probably more competitive in the air. So I've been flying as much as possible on Thursdays, to get as much out of it all as I can. The fun of the challenge, the great soaring weather, and the competition culminated in my desire to try for my 5 hour flight.

About a week in advance, I began to prepare for the flight as much as I could. First, I found the opportunity to attempt the flight when I learned that the rest of the team would be away, leaving the plane all to me. Second, I really tried to keep an eye on the weather and conditions for that day. As soon as I could get an approximate temperature/dewpoint spread, I knew the flight would be possible. Third, I made sure everything I needed for the flight was in order. This wasn't really a big deal-I just made sure that I had what I needed to sit in a small, cold place for an extended period of time.

Finally the day came. The weather looked as though it'd be perfect. Kolie's forecast even included light ridge. The only negative part of the forecast was that the high would be about 41 degrees. However, the dewpoint for the middle of the day was predicted to be 13 degrees; do the math and you come up with acloud base of about 6400 feet. Lift this strong would surely make for a 5 hour flight.

I arrived to FRR around 9.30 am to find Fred Winter ready to go with the LS-4 and John Lewis making preparations for the day. Fred came down to the hanger and we assembled the LS-1. We dragged it down and did a preflight. The biggest decision was trying to figure out just what I wanted to wear in the plane; the cockpit space is very limited. Warmth was definitely a concern, but it can get stuffy when you're wearing a couple of shirts, a fleece, a large coat, and finally, a parachute. On top of that, add a battery, barograph, water, a camera (something I wished I'd had a week earlier), gps, power bars, hat and gloves, and relief bag (possibly the most important item of all). Fred and I discussed the winds and concluded that Kolie was probably right about the ridge. The wind on the ground seemed steady, at about 300 degrees.

Fred launched first, right at about 11 am, and got towed out to the ridge. The tow plane came back, I strapped in, and I, too, got towed to the ridge, at about 11:15 am. I got off tow at the knob in lift, switched to 123.300, and tried to contact Fred as I began to make my way down the ridge. I got no reply, and I thought that the radio had decided not to work again. The ridge seemed really weak, but I pressed on. I started sinking, as there really wasn't any lift coming off the ridge. About 3 minutes later I heard from Fred. He was down near Woodstock, so I figured the ridge must be doing something. I kept going, but I was hitting more sink that lift. After 3 or 4 miles, I was at about 3000 feet, in sink. I decided to head back towards the knob, because there had been lift there when I got off tow. Besides, I figured I might as well be as close to Front Royal as possible, in case I had to land out. I very nervously called Fred on the radio, told him I was getting low, and asked him where he was getting lift in relation to the ridge. I was definitely getting nervous at this point, as I was slipping below the ridge line: 2800 feet, 2600 feet, 2400 feet Obviously I was really looking at the fields along the river.

At last I reached Signal Knob. With the whole end of the ridge above me, I finally heard a chirp out of the vario. (Getting low on the ridge gave me a good low point on my trace, but in the future I think I'll go for the standard notch.) I worked the lift as best as I could, which brought me at least above the ridge line, but it was still early in the day, and the thermals weren't very strong. I topped out around 3000 feet and decided to make another break for the airport. I left the knob, ran the speed up to best L/D and hoped I didn't get any lower. Less than a minute later, I reached the fish hatcheries and a strong, healthy thermal. In another 10 minutes, I was joined at 4000 feet by John Lewis and Fred Mueller, with the most challenging part of the flight behind me.

I spent the next hour or so working in the security of the thermal at the fish hatcheries before going off to explore the western end of Strasburg. I watched the day evolve, with the thermals topping out at 4300, then 5500, then 6500, and later, at over 7500 feet. About midpoint in the day I radioed FM to check on the temperature. (He's got a thermometer.) He told me that it was about 19 degrees at 5000 feet, and my feet agreed with him. (And once I climbed above that, the temperature dropped off even more.)

After fooling around over Strasburg, 81 and the quarry, the fish ponds and 66 for the better part of 4 hours, I decided that with nearly 7k feet I should be able to get to Winchester and back without a problem. I found that I was certainly right, as I arrived over Winchester airport above 7k. I made a couple of circles and headed back south to the airport. There was no problem with lift at that altitude near the end of the day, and I arrived at FRR at over 7.5k.

By this point, it was after 4pm, a high cirrus deck had moved in, I was freezing, and I'd completely filled my relief bag. I dropped the gear, opened the dive breaks, and spent the next 30 minutes making steep turns over the airport, until I was low enough to come in and land. Once I was back on the ground, I unstrapped everything and climbed out. My first thought was of Bob Collier, and how he must have felt after spending over 6 hours in his 1-26 last summer. My feet felt like stumps and my knees hurt, but by the time the plane was back in its box, my lower half was filled with blood again.

I've learned a ton about flying this season from these Thursday sessions. I'm thankful for the tow pilots who have been out there to tow and for everyone else who has helped me assemble, launch, etc. I've really enjoyed going out there, usually with at least 2 guys who are far more experienced than I am, flying similar ships. The experiences have let me see what is possible in my own ship, and have given me more goals as a pilot.-Geoff Hazelrigg * These words appear dozens of times in the Journals of Lewis & Clark-after every signicant pause. The editor hopes you all have had the pleasure of watching "Team Hazelrigg" building soaring stepping stones.

Socrates, Soaring, and Safety

It's not in the syllabus, and it's not a requirement. But Socrates lives at the dinner table at the Mill, and under the tent at the field. Over time, most of us come to realize that we learn much, much more from hanging around pilots who have more experience (or just different experience) from what we have. Stories about flying, even flying very different from that which we do, all has instructional value. And it helps to hear the stories from the horse's mouth-the Socrates we know-rather than from a stranger, even if the stranger is well known. The dialog helps create images which we can re-live in our minds; literally practicing what we'd do with the view from our third eye. This is an important advantage of Club life-you have access to some people with incredible flying experience, and they're more than willing to share! It's a resource that should be nurtured and encouraged.

Now: before we go further, write this down: "Flying is inherently dangerous." Remember that.

Is that bad? I think not. The fact that flying IS inherently dangerous is one of the things that makes it appealing. There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment every time we prove to ourselves that we are smart and capable enough to do really neat things that have a very real element of danger, and do them with confidence. And soaring, a particularly beautiful form of flying, is more demanding than some other forms in that it requires high levels in all three domains-knowledge, skill, and judgment. In the latter area (judgment), the Socratic dialog can be extremely useful. After all, that part of life's training that sharpens judgment is experience. Having experiences that are challenging but not lethal is the best way to enhance judgment. And understanding the harrowing experiences of others, with enough experience of your own to permit visualizing exactly what they endured, is a useful device for building that jugment base.

So here we are, back at dinner, listening to greybeards talk about landing in awful places, about military pilots getting shot at, about landing heavy airplanes in bad IMC.. and surviving. and probably laughing about it. "Piece of cake" one will say about a particularly harrowing landing. "Never do THAT again" one will say about getting in over his head in weather. But while all this is going on, it's important to remember that often there's another pilot somewhere that did that--and did not have a good outcome. THEY aren't sitting here chuckling about the experience! So it's easy-maybe too easy?-to get the impression that "I can do that". We should never get complacent or OVERconfident about out individual abilities to fly. We are and always will be different in our skill levels, and we each have a responsibility to ourselves and others to carefully scope out our own limits and fly within them. Close to the edges, sure-that's fun. But not too close.

Ain't nuttin' simple.
-- Jim Kellett

Flying and soaring are not synonymous. I know. I've belonged to several "flying" clubs. In the Princeton Soaring Association (a flying club), four of us owned a Cessna 182. We met once a year to discuss our finances and to see if we wanted to buy anything new for the plane. We all had broad access to the plane, and could take it on extended cross countries-to Florida, California, Mexico, etc. Those are cross country flights in a 182. Typically, on a cold winter Saturday or a warm summer evening, I would just say, "I think I'll go flying," make the 5 minute drive to the airport, checkout and untie the plane, hop in and enjoy the scenery for the next hour. Sometimes, I found someone who wanted to go along for the ride. Just as often, I went alone-three empty seats. An hour and 20 minutes later, I would be back home again.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, soaring ain't like that. We plan days, weeks, even months in advance to fly. We need a tow pilot, a Duty Officer, an Assistant Duty Officer, maybe a ground crew if we want to go cross country-and cross country means anything beyond the ridge. We leave at 8 AM, and drive an hour or two to get to the airport. We assemble our ships and wait for the right time to launch, and then for a tow. Getting launched requires the tow pilot, the DO and the ADO at the very least. Maybe a passenger, and maybe three more people to push us out to the runway if we choose to strap in on the taxiway. Then we get together at the Mill or wherever for dinner and rehash the day. And finally the drive home. We drag in wearily at 8 or 9 PM. On a good day, there'll be 20 club members at the field. This is soaring, not flying.

Flying is often an individual activity. Soaring is not. Flying clubs are formed to make flying more economical. Soaring clubs are formed to get off the ground. We each joined SSC for our own reasons. But I'm betting that a love of soaring is high among them. We need each other to achieve our individual soaring goals. And to make achievement of our goals possible, we work together. We share in the various duties that must be performed to keep up soaring, and to keep us safe. A flying club works when the members pay their bills. A soaring club works when, in addition, the members contribute their share of the effort. A soaring club does not work when its members fail to show up for scheduled duties, or when they fail to be on time. When a person doesn't show up for a scheduled duty, that person puts out the 15 or 20 who do show up, and robs them of their share of the enjoyment of being in a soaring club. Some days are not the best soaring days. But that doesn't mean that the DO or ADO should not show up. There are provisions for cancelling, but they are rather extreme. Even in bad weather, there are many chores that need doing. The ASK-21 and the Sprite still need to be waxed. We started waxing the Sprite, but much of it remains to be done. I think it's pretty obvious where we left off. The tow car needs to be washed. The hangers need to be straightened up-they always do.

I don't want to see us get into a debate on the virtues of contributing our share. It's a slippery slope. If one or two people feel that they should be excused from DO or ADO duty, please see the Rostermeister. We have lots of ways for you to make your contribution to the Club. But keep in mind that your contribution is expected by the other members who make their contribution. And think about the people whose contributions go well beyond the mean. I'm thinking of Dave Weaver, for example, who is doing a tremendous job instructing, Bob Collier, who is keeping us financially sound and keeping our books straight, Jim Kellett, who herds the Thursday gang and does much more, Shane for all the contributions he has made, far too numerous to mention, Dick Otis, the happy tow pilot/instructor, Eric Litt, who has taken on duties from tow pilot to maintenance, and many others.

I would like to suggest a new policy to assure on-time starts to each flying day, namely that before each flying day, the DO, ADO, tow pilot and instructor e-mail or talk to each other to coordinate the day, to be sure each knows that they are on duty, and to be sure that they are all there for an on-time start to the day. Summer is nearly upon us. Student instruction should begin early! If it seems that someone has not been assigned to a particular duty-no tow pilot, for example-the DO should assume the responsibility of finding a replacement. Let's all do our best to contribute our share and, by doing so, I think we'll all get more out of soaring.-George Hazelrigg

-- Jim Kellett

We are pleased to announce the availability of a unique advanced training opportunity. Through an arrangement with Jan Scott, owner and operator of the Flying Cow Farm (see http://www.flycow.com/main.html) in Lovettsville, VA, Skyline Soaring Club members can get expert flight instruction in off-airport field selection and approaches. Jan operates a Scheibe SF-25C motorglider which he will use in these sessions. By adjusting the power setting of the motorglider appropriately, a typical (e.g., 30:1) glider glide ratio is established, and the student can then proceed to select a field for off-airport landing, set up and execute a complete approach to within a few feet of the ground before Jan executes a go-around, and proceed to another selection. Motorglider experience by the Skyline member is NOT required for this training, as the instructor (Jan) manages the engine. During a typical session, four to six approaches an hour can be performed.

While this training is available to anyone in the Club, it's most valuable to the relatively experiencd pilot preparing for cross country flying-e.g., about the Bronze Badge level. However, it is also very useful to experienced piliots with much cross country experience, since it permits exercise in an area of flight (off-airport landings) in which even high-time contest pilots don't get much practice. It can also be interesting to beginning pilots, even though they may wish to repeat the program later when they've had more experience and are actually closer to making cross country flights.

Jan Scott is a retired American Airlines pilot, and a long-time CFI(G) who regularly participates in the Soaring Safety Foundation's FIRCs (Flight Instructor Recertification Clinics). This training is available for $1.00 a minute (tach time) for any Club member, who should contact Jan directly at (540) 822-5504, flycow@aol.com to schedule a session. The Flying Cow Farm will open for glider operations in mid-April.
-- Jim Kellett

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http://members.skylinesoaring.org/MEMBERS/?mballinger Log This...

• This time Memorial day falls on Monday, May 27th so its a perfect time to host the Sunday folks a picnic. RSVP if you would like to join a Memorial Day picnic after flying on May 26th. Important to know how many are coming so we don't get too much or too little. Please just reply to Richard Freytag <freytag@freytag.org>so I can easily find the RSVPs in my mail queue. The following form provides the information I need. 2002 SSC Memorial Day Picnic Name: Number of guests: What food can I contribute OR I am willing to pay $5/person? I do not eat food containing (list them please):
  -- Richard Freytag

• YUP 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... 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

• For those who don't know which end is up-Go to AVweb's Newswire at http://avweb.com/n/?01b for a link to the complete text of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's booklet on spatial disorientation.

  The most recent in the series of Soaring Safety Foundation training tapes is out. It's "Standard American Soaring Signals". The Club has a copy of this tape in its collection on the TV set in the Club's hangar-take a look at it during a break in the flying!

• Without re-opening the tedious dialog about Grobs, there's a neat little article by none other than Dean Carswell on""Grob PIOs" on the SSAI website at http://www.soaringsafety.org/ic8.htm.