Been to FRR lately? If so, you'll note that there are big changes. The taxiway and new ramp area are open, and our ops have changed dramatically. We're still working out the bugs, but ops off 27 will become much more efficient as we work them out. No longer must we wait for power planes to back taxi, and push out of the way when they land. They now come back on the taxiway and pull into the ramp area west of where we set up. A big change is that we now want all glider landings to roll out to the mid-field intersection, and we will tow back to the ramp area from there. This is especially important for now, with the grass area simply to wet for the car. Be sure you familiarize yourself with our new operations plan before you set out to fly.

New hangars will soon be poking up out of the ground west of Muia's shop. We will be asking for additional hangar space. That will dramatically ease our chronic hangar shortage, and give everyone who wishes a chance to put their trailer in a hangar. If you have any designs on getting hangar space in the near future and haven't told me about it yet, please do so.

That brings me to introduce our newest "meister," Rick Harris. Rick has agreed to become Hangarmeister. It's a tough job, but Rick says he's up to the task. Please be sure to keep Rick informed of your hangar use and hangar needs. He will be in charge of the hangar list. Also, it would be nice if everyone gives him a hand with the "dirty work" of keeping the hangars in order.

We need a waxing party to wax the K-21. I suggest that we do it one of these imminent afternoons when our flying gets cut short by thunderstorms. Our equipment is in pretty good shape right now. Let's take good care of it. Fly safe, have fun.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

Good pilots have the ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand with skillful ease. It is a trait that comes somewhat naturally but is also a trait that is developed to a fine level of preciseness through training and practice. In other words, it is possible to take our cluttered and disorganized minds and train them to sort through a myriad of details and variables, focus on the critical controlling elements in a particular situation and manipulate those elements to ensure a successful outcome. Pilots do this kind of thing from the moment we start to think about strapping on an airplane.

The amount of critical safety decisions we make on each and every flight is truly astounding. When we get up in the morning, we are evaluating our physical and mental condition for flying. Are we feeling good enough and sharp enough to take on the day's challenges? We proceed to the airport and evaluate the condition of the weather and our aircraft before taking to the air. Before pushing out on the runway, we are checking for traffic and possible conflicts. On hook-up we are checking the condition of our towline and release systems. By use of a take-off checklist we ensure our aircraft is in a take-off ready condition. We note wind speed and direction to anticipate needed cross-wind corrections, we mentally review our rope break emergency procedures and then give the rudder waggle signal indicating we are ready to go.

In a glider, we are immediately challenged with the need to not only make a good take-off but also with the need to fly near perfect formation on our tow aircraft least we create a totally unacceptable and unsafe condition for our tow pilot. Our concentration is intense during the take-off and climb-out phase of flight. It is one of two very critical times of flight for us. It is possible for many different things to happen to either our glider or our tow aircraft during this phase and we must be mentally prepared to react. This is not the time for thinking idle thoughts, adjusting the GPS or taking time to look for your water bottle. All energy must be focused on the task at hand.

Eventually, we reach release altitude and we mentally conjure up entirely different lines of thought. On climb-out, it was the tow pilot's responsibility to keep us clear of traffic and to "see and avoid" while we concentrated on maintaining proper formation position. Now as we approach release, we prepare to accept this responsibility for the remainder of our flight. While still concentrating on flying good formation, we visually clear the airspace to the left and right ensuring there is no conflicting traffic and pull the yellow handle. We make our separation turn to the right, roll wings level after 90 degrees and ensure we can get a visual on our tow aircraft departing the area and returning to home field. Our mind is now focused on flying our ship efficiently to best utilize the days prevailing lift conditions all the while looking for other traffic and keeping track of our altitude and position. With activity a little less intense, we can now take advantage of the relative lull to enjoy the scenery, drink some fluids, have a snack and do some really neat flying. At the same time, we are ensuring we are safely in the flight envelope, clear of traffic and clear of clouds.

In time, the lift dissipates and we prepare to enter the second most critical phase of our flight-the landing phase. Make no doubt about it, this is the phase where the majority of aircraft mishaps and accidents occur. There are a ton of variables to evaluate and the level of our focus and intensity must increase accordingly. Glider pilots know we won't get a second chance at making a better landing than the one we set ourselves up for from the beginning. So preparation is the key. Having our landing area selected well in advance, evaluating wind conditions and predicting their affect on our pattern are crucial elements in planning a safe, low energy touchdown and roll-out. We religiously use a pre-landing checklist and ensure our aircraft is in the landing configuration. The rest is about flying the aircraft within the proper parameters to safely arrive at the precise touchdown point we planned for all along. We will make a hundred minor adjustments as we fly the pattern striving to achieve that perfect landing.

The ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand is key to being a good pilot. At any point in your flight, there are certain elements that require more focus than others. It does no good to concern yourself about your less than perfect position on tow when you are thermaling at minimum sink airspeed in a gaggle with 3 other birds. That was then, focus on the here and now-compartmentalize-put those tow concerns away for the time being. It is easy to get distracted if you do not recognize and concentrate on the critical elements for your precise phase of flight. You will have plenty of time later over a cold beer to pull your thoughts about other concerns out of their compartment and figure out how you are going to improve on your next trip to the airport.-
-- Stan Pawlowski

There are a couple points regarding Boxing the Wake as seen from the tow plane. First, it is really nice to forewarn the tow pilot (drawing a square with your finger as we taxi up) so we can plan our climb with a long straight leg into the wind after we pass 1000 feet AGL. Second, if someone starts to Boxing the Wake unannounced, we should think you are telling us to turn in the direction our nose is being pointed.

Using the dropable tow rope may be more common in our shared operations with SVS, other clubs, or should our reel system have a malfunction, thus a tip to make the tow pilots life a little easier. Unless we are landing on a grass runway with the rope attached, the rope will most likely be dropped just short of the pavement on runway centerline. If dropped from low level, the rope will be laid out flat. If dropped from over 100 feet AGL, the rope may fall in a small pile. In either case, the ADO should take the ring that is on top of the pile or at the front and drag the rope along the left edge of the runway until the rear end is not quite abeam the glider position. If the ADO then backs up a few paces and waits for the tow plane to stop, then when the glider and Pawnee are connected, the rope will form a long crescent. As the tow pilot taxis forward they will see the rope in the mirror move into a straight line as it becomes tight (less of a jerk to the glider). Also there is much less chance of getting knots in the rope by keeping it stretched out.

While good form might dictate that the glider's canopy be closed before the tow rope is stretched out, avoiding heat stroke on these hot days of summer ahead of us calls for the glider's canopy to be held open until the tow rope is pulled tight. The tow pilot will have trouble seeing the rudder waggle with your canopy open and the wing runner won't give the takeoff signal until the canopy is down, so safety will not be compromised.
-- Bill Bentley

Jim Kellett, Chief Flight Instructor, Skyline Soaring Club Senior Glider Program Advisor, Civil Air Patrol FAR Part 91.113 lays down the FAA rules for establishing right-of-way between aircraft in a variety of situations. It is one of the very few FAA regulations that actually give the PIC the responsibility to use common sense and courtesy! But it is also one of the less well understood, especially when it comes to gliders, by both power pilots and glider pilots.

A lot of pilots-pilots of all kinds of aircraft-have mentally summarized the entire Part more or less as "balloons>airships>gliders>airplanes/helicopters" as the general sense of the rule. So, many are surprised to discover that the part mentions glider right-of-way in only ONE specific instance!!

Specifically, gliders are mentioned only in Part 91.113 (d): "...When aircraft... are converging at approximately the same altitude (except head-on or nearly so)...[and]...[I]f the aircraft are of different categories-- ...(2) A glider has the right of way over an airship, airplane, or rotorcraft.. "

Yep, that's it! That's the ONLY scenario in which the FARs give a glider the right of way over any other aircraft!!

Wait-it gets better!! The same part also spells out some common sense right-of-way rules involving aircraft towing or refueling, and aircraft in distress.. but the part that talks about right-of-way near airports is really more remarkable in what it does NOT say than anything the part DOES say about gliders! Specifically, 91.113 (g) says:

(g) Landing aircraft, while on final approach to land or while landing, have the right of way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the surface, except that they shall not take advantage of this rule to force an aircraft off the runway surface which has already landed and is attempting to make way for an aircraft on final approach. When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport for the purpose of landing, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right of way, but it shall not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of another which is on final approach to land or to overtake that aircraft.

Again, let's look at what this part does NOT say-It does NOT say "landing airplanes and/or gliders", it says "landing aircraft".. -It does NOT say "When a glider and an airplane are approaching an airport", it says "When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport"-It does NOT define exactly what ".. approaching an airport for the purpose of landing", nor does it say "aircraft in the pattern".

Wow. The United States Government, in zealously discharging its responsibilities to make the air safe for everyone, actually expects pilots-in-command to figure out how to implement the basic premise of 91.113, which is in (91.113(b).. "... vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft." We actually have to THINK for ourselves, UNDERSTAND the immediate situation, exercise COMMON SENSE and COURTESY!

So it's even more important for all the folks operating aircraft at mixed-use airports to not only understand the FARs, but to understand the capabilities of the aircraft with whom they are sharing airspace. For example, while a glider obviously cannot "go around" when a conflict occurs, it actually can exercise a wider range of controlled descent that many power pilots are aware of. Specifically, all modern gliders are required to have control devices sufficient to reduce the glide ratio to 1:7, about the same as a typical single engine airplane at idle-however, the glider can also approach with a glide ratio of between 1:20 or even 1:40 or higher. And, since the glider generally operates at lower airspeeds (typical touchdown airspeeds are 30-50 kts), they can exercise surprising accuracy. Still, every glider final approach is just that-final.

Think about this-the glider pilot on downwind, who opens his spoilers to land before an airplane on base but who was lower in altitude, has violated the airplane pilot's right of way! MAYBE, given wind conditions and the distance of the airplane's base leg from the threshold, this was actually the safer option, but just thinking about this shines light on why it's important for BOTH the airplane pilot and the glider pilot to understand the others performance limits and intentions.

To start this understanding process, power pilots need to know that, generally, gliders will fly MUCH smaller, tighter patterns-a typical glider pattern has a downwind leg much less than 1/2 mile in length, a base leg of 1/8 mile or less in length, and a final that's short-a few hundred yards. Consequently, the glider is in the pattern for a relatively shorter time than the typical power pilot. On the other hand, the glider is often NOT able to quickly clear the active runway safely, either at an existing taxiway or just onto the terrain adjacent to the active runway. It's important that the local airport management as well as other pilots understand glider operations to the extent that they recognize and permit such maneuvers when it contributes to safety, even if not on a taxiway. Each airport has its unique requirements in this regard.

And glider pilots need to know that they should minimize active runway incursion time, both on takeoff and landing, and should communicate, courteously and accurately, with other aircraft in the pattern. It would be nice to think that all of us pilots, whom we all know are a cut above the rest of the masses, are wise enough to know how to work this out together.
-- Jim Kellett

In aviation, the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) badge system is unique to soaring. It is a system that is carefully designed to stretch our abilities at all levels, to present carefully calculated challenges, and to make us better pilots, always improving our skills. It begins with the A Badge, which comes, essentially, with our first solo flight. Then on to the B Badge, which is awarded for a solo flight of at least 30 minutes duration (off a 2,000 foot tow, adjusted up 1.5 minutes for every additional 100 of altitude on the tow). The next step is the C Badge, requiring a flight of one hour duration (with similar conditions) and some cross-country training. Most of us can get through the C Badge by about the time we complete our rating.

After that, the badges become increasingly challenging. The Bronze Badge is designed to prepare one for cross-country flight. It involves a written test on cross-country procedures, and two flights of two hours duration. This is followed by the Silver Badge, the Gold Badge and finally the Diamond Badge (and special awards beyond that), each of which represents a significant step beyond the previous badge. The Silver Badge is comprised of three elements: an altitude gain of at least 1,000 meters, a duration of at least 5 hours, and a cross-country flight of at least 50 km. The cross-country element has to be "declared" in advance of the flight, and the other elements must be documented by a barograph or flight data logger. I guess I want to think of achievement of the Silver Badge as the point at which a person can really begin to claim to be a glider pilot. For me, the Silver Badge presented a very special challenge. I can't remember the time when I was too young to want to fly. By theage of four, I was building flying models, at first with my father and, by age eight, by myself. I had discovered gliders by the age of 14, and built and flew several. I got my first airplane ride at age 12, in a Stinson Voyager. The flight lasted about 45 seconds. We took off into an approaching thunderstorm, made a 180 at 200 feet and landed. Flying lessons began at age 15-the year was 1955-in an Aeronca C3. But, after three hours, I couldn't continue them. Then off to college. All my resources were devoted to getting through. I couldn't afford a school that had aero engineering, so I went mechanical. BS in 1961 and MS in 1963. In 1961, I began working for Curtiss-Wright doing test engineering on the TC-3350 and J-65 engines. Then, in 1963, I moved on to Princeton for MA, MSE and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering. By 1966, I had passed my PhD qualifying exams, and did a seven-month stint at the Jet Propulsion Lab, where I and some friends created and sold the Grand Tour mission to the outer planets-the spacecraft are still flying and sending back data today. Suddenly, I had both time and money. I completed my PPL in a Cherokee 140 at El Monte, CA. The date was December 13, 1966.

As the years passed, I did my commercial and instrument ratings, and eventually got into a partnership on a Cessna 182. I really enjoyed the 182, but never had enough time and money together to do all the flying that I wanted. George and Geoff came along in the 1970s, but neither of them ever showed a strong interest in flying. So, as the years passed, I accumulated only about 600 hours, although not a small fraction of this was spent flying between Princeton and Pomona, NJ, where I consulted with the FAA on collision risk and helped to design the North Atlantic and Central East Pacific track systems. In fact, in the late 1970s, I wrote a paper laying out the mathematics of what became R-69, the infamous route that KA-007 was (supposed to be) on when it was shot down by the Russians.

I began to work for the National Science Foundation in 1982, commuting between Washington and Princeton, and that further impacted my ability to fly. Then, in 1993, several things happened to me that led to a major lifestyle change. First, I got divorced. Second, I moved to Korea for a year to help start a new engineering program associated with Ajou University. And third, on February 27, 1993, while playing tennis, I had a cranial spasm. This is essentially a stroke that occurs for no particular reason other than that my activity had triggered a blood vessel spasm that deprived my brain of blood for a short period. Short, but long enough to do damage to my occipital lobe, resulting in a very substantial loss of vision. I won't say I was blind, but I discovered that I had a problem when I stepped off the curb in front of a bus, at which I was looking directly and didn't see. For a year after this event, I didn't drive a car. The doctors told me that I wouldn't recover my vision. But they lied. With lots of therapy-I wrote a text book on engineering design-and time, my vision came back. About five years ago, with Geoff and George out of college, and my house in Princeton finally sold, my finances and vision, which was again approaching 20-20, were back in order, and I began lusting after flight. We tried a couple of ventures to Manassas and rode in their beautiful 1984 Cessna 182. I could still fly, and my first landing in five years was as smooth as ever.

Then came the big surprise. It was a nice July day in 1999, when George and Geoff walked up to me and said, "We're going to learn to fly, and it's going to be in gliders." Wow! I was floored. They had found SSC through our web site, and made a visit to FRR. They came back overwhelmingly enthused. I went out with them the following week, and we were off and in training. I was finally back into flying, and elated at getting off the ground after a six-plus-year hiatus. George and Geoff progressed as quickly through the PPL-G rating as I did. We all soloed in the same week-September 1999. We had our A Badges. Then we were competing for our B Badges and, not much later, our C Badges. Still in lock-step, we got our ratings all in the same week in April, 2001, just about the time that we had acquired N6108J.

Both George and Geoff have become quite proficient pilots, and quite adequately skilled at handling 08J. But for George, his music career has been quite demanding, and he has had less time to devote to soaring. Geoff, on the other hand has worked diligently on his badges. He completed his Bronze Badge and CPL-G rating, and he is well on his way to his CFI-G. One day, while up in the K, I observed Geoff thermalling, and saw just how aggressive he can be at it. He doesn't get those 3-5 hour flights by waiting for the thermals to come to him. On June 14, 2002, I gave him a Volkslogger for his birthday. The next day, before he could get it installed, he had a Gold Badge altitude climb-too bad it wasn't the next week so he could have gotten credit for it.

A little later in the summer, both Geoff and I got our Silver altitude gains and duration flights, and George got his Silver altitude gain. The race to the Silver was on. But the weather just wouldn't cooperate. So 2002 ended without any of us completing the badge. In December, I made my trip to New Zealand and got 17 hours of cross-country flying with lots of good instruction and pointers. My instructor keep emphasizing, "You can fly to anywhere that you can land. But never go to a place where you can't land." OK, I'm ready. Bring on the spring.

Yuck! Lousy 2003 weather! Finally a clear day. Geoff takes 08J first. We had decided that a good flight plan for the Silver is a flight from FRR to Winchester to Luray and, hopefully but not necessarily, back to FRR, with the OKV-W45 leg comprising the Silver distance leg. Geoff gets to Winchester and then back to FRR (he's made that trip several times). But the lift south of FRR isn't strong and, after three hours, Geoff feels obligated to let me fly. Maybe he would have made it to Luray, we'll never know. I get two hours circling FRR and we call it a day.

June 5th came, the weather wasn't great, and we didn't have a tow pilot. Ops are cancelled. But Friday the 6th promised to be better weather wise, and we had a tow pilot. Time to cut out on work. Geoff and I get there about 10 AM and assemble. I'll go first this time. I launch at 11:50 AM. I'm off tow at 2,000 feet AGL in a pretty good thermal. But I have to struggle to 4,000. I get out over the fish ponds and circle and circle and circle. The day seems to be improving, but I can't get high. Up to 4,200, down to 2,700, up again, down again. An hour and 40 minutes passes, and I'm still circling over the Knob. Then I get a good thermal and top out at 5,200. The clouds to the north are looking better now, and there seems to be a path to Winchester. I've never been up alone out of gliding distance from the field. This is like the first time you jump off the diving board into the deep end of the pool. But I'm off, and I've got it psyched. The lift is on the northwest edge of the clouds. I follow that edge up to Winchester. Suddenly, I'm two miles out, still at 4,800 feet, looking down at OKV. Big blue hole over the field, but I figure that I could land there if I had to. Wait a minute! Maybe not. There's a plane lying on its back on the taxiway and the field is closed. Well, in an emergency, anything will work. Off I go, into the blue hole. Over the field, the Volkslogger notifies me that I am at my waypoint, and now shows distance and heading to Luray, and I'm in lift. Back up to 5,000 and head south. Not so much lift going south. I'm down to 3,700 about 5 miles north of I-66. I don't have FRR made from here, especially in 4 kt sink. Nose down toward the next cloud. Lift! Back up to 4,600. FRR is made. Back down to 3,500 as I near FRR.

I'm now into phase two (well maybe phase three) of the flight. Out over the ridge to look for lift. I consult with Geoff about heading south. He's ready to come get me if I land out. Struggle for altitude again. Then, about 3 miles south of FRR, on theridge, I find good lift and I'm back up to 5,600. A cloud street has formed over the ridge, and off I go. 60 kts down the ridge with only two circles all the way to Luray. I'm down to 3,700 again, but Luray is only two miles away-in a big blue hole. Before I venture into that blue hole, I want as much altitude as I can get. For 15 minutes I circle. I get to 4,000, but I can't get any higher. Kolie hears me and tags along-if George can do it, so can I. I see him struggling lower to the north. Well, it's off into the blue hole and over Luray. The Volkslogger flips over to FRR. I've made my declaration. Silver distance is in the bag. Now about getting home...

Back to the ridge, under a cloud. Some lift, not much. Back to 3,800. Then to 4,000. Can't get higher. Kolie circles to the north. I play around for some 20 minutes and can't get to a comfortable position to start the trip home. But there's Luray, rather inviting. I radio north. Jim Garrison responds from H3. He talks to Geoff, and Geoff is ready to get me at Luray. But wait! I get a good thermal and get back to 5,200. I'm off headed north. I call H3 and relay a message to Geoff to hold at FRR. Problem is that the next cloud north is about 10 miles up the ridge and in between is a big blue hole, and here I am headed north into 5 kts sink. I've been up 3 hours and 20 minutes, I've done my task, and I'm tired. I think, I don't need to risk 08J just to get back, and it would be neat to land at an airport other than the field from which I took off. I've never done that in a glider (George beat me to this-he landed at Luray last year). So I pass the word up to FRR to send Geoff with the trailer. I'm going into Luray. I take another 15 minutes to glide down and land. I contact Luray Unicom on 122.8: no wind, no traffic, right pattern for 22. On the center line, I roll right up to the intersection. I get some help to pull 08J off the runway, and I stroll off to the men's room. Three hours, 37 minutes and 26 seconds in the air. Not my longest flight, but surely one of my most memorable.

Back home, we download the Volkslogger. I made 188 circles during this flight-the equivalent of almost the entire flight stuck in a twice-standard-rate turn. It wasn't easy, but it did happen. It won't be long before Geoff and George have their Silver Badges. But I can still keep up with them-for the time being. Soaring is such a wonderful sport. What other activity is there that a father (at my age) and sons can compete like this to learn and improve their skills, and to become true soaring afficionados? Everyone in the Club should think about the family membership plan. We need to make soaring more of a family activity. It sure has worked for me.

Inheriting Old Faithful

We recently learned that the Civil Air Patrol has acquired several gliders surplused by the United States Air Force Academy, and that the Virginia Wing of the CAP will, in a few weeks, receive its first single-place glider, a 1-26, complete with trailer!! This complements the current equipment inventory of a LET L-23 Super Blanik, a Maule (with internal Tost reel) towplane and a C-172 (with Schweizer hook) towplane. We have been advised that we should receive a second L-23 during 2003.

With the acquisition of the 1-26, tentatively scheduled initially to be based at OKV (Winchester Regional Airport), the Wing will have a machine for individual proficiency and pleasure flying.

The Wing has also established a good working relationship with the Maryland Wing, who operate an L-23 and a Maule of their own. Their ships are usually based at FDK, but last year they "lent" the L-23 to Virginia, permitting Virginia to operate regularly at two sites-CPK (near Norfolk) and OKV. The West Virginia Wing is scheduled to receive a surplused SGS 2-33 from the USAFA this summer, and tentatively plan to base it at Cumberland, MD (which, as many of you know, is really in West Virginia.)

So-there is a really burgeoning glider program in Virginia and its neighboring states. Over two hundred Cadets got orientation rides in the glider last year! And, for you experienced glider pilots/flight instructors/towpilots, here is a real "win-win" situation-you can actually DO something other than pay lip service to "the need to bring youth into soaring", and you can now have a nice little runabout glider to play in yourself, and at truly bargain rates! And the Civil Air Patrol is in great need of gaining experienced glider pilots and towpilots to make sure this rapidly growing program functions effectively and safely!!

For more information about the Virginia Wing of the CAP (where the squadrons are, how to join), see http://www.vawg.cap.gov/ .

There is also a volunteer-managed Glider Program page at http://www.vawg.cap.gov/glider_program/index.html . The Skyline Soaring Club has donated the services for a mailing list for CAP members who are active in the Glider program; you can subscribe at http://skylinesoaring.org/mailman/listinfo/cap

-- Jim Kellett

Recently I attended a 4 day meeting in Chicago. It was a very successful get together almost worth the absolute nightmare of O'Hare. If anyone doubts the concept of Eternal Damnation, try going through that airport with a paper ticket. No disrespect to Butch but they ought to rename that glass menagerie "Kafka Field".

Meeting adjourned, we caught the Cubs and White Sox at Wrigley Field. Almost bought a "Corky Sosa" T-shirt.

We decided to eat dinner one night on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. Meigs Field was right below our window about 1,000' AGL. It is/was a wonderfully unique little gem of a field I pointed out to Ann while she scanned the horizon for incoming heavy metal.

The view and the prices were spectacular-the food was not. As the sun slowly set in the West we bid a fond adieu to that lovely little airport with the grotesque Xs....sad

Meigs' Reborn... for Ping-Pong?

Embittered though many of us may be over the destruction of Meigs Field, some would concede it could yet be a fabulous park... but a ping-pong emporium? According to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times, initial plans by the Chicago Park District are to fill the terminal building with ping-pong (more properly known as table tennis) tables and throw it open to the public in the next few days. According to the Sun-Times, in addition to ping-pong, the imaginative folks at the parks district came up with skateboarding, climbing walls, wildflowers, prairie grass, trees and an observation deck. Meanwhile the fight to save Meigs grinds on and the http://www.friendsofmeigs.org/ Friends of Meigs (FOM) has asked the Park District to delay until the FOM can present a cake-and-eat-it proposal that retains the airport and provides for park use.
-- AVflash

Because Stan is gone when this is written, Skylines will just recap the status of the DuFus Reports until Stan can provide new blood from the inevitable further incidents.

Once again: I encourage each and everyone of you to participate in the "Dufus Personal Safety Report" program.

The only rule is you can't use names. This is not about getting your fellow pilots in trouble. It's all about you and sharing information to help us all stay out of future trouble.

Only two rules:

1. Use no names. 2. Use innocuous pronouns and phrases

Send it to the Safety Officer spawlowski6@comcast.net

The Dufus Process cleanses your flying soul allowing you to forgive yourself (or a fellow pilot if you were a true victim of the other guys actions) for being human and also thanking God for allowing you to make a mistake and live to talk about it without going straight to flying hell. So let the DPSRs roll.-Stan Pawlowski, Your friendly Safety Officer, one of many in the club.

To recap, in the first 24 hours since our first weekend of "official" incident free flying we are finding all kinds of "little" incidents that occurred that some of you are just bursting at the seams to get out into the open.

We need this continuous dialogue people. So far we have heard confessions that lead us to the following conclusions:

1. REMEMBER TO LAND AND STAY ON CENTERLINE (period).

2. CHECK YOUR RADIO FREQ'S DURING YOUR PRE-LANDING CHECKS (I think the first L is "LOOK" which can be "LOOK & LISTEN" to cue you to be on the right freq.).

3. RADIO IN THE TOW CAR A MUST DURING THIS CONSTRUCTION PHASE (member loaners a must until the construction is finished but even then still a requirement.

4. WING RUNNERS REMEMBER TO BE STANDING BEHIND THE WING WHEN GIVING THE TAKE UP SLACK SIGNAL (always good advice, just do it and let's keep launch crews on the runway to a minimum-like ONE.

Visitors taking pictures of launches must be escorted if they want that one special shot on the runway but let's keep that to a minimum as well. Lets also minimize time on the runway preparing for launch.

If possible, BE STRAPPED IN AND READY TO GO AT THE HOLD SHORT LINE if we have the luxury of extra pushers. This is especially true if you have a passenger or student.).

5. REMINDERS THAT THE FIRST FOUR RUNWAY LIGHTS (is that the right number someone?) ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF 27 SHOULD BE REMOVED TO ENHANCE SAFER GLIDER OPERATIONS (a good idea which we have done in the past and should routinely continue to do. One runway departure with no impact makes this exercise always worthwhile.)

6. REMINDER THAT ALL OF US SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE FOR LOW ENERGY TOUCHDOWNS IN THE FIRST THIRD OF THE RUNWAY EVEN WHEN PLANNING FOR A LONG ROLLOUT TO MID-FIELD. Keep brake usage to a minimum to conserve club assets and use judicious aileron actuation to gently

lower a wing when coming to a full stop. It saves wear and tear on the equipment.

MINIMIZE TIME ON THE ACTIVE RUNWAY and don't clog up the taxiways either. Glider pilots also have a plan if it all goes bad-tow car in the grass, glider pushing onto the runway, back taxi in progress, a power plane on left base and your radio is not working. Do you know where you will go? Let's hope that doesn't happen to anyone but it could so let's all keep our heads up and do our individual parts to clear runways, taxiways and alternate landing areas as rapidly as possible. Tow car drivers especially can help a lot by minimizing time in critical areas. Let's see if alternate routes are available for going for retrieves. Glider pilots should consider a long roll out to the mid-field taxiway if you know a traffic problem is developing behind you. Duty Officers can help by playing "Air Traffic Control Guy for the day." Don't hesitate to ask a power pilot to delay his back taxi or to take it around if things are really getting HAIRY. You can also ask glider pilots to roll to the mid field taxi way if they can if another glider is coming in right behind them and your ADO has a glider in the grass on a back taxi. It is critical that DOs and ADOs have a radio at all times that works. There is lots of stuff each of us can do to enhance safe operations. Good Communications is essential to making this work.

You know we all do not-so-smart things so keep those cards and e-letters coming.
-- Stan Pawlowski

• Please welcome Craig Steidle to the Club. Craig is a Rear Admiral, USN, retired and comes to Skyline as the previous Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, as well as acting Commander of Naval Air Systems.-a 180º career turn if there ever was one. He is tail-dragger qualified, having towed with Beavers and Otters while at Pax River NAS. (Want a hilarious sight picture? Imagine 081 being towed by an Otter!) Of interest to the old Warrenton Soaring crowd, Craig was George Stroshal's deputy in the F/A-18 program, succeeding George as Director of the Program.

• Another Man for All Reasons-June 12 marked the return of Judah Milgram as an official CFIG with the Club! He's not done flight instruction for about ten years, but has recently re-upped his ticked while on TDY out west. This is a very much needed addition the Club's instructor cadre, not to mention the addition of still another switch-hitter (towpilot/CFIG), a very valuable asset indeed!

• Chris Groshel and I visited the annual SHA Workshop on Friday June 20 over in Ridgely. The turnout was light (maybe 15-20 people) due to the rain but it was still a lot of fun. The club (Delmarva Soaring) pushed the Callair out of their hangar (photo) to make room for

  displays. The only glider I saw there was Steve Arndt's Magic Dragon (photo), sort of an "even lighter" Carbon Dragon. The thing has an approx. 14 meter span and weighs only 180 lb! (We were unable to include all Judah's photos so email him if you want to see the rest-Ed.) Not enough room to rig it in the hangar but he at least took the parts out of the trailer. He might have flown it that day if the weather was good enough.

  I saw on the program they were looking forward to having Gil Crouse of DaVinci Technologies on Saturday; hopefully he made it. On Friday, I gave a short talk on flutter (competing with the rain pounding on the roof), and Gene Gross gave a talk on his Woodstock project. He's building an extended wing version with carbon spar roots, some very sophisticated fabrication going on there.

  SHA is a cool organization. Turns out the reason they came down here to Ridgely this year is that Harris Hill gives them aggravation over flying non-registered ultralights like the Carbon Dragon. I think Reggie is more open-minded-maybe we could think about hosting ourselves some year.

  Thanks again to Chris for driving! I had been up late the night before and appreciated the opportunity to doze on the way back.
  -- Judah Milgram

• Scooped Again! The day before Greg sent his email to the Club, your Editor and his wife-mate took the afternoon off to see "Winged Migration". We joined a horizon of skin and white heads in air conditioned comfort while you lucky Weekday Warriors were sweating your you know what's off.

  It is excellent and you can spend a lifetime and never know how they shot most of it. About forty pilots listed in the credits. It is without any doubt a must see for fly-persons. Winged Migration (G)-Synopsis Using groundbreaking camera techniques, Jacques Perrin gorgeously documents the flight patterns of several species of birds within both urban and exotic locales such as Paris, New York City, the Arctic, and the Amazon. During the making of the film, Perrin's crew was able to capture the lives of the featured birds from birth, granting them a privileged opportunity to beautifully capture images of the birds' migration patterns without any obstruction.

  Cinema Arts Theatre (It may still be there-closed July 3) Fair City Mall 9650 Main St, (Little River Turnpike) Fairfax, VA 22031 703-978-6991
  -- Thanks to Greg Ellis

• Would you please-all of you, even if you're a student pilot with 1 hour - briefly estimate the total time you have (estimates are fine) and a list of your current ratings.

  Since June 17, we've received data from 27 of the Club's 56 active members ...The interim data include nearly 70,000 hours of power time and over 7000 hours of glider time ...in everything from primary gliders and hang gliders to combat jets, airliners, and spy planes.

  Thanks in advance for helping with this collection.
  -- Jim Kellett

• Question:" Does a trailing edge become a leading edge when towing or pushing your glider backwards? Answer: If you hit one of the new 3 foot tall taxi way markers with it, it doesn't really matter. It still is going to cost you a lot of money to fix the damage. (Your elected and appointed representatives are working with the Airport Commission to see what can be done about this new menace at FRR)

  
  -- Stan, Your friendly Safety Officer

• Congratulations to Geoff Hazelrigg-For those of you who haven't heard, Melanie (my girlfriend of 3 years) and I got engaged in the beginning of June. We're planning our wedding for next May in her hometown of Williamsport, Pa. Williamsport is less than an hour from State College, about an hour from Ridge Soaring and maybe two hours from Elmira-I've got big plans for those future trips to the in-laws. (Want to bet Melanie has different plans?-Ed.)

• Question: What item appears the most often in Duty Reports? Answer: Jim Garrison had flight of the day at umpteen hours.

• Kodak has released their Ver 3.0 of EasyShare software, the best software I've found for organizing and mailing digital photos. And it's free. And it's available for PeeSeas and Macs both OS 9.x and OS X. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2/3/9/150/130&pq-locale=en_US
  -- Dick Otis

• At Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport today, an individual, later discovered to be a public school teacher, was taken into custody after trying to board a flight while in possession of a compass, a protractor, and a graphical calculator.

  Transportation Security Administration screeners believe she is a member of the notorious al-Gebra network. She isn't being charged, but she is being detained indefinitely without a hearing or trial for carrying weapons of math instruction.
  -- Kolie Lombard