HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. The weather at Avenal has been just beautiful these past few weeks with clear air, hot sun, good thermals, and marker birds. What more could anyone ask for in soaring?

2. Andy Reistetter arrived early as did Mario, both to work on getting Andy's Russia glider through its annual. That went smoothly and now Andy can fly once again. He's getting close to needing a BFR and that will be the next event for Andy.

3. Peter Sahlberg arrived again today, the second weekend in a row. Amazing !!  He's taking advantage of being a bachelor for a few weeks while his wife enjoys her vacation. So Peter is getting some good soaring time in and that is both fun and valuable for moving towards his add-on rating. Welcome again, Peter.

4. Erin Parsons went back to work on her glider training after having been away from Avenal since April. She is determined to get her pilot's license before her driver's license just as Hanna Marlette did a couple of years ago. I know Erin and Hanna talked and that must have impressed Erin to achieve the same thing. We wish her luck and her performance this weekend would certainly indicate her goal is well within reach. She flew Saturday afternoon till late, then was up early Sunday morning before 8:00 am to fly again. Her dad, Royson, has been a wonderful supporter of her flight goal, and was around over the weekend photographing her activity with his professional-sized Canon single lens reflex. Should be some nice photos headed our way so look for them on this site.

5. Richard Rix came back to Avenal today for another round of demo flights. He was here some months ago and really enjoyed his first demo flight. This time he brought his Marine Corps buddy, Paul Azgour, because Paul had never been in a glider before. Paul and I went aloft in the Orange Crush and had a nice long flight with Paul manning the controls in the thermals and doing quite nicely, I might add. After a break, Richard decided to take his demo ride in the Blanik and we waited until Joe Anastasio returned from having a good time aloft. We headed to the West Ridge and released just at the base of the mountains at 2800 msl. Finding not much, we headed back towards the airport and encountered almost nothing all the way back to the field. A few turns in weak lift and very disappointingly entered the pattern for landing. It wasn't what Richard had in mind since his only other demo flight was an hour or more. He hoped that would be the case today, but Mother Nature and his pilot didn't come through. Oh, well. That's the life of a soaring pilot. One minute the lift is great, the next minute it leaves in a hurry.

6. After helping Andy with his annual, Mario assembled his Ventus 2AX and went aloft. Naturally he stayed aloft as long as he wanted both because of his skills and because there was just enough lift in the area to make flying the Ventus nice and easy. A few times he circled around the Orange Crush when Erin and I were flying but not often enough for any close-up photos.

7. Sunday morning after Erin finished her training, Doug Staudmeister arrived to join the Club and begin his training for an add-on rating. Doug works for an aerospace company in Paso Robles and lives in Pismo Beach. He's a transplant from back East working his way through the various levels of management on a fast track to higher executive levels. In the meantime, he's enjoying the challenge and spirit of soaring and will be a good member to have as long as he's out here on the West Coast. Congratulations and welcome aboard, Doug !!