Julie Butler says:

Club Day

Come out and bring some friends for a day of great flying. The weather has been beautiful and the days are getting longer. We will have a 50/50 drawing. Tickets are $1; $5 will get you 6 tickets. Half of the pot goes into the club coffers for expenses and the other half is cash to the winner. Drawing will happen at dinner and you do not need to be present to win. Demo flights will be available all day to introduce people to our sport. We will be having a spot landing contest running all day with the winner announced at dinner. There will be a BBQ dinner for $10 to conclude the day. Food will be ready around 5:30PM so please RSVP by April 28th with the number of guests so we can be sure to have enough food.

HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. It was a busy day because the FAA is launching a nationwide program to inspect Experimental aircraft and the associated paperwork. We were pleased to have John Jensen and Bjorn Beijens out today looking at all the experimental gliders domiciled on the airport. As one looked around, it seemed like either we were having a parade of gliders or the weather was so fantastic that everyone showed up to fly. Neither of those was true, but since the gliders needed to be assembled for the FAA inspection, most of the pilots elected to fly. The day wasn't fantastic but those who wanted to remain aloft and tour the mountains were able to do so.

2. Alex Caldwell and the Boy Scouts were out again today. Alex started the day by auto launching, being pulled by the Scout Leader, Dr. Robert Bell, in his Suburban. It worked reasonably well with altitudes around the 400 agl mark. The boys seemed happy with the chance to take at least three flights each and were on the field most of the day. We are happy to have them as part of our group and hope to see them back again soon. Here's what Alex had to say:

Hi Harold,                 

Here are some pictures of the Scouts that went flying on Saturday. They are from Troop 235 in Tulare. This same troop has been coming almost every year since about 1983 when we were still flying at Sequoia Field in Visalia.   The first picture is Dr. Robert Bell, the Scout leader. He is an oral surgeon from Tulare. He is an ideal auto tow driver, since one of his favorite hobbies is drag racing, and some of the skill set needed for driving the auto tow vehicle seems to carry over from his drag racing skills.   He has a car he calls the "Grey Ghost" and he says he might let us try auto towing behind it one of these days. The boys had a great time. We did 10 auto tows. Most of them got 2 auto tows and each got one aero tow. Since we were able to fly in the afternoon, they all got to catch at least one thermal. Some of them have been back several times since they have been in the scouts, and have actually become pretty good at flying by now. Scott who is actually not in the scout troop officially yet, because he is only 10, is bugging his dad to let him join the club and start taking soaring lessons.    Alex

3. John Vander Schuur shocked us all by returning to Avenal for the first time in over five years. Jon soloed on July 20, 2002, then earned his Private Pilot's license on March 6, 2004. He last flew on January 29, 2005 then disappeared until today. We're happy to have him back and this time he brought his 13 yr old daughter, Kayla, along for her first glider ride. She seems really interested in learning to fly gliders and might just be the next young person to learn and solo a glider on her 14th birthday. Let's hope she keeps the dream alive and that any budget considerations are met with no difficulty.

4. Morgan Hall conducted a CCSC Board meeting covering some issues of great concern for the club. Remember that, as a CCSC member, you are encouraged to attend these Board meetings to keep in touch with what's going on in the club. For the items covered, contact Morgan or any other Board member.

5. Dan Gudgel was out here today checking out Mel Council as one of our new and valued tow pilots. Mel will have more time available than some of our other volunteers, especially when school ends in June and he has the summer off. Mel will definitely make a difference in tow pilot dependability for more than just Saturday and Sunday.

6. Joe Anastasio opted for his first ride in the Duo Discus. Morgan invited Joe and it didn't take long for Joe to accept. (A millisecond?). They had a nice long flight throughout the mountains and for a period about 3 hours plus. I hope Joe isn't spoiled because of that. I think he still likes the Blanik for his own flying.

7. I finally flew GD.