HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. It was a fairly quiet day at Avenal, but the weather was quite nice. Hot, but tolerable and enough thermals to give everyone a day's worth of fun.

2. Martin came out, stayed most of the day until finally Mario had enough free time to take him for a glider ride. Yes, he had a good time and they stayed up long enough for Martin to note what soaring is all about.

3. Chris Karapostoles did his three practice flights necessary prior to his recommendation for his checkride. That likely won't happen until the end of August since Chris will be away on flight duty for the next three weeks.

4. Bart Klusek usually arrives on Friday night and stays over to fly the Blanik and the Orange Crush if either are available. He has been cleaning up the gliders early on Saturday morning for those who will be flying early. That certainly is a wonderful member thing to be doing for others and I hope all who come out to Avenal and fly an already cleaned up glider will think of Bart next time. You might even thank him for his efforts.

5. Mario put on a GPS seminar for all who would listen, and a few were there for his words of wisdom and experience.

6. Harlow Voorhees and Chris Karapostoles shared the towing duties after Chris completed his practice checkride flights.

7. Morgan and Julie took the Blanik aloft and had a nice time soaring in the area. Theirs was a long flight, enough to satisfy them that indeed there was enough lift to keep everyone happy.

8. Ethan Ronat and Yutaka Buto each flew the 1-26, did well, then were on the ground to watch Alex and Bart do their autotow experiment.

9. Mario flew Jerry Smeltzer's Nugget sailplane and good thing he did. He discovered that the left aileron needed significant adjustment but still managed to fly it safely. Turns out that while the aileron went up, it didn't go down, making a right turn all but impossible. The glider definitely needs work before it can be flown again.

10. Alex did well on autotow with Bart doing the accelerating, and accelerate he did. I "ran" the wing twice and didn't even take one step because the start was so instantaneous the wing was out of my hand before I could move. Alex reported he made 500 feet above ground level and thinks perhaps he could get higher with more practice. The thermals weren't numerous enough for him to catch one before he had to turn back and land. But one of these days they will be around more and I'll bet Alex will take the GAPA to great heights.

11. James Bishop came back and began his instructional series towards his Pilot's License .We wish him well and we are happy to have him as a club member. He lives in Coalinga and will be able to visit our gliderport more easily than most other members. WELCOME TO OUR CLUB, JAMES.

12. Norm Lambert came back today ready to fly again and is getting closer than ever to his solo flights. We are happy to see him fly again after an interval of flightless Saturdays.