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Dan Duclos pictures from Lake Placid Wave and Golf camp
by Bill Elliott •
Sailplane Racing News
Day 1 at Fairfield (US Region 4 North)
by Bill Elliott •
Well, we finally got a day in – yay! This morning the sun was bright and the skies were clear – no fog, no rain – time to assemble. Because the rain has made large parts of the Fairfield trailer parking area somewhat squishy, many of the locals and some of us visitors have taken…
Almost a contest day at Fairfield (US Region 4 North)
by Bill Elliott •
When I got up this morning, I wouldn’t have given a plugged nickle for our chances of flying at all today, much less the idea of getting a contest day in. Low fog and overcast – no chance. However, when I emerged from the Micro-Castle at about 0800, there were already glider trailers out on…
Rain Day at Fairfield (R4N)
by Bill Elliott •
I arrived at Fairfield, Pa for the Region 4 North contest yesterday afternoon, driving up the taxiway to the hangar area under gray skies. The weather has gotten steadily worse since then, and so now I’m sitting in the Micro-Castle on Sunday afternoon, and it has been drizzling rain all day long – bummer. …
Tuesday/Wednesday at Lake Placid NY wave camp UPDATED
by Bill Elliott •
A good number of club members are enjoying flying in semi-mountainous Lake Placid, NY, with the Montreal Soaring Council, and one from Rideau Valley. We hear YW is coming, but haven’t seen him yet.
On Tuesday, Oct 8, it was a very nice day, following Monday’s rainstorm. The first up was the MSC Duo, and they released over Whiteface parking lot in 2 kts of wave, which was possible but not likely according to the forecast. An orderly rush to the launch area ensued, and those who got up in the late morning had the highest altitudes – below 18,000′, but with the wave windows ready to be opened if they were needed. The rotor was very minor, easy to maintain position behind the tow plane. Lift was generally smooth 2-3 knots, with the wind about 25 kts at 12,000, so we had to zig-zag to maintain contact with the wave. There are several flights on the OLC.
So, who’s here? Rick S; Dan Du; Dan Da; Roger; Lucile; Jarek; Martin; Norm. 3 55’s, 1 ASW24, 1 SZD-50 and a Discus 2 from Gatineau, with a DG200/17 to come. The weather tomorrow, Thursday, is great for flying; winds will be lighter than today (multiple multi-hour flights). M7 and the Puchacz spend a lot of time sitting on the ground, instead of flying in perfect conditions… odd.
I enjoyed my check flight yesterday – 2 hours 22 mins with Martin, and had a thermal flight of 1 1/2 hours today (had a snag with loose valve stem innards that took a while to nail down and fix…); isn’t it always the way. Thanks to Norm, Jarek, and George from RVSS for the help and advice for the fix. Otherwise, I could have flown 4 or 5 hours.
Thursday and Friday are currently looking good. Why not come down on the weekend and see all that Lake Placid (the town) and Lake Placid (the airport) have to offer?
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| Roger ready to launch on Tuesday (crew Lucile) in AT |
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| Dan’s knees and feet enjoying coasting along in wave at 12,000′; got to 13,000′ in the Puchacz with Martin L. |
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| Over Whiteface at 13,000′ in JCZ looking right (north) to Ester Mountain; the town of Wilmington to the right. Leaves are near peak colour. |
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| MSC Duo Discus in the wave passing about 500 meters in front and a little higher on his way to Heart Lake to see if the wave was working there (it was) |
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| It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Martin landing DYI on the grass! |
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| Jarek in 55 off in the distance; the SZD-55 is amazing in light wave, he climbed right past us in the Puchacz… |
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| Looking south from Whiteface. Lake Placid on right; town near centre of pic; airport just left of centre. Note rotor cloud line to the left of the airport. One eagle-eyed viewer noted a glider in the lower right (bigger if you double click on the picture). |
The First Florida Sailplane Grand Prix
by Bill Elliott •
As in many places around the US cold weather is coming and even snow in some; however, in Florida the good soaring season is about to start. And through the initiative of CD Andy McQuigg and a few other pilots there a grand prix race was put together to run through the winter, on a…
September ends nicely
by Bill Elliott •
From Martin L:We had two beautiful days of flying at the club. Although we had a slow start on Saturday only getting flying around 11:15 Am, most people enjoyed the day and a good group stayed for supper at the club house. I am happy to announce that w…
Freedom’s Wings a success
by Bill Elliott •
Last week, it poured rain on the scheduled Freedom’s Wings flying, causing a cancellation. This week, the fall weather cooperated, and on Thursday the 19th, we got it in. From Doug L-L:GGC Members: What a beautiful sunny day to go glid…
Mid-September – a lot going on!
by Bill Elliott •
On Saturday, September 14th, it was a great day!Thanks to those who supported the effort to get the gliders to/from Gatineau yesterday and today (on Saturday, club Puchacz JCZ and Jarek T’s private SZD-55, on Sunday, JCZ and club L-33 TR), for the “Win…
Region 5 West at Chilhowee
by Bill Elliott •
This Region V West contest was a very demanding one. It required the best of every pilot. My congratulations to those who topped the field, they did an exceptional job of reading the weather and finding the energy lines. Fernando Silva came in first, Frank Paynter second, and Mamad Takallu third. All very experienced contest…
