HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. For those who thought the day at Avenal wouldn't produce any lift, I have some good news for you. There was thermal lift and wave lift and if you had been here you would have enjoyed the ride. It took only a 2400 agl tow and you could have stayed up all afternoon. It was a glorious day with the sun shining and the temperature reaching all the way to 68 degrees. Who would have thought. The wind was from the southeast as we pulled the gliders out for launch. Then after two launches from the far end of the runway, the wind shifted to the west-northwest the remainder of the afternoon. None of us went aloft until we visited Debbie's for hamburgers and nice social visiting. As you may notice from the photos, the land around Avenal is beginning to green out and now looks like Nature spread an emerald carpet over the hills and dales. Finally as we packed up and left the gliderport, the sunset gave us reason to celebrate the day and the gorgeous evening.

2. I went up first in the 1-26 and hit a series of thermals out near the tanks. The lift alternated between 100 and 500 fpm but it was ragged, ill-contoured, and made chasing it a bit difficult. I managed to remain aloft for half an hour but couldn't get the little ship out and into the wave. I guessed right that Joe  Anastasio in the Blanik would not have any difficulty getting into it.

3. Joe launched while I was still aloft and when I returned to the field, we all watched with envy as he soared higher and higher, with all of us guessing from the ground that he must be at least 6000 feet high. At times it looked like he was heading even higher but after landing he reported that he was maintaining essentially 6000 msl the entire time as he flew parallel with the West Ridge. His time aloft was one hour, eighteen minutes and he said he came down only because he was getting too tired to continue working the wave. That was a very nice flight for Joe and for the day of soaring. It would have been nice to see more pilots out there today, but I guess they had other more important things to do.

4. Jerry Smeltzer was out here today but upon preflighting himself, he decided that he wasn't feeling well enough to fly. He had been in the hospital with pneumonia a week ago and wasn't feeling up to par, or at least well enough to fly safely. That was a good decision and we always encourage our pilots to preflight themselves first before doing it to their aircraft.

5. Alex Caldwell showed up mid-afternoon and was mulling over the decision to fly or not. When we pointed out Joe's flight to him, he decided that when Joe returned he'd take the Blanik and get in the wave himself. He did but reported that getting off tow early spoiled the chance to snag the wave. He tried by flying southeast along the West Ridge searching for an entrance but found nothing. So, within a few minutes, he returned to base and we put the gliders to bed.

6. The tow plane was flown with skill by Harlow Voorhees and we appreciate his efforts to contribute to the club. After the last flight, he flew the Cessna 150 to Fresno where he and Ray Harkins will be doing the annual inspection. Then it will be flown back in time to tow next Saturday, January 23rd. Maybe we'll see you there.

7. On the way home, the sky was marked by the wave, and by a spectacular sunset that kept changing minute-by-minute. All in all, the day was fun, the weather warm, the visibility unlimited, and the camaraderie enjoyable. We wished you were here to enjoy it with us.