HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. What else can we say? No one flew because Loyal's tow plane was out of annual and we didn't know it until the day before. We had hoped to call in another tow pilot and plane, with J.R. being the best available choice. But his being here depended on the fog clearing at Oceano County airport, and by noon, it had not. A last minute call to him confirmed that he would not be flying to Avenal. So we were denied any flight today, much to the chagrin of many. Not deterred, most of the members opted to take care of things that otherwise would have had to wait until the flying was over. The Orange Crush got a much-needed washing and waxing. The GAPA was pulled out of its box and cleaned up, inspected and may return to service soon. That should be fun for those who enjoy sitting out in the open while soaring. The Blanik had its annual inspection completed by Mike Schoenau and Joe Anastasio.

2. Jerry Smeltzer bought a Nugget sailplane and brought it to Avenal today. A very nice looking ship and one that should bring Jerry many hours of fun flying and cross country attempts. Seems to be in really good shape and has very nice, smooth lines as it sits there looking like its already moving. We'll be watching Jerry when it comes time to fly it. So far, he's just making sure he gets really familiar with it before first flight. He always does well in the 1-26 and we expect him to do even better in the Nugget.

3. We had several pilots come from a long way off only to be disappointed at there being no tow plane available. Steve Schery came from the Bay area and Art Sanders came from the Newhall area. It is tough to come from such distances only to find out they can't fly. Next week should rectify that since Dan Gudgel will be bringing his Cessna 150 to Avenal for towing.

4. On top of all this, the soaring would have been excellent. The formation that was building all day over the Coalinga mountains was most impressive. We're not sure the source of the lift but it was definitely powerful compared to anything else around that day.

5. We did get a bit of training done with Julie Butler and Jack Wiegand, both of whom are nearing their checkrides and needed to brush up on the oral and flight procedures they can expect that day. Other than that, it was a slow day with a lot of waiting for something to happen.