HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. You may be wondering what a meeting of two United Air Line pilots would cause it to be the headlines in today's weblog. Well, the first time these two met at Avenal, they both just happened to arrive on the same day. Neither had seen one another for several years even though they are based out of SFO. This time, Cliff told me in Fresno that he hadn't been to Avenal in so long, he needed to get out there to fly some refresher flights. So we drove together. Cliff had joined the CCSC on April 12, 2008. Two weeks later, Cliff just happened to be at Avenal when Carl Kunz showed up. Neither had seen one another for a good long time. So here we are again. Both had been absent from Avenal for a few months, and both decided to show up on the same day. I think they both have GPS ankle bracelets on that are location coordinated for Avenal. Anyway, welcome again, guys and we hope you come out more often. Even together !!

2. Andy Reistetter had his elevator linkage fixed and was determined to fly his Russia sailplane. Steve Schery helped out and he did get launched. Everything worked OK and while he returned rather quickly, he later went up for a longer flight. We're glad to have you back, Andy.

3. Norm Lambert was here again today, continuing his flight training. This time we practiced stick and rudder coordination, in shallow and steep turns. His coordination is remarkably good for being in such an early training cycle. Sometimes that happens while other phases of flight take longer than normal. He's on his way to good things with such excellent coordination, since so much of soaring involves good coordination.

4. Daniel Solis attended the Father's Day Fly-In and Air Show at Chandler airport on June 14, 2008, saw my glider and we got to talking. He decided to come out and go for a demo ride. Because the tow plane has been down for weeks, this was his first opportunity to fly. We went up for a nice flight, released at 2800 msl and had fun with what little lift was evident. But he got hooked, and wanted to fly again. So, waiting an hour or so, we went again and this time the lift had developed even more. Out demo flight lasted nearly an hour. On the ground again, Daniel bought a glider log book, and I expect to see him back again to join the CCSC and begin in earnest his glider training. Come back soon, Daniel !!

5. Carl Kunz took the 1-26 and headed for the mountains. He found good lift and was up for an hour, attaining 5200 msl for his efforts. Because he needed to be back at Monterey early, he left while Cliff Stone was flying the Orange Crush.

6. Cliff Stone waiting until mid-afternoon, found good lift as well over the mountains and attained 5300 msl, beating Carl's altitude by 100 feet. For a guy who doesn't soar regularly, Cliff does very well. We need to have him on our staff of Flight Instructors as soon as possible. He'd be great at mentoring young people just starting their training. He always provides detailed explanations for so many aerodynamic issues, he's a veritable walking aviation dictionary.