This sure has been one awful year weather wise. Snow, cold, rain, bubonic plague, whatever. And it sure has cut into our flying days. But somehow our operations have continued, and this past weekend (August 23-24) was our reward for enduring all the misery. Once again, we can say we know what this sport is all about. One-hundred mile visibility, five knot thermals, and lots of long flights. It was especially good to see so many people out on Sunday, with eight to ten gliders in the sky all at once. On our way home, George was commenting to me how much our membership seems to have changed over the short time we have been in the club. We have far more private ships, the overall performance level of the private ships has gone way up, and our experience level is on the increase. We often see lots of flights over two hours, with many members showing their mastery of the sport.

The norm is for our membership to grow most in the spring, as the soaring season begins. But this year we missed that growth. Instead, it has come more recently as the weather has improved. We have some ten new members. A few beginning students, but also some very experienced and capable people. These new people will be the ones who energize our club and keep it going. They will be our new tow pilots and instructors, our DOs and ADOs. A hearty welcome to you all.

It was great to see the grin on Chris' face as he got out of his LS-4 after his first flights in it. His excitement is what drives us all to keep soaring. We all begin in two-place ships for our instruction. And most of us wait until our training is complete before we buy a ship of our own and go off to enjoy the freedom that soaring can offer. Those who are already there know what I am talking about. Those of you still in training will just have to wait to see. But I can assure you that there is nothing quite like being in your own ship, and not having to worry about your hour being up.

This is a good time to think about your soaring future. If you do not yet own your own ship or if you are not in a syndicate, you just might start thinking about it. I would like to know about your plans. Rick Harris is our new Hangarmeister, and he is putting together a hangar plan to carry us into the future. Let him know too. We will soon have an opportunity to get more hangar space. This will likely be a one-time opportunity. So we have to act wisely. I don't want to over-commit the club to hangar space, nor do I want the opportunity to slip by. Your inputs will be valuable to our plan. My current thoughts are that we should acquire at least two more hangars. This will provide space for at least six more trailers, and a place to put our "club stuff" so that we could actually walk around the Pawnee.

Let's hope the good weather continues, and that we have great soaring for the rest of the year. And again, welcome to all the new members.
-- George Hazelrigg, Jr

The sun was peeking out for the first time in days, and Raul was anxious to resume his head long plunge towards the addition of "airplane, single engine" to his PP-G license. We were on our way to a rendezvous with SSC members Tim and Lisa (and as it turned out, 2/3 of the Hazelriggs) to whom I'd promised an hour of towing services. Consequently we preformed a quick, but through, preflight of Bob Downin's pride and joy, N68221, including normal pre-take off procedures and activation of our ADIZ clearance. (For those of you with no military time or experience in the FAA's latest airspace grab, ADIZ stands for Air Defense Identification Zone. ADIZ's are normally found off shore in international water around the continental US). The engine run up was normal with the typical 100 rpm mag drop on both sides. A quick run from JYO over to FRR, and a stop for a few tows. (Alas, the Pawnee tail wheel was very flat. Fortunately, there was a brand new spare in the cabinet). After launching the K and the LS-3, Raul and I proceeded to practice ground reference maneuvers in the Cessna. As an experiment, I conducted another mag check, and with the power run up, leaned the mixture to gain another 1-200 rpms for departure. Back at FRR, I found Tim and Lisa back on the ground despite my admonition for them to go flying and stay up (Geoff was gone, LONG gone 3+ hours in fact). I turned around George and Lisa in the K, hangered the Pawnee, and Raul and I prepared for a return to JYO.

At this point Raul asked, "Do we do another run up?" Well in fact I don't always do repeat run ups when out for the day, but hey I'm flight instructing and therefore need to teach good habit patterns. "Yes of course Raul". A moment later... BANG, silence... Back on both mags. "Raul, you turned the Mags OFF!" "No, I didn't" "Yes, of course you did, watch me"... BANG, silence... "Raul, uh, this is not good".

Our trusty, soon to be retired club mechanic, John Muia (quick, somebody, offer John a complimentary membership SSC) had me remove the cowl, help pull the spark plugs (first lower right mag, then upper right mag, which for some reason are on the left, then what the heck, the other four as well) test, sandblast, gap, reinstall (torque to 35lbs), inspect the wiring harness, run her up for a mag check....BANG, silence.. "Dick, uh, this is not good".

In summary, the mag was shot, just like that. One moment fine, next moment not fine. And I was left thinking about a maximum gross weight takeoff from FRR on one mag. I'm still of the opinion that check lists are just that, check lists not to do lists. However I plan "to do" things by the check list every time in the future!

"Every flight is a learning experience" and "Life is tough, but it's even tougher if you are stupid"
-- Dick Otis

Listening to my father very fondly talk about flying PBYs in the Pacific during WWII, I developed an early desire to become a Naval Aviator. I graduated from the US Naval Academy in '68 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and headed straight to flight training in Pensacola. After jet training and aircraft carrier qualification, I was assigned as an attack pilot flying A-6 Intruders.

Although based in Whidbey Island, Washington, I spend most of those 4 to 5 years at sea as a carrier pilot. I flew night low level missions into North & South Viet Nam. I was then selected to attend the Navy Test Pilot School.... a long dream come true. The school provided my first exposure to gliding. Part of the syllabus was to fly a handling quality evaluation of the 2-32. It was a great day for us to get away from the academics and flight analysis/report writing, visit an outlying field, and enjoy ourselves. The only positive rate of climb I ever saw was on entry to a loop. After Test Pilot School (TPS) I worked as a test pilot doing carrier suitability tests and weapons carriage/release evaluations in the A-4, A-6, A-7, and F-4 Phantom. Then it was back to TPS as a flying qualities instructor flying the T-2 Buckeye, A-4, T-38, OV-1, H-2 (helo), AND I was put in charge of the glider flying qualities program... with a total time in gliders of approximately 20 minutes + or-10 minutes. But we survived. I instructed in the 2-32, and flew the U-6 (Beaver) and U-1 (Otter). If we ever saw a thermal, I'm sure we flew right through it without hurting it or ourselves. I was also the spin demonstration pilot in the T-2 (twin engine jet). I'd qualify students and contract pilots in upright and inverted spins.

The Navy sent me to Graduate school at Virginia Tech where I received an MS in Aero Engineering & an MS in System Management. This was followed with an assignment as a production test pilot for A-6, EA-6, S-3, and A-3 ( similar to the Air Force B-66). Then it was time to get back to sea. I served several years on carriers in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea. Then, via the National War College, I was assigned to the F/A-18 Program Office in Washington working for Captain George Strohsahl. George took me out to the Warrenton Soaring Center where I met some very crusty but great people. What a great day. I later relieved George as the director of the F/A-18 Program and had the privilege of starting the Super Hornet program.

As a result of some kind of paperwork /selection board mix up , I was selected for promotion to Admiral... the first assignment being the Deputy director of the Joint Advanced Strike Technology office for the Secretary of Defense. I was still able to fly the F/A-18, F-16, several foreign a/c. From there I was selected to be the Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program... a single system to meet the needs of the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Royal Navy. It needed to fly as good as the F/A-18 on the carrier, as good as or better that the F-16, and, by the way, land vertical. We did it !! I got to fly such airplanes as the Sea Harrier, and the F-16 with multi-axis thrust vectoring. At about this time an old friend, Dick Otis, invited me to come out to FRR to see if I would like to Soar... I couldn't get away, but knew that someday I'd like to do that.

I retired a few years ago as the Chief Aerospace Engineer of the Navy, and as Vice Commander of The Naval Air Systems Command (acting commander)... I had all the Navy's aviation toys under my command. I could continue to fly as long as I didn't break anything. I flew a Russian YAK and slot position with the Blue Angles just before my retirement day. Although I am a consultant in the DoD aviation sector, I was now out of aviation from a flying perspective. I pulled out a package that Dick Otis had sent me several years ago... It looked great. My wife and I took a ride to FRR one day and were very impressed with the enthusiastic welcome we received and with everyone we met. Several weeks later Dick checked me out in the K-21 and The Grob... after 35 years of flying, I got to see what soaring (vs gliding) was about. Except for perhaps a night carrier landing, flying a glider well is as challenging as any aviation activity.

I must admit that I can't figure out why/how George Hazelrigg keeps passing me in a thermal, how Jim Kellett learned so much about instructing, or what those peddles on the floor are for. Eric Litt and Fred Winter helped me get my daughter (recent Dartmouth MBA) into the air.

You'll see me at FRR with my sons (one a USMC Captain, the other a Naval Academy midshipman) so that I can introduce them to this great sport. My wife of 35 years, Marcia, provides the adult supervision, but prefers to do that from the ground.

Thanks for letting me join your club.
-- Craig Steidle

Many of you probably saw the recent PBS special "Battle of the X-Planes". It was a two hour special which covered several years during which Lockheed and Boeing battled it out for what may be the largest military procurement in history-the contract to build the Joint Strike Fighter for all three services. It's a plane that can takeoff/land vertically, fly supersonic, meet the requirements of all three services and cost significantly less to manufacture than the F-22 Raptor.

It's a great flick, and includes footage shot in highly classified locations over a period of many years. The procurement is mentioned several times as probably "the last major procurement for manned fighter aircraft"!!

What may have missed your viewing of the show is that early on, several key interviews are held with Skyline member Adm. Craig Steidle, a JSF Director 1995-1997. In the show, Craig is credited with being the key senior officer to convince the Navy to agree to a single-engine machine (versus twin engine).

The videotape is available for $19.95 from PBS-see http://main.wgbh.org/cgi-bin/wgbh/shop/search.pl?q=X-plane&x=12&y=12

*Rear Adm. (Retired) Steidle was the head of the Navy Test Pilot School at Pax River, and is now an accomplished professional crafter of custom made furniture (see http://www.waterfordwoodworking.com ). He's also a CPL(G) and soon-to-be towpilot who earned his "B" badge in the Sprite on August 14, 2003. Ask him about flying the Harrier.-
-- Jim Kellett

A colleague of mine recently painted a portrait of Benjamin Franklin for the cover of Time magazine. They rana huge comprehensive article on Franklin's many contributions to his country as well as his not a few vices.

One of Ole Ben's ideas was the Turkey as our national bird. He was a passionate advocate. The following are a few of the literary results my friend and I shared had Franklin prevailed in this novel concept.

"The Yellow Noses of Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen' bore down on London like a camouflaged-mottled swarm of lethal insects. High above, their Spitfires hidden in the sun, impatiently waiting to pounce, the Yanks of 'Turkey Squadron'...".

"In the early morning hours of 6 June, with only the fading light of a setting moon to guide them, gliders of the 101st 'Screaming Turkeys' silently descended on...".

"High above Alaska's Denali, patrolling 90th Fighter Squadron F-15E 'Strike Turkeys' make a potent deterrent...".

"...and Lord Beaverbrook himself had said what higher aspiration can a laddie have than 'Turkey Scout'?"

"Where never Lark or even Turkey flew."

"Dawn patrol-high above the zig-zagging trenches, a single Spad drones aloft in the early morning light- 'The Lone Turkey Fighting Ace' searches for prey!"

And of course "Houston, the Turkey has landed."

Tiring of the game, the two bored turkeys returned to their respective jobs.

Transition to Cirrus

The Cirrus flight was fantastic. I don't know why Jim is trying to sell it. We had some 'issues' with the assembly; the assembly certainly isn't as easy as it is with Greg Ellis' glider. (that glider is a breeze to assemble, and all of the parts are so light and so smooth-fitting. There's no jostling, no bumping, it just all slides into position so nicely.)

Takeoffs on that day were tending to be slight tailwind takeoffs, but mine had no wind when I took off. The takeoff was no problem. Years of that PIO tendency in the Sprite have me very good at avoiding PIOs. The aileron effectiveness is very low at low airspeeds, but I had a good wing runner, and I didn't have any problems keeping directional stability for the first 50 feet of the take off.

On tow, I did get to experience the weirdness of a rope coming out from under my butt on tow, instead of out on the end of the nose. That's one of the strange things that happen on a CG hook. The towpilot went easy on me, as there were no steep banked turns.

The cruise performance was better than anything I had ever experienced before. that 44:1 is more legs than I could have ever imagined. It was such a nice day to soar too. I just lazily flew from thermal to thermal, miles apart, losing only about 1000 feet between them.

I went down to Short Mountain along the Massanutten ridge, back over to Strasburg; where I got rather low. I was down at ridge height when I found a thermal along the eastern side of the ridge in view of the airport. There I caught a 6 or 7 knot thermal (tight) in a gaggle of a hawk, an ASK-21, and Kilo-Oscar. We all finished the thermal at 5200 indicated, and we all went on our separate ways. I went northward toward Winchester, and then down to Skyline Drive, over the VOR tower.

I moseyed back to the field, scratching at anything I could find, and then I joined Kellett in a thermal over the Massanutten ridge again in the same spot as before. We went back to the Skyline Drive together, at the same altitude, in formation almost. I followed him in thermals, and discovered that the two aircraft, Hotel-Three, and the 69 circle at really close to the same bank-angle, and the same rate of lift. I followed him at exactly the same distance behind at exactly the same rate of turn and rate of altitude increase for a good 5 minutes.

I wasn't moving particularly fast between any of these thermals, and I didn't want to get too far away from the field; forcing me to do an off-field landing on my first flight in the glider. That would have really been bad form to say the least.

I didn't have any problem remembering to put the landing gear down (as I have never flown a retractable-gear aircraft before), as I had been reminding myself several times through the flight that "I have to put the gear down. I have to put the gear down. I have to put the gear down."

The landing was pretty easy. I didn't have to do anything outrageous in the pattern, as the spoilers were very effective. I set it down on one shot, no bounces, and had no problem keeping it on the center line on roll out. I overshot the taxiway by about 25 feet because the wheel brakes were zero effective (which Jim will be fixing soon).

Jim landed shortly after me, cussing about how he is having such a hard time landing Hotel-Three; his goal is to get one landing per flight, not two.

All in all, it's a very nice aircraft to fly. It's a big difference between this plane and the Sprite or a 1-26.
-- Piet Barber

The FAA has just released a new publication, "Glider Flying Handbook" (FAA FAA-H-8083-13), available from the GPO Stock Number 050-007-01350-7 for $34.00. It can be ordered online.

I haven't read every word in the new book, but I have skimmed it in its entirety and read several sections in detail.

It's comparable to the SSA's "Soaring Flight Manual" (SFM) in that it's more akin to a manual (like SFM) than to a syllabus (like Knauff's and Wander's basic books). As such, it's value is as a general text/reference book rather than a written program of things to be learned in sequence (e.g., a syllabus). Our plan is to replace the SFM as the currently required purchase by student pilot members (and a recommended purchase for other members) with this book, and move the SFM to the "supplemental" reading list for our members.

Continuing the comparison to SFM, it's MUCH more comprehensive and up to date. For example, it includes assembly/disassembly issues in detail (including positive control checks, etc.), and addresses the complexities of instrumentation-including modern flight computers-quite well.

Not exactly unexpected for a volume prepared by the FAA, the book focuses heavily on safety issues and the assumption that the FARs are holy writ in that regard. There are hundreds of references to specific FARs throughout the book. The treatment of soaring techniques is not so voluminous, but it's still more extensive than that given to the same topics (e.g., thermalling, wave flying, ridge rules, etc.) in SFM. If you haven't realized it yet, this is a pretty big book!

I have an objective personal prejudice about the layout-the first sixteen pages deal with such arcane topics as ADM and accident frequencies, and can scare the pants off a timid beginner before you get to the first "real" topic dealing with parts of an aircraft, etc. This is, in my humble opinion, reflective of the authors' determination to make the focus on safety. This is not bad, by the way, and reflects the training community's shift over the last decade in recognizing that soaring really IS more dangerous that most of us believed in the past.

The graphics are voluminous and excellent, although I did find one error-the graphic of a side slip shows the ground track at an angle to the runway centerline. Minor error, but means the graphic fails to make it clear how/why side slips are the preferred approach in crosswinds. There are far more graphics and illustrations than in SFM.

Bottom line is that it appears to be the most comprehensive single reference volume for glider flight instruction. I think it'll soon be a part of the library of every serious pilot involved with gliders in any way.

There is no attribution to contributors in the book. Obviously, the FAA has had help-and a lot of help-from knowledgeable glider pilots in writing this. I think it's shameful that they don't get credited.
-- Jim Kellett

Skyline Soaring T-shirts (white, long sleeved to prevent skin cancer!) are available in the hangar for $15. You ain't with it without a SSC shirt!

It's possible to purchase any Land's End product with a SSC logo on it! Some catalogs are available in the hangar. Contact Phil Jordan for details on costs, etc., but be aware that there are significant discounts for "bulk" purchases if several memberswant the

same product (e.g., polo shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.) This winter, you'll see several SSC-ers (including all the towpilots as of 2001) sporting really cool heavy poly jackets!!

Many of the required and recommended reading materials are available at a SUBSTANTIAL discount from the Club. These include all of the Wander books (including the very nice "Made Easy" topical series) and the Soaring Flight Manual. These materials are on a shelf in the towplane hangar, and a price list is there, too.

Extra copies of the IGC promotional videotape-the same one every new temporary and probationary member receives free of charge upon joining-are available for $5 each. These make GREAT gifts for your friends!

We have a FEW (like, seven) copies of the DVD of member-Emeritus Bela Gogos' wonderful speech "How Flying Shaped my Life" at the Club's Tenth Anniversary Gala, held in the fall of 2001. For those of you who don't know, Bela is a Hungarian who flew with the Luftwaffe, spent a decade in Soviet prisons, emigrated to Canada, married a fellow Hungarian (Susan), got a bunch of degrees, moved to the US, made a fine career at IBM. Bela personally funded a $50,000 youth scholarship a few years back, and is working on his memoirs for publication. Copies of the DVD are available for $10; I have them at home (jim@kellett.com).

Finally, soda, water, and "adult beverages" are for sale-see the fridge (with a cash can inside) in the towplane hangar. Honor system, leave the $ in the can and, if you don't see what you like, buy it and pay yourself from the can. NO ADULT BEVERAGES UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT ARE STOWED!!
-- Jim Kellett

Unbelievable as it seems, we are nearly through the summer doldrums and fast approaching crisp fall weather. Temperatures will be getting more comfortable, Pawnee performance will improve, thermal activity will increase and so will winds. Some of us will even manage to get into the fourth and fifth amplitudes of wave soaring conditions generated by the Dolly Sods plateau in West Virginia. When the winds are right, we will even have ridge soaring conditions on the Massanutten Range. Great soaring conditions to look forward to with longer flights and more fun for all. "But..." These are also the same conditions that have led to aircraft mishaps for our club in the recent past. Let's review some of those mishaps and make sure we remember the lessons learned from our previous experiences as a flying club. As they say, "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Let's talk about ridge soaring and how we can get in trouble. Recognize first and foremost that running the Massanutten range is a cross country flight which requires suitable preparation, Duty Officer notification and having a ground crew standing by. Usually to have good ridge soaring conditions in our area we need surface winds in the valley of better than 15 kts coming from the neighborhood of 320 degrees plus or minus 30 degrees. We can get a great, fast bumpy ride along the ridge under those conditions and travel long distances-as long as the wind conditions remain constant enough to generate ridge lift-and therein lies the danger. We never know when the ridge lift might die unexpectedly due to a shift in direction or drop in velocity. When it happens, you have to be prepared with an exit strategy and know exactly what you are going to do. Do not hope against hope the lift will reappear. Do not get so low you can't make a suitable landing site in the valley. Tree tops do not provide a sufficiently smooth surface on which to place your glider.

Depending on your glider, you will have to give yourself extra safety margins if you fly a ship with lower L/Ds. The Grob and the ASK do an OK job of penetrating into a stiff wind but my 1-26 is not going to make a field in the valley if trying to fly into the face of a 45kt wind at altitude. My 23:1 no wind glide ratio drops to something like 6:1 when I'm only doing 15kts of ground speed into that strong of a wind. As they say in Maine, "you can't get thar from here." On the other hand, my relative glide ratio increases to over 35:1 if I have that same wind on my tail. If you get into trouble flying a ship with a low L/D, your exit strategy must include thoughts of leaving the ridge early and running with the wind back to KFRR or one of the suitable landout sites along the way. Practice Speed to Fly techniques and know the capabilities of your aircraft. Know your glide distances in various wind conditions and what your personal minimum altitude can be at various points on the ridge where you will still have a reasonable chance of getting back to home field or a suitable landout site. Remember, strong low altitude winds can break up thermals and make them sporadic and difficult to find when you need them the most so don't count on them being there for you. Unless you are on an instructional flight, Do not take club ships on the ridge without prior Duty Officer approval and knowledge.

Lastly, stronger winds in the fall mean more challenges in the landing pattern. Crosswind landing techniques will get a workout. At KFRR, the trees and ground surrounding the field will "swirl" the wind making touchdowns less than graceful at times. There will be "burbles" all over the place. Remember, downwind ground speeds will be higher and ground speed turning into the wind on final will drop off during your approach to landing. Plan your approaches accordingly. Your base leg turn will have to be little earlier and at a slightly higher altitude than your used to if you are going to safely make the approach end. Landing rollout distances will be much shorter which is a good thing unless you have someone right behind you and you are planning on making a turnoff at the mid-field taxiway. That will require even more of an adjustment to your pattern if that is your plan.

So, good soaring days await us all in the fall. Let's be sure we are ready for them and the challenges they bring. Let's have our minds thinking about "fall conditions" and not be surprised by the changes.
-- Stan Pawlowski

Recently the Weekday List suffered one of those increasingly common email happenings that illustrates reliance on this method of communication has its own set of unique problems. While there isn't a more practical way for us to interface, this incident did explain why one hand often doesn't know what the other is doing, or that direct requests for information are often unanswered.

Long story short, a lot of week day members were inconvenienced (through no fault of any SSC communicator) because 10 million (+/-) mostly self serving scumbags are flooding us with a plethora of, at best, usurious materials and, at worst, fraudulent crap.

My point? It is increasingly difficult to get original material for the newsletter. It is only human nature to want to reach the most people expeditiously regardless of the timeliness of the message. So email is a natural choice.

On the other hand, one never knows if everyone who should actually will read any message-electronic or snailborne. With that in mind, your Editor often recycles email and web items that he knows some of you have already read. It's impossible to know how many members will benefit from some of this stuff that is, in my eyes, well worth repeating.

The following report which every member perhaps has read is, in my humble opinion, well worth repeating even if there is only one member who hasn't seen it, because it is a positive story with many cogent conclusions that we all need to bear in mind. It's very well written to remind us that all the instruction, all the safety articles, all the constant reminders do have a point.
-- Newsletter Editor, Phil Jordan

The following is a list of things that I learned from the PTT that occurred last Saturday (8/23). I hope this list helps me and others to be more prepared and experienced in the future.

1.Radio volume-The glider radio was on 123.0 but I should have had the volume adjusted up louder especially for such a critical portion of the flight as T/O. I had the adjusted the volume for the no noise level of sitting on the runway but I should have tweeked it up knowing that it would get noisier in the cockpit on take off. When Mark made the release call, he also radioed his instruction for me to release but he had to do it twice. If I would have had the radio turned up louder, I think his message would have registered with me sooner.This was important because the wing waggle was not obvious to me. On other training flights where I have been waved off, the wing waggle was obvious but this time it was not. I attribute this to the fact that a) I was not expecting to be waved off, b) turbulence off the end of the runway is not uncommon, c) the pilot stress level is higher during this critical portion of the flight.

2.It can happen-Another data point showing that although PTT's are rare, they do happen and it is important to train for them and think about them routinely.

3.Knauff PT3 list-In the May issue of soaring, I remember reading Tom Knauff's article on launching emergencies. His plan for avoiding a PT3 accident: 1) Expect an emergency, 2) Have a plan of action, 3) React instantly, 4) Get the nose down to a flying attitude. I am thankful I read this article and thought about it at the time. His four points are very good advice and during my turn back to the field, I did monitor my airspeed to make sure it was not dropping. I'm not sure what our altitude was because I did not check that before the turn. But looking out the window, I saw there was plenty of room between the wing and the trees below. I was very glad.

4.Trust -For a sport where most of the action happens to individuals, there is nonetheless many times where we are dependent on others for safety. The tow pilots depend on the gliders to stay in control behind the tow plane, especially at low altitude and the glider pilots depend on the tow pilots to keep them within gliding distance of the field when low and set them up properly if a low altitude release occurs. Last Saturday, Mark had the ground track of the tow plane set up very nicely so that my 180 degree turn into the wind set me up perfectly for the runway. Thanks Mark!

5.Think through options ahead of time-Again, since things happen so fast (flight was less than a minute) it is important to have a plan ready. As Judah so often asks "What would you do if the rope broke now?" is an important question to always have on your mind.

6.Radio calls important-Mark made some very important radio calls during the short time of this event. First he made the radio call for me to release. As I said, this was important because the wing waggle was not obvious to me. Second, after I released, Mark radioed his plan for getting the tow plane down. I knew exactly what he was going to do and knew I needed to get off the runway ASAP. I did not make any radio calls but I should have done this so that Mark would know exactly what I was doing.

7.Think about the other guy-I may have been able to land in the grass as George suggested. I did have to put in significant spoilers after my turn back to the field. Quite frankly, the landing on the grass option did not occur to me. I was so very happy to see the runway that, I fixated on it an neglected to evaluate the other options.

8. Things happen quick-The total time of this flight was about 1 min.
-- Joe Lingevitch

Last week, two Olympic Airways jets had to return for emergency landings after seagulls were sucked into their engines on departure from Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport. Both aircraft landed safely. In Japan, a runway at Tokyo International Airport was closed for two and a half hours last Friday after two departing flights reported seagull strikes, and more than 200 gulls gathered on the runway and wouldn't leave. In July, a student and instructor were killed in Texas after their Cessna 172 struck a bird and crashed. In 2002, more than 6,100 bird strikes were reported by U.S. civil aircraft, and according to a recent FAA report, the problem is getting worse.

http://wildlife.pr.erau.edu/FAADatabase.htm
-- -AVflash

High up in the sky, suspended in the air, A graceful, sleek, machine, surrounded by birds; So free, soars quietly. Its lone passenger exalts in all that's around him. Beauty, tranquility and peace envelop him. The birds, his lone companions; And he too in his element. God's creations; mountains, rolling hills, trees, Rivers, and creatures beneath provide him With peace and contentment. Filling his heart with joy and pleasure, Overwhelming, infiltrating his entire being. He is in awe, humbled by the wonders around him. Thanking the Almighty for bestowing on him, This great privilege and gift for the ability To pursue still what he has loved and Was dedicated to, in his whole life.
-- Susan Gogos

A group of aerospace engineers who just happen to be friends has achieved its goal of flying a tiny model airplane across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland. Other unmanned aircraft have made the crossing, but this one is small enough to qualify as a real "model" airplane and is eligible to claim world records in its category. Maynard Hill of Silver Spring, Maryland, said on his Web site http://tam.plannet21.com "We did it! Gloria! Euphoria! Gloria! In excessive amounts!" The group tried and failed last year, and was resigned to flinging five more of the 11-pound aircraft into the sea this year in another attempt. But Trans Atlantic Model 5 (TAM5) made it. The little craft carried only 5.5 pounds of fuel and teased its handlers by stalling its engine and plummeting, then restarting and continuing on its GPS course, while cruising a few feet over the Atlantic. Near the end it stopped sending data, triggering a call to the Ireland crew to come home. But before the call could be made the data resumed and the aircraft landed safely within 35 feet of its target. Hill heads the Society for Technical Aeromodel Research and has made record-setting a lifelong goal..
-- AOPA ePilot

AOPA's Air Safety Foundation just released a report on spins and stall accidents, and while some of the results aren't surprising, it challenges some pretty well-entrenched perceptions of one of the most deadly types of in-flight mishaps.

The ASF reports stall and spins have a fatality rate of about 28 percent, and account for about 10 percent of all GA accidents. "Fatal stall/spin accidents most often begin at or below traffic pattern altitude (generally 1,000 feet above ground level), well below the altitude necessary to recover from even a one-turn spin," the report reads.

What might be surprising to some is that the size of the logbook and number of endorsements held by a pilot do not always equate to stall/spin immunity.

"A common misconception is that student pilots are most likely to suffer fatal stall/spin type accidents," said ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg.

Because aircraft design is the primary factor in how an aircraft will behave in a stall or spin, the report went on to list some of the aircraft that show up more often in the stats. For example, the ASF claims Piper Tomahawks were involved in roughly double the number of stall/spin accidents per 100 aircraft as the Cessna 150/152 or the Beech 77, but again, the data needs qualification.
-- AVflash

• Welcome aboard new member Tom Flanigan.

  Tom is a PPL(A), partner in C-150 traildragger based at JYO and works at Raytheon and knows Mark Ballinger, his sponsor in the club.

• Add this as update to last month's cell phone article:

  "Honey, we have a problem..." -Mary Ann Stout, of Ormond Beach, Fla., got an unusual phone call one morning from her husband, Larry, who was out flying his Experimental biplane, a Marquart MA-5 Charger. He was all right, he told her, but the airplane had crashed into a tree and he was stuck. Mary Ann called 9-1-1 and guided rescuers to the downed airplane, in a wooded area near the Volusia County line, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Larry was taken to the hospital shortly afterward, with minor injuries, but injury to the Charger, according to the FAA's preliminary report, was substantial.-
  -- AVflash

• If you have ever wanted to go find an old message posted to an old mailing list, and wished you hadn't cleaned out your e-mail box, now you can go find that old message. http://members.skylinesoaring.org/LIST-ARCHIVES/ ... which is also found on the left-menu on the members-only web page at: http://members.skylinesoaring.org/
  -- Piet Barber

• Own a piece of history-that sweet flying 1-26C, 081 that won the 1972 1-26 National Soaring Contest. You can be a partner for a very modest investment. Contact Mark Ballinger or Phil Jordan. Do it soon...this baby won't stay on the lot long!

• Congratulations to Piet Barber on passing his Commercial Pilot's exam.

• "You match your wits with Mother Nature and take what she'll give you, or else you're down," said James Robert Collier, a member of the Skyline Soaring Club in Front Royal.-Washington Post, August 14, 2003-evidently Ole Jim-Bob was refering to his legendary backyard landing.

• Question: Why do we "squawk" a transponder code? What is the origin of this term? Answer: As with many unique aviation terms, this one has its roots in World War II. During the war, a radar transceiver was developed that could respond to radar interrogation with a specific code. British and American aircraft could be identified by their unique codes while enemy aircraft had no such codes, thus allowing their detection. The British called this system "Parrot." The ground-based radar station would instruct the pilot to "squawk your Parrot" to a specific code. What remains today is, of course, the term "squawk," meaning to set a code in your transponder.
  -- -AOPA ePilot

• The FAA, Your Money and Your Life-Despite the best efforts of the manufacturers to convince us to buy new airplanes, the GA fleet gets older, on average, with each passing year and that inevitably raises safety concerns. And where safety is an issue, new regulations are not usually far behind. In this case, however, the FAA seems to be aware of the negative potential (i.e., extra cost) of more rules and, instead, is suggesting a less intrusive approach to keeping old airplanes airworthy. According to AOPA, the agency has, in consultation with AOPA, type groups and other aviation organizations, developed "best practices" guidance for maintaining older GA aircraft.

• Reducing Fatal Accidents- This and other efforts to make airplanes safe have generally paid off. Although equipment failures occur, most aircraft are operating normally when they crash....The FAA has set a "goal" of 374 fatal GA and Part 135 accidents for 2003 and by the end of July there had already been 299. By 2007, the FAA wants no more than 350 fatal accidents. Apparently, the only way that will be achieved is if pilots set similar goals, because human factors are by far the leading cause of aircraft accidents.
  -- -AVflash

• Overheard on tower frequency at El Monte, Ca. airport, several years ago... Tower: "Cessna N2345, say your location." Cessna N2345: "I'm over here!"