Flight Line Newsletter Excerpts

September, 1997

Blanik Lesson

Kenda Blair and Caleb Hanson ready the Blanik
for Tibor Reldan and Rick Hanson.

Some Operations Reminders
Please — Think safety all the time.

Know your tow signals. These are, in an aircraft with no radios, the only communication you have with the tow pilot.
Never tow a glider, drive a golf cart, walk, or allow anyone else to walk in front of a running tow plane.
When you position your glider on the launch line, always keep a full wingspan away from the paved surface.
Always complete a before-takeoff checklist — cycle the spoilers and make sure they are closed and locked.
Always complete a before-landing checklist — make sure the gear is down and locked.
Do not land so close to other gliders, people or obstructions that you are dependent upon the wheel brake to stop in time.
Be sure to properly tie down and put away club gliders at the end of the day. Put sun shields in, close and latch canopies with the slide windows closed, put gust locks on properly and ensure that all pitot and static covers are on.

These rules seem fairly basic, yet each has been violated recently. If we are to continue to enjoy this sport, the weather, and our exceptional fleet of sailplanes, we must all be more careful.

Rick Hanson

From the President’s Cockpit...

Are we are having a great soaring season at the Bush! August tows were 856 — far exceeding every one of the last eight years. We classify tows into three groups: instructional, rides, and other. All three categories beat last year with instructional up by 76% over ‘96. It seems like our members are going for ratings, badges, more cross country expertise, and just more fun.

If you missed Heidi’s spread August 30 you missed the social highlight of the season so far. Over 60 of us filled up on great food topped off with dessert and coffee. There was also plenty of beer provided by a member with a conscience (we won’t say who). The weather was good and the ambiance the best we’ve seen in years.

Two Sugarbush gliders were in evidence at the Harris Hill Region Three Contest August 24 to 30, “Xray” flown by John Hansman and “Romeo Charlie”. Unfortunately, the weather was poor: Standard Class had only two task days out of seven making it a no-contest. The 15 Meter and the Sports classes just made a contest, sneaking in three weak days in the air. Dave Baker who crewed for “Romeo Charlie” never experienced a retrieval but he surely became proficient in assembly/disassembly. Makes one appreciate the greater options for lift in Vermont. We did get some time at the National Soaring Museum which was very educational.

Our junior and student crew is back at school. Many thanks, Jimmy, Heather, Caleb, Kenda, Casey and Walter, for helping to make this season a success. We’ll see some of you around weekends and we wish all a great school year.

Don’t forget Fall Flight coming up October 18 - 19. All kinds of fun flying events!

Harvey Howell

Mastering the Gentle Metronomic Slosh and Other Related Events

People confronted by the novelty of soaring inevitably ask questions such as “What do you do when the wind stops?” As mentioned in an article which appeared years ago in this paper, there are a number of ways to answer this, most of which are factually incorrect but thought-provoking. Students of the art of soaring as well as the experience-wizened warriors of The Great White Fleet tend to be equally predictable, if only in their complete disregard for the more prosaic aspects of life in favor of the fascination of flight. If you have any lingering doubts about this, just ask a close relative, friend, casual acquaintance or distant neighbor about any soaring pilot’s ability to stop a conversation, party, Bar-Mitzvah, funeral service or other event by looking up and announcing to no one in particular with a longing tone: “Look at that wave!” Everyone will look up, (except at the funeral, where almost everyone looks up, too) and at least one spokesman for the group will ask, “What happens when the wind stops?”

The soaring student is constantly confronted by new challenges to dexterity and common sense. Having finally mastered the confusion of tow (“Was that the turbulence, the tow pilot, the instructor or me that just caused us to roll inverted?”), the fledgling pilot is now asked to “box the wake”. Why not—but, will UPS ship it?

Bob Messner has coined the phrase that seems to best describe the motion of the glider on tow in the hands of a deft student who is just mastering this skill: The Gentle Metronomic Slosh. This term implies an almost rhythmic harmony and is a surprisingly poetic way to emphasize the instructor’s refrain: “Use the rudders!!!” Another of the questions first asked by someone completely new to the sport of soaring is: “Where do you land?” The obvious answer for any competent, experienced, knowledgeable and wise contest pilot is: “How do I know?”

That’s right!

After learning everything there is to know about his or her sailplane and flawlessly mastering flight planning, written tests, flight tests, FAA regulations and Mandatory Service Bulletins, the sailplane pilot is encouraged to go away from the airport and never come back until he or she has landed in some God-forsaken pasture in East Corinth. Upon return and repair of the glider, repayment of retrieval crew and armed farmer, the pilot receives the accolades of fellow pilots. Yet this makes sense in the world of soaring. Have you ever tried to explain soaring to someone who doesn’t fly? Have you ever described a circular staircase without using your hands?

We might as well face it. When we fly we live in some glorious parallel universe where a 1500 foot tow can launch one for hours in a blue and white world devoid of other people, fighting the good fight in the midst of primal good (lift) and primordial evil (sink). If one loses, the battle is only postponed until the next flight; if one wins, the reward is a view of a new and silent world more perfect than any that can be experienced on earth, and the promise that the wind never stops.