HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1.As usual, it was thick fog in the Central Valley all the way to the top of the Kettleman Hills. At Avenal, the fog was above the field but not by much. We couldn't fly in the morning but by noon, the fog began to disappear. In the meantime, we headed to Debbie's for lunch and figured that by the time we were done, the fog would have lifted. Sure enough, that's what happened. By the time we arrived back at the clubhouse, the fog had gone away and hazy blue skies were showing.

2. Mel Council arrived with his wife, Kim, and son Darren. Mel is a friend of mine from back in 2001 when I taught him to fly power planes. Now he is a CFI and teaches out of Madera, as well as an A&P, and a teacher at a Madera school. Now that's a well-rounded education! Mel brought his wife and son to Avenal so that Darren could experience flying a glider. Since I was the only tow pilot on the field, and since Richard Walker plus Darren Council weigh less than our max gross glider weight, Richard took him up to 3000 agl and both had a nice flight. It was interesting to see the thick fog right up to the top of the Kettleman Hills on the east side but no farther over into the Avenal valley. Of course, above the haze layer, the visibility was more than 100 miles. One could easily see Mt. Pinos at 8840 msl near the Gorman pass.

3. Jeff Lowe, Peter Sahlberg, Bart Klusek, and Richard Walker all flew several launches today for a total of ten tows. There were three tows to 4000 agl and that helps the club toward its budget goal. Thanks to you guys who knew in advance that lift probably wasn't anywhere to be found but decided to launch anyway. It's like making a contribution to the finances we need to maintain our operations here. Winter is tough on budgets but this winter has been especially difficult because of that gross weight restriction on towing. We're hoping for a larger, more powerful tow plane and maybe that will happen within a few weeks. We need it.

4. Peter Sahlberg brought his nicely constructed model Cirrus glider out to
Avenal today and launched it a few times. No, thermals were nowhere to be found but he had fun anyway and so did we watching it fly, right up until the crash that was investigated by the NTSB (Nicely Trained Salvage Board). Peter says the glider is repairable so were hoping to see it in action on a day when the thermals are strong. It definitely looks like a full scale glider even as low as 30 feet in the air.

5. Most of these weekends the fog has lifted in time to fly. It is a good idea to fly at least once every several weeks even though the lift isn't much. And you also need to stay current if you intend on carrying passengers. If you have been confused about the tow plane situation, the short explanation is this: we are towing every weekend, we can tow any glider as long as the total weight of glider and passengers does not exceed 917 lbs. That means all gliders flown solo are OK and two passengers whose combined weight does not exceed 300 lbs in the 2-33's are OK. So, come on out, enjoy a nice hazy day at Avenal, fly once or twice, both for yourself and for the club's budget that we need to maintain all through the winter. Make a contribution to the club by getting towed or by buying a tow for someone else who might not be able to purchase a tow every weekend.