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AUGUST 202:
 “SSA Matching Grants available for
Rull=-Cogkpit Glider Simulators

0),

Applications are now being accepted from SSA Chapter Clubs to expand pilot training by using
full-scale flight simulators running Condor 2 software. A full-scale simulator is the kind that one
can sit in, with realistic controls and 3-D goggles or the like to provide a realistic flight experience.
 N.
AUGUST 2023
OC
and MOTORGLIDING MAGAZINE //
The Journal of The Soaring Society of America, Inc.
Published Continuously Since 1937
Departments
ro
Flight Lines
by David Hart

Chair’s Thoughts
by Michael Shakman

Soaring Mail
Letters from the Soaring Community
VOLUME 87 - NUMBER 8
Soaring News
Information, Announcements,
and Events

sl
2023 Safety Program
by Richard Carlson
&
19 Photo Showcase

25 Contest Corner
by Eric Redweik

29 The Condor Corner

by Scott Manley

34 Open Forum
by Bill Hill

36 Growth & Retention

by Ron Ridenour

38 Personalities in Soaring
by Frauke Elber

40 Club Corner
Features by Brian Hart

42 Soaring Stories
10 Silvercreek Junior by Dale Masters
Cross-Country Camp
by Eric and Steven Tellmann 44 Soaring Calendar
Contests and Special Events
14 Step Up to WeGlide — Part 3
by Joshua Rieger 47 Eagle Fund

20 Afton Wyoming Safari

Jonathan Foster
48 Badges & Records
by Rollin Hasness
by

22 Photo Essay: 1955 U.S. National Championships, Harris Hill

50 Soaring Memories
by Jack Wyman
by Jim Carr
S51
Soaring Milestones
Gliding Achievements and Final Glide
Front Cover: Jacob Barnes joins a thermal in his new (to him) Nimbus 4, 1G," near Harris Hill,
NY. The Nimbus once belonged to Harris Hill legend ‘Corky’ Gill. Photo by Jacob Barnes Jr.
58 Soaring Classifieds
Centerfold: Cliff Hilty (CH) in his ASW 27 departs west towards the Silverbell Mountains on Sailplane and Equipment Listings
Practice Day 1 of the 2023 Region 9 Sports/Club Class Contest hosted by the Tucson Soaring Club.
Photo by Eric Redweik. 60 Index of Advertisers

WET www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 * Soaring
 and MOTORGLIDING
ocr MAGAZINE
7/7
|EDITOR
DAVID HART
BY

Soaring magazine is the official journal of the Soaring Society

of America. The Soaring Society of America (SSA) is a nonprofit
Bh Be

gE
organization. The purpose of the Society is

to
foster and promote all
phases of soaring. The SSA is a division of the National Aeronautic from Harris Hill, NY, the ‘Soaring Capital of America’
Association (NAA), the U.S. National Aero Club, which represents
the US. in the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the and host to the Team Flying Exhibition/Competition, where for
world sport aviation body comprised ofall national aero clubs. NAA
has delegated to the SSA the supervision of FAI related soaring
ten days pilots compete in two-person teams, flying together from start
activities, as follows: Record attempts, competitions, FAT Badges, to finish. I'm in LS6 ‘DZ’, and I'm paired up with Rich Thompson, a
and selection of the United States Team for the World Gliding
member of my club attending his first contest in a PIK-20.
Championships.
Here's Rich's take so far: “Team flying at Harris Hill is the best way
PUBLICATIONS STAFF
Publisher, Denise Layton to spool up when new to cross-country flying. From the briefings, tech-
niques, team strategies, learning FAI race rules, learning formation fly-
Editor, David Hart
Advertising, Rosa Navarrete
Art Director, Kevin D. O'Brien ing callouts, setting up new (to me) LX instruments, and new Oudie
Contributors: Richard Carlson, Jim Carr, Frauke Elber, Jonathan
Foster, Brian Hart, Bill Hill; Ursula Howland, Miguel Iturregui,
N settings, it was drinking from a fire hose, but a very quick learning
Mark Lenox, Scott Manley, Dale Masters, Bozena Michalowski, experience. I completed my first cross-country contest task ever, and I
Dave Michaud, Eric Redweik, Ron Ridenour, Joshua Rieger, Eric
Tellmann, Steven Tellmann, Evelyn Tovar, Jack Wyman. felt like a duckling following Mama Duck! DZ was a good lead, waited
Offices: SSA Business Office and Soaring magazine Business and
for my lower performing glider, and sniffed out better thermals and
Editorial: PO. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241-2100. (575) 392-1177. streets ahead of me.”
SSA Fax: (575) 392-8154. Soaring Advertising E-mail:
advertising@ssa.org, Soaring Editorial E-Mail: editor@ssa.org,
Team flying is against the rules at U.S. national-level contests, but
SSA Info: feedback@ssa.org. SSA internet address: www.ssa.org is allowed at regional contests. Bif Huss, Chair of the SSA Contest
CONTRIBUTION OF MATERIAL; COPYRIGHT; Committee and Contest Director of this event, explains that World
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Glider Championships allow team flying, and since teams have an ad-
Material published in Soaring magazine is contributed by individuals
for the enjoyment of soaring enthusiasts. Material expected to be vantage over individuals (two gliders can help each other find lifting
returned must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed return
envelope. Manuscripts accepted for publication are subject to edition
air), the U.S. Team must master team flying to be competitive. Proven
necessary to adapt the material fo the space requirements and the team flyers (and team players) will have the best chance of being suc-
standards of the magazine, Soaring magazine is not responsible for
lost or damaged photographs, artwork or manuscripts. Cover and cessful on the world stage, and this camp is a way to practice.
full contents of Soaring magazine are fully protected by copyright,
Not only is team flying the way of the future, but flying with a wing-
©2023 The Soaring Society of America, Inc. (SSA). Nothing may
be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission ofthe
publisher. It is condition of submission to and acceptance by Soaring
is
man also plain fun! Working in rhythm to make the most of the sky
is aerial ballet with some radio squawking mixed in. Thermaling, we call
magazine that all material submitted for consideration and/or
publication (including photographs and text), whether submitted as out climb rates to each other and coordinate our entries and departures,
a result of a request by the SSA or not, is submitted on the basis and cruising we watch our relative altitudes to find the best air. Each
that the SSA has the right, without payment or compensation, to
reproduce and sell or distribute freely, and to authorize third parties team is assigned a discrete frequency, so we don't step on other teams.
who are engaged in the dissemination of information relating to the
There's no reason you can't team fly at your home gliderport: all it
sport of soaring to reproduce and sell or distribute freely, such mate-
rial. By submitting such material to the SSA for consideration and/ takes is two pilots of roughly comparable skill in gliders with simi-
or publication the submitter represents that he holds the right to
grant release of copyright in respect of such material. If the submit-
lar performance. You'll have to brief your flight strategies (including
ted material is clearly identified (in the case of material in electronic, the task) and agree on your radio jargon beforehand (some jargon can
identified in the filename) with the name of itscreator suitable at-
tribution of its source will be given. The SSA and Searing magazine be deliberately cryptic to confuse other teams). The cockpit workload
assume no responsibility for the opinions expressed or statements is a little higher than flying solo since you must continually monitor
made in articles published, which remain the responsibility of the
contributing author and should be independently evaluated by the your teammate in addition to the other gliders in the sky, but finishing
reader as the accuracy and correctness.
together feels more rewarding than finishing alone.
MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Harris Hill is a great place to hold any glider event. The strong com-
Membership in the SSA is open to any person, Membership
categories are: FULL MEMBERS $80 per year, ASSOCIATE mercial operation has a large and well-maintained fleet of tugs and
MEMBERS $65 per year, FAMILY MEMBERS $50 per year,
YOUTH MEMBERS $45 per year, and LIFE MEMBERS $2,000.
trainers, the glider club is one of the country’s largest with many mem-
Soaring subscription price: U.S. only libraries and institutions $70
per year, Foreign Subscriptions (pay in
U.S. funds only) $80 per year.
bers coming out every soaring day in season, and the youth program is
the best of any I've ever seen at any U.S. glider operation. Every day at
POSTAL INFORMATION
least half a dozen young people are on hand to for line duty, instruc-
Soaring magazine (USPS #499-920) is published monthly by The
Soaring Society of America, Inc., 5425 W. Jack Gomez Blvd, Hobbs, tion, joyride flying, and towing. Other attractions include the onsite
NM 88240. Periodicals Postage Paid at Hobbs, NM 88240-9998 and
at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
National Soaring Museum and the adjacent county park with camping,
to Soaring, c/o SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241-2100. swimming pool, amusement park, and restaurant. The region has plenty
Paid circulation of the July issue was 8,310. of things to do on non-flying days too, so be sure to put it on your soar-
Copyright ©2023 The Soaring Society of America, Inc.
ing bucket list. De

Cr
Printing by Ovid Bell Press — Fulton, MO
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
Soaring& ®
August
5 2023 ©
www.ssa.org&
 CHAIR’S THOUGHTS THE SOARING SOCIETY OF AMERICA, INC.
The Soaring Society of America (SSA) is a nonprofit organization.
The purpose of the Society is to foster and promote all phases
‘BYMICHAEL SHAKMAN of soaring. The SSA is a division of the National Aeronautic

CHAIR
Association (NAA), the U.S. National Aero Club, which represents

SSA the U.S. in the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the

world sport aviation body comprising all national aero clubs. NAA
has delegated to the SSA the supervision of FAI related soaring
had a chance to visit the cross-country camp at the Silvercreek activities, as follows: Record attempts, competitions, FAI badges,
and selection of the United States Team for the World Gliding
Glider Club in June, sponsored by the SSA's Junior Committee, with Championships. Soaring magazine is the official journal of the SSA.
the help of local clubs in the St. Louis area [see story on p 10]. The
SSA OFFICERS
camp was aimed at young people with private pilot glider ratings and Chairman, Michael Shakman
an interest in learning how to fly cross-country, or improving existing 1st Vice Chairman, Geoff Weck
skills. Eleven young pilots participated, as did five instructor/mentors in Vice Chairman, Frank Whiteley
Vice Chairman and Secretary, Ken Sorenson
two-place gliders. The weather was reasonably good, permitting every- Treasurer and Vice Chair, David Hart
one to fly most days.
SOCIETY STAFF
Anne Mongiovi and Rick Hoffman, who organized the event, de- Executive Director, Denise Layton
serve special thanks for putting together a first-class support structure Marketing, Alexa Owens
Editor, Soaring magazine, David Hart
— everything from experienced instructors and mentors to food for the Member Services, Rosa Navarrete
participants, and good tow pilot support. Advertising/Merchandise, Debbie Montes
A typical training task consisted of a short cross-country trip to a
SOCIETY SERVICES
nearby club, St. Louis Soaring at Highland, Illinois, where the young Merchandise: merchandise@ssa.org
pilots could swap so that another pilot could fly the next leg with an Membership: membership@ssa.org
Advertising: advertising@ssa.org
instructor or mentor. Those not flying had the opportunity to use sim- Clubs and Chapters: chapter@ssa.org
ulators at Highland, under the direction of Don Kroesch, who heads Sailplane Racing: contests@ssa.org
SSA's effort to develop more widespread use of realistic, sit-in simula- Donations, Promotion: development@ssa.org
Press Relations: media@ssa.org
tors for serious instruction. Web site: webmaster@ssa.org
Don reports very positive feedback from the use of simulators when Or contact the Society by phone: 575-392-1177
instructors are committed to the process. Mike Greenwald, an experi- DIVISIONS
enced instructor at the Chicago Glider Club, reports that he can ac- 1-26 Association
complish as much in one hour with a student in a simulator as he can in www. 126association,org
Vintage Sailplane Association
four hours offlight instruction in a glider. The ability to repeat the same www.vintagesailplane.org

the
a
elements of flight right away, without waiting for another tow, speeds
learning
Experimental Soaring Association
WWW.esoaring.com
up process. ‘Women Soaring Pilots Association
At a time when there are not enough instructors in many areas to WWW. WOMmensoaring.org
Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Association
meet the needs of clubs and commercial operations, use of simulators http://sites,google.com/site/motorgliders/the-asa
should be embraced by our instructor community. That means that Freedom's Wings, International
www. freedomswings.org
more instructors need to support their use and work them into training. World Class Soaring Association
Don Kroesch, co-chair of SSA's Clubs and Chapters Committee, will WWW.WCSA.01g

be happy to help clubs identify and obtain suitable equipment (SSA

AFFILIATES
will pay half the cost), and identify good training materials. Contact National Soaring Museum
Don at Condortraining@ssa.org. Www. soaringmuseum org
Collegiate Soaring Association
On a different topic, mark your calendar for October 29 - Novem- www.coloradosoaring.org/ssa/coll/home.htm
ber 3, 2024 — next year — for SSA’s next convention. The site will U.S. Southwest Soaring Museum
be Knoxville, Tennessee. It has excellent display areas and good hotel Www.swsoaringmuseum.org
League of Silent Flight, Inc.
options next to the convention center. This time SSA is shifting to an wwwi.silentflight.org
autumn convention to avoid the risk of travel difficulties experienced
REGIONAL DIRECTOR CONTACTS
in connection with the last two winter conventions. A centrally located SSAregion1-3@ssa.org
site east of the Mississippi should encourage members in the Midwest (ME, NH, VT, CT, MA, RI, Northern NY, Western PA)
SSAregion2-4@ssa.org
and East to attend. Those travelling from the west have good airline
(NJ, Southern NY, Eastern PA, DE, DC, MD, VA, WV)
service into Knoxville. If you have not attended an SSA convention, you SSAregion5@ssa.org (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, PR, VI)
SSAregion6@ssa.org (IN, KY, MI, OH)
are missing great programs on all aspects of soaring, an opportunity to
SSAregion7@ssa.org (IL, IA, MN, Eastern MO, ND, SD, WI)
see some ofthe latest new gliders and accessories, and an opportunity SSAregion8@ssa.org (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA)
to talk with others involved in our sport. SSAregion9@ssa.org (AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY)
SSAregion10@ssa.org (AR, KS, LA, Western MO, NE, OK, TX)
Thanks to Denise Layton, SSA's Executive Director, for her site visits SSAregion11@ssa.org (Northern CA, GU, HI, NV)
to Knoxville, and other sites, to choose one that will work for members, SSAregion12@ssa.org (Southern CA)

Se
glider manufacturers, and soaring product suppliers. ><

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 Soaring 3

Mythbusters Busted?
The 2023 Safety Program (“The
Soaring Mythbusters?” June 2023
Soaring, p 8) has a few areas of concern
to me as a pilot and instructor.
Release the rope. The guidance pro-
vided is to immediately pitch down in
a launch failure, then worry about re-
leasing. This is proper guidance if the
launch is by winch or auto tow, but
absolutely wrong in the event of an
aero tow failure. The writer does not
make this distinction. A new pilot,
on aero tow, following this guidance,
will most certainly make a bad situ-
ation worse. Maybe the writer could
spend an article on a full discussion
of this topic instead of one paragraph,
The Kolstad award
is now $10,000
toward your
college expenses!
Application deadline is Sept 30
® Contact
SSA.org/
or at least provide clarity on when his
advice applies.
The six signs of a stall. This paragraph
seems to embrace the FAA teaching
that “a stall can happen in any atti-
tude”. That may be true for snap rolls
and other such maneuvers, but the
most common high-risk event is the
slow skidding turn in the pattern. The
writer seems to believe that the use of
the “6 signs” as a teaching tool is se-
riously flawed. My experience is that
it is a valuable training tool to create
awareness during this critical phase
of flight. Of course, it’s critical that
trainees understand angle of attack.
Teaching that we must avoid the criti-
cal AoA without emphasizing tools to
recognize it makes no sense to me. If
the writer has a better set of tools to
teach this knowledge and the associ-
ated skills, it would be good to do a
series of articles on this topic.
— Hank Nixon, Wayne, NJ
As regards Tom Johnson's Myzh-
busting column, I too have stalled
Skyhawks (A-4s, not C-172s) at
high airspeeds and nose low and all
sorts of other attitudes so agree on
the irrelevance of the “Sacred Six”
on standard SSA emergency signals,
club standard tow speed for type, local
course rules, and TSS Standard Oper-
ating procedures. For anything out of
the ordinary the radio is used.
— R. R. “Boom” Powell,
Virginia Beach, VA
The author responds: Getting the nose
below the horizon is not just for ground
launch situations. During any launch,
a
upon recognition of launch failure, the
glider’s nose must be lowered to maintain
safe flying speed. The six warning signs
are symptoms of an impending stall, not
causes. Focusing just on the warning signs
may not allow a pilot to recognize a stall.
The purpose of the article was to invite
the reader to talk with their personal in-
structor and devise a course of action that
fits each scenario. We agree that a future
articlefocused on this topic is worthwhile.
— Rich Carlson, Chairman, SSF
Albert Lea
I recently had the pleasure of com-
peting in my first contest in Albert
Lea, MN, Region 7.
Most of the folks there were experi-
enced competitors, and everybody was
very helpful. I was attached with a very
experienced pilot to mentor me and
lend assistance and answer questions.
I thought I was fairly adept with XC
Soar but after the only practice day, I
did a self-imposed evening getting my
needs set up better with my nav com-
puter. This was time well spent.

a.v
a
y

Youth & indications of a stall. Heck, I'm a I have flown cross country prior to
r
I
5
Scholarships CFI-G and can barely remember all of this contest and have the combined
o call:
Or
them. However, I was appalled by the gold/diamond 300K distance/goal un-
Ei 575. idea of a tow pilot briefing for every der my belt which helped but I have to
392-1177 say that contest is an experience I feel
a flight. I envisioned what that would do
to slow down operations at a club or, the need to promote to those who fly
worse, a contest. cross country and feel intimidated by
Ah, but on a more careful reading, contest. Don't be. It was a ton of fun
found the recognition of reality in and I learned so much during this week

AN
“via signals or radio”. At Tidewater
Soaring Society, the tow plane pulls
up close to the glider and the pilots
SUPPORT exchange hand signals. The gesture is
YOUTH IN ['100km, 200km, 300km, 500km, simply fingers for desired release alti-
of flying ... 6 out of 7 days were flown.
It was an absolute pleasure to fly
with all the folks who flew Region 7 in
May 2023. Thanks for the experience!
— Bruce Von Drashek,

Ea
SOARING or 1,000km Century Award
tude, but by so doing they are agreeing Prior Lake, MN ><

Soaring * August 2023 ¢

www.ssa.org

SOARING NEWS
INFORMATION,
ANNOUNCEMENTS, and EVENTS
Tidewater Soaring Foundation Private Pilot-Glider rating. In coop-
Funds Training eration with Tidewater Soaring So-
Tidewater Soaring Foundation has ciety, the Foundation sponsors three
been a grateful recipient of an SSA scholarship students to train from ab-
grant award and has utilized the re- initio status through 35 flights with
sources to fund training this year for the intent that each will solo within
two students to train from solo to a that time. The grant from SSA funds
the gap from the end of the primary
scholarships to a PP-G rating for two
students.
This year Alex Ott has completed
Alex Ott.
SOARING ANYTIME,
ANYWHERE
(208) 994-4110
wingsandwheels.com/just-soaring-glider-sim-pro-flight-simulator.html
www.ssa.org
the entire program and passed his
PP-G practical on May 27th. The
second student, Maxyn Hallare, has
soloed, completed the FAA written
exam and will soon be scheduled for
the practical exam. Both students
have joined Tidewater Soaring Soci-
ety as regular members and plan to
continue flying with the club for the
foreseeable future.
We are in the process ofselecting
the students for the 2023/24 scholar-
ship year and will begin the program
with a 10-day Summer Camp, fly-
ing the students every day if weather
permits and completing as many of
the primary 35 flights as feasible. The
instruction will then continue, as nec-
essary to complete 35 flights for three
students followed by the “Phase II”
scholarship to reach a PPG rating for
two students.
We are extremely grateful to SSA
for helping us enhance our scholarship
training efforts to afford two students
to earn a PP-G rating annually and to
add to the ranks of enthusiastic soar-
ing pilots into the future.
— Buz Wilson, President,
Tidewater Soaring Foundation,
Windsor, VA
King Mountain Safari 2023
King Mountain, Idaho, will host a
Glider Park Safari from September
®
August 2023 e Soaring
2-10, 2023. Experience late summer days and cool nights
with free camping, glass off flights and tall cloud bases,
range hopping Idaho's tallest peaks. There will be a wave
window, and we welcome self-launching sailplanes, pure
sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders. There will be a fun-
draiser September 9 with Butte Schools Rodeo Team and
Live Music with Greg Hayward. Evening brings campfires,
ee
potlucks, and star gazing.
King Mountain is a 3,900 ft grass strip at 5,500 ft eleva-
tion, with a 4,000 Ib gross weight restriction, and daylight
operations only. RSVP with John at (208) 407-7174.
<
——
Re
h
2 Ly
KING MOUNTAIN
GLIDER PARK
All Birds
Experience mountain soaring at King Mountain (Idaho) Glider Park’
Safari, September 2-10, 2023. Photo by Mark Lenox.
SAILPLANE
&GLIDING
Essential reading for glider pilots
Written for enthusiasts by enthusiasts, Sailplane &
Gliding has been inspiring, educating and entertaining
glider pilots throughout the world since 1955.
Subscribe and you will receive six issues a year,
Soaring * August 2023 * www.ssa.org
Record Flights from Minden, NV
Gordon Boettger and Bruce Campbell flew a 3,058 km
Sierra wave flight out of Minden in an Arcus-M jet on June
19, 2023. The flight took 17 hours and 40 minutes, setting
an all-time OLC distance record. Boettger launched just
after midnight, using night vision goggles.
Jim Lee flew straight out from Minden to Moriarty, NM,
in a JS1 on July 2, 2023, a flight of 1,360 km and a likely
Barringer Award winner. As ofthis writing, Minden Soar-
ing Club leads the IGC-OLC World-League of top clubs,
with 4,543 points and a 900-point lead over second place
__ Tucson Soaring Club.
are Welcome”
Gordon Boettger and Bruce Campbell (shown) flew 3,058 km out of
Minden, NV on June 19, partly under NVG5. Photo courtesy OLC.
N=
Jim Lee landed in Moriarty, NM on July 2 after a 1,360~km soaring flight
from Minden, NV. Photo courtesy Facebook/Jonker.
Soaring the Sky
Episode 140 of the podcast features Barbora, a.k.a the
‘Gliding Junkie,’ who gives us an update on her flying, and
welcome to our new guest pilot Sara Stearns! Sara loves to
soar and has been in the aviation community for years. She
recently retired after flying helicopters for 46 years. She has
some amazing adventures to share and talks about how she
survived all those years in the air. Sara will also talk about
how gliders and helicopters have more in common than
you might think. Sergio the ‘Soaring Master’ returns on
this episode to discuss in-flight fatigue and what we can do
to fight it. Join us at soaringthesky.com or on your favorite
podcast app. De
ven
»

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What's Going On?
Vode aviation Safety Manage-
ment Systems (SMS), such
those used by commercial airlines and
today’s military, have evolved over de-
cades using knowledge and experience
gained from accident investigations
and human factors research. These
changes have led to aviation safety
based on per-incident prediction and
prevention. That is, instead of waiting
for an incident or accident to happen,
pilots, passengers, and ground crew
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Soaring e August 2023
23 SAFETYPR
SO
actively look for, and document, situ-
as ations that are precursors to incident
or accident. This data is then analyzed,
trends are identified, and remediation
procedures put in place before some-
thing bad happens.
These SMS’s are based on 2 pre-
cepts. 1) reports are anonymous, and
2) changes are evaluated to ensure
effectiveness.
Anonymous reporting is essential, as
the goal is to capture data, not place
blame. Not only will the individual
making the report remain anonymous,
but any individual, aircraft, or equip-
ment should also remain anonymous.
Reports should describe the situa-
tion, without drawing conclusions or
making judgments. There should also
be a mechanism where an individual
may safely self-report an event or issue
without fear of blame or ridicule.
An important feature of this SMS
is the active participation of everyone
involved. Everyone must actively look
for these precursor events and docu-
ment them. Look for them when you
help your friends move the gliders
from the hanger or tie-down to the
flight line. Are gliders being moved
GOODFYEAR too quickly or without the proper co-
Tinks
ordination between multiple gliders?
SPECIALTY
Look for them at the flight line. Are
pilots engaging in non-flight related
conversations with, or near, pilots
preparing for launch? Are the op-
erations standard launch procedures
being followed or are pilots making
(323) 721-4900
up their own? Are launches being
rushed or coming to a stop after land-
!
ing more for convenience than safety?
¢
www.ssa.org
www.soaringsafety.org
These are just some of the precursor
events that could indicate either pilot
or organizational issues that need to
be examined.
Experience has shown that these
precursor events are happening more
often that we expect. Actively looking
for them will bring them to light. As a
starting point we recommend at least
one precursor event be identified every
flying day. The key here is that writ-
ten reports, preferably electronic, be
collected to guide the analysis activity.
Relying on verbal reports will mean
data will be lost making the analysis
less effective.
Once some data has been collected,
it needs to be analyzed. The goal is to
identify organizational or operational
changes that need to be made. This
could mean a new operational rule or
procedure needs to be instituted. It
could mean that existing rules or pro-
cedures need to be changed. It could
also mean that organizational chang-
es are required to resolve this issue.
Whatever the outcome, the new or re-
vised rule/procedure needs to be eval-
uated to determine how effective it is
in responding to the precursor events.
Continuing to capture these precur-
sor events is a good check on this re-
sponse. Finally, training needs to occur
to ensure that everyone is aware of the
problem and the solution.
At no time should any attempt be
made to publicly identify who the
individuals are nor assign blame to
an individual. Doing so will tend to
discourage individuals from making
reports. By demonstrating that re-
ND
2
ports remain anonymous, you encour- ation. Until the organization has made
age everyone to actively look for these this activity a normal part of itssafe-
precursor events. ty culture, that individual should be
What kinds of data should you be
looking to collect? Anything that has
tasked with making sure at lgast one
precursor event isrecorded each flying ~

SOARING
the potential to be a safety threat that day. The SSF recognizes that this is a SUPERSTORE
could damage aircraft or facilities, or big ask, but it
is essential if reports will
injure pilots, passengers, or visitors.
Some examples include:
be generated and captured.
At the present time the SSF ex-
\\ f NR

Canopies left open when the glider pects that each club, chapter, and
+

is unattended commercial operator will implement

*
Unattended glider parked with the its own recording system. That may
tail dolly still attached be an internal form on their web site,
* Gliders parked in front of the a Google form, or any other mecha-
launch line nism that works. Someone must also
+
Gliders being improperly towed to/ be assigned to collate the data and
from the launch area perform the analysis tasks. The SSF
*
Pilots being interrupted while con- would consider establishing a form

»
ducting their pre-launch checklist
Visitors or passengers near the
flight line without a proper escort
To make this work and ensure that
you get at least one report every fly-
ing day, the SSF recommends assign-
ing someone to ensure that reports
are made. Most clubs and commercial
operations have someone on the field
who is responsible for that day’s oper-
on our web site if there is interest
from the community.
By taking advantage of the knowl-
SAE
edge and experience of your organiza-
tion's members, you too can implement
a modern Safety Management Sys-
tem. One that makes it easier to find
and correct potential safety threats be-
fore they cause accidents and injuries.
It also keeps Soaring FUN! De
[peri rane ==

Ll 4]
LLL ESI]
LOWER
48 STATES

CCE
28
r

== 1-871-4SPRUCE
0 Sin QRH

- VA
FREE CATALOG!

A bare-metal ‘686’ is the shiniest thing on the grid at the 2023 1-26 National Championships, Caesar
www.aircraftspruce.com
Creek, Ohio, May 2023.

INE www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring
~~ ilvercreek Glider Club of New
Douglas, IL, hosted the SSA
Junior Cross-Country camp
in Toe to encourage and teach kids
##

the art of cross-country fly-

ing and to complete badges.
Twenty-five people attended
to include eleven Junior pi-
lots. Rick Hoffmann and Anne
Mongiovi chaired the event.
The Junior pilot skill set var-
ied from recently rated Junior
pilots that have never been on
a cross-country to those who
have competed at the national
level.
Every morning breakfast was
provided at 8 am and at 9 am
the pilots meeting was held,
with briefings on the previous
day and the new training class-
es for the day and the day’s ob-
jectives discussed. During
first day the volunteer mentor

Bir o
a»

the
§

August 2023
wohl

*
Ty
pilots assessed each Junior pilot and
arranged them

www.ssa.org
into three categories
based on experience. The mentors
met each morning and determined
Above: Vivian Pfleger on short final with Ron
Ridenour in the back seat.

poe. jim
Rana.
Garrison (front seat) and Dhruva
 i
CE
Ld
mi pre
TERT TTT RAO
who would be the best fit for each air-
plane and if a CFI-G was needed.
Morning classroom training was
conducted daily. Rick Hoffmann
started the first day with safety top-
ics, including proper parachute use
and care and field operations proce-
dures. Jim Garrison led into on the
next day with a great discussion on
different weather factors and under-
standing weather. Geoff Weck fol-
lowed with land outs and safety. Ron
Ridenour gave us a great discussion
on advanced thermaling and efficient
cross country flying. The last day was
a discussion on navigation and flight
computers given by Jim Garrison.
Above: Taylor Long takes a tow in his G-102.
Right: Julia Karasinski.
Often after meetings, breakout
groups would take place to individu-
alize training at different levels for
the day’s flights. The Junior pilots that
brought their own ships would typi-
cally fly the local Proving Grounds
task. The mentors would both see
them in flight and review their flight
data afterward. By the end of the
camp, everyone had bonded well and
learned from each other.
It takes quite a bit to put all this to-
gether and volunteers are hugely im-
portant. The mentors brought in their
www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring
 own two-place gliders at their ex-
pense. St Louis Soaring Association
provided an ASK 21 and a Pawnee,
and Silver Creek Glider club provid-
ed a G-103 Twin Astir, a Pawnee and
an entire airport. Their generosity was
greatly appreciated by the Juniors.
We need club support for Junior
programs. As of right now, David Mc-
Master and Thomas Greenhill are the
only two pilots eligible for the Junior
worlds, they will age out after this
year. There are four other Juniors aged
19 and younger that we are trying to
qualify, possibly for next year’s Junior
worlds. We need more Juniors in the
pipeline to represent the U.S. Clubs
could set aside an XC ship, when pos-
sible, for the Junior pilots to take to
a contest or camp. Please encourage Ss

_
them to grow and feel supported.
This Junior camp has been long
welcomed. There will be more camps
in the near future. Two of the Juniors
at the camp, Taylor Long and Steven
Tellmann, will compete in the Sports
Class Nationals in Waller, TX, this
month and Julia Karasinski will be in a
regional contest in New York this fall.
Steven brought and flew a DG-400
and Taylor his personal G-102 CS.
Both were single seat ships, but they
worked together and worked hard on
team flying skills for the European Ju-
nior Worlds.
Lakeland (Florida) Aeroclub is a
dedicated youth program with the
From left, Steven Tellmann, Julia Karasinski, Alex Parke, and Lucas Abate.
first ever high school soaring team.
We have gliders dedicated to compe-
tition flying and may be a model for
other clubs. A youth program needs
a ship that kids can fly cross country.
Support them to find a contest and a
camp to get into. Some of the argu-
ment is “they are just kids, they don’t
have experience.” Neither did any of
us when started, and how did we get
that experience? Being supported by
our club. These Juniors are rated pilots
just the same as any of us. The MGSA
camp in Cordele GA is probably one
of the best camps for learning cross
country. Almost 90% of the terrain is
land safe.
out
Whether your Junior hasn't been
more than five miles from their home
airport, or has competed in contests,
these camps are perfect. We would
love to see all kids of any experience
come join us at the next camp. SSA
Scholarships are always available for
kids that need assistance to attend.
Steven Tellmann, SSA Junior
Committee member, writes:
The Silver Creek Junior Cross
Country Camp was an exciting flying
memory I will cherish forever. From
eating breakfast each morning review-
ing the weather, trying to fly the task
with a faster speed than everyone else,
and then reviewing our flights togeth-
er, for myself and the rest of the Ju-
niors I can say that it was so much fun!
We arrived daily at the gliderport,
where I sat down with different men-
tors to see their perspective of my
flight and what they would have done

a
differently. Often each mentor would
critique something different, so it was
Silver Creek's Twin Astir, with Colin Agor in the front, Geoff Weck in the back, and Rayla Madsen on a great tool having mentors with all
the wing. different skill sets there!

Soaring * August 2023 ®

www.ssa.org
 We sat through lectures filled with
information ranging from thermaling
techniques to (when those don’t work)
land-out hazards and a basic of “how
to land off airport.” The mentors and
camp leadership pushed the safety
aspect of everything. What can we do
to keep these kids safe, while they push
themselves to be better?
Personally, the mentors challenged
me each day to fly faster and faster,
as my main focus of the camp was to
try and work out “the little things,” as
Rich Owen says, trying to make my
task speed faster. What can you do to
help the newer generation of soaring
pilots? D<

Junior Camp Attendees

Name Age Club Experience
Julia Karasinski 17 Philadelphia Glider Council 160 TT, Silver Dist.
Lucas Abate 20 Adirondack Soaring Association 150 T'T, some XC
RJ Sylak 18 [Minnesota Soaring Club 70'T'T, some XC
Steven Tellmann 17 Lakeland Aeroclub/Tampa Bay 350 T'T, Nationals
Taylor Long 19 [Hamilton Soaring Club 160 TT; Reg 9 2023
Colin Agor 17 Texas Soaring Association 120 TT, some XC
Vivian Pfleger 18 Estrella Sailport 150 T'T, Aerobatic Nats
Alex Parke 18 Philadelphia Glider Council 220 TT, some XC
Katia Van Horn 19 Midwestern Soaring Association |450 TT
Rayla Madsen 16 Mid Iowa Glider Club 142°TT
Dhruva Rana 17 Fingerlakes Soaring 190 TT, some XC

—
RT

Front row L to R: Katia Van Horn, Julia Karasinski, Vivian

Jr 2) 2 RT fa Ray X

Pfleger, Rayla Madsen, Taylor Long, Colin Agor, R] Syla k, and Dhruva Rana; back row Anne
Mongiovi, Colleen Koenig, Rick Hoffmann, Mike Pfleger, Geoff Weck, Jim Garrison, Ron Ridenour, Don Kroesch, Lucas Abate, Alex Parke, and Steven

De
Tellmann.

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 ®
Soaring
 Step
®
Howe
© 2 Follow
| Level ©) |

Q
Flights.

Zachary Yamauchi
S

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Up to
Mae (union)
Upland Central Caitfornia Soaring Arvociation. Calitorma

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Part 3
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Statistics

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By Joshua Rieger @
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Ow Average glide detour 118%

losowt Stories 14

the third and final part of this

I" series, we would like to draw your Figure 1.
attention once again to our latest de-
velopments, of which we are particu-
®
tome
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larly proud. While we work relentlessly

b-

Pyare
©
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Zachary Yamauchi
every day to improve the platform with @ tien
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bug fixes and design updates, as this is we

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part of our daily routine, we also occa- DQ
tran
Waypoint Collections 2

sionally embark on a more significant (Friends Fy

endeavor. It starts as a vague idea, re- I in = Fly more than 8 hours on a

& Night

quiring numerous iterations spanning Some Live connected

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Ow Average glide detour 118%

WeGlide Badges logot Stories

Inined Weide Fabevary 2007
14

Lets start with the most recent in-

novation that we're extremely proud
of: WeGlide Badges, a groundbreak-
® @
ing addition to the world of gliding,
© zfolow
x
Lewl
Home

offering new horizons for both begin-

Zachary Yamauchi
ners and experienced pilots alike.
<

& Male (Junior)

Central California Soaring Association. California
Upload

The concept behind it is remarkably A

Flights 118 >
simple. You earn badges for various
Task

Q Waypoint Collections 2

milestones you achieve on your per- Ranks.

Friends a
«)
sonal journey in gliding. The badges Une
Flights as list =
&
you collect are displayed on your Semmens
ive connected Sprinter

profile. Just click on the highlighted

Ce
2 09 NEWS Discus a+ 2Y Achieve 70 speed points on a single flight

Achieve 90 speed points ona single flight

red symbol, and you'll be directed to Statistics Achieve 110 speed points on a single flight

your badges (Figure 1). Airport Avenal Achieve 130 speed points on a single fight GEE
Saumiosive
ati Both iim Achieve 150 speed points on a single flight
Alongside badges, we have intro- Distance 30,636 mi

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tem. For every 10 badges you collect,

Ow

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iA
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Sow
you advance to the next level. Zachary
Yamauchi has now reached Level 3, Figure 3.
and he is currently just 9 badges away
from reaching the next level (Figure 2). You may have already noticed that others can be stacked multiple times.
Keep up the great work, Zach! some badges appear individually, while While certain badges, like the Launch
Soaring
:
* August 2023
:
®
www.ssa.org
. As
Specialist (uploading a winch launch,
tow launch, and self-launch), represent
one-time achievements, others have
multiple levels. For example, Zachary
has already reached the fourth level of
the Sprinter badge (achieving 70, 90,
110, and 130 sprint points). Yin-Yang & Zugvogel Tourist
Let’s click on the Sprinter badge to more than 20
Climb in
thermals and circle equally
Fly 2,000 km in total Take off from 2
airports
different Fly in 2 different countries

take a closer look at the scoring (Fig- often in both directions

ure 3). We can see that Zach missed

reaching the final level of this badge Figure 4.
by a narrow margin, with 149 speed
@ 8 akiw tel §)
points, and currently holds the fourth- Home

level Sprinter badge. Clicking on the Q

Fights

Zachary Yamauchi
149 will lead us to the corresponding @®
Upload
Mao tiunion)
Central California Soaring Association, California Fly
Segment
1 different
Specialist
segments Thermal with 5 m/s or more
Hawk &
Gain at least 1500 meter in

flight where the badge was earned.

average climb and at least one thermal
500 m altitude gain
A
na Flights 118
Zach, we're confident that you'll reach Q Waypoint Collections 2

the final level as well. Raney

Friends
i
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1)
Further down in Figure 3, we Ue
Flights as list =

can see the current ranking of the d

. connected

Bis
Live Winch Wizard Early Bird Meet the Cows

Sprinter badge. Currently, Gordon 2 zr Gain more than 600 m with

rs the
Start before 9 am focal Haveatleast 5 outlandings

Boettger is leading the pack. Once Statistics

again, clicking on the 222 points will Airport

Cumulative airtime
Avenal
562h 11m
take us to the corresponding flight. Distance 30,636 mi a

Ey Average speed 58 mph

By the way: Gordon, congratulations Profle

Average glide speed 94 mph
Border Crosser
Average glide detour 118% Vintage Viper Always by your Side Traffic Circuit
on your remarkable 3,058 km — a
Ow
Land in a country different Fly with 1 different aircraft 5 flights as copilot with the Upload 20 fiights that are
Logon 14 from the vintage category same pilot shorter than 10 minutes

new benchmark in gliding!

However, it was important for us
not to only focus on performance
flights with the badges. Have you ever
seen someone who stopped gliding a
few years after obtaining their license?
Have you ever noticed someone being
stuck in their flying progression, al-
ways flying the same routes?
This is the problem that WeGlide
Badges hopes to address. For begin-
ners, there are easily achievable badges
like the Traffic Circuit (20 flights
shorter than 10 minutes) or Mission
Completed (declaring and fulfilling a
task over 50 km).
Our goal is to suggest small steps
for beginners to improve their skills.
Along the way, you can celebrate in-
dividual achievements upon earning a
badge. We hope that badges and levels
will increase the motivation of begin-
ners and assist them in transitioning
into experienced pilots.
But we go even further. Gliding is
unique for everyone, and so are the
badges (Figure 4). While some of us
EE
Figure 5.
push the limits, accomplishing incred- flights. Only flights from April 11,
ible distances and speeds, others en- 2023, onwards count for your badges.
With this decision, everyone starts on
joy flying vintage gliders. Some may
the same level. Our intention is not
simply relish the occasional afternoon
flight in their clubs gliders. For in- to reward past accomplishments but
stance, you receive the first level of rather to encourage people to try new
the Vintage Viper badge for your things. Even some of our team mem-
first flight in a vintage glider. The fifth bers, who initially wished for badges
and final level is awarded for flying 20 for their old flights, have found that
different vintage gliders. You might this approach increases motivation.
also want to earn the Consistency as We always welcome input and feed-
a pilot or co-pilot in a glider for 3 to back. If you have an idea for a new
40 consecutive weekends. badge, feel free to write to us at info@
In Zach's profile, you'll also notice weglide.org. Enjoy earning your first
that there are still many badges dis- badge, and lets take gliding to a whole
played in gray (Figure 5). This indi- new level together!
cates that he has not yet achieved those
badges. Whether you're a flight student 3D Flight View (Premium)
or ajust-for-fun flyer, do you happen to Now, let's move on to the second
have a badge that Zach doesn’t possess? major innovation. This one has recent-
Look in your profile and discover the ly been introduced in the Premium
world of badges! subscription. Who wouldnt enjoy re-
Please note that badges are not visiting their flights and reliving their
e
awarded for achievements in past experiences in 3D on a cozy evening?

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 eo
Soaring
 A simple click on the symbol locat- Io ¢
Clemens Ceipek 5

all
924.84 Points 09/01/2022
ed above the barogram (Figure 6)

(+
is

{2 Free 540.39 mi @ 70.58 mph

it takes to switch between 2D and 3D Duration 8h2m

views. Significant optimizations have fp Takeoff 15:49 Boulder Municipal Airport

been made to ensure smooth perfor- > Landing 23:51 Boulder Municipal Airport

Club Soaring Society of Boulder

mance even on less powerful devices [0 sats CID CERED

and to enable a fast transition between iz —
2084 Ventus 2cxT 18m N7BFA
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2D and 3D modes.
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Index 120 19 Engine

The programming required exper- #+ Phase Analysis

ix
tise from the gaming industry, which Free Triangle Sprint
O&R

924.84 Points 540.39 mi @ 70.58 mph

was new territory for us. We had to h3IFm 16:09 + 23:49

build the 3D visualization by exten-

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sively exploring the new techniques. i® Statistics v ®@

Besides the animated flight path, the

iv
Comments
Another excellent late summer day in Colorado, Seems

glider’s roll, pitch, and yaw angles are to make up for some of its
[ike the season is. g

also visualized.
Figure 6.
The future looks promising. This tool

becomes even more exciting when the fo e 00 w@®

planned features of Multiflight and ir

3H Waypoint Collections

UK Waypoints
Phase Analysis are integrated. Cur- {po
Joshua Rieger
Male
FSC Move Obernau, Bavaria Dannstadt

rently, these features require a high Waypoint Collections Ludwigshaten Dannstadt

A Promoting Alrsports
i> W joshua@weglide.org. Cotiection

level of concentration in 2D, but with

na

3D, their usability will be significantly [0 Flights 25

enhanced, simplifying the user

‘Waypoint Collections 2
$2
Flight Collections. 0

experience. je Friends =
ik Flights as list =
Custom Waypoint Files (Premium) Live disconnected

One thing has been repeatedly re- Connect your glider to show up in
profile and declared task.
live tracking with your

quested, and we havent forgotten No task declared

it: the
Declare a task and get up to 70% bonus points in

about support for custom way- vie

national competitions or participate in local
competitions.

point files. You can upload and main-

tain waypoint files that you have built
&
| tncomec)

up over the decades or create entirely Figure 7.

new collections of waypoints.

You can access the management of Edit or add waypoints A

waypoint collections through your

profile (Figure 7). To add waypoints
«1, DragaCUPfile here to upload or click to
to a collection, you can simply upload select
a CUP file or manually click on each
individual waypoint (Figure 8). To fa- ...or select the location for a new waypoint on the map
and enter a name.
cilitate finding and editing waypoints, Name

you can filter them by name or select

them directly on the map.
To create or edit collections, a Premi- Filter waypoints

um subscription is required. However,

public collections can be accessed and
used by everyone in the task planning 000_Huetten Hotz
16/03/2023 Delete Edit
section, even without a subscription.
In the “Tasks” menu, you can view 001_Bergalingen
16/03/2023 Delete Edit
the current declarations of other pilots
002_Hornbergbecken
under “Open Declarations”. This dis- 16/03/2023 Delete Edit

plays any public tasks that are currently

declared online. It’s a helpful resource Figure 8.

Soaring ° August 2023 ¢

www.ssa.org
in case you're still undecided about
what you want to fly today. + Following Level Bi

Push Notifications
Do you want to stay up to date
at all times? With WeGlide’s push
notifications (Figure 9), you'll never
miss another flight or comment from
your friends. With the release of iOS Johannes Dibbern
16.4, Apple devices now support push
Male
notifications from web apps, just like
Android devices. Segelflugparadies Dannstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate

By enabling push notifications, you'll Figure 10.

receive real-time updates and alerts di-
rectly to your device, keeping you in-
formed about important events, flight
updates, and interactions with your
WeGlide community. Stay connected
and never miss a beat with this feature.
If you want to receive them, you'll
Notification Centre © need to install the WeGlide web app
"Roland Henz POEL and enable notifications. You can find
(EIT km @
55.44 68.38 km/h © Serres La the instructions on how to do this at:
Bétie 2% Ventus 2cxT 18m
https://magazine.weglide.org/push-
notifications/
User Messages
Have you always wanted to connect
with other pilots to organize a cross-
country soaring flight, exchange tips
on the optimal setup for a shared air-
craft type, or congratulate someone on
an incredible achievement? Now you
can do all of that through WeGlide!
Recently, a new feature has been
added to the pilots’ profiles, represent-
ed by an envelope symbol located to the

AHURA TSA)

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring
right of their profile picture (Figure
10). Here, you can leave a message for
the pilot. The letter symbolis only vis-
ible for pilots who have enabled this
EX WeGlide
function in their settings.
the
At core of our direct messaging
Hello Johannes Dibbern,
feature is a strong commitment to data
privacy and security. We understand Moritz Althaus (Nastétten, 23 flights) left you the following message:
the importance of protecting your per-
sonal information and respecting your How do you like this new feature?
privacy. For this reason, we have de-
signed the system in a way that keeps To respond to Johannes Dibbern, simply respond to this email.
Caution: If
you respond, your email address becomes visible to him.
your email address hidden unless you
agree to be contacted through a reply. Happy landings from the WeGlide Team!
Suppose we want to contact Jo-
hannes. We would write him an email
using the envelope symbol. The fol-
If
you don't want to receive any more emails from other users, you can disable this
feature in your settings.
lowing message will be waiting in
Johannes’ email inbox (Figure 11).
Your email address will be displayed
to the recipient. If they wish to estab- Figure 11.

lish a connection, they can reply to the

email. This will reveal their email ad-
dress to you, allowing you to commu-
nicate directly in the future.
With the introduction of our di-
rect messaging feature, we aim to
strengthen the bonds within the
glider pilot community and provide
pilots with a platform to connect,
collaborate, and share their love for
soaring. We hope that the messag-
SSA And WeGlide Announce Agreement to
ing function enables pilots to dis- Provide SSA Members Free Services
cuss flight techniques, exchange tips,
he SSA is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with
and organize soaring trips. Please read
WeGlide for WeGlide to provide services to SSA members and clubs. Start-
our privacy policy and terms of use
ing in August 2023all SSA members will receive, as an SSA member benefit, a
before using this feature. free WeGlide “Supporter” membership, providing advanced flight viewing and
analysis capabilities. In addition, SSA members can upgrade to a “Premium
Big News Ahead membership (which adds advanced flight replay and analysis, task planning ie
We would like to thank the SSA creation oflocal competitions) at a 50% discount to the regular price. SSA Clubs
Magazine for allowing us to publish and Business Members will be entitled to a “Premium” subscription free of charge.
this series. We work hard every day WeGlide has agreed to adapt and enhance their offerings for soaring in the
with the same goals: Build a website United States. Working with the SSA, WeGlide will develop a program of na-
pilots enjoy using, promote gliding as tional and regional free-distance competitions and will support Club and affiliate
a sport, and attract new people, de- task-oriented competitions, which will complement and expand on the popular
velop tools that help you become a Proving Grounds program. SSA-sanctioned National and Regional contests will
better pilot. also be available on WeGlide live tracking, with task display andrace leaderboards

Finally, a webinar is planned to dive
deeper into all analysing tools — stay
tuned. We look forward to what we
can build and achieve together in the
next years. If you choose to support us,
thank you very much.
Soaring * August 2023 *
www.ssa.org
based on the SSA-supported US OGN network that
integrates Flarm, ADS-B
Out and Satellite tracker position reports to create a compelling online viewing
experience.
The agreement is for a 6-month evaluation period, after which SSA and
WeGlide may agree to extend the program. SSA member input will be important
in deciding whether to extend the program.
pve
 is
Here aselection of images recently submitted by members
to the SSA. — Editor

Daniel Zelek, owner of Wurtsboro Gliderport.

Photo by Bozena Michalowski.

Jonathan Hart with bis Libelle

on the Region 8 grid in Ephrata.
de k

Photo by Ursula Howland.

Noel Wade, CD, looks at the sky at the
Region 8 Contest in Ephrata, WA, in June.
Photo by Ursula Howland.

Pe
Schweizer 1-26 gridded up for their National Championships at Caesar Creek, OH, in May.

www.ssa.org August 2023 Soaring 19

mii,
®
 Afton Wyoming Safari

ca
Story and Photos by Jonathan Foster
fton, Wyoming, is nestled in a
beautiful high-altitude valley.
The dry air can create ideal conditions
for soaring, and the mountains pro-
vide plenty of thermal lift. However,
the weather can also be a challenge in
Afton. The Utah Soaring Association
recently packed up several gliders, a
The flying was challenging, but it
was also exhilarating. The days wait-
ing for rain to clear we spent playing
golf, bike riding, hiking and general
mischief. If you're thinking about vis-
iting Afton to fly, be prepared for the
weather. It can be unpredictable, but
it’s also part of the challenge. And if
youre lucky, you'll be rewarded with

>~
winch, and a fun-loving tow pilot and
his airplane. some amazing flights. ><
Our gliders were all lined up on the
runway, and the pilots
were waiting patiently 0 50 100 mi

“idahoLH
ro
forthe weather
,
a to clear.
.
|

Falls
After a few hours, the He Gannett Peak
i WYOMING
.
rain stopped, and the Pocatello®
clouds started to break Falls®
up. The pilots took
off one by one, and
we soon found our- .Ogden
selves soaring over the
mountains. We were , Salt City.
Lake
ed
able to fly several days
creating lasting im-
pressions of the maj-
Afton, WY, is 150 miles north of Salt Lake City, UT.
esty of Wyoming. Image courtesy Apple Maps.

Lined up on the sod as the slack is taken out of the winch cable.

Soaring * August 2023 * www.ssa.org

Utah Soaring Association gliders queue up for Rob and Paul wait for tows while Bethany provides ground support.
tows on the Afton taxiway.

Winching to the north on

Afton’s grass runway.

org *
August 2023 ¢ Soaring
 Photo Essay:
1955 U.S. National Championships,
Harris Hill
By Jim Carr

HHphotographs
are more never-seen vintage
from the late pho-
Harris Hill hasn't much in the last 68
years, judging by these shots from the
sailplane ‘Alibi,’ a Laister-Kauffman
derived, V-tailed one-seater. You'll
tographer and glider enthusiast Jim 1955 national competition. Winner find Carr's photos of the post-WWII
Carr, by way his estate. While fash-
of that year was Kempes Trager of De- California soaring scene in July 2023
ions have changed, the July view from troit, Michigan, flying his homebuilt Soaring. ><

eis, oo

Kemp Tragers Alibi on tow fo the north, in a puff of dust. This area has Larry Gebrlein flew this heavily modified SGS 1-23C to an 11th place
long since been paved. finish. Note the hat/umbrella.

Kemp Trager, winner of the 22nd U.S. Nationals at Harris Hill, lounges with crew by his Alibi’ sailplane, with a brand-new 1955 Chevy Bel Air parked

PS
behind.

Soaring * August 2023 *

www.ssa.org
 a
NC [7
cy ~
~
 An early SGS 1-26. The first 1-265 were built at the nearby Schweizer: factory in 1954. Barbara Carr (L), the photographers wife, and
Betsy Woodward.

Bill Coverdale has his game face

before the day’ race.
on while settling into his Skylark II
Be
er ER CR
Te
Bill Ivan’s 1-23E had a 52.8ft wingspan and a glide ratio of 31:1 at 46 mph.

1-23D in foreground and ‘Flat Top’ Laister-Kaufiman LK-104 behind. Betsy Woodward.

Soaring * August 2023 ¢ www.ssa.org

 2023 Region 9 Contest
cson Soaring Club
fter a thirteen-year break, compe-
tition soaring has finally returned
to Arizona! Thirty-three contest pilots
arrived in Southern Arizona to com-
pete in the 2023 Region 9 Sports/
Club class competition hosted by the
Tucson Soaring Club at the El Tiro
Gliderport in Marana, AZ.
On May 28, 2023, the first contest
day commenced with a task taking
competitors on a course that circum-
navigated the Tucson Class C airspace.
Soaring conditions are tradition-
ally dry in southern Arizona typically
bringing blue skies and sparse cumu-
lus. A few competitors were surprised
to find a single wisp on the course near
the second turn point. Little did they
know more moisture was on its way!
Contestants enjoyed a Taco Bar on
the deck after soaring as they waited
for the scores to come in. The deli-
cious dinner was prepared, cooked,
www.ssa.org
The Region 9 Grid
Mountains behind.
is set with the Silverbell
and delivered by Linda Redweik,
Joyce Redweik, and Holli Acree, all
of whom are spouses of club members
and competitors. Many competitors
commented about the complex ter-
rain. The Sonoran Desert varies from
sky island mountains, vast areas of
desert, and occasional farmland. Soar-
ing in this task area is very technical,
and safely navigating from point to
point requires a high degree of plan-
ning and strategy.
In the Sports Class, Steve Koerner
(GW) took an early lead with a win in
his JS3-15. The Club Class saw Mike
Westbrook (UN) taking the lead in his
Discus cs.
Contest Day 2 was met with similar
®
August 2023 e polo ig
ik
 conditions as the
previous day and
competitors had
a chance to enjoy
a common line of
¢
convergence be-

~~
tween Kitt Peak
and Mount Lem-
mon. The first two
legs were chal-
lenging but a nice
tailwind made for
a fast third leg.
The second con-
test day landed
~ on Memorial
:
Day and was cel-
ebrated with a
BBQ_ manned by
Tucson Soaring
Club member,
and newly rated
glider pilot, Larry
Briggs. Randy
Acree (AVS) won
the day in Sports
+ Class and Mitch
, Hudson (AAA)
Class. The
Craig Reinholt in his ASH-31Mi over Coyote
in Club winning speed in
Peat. the Club Class was over 70 miles per
hour after the handicap was applied!
These impressive speeds were only
the start of what would become a very
fast contest.
The forecast improved dramatically
and Contest Director Tom Serkowski
predicted a line of cumulus along the
Galiuro Mountains in the eastern
portion of the task area. With the
help of his task advisors, Randy Acree
(AVS), Cliff Hilty (CH), and Danny
Sorenson (DS), an exciting task was
set to the east in the hopes of meeting
a field of cumulus. The competitors
were not disappointed in Day 3 as the
predicted convergence line developed.
The first leg was blue but once the
competitors arrived at the first turn
cylinder there were plentiful cumulus
along the course to the second turn
point. A gaggle of gliders ran down
i a AER the Galiuros and then turned towards
the blue for a finish.
Peach Peak Lurnpoint and Interstate 10. Photo by
Ben Webster.

ERE, ° August 2023 ©

www.ssa.0rg
 One last grid photo.

A unique delicacy in Tucson is the and is acommon staple at Tucson not disappoint. A steak dinner was a
Ugly Steak from Dickman’s Meats, BBQs. The Tucson Soaring Club in- fitting celebration for our daily winners
a local butcher. The cut of steak was troduced the contestants to the Ugly as Mitch Hudson (AAA) celebrated
developed and patented by Dickman’s Steak with our third dinner and it did his second consecutive daily win in the

VERTIGO
GREAT BRITISH COVERS
IP
TREAT YOUR GLIDER TO ANEW COVER
Available online or call (208) 994-4110
wingsandwheels.com/vertigo covers

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 Soaring
Club Class at a handicapped speed of
71.2 mph, and Steve Koerner (GW)
in the Sports Class with a handi-
capped speed of 75.28 mph. Steve's
speed before the handicap was 87.79
mph which is incredible for a contest
without water ballast.
Contest Day 4 was predicted to be
windy but soarable. But as the Contest
Director observed the pilots struggling
to stay in lift, and after consulting with
his task advisors, the day was scrubbed.
Westill enjoyed a dinner from a Tuc-
son food truck, Haus of Brats.
As expected, the winds died down
and the top of lift rose for the final
contest day. On the grid the competi-
tors observed a high layer of clouds
approaching from the south that
might complicate the task. The Sports
Class competitors were given a Turn
Area Task while the Club Class com-
petitors were further challenged with
a Speed Task. The lift held together,
and the competitors found their way
around their respective tasks with
fairly reliable lift without any cumu-
lus markers.
The final contest day was won by
Eric Redweik (SW) in Sports Class
and Mike Westbrook (UN) in Club
Class. Many pilots began packing up
their gliders as the scores were final-
ized and dinner was prepared. The
awards ceremony dinner was catered
by a Tucson Soaring Club favorite, the

Circle S Saloon. Everyone enjoyed a
BBQ_rib dinner and sides while we
announced the final winners.
This contest was only made possible
through hundreds of hours of volun-
teer effort from Tucson Soaring Club
members. Dave Lowe was the Ground
Operations Director and consistently
led the line crews to launch the fleet of
33 gliders in less than one hour! Elsa
Johnson revolutionized the contest ad-
ministration process and helped bring
contests into the twenty-first century
with a modern, quick, and simple bill-
ing process. Tow plane availability was
supported by Gary Boggs of North-
west Sky Sports as well as a local
Club Class Winners Danny Sorenson (3rd), Walt Rogers (2nd), and Mitch Hudson (1st).
consortium that brought a third and
fourth tow plane.
As a first time Contest Manager,
I can’t thank the volunteers enough.
There is a tremendous amount of work
hosting a contest and success is not
possible without the contributions of
an entire team of volunteers. The col-
lective efforts and the overall satisfac-
tion of the event from the competi-
a
Fs XC
tors added an energy to the club that
I hope will motivate more pilots to
participate in competitive soaring. We
have a unique sport and until we see
a successful event it is hard to under-
stand what the sport is
all about. After
hosting this regional I hope to moti-
vate other clubs and organizations to
challenge themselves by hosting future
soaring events.

Soaring ¢ August 2023 ®

WWW.s5a.0rg
IAT 8
1
which criteria were not satisfied.
THE CONDO R CORNER Clicking on a result set task name
(e.g., “Slovenia Quickie”) displays the
a TT E

task’s much more detailed Task De-

I

BYSCOTT
ee scription panel and enables you to
Frat y

hil
print the Task Description and/or
download it in .pdf format.

Condor Club Tasks Search / Best Performances

After flying a Condor Club task,
a serving Club is website played when selecting Tasks. Figure 1 club members can submit their Con-
Conder
the world-wide Condor commu- shows the list of tasks displayed after dor Flight Tracks via the Best Per-

ove
nity and offering several interesting entering the search criteria Land- formances panel (Figure 2). The
and useful Condor-related services. scape = “Slovenia2”, Soaring type flights with the 10 best scoring results
The topic for this article is the group = “Ridge”, and Difficulty = “Easy” are then listed on this panel. Check-
of related services available under followed by selecting Show Results. ing the box to the left of a pilot listing
Condor Club's Task function. From

form
You can also use the (Task) Name and clicking Replay the Race results
the Condor Club home page (condor. contains field + Show Results to in an animation (ground track, alti-

Reset
club), select Tasks from the navigation initiate a search. I recommend enter- tude) of that flight. Selecting more
menu. The services displayed in the ing your search criteria one at a time than one flight and clicking Replay
Tasks submenu are described in the followed by a click on Show Results. the Race results in an animated sim-
following sections. The more criteria you enter before ulation of a race between the selected
pressing Show Results the more pilots. Clicking the box to the right
Search for a Task likely your result set will be empty
This is the default sub-service dis- and the less likely you are to know continued on page 32 &

ee Le
mpedition Numba (4 expired of has not be givent
> No new message |

20
Badges and Dip o 0 +

Lr (PAF o p o

>

>
SEARCH

Name contains:

Landscape:
CRITERIA

Slovenia?
|
~~
eer
20tasks found:

Total downloads: Slow;/ Quickie

(not yet evaluated) 2 times (Slovenia2)
> Nb of tun points: Any 5
Proposed by Besfgravy id
> Penalty zones: Either » I April 18th, 2023
"| A blast around Slovenia with some odd windows thrown in.
> Windowed TP:
Any
> Wind strength: Thermals
> Soaring ype:
Wave
Environment:
ina
>

> Difficulty: Easy v

> Plane class: Any v

> Distance: Any ~

= Time do finish: . Ary

EIEIEIEIEY
of 3
Total downloads:
12 times
| Power Race [C2] 04/2023 49NM, 250 0 minutes
(out votes) (Slovenia2) : Easy
> Clouds: Any v Proposed by EP | Erik iy gouue
a
April 6th, 2023
Type: Racing task
> Season: Any ¥ 3TP
Condor version: 2

CEC RL
> Time: Any v

> Start type: Any v

> Tail hunting: [Either v

> Teams enabled: Either v

> Task type: Any ™

> Challenge: Any v

> PDA:

> Condor version:

Either

v2
v

v (not yet | *

evaluated)
Total downloads:
14 times
VOC23 March (MAR) Standard Level(SL)
(Slovenia)
8
Proposed by Fest ig
27 NM, 30 to 35 minutes

Type: Racing task

Sort results by: Submission date J
February 28th, 2023
Only Std, Cirrus - No Water - No MTOW
47TP
version: 2
stancara
Condor
["] Show only available tasks

- “we
ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH (CE UE AE CE 11
CEES
search Have you been looking for
«

- exciting tasks In often

- breath taking landscapes

- short tasks between
All fields are optional.
- 25 km to 100 km
- tasktimes...

fle
Figure 1: Search for a Task.

www.ssa.org ®
August 2 SRI TTR TITY
 Qoaring
Cliff Hilty (CH) in his ASW 27 departs west towards
~ the Silverbell Mountains on Practice Day 1 of the
12023 Region 9 Sports/Club Class Contest, hosted by
the TucsonSoaring Club. Photo by Eric Redweik.
0
 Badges and Diplomas Competitions Pilots ranking list Goodies Landscapes Community Help Your account
LANE
ERE Submita task Yourtasks Serverslist Tasks converter Convert IGC to FTR Coordinates converter

descriptior Best performances Mt (PRET ER EE

LT
Task

JF
Did you realize a good performance? Upload your Flight Track (.FTR), the 10 best results will be available for download and other players could compete with your "ghost"!

Flight track file (.FTR):

Browse... No file selected.
[

Usually found In C:\Program Files\Condor\FlightTracks\ for Condor vi and DocumentsiCondor\FlightTracks (C:\Users\"User name"\Documents\Condor
\FlightTracks) for Condor v2
To be validated, the file must have exactly the same parameters as original flight plan and the race must finished be without penalty point.
Only FTRs generated with Condor 1.0.9 or above are supported.

~~
Submit this flight track to Pilots Ranking List

oF Replay the race! A,

onl
Select below up to 5 flights you wish to replay, or none to see the five first results

0 JS315
-
--
United Kingdom 00:44:10 1000.

@
Timothy Faver G-TIMZ (126)

0 Pete Davey ‘G-CHZZ(LD)

[Eu-HiGH
United Kingdom JS3-15 00:45:11

00:45:21
10547 43 0.00 954.71

United Kingdom ‘Ventus3-15 105.08 79.43 0.00 947.44

(RC1)

GLIDE(AGT) UnitedKingdom Ventus3-15 00:46:47 10187 7943 0.00 sa804 a

CHRIS United Ventus3-15 79.43 0.00 829.48
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of a flight record displays a detailed like the Multi-Player/Server List on Figure 2: Best Performances.

Flight Analysis and the option to Condor’s website, i.e., as a way for
download the flight as a Condor Condor enthusiasts to host and/or With this tool, choose an existing task
Flight Track (.ftr) and/or as an IGC connect to online race events. or provide your own flight plan, then
file. A downloaded Flight Track can Tusks Converter. Here is how Con- get the converted file.”
then be used as a Ghost in a Free dor Club describes it: “Some land- Convert IGC to FTR. Condor’s
Flight of the task, enabling you to fly scapes have identical parts and tasks Flight Track (.ftr) file is the simulation
along with or compete against the se- that could theoretically be converted
from one scenery to another if the
equivalent of
fact, an IGC
real world IGC file. In
file can be output for
a
lected Best Performance flight.
landscapes are correctly calibrated. any Condor flight and then used for

reet
Submit a Task Pilots ranking Goodies Landscapes Community Your account

EE
Competitions list Help

This service lets you contribute a BRETT AE EEE

a tasks for badges without prior consent,

"LETTERS for the task name; Image
Task to the Condor community. Us- Ploase read this before submitiing
[
task: Post only fully post of
tested tasks! Do
NOT CAPITAL
DO NOT USE ONLY

task will be automatically generated, it's not necessary to produce one.

your

ing the panel shown in Figure 3,1 sub- |

Task name: |
mitted a Flight Plan from my online Flight plan fila (fpl): Browse..
Usually found
| No file
In
selected.
C:\Program Files\CondonFiightPlansiUsec

training curriculum entitled “Land- Screenshot:

{pg or png)
Browss...
Optional but
Mo fils salectsd.
highly recommended! | will automatically generate fight plan picture. Use this field only If
you have a nice shot of your task

ing Pattern Practice — Runway 14 — Flight track

(optional)
file (.FTR): (Browse...
Usualy found
| Mo file
in
selected.
CAProgram Filles\Condor\FlighTracks\ for Condor vi and Documents\CondonFlightTracks (C:\Users\"User name“\Documents\Condor

Slovenj Gradec”.
\FilghtTracks) for Candor v2
Only FTRs generatsd with Condor 1.0.9 or above are supported

Flight type: [CIridge [J Thermals [] wave

Check at laast one typo
[J Over mountains [] Over countryside
Your Tasks Check al least one type

This service lists the tasks you have Task type: Racing task v

submitted to Condor Club. Figure 4 Challenge: Finlah the task in minimal tims v

Average time to finish: Select. -

shows the “Landing Pattern Practice Difficulty level: [T-Vory easy v

— Runway 14 — Slovenj Gradec” task Glider restriction: ® No restriction.

©
I submitted above. Unfortunately, the
Restricted to a single glider type Choose.

© Restricted to a single class Choose...

task type for my submission

task”. I'll be
listed as is (
[J
Gliders

Aways use
within

DAeC
handicap range
handicap
- Minimal

for scoring
handicap: Maximal handicap: |

“Arcade/Funny writing to Water, ®

(©
Allowed

Water-ballasting isnot itted.

Condor Club recommending they add If

you use Club

restriction
class, watar ballast Is disabled by Condor,
0 you can Ignore this option.

‘Wing loading limit: No v

a “Training/Proficiency” task type. The Short description of the task:

Your Tasks service includes a Modify

Task capability and the option to in-
#4

You can describe the task In your language but please describe It in english at first
voke a detailed Task Description by Forum address:

clicking on the task name.

Dato of availability:
(optional) [
Used
June

this date.
for
w

competition
[9

not
«| [2023

managed
at
by
[ooh ~||60
Condor Club's Competition
v|yTg
system; If a date Is given, task download will be disabled and tum points will be hidden until

[T) But don't hide scores and performances aven if the task is not available

Other Condor Club Services

Servers List. This service functions Figure 3: Submit a Task.

Soaring * August 2023 e WWW.S5a.01g

 w
cLus

www. tondor.club
Badges and Diplomas Competitions Pilots ranking list Landscapes Community Your account
Search for a task Submit a task Yi
Sarvers list Tasks converter Convert IGC fo FTR Coordinates converter

oT TTS

You have submitted 1 task:

If please consider
you like this site, to
make a donation for our server or Total downloads:
2 NM, Less than 10 minutes
visit Google advertisers! (not yet evaluated) 1 time (Slovenia2)
Difficulty: Easy
Proposed by

June 11th, 2023

S = Type: Arcade/Funny task
tomate
Practice flying a standard landing pattern to runway 14 at Sloven] Gradec. Use letter "J" to display the publ) version: 2

—
windowed turnpoints that will guide you through the landing pattern. You may also use PDA...
CLLR EE
CELT

CLE

example to analyze that flight using in miles, my training requirements Figure 4: Your Tasks.
SeeYou. Condor Club's Convert IGC are often measured in feet. The 4
to FTR serves a similar function, but turn-points that compose my “Land-
in reverse. For example, you could take ing Pattern Practice — Runway 14 — About the author: Scott Manley has
the IGC file generated by a contest Slovenj Gradec” flight plan task are an undergraduate degree in secondary
pilot at Nephi and convert to Con-
dor’s Flight Track (.ftr) format. You
it a good example. Rather than dozens
of iterations using a computer mouse
education and more than 50 years of
teaching experience. He provides year-
could then replicate the contest task in to position each turn-point on the round simulation-based glider flight
Condor’s Nephi landscape and by in- low-resolution Task page in Condor’s instruction at-a-distance (Condor/Sky-
corporating the contest pilot’s flight as Flight Planner, and then waiting for a pe) to glider rating candidates nation-
a “Ghost,” simulate flying along with Condor2 Free Flight session to fully wide, and consultation services to flight
and/or competing against the contest initiate so I can use the F2 (Exter- training organizations and individuals
pilot’s real-world competition flight. nal Glider) view to see where the interested in adopting this paradigm.
Coordinates Converter. 1 wish I had turn-point actually ended up, I can He holds Certificated Flight Instructor
a nickel for every hour of my life use Coordinates Converter to much privilegesfor the glider category. The back
spent trying to precisely place turn- more easily and accurately position a of his pilot certificate reads: Commercial
points in my instructional flight turn-point, e.g., placing the aim point pilot: airplane single-engine land & sea;
plans. Unlike the placement of race of a landing approach right at the instrument airplane; glider. Feel free to

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August 2023 * Soaring

OPEN FORUM
BY BILL HILL
I seems pilots, like sailors, assign
the feminine gender to those craft
in which they fly or sail. Perhaps it’s
because of the idea that a female fig-
ure such as a mother or goddess guides
or protects a ship or crew...I've never
given it much thought, but when I
do refer to my Discus, I refer to her
as a “she.” Even though I think of her
as feminine, I've never given her a
name...I don’t know why...?
After being in a relationship — so
much more than just ownership —
with my Discus since 2005, and hav-
ing flown her for over three thousand
hours, I feel that we have formed an
inseparable bond. I'm not sure how
she feels about me — flawed indi-
vidual that I am — but I am of the
opinion that she is without fault. She
is the consummate example of form
following function. Her only blemish
might be the antenna protruding from
her underside. Of course, her beauty
Soaring August 2023 ¢ www.ssa.org
is enhanced when her main wheel is
retracted, and she is unencumbered
by its additional drag. In the objec-
tive, she is composite compilation of
high gloss curves...the consummate
flying machine. In the subjective, she
is the vessel in which adventures have
been shared.
i
ll
ad! hilly
So there she perches in her mews,
her eyrie, awaiting the arrival of her
pilot. She is then ministered to as he
performs those tasks necessary for
their communion, their spiritual im-
minence in the air. The only ministra-
tion to which she takes exception to is
the
that of transition from her hangar
to the pre-departure point on the air-
port. She feels that it is somewhat un-
dignified, ignominious if you will, that
she is towed backward to the point of
pending departure.
Once positioned and ready for
launch, it’s my turn to be the second
half of this partnership, and I en-
sconce myself within the front half of
my trusty companion. It is here that
by virtue of check list recited, tow rope
attached, and the signal given for take-
off, then airborne, that we become one,
the
a singular creature of sky. The tow
plane chops, purees, and then spits out
partials of air with its scimitar-like
blades. No matter as those molecules
graciously give way to her pinions as
we accelerate to lift off speed. I can
feel the joy she gleans as her polyhe-
dral wings take flight and the magic
begins. Once sky-borne, it’s only a
matter of time before we detect rising
air sufficient to ensure we can remain
aloft and so bid farewell to the tow
plane and climb away.
Over the years, she has taught me
to become aware of the subtle signs
of the adjustments I need to make to
I
 ECS

tap every bit of the

available energy in FREES

|
the atmosphere and |

so climb higher and =

fly faster. Manipu- i
lation of the con-
trols requires little
if any effort or even
thought as their
movement is the |

interaction of pilot
and aircraft. Turn
south perhaps? No
sooner is the deci-
sion made than we
are moving in that HE

direction. Over the we return to earth, having left in our collection of composites, metal and
wake not a roar, but a whisper. electronics, my avatar, return that af-
years as I have probed the corners
of her envelope, she has taught me I sit in the Discus and savor the fection? I prefer to think she can.
to recognize those hints that say her memory of our interaction. We return
wings can no longer support us as we to the hangar and the Discus has her About the author: Bill Hill first so-
are flying too slow. A proper response, wings cleaned, her batteries put on loed in July 1962 at the Frederick, MD
an input if you will, and we are again charge and her canopy cover installed. airport. His first glider flight was a year
As I close the hangar doors, I gaze later. Fast forward to the present day and
flying. Even on those days when the
air is rough and unhappy and Mother back upon this marvelous creation he has over 21,000 flight hours, 8,000 of
and wonder: can a pilot become emo- which are in gliders. He has several glider
Nature swats us from below with a
maelstrom of disorganized air; our tionally attached to an inanimate object? contest wins along with three U.S. speed
tail is pitched up as the airspeed rap-
I suspect the answer is yes. Can that records. Ye
idly decays...we are again no longer
flying, but a gentle nudge on my part
and all is well. As we have both aged,
she has come to recognize that my
reflexes have slowed, and my skill
level is atrophying, and yet she seems
to compensate for my short comings
and she keeps us safe.
As we work together, my Discus and
I, we search the sky for clues Mother
Nature has scattered about. Will the
sky stay blue, or will it become pop-
ulated with cumulus? Then tendrils
of visible moisture materialize, and
a cloud is born. As its base becomes
defined, we move toward its growing
telltale indication of rising air. It is
here that my Discus drops hints as to
a direction in whichto turn and so we
enter yet another atmospheric eleva-
tor. Climb up, then venture forth. So When squirrels find an odd nut -- like a CFIG who didn’t renew
the day goes as we interact as a singu- using the SSF FIRC, they gather and stare in amazement.
lar creature of the sky. As the day be- Don’t be an odd nut!
comes less buoyant and the ephemeral
sky becomes a passing acquaintance,
Renew your CFI certificate with the SSF.

ME www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring
 Meet the SSA Staff
at Hobbs
very member of the SSA is served
by a dedicated, professional
staff headquartered in Hobbs, New
Mexico. In this article, I would like to
introduce you to these hard-working
individuals who perform many of the
day-to-day functions that help the
SSA to operate smoothly.
Denise Layton has been with the
SSA for 36 years and is the Executive
Director. She joined the SSA when
moved to Hobbs and has been there
it
ever since. Besides managing the office
staff at Hobbs, Denise helps to coordi-
nate the efforts of the many volunteers
and volunteer committees. Denise
also works closely with your Regional
Directors, the Executive Committee
and Mike Shakman, SSA Chairman.
As you may have noticed in Soaring
magazine, Denise received the presti-
gious Eaton Memorial Trophy Award,
the SSA's highest award, for her many
years of dedicated service.
Alexa Owens is the Manager of
the Digital Marketing group which
promotes the SSA to the public to
gain new membership and promote
the sport of soaring. Alexa assumed
this position from John Seaborn who
started the digital marketing effort a
few years ago. Alexa oversees a few
consultants who produce and place
the ads and promotional spots. She
works closely with the Communica-
tions Committee which coordinates
the overall effort of communicating to
the membership and the public. She
also produces the SSA e-news which
is sent by email to all members who
Soaring ¢ August 2023
have email addresses on file.
Rosa Navarrete is our new Mem-
bership Services Manager. She has
been with the SSA office since Febru-
ary 2023 andis really enjoying her job.
Her job description is individual and
chapter membership renewals, SSAI
badges and records including the SSA
ABC and Bronze Badge programs.
With Alexa moving into Market-
ing, and Rosa taking over member-
ship, we are pleased to announce
Debbie Montes has joined SSA staff
in Hobbs as the new merchandise
person. She will also be helping with
contests.
David Hart is Editor of Soaring
magazine, working remotely. David
has focused on fresh, compelling
writing and photography and this is
reflected in the “new look” of the mag-
|
azine. think you will all agree that
Soaring is one of the many benefits of
your SSA membership. David is al-
ways looking for articles and ideas for
improving the magazine experience.
These, and editorial emails, can be
sent to Editor@ssa.org. David is also
SSA Treasurer and a member of the
Executive Committee.
Vicki Henry is an accountant that
works remotely for the SSA. She co-
ordinates the day-to-day financial
accounting of the organization and
works closely with Denise Layton and
David Hart.
Kathey Pope has lived near Hobbs
for 33 years and worked for the SSA
for 15 years. She does many account-
ing services for the SSA and the SSF
*
www.ssa.org
including processing of expense re-
ports and paying bills. She also works
on the non-profit report filings and
payroll records.
Lacy Clack also works in the ac-
counting department in the areas of
accounts payable and accounts receiv-
able. She enters invoices to the ac-
counting system to pay each vendor.
Lacy also updates the accounting sys-
tem for customer sales when a payment
is received for merchandise. Lacy was
born in Texas but now makes Hobbs
her home.
The next time you speak with one
of these individuals, on the phone or
in person, please thank them for their
service.
Don’t Forget the Volunteers!
In addition to these professional
staff members, the SSA has a multi-
tude of volunteers who serve on the
many SSA committees. All these
committees work toward common
goals that benefit the membership of
the SSA.
The newly formed Communica-
tions Committee, led by Dan Man-
nisto and Philip DuPlessis, knows
that the website is a vital link to the
membership and is working to im-
prove that user experience. Please be
patient with those efforts as there is
no “overnight fix”. However, your in-
put is important and can be directed
to Digital Communications@SSA.org.
In the current Phase I, the commit-
tee is interviewing website vendors
with experience with our platform
and hopes to choose a vendor to be-
PT
gin working on improvements over for the rest of 2024 and will migrate The grid for the 2022 15 Meter and Open Class
the next 3-6 months. Jim Garrison is the current websites and services into Nationals at Hobbs, NM. Photo by Evelyn Tovar.

going through the SSA site and iden-
tifying the links that do not work and
other glitches that make the site very
difficult to use. Phase IT will establish
a new infrastructure and is planned for
the last quarter of 2023 and the first
quarter of 2024. Phase III is planned
the new infrastructure.
This is just a brief overview ofthe
work that goes on behind the scenes and the organization. In the mean-
that benefits the members ofthe SSA. time, please keep active and strive to
In the coming months, I will highlight continue to nurture a safety culture in
more of the work ofthe various SSA your club or local soaring operation.
committees and what they do for you

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www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring

PERSONALITIES
.
IN SOARING
BY FRAUKE ELBER
Bertha M. Ryan,
1928-2023
ertha Ryan was born in Boston,
Massachusetts and had three
older brothers. Her father, an attor-
ney, passed away in 1931. Bertha fell
in love with aviation during the mid
‘30's, probably due to the exploits of
Amelia Earhart. When WWII start-
ed, her three brothers volunteered and
served in the Pacific and, while still in
high school, Bertha went to work for
Raytheon testing and packing tubes
to earn money for flying and college.
As the end of the war approached,
she started flying lessons in a Tay-
lorcraft and soloed in October, 1945,
eventually receiving her Private li-
cense. Paying her own way through-
out, she went to Emmanuel College
in Boston graduating in 1950, then
started graduate studies at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, first
in Mathematics where she initially
worked part time, later full time in
operations research. Then she trans-
ferred her studies to the Aeronautical
Bertha Ryan after her firstflight in her home-built 1-26 at EI Mirage, California, 1956.
Soaring e August 2023
Engineering where she worked for the
Aeroelastic and Structures Research
Laboratory specializing in unsteady
aerodynamics, flutter and boundary
layer transition.
At MIT she discovered soaring,
joined the Aeronautical Engineering
Society (glider club) and flew a glider
for the first time, a Schweizer SGS
2-22, in October 1950. She soon had
a Private glider license, started tow-
ing and instructing for the club and
earned her glider commercial and
instructor rating. She flew the flying
club’s Cessna 140 around the north-
east and went on excursions to various
northeastern soaring sites, sometimes
putting on air shows. She received her
MIT degree in 1955, accepted a po-
sition with Douglas Aircraft in Santa
Monica, California, and purchased a
Schweizer SGS 1-26A kit which she
completed in California.
While in Massachusetts, she was
the SSA Governor for New Eng-
®
www.ssa.org
land, published a newsletter, helped
establish the New England Soar-
ing Association, and was President
of the Northeastern States Soaring
Association.
Her responsibilities at Douglas in-
cluded supersonic drag reduction and
wing/body interference studies. The
SSA office was located at the same
airport as Douglas so she soon be-
came very active with Soaring Society
operations. Upon completion of the
1-26, she flew the first test flight at
El Mirage — a big thrill in her life.
She continued instructing and started
cross-country soaring going mostly
to the east towards Las Vegas, some-
times to the southeast towards Phoe-
nix and occasionally north towards
Bishop. She explored other soaring
sites in northern California, Arizona
and Texas. The type of soaring she
liked best was straight-out thermal
soaring but she flew some wave.
In 1959 she became a NASA aero-
space engineer at Edwards Air Force
Base where her first tasks were fluid
flow problems and sonic boom stud-
ies. Her major effort was the lifting
Eh,
Bertha Ryan at a glider meet.
 body project — analytical and experi-
mental, both wind tunnel and flight.
She wrote columns for Soaring
and for some regional soaring pub-
lications, was scorekeeper for several
national competitions and one world
competition and for 18 years was re-
sponsible for the Record Homologa-
tion Committee of the SSA. She also
served as SSA Treasurer and a Direc-
tor. She helped establish the concept
of state records and was instrumental
with others in developing the pho-
tographic technique for turn point
identification.
In 1967 she went to work for the
Navy at China Lake, California,
where her main interest was aerother-
modynamics with specialties in aero-
thermal heating, wing/body interfer-
ence and boundary layer transition.
She became an associate fellow of the
American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, served on the Gen-
eral Aviation Systems Committee,
was Chair of the AIAA China Lake
Section, and continued publishing
technical papers.
She began flying her sailplane out
of nearby Inyokern and encouraged
a towing operation (the previous one
had closed a few years earlier). Ad-
ditionally, she soared at several other
Mountain/desert sites during this
time. Her soaring flights from In-
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BLANIKCAND TAK GLIDERS « PARTS SERVICE « LAK AND.COBRA TRAILERS « INSTRUMENTS « RADIOS « PARACHUTES
yokern were mostly to the north and
she fell even more in love with the
mountains (Sierra Nevada) now that
she lived beside them.
She then earned her commercial
and instrument for airplanes and pur-
chased a Piper Cherokee 140B which
she flew across the country several
times. She was the scorer for all the
Smirnoff Derby races from the west
coast to the east coast and several
times flew along in her Cherokee to
accomplish the task.
It was during a Smirnoff Derby
that the question came up of why
don’t more women fly sailplanes? So,
with the help and encouragement of
the SSA, she sent a questionnaire to
women members trying to find out.
She continued the correspondence
for a while with the name Hangar
Soaring, which the Women Soaring
Pilots Association later took over and
formalized.
Soon a more formal soaring FBO
started at Inyokern. Bertha teamed up
with a fellow whose main interest was
enjoying flying sailplanes cross coun-
try in the Sierra. She then purchased
an Eiri Avion PIK 20B which could
get between the strong desert ther-
mals more easily than the 1-26. There
were several enjoyable years of soar-
ing in this remote desert/mountain
region. This was a good time.
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www.ssa.org
After that she wrote for additional
national publications as well as Soar-
ing again, including a monthly col-
umn, and wrote a book about Einar
Enevoldson. She worked with John
Leibacher to make an index to Soar-
ing available on his web page and
served as a trustee of the National
Soaring Museum where she took on
the task of collecting oral histories of
United States Soaring Hall of Fame
members and writing short bios of
them. She was elected to the Soar-
ing Hall of Fame in 1972. Her other
awards include the SSA Eaton Tro-
phy, the Schweizer Lifetime Service
Award, twice the SSA Exceptional
Service Award (1967, 1980) and the
FAT Pelagia Majewska Medal, the last
of which she considered the greatest
honor she could ever receive. ><
Bertha Ryan at age 91.
\
.net
s LOGISTICS
©
August 202 CIC ICTo
111 kL
 the day. 16-year-old Jonathan Hart

CLUB CORNER is a member of both HRS and EAA

Chapter 1567. He may be the young-

pe
est Young Eagles volunteer pilot in the
BY BRIAN HART country, and he was to provide four
Young Eagles flights in the ASK 21
while the other (adult) pilots were to

Happened
give rides in their power planes.
A Funny Thing But this is Hood River, Oregon, and
high-pressure air west of the Cascades

on the Way to the thrust itself through the Columbia

River Gorge, into the Hood River
valley and up to the airport, result-

Young Eagles Event ing in considerable early wind. After

he sky over Hood River, Oregon
was full of just about every con-
ceivable kind of cover and lift: 12 kt
of west wind meaning the east ridge
might be working, thick higher cover
that burned off to mostly blue ther-
mals, and between the two, stout and
plentiful mid-level lenticular clouds
that belied low-level mountain wave.
Saturday, June 10, 2023, was no or-
dinary weekend day at windy Hood
River Soaring (HRS). Local EAA
Chapter 1567 had planned to offer
Tow pilot Ty Sibley
free Young Eagles rides to youth of
8-17 years. On top of this, WAAAM
(Western Antique Aeroplane and
Automobile Museum) had chosen
this as their annual “Gliders and the
World of Silent Flight” day in which
they would fly a number of their an-
tique gliders, among them the 1939
Slingsby Petrel.
The original EAA Young Eagles
Day plan had been planned so that
four or five pilots would do some-
and 16-year-old volunteer EAA pilot Jonathan Hart.
much discussion regarding that fore-
cast on Friday, the EAA power pilots
eventually made the prudent decision
to scratch their flights.
On the other hand, Jonathan has
flown in much of the worst Hood
River has to offer in his almost 200
glider hours in the organizations
ASK 21 and his Libelle, from high-
turbulence hot summer days to dismal
gray toe-freezing winter days with
tumultuous rotor up into the wave,
talking with Seattle Center about the
PDX approaches near Mount Hood.
Jonathan felt that the glider segment
of the operation could safely go ahead
as planned, and appealed to local EAA
president that they be allowed to con-
tinue with the glider flights for the
day. We had already planned to stage
the whole thing — power and glider
flights alike — from the gliderport.
This would give the Young Eagles,
even those that might not get a glider
ride, a chance to see gliders in action.
To top it off, there was no simple way
to call the entire attendee list at the
last minute, so we settled in for mak-
ing the best of what the Anemoi had
offered for the day.
Go ahead it did, when Young Eagle
passenger attendees arrived they found
the day had become a glider event,
and the volunteer pilot was 16-year-
old Jonathan! The all-volunteer HRS
ground ops crew, made up mostly of a
number of the 17 currently active youth
members, helped with snacks, ground
school, ground handling, coordinat-

Soaring8 ¢ August 2023

¢
¢
www.ssa.org :
SRE
 ing traffic with the antique gliders, and
extending the whole event far past its
original eight-to-noon time frame.
By the time Jonathan had finished
his 11" Young Eagles flight of the
day, it was almost 4 pm. Superstar tow
pilot Ty did all the towing. Along-
side the Young Eagles, we made great
progress on this busiest of busy days
with a couple of newer youth trainees
who actively worked on their Ground
Badges (Hood River Soaring’s ground
operations training program) in con-
stant staging, launch, and retrieve cy-
cles all day.
A very special thanks goes to HRS
member Stan Voynick, who at the
last minute came out to dedicate his
entire day taking on the considerable
duties of safety and (HRS) glider traf-
fic management for the day, leaving us
free to focus on managing the EAA
Young Eagles flights and interacting
with the youth and their parents!
About the author: Brian is Jonathan

no
Jonathan Hart explaining instrument panel to eight-year-old Young Eagle Bowman Wampler.
Harts father. Jonathan soloed a glider
and had hisfirst landout in a field at age
14 in his Libelle, took his glider check-
ride and soloed the Piper Cub on his 16”
birthday, and plans to begin towing glid-
ers soon after he takes his Private Pilot
power checkride on his 17% birthday.
Neither Brian nor Jonathan is related to
Soaring editor David Hart. ><

www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 e Soaring
 better nearby. Miles beyond my usual
SOARING STORIES haunts we meandered, not always in
lift, but seldom losing any height. I'd
have been honored for that exemplar
BY DALE MASTERS to endorse an hour in my logbook, but
who knows if it had current certifica-
tion — or could even hold a pen.

Eagles’ Eyes At a different locale where eagles

were not so rare, I'd seen two fledg-
lings soaring together for weeks, and
were exceedingly rare. Once though, on a day off took our 1-26 hunting
Too wonderful ... yea, the way of an
I came upon a sovereign golden in a in the mountains, armed with a cam-
eagle in the air.
— Proverbs 30:19 blue thermal at the edge of our lo- era. Found them right away, sharing a
cal area and decided to tag along and thermal more or less wingtip to wing-
tip, and that seemed rewarding enough
Wee
mont
I flew in
we soared
northern Ver-
with red-tail
learn from the maestro. Several times
we left good lift sooner than I ex- until — I couldn't believe this either
hawks daily, but for some reason eagles pected and moved on, quickly finding — the pair widened out and allowed

iam "

The view northwest over Fort Garland, CO, and Blanca Peak (14,350 ft), at the northern limit of Miguel Iturregui’s 580 km out-and-return flightfrom
Moriarty, NM, in an ASW 27 on June 22, 2023.
al
Th
Soaring * August 20232
Q
*
www.ssa.org
c

andl
me to ease in between them. Imagine,
thermaling to 12,000 feet with a baby
eagle off each wingtip! Downright
glorious — and got a picture, too!
If their mother were watching,
would she have been horrified? Or ag-
gravated?
I've been attacked by mature eagles
three times after getting too cozy, and
in each case, they flew away, almost
out of sight, then homed straight back
in nose to nose. One came so close | up into normal base. When no chicks
glimpsed its eyes from the back seat
as it passed under! We happened to
have a video cam mounted on the for-
ward panel, and I held position long
as I dared before pulling up, already
fantasizing about that most unlikely
inch of footage. Then, naturally, a mo-
ment after the bird came on camera as
a spot in center frame... the film ran
out. Amazing how often things end
that way with aerial video. (Amazing
too, how often they don't!) was a whole lot bigger than mine? Or
And in another millennium, as the maybe I just wasn’t flying enough....
only glider guy in a ride operation at
|
a summer resort, had the rare liberty
of flying approaches any way I chose. Gladiators of the Sky
(Like giving a cat burglar the key to the
DVD
a
city!) Just my luck, pair of bald eagles
SKU: 706309 $42.00
had their nest in the broken top of the «
tallest pine around, positioned perfect-
ly for us to dive from downwind leg, Gladiators of the Sky
cut a 2G turn around them, and pull
were in the nest, Mom and Dad of-
ten perched on a shaded branch below,
so it paid to look closely, and passen-
gers squoze in back always loved see-
ing the birds turn zheir heads to watch
us flying by.
Often, they were away, of course,
doing what eagles do. And sad to say,
in two full seasons there, not once did
I sight either of those baldies on the Email: merchandise@ssa.org
wing! Does that mean their range Online Store: www.ssa.org
CRE
from To
Phone: 360-435-7220
re)
GEE
CT ETN Ysaftieparachutes. com
ElRaceCU
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www.ssa.org ®
August 2023 ¢ Soaring
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 The clerk brought out the cheque. Darwen took it and, glancing over it,
handed it on to Carstairs. "There you are, old chap. I'm sorry it's the last."

Carstairs took it. "Thanks," he said. "Good-bye," and turning on his heel
he went out for the last time.

Darwen watched him through the window as he walked down the street
with his long swinging stride. "The reason, personified, of why England
owns half the earth," he said, to himself. "And equally the reason that she
doesn't own the whole of it," he added, thoughtfully.

He lay back in his chair and gazed far into the future, mental pictures in
many colours shaped themselves in kaleidoscopic procession across the
white expanse of ceiling. For half an hour he sat thus, then sitting suddenly
upright, and drawing in his outstretched legs, he plunged back into the
present among the papers on his table.

Some six months later, in the dining-room at Chilcombe Vicarage, there

was held a family council of war. The old vicar was there, Commander
Carstairs was there, Phillip and Stanley Carstairs were there, and they all
looked serious. For six months Jack Carstairs had been applying for each
and every one of the multitudinous appointments advertized in the technical
papers, with no results; he had learned through the same medium that
Darwen had been appointed to one of the London stations at £750 per
annum, to start; and that evening he had returned from making personal
application for a very junior appointment at £1 per week in a neighbouring
town. The chief (of German antecedent), the personification of ignorance
and bombast, had catechized and bullied him, cross-examined and
contradicted him, and finally abruptly refused him the billet.

Jack was speaking, and they all listened attentively. "When a German
ex-gasfitter, with a little elementary arithmetic and less electrical catalogue
information, talks to me as though he were a miniature Kaiser and I the last-
joined recruit of his most unsatisfactory regiment, and then refuses me a
switchboard attendant's job on technical grounds, then, I admit, my thoughts
lightly turn to robbery with violence as a recreation and means of
livelihood. He'd have liked me to say 'yes, sir,' and 'no, sir,' and 'please, sir,'
and touch my cap and grovel in the dirt. I'd see him in hell first."
 "I always said, Hugh, you ought to have put that boy in the Service," the
sailor interjected, quite seriously.

The others smiled, a wry, sickly sort of smile.

"Can't we—er—don't we know somebody with some influence on these

councils who would use it on Jack's behalf." It was the artist who spoke.

The young engineer stood up suddenly with unwonted passion. "Damn

it! I'm not a blasted mendicant! I'm a competent engineer! It's no use talking
rot about modesty. I know what I have done and can do again. I say I'm a
competent engineer. I've been getting two hundred and fifty quid a year, and
earning it, saving it for the people who paid me. And I am willing to take a
quid, one blasted quid a week, and I can't get it. I'm not going to beg for my
own cursed rights. In all those hundreds of jobs I've applied for, I must have
been the best man on my paper form alone. If I can't live as an engineer in
my own cursed country, then, by God! I'll steal." He turned on his father
with blazing eyes. "I say, I'll steal, and if any blundering idiot or flabby fool
tries to stop me, I'll kill him dead. The first law of life is to live. What do
you say to that? You preach platitudes from the pulpit every Sunday, what
have you to say to the logic of the engine room?"

The old vicar smiled, somewhat sorrowfully. "I might say that you are
possessed of a devil," he said, with quiet humour. "Your engineering
experience ought to tell you that it's no use ramming your head against a
brick wall."

Jack sat down. "That's so," he said, "there's an obstruction somewhere;

the thing to do is to find it out and remove it."

"I tell you, Hugh! the initial mistake was in not putting that boy into the
Service; though there's a maxim there that promotion comes 80 per cent. by
chance, 18 per cent. by influence, and 2 per cent. by merit."

"That's rot, you know, unless you mean to say that 18 per cent. of the
men in the Service are snivelling cheats."
 The sailor was thoughtful. "There are some cheats in the Navy, but not
many; as a rule it's not the man's own fault that he is promoted by influence.
At the same time you can't afford to get to loo'ard of your skipper, much
depends on one man's word, but that man is usually a——"

"Sportsman," Jack interrupted.

"Well! 'an officer and a gentleman' they call him. The Service would
have suited you."

"My dear uncle, I have all respect for the Service, but at the same time I
should not wish to be anything but an engineer, and engineers in the Service
at the present time are somewhat small beer. Anyway, as a money-making
concern, the Service don't pan out anything great. Bounce told me that the
seamen haven't had a rise in pay since Nelson's time."

The sailor laughed. "That's a good old A.B.'s growl," he said. "I gather,
too, that engineering is not panning out so very great as a money-making
concern just now."

"No! you're right. I'm a bit sick when I think of it, too, it's rather
sickening. I've got a model upstairs of an engine that would make any man's
fortune, and I can't get the fools to take it up. I think I shall have to break
away for the States."

They were all silent for some minutes till the old vicar rose. "Shall we
go to bed?" he said, and they proceeded upstairs, solemnly, silently, in
single file.

The weeks passed away and Jack's uncle went back to sea, and his
brothers returned to London, and another brother came and went. The
winter changed to spring, the days lengthened out and grew brighter, and
still Jack Carstairs could get nothing to do, nor get any one to take up his
patent. Then one morning amongst the two or three letters awaiting him was
one with a penny stamp: the ha'penny ones he knew were the stereotyped
replies of the various municipalities to the effect that they "regretted" his
application had not been successful; it was a way they had, they sent these
things with a sort of grim humour about a month after he had seen by the
papers that some one else had been appointed; it wasn't very often they
went to the extravagance of a penny stamp for a refusal, so he opened that
first, glancing casually at the city arms emblazoned on the flap of the
envelope; enclosed was a typewritten letter, he was appointed switchboard
attendant at £1 per week.

Carstairs gazed at it sternly with bitter hatred of all the world in his
heart. "A blasted quid," he said, aloud. "Ye gods! a quid a week! And
Darwen, the cheat, is getting £750." He hadn't fully realized when he was
writing his applications for these small appointments, exactly the extent of
his fall; but now, as he had it in typewritten form before his eyes, and
signed, he looked again, signed by a man who had served his time with him.

Mrs Carstairs was humbly thankful for small mercies, but the old vicar,
whom Jack found alone in his study, looked into his son's eyes and read the
bitterness of soul there. "Do you think it would be wise to refuse and wait
for something better. This is your home you know. You can work on your
patent."

"I thought of all that before I applied," Jack answered. "The patent! The
path of the inventor seems the most difficult and thorny path of all."

The old man's eyes brightened; he liked the stern definiteness of his
youngest son. "It does seem hard," he said. "I don't understand these things,
but I think you are wise to take this appointment."

"Oh, yes! I have no idea of refusing, but when I think that that lying
cheat, Darwen, is getting £750 a year, it makes me feel pretty sick."

"I know, Jack; we see these things in the Church the same as
everywhere else; the cheat seems sometimes to prosper. Why it should be
so, I cannot comprehend; the cheat must inevitably cheat himself as the liar
lies to himself, so that they both live in a sort of fool's paradise; they both
unaccountably get hold of the wrong end of the stick; they imagine that they
are successful if they satisfy others that they have done well, while the only
really profitable results ensue when one satisfies oneself that one has done
well; then and only then, can real intellectual, moral, and physical, progress
follow. It is possible to imagine a being of such a low order of morality that
he could feel a real intellectual pleasure in outwitting his fellow-men by
cheating; such an one, it seems to me, must be very near the monkey stage
of development. As man progresses intellectually he sets his intellect harder
and harder tasks to perform, else he declines. It is possible that the cheat
may occasionally reap very material and worldly advantages by his
cheating. Some few apparently do, though the number must be extremely
small and the intellectual capacity exceedingly great, for they are constantly
pitted, not against one, but against the whole intellect of the world,
including their brother cheats. The rewards and the punishments alike, in
the great scheme of the Universe, are spread out unto the third and the
fourth generation; the progeny of the cheat, in my experience, decline in
intellect and moral force till probably the lowest depths of insanity and
idiocy are reached. This great law of punishment for the sins of the fathers
is beyond my mental grasp, but that it is so I cannot doubt; it is in fact, to
me, the greatest proof that there must be something beyond the grave. You
understand, Jack, I'm not in the pulpit, this is worldly wisdom, but I want to
set these things before you as they appear to me. You must forget Darwen;
you reap no profit from his success or failure, but you expend a large
amount of valuable energy in brooding over it. 'Play up, and play the game,'
Jack. Don't cheat because others are cheating, if you do you are bound to
become less skilful in the real game. Think it over, Jack, 'Keep your eyes in
the boat,' don't think about the other crew or the prize, simply 'play the
game.' Have you told your mother you're going?"

"Yes."

"Did you say you wanted to borrow some of my books?"

"No, thanks. I've got all the books I want. You've seen my two packing
cases full."

"Ah, yes! I'd forgotten. So you're going to-morrow. That's rather soon,
isn't it?"

"I told them that if appointed I'd start at once. I'm going to pack and
then whip round and say good-bye to my friends."

"Ah, of course. I'll see you off in the morning; six o'clock, did you say?"
 "Yes, six ten at the station."

So Jack took his hat and stick and strolled round to his few friends in
the village to tell them he was going. The Bevengtons were furthest away,
and he called there last. Bessie had been away in London and other places,
nearly all the time he had been home, when he called now she was home.
He had heard she was coming.

"I've come to say good-bye, Mrs Bevengton. I've got a job, and I'm
going up north again."

They both looked pleased; Mrs Bevengton really liked Jack. "When are
you going?" she asked.

"To-morrow morning."

Bessie's jaw dropped, she was keenly disappointed, and she looked,
Jack thought, in the pink of condition, more so than usual.

"I hope it's a good appointment, Jack," Mrs Bevengton said; she was
disappointed too.

"A quid a week," he answered, bluntly, looking at her steadily.

 Her jaw dropped also. "Oh, but I suppose it will lead on to better
things."

"Twenty-five bob at the end of six months," he said, with rather a

cynical little smile. Out of the tail of his eye he regarded Bessie, she had
flushed a deep red at the mention of his microscopical salary. She seemed
more matured, her manner impressed him with a sense of responsibility, an
air of definiteness that appealed to him immensely; he saw now that her lips
closed suddenly. She had made up her mind to something.

"Come on out for a walk, Jack," she said. "I haven't had a look round
the old place for nearly a year. We shall be back to tea, mother."

She got her hat and they walked briskly down the pleasant village street
in the glorious spring sunshine; every one they passed greeted them with
civility and respect. Jack regarded them with pleasure; he told Bessie they
were the stiffest, hardest, and most genuinely civil crowd he had ever
encountered. "Perhaps I'm biassed," he said, "but I like men and these chaps
appeal to me more than any others I've met so far."

They turned across the fields and went more slowly. "I've been having a
good time, Jack, while I've been away."

"So I expect," he answered.

"Well, I've been to a lot of dances and parties and theatres, etc. I
suppose I've enjoyed it—in a way."

"Yes, I should think you would—in most ways."

"Jack!" she was walking very slowly. "Two men—three men, asked me
to marry them."

"Ah! I suppose they were not the right ones." He did not quite know
what to say.

"Well, two of them were not—but one of them—it was Mr Darwen."

 "Good Lord!" Jack turned as though he had been shot. "Are you going
to marry him?"

"I don't quite know. I've come home to decide. I don't think I care for
him in quite the right way. Why did he break off his engagement to Miss
Jameson?"

"Ah—er—I—" Carstairs was thinking, thinking, thinking. He wondered

what to do and what to say.

"He told me that he thought he was in love with her till he saw me, then
he knew he wasn't."

"Er—yes."

"He's very nice and very handsome, still I know I don't care for him as
—as I do for some one else."

Carstairs was silent, he was trying to think. The situation was getting
beyond him, he had a fleeting idea of trying to change the subject, of
closing the matter; but he knew that once closed it could never be re-
opened, and he wanted to do the right thing. They were silent for some
minutes.

"Jack?" she asked, and the struggle was painful. "Has my money made
any difference to you?"

"Half a minute!" he said, hastily. "Don't say any more, please. Let me
think"—he paused—"Five years ago I met a girl in Scotland."

"And you love her, Jack?"

"Yes. I thought not at one time, but I know now that I do."

They walked for a long time in silence, then she spoke.

"I'll write to Mr Darwen to-night and tell him that if he likes to wait a
long, long time, I'll marry him," she said.
 Carstairs was silent; the great big English heart of him was torn asunder.

"Why don't you speak, Jack? Mr Darwen's your friend, isn't he? He's
handsome and so kind and attentive, and if he cares for me as—as he says
he does, I think I ought to marry him. I couldn't before, but now—don't you
think I ought?"

"Well, er—it's more a question for the guv'nor. Will you let me explain
the situation to him, and then he'll see you. The guv'nor's very wise, in these
things, and it's his province, you know. I should like you to talk to him."

"Thanks—thanks. I will."

That night Jack Carstairs sat up very late with his father in his study.
And next morning the train whisked him north, to the dim, grey north, and
the engines, and the steam, and the hard, hard men, mostly engineers. Jack
was very sad and silent in his corner of a third-class carriage all the way.

CHAPTER XVIII

For three months Carstairs worked steadily at the beginning of things

electrical; he cleaned the switchboard and regulated the volts; he took
orders from a youth, rather younger and considerably less experienced than
himself. For those three months the world seemed a very dull place to him.

Then, quite by accident, as these things always happen, he met a man, a

casual caller, who wished to see round the works; the shift engineer told
Carstairs off to show him round, because it was "too much fag" to do it
himself.

He was an oldish man with whiskers and heavy, bushy eyebrows, just
turning grey; his questions were few and to the point, and Carstairs seemed
to feel he had met a kindred spirit at once. He listened attentively to
Carstairs' clear and concise explanations, and when it was over he did not
offer him a shilling as sometimes happened, but in the casual, unemotional,
north-country way, he handed him his card and asked if he would like to see
round his works "over yonder."

Carstairs glanced from the card in his hand to the rather shabby
individual, with the "dickey," and slovenly, dirty tie, in front of him.

"Thanks, I'll come to-morrow," he said.

"Will ye? Then ye'll find me there at nine."

"I'll be there at nine, too."

"Then I'll see ye." He held out his hand and gave Carstairs a vigorous
grip. The name on the card was the name of a partner of a very prominent
firm of engine builders.

Carstairs felt a singular sense of satisfaction for the rest of the evening;
his perturbed mind seemed at peace, somehow.

Next morning, punctually at nine, he called at the office and was shown
round the extensive works by the old man in person. He explained and
Carstairs listened and made occasional comments or asked questions. And
ever and anon he felt a pair of keen eyes regarding him in thoughtful,
shrewd glances. When they had finished the circuit of the works, Carstairs
broached the subject of his patent, he felt an extreme friendliness towards
this rough, shrewd man, and he knew that his labours on the patent were at
last going to bear fruit.

The old man listened. "You have a model?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I'll come round and see it." And so he did there and then.

In the dingy little back room of Carstairs' diggings, he examined

critically and minutely the small model.
 "Ye made this yerself?"

"I did."

"Ay!" It was a grunt of distinct approval.

They took it to pieces and spread the parts out on the table, the old man
examining them one by one. He offered no comment, and Carstairs put it
together again and turned it with his hand, showing the beautiful smooth
running of it.

"Yon's well made! Are ye a fitter?"

"Oh, no!"

"Are ye not? I was. Will ye bring it round to the office?"

"Certainly." Carstairs dismantled it and wrapped the various parts up in

paper.

"I'll take those," the old man said, and seizing two of the heavier parts,
he tucked them under his arm. And thus, carrying it between them, they
returned to the big works. There a long consultation was held. The junior
partner (an ex-officer of the Royal Engineers) was called in, and the final
result was that the firm undertook to manufacture the engine and pay
royalties to Carstairs.

"I must see a lawyer and get advice as to the terms of the agreement,"
Carstairs said. "I'm only free in the mornings this week. Will that suit you?"

"What are ye getting yonder?" the old man asked, bluntly.

"A pound a week?"

"Well, ye can start here in the drawing office on Monday at £2. Will that
do ye?"

"Thanks, I'll give notice to-day."

 The next six months passed like six days to Carstairs; he hadn't time to
write to any of his friends and only an occasional scribble to his mother. At
the end of that time the first engine built on his model was finished and had
completed a most satisfactory run. Then he took a holiday, and went home.

He had entirely lost track of all his friends and station acquaintances.

"Bessie is not engaged," his father told him, "but Darwen still pesters
her with his attentions."

Jack was thoughtful. "She's a jolly decent girl, Bessie! If Darwen were
only honest! I shall go up to London, I want to see his mother." So next day
Carstairs went off.

He called at Darwen's office.

"Hullo, old chap! How's the Carstairs' patent high-speed engine going?
Eh?"

It was the same old, handsome, healthy Darwen; bright-eyed, pink-

cheeked, lively.

"Oh, alright. Is your mother in London?"

"Well, I'm blowed!" There was that little flicker of the eyelids that
Carstairs knew so well. "Yes, there you are," he handed him a card with an
address on it.

"Thanks! When will you be out?"

"Ye gods. Ha! Ha! Ha! Good old Carstairs. The northern air is simply
wonderful for the nerves. Ha! Ha! Ha! I tell you what. I'll go out this
evening, just to oblige you. I'll go to the theatre. I haven't seen the new
thing at Daly's yet."

"Thanks!" Carstairs turned and went away. He made his way to the
address in South Kensington that Darwen had given him. It was a boarding-
house; he asked for Mrs Darwen and sent in his card. The German page-
waiter sort of chap showed him up to their private sitting-room.
 She entered almost immediately, looking older and whiter, her eyes
more bleared and her cheeks deeply furrowed. She looked him sadly in the
face.

"I knew you'd quarrel," she said.

"I'm sorry," he answered. "It couldn't be helped; we didn't really quarrel,

I called on him to-day."

"Ah!" There was a gleam of pleasure in her eyes. "Why didn't you call
on me before you left Southville?"

"I couldn't—then, he'd just broken me—chucked me aside like a broken

chisel. I sent you my best respects."

"Yes, so he said: I wondered if he lied. You're—so—I thought you

would have called—about the girl."

"I couldn't, I was broke, that was why."

"You don't usually shirk."

"No, I try not to. It didn't occur to me in that light."

"Ah!" She gave a deep sigh. "You're the best man, I think, I've ever met.
You want to know where she is?"

"Yes."

"Then you have a good appointment?"

"Well, a firm is manufacturing my engine. We think it's bound to go."

"Charlie's got an engine, too." She was watching him very closely.

"Has he?" Carstairs was rather interested.

"The drawings are in his room. I'll go and get them."

 He put out a hand to stop her. "I don't expect he'd like me to see them,"
he said.

"Oh! but I want you to. I can trust you."

"You think I mightn't be tempted to get revenge by cribbing his ideas?"

"No. I know you. Besides yours is finished."

He was very serious. "That's so, but I'm full of ideas for improvements
and other things, and it is most difficult, when one sees a thing that is
appropriate, not to assimilate it consciously or unconsciously into one's own
ideas."

"Still, I'll get them," she answered. She went out and came back in a
minute or two with a drawing board and a roll of tracings.

Carstairs glanced over the drawing, and allowed just a slight smile to
pucker up the corners of his eyes.

"Ah! I knew," she said, "that's your engine."

"Oh, no!" he answered. "It's not my engine."

She looked at him and saw he was speaking the truth. She spread out the
tracing. "That girl from your lodgings in Southville brought that round one
day when he was out; he never gets angry, but I know he was annoyed
because she'd left it."

Carstairs bent down and examined it. "It's done rather well," he said;
"girls are good tracers. I left that for her to copy."

"Oh! I didn't think you—I didn't know you knew. I wanted to warn
you."

"Thanks very much, but it wasn't necessary."

She heaved a very deep sigh of relief. "That's been on my mind like a
ton weight. I was afraid my boy was a thief. Very often I was on the point of
writing to you, but—you hadn't called."

Carstairs was bent low over the drawing examining some fine work
very closely, he was so deeply interested he did not look up as she spoke.
"That's excellent work! Darwen was always an artist, in everything," he
said.

"Yes," she answered, proudly, "he's very clever. I'm so sorry you
quarrelled. I knew that girl would come between you."

He looked up, impassive as usual.

"Yes," she repeated, "but you're the one she really likes, I know." Mrs
Darwen seemed to have grown visibly younger.

Carstairs straightened himself and stood looking down at her with his
calm steady grey eyes. "Ye-es," he said, he was thinking rapidly. "Yes, I
hope that's true. Will you give me her address; has she—er—got a
situation?"

"Oh, no! she's been in London, having her voice trained. She's got a
magnificent voice."

"Where did she get the money from?" he asked, he was quite pale, and
his grey eyes glittered like newly fractured steel.

She looked at him aghast, frightened; she put an imploring hand on his
arm. "The girl's honest. I know she is. I'm sure of it; she was saving. I know
she was saving. Perhaps Lady Cleeve——"

"Perhaps Charlie——"

"No, no! I know she wouldn't take anything from him, because—
because that was why she left."

Carstair's face lightened. "Will you give me her address?" he asked.

"She's gone down to her people again, she came to me yesterday.

They're encamped down at the old place near Southville; it suits her father
down there, he's getting old and Scotland was too cold for him."

The words brought back a luminous vision to Carstairs; his eyes took on
a far-away look. "My word! she was full of pluck," he said, aloud, but really
to himself.

Mrs Darwen smiled with great pleasure. "If—when you've married her,
you'll be friends with Charlie again——?"

He came to earth suddenly and considered. "We shall be friends," he

said, "from now onwards, but I'm afraid we can never again be chums. I'll
call and see him before I go to the station."

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you, I'm so glad."

He shook hands and left her, and half an hour later he called at her son's
office. The office boy showed him in and he held out his hand. Darwen
grasped it with a warm friendly smile.

"In the presence of other people," Carstairs said, as the door closed
behind the office boy, "we are friends, because your mother is one of the
best women on this earth. How she came to have such a whelp as you, Lord
only knows. Do you agree?"

"My dear chap, I am honoured and delighted. It is not often one gets an
opportunity of shaking an honest man by the hand, even though the excuse
for doing so is a lie." He smiled his most charming smile. "You're putting
on weight, Carstairs."

"Yes, but I'm in the pink of condition."

"So am I."

"That's good. Your mother isn't looking so well."

"No, I've noticed it myself." A shade of real anxiety passed across

Darwen's face.
 Carstairs noted it, and his opinion of Darwen went up; he stepped up
close. "Look here," he said, "she was worried because she thought her son
was a damned rogue. I've told her—at least given her to understand, that he
is not, and you'll find her looking a different woman. Do you see?" He
turned and went out.

Darwen sat back in his chair lost in thought. "That man always makes
me think. Wonderful man, wonderful man. Damn him!" He sat up suddenly
and went on with his work.

That night Carstairs reached Southville; he got out and put up at a hotel
for the night. Before going to bed he went out and strolled round the town
in the silence of the late evening. Old memories crowded back on him, and
although they were not always of pleasant happenings, the taste of them
was sweet; he had progressed since then, and he felt, in the bones of him, he
knew, that he was going forward. His steps turned mechanically towards the
electric lighting works, and before he quite realized where he was going, he
found himself facing the old familiar big gates with the little wicket at the
side. He looked at his watch. "Eleven o'clock! Wonder who's on." He
paused a minute, then opened the wicket and went in. "Probably some of
the men who knew me are still here," he thought.

The engine room was just the same. The hum of the alternators and the
steady beat of the engines thrilled his blood. He stood in the doorway for
some minutes in silence. The sight of running machinery was meat and
drink to him. A little square-shouldered man wandered up to ask him what
he wanted. Carstairs held out his hand. "Hullo, Bounce, have you forgotten
me?"

"Well, I never. Mister Carstairs! I ain't forgotten you, sir, but you was in
the dark."

"Any one I know left on the staff? Who's in charge?"

"A new engineer, sir. They be all new since your time."

"All new! Ye gods, how fellows do shift about."

 "They do, sir. I've seen hundreds come and go since I've been here."

So they stood talking for some time. "I suppose you're off at twelve,
Bounce?"

"Yes, sir."

"It's nearly that now. I'll wait. You can come round to my hotel and get a
drink."

"Thank you, sir. I'll go and wash and change. Would you like to see the
engineer?"

"No, thanks, I'll just sit on this box and watch the wheels going round:
same old box, same old wheels. How many hours of the night have I spent
sitting on this box listening to your damn lies, Bounce?"

"God only knows, sir."

Carstairs sat and waited, and all sorts of fresh fancies and ideas
thronged through his brain as the wheels went round and the alternators
hummed and the corliss gear clicked. A distinct and complete idea for a
valuable improvement shaped itself in his mind as he watched and listened.
He stood up and stretched himself with a sigh of great content. "By Jove, if
old Wagner composed music like that, he'd have done a damn sight more
for humanity," he said to himself, with a smile at the sacrilege of the
thought. To Carstairs, Wagner was a drawing-room conjurer, not to be
thought of at the same instant as men who designed engines. Bounce came
down the engine-room towards him with his wide-legged sailor's roll. He
was attired in a blue-serge suit, spotlessly clean and neat. His strong, clean-
cut features and steady, piercing eyes showed to great advantage in the
artificial light and against the dark background of his clothes.

"By Jove, Bounce, I can't understand why it is you're not Prime Minister
of England."

The little man's bright eyes twinkled, but his features never relaxed. "I
can't understand it myself," he said.
 They went off together to the hotel, where Carstairs drank whisky and
Bounce rum. The waiter looked at him somewhat superciliously, till he met
Bounce's eye fair and square, then he seemed impressed.

"Dr Jameson is dead. Mr Jenkins is chairman of the committee now."

"Yes, I know."

They were silent for some minutes.

"Do you know this county well, Bounce?"

"Pretty well, sir."

"Ah—do you remember my telling you about a gipsy girl?"

"Yes, sir."

"I want to find her; she's round here somewhere, near the new water-
works."

"I know, sir."

"Good man. Can you drive—a horse I mean?"

"Yes, sir."

Carstairs stood up. "Now, look here, Bounce, I really cannot understand
—what the devil is there you can't do?"

"I dunno, sir."

"Can you drive a perambulator?"

"Yes—an' nurse the baby."

"Go on. Tot up what you can do. Honest. No lies, mind."
 "Alright. Here goes. I can walk and run and swim; box and wrestle and
fence; shoot a revolver, rifle, or big gun; push a perambulator, hand cart, or
wheel barrow; drive a steam engine, horse, or a motor car; stroke a boiler,
feed a baby, the missus, an' the kids; scrub a floor, table, or furniture; make
and mend and wash my own clothes; light a fire, make tea, coffee, or cocoa;
make the beds and clean the rooms; wash up dishes, lay the table and wait
at same; clean the windows, paint a house, and walk along the roof." Here
he started to digress. "I remember once in Hong Kong——"

"That'll do, I've heard all about Hong Kong. Let's hear about Bounce."

"There ain't much more that I can do," he said.

"Nonsense! you sing."

"Oh, yes! Sing a song, play the mouth organ. Catch fish (when they
bite), dance the waltz, polka, hornpipe, quadrilles, lancers, and schottische."
He paused.

"Go on."

"There ain't no more. Oh, yes! read an' write an' do sums." He scratched
his head. "Sometimes," he added.

"I said no lies."

"Alright, cross out sums."

"What about ropes?"

"Oh, yes! I can splice, reave, whip, knot, bend, an' gen'rally handle
ropes."

"Can you shave yourself and cut your own hair?"

"Yes an' no, but mind, I have 'ad a try at that. I come aboard drunk once
in——"

"Shut up. What else can you do?"