1. Bart Klusek is a working machine. Not only does he drive down to Avenal from Davis, CA, but he stays the weekend and works constantly. Some of our members help him with the task of removing the paint and preparing the 1-26 for new paint. Members like John Harbick, Pancho Herrera, Mike Paoli, Joe Anastasio, Richard Walker and others have contributed varying amounts of their time to this nasty project. I say nasty because the paint and primer don't come off easily (hard scrubbing is the only way) but the smell of the acetone, alcohol, etc makes one fly higher than if they were aloft in a booming thermal. I know it will be a spectacular finish when it's all done but getting there is one of the tougher projects we've had here lately.

By now, nearly all the paint and primer are off except for around all the rivets and that has to come off as well. And have you counted the rivets on a 1-26 lately? Too many to think about and too many for one person to attempt to clean. So, please, any of you out there reading this, whether club member of not, volunteer your time on the coming weekends. We have lots more work to do before the project is completed.  If you have any of these talents, your participation would be enormously appreciated.

We also are taking submissions for the new paint scheme we plan for the 1-26. If you are artistically inclined or just happen to have a scheme in mind, perhaps you saw another glider painted the way you like, send in your ideas to Bart Klusek or Morgan Hall and we'll consider your idea. We'll give you credit for your idea if we adopt it for the glider. Join in and have fun watching and working on this important CCSC project.

2. The headline might be a bit misleading. We still have the tow plane but it is in Fresno for its annual inspection. This turned out to be a fortuitous time because of the recent rains, the condition of the runway, and in mid-winter the flight schedule is very light. We expect to see it back on line quite soon.