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January, 2011 |
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Dear Soaring Enthusiast,
 Happy
New Year! Greetings from
cold Minnesota. We have had more than our
share of snow and cold weather this winter, but the
soaring season is only a few short months away.
We usually start flying in early to mid April.
I can't wait!
It has been a
while since my last newsletter! My intent has been to put out a
newsletter every month - but this is my first
newsletter since January of last year. It has
been a very busy year!
Format
Change
To help me get the newsletter out more often, the
format has changed. I plan to create a new
newsletter every month - adding more links, news and
information to it on a daily basis as the month
progresses. At the end of each month I'll send
out an e-mail to remind everyone to check out all
the news from the previous month. Since this
first edition is going out in mid-January, and items
will be added to it as the month progresses, I'll
send out a reminder to check it for new items at the
end of the month. I'll then create a February
version and start adding to it as the month
progresses. Unfinished editions will be
available at all times so you can get the latest
news as it is added.
2010 - A
Great Year
 Since the last newsletter our family
has had a great year. The soaring highlight
for me was competing in the U.S. Sport Class
Nationals in Parowan, Utah. You can see photos
and read more about that adventure below. I
also enjoyed a canoe camping trip with my son Adam,
sailing our small Laser sailboat with the kids,
waterskiing and tubing on Minnesota and Wisconsin
lakes on friends' ski boats, and a wonderful trip to
Naples, Florida with the family to visit my parents.
Company News
It has been a good year for Cumulus Soaring,
Inc.
SSA
Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas - January, 2010
The 2010 SSA Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas in
January was cold and icy (an ice storm shut down the
city for a day or 2), but fun. Unfortunately
the ice storm made it impossible for many would-be
attendees to make it to the convention. But
the convention went well for me and my company -
thanks to great help from friends and family
members. The photo above shows my 10 x 40 foot
booth. Jaxida Cover was hosted in the
right end of the booth and Condor was displayed in
the left end. I was very thankful for the help
of my father Richard, wife Renee, Scott Manley
("Condor as an instructional tool" promoter), and
many others that helped out with the setup,
operation and disassembly of the booth. And I
very much enjoyed the company of Matt Michael for
the drive to and from the convention. Thank
you everyone!!!
The highlights for me in regard to sailplanes were
the Rhönbussard owned by Jerry Wenger and the
Schempp-Hirth ArcusT owned by Barry Jaeger.
All the photos I took at the convention are
available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remde/sets/72157625809511428/
 It
was clear during the convention that the new
Naviter Oudie was
going to be a great success, but I never would have
guessed that I would sell over 200 of them in 2010.
Wow! It is a great product and has been well
received. It continues to sell extremely well
now in 2011 and likely will for a long time to
come.
 The
other huge success in 2010 was the pre-sales of
PowerFLARM units.
I was very thankful to receive 139 pre-orders for
PowerFLARM units in 2010. Over 600 PowerFLARM
units were sold in the USA. That is great
since FLARM technology is only useful when other
gliders in your area are using it. We had
hoped (for safety's sake) that it will be broadly
accepted in the USA, but we were all very surprised
and happy with the total sales so far. The
PowerFLARM units are scheduled for delivery in April
of 2011. I can't wait to fly with mine.
2011 - A Look Ahead
Soaring
Society of America Conference - Philadelphia, PA -
Jan. 27 to 29, 2011
 The
2011 SSA
Conference will be great fun - I always enjoy
catching up with my soaring friends. Note that
this year the conference will have speakers, special
interest meals and
banquets only - there is no display area for
sailplanes or product display booths from vendors
like me. So I won't be able to have a booth,
or be setup to take orders in a public place.
I will be
speaking on Saturday, January 29th at 11 AM.
The title of my talk is "Sailplane Instrument and
Software News". I'll be bringing several of
the latest soaring instruments, books and videos to
show off during the talk.
Setup a
Time to Meet with Me
I will have
time to meet with customers during the entire
conference. I arrive Wednesday, January 26th
around dinner time and leave on Sunday, January 30th
in the morning.
Let me know if you want to schedule a meeting to
play with the latest soaring instruments,
software, books and videos, or discuss your
soaring instrument or software needs. My
office phone (952-445-9033) will be forwarded to my
cell phone during the trip.
Hospitality Room
I will be hanging out in the SSA provided
"Hospitality Room" when not talking or giving
lectures. The hotel's Hamilton Room will be
the site of the Hospitality Room. It is
located on the other side of the lobby from all the
other speaker rooms. The room will have tables
setup to make it easy for people to hang out and
talk about soaring. I plan to bring a few
soaring instrument demos and new books and videos to
setup on a table in the room. I'm not sure yet
which lectures I will be attending, so I don't know
exactly what times I'll be available in the
Hospitality Room. Please call me at
952-445-9033 to arrange a time to meet.
SSA
Meals, Meetings, Talks, and Events
I plan to attend the events listed below.
I hope to see you there.
Thursday,
Jan. 27th
- Rob Strain - FAA/SSA
ADS-B MOU Current Status, 11 to 11:45 AM, Rooms
D & E
- Mark Maughmer -
Adventures in Aerodynamics, 1:30 to 2:15 PM,
Rooms D & E
- Cumulus Soaring, Inc. -
New Soaring Product Demos in the
Hospitality Room (Hamilton room), 2:30 to 4:30
PM
- Movie Night (see
details below), 8 to 10 PM, Location: Room C
Friday, Jan.
28th
-
Competition Pilots' Breakfast, 7:30 to 8:45 AM
- Scott Manley - Flight
Simulation, 9 to 9:45 AM, Rooms A & B
- Richard Kellerman -
Flight Data Development, 10 to 10:45 AM, Rooms A
& B
- Dave Nadler and Lee
Kuhlke - PowerFLARM, 11 to 11:45 AM, Room C
- Online
Contest Lunch, 12 Noon to 1:15 PM, Flower Room
- Cumulus Soaring, Inc. -
New Soaring Product Demos in the
Hospitality Room (Hamilton room), 1:30 to 4:30
PM
- SSA
General Membership Meeting, 5:15 to 6 PM, Rooms
D & E
-
Reception: "Comedians of Soaring", 6 to 10 PM
Saturday,
Jan. 29th
- Cumulus Soaring, Inc. -
New Soaring Product Demos in the
Hospitality Room (Hamilton room), 9 to 10:30 AM
- Soaring Instrument
and Software News - Paul Remde, 11 to 11:45
AM, Room C
- Round Table -
PowerFLARM, PCAS, X-Ponders, 1 to 2:45 PM,
Rooms A & B
- SSA Annual Awards
Banquet, 6 to 10 PM
Movie Night -
Thursday, January 27th - 8 PM - Room C - Free
I have a few
new or updated soaring films that I would love to
show to anyone that wants to view them. I will
host an informal Movie Night get-together to view
the following films:
-
Sailplane Grand Prix in
the Andes - and the bonus features
-
Dawn Flight -
New full-length version - and the new bonus
features.
- Zulu
Romeo - Good Start - An excellent old film
featuring Ingo Renner, Helmut Reichmann, George
Moffat and many other famous sailplane racers.
Filmed at the 1974 World Gliding Championships
in Waikerie, South Australia.
You can see
details and the speaker schedule for the conference
using these links:
Overview,
Schedule. I
hope you will join us for the SSA Conference.
The list of speaker is very impressive - and it is
always fun hanging out and hangar flying with glider
guiders.
ChicagoLand Glider Council Spring Soaring & Safety
Seminar - Elgin, Illinois - Feb. 12, 2011
I have been bringing soaring goodies to the
winter Chicago soaring seminar event for quite a few years.
As usual, I'll bring some books and videos to sell
along with a few of the hottest instrument demos. I'll
also be giving a 45 minute talk on the latest
soaring products. Let me know in advance if you want me to bring a particular
item to the event for you to purchase.
Performance Soaring Seminar and Colorado Soaring
Awards - Boulder, Colorado - March 12th, 2011
I have enjoyed watching this annual soaring seminar over
the internet for the last few years. This year
I will be giving a talk and bringing items to show
and sell. Let me know in advance if you want me to bring
a particular item to the event for you to play with
or purchase.
I'm really looking forward to it!
Passenger
Needed - From Minnesota to Colorado
I'd love to have someone ride along with me as I
drive to Colorado for the soaring seminar in March.
Long trips are much easier with good conversation. Please let me know if you can join me. I'll
pay for the gas and we can split the cost of a hotel
room. I will leave for Colorado early on
Friday, March 11th and drive home on Sunday, March
13th - unless there is an opportunity to get some
wave flying in!
Thank You
Thank you for
taking the time to read the
newsletter. There is a lot of interesting
soaring news to report from around the world, and I
have been very busy adding new products to my web
site. I hope you will enjoy it. If
you do, please tell your soaring friends about it by
forwarding the following link to them:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/newsletters.htm
Would you
believe that over 3600 glider pilots from around the
world read this newsletter?! I am amazed and
flattered. I will do my best to keep it
interesting and worthy of the time you spend reading
it and clicking through the links.
If this is your
first newsletter - Welcome! If you missed any
of the previous issues of this newsletter, they are
all available here:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/newsletters.htm
Note: Click on
the small images on this page to view much larger
versions of the images.
Good Soaring,
Paul Remde
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2010
U.S. Sport Class Nationals in Parowan, Utah |
 I
had the best soaring adventure of my life (so far)
in June of 2010. I flew in a DG-1000S with my
great friend Richard Andrews in the 2010 U.S. Sport
Class Nationals in Parowan, Utah. What an
adventure! The weather was wonderful, and I
had a great time hanging out with new and existing
soaring friends. This was not my first soaring
contest, but it was my first contest in mountainous
terrain, and my first nationals contest.
I had done a
little mountain flying in the past in Minden,
Nevada, but not much, so I learned a lot
during the contest. I gained a lot of
experience in ridge running, bumping along high over
the mountain peaks, getting low and working our way
back up the sides of the mountains, etc. I
loved every minute of it! We saw some
tremendous lift at times. I remember one
thermal that had the variometer showing an average
of 11+ knots and with the needle peaking at 19
knots!!! We don't get thermals like that here
in Minnesota. Yet, despite the great lift (at
times) the flying was challenging. It was
quite windy every day we flew, and (as they say)
where there is strong lift - there is likely to be
strong sink.
It is the
first contest I've flown in a 2-seater - I really
like flying in 2-seat gliders! Dick is a more
experienced glider pilot that I am, but we shared
the flying equally. It sure is nice being able
to fly hard for a while and then hand it back over
to Dick and relax for a while. Having two
pairs of eyes and two brains in the cockpit is
extremely nice. It was great to be able to
bounce strategy ideas off Dick, and ask for advice,
and give advice. We had a great learning and
sharing communication scheme that worked
wonderfully.
The
highlight of the contest for me was on June 18th.
The flight started out great - at one point we
reached the maximum contest altitude of 17,000 feet
and we were making good progress - for a while...
But then the lift seemed to shut down for a while.
We found ourselves somewhat low and about 86 miles
from Parowan, with a 15 to 20 knot headwind to fight
on the way home. I was pretty certain that we
were not going to make it all the way home - instead
landing out at an airport in the valley below us -
airports like Fillmore, Kanosh Canyon, Sulphurdale
and Beaver Muni. The wind provided lift (of
course) on the upwind sides of the ridges that jut
out from the mountain. We were able to use the
ridge lift to gradually work around to the front
side of Mount Delano and up near the peak, but we
couldn't seem to find any good lift that went up
over the peak - so we didn't quite have enough
altitude to make it all the way back to Parowan
without finding more lift. We flew home over
the ridges that lie to the East of Parowan and
eventually made it home. But unfortunately we
were not able to find enough lift to make it the
remaining 4 miles past Parowan into the final turn
area and back - so we didn't complete the task.
That was the only contest day we didn't complete the
assigned task. But even so, I was thrilled and
surprised that we were able to fight our way home.
What a challenging, rewarding and educational day!!!
You can see the flight log on the OLC web site using
the link below.
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=1403118012
 Another
highlight was early in the contest - day 2 if I
remember correctly. We were zipping along near
cloudbase at near 17,000 feet with several other
gliders. We were flying fast and having fun,
and the scenery was awesome! I think the photo
at right was taken on that day.
For me the
tough part of flying in the mountains was knowing
where to look for lift over the ridge tops. I
became better at finding the lift as the contest
progressed, but I still have much to learn!
We ended the
contest in 24th place out of 44 competitors. I
was hoping to do a bit better, but I guess I can't
complain - being quite new to mountain flying.
One thing I
love about soaring contests is that you are
challenged to make long flights - so the miles
really rack-up. Over the course of the contest
and practice day we flew a total of 1895
cross-country miles and spent 43.25 hours in the
air. Wow! Our best contest speed was
70.27 mph - not bad. We flew 9 out of 10
contest days (the wind was blowing 50 mph so they
cancelled one day). Our best day finish was
20th place. Considering the competition we
were flying against, I was pretty happy with that -
but of course I had hoped that we would get
extremely lucky and finish in the top 10 at least
once. I suppose that as I fly in more contests
and gain more experience - I'll get "luckier".
Our longest flight was 5 1/2 hours.
I was
impressed with how the competitors were so helpful
and freely gave us valuable tips on how to
successfully fly the area and contest tasks.
Every morning Karl Striedieck hosted informal "what
worked and what didn't work yesterday" sessions for
anyone who was interested. I was very
interested! Thanks Karl! Tim Taylor
freely shared his extensive knowledge of the area as
did David Leonard, Rick Culbertson and many others.
I especially
enjoyed getting to know some of the pilots from the
U.S. Air Force team. Bill Gagen was always fun
to be around - what a great guy!
Thank you
Dick Andrews for sharing the adventure with me.
We spent a lot of time together during the contest
and I enjoyed every minute of it! You are one
class act! I look forward to many more
adventures with you and the DG-1000. And thank
you to Fred Hewitt, our co-owner of the DG-1000, for
letting us take her to the contest. She served
us well.
Of course, I
owe a huge than you to my lovely wife Renee.
She was kind to let me go on this selfish adventure.
It is not easy working full-time and managing a
house and 3 kids all by yourself for nearly 2 weeks.
Thanks honey! I deeply appreciated it.
I was very
impressed with Parowan as a soaring site. The
scenery in the area was wonderful with many national
parks to visit. We had time to visit Cedar
Breaks, but didn't make it to Brice Canyon or Zion,
or to the edge of the Grand Canyon. The locals
said that during most contests there is a chance to
set a task that goes near the Grand Canyon, but the
weather didn't cooperate for that task this time
around. I guess we'll need to go back -
hopefully soon!
The photos
above are by Paul Remde.
The photos
below are by Stan Bissell. Thanks Stan!
The links below
can be used to view or download full-resolution
versions of of the images above. The photos
here are a small sub-set of the complete set of
photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remde/sets/72157625812343994/
- Favorite Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remde/sets/72157625804946556/
- All Photos
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ClearNav Variometer
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 The
new state-of-the-art variometer from ClearNav is a
modular variometer system with connections to external devices - such as
the ClearNav Flight Computer and other PDA/PNA systems. It
communicates with the ClearNav Flight Computer over a high-speed CANbus
network. It also has a serial port for connection to a PDA and a
USB host port for use with a USB Flash drive - and perhaps connection to
a PDA or PNA.It will probably be
available in 2 versions:
- Club Vario - audio vario with
averager
- Speed-to-fly Vario - audio vario
with averager and speed-to-fly director
It consists of 2 components:
- Air Data Computer (ADC)
Black box mounted to the back of the variometer or remotely
mounted
- Display
Variometer display head mounted in the instrument panel. The
display can also be used as a 2nd-seat repeater.
Update - January 5, 2011
 Today we shipped two ClearNav
Instruments varios to South Africa (Blomfontein) for testing.
Tomorrow we ship a third to Australia. Not all functions are yet
enabled, but we expect to learn enough about the basic variometric
performance to allow us to move forward towards production. Amongst
numerous advanced features, the vario stores all sensor data to a
USB stick during flight. This will greatly aid both troubleshooting
and planned further development.
We are aiming to announce a price and features matrix soon.
Richard Kellerman
Details
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CG-4a Glider
Restoration Project |
 A
group of volunteers in Eagan, Minnesota is working
to restore a CG-4a military glider from WW II.
They are making great progress. They had a
get-together in November of 2010 to show off their
work. The photo at right shows me sitting in
the pilot seat of the huge glider.
Many CG-4a
gliders were built here in Minnesota during WW II.
In fact, the company that is hosting the restoration
is a privately owned company called
Villaume that had a
part in building the gliders back in WW II.
Newspaper Article about
Ingemar Holm - One of the volunteer working on the
glider
The link below is to photos taken of the restoration
project in November of 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remde/sets/72157625805124788/
The link below
is to an interesting "history" page on the Villaume
web site.
http://www.villaume.com/History/Hist_7.aspx
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Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes - New HD Film on
Blu-ray or DVD |
 You never knew gliders could do this: The
speed, the adrenaline, the breath-taking beauty.
Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes is
quite possibly the most extraordinary aerial footage you have ever seen.
It's the buzz of world championship
glider racing blended with the best of High Definition technology to
bring the battle for the skies into your living room.
Welcome to Sailplane Grand Prix in the
Andes, a multi-feature Blu-ray & DVD tracing the story of one of the
most beautiful sports on earth.
Contents
- Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes
(full version - 24 minutes) - The one that started it all, this
is the cut that was televised in more than 160 countries around the
world during the summer of 2010. Sailplane racing like it's
never been filmed before.
- Sailplane Grand Prix in the
Andes' little brother (12 minutes, Dolby 5.1) - a shorter cut,
but the audio to the max. Enjoy.
- Dinámica - One day in Sailplane
Grand Prix - focusing on one decisive day's racing at the World
Championship Finals in Santiago. An insider's view and a
pumping soundtrack.
(Fantastic! This is the highlight of the DVD in my opinion as
a contest soaring pilot. - Paul Remde)
- The "Aquarium" shots - throw
out your fish tank; we bring you more than 35 minutes of stupendous
High Definition sailplane footage set to original music. Turn
on, turn up, soar away... Or just have it on in the background at
parties.
- Kawa in the cockpit - fly
with reigning world champion Sebastian Kawa as he puts his aircraft
through its paces high in the Andean Cordillera.
- Day Six raw race animation -
One for the sailplane nerds among us: watch how tactics and lift,
experience and nerve play out with the complete race at 20 x real
time. Pilot course and tracking over mapped terrain through a
six-point 330 km competitive flight. No sound.
Review
 I just finished watching the film in HD
(high-definition) on my computer. It is
fantastic! The cinematography is awesome! The close-up
views of the sailplanes in flight over the Andes are spectacular.
My favorite shot has the camera flying through the Andes mountains -
introducing the contest "playground". As the camera ship (not
visible in the shot) descends, eight sailplanes seem to rise up in
front. They are all flying together - perhaps on final glide.
This is the first scene showing sailplanes - and it is dramatic and
beautiful! The detail and clarity of the entire film are
excellent. I can't wait to watch it on a big HD TV. This is
the first soaring film available in high-definition (HD) on a Blu-ray
disc.
However, the film does not try to document the contest.
It does not show the daily results or the drama as the leaders
race home at the end of a tight race day. As a soaring contest
pilot I wish it did include much more in the way of race details.
It does show the winners of the contest about halfway through the film.
I guess the film is targeted at a more general (wider) audience than
just sailplane racing pilots. However, the extra features "Dinámica
- One day in Sailplane Grand Prix", "The "Aquarium" shots", "Kawa in the
cockpit" and "Day Six raw race animation" were created with us sailplane
pilots in mind. Dinámica is a fantastic segment - my favorite.
The film does do a great job of showing sailplanes in
flight in spectacular surroundings. It also is great at explaining
what soaring is about and how elegant and lovely and efficient
sailplanes are.
Details
and Video Preview Clips
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Klaus Ohlmann - More World Records in South America |
Pilot
Report - January 12, 2011
World record 1750,6 km declared triangle, 1755,5 km
free triangle and
Speed task for a 1750 km triangle with 119,29 km/h.
It was really a great day for me. I have worked so
hard for years, of
course with a lot of pleasure, to find different
solutions for this
triangle stuff, which, as we know, is not really
adapted for wave-
flying. I'm quite sure, that this is the best
solution for the
problem.
There are certainly better days than yesterday to do
this flight.
The first 200 km were weak and blue until El Maiten.
But even then it
was not easy to find the best lifts. I stopped
climbing most of the
time in 4000m due to weaker lifts above. I was one
hour too late at
the first TP. But the second leg was better than in
the planning with
one great lift in the middle of nowhere. It was the
only one up to FL
195 on this leg, the rest were only weak alignments
above the cumulus.
After TP 2 I was forced to pass below the clouds in
thermals, due to
lack of wave lifts, which were strong enough. It was
a long trip
between "hope and fear" against the wind. I tried
always to go more to
El Maiten to come back to the first wave line, a
little bit closer to
home. But finally I went back to the south due to
the enormous Rotor
lennies formed there. No regrets, up to 9 m/s!! The
rest was a last
race against the end of the daylight. As always, it
was this mixture
of adapted planning during one week, hope,
determination and good
luck, which makes our sport so exciting.
Klaus Ohlmann
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=1604149
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SPOT Connect
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 The
SPOT Connect turns your "smart phone" into a
satellite communicator. It offers the same
functionality as the SPOT-2 when connected to a
"smart phone" over a wireless Bluetooth connection.
In addition to the ability to send pre-defined
messages, it can also send short (41 character)
"Type & Send" messages - using the user interface on
the phone to enter the message. You can
purchase message packages in advance ($49.95 for 500
message or $29.99 for 100 message) or pay as you go
for $0.50 for each message. The hardware device does
not have all the buttons found on the SPOT-2 - a
smart phone is required as the user-interface.
However, an on-device SOS button in provided for
standalone emergency operation. A nifty new
feature for all SPOT devices is the ability to have
your message and position posted on your Facebook or
Twitter account. The SPOT Connect will be
compatible with Android (platform 2.0 or later),
iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPads when it is ready to
ship in February - with Blackberry and Microsoft
platforms to follow shortly thereafter.
Details
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FREE Bonus Adventure Kit with SPOT-2 -
Available Only While Supplies Last |
SPOT and Cumulus Soaring, Inc. are offering
a nice Bonus Adventure Kit - FREE with every new SPOT-2 purchase
- while supplies last (units still available as of January 2011).
The free Adventure Kit
includes:
- SPOT-2 Flotation Case
- 15% Service Discount Code - to be used
when you order the SPOT service.
- Micro LED Flashlight
- Lanyard
- Safety Whistle
- Carabiner Keychain
- Safety Tips Bandana
Details
Other
SPOT News
SPOT now supports direct
updates to Twitter and Facebook for all devices
New Spot 2 overview video from AvWeb
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Keep Soaring - Newsletter
from Lake Keepit Soaring Club in Australia |
 Some
kind Australian has added me to the e-mail
list that announces the availability of the "Keep
Soaring" newsletter from the Lake Keepit Soaring
Club Inc. in New South Wales, Australia - and I'm
very glad that he/she did. It is a great
newsletter! The most recent issue is 41 pages
long and includes many interesting articles and
photos. It is, of course, written mainly for
members of their club, but this Minnesota-based
glider pilot reads most of every issue. My
favorite article in the December 2010/ January 2011
Edition is entitled "Mountain Flying at the 1956
World Championships". It features some neat
old photos of the hot (at the time) Breguet 901,
Phillip Wills and even a young Paul MacCready.
There are even interesting side-notes written by
Phillip Wills and Paul MacCready. Very nice!
You can download it (free) here:
Keep Soaring Newsletters
Download Page
My favorite
short article is from the latest issue is re-printed
below. It seems that the Australian author is
poking fun at his soaring friends in New Zealand.
It
Happened Recently on an Airstrup Near Here...
Well not that near here... But some island off
to the East of here.
Icktually, it was in NZ so one of the speakers
(K) in the conversation below is speaking Kiwi.
The Australian (A) is also speaking in Kiwi so
he's understood by the locals.
The
ictual strup is a narrow cow peddock in the week
and a glider strup over the weekends.
Kiwi
Pilot: Eh bro, do you want to hev a go in the
Blenik?
Australian Pilot, low hours: Sure thing bro.
Never Flown a Blenik.
K: Hop
in the front then bro.
A: No
walk around eh bro?
K: No
bro, it's a Blenik eh, and they don't need a
walk-around.
The
ground crew hooks up the Blenik and as the tug
starts moving, picks up the wung and starts to
run.
The
Australian pilot settles back to enjoy the ride.
K: Hey
bro, we're getting a little near to the funce
eh!
A:
Sure bro, I can see the funce nearly under the
wingtup eh.
The
strip curves slightly and the Blenik, now nearly
airborne, is very close to the boundary funce.
A:
Are you flying bro or is it meant to be me eh?
K: It's
you bro eh. I've got the dog in the beck
with me.
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Condor
News |
Condor Club
Class Plane Pack 2
A new plane
pack is now available for the popular
Condor soaring
flight simulator.
Click on the images below to view larger versions.
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Schleicher ASW 15 |
Schleicher ASW 19 |
Jantar Standard 3 |
Libelle |
Rolladen-Schneider
LS 4 |
Details
Important
Note for Condor Plane Pack 2 Owners
If you purchased the Condor Plane Pack 2 already,
you may have received a defective install file.
The programmer sent me a note stating that he
believes he sent me the wrong install file.
Ever since then I have been sending out (on CD and
via download) the new version. The new version
can be easily identified by the filename. It
should be "CondorPlanePack2SetupV2.exe". If
you have installed the version that does not have
the "V2" at the end of the filename, please e-mail
for a link to the updated version. If you need
it on a CD, I will waive the $9.95 fee for the 2nd
CD but ask that you pay for shipping for the 2nd CD.
I'm sorry for this issue, but it is out of my
control.
If you installed the first
version "CondorPlanePack2Setup.exe"
then go to "Windows Start Menu > All Programs
> Condor > Condor Plane Pack 2 > Uninstall" to
uninstall it. Then install the new version.
New
Condor scenery for southern California
http://secure.simmarket.com/
http://forum.condorsoaring.com/
Frank
Paynter - Mifflin Ridge transitions video - Condor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-s-anI6v0s
Frank
Paynter - Condor Thermal Helper thermal centering
training video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs61CxgryU8
New Condor Patch 1.1.4
A Little
Condor Humor
Funny opening line during customer phone call (true
story):
"Help, I've landed out in the Condor soaring
simulator. Can you please come and help with the
retrieve?" Ted Wilson
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Rumo
Ao Nordeste (Direction: Northeast) |
 Rumo
Ao Nodeste translates from Portugeuse to English as
"Direction: Northeast". It is the name of a
new DVD film about some friends, all entrepreneurs
living in the southeastern part of Brazil, with a
common passion: soaring. In 2008 a 3000 km (1700 NM)
expedition was organized. The flight stretched from Bebedouro to Formosa to Barreira to Irecé and
Jocobina.
The goal was to explore the remote arid regions of
Brazil, using the sailplanes' engines as little as
possible, ideally only to takeoff and climb to 2000
feet. Each leg varied between 450 and 650 km
(250-350 NM).
 Review
by Paul Remde
The film captures a fun cross-country soaring
adventure in Brazil. It includes some nice footage
of some very remote Brazilian countryside, and of
lovely long-winged sailplanes and auxiliary-powered
sailplanes in flight. If you are considering a
trip to Brazil for any reason, you will want to
check out this video - and perhaps contact the
soaring pilots seen in the film. Watching the
film has stirred in me a desire to do a long
cross-country soaring expedition! Please note that
the film is in the Portuguese language with English
subtitles.
Details
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Soaring Cafe |
 SoaringCafe.com
is a new resource for gliders pilots. It is
the world’s first and foremost site for
information, news, feature articles and events
revolving specifically around and for the soaring
community. Featuring the latest and most
up-to-date information possible,
SoaringCafe.com
brings you a wealth of content that will help you
keep abreast of world events, happenings, product
reviews and interesting stories from soaring
enthusiasts and practitioners around the globe.
Plus, you can find the latest in technological
advances in soaring equipment and planes that can
help you become better informed when making
decisions regarding your personal soaring
activities. And for those just wanting to
learn more about the sport, our in-depth feature
articles will serve to inform and inspire you to
possibly starting your own quest in becoming a
soaring enthusiast!
The site is run
by soaring pilots Bill Elliott and Rand Baldwin.
You can see details on their
About page.
Review by
Paul Remde
I am very impressed with this new site. They
do a great job of making interesting and current
soaring news available. It is a great
compliment to my
Soaring News
newsletter/news site and to the awesome magazine
from John Roake in New Zealand -
Gliding International.
I plan to visit
SoaringCafe.com
nearly every day to see what is new and interesting.
I with them the best with this exciting new
endeavor.
Below are
links to my favorite new articles on
SoaringCafe.com:
The Design of a Competition
Sailplane - by Dick Butler
Concordia History - by Dick
Butler
The 31st World Gliding
Championships - by Attie Jonker
The Evolution
of US Soaring Contests - by John Cochrane
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Naviter
Oudie Case |
 By far the most common reason for repairing an Oudie this year was a
broken screen. Oudies were either dropped from altitude to concrete or
squashed by the weight of a pilot who did not expect the Oudie to be
where it was. Naviter has therefore set out and designed a tough carry
case for your Oudie. It is made out of tough rubber-like material
which is there to protect the screen. It also includes a carabiner for
easy attachment to your pilot bag in order to keep it at the top of the
bag rather than down below. A nice, classy touch is the inclusion
of the Naviter logo - to help you remember which of your toys is stored
inside.Dimensions: 155 x 105 x 27
mm (6.1 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches)
Note: The case also works great with an
iPAQ hx4700 or just about any other PDA or PNA.
Details
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Worldwide Customer Support |
|
In 2010 I had
my first international paid support customers.
I enjoyed working with customers in Australia,
the United Kingdom, Canada and Israel. We
connected using the free internet phone calls
available from Skype. We used screen sharing
features in Skype and Adobe ConnectNow so that I
could view their computer screen - making it easy to
walk them through complex soaring related tasks.
I really enjoyed helping them get the most out of
their soaring software and instruments. Let me
know if there is anything I can help you with.
Details
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Dawn Flight - New
Full-length Version Available |
 A
new, full-length, re-mastered version of the classic
short film Dawn Flight is now available. The
main features of this new version include:
- Full-length version
(The previously available version had several
scenes removed.)
-
Remastered - This version is a bit better, but
don't expect the moon. The original film
used did not yield great results.
-
Interview with the star Denis Arndt
-
Commentary version with creators talking over
the film
-
Liner
notes
I also have
a few of the old "short" version remaining in stock
that I'm selling for $9.95. The new version is
$39.95. Let me know if you bought one of the
short versions recently. I can make you an
offer on an upgrade price.
Details
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Rudy Opitz Dies - May, 2010
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I posted
the note below on the rec.aviation.soaring newsgroup
on May 10th, 2010.
 Sad
news,
I just learned from avweb.com that glider pilot and
ME 163 rocket test pilot Rudy Opitz has died.
He was a remarkable man.
He also flew a Horton flying wing glider to victory
in a U.S. soaring contest many years ago. I
had the pleasure of meeting him after a talk he gave
at an SSA Convention many (15?) years ago.
He was also a part of the team of glider pilots that
flew the very successful attack on the Fort
Eban-Emael castle during WW II. I believe it
was the first time gliders were used for a military
attack. He describes the attack in the
interesting film "Silent Wings":
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/videos.htm#SilentWings.
He certainly lived a full and interesting life!
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1627-full.html#202518
http://www.riverviewfh.com/obituary.php?w=1220
Video
of Me-163 Rocket Plane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cz3ftXZpsw
Nice Article
about the Me-163 by Rudy Optiz
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.walker6/komet/flight/flight1.htm
A life well lived Rudy! Well done!
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Tasman V2000
Variometer |
 Tasman
has announced the V2000 Variometer. The V2000 is
functionally identical to its predecessor - the V1000. The only
difference is that the V1000 had a more colorful control panel and function
buttons. Some customers thought it wasn't "classy" due to being "too
colorful". The V2000 addresses that concern very nicely with its
simple black and while face and buttons. It looks great in any
instrument panel.
Video Overview of the V1000
(functionally the same as the V2000)
Details
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New Jaxida
Cover Exclusive* option available |
 The
standard Jaxida covers have a great reputation around the world for high
quality and long life. However, no product lasts forever outdoors in
harsh environments. Jaxida has now released an optional new Exclusive*
version which offers the features listed below. The option ads 10% to the
cost of the covers. I highly recommend it.
- *
Material:
- two
year guarantee
- lighter
in weight
-
stronger
- 100%
UV-protection
- 100%
water proof
- color
fast (does not become yellow)
Details
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32nd
World Gliding Championships - Uvalde, TX -
Google News Group |
The
organizers of the 32nd World Gliding Championships
to be held in Uvalde, Texas
have recently
released a Google News Group. This is the official
discussion forum
for teams, competitors and fans on topics concerning
the 2011 Pre-Worlds and the 2012 32nd World Gliding
Championships.
This new Google Group is moderated and can be found
here:
http://groups.google.com/group/wgc2012usa/topics
Please read the terms of use before posting.
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Amelia Earhart - The Turbulent Life of an American
Icon - by Kathleen Winters |
 I
just finished reading "Amelia Earhart - The
Turbulent Life of an American Icon". I enjoyed
it thoroughly! The author Kathleen Winters did a
great job researching the available information and
pulling it all together in an easy to read and
interesting book. I learned a lot about Amelia -
about her strengths and shortcomings. I think
Kathleen's analysis of Amelia was very accurate.
Certainly, Amelia was an adventurer. I'm sure all
glider pilots feel like adventurers at some point -
especially when heading out on a cross-country
flight. So I could relate, to some extent, to
her excitement and apprehension before big flights,
and to her passion for aviation.
It would be easy for pilots today to think that
Amelia was a bit "low key" in regard to some of her
pre-flight preparations and radio navigation
knowledge and experience. But it must be
remembered that she was a pioneer and an adventurer
- and there were great risks in the great
accomplishments she made and attempted.
For those who did not know the author Kathleen
Winters - she was a glider pilot here in Minnesota
who set many state soaring records in Schweizer 1-26
and Libelle gliders. Sadly, she passed away in
2010. She will be sorely missed. I wish
Kathleen was here so I could tell her how much I
enjoyed the book.
Certainly, Kathleen lives on through her wonderful
books.
I think you may also enjoy it. You can see details
and order it from Amazon.com here:
http://www.amazon.com/
Note: I do not
sell this book.
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News
from LXNAV |
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I am very
impressed with the new products from LXNAV.
They are state-of-the-art products at good prices.
LXNAV Nano
 The
Nano is a fantastic little GPS flight recorder with
full IGC approval for all badge, record and contest
flights. It is extremely small (see photo below with
the unit in my hand) and includes a built-in GPS
engine, built-in GPS antenna, built-in battery, and
logger. It is also extremely easy to use. Just
use the built-in setup software to enter your name,
glider data and task declaration, then turn it on
and go fly. And it is the lowest priced IGC
approved flight recorder available at only $569.
Details
NanoConfig
v1.2 - Update
If you own a Nano - you will want to download
the latest version of the NanoConfig software that
is installed on the Nano. Simply use the links
below to download the file. Then copy it onto
the Nano - replacing the previous version.
http://www.lxnav.com/download/software.html
http://www.lxnav.com/news.html
LX 9000
 The
LX 9000 is a high end vario navigation system with
extremely bright color 5.6” display, running on well
proven LX 8000 firmware with multi-language
interface. Simple and logical user interface is
designed for top-level competitors, club operation
as well as for gliding beginners. It is preloaded
with worldwide terrain maps, airspace and airports
databases. It offers an IGC approved GPS flight
recorder according to the highest level IGC
specification. It manages complex tasks with
assigned area manipulation and real-time flight
optimization according to FAI and OLC rules.
 I
recently received my first LX 9000 unit. Wow!
The display is fantastic and the vario is extremely
nice. It is the nicest looking variometer I
have ever seen. It is easy to read and will
look very classy in any glider. You will be
seeing a lot of LX 9000 units in the hottest ships
in the coming years.
Similarities with SeeYou Mobile
Since the LX 8000 and LX 9000 software was developed by the same
software programmer that developed SeeYou Mobile, there are many
similarities between the two programs. Especially now that the
free
LXStyler program can be used to customize the screens in the LX
8000 and LX 9000 - SeeYou Mobile users will be very comfortable with the
LX 8000 or LX 9000. The information boxes at the bottom of the
pages are very much like the Nav Boxes found in SeeYou Mobile. The
main difference is that SeeYou Mobile relies on a touch-screen
user-interface while the LX 8000 and LX 9000 use buttons and knobs or a
stick-mounted remote for the user-interface. Some pilots feel that
touch-screens are tough to use in a sailplane that is bumping along in
turbulent conditions. SeeYou Mobile users will need some time to
get used to the buttons and knobs or stick-mounted remote user
interface, but will soon feel at home with the LX 8000 or LX 9000 - and
they will love the extremely bright display used on the LX 8000 and LX
9000.
Details
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ArcusT Review by Ron Clarke
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|
 A
State of the Art Sailplane (The Arcus T)
by Ron Clarke (ZA)
I was extremely
lucky to get to fly Barry Jaeger’s new Arcus T
together with him at the Senior Nationals in Florida
in March of 2010.
This Sailplane
attracted way more than average interest from pilots
and others at the field and rightfully so. It is,
in my opinion the finest glider I have ever flown in
my better than 4000 hours, and I’ll tell you why I
say so.
I did by the way
send a message to Schempp Hirth to apologize for not
finishing higher in the standings ( 18th out of 58
), as I know it would have finished higher in the
hands of a better pilot. We finished in the
top 6 and top 8 raw speeds on 2 days, consoling
ourselves with the thought that our first contest
day was in fact the first task we’d ever flown it
in.
 This
glider handles like a dream - the first landing was
in 90 degree cross winds near limits. No
problem .
The glider finish
is excellent with cockpit comfort to match ( I’m 6’
2” ). The panel has been beautifully designed to
allow a ClearNav installation in the center ( front
and back ) and despite my growing up in the
pre-computer days I worked at learning the ClearNav
and really got to like and trust it - within a few
days. Excellent visibility in all lights and
we set it up with just the data we really wanted for
flying tasks.
 Back
to the Arcus T - Like any new glider it obviously
takes time to figure out the optimum flap settings (
there are 8 ) , but the advice from the factory crew
at the SSA Convention got us started with default
settings and after 6 days I thought I had it figured
out.
This glider will
out run and out climb many of the best and I now
think of it as a “no excuses” racing glider in the
20 m class. If you really want to view some
performances check out our flight logs ( go to
“phases” if you have See You software ) and view the
L/D performance on some long runs at speeds of 90mph
+ mostly in the “Blue”. They can be found on
the OLC under my name for the 3 contest days 3/7 ,
3/8 , 3/10.
 Maybe
a small point but for me this glider has the best
landing gear suspension and wheel system ever . I
really enjoyed the ride after landing! It is of
course heavy to rig, although it went together
quite easily after a few times. A big plus for
any prospective buyer would be a hangar to allow
keeping it rigged.
My guess is that
this glider has a very great future ahead and if you
should ever get the opportunity to fly one
grab it - you will not be disappointed .
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Soaring Beyond
the Clouds - Einar Enevoldson Reaches for
100,000 Feet |
Soaring Beyond the
Clouds tells the fascinating story of Einar Enevoldson’s life on the
leading edge of flight. It is a book that will be enjoyed by all
aviation fans whether or not they are pilots.
Review on
rec.aviation.soaring by Val Paget
"Add this to your Christmas list!
Author Bertha
Ryan, MIT educated aerospace engineer and much honored aviator, puts
you in the backseat and takes you through Enevoldson’s many amazing
and often tense moments as a glider pilot, Air Force pilot, and NASA
research test pilot.
Einar Enevoldson is forever connected to the world record altitude
flight he and Steve Fossett made, but that is just one of his
amazing flights. Recovery from a flat spin while testing an F-14 and
his land-out in an F-104 are just two of the “interesting” moments
described.
The Appendix, a four page, two-columned list of the planes
Enevoldson has flown, adds the final “Wow!” factor.
Ryan presents the complexities of the aviation design, flight
characteristics and aviation weather in ways that both the general
reader and an aeronautical expert will find fascinating. The
information about such phenomena as the Stratospheric Polar Night
Jet deepens our understanding of the world of high altitude flight.
The stories about Enevoldson and other illustrious people in
aviation, and the many pictures make this book an essential part of
any aviation collection.
Ryan is generously donating all proceeds to the SSA. Go order copies
for yourself, your friends and family."
Details
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SoaringNV News
|
 Minden
Wave Camp
SoaringNV will hold its annual Minden Wave Camp
April 11 - 16. You don't need to be a high time
pilot to fly safely in wave or to learn from our
seminars. Come join us for a special event!
SoaringNV
OLC Weeks
SoaringNV is planning some cross country weeks with
mentored flying and daily entrance of the scores on
the OLC (On Line Contest). We'll bring in guest
pilots to fly with people who are new to cross
country flying. For experienced cross country
pilots, fly with us during that week, in your glider
or ours. Come share the camaraderie of SoaringNV and
the Minden glider community.
May 23 - 28
July 25 - 30
August 22 -27
Mark these dates on your calendar -- and come spend
a few days or a week enjoying Minden's classic
thermal cross country soaring!
Call Laurie or Fred at 775 782-9595 to reserve a
place.
http://www.soaringnv.com
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Sailplane
Design - 2nd Edition |
The 1st
edition of this book was extremely popular. It
is a very complete and thorough "bible" on
sailplane design for students and designers. Please take a look at
the
Table of
Contents for a complete list of the many subjects covered. It
is similar in concept to the book "Fundamentals of Sailplane Design",
but (according to the author) this book takes the idea farther and includes practical design examples.
Changes in this 2nd Edition
- This version has a smaller physical
size - making it lighter and reducing shipping costs
- The "meat" of the book is the same
as the first version but the chapter related to the winglet design
has been rewritten by the author in a pragmatic way. In
character with the rest of the book. As a consequence, the
writing of Maughmer has been substituted with the Chapter written by
Mr. Pajno.
Details
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Power-Sonic
PS-12140 Battery |
 Sealed Lead-Acid, 12V, 14.0 Ah
This is a nice large battery for use in gliders with many electronic
gadgets.
It features Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) technology for superior
performance.
It is the
same size and has the same connectors at the
PS-12120 battery, but it offers increased capacity -
being rated at 14 Ah rather than 12 Ah. The
price is the also the same as the PS-12120.
Dimensions:
Length: 5.95 inches (151 mm)
Width: 3.86 inches (98 mm)
Height" 3.70 inches (94 mm)
Height over Terminals: 3.94 inches (100 mm)
Approximate Weight: 9.0 pounds (4.09 kg)
Details
Sale
- The availability of this battery makes my stock of
new Power-Sonic PS-12120 batteries somewhat obsolete
- so I am selling my remaining inventory of PS-12120
batteries at a greatly reduced price of $19.95.
You can see details on the
Sale page.
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Vintage Soaring Photos |
 I
just love old soaring photos. I'll try to
include a few here each month.
The photo at right was received in an e-mail from
Josh at the Vintage Sailplane Association. The
photo was provided by Raul Blacksten, who also
provided the caption, "Major Lewin Barringer, head
of the US Army Glider Program at the beginning of WW
II, in a TG-5".
Josh also
provided the photos below of Steve Noyes freshly
restored TG-2 in which he just soloed.
Congratulations Steve!
Below are
links to some videos of the event.
http://www.youtube.com/user/n888ka?feature=mhum#p/f/6/SfeOhf0jcEA
http://www.youtube.com/user/n888ka?feature=mhum#p/f/7/7cPV9fvNrzA
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OLC Rule Changes
for 2011 - Provided by Doug Haluza |
|
The new OLC
season has started. There are a few rule changes
everyone should know about.
The
FAI-OLC score is now a 30% bonus on the OLC Classic
score, and this combined score is now called
OLC-Plus.
For the OLC classic score, legs 5 & 6 are no longer
devalued. All six legs are scored @100%.
There is now a Barron Hilton Challenge for flights
on an electronically pre-declared triangular course.
Most importantly, the submission deadline has
changed to 48 hours after landing (not midnight
Tuesday as before).
For more info, go to the OLC web site:
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/
Doug Haluza
SSA-OLC Admin
Details on the changes the OLC
web site - You may need to scroll
down to get to the English language section.
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Wonderful Old Soaring Home Movies
|
 by
Bob
O'Neal
One of our Texas Soaring Association (TSA) members,
Dave White, discovered a VHS tape in a dusty old
drawer at TSA made by June Wiberg who compiled and
narrated all of her old glider days home movies from
the 40's to the early 60's and sent it to TSA. June
was the wife of Wally Wiberg, who owned a flying
ranch in Grand Prairie, Texas that became the home
of TSA in the 60's and 70's. Wally owned the
Screamin' Wiener later renamed the Lil' Dogie.
Dave put the VHS tape on a DVD which I converted to
mp4 and posted in 11 segments on YouTube with a
little description. The tape has 8mm footage of the
1952 Nationals in Grand Prairie featuring a few
minutes of the Horten IV flying wing (Rudy Opitz)
and the RJ5 (Dick Johnson).
It also
contained Torrey Pines beach landings, the 1955
Nationals in Florida, the first flight of the Sisu,
many, many LK's, TG-3's, Pratt-Reeds, even footage
of 1936 Wasserkuppe. More importantly, it has lots
of footage of gliding legends who were (are) still
in their youth.
Part 1 of 11 1952 - Texas Soaring Association
Gliders - Screaming Wiener, Lil Dogie, Pratt-Reed,
BG-6
People - Phil Easley, E. J. Reeves, Wally Wiberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAkpVnbWo3A
Part 2 of 11 1952 Nationals at Grand Prairie, Texas,
Texas Soaring Association
Gliders - Horten IV, RJ-6, Tiny Mite
People - Dick Johnson, Rudy Opitz, Ken Jacobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M84AKSyGZk
Part 3 of 11 1954 Texas Soaring Association
Gliders - AV-36, Flying Plank, 1-23, TG-3,
Pratt-Reed
People - Jon Carsey, Larry Gerlein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbnhvrSvBeY
Part 4 of 11 1955 Nationals in Elmira, New York
Larry Gerlein, Rudy Opitz, Bill Coverdale, Bill
Ivans
2-25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzX5bYDUmZ0
Part 5 or 11 Local Texas Soaring Association - Early
1950's
Lil Dogie, TG-3, Minimoa, Wei he, Double Tow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9HQE44aOgs
Part 6 of 11, December 1958, First flight of the
Sisu
Len Niemi, George Coder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neTI3W8vxi0
Part 7 of 11, February 1959, Torrey Pines California
Pratt-Reed, Baby Bowlus
Joe Lincoln.Wally Wiberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_rEcUqtSJ0
Part 8 of 11, 1948 Nationals, Sanford, Florida
Pratt-Reed, LK,
E.J. Reeves, Wally Wiberg, Fritz and Baby Compton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsrosc5XqRo
Part 9 of 11, 1948 Nationals, Sanford, Florida
L-100, Teco Teco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UalOJvV1NbE
Part 10 of 11, Texas Soaring Association - Early
50's
Dick Johnson, Ken Jacobs, Oats Schwarzenegger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQHY9EjZmgo
Part 11 of 11, 1936 Wasserkuppe
Karl Bauer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nk50u8MXT8
Bob O'Neal
Texas Soaring Association
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South African
Soaring Safari - Roy Bourgeois |
Roy Bourgeois
has had some wonderful soaring safaris in
Bloemfontein, South Africa in recent years. I
always enjoy reading his blogs from his adventures.
You can read about it using the link below.
Link to Blog
This year he
suggested that I may be particularly interested in
his Day 10 report. I was! It is copied
below.
Today started off with an incident on
takeoff with the Nimbus bouncing along with
about 320 lbs of water ballast when the
control stick (which is usually fully
deflected to both sides at the beginning of
the roll) jammed in the full right position.
The right wing dropped and I was reaching
for the tow release when I was able to
overcome the jam and get control back. What
occurred was something I have never seen or
heard of before: There are holes in the back
of the PDA cradle (which has a rounded
bottom edge) and during a bounce the cradle
went down and the push to talk button on the
top of the stick depressed and got stuck in
the hole. Once the spring loaded button
popped into the hole it was stuck and it
wasn't until I forced it back (dislodging
the button from the stick) that I got
control back.
These photos explain the problem. Note the
hole and the rounded edge of the back of the
Cradle.
The next photo shows how the button on the
stick locked up into the hole:
Top view of the cradle & stick locked
together:
I have never heard of this happening before
-but I would recommend that users of this
type of cradle (or any with holes in the
back) fill in the holes with plastic resin
or something.
Note from
Paul Remde
I don't sell that particular PDA cradle, but I
thought this information was important to pass
along. Be very careful when installing items
in the cockpit so that they cannot interfere with
the operation of any flight control.
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ILEC News |
New Goddard Cables for Connecting
an SN10
to a FLARM or PowerFLARM
The SN10 works great with FLARM and PowerFLARM devices. The SN10 can
even send a task declaration to the FLARM or PowerFLARM. However, the
SN10's 12V power output does not provide enough current to power a FLARM or
PowerFLARM. Therefore, we have created 2 new SN10 wiring harnesses for
use with FLARM and PowerFLARM units. You can see details using the
links below.
-
SN10b-Pnl-FLARM-Pwr-1 -
for connecting a FLARM or PowerFLARM to the SN10. 12V power leads
are included on the wiring harness for powering the FLARM unit.
-
SN10b-Pnl-PS5a-FLARM-1
- for connecting a FLARM or PowerFLARM unit to the SN10 and a PDA or
PNA. The 12V power for the FLARM unit is provided by either a
Goddard PS5a power converter, or an Oudie power/data cable.
New
Software Version 2.35 for ILEC SN-10 - FREE Upgrade
There is a new version of the SN-10 software which is available now - free of charge. The new version includes
support for FLARM and PowerFLARM devices, assigned area task workload
reduction features, and a few bug fixes.
The software is available here: http://www.ilec-gmbh.com/software.htm
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Cloudstreet Journal
- 1st Edition Available |
Cloudstreet
Journal is an exciting new digital publication from
Steve Hines (formerly with the SSA magazine) and Lee
Matke. The first edition was released recently
and it is very nice. It is available on a
subscription basis for $48/year. I have
subscribed and look forward to the 2nd issue - due
out in a few days. I hope that many glider
pilot subscribe - because it is a great idea and
very well executed.
Learn More about Cloudstreet
Journal on Facebook
To Subscribe:
editorcsjournal@me.com
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Soaring Flight
of the Month
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Send me a short
write-up of your best recent soaring flight - and I
may just include it here. Please include a
link to the flight details on the OLC and a few
photos
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Polish Soaring
Calendar |
Below are some
nice images from a soaring calendar from Poland.
I don't sell it, but I thought it was very nice.
Contact: Marcin Blus
e-mail:
marcinblus@wp.pl
Web site:
http://www.wak.pl/gliding-calendar-2011-p-211.html?language=en
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Instrument Panel Photo of the Month |
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I sell a lot of
soaring instruments, but I rarely get to see them
installed and ready to fly. I really enjoy
receiving photos showing how the items purchased
from me have been put to good use. It makes my
job more interesting and fun! Feel free to send me a
photo of your glider panel if you especially proud
of how it looks.
The photo above is from Tony Wiederkehr. It
shows the cockpit of his Grob Twin Astir as it looks
after being restored by Glider Service in Slovenia.
It looks like they did a fantastic job! Many
of the instruments in the photo (2 x Naviter Oudie,
mounting arm and cradle, Cambridge 302 and 306, 2 x
Winter altimeter, Trig TT22 transponder, Becker
AR4201 radio) were purchased from Cumulus Soaring,
Inc.
http://www.gliderservice-novak.si/
Thank you so very much for sending the photo Tony!
It made my day!
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SALE
Items |
 BatteryMINDer® Solar
Charger-Controller-Desulfator 12 Volt with 5 Watt Panel
Model: SCC005
These have not been
selling, so I have dramatically reduced the price. They are new
units. Sale price valid while supplies last. I have only 2
remaining in stock.
Normally: $129.95
Sale Price: $49.95
Details
 Cambridge Aero
Instruments GPS-NAV Model 10 - Used
This is an IGC approved (for everything but national and world
records) GPS flight recorder at an amazingly low
price of $295. I has all new batteries and
will get a new calibration before shipment. It
is somewhat big, but it is a great deal.
Details
 United Instruments
Altimeter, 35,000 feet, Kollsman in inHg
I have too many of these in stock. The
normal price is $995. They are all new and perfect.
Calibrated to 35,000 feet
Sale Price: $925
Details
 Compaq Aero 1500 Pocket
PC -
Used
I have purchased a few of these classic and valuable Pocket PCs from
customers that traded up to other devices. Many glider pilots
still love this old PDA because its black and white display is easier to
read in sunlight than newer color PDAs. Glide Navigator II soaring
flight software runs great on it. All the units have been
thoroughly tested and approved by Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
All units include:
- Good screen with no major
defects or deep scratches - some units with defects are available at
a lower cost
- Wall charger
- Desktop cradle (not for use in a
glider)
- Good (as far as I can tell) main
battery
- New main battery
- New backup battery
- Soft case
- Stylus
- All buttons tested
- Serial port tested
Details
Wanted:
Cables and Cradles for Compaq Aero 1500 PDAs
Let me know if you have any good,
used power/data cables or cradles for the Compaq Aero 1500 PDAs. I
need any I can find because the power/data connectors used in the cables
are no longer available.
Cradle for
Compaq Aero 1500 Pocket PC - Used
I have purchased a few of these classic and valuable cradles and
their accessories on the used market. Each cradle has different
accessories included, so please call me for a price. If necessary,
we can also discuss and desired accessories. Some include the RAM
mounting arms, some do not - but I have mounting arms (listed below)
which work great with this cradle.
Details
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Photo
of the Month |
Regular
feature - Photo of the month
Please send me your favorite soaring photos and I'll
include my favorites here. I just love soaring
photos!
Photo submitted by Fred LaSor of SoaringNV.
Hugh Milne of Big Sur, California, flying over
Minden, Nevada, USA in early April.
Note the wave cloud and Minden airport is clearly
visible in the lower right corner.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
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Fun &
Interesting Soaring Links |
|
Below is a
collection of fun and interesting soaring links.
Large (8.4 m span) Radio
Control ASH-31M Glider and Power Plane RPV Formation
Flying
Young Minnesota Glider Pilot
Student Megan Gossfeld on Life to the Max
- Available in HD
Cross Country Soaring on The
Flightline TV show
Build A Duster - Blake Miller
The Duster
Builders Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dustersailplanebuilders/
Photos
by Paul Remde from 2004 U.S. Region 7 Soaring
Contest in Illinois
Flight of
the Rhonbussard
Gliding School for Kids in
Lithuania
I recently
had the opportunity to view an art showing by
Minnesota glider pilot Stephen Nesser. He gave
a very interesting talk about art and tips for
students of art. I'm not an artist, but I
enjoyed the talk and the art very much. You
can see some of his aviation related paintings here.
http://www.stephennesser.com/aviation.html
Gliding Federation of
Australia - Documents - Sport
Impressive take-off by a foot
launched Swift rigid hangglider!
New Phoenix Motorglider
Interesting Accident
Investigation Report on ETA sailplane break-up in
2003
TG-2 Photo Flight
Schleicher K8 Flight - Video
News from DG
DG-1001M Video
New Schleicher company
brochure
First assembly of ASH 30 Mi
Very nice looking aviator watches from Walter
Schempp - the son of Martin Schempp (founder of
Schempp-Hirth)
http://www.schempp.eu/index.htm
75 years of Schempp-Hirth
Arcus E Electric Sailplane -
First Flight
Video of Schempp-Hirth ArcusT
Schempp-Hirth Arcus M first
flight
Soaring above the Aletsch-Glacier/Switzerland
- Video
Solar Drone Sets Endurance
Record
Klaus Ohlmann and Christian
Holler video - Excellent!
Bertha Ryan Article
Very cool weather map - Put your mouse pointed over
points on the map to see weather data for that site!
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/zoa/mwmap3.php?map=usa
NASA Space Shuttle Videos in HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2VygftZSCs
http://www.vimeo.com/5630246
Alex touches down with plenty
to caw about
The Aerosente Glider Workshop
- Vintage and Classic Scale Airplanes
Peregrine Falcons Inspire New
Thermal Soaring Strategy for UAVs
Paul MacCready on nature vs.
humans
Paul MacCready flies on solar
wings
Paul MacCready - Profile on
Ted
Gossamer Condor: The Movie
LSA Might Not Be the Only
Solution to an AWOL Medical Certificate
1968 WGC LESZNO
Soaring To New Heights
- see pages B12-B13
From sailplane to strike
fighter - Naval Academy midshipmen show
leadership, love of aviation through soaring
Johan Gustafsson World
Advanced Glider Aerobatic Champion 2010
UK Ridge video
VGC Rally held at Tibenham,
Norfolk (Norfolk Gliding Club).
Mitch Polinsky: Soaring Like a
Hawk
Time Lapse of Ephrata,
Washington Flight Line
Free digital charts from the FAA
The Aviators
The Almost Useless Aviation
Knowledge Test
First flight of Space Ship 2
Top 10 Low Passes (not
gliders)
George’s and Jeff’s Excellent
Motorglider Adventure
Icare 2 - Klaus Ohlmann
Mystery Plane - Unknown
Antique Homebuilt Glider
September 1941 Popular Science
article - see page 60
First Solo video
Pterosaurs might have soared
10,000 miles nonstop
Fleet of motor-less gliders in
flight at Elmira in New York, United States
- neat old film!
First Glide Flight of Space
Ship 2
The Evolution of U.S. Contest
Soaring - by John H. Cochrane
SeeYou Mobile version 4.0 available
How Much Does A Hurricane
Weigh? (in terms of elephants) - NPR
Friendship Flight 2010:
Morning Glory
Soaring: Flying with no engine
Zaon MRX and XRX demo video at
Sporty's
LD Final glide rieti 2010 -
Watch the FLARM display
Shoreham Airshow 2010 Glider
Crash
www.ASK14.org
iPhone logging app, OLC
compliant
Ernst Udet - Wunder des
Fliegens
News from Lange Aviation
Antares glider soaring
Patagonian Lenticular
Photos of soaring in Argentina from Werner Lantschner,
Photo 1,
Photo 2,
Photo 3
Electric Aircraft To Rule the
Sky?
Gliding to the Edge of Space -
Dennis Tito Steps Up to Fund, Fly Perlan Project
Jonker Sailplane News Story
- I can't seem to find part 2 of the story any more.
Pipistrel Company Tour - What
you can expect to see during a visit
Sonic Booms and Shock Waves -
AvWeb
Vintage Sailplane Association
YouTube page
From Jack Hallet, He had a hard time finding brake system
parts from Grob, but found them at
www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com,
parts were from R65 BMW from 1978-84.
BonusJet Jet-Powered
Glider Completes Test Flights
Spin myths - AOPA Online
Historic aviation photos
available online -
Direct Link
Bruno - B4, Region Contest in
Tucson, AZ
PLB brings speedy rescue to
glider pilot trapped in trees
Weird Clouds Look Even Better
From Space
NASA's Image of the Day
gallery
Carolina Cloudstreets - 10th
annual Region 5 North Sailplane Race
Local Children Take Flight
Norman Goddard And His Glider
(1929)
Li'l Dogie
George Popa Wire Sculptures
- Nice wire gliders! (scroll down)
Riding in glider a unique
experience
Diamond HK36 motorglider
re-introduction video
Red Bull Blanik video
Sport Gliding in the 1920's
Youth travels out of state to
solo on birthday
Landing in a turn (towplane)
Knut and Ingrid Kjenslie -
gliding to their next phase in life
Tony Condon and firends -
Covering a Cherokee II wing bottom surface
SSA Glider Data Plate
exemption - permanent
WASP Receive Congressional
Gold Medal
Bug's-eye View of Aerotow
Takeoff
Flying in Red and Green Air
Surviving the Wires
Environment - AOPA Live
Soaring Memories - 2008 - 2009
- Ron Murphy
BABAjAGA - Witches in Updraft!
NASA on the Science of Pilot
Error - With glider pilot Key Dismukes
High-speed, low altitude
sailplane passes in South Africa
Nice article on Val Paget's
World record flight
Soaring Photos by Phiippe de
Pechy on his web site
Soaring Photos by Phiippe de
Pechy on picasaweb
Gleb Derujinsky - Local
Renaissance man tells all
You may remember Gleb as one of the stars in "The Sun Ship Game" film.
2 Excellent soaring videos from Kees Van Schaick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwdFycGgh4g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcuSp7FqICw
Very nice paper glider models
from Fiddlers Green
Way to go Ron Schwartz - nice
flight on OLC
, Way to go Ron Schwartz
Colditz glider details on Nova web site:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/naziprison/glid_building.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/naziprison/glider.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_Cock
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066833/
Christian Mackin - HD video of valley run near Mt.
Whitney with Martin Eiler in DuoDiscus
HyperTerminal is a handy terminal program that was
included with previous versions of Windows. It
is not included with Vista or Windows 7.
Buy it for $59.95
here:
http://www.hilgraeve.com/hyperterminal.html
or try the free program Tera Term here:
http://sourceforge.jp/projects/ttssh2/
Windward Performance featured
in Machine Design
Formation flight, Nimbus 4DM &
Hunter Mk68 Jet
Logan Utah ridge flying HD
video
SeeYou Mobile Tutorial - How
to enter a task
Raul Blacksten's website on US
military training gliders
K1 Accident Report
Funny ring
tone from movie "Bedtime Stories"
Captain Sully at the Airforce
Academy
Tail Dolly construction photos
by Wayne Paul
New Horton flying wing
Erik Houtman - glider
aerobatics in Fox
Dutch Glider Aerobatic Team
Goat soars Torrey Pines
BUG (Basic Ultralight Glider)
Soars at Torrey Pines
Running along the ridge of mt
Palomar mountain
Jim Payne's record flight on
March 29, 2009 - on OLC web site
Glider decals -
http://www.segelflug-aufkleber.de/
diamond altitude flight video
- Jerry Snedden
Growing Bolder video from
Seniors Contest 2009 - Excellent
Google 3D Warehouse - Sailplanes and Towplanes
The links below are to 3D models that work great in
Google Sketch-Up - a FREE 3D modeling
Schempp-Hirth Discus 2b
Antares 20E
DFS Habicht
Schleicher Rhönbussard
Discus 2b "2D" in front our
hangar
Schleicher Ka8
Jantar Standard 2B
Piper PA-25 Pawnee
unpowered glider flight
through storm clouds and over a mountain range to
gather weather data
http://www.maxair2air.com -
Photos - Soaring in Hawaii
Glider Aerobatics video
See How it Flies
Airfoils and Airflow
Irrotational Flow of an Viscus
Fluid
Multiple Aerotow - 9 Blaniks -
1 Towplane
Big model
Nice Map and
Airport web sites:
http://skyvector.com/
http://www.airnav.com
- my favorite source for airport details
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Coming
Next Month |
-
Notes and photos from the SSA Conference in
Philadelphia, PA
-
PowerFLARM Status Update
-
More fun links and soaring news from around the
world
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Wrap
Up |
Thank you for
taking the time to read this newsletter. I hope you
have found it interesting. If you did, please tell
your friends about it. Please mention it in
your local soaring newsletter. Please direct
them to:
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/newsletters.htm
I consider myself a servant. Please let me know if
there is anything I can do to help you find the
right soaring instruments for your needs, or help
you learn how to use an instrument or software
product. Also, let me know if you have any
suggestions for products or services to add to my
web site, or ways that I can serve you better.
I feel blessed because I love my job. I enjoy
serving the soaring community. Like you, I am
passionate about soaring. Thank you for your
business, I sincerely appreciate it.
Fly Safe,
Paul Remde
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