We are on the cusp of a new soaring season. We begin February 8 with our annual safety meeting, and flying will commence shortly thereafter. Well, I hope shortly. Our Pawnee is still in the shop being recovered, repainted, inspected and annualled. Hopefully, when it returns, it will look more like an airplane and less like the Gateway cow. But that could be a couple of weeks away yet. Lucky for me the weather has been cold and snowy. I would sure hate to be president with the Pawnee in the shop and good soaring weather outside.

Dave Weaver and Jim Kellett have worked up another top notch safety meeting. It will include Jim Wine, who is a local parachute rigger/skydiver. He is willing to jump with a chute that he rigs. Jim will tell us a lot about parachutes and even pack a few for us. I am sure this will be another in our series of outstanding safety presentations, and well worth attending even if it weren't mandatory. So I urge you all to do your best to be there in person. Remember that, if you do not attend, you will have to watch the video before flying in this new season.

Our fleet is now updated with a shiny new ASK-21. It's a great new addition. It's also $75,000 worth of new hardware. Keep that in mind when you use it. Please take extreme care to treat it well. Be sure to use the tail dolly when moving it, and be sure to keep the canopy cover on when the ship is on the ground. Remember that the K-21 rear canopy focuses sunlight onto the back seat headrest, and will set it on fire quite easily (the headrest on the previous K had ignited several times). This is most easily prevented by keeping the rear canopy closed and the canopy cover on. Need I harp on taking care getting the K-21 into and out of the hangar? Let's be careful and let's not give it hangar rash. Also, take great care getting it up on the dolly that we use to get it into and out of the hangar. Bottom line: treat as though it was your ship. It is!

Thanks to Stan and everyone who helped him, you will find the Grob in top shape this season. Stan and Eric have done a new weight and balance, and even you more robust pilots will find that it really can carry you. Otis, you really didn't need that crash weight reduction program after all. Seems the Grob payload is closer to 450 pounds than the 385 we had been working with. Be sure to recheck the weight and balance papers in the ship before you think about stuffing your friends and pets in for a ride.

Above all, take care and have a safe flying season. And stay tuned for word on the Pawnee
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

Like most enthusiasts, I've been willing to endure some really grueling situations in the name of fun. Have you ever seen Green Bay Packer's football fans enjoying a home game in December ? Football fans do not hold an exclusive monopoly on this type of stupidity, soaring enthusiasts have been known to take on an absurd challenge from time to time. Last December I couldn't resist a really great opportunity to buy an LS-4. After a great deal of negotiating over the phone, the seller had reluctantly agreed to my reduced price. There was only one catch, I would have to go to Miami, Florida to pick up the plane.

My wife was out of town with the baby. I had to act fast or face the possibility of driving all the way to Miami and back with a 3 month old baby and an angry wife who would need to use the rest room every 35 minutes. I got back into negotiating mode and told the seller I would take immediate delivery (in five days), but I would have to be able to do the drive in a weekend, thus Miami was out of the question. In return for a quick sale the seller agreed to take eight hours off of my drive, and meet me outside Orlando. We would meet at Seminole Lake Glider Port at 10:30 AM on Saturday morning. I made a quick list of things I would need to do; oil change (would have to be done at night in the snowy driveway), light hookup for the trailer, emergency gear, tools in case the trailer bearings were shot, temporary transport insurance for the sailplane, work extra hours to facilitate a 12:00 noon departure on Friday, etc. I loaded the truck Thursday night, and went over my list one more time. I was in bed by 11 PM Thursday night and got to work around 7AM Friday morning. I worked until about 11AM. I was supposed to stay until noon, but lets face it, one has to have priorities in life. By 12 noon I was on the ramp to 95 South. I got about two miles before the rain/snow started. Feeling a little like Jake and Elwood, I was on a mission to Florida. The trip through Virginia was slow, but the weather broke around the NC border. With the cruise control locked at 70 MPH, and a few stops for gas and doughnuts, I rolled into Orlando at 2:11 AM Saturday Morning. I treated my self to a decent hotel room and a 8 AM wake up call. I forgot what a great night's sleep you can have WITHOUT a screaming baby in the room.

After a quick breakfast I was off to Seminole Lake, arriving around 10AM. I met the folks and walked around the facility to admire the extensive collection of gliders tied down around the field. (In truth my legs were so cramped up that if I didn't keep moving I was in serious pain) After a review of all the paper work, maintenance records, and documentation, we put the sailplane togetherŠŠŠ Now I understood why the guy was giving me such a great price on the plane. With the exception of the glass fleet at Turf Soaring, this was the worst looking glass ship I had ever seen. I was suddenly less enamored with the fact that the ship only had 700 hours on it. I started thinking that the 700 hours had been put on it during a brief chariot racing career. We would definitely have to come up with a new price. Luckily, I was prepared for this. (As a side note, always offer a few bucks in cash along with the cashiers check for the balance, so that there is always wiggle room if the seller has misrepresented the condition of the plane.) I switched into, "Bond Trader" mode and, "Negotiated" a new price. In the end I was happy with the trade. I think I got what I paid for, but it was by no means the great deal the seller insisted that it was. Now, the only thing standing between me and fun was 1100 miles ! I took some time to repack the ship in the trailer with some hard foam from an old Marine Corps cold climate sleeping mat (not for comfort by the way, it's to keep the earth from sucking all the heat out of your body when you sleep on the frozen ground). Given the condition of the ship, this was a really stupid idea and a waste of time, but I was excited, it was my first ship.

I left Seminole Lake at about 3 PM Saturday afternoon. By 2 AM Sunday morning I was having flash backs to the Marine Corps' 8 hour-25 mile forced marches. I stopped in North Carolina about 80 miles from the VA border. I went to the best looking hotel I could find, a "Comfort Inn" looked very inviting. A nice little old lady behind the desk gave me the key with a big smile. As tired as I was, I was still somewhat shocked when I opened the door. There was a big king sized bed, ŠŠ..right next to the heart-shaped hot tub (with the accompanying mirror on the ceiling). The featured choices of movies on the in-room entertainment menu completed the atmosphere. Now I understood the old woman's smile. She thought she was hooking me up with a premo love den. The sheets on the bed were so nasty that I decided to sleep on the sofa. In hind-sight I'm thinking the sofa was just as nasty as the bed, but it was dark brown and hid the stains better. At that point I was way too tired to notice, or care. I slept for about 4 hours. That was all I could take with the moans of ecstasy coming from the room next store. After a 6 AM pre-flight of the truck, trailer, lights and tires, I was headed north. With a pit stop for gas and doughnuts, I was in my driveway in McLean, Virginia by 11:55 AM. 2200 miles in 48 hours.
-- Chris Williams

Our sixteenth SSA convention-old friends, and several new ones. And more real quality time with fellow Club members than I get at home! Did you know the world record for a cross country RC sailplane was 147 miles? With a scale model of the SB-10, no less! I learned more about accident stats and aging pilots in an hour's schmoozing with Pat Costello in the Air Force Museum that I could get with hours of e-mail; and the same could be said for a couple of hours about the Civil Air Patrol with John Sharp, BIlly Singleton, and the new Executive Director of CAP, Allan Allenbach (sp?), a glider pilot and strong supporter of the CAP Glider program.

And a REAL highlight was meeting a lovely 15 year old Susan Steinmann from Pennsylvania, the new owner of my first glider, 1-26 No. 176 (N8630R). What a legacy!! The presentation by the TSA representative was really pathetic-he'd been dragooned into the meeting on short notice, with little preparation, and was instantly in over his head with the several hundred experienced soaring pilots in the audience. There's a lot to be worried about here--you heard it from me. The good news is that Glenn Collins, the President of M-ASA, showed that he'd made more progress on his own initiative-which I take as a further hint that we'd better pay attention to the security issues and learn to work together "or else". But there's a L O N G way to go.

Dayton was my first SSA convention, but it surely won't be my last. There were three broad classes of activities: 1)wander among the floor exhibits, climbing in and out of gliders, and talking to the vendors. 2)attend the many excellent sessions/tutorials, take notes, and ask lots of questions. 3) go to the two world-class aviation museums in Dayton: the Air Force museum and the Wright Brothers museum. I learned a lot, and saw some really interesting gliders. Oddly enough, the most interesting sailplanes to me were at the extremes: the 155 lb Sparrow Hawk, and the 30-meter ETA. And, even though it wasn't a glider, seeing the actual (not replica) Wright brothers Flyer III was another high point of trip. Next year the convention is in Atlanta-I'm already mentally reserving time for it.
-- Carlos Roberts

Dayton was also my first convention and will not be the last. I was very pleased with everything the convention offered from the seminars to the evening activities. Before the convention, I thought the highlight of the trip would be the equipment display but I quickly learned that the display floor basically was the place to kill the extra time between sessions. I found the broad selection of topics and outstanding presentations in virtually every session were worth the trip. Even the "SSA Government Liaison" presentation by Steve Wallace and others had more than enough "edge of your seat excitement" to make the 90 minutes pass quickly. Meeting Gerhard Weibel of Schleicher was also a highlight of the trip. It was nice to see fellow Skyliners in almost every session I attended, talk with them at breaks, and enjoy their company at several evening events.

I learned more about many aspects of soaring in 3 days at the SSA convention in Dayton than the past several years of reading about soaring and occasional flying. I highly recommend the convention to everyone and believe it may be one of the strongest motivators to fly safely and enjoy our sport
-- Greg Phillips

On Sunday, January 19, we had our annual meeting. About 35 people attended. Briefly, the results of that meeting are as follows: 1. The Club is in sound financial condition. Equity has grown, primarily as a result of the purchase of the Grob. We face substantial bills for inspection and repair of the Pawnee, but these expenses were expected and planned for, and the money for them has been set aside.

2. We still have an instructor shortage, and actions to mitigate this problem have high priority among the current instructors. 3. Our membership is down slightly over last year, with about 57 currently active members. This loss of membership is likely the result of the general economic turn-down as much as anything, but contributing factors have been the loss of the K-21 and our shortage of instructors.

4. A subset of Club members is working on establishing a youth program that would provide scholarships for young people to learn to fly and to obtain their glider ratings.

5. The Pawnee is at Petersburg getting recovered and annualed. More than expected damage was found in the wings when the fabric was removed, and a considerable amount of repair work was necessary. Currently, the wings are ready to be recovered, and we expect the Pawnee to be ready for service by mid-February.

6. The Club's annual Sustained Service Award was given to Jim McCulley for his long-term service to the Club. Cited were his contributions as a founding member, service as maintenance officer, and his devotion to the Club through other actions, including especially as tow pilot and as an advisor for many Club decisions. This award is a plaque, which is kept on display in the hanger, with awardee's names engraved on it. Jim, the entire Club thanks you for your service.

7. Elections were held for two Director positions. Candidates were George Hazelrigg, Kolie Lombard and Piet Barber. Elected were George Hazelrigg and Kolie Lombard.

The Board of Directors held a brief meeting following the Annual Meeting. At that meeting, I was re-elected President, and the Board reconfirmed the positions of the current Chiefs. We would like to thank all of you for your continued service to the Club. Currently, the position of Operations Officer/Safety Officer in unfilled. I would like volunteers for this position. This is a position that demands rather little effort much of the time, but when you are needed, you are really needed. Among other duties, the Safety Officer is responsible for convening meetings relating to all operational or safety issues, including incident/accident investigations. The person who fills this position should take charge of the overall safety of our operations, look at all of our operations from a strategic point of view, and be sure that the Club is doing all it can to maintain a high level of safety. I would like to see an experienced person step forward for this position. It should be a person who spends a good deal of time on the field, and who can relate to all aspects of our operations. Also on Sunday and Monday, a substantial crew came out to wax the Grob and to help work on the new ASK. Considerable progress has been made on preparing these ships for the 2003 soaring season. You will find many little things fixed on the Grob, and we plan to install new seatbelts and new canopy seals. Thanks to Stan for heading the Grob crew, and thanks to all who helped. I sat in on the Warren County Airport Commission meeting today. The following are developments of note:

1. Work on the taxiway and apron areas will not begin until we get spring weather, likely not until April. Then it will take at least 30 days to complete. We should not count on this work being complete until about the first of June.

2. A down payment has been authorized for the construction of 16 new hangers to the west of the current hangers. It is important that anyone who wants to rent hanger space for their glider let me know as soon as possible. I will collect these data and forward them to the Airport Commission. They have agreed to reserve hangers for us. It is important that, if you say you want a hanger, you be ready to write a check for your hanger rent. This is our chance to get more hanger space, and we should be sure to claim all that we can use, but we must be sure not to lease space that our members will not use. I know that I keep asking you about hanger space, but please bear with me on this. I need up-to-date data.

3. We have been authorized by the Airport Commission, and blessed by the engineers, to remove the steel panels between the hangers (so long as we do not remove any cross stays) as necessary to enable us to improve our storage of trailers. We are examining alternative storage configurations, and we might move some trailers and airplanes to gain more effective use of our current hanger space. 4. I was asked to provide names and addresses of private ship owners for those members who have private trailers and/or ships in Club hangers. Please forward the appropriate information as soon as possible.

Right now we are looking at starting operations in mid-February upon return of the Pawnee. I will keep you posted. Happy new season.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

January 21-Larry Sanderson and I met with the Secret Service today. The meeting started out fairly slow and took a direction we had thought had been overcome during previous phone calls. After about a half hour Larry and I had it back on track but we knew we wouldn't get everything we hoped for in the first cut. The bottom line is we will have a waiver allowing M-ASA to operate from W73 when the TFR is at 10 NM. I need to draft up our requirements and send them off. These will then be used to crafted into the letter of agreement which will define the terms of our operation under the waiver. Some things are known at this point. Everyone will need an operational two-way radio to operate in the TFR. Tow planes will be assigned transponder squawks and must transmit. We will need to purchase a second ground radio and probably a loud speaker which we will use to monitor VHF Guard (121.5). If anyone knows where we might locate a UHF receiver capable of monitoring 243.0, I would love to know it.

I'll have more details in a day or two after I review all the details and draft my message back to the feds.
-- Glenn Collins, M-ASA

I have just gotten back from my trip to Argentina and Antarctica. I took like 600 pictures or so:

One thing I did notice is many lenticular clouds over:

1) Patagonia (Riva Davia, Argentina) (got pictures);

2) Ushuaia, (Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina) (may have pictures of the lennies);

3) Deception Island (Antarctic Peninsula, AQ) (got pictures).

The soaring skill of the albatross is incredible. We left Ushuaia, across the Drake Passage, and there were about three Albatrosses flying along with the ship, dipping in and out of the ship's air wake-the birds apparently were using some sort of dynamic soaring with the horizontal wind gradient from behind the ship, along with some occasional ridge soaring from standing ocean waves generated by the ship's displacement and screws. The albatrosses hardly flapped, except for the rare occasion where they wanted to catch up with the other albatrosses.

I have all of my pictures, including close-ups with penguins at: http://pietbarber.com/AQ/

I know what you mean about the soaring skill of the albatross. On my trip we picked up one just outside Cape town. It stayed just off the bow of the ship all the way to Antarctica-for eight days!

-- Kolie Lombard

When I was at Midway Island in my Navy days, the Gooney Birds (albatross) would leave the island and not come back for seven years. During that time they never visit another land mass and they say they don't rest on the water. Now that's Diamond Badge soaring.

-- Stan Pawlowski

• items of interest from the editor's electronic collection Those of us in the Civil Air Patrol fly during the winter (weather permitting) as long as we are willing to put up with the cold. No dog days for us "hackers" (as opposed to non-hackers.) Before the days of the computer a "hacker" was someone who is capable of standing up under difficult or adverse circumstances. A "non-hacker" was unable or unwilling to do so.
  -- Greg Ellis

• Meet the Member:I first became interested in soaring in the mid 70' s. I took a ride at the old Warrenton site in a high wing struted trainer-my how things have changed. Since my wife Sandy will consider going airborne in nothing short of a jumbo jet, we started sailing instead. Years pass quickly. Now with our daughter in college we are both learning to deal with a quite house. Last September, for an anniversary present, my wife suggested I go soaring again. She had found your web-site and decided the ride would make a good present. The response I met at SSC convinced me I needed to join
  -- Rick Harris

• Try this for links to almost all soaring sites & subjects http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/soaring.htm
  -- Greg Ellis

• We have two new members, Joining 1/1/03 Richard B. Harris

  Joining 2/1/03 Joseph C. Groshel

• Worth Repeating-Except for FAA paperwork and a battery mounting tray, the K is READY ! ! Yippee ! ! The battery can be held down with foam. The FAA is having trouble finding a date to do the inspection (surprised ? )

  Three items to commit to memory:

  1.I bought a nice canopy cover last year, it was used as a sofa cover. There are nice, unscratched, clear canopies on the plane, let's try to keep them that way.

  2.I bought a tail dolly..Please use it any time the plane is moved, especially on the asphalt.

  3.The inside of the nice shiny rear canopy makes a great reflector. Be very careful when opening the rear canopy when the nose is pointed toward the sun. It only takes seconds to burn through the headrest ! Thanks, fly safe and have fun

  Fred Mueller has touched on the proper connection of the controls, I want to mention another difference between the old K and the newŠ. The horizontal is still attached by a single bolt, but that bolt is now captive. Unscrew it, then lift it only about another 1/4 inch ( 6mm ). Do not try to pull the bolt all the way out of the tail.

  When installing the tail, make sure the bolt is lifted so that it is clear of the bottom of the tail before placing the tail on the fin. Once the tail is in place, lift the front slightly to see the alignment of the bolt into the top of the fin
  -- Fred Winter

• Global Hawk Bits-I've been following the SSC comments on the global Hawk you saw at Dayton. First, I'm surprised there's one in the museum already as only a few have been built.

  You may not know it was designed and built here in San Diego by Northrop Grumman. Well, actually by the folks that were previously known as Ryan Aeronautical. And yes, just like many of us victims of corporate consolidation, they are proud of their (Ryan) heritage. I know several of their engineers here, including one of their program managers that owns a TG-2 and other vintage gliders. The big ugly dome over the nose is for a satellite link antenna for realtime download of the EO sensors.

  One of the concepts of operation is for the airplane to depart a CONUS location, such as Edwards. Fly autonomously to the area near Bosnia while the ground support team loads up in a C-5 and flies ahead to Turkey to meet their Hawk when it arrives on scene. An operational test last year(?) had it fly from California to Australia for a fleet exersize in waters north of Australia.

  Of course, we'd rather keep airplanes with guys like Dave Weaver at the controls. Flying the plane, not sitting at a console. Able to think, but hopefully not get shot down.

  By the way-We're getting ready for our Torrey Pines season in a couple of weeks (see www.agcsc.org). If you or any other Skyliners are in the area let me know.
  -- -Byron J. Lowry

• 737 Rudder Fix ReadyŠ Finally-Almost 12 years and about $1 billion later, Boeing has rolled out its first Boeing 737 with an enhanced rudder-control system. Boeing 737 crashes in 1991 and 1994 were blamed on rudders that suddenly swung without pilot input. In both cases the aircraft rolled over and crashed. A total of 157 people died. U.S. operators have until November, 2008, to install the kit and foreign aviation agencies usually follow the FAA's lead. The new jet was number 1,268 of the modern version of the 737 and all subsequent production aircraft will have the new system. This year, the company will make the system available for the 4,000 737s already in service.

  NTSB investigator and SSC member Greg Phillips played a pivotal role in this major safety fix.)
  -- -avFlash

• Glider Makes Forced Landing! Missed the Field, From 7200 Feet Since every landing in a glider is a 'forced landing,' this one must have been particularly interesting...

  The pilot was identified in local reports as 'Norman,' and he and his passenger had the ride of their lives. According to the plane's owners at Sailplane Ride Adventures (Dillingham Field, HI), nobody was supposed to be flying at the time, due to gusty winds.

  'Norman,' a regular renter at the facility, and his passenger had been flying for about an hour when, at about 7200 feet, he decided to land back at Dillingham. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was

  told, "...Norman could not land at Dillingham because of the wind and because he was too low. Norman was able to land at the beach park."

  It's not been definitively established, but it looks as though the landing was on the water, about 30 feet out; and the waves pushed the Grob back onto the sand. 'Norman' was injured, cutting his head on the broken canopy, as he climbed out; the male passenger was reportedly uninjured.

  Beachcombers helped both men out of the downed machine. The Star-Bulletin quoted many witnesses as being surprised that there was "no sound," as the glider came in. No fire, eitherŠ strange.
  -- aero-news.net, Jan 23 2003 from Kolie Lombard

• Of all the of the helpers freezing our way through re-assembly of the Grob-back and forth-fore and aft-the best comment came from Geoff Hazelrigg:

  "Why not just establish policy that the next person who lands out gets to keep the plane!"

• Zack and I earned the Polar Bear Patch. We were very comfortable in a 5 degree F low at 5 a.m.; along with 325 other Scouts. Camping with the Scouts. 2003 Bull run District Winter Camporee. Some call it crazy, we call it fun.
  -- -Shane & Zack Neitzey

• February 1, 2003

  We who fly are all bound together by the inherent gift we have been given-a love of the air. No matter the level of our individual skills at navigating the sky, we are connected to one another by this gift. We are different from the ground-bound -not better, just different "...a hundred things you have not dreamed of..."-perhaps that bond is called "Spirit".

  We are bound to "The Spirit of St. Louis" not by the vehicle, but its occupant. We are forever grateful to the bankers of St. Louis, but Charles Lindbergh, Hawley Bowlus and others of this team shared and enjoyed our gift and because of that fact, we are connected to them "...High in the sunlit silence..." . It took one of us, a 19 year old with war-driven urgency, to put this Spirit into words that we all can share.

  Society, because of its very nature, puts all its children into little boxes to neatly identify them. There are boxes for doctors, lawyers, surveyors, pharmacists, sign makers, engineers, artists, preachers, et al. Some, unaware of the dulling but safe consequence, go smoothly in, but when they try to put one of us with the Spirit in assigned boxes it's like trying to stuff, undamaged, a determined butterfly into a coke bottle "...Sunward I've climbed..." .

  Death doesn't end a relationship. Death ends a physical presence "...I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies...", but the Spirit and the relationship goes on.

  Think now of someone you loved whose physical presence is gone. See-the relationship continues. I thought of how intensely proud I was the day my father walked into my 2nd grade classroom in his Navy uniform and took me for hamburgers at the Crystal. I would not see him again for almost 4 years-60 years haven't dimmed that image-or death the relationship.

  Even the steel-hardest cases among us recognize this bond-this Spirit. The following was written by a Medal of Honor recipient they called "Killer"-John Riley Kane, Colonel, USAF, ret. He dedicated it "To the Fallen of Ploesti". We don't dilute it's intention by excerpting it here because it so eloquently speaks for those of us stunned at this morning's news-those of us who share the bond but lack the ability or will to articulate our sense of loss.

  "To you who fly on forever I send that part of me which cannot be separated and is bound to you for all time....all these things that were and perhaps would have been, I leave in your care, out there in the blue."

  Some of us weren't born when John Gillespie Magee, Jr. slipped those bonds-but our relationship with him exists because we share a mutual bond... "on laughter-silvered wings...".

  Today we lost 7 more whose unconquerable Spirit could not be boxed in or tied up to the ground-but the relationship continues "...in the high untresspassed sanctity of space...".
  -- Phil Jordan