Saturday Summary, April 7, 2001
Highlights:
Hello
Everyone,
Amidst pouring down rain, I once again felt foolish driving to Avenal. But it seemed the level of instability I was seeing above me would produce periods of rain mixed with great turbulence so I kept going. Fortunately I was right. It was a wild and fun day.
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| Avenal Valley | The Town of Avenal |
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There were cumulous clouds everywhere, rainsqualls scattered all quadrants, booming lift and strong winds from the northwest. Because of the winds, most landings were as short field as one could imagine. Hovering on final was the order of the day. |
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basis for all this was an unusual winter storm system that dumped hail on
one of the freeways in Fresno and created havoc elsewhere. But boy did it
produce some fun soaring. For those who stayed home thinking it not
soaring weather, next time, think soaring. |
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When the squalls weren't in the vicinity, the cloud bases were at or above 5000 msl. The wind was often 13 gusting to 17, and changed direction several times around the magnetic compass. 180-degree wind shifts were not uncommon. Excellent practice conditions for all pilots and I was disappointed more were not there. We have such benign weather most of the time that weather like we had today is hard to come by. And most of us need that kind of practice. |
| Roque Serpa had some roller coaster vertical rides. We circled over the prison, and when we descended to 1500 feet decided to head back to the field. Enroute, we hit an exciting 1000+ ft/minute thermal, and were back up to 4000 feet in a few short minutes. |  |
Just as exciting was the sink. Getting out of the core of the thermal meant a quick ride back down to 1500 as quickly or more so than the ride up. Most of us there today had smiles on our faces when we finished the flight, it was that much fun.
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Steve
Young, a new member from the Bay area was determined to solo in the 2-33 so we
flew until that happened. He's had experience with gliders so it wasn't like
starting from scratch. We flew six times, then he flew the three solo flights.
Not a problem at all. His flying was smooth and confident.
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| Steve Testing | Steve getting ready to fly with storm in the background |
Jonathan Pitt flew the PW-5 and was the first to get above 5000 msl. He also had a long flight and came down after an hour only because he thought someone might want to fly the glider. Looks like Jonathan is becoming Avenal's official sniffer because he's been the first aloft nearly every weekend. Trouble is, he's so good at thermalling his sniffing might not count for those less capable. At least he proves how high one can get on any particular day.
See Jonathan's write up on his Silver Quest!
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| PW5 on tow | PW5 Lift Off |
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Rodney and Patricia were there as well. Rodney flew both the PW-5 and the 1-26 and had some difficulty finding and staying in the lift. That wasn't his doing. The lift, although very strong when one found it, wasn't "easy" to find. Remember the sink was there right along with the lift, and one could easily be sinking at over 1000 ft/min. If you weren't high at that point, it could leave you at pattern altitude or lower in no time. |
| In late afternoon, when Steve and I completed our training, I suggested to Rodney he take the 2-33 for one more launch. He did and had a great flight. Up above 5500 msl, and aloft for more than 30 minutes, he agreed he could have stayed aloft hours. His smile was fun to see when he landed. |  |
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Andy Riestetter wanted a checkout in the Blanik and when he arrived Dan Gudgel was there. I suggested that since Dan knows more than I do about the Blanik, his checkout should be with Dan. They accomplished the task and Andy is now current in the Blanik. |
| The Demskys put on another delicious lunch of Shish Kabob, rice, salad and chocolate cake. What a great repast in the middle of the day, especially a day that was, by all measures, quite cold and blustery. |  |
See
you all next weekend.
Cheers,
Harold
Gallagher
On Sunday:
