November 4th:
It was a nice day to fly seven flights. Bob D. took up a friend’s wife, followed by Steve taking up the husband. Then we launched Eric in his 1-26 glider followed by Jeff in his 1-26. Sal then did three training flights, one with Steve and two with Eric. Frank did the towing.
November 8th:
We flew seven flights today. First up was Rabea, flying with Steve. Rabea is a 25 year-old glider pilot from Germany. She was a foreign exchange student for a year while she was in high school and was back in the US to visit with her host family. In two weeks, she’ll begin her final training with Baltic Air, where she’s been hired to fly as a First Officer. Jose was up next for two flight lessons with Steve. Mark then did a flight with Steve and we launched Jeff in his 1-26. Rabea did another flight with Steve and then Steve and Sal did the hangar flight, landing shortly before sunset. Bob D. did the towing today. Have a good weekend!
November 12th:
We had a big day today with a new student solo! USAF Meteorologist Imanol S (Sal) flew his first glider solo – congratulations, Sal! The day started with Bob A. doing a flight and next up was Dave L. Tom S. flew a solo. There was no lift, but the visibility was good, and there was no wind. Sal did the next 10 flights, most of which were pattern flights, and he soloed on the hangar flight. Bob D. did the towing today.
November 15th:
This was a short day, with flight activities on the north end of the runway commencing at 1430 hours. The day started with two paid rides for pilot buddies Luke and Chuck C – both mile high rides that took about 35 minutes each. Chuck, a private pilot that has flown with us before brought his friend who flies Citations out of Lincoln. Both are also RC pilots. It’s possible that each end up joining the club next year.
Jeff flew his 1-26, and Sal flew two flights with Steve riding along, since winds were strong out of the S-SW, gusting over 15 knots on the ground and approaching 30 knots at altitude. Frank did the towing.
November 16:
Saturday was a clear day with gusty winds out of the north. We started flight operations at noon with a paid ride for Noah, a physician at UNMC. Trevor F did an instructional ride with Eric, and then we launched ‘Minimum Sink’ Bob A, with Trevor in the back seat scratching out a 26 minute flight. Not bad, but….
Sean F was up with Eric. They found lift even though Dr. Jack said there’d be none. They flew 49-minute instructional flight. An impressive feat.
Jeff launched in his 1-26 hoping to best Eric, but piloting skill or thermal decay/exhaustion (depends on who you ask) resulted in a 36-minute flight. Sal did a nice x-wind take off from RW31 with Steve and a transition to a right down wind x-wind landing on 31 with x-wind limits right at what his solo endorsement allows. He followed that flight with three more max endorsement x-wind take offs and landings – all solo. Nice job Sal!
The day finished with a mile high paid ride for Armando – a private pilot and USDA Civil Engineer who lives just north of KBTA. He may end up joining in the spring. Frank did all the towing today.
Tom S. has been sick, but is improving now. Meanwhile, he’s taken care to arrange our flight days and issue our Notams. We wish Tom a quick recovery.
What a great way to end the 2025 Omaha soaring season! The weather was spectacular for this time of the year, with light to no winds, and temperatures that seemed to be in the low 60’s, but were cooler than that.
Between four gliders (L23, Bud’s Grob, Yellow Bird, and 379) there were 20 sorties and it all started at 11:32 with a paid birthday ride in the L23 and ended with our newest solo student, Senior Airmen Imanol Saldana (Sal) taking the OSCI 2025 hangar flight – a pattern tow that landed 2 minutes prior to sunset at 5:01pm. It was a fitting way to end the season and probably one of the most enjoyable days of this season in my opinion. Everyone pitched in staging gliders, recording flights and helping with operations. The Yellow Bird flew a record 6 times piloted by Liam S; Sal came in a close second finishing the day with 4 solo pattern tows in the L23. Bud flew his Grob twice and if I did the math correctly, he had the 500th OSCI sortie for the 2025 Season. By the way, unofficially, OSCI ended the 2025 season with 510 sorties. Ryan came out and piloted twice from the L23’s back seat, with Sal and Ethan happily serving as front seat ballast. Eric flew his 1-26 twice and both of us shared flight instructor duties throughout the day. Ethan and Trevor also flew today – both doing great jobs.
Frank wrangled the Pawnee all day as our tow pilot – switching ropes, tow speeds, and altitude requests between the four different gliders as if he’s done it a few times before. A special thanks for de-conflicting traffic and taking care of our young and student pilots. We’re in good hands! Thanks Frank :).
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