The Atlantis Casino Hotel is connected to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center by a sky bridge, which makes travel between the buildings comfortable if not entirely straightforward. The trek from hotel to convention center winds through rooms filled with the latest in gambling technology, so the route can be confusing to the newcomer. Fortunately, we met our friends Heinz Weissenbuehler and Karen Schlosser in the elevator. They were familiar with the route, so we followed them.

The 2012 SSA Convention got off to a rousing start this (Thursday) morning. Soaring enthusiasts of all stripes were quickly gathering near the registration booth at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.  We immediately spotted several good friends and enjoyed catching up and getting reacquainted before the exhibit hall opened and the speaker sessions kicked off at 9:00.

The registration booth is set up in a long wide hallway separating the enormous exhibit hall and the spacious and well-appointed presentation rooms where the speaker sessions are held. A large banner hangs over the registration area informing us that the SSA is celebrating its 80^th anniversary this year.

The speaker sessions opened with a keynote presentation by Dr. Walt Cannon, who has been an active glider pilot since he was fourteen, when he learned to fly under the tutelage of Bernie Carris at the Schweizer Soaring School. Walt has placed in the top 10 at several national contests and is an avid glider restorer and a member of the Vintage Sailplane Association. Walt is vice-president of the U.S. National Soaring Museum and owner of several sailplanes, including a Discus 2B. He is a retired Clinical Professor of Thoracic Surgery and a co-medical director of the Stanford University Hospital operating rooms.

Walt’s keynote was a fascinating and carefully researched presentation titled “SSA: The First 80 Years.” Unfortunately, we are unable to reproduce Walt’s talk; however, he has graciously given us permission to post his slides here on the Café. He was also kind enough to grant us an interview.

I wish I could do similar justice to all the other exciting, inspiring, and informative talks on Thursday’s program, but that is impossible. The sessions are scheduled three-at-a-time in parallel, so only a quantum entity could score perfect attendance.

By way of partial compensation, we have asked several speakers whose talks we missed to provide their presentation slides, and we plan to post as many as we can this week and next. As I write, I know that Ward Hindman’s presentation, “Modern Sailplanes Plus Extraordinary Weather Produce Extreme Flights,” will be made available. We also have Michael Reid’s excellent and imaginative presentation, “Competitive Gliding: Brigliadori Revisited,” and I just received “Why Soaring? Better Outreach to Grow Your Soaring Group,” by Women’s Soaring Pilots Association (WSPA) president Neita Montague. Thanks to all the presenters who have been so generous with their knowledge and their intellectual handiwork.

After the morning registration rush subsided, I had the opportunity to interview Denise Layton, the SSA’s Chief Administrative Officer, about her role in the SSA office, the staff’s day-to-day operations in Hobbs, and a new initiative the Society is promoting for 2012.

As always, the exhibit hall was filled with the latest gadgets and the newest gliders. According to the convention program, 42 vendors and organizations are represented in the exhibit hall. I spent a lot of time among in the hall this afternoon, but I like to linger, handle the merchandise, and visit, so I’ll defer a full report to later. For now, here’s a sampling of photos.

Frauke Elber, editor of “Hangar Soaring,” the newsletter of the Women Soaring Pilots Association (and editor of the Clubs and Chapters column in Soaring magazine), and her sidekick, Dan Johnson were holding the fort at the WSPA booth. We will post an interview with Frauke on Friday.

One last session was added to Thursday’s speaker program. John McGraw, FAA’s Deputy Director for Flight Standards Service, explained the scope of Flight Standards and described a new FAA initiative to improve general aviation safety by promoting education and working with the GA community to help develop and apply safety standards voluntarily in lieu of more regulation. He commended the SSA for the good job it’s doing at promoting safety within our ranks. He wants to encourage cooperation and communication between SSA and Flight Standards and welcomed the opportunity to work with Chairman Al Tyler and other SSA leaders to make sure this happens.

The day ended with the OSTIV dinner and talk,“A Brief History of AeroVironment’s Non-fossil fueled High Altitude Long Endurance Flight Test” by Wyatt Sadler.