Mark your calendars and scratch your heads. Here are some dates and things to think about. First, don't forget the SSC year-end celebration at our house (see the previous Skylines for driving instructions, or call me: 703-207-1539). I urge all members, including temp members to come out and celebrate another great year of soaring. And if you have a friend who might be interested in soaring with us next year, bring her too.

The second date to mark down is January 19, 2003, at 1:30 PM. We are doing a Sunday meeting this year to make the meeting accessible to a few people who cannot come out on Saturdays. This is the date of our annual meeting. An important event at that meeting is the election of members of the Board of Directors. Your Board currently consists of Malcolm Gardner, Fred Mueller, Richard Freytag, Shane Neitzey, Chris Williams and me. We each serve a three-year term, with two people up for election each year. Shane is filling out Dave Weaver's position, and will be on the Board for two years. Chris is filling out Glenn Baumgartner's position, and will be on the Board for one year. They will then be eligible for re-election to a full term. This year, my term and Malcolm's term expire. I will run for re-election, Malcolm has chosen not to run for a second term. This is your chance to run for the Board or to nominate someone for the position. The Board represents you with respect to setting Club policy. Be sure you have the representation you want. To make sure everyone can vote, I would suggest that, if you want to run for the Board, or put someone up for a position on the Board, that you notify me two weeks in advance of the meeting, and I will announce the candidates and allow a mail-in vote.

The next important date will be January 22-25, 2003. This is the date of the 2003 SSA Convention, this year in Dayton, Ohio. Jim Kellett is going and has offered seats in the Trans-Appalachian Express. This is a meeting that you might want to consider, especially if you are in training as an instructor or looking to spend $50-100K on a new ship.

Then comes February 1, 2003, at 10 AM. This is the date of our annual safety meeting. The annual safety meeting is an attendance-required event. We always tape this meeting, and require either your attendance at the meeting or that you watch the tape before your first flight of 2003. Our hope is that we will be open for business right after the safety meeting. But due to complications we cannot be sure. Much work needs to be done on the Pawnee this year and, although we are planning to have it back in service by February 1, there are no guarantee that will happen.

Concurrent with the annual inspection, the Pawnee wing spar attachment fittings are subject to an inspection this year that requires removal of the wings. While the wings are off, we will recover and repaint them and, perhaps, the fuselage as well. This will give us a good looking tow ship, but there is always risk in any schedule. It might also help to get the Pawnee back a bit sooner if some of us could form a work party to help in the process of recovering the wings. You will receive notice of your opportunity to volunteer should it arise.

Finally, by the time you receive this copy of Skylines, the new K-21 should be on a boat headed west.

It's been a trying and sometimes troubling year. But it has been a good soaring season with lots of long flights and a few new PPL-G/CPL-Gs. Congratulations to everyone who has a new rating and to everyone who first soloed during the year. Happy holidays and the best for next year. See you on the 6th!
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

This year, the annual year-end party will be at Hacienda Hazelrigg in Vienna, on Friday, December 6, beginning at 6:30 PM and continuing until we decide it's too late to go on. We'll provide hot dinner, so if you want to bring something, make it a small dish or desert to add some variety. Beer and wine are also welcome. It might not hurt to bring a folding chair if you have one. We have chairs (i.e., places to sit) for about 30 people, but expect about 75. Of course, there's always the floor. As you may already know, the Hazelrigg house features music in all its various forms. So, if you have a musical instrument, bring it (pianos provided by the management-we have a substantial collection of keyboards). We will feature the SSC Band (can someone come up with a better name than that?). After dinner and music, we will have a showing of "Dr. Strangelove." If you haven't seen this movie in the past 30 years, or maybe never saw it, it is classic Peter Sellers, with several well-known but rather young looking actors, and lots of flying. For those of you who will be coming from afar, it may be possible for you to stay with us overnight, and go directly to FRR on Saturday morning. I'll need a head count for overnighters. I think we can arrange for a few, particularly if some of the DC-area members can help out.

Now the important stuff. Where is this-here party? Our address is 8427 Idylwood Road, Vienna. Our telephone is 703-207-1539. You can locate the address on an ADC Northern Virginia Street Map at Map 14, J-1. Map 15 will show the I-495 & 66 exits.

Idylwood ends in a cul de sac right at our house. See you all there.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

Each member shall receive a hard copy snail mailed statement no later than December 15 for the next year's dues, due and payable by January 15. Dues not RECEIVED by January 15 will be subject to a 10% late fee, and members will be placed in "inactive" status until February 15, at which time if dues have not been paid in full (including late fee) the member shall be designated as resigned (not inactive).-By order of the Board of Directors

Tony Bigbee reports that he's near completion of the production of the Skyline Soaring Club's Tenth Anniversary Celebration video!! Yes, complete with Bela Gogos' inspiring speech (and the slides he presented) plus other snips of this memorable gala will be available for distribution by the date of the Club's Christmas party (December 6 at the Hazelrigg residence). As you may know, Bela's negotiating with publishers for the publication of his full biography, so this speech has attained the status of "collectible" before it's even produced!

I am accepting orders now-$5.00 for the DVD disc, or $1.00 for a CD (smaller format, fewer features), and will burn copies based on advance orders, so ACT NOW and let me know how many of which kind you want
-- Jim Kellett

I've run into several instances where members were unaware of the scope of the Club's e-mail lists. The Club maintains several mailing lists so that members can communicate with specific sub-sets of the Club through a single address without having to type in individual addresses. In other words, e-mail to each of the following single addresses goes to as many as 65 people automatically.

Here's a reminder of the specific addresses everyone should have in their address books:

members@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to this address goes to every current member of the Club. Unless a member specifically requests being removed from this list, they are automatically subscribed when they join the Club. (I don't THINK there are any members without e-mail.) This list should be used for general Club business of interest to all members. (See also misc@skylinesoaring.org below!)

directors@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to this address goes to the six Directors of the club, plus the Club Secretary (Malcolm Gardner) and Treasurer (Bob Collier). Piet Barber controls the membership of this list. This is the best way to communicate with the Club's leadership without broadcasting it to the entire membership.

towpilots@skylinesoaring.org

instructors@skylinesoaring.org

dutyofficers@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to any of these addresses goes to the individuals who hold these titles or positions within the Club. Piet Barber controls the membership of this list. These lists get used often by members working on schedule changes, e.g.,--if you're a towpilot or Duty Officer or instructor and have a conflict, e-mail to the appropriate list with a single address communicates directly ONLY with those qualified to swap duty with you.

weekdays@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to this address goes to all members who have expressed an interest in flying on non-weekend days. You may be added to this list by a request to me or Piet Barber. There's a lot of mail on this list (in normal times, at least) because the scheduling priorities of individual members wanting instruction gets done here.

misc@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to this address goes to all members who have indicated that they are receptive to "off-topic" (and often very politically incorrect!) e-mail. Members who wish to be on this list should make their request to Piet Barber. (Note: you should also have a very thick skin and a good sense of humor.)

students@skylinesoaring.org

E-mail to this address goes to all members who currently hold a student pilot's license, AND to all Club instructors (the same people on the instructors@skylinesoaring.org list.) It is a forum for discussion of training topics, and is controlled by Piet Barber with some assistance from me and the other instructors.

Finally, on a slightly unrelated topic, the Club's website contains a few pages-particularly the ROSTER page-that is updated with great frequency by the Club's Webmeister, Fred Mueller. On that page, you can find out up to the date information on who's on tap as DO, Instructor, ADO, and towpilot for any given day. There's also a NOTES section, and on weekdays you can see who's on the schedule to receive instruction. Other useful tidbits are on that page. It can save a lot of phone calls and/or e-mails by looking there!

-- Jim Kellett

December is the month when the club begins to wind down operations and wind up parties. But it is also the month preceding the annual meeting and club elections. Just like our national republic, some members will take an active role in the club election process and will voice opinion on how the club should operate, fewer will volunteer to accept a leadership position (e.g. Board member), and many will not participate or will sit on the sidelines. Our Board of Directors run the club and make all major decisions for us. Of the six member Board, two are elected each year. Vacancies are filled by direction of the remaining Board members. At the moment, I have been led to expect four directors to be elected or appointed in December. These directors will decide the future fate of the club, if you don't want to run for office, at least come out and vote for whomever you think will run the club the way you want the club to be run.

Looking back over the past season, it seems to me the club had a rough time of it this year. Several accidents of privately owned gliders occurred (fortunately without major injury) including the K-21. If we had not purchased the Grob all instruction would have come to a screeching halt. As it is, the limited useful load of the Grob has severely hampered both flight instruction and rides, and I suspect, our profit for the year. Likewise, the Pawnee will finish the year by going in for a major inspection and recovering. Both assets (gliders and tow plane) are critical to our financial survival, however we have multiple gliders and only one tow plane. Hummmm. These issues, training aircraft and tow planes (along with the availability of CFI's and Tow Pilots) will certainly challenge the next board of directors. On a happier note, the Soaring Youth Fund (SYF) plan is close to being ready to be put to the Board for approval. Skyline Soaring Club will be the first Chapter as we try to launch what we hope will become a National program. The basic concept is the SYF will operate as a separate non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to raising money (by giving rides for donations in a SYF glider, and by soliciting corporate sponsors) with which to award soaring scholarships to young (14-23) men and women still in a full time academicenvironment. SYF will start by sending scholarship winners to SSC for membership and instruction, and will expand training opportunities to other clubs as resources allow. Stay tuned for more information soon.
-- Dick Otis

I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday, November 23. I would love to have experienced the wave, and to some extent I did, albeit in the Pawnee. I should have tried to hold altitude with the power off, but maybe that would have been hard on the engine. I remember on one of the releases, Kolie I think, pulling the initial power reduction, half flaps, and starting a descending spiral, and after 360 degrees I was well above where I started.

After letting you and Jim off I was going to refuel, put the Pawnee away, and go home. As I was taxiing to the FBO Kolie called and asked to be met with the tow car at mid field, so I parked the Pawnee and met him with the tow car. He stopped exactly at the turnoff, opened the canopy, and headed for the grass, not unlike a maneuver I saw you do a couple of weeks ago, although with more urgency. He then explained his plumbing failure in more detail than I needed, and subsequently drained his plastic bag which brought back fond memories of when I was a medical corpsman. I decided to help Kolie put his ship away when we got the radio call from you guys about Kevin. So we put Kolie's ship away and headed out to get him. We had talked to Kevin by phone and asked if we should bring more than one person and he said yes, since it was not clear if we would be able to get the trailer up to the glider or if we would have to carry it out. So Kolie and I took off in Kevin's truck, me driving and Kolie navigating brilliantly.

The whole thing got to be pretty hilarious, starting with the two good old boys whose field he landed in. They could not have been more helpful. Kevin met us on the road which went by their house, now only occupied by their daddy. They were in the process of filling in an in-ground pool, which was not in good shape and of no further use to their father. They had backed a large double axle truck full of dirt up to it but got too close and the truck, at least the back half of it, fell in the pool. They were sorting this out when Kevin arrived, so for them the glider in the pasture was comic relief.

They took off in their 4WD truck with us following in Kevin's, also 4WD. They told us not to worry about getting stuck since they had "lots of tractors". No tractors were necessary and we drove right up to the glider, passing a cow about to give birth along the way. I would not have known that the cow was about due but the owner told us that if we stayed long enough we might witness the blessed event. We didn't but maybe we can check back next weekend. The owners left us to tend to the glider and went back to their pool project, just asking us to close the field gate on the way out.

It took a while to get the ship packed up (not the most modern and slick trailer etc). As we neared the gate on the way out 4-5 donkeys came trotting by, on the inside, and I was afraid they would run out the gate and we would spend the rest of the night trying to round them up. (None of this stuff is covered in any pilot training syllabus I have seen.) Anyway the donkeys all cooperated and stayed on the right side of the gate. So we closed it and were on our way, with Kevin insisting on a brief final stop by the house to again say thanks. I was afraid they would shoot something and invite us in to dinner but they didn't.

By the time we got back to FRR it was pitch dark, no lights on the airport, and the FBO locked up tight. Kolie gave me a flashlight which I used to see to start the Pawnee. I was hoping the runway lights were key activated and they were, and it was actually a beautiful site, and a sense of power, to see the whole place light up with 5 mike clicks. There are landing light and nav light switches in the Pawnee but there is no landing light, and I could not get any nav lights I could see to work. At least for conspicuity there was the rotating beacon. It was dark in the parking lot but I could see enough to turn tightly for the taxiway out. Then it was really blind. I could just make out the east edge of the taxiway, and also see the yellow line below the wing looking down from the open window, so I knew I was close to the centerline. Once I got out to the runway it was well lit, and I taxied down to midfield, and Kolie had opened the hangar and turned on the light so it was easy from there.

So we put it away and I left a bold note in the logbook saying that it had not been refueled.

It was a full day at and around the airport, even without a whole lot of towing. Lots of fun.
-- Steve Wallace

Greetings from the Women Soaring Pilots Association. We are an international association of the women who love the wondrous experience of soaring flight. At the upcoming Soaring Society of America Convention in Dayton, Ohio, January 23-25, 2003, we will be the visible face of women in soaring. And with the hundred-year history of flight being celebrated everywhere and especially in Dayton, the WSPA plans to make sure that the past, present and future involvement of women is well commemorated.

We hope this letter finds you well and rich in memories of your own soaring career. We'd like your help in a commemorative project that we're calling The Paper Gliders.

Please email Frauke Elber elber@cavtel.net to receive a glider picture for coloring (drawn by fine artist and WSPA member Janaki Lennie, of Houston, Texas and Perth, Australia) and an addressed envelope. We invite you to color the paper glider like your own ship, or put photographs or poems or reminiscence on the front side of the page, or write a favorite soaring story on the back. In other words, decorate it as you wish. Then please mail it back to:

Ms Frauke Elber
213 Anne Burras Lane
Newport News, VA 23606-3637

Frauke is the Editor of our newsletter Hangar Soaring and a friend of women pilots around the world.

All of the Paper Gliders mailed back to Frauke will go to Dayton in January. We will proudly display them in our booth at the SSA Convention. Also, the WSPA's President and Webmaster, Sharon Smith, will scan in the Paper Gliders for the WSPA Web site (www.womensoaring.org) so that soaring enthusiasts who couldn't make it to the Convention can still see them.

Thank you for your presence in soaring and for setting an example for the newer, younger and less accomplished of us. If you'll be attending the Convention in Dayton, look for the WSPA booth. If you can't come to Dayton, please send a Paper Glider and join us in spirit.

With all good wishes and best regards,
-- -Alexis Glynn Latner alexis-latner@sff.net

Please use the latest blank logsheet on the website at:

http://members.skylinesoaring.org/MEMBERSHIP/
LOGSHEETS/BLANK/LOGSHEET.XLS

or at:

http://members.skylinesoaring.org/ and click on the "LOGSHEET" link in the bottom left column.

This logsheet will zero out the ship rental if you enter "P" (Private), in the "[RENTAL] TYPE" column. If its an "R" (Rental) or "I" (Instructional) and the pilot is a Ka-7 Angel then also enter "a" or "A" in the "Ka-7" column. This is all new stuff so its not in the DO manual. Thanks,
-- Richard Freytag

Several years ago I was thrilled to accept the assignment to art direct and produce a commemorative stamp for the 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight. The illustrator that I retained to do the art, McRay Magelby of Provo, UT is an Ultralight pilot. In our early discussions we both questioned the conventional wisdom that the First Flight took place on a gray and cloudy day. In three of the four pictures taken on December 17, 1903 it is crystal clear-obviously the sun was out. In the famous photo of flight number one, you can see a distinct hard edge shadow on the foreground bench.

So yours truly obtained a copy of J. J. Dosher's official Weather Report for December 1903 from NOAA. I also got a set of exhibition quality prints made at the Library of Congress from the original glass plates in their collection. These photos are a great deal lighter than those you so often see.

In his Weather Report for Dec. 17, 1903 under the heading "Clouds" and sub-headings "Amt.", "Kind", "Direction" Dosher entered "0", "0", "0". In the column heading "State of the Weather", he wrote "Clear".

So for all those who responded to my too-cute questionnaire, thanks but you, and virtually every historian (including the very respected experts we retained to advise us), guessed wrong.
-- Phil Jordan

• Congratulations to Raul Fumagali who completed a successful practical examination at the hands of Marvin Holland on November 22nd. Well done, Raul! Raul,congratulations. What a great milestone in your life. Enjoy your PPL-G for many years to come. But don't stop here. Work begins next year on your CPL-G.-George, the other President

• Another Good Reason Not to Step on the Rostermiester's Cape-The Homeland Security Act will allow pilots of commercial airliners to carry guns. Airline Pilots' Security Alliance Chairman Capt. Tracy W. Price commented "We are very pleased that arming airline pilots will soon be the law of the land and that the Homeland Security bill requires the TSA to implement a strong program." Price pointed out the bill still has an unacceptable weakness in that it does not allow pilots flying freight to carry guns (or Tow Pilots, thank goodness). Retired Airline Pilot Wins Glider Title-John Lumley, 59, won the Unlimited Glider Championship national aerobatic title during competition in Denison, Texas, in late September. His win qualifies him to compete in world aerobatic glider competition in Hungary next year. Lumley is a retired TWA captain with 23,000 hours. "When I flew a glider for the first time it was just like being a bird. It was a whole new experience, and I was completely captivated with glider aerobatics," he said. He won the national aerobatic glider title in 1999, 2001, and 2002. He flies a Polish Swift glider made especially for aerobatics.
  -- AOPA ePilot

• Check this out!-http://www.aeroplanner.com/ 1. Virginia is facing a $2 billion budget shortfall and all government agencies have been told to trim 15 percent. The funding freeze may force some airports to borrow money to keep projects going that have already been started. The catch? If the freeze continues, it could jeopardize federal grants that pay up to 90 percent of the cost of airport improvements-the federal money is almost always contingent on a small contribution from the state.-AVflash Sport Pilot Rule Inching Forward- While pilots await the rule that will allow them to fly a Piper Cub or other small (1,232 pounds or less) single-engine airplane without a third class medical certificate as a Sport Pilot, an industry working group has taken a small step toward finalizing standards for newly manufactured Light Sport Airplanes. The FAA says the final rule on Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft may be ready for publication by mid-2003. "AOPA members continue to look forward to flying small single-engine airplanes as a Sport Pilot without a third-class medical," said Andrew Werking, associate director of regulatory and certification policy. Meanwhile, AOPA continues its efforts with others in the aviation industry through the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) working group to develop the Sport Aircraft standards.
  -- AOPA ePilot

• Really Darn Neat-Web Windows on Alaska: The FAA has just completed the installation of 90 Web cameras on key aviation routes throughout the state. When you log onto the site, you get a real-time image of the conditions and a clear weather comparison view. For those of you not flying in Alaska, the system also provides a cheap tour.

  See http://akweathercams.faa.gov/wxcams/map.php
  -- AVflash

• ALERT!!!-The tow car has a leak in the cooling system-the radiator I think. It will be losing coolant. DO NOT LET IT OVERHEAT. ADD WATER AS NECESSARY DURING THE DAY. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE RADIATOR CAP TO PRESSURIZE THE SYSTEM. PUT THE CAP ON LOOSELY. Maybe some rainy day soon, we can pull the radiator and solder the leak.
  -- George Hazelrigg, Jr

• Land's End-There hasn't been anything like a groundswell for new Skyline Soaring Club logo items of late. It is too late to organize a large order for Christmas. However there is time for individual members to order items for Christmas on your own. There are catalogs still available in the hangar.

  Call them at 1.800.338-2000. The logo ID # is: 0152832 N. Have your credit card ready.