HIGHLIGHTS:
 

1. It was a beautiful day for soaring. Lift easily topped 10 knots at various times, but it could be found everywhere. So it was easy to take demo rides, of which we had four and could have had six had there been enough time to take them all. Cloud markers made it easy to find the lift, but once in awhile the lift wasn't in the same spot five minutes later. Most of the time, it was where we expected it to be and everyone aloft had great fun.

2. Andrea Mersino and I arrived early at Avenal and since it had been some time since she flew, we took a refresher flight. Her skills hadn't deteriorated so off she went solo for a nice flight. Now all we have to do is get her studying for the written exam and a Pilot's license will be hers soon.

3. Morgan Hall and Julie Butler arrived at noon so Morgan launched in the 1-26 for a one plus hour flight during which he reached 6200 msl. He came down only because someone else had the glider scheduled next. Morgan is doing well on his progress towards a glider license. Keep going, Morgan!!

4. Julie Butler is also doing quite well. Her skills are improving rapidly and today marks a time when we can see her solo flight just ahead. She thermalled up to 5300 msl and worked good strong lift all the way. There was no use going any higher since we needed to begin work on her solo patterns. So, reluctantly we opened the dive brakes and headed down. I think we easily could have topped 7000 msl because we were still in 4.5 knot lift when we exited the last thermal.

5. Mario and Jerry Badal flew together today. Mario launched early and headed for the mountains. Jerry launched later, and joined him there. At the beginning of the flight, Jerry said he needed to be down by 4:30 pm so both agreed to end the flight in time. Mario landed at just about 4:30 pm and Jerry was nowhere in sight. By about 5:30 pm we decided to launch a search and rescue mission. One of our tows took us far northwest, then back southeast along the West Ridge, all the while looking for a downed glider. We just knew for sure Jerry had landed out since he never would have missed an important date with his wife. The end of the story is that he finally landed back at Avenal and I guess the official reason is that he got caught in a strong thermal and couldn't get out of it for an hour past the time when he should have been on the ground. That happens sometimes so I hope his wife wasn't too angry since Mother Nature intervened to keep Jerry from his important date. What else could he do?

6. Paul Hanson flew his SZD-59 today. Not sure where he went or how long he was aloft but with the lift everywhere he could have had a great flight.

7. Carl Kunz landed his Cessna 170 about noon just in time to help Jerry Badal launch. He also was present when our four demo riders arrived. In fact, Carl knew Ed Thornhill from the past and so it was a reunion of sorts.

8. Ed Thornhill, Margaret, Eva, and Caitlin all came out for a glider ride. Ed was the Air Force Office who interviewed Hanna Marlette during her evaluation days prior to her being accepted into the Air Force Academy. So Ed decided to surprise his girlfriend, Margaret, and the girls, Eva, and Caitlin. I took both young girls up for a nice ride. Eva loved every minute of the long flight we had. And Caitlin really enjoyed it as well, although the flight wasn't as long as Eva's. Then I suggested that Carl take Ed Thornhill up for his glider ride and off they went. After a nice ride, they landed and Margaret was next. We headed to where Loyal said there was really strong lift, and he was right. We got off in 10 knots of lift, and headed up towards 7000 msl. It took only a few minutes to get there but it was definitely cold at that altitude. Instead of climbing any higher we decided to tour the area and finally after a really long demo flight we landed. It was fun for everyone.

9. Richard Walker launched ahead of Margaret and me so he was in the air when we left the strong thermal and decided to tour the area. That gave me a chance to photograph Richard and his Schweizer 1-35 and the photos came out very nice, as you can see on this page.

10. Daniel Solis was ever so patient waiting to fly. Because of the fill-in of the demo flights, it pushed Daniel's lessons back over an hour. He sure was nice about waiting for his turn. Just one more reason why we need another 2-33 in our fleet. Daniel is doing well, improving his stick and rudder coordination, and moving well toward his solo flights. I expect to see him soloing in the next couple of weeks, or sooner. One unknown is how long it will take for the Orange Crush to have its annual inspection accomplished. But otherwise, Daniel flies well, and seems to really enjoy the training.

11. Butch and Shirley Wright showed up today hoping to take a demo ride. We asked them to wait around and hopefully we'd find time to take them up. But the day was filled with flying both scheduled and otherwise so by late afternoon it appeared they wouldn't be able to wait any longer. Fortunately they agreed to come back on November 1 for their long-awaited flight.

12. At the end of the day, Andrea wondered if it was too late to fly. Although the sun was nearing the top of the West Ridge, it would be light enough for at least a half hour flight. So she launched and probably was up for nearly that long. She knows how to thermal when the lift is there. You may have noticed her beautiful smile because just awhile ago she had her braces taken out and she sure does look great without them.