CISS WINGTIPS. Where do We Go Now? The Next Decades! THE MONTHLY VOICE OF INDIANA SOARING. In This Issue. A Classical Beginning.

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1 CISS WINGTIPS THE MONTHLY VOICE OF INDIANA SOARING In This Issue And so it begins The 2015 soaring season official opens March 28. Page 7 The 2015 Board is announced Page 3 Major International Soaring Event Announced Page 3 Soar Some Famous Fields Ron Clarke draws up a short list of not-to-be-missed flying fields. Pg. 4 Rules of Thumb for Soaring Indiana Page 5 Gillian Recipient Announced Page 2 A Classical Beginning.enjoy as you read Where do We Go Now? The Next Decades With the recent passing of Dick Hutchinson our club lost its last link to our humble beginnings. Dick joined the club just one year after it was founded and was instrumental in providing thoughtful guidance and service throughout our club s first fifty-four years of existence. see Where?, Next Page Prokofiev Classical Symphony No. 1 in D-flat major Click HERE 1

2 Where?, Continued. Videos of the Month This month s first video is a great presentation of how air to air photo shoots are conducted. Watch Interested in Ridge Flying? Dick was instrumental in the club s acquisition some thirty years ago of our Grob 103, the treasure of our fleet. This aircraft has been dubbed the best investment our club has ever made., and is worth more today than we paid for it. Dick was also involved in our club s decision to purchase the field at and make it our base of operations, while making our club one of the few in the nation which owns and operates its own flying field. It is a testament to all of our past and current members that our club has achieved these goals. And, now, we must venture forth into the future to ensure our club thrives. To that end it is my great pleasure to announce that the club is actively seeking to upgrade our fleet by adding a modern two-place glass ship. One of our Blanik aircraft will be sold to help finance the new ship. Turn to page 8 for the exciting announcement Watch this Click HERE Gilliam Scholarship Awarded 15 Year old, Levi Gulley of Carmel, Indiana was presented with the Robert Gilliam Youth Scholarship Award at the CISS Annual Winter Banquet in Muncie. Levi attends High School at Carmel High and is considering a career in aviation or aeronautics. Please make him feel welcome. Congratulations, Levi. See a photo of Levi on Page 7 2

3 By#Tim#Woenker# President:**Tim*Woenker* 2015 Board of Officers and Trustees Announced Chief*Flight*Instructor:**Olaf*Tessarzyk* Vice*President:**Dave*Waymire* Secretary:**Rick*Hansen* Treasurer:**Scot*Ortman* Facili=es*Director:**Dave*Colclasure* Maintenance*Director:**Ed*Escallon* Opera=ons*Director:**Duke*Koelsch* Chief*Tow*Pilot:**Kris*Maynard* Board*Trustee:**Dave*AbboL* Board*Trustee:**Dan*DewiL* Board*Trustee:**Brad*Hayes* Board*Trustee:**Kevin*Waldroup* Board*Trustee:**Ken*Lyles* Board*Trustee:**Carey*Rehmel Glider Competition At Chilhowee Gliderport The First FIA Pan-American Gliding Championships Are Scheduled To Take Place At Chilhowee Gliderport In Benton Tennessee. Chilhowee Gliderport is a stunningly beautiful place surrounded by rolling mountains providing excellent glider flying conditions. The owners of the Gliderport, Jason and Sarah Arnold have worked hard to make this event happen. The host organizations for this event are the Chilhowee Soaring Association Inc. and the Soaring Society of America. The Pan-American championships are considered a regional event and already have competitors registered from the USA, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. It s expected that as many as 30 pilots may compete in the competition, so it is possible other Pan-American countries will also be represented. According to a posting on the Soaring Society of America (SSA) website, The 1st FAI Pan American Gliding Championships (PAGC) is an international competition sanctioned as a continental Category 1 event by the FAI. These contests, with few exceptions, follow the same format, use the same rules, and have the same rankings as World Gliding Championships. The PAGC will be the first of its kind to be held in North America. 3

4 Soar At a Field With Famous Conditions One of the really exciting experiences all glider pilots should consider is to go fly at a soaring site away from Alexandria. In the USA there are many such places north, south, east and west of us. Think Elmira, NY. Minden NV. Ridge Soaring, PA. Hobbs,NM., to mention just a few. Each of these, and many more offer a variety of soaring conditions many of which are completely new and different from what we all experience at Alexandria. The benefits are HUGE - you will learn so much and become so much more proficient at different Soaring techniques in different conditions. Elmira is the home of Soaring in the Eastern US with one of the few clubs in the US with a big youth component and of course has the National Soaring Museum right on site at Harris Hill. Conditions offered are both good Ridge and Thermal flying. Ridge Soaring, owned by Tom Knauff and Doris Grove is a superb ( commercial ) Ridge flying site located very close to Penn State University and where you can easily get expert instruction on ridge flying, but is also a good thermal site If it's Wave Flying you are after then Minden NV is the place where you can maximize your chances of a flight to 25,000 msl or better and gain the Diamond badge with relative ease. Hobbs, NM is like "Alexandria on Steroids" - a thermal site right next to the SSA headquarters and where average thermal strengths are likely to be 6-9 knots on every good day in the Summer. If this is what you would like to do it's relatively easy to get information : Google the site. Check the many articles that have appeared on the site in SOARING magazine over the years. Ask Club members about flying there. Purchase local charts and study the flying area. Read about events or past contests at the site. Some other soaring sites with great potential include : * Seminole Lake, FL - Winter Thermal flying * Shiflet Field, NC - Winter wave camp site - word is that Todd Rutledge is considering. * Caesar Creek, OH - One of the greatest clubs in the USA - everyone should make this 3 hour drive to visit ( go see a day of the US Sports Class Nationals there this June) * Ely, Parowan, Nephi - every one located in the best Thermal flying area in the USA. * Chilhowie,TN - A friendly ridge and thermal site with flying in the early spring and late fall. 4

5 SOME SOARING RULES OF THUMB * HOW MANY SOARING DAYS ARE POSSIBLE EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR : Jan / Feb / Mar - 1 or 2 days each month April - The first cross country flights of the year are possible May / Jun / Jul / Aug / Sep - The best months for good soaring Oct - The last but slim chance to make a good cross country flight in the year Nov / Dec - 1 or 2 days * THE BEST MONTH TO FLY HIGH : * Thermals to 7,000 + msl are possible in April, May and June and the best you can hope for is 10,000 msl. * THE BEST MONTH TO FLY LONG DISTANCES : 300 Km flights are possible during 6 months of the year ( April - Sep ) 500 Km flights are possible May and June * HOW GOOD WILL CONDITIONS BE : If the AVERAGE lift is 3 knots expect thermals to 3,000 agl. If the AVERAGE lift is 5 knots expect thermals to 5,000 agl. If the AVERAGE lift is 7 knots expect thermals to 7,000 agl. * BEST DAY TO FLY AFTER THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT : The day after can be good but windy, the second day is often better but in my opinion 36 hours after the frontal passage is usually the best. * HOW WINDY IS TOO WINDY : 15 Knots + at flying level for triangles. 20 knots is OK for downwind dashes. * HOW EARLY TO LAUNCH : 11:00 AM ( 10:30 AM on days with developing cumulus ) * WHEN TO USE WATER BALLAST : When lift is forecast to be 4 knots average or better. * HOW TO IMPROVE CHANCES OF GETTING AWAY / STAYING UP : Take off after the dew is off the grass Release UP WIND from the field Use any Cumulus clouds - even the " haze domes" or wispies" where possible * GETTING HIGH / STAYING HIGH : It's always a good idea but especially for the first hour in the morning and the last hour in the late afternoon- even if it means lower climb rates. Disclaimer : Rules are for Indiana only and remember " Lift is where you find it " Happy SOARING ahead in

6 Central Indiana Soaring Society Est March 4, 2015 Random Thoughts by Mike Nichols Safety We cannot fly during the winter but we do have plenty of time to read and learn. No matter our ratings, hours or age we can always learn. This learning will make us safer pilots. There are many sources where we can get this "learning" but one of the easiest is delivered each month to our door, the SSA magazine. There are multiple articles every month. Let us use this resource to make our selves and our club safer. How special is soaring? How lucky are we? Anthropologist Ian Morris has put the History of Humanity in One Graph. He has done careful work to quantify what he terms social development ("a group's ability to master its physical and intellectual environment to get things done") over time. His graph starts about 16,000 years ago. He tracks Human Social Development and Worldwide Human Population. The graph is almost flat until about 200 years ago. At that point the graph took a 90 degree turn up both population and human development. It was the Watt steam engine and it made "made a mockery of all the drama of the word's earlier history". Interesting right, here is what hit me. 1. I have been alive about 1/3 of these 200 years, the only 200 years that seem to make any difference in the entire history of mankind. 2. I have experienced soaring flight and therefore am part of a very small group of people in the whole history of mankind to have this experience. Seems lucky and special. 6

7 Central Indiana Soaring Society Est March 4, 2015 Let s Go Annual Safety Meeting Kicks Off the Season, March 28 This year s mandatory safety meeting starts at 9:00 AM and counts as part of your Ground School requirement for your Flight Review. Be sure to attend and bring a friend. Coffee and tasty morsels are bound to be present. Lunch will be catered to those who reserve a spot in advance. Contact Rick Hansen at rhansenfst@aol.com to reserve. Even though this is not a regular crew duty day, if the weather cooperates we will FLY Levi Gulley, 2015 Gilliam Scholarship Recipient 7

8 Central Indiana Soaring Society Est March 4, 2015 Club Looks to Acquire ASK-21 No other 2-seater has turned a larger number of students into solo pilots and no other glider has carried more new pilots through their first flight and cross country training to competition flying. Schleicher Aircraft 8

9 Central Indiana Soaring Society Est March 4, 2015 ASK 21 Specifications and Characteristics After an extensive evaluation of the ASK 21 s service history it was recently granted a service life extension becoming the first glider ever to be certified for hours of service clear proof of the high quality standard of Schleicher gliders in general and the ASK 21 in particular. Well over 850 ASK 21 s are already serving as basic trainers at clubs and flying schools around the world. PERFORMANCE The glide ratio of the ASK 21 was independently measured as 34:1, although we have not revised the best L/D of 33.5:1 first calculated by designer Rudolf Kaiser. Such above average performance for a training aircraft further adds to its versatility and makes the ASK 21 eminently suitable for advanced cross country training. But more important than the glide ratio in a training aircraft are operating speeds and maximum payloads. Even when flown dual the ASK 21 has a stalling speed of only 65 km/h (35kt) quite remarkable considering that the aircraft is certified for a maximum speed of 280km/h or 151kt. A low empty weight of only approx. 360kg and maximum payloads of 110 kg for front and rear seat clearly put the ASK21 in a class of its own. The ASK 21 is also popular with trainees due to its tolerant low speed behavior and forgiving flight characteristics. While on the ground the aircraft rests on both main and nose wheel aiding directional stability during take off and landing run and easing trainee workload. When empty the glider is finely balanced on its main wheel eliminating the need for a tail dolly for ground handling. A low wing loading of only 24.5 kg/m² (at a payload of 85 kg) adds to the pleasant thermalling characteristics and gives the ASK 21 the ability to climb even in the weakest of thermals ideal for low hour pilots. 9

10 The Final Glide Well, it is time to Gear up, Buckle up, Saddle up, Lock and Load or whatever cliche you wish to use to describe what it is like to mentally prepare your self for a new season of soaring. The prospects of a new, ultramodern aircraft in our fleet gets the heart a beating. There will be thermals to conquer, training to advance our skills and enjoyment of the sport, special activities such as the AMA National Model Aviation Event, the CISS / AMA Youth Camp, club social events and cookouts, and hopefully, many wonderful memories made. And, speaking of those memories. here is a little tune you can roll around in your mind shortly after that first release into a 5 knot thermal over Alex.. Listen... 10