This Year's
Accomplishments
Soar Minnesota
Minnesota
Soaring Club
Accomplishments
and Fun Flights
of Minnesota Soaring Pilots
2003
Overview
This page is for announcing the accomplishments and fun flights of
local soaring pilots. Items listed here include: first solos, new
ratings, badge flights, record flights, just-for-fun long flights, etc.
It's just fun to see how many great flights are done from Minnesota.
Click on the photos below to view larger
versions.
| Accomplishments - 2003 | |||||||
| Date | Pilot | Glider | Flying From | Description | Write-up | Flight Log | Photo |
| 2003 Season | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | Jim Hard won the Central Division 1-26 Sweepstakes contest for the year 2003. | The 1-26 Sweepstakes is a year-long contest to fly the maximum number of cross-country miles. Pilots submit up to 5 flights. After the season is over, a die is cast and the number that comes up represents the number of flights in the year that are to be totalled to determine the winner for the year. Pilots compete against others in their region; Eastern, Central, and Western. In 2003, Jim Hard beat out the 1-26 pilots in such places as Texas and New Mexico. | ||
| Nov 7, '03 | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | 78.23 sm from Benson's Airport to near Modena WI | Blue sky day during which the maximum surface temperature was 29F. Flight was just under 3 hours. Roger Payne was crew chief. | ||
| Oct 18, '03 | Jeff Voelz | Stanton | Private Pilot Glider | Jeff has been flying his PA-12 from Anoka to Stanton for glider instruction. Instructor was Mark Cleare, and Andrew Wood was the examiner. |
 |
||
| Oct 14, '03 | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | 260 sm to Savannah IL municipal airport. | Took 5:15, reached 7500', Walt Johnson, Crew Chief. | ||
| Oct 9, '03 | Steve Roman | Stanton | Private Pilot Glider | Steve is a transition pilot who flies for Northwest Airlines. Instructor was Mark Cleare and examiner was Andrew Wood. | |||
| Sept 30, '03 | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | 246 sm to Monroe WI municipal airport. | Took 5:15, reached 7500 MSL. Roger Payne, Crew Chief. | ||
| Sept 15, '03 | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | 187.16sm flight to near Amhurst Jct. WI (east of Stevens Point), 5:30 | Originally planned to fly straight east from Benson's but ran into overdevelopment east of Medford WI along with a shift in wind direction from westerly to northwesterly. So headed toward Stevens Point. Kathleen Winters, Crew Chief | ||
| Sept 4, '03 | Jim Hard | 1-26A | Benson's | Flight to Stanton Airport to retrieve the Delbert traveling trophy. | Very weak conditions. Stayed below 4000 MSL except for the last 10 miles. | ||
| Sept 4, '03 | Craig Cowell | Blanik L-13 | Benson's | First Solo - 'A' Badge | Craig earned his ‘A’ badge by completing his first solo, and in fine fashion with a 55 minute flight! | ||
| Aug 31, '03 | Paul Campobasso | Ka-6E | Benson's | Silver Distance and altitude flight from Benson's to Boyceville, WI, 47 miles | Blessed enough to stay above 5,000' (once outside of Class B airspace) The entire flight. What fun! | ||
| Aug 31, '03 | Leon Zeug | Ka6E | Faribault | Triple Crown Flight from Faribault to Stanton to Benson. | His competitive juices no doubt stimulated by Chris's flight on the 30th, Leon Zeug flew his K-6e from Faribault over Stanton and on to Bensons to retrieve the Triple Crown Trophy for Faribault. Congratulations to Leon. (Document ion will still need to be verified.) - J.C. Cunningham | ||
| Aug 30, '03 | Brian Utley | DG 800B | Stanton | 205 mi O&R at 61.4 mph. Two state records for a MG. | 38UC0Q71.IGC | ||
| Aug 30, '03 | Kathleen Winters | Libelle | Benson's | 212 mile flight to Clintonville WI in about 4 1/4 hours | |||
| Aug 30, '03 | Mike Finegan | PIK-20B | Benson's | 300Km Triangle Bensons-Durand-RiceLake-Bensons for Gold Distance and Diamond Goal | Great day with strong lift. Heavy cirrus moving up from the south was beginning to cut off lift by about 4:15-4:30. Thought I would have to land only 3-4 miles short, but found some lift to get home after I had detoured to a landing field. | 38UA1JG6.IGC | |
| Aug 30, '03 | Chris Prince | Pilatus | Benson's | Silver Distance - Benson to Forest Lake and land, then Forest Lake to Faribault | He was attempting his first silver distance. His first launch was not as successful as he hoped and he landed at the airport in Forest Lake. He was not discouraged though. He got the tow plane to come from Benson and launched again. This time he flew all the way to Faribault! Good job Chris. A great first cross country flight. - J.C. Cunningham | ||
| Aug 9, '03 | Jeff Voelz | Stanton | 1st Solo Glider | ||||
| Aug 9, '03 | Michael Martz | Stanton | 1st Solo Glider (MSC) | ||||
| Aug 9, '03 | Leon Zeug | Ka6E | Stanton | 185 km Cats Cradle + LeCenter: Owatonna, Millersburg, Morriston, Northfield, FBL, LeCenter and back | Lots of patience and lookout for cycling cumulus clouds for a fun August flight. No paper work required for this one either. | ||
| Aug 1, '03 | John Ward | Junior | Stanton | Completed Stanton Short Task for the first time with a handicapped speed 29.16 mph | It was not a friendly cross-country day - got a little nervous near Dennison - but good soaring anyway. | ||
| July 14, '03 | Richard Weil | Pilatus B-4 | Benson's | Completion of Bronze Badge with a 2+ hour flight. Badge was awarded on July 12. | Thermal soaring flight on a fairly good day with a sky full of cumulus. | ||
| July 13, '03 | Chris Prince | Blanik L-13 | Benson's | This was a thermal soaring flight from Benson's Airport to Rush City MN and about 5 miles back, a total of a little over 40 miles.Landing was in a hay field south of Rush City after a flight of just a bit more than 2 hours. | The flight was Chris's first x-country flight and included his first off-field landing. Retrieve was successfully accomplished with the help of Club members Les Stordalen and Bob Winston. They arrived back at the airport at about 9:30 pm. | ||
| July 11, '03 | Paul Esser | Blanik L23 | Benson's | Completed Practical Test at Benson's Airport with examiner Andrew Wood who signed me off for my Private Pilot Glider Certificate. | After soloing in 2001, this flight was the opening of a new chapter in soaring for me. A special thanks to my instructor, Les Stordalen, whose confidence in and patience with me proved invaluable. | ||
| June 30, '03 | Steve Metz | ASW-27 | Stanton | Out & Return to Charles City (300KM Diamond Goal) for a MN state 15m speed record. | 36UC3IO1.IGC | ||
| June 30, '03 | Tom Rent | Schweizer 1-35c | Stanton | 264km flight (164 sm). Stanton-Blue Earth-Austin-Dodge Center | Needed 1 more hour to make it back to Stanton for a Diamond Goal (314km) but it was not to be. Got seriously slowed up 12 miles east of Blue Earth near Wells on the way to Austin. On course at 1:20pm and landed at 6:22pm as the day died. Need to start earlier, fly faster, and be luckier! Thanks to Steve Metz for crewing. | ||
| June 16, '03 | Phil Schmalz | Ventus b | Stanton | 5 hour flight to complete his Silver Badge. | |||
| June 15, '03 | Brian Utley | DG 800B | Stanton | 100 km triangle: Stanton,
Zumbrota, Medford NE, Stanton Speed: 72.8 mph |
36FC0Q71.IGC | ||
| June 15, '03 | Brian Utley | DG 800B | Stanton | 300 km triangle: Stanton,
Austin, Blue Earth, Stanton Distance: 195 miles Speed: 62.9 mph |
36FC0Q71.IGC | ||
| June 15, '03 | Phil Schmalz | Ventus b | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight, Handicapped speed: 53.4 mph | |||
| June 15, '03 | Tom Rent | Schweizer 1-35c | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight, Handicapped speed: 57.04 mph | |||
| June 14, '03 | Leon Zeug | Ka6E | Faribault | 218 km Sort of Cats Cradle: FBL to Hastings, Waseca, Owatonna, Sky Harbor, New Prague and FBL | No paper work needed for this flight. The sky had lots of lift with some cu's too. | ||
| June 14, '03 | Kathleen Winters | Libelle | Stanton | 222 sm to Windom, MN, and Ida Grove, IA | Fantastic lift west to Windom, then blue. Thanks to crew Jim Hard. | ||
| June 14, '03 | Dan Johnson | Ventus Cm | Menomonie, WI | Attempted a 300k triangle, Menomonie to Shell Lake to Cambridge to Menomonie, late start, ended up about 25 NM short of home at 6:30 pm, well after the day's last thermal. | But it was great fun. The Ventus Cm is a better glider than I am a pilot. | ||
| June 14, '03 | Chris Cooper | Ventus b | Stanton | 314.8 km Triangle flight for his Diamond Goad and Gold Distance | The flight originated at Stanton with turnpoints at Austin and Blue Earth and culminated with a landing back at Stanton for a distance of 314.8 km and a total flight time of 5 hours and 26 minutes. The flight was made in a Ventus b which Chris co-owns with Dick Andrews and Phil Schmatz. | ||
| June 14, '03 | Eric Bluhm | HP-18 | Benson's | Benson's-Mora-Shell Lake-Benson's for Silver Duration, Gold Distance and Diamond Goal | Mark Schmidt again flew the
same flight (like the Triple Crown Flight) but without documenting it. I
caught up to him near Mora, and had a couple nice views of his Standard
Cirrus as he circled above me and headed out on task. He finished about
1/2 hour ahead of me. This flight capped off my first month flying my HP-18 (first flight for me 05-15 at Stanton). I like it-it scoots. :) |
||
| June 14, '03 | Mark Schmidt | Standard Cirrus | Benson's | Benson's-Mora-Shell Lake-Benson's for Silver Duration, Gold Distance and Diamond Goal | |||
| June 14, '03 | Phil Schmalz | Junior | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight, Handicapped speed: 56.93 mph | |||
| June 13, '03 | Tom Kuhfeld | PW-5 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight, Handicapped speed: 55.78 mph | |||
| June 9, '03 | Kathleen Winters | Libelle | Stanton | Stanton to Watertown, SD, 205 sm | Same old song. Blue skies preceded by cu's and good lift. Thanks to crew Jim Hard, and Pete Kliegle at Watertown. | ||
| June 1, '03 | Chris Prince | Pilatus B4 | Benson's | 5-hour flight for Silver and Gold badges. | Sunday, June 1, was a hazy day with overcast cirrus. Chris Prince flew the RWSA Pilatus for 5 1/2 hours, completing the duration legs for the Silver and Gold badges. | ||
| May 26, '03 | Kathleen Winters | Libelle | Stanton | 210 s.miles to Whipple,SD (near Sisseton) | Blue day. Thanks to crews Jim Hard and the Argo family. | ||
| May 26, '03 | Mark Schmidt | ? | Benson's | Benson's to Stanton to Faribault then landed out near Prescott Wisconsin. | Flight not documented so it does not qualify as a Triple Crown Flight, but it was a very nice flight. | ||
| May 26, '03 | Eric Bluhm | HP-18 | Benson's | Triple Crown Trophy flight from Benson's Airport, to Stanton, to Faribault then back to Stanton where he landed. | |||
| May 26, '03 | John Wastvedt | LS-6 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 60.13 mph | |||
| May 26, '03 | Matt Michaels | Woodstock | Ames, IA | Triangular course of 406 Kilometer (252 statute miles). He flew from Ames Iowa to Creston to Dennison and landed back at Ames Iowa. A truly incredible flight! | The Woodstock is a modest
home built glider with a glide ratio of 24:1. Matt and his glider were
featured in the May issue of Soaring Magazine. - JC Cunningham matt_michael_news.txt |
||
| May 26, '03 | Jim Henry | DG-100 | Faribault | From Faribault to Windom and return for a Diamond Goal flight of over 186 miles. | This was done on a day where there were no cumulus to mark his lift. Jim made this flight just a short time ago also but had his battery in his data logger that records the flight fail in flight. So he did it again. | ||
| May 25, '03 | Brian Utley | DG 800B | Stanton | 300 km Triangle: Stanton, Taopi Gilgenback, B & D Flyers, Stanton. 191.47 miles, 63.42 mph Absolute Altitude: 10,819' Altitude gain: 7,417' | 35PC0Q71.igc | ||
| May 25, '03 | Matt Michaels | Woodstock | Ames, IA | Ames Iowa to Northwood Iowa (20 miles SE of Albert Lea MN) and returned to Ames A distance of just over 187 miles for a Diamond goal flight. | |||
| May 25, '03 | Leon Zeug | Ka-6E | Faribault | 188 miles on a Diamond Goal Flight from Faribault MN to Windom MN and return. | By the way that is the third diamond goal flight for that particular K-6e in the state of MN, all by different pilots. | ||
| May 25, '03 | Tom Rent | Schweizer 1-35c | Stanton | 300 km flight. State record for absolute altitude in the 15m class: 10,600 feet MSL. | Landed a few miles short of Stanton at 7:35 PM near Denison but still completed Gold Distance | ||
| May 25, '03 | Richard Andrews | Ventus b | Stanton | 500+ km (322..3 mile) triangle flight from Stanton to Charles to Estherville to Stanton | Dick flew with the 17m tips on the Ventus | 35PC3FJ1.IGC | |
| May 25, '03 | Steve Metz | ASW-27 | Stanton | 500+ km (322..3 mile) triangle flight from Stanton to Charles to Estherville to Stanton | 35PC3IO1.IGC | ||
| May 24, '03 | Dan Johnson | Ventus Cm | Menomonie, WI | WI altitude record and absolute gain, 10,010 msl after a gain of 8,124 ft, while dawdling around the triangle Menomonie - Amery - Rice Lake - Menomonie. | |||
| May 23, '03 | David Fisher | ? | Stanton | A, B Badges | |||
| May 23, '03 | Marty Wirth | ? | Stanton | A, B, and C Badges | |||
| May 23, '03 | Tom Kuhfeld | PW-5 | Stanton | Straight out to Aldora, IA, 150 miles | |||
| May 23, '03 | Paul Ratzlaff | Grob 102 | Stanton | Silver Distance, straight out to Dodge Center | |||
| May 23, '03 | Ron McLaughlin | Nimbus 2 | Stanton | Out and return to Austin, MN | |||
| May 23, '03 | Jim Henry | DG-100 | Stanton | 300 km triangle to Blue Earth to Austin and back to Stanton. | |||
| May 23, '03 | Bob Wander | Salto | Stanton | Out and return to Austin, MN | |||
| May 23, '03 | Ben Jeffrey | Concept 70 | Stanton | Out and return to Austin, MN | |||
| May 23, '03 | Dick Huber | Ka-6E | Benson's | Delbert Trophy flight from Benson's to Stanton, Also Silver Distance | Thermal soaring flight from Benson's to Stanton in one hour and 40 minutes to retrieve the Delbert Trophy for the RWSA, and to complete Silver Distance on first straight-out cross-country flight. Pete Kroll was OO and retrieve crew. | ||
| May 23, '03 | Sarah Anderson | Libelle | Stanton | Flight from Stanton to Faribault to Owatonna to Dodge Center to Stanton | |||
| May 23, '03 | John Ward | Junior | Stanton | Silver Distance flight from Stanton to Dodge Center and back to Stanton. | |||
| May 23, '03 | Richard Andrews & Paul Remde | ASK-21 | Stanton | 129.1 mile triangle speed task at 39.5 mph for a MN 2-seater soaring record for speed around a 200 km course. We flew to Janesville to Hayfield and back to Stanton. | What a fun flight! I was so much fun sharing this wonderful flight with Dick. Flying cross-country in a 2-seater is fun because you can relax while the other pilot is flying. This was the easiest cross-country flight I've ever done. - Paul Remde | 35NC0FT1.IGC | |
| May 23, '03 | George Penokie | Libelle | Stanton | Silver duration flight (5 hours) to Faribault, to Owatonna to Dodge Center and back to Stanton | This flight completes his Silver Badge. | ||
| May 21, '03 | Michael Trutwin | Owl | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight, Handicapped Speed of: 39.94 mph | We got low on the first leg and had to scrap to stay aloft. After that it was a pretty easy flight. | ||
| May 21, '03 | Paul Remde & Richard Andrews | ASK-21 | Stanton | 70.5 mile triangle speed task at 31.6 mph for a MN 2-seater soaring record for speed around a 100 km course. We flew to Medford to Tuma and back to Stanton. | We got low on the first leg and had to scrap to stay aloft. After that it was a pretty easy flight. | 35LC0FT1.igc | |
| May 21, '03 | Peter Kroll | Ka-6CR | Stanton | Made and recorded a Silver Altitude gain. This completes the Silver Badge. | This was a thermal soaring flight late in the afternoon on Wednesday May 21 at the MSC-sponsored cross-country camp. | ||
| May 20, '03 | Ben Jeffrey | Concept 70 | Stanton | Straight-out flight to Osage, IA | |||
| May 20, '03 | Richard Andrews & Chris Cooper | ASK-21 | Stanton | 231.3 miles straight distance flight to a goal at Washington Muni in Southern IA. They set 2 MN 2-seater soaring records. | Marilyn Meline was the generous crew. | 35KC0FT1.igc | |
| May 20, '03 | Steve Metz | ASW-27 | Stanton | Straight-out flight to Pella, IA, 350 km | As the assigned SCUM (Soaring Crew Union Member) for the flight, I have been elevated to "Your Excellency" status after arriving within 3 minutes of tough-down and handing the pilot an ice cold Killian's Red. | ||
| May 20, '03 | Kathleen Winters | Libelle | Stanton | Straight-out flight to Aldora, IA, 150 miles | Landed early because of deteriorating conditions ahead. Tom Kuhfeld helped with the retrieve. | ||
| May 17, '03 | Eric Bluhm | HP-18 | Milbank, SD | First Cross-Country flight. Milbank SD to Wheaton MN. 67km | During the SD Soaring Safari, Eric made his first cross-country flight and achieved Silver Distance for which he is applying to SSA. His "new" HP-18 was the glider used. Dick Huber was his Official Observer. The flight started rather late in the day since earlier in the day Eric volunteered to check out a new tow pilot so all glider pilots could fly that day. | ||
| May 17, '03 | John Wastvedt | LS-6 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 71.84 mph | |||
| May 16, '03 | John Wastvedt | LS-6 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 63.97 mph | |||
| May 16, '03 | Jim Henry | DG-100 | Faribault | Faribault to Millbank, SD, 188 miles | Millbank is the site of the Soaring Safari this weekend organized by Bill Menkevich. The flight took about 3.5 hours. Jim said he could have done it quicker but that when he knew he had the destination made he waited for his crew to catch up. Jim then flew 20 miles beyond the airport at Millbank and then back to Millbank, making his entire flight about 228 miles. | ||
| May 7, '03 | Stephen Nesser | Ka-8 | Stanton | Delbert flight from Stanton to Benson's | Flew to Benson airport and claimed the Delbert Trophy for the MSC. | ||
| May 3, '03 | Ben Jeffrey | Concept 70 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 51.47 mph | |||
| May 3, '03 | Steve Adkins | 1-35c | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 39.87 mph | Wind was from the east with no Cu's marking the lift. The height window was between 3500' and 4000' AGL with lift improving late in the day. Just short of Northfield, a boomer took me to 6000' AGL. I was able to finish the course against a strong head wind using negative flaps all the way hitting Randolph at 2000' and Stanton at 1000'. This was a "Willey" Friday operation with Red Haines as my loyal crew and tow pilot. | ||
| April 26, '03 | S. Steve Adkins | 1-35c | Stanton | Altitude gain of 4700 feet to complete Silver Badge #6385 | Barograph was calibrated after the flight with rapid response by Trinkwalder. Red Haines was the Official Observer and Kent Johnson was the tow pilot. This was the third successful altitude gain ... but it really helps if you actually submit the completed form. Previously completed distance in the Ka-8 and duration in the Ka-7. | ||
| April 26, '03 | John Wastvedt | LS-6 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 59.81 mph | |||
| Apr. 23, '03 | Tom Kuhfeld | PW-5 | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 53.8 mph | |||
| Apr. 23, '03 | Tom Rent | Schweizer 1-35c | Stanton | Stanton Short Task flight of 34.65 miles at a handicapped speed of 49.43 mph | |||
| Feb. 20, '03 | JC Cunningham | Grob 102 Club III | Mile High Gliding, Boulder, CO | Last leg of Gold Badge. It
also qualified for the second leg (altitude) for Diamond and a 1 Lennie
pin. |
The flight was made from Boulder CO airport in a Grob 102 Club III rented from Mile High Gliding. My low point was 12,100 feet MSL and my high point was 28,600 feet MSL. The flight took 2-1/2 hours in weak wave. Oh, yes, it was very cold. | ||