Calendar or Events

Club Meeting – 27 Jun 2014 – Sky Werx

CAP Glider Rides – 26 Jul 2014

Glider Rides – Antique Airplane Group – 24 Aug 2014

Club Phone   –    630-9640

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Entrance Code – #6693

Soaring

The club flew seven days in May.  The longest flight was Bob Craig in his Russia for two hours and 10 minutes.  Other long flights were Mike Boska for one hour and 22 minutes in his Russia, and Mac McKain in the Jantar for one hour and 7 minutes.  We had one club member join the land-out club by landing near Arlington after a flight to Fremont – Jerry Adams.

New Members

OSC gained two new members in May – Don Meyer and Bob Arant.  Don Meyer is a commercial pilot in powered aircraft, including tail draggers.  Bob Arant is a private power pilot.  He is used to moving using just the wind since he sails as well.

Jantar Update

As most of you know, the Jantar suffered a hard landing and the landing gear was damaged.  The current status of the glider is the gear has been removed and the glider will be going to Whistler Aviation in Seward for a thorough inspection.  An insurance claim will be submitted for the damage.  We are all hoping gear parts can be found so Bert’s can get his wonderful ship back into the air.

Landing Back at Takeoff Point

In the span of just three weeks, we have had to incidents of a glider landing back at the takeoff point (T.O. on 13 landing on 31 or visa versa) and going too fast, or perceived to be going too fast, resulting in a very rough landing in one case and a ground loop in the other.  It is hard to judge where to touch down with enough speed to roll to the end of the runway.  You could be on final and picked your touch down point only to have thermal move through providing a sudden tail wind just before you touch done.  If you are landing back to the takeoff point and there is an obstacle at the end (glider or people) then plan on touching down way short and count on a tow back to the starting point.  Always error on the safe side.

Efficient Runway Use
When we operate on runway 13, we really have two runways available given the width of the area being mowed and we should be utilizing them to the max.  For this article I will call them 13 left and 13 right – see the map below.  When landing on 13 left, we should be towing the glider back on runway 13 right.  More than once this year, the Pawnee has had to circle in the pattern waiting for the glider to be towed back to the end on 13 left.  This wastes gas and raises the chance for a collision with other aircraft in the pattern.   We fill the holes on 13 right along with 13 left so holes shouldn’t be a worry.  Even if the Pawnee is on the ground it still is a good idea to keep the runway 13 left open in-case a glider needs to land.

As the number of private gliders goes up on our field, we have five currently, the chances of having to land multiple gliders at once goes up. Also common is a glider entering the pattern when the Pawnee is staging for a glider launch.  These are routine events that we should have procedures in place to handle.  On the map, our typical configuration for 13 or 31 operations are shown.  If the Pawnee is staging for take-off and a glider is calls downwind for landing, we shouldn’t have to release the glider and have the Pawnee rush off the runway and then push the glider out of the way.  A better option is to have the glider land on 13 right or overfly the Pawnee and then taxi onto 13 right to clear runway 13 left.  One exception to this might be a first time solo where you want a pristine runway.

On good soaring days, it is not uncommon to have the lift suddenly quit (maybe a cirrus shield moves over blocking the sun) and several gliders need to land at once.  If all have working radios then they can announce their intentions to each other.  The glider landing first should land long on 13 left, the second glider should land on 13 right or on 13 left and taxi to 13 right, and the third glider should land short on 13 left.  This should provide good separation for all gliders.  When operating on 31, the first glider should land long on 31 right, the second glider should land long on 31 left, and the third glider should land short (remember the displaced threshold) on 31 right.  The key fact to remember is we have the 4 wheeler to tow you back to the staging area so there should be no pressure to land as short as possible near the operations tent.

When towing a glider back to the staging area for runway 31 (SE end), you should wait until the pattern is clear before towing the glider back.  If you are towing back and notice someone has entered the pattern, you can tow the glider to the SW side of the runway.  Then stop, release the tow line and turn the glider so the wings are parallel to the runway – this should provide plenty of room for a glider or tow plane to land.  Then resume towing the glider to the staging area.

If the Pawnee is staging for takeoff on runway 31 right, and a glider is in the pattern to land, the glider should plan on landing on 31 left, keeping enough altitude to clear the cutout.  Once the Pawnee takes off then the glider can be towed back to the staging area.

Finally, to make for the safest operation using runway 13 we should relocate the operations tent and trailer to one of the locations shown. This provides the maximum length of grass for landing on 13 right if needed.  Also it is recommend we don’t place any cones or flags in the landing areas of 13 or 31.  Cones have been hit along with a flag.  Cones should be used to mark the beginning of the cut out when using runway 13 or off to the side of the runway to mark the displace threshold for 31, or provide a target for landing accuracy.

The ideas listed above have all been used one time or another so the intent of this is to try to formalize them so all members are working on the same page.