Sunday, March 17, 2024

Tune-Up Time

WEATHER
Visibility: Far  
Wind: 0-15, from all directions
Altitudes: around 5,000 out over the valley floor
Time Aloft: hours
Max Lift: Decent
Temperature: 70s - NICE!
Tow pilot: Karl K

Tune-Up Time at Avenal.  Tuning up new gliders, old tractors and everything else on the field.  There's a work day coming soon to spruce up the place for the spring contest in a little over a month.

 

Richard mowing...
 

Karl towing...


Perfecting patterns...



Ollie checking out his new ride - https://www.weglide.org/flight/367149  

All photos courtesy Mark P

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Spring is Coming Soon

Are you ready?


Are you current?  Are you proficient?  Are you looking forward to it?  Spring is coming soon.


 Bottom Photo courtesy Mark P.



Monday, February 5, 2024

Wave Season on the Central Coast

Wishing for those 100+ Degree Summer Days?


 

This year's wave season has brought a good variety of flights, both pre-frontal and post-frontal, in our neighborhood.  (Note:  Some of the WeGlide posts have good commentary and photos.)

In late December, Philip visited Avenal and turned in a 400 km, O&R flight to the north.

OLC
WeGlide

In early January, Buzz visited Coalinga and had a fun day in some weak and blue, post-frontal wave.

OLC

Morgan had several good flights out of Santa Ynez in the last few months, including a 500+ km, O&R to Tehachapi.

 OLC
 WeGlide

 OLC
 WeGlide

 In late January, Steve & Kevin had nice local flight trying to sort out the "Coalinga Wave"

OLC
WeGlide

Still more good days to come, so watch those forecasts, fill your bottle, find a tow pilot and fly some wave before the spring thermals arrive.


Saturday, December 2, 2023

Sweet Winter Day at Avenal

WEATHER
Visibility: Far 
Wind: Light
Altitudes: Tow release    
Time Aloft: Enough
Max Lift: Occasional zero    
Temperature: ~60
Comment:
Tow pilot: Jim Rickey

It was a sweet and mellow early winter day today at Avenal.


 We had around a dozen members out at the field.  Brandon, Mark, Russ, Kevin, Jim, Larry, Richard, Joe, Kris, Ollie, and maybe a few more that I missed. The lucky five of them flew while the others fattened their club karma accounts by working on any number of projects around the gliderport.

Larry brought 100 gallons of 100LL and then grilled up hotdogs and chili (OK, maybe that was with propane, not 100LL) and then got the crew moving again after lunch.  A good day all around.

The annual meeting is January 6th - mark your calendars and we'll get the new year underway at CCSA.  Get your name into the nomination pool for an open club office.  See you then, or sooner if we see wave!



Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Springtime Lingers (sorta) at Avenal


This past Saturday saw conditions that were more like springtime than the summer solstice.  Look at these flights last weekend:

https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightsOfAirfield.html?rt=olc&sc=&aa=AVENA1&st=olcp&c=US&sp=2023#

Then, today, Zach became our newest CFIG!  Dan was the examiner administering the practical test. Morgan provided the tows.

And a few weeks back, Brandon celebrated his first solo flight and has repeated the feat several times since then!

 Get on the schedule and take advantage of the great soaring right now.