Convector
Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association

We all have aspirations, some more long-range and lofty than others. They are all over the gamut: distinguished careers, artistic triumphs, wealth, satisfaction with our work, brilliant successful children, etc. Of course there is the all-important short-term objective of getting through the week sane and in good enough health to go glider flying on the weekend.

I have tested your patience in previous writings about my many failed attempts to simply fly a 300 kilometer goal flight. Well, when the season drew towards a close I scaled down my goals so as to not make too much of a pest of myself with the many farmers and airport managers I have come to know over the years. I set aside my well worn set of F.A.I. rules and devised a task of my own and kept it more or less to myself. Well, the few people I told either laughed out loud or turned away shaking their heads.

"Hmmm. I guess we all can't be trend-setters or pioneers."

I made preparations and purchased some new equipment at Al's Magic Shoppe in Washington and stowed it in the glider and waited for the kind of weather I needed.

On Nov. 5th I assembled my PIK 20 and rolled it out to the takeoff line at Frederick. The wind was 18 to 22 mph from the Northwest. Paul Rehm, a 1-35 pusher who has been out-climbing me fairly consistently in the mostly light thermals we have suffered thru this season, said "Jim, I think this is definitely a PIKee day."

I knew he was right and I knew I was ready. I took off, released at 2500 feet, climbed briefly but quickly to 4000 feet and headed West... "a man with a mission." I had forgotten to look jut-jawed determined and squinty- eyed on the ground but decided to fly that way once off tow. Only God was looking, but He must have been amused. I hit wave immediately on turning West. I pushed the nose down; I accelerated and climbed anyhow. My "into the wind" ground speed stayed at about 80 mph. Soon I was at 7000 feet and facing a cloud bank ahead. I did about three circles and went over the top. The lift would abate after awhile and then come back again.

Soon I was at 8900 feet and had my objective made. I got on the radio and warned them of my intentions. I made ready my new equipment, formatted it for the "eject mode" using a complex manual compression algorithm and... thrust the rubber chicken out the window! It had all gone like clockwork up to now with the "in your face" challenge written on the chicken to Skyline Soaring to return the chicken by glider, and the fast flight there.

But then..., "SPLAT" the ugly thing clung to the leading edge of my wing, just out of my reach! The reluctant rooster was irretrievable! There was nothing for it but to try a stall, "Nope, still there", a steeper stall, "Nope", a slip, "Nope", a spin entry "Hey its gone!"

"Oops, where did it go?"

I notified Joe Parrish, the president of Skyline Soaring- who was aloft in 3 Yankee- by radio that he had been "bombed," and the nature of the bombing. He loved the idea and promised to look for the chicken. I told him it was unlikely that it hit the airport. He liked the idea enough that he asked that if he didn't find it, could I supply another chicken so they could return it? He offered reimbursement. I agreed.

Then I turned for home with my spirits considerably dampened by the clownish display I had just performed and the resultant great loss of altitude. The wind had shifted more to the North and the thermals were weaker and fewer. I finally dropped down to the ridge and soared that to just short of Harpers Ferry and climbed away at a gap and returned to Frederick.

So now, there is a chicken impatiently awaiting a ride at Skyline Soaring, and it is destined to arrive at either Frederick or Fairfield on a good soaring day. It is designed to be a good motivation for someone who is getting into cross-country soaring. However, if the ugly thing hangs on the bulletin board so long that it annoys the more experienced cross-country pilots, I wouldn't blame them for snatching it off the wall and flying it to Front Royal. I do think that we should have a self-imposed rule that an individual only gets to return it once. It has also been agreed that there should be no further dropping of the chicken. Landing is preferred to prevent "chicken loss" and other events your fertile imaginations will have no trouble conceiving. We can offer Skyline pilots a relaunch, but not a tow-back. We are waiting to see if Skyline Soaring can also offer a relaunch without a pilot having to become a temporary member.

J.F.

Elizabeth Judkins has decided that after four full years as the club treasurer it is time for another M-ASA member to have the joy of serving the club as its chief financial officer. At the end of the current fiscal year (on about March 1st, 2001) she will retire from her current position with the club. The treasurer's position is one of the most important to the club's well-being and requires the most amount of ongoing effort and attention. If you are interested in serving the club in the role of club treasurer, call Elizabeth Judkins and discuss the position with her. Candidates need to have knowledge of accounting practices and must have a PC capable of running the Quickbooks software. After talking with Elizabeth to get a feel for the position, let the club President know of your interest.

All of the club gliders have completed their annual inspections and are ready for the 2001 soaring season (which is just two months away). The Frederick Pawnee has also completed its annual inspection. The Cub is in the process of having its inspection performed and will be back in mid-January so that the Fairfield Pawnee can go for its annual inspection. It is expected that all club aircraft will be ready for the start of the 2001 soaring season. Aircraft godfathers should make a point of checking over their assigned aircraft prior to the end of February to make sure that any last minute items can be dealt with prior to the start of the new season. I would like to thank all of the godfathers for helping to get the aircraft ready for their inspections.

We have examined the options as they relate to the lead contamination at the airport. We have decided to proceed with modifications to the property's deed to meet the requirements of the Pennsylvania state Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP). The specific wording is currently being developed, but there will be words to the effect that no residential development will be allowed on the property between the south trailer hangar and the main hangar. This should not preclude the development of the area for commercial purposes, such as a hangar or a new clubroom facility if the club decides to pursue these at some point in the future.

The Soaring safety Foundation now has a tow pilot course online. This course provides guidance on towing safety and information all tow pilots should know. It can be accessed through the SSA Web Site. Just click on the Safety Foundation link on the left side of the SSA Home Page, then click on the distance learning link on the left side of the Soaring Safety Foundation Web Page to go to the course selection page. There you can select the tow pilot course or other courses when they become available. The SSA and the Soaring Safety Foundation have increased their outreach activities over the last year. to the soaring community to educate and inform everyone interested in soaring on safety and airworthiness issues.

It appears that every year or two we have a problem with batteries in the tow planes. This is better than a few years ago when we seem to have at least one battery failure every winter. However, the battery failure generally seems to be due to a lack of keeping the battery fluid at the proper levels. To help deal with this, a turkey baster has been placed at each operating location to make it easier to add water to the tow plane battery. These have been labeled and should be used only to add distilled water to the aircraft batteries. Care should be taken to avoid overfilling the batteries, as this can lead to significant corrosion of the battery box and/or aircraft structure around the battery box. The tow plane godfathers should take the time to check the fluid level in their respective tow plane every two to three months to make sure the battery fluid is kept at the appropriate level.

There have been some minor changes to the operations flight sheet. On the front of the flight sheet a column for noting flights by the CAP glider was added (for use at Frederick). On the back of the flight sheet several items have been removed and a place for capturing aero-retrieve information was added. These new flight sheets will be placed into service at the beginning of the new soaring season. The items deleted are the tow plane information data since this is already entered by the tow pilot in the tow plane logbook. The information on aero-retrieves was added to allow the club treasurer to reconcile checks when aero-retrieves are performed.

The 2001 rotation schedule for the club Grob during the 2001 soaring season is provided below. The glider should be moved on the dates stated below at the end of normal operations. If it can not be moved on that date at the end of operations it should be moved the very first thing the next normal operating day. Every effort should be made to facilitate this transfer without disruption of the normal operations, if at all possible. The Grob will remain at Frederick until March 11, 2001 when it will be moved to Fairfield.

• 3/11/01 - 6/10/01 Fairfield
• 6/10/01 - 9/09/01 Frederick
• 9/09/01 - 11/11/01 Fairfield
• 11/11/01 - 3/10/02 Frederick

T.J.

Dennis Petersen

If you've earned a badge or badge leg be sure to alert the Convector Editor and let all your friends in M-ASA know too!

This is a reminder that the deadline to submit flights for consideration of the annual Green Trophy is 12/31/00. Contact George Green by e-mail (gdagreen@yahoo.com) or snail mail if you think you may have a qualifying flight. (See last month's Convector for more information on the Green Trophy)

Ed.

M-ASA's annual banquet is almost here. If you plan to attend and you haven't already sent in your reservation form, you need to contact Phil Burgess ASAP. Details: Jan. 6, 2001; Ceresville Mansion; Fdk, Md. Cash bar opening @ 7PM w/dinner served @ 8PM. (See last month's Convector for more info.)

Ed.

Nominations for M-ASA directors are due between Feb. 2 and Feb 16 by mail or e-mail, or verbally at the Feb. meeting. The by-laws specify the nomination window and also that nominations will be made only to the president (Tom Judkins), the Vice President (Jim Trygg), the treasurer (Elizabeth Judkins), or the secretary (Bill Whelan). Prior permission must be obtained from the nominee. The secretary will mail secret preferential ballots to all full members; however any vote returned by a member who has not paid dues will not be opened. Ballots will be counted at the March meeting; newly elected directors will be announced; and then members will elect a President from among the five directors.

WJW

Time keeps rolling along. M-ASA is about to start a new year of flying. Although it's not yet New Year's Day, plans for the coming year are underway. Everyone should have received a Duty Preference Form. "Thanks" to all who have already replied. Everyone else needs to complete it and send it in.

February's Convector will be published the last week of January. The March schedule requires 14 OD's and 14 Tow Pilots. So your preference form input is needed to prepare this schedule.

It is most important that we have your duty day preferences if you cannot serve on a Saturday, Sunday or Holiday. If so you must submit an application for duty exemption.. If you don't know these schedule details now, this information can be updated at any time by e-mail, phone, or fax to the scheduler. Please be aware that the leadtime for the schedule in the summer is three and one half months. Changes or additions should be sent as early as possible as the rules are that once the schedule is published it is the member's responsibility to obtain a substitute.

The Federal Holidays on which flying will be scheduled are May 28, July 4, Sept 3, Oct 8 and Nov 12.

R.W.

We are still losing books at a great rate from our FDK library. How best to cope with this isn't clear. I hate to think that we may need to keep books under lock & key. I've even put up a sign that says to see me (the person who started the library) before borrowing any meterials from the library. This hasn't helped as books are still disappearing and no one as yet has come to me to borrow a book (except one member hunting a missing book). The books that seem to go quickest are ones like Stick & Rudder (we had two copies) that students need to read & we really need in our library.

V.C.

Folks, it's OUR resource. Let's work with Vern and use it properly.

-Ed.

With safety in mind, I'd like to address some items noted from my recent round of club glider inspections. As we all know, a preflight of any aircraft is the first step to a successful and safe flight, but there are some additional items we should observe while checking control continuity, etc. One is "Cleanliness." A regular cleaning affords us the opportunity to observe the unusual. Whether it's missing hardware, a fluid leak, or a fuselage belly full of pocket change, grass clippings, and ball-point pens, we can quickly identify and correct those things which crop up from use. Inspections only happen once a year. It's the godfather's and Member's responsibilities to quickly rectify cleanliness issues so that little contributing factors don't set the stage for a bigger, potentially disasterous event.

A.D.B.

		3/26	4/16	4/29	4/30	5/6	5/14	7/1	7/2	7/8	7/22	8/5	8/12	8/19	8/26	9/4	9/9	9/10	10/8	10/9	Best	Tasks
		2.5 hr PST	2 hr PST	AST	3 hr MAT	3 hr PST	3 hr PST	3 hr PST	AST	AST	AST	AST	2.5 hr PST	3 hr PST	2.5 hr PST	AST	2 hr PST	AST	2 hr MAT	3 hr MAT	9	Finished
Gere	34		1000	1000	999		1000				1000	1000	1000			1000	DNF	1000	609	DNF	8999	10
Brain	13	731	678	915	662		943	1000	727	?	DNF	811	729		1000	605	578	692	887	707	7743	15
J. Hearn	T1								723	882		809	621		725	742	897	797		958	7154	9
O'Callaghan	OC	1000		DNF	613	DNF			1000		DNF	854	831	1000				938	597	?	6833	8
Litt	IT		884		1000	1000	963					DNF		743			1000			DNF	5590	6
Banks	1XX		702	796		500	630			921		DNF		761	843	DNF				DNF	5153	7
Pixton	9X							795	860				804				818	933	675	DNF	4885	6
Savory	9							905	836	DNF			743	DNF	976				DNF	936	4396	5
Larsen	CL			916	852		DNF							886				676	1000	DNF	4330	5
Smith	XM				613					1000		870	868								3351	4
Zawadzki	ZP					DNF	DNF	647	778		DNF	DNF								1000	2425	3
Carlson	N8							748					681								1429	2
Jackson	RJ	987																			987	1
Green	5																		868		868	1
Denham	5BD															DNF		833			833	1
M. Hearn	T1													673							673	1

January 2001 (Copyright 2001 M-ASA. All Rights Reserved) Volume 50 Number 1