Southern California Soaring

Southern California
Soaring
A Publication of the Region 12 Soaring Council
February, March, and April 2006
www.socalsoaring.com
[email protected]
Welcome to our 4th Year!
Welcome to the fourth year of Southern California Soaring! How time flies. This publication was started when Jim Skydell
decided to revitalize the RESCO organization in Region 12. The first issue was edited by Greg Arnold, with Brian Iten doing the
layout. Jim Skydell helped in many ways with the original and subsequent issues, including handling the ads and soliciting articles.
Computer guru Sean Ford took over from Brian with the second issue, and this team of Greg, Sean, and Jim has continued to the
present.
In the meantime, Jim has gone on to fame and fortune as an SSA Director, and now is First Vice Chair of the Executive
Committee of the SSA. It is time to officially relieve Jim of his duties as Advertising Editor, and he is being replaced in this role by
Greg.
The SCS staff now is down to two persons, both who fly at the Santa Ynez gliderport. This is good, because it means that it
is easy to make “high level” decisions while hanging out on a Saturday afternoon. But it also is bad, because it means that the SCS
staff has little contact with pilots outside Santa Ynez. Pilots are much more willing to write articles when they have face-to-face
contact with the editorial staff -- email and phone just don’t work as well.
There is no obvious solution to this problem, except to yell “HEY, GUYS, WE NEED YOU TO HELP US OUT BY
WRITING SOME ARTICLES!” What are we looking for? Well, as we said in the first issue:
The most important ingredient in the success of Southern California Soaring is – YOU! This will be a first-class newsletter
if Region 12 members supply us with a steady stream of interesting materials. Complete articles are best, but we also need information and photos that can be turned into articles. We also would be glad to receive suggestions for article topics. At this time, we hope
(Continued on page 2)
RESCO’s BACK IN THE SADDLE (B.I.T.S.)
SPRING PILOT REFRESHER LECTURE DAY
Fred Robinson: Landing Bedevilment
Garret Willat: Cross-Country Flights and Strategies
Cast of Three: Scared Witless – What NOT to Do
Cindy Brickner: What NTSB Will Never Say
Dennis Wright: Town Hall Meeting
When: 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, April 8, 2006 (registration at 8:30)
Location: Cal Tech, Winnett Center, Building 51, Pasadena
Driving Directions: NNE of California Boulevard and Arden Avenue
Cost: $60 ($30 for guests and pilots under 25). Registration is an additional $10 at the door
Lunch included (meals cannot be guaranteed for on-site registrations).
CHECKS PAYABLE TO RESCO MUST BE RECEIVED BY APRIL 3rd
Mail to: RESCO, 26500 West Agoura Rd, Suite 102-726, Calabasas, CA 91302-2969
Please also RSVP to Cindy Brickner 760-373-1019, [email protected]
See Page 2 of this issue for more information
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Southern California Soaring
to run the following articles and columns on a more or less
regular basis:
* Letters to the Editor
* Calendar with brief description of upcoming soaring
events
* Directors’ reports
* Equipment Corner – brief information about the latest
soaring equipment and gliders
* General interest and humorous articles on any topics
related to soaring
* Articles about past soaring events
* Interesting soaring personalities
* In-depth reviews of equipment and gliders
* Focus on specific clubs or soaring sites including sites
outside Region 12, such as Ely
* Listing of noteworthy flights by Region 12 pilots
* Articles about especially interesting flights
* Classified ads – free to Region 12 members
SCS Table of Contents
Welcome to our 4th Year!
1
BITS
2
Wave Soaring at Santa Ynez
4
No Joint Region 12 and 11 Contest
5
Soaring in Israel
6
Region 12 Displays at Academy of Model Aeronautics
7
OnLine Contest
8
2006 Region 12 Contest at Warner Springs
10
Soaring Safari Group Sets Course for 2006
10
RESCO PRESENTS: “BITS” on April 8, Cal Tech, Pasadena
“The concept of BITS is to encourage pilots to address their mental preparation for the upcoming soaring season. Topics are presented to stimulate discussion, awareness and flexibility in soaring applications. Persons who can benefit from these presentations
are all folks who fly or crew for sailplanes, or fly or ground handle airplanes. Sessions will contain value for pre-solo, initial training students through accomplished cross-country soaring veterans. Emphasis is placed on an engaging, interactive exchange.”
-- Cindy Bricker
BITS is in its sixth year of presentation by the Region 12 Soaring Council. It was originally hosted at California City
(twice), later at the Edwards Test Pilot School, and then at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim (twice). Last year it was replaced with the
programs at the Ontario SSA Convention. Now, BITS visits Pasadena.
(Continued on page 3)
RESCO PRESENTS: SOARING SAFETY FOUNDATION
CFI-G REVALIDATION CLINIC - LONG BEACH, CA
Featuring: Bob Wander, SSF Chairman Rich Carlson and SSF staff
April 22 & 23, 2006 NOT Limited to Flight Instructors
AirFlite (3rd Floor) 3250 AirFlite Way, Long Beach (L.B. Airport)
Saturday 4/22 : 8 am – 6 pm,
Sunday 4/23 : 8 am – 5pm
Intensive 16 Hour Course, Maximum 40 Attendees, Covering These Topics:
Flight Safety * Collision Avoidance * Fundamentals of Instruction * National Airspace System * Flight Maneuvers
and Procedures * Practical Test Standards * Flight Information Publications * Controlled Flight Into Terrain * Glider
Systems and Instrumentation * Teaching Aerodynamics * Human Factors * Federal Air Regulations * Recurrency/
Transition Training * Airport Operations * Weather Analysis * Instructor Professionalism * Training Tow Pilots
Course Fee: $160.00 pp, Includes All Handouts
(Other Items Published by Bob Wander Available at Discount Prices)
FIRST 40 RESERVATIONS PREPAID BY CHECK ACCEPTED ONLY
Checks (Payable to RESCO) MUST BE RECEIVED BY APRIL 8TH (No Refunds After April 9th)
Mail checks to: RESCO, 26500 West Agoura Rd, Suite 102-726,
Calabasas, CA 91302-2969
RSVP and Questions: Jim Skydell 310-202-6443 [email protected]
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Southern California Soaring
Speakers
Fred Robinson, Great Western Soaring at Crystal: “Landing Bedevilment”. Fred’s presentation will include video of a ground loop
(external view), and a PIO (internal view).
Garret Willat, Sky Sailing in Warner Springs: “Cross-Country Flights and Strategies.” Garret, a top competition pilot, will share
some of his secrets.
Cindy Brickner, Caracole Soaring: “Region 12 2005 – What NTSB Will Never Say.”
“Scared Witless”:
Gary Knapp, Lake Elsinore Soaring Club: “There I was, on Tow . . .”
Scott Garrison, Caracole Soaring: “No, Really, they’re Stuck.”
Steve Ballard, SCDSA: “Radio Protocol and Ridge Days.”
Special Guest Speaker
Dennis Wright, Executive Director of the SSA: SSA Town Meeting During Lunch.
The Cal Tech campus is just south off the 210 Freeway at Hill, or northeast from the end of the 110 Freeway. We will be
using the Winnett Center, Building 51. A CalTech map is available from http://www.caltech.edu/map/. Parking is only available on
the streets around campus, so allow a few minutes to walk in after parking. Thanks to the Cal Tech Flying Club for hosting BITS.
“These talks can never be enjoyed through DVD, video or Powerpoint replay which lack the speaker’s inflection and wit. Don’t
miss this slate of candid reviews of real-life moments in SoCal soaring. The review of omissions and mistakes by others may help
us break the cycle of repetition for 2006. Get your flying brain in gear before you push to the takeoff line for the season. Enjoy
this time spent with friends without the distraction of heat, dust, and lift. Bring a crew, a friend or family for a significant price
discount.” -- Cindy Brickner
For registration information, see the bottom of the first page of this issue.
Page 4
Wave Soaring at Santa Ynez
Southern California Soaring
By Greg Arnold
Santa Ynez is not one of the world’s famous soaring
sites. In the summer, it is almost always under a strong maritime influence, which gives generally dismal soaring conditions. Things are better in the winter, when you can have a
good thermal day or two after a cold front goes through.
However, the best winter soaring conditions are created by either a post-frontal north wind, or a pre-frontal south
wind. Combine such winds with the 45 nautical mile length
of the east-to-west oriented Santa Ynez Mountains (elevation
of 2500’ to 4000’), and you can have excellent soaring conditions.
The gliderport is located just four nautical miles
north of the mountains. In a north wind, it is a short tow to
good ridge conditions, with typical altitudes around 5000’.
That gives enough height to jump the dead spots on the western part of the range, but a lack of landing places to the east
prevents ridge flights there.
The north wind also gives wave on the south side of
the ridge. Every winter, several pilots climb in the wave
Sunset at Santa Ynez. Photo by Bruce Markovich.
there. However, the south side wave is not good for flights of
any distance – to get back to the gliderport at the end of the day you must fly upwind through sink and then get over a fairly high
mountain. Further, unless you have a transponder you must be above 10,000’ to get past the Santa Barbara airport. Also, except for
the airport, there is virtually no place to land on the south side of the mountains (though several years ago one pilot landed at the
Santa Barbara dump). Despite these limitations, Gary Ittner made a 402 km zig-zap wave flight on the south side of the mountains
this past Thanksgiving weekend. However, at the end of the day he was not able to return to Santa Ynez, and landed at Camarillo.
For a long wave flight, you need a pre-frontal south wind so you can fly on the north side of the ridge. Unfortunately, such
winds are both less frequent, and weaker, than north winds. Thus, there may be only two or three days each winter when a south
wind flight is possible. But on a good day, one can get to 10,000’ to 16,000’, which opens the entire length of the mountains. There
is no place to land along the eastern half of the range, but from these altitudes you usually are within gliding range of Santa Ynez, as
(Continued on page 5)
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Southern California Soaring
well as the airport at Santa Paula.
The east end of the mountains ends at the town of Ojai. There is another 15 nm range just north of Ojai that extends east to
Fillmore. Under the right conditions, one should be able to use wave created by this range to fly further east.
I have made several wave flights as far east as Ojai during the past several years. This winter I had two flights of note. The
first was on Friday, January 13th (see previous page for this flight on SeeYou). That day, I flew west to Gaviota (the west end of the
range), and from there to Ojai, then to the edge of the Vandenberg airspace just west of Lompoc, back to Ojai, back to the edge of
the Vandenberg airspace, and then back to Santa Ynez. My maximum altitude was 15,500’, with most of the flight above 10,000’.
The OLC distance was 452 km. The flight was uneventful, with areas of zero lift but never any significant sink. I probably could
have made another round-trip to Ojai if I had another 2 hours. However, I had launched much too late (at 12:30), and had to land by
4:30 to get to Santa Barbara to pick up my son at his after-school program.
My second flight was on Sunday, March 5. The wave this day was much weaker than on the previous flight. I did not get
above 12,000’, and at one point I had to open my spoilers to descend below snow clouds. However, I was able to fly an OLC distance of 503 km in 6 hours.
These flights show that under the right conditions, long zig-zap wave flights are possible at Santa Ynez. A six-leg OLC
flight with three roundtrips from the Vandenberg area to Ojai would have a distance of around 700 km. Such a flight should be possible in six to seven hours on a good day (like January 13). Extend the flight to the east of Ojai, and longer distances are possible,
including a four-leg 500 km diamond flight.
Do you have an interesting flight you would like to see published in Southern California Soaring? Please contact us at [email protected].
No Joint Region 12 and 11 Contest in 2006 By Cindy Brickner
In October 2005 there was a proposal to hold a joint 2006 Region 11 and Region 12 Contest at Ely, NV. I asked contest
pilots (and others) for their comments about a variety of management issues for a combined event, including seeding, trophies, staffing, and a reciprocal event later. The number of responses to my questions was underwhelming. The few who did respond held a
wide diversity in viewpoints.
I feel that moving our regional contest out of Region 12 would not be desirable – it would do nothing to
enhance or promote racing (or soaring) in our region. It
would not bolster participation by Region 12 racing newbies, given the demanding terrain around Ely and the considerable travel distance. Further, there is no shortage of
sites in our Region that could host a Regionals.
Several years ago, our Regional event was held in
Tonopah. Since Region 11 had earlier committed to another
site, that Regional contest was produced by Region 12
members. That Regional contest was held outside our region for the purpose of qualifying that location as a Nationals site. There is no similar reason to send this year’s Regional outside of the Region.
The proposed staffing for this summer’s race at Ely
consisted of Region 11 people, so the contest seemed to be a
Region 11 event. By mid-January, I had not received a
copy of a sanction application through the Hobbs office (for
consideration for approval), nor seen any indication of an
early Ely promotional effort or any calendar listings. A few
people asked me what I knew of the event, dates, classes,
and staff, and my answer was that I didn't have definitive
information.
It does seem that early July would be a good time
to fly in Ely. Some suggestion was made that a Regionals
just prior to the Montague Nationals would give pilots another week of practice in the west. I view it differently. An
Eastern pilot already must use two weeks of
(Continued on page 6)
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Southern California Soaring
vacation to compete in Montague. Even if he had 3 1/2 weeks of vacation time, he won’t catch a Regionals on the front end, as that
would make him tired before the Nationals race. Further, Ely isn't good practice for Montague weather or turnpoint familiarity.
There also was interest in bringing a Grand Prix to Ely in July. The scale of such an event might overshadow a "normal"
Regional. The demand for towplanes to support various closely dovetailed or overlapping events in Region 11 hadn't been addressed.
For all these reasons, I decided against the concept of a joint Regionals at Ely. Those who want to spend a week flying at
Ely certainly will -- it just won't be a Region 12 event. I have discussed all of the above with Jim Skydell, who shares my views on
the above mentioned points.
Soaring in Israel
The following is an email to Cindy Brickner
from Ariel Kornmehl, a glider pilot in Israel.
Dear Cindy,
How are you? Here every thing is
fine. I'd like to wish you Merry Christmas
and a happy new year with great success
and wonderful flights.
I'm attaching photos of my first (and
only) out landing (it was in May), and of my
club's last soaring camp (in October), and
some photos from my visit to amazing California. Please send my regards to Marty and
the guys I met in the convention. I carry with
me wonderful memories from my visit last
February in the SSA convention and of your
warm hospitality, the flights I had there and
from traveling the wonderful country you
have.
[In the first photo reprinted here,]
you can see the gliders still docked in the
morning in the soaring camp at Sde' Boke'r,
Israel Gliderport. Photo by Eyal Ra’anan.
about 40 km south of our base airfield near Be'er
Sheva. The camp took place between 21-25/10/2005 and 18 aircraft participated in it, 12 of them were gliders, two tug airplanes
(both were Piper Super Cub) and four motorgliders. Two of the gliders came from two northern clubs about 300 km away. In [the
second photo] you can see the Zin riverbed which is
dry most of the year but sometimes in winter, flush
floods fills it with gushing waters for several hours.
In the background you can see Hod Ake'v (the cone
with white line of trail on it). This shot was taken
from a Schleicher Ka-7 model 1961.
I'd love to hear from you, and I hope to see
you again sometime (I still have to check what a
wave is all about).
Ariel Kornmehl.
Cindy Bricker says: “Ariel was a fun visitor to the
Ontario convention last year. His video of soaring
in Israel was very well received. It had dubbed over
English narration with some subtitles. The music
and the scenery in Israel was spectacular. Very
similar to our southwestern desert vistas. We presented the video twice in the movie room, and it is a
shame that we didn't have a larger audience for
him.”
Israel Landscape. Photo by Eyal Ra’anan.
Page 7
Southern California Soaring
Region 12 Displays at Academy of Model Aeronautics
Show
SSA members from three Region 12
clubs -- OCSA, AGCSC, and Douglas -promoted soaring at the Academy of Model
Aeronautics Convention in Ontario this January. Over 5,000 model aviation enthusiasts
attended, and many of those stopped by the
SSA booth which featured Mike Reagan's
SparrowHawk.
Organized by R12 Governor Larry
Tuohino, this is the second year the SSA has
displayed at this popular annual event. Larry
explains: "Model aviation is the hub, many
pilots start with it in their teens, and later
when one gets too old to handle the controls
we often return to it. Between those stages in
life I hope that they discover the joys of soaring! Many AMA members don't know the
cost of R/C is equal to the cost of soaring at
the club level."
Over 130 persons left their names
and email addresses, and many more took
home the list of all Region 12 soaring FBOs
and Clubs. Contacts were made with local R/
C clubs for "intro flight" program followup. Many old friends were recognized by those
working the SSA booth.
SparrowHawk display at the Model Aeronautics Show.
Page 8
Southern California Soaring
On-Line Contest
The OLC year started in October 2005. Since then, a number of Region 12 pilots have posted flights to the OLC site.
Many of those flights have counted in the official OLC standings. Many others have not counted, because the pilot’s logger did not
provide a “secure” flight trace demonstrated by a valid “G-Record.” And still other pilots doubtless have not bothered to post to the
OLC because their flight trace would not satisfy the OLC security requirements.
All this came about because, starting this year, the OLC team decided that soaring pilots are a dishonest, lying, and cheating
bunch. If you don’t watch them, they will spend hours faking an IGC flight trace so they can get a few more OLC points. Thus, it is
imperative that the OLC allow only flights with a valid “G-Record.” Of course, if you want to fake a flight, it is pretty easy – just
put a secure logger in a relatively slow power plane, and fly around in a flight path that approximates a glider flight. And the security of a log with a “G-Record” is questionable, since you can erase a line from a flight trace and the flight still will pass OLC security.
Nevertheless, flight traces without the required “G-Record” are not being counted this year, though such flights still appear
on the OLC webpage. You can fulfill the security requirements by either using an IGC-approved logger, or a non-IGC-approved
logger that outputs a secure file. Among the later are SN-10 and SeeYou files, though some pilots have had problems downloading
valid files from these sources (as well as Cambridge 20/25 files). And then there are people like your hapless Editor, who flew his
“flight of the year” (452 km and 407 points in Santa Ynez wave) on Friday the 13th in January. Due to a glitch in his IGC-approved
flight logger, the file failed the security test, and even the manufacturer was unable to download a valid file (see the story about this
flight elsewhere in this issue).
Since the SSA is now affiliated with the OLC, perhaps there is some hope that cooler heads will prevail, and the OLC will
go back to last year’s rule that secure files are not required. Or maybe cooler heads won’t prevail, and anyone who wants to post to
the OLC will have to invest in a secure logger, with a back-up logger just in case.
At the end of the “OLC week” ending on Tuesday, March 7, these were the standings for the top 10 pilots in Region 12 (out
of 40 pilots):
Champion (best of 6 flights) Points
Dan Ladd
1,696
Greg Arnold
1,450
Sean Franke
1,442
Gary Ittner
1,249
Steve Bralla
1,002
Dan Fitzgerald
940
Doug Levy
938
Robert Hunter
849
Mike Ziaskas
846
Stan Foat
812
(Contined on page 9)
Page 9
Southern California Soaring
All Flights
Points
Best Flight
Points
Distance (km)
Greg Arnold
2,993
Sean Franke
501
556
Dan Ladd
2,892
Dan Ladd
446
517
Steve Bralla
1,564
Greg Arnold
414
503
Gary Ittner
1,532
Gary Ittner
336
402
Sean Franke
1,442
Stan Foat
335
372
Dan Fitzgerald
1,179
Mike Ziaskas
330
307
Robert Hunter
1,168
Doug Levy
320
196
Doug Levy
991
Robert Backer
305
355
Bill Liscomb
931
Mark Korvich
280
321
Mike Ziaskas
846
Steve Bralla
275
303
Club Standings
Points
Warner Springs
11,639
Santa Ynez
3,841
Hole in the Wall
3,371
Lake Elsinore
2,025
1-26
1,267
Soarfari
1,259
Tehachapi
734
Caracole
382
Crystal Squadron
72
For more details on these flights, as well as the flights of other pilots, visit the OLC site at http://www2.onlinecontest.org/
olcphp/2006/ausw_wertung.php?olc=olc-usa. The site is not especially well designed, but if you spend enough time there, you will
discover that it has a tremendous amount of information.
REMINDER: The OLC optimization software often does not correctly determine the point at which you released from tow. This can
artificially shorten (or increase) your optimized distance. To correct with SeeYou, go to Edit/Flight Properties, and enter the correct
start time.
Page 10
Southern California Soaring
2006 Region 12 Contest at Warner Springs
Sky Sailing at Warner Springs will be hosting this year’s Region 12 contest from August 7-11. This will be a Monday
through Friday contest. Applications are available via http://www.ssa.org. The contest website is http://region12.deltavictor8.com/.
Sky Sailing's website is http://www.skysailing.com.
The contest is limited to 30 entries, so apply early. The CD is Garret Willat, and the CM is Renee Willat. Garret (aka
“Glider Stud”) notes:
Since Warner Springs is strategically located in the middle of nowhere, we have set up discounted rooms at the Warner Springs
Ranch. Please contact us to give you directions on reserving rooms at the Ranch -- http://www.warnersprings.com. This will be
an easy sell for the crew, who hopefully will comment: "Sure, honey, you go fly...I will be at the Day Spa."
2006 Cross-Country Camp at Warner Springs
In addition to hosting this year’s Region 12 contest, Warner Springs will also be hosting a cross-country camp on April 2428, with a mandatory safety meeting on the evening of April 23rd. There will be maximum of 25 participants, with eight mentoring
pilots including Garret Willat, Sean Franke, Chip Garner, and Mark Mahan. Information about the camp is at
http://www.skysailing.com/pages/cross_country_camp.htm, and there is a link from there to the US Team site for an application and
more information.
Soaring Safari Group Sets Course for 2006
Pilots and crew of Region 12’s largest “non-club”, the Soaring Safari Group (aka
“Soarfari”), met March 5th over cold cerveza
and enchiladas at the Ocotillo restaurant in
Hemet. The annual meeting was run by
longtime member Rob Morgan, who calls the
group “a ragtag group of glider pilots who
don’t want too much organization.” In addition to Rob, management of the group this
year will be in the hands of Larry Tuohino
(finances) and John Medley (website).
The group plans vacations around
soaring, hiring tow planes as necessary to
explore new flying areas. This year the
group will have six safaris, one each month
from May through September -- Inyokern in
April, 29 Palms in May, Lone Pine in June,
Bishop in July, Minden in August, and Warner Springs in September. The group appoints a “honcho” for each location to manage airport relations, hire tow plane capacity,
provide information about hotels and camping, and control the number of sailplanes
Soarfari Group makes plans for 2006.
allowed. Events are only open to members, who
must sign up in advance.
Membership is open to any Region 12 cross-country pilot who wants an informal soaring experience. Annual dues are only
five dollars. Contact Rob Morgan or Larry Tuohino ([email protected]) for more information. Also see the group’s website at
http://ww.soarfari.com.
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Southern California Soaring
RESCO
26500 West Agoura Rd.
Suite 102-726
Calabasas, CA 91302-2969
If you received an email notification that this issue was published, you are already part of our
email address database, and nothing further need be done. If you did NOT receive our email announcement message, please send your email address to [email protected] so we may keep
you informed when new issues are published, and of important Region 12 events.
Contact Us
Editor: Greg Arnold - [email protected]
Assistant Editor and Webmaster : Sean Ford - [email protected]
Thanks to Cindy Brickner, Jim Skydell, and Larry Tuohino for their help with this issue.
To all Region 12 members: Many soaring-related businesses support our efforts to revitalize and enhance soaring activities by advertising in Southern California Soaring. Please do
your best to return the favor.