HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. "The Gang" came out for demo flights, organized by their leader, Jeff Lowe. They had flown gliders previously, at Santa Ynez and decided to try Avenal's soaring conditions. None are gilder pilots but Jeff is determined to become one. They were a fun group, and gave is all reason to smile. That, combined with the surprise party for Hanna, made for an enjoyable afternoon for everyone. Jeff and Margo Lowe, Bettye and Mike Landino, and Kristin Brown, 17 years old, all from Los Osos except for Kristi who will soon reside there. The lift was good enough to keep all of them up for nearly an hour each flight.

2. Even before "The Gang" came out to fly, Ron Marlette wanted to surprise Hanna with a party on the CCSC Patio in honor of her acceptance into the Air Force Academy. But we were having a difficult time trying to figure out how to get Hanna in the air in order for Ron and family to arrive and get the party set up. Finally we decided that Alex Caldwell would take Hanna for a glider ride as congratulations from him for her achievement. But before we could get that one figured out, Ron and crew arrived in the town of Avenal and called me about Hanna. We gave him a 15 minute delay, then got Hanna into the air, and Ron descended on the patio. When Hanna got back on the ground, she noticed nothing at first. Then remarked that there seemed to be an unusual number of people at Avenal for a Saturday. At this point she was out at the launch line having just arrived there. And the crowd was beginning to walk out to her glider. Then she recognized one of the group, then slowly another one, then finally realized she knew the entire crowd. Even then it didn't seem to dawn on her what the group was all about. But that didn't take long to sink in. She says she was completely surprised by the party, had no idea, and was quite pleased. All of her family were there, and they set about cooking a barbeque of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, etc. Good fun and a great congratulations party for Hanna. Unfortunately I missed it all, being in the air for about 3.5 hours with demo rides. And they were fun, too.

3. Joe Anastasio needed a BFR so Alex Caldwell obliged with three flights and the ground session. They used the Orange Crush later in the afternoon when all other flights had been accomplished.

4. An historic event took place today. Hanna Marlette, a licensed pilot at 17 years young, took Jack Wiegand, a solo pilot at 15 years young, for a glider ride. They are very good friends and have talked about flying together for many months. Finally, there they were ready to launch on a flight no one could have foreseen two years ago. Naturally Hanna and Jack flew exceedingly well, stayed up for a nice flight and landed quite well all the way back to the launch area. Great going, you two!!!

5. Royson Parsons and his daughter Erin, arrived at Avenal so that Erin could begin her flight training. She had her first lesson March 27, but that was primarily to see if she wanted to continue her training. She decided to go forward and get the license and we're happy to have her as out new Club member and newest training pilot. She did very well on both flights, has a nice touch on the controls, listens to directions carefully, follows them faithfully, and I expect her to solo long before she thinks she is ready. Keep up the good work, Erin, and thanks go to her Dad, a power Pilot, for supporting her great interest in aviation.

6. Steve Schery in his Discus, had a nice four-hour flight today. It was just one of those days for lift in a wide area. Fun for all, and staying up wasn't a problem for anyone.