by Lethbridge Soaring Club – Summer Soaring Week Report
We had a great flying week with many accomplishments in the air and ground.
This was the Club’s best soaring week on record. More flights, more airtime, more soaring than ever before.
In the Air:
Congratulations to Jeff S on a successful “flight test” and earning his GPL! We sat down together Saturday in Lethbridge and completed the paperwork to make it official. He is the first Ab-initio glider pilot to reach license in our club! Cheer him on as he develops his flying skills towards passengers, bronze badge, and single seat gliders!
Dennis M, a pilot returning to gliding, experienced his first soaring flights of near an hour on each of two different days! Getting back into it he said was like drinking from a fire hose. He’s picking things up fast. He’s also proven himself a man with many talents and can make a monkey fist!
Kary W got 9 winch launches with a 30 min soaring flight on his last launch and 3 smooth winch entries and exits from the grob. It was a pleasure to have him and his company come down to join us for a few days and hopefully we see him again this season. During his launches we managed a lot of video and photos including a 360 degree camera. I’m looking forward to those photos making our facebook page soon!
Glen L had the longest dual grob flight of the season so far at 2hrs 21min.
George H had a good flight east to Nobleford and could have gone much further, but turned back to experience weakening lift and experienced an educational landout. He shared those lessons with an email to the members of the club: Carry a tow rope with links so you can pull your glider out of the way of a moving pivot! Screen shot your google-maps position to share with your retrieve driver. And lastly – be sure they find your keys so they can drive your car to you!
The club also saw a number of new friends that took on Familiarization flights. We welcome them back for more flying any time – ask us how.
Many of these events were possible thanks to the dedication and skill of our other pilots who attended the camp: Geoff M, David M, Bruce A and myself
On the Ground:
Families came out for a full day ending with a campfire we all gathered around. It was very enjoyable for all and a spouse and several kids were taken for flights and all enjoyed them a great deal! We will venture to make this an annual event at the very least during our summer flying week!
Bus recently got some cabinetry and a metal filing cabinet put in and this past weekend sat 2 more bench seats installed.
Some cleanup of wood bits from around the hangar and sea-can contributed to a lovely campfire for the attendees on Thursday night.
Join us at our next camp – the ASC Summer Cowley Camp from July 28th to Aug 6th inclusive.
We will have Many other gliders from across Alberta, aerotows, winching, and maybe even a fly-in breakfast!
If you’ve never experienced a glider – introductory flights from $100 (Winch) and $125 (Aerotow) with potential for soaring and high flights!
If you’ve flown and want another challenge – learn to fly a high performance, efficient, and elegant machine while working toward a glider rating to add to your license. No written exam required. Ask me how.
Above all, tell others and send them our way. The club is very enjoyable, well equipped, and now would be the best time to join.
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