Convector
Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association

On May 29, 1990 Yves Jeanmotte and I, flying an ASH-25, completed the first ever 1,000 Km (621 m) flight flown from Belgium. It was an FAI triangle of 1,041 Km that took us above the Belgian Ardennes, Luxembourg and West Germany flying the second leg all along the Iron Curtain. Unfortunately it did not count for any of us, as the FAI Diploma is for a single pilot.

Since that date I knew I could do it, I just needed to be at the right place at the right time. Minden is certainly such a place, and it would be the place for me!

Ironically, we did the Belgian 1,000 Km during our training prior to the Pre-World Championship that was held in Minden 2 months later.

During the past years I did a few long flights that comforted me about my capacity to endure such a flight alone. I did an 808 Km in 1994 in a Ventus 16.6 m in 9 hours, a 937 Km in 11 hours in a Discus B in 1996, an 866 Km in 8 hours in Minden 2 years ago, and 869 Km along the ridge last year with the LS-8 in 15 meters.

There are basically seven 1,000 Km sites in the world where you can expect to get the correct support and the suitable conditions in such a short period of time as the vacation times. Minden is among those and, as we like the place, we decided to have another attempt after I missed it two years ago. Finally on July 7, 2000, I was at the right place at the right time, but I was not ready! Jim Meiklejohn had offered me his ASW-20 for the week, but it took me the whole morning to get it ready. Then I had to queue up for an hour to get a tow and it was almost 1 PM when I finally took off. I only declared an Out and Return to the farthest TP of my elected 1,000 K. I did these 692 Km in 4h51 minutes, at the amazing speed for me of 142 km/h. 89 mph might not look that fast when you look at some Region 4 North ridge flying days, but you must not forget that for a record flight the altitude loss between the start and the finish may not exceed 1,000 meters and this was not ridge flying! I never got another day like that the following week!

I never got it this year either for my six attempts, but it turned out eventually that I did not need such a day! I kept the same TPs this year, as I thought it was a good compromise for such a flight. I would start from the off-tow position, head Southeast towards an USAF radar station almost at the end of the Inyo Mountain, turn North to Mount Grant, then back South to the Inyos to a Top at 10,668 feet and back towards Minden for a total of 1,092 Km. This would allow me to benefit to the maximum of the combination Whites-Inyos and, if necessary, land before Minden at Hilton Ranch or Yerington, without having to cross the Pine Nuts ridge again. So, every day we would wake up at 6:30, be at the airport at 8 and have the glider ready around 10. Thanks to Christiane we achieved this timing almost everyday, sometimes earlier!

The plan was to take off as soon as we could see a Cu forming on the Pine Nuts, in 18 meters and loaded with 150 liters of water and antifreeze. I would try to achieve a speed above 120 Km/h, but abandon the attempt as soon as it was obvious that it was not the day. Doing it that way, I could rest for the next attempt and we could enjoy the beauty of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding area the rest of the afternoon. Christiane was very supportive and patient with such an ordeal. The weather was generally good but not exceptional, with the exception of two days when we got thunderstorms as early as 11 AM and one blue day.

The problem would come from somewhere else, and we were affected from day one: the Pine Nuts ridge was on fire as well as the hills around Lake Topaz! Usually the Monsoon starts at the beginning of August, but this year the thunderstorms poured on the Sierra as early as the beginning of July. You add to that the fact that spring has been very dry and you get those fires starting with a single lightning strike. These fires may not have been publicized as much as the ones from Colorado, but they were everywhere along the Sierra Nevada. The smoke plumes would run into the wind for hundred miles, generally killing all thermal activity in their shadow. They compromised four of my six attempts, but everyday in a different way.

The first day, I took off a little bit late, did the first and second TPs but was caught by CBs on the way to the last TP. I turned back and succeeded to reach Minden through a lot of virga and the smoke from Lake Topaz: 6 hours for 748 Km, average speed 125 Km/h, not too bad! Among the other attempts, only two were noteworthy.

On July 20, I was running on time, without smoke problem until 2 big cunimbs from the Sierra totally overshadowed the South of the Whites and the Inyos. The southern one would ignite the Kern fire, which had a visible plume of smoke measured at 350 miles on the satellite picture, two days later. I pressed on down to Bishop, but obviously the clouds were dying and I turned back: 914 Km in 7 hours, average 130 Km/h.

On July 24, around 7 AM, coming back from getting fresh French bread (yes, you can find that in Nevada), I saw the first formation above Heavenly. Cumulus or rotor? Too early, but proof of a certain degree of activity and humidity! When breakfast was over, they were still there with a nice looking base. We rushed to the airport and I was able to take off at 9:35 and got a thermal right off tow. It meant I had 11 hours in front of me! What a dream... at that time, Cus were forming everywhere to the east, but I knew already I was getting into trouble again with the fires. A plume of smoke from the Kern fire was well visible East of Mono Lake and Mount Grant. I stayed to the west of the smoke down to Bishop, tried a few times to cross the valley, but for what I could see through the smoke, the cumulus were on the east side of the Whites and at the height of the mountain, if not lower. I finally turned back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Sierra, including Yosemite Valley. I was on the ground at 3:30 PM with 480 Km, hoping for the next and last day.

Of course, there were no clouds at all the next morning, but we went through the same routine. At 10 AM the glider was at the intersection of the runways, ready to go. Doug Donohue, who gently accepted to be my Official Observer for most of these attempts, showed up moments later and at 10:09 we declared the usual flight. I installed my stuff in the glider, got inside and called for the tow. I told Christiane and Doug: "I'm playing roulette now, but I have to go otherwise it will be too late!" The sky was desperately blue, but we took off at 10:38, already an hour later than the day before. The tow was as smooth as it could be towards Mineral Peak, just some little movement reaching 8,000 ft (ground is almost 5,000 ft mean sea level). I went off tow at 8,300, but did not find anything, gained 600 feet where the air had been a little turbulent during the tow, but lost it. At least it gave the time to my computer to calculate a correct wind, which was from the west at 10 Kts. I was at decision altitude! Either turn back to the airfield and the flight was over or jump to the Pine Nuts hoping the ridge was working! Trusting my computed wind, I chose the ridge, just to find me turning back and forth along a little peak for about ten minutes and slowly losing altitude. With 150 liters and the big wings, it was not funny at all. When the altitude started to become critical again, the only safe solution was to head to a little pass south and jump into the valley, east of the Pine Nuts. I was heading that way when I finally got my first thermal. It was already 11:08, but this 4 Kts was my day saver and it climbed me up to 11,000 ft! Now I could analyze the sky, at ease, and opted to follow the Pine Nuts, although it was in the blue.

A few very small cumuli were forming and dissipating in the direction of Hilton Ranch and they were obviously going to be my next stop. I was almost ready to leave the Pine Nuts with only 11,000 when I hit a good 5 to 6 Kts that drove me to a more comfortable 13,000 feet, still in the blue. I only lost 1500 feet to cross the valley and got a good 7 Kts on the other side. From there on, I flew from small Cu to bigger Cu, increasing slowly my average speed and altitude. I reached the Whites at 12:51, which was 10 minutes in advance of my worst planning and with only 81 Km/h average speed showing on my computer. Unlike the day before, the Cus were on top of the mountain around 14,500 feet. Interesting is that once passed east of the top of the mountain, the cloud bases dropped in an abrupt step for 500 to 800 feet. It would be like that all day long. But my concern was not there, as the cloud bases seemed to be working quite well in front of that step! The further south I proceeded, the hazier it became.

Obviously the Kern fire was still alive, but with the western winds, the smoke jumped above the mountains instead of staying in the valley like the previous days. The Whites and the Inyos were not yet well organized as they can be and I had to turn about 10 times along the track to stay as close as possible to the bases and to cross some holes. At the first TP, still under very small Cus, my average had climbed almost to 100 Km/h, but that was still insufficient. The second leg was better, with less turns and became very good north of the White. The Cus were well separated but they produced almost 10 Kts. Mount Grant was in the blue, but it was working well there too, with almost 17,500 ft and my average climbed to 105 Km/h.

The way back south was a rocket with very few turns, only when the lift was above 10 Kts. On the mountains, the clouds had shifted a little bit east but the visibility was getting worse again. Thankfully the bases had gained 1 to 2,000 feet and I completed this leg at 152 Km/h, giving me a total average of 116 Km/h since the start. "That should do it," I thought, when suddenly in the haze north of Schulman Grove, I discovered that all the clouds had left the Whites and were now to the east forming a line of thunderstorms with the bases around 15,000 feet. I hesitated for less than one minute and opted for the security of the clouds, but also for the danger of the lightning and the inhospitality of that valley.

I was now flying a lot slower, but the leading edge of that little front was working well and the visibility was now improving noticeably. To my concern, there were only 3 to 4 clouds left on my way and they were drifting rapidly to the east. I left east of the Whites with less than 16,000 feet and went towards those last clouds. I passed underneath but did not find a lot and left 4 Kts behind me, now heading to Hawthorne airfield. I figured out I had the altitude to turn around the southwest edge of Mount Grant and jumped into the Hilton Ranch valley. I passed the airfield at 7:40 PM with 8,300 feet and pressed to the North to get the maximum kilometers. From my calculation I was OK now, but I did not want to land there, as the only retrieve route was a dirt track that would probably seriously damage the paint of the trailer. I did not have the altitude to reach the next valley so I tried every little thermal I could find for the next 30 minutes, gaining a few hundred feet at a time. The 20 Kts headwind was not helping at all, and the sun was now setting down behind the hill. I gave up trying and headed for the runway when suddenly I hit 6 Kts that turned rapidly to 10-11! Probably a rotor, but that one saved me and my crew from a long retrieve. I left it at almost 10,000 feet and headed directly to Rosachi airfield where I landed at 8:31 PM with 1,061 Km in 9h42 for an average speed of 109 Km/h (68 mph). Almost 11 Km/h slower than the planned speed, but sufficient. Doug and Christiane arrived an hour and a half later with smiles as big as mine.

I checked my logbook and noticed this was the 13th time I had declared the 1,000 K from Minden. Of course luck plays a part, but the preparation and the training are certainly more important. All those flights helped me discover the particularities of the region and got me ready to do it a day few people thought it was possible, including myself and the forecaster. It would also not have been possible without the support of a bunch of people who stayed on the ground. Tony and his team from Soar Minden, Michael J. Moore, the tow pilot who drove everyday up to Mineral Peak, Jim Meiklejohn for my previous series of attempts on his 20, Tom and his team from High Country Soaring, Ludmilla and Doug, and specially Christiane for the hours she spent everyday supporting me and polishing our LS-8. Those Sierra fires had been so frustrating everyday, but I finally overcame them the last day. I pray to the Lord that they will be defeated on the ground too!

[Baude included a delightful drawing of his 1000 km flight - webmaster]

Well the season is mostly behind us. The days are getting shorter and the cold weather will be upon us shortly. This hasn't been the best season for M-ASA. Flight activity is down quite a bit this year. The following graphic shows the mix of flights. On the up side though, this time last year we were not sure if we would even have a season this year.

The Grob 103 Twin Astir is back on the line at Fairfield. Everyone I have spoken to says it flies nicely. Many however have noticed that the old bird added a little girth in her middle. There is a definite bulge where the repair was done. This is unfortunate since I expected better quality and workmanship going to the factory shop. Besides the cosmetic issue we also found a mechanical oversight. It was easy to fix but never should have been missed. Making matters worse, a number of our pilots missed the discrepancy indicating that our preflight inspections and positive control checks leave a bit to be desired. The problem appeared as the rudder hit the elevator when deployed to the left. The misalignment was substantial and if you lifted the elevator then moved the rudder you could then lay the elevator on the rudder. The troublesome part is that many flights were done before anyone noticed this. Every M-ASA member needs to do a little soul searching on this one and consider if they would have noticed it during a walk around or control check. The culprit was a bent control stop in the cockpit (now fixed).

The Twin Astir is also now on the line and available. Many of the instructors were able to take advantage of the checkout period and can now perform checkouts. We have changed the checkout process from the past. Now there is a handy booklet that all interested pilots are welcome to. It is filled with flight manual data and important bits of information concerning that glider. Before you fly the glider you will complete a short test about the aircraft. All the answers are contained in the booklet. The test will be corrected to 100% with your instructor but since we have made all the answers relatively easy to locate it is expected you should do well. A raw score below 85% will earn you the opportunity to try again on another day. The back side of the test has a checkout checklist on it that your instructor will use. Those items with the asterisk (*) must be done. The others are fair game to demonstrate or discuss. The most important thing to remember if you want to complete the checkout is to bring your logbook. Our insurance stipulates that you must have a logbook endorsement certifying you have been checked out in the club glider. Eventually we will produce booklets for all the club gliders. Please give me feedback on the checkout program if you have ideas to improve it.

Now for the repetitive part. It seems that every month I am writing about the need for volunteers. This month is no different. As a matter of fact, it is time to ratchet it up a few notches. First I ask, "What have you done for your club lately?" Right now we are in need of folks to step up and take on jobs to make this club operate. Mike Higgins will be leaving the treasurer position after this year. Gene Wilburn would like to have someone take over the Frederick Field Safety position; all but one of our glider god fathers owns his own glider. There are countless jobs that need to be done. We just went through a scramble when Ed Fry left the area to find a replacement Convector Editor. Thankfully Carlos Reyes was willing to step up and take the job on. This is his first issue so please thank him and help him produce a quality newsletter.

I am getting very long winded here and Carlos will be less than happy with me since I will not just be over budget but I am late as well. A final thought then I want to close on a positive note. The general meeting in October might prove to be worth attending. We have been working on some new ideas for Convector, the web site and the implementation of a member mentoring program. I would like as many people as available to attend so we can discuss these and demonstrate what we have so far. We can also take some time to review the aircraft checkout process.

I wanted to end on a very positive note. Gordon Heidelbach has been associated with M-ASA since the club flew out of Westminster. He has held a number of key positions and served the club every chance he could. In recognition of Gordon's contributions through the decades, the M-ASA Board of Directors has presented Gordon with Honorary Membership status. This small token of our appreciation does not compare with the years of service and dedication Gordon has given us. Thanks Gordon from all of us.

Though the lineup at the top is pretty much the same, back in the pack, some things have been happening. Jonathan Gere (34) still holds first place with 9608 points. Close behind him at 9369 points is Val Brain (13). Dogging him is Michael Higgins (X6) with 8116 points. Back in the pack, Bill Savory (9) holds his fourth place position. Other regulars this month are Baude Litt (LBL) and John Hearn (T1).

David Pixton (9X) and George Green (5) return to the racing scene for a task this month and Chris O'Callaghan (OC) stirs up some action, winning 3 for 3 of the tasks he's flown this month (4 out of 4 for the tasks he's flown this year). CL flies again this month, this time as Rick Fuller, and Danny Brotto (P6) enters the racing arena.

Stay tuned to see how the racers will do next month!

First solos:

• Steve Shelton - September 2
• Mehrdat Bayat - September 7

Badges:

• Paul Rehm - Gold Badge 2354
• Harry Bates - Diamond altitude

New Members:

• John E. Lovell
• Scott Myers
• Nathan C. (Nate) Butler

You may not be able to count on the weather, but you can count on M-ASA folk to volunteer to make things happen, and so it was for the September Ten-Day Weekend at Frederick. Dee Torgerson signed up to tow both Fridays, and showed up both days although weather decreed it would be Not To Fly on 8/30. Saturday August 31 made up for that in spite of cloudy skies - two new members joined and we had 21 flights - all in 2-33s. Sunday - another washout; but Monday another busy day with a lot of K7 flights and the beginning of instructors' check flights in our new Twin Astir. Bob Andrew had signed up to tow for Tuesday - four flights in unpromising weather. Ray Scarpulla signed up to help tow several days as needed. Carlos Reyes was OD on Wed., and Bob Jackson - new to Ten-Day events - volunteered to tow both Wed. & Thur. with Thur. being the busier and most promising day with a number of pilots trailering in from Fairfield to set a task which most abandoned after experiencing weak conditions. Most, but not all: when asked "Where did you go?" - Cathy Williams simply said, "to the turnpoint." - and yes, she did make it back. Thanks to Cathy for engineering the two impromptu cookouts: one Thur. - steak; & one Fri. - hamburgers, also ice cream, both stashed in the freezer from the big July Ten-Day. ...Seems like if the weather interferes with flying, we can turn to feasting and still have fun.

Send articles, news, soaring achievements, ratings or badge legs earned, other significant flights, classifieds, other info the membership will find interesting.

Deadline: 20th of each month

Saturday, October 12

Sunday, October 13

Monday, October 14

Saturday Pot Luck Dinner

Food item contribution by last initial:

A - C Appetizer/Drinks

D - L Main Dish

M - T Side Dish

U - Z Dessert

You don't have to follow this if you want to bring something else. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Fairfield clubroom. Email gigi_gere@yahoo.com if you don't usually fly from Fairfield but plan to attend, or just show up with food!

Dave Schober and I have been making plans to take a 2-33 and my K-7 up to Harris Hill for their Thanksgiving Day weekend Snowbird event. There's a spot landing and duration contest, along with a banquet at the museum. It would be great to get a M-ASA armada up there with our 50 year banner. Please let Dave or me know of your interest, there's some help needed in preparing the trailers.

More info: www.harrishillsoaring.org/snowbird.htm

410-627-1379

petez5@earthlink.net

The M-ASA Annual Award ("Campbell Award") is presented annually - based on the calendar year - to a member of M-ASA who has materially advanced the welfare of the club, its operation, or its maintenance of facilities. Previous years' activities may be considered.

Nominations must be made in writing (or e-mail) to the Secretary, Bill Whelan, not later than November 1. Nominations must accurately cite the specific reasons for the choice made. It is customary to not nominate previous recipients. The name of the recipient will be kept secret until the annual awards banquet in January.

[Please see the October 2001 Convector for additional details. - Editor]

	Frederick			Fairfield
Day	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD
05	Steve Silverman	Robert Robins	Andrew Meston	Claude Blanchi	Max Ullmann
06	Baude Litt	Jane Robens		Mehrdad Bayat	Mike Smith
12	Steve Kinsley	Poul Hansen		Luis Fernandez Howard Grundland	Keith Newins Jim Trygg
13	Maurice Deland	Tom Judkins		Gyorgy Fekete Pete Zawadzki	Chuck Forrester Phil Burgess
14	Bruce Andrews	Ray Scarpulla		Wilmar Sick	John Hearn
19	Gary Miller	Craig Moen		Michael Hearn	Bob Jackson	Karanja Patterson
20	William J Judge	Dee Torgerson		Chris O'Callaghan	Buddy Denham	Mansoor Ahmed
26	Andy McCarter	David Schober		Gigi Gere	Jim Chick
27	Dennis Petersen	Hans Jorgensen		John Mitchell	George Green

	Frederick			Fairfield
Day	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD
02	Mario Piccagli	Ray Scarpulla	Gerald McFadden	Phil Scheel	Bill Savory	Andrew Haddow
03	Joe Birkenstock	Jan Steenblik		Arlie Long Jr	Mike Grinder	Mark Carlisle
09	Richard Wallis	Scott Petrasek		Roger Thompson	David Pixton
10	George Constantin	Bob Andrew		Robert Critchlow	Pete Welles
11	Harry Bates	Lance Nuckolls		Chris Scarlett	Don Robb
16	Bill Kerns	Sam Harry		Leslie Bell	Rich Horigan
17	Peter English	Jane Robens		Andrew Dessler	Mike Smith
23	John Thornhill	Bob Ball	Zachary Thornhill	Robert Dutilly	Max Ullmann	Andrew Meston
24	Roger Andes	Robert Robins		Gary Goldberg	Jim Trygg

M-ASA Duty Notes: Members assigned to operations duty must be on site in enough time to start operations by 10:00AM and stay at the field until operations are concluded. Each person listed on the duty roster is responsible for that day's assignment. In the case of "no-shows," the person acting as OD should indicate this fact on the flight sheet. "No-shows" will be fined $100.00. M-ASA's training process requires all new members to serve as Apprentice OD (AOD) at both M-ASA operating locations. This is to familiarize new members with the operating practices at each field. Any member who joined the previous year and who was not scheduled for AOD duty at each field, will be scheduled for AOD duty at each field in the current year. Note that AOD scheduling is done independently of duty preference information submitted on the member's duty preference form. After the AOD cycles have been completed every effort will be made to accommodate the new member's stated duty preference whenever possible. M-ASA Scheduler: Ray Watson 410-484-0333.