HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. Joel Brandon, wife Abby and son all came to the gliderport to take their first glider rides. Unfortunately they had to wait a bit long but in the end at least Joel was able to go flying with Alex Caldwell. Abby put off her flight for another time. We're sorry they had to wait but at least Alex gave Joel a nice long flight with plenty of lift to demonstrate what flying gliders is all about. Joel and Abby live in Avenal and have always seen the gliders soaring over their home. Finally, they decided to see what the fuss was all about. They are both school teachers here and it sure is nice to see Avenal residents come out to go flying. Let's hope they spread the word about our glider activities and how an aircraft without an engine can stay up for so long.

2. I arrived today with four young people. I call them the United Nation's contingent because Seva is an exchange student from Russia, Hendrik is an exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, Hanna is a high school student from the province of Auberry (a real foreign land up north), and Jack is a high school student from an island in the middle of Fresno called Fig Garden. Hendrik and I went aloft first and had a great time with the lift. We'd thermal to 4000+ msl, then he'd fly the glider. After losing altitude, we'd thermal again above 4000 msl and repeat the process for about an hour. At the end we did a quick stint of weightlessness and that got his hat floating above him in the cockpit.

3. Seva and I flew at the end of the day, and took only a pattern tow that resulted in a rather short flight because the thermals weren't all that prevalent at that time of the day. In fact, we were just trying to reposition the glider back to the tie-down area from its position at the launch area. Trying to eke out some lift, I got low and we landed shorter than the tie-down area. At least it gave the young people some exercise.

4. The high performance guys were aloft nearly all day. Mario Crosina launched first, then Steve Schery, and finally, David Pilati. All were gone most of the day and had not returned even when we left at 4:30 pm for Fresno. They must have been up four or five hours. At one point we heard Mario saying he was at 8200 msl and perhaps they got even higher. It was indeed a good day for soaring.

5. Andy Reistetter came out to go flying, and while assembling his glider discovered a link in the elevator connection was broken. That ended his chance to fly his glider, but he was quite happy to have discovered it then rather than later in flight. So he took the 1-26 and had a nice flight after all.

6. Jerry Badal arrived later on and went flying. Here is his story:

Harold,

I had a great experience on Saturday.  I learned a lot, got to see some beautiful sights, and had great fun.  I was up for just over three hours.

Loyal did a very nice job of towing me into strong lift.  In fact, at around 3,000 indicated, we hit two thermals that nearly put me through the top of the canopy.  For a while things were pretty busy in the cockpit as I frantically tried to fly the 1-26 through strong turbulence and cinch down my shoulder straps at the same time.  I learned from that experience that I can cinch them down a lot more than I have been and not be uncomfortable.  I released at 3,800 feet and continued my right turn right into a nice thermal.  I don’t know if the vario in the 1-26 is accurate, but it was showing around 5 knots.  I climbed in this first thermal to over 5,000 feet.  That set me up for the rest of the flight because it gave me time to look for more lift.

When I began my flight, conditions were very favorable, with good lift being relatively easy to find.  Shortly after climbing to 5,000 feet, I found another thermal and went to 7,000.  From there I lost some altitude in sink, but eventually contacted another thermal that took me to almost 8,000.  I made it over 8,000 feet several times, with my highest altitude being just short of 8,300.  That put me just below cloud base in some visually spectacular settings.  I took some pictures, but they didn’t turn out.  The instrument panel came out great, but the scene outside the canopy was completely washed out.  I’m going to need to learn to use this camera better.

Most of my time was spent between 5,500 and 7,500 feet above the hills, just west of the airport.  I found good lift when I needed it, but more frequently encountered strong sink.  I would thermal up in 2-5 knot lift, painstakingly working my way to altitude, and then almost immediately find myself running from 4-5 knot sink. 

The lift decreased in strength and frequency as the afternoon wore on.  After the first hour, I was working hard to keep altitude.  Thermals were harder to find and easy to lose.  I found I had to be very vigilant and make constant adjustments or I could easily leave a thermal and have a hard time contacting it again.  Even when I stayed in the thermal, the rate of climb was lower than during the first hour.  While I would have loved it if conditions had remained strong, I’m sure I learned a lot more from having to work hard.  I focused on flying efficiently and making well coordinated turns, and learned to dial in to every movement the plane was making.

The day’s highlights included getting over 8,000 feet and working near the cloud base.  I had no idea how much happens to clouds when lift is working underneath them.  They were swirling and roiling and shredding apart.  It was a very impressive sight, when viewed from up close.  Another was learning very positively that when a cumulus cloud is over-developed, it very definitely has the potential to be a sink bomb.  Several times I flew under a dissipating cumulus cloud hoping for residual lift only to find serious sink (which would cost me dearly). 

Another highlight was when the three high-performance ships came by me.  They were flying together and a few times came by me at impressive speeds.  The glass ships were sometimes below me one minute and above me the next.  Other times they were just passing by me on their way to a cloud somewhere I had no hope of reaching.  It was really fun watching those beautiful planes flying in such scenic surroundings.  The three ships were Mario (in a Ventus?); Steve Schery, in his Discus; and David Pilati, in his 1-35.

Thank you for your kind words.  I sure don’t feel like I’m very good at thermaling, but I’m trying to learn.  I listen to everything you tell me and try to put it into practice.

I would love to fly with you in the Blanik to improve my skills and learn about cross country flight.  I am now thoroughly hooked in soaring and can hardly wait to become a competent pilot.

This is an important week for me.  I really need to make progress this week in preparing for my written test or I may have to wait until July.  Wish me luck.  It’s shaping up to be a tough one already.

Thanks for your great instruction.  I have learned a tremendous amount from you and will never forget how much you’ve done for me.

Thanks for the nice photo.   JERRY BADAL

7. I'm not sure why, but I can't understand why we aren't seeing more pilots out there on Saturday. The lift has been great these past months and altitudes over 6-7000 feet have been routine. The skies are severe clear, and clouds often marking thermals. What could be better for soaring pilots? These are the days when flying gliders is better than any other form of recreation, no matter. So, use your membership and come flying. Even if you haven't flown lately a quick refresher flight with an instructor is probably all that is necessary. Don't miss out on this fabulous weather.