Sink happens - The Soaring Newbie Blog

Bam! RASP for HHSC.

2012-01-30T14:19:00.003-05:00

After several months of intensive work to get the RASP model to run, yesterday the system finally succumbed to my efforts and spit out a 2 stage Windowed run for Harris Hill and surrounding regions.

Honestly, it was like getting a late Christmas present. Setting this forecasting model up and getting it to run has been incredibly tedious. RASP is a tempermental set of several programs and scads of parameter files with such a steep learning curve, I was really starting to wonder if I was going to get it to run.

The breakthrough came early this month when I managed to get the system to generate a single stage forecast for the default region and then a 2 stage windowed forecast at higher resolution. At that point, I knew that I had a working model but needed to build a region for Harris Hill.

The GUI tool for building the region turns out to be tempermental too, but in a different and more annoying way. I'll spare you the details since all is forgiven now that I've managed to build and run a 2 stage forecast for a custom region.

Now, the real fun begins! I've assembled a group of our local soaring weather experts and asked them to help in validating that the model outputs the right answer. For all I know, it's making predictions that have no basis in reality. I really haven't taken the time to compare its accuracy.

First challenge is to get the data out onto a server that they can look at. Then, I'll try to actually build a web page that will organize the information in a way that makes it easier for them to review.

God help us if the model isn't accurate. There's so many knobs and settings I could tweak that require meteorological expertise I could easily make it worse by changing any of them!

RASP update

2012-01-03T14:18:00.002-05:00

An update on getting the Regional Atmospheric Soaring Prediction (RASP) model up and running.

Typical output from a RASP forecast
Source: ValleySoaring.net

1. This thing takes a lot of time for someone who knows only a little bit about Unix.

2. After about 100 hours of futzing around, most of which consisted of reading documentation and tediously tracing configuration files, I've managed to get the model to output a forecast for the default region.

3. I'm using the GUI tool to draw/build a forecast region specific to Harris Hill. Right now, I've defined the region but am stymied by the need for a particular Fortran library the isn't readily available for Ubuntu 11, the operating system I'm using.

4. I've been stuck like this before and I'm going to ask for help from a Unix loving friend if I can't find the library I need.

5. If I can successfully define the region, I should have a fair shot at getting the server running for Harris Hill.

6. There is sure to be a lot farther to go!

Rebuilding the 2-33 - Part 2

2011-12-10T17:47:00.001-05:00

Today, Bryan and Caitlyn Reigal, Kevin and I stripped the fabric from number 3. Dave Welles stopped by to help and Ed Funk got us started but was feeling poorly and had to head home.

As the time lapse video above will attest, it didn't take long to get the bulk of the fabric off of the fuselage. A utility knife and a little peeling took care of it easily. Underneath was mostly the metal frame, but in some spots the fabric, or the impression of the fabric remained on the metal framework and we did what we could to scrape it down. Other remnants included old and crumbly bits of tape that wrapped the frame and were underneath the fabric.

We also removed the fabric from the rear control surfaces - the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator (the stabilizer is fixed, the elevator is the moving part) and the rudder.

Between our last visit to the shop, Dave Welles and Shaw Siglin had removed all of the controls - the rudder pedals, cables, control sticks, spoiler actuators and so forth. They also removed the fiberglass nose from the frame.

At this point, the fuselage looks pretty bare and is ready for K&L soaring to come take a look at it and let us know how much the glass bead blasting and restoration of the frame will cost. I haven't noticed much obvious rust or pitting on the frame, so I'm hoping that its years in the hangar have helped to extend #3's life quite a bit.

Next steps for us are to inventory the interior parts and decide what kind of repair, rework, or replacement needs to be done.

More pictures in my Soaring directory: https://picasaweb.google.com/tberry0916/Soaring

Rushing to takeoff

2011-12-09T12:33:00.001-05:00

I saw the following quote in Flying magazine and it spurred some thoughts:

"Do not let yourself be forced into doing anything before you are ready."

— Wilbur Wright

Another good quote: "Aviation, to an even greater
extent than the sea, is terribly unforgiving."
- anonymous

Happens to our pilots before takeoff in three ways -

1. The pilot doesn't get into the aircraft soon enough. We usually go over this one at the safety meetings. I've found over time that if I'm not strapping in when the glider in front of me is taking off, I don't feel that I have comfortably gotten my head in the game. It only takes one twisted seatbelt strap to cost you a couple of minutes and before you know it the tow plane is taxiing up and you haven't even started the pre-takeoff checklist.

2. Corollary to number 1, above - people don't realize that with two tow planes, you need to already be strapped in with the checklist complete BEFORE the plane in front of you takes off.

3. Commercial pilots - strapping a passenger in, giving them the briefing, and then strapping yourself in and doing the checklist takes longer than you think. Even with one tow plane, if you greet the passenger before the glider in front of you takes off, you are in a race to be ready when it comes back. It's simply unavoidable that you will delay the tow plane in some instances -especially if they haven't brought the next passenger down already. This happen often when you have two or even three commercial pilots flying - the cash position doesn't always know to keep the queue full even if the log person is on top of it. It is helpful to have a ground crew strap in the passenger -very helpful, but even so, you can still end up with the tow plane waiting through no fault of your own.

Thus, at some point, you will almost *always* end up with the tow plane waiting on you while you strap in. This is when you forget to lock the canopy or don't remember to check the passenger's weight and let them sit in the front. I've read enough Aftermath articles in Flying to realize that getting rushed unnecessarily is a BAD idea. The solution? In this case, you control the tempo. Take as much time as you need, and as little time as you can and tell the towplane to shut down if necessary. Unless Heinz Jr. is flying. Then don't make him wait for anything. Kidding. I'll make him wait too, if it means not missing an item on the checklist.

Obviously, we should do the things we need to do so we don't put ourselves in a rushed takeoff situation. But my ADM says that if it *does* happen, be conscious that it is occurring and take the necessary time to do things right and prevent the issue the NEXT time you takeoff. According to a chart I found on the O-540 engine, a Pawnee consumes about 10 gallons per hour or .16 gallons per minute. If you take an extra 3 minutes, that's a 1/2 gallon or $3.25. Not chump change, but probably worth the cost of ensuring something bad doesn't happen in flight. Just make sure it doesn't happen again.

Rebuilding a Schweizer 2-33 - Part 1

2011-12-03T17:55:00.001-05:00

Number 3 is wheeled out to the line to provide faithful
service in training new pilots.

The board of directors voted to refurbish one of the three Schweizer 2-33's that the club owns recently. Number 3 has needed some attention this summer as it developed a rip in the fuselage fabric and as you might imagine, after almost 40 years of flying it could use an overhaul.

The bulk of the work concentrates on the fuselage and today we spent a number of hours removing the rudder, horizontal stabilizer, interior, wheel, and skid from the aircraft.

Thanks to the National Soaring Museum for letting us use their restoration shop to do the work!

The fuselage is the main focus

The wings are stored in the restoration shop as well

The wings are in pretty good shape because we are fortunate enough to be able to store our aircraft in a hangar for the majority of the time. So, when the time comes we'll give them some TLC to clean them up, wash them off, wax them and so forth, but there's really no need to paint them.

That's not to say they don't have a number of 'hangar rash' spots that come from years of club members moving them in and out of a crowded hangar. But since many 2-33's are stored outdoors, their aluminum wings often require repaint from sun and rain exposure. We are very lucky that isn't the case for us.

My son Kevin and I are assigned to the interior strip and removal. Although I've spent my share of hours inside a 2-33, I didn't realize how much stuff there is inside the cockpit!

Many of the parts and innards of a 2-33

The picture at left is the parts rack of stuff we've taken off of the aircraft. The control surfaces (rudder, elevator, horizontal stabilizer) are on top while the second shelf contains most of the stuff Kevin and I stripped out of the front and rear cockpit.

Sidewalls, floorboards, seatbelts, seat pans and seatbacks, control stick boots, and trim all came out to expose the innards of the 2-33. It was really quite cool to finally get to see the inner workings of the glider and appreciate the simplicity that makes the 2-33 so reliable even 40 years on.

Before we began taking number 3 apart

I took a couple of pictures at the start so we could remember how and where everything goes when it is time to put it all back. At left, looking from the rear cockpit to the front is the complete package.

By the time we finished in the afternoon, the interior was down to the bare bones. The only thing left were the rudder pedals and control sticks.

Stamped on the back of an interior sidewall piece was
Run #21handwritten. I turns out to be our own Corky
Gill's Schweizer inspection number.

Same view (looking forward) after stripping the interior

Did we find anything interesting inside after all this time? We did, stamped on the sidewall of one of the trim pieces. I was looking at it and noticed the handwritten "Run #21" among the various manufacturing stamps. I read it out loud and then heard, "Hey, that's me!"

Corky Gill, one of our senior club members worked at Schweizer until the early 90's and his inspection number was #21. I showed him the handwriting and he confirmed that it was his!

Corky Gill's (in the red hat) inspector number rides inside #3.
Dave Welles, at right, was a test pilot at Schweizer.

What's next for number 3? Well, after we strip the fabric, it will be off to K&L soaring for a fuselage inspection and reconditioning to ensure we don't have corrosion in the tubular framing.

At the nose, looking aft.

Following that, we'll have #3 re-covered and put it back together again. We'll ensure any slop is taken out of the controls, replace any instruments that need help, and clean and paint the interior. For all intents and purposes, the fuselage will be brand new. And since the wings are in good shape, number 3 will be given new life to train our pilots at Harris Hill next summer.

Kevin and I really enjoyed stripping the interior and seeing how the 2-33 works. It's nice to have a project to keep us busy over the winter season and I'm looking forward to flying in number 3 next year!

More pictures of the restoration are here.

RASP - Improving our Soaring Forecast

2011-12-02T13:24:00.001-05:00

Output of a typical RASP run.
Source: Valley Soaring.net

"Do you know what RASP is?" It was a question from one of our best sailplane racing pilots.

I told him I didn't really know what it was. It turns out to be a soaring prediction model called Regional Atmospheric Soaring Prediction, or RASP. The RASP model turns out what are called blipmaps which are maps of soaring conditions that indicate all kinds of parameters of interest to soaring pilots.

These maps are already available online at www.drjack.com, but the grid areas are large and the terrain isn't considered as precisely as it could be. Dr. Jack Glendening is an atmospheric scientist and the author of RASP. He allows gliding clubs to use his code at no charge, but also with community-only support.

I took a look at RASP, which is a collection of Unix programs that are controlled from an overall RASP script. It is a terminal only program - there is no GUI, and all output during the runs is written console-style to logs that you pore through to determine the source of your errors. Parameters are in different directories and not always obvious. The documentation for the program is fairly robust, but suffice it to say that troubleshooting a complex software package that you have never seen before is quite a challenge.

So far, I've managed to get RASP right up to the edge where it actually run the atmospheric forecasting program. In effect, the program so far downloads the results of model runs from the National Weather Service, then preps them for a local run of WRF, the Weather Research and Forecasting model. That's where the hard number crunching happens, then the results are output in a format you can put them on a website with graphical charts showing the results.

I've come quite a way to make just a little progress and I'm currently stumped at one error. The forum for RASP is understandably small and Dr. Jack doesn't actively support RASP, so if I can't figure it out, I'm sunk. I've got one or two ideas right now, but right now I'll give myself about a 70% chance of success.

Snowbird 2011 Contest

2011-11-28T12:33:00.001-05:00

The 2011 Snowbird is now in the history books. The longest running soaring contest is hosted annually at Harris Hill on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Hooking up and ready for takeoff All photos courtesy of Stefan Trego: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefantrego/

This was my second Snowbird, but the first one where anyone did any flying. Last year's contest was weathered out with winds out of the West at 20 knots and gusting higher. This year was completely different with reasonably calm winds and incredibly warm temperatures into the 60's.

I volunteered to log takeoffs and we kept two tow planes busy all day long with over 60 flights Saturday. We had contestants from Finger Lakes and Valley Soaring and they brought their own 1-26 gliders -the machines of choice for spot landings.

Preparing to enter downwind for Snowbird. All photos courtesy of Stefan Trego http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefantrego/

One of the nice things about Snowbird is that it is more a fun-fest than a contest. With events like spot landing and specific duration, the point is to fly a short pattern and land at exactly the right time on exactly the right spot rather than be an ace pilot and stay aloft to fly fastest and furthest.

On approach during Snowbird. The landing zone is on the right hand runway about 1/3 of the way up from the grass. Can you see it? I didn't think so. All photos courtesy of Stefan Trego http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefantrego/

The event creates lots of...interesting approaches. The landing zone is small, perhaps 40 feet. If you touch down prior to the zone, you lose 400 points. Overshoot it and lose 100, 200, or 300 points. Then you have to stop pretty short and they measure your distance from a traffic cone. The winner is usually decided by inches and seconds.

Best landing of the day goes to two of our most experienced instructors -Dana Smith and Ron Ogden who touched down hot and laid down a good 180 feet of skid mark before crushing the traffic cone. While they were a little sheepish, it's nice to know everyone is human.

I didn't fly this year. I intended to hand over the log to someone around 1pm and fly a couple of flights, but pretty much everyone else was flying and there just wasn't anyone to do it until much later when I had obligations at home. Even so, there was so much energy and activity on the flight line, it was still a lot of fun to participate.

Moving into the winter, we're going to be fairly active with rework on number 3 and buff and polish of the 4 ASK-21's we own. I can't wait until April to fly again!

2011-11-22T14:53:00.001-05:00

Photo Credit Dean Alexander.

Harris Hill Soaring Corporation was asked to participate in an historic soaring event - Soaring 100 a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Orville Wright's nearly 10 minute unpowered soaring flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The Wrights successfully flew the first powered aircraft in 1903, but the first real, practical version of the aircraft was the Wright Flyer III in late 1905 back in Dayton on Huffman Prairie. In 1911, the Wrights returned to Kitty Hawk with a glider to test improved stability controls and there on the dunes, Orville ridge soared for nearly 10 minutes in a 50 knot wind. The record held for nearly 10 years before it was broken.

The 1911 glider soars over Kitty Hawk

Soaring 100 celebrated the achievement 100 years later and HHSC's membership made the trek to Kitty Hawk with a Duo Discus, a modern example of recent gliding technology. Club member Mo Acee piloted the Discus in demos for the crowd, landing on the same stretch of grass that the Wrights flew the original Wright Flyer from. Only 15 examples of gliders were selected for the demo flights and it was nice that HHSC and the National Soaring Museum were asked to participate!

Season's End Again

2011-10-31T10:11:00.003-04:00

What an interesting soaring season I had! I accomplished my goal of earning my commercial glider pilot's license and my son decided that soaring was a passionate interest for him. Meanwhile, I developed a new motto to deal with the awful weather - "Never pass up a good flying day."

That held true even yesterday, the last day of scheduled ops for 2011 on Harris Hill. I'd gone up there to meet with one of our club members to discuss some business but the weather looked so good I convinced my son to go with me. "We'll only be a little while...," I told my wife. I've been soaring long enough for her to see right through that lie.

It was quite cool, but when I said hello to some of the folks there it became quickly apparent that the conditions were really quite good for soaring. After a few minutes of discussion, Kevin and I decided that it would be foolish to pass up conditions like these, especially since we probably won't fly regularly until April at best.

After deciding to fly the ASK-21, I put Kevin in front and off we went. It took almost no time to get to altitude because Tim Welles, our tow pilot, knows how to tow through thermals and uses them to shorten the time on tow. We got off at 2,000 above ground (3,700 on the altimeter) and were immediately in lift.

I'd turned over the flying duties to Kevin shortly after takeoff and he did a good job of keeping us in the lift as we climbed over the valley North of Harris Hill. It looked like there was cloud streeting, so we decided to push out along the street to see if we could go anywhere. In most cases, we saw zero sink and when we reached the South end of the street, we found 4 knots of lift that strengthened and turned into 6 knots!

Cloud streets are horizontal lines of clouds that are usually indicative of thermal activity

Kevin took us up close to the bottom of the nice, dark cumulus cloud and we topped out at 5,800 feet, a new record altitude for him. We stayed up about 45 minutes and returned when we began to get cold. I flew a passenger later at the end of the day and we did some stalls, a wingover, some zero-g pushovers and had a generally good time together.

My landings in the ASK-21 are getting much more precise and I've been able to touchdown exactly where I wanted to and make those long slow rollouts balanced on the center wheels all the way up to the flight line. Quite often, the juniors on the line will catch the wing before it touches the ground.

My goals this year were to get my commercial license and to do a better job of handling the ASK-21, especially on landing. While I've felt competent in the 21, I now feel much more confident in it. It's a good way to end the soaring season.

Flying the 2-33....again

2011-09-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

I forgot how much I like the 2-33

After flying commercial flights for several hours, I was ready for a break but my son wanted to take a flight. The ASK's were busy with passenger rides, so I saddled up in the back of the trusty Schweizer 2-33. Kevin was thrilled to fly his training aircraft. I did the takeoff, then turned it over to him for the tow and rest of the flight. He flew a tad high on tow, but would generally correct back to the proper position and I could see that he's definitely 'getting it' and learning how to handle the aircraft. A couple of bumps kept him alert and were good experience. Pretty soon we were up to release altitude - 3700 feet above sea level. We released and began looking for lift.

I directed us over the hang glider launch since that's where I'd found a pretty reliable thermal for most of the day and sure enough, we found it. The thermals were a bit odd with shear in them and sort of an on/off feeling to them. I'd been able to center them in the ASK-21 with passengers, but I thought I'd let Kevin try his hand at it without too much direction from me.

Pretty soon we were circling with good lift on one side and zero on the other. The right thing to do is to try and move your circle towards the stronger side of the lift by banking steeply on the weak side and making a more shallow bank when you are on the strong side. This moves your circle, hopefully strengthening the lift so you are in it all the way around the circle. I gave a little direction to Kevin and pretty soon he had it centered and we started climbing steadily. We topped out right at release altitude after 700 feet of climb or so and I could tell he was pretty excited that he made it happen.

We flew around a bit more, discussing what to look for and think about and then he set us into the pattern for downwind. I took over from there and made the landing, talking through the checklist with him and explaining what I was doing and why. As we turned base, I told him that I thought we looked a bit high and he agreed. What he didn't know was that there was sink off the end of the runway but I did because I'd flown through it all morning. With spoilers almost closed, I used it to bring us down and turned final only slightly high.

Kevin said, "You're too high," but since I barely had the spoilers cracked, I just eased them open, brought us into line, then eased them almost closed and touched down in the grass right where I'd been aiming. After we got out, I smiled and said, "So you thought I was too high, eh?" It was good to know I could still fly the 2-33!

It had been a couple of months and I get nervous about being used to flying a higher performance glider, then flying a lower performance one -especially since I was in the back. But it turned out to be the same trusty 2-33 I learned to fly in and it was great fun to fly it again. Plus, we both enjoyed flying together and he seemed pleased to show me what he'd learned. I know I got a kick out of it.

Return on Investment

2011-09-19T11:46:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I worked my first full commercial pilot shift at Harris Hill. I was scheduled last month but we were weathered out with a no-fly day.

Yesterday was different - a cool morning with river fog gave way to a sunny and spectacular Fall day at Harris Hill. When I arrived, there were three passenger rides waiting and after a slight delay to allow the fog to burn off, I started giving rides. Taking a glider ride was apparently a popular idea as we steadily built up a queue of people waiting for rides. By the time I landed with the second passenger, we had three gliders in passenger operation and kept them all busy until 5pm.

I gave 8 rides that day and passed the magic number of 12 passenger rides which is the point that the personal cost of getting my commercial license is exceeded by the cost of flying 12 times. So, now I'm on the plus side of the ledger and every flight I make with a paying passenger is gravy on top.

I like introducing people to soaring and although the weather was quite good, I really liked flying steadily for a period of 4 or 5 hours because I got to experience the changing conditions from smooth and calm to thermal activity. The East-Southeast wind we had was very, very light on the surface but caused some turbulence and a decent crosswind on takeoff and landing. It was quite different in the sky than on the ground and it was interesting to experience it evolving.

Even though it was a light wind, there was a good deal of sink on final approach, but I had anticipated it and making 8 landings gave me a good feel for what it looks like under those conditions. The other thing that is nice is that you aren't trying to stay up for a long time. Twenty minutes or so is the length of the ride, so if you find a single thermal you can easily make 20. You stay near the field and simply fly wherever you want with no particular destination or task necessary. You pass a few minutes of pleasant conversation with passengers and then return for landing. Nice. And of course, you get more experience with flying the ASK-21.

All in all, a great decision to get my commercial rating this year!

Region 3 Glider Contest

2011-08-06T18:57:00.001-04:00

Harris Hill just finished hosting the region3 glider contest and it was good fun.

The contest is a race - whoever flies the farthest the fastest scores the most points. Each morning a specific course is laid out for the contestants and they must fly to various turn points on flights that can last 2 hours or more. Distances are generally 100-200 miles.

There are two classes of aircraft FAI and Sport class and they compete in their own class. The contest lasts a week, which is good since they had only 3 reasonably good flying days plus 1 practice day to get ready.

I worked the retrieve office for the contest. Our job was to track who took off and place a prepared card on the window as they departed. When they landed, we would take the card down. It's a simple way of tracking who is back and who isn't.

If a pilot can't make it back and 'lands out', they are instructed to call the retrieve office and give us relevant information about their location and how to contact them. We then flipped their card over to the red side as a signal to their crew that they need to get the trailer ready and go get the pilot and glider.

We had a couple of land outs but not really too many. Contest pilots are usually quite seasoned but as they push themselves to complete a task, there's always the possibility of a land out. Sailplanes are designed for this and pilots are used to it. The old joke goes, "There are those pilots who have landed out and those that will." Everyone gets a turn eventually, especially when trying to win a contest.

Our Harris Hill juniors did an outstanding job of volunteering and working the competition and everything went smoothly for the week. Watching the pilots launch and waiting for them to return, I wondered whether I would ever do any contest flying.

I doubt it. The learning curve is steep and to be any good at it you need to fly cross country an awful lot. Also, the contests are a week long which puts a crimp in the vacation leave time, plus you have the expense of staying wherever the contest is and of course, you need to own a glider or have one you can take with you. That's a lot of difficult variables for a married person with kids nearing college age and it explains why many of the racing pilots are retired.

Andy Brayer won the Sport Class

Interestingly, the Sport Class competition was won by our very own Andy Brayer in a borrowed Discus glider owned by Harris Hill! I guess that sort of shatters the barriers, but of course those were taken care of because he flew the glider from its home base and the contest was held here at Harris Hill. Nevertheless, I'm really happy for Andy - he's one of our juniors and he's turned into a top notch pilot who selflessly give training to our juniors all summer long. He obviously worked hard for this win and he earned it by winning every single day that we flew -particularly against Roy McMaster, one of our ace pilots with a great competition history under his belt. Congrats to both Andy and Roy for their 1, 2 finish.

First commercial passenger

2011-07-25T10:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was at Harris Hill and the scheduled commercial pilot was a no-show. The clouds were only about 1,200 feet so the only flying going on was training. Short hops up, then back for landing. There was little wind, but with the deck so low it wasn't suitable for passenger rides.

After noon, to the east a big hole opened up and the promised clearing began in earnest. At about that time we had several inquiries about passenger rides. I agreed to take one -my first commercial passenger. There wasn't too much lift but we found some zero sink and I managed to extend the ride for a little bit, then turned into the pattern to land.

Everything went smoothly and as he was getting out of the glider, he exclaimed, "Wow! That was incredible!" I thought so, too. I thanked him for flying with us and pushed the glider back into line.

I Learned About Soaring from That

2011-07-18T11:17:00.001-04:00

This post could probably be sub-titled "How to (almost) land out without even trying."

Last Friday, in preparation for my commercial glider checkride, I decided to take the afternoon off and fly some spot landings to convince myself yet again that I know how to fly and calm my apprehensiveness.

When I got to Harris Hill, the place was a beehive of activity. The soaring forecast was not just good, it was GREAT. One of our members remarked that it was the best soaring day of the season. I grabbed the last ASK-21 available, put a battery in it so I could monitor what everyone else was doing and took off.

I could hear that most of my fellow pilots were up between 7,000 and 8,000 and lift was everywhere. The thermals were closely spaced, nicely marked by cumulus clouds, there was little wind to tilt them over and they were reasonably strong. Buoyed by all the good reports of lift, I got off tow a few hundred feet lower than normal as we passed through a 4 knot thermal.

A 'blue hole' was over Harris Hill. This is fairly common at our field when the wind blows cool air off of Seneca lake to the Southwest. The cooler air dries up the clouds and can kill the thermals in the hole. I'd gotten off tow at the edge of the hole and circled up to about 4,500 when the thermal petered out. I decided to move away from the hole to the southwest where some cumulus clouds looked promising.

I kept finding lift, but only of the 2 knot variety. I was able to stay at about 4,500 feet but couldn't seem to connect with thermals that would take you to 7 and 8,000 feet where everyone else was. I continued to move from cloud to cloud trying to find better lift to get higher.

Eventually, I wasn't even finding 2 knot lift. At 3,900 feet I thought I'd try one more cloud before turning back to the airport as I was getting pretty far away. That cloud didn't work out and I turned back to the airport. It looked pretty far away and I considered that the little itch in my head that told me to go back at the last cloud would have been a really good idea.

As I headed back, I saw why the thermals were dying. The blue hole had shifted to the Southwest -my direction, and was killing the lift. I would have to cross the blue hole to get back to Harris Hill.

At this point, aside from being deeply disappointed with allowing myself to get this low this far away from the airport, I considered my options. I could head North and get out over the Chemung valley and probably land out in a field down there. I could head West, even farther away and look for more thermals. There were lots of fields to land in, if necessary. Or, I could head back to Harris Hill and most likely land somewhere in between.

Looking back towards Harris Hill, I could see at least 5 fields that were grass covered and easy to land in. I figured I'd head back, not expecting to find any lift, and likely land in one of those fields. If I was lucky, I could make it to the valley and easily glide to our emergency landing field in the valley.

I headed back and, as I expected, didn't find lift. However, there were periods of zero sink. I slowed up during those times and sped up to best L/D speed when I wasn't in it. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of sink. I eventually found a small 2 knot thermal. I circled tightly, perhaps 50 degrees of bank (great practice for my upcoming flight check!) and managed to gain a few hundred feet. But it wasn't a very high thermal and I still didn't have enough to get back to Harris Hill. Reluctantly, I left it as it died and headed East again.

Fortunately, that thermal gave me the altitude I needed to get to the monastery which is on the edge of the hill overlooking the valley with our emergency landing field and, although I was too low to get to Harris Hill, I knew I could glide to the field, or if things were not going well, I could land in the field in the monastery.

As I passed over the chapel, I caught some lift near the edge of the dropoff to the valley. I was perhaps 500 feet above the high ground and did a circle. The thermal was small and I banked over, determined not to lose contact with this one and managed to gain a few hundred feet. While circling, I heard someone on the radio remarking that one of our gliders (me) was way low and asking who it was. All this time, everyone else had been up at 8,000 feet while I was struggling for altitude!

Remembering Kai's guide to off field landings, I turned the radio off. It was distracting and I needed all the concentration I could muster. After a few minutes, I'd climbed to 2,700 feet but the thermal dissipated and I was left with 3-400 fpm of sink. It was time to cross the valley and land out.

I expected no lift over the valley -usually that is the case as the cooler air and crop cover tends to make the valley and unusual place to find lift. However, the day was warm and you never know, so I headed across the valley towards the hang glider jumpoff on the Harris Hill ridge. Still too low to make the field, I had at least accomplished making the emergency field.

I lost less altitude then I expected crossing the valley due to mostly zero sink and I arrived at our ridge with 2,100 feet of altitude. I had enough to check the knob where the hang gliders launch and while there was a burble of lift, it wasn't something you could circle in. I sighed and went through my pre-landing checklist, extending the spoilers to check them. I sidle along the ridge, still above it in zero sink when it happened.

Whoosh! I stumbled into a 2 knot thermal. I immediately circled and gained 50 feet. Continuing, I managed to center the lift and get 2 knots steady all the way around the circle. Pretty soon, I saw 2,300 feet on the altimeter, then 2,400, then the magic 2,500 which is our normal approach to landing altitude! I was now in easy gliding distance of the airport and just like that, I was NOT going to land out!

I decided I'd had enough drama and excitement for the day and left the thermal and headed in the direction of our landing pattern. Would you know it? I stumbled into a 4 knot thermal. I couldn't pass it up, so I circled and the thermal strengthened to 6 knots. In a matter of minutes I was passing through 4,000 feet and climbing. The thermal was getting wider and smoother, settling down to a steady 4 knots and I rode it all the way up to 5,000 then 6,000, then 7,000 then 8,000 feet! I topped out at 8,200 feet -FINALLY up at altitude with the rest of the gang.

I continued the flight for another 2-1/2 hours, never getting lower than 7,500 feet, finally landing with 3 hours and 19 minutes on the clock, the longest flight for me so far and the highest I've ever gone - 8,400 feet.

After I landed, I considered what I had learned.

1. I learned that I was able to formulate and execute a plan when I needed to. I knew I was pretty far away from Harris Hill and the main mistake I made was leaving a perfectly good thermal to try and find a better one, all the while moving a little farther away. There's nothing really wrong with that and there wouldn't have been anything wrong with landing out, but to be safe, I should have made a *conscious* decision to turn back or try another cloud with the possibility of landing out.

2. I did not compromise the safety of flight. There are plenty of options for landing in fields in the area I was in, so the safety of the flight was not in question. However, I will revise my aeronautical decision making to highlight when I am making a decision that includes the possibility of not returning to the field. I want that to be a very specific 'go/no-go' decision. In this case, I made it more casually than I should have because I believed the lift on this day was good (which it was) and would continue (which it eventually did).

3. I saved the flight because I was lucky, not skilled. Let's be perfectly frank - I didn't land out because I got lucky.

4. I capitalized on opportunities in a safe manner. I made good safety decisions when faced with the prospect of landing out. When I stopped to circle in lift, I made sure I had a plan if it turned into sink. I put myself in a position to take advantage of the lift when it showed up and I thermalled the glider like never before to center the lift and climb away when I needed to.

This was my best soaring flight ever. I had lows and I had highs. I probably learned more about soaring from this one flight than any books could have ever taught me. That's what I love about soaring - it's a continuous challenge and you can always do better.

Commercial Success!

2011-07-18T01:17:00.001-04:00

I passed my commercial glider pilot checkride today.

This was my goal at the beginning of the season and here I am with it all achieved! What a great feeling - and what a weight off of my chest.

I let myself get all wound up for the ride and as my instructor said, "bad rehearsal, great performance!" It all started with a less than stellar performance a few days prior to the checkride. I simply performed poorly - much more poorly than I usually do, starting with the takeoff and tow to altitude. Granted, it was quite gusty and we were getting pulled around quite a bit but still, it was not a great start.

As we started in our base leg, the wind had really picked up and I realized we were dropping like a stone. I abandoned the base and aimed for the runway, accelerating to get closer before we lost too much altitude. The wind gradient made for moderate turbulence on final with loss of airspeed, gain of airspeed, crosswind, you name it. I managed to get us down in one piece and without damaging the glider, but my confidence was shaken. It was too rough to fly after that, so we rescheduled for the next day.

After a rather sleepless night, the next day's tasks went fairly well with one major issue - being able to rollout to stop inside a designated 100 foot box. The solution was relatively minor, I needed to let the glider get a little bit lower on final. I was simply carrying too much energy into the landing in the form of altitude. My instructor reluctantly signed me off and I stuck around to do some touch and goes with some friends from the field - including Bryan, who was also going for his commercial checkride the same day. We flew until we could nail the spot consistently.

When the big day came, Bryan went first and, as I was certain he would, nailed the ride and passed easily. Then it was my turn. First we did about 1.5 hours of oral question and answer, followed by 3 flights. The examiner, Jim Rizzo, was really, really, good about getting me to relax and being very conversational. We went over the weight and balance I prepared, a cross country I built in advance, the weather and so on. By the time we were ready to fly, I felt pretty good.

The flights went pretty uneventfully. I made several lame attempts to thermal and after the second landing, I caught my foot on the side of the glider and fell out onto the grass. I asked if that amounted to points deducted and he laughed.

We did one really cool combination of maneuvers. He asked for a steep turn in one direction, and after I went around once, he asked me to roll into a steep turn the other direction, then at the completion of that turn, to pull up into a turning stall. That was pretty neat. I'd always practiced them as separate maneuvers without linking them, but this was both more challenging and more interesting.

I did well at keeping my airspeeds right, I think I did average at coordinated flight, and after our third landing, we went inside and he filled out my temporary flight certificate for commercial glider pilot.

I worked really hard for this. I wasn't afraid I would fail because I didn't know how to do the things I was supposed to do. Rather, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to demonstrate them to the examiner. In the end, I was able to do that and I've got another level of certification for my continuing journey in soaring.

I owe thanks to many people for getting me this far, particularly my instructor, Ron Ogden. He takes all kinds of personal time to come out and train us for flight and gets nothing back for it. Thanks, Ron!

Into the breach

2011-07-12T16:07:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a whirlwind since I passed my commercial written exam.

I contacted the examiner and he told me he has an opening next Sunday. Like....6 days from now. Gulp.

I took it. But I also synched up with Bryan Reigal, one of my fellow prospective commercial pilots. We're both scheduled for Sunday with the examiner and we're both pretty nervous about it. Like, that sort of butterfly in your stomach-a little nauseous feeling you have when you're about to do something like bungee jump.

But it's now or never. There's no question I know how to fly, I'm already a pilot. I've knocked the rust off of my skills by flying as much as I can lately and I've been practicing to the Practical Test Standards that are published by the FAA. I'll go flying tomorrow afternoon with my instructor and we'll practice for the test.

I *know* I can do it. The real question is whether I manage to demonstrate that on the day of the test. We'll see. Until then, I am on pins and needles studying, prepping, and worrying.

Oh yeah, the weather Sunday is calling for a South wind of about 9 knots, which can cause all kinds of issues like extended takeoff roll, less effective ailerons as you take off with a tail wind and big sink on final approach. In my note to the examiner I mentioned that if it was a strong wind I might need to reschedule.

More likely, what will happen is it will be *kind* of strong, making the decision gut-wrenching.

I'll post on my progress with my instructor later this week.

Phew! That was crummy.

2011-07-08T14:20:00.000-04:00

Well, the good news is that I passed my commercial glider pilot written exam! That's one major paperwork detail that had to be taken care of before I could progress to setting a date for my flight exam.

To get your commercial glider pilot's license, you have to pass two tests. One is a written knowledge test that is proctored by an FAA authorized testing facility. They're dead serious about it, too. I've seen less security at an airport checkpoint than at the test facility. The 100 question test has about 90 questions that don't seem to have much to do with flying a glider in a commercial setting safely but nevertheless it is required. So, I studied for it and now I have passed it.

Next up is to set a date for my commercial flight check. You have to have an oral question and answer session with a designated examiner from the FAA and then take several flights with him/her to get their endorsement for your commercial rating. That's the test that makes the most sense to me. I'd rather go through an exhaustive Q&A in person than a computerized test that seems designed to trip me up than test my knowledge.

My focus now is to fly with Ron Ogden, my instructor, to brush up on my flight maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc. and get ready for that in-person test with the examiner.

I've been using the Practical Test Standard guide from the FAA lately and trying to fly all my maneuvers in accordance with that guide. Earlier this week I flew at minimum controllable speed for about 30 minutes in ridge lift, practicing my turns to the left and right without stalling. I've practiced a few stalls, done some steep turns, and I've also been letting my son sit in the front of the glider while flying it from the back. It's actually kind of fun to fly from back there. Definitely more room in the back.

Amazingly, now I'm almost (almost) looking forward to the check ride. I got some practice flying a passenger last week when one of our club members had a relative visiting and he asked me if I'd take her for a ride as he was busy doing his flying duty. I had a chance to preview my technique giving a ride to a stranger and I had a good time doing it!

I'll continue studying for the oral test but there's no reason except for the examiner's schedule, that I can't get my rating by the end of July as long as I demonstrate that I know what I'm doing.

Pulling the trigger

2011-07-07T01:50:00.000-04:00

I've set a date to take my commercial pilot written exam. It's two days from now.

I'm really nervous about it because although I've been studying a lot for it, I keep getting high 70's on my practice exams. It's not that I don't know the material, I do. It's just that they way they phrase the questions makes me get them wrong -even when I know the right answer.

Anyhow, I'm not improving on my scores so I'm going to resign myself to getting a crummy score and get it over with. The only thing I DON'T want to happen is to get less than a 70 on it. The test costs $150 to take and I'd have to deal with the examiner to explain why I failed it.

Funny thing is that I'm pretty good at the oral questions. I sat down with my flight instructor and he was satisfied that I knew the basic information necessary to pass the oral exam with the designated examiner. It's different when they ask you the questions because you can ask for clarification or demonstrate that you know the answer by explaining the details around the question. Even if you get it wrong, it's not usually totally wrong.

I could also rail on about how the questions on the written exam ought to be aimed at making sure the applicant knows how to keep the airplane right side up rather than a lot of stuff you'll never need to know that is competing with space in your head for the stuff you actually need to know.

Okay, one example I'll give you is there are several questions about how to fly a course with an NDB (Non-directional beacon) instrument. The last time I saw an NDB was when I took instrument training for my private pilot license. Why in the world I would need to know what heading to turn to to intercept the NDB at a 30 degree angle give my magnetic heading is beyond me. You don't even fly that way. First, you match your magnetic heading to the NDB heading, then you make the 30 degree course correction. Done. Not to mention there is something called VOR and GPS.

To be fair, you might find yourself in a motorglider trying to fly a course. Okay, but how about a VOR question, then? Even the VOR questions use an RMI (Radio Magnetic Indicator) as the display instrument. I've never actually seen an RMI although I suppose they're out there somewhere. It just doesn't add up.

But it doesn't matter. I have to take and pass the written to get my commercial license and that is the end of that. So, Friday I'll find out if I passed or should have taken longer to study for it.

Kevin flies

2011-07-04T01:59:00.001-04:00

My youngest son has become interested in glider flying. He's just joined our junior program and has taken instruction in 8 or so flights so far.

Kevin's first flight lesson

I haven't either encouraged or discouraged him to fly. Becoming a pilot is a lengthy and challenging process. It requires persistence and will to make it from student pilot to licensed private pilot. You have to not only learn how to fly, you have to pass your written test and a flight test with a designated examiner. In short, to be a pilot, you really need to WANT to be a pilot.

No amount of encouragement will make someone who doesn't want to become a pilot suddenly love it. For that reason, while I've encouraged him to fly with me from time to time, I haven't done anything beyond explain how the program works. I did have him accompany me to our winter ground school this year but that was more to expose him to the book work that is involved and to let him see how much you have to know to become a pilot.

Last year when I flew with him, he liked it but would get dizzy when we circled in a thermal. This year, he doesn't have nearly the problem with it he used to. I think he was a bit frightened during the flights and that made him feel poorly because now that he's the one doing the flying, he has gained a lot more confidence. When you learn how it is done, you become familiar with it and usually less afraid.

Yesterday he begged me to go to Harris Hill to get some instruction. I obliged and Tim Welles flew three flights instructing him on the basics. Everything seems to be going well and he's learning how to fly behind the tow plane, how to set up for the landing and they even got some thermalling in. When he landed, he was pretty excited about managing to go higher than the tow plane took them.

I'm glad he understands my passion for flight and I'm hoping he'll stick with it and see his training through to his private pilot glider license. That would make us a three generation aviation family!

Hop, hop, and away!

2011-06-07T01:34:00.000-04:00

It's happened twice, now. On takeoff, just before I reach liftoff speed, I horse the airplane into the air and get a bounce, bounce, and airborne.

I know why, of course. The first time, I was rather pleased with my crosswind correction during takeoff roll but wanted to get airborne so I could establish a good crab angle and keep tracking straight. So I took off before I had all of the speed I needed. Bounce, bounce, liftoff.

The second time, there was even less excuse. NO wind but I attempted to liftoff about 5 knots too soon. Bounce, bounce and away.

It is now on my official list of stupid stuff I need to improve on.

Also, after great progress Friday, my thermaling flat out sucked on Sunday. I kept slipping as I circled. Despite paying close attention to it the whole time, I just couldn't coordinate it to my satisfaction. It doesn't help that glider 8 flies "funny" since they repaired it but that's no excuse.

Sigh. More work before I feel confident enough for a check ride.

Woo-hoo!

2011-06-03T16:47:00.000-04:00

"We'll be up there tomorrow and we'll have a tow plane. You around? It's supposed to be good flying.

Indeed it was. A couple of our instructors were getting their Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) ratings renewed and arranged for a tow pilot today. The weather has been nasty or I've been gone and I've been itching to fly, so I was eager to go. Even if I had to take some time off from work.

After I saw the weather forecast, I was MORE eager. Plenty of thermals and a north wind at about 15 knots. That meant the ridge would be working plus I might be able to fly away if I could connect to a thermal.

I showed up about 11 and was airborne by 11:30. Sean Murphy towed me to a thousand feet where I let go and pointed the nose towards the ridge. It was working, but it was a little weak. Often, you will get either zero or positive lift as you fly along the ridge but this time I was getting some sink -about 2 knots or so mixed in with some lift. The effect was net negative and I was slowly descending with each pass.

I started thinking I *might* have to set up for the landing pattern if this didn't get any more promising. I was able to find lift on the west end of the ridge, but on the east side, not so good. I decided I would zig-zag back and forth in the lift on the west side and see what happened.

Zig. Zag. A little bit of a climb. Zig. Zag. A little bit of a climb. Then it hit me. "You moron, you are zig zagging in a thermal. CIRCLE and CENTER it. So I did and up I went. 3 knots of lift, 4 knots of lift, 5 knots of lift, 6 knots of lift. I worked to center it, fly smoothly and coordinated, and also fly slowly to maximize the thermal time. Up and up I went. The longer I circled the stronger it got and a few minutes later I topped out at close to 6,000 feet. I headed off towards the nearby shopping mall to see if there was any parking lot lift.

There was. In fact, there was quite a bit of lift scattered all over the place. I could hear other glider pilots talking about this cu or that cu but from where I was, the sky was blue. Blue flying is more difficult because you can't spot the lift, but today I felt pretty brave. First, if I got low near Harris Hill, I could hug the ridge and ride the lift back up high enough to enter the landing pattern. Second, the thermals were not only fairly plentiful, they were pretty easy to center up and climb away in.

I could see Seneca lake and Watkins Glen in the distance and considered heading upwind to check it out. I figured if I would lose the most altitude heading into the wind and could always make it back to the airport in Elmira if necessary. Alas, work was calling and I didn't have enough time to try it out!

I returned to the ridge and figured I'd spoiler my way down to pattern altitude. Instead, I decided to point the nose down and pick up some speed for fun. Whenever I entered lift, I would accelerate to keep myself either at zero sink or a slight descent. If the wind is blowing hard, this means you pick up a LOT of speed. I was zooming along at over 90 knots at times. If the lift stopped, I would raise the nose to slow the descent. Eventually, after a lot of fun I was near pattern altitude.

The landing was to the North. I held my pattern close to the field and turned base close to the field. I carried and extra 5 knots of speed to deal with the gusts and opened the spoilers and planted the tailwheel right on my intended spot - the taxiway that cuts across the grass. I heard it squeak as it touched down.

Was playing hooky worth it? Absolutely. Best flying of the season so far.

What Harris Hill looks like this Spring

2011-05-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

That picture pretty much sums up what has to be the worst and soggiest Spring I've ever seen. I've only lived here for 5 years so I can't really speak to what Spring normally looks like around here -except for my recent experience. However, old-timers say it's nothing like this. Spring usually arrives with clear skies, moderate temps and the promise of outstanding soaring - day after day. We do get the rains, but they come and then they go. They don't hang on for a week at a time!

It's getting downright disheartening to look at the weather forecast these days. Right now, the last good, flyable day we had was the middle of last week. Naturally, I was on a business trip and couldn't be here for it. I tried to check in on the webcam but it was mysteriously down for two days then fixed itself before I could head out to the Hill to see what was the matter.

Outlook for the weekend is similar to this week - cloudy, rainy. We've got a regional contest coming up in June and I'm wondering if the weather is going to cooperate! Here's hoping the weather breaks - SOON.

A day on the hill

2011-05-03T10:42:00.002-04:00

Galo Grijalva shows how you have to keep
flying it until it stops

Actually, this post should probably be titled "A day without rain," with a tip of the hat to Enya's album of the same name. April has been a miserable washout with just two flyable days for me! It took me all month just to get in my three takeoffs and landings for currency this season. It is one of the coldest and wettest months on record around here. Lovely.

But the skies did part and the sun came out last weekend and I made sure to take advantage of it by heading up to Harris Hill for the better part of a rather eventful day. The skies started out dotted with small cumulus clouds, indicating thermal activity, but by the end of the day, they dried up leaving just a blue soaring day.

Finally, a clear, sunny Spring day.

Whether you fly or not, just being up at Harris Hill is fun. Today, there was plenty of activity as private club gliders were pulled out to be flown for the first time this year while the regular club gliders also got a full workout. The 2-33's, the 1-34, the 1-26 and of course, our ASK-21's were all out on the flight line awaiting their turn in the air.

I took the 1-34 up for a pleasant one hour flight to remind myself that I actually can find and center thermals and to work on my steep turns. At first, I thought I would be the only one to head up and come back down - after release, I headed into a gaggle of gliders circling a few hundred feet above me, hoping for a quick climb above release height, but today the thermals were more like bubbles -if you didn't get in as it was rising, there was no lift underneath them. As I passed through the center of the thermal, below the climbing aircraft there was no lift at all, so I headed over towards the ridge searching for thermals that were being blown up the hill.

Flying is coming to an end as the club and
private gliders wait their turn to be put away

No luck. I'm getting down to decision time to begin my entry into the landing pattern, so I lined up over the hang glider field and suddenly felt the whoosh and saw 2 knots of upward lift with signs that it was stronger than that. I calculated what would happen if I circled and lost 100 feet of altitude and decided that wouldn't be a problem. I turned sharply and was rewarded with 3...4...5 knots of vertical speed! I feebly tried to ascertain where the lift was strongest and weakest the last time around and moved my circle slightly...6 knots of lift! After just two circles, the field was looking LOT smaller than it did when I was contemplating landing.

I stuck with the thermal and really concentrated on centering it and getting as much lift as I could out of each circle and pretty soon I was climbing through 4,400 feet after starting at 2,500. The thermal topped out with a nice 2,000 foot altitude gain. I headed off to search for more thermals, fat, dumb, and happy.

Andy and Stefan preparing to search for lift

They were out there and an hour later, after a number of climbs and descents, I decided to open the spoilers and come down so others could enjoy the flying. It was actually a little difficult because that same thermal was cycling again in the same spot, so I had a chance to see what happens if you get caught in an updraft underneath a thunderstorm - full spoilers, still climbing. Pointing the nose down fixed that and I was back on the ground in a few minutes.

What do you do up there besides fly?

Often, when I'm up at the hill for quite awhile, I get that phone call asking me, "What are you doing up there?" There's all kinds of stuff that just burns up the afternoon.

First of all, there's something about Harris Hill that is a little bit like a time machine. You get out of your car and you enter a DIY world where it's up to YOU to take care of everything. Launch, retrieval, even routine maintenance is all up to you. I think it is related to the fact that most pilots aren't required to assemble their aircraft before they fly them!

Louis and Bryan replace a flat tailwheel

Our club ships stay put together in the hangar, although they can and do come apart for transportation or maintenance. But the private gliders are stored in trailers, which means each time they are flown, they are put together by their pilots. Wings are attached to fuselages, horizontal stabilizers are connected to tails, controls are connected to control surfaces each and every time they are flown and the whole process is reversed after flight to store them safely in their trailers afterwards.

Naturally, it helps to have some assistance to assemble and disassemble, so we all get familiar with the process. That seems to breed the DIY mentality that permeates the atmosphere up there. Tailwheel on the tow plane is flat? Replace it. Tow rope needs swapping out? Go ahead. Need a little lubricant on the hinges? It's over there, go get it. Add oil to the engine? Okay.

Chris Butler tows in the Super Cub

Now, to be clear, we don't do anything that isn't allowed under the Federal Air Regulations. Several of our members are mechanics and they do the inspections and maintenance that can only be done by mechanics. But the DIY spirit is prevalent everywhere on the hill and it's something that I really appreciate -especially around an airport. Most people are used to the commercial airports where passengers are routed like cattle through the terminal and onto the aircraft and restricted areas and special badging requirements abound. Not at a private airport like Harris Hill. I like it, and it contributes to the free and easy atmosphere that makes it fun to be there even if you aren't flying.

The unexpected

Sometimes you end up doing a little DIY duty for some unexpected tasks as well. After my first flight, as I got back to the flight line, several members were watching a glider as it sank out of view below the ridge line over the valley. After a few minutes, it was obvious that this glider was not climbing back up in a thermal which meant that the pilot must have landed in our alternate field in the valley below.

A call on the radio revealed that he was in the field and okay, having been out to test his sustainer engine but had been unable to start it and was forced to land in the field below. The alternate field is for just this purpose - if you get low out on the ridge, you can land in a field down in the valley. I've done it, as a matter of fact, and it's a great resource to have as it gives us a 'second chance' if things don't work out the way we'd planned.

I volunteered to drive down and see about him while others hooked his trailer up to a truck and brought it down. It is possible to tow out of that field, but the torrential rains made it soggy and we figured it was best to simply disassemble the aircraft and tow it back up to the hangar. An hour later, several of us had managed to get the trailer into the field without getting stuck in the mud, disassembled the glider, and brought it home to Harris Hill.

Between swapping stories, hooking up gliders, making minor repairs, and even retrieving landouts, there's plenty to do up at the hilll, even when you're not flying. The only thing there's not enough of is...time.

Back in the Saddle

2011-04-16T13:03:00.001-04:00

Thursday evening I headed out to Harris Hill for the first flight of the season! I took my field safety checkout with Ron Ogden and realized that while I might be a bit rusty, I still remember how to fly!

The winds were tricky, out of the East-Northeast at 8-10 knots, a little gusty. Perfect for training. When the wind blows out of the East, and particularly when the wind favors landing to the North, as it did today, you have to be on your toes to prevent a tricky situation from becoming dangerous.

There are a couple of things that an East wind causes. In the diagram below, pretend that North is to the right -the direction of the aircraft labeled 'Straight out departure'. You enter the pattern in the 45 degree entry point on the diagram and then turn parallel to the runway and fly downwind. With an East wind, that means the wind is off your left wingtip and trying to blow you away from the runway. You compensate by flying at an angle with your nose pointed slightly into the wind. Although you aren't parallel, the wind blows you out as you point your nose into the wind and the result is you fly a straight line.

You'd better fly that straight line CLOSE to the runway because as you turn left onto your base leg, your groundspeed will slow as you fly directly into the wind. The airspeed indicator will show the same speed, but your groundspeed will slow by the amount that the wind is blowing. So, your 60 knot groundspeed will slow to 40 knots if the wind is blowing 20 knots.

The solution is to keep the base leg short, or you'll lose altitude and not be making any progress on your pattern. As you turn to final, the wind is now off your right wingtip and trying to blow you away from centerline. You fly at the opposite crab angle, nose pointed slightly into the wind to compensate and track straight.

The wind was gusty and as we turned final, we encountered not just turbulence but wind shear that caused us to lose 10 knots of airspeed almost instantly. Fortunately, I was flying at 60 knots and the stall speed of the glider is quite a bit less than the 50 knots we were suddenly flying at as we went through the shear. The airspeed indicator bounced around wildly for a second or two, then we passed through it and I managed to touchdown pretty much where I was aiming - a little farther than I wanted but not by too much.

Now, I'm checked out for the coming flying season and I need two more flights to be 'current' and carry passengers. I'll work on getting those next week during training as the weather is pretty iffy this weekend. Regardless, it was great to get back in the air and I'm looking forward to the flying 2011 flying season!

Web cam updated

2011-04-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

I updated the webcam for Harris Hill and it is a huge improvement! It's a logitech Pro9000 and whatever they did to build intelligent optics into it, they did it right for my needs. The old camera wasn't really intended for outdoor use and I'd put a piece of cardboard over it with a pinhole but the picture was always a bit blurry and washed out.

The new one is higher resolution and adjusts better for bright light conditions. You can make out the cloud types, see which gliders are out on the runway and so forth. It updates every 10 minutes, along with the weather station at this address: http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/GliderWx/1/show.html

Yawn. I hate studying for the written test.

2011-03-17T10:33:00.001-04:00

I'm studying for the written test for the commercial glider pilot exam. I've always done well on standardized tests and I'm taking it seriously, so I don't expect to have a lot of trouble passing it. It's just a drag.

Not to mention I have to actually go take the test, and the testing facility isn't anywhere nearby, I don't think. I actually don't know. The last time I took an FAA written test, it was back in the 80's when you used pencil and paper and waited for the results for several weeks. Now, it's computer based and you know right away if you passed - much better.

In preparation, I've attended our weekly ground school sessions at Harris Hill for the past couple of months and sat through lecture, read through Bob Wander's "Commercial Glider - Made Easy!" book and am currently working my way through the Glider Pilot's handbook. Then, I'll use the commercial glider prep book that has actual questions in it to prep.

It's not like a lot of this stuff isn't good to know, but that doesn't mean it's not boring. The Glider Flying Handbook is a good example. It explains the differences between different types of hypoxia but the results are the same - euphoria, feeling that everything is fine, drowsiness, possible headache, blue lips, tingling fingers, unconsciousness, possible death either from hypoxia or accident. Now, whether I need to know the medical differences between the various forms of hypoxia is a different matter. Since the point is for me to know how to A) avoid it; B) Or barring that, recognize it by descending and using oxygen or both, then while I suppose it is good background, the practical aspect is what I need to know.

Anyhow, minor rants. I'll study it, take it, hopefully pass it, and I'll be all ready for the oral portion of the flight test, so the only thing to do is get it behind me.

On a very encouraging note, I've been teamed up with Ron Ogden as my instructor to prepare for the commercial flight test and that's a good thing. Ron is a top notch instructor and I'm looking forward to learning some good stuff from him and being an even more proficient pilot than I am. He would like to try and get me ready for the test by June. I'll see how I'm doing by early April and try to set a date with the local examiner so I have a hard deadline to work against.

Buff and wax of #6 ASK-21 this winter

Next week, we buff and wax the Duo Discus, our cross country trainer and our first safety meeting takes place. We'll go over the electronic scheduling system I've worked on over the winter and will hopefully implement going into mid-summer.

In any case, the new flying season is coming and I'm looking forward to improving my skills again this year! If things go very well, I'll also look at adding some cross country experience so I can get checked out in the single seat Discus -the last club glider that I'm not yet checked out in.

Going Commercial

2011-01-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

The phone call from one of our instructors posed a dilemma. "Are you going to get a commercial rating this year?" I hadn't thought to make a decision on that question this early in the year, but as it turns out, now is the time.

To be clear, a commercial rating simply allows me to be compensated for flying passengers. I can already fly passengers under my private pilot ticket, but am only allowed to split compensation on a 50% or less basis with the passenger. The type of certification I must have to fly passengers for hire at Harris Hill is governed by the certification of our operation (Part 91 of the code of federal regulations) by the FAA. If I have a commercial glider rating, I can fly passengers under Part 91 for Harris Hill, so this rating allows me to take paying passengers up at Harris Hill.

Getting a commercial glider rating involves passing a written FAA test and a practical flight exam with a designated FAA examiner. It's not considered one of the more difficult ratings to get, but I'm always nervous about taking tests.

It's also (like other ratings) expensive to get. The written test costs about $100 dollars and the checkride is about $400. If you fail it, you get to keep paying until you pass.

So, it wasn't without considerable trepidation that I answered, "Yes. Yes I will try for my commercial rating this year." And with that, the decision was made and I've committed myself to intense study of the FAA regulations (ahem, ones that I should already know, by the way) and scrutiny of my flying by someone whose opinion carries a lot of weight.

If you've read my blog, you'll know that while I am certainly a competent pilot, I'm not in the same league as some of the hotshots in our club who seem to have been born with a stick in their hands and their feet on the rudder pedals. Probably never will be.

So, any test of my abilities is a test I approach with a great deal of preparation. Right now, I'm attending our Winter ground school, which is reminding me how much I have forgotten and studying Bob Wander's "Commercial Glider Checkride - Made Easy!" book. I've used the Bob Wander series since my early glider days at the recommendation of one of our instructors and they've been terrific for getting me ready for the oral exam, transition to single seat glider, learning to thermal and now the commercial test.

The benefits of getting a commercial rating are many. First, I will be a better pilot. The Practical Test Standards (PTS) published by the FAA prescribe the maneuvers and procedures you must know to pass a flight check and earn a commercial rating. These standards are more stringent than the private pilot standards and thus you must be a better pilot to earn the rating. If I pass, I'll be a better pilot.

Second, when I carry paying Harris Hill passengers, I won't pay for the flight. All the money (and expense) goes to Harris Hill. Which means I get to fly for free.

Third, passenger rides are limited to about 25 minutes. That means lots of takeoffs and landings, which makes you a better pilot. When flying on your own, you try to avoid doing 8 or 9 landings a day in the glider due to the expense of the tow fees.

Fourth, I like to share the glider experience with people. People are alternately afraid or excited when they go for a ride and I think I'm pretty good at helping those who are afraid enjoy the ride and it will be fun to share the thrill with those who are excited.

Fifth, it's always good to have a goal for each season. Last year I wanted to fly cross country but didn't achieve that goal. This is one that I can reasonably expect to achieve this year.

As soon as the weather breaks and flying resumes in April, I'll start the flight training portion of my preparations. I think I should probably get the written test out of the way by the end of April if not sooner. That way, I've got plenty of time to practice up and get proficient for the flight exam.

The Cure for Winter Blues

2010-12-19T00:30:00.000-05:00

Our Schweizer 1-34 awaits its Winter flight at the hill

Regularly scheduled flying takes a break over the winter at Harris Hill, but that doesn't always mean that NO flying takes place. Today was one of those rare "Let's go flying!" days.

Thanks to Ron Ogden, the email went out to the mailing list and several member responded enthusiastically that "Yes!" we want to to fly on Saturday!

December has been a bit cold this year with day time highs in the low 20's but we've been spared that lake effect snow that Buffalo to the West and Syracuse to the Northeast have gotten. We've had a number of light snow showers in December but they usually drop 1/2 inch or so at most.

Jeff Shingleton in his Lambada motor glider showed up,
paid a visit, and flew in formation with me at 3,000 feet.

In any case, several club members showed up at the appointed hour and Dana Smith also showed up for tow pilot duty and we all got a few flights in. At first, I didn't think I would fly but would just help out, but as we rolled the aircraft out and positioned them, I caught flight fever and decided to take a couple of flights.

The weather was quite beautiful with clear blue and a few lower level dark but thin clouds that hinted at wave effect. While we didn't encounter any wave, there was rather sparse and spotty weak lift that would help stretch your flight even if it didn't take you upwards.

I strapped into the Schweizer 1-34 for my two flights. I love the 1-34. It is easy to fly, performs fairly well and has dive brakes that can stop an out of control 18 wheeler. I headed up to 2,000 feet above the field and let the tow rope go as I circled looking for lift. I found a teeny tiny bit over the rock cliffs near route 352 and managed to arrest my descent. 16 minutes later I was on final for landing and a bit high. I popped open those giant dive brakes and although I knew I would lose speed, had forgotten how powerful they were -even though I was expecting them to slow me quickly. I stowed them again, picked up speed and landed pretty close to where I had intended to.

Bryan Reigal on final for Harris Hill in the ASK-21

The second flight was much like the first although I found a small burble of a thermal that I managed to circle in for several turns before giving up and heading back to the field. This time I clocked in 17 minutes before landing.

It was great to get out in the middle of winter and get some flights in! It is usually a long stretch to April and I'm glad I got to sneak some flights in before it was bitter cold.

If you want to see more, there are a few more pics in my soaring album here. They'll be the ones at the end of the album.

Gallo Grijalva took the 1-34 for several flights

The weather was quite good - blue skies and not too windy/cold
with temps right at 32, making for good flying

Managing the Snowbird Contest

2010-11-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

The Snowbird contest is nearly 70 years old

I was asked to be the Snowbird Contest Manager this year. Frankly, it was the last thing I wanted to do as I've had a crazy number of commitments of the 'helping out' variety this Fall. Buuuut...well, they needed someone to do it and it was obvious that nobody new was going to step up and volunteer. I thought, "Gee, it's in just a couple of weeks so I'll just do it and get it over with."

It went fine, but it was tough to find volunteers for the schedule. Thanks to the 'usual suspects' that volunteer every year and stepped up immediately. You know who you are.

Kvetching aside, on the two days the contest was scheduled, Mother Nature blessed us with 15 knot 90 degree crosswinds and gusts as high as 32 on the anemometer at the Flight Center! Needless to say, no flying occurred and the whole contest was a washout.

What a drag! This was my first Snowbird and I was looking forward to seeing the spot landing contest. We'd laid out the landing zones on the runway and set up the marker cones to see who could touchdown and roll out, stopping closest to the cone. Some years, the difference is decided in under 1 inch from the cone.

The contest is the longest continuously running contest in soaring history at 60+ years but the atmosphere is more like a local event. We have members from Mid-Atlantic Soaring who come pretty much every year and a few others here and there, but by and large it's a chance for our local pilots to get out there and fly on last time before the New Year.

Instead, this year we had a whole lot of hangar flying as we waited each day until about 1pm to call the contest off each day. Someone joked that I was automatically signed up for next year as the contest manager. I don't think so. But I'll be sure to volunteer for a task when the call goes out.

From here on out, it gets colder as Winter takes a firmer grip on the Southern Tier and it won't let go until April. Time to put away those thermal thoughts for awhile until we turn the corner and Spring approaches.

Passing up the opportunity to fly?!

2010-11-02T09:50:00.000-04:00

I've been busy the past six weeks. REALLY busy, as in, no time to fly busy. And when there has been time to fly, the autumn has been pretty poor for soaring.

The end of our staffed flying season at Harris Hill is the last week in October, so we're done for the season now, unless you make special arrangements to fly. We'll have one more weekend to fly (our Snowbird contest on Thanksgiving weekend) but that will be it.

I passed on the opportunity to fly at the very end because I hadn't flown since the second week of September and I feel strongly that you need to fly regularly to be proficient. So, while I could have squeaked in something at the end, the flying wasn't good soaring and I hadn't flown in 6 weeks. I need to fly regularly.

Did I accomplish my goals this year? I wanted to be more proficient at flying the ASK-21 and I wanted to fly some cross-country. I wish I could say I felt more proficient in the 21, but while I'm more *experienced* I still don't feel more proficient.

I struggled all year to put the aircraft on the ground the way I wanted to. I was generally able to land it on the spot I picked, but I was either faster than I wanted to be, or slower than I was comfortable with. My rear seat performance on the BFR was dismal for takeoff and I was disappointed with my failure to react quickly and correct sufficiently. That's a trait I've worked on to break all along and yet it pops up time and again. Last year I felt like I was on top of it. This year, not so much.

I also didn't fly any cross country at all. The weather was either crummy when I was available or I couldn't hook up with an instructor. Not to mention I find my technique embarrassing and don't want the upper echelon of the club to know how badly I fly.

Did I get better at thermalling? Yes, I got better. Did I thermal satisfactorily? No. I continue to have trouble reading and centering thermals, although I'm better at it than I was. Compared to my technique last year, I have improved. Compared to other peer pilots I've flown with, I need more improvement.

I flew more in the early part of the year than later. I knew that for a month period between mid-September and mid-October I would not fly due to other commitments. I hadn't anticipated that the weather in the last two weekends would be crummy anyhow.

So, the season ends with a whimper and only slow progress on my flying goals. Next year, the logical thing to do would be to get my commercial glider pilot rating so I can fly passenger rides. Although I'm hard on myself about my flying skills, it's more about assessing my skills and working on improving areas that need sharpening up. I certainly don't have any compunctions about flying friends and family around as passengers and taking a member of the general public up for a ride isn't the same thing as developing soaring skills for cross country flight. I'm a conservative pilot when I fly personally and I'm more conservative when I have a passenger with me.

I'll decide whether or not to cross that bridge next Spring when the flying season is closer. There's a lot of preparation and analysis I need to do before taking that step. It's expensive to take the flight test, it's expensive to take the written test, and I need to gear up for doing that.

In the meantime, our club President has asked if I would volunteer to be the contest manager for our Snowbird contest. I have tentatively said yes, but told him I have no idea what I need to do to prepare for the contest and will need help. We meet on Monday, so I'll find out what's in store for me then.

Bi-annual Flight Review

2010-09-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

I took my biannual flight review (bfr) this Wednesday. The BFR is required for pilots and consists of a few flights with an instructor and an hour of ground training. I took mine from Ron Ogden, our V.P. of Operations at Harris Hill and one of our certified glider instructors.

You can't fail a BFR, but it is possible that you may not pass it. For me, I wasn't too keyed up about taking it -as Ron told me, it is designed to be a learning experience rather than a testing experience.

We met at the field and discussed issues that were mainly related to aeronautical decision making. As Ron said, and I whole-heartedly agree, knowing all the stuff about airspace and procedures is just fine but the FAA doesn't require very much training related to decision making. And in soaring, a decision you made 5 minutes ago can have some very dire consequences.

I've flow power *some* -about 130 hours worth, but from my point of view, the most important part of flying is the decisions that you make. In fact, piloting an aircraft differs most from driving a car in this respect. Decisions you make in the pre-flight, cruise, and landing phase all have a huge influence on the successful outcome of a flight.

Skill-wise, I'd rate myself at the bottom of the average scale for skills. Pilots are like anyone else, some are much more naturally inclined to excel at the stick and rudder skills and for some it just doesn't come as naturally. For me, it's not so much that I'm a poor pilot, I'm just not a hot shot ace like some of the glider Gods at the field. Of course, if I thought I was not capable of flying, I would stop. So, maybe it's not quite as bad as I'm making it out.

Anyhow, I try to compensate for my average-ness by ensuring I don't get into situations that require heroic saves and incredible pilot skills. Because most people don't have those -that's why they are heroic and incredible. Maybe I do and don't know it. But I'm not intending to find out. I fly for fun and therefore I fly conservatively.

After our discussion about issues that were of concern to me - low level spins and how they develop, landing to the north, how far one can safely stray from the field and still count on returning and so on, we headed out to an ASK-21 for the first flight. Ron asked me if I'd flown from the back before and I told him I'd only done it once and would like to try. I got in the back, we hooked up, and off we went.

There was a light west wind that pulled us to the left of the tow plane. I was concentrating on keeping the wings level as we pulled left. I couldn't really see the tow plane until we were kind of far out of position, then I didn't apply enough correction to arrest the drift. I reached for the tow release as Ron kicked in a little more rudder and stopped the drift. The rest of the tow and flight went fine, with me a little embarrassed at not acting quick enough.

On landing, I realized I had probably been landing with a bit too little energy all along (see my previous posts on 'plopping it in'. We then switched over to the Schweizer 2-33 to land down at the Elmira airport since I'd never landed there before. We took a handheld radio along and I called the tower as we approached their airspace. As Ron had told me, there was plenty of room to land -and there was. Wow! Landing at Harris Hill is like putting it down on an aircraft carrier compared to Elmira. We could easily have gotten low on our base leg and landed across the airport without and worries at all.

After we landed, the tow plan came down from Harris Hill and picked us up. We made my second unassisted takeoff (where you have one wing on the grass and the tow plane pulls you along until it comes off the ground), headed up to Harris Hill and landed on the runway there.

That was it. Now I'm certified for two more years of flight on my own. It hardly seems like it's been two years since I earned my glider rating. It's more of a challenge than it ever was before as I'm trying to fly more smoothly and professionally than I have in the past.

Next year - I'll go for my commercial ticket so I can fly passengers!

Webcam replaced!

2010-07-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

I've replaced the webcam at Harris Hill with the new Microsoft Lifecam VX5000. Using the pinhole camera trick, I modified it into an outdoor camera and built a small enclosure with plexiglass on either end of a pvc pipe. The cam is mounted inside and hangs from the overhang by the porch at the flight center.

It looks a lot like the cantenna I made for the WiFi connection.

Time will tell if this camera is worth it or not, but so far, the pictures are sharper and cleaner than the previous webcam. The webcam has proven to be the most popular feature of the weather station install. Everybody checks in on it to see what's going on up there.

Upgrading the web cam at Harris Hill

2010-07-28T17:26:00.001-04:00

The web camera I put up on Harris Hill works great and I've had lots of comments about how helpful it is to have a camera so people can see what is going on.

However, the quality is poor (if this image doesn't look too bad it means I've replaced the camera).

I had a replacement camera of better quality - the Microsoft Lifecam VX5000. However, that camera had AWFUL quality when placed outdoors. Turns out this is a common problem and I found a fix for it on instructables.com.

It seems the aperture is set wide for webcams so they look good indoors. This causes them to have way too wide an aperture when used outdoors. The instructables site told me that fixing this was as simple as taking the camera apart and placing a piece of cardboard with a pinhole aperture over the lens opening.

It worked! Incredibly, when I did that, the camera became suitable for outdoor use. A little adjustment with the image controls gave me acceptable -and better, image quality.

I plan on replacing the existing camera in a weatherproof enclosure this weekend when I'm up at Harris Hill for my monthly duty cycle. Hopefully, the little piece of plastic I used will remain in place with the airplane glue I use to bond it to the lens surrounding.

Plopping it in

2010-07-18T15:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've officially gone from one side of the spectrum to the other. Instead of bouncing when landing, I'm now firmly attacking the ground with a 'PLOP'! in crosswinds.

This is actually good news. I've over corrected in the opposite direction. Which means the answer lies somewhere in between. I'm determined to find it. My landings, while safe and acceptable, are kind of embarrassing.

I've seen this before with my flying. I've got quite a few flights in on the ASK-21 now and I can handle it pretty well. So, I've got enough experience with it that I OUGHT to know better but there's some kind of mental block associated with crosswind landings.

It's worth noting that I'm expanding the envelope of flying in the 21, also. I've carefully expanded my crosswind experience by flying in stronger crosswinds in it, a few knots at a time. So, the situation I'm referring to is one where the winds are higher or gusty and not blowing down the runway. So it is a little more challenging to begin with, but I'd like to make it smoother.

Landing hot

2010-07-06T20:28:00.000-04:00

Twice in the last couple of flights I've had slight directional control issues when landing the ASK-21 in a crosswind.

Each time, it has been a good touchdown but then a sudden swerve to one side and a not so pretty rollout. Nothing to worry too much about, but it reeks of sloppy technique.

The complicating factor is the crosswind, of course, but after some analysis, I think it goes beyond that. I think I've been landing hot -that is, too fast. The right speed to fly when coming down final, barring gusty conditions, is right around 55 knots. The ASK-21 stalls at considerably below that speed, perhaps 37 knots or even less.

Both times I've swerved, I've been right on the approach speed. Problem is, I think, is that I'm touching down at that speed. Touching down too fast means you have too much energy in the glider and it makes it easy to bounce. In both cases, I've bounced. Once because I didn't flare quite enough, the other time because I crossed the taxiway which is a slight mound, and bounced into the air briefly. Each time, the crosswind swung me a bit and I touched down in a crab and swerved.

I've been touching down too fast because I was not happy with getting too slow on landing in previous attempts. Those touchdowns were all quite good but I thought I was slowing too much in the flare. I need to re-evaluate that. Previously, I was flaring at just the right altitude and slowing to touch down, just a bit low with the tail first. But recently, I've been touching down faster in that crosswind, probably because I'm worried about getting blown sideways as I touchdown.

Also, I may still be carrying a bit too much altitude into the landing. I'm using full spoilers to get to the point I want to touch down on and I'm still going 55 knots when I get there. In the ASK-21, if you do that, you can get a rather quick settling of the glider if you let it slow up too high and that requires you to put the spoilers in a little bit and pick that speed back up. An unstable approach leads to a poor landing. I'm going to work on trying to prevent that from happening.

It's a delicate balance between floating in that flare too long and touching down with too much energy. I'm going to redouble my efforts to try and put the airplane down where I want to and stop where I intend to, all at the right speeds and numbers.

Flying the ridge

2010-07-01T00:15:00.000-04:00

One of the great things about soaring is discovering that other people are just as much in love with it as you are. Today I went out to Harris Hill to give some support to the members who are in training. Turns out there weren't that many students there and the tow pilot was only good for another 1/2 hour or so.

BUT. The wind was practically straight out of the north at about 12 knots. That means RIDGE flying, boys and girls! I grabbed a glider and just before I got into it, one of our members, Graham Hall, joined me for what turned out to be a delightful flight!

After we cleared the edge of the ridge on takeoff, the expected elevator-o-lift kicked in and we were climbing out with the vertical speed indicator pegged at 10 knots! The whole tow to 2,000 feet took just one circle. Graham was flying and we cut loose and headed for the nearby ridge.

The lift was there, just as expected.

When wind blows against a tall hill, and particularly a ridge, it will strike the ridge and continue upward. As long as the wind continues to blow, the lift from that ridge will continue upward. If your glider descends at 200 feet per minute and the wind blows upward at greater than 200 fpm, you will go UP.

That's where we found ourselves on this particular day. We shared the ride along Harris Hill and the ridge with a 1-34 and a Duo Discus as we flew back and forth along the ridge. Graham flew some, then I flew some. Graham found some lift at one edge of the ridge and circled in it, at one point getting us up to 3,500 feet - just 200 feet below where we let off to begin with.

The setting sun was beautiful, the day was crisp and clear, and we could see the all the way down to Mansfield, PA where the windmill farm is. It was just gorgeous. Landing was uneventful and was a perfect end to a perfect flight. Best flight of the year, I'd say!

Here, Graham's expression sums it all up as he maneuvers us into the lift:

Weather station online!

2010-06-22T00:08:00.000-04:00

This week I completed the weather station project and was able to get it online! It's been working properly for several days in a row and now we've got both weather observations, history, and even a webcam so you can see Harris Hill and the National Soaring Museum has a presence with their name on it out in weather station land.

From Soaring

View the weather station page here: http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KNYELMIR5

Also, some more pilot specific pages that use the weather data are on our Harris Hill web site: http://www.harrishillsoaring.org/weather.htm

For those interested, here are the details of how the system works.

First, the system uses a Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station mounted on our Flight Center. That's it on the right hand side on the white pole in the photo below. The tripod device in the center is a local weather station but it did not have the capability to place data on the internet, so we needed the Vantage Pro.

From Soaring

Second, is a web cam that looks out at the flight line. Unfortunately, the picture isn't nearly this clear, but the camera was free, so beggars can't be choosers. It works well enough but I may see about getting something with higher resolution.

From Soaring

Here's the web cam location (below, it is the white blotch with the extra cable hanging off of it above the window)

From Soaring

Here's a closeup.

From Soaring

The webcam uses a cable that connects to a computer (upper right above the window) while the weather station sends its data wirelessly to the console (mounted about halfway up between the windows in this photo). The console has a USB plug that connects to the computer and downloads the weather station data periodically.

From Soaring

The computer has a WiFi USB dongle that is stuck in the window of the Flight Center, below.

From Soaring

Then comes the interesting part. The Flight Center does not have internet access, but the National Soaring Museum has limited net access via a satellite connection.

From Soaring

Distance from the Flight Center to the NSM is around 1,000 feet.
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From Soaring

At the soaring museum end is a cantenna. Literally, an antenna made from a tin can. Bush's baked beans, to be exact. Vegetarian, of course. The can is encased in a length of pvc pipe for weatherproofing and mounted on the side of the NSM pointing at the flight center. I found invaluable instructions for how to build this on this site.

From Soaring

The antenna wire is routed inside the building to a WiFi router (Linksys WRT54G) inside and a cable connects the router to the NSM internet router. The data on the weather computer is sent to wunderground.com and the Harris Hill soaring weather pages here.

That's it! We now have visual and weather observations for the Hill from afar. I've already used it to gauge when the winds shifted from the South to the Northwesterly direction and make flying possible. Other members also seem pleased with the system.

This was a fun project and one that I *thought* was within my technical abilities but wasn't sure about. It took longer than I wanted, but in the end I'm really pleased I was able to figure out all the little twists and turns involved. AND, now the NSM has a presence on the web so people will see what's up at Harris Hill!

Off topic bonus: Today I flew 2 hours and 15 minutes in the ASK-21. Good times.

Weather station update

2010-06-01T09:08:00.000-04:00

The Harris Hill weather station has been up at the flight center for a couple of weeks and I check it each time I go up there. It's working without a problem right now.

The original console had an issue where it was very reluctant to restart if you removed power to it. I'd been on the phone to Davis tech support and gotten it working once but was unable to get it to work after I moved it out to Harris Hill.

Davis gives a one year warranty and sent me a refurbed unit that works a treat!

Now, the weather station and the computer with the Weather Link software are happily churning away and recording data.

The last mile - making that all important connection to the National Soaring Museum's internet access. To get the station online in internet land, we need the NSM's internet connection. This weekend, I scoped out how to do that with the museum's tech rep and I think we've got a reasonable solution figure out to put it on the side of the building with an easy link to the flight center. Piece of cake.

I ordered the cable needed and have been building my cantenna to make the link to the flight center. As soon as it arrives, we'll install and should be able to get online with the system!

In other flying news, I flew for 49 minutes in difficult conditions, spending most of my time spinning circles. Good practice for thermalling, which is what I'm trying to get better at. I got off tow in a thermal about 500 feet lower than normal tow height, circled for awhile, mostly keeping altitude and finally gaining a few hundred feet, then headed out to find another thermal. They were close together but didn't go very high.

I kept at it, moving from one place to another and always finding some lift. I finally managed 4,000 feet but that was about it for the height of the thermals. I'd forgotten to check my watch for takeoff time and thought I better get back in case someone was waiting to fly -there were a lot of people on the field, many of them assembling gliders.

When I got back, several of the 'pros' had been up and back down quicker than I had as they tried to stay aloft. I guess I did alright for the day!

Weather station update

2010-05-18T23:25:00.000-04:00

Getting closer on the weather station! The station is installed, the console is working reliably, and the small computer I use to run the Davis Weatherlink software is reliably updating and operating properly.

The last link in the chain is to get the WiFi connection about 1,000 feet down to the National Soaring Museum. Yesterday, I set up the WiFi router at one end of that run and walked down to the NSM with my iPad and was able to connect to the router. I logged on to the computer and was able to use VNC to remotely control the weather station computer. No unusual methods required!

That means a simple omnidirectional antenna for the WiFi will probably work just fine. Next week I'll meet with one of the guys from the NSM and get the router installed. Then, it will just be a matter of getting the antenna on the roof and we'll be in good shape for that final link!

Trading altitude for distance

2010-04-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday I was waiting for an ASK-21 to come back from a flight so I could take a spin when I realized the 1-34 was sitting out there just waiting to be flown. So, I hopped in and off I went.

The wind was from the South but would sometimes blow and sometimes stop. Takeoff was to the North. The first flight reminded me that I forgot how much the spoilers will slow you down on a 1-34! Let's just say that I 'attacked' the runway in firmly returning to earth.

I took another ride, hoping to dust off the cobwebs. It was an odd day with shear and broken up lift aloft. The tow line went slack once and I carefully swung the nose out to slow the ship and take keep from putting a shock on it as the line went taut again. I was able to find zero sink but never sustained lift. I'd gotten aloft after a high overcast shut off the thermal activity, but no matter. This was more about wounded pride than staying aloft.

When landing into a South wind at Harris Hill, the wind blows up the backside of the hill and curls over and down into the valley at the northern end of the runway. That's the end that you cross on final approach when landing into a South wind.

I kept my pattern high and close on base leg and turned final with quite a bit of altitude. The wind sock was showing about 10 knots or a little less as I opened the spoilers and started to slip hard to lose altitude. This time I had my speed right as I descended down final when suddenly I started to lose altitude very quickly. I was in the waterfall.

Fortunately, I had been expecting it so I closed the spoilers and accelerated to 75 knots, pointing the nose down to get to that speed. The edge of the landable area was getting pretty big pretty fast. I started to mentally calculate when I should break off and make a turn to go back into the valley when suddenly the descent rate decreased. I was through it.

I pulled the nose up and tried to slow to 55 for landing. Suddenly, I'd gone from landing way short to looking like I might go long! No matter, I put the spoilers out full, slowed to approach speed and then closed them to about 1/3 as I got close to flaring out for landing. I bobbled a bit but managed to touchdown precisely where I'd been aiming and made a credible touchdown and stop.

I'm still rusty, but looking forward to more flying soon. The weather this Spring so far has been nice only when I'm working and a bit crummy when I'm flying. Hopefully that will break soon and I'll get some thermaling practice in.

And he's Current!

2010-04-07T21:15:00.000-04:00

At today's Wednesday night training session, I completed my 3rd flight in the past ninety days, making me FAA current and legal to carry passengers on flights. I've completed my annual safety check ride, I'm current, and the season has just begun. Life is good.

Today, the winds were pretty strong out of the south all day but were predicted to change to the northwest and drop to under 10 knots. That's not exactly what happened, though.

When I arrived at Harris Hill, the winds were out of the northwest alright and dropping but after I got into the glider, the windsock went limp. I took off in what must have been a lull. Upon getting airborne, it was clear that the atmosphere was unstable with gusts and bumps all the way to altitude that got gustier rather than smoother as is usually the case.

I headed upwind looking for any signs of lift but when I found it, it was choppy and not very large. I flew 45 degree circles trying to stay inside it but finally decided that they weren't thermals after all but instead were gusts being blown up after hitting the ridge below.

The wind switched all the way around to the Northeast after I got to altitude and picked up again, necessitating a North landing with an eastern crosswind component and gusts. I stayed close on downwind, carried some extra altitude into the base leg, keeping it quite close as well, and turned onto final. I was determined to pick out and land on a specific spot, not too far down the runway but not too close from the threshold and get it stopped before the taxiway.

I nailed it. I did let my airspeed slip a bit on final but got it back to approach speed and put the glider precisely on the spot I wanted to land on, kept wings level, and kept flying it all the way to the stop, easily finishing before I got to the taxiway. I let the brake off, coasted onto the taxiway and stopped. Beautiful. A nice confidence builder.

So, now I'm ready to fly. I need some lift, first of course! The weather isn't too promising this weekend, but we'll find a day soon to practice thermal centering and climbing. I've been reading Kai Gertsen's Cross Country Guide and it is jam packed with practical advice. I'm preparing for cross country training this year and expect to be a much better pilot by the end of the season.

Weather station takes a step forward...

2010-04-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday, I managed to get the HHSC weather station mounted. Thanks to Burke Carson and Doug...sorry Doug, I forgot your last name! Both were a great help to put the station up on the side of the flight center on a REALLY blustery day!

It's not perfect, of course. I chose to use a length of pvc pipe about 8 feet high but when we got it up, it's not really as rigid as I hoped for and it oscillates in the wind. And the day we put it up, the winds were pretty strong - 20 gusting to 30 mph.

I think we'll have to replace the pipe with something metal, unfortunately. I shouldn't have tried to cheap out on this part of the install.

Ominously, the blasted console is also giving me a lot of trouble powering up. I'm going to have to call Davis wether systems, It had this issue before.

Meanwhile, I've purchased an Ebay WiFi router and some parts to build a cantenna for the museum WiFi connection. The parts should be here soon.

Up, up and away!

2010-03-31T23:51:00.001-04:00

You know how when you choose "Turn Off This Computer" in Windows that the color slowly drains from the screen, until it is black and white? Well, this time of year up at Harris Hill, it's like that -except in reverse. The color is slowly coming into the Spring after the cold and gray of Winter. And today, it got quite a bit more colorful.

Today was the first day of regular Wednesday night flight training at Harris Hill! Our flight students were up there after work and I headed up to get my annual field check with an instructor and get myself FAA current in flying a glider.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect as an overcast this morning with winds out of the North turned to clear skies with little, if any winds by start time at 5:30. Harris Hill requires an annual safety flight with an instructor after the winter layoff and I need it since the logbook said I hadn't flown since the end of September!

I got a bonus two-fer. I took my check in the 2-33 trainer, which I probably haven't flown for a year, plus it was my first flight in about 6 months. I climbed in, remembered where all the controls were and we towed out of 4NY8 into the afternoon sun. An East wind reminded me that one should stay close and tight to the field and the lower performance and lighter wing loading of the 2-33 kept me near the hill. I chose to stay mostly on the East side of the airport so the wind would quickly push me back to the proper side for landing.

Everything went smoothly. Okay, mostly everything went smoothly. I remembered how to fly on tow, I remember when I'm supposed to feed in rudder and elevator, and I can still keep the machine right side up pretty easily. On landing, I intentionally carried more altitude than necessary and slipped down base and around the right turn to final. Ron Ogden, our instructor extraordinaire (does anything ever upset him?!) said - put it on the asphalt, so I side stepped towards the pavement.

Spoilers open full to help bleed height and WHAM! we're down but in keeping spoilers open fully, I've got the brake on unintentionally. We touch down just short of the asphalt (I'll work on that, thank you very much), jump up onto the pavement and one wing goes low while the tire skids us to a very short stop. Not pretty. I told you I was rusty!

I emphasize to Ron that, no I wasn't pulling on the spoiler handle when we landed but that must have still activated the brake. I should have let the spoilers off just slightly before touchdown like I was thinking, but the approach was going okay and I didn't want to mess with it very much. Plus, if you do that on the ASK-21 you'll get a nice pop up into the air and possibly a porpoise that will amuse your pilot friends. See earlier blog posts about how I've pulled that stunt before.

Anyhow, Ron says "Well, I think you'll do okay on your own," and I'm checked out! I take a backseat passenger ride with one of my colleagues in the ASK-21 and then I'm off on my own in it after we land. And what do you know, I find a little zero sink air and milk the ride for awhile as I circle gently near the pattern for landing. Coming down final, I line up, get my spoilers set to help manage my energy and put it down on the pavement nicely, keeping the wings level and managing a nice taxi in the direction of the hangar. It's time to put the birds away for the evening.

But not for long. The soaring season at the hill has begun and Saturday is the club's first day of public operations. It's going to be a good year!

Springtime approaches!

2010-03-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

The spring weather is approaching and Harris Hill ops begin on a regular basis the first weekend of April! It's still not what you would call warm here in Upstate New York, but it is warm ENOUGH to get airborne and we're all getting ready for it.
Here's some photos from last weekend's work on glider 6, an ASK-21 that the club owns. We buffed off a very fine layer (about 1/1000 of an inch) of oxidation and put two coats of wax back on the entire airframe.
The snow was too high to move the glider from the runway to the hangar, so we had to take it apart outside. COLD!

Fortunately, the hangar is heated and once we got it indoors, we went to work on it. We stripped the wing seal tape off, cleaned it, washed the glider down to remove dirt and took out the seat pans and gave it a good vacuuming and cleaning. After we were done, the result was a gleaming glass finish and a bird that is fit to fly for the season!

It was great to see the regulars out at the hill and it really got me psyched about doing some flying as soon as possible! Looking forward to the Spring in just under 4 weeks for a great season of soaring.

Putting the Hill online

2010-02-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

Last Summer, I took on a project to get Harris Hill weather online. The Hill has a microclimate due to its position up on top and the fact that the nearby Elmira airport is down in the valley. The direction of the wind and the velocity is very often quite different from what's going on down below.

In addition, some members complained that they lived an hour or more away and could not easily tell when the winds were favorable or not. Also, I noted that the National Soaring Museum (NSM) although it has internet, doesn't have a presence online at places like Wunderground.com. That just plain seems wrong.

So, I decided to take some spare computer parts I had and donate them plus a Davis Vantage Pro II weather station. I asked members if they'd be willing to donate for the data logger that was needed to get the station data to the computer and promised I'd figure out the rest. They came through with the donations and now it's up to me to make it happen.

I've solved all of the problems and issues and the weather data is being uploaded to the Harris Hill web site (check it out here) with this up to the network issue. The NSM has internet access. Our flight center, about 1,500 feet away, doesn't. The weather station has a console that displays history and so forth and is useful for pilots who frequent the flight center. Thus, the console goes in the flight center, which means the computer goes there too.

But, to upload to the internet so everyone can see the data, you have to have a net connection. I've found what I hope is the solution - I'm going to build a 'cantenna' which focuses the WiFi signal from a router in the direction of the flight center. That should solve the 'last mile' problem and get us online. I hope.

Beyond that, I'm building personalized web pages with weather data on them including one for mobile phones. I've added the NSM weather station to www.wunderground.com personal weather stations and even have a web cam. My main concern is that it will run reliably so it's there when we need it.

Hmmm.

2010-01-18T14:19:00.000-05:00

Being involved in an organization - any organization, that has a lengthy history can sometimes be an education in human group dynamics and interaction. Like an onion, you can peel back many layers and think you are seeing the core but you're not. It's a good reminder that just because you see stuff a certain way it is probably best to just pay your monthly dues, shut up, and enjoy the flying.

With a whimper, not a bang.

2009-11-17T22:55:00.000-05:00

Done. Over. Gone.

Bye-bye to the 2009 soaring season, which ended with rainy weekends and a fizzle. Ah well, I knew it would. The soaring gods were not as kind this year as in the past.

What did I accomplish this year? Well, actually I accomplished my soaring goals for the year. I learned how to fly high performance fiberglass ships and notched up my experience level one more notch. I'm really pleased that despite the scare of my landout mid season that I now officially feel pretty comfortable flying the ASK-21 and still love the 1-34.

I took several friends up for rides in the 21, which is a much nicer ship to take passengers in than the venerable 2-33. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the 2-33 and like that ship quite a bit. It's like a big forgiving teddy bear. And the ASK-21 isn't too far behind either. It's my new best friend.

I tried to mishandle the 21 the last time I was out and it's just darned difficult to do. I intentionally flew it right on the edge of a stall and fed in some rudder. It should have turned a half spin and stalled but it didn't. Just sort of mushed through the air and descended quicker. A really nice handling machine. The type that could lull you into trouble flying a super high performance ship. I'll have to keep on my toes with that as I move up.

Move up? Yes, there are two more ships on my 'next year' list. The Duo Discus and the single seat Discus. Luckily, the club owns two of these machines and they are suitable for serious cross country flying. Next year, I'll sign up for cross country training and depart the comfy confines of the Harris Hill ridge and Elmira valley. I'm excited and I'll spend the winter finding materials to read and study in preparation for the flights.

And maybe...just maybe...commercial rating? If I get a commercial rating, I can fly passengers for hire but more importantly, I don't pay for the flights. It's a good way to build time without paying for it.

Anyhow, one more event on the calendar this year but I won't be able to attend - the annual Snowbird contest takes place the weekend of Thanksgiving. The weather is usually bad but the contest is stuff like spot landing and so forth. Then...perhaps some flying on New Year's day and then the long march to April.

Can the Fall get any worse?

2009-10-20T15:01:00.000-04:00

Good grief! The weather has been positively sub-optimal for weeks. And when it has been cooperative, I've been busy! Looks like this year's flying season will end with a whimper rather than a bang.

I did manage to get a beautiful flight in about a week and a half ago. It wasn't soaring weather but it was reasonably calm with about a 5 knot crosswind. I hadn't really flown in much of anything but dead calm or nearly direct headwinds all summer. Not to worry, all went well and the air was almost eerie smooth.

I managed to arrest my descent along the ridge and fell in behind one of our other club members as he went by and headed out over the valley. I flew minimum sink while he must have been flying best L/D (lift vs. drag). The fall trees were beautiful along the nearby hillsides with some stands of trees farther along than others, making the whole landscape look like a spattered paint canvas.

I worked my way down the ridge staying close to Harris Hill and then turned back around behind him as I was a little higher than he was. He made it look easy as he put it down in the first 1/3 of the field. I carried a bit more altitude for reasons that are obvious from my previous posts and landed beyond him, still stopping well before the pavement edge.

I've got one more opportunity to fly this weekend before we stop regular ops. Weather forecast is partly crummy with scattered crumminess changing to totally crummy later one.

The friends and family plan

2009-10-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

As the flying season winds down, I've decided that I'm finally comfortable flying the ASK-21. I've achieved my flying goals for this year, which was to move up to higher performance aircraft and become comfortable flying them.

I know that because I've been recently flying a lot of friends and family members, giving them a taste of soaring in 15 and 20 minute chunks. I wouldn't do that unless I was comfortable and of course, a spate of dead calm, no thermal weather has made it perfect for passenger trips, if not for soaring itself.

One of my goals was to get better at thermal centering and flying in the higher performance aircraft. I haven't had as much time to practice this because there haven't been that many thermals when I've flown. I did manage 53 minutes recently on a day when thermals were in the 2-3 knot range. That was really good practice for circling in light lift conditions and while I was better at the end of it than when I started, I'm still not doing it efficiently. I'm letting the yaw string skid off too much when I circle, meaning the tail isn't following the nose.

Of course, circling at a constant bank it's not too tough to keep the yaw string straight back. But in a thermal, you often vary the angle of bank to center up the thermal. A little less bank on the strong side of the thermal, a little steeper bank on the soft side of the therm will alter the circle with the intent of moving you closer to the center of lift. Varying that angle skids the tail if you aren't good with the rudder.

The concept is simple, the execution not as easy. Rolling the ASK-21 into a bank, you add more rudder than aileron. As you roll in, you ease off on the rudder although not all the way. Then you may need to reduce aileron as you reach your roll angle. When you do that, you need to add a little rudder to get the tail to follow because one wing is flying faster than the other around the circle. (Just think of whirling a ball on a string around your head -the speed of the ball is quite a bit higher than the speed of a point on the string near y

our hand). That extra speed creates more drag and pulls the nose in one direction requiring correction with the rudder. The amount of correction varies with bank angle and since you are almost constantly changing the bank angle as you circle, you need to do it pretty much automatically. If you think about it, you'll be behind the aircraft.

So, I'm not satisfied with my technique and I'm also not satisfied with my awareness of the sky conditions. I need to read and think more about where lift is or might be under different conditions. I'll work on that this winter and try to apply it next spring.

Next year, I've got one more milestone aircraft to check out in - the Discus. Our club has both a Duo (two seat) Discus and a single seat Discus. They are mainly for cross-country flights but the single seater rarely gets flown as it is in a trailer and has to be assembled. Our other aircraft are in the hangar and easier to roll out.

I'm also going to consider getting my commercial rating so I can fly passengers at Harris Hill. As I said, I'm still not satisfied with my skills and a commercial rating requires more precision than the private pilot glider rating. I'm going to look through the requirements for commercial rating this winter and even if I don't go for the rating, I'm going to train for it. It can't hurt and there's no reason I can't get the rating.

In addition, I'm going to sign up for cross country flight training from our club pros next year. That will introduce me to the world of thinking on your feet and will make me a much better pilot.

I'll close with a shot I took yesterday from the ASK-21 that I landed out in earlier this year. The leaves here in upstate NY are changing and it's always lovely. There was no lift but the visibility was excellent and I hadn't flown since the leaves started to noticeably show. It was still and quiet and truly beautiful.

That's why I fly.

The giant sucking sound

2009-08-21T13:10:00.000-04:00

If you listen closely, you can hear a very faint sucking sound as Summer begins to run out and we enter Fall -and inevitably, the end of the regular flying season at Harris Hill.

It's gone by fast and the weather hasn't been very kind to us this year but nevertheless I consider it a pivotal year in my glider experience. I achieved all of my flight goals this year - to move up to the high performance ships in our fleet and to become comfortable flying them.

There's still the Fall to fly, so another 10 weeks or so of good weekends and Wednesday night flying will help lessen the anguish of shutting it down until better weather. The weather is generally pretty good and watching the leaves change over the weeks from the air is a special site that not many get to share. I'm going to make the best of it before preparing for my flying next year.

What will my goals be? I'm giving consideration to adding the commercial glider pilot's license to my ratings. That way, I can be scheduled to fly passengers on weekends, introducing them to soaring and adding experience to my resume at no cost. You need to be able to fly to a higher standard for the commercial rating and I'm not yet certain that I qualify. We'll see what I think as I begin to fly next year.

I'm also thinking of starting some cross country training. I have *plenty* to learn about good thermalling and flight technique but one way you can gain that is to fly with experts and our cross country instructors are the ones who can teach you what to look for.

Until then, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the time left in the flying season and sharpen up those flight skills.

It does not get any better than this

2009-08-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

A friend from work visited this weekend. Aside from turning me into a Decemberists fan at their concert in Buffalo, we got a little soaring in. Today, he sent me a link to a Youtube video of us flying. You can see how spectacular the day was!

It's all good now

2009-08-10T17:08:00.000-04:00

I've been flying as much as I can, concentrating on learning how to put the ASK-21 on a spot that I want it to land on. One thing I've concentrated on is how to land from what is obviously 'too high'. This allows me to more easily control the glider when the risk of an undershoot is greater - like on a landing to the North.

I don't land all that close to the flight line, but I'm always touching down at the mid field taxiway, which is where I've been aiming. I've decided that I don't care if my landings require a lengthy push back to the flight line. What I care about is landing the glider where *I* want to land it and doing that consistently. Later on, I'll be able to gauge it more accurately and I can move that point back while still having plenty of room for error.

I've also been concentrating on holding my airspeed and turning in 30-35 degree circles. I've been doing some practice at steeper angles of 45 degrees as well. I'm getting the hang of it and am starting to be able to tell when the airspeed is increasing without having to look at the gauge. I'm still working on it, but I am improving.

I've done well in the last 8 or 10 takeoffs at keeping the wings level while compensating for crosswinds. No major bobbles or swerves recently and I'm pleased that I'm doing better at this. Gotta stay on top of it, though.

Awaiting takeoff at Harris Hill

I'm beginning to fly passengers with me. Bryan Riegal flew with me the other day on a pair of flights and took some pictures. No lift that day, so you couldn't stay up, but my oh my the view was nice and it was a perfect early evening set of cruises.

Behind the tow plane climbing to altitude

Your moment of Zen. Releasing from the tow plane to soar.

2009-06-29T08:57:00.000-04:00

Even though I've gone out and flown the 21 since I landed out, I'm still a little jumpy about it.

I'm very comfortable with the decision I made but the inevitable self doubts creep in. "Maybe I should have continued the approach. I might have made it." I need to erase those because I made the right decision for a guy with a grand total of about 8 flights in a new type operating a brand new $117k airplane.

The conversations around the field would be a lot different if I'd put it into the trees or damaged it trying to land. I'd probably quit flying I'd feel so bad. Not to mention my wife would have a thing or two to say about it.

It's all good. I fly for fun and this week I'm not doing too much of it because the International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) is at Harris Hill! There's about 30 sailplanes that are 50 years or older up there and yesterday was a continuous stream of odd and unusual airplanes taking off.

I worked a regular staff position in the cash office, selling glider ride tickets and tow tickets to the pilots. Fortunately, the office has a great view of the field and you could see everything. It was practically a carnival atmosphere.

After I was off duty, I hung out for awhile watching the air show. At one point, about 7 gliders were circling in the same thermal. As one of our members remarked, "That's quite different from the regular 'fiberglass' cloud that you normally see." Indeed.

I'm working out there Friday and will try to take some pics for the blog.

Back in the Saddle

2009-06-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

After some thought and analysis, I knew I couldn't let too much time go by before flying again, so I headed out to Harris Hill on Wednesday.

The conditions were perfect for ridge soaring with about 10 knots of wind right down the runway. However, that wind direction is also conducive to causing sink on the southern end of the runway. Just like what happened when I landed out. I made myself go and fly anyhow even though I had some minor butterflies before takeoff.

There was no reason for this, of course. I can handle the airplane in these conditions and I have many times. I know what to look out for, what type of approach to fly and why. If I waited any longer, I would be making it into a much bigger deal than it really is.

Everyone has been very supportive and complimentary of my decision to land in the emergency field. I talked over the events with several of our instructors and the main feedback I've gotten from pretty much everyone is, "Been there, done that, had it happen to me before. Glad you didn't wreck".

So, I saddled up and took off for a 30 minute flight over the hills, staying unusually close to Harris Hill the whole time and anxiously watching the variometer for unusual sink. I finally relaxed after about 15 minutes and soared the ridge for awhile until turning into the downwind for landing.

I told myself I would learn how to land with the pattern a little tighter than I'd been flying it and with more altitude on final than I had been carrying. I completed my turn to base leg before cracking the spoilers and I was pretty high. I put then all the way out and made my turn to final. With full spoilers out, I was able to descend to precisely the spot that I was aiming for, touching down and rolling out as I had planned.

It was a good confidence builder and I'm ready to soar again - maybe Saturday. Dr. Jack says it may be a good day...

First land out.

2009-06-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I went up to Harris Hill to practice flying the ASK-21. It wasn't a great soaring day with the weather 'okay' but predicted to cloud up and shower some in the afternoon.

That's exactly what it did and we were watching the radar pretty closely. Some showers and cells of intense rain were on the display but they kept missing us. I finally decided to go fly with the full expectation that I would come right back down again. And that's what happened. The air was glass smooth with virtually no wind. I decided it was a good time to try and practice landings in the 21.

On my second flight, I realized that there was warm air pushing up out of the valley and you could maintain a zero sink rate if you flew back and forth in it. I flew minimum sink rate and would lose altitude only when I made a turn. If I was gentle enough, I could keep that to about 50 feet.

Even thought it had completely clouded over, the lift was there. You could see rain to the west but all we got were light sprinkles that would pass over. I decided to take one last flight just to 1,000 above the field and make a last landing before the rain arrived. As I closed the canopy and the tow plane pulled the rope tight, it began to sprinkle lightly. I figured I needed to get u p and get back down real quick unless I wanted to get wet. I thought for a second about not taking off, but the air had been so smooth. There didn't seem to be an approaching thunderstorm and I'd flown in rain before. I continued with the takeoff.

Many times, accident prevention seminars talk about 'breaking the chain' that can lead to an accident. In this case, as you will see, there was no accident, but the chain could have easily led to an accident and in my case, the opportunity to break it was on the runway. I should not have taken off. But I did.

The takeoff roll was normal but as we cleared the end of the runway, a cross wind required quite a bit of correction to stay behind the tow plane. As we towed out over the valley, some gusts and turbulence indicated that something unusual was going on. The still overcast day had some teeth in it. I remember thinking, "I need to get back on the ground before this gets worse."

I dropped off the tow line at 2,600 feet and circled twice with the spoilers out to get down to 2,500 for approach. I did the second circle to let a 2-33 that was above me move into the pattern ahead of me. Knowing that it was one of our most experienced pilots, I decided to follow his lead and land to the North.

As I flew into downwind, I was about 100 feet high and cracked the spoilers to get to 2,300 feet abeam my intended touchdown point. I realized that the 2-33 was moving MUCH faster than normal and it looked like it was struggling to stay aloft. I turned base and the bottom fell out. I hit a very high rate of sink.

Putting the spoilers in, I put the nose down and tried to accelerate out of the lift while abandoning the base leg and aiming for the runway's edge direclty. The only appreciable effect was that the trees at the edge of the runway seemed to be getting closer MUCH faster than they should. At this point I had very serious doubts about being able to make it to the field.

Recalling all of the safety articles I had read, if the outcome is in doubt, change what is happening. I looked over my left shoulder and saw that I still had A) maybe enough altitude to clear the ridge and land in the emergency field; B) there was a semi-open field behind me that I had contemplated landing in under these exact circumstances in the past. The semi-open field is not a "good" choice because it is both downhill and uphill with bushes at irregular intervals but it was a MUCH BETTER choice than landing in the trees. Did I mention that the glider I was in is the newest one that Harris Hill Soaring, Inc. owns? Less than 8 months old and worth $117,000 dollars.

I did a hard 180 and put the nose down to gain even more speed. I'm not exactly sure how fast I was going, but I think it was over 80 knots. I realized almost immediately that I wasn't sinking nearly as fast and the drama was over just that quick. I pulled the nose up, slowed to 65 knots and cleared the ridge easily, out over valley with around 800 feet to the floor and the emergency field.

I took a couple of deep breaths and remembered what I had read from Kai Gertsen's "Off Field Landings". There are two types of glider pilots. Those who have landed out and those who will land out. This was my land out and I intended to make it a good one.

I easily lined up on base leg with the rain coming down a bit more steadily and worked my way through some gusts and turbulence. The airspeed indicator bounced around as I set up for the landing. I turned final with an extra 5 knots to compensate and everything smoothed out nicely. No push to the left or right, easy does it, when I get on the ground, nail the spoilers full and stop as quick as I can. Don't let the wing drop and ground loop.

For a moment, the thought flashed through my head "I wish I was not in the brand new club glider" and I pushed it aside as I concentrated on putting the glider in to the middle of the field. Touchdown! I yanked the spoilers hard from about 1/2 out to full out and engaged the brakes hard. I bounced to a stop and the only noise was the rain on the canopy. Holy crap, I did it!

After a few seconds to calm down, I called Harris Hill flight center on the radio but they didn't have it on. I used my cell phone to call and tell them I was at the emergency field and everything was fine.

A few minutes later, Uwe Zink, one of our club members showed up in his car and we pushed the glider off to the side. Sean Murphy, my flight instructor showed up with a rope and we pulled the glider to one end of the field while checking for woodchuck holes. He went up and got the tow plane, landed on the field and Uwe flew it out and back up to Harris Hill. I probably could have done it, but I thought it was best that my flying was over for the day!

Lessons learned - A) I probably shouldn't have taken off. Knowing that the rain was coming, I should have just let it go at that. I was lulled into thinking that it would be okay since it wasn't convective and the air had been so smooth. I knew the conditions were dynamic but now I really know what that means! B) Having taken off, I should have flown a closer downwind leg. If I'd been closer to the runway when I turned base, I would have made it with no sweat and wouldn't be writing this post. Period.

I *am* pleased I made the right decision to discontinue the approach when it didn't look viable anymore. However, I still think luck played a big part. I THINK what happened with the sink was that the wind blew up and over the north end of the ridge and was descending as sink right where I turned base leg. I know this because the 2-33 pilot did NOT encounter sink at all and winds were calm on the field after landing, he said.

That means I turned base in sink. PROBABLY if I'd continued towards the runway end I would have flown out of the sink and made the field. Certainly that is the reason I cleared the ridge. I must have flown out of it or I wouldn't have cleared it. I would have landed in the semi-cleared field and almost certainly damaged the glider or maybe even been injured or worse.

What if the sink had been pervasive along the downwind? I might have encountered it sooner and turned base and final sooner, but what if it moved across my base and kept moving toward the ridge? I would have done a 180 and kept flying the sink. If I'd been closer to the runway, I could have made a beeline for it and landed safely.

I got caught out. I made the right decision, give the circumstances I allowed myself to get into, but I shouldn't have had to make any decisions and I made it worse by not flying closer in.

I'm a better pilot, but I also know that yesterday I was a lucky one. Soaring is about decision making and I could have made a better decision not to take off. I'll take my free pass and file it in the experience file.

ASK-21 Signoff!

2009-06-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

Today was 'training day' at Harris Hill. One of the great benefits of this club is that the instructors here will come out on a weeknight and train the 'senior' members once a week. For FREE. I can't think of a better benefit.

As I've noted in my earlier posts, I've been working on flying the ASK-21 as one of the final steps up the ladder in the aircraft that Harris Hill Soaring Inc. offers to its members. Technically, we have a Duo Discus for cross country flying, but it isn't something I'll be flying this year. Instead, we have several ASK-21's.

Today, I took two flights in the 21 with Sean Murphy, the instructor that got me from solo to glider rating. I hadn't flow with him in awhile, but as always, it was great to get instruction from him. We flew a couple of flights and he signed me off to solo in the 21. I've got a little more to go, though. I need to fly it in windy conditions with an instructor to make sure I'm good to go with passengers.

That's fine with me. My soaring goal this year was to step up to the 1-34 and ASK-21 and then fly them until I was comfortable with them. I've now got the license to learn in the 21 that will let me upgrade my soaring skills this season. I intend to take the airplane out and spin circles in it to learn how to catch and center thermals with it. This is a *crucial* skill for cross-country flying -something I may try to do next year, if I'm ready.

Right now, I've got my hands full with this fiberglass beauty. Even today, a dead calm, smooth air day, I found some rising air over the valley near the Elmira drive in that kept me aloft without losing altitude. The ship I was flying is our newest bird, perhaps 6 months old and straight off the boat this past December.

I also took a turn flying it from the back seat! This is the first time I'd flown a glider from the back seat, but found it was not too bad. A little different, but once I adjusted it was okay. The weirdest part is you can't see the towplane fuselage if you are in the proper position. The passenger's head covers it up. No matter. You can see the wings on either side and maintain position that way.

The landing wasn't too bad and actually, with your head and shoulders near the leading edge of the wing, it's quite a comfortable position to be in. I managed to touch down where I intended and rolled out to a nice spot on the flight line. Sean said, "okay take it up solo," and that's all there was to it.

The sign off in my log book says not to fly without an instructor at over 15 knots head or 5 knots crosswind. I wouldn't want to do that anyhow. Not right now, at least. For now, I'm satisfied to build some experience in the 21 and I'll work towards expanding the flight envelope later.

Good stuff!

New Personal Best!

2009-05-31T20:05:00.000-04:00

I headed out to Harris Hill this weekend looking for some instruction on the ASK-21 and hoping to get signed off to fly it. I waited until around 11am to get out there because it was a bit windy and I wanted to wait for it to calm down a bit.

When I arrived, you could tell it was a good soaring day. All the private aircraft trailers were out and some of them had already taken off. The three ASK-21's that the club owns were occupied. In addition, the 1-34 was queued up for takeoff. I decided to make myself useful and help out a bit while I waited to see if one of the ASK-21's would come available.

After about two hours, I decided it wasn't going to happen, but the weather was so magnificent I wasn't going to let a lack of high performance aircraft keep me on the ground. I preflighted one of the Schweizer 2-33's and decided I would test my skills in the trainer.

Just a minute or two before I got ready to pull it out on the line, the 1-34 returned and I zipped over to claim the next flight. Quite a bit of time passed as we had one maintenance issue after another with BOTH of our Pawnee tow planes and our Super Cub. Amazingly, I was finally airborne after 3:00pm.

I was back just a few minutes later, having found the sink but not the lift. I re-studied the sky and strapped myself back in to the 1-34. This time, I decided to release the tow line as we entered what appeared to be a very good thermal. I was about 300 feet below regular tow release height but in a matter of a minute or so I was climbing through 4,000 feet.

I stuck with the thermal until it petered out around 5,000 feet and headed towards Elmira. All I found was sink, so I turned back to the ridge over Harris Hill and decided to fly back and forth along it until I found a thermal. The winds were still pretty good at around 10 knots out of the Northwest and I was able to reduce my descent and gain some time. After a few minutes, I stumbled into a 2 knot thermal and began to circle. As I did, it began to strengthen and I started up slowly.

I concentrated on maintaining airspeed and circling in a coordinated fashion. I'm still not great at it, but I am paying attention. It turns out I would get a lot of practice today. The 2 knot thermal turned into a 5 knot thermal and pretty soon I was climbing through 6,000 and then 7,000 feet, eventually topping out at 7,200.

I turned and headed out towards Elmira, since there were clouds in that direction and I reckoned that there might be thermals over the city. I found a difficult to fly one over the golf course and got myself back up to around 6,000 feet and then headed over towards the ELM airport. I found a great thermal there and circled some more.

The thermals were variable in height but fairly close together this day. I was able to move from one to another fairly easily but I never found one underneath a cumulus cloud - which is quite often where you find them. But the thermals were cycling so quick that by the time the clouds appeared, the thermal had died.

I flew left hand turns and right hand turns to try and get my skills up to par. Again, I'm no champ at this, but on the other hand I WAS managing to climb and stay high. I'm sure some of our 'Aces' could have climbed twice as high in half the time, but that's the allure of the gliding experience. You have to learn how through experience.

I headed back over the ridge off of Harris Hill and decided to work the lift there. Several hang gliders were quite high over the ridge, a sign that the lift is good enough for gliders. As I entered, I saw Rolf Beyer, one of our club members, enter below me. We flew the ridge together for awhile, but I decided to circle in some weak lift at the east end of the ridge. I worked it and worked it, in the lift sometimes climbing, sometimes not. But I stuck it out and the lift improved (or my technique did) and pretty soon I was in a 5 knot thermal headed up again!

Topping out at 5,000 feet, I headed back over the ridge and found super smooth lift both over the ridge and out over the valley. I was able to fly out, back, and cruise the ridge without losing altitude and regaining anything I lost from flying out of the lift band.

Eventually, I decided it was getting late and time to come down. I put the nose down, accelerated to 80 knots and did a series of ridge runs with pull ups and rudder turns at each end for fun. After several passes, I was low enough to land and brought the plane in.

I knew I'd been up for awhile but when I checked the log sheet, I realized I had a new personal best of 2 hours and 22 minutes! I think I would have stayed up longer if it hadn't been so late, but this was a great flight in and of itself. I'm really enjoying the flexibility of the 1-34 and being able to range a little further out to find those thermals I need to stay aloft. Lovely!

Flying the ASK-21

2009-05-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

The 1-34 has been busy over the past week or so when I've been out to fly it, so I've been taking instruction in the ASK-21. This is a 2 seat, fiberglass glider with a respectable 34:1 glide ratio. That is, it will travel 34 feet forward for every 1 foot it glides down, or to put it in easier terms, it will glide 1 mile and lose just 115 feet. 1000 feet of altitude will send you 8.6 miles. At least in still air. I use a more conservative 200 feet per mile estimate, which gives you 5 miles per 1,000 feet you descend.

In any case, it is on par with the 1-34 and is my first 'glass' ship. Everyone at Harris Hill adores the ASK-21, and I can see why. It's comfortable, capable, seats two so you can take your friends up, and has very benign stall characteristics. A perfect aircraft for us regular 'non-racing' pilots who don't need to fly bleeding edge aircraft to get max performance from the ship.

Since the 1-34 has been busy, I've almost taken enough flights in the 21 to get checked out in it. I've been flying with Ron Ogden, one of our club instructors, and a real pleasure to fly with. Nothing rattles Ron and he's extremely well versed and, importantly, able to convey the lessons in a way that makes you understand the point he's trying to get across.

Although the 21 is an easy flyer, I've still had a few things to work on. I continue to try to be aware of my weakness to lag inputting control corrections until too late - particularly on takeoff. You really have to be on the ball and get those wings level and nose pointed the right direction and keep them there or things go south quickly. Not that I've had any serious issues with this, but I know it is one of my weak areas.

In the 1-34, I noticed that I was wobbling a bit on takeoff as the wings would rock one way, then the other. I set out to concentrate on arresting this tendency as one of my highest priorities and have been making decent progress at it. Being aware of it is 80% of the solution. Doing something about it NOW is the other 20%.

It's challenging for me. On takeoff roll, the ailerons aren't that effective until you get a little bit of speed, then they're VERY effective. You have to feed in different amounts of control (more) at the beginning of the roll than after gaining some speed (less). In the 1-34, it is pretty light so you do this with as steady a hand as you can but you don't have to move the stick super far until you are now rolling over to the other side and in danger of banging the wing on the ground. Of course, there is a wheel out there to prevent damage but it's bad form not to be in control of the airplane and the wheel is there for those big wind gusts that even full control deflection can't fix. A proficient pilot keeps the wings level on takeoff.

On the 21, the glider is quite a bit heavier and the wings are heavier. You have to feed in quite a bit of control and hold it there a little longer than I'm used to in the 1-26 or 1-34.

Yesterday, I worked on that and managed to keep us more or less in the center on the second takeoff by consciously feeding in more and holding it a little longer. That worked pretty well.

On landing, Ron encouraged me to 'pick a speed brake setting and try to stick with it'. This is a little tricky, but the key to landing the 21. You have to A) look at the field on base leg; B) pick the approximate speed brake setting (1/4? 1/2? 1/8?) that you think will last all the way down base and the turn to final. Of course, you can adjust it as you go but the idea is to adjust it only in very small increments. Managing the energy in the glider to dissipate it just as you flare out and touch down is the point.

On the first flight, I was jockeying the speed brakes all around. Landing was fine, but then Ron challenged me to 'pick it and stick it'. If you can do this successfully, it removes the variable of having to continually adjust your pitch and the spoiler position to achieve the proper airspeed. A stable final approach always assures a good landing.

On the second flight, I managed to pick the right setting and keep it pretty much locked in that position all the way down to the landing. I hunted for the landing gear just a bit on the flare, but made the proper adjustments and we landed in the right attitude and pretty close to the spot I had intended to land on. Awesome!

Now, of course, the way it works with me is that I'll blow it next time out and end up sawing the spoiler handle back and forth trying in vain to get it right. Or I'll overshoot and land long. But at least I know what the right technique is. I'll need more familiarity and landing practice in the 21 to get it worked out, but I'm starting to really like this airplane.

If all goes well, in another flight or two or three, I'll be signed off to fly the 21. My goals for my flying this summer are to: A) step up to the higher performance aircraft, the 1-34 and the ASK-21; B) Become proficient at flying both aircraft in a variety of conditions. I'm making good progress towards part A of that goal and if I can get signed off on the 21, I've got a lot of summer and fall flying ahead of me to get comfortable with the 21.

I'm looking forward to a great summer in these airplanes.

Landing the 1-34

2009-05-08T21:01:00.001-04:00

I flew the 1-34 at our training night Wednesday. The sky was overcast but we were able to get a 2000 foot tow. No lift at all, but also no wind. I took the opportunity to practice my landings in the 1-34.

It's not what I would call a tricky airplane to land, but it is a little different from the 1-26 and 2-33. Both times I noticed that just as you flare that the airspeed drops off as you have the spoilers open. I can see why I was told that most damage to this plane comes from people who drop it in on a hard landing.

It's sort of like...I'm on target, airspeed good...I'm on target, airspeed good...flare, whoa! slowing down below 40 knots...touchdown! Balancing that effect in gusty conditions could lead to a belly flop, I'll bet.

In any case, I managed my two landings without much trouble and all went well. I'm still impressed with how far this plane will go when entering the pattern at the proper altitude. You pretty much have to tell it to GET DOWN. Good stuff.

Ah, Spring!

2009-04-30T09:35:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to fly as much as I can and have been doing okay. Work and life sometimes get in the way but I'm up to 98 flights total with 26 of them in the 1-26 single seat glider. I'm feeling ready to move up to the 1-34 now and am looking forward to making the jump.

In the meantime, I'm flying on weekends and on Wednesday nights when we do training, if I can. It's great to see a lot of students out there (me included!) as it keeps the club strong and we're always enthusiastic about what would be a very small achievement for the veterans in the club.

It's also a great way to make friends. Yesterday two of us took a sunset cruise over the Chemung valley at the end of training. I hadn't taken any passengers up this year so it was kind of nice to have someone else ride along!

The air was smooth with no lift but it didn't matter. The views were great and Brian took some great pictures. You can see them all here. Below are a couple of my favorites.

3,000 feet and all is well!

Hmmm....let's see....speed 55, check. Trim, set. Spoilers, checked. Enter downwind heading north over the farmhouse, pick your landing spot, control your speed, set down where you mean to, always be ready to adjust for conditions. Check!

Thanks to Brian for taking some cool pictures. Much easier to have a photographer along for the ride!

Back in the swing of things

2009-04-21T01:39:00.000-04:00

Winter has broken and we've started flying again at Harris Hill!

I took my safety check ride about two weeks ago and have been up a few times with mixed success. I've managed to find and stay up a bit in some thermals but I realize that this season is about really practicing the art of soaring.

I need to get better - much better, at finding, centering, and circling in lift. I've already found out what one of my problems has been. I'm not banking steeply enough when circling.

The other day, I was circling in a thermal ranging between 2 and 4 knot lift when two of our club's experts arrived in the same thermal below me. As I struggled to find and stay in the core of the lift, within two turns they had outclimbed me and popped out the top of the thermal.

I was unable to successfully climb in the same thermal and eventually headed off to find more lift. I landed not too long after that.

When I saw them later, they told me that I was circling too widely. I needed to bank over and stay in the core. I think I've been too timid to try that. I know you descend quicker if you bank over because you add a little airspeed to keep from stalling and I know that increases your descent rate. But when you think about it, the tradeoff is you stay in the bigger lift longer in a tighter circle.

So, I've been concentrating on finding lift, circling tightly (30-45 degrees which is tight but not SUPER tight) and flying my circles in a coordinated and stable fashion while adjusting to stay in the lift.

It works. Yesterday I posted a personal best of 2 hours and 6 minutes aloft. Not only that, but I made a max altitude of 6200 feet, which was also a personal best. This was in the 'low' performance Schweizer 2-33 trainer.

Now, you kind of had to be a total bonehead not to stay aloft yesterday. It was a GOOD soaring day, but I did force myself to get out of the lift when I was at the top and go search for another thermal, including looking where other sailplanes were NOT. Fortunately, I found a number of good thermals all across the local flying area. In fact, the only reason I came down was because I really needed to go to the bathroom!

Good thing, too. When I landed, my back hurt and my knees were killing me. It was really time to come back, even though I hated to. I got off tow at 3700 feet and never got below that altitude until I descended for landing! Good flying.

Winter doldrums

2008-12-16T01:03:00.000-05:00

The bad news is I haven't flown for about 2 months. The good news is that maybe I'll fly in the new year.

Harris Hill hosts a traditional New Year's day flying session to welcome the year and let us keep current (3 landings/takeoffs in 90 days). I'm hoping the weather won't be nasty so I can sneak in a couple of flights.

I missed the Snowbird, the longest running contest in the country. Every Thanksgiving, the club hosts the Snowbird, a fun-fly/contest day followed by a banquet. I'm always out of town with family for the holiday, so I miss it each year.

The weather has been, true to form, generally miserable here in the Souther Tier of New York with leaden gray overcast days and cold nights. We had a good 8" of snow the other day and even a short warming trend to 50 today didn't get the ground to show through.

I've kept active in the club as I was elected to the board of directors this fall and have taken on the task of evaluating the facilities and trying to help prioritize what we want to do and when. I spent Saturday trudging through ankle and knee deep snow drifts up at Harris Hill and looking at the facilities. The private gliders owned by our club members looked like they were hibernating inside their trailers, waiting for warmer weather to return.

The winter around here comes quickly, followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. But after that, it's a long slow climb to April before you can fly regularly again.

I guess I'll try to catch up on my backlog of Soaring magazines.

End of the season is in sight

2008-10-02T23:24:00.000-04:00

We discontinue operations for the winter at the end of October. Between weather and travel, I haven't made many flights but I did manage to check out of work early on my birthday and go for some 1-26 flights. Dr. Jack's Soaring Weather site said it was a reasonably good day and I thought I'd take a shot.

The first two flights were okay, but nothing spectacular. Not a direct descent, maybe in the 20 minute range. I figured I'd get 4 flights in and call it a day.

The third flight started out like the others but I found a nice band of lift, giving me a steady 2 knot climb. I found it by observing a cloud street (a long, usually narrow band of clouds) and cruised under it. Before long, I was above my release altitude and climbing. It was really cool to climb while flying in a straight line.

I flew along the line until I felt like I needed to turn back to the airport, then flew the line back to the north side of the airport. By that time, the cloud street was drifting off to the east and I needed to stay closer to the airport, so I turned and headed upwind. I've read that if you are looking for thermals or streets, turn upwind and sometimes you can find them in the blue.

Not this time, so I headed back to the airport. By this time, I was down to 2800 feet (about 1100 feet above the runway), so I decided to cruise the ridge near the airport to see if I could slow my descent. The wind was light from the North and I was losing maybe 50 feet each pass along the ridge.

About the fourth time across the same point on the ridge, I felt a firm push upward and I immediately turned into it. The variometer read 4 knots, a nice and solid climb! I turned circles and did my best to maintain minimum sink airspeed. Before long, I was climbing through 3000 feet, then 3500, then 4000! I kept circling until the altimeter read 5200 feet and watched below as one of the ASK-21's joined me in the thermal.

Gradually I noticed that it was getting a little more difficult to see the horizon and realized that if I kept circling I was going to head right into the base of the cloud I was under! By this time the climb was slowing anyhow, so I headed back upwind towards another cloud street while enjoying a personal best for solo altitude gained.

No dice as I got under the cloud street. I was descending now and needed to turn back to stay close to the airport, so I headed back over the ridge again. The wind had picked up slightly and I cruised the ridge for another 15 minutes, maintaining my altitude until it died a bit.

Seeing 2600 on the altimeter, I decided to head back in to land and not be greedy. When I touched down, it turned out that I had been airborne for 59 minutes! Another personal solo best for me.

I had a smile on my face all the way home, thinking what a great birthday gift I'd just gotten.

Blah

2008-09-13T23:45:00.000-04:00

Sigh. Travel for work and bad weather have kept me grounded. This can happen during the Fall, but I know there's still good soaring weather out there.

Our club has made nominations to the board of directors and asked me to run for one of the spots. Sounds good! I need to contribute a little more than just my once a month shift helping with our commercial glider rides. If I get elected, that's great. If not, that's okay too. Either way works for me.

However it goes, it should be a busy Winter as we are hosting the sport class nationals next Summer and will be working to get everything ship-shape and run a smooth contest. I'll certainly be interested in helping out however they need it.

Autumn is coming

2008-09-04T00:27:00.000-04:00

Autumn is coming here in upstate New York and the leaves around Harris Hill are just beginning to show signs of yellowing. I noticed from the air today that you could more clearly see some trees beginning to change.

It won't be long before we put the soaring season to bed here. By the end of October it will be too cold to get out there and fly. This season has been fantastic for me. I've joined the ranks of FAA certified glider pilots, which was my goal for the summer.

Trouble is, I accomplished that before the summer was over, leaving me with a desire to do even more. Right now, I'm letting the anxiety of stepping up to our club's 1-34 get to me. I need to calm down and recognize that when I'm ready, I'll be ready. No need to rush things.

It's tough, though. For one thing, it seems like every other pilot in our club has a kazillion years of experience and they head out on cross country flights that last for hours in sleek, incredibly high performance ships that I'll likely never fly. Our junior members spend all summer long working operations and flying and I see them pass me up and move on when once we were at the same stage.

Sometimes it seems like everyone else has gobs of time to fly while I have to work every day. You can go out to Harris Hill on any decent soaring day and find empty glider trailers waiting for the return of their occupants. They descend out of the sky in the late afternoon with tales of the challenge of flying hundreds of miles into neighboring states.

The vast majority of these folks are usually quite friendly and willing to exchange some small talk with you but it is really intimidating to deal with people who can tell you about events that happened on the field when you weren't even born yet. I keep thinking to myself that I'll simply never have that level of experience.

But I know there are others like me who are still working on their solo or rating. They, like me, have families and responsibilities that take precedence or compete with, flying. They are my peers and we are the newbies. All of the pilots on the field were once newbies, I remind myself. They've just forgotten the experience.

So I tell myself to slow down, concentrate on flying safe, flying well. Make good decisions -the kind that don't jeopardize my safety and allow me to learn about the sport. It doesn't really matter if I'm flying this type of aircraft or that type of aircraft. What matters is that I'm flying. I'm flying and learning and gaining experience and I'm new and I need to remember that.

Because when you get complacent, that's when something goes wrong and I haven't been in any real challenging weather since I got my rating because I'm trying to be cautious and fly within my abilities. But one day I'll find myself on the negative end of a massive downdraft on final or a broken tow rope right after takeoff and I'll need to summon up both that experience I've been tucking away and also those decision making skills to do the right and safe thing. THAT's what I need to be concentrating on.

Perfecting my spot landings

2008-08-29T00:17:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I took the 1-26 out for a couple of more flights. I've got about 10 flights in it now and am really starting to like it. It is very responsive and keeps you on top of coordinating the ailerons and rudder.

On one day, I circled at about 45 degrees in light lift for 10 minutes or so neither gaining or losing but just holding my own. If you've never done this before, 45 degrees feels like you are practically laying over on your side but in fact you can bank over quite a bit farther, although you have to fly faster to keep from stalling.

The purpose of circling tightly is to stay inside small columns of lift. If they are larger, you don't have to bank quite so steeply. My circles were good practice for trying to circle at a steady airspeed while keeping all of the controls coordinated.

I'm feeling more confident in the 1-26 as well. I've been concentrating on putting the glider down at a spot of my choosing, at the right airspeed, and then stopping it before a preset point. This is a useful skill at all times, but particularly if you have to land off airport. You want to be able to pick a spot and put it down without rolling too far.

I've experimented with opening the spoilers full as I round out for the flare. As one of the more experienced pilots predicted, it works quite well. The glider slows down and sets down, but not too firmly.

I've been traveling on business quite a bit lately and am hoping to get more time in the 1-26 in the next few days.

Flying a new glider

2008-08-14T17:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I did something I'd never done before, I transitioned to a new glider type. I've been flying the Schweizer 2-33, a high wing training glider with two seats and struts that keep the wings attached when you do stupid things, like students sometimes do.

At Harris Hill, after you solo, but often before you get your license, students begin flying the Schweizer 1-26 glider. They have very similar performance, I'm told, but the 1-26 is a single seat aircraft with the wings at about shoulder height, right through the middle of the fuselage.

Our model is the 1-26E, which means that it is constructed of all aluminum except for the horizontal stabilizer and the ailerons. It looks a little less clumsy than the 2-33, which feels like an old friend, and you sit down with your legs pretty much straight out in front of you. Not exactly semi-reclined like the more modern ships, but it's a step in the right direction.

I prepared for the transition by reading Bob Wander's "Transition to Single Seat Gliders - Made Easy!" book and took the transition checklist he provides with me out to the field. It was not a good soaring day, meaning there weren't many thermals, but the smooth and stable atmosphere reduced the number of variables I needed to deal with to fly the 1-26 for the first time. Very little wind and almost no turbulence.

After an overview by my instructor, Sean Murphy, I sat in the cockpit for the first time and familiarized myself with the location and function of the controls. I'd read the aircraft handbook already, and everything looked pretty straightforward. The main things to watch out for, I was told, were the sensitivity in pitch and inability of the glider to penetrate into the wind.

Since wind wasn't much of a factor, I concentrated on not causing Pilot Induced Oscillations (PIO's). PIO's happen when the pilot makes the situation worse through a control correction. It can often amplify itself as the pilot chases the aircraft's position by making control inputs that, because they are late, only make the situation worse. A small pitch up is overcorrected into a nose down, is overcorrected into a nose up and so on. Obviously, on takeoff, this can cause a crash.

Fortunately, the 1-26 is designed to be a 'step 2' glider and I was watching out for this issue. We hooked up, I gave my thumbs up, and off we went for my first flight.

Turns out they are right about the pitch sensitivity. I didn't have any trouble controlling it and I braced my arm on my leg to provide stability. The light weight of the 1-26 without the size of the 2-33 put me in the air almost immediately and the towplane pulled me up to altitude very quickly.

After release, I ran through a couple of the test points that Bob suggests you do with any new glider. I stalled it straight ahead and found that the nose drops more sharply than the 2-33 and that the 1-26 accelerates much quicker when you point the nose down. I tried a couple of steep turns and found that the ailerons are much more sensitive than the 2-33 and also the rudder. That was good, I think, because it made it much easier to coordinate the turns.

The 1-26, due to its light weight and short wing feel like driving a sports car after flying the 2-33! I had to concentrate on making very small movements to keep from over-controlling it. Supposedly, this light control effort is more prevalent on higher performance gliders and I definitely liked it.

One thing that took a flight or two to adjust to was the feeling that I was nose-down when, in fact, I wasn't. I noticed that my speed kept slowing up to 40 mph because I was pulling the nose up to where I 'thought' it should be. When I focused on making the aircraft fly at 48 mph, the nose would be quite a bit lower than I was used to. By the end of the night, I felt like I had gotten used to this position.

Landing was a snap, but I need to work on pinpointing it. Although I flew the 1-26 four times, it was only on the last flight that I felt I had the proper airspeed control all the way around the pattern. Even so, I would arrive at my aim point at the right altitude but then float quite a ways down the runway. One of the pilots told me that if I'm flying 55 upon round out and the dive brakes aren't all the way open, go ahead and open them all the way.

I was worried that would dump all the lift and slam the glider onto the ground but he said, no, that might happen only if you are flying much slower. He's right and I'm looking forward to sharpening up my spot landing skills in the 1-26.

So that's it, another milestone in my glider life. The second type of glider I've ever flown and the first that was a single seater. I'd been told that the 1-26 was fun to fly and it sure was! I'm hoping to find some thermals next time out and test my steep turn skills.

Transition path

2008-08-07T19:54:00.001-04:00

Flying is a continuous learning experience. While you can get pretty good at it after awhile, you simply never will know everything.

For us newbies, our learning curve is both steep and long. Most of my non-pilot friends and relatives are happy that I've gotten my rating and ask me if I'm relieved that it's over. Actually, I'm on pins and needles. I have a pretty good idea of what I don't know and it definitely worries me.

The only way to fix that is to fly, of course. And make good decisions about when the conditions are not right for you to fly or when you don't have the skills to accomplish what you need to.

One way that new pilots gain experience is to fly new aircraft types. You fly progressively more sophisticated or higher performance aircraft in order to widen your skills. Each aircraft will teach you something new about flight as they all handle a little different, fly at different speeds, or perform differently.

Right now, I'm on the bottom rung. The Schweizer 2-33 that I have learned to fly is a basic trainer and that means that it is as docile and idiot-proof as it is possible to build a trainer. This is a good thing, but it does bring a number of compromises with it. Namely, it doesn't cover much distance when the wind is blowing. You better stay near the field or a suitable farmer's field when the wind is blowing very hard.

Higher performance gliders can fly quite a bit faster than the 2-33, which will go

22 feet forward for every foot of altitude it loses. While that may sound good, when you add in some wind, that is easily cut in half or more. If you are 2,000 feet above ground and the wind is blowing, you'll be very lucky to cover more than 3 or 4 miles before you come back down.

My transition path for the next year or so covers some familiar and not

so familiar aircraft. Up next for me is the Schweizer 1-26, my first single seat glider, but supposedly one that flies very much like the 2-33. That's good because even though the 2-33 is on the lower end of the performance spectrum I've come to appreciate its ruggedness, predictable handling qualities, and simplicity.

The 1-26, they tell me, is a blast to fly. It operates pretty much at the same speeds the 2-33 does but the controls are very light, like a sports car. The dive brakes allow spectacular rates of descent without gaining airspeed. The short wings allow you to rack it around into a 60 degree bank with little effort so you can circle in the tightest thermals.

After I become friends with the 1-26, it will be time to move up to the 1-34, also a Schweizer product. This is a glider that I don't know much about other than it has higher performance than the 1-26. According to my instructor it is a great flying glider and it flies great. This one will be my bridge to higher performance flying and is made of aluminum. Right now, the 2-33 and 1-26 have fabric fuselage and tail feathers. The 1-34 is all metal.

I expect that will be it for this flying season. By the time I'm circling in the 1-34 it will be getting pretty cold and I'll fly very little, if at all during the winter. In the Spring, I'll probably fly the 1-34 to get my skills back and then it will be time to move on to the ASK-21, a 2 seat fiberglass airframe and the first modern glass glider I will fly.

I've got a lot of learning ahead of me and I'm looking forward to every minute of it.

My first passenger

2008-08-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

Today was the first time I ever I took a passenger for a ride in a glider. It was my son, Kevin and we couldn't have picked a better day to go.

We arrived at Harris Hill with winds blowing at 10, gusting to 15. My personal crosswind limit is 10 knots (I've flown in more, but only with an instructor) but these were mainly down the centerline of the runway, and no more than 30 degrees off center so I felt good about it.

After checking with some of the pilots and instructors who were flying, Kevin and I rolled the trusty 2-33 out to the flight line and I briefed him on the controls, seat belts, and so forth. We did an inspection of the aircraft together and then got in line for a tow.

I was kind of excited because I know the ridge at Harris Hill starts to work when you get 10 knots or so of wind on it from the North, which was the case today. The other pilots who had been up said the ridge was working off and on during the day.

The tow was a good one and we got a nice push upward as we cleared the ridge on takeoff, which said to me that there might be some good ridge lift. We continued up to 3,700 feet (sea level), which is just about 2,000 feet above the tops of the ridges around us and is the standard height to get off of tow. Just before we got to 3,700 we bumped through a nice thermal. I pulled the release handle and we made an immediate 180 degree turn to see if it was still there.

It was, and we started circling to gain altitude. In just a few minutes we were up to 4,100 feet - 400 feet higher than we had left the tow plane. As the thermal died, we headed upwind to see if there were more. There were and we kept finding lift, but it was all topping out around 4,100.

By then, Kevin was getting quiet and I asked him how he was doing. It w

as evident that spinning circles was not something we should keep doing. So, I leveled out and headed upwind of the field, figuring we might find some lift on the way but if not, we could land in awhile.

What a pleasant surprise we got! Arriving over the western end of the ridge at around 3,000 feet, I had intended to poke around a little bit until we got to 2,500 when I could begin my entry into the pattern for landing. However, we were descending very slowly, more slowly than in still air and when we got to the far end of the ridge we were greeted with strong 400 foot per minute lift! I slowed down to maximize my time in it and before I knew

it, we were at 3,100 feet, a nice 200 foot gain.

Figuring that this was probably ridge lift, I turned back east and followed the ridge and lost very little altitude as I traversed it. Doubling back to the western end, I was at 2,900 feet when I got that nice boost back up to 3,100. We repeated the process several times for about 15 minutes or more as we, talked, me pointing out things on the ground, or explaining when we were climbing or descending while he asked me questions about most everything.

For awhile, we were joined by one of the club's 2-33's but it came in lower than we were and only made a couple of passes before turning in to land. It was one of our solo students and I would have done the same thing if I was lower and not going up. Better to land and play it safe than get too low to make an approach.

We could have stayed up as long as the wind was blowing, but after a bit I asked Kevin if he'd had enough. My ulterior motive is to slowly bring him along and get him hooked on becoming a glider pilot and I don't want to wear him out on the first couple of times out. Then, he'll never come out with me again. He sounded a little tired, so I told him we'd head back. Secretly, inside I wanted to stay out for another hour at least!

I told Kevin (he's a little bit of a nervous flier right now, but we'll fix that) that things were going to start happening much more quickly and that it was going to get louder from the wind noise as we started down. I said, "If you want to know if everything is okay, just ask me: Is this normal?" We turned downwind and picked up a good 15 miles per hour from the ridge wind while I accelerated to a little over 60 mph for the landing. Normal approach speed is 55 mph but you add about 1/2 of the wind in case it gusts on you. I added about 7 mph for the approach.

In a flash, we were ready to turn base leg and I did a nice steep turn, rolling out to correct for the wind. I was quite high for landing, but with the wind I wasn't worried about going long. It was going short that is the big mistake. I opened the dive brakes all the way and started a slip. Then, from the back came the voice, "Is this normal?!"

If you've never flown a slip before, it can be an unnerving experience. All pilots learn how to do them and far from being unsafe, they are a great tool for losing lots of altitude while maintaining good control. There are two types of slips, the side slip and the forward slip. The forward slip (the one we were flyin

g) is the more dramatic because you yaw the nose off to the side and the aircraft actually flies sideways as it comes down. By putting that big, draggy fuselage into the breeze, you can lose tons of altitude without speeding up.

However, to keep the airplane following the line you want rather than where you've got the nose pointed, you have to dip the wing low and the result is your are both looking down and out the side window at the runway while the plane is pointed sideways. In addition, the air burbles off the fuselage and bumps into all parts of the airplane making a lot of thumping noise, which can alarm someone who has never heard it before. I love doing slips, but they can take the uninitiated by surprise.

I informed Kevin that, yes, everything was normal and we were right on track. We made a slipping turn onto final and I lined us up with the grass runway. As we cleared the small hill at approach end of the runway, we hit the rotor.

At my field, Harris Hill, when you land into a North wind, it can swirl up over the ridge and come crashing down right on your final approach leg. This is one reason for adding the extra airspeed. It also can cause quite a bit of turbulence. The pilots who flew earlier in the day said to expect it, so I did. It turned out not to be much, actually. Most of it came not from the ridge but the trees to the left. Just as we got to treetop height, we got bounced around a little bit but again, nothing too bad. I'd had much more turbulence in some of my student flights, but that voice came from the back again, "Is this normal?!"

I assured him that yes, we were fine, just a few bumps before landing and it smoothed out nicely as we flared. I held it off until the energy was gone and we set down right at mid-field and rolled out in a straight line - quite an achievement for me! As we stopped, the left wing dropped to the ground. Again, an achievement for me!

Thirty four minutes had passed. I turned to Kevin and said, "Wow! What a great flight we had!" He fully agreed and we high-fived, got out of the glider and rolled it back to the flight line.

We talked all night about how much fun we had on that flight. It was great to take my son as my first passenger and what a day we picked for it! THIS is why I started flying again. Just for the sheer joy.

Welcome to Sink Happens, the Soaring Newbie Blog

2008-08-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a brand new glider pilot and I've got lots of questions and very few answers. I thought I'd try using this space to post my questions and observations on soaring from a newbie's viewpoint.

First, my name is Tom Berry and I live in upstate New York, very close to Elmira. Soaring pilots in the United States will recognize Elmira as the self-proclaimed capital of soaring. The National Soaring Museum is located on the gliderport that I fly out of (Harris Hill - 4NY8) and the Harris Hill Soaring Corporation is my club. They introduced me to the sport of soaring and taught me how to fly.

I passed my FAA checkride almost two weeks ago and I'm a newly minted glider pilot. According to FAA statistics for 2007, there are approximately 20,000 glider pilots in the U.S. or about 1 in 15,000 citizens. Even rarer are glider pilots who are also certified as private pilots - about 4,500. I happen to be one of them.

I'm writing this blog to record my journey as a new glider pilot. I've found learning to soar much more challenging than learning to fly a powered aircraft. I wouldn't say one was necessarily easier than the other, just that as a glider pilot, there's less room for sloppy decision making. Blow the approach in a Cessna 172 and you just go around until you get it right. Do the same thing in a glider and the outcome ranges from embarrassing to fatal.

Again, it's not that flying powered aircraft isn't challenging. It's more that flying and staying up in a glider is an act that tests your wits in a different way. When you do it right (which for me, at present, is almost never), it is a very satisfying feeling.