That was the sound of a a *miserable* October saying so long to soaring in 2012. I'm afraid to check the weather service to see how many cloudy days we had in October because I'll bet it's more than I think. My guess is ALL OF THEM.
About once every three years this happens. A fantastic September with sunny skies and moderate temps with good soaring evaporates like a late day cumulus cloud and is replaced by overcasts that either prevent soaring flight or are so low you don't even take off.
Looking back at the 2012 soaring season, I have to say it was excellent. I started with the twin goals of reactivating my single engine private pilot's license so I could fly our tow planes and learning cross country flying. Just as I was lining up instruction for that transition, our Piper Super Cub towplane was damaged in an off-runway excursion that put it out of commission for good.
So, I switched to my other goal - learning to fly cross country. It opened up a whole new window on soaring for me. I knew I would learn a lot and I did. Flying with an experienced and world class cross country instructor was probably the best part because I learned how they make decisions and was able to compare it to my decision making and adjust for the cross country environment.
Although October robbed me of the ability to get checked out in the single seat Discus, our high performance cross country machine, that should be a rather straightforward process at the beginning of April next year. Then I'll take one or two more cross country instructionals and if all looks good, I'll start doing it on my own.
I know there will be ups and downs, literally, in that process and I was heartened by what one of my instructors said about his early cross country experiences. "I wasn't encouraged by anyone and I had quite a few landouts that were the subject of many comments by the veteran club members." I'm sorry for him, but I'm sure I'll be in the same boat sooner than later and I'm going to remember that. He's an ace instructor and contest pilot now, so if he was able to do it, I'll be able to do it as well.
Sooooo.....goals for next year of soaring? Here they are:
1. Requalify for cross country flight, get checked out in the Discus and do some cross country flying.
2. Check out in the new Super Cub for tow duty (whenever they get the new one purchased)
I'm going to skip CFI for now. Too much to learn, still. Maybe another year in the future but right now I can see plenty to do in the next year.
I almost forgot to blog about 75 years at HHSC! In August Harris Hill Soaring Corporation celebrated its 75th anniversary. Although flying has taken place in and around Harris Hill since the early 30's it wasn't until 1937 that the Elmira Area Soaring Corporation was formed. This organization was formed to hold contests but by 1967 it transformed into the modern day Harris Hill Soaring Corporation with the mission of education, demonstration, competition.
I'm incredibly lucky to be a member of this organization. It's really the only place I've ever flown a glider from and the experience has been top notch in addition to the club itself. The large size of the club (100 members, approximately) and its co-location with the National Soaring Museum make you savor the experience. There's lots of "better" soaring locations but I am obviously biased in favor of HHSC and have been so lucky to be a member. This is the organization that was able to rekindle my love of flight and I am a MUCH better pilot today than when I showed up at their doorstep 5 years ago. I'll always be grateful for that.
