Convector
Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association

Well, March is here, the season has started, but between the precipitation (rain and snow) and the TFR, we haven't done any task flying. Rather than tell Carlos (again!) that this month I have nothing to contribute, I decided to write about a topic I know at least a little something about - club ship flying. Yes, those of you who wanted to try flying a different club glider last year, but never got around to it, I'm talking to you. So listen up!

Have you made your new soaring year resolutions yet? You haven't?! Well, what are you waiting for? The season has already started, and there are sailplanes to fly, places to go... As if that weren't enough, the rules have just been revised so you can take club ships cross-country (have I enticed you yet?).

Every year, most of us make up a new year's resolution or two... or three... This year, I'd like to encourage those of you who have just not gotten yourself out of the 2-33 or who want to try some of the other "flavors" of gliders the club has to go for it. So grab an instructor and let's go play!

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed are the author's own and are not representative of the opinions of other club members. Sorry, had to do that. Besides, if you have any stories about flying in these ships, feel free to publish them - Carlos told me he was hurting for material on this issue - I'm sure he'd be most happy to have backup in case he runs short again. [thanks Sarah! - Editor]

Schleicher ASK-13: Slightly better performance than the 2-33 (though I heard it flies funny), this wood and fabric two-seater does terrific on weak thermal days. Of course, for windy, turbulent days, you'll probably want to pass on this one, but it's perfect for those calm, warm days of summer when the whole sky is going up (don't we wish it were like that now?).

The seats are more reclined than the 2-33, and those of us who are... uh... vertically challenged might need to play with a few cushions before we can see over the instrument panel, but it's a good change of pace. A plus with this ship is that an instructor can come with you on your first flight. Be sure he or she briefs you on weight and balance and other issues related to flying a different ship - remember, you're not jumping into the 2-33!

Grob 103: With better performance than the ASK-13, this fiberglass ship can make anyone used to flying in the 2-33 feel that that they can fly with the task day pilots. It's a heavy glider, but it is also probably the first T-tail you will fly. Great glider, highly recommended for taking up passengers. Once again, you can bring an instructor along - and, once again, make sure you have him or her brief you on what's different in this airplane - not to mention the retractable gear for those who fly at Frederick.

Schleicher ASK-8: Since this is the single seat version of the ASK-13, your instructor will probably fly with you for a while in the ASK-13 before signing you off in this glider. One thing you'll notice after your transition is probably something you noticed when you soloed: the glider is significantly lighter! You might do your silver distance while in this glider. If you do, try flying downwind, and getting towed back or putting the glider away and trailering back. The glider is very light (wood and fabric design), and is very subject to the whims of the wind.

Pilatus B-4: My other baby (sorry for the bias - I loved this glider and the K-8 while I was flying club ships). An aerobatic glider without a two seater counterpart (I don't think), you want to be extremely careful before you transition to this one. With an L/D approaching that of a high performance sailplane, this glider is one awesome ship (I've logged my longest flight in her), though she's a little sensitive in pitch.

Well, that's all I've got. Glenn's got these real great manuals on the individual ships that go into more detail than I've written here, plus they give important and helpful information that I haven't covered. I'd encourage you to read them (I believe it's mandatory before you fly in the ship, so I strongly encourage you to read the manuals), since what I've written is just from my own experience. Also don't forget you have to take a written test on the glider before you fly it - but don't be scared, the flights are well worth it.

Also, while I'm in disclaimer land, these are only the ships I've flown and the experiences I've had. Again, anyone who has flown other ships in Frederick and who have things to add (or correct) to this summary, I'd encourage you to write. So make up your new soaring years resolutions. I'll help you get started. 1) Get out of the 2-33 and go fly a little! ?

I think it is safe to say, the 2003 season has begun. M-ASA has managed to hold operations at both Fairfield and Frederick. Those lucky enough to have made it out sound like they have had a lot of fun. As always, I cannot stress enough the need for every one of us to look out for each other. This spring is the first time in many years where most of us have not flown at least some during the winter months. We are all going to be rusty. We must watch for this and make sure the proper checks are performed and we don't rush our procedures. One of the best benefits of a club operation is the availability of friends ready and willing to help.

As much as I would have preferred to fly, I managed to spend the past weekend attending a regional seminar looking for various approaches to improve certain aspects of our club's operation and to make the sport grow. Hans Jorgensen joined me on a trek to Tom Knauff's place where we spent the weekend with 10 other soaring operations looking at how we all operate and sharing ideas. Lots of good ideas exist and I personally see no reason to reinvent the wheel. Hans and I will compare notes and we will prepare a review for the April General Meeting.

Speaking of the General Meeting, I would really appreciate everyone's involvement in these sessions. Over the past two years, we have bounced around a number of good ideas to improve attendance at these meetings. But we have never seemed to find someone to take on the initiative to organize and make sure it happens. Instead it seems only a good controversy can turn out a crowd. The next General Meeting will be April 11. The meeting will start at 8 PM in the Frederick clubhouse. The primary topic will be airport operational safety. Specifically we will discuss the merits of contest finishes. We now have the requisite controversy so I expect a good turnout. The Board of Directors has collected some research on this topic and will present our views and want to hear those of anyone else concerned. I also hope to have a solution on the TFR but I am sure everyone is getting tired of hearing me say that.

I want to thank everyone for pitching in and helping when needed. This past weekend we dodged a potentially disastrous bullet when a section of the Frederick hangar roof was found to have failed under the heavy snow load it had been subjected to. I believe all the members present that day joined the effort to replace the structural pieces. The hangar is now repaired but we all need to look at all of our facilities and watch for any unknown damage. Bill Whelan has assembled a summary article highlighting some of the more recent facilities projects and thanking those who have made the effort to help.

In closing I want to thank Mike Higgins for two outstanding years as treasurer. Mike has put in a lot of time tracking items down and keeping the books. Most in the club don't see the work which goes on behind the scenes. I encourage everyone to thank Mike and also take time to encourage Hans as he transitions into the treasurer role.

Glenn

This is a follow-up to the pitch I made at the Annual Safety Meeting about the new Accident / Incident Response Book available at each clubhouse. When you take the helm as OD or AOD, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the contents of the red binder. It contains all the helpful tips, references, forms, phone numbers, even radio frequencies that the OD might ever need to be M-ASA's "first responder" to an accident, incident or overdue glider. Need to talk to the Secret Service? Yup, their phone number is included.

The ideas we culled from the Blue Ridge Soaring Society, Skyline Soaring Club and our own Grob-103 accident last summer are a collection of thoughts that we believe pertain to almost any event we might experience. Under the stress of reacting to an accident, you'll find it important to delegate a number of actions spelled out in the book. Hopefully, it will reduce the time spent hunting for things like phoning numbers in the clubhouse, expediting your reaction time. Use it as a guide; you'll see it's not a strict step-by-step checklist since every situation will be unique.

I've included forms for witness and crewmember statements, necessary for any club or NTSB investigation. It also includes sheets to provide club member feedback on the contents. With your new ideas, I plan to keep this a living useful reference for the OD and any member who might help as a M-ASA first responder. Please take a free minute to review it.

That said, I hope we never have to use it.

We all enjoy the flying. But lots of work is required behind the scenes to keep the roof over our heads and things from falling to rack and ruin. This little note is to acknowledge the very important and necessary work of some people over the last several months on our facilities. Since we all benefit, we all should regularly really pitch in. Please touch base with Fairfield Facilities Manager George Burns to see how you can help keep our costs of flying down. And feel free to do the same to Bill Judge, the new facilities manager at Frederick (gburns51@comcast.net, wjjudge@hotmail.com).

Now to acknowledge the work. Weather glazing over the windows at FFD. Project leaders were George Burns and Jim Trygg. Gordon Heidelbach, Bob Andrew, John Hearn, Michael Hearn, and Tom Jones also helped with the FFD windows. For working with and lining up contractors for roofing and tree removal at FFD - Jim Trygg. Gordon Heidelbach helped with the clubhouse roof, tree removal, plus he arranged to have a dumpster garbage pickup service located adjacent to the clubhouse which will start in a couple of weeks. For working with the PA DOT so we could meet our regulatory obligations as airport owner of FFD - Jim Trygg. Developing options and planning for power to the Gazebo, Jim T., George B., Gordon H. and Jean Posbic. George Burns replaced a broken door cable in the tow plane hangar at FFD and got it adjusted. When we get the roofing under control we need volunteers to replace ceiling tiles. There is painting and other work needing attention too. Please touch base with George or Jim about other work items on the "punch out list." To Glenn Collins, Jim T, and Judy Whelan for successfully closing out and ending the multiyear underground storage tank removal campaign at FFD.

At Frederick, Bob Andrew and Bill Judge for fixing siding on the northwest end of the clubhouse. Winds and accumulated unfixed damage were threatening to "zipper-strip" all of the siding materials off of that facing leaving the underlying structure exposed to weather damage. Bob and Bill stabilized this situation. We also need to fix the flashing on top of that wall as some of this area has been exposed for too long. We need a crew of about a half a dozen to set up the scaffolding, and to help move it to do that part of the building to complete this job. To Gene Wilburn for purchasing siding needing to repair flashing. To Bob Andrew for getting grass seed out on some of the runway bare spots at FDK. To the unknown person(s) that replaced the burned-out red warning lamps above the west side of the clubhouse.

To Paul Rehm and his crew of many helpers this past Saturday, including particularly Merhdad Bayat, new M-ASA member Mark Powell, Jean Posbic and Jim Garvin. They and others got the four necessary 16' 2x8 beams to replace the two sets of broken transverse bridging beams on the south side at the tow plane end of the hangar. This damage due to the heavy snow loads of this past winter had the potential to cause a collapse of the hangar section over that bay under the wrong wind conditions. "Thanks to all" who unhesitatingly jumped right in to get this done immediately when this problem was noticed. Other work needing attention in the clubhouse hangar includes the following. Re-hanging both entry doors at the east and west ends of the building, cleaning trash out of the hangar, staining the hangar deck and repairing/repainting the exterior trim around the hangar doors, re-tiling the front entranceway of the clubhouse, and fixing broken tiles in the ladies bathroom. Please contact Bill Judge to help, or to help organize a team to work some of these items on the next rainy weekend. Again, our labor helps maintain the wonderful facilities we have and keeps our cost of flying down.

The war with Iraq seems to be having a very minimal impact (if any) on our plans for holding this year's Region 4 North Contest. Hopefully by this time next month, the fighting will be over and the rebuilding of Iraq will be under way. Our club president, Glenn Collins, is working out the final operational details with the Secret Service and the FAA for our waiver to fly within the 10 nautical mile Camp David TFR. Of course, when the TFR is inactive (such as during the week or when W goes to Texas or elsewhere for the weekend) the restricted area reverts back to the usual 5 NM, which has minimal impact on our flying. Our club Task Day planners have defined the start and finish cylinders which we will be using for our regular Task Day flying, and we are planning to use the same set-up for the contest. Pilots wishing to get this information well before the contest should contact someone knowledgeable on this topic, such as Jonathan Gere or Val Brain.

Folks are starting to send in their contest registrations and deposit checks, and it looks like a lot of familiar faces and some new ones will be flying with us this year. For instance Karl Striedieck has informed me that he will be joining us as a guest flier in his Duo Discus; this will no doubt add some interest! In addition to the volunteers I identified in the March Convector who have very generously offered their time and energy to help run the contest, I am very pleased to report that Joan Jackson, Laura Hession, and Claude Blanchi have also volunteered to help out. Deepest thanks! Of course we can always use more help as the Region 4 North takes a lot of effort from sun up to sun down for 8 days of flying, cookouts, related activities, and hosting 30 to 40 pilots, sailplanes, and their crews and support gear. I want to once again extend an invitation to all M-ASA members and their families and friends to join us for any of the social activities that we have planned for this year's contest (please see the March Convector for details). If you have any questions about the contest or would like to help out (yeah, come on, you can do it! See the March Convector for areas where we need help), please feel free to contact me anytime by phone (home: 410-489-7063) or pburch@hst.nasa.gov.

Rumor has it that sometime early last year, one of the Frederick 'regulars', after many tries and much effort, managed to stay up within fifteen minutes of Mario Piccagli's usual dusk landing. Not sure if it was pure luck or not, Mario decided to play it safe and get new wings.

I remember once, after I'd been flying for about two years, one of the Fairfield 'hot shots' had an out-landing at Frederick. I couldn't believe my eyes. So that is what a new glider looks like! Wow. Several of us stood around awe struck, unable to move or speak. I remember still standing there long after the ASW-27 disappeared into the horizon.

If you are a new M-ASA member flying from Frederick, this is indeed a rare treat. There is no shame in staring and acting all giddy. Trust me, I'm talking from personal experience. I got my first close-up look at this beauty last Saturday, and there was no shortage of dumbfounded onlookers. In case you were lucky enough to attend this year's SSA Convention, yes, this is the same LS8-18t that attracted the crowds over there, too.

I have a piece of advice for those Frederick pilots who, like myself, wish to just once beat the Eagle at his own game. You have just one shot. You may get very lucky and Mario may be slightly off his game during his maiden flight. That's it. One shot. Make it count.

New Members

• Ramon A. DeJesus
• Ali Abrishami

Notes/Photos Due

The following are completing their provisional years with M-ASA and should send the membership chairman a photo and a note requesting permanent membership. The notes can be sent by e-mail or U.S. mail, photos only by U.S. mail or in person.

Overdue:

• Andy Dessler (photo only)
• Zack Thornhill

Due:

• Gary Goldberg
• Steve Shelton (note only)
• Brian Arnett (note only)

Scott Wood called me the other day to announce that he is moving and getting married. Not to worry, he's staying in the area and will continue to support us with annual inspections (he has an IA, so he can do the full range of inspections). Scott used to work at the Smithsonian's Paul Garber Facility, and he has moved out to their new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport. Scott's new home phone is: 703-671-4735 (his old number was 301-782-4462). He can be reached during the day at work through his old number: 301-238-3407 or -3408 (they won't have phone service at the new facility for awhile). Scott asked me to remind those who schedule inspections with him to please have all of your paperwork available/in order (aircraft log book, certificate of airworthiness, aircraft flight manual, weight and balance data, airworthiness directives and service bulletins, etc.) and to clean and lube your aircraft. The better prepared you and your machine are at the start of the inspection, the quicker he can get you back into the air. You can find ADs on-line via the FAA's website (someone like Sarah Macpherson can show you how to do this if you need help). Scott has a couple of inspections scheduled at Fairfield for Saturday, April 12. Please don't wait until the last minute if you plan to fly a contest as unforeseen problems may result in delays and needless stress for Scott and you.

If you know anybody who has room for soaring books (or on any other subject) let me know and as I find them in current mess will send them to them. Please check on matter of books soon as in a few months I will quit driving and be unable to take them to the post office.

Each spring, when we fearless airmen....eh, air persons...venture forth to fly our aircraft, we hurry to our trailers to pull them out into the field and extricate our lovely birds. But often, if our trailers have been parked outside we find them in a bog. Sometimes this bog is large enough and deep enough that we dare not back our cars close enough for a hook-up. We also encounter this problem on land-outs in muddy fields. What to do? Well, if you have five willing muscle-bound friends around, it's no problem, you just push or carry the dang thing out of the mud. This guarantees a whole fleet of muddy cockpits!

Often, we only have to move the trailer a few feet to be able to either hook it up or, at the end of the day, back it up to its parking place. One can sometimes tie a tow rope between your car, where it sits on solid ground, and the trailer and pull it loose from the mud's clutches. Often, this method can't be used because of lack of space, or good footing for the car, etc.

If one is far sighted enough to pack a winch, one can anchor it to your car or a handy post or tree and pull the trailer free. Lacking such sensible equipment, one can attach the tow rope between the car or a handy tree or post and the trailer and in tying, take out all the slack in the rope. Then half way between the two vehicles push the rope to one side or the other, your mechanical advantage is increased and the trailer begins to move albeit slightly to one side. You retie the rope taking out the slack and push the rope the other way (if you want to maintain a reasonably straight track). Lastly is the "Chock Walk." To pull the trailer forward, one puts chocks snugly behind both wheels, then pull the trailer tongue to one side as far as space permits. You then move the chock that is now away from the wheel up to the wheel and then push the trailer tongue in the opposite direction as far as you can and then move up the other chock. It sounds laborious and it is, but you can make surprisingly good progress, as long as you don't have to do it for hundreds of feet. In that case you bite the bullet and get those five strong friends to pull you out and buy dinner for the lot of them. It's cheaper than a coronary!

	Frederick			Fairfield
Day	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD
05	Jack Goehring III	Ray Scarpulla	Jean Compton	Chris O'Callaghan	Phil Burgess
06	John Allingham	Bob Jackson		Sarah Macpherson	Max Ullmann
12	Dick Mott	Hans Jorgensen		David MacVeigh	Rich Horigan
13	Frank Benson	Robert Robins		Claude Blanchi	Mike Grinder
19	Marly van de Ven	Sam Harry		Roger Thompson	Pete Welles	Gerald McFadden
20	Bob Kryzstan	Poul Hansen		George Constantin	George Green
26	Jim Homer	David Schober		Elliott Blitz	Chuck Forrester
27	Richard Wallis	Ray Scarpulla		Guy Pfeffermann	Phil Burgess

	Frederick			Fairfield
Day	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD	Operations Director	Tow Pilot	Assistant OD
03	Michael Higgins	Gene Wilburn	Jeffrey Fink	Gigi Gere	Buddy Denham	Scott Myers
04	Steven Silverman	Jan Steenblik		Peter Blacklin	Dee Torgerson
10	Mike Vance	Bob Andrew	Teresa Day	Jonathan Gere	John Hearn
11	Rob Myhre	Craig Moen		Mark Segall	Poul Hansen
17	Bob Whitehead	John Lovell		Laura Hession	Jim Trygg
18	Dan Meyer	William Judge		John Mitchell	Buddy Denham
24	Gary Miller	Gene Wilburn		Rick Fuller	Max Ullmann	Jean Compton
25	Peter Kern	Tom Judkins		Luis Fernandez	Pete Welles
26	Robert Dutilly	Scott Petrasek		Roger Andes	Lance Nuckolls
31	John Thornhill	Jane Robens	Zachary Thornhill	David MacVeigh	Don Robb

M-ASA Duty Notes: Members assigned to operations duty must be on site in enough time to start operations by 10:00 AM 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.