Northern Utah provides a unique opportunity in the USA to truly fly “in” the mountains. Logan has often been compared to Rieti, Italy, Saint-Auban, France and Omarama, New Zealand for the true mountain and ridge flying experiences. The skills and techniques required as well as the potential for long cross-country flights will be explored.
Gordon Boettger has made some remarkable—and record-setting—flights in the Sierra wave, at first with his Kestrel and more recently with Hugh Bennett in Hugh’s Duo Discus. Gordon lives about five minutes from the Minden airport, which is an ideal launching point for long distance wave flights in the Sierra and Great Basin.
Uys Jonker, co-founder of Jonker Sailplanes, makers of the 18
meter JS-1 Revelation, gave a very well-attended talk at the 2012 SSA convention in Reno on how refinements in glide aerodynamic design can add up to significant gains in performance over the current generation of 18 meter sailplanes.
Recently there’s been a lot of talk about electric power for aircraft, and a few electric-powered gliders are now being manufactured (there are even four electric powered Antares 20E in the USA). What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric power ? How do these compare to gas-powered machines? Dave and Robert will talk about the basics, and the particulars of a few examples.
We hope you enjoy this presentation from the 2012 SSA convention in Reno by Prof. Emeritus Dr. Edward (Ward) Hindman of the Earth and Atmospheric Science Dept., The City College of New York, NY USA.
Here’s a message about an exciting new program for growing our sport from SSA Chairman Al Tyler and a How-We-Can-Do-It presentation by Bill Daniels.
Sailplane racing is an intricate and challenging blend of soaring skill, mental toughness, and strategic planning. Anyone seriously interested in improving their competitive performance needs to sharpen all aspects of their soaring skill set. The book, “Competing in Gliders” by Leo and Ricky Brigliadori, provides a valuable resource to help pilots of all levels perform better.
On Thursday, February 2nd, Neita Montague , President of the Women Soaring Pilots Association (WSPA), shared her ideas in this presentation about how getting people interested in soaring might just provide a boost to your operation.
Richard Pearl and Michael Haisten of the Touring Motorglider Association gave this talk at SSA 2012 on Friday, February 3rd in the hope that it will motivate you to join TMGA and get out and FLY! On Saturday, Richard will meet with the SSA Board to propose that TMA become an SSA affiliate. Check out the TMGA website at http://www.touringmotorgliderassociation.org .
