Gull Wings Torrey Pines Gulls Radio Control Soaring Society March 2005

events, and have never finished first or last. So I can IHLGF 2005 say with some authority that it is not about winning or losing, but about the fun, camaraderie, and flying. Special Edition This year’s event will have a similar format to previous Welcome to the 12th Annual International Hand years, but there is a new feature that we believe will add Launch Glider Festival to the enjoyment of those of us who, shall we say, have Don Richmond, Contest Director not reached their full potential. On Friday, June 3rd, from noon to 2:00 p.m., we will On behalf of the Torrey Pines Gulls and our Host be conducting a DLG clinic for all registered pilots Sponsor, Airtronics, I would personally like to welcome who think they might benefit from the knowledge of the best DLG pilots in the world. Everything from launching correctly, finding those elusive thermals, piloting hints, task strategy and more will be covered in a combination two-hour ground school/hands-on flying session. We even have a few “field” prizes that will be given away. The cost? Your entry fee! This edition of the Gull Wings is dedicated to the IHLGF and within it you will find all the information you need to learn about and participate in the IHLGF 2005. Whether you are planning on being a participant, a volunteer or a spectator, attending this great event is a must do. See you in Poway, California the first weekend in June.

Above: Mark Drela everyone interested in Hand Launched Gliders to the launches his SuperGee Below: Top pilots from II. This discus throw will 2005 International Hand Launch Glider Festival. This the 2004 IHLGF propel the glider to an will be our twelfth year altitude of approximately of hosting this highly 150 feet. successful contest with the help of our most generous sponsors. While this event brings the top hand launched glider pilots in the world to compete, you do not need to be an expert to P.O. Box 370356 join the fun and enjoy San Diego, CA 92137 this tremendous event. www.torreypinesgulls.org Perhaps I am the best example of the non- experts. I have partici- pated in all the previous The Torrey Pines Gulls wish to thank the following IHLGF 2004 Sponsors.

2 Gull Wings ing New Zealand, France, England and Germany. Pilots International from Japan, Canada, the Czech Republic and Texas have also indicated an interest. Hand Launch The Torrey Pines Gulls website (www.torrreypinesgulls. org) will be the host site for the IHLGF 2005 web pag- Glider Festival es. There, you will be able to find all the information you need or want regarding this years IHLGF includ- 2005 Invitation ing: registration; tasks; rules; Sponsors; hotels/motels, Ron Scharck, IHLGF Registrar etc. Never been to an IHLGF? Be sure to check out the articles from various sources regarding the IHLGF On behalf of the Torrey Pines Gulls Radio Control 2004 that will be part of the IHLGF 2005 web site. Soaring Association (TPG) and our co-host and prima- Thinking of coming to the IHLGF, but concerned ry sponsor, AIRTRONICS, it is an honor to personally about your ability to compete? Don’t let that stop you. invite you and your fellow HLG/DLG pilots worldwide We have a program for you and other pilots that may to attend the 2005 edition of the International Hand not feel like they are ready for the IHLGF. On Friday, Launch Glider Festival (IHLGF). This year’s event will June 3rd, from noon to 2:00 p.m., we will be conduct- be held June 4-5 at the TPG’s thermal flight center ing a DLG clinic for all registered pilots who think located in Poway (San Diego), California, USA. they might benefit from the knowledge of the best of Considered by many as the “World Championship of the best pilots in the world. Everything from launching Hand Launch Glider Competitions”, the goal of the correctly, finding those elusive thermals, piloting hints, IHLGF is threefold: task strategy and more will be covered in a combination 1. Provide HLG enthusiasts worldwide with the oppor- two-hour ground school/hands-on flying session. We tunity to compete against the world’s very best pilots. even have a few “field” prizes that will given away. Cost? 2. Provide a format of tasks with varying degrees of Your entry fee! difficulty to insure each pilot will be challenged to the Want to get a head start before the clinic? Check out extent of his/her abilities, regardless of skill level. Paul Naton’s DVD series entitled “Handlaunch Pro 3. Conduct the contest in such a manner as to insure Clinic”. There is nothing like practice, practice, and the highest degree of efficiency and credibility and, at more practice...provided you are practicing the correct the same time, create an atmosphere whereby every technique. With this video, you will be learning the competing pilot has a great time doing so. launching techniques of the masters and much more. Early indications are that we will have a big group of A lot of the footage was shot at the 2003 IHLGF. international pilots this year including pilots represent- Check out this web page and tell Paul you saw it in the

Continued on next page Hand General Month RES / TD Launch Slope Racing (SC)2 Thermal Other Meeting Jan 16 11 Feb 13 27 - SWSA 8 Mar 06 20 - HSS 8 Apr 10 24 - SWSA 12 May 08 22 - EDSF @ 10 HSS Jun 12 4-5 IHLGF 26 - ISS 14 Jul 10 22 -29 Soaring 12 NATS Muncie Aug 07 28 - TOSS 9 Sep 11 25 - ISS 13 Oct 09 30 - TPG 1-2 Visalia Fall Fest 11 Nov 06 Rain Makeup 8

March 2005 3 President Garth Warner (760) 746-4949 [email protected] Vice President Mike Smith (619) 294-4866 [email protected] Past President Ron Brown (858) 625-7949 [email protected] Secretary Adam Smith (858) 278-8088 [email protected] Treasurer Ron Scharck (619) 913-4949 [email protected] Membership Al Bendett (858) 455-5956 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Brad Willoughby (619) 255-7976 [email protected] Winchmaster Peter Leduc (760) 723-3171 [email protected] HLG Coordinator Thermal Coordinator/ (SC)2 Rep. Aaron Valdes (760) 809-5504 [email protected] RES Coordinator Garth Warner (760) 746-4949 [email protected] Training Coordinator Slope Coordinator Bill Crabb (858) 481-2244 [email protected] Webmaster Steve Hurd (760) 943-8304 [email protected] Raﬄe Chairman IHLGF Registrar Ron Scharck (619) 913-4949 [email protected] Torrey Pines Soaring Council Rep. (TPG) John Davies [email protected] Torrey Pines Soaring Council Rep. (AMA) Larry Fogel [email protected] Historian Gary Fogel [email protected]

2005 TPG Officers Continued from previous page IHLGF2005 Invitation: http://www.radiocarbonart. IHLGF 2004 com/Pages/proclinicmain.html. Originally published in Model Aviation Magazine. If I can be of any assistance or answer any questions Special thanks to Liz Helms at AMA and AMA you may have, please feel free to contact me or our District 10 VP, Rich Hanson, for their efforts in CD Don Richmond directly at [email protected] and providing this article to us. Original available at: [email protected] respectively. I look forward to http://www.modelaircraft.org/mag/HLGfestival/index.html hearing from you. Please feel free to pass this invitation John Erickson on to a fellow HLG/DLG pilot. Ron Scharck, Registrar THE PILOT LOOKED worried as his 60-inch glider IHLGF 2005 sank steadily toward the ground. Suddenly one wing 13520 Evening Creek Dr., N. Ste. 160 tipped upward. The pilot immediately circled the model San Diego, CA 92128 back toward an invisible thermal, and it slowly began 619-913-4949 to rise. He continued making tight 15-foot circles, and the glider magically corkscrewed skyward. A look of relief washed over the pilot’s face; he had just performed a “save.” He was safe for the next minute or two, and then the next task was at hand. His timer counted down the seconds left, and as he said “clear,” the pilot caught the glider, spun 360º, and launched the model up at an initial speed of 90 mph. It climbed to approximately 150 feet, where he leveled it out to begin a thermal search pattern. The preceding scenario was replayed countless times during the International Hand Launch Glider Festival (IHLGF), which is held every first weekend in June in Poway, California. The Torrey Pines Gulls (TPG) club has hosted this dynamic event for the last 11 years, and this contest was as exciting as ever. The first Hand-Launched Glider (HLG) contest took Continued on next page Continued from previous page place in September 1979. There was a strong following in Southern California, and the Inland Soaring Society (ISS) in Riverside held an annual event throughout the 1980s. As the tasks became more difficult, the sailplanes became more specialized. Airfoils and planforms were optimized for the 1.5-meter span, and components got smaller. Materials became stronger and performance improved, as did the piloting skills. When the TPG got the chance to receive the baton from the ISS, it jumped headfirst into the details of running a large event. Now—owing to the extensive work of Ron Scharck, Tom Clarkson, Don Richmond, Garth Warner, and many other TPG members—this contest is the benchmark in the hand-launch world. The modern HLG is simple, yet sophisticated. It has to withstand the rigors of launch, be able to cruise across long patches of sky in search of lift, and then settle down into a butterflylike float when it encounters ris- ing air. It has to be highly maneuverable for low-speed handling, yet hands-off stable when flying at the limits of eyesight. It needs to be light, yet strong. channel receiver, the elevator and rudder servos, and in This list of design criteria has prompted designers to in- some cases a tiny gyro for the rudder to counteract the vestigate other aspects of aviation, including free flight glider’s initial yaw during launch. as well as large-scale soaring for inspiration and techni- The tapered boom is made from wrapped carbon and cal guidance. The first gliders were tossed overhand. is roughly 1/2 inch in diameter. Fishing-pole rod used Now, because of the radical concept of discus launch- to be used but is far too flexible for the forces seen ing, all sailplanes are launched by holding one wingtip, now. The tail surfaces are either fiberglass over foam or letting the speed and force created by rotation send the laminated balsa. Pushrods are found in many flavors, model airborne. including carbon rod, stainless steel, or Spectra fishing This technique was perfected and introduced to the line for a “pull-pull” setup. hand-launch community by Dick Barker—a retired Several manufacturers kit such gliders, including Don aerospace engineer from the Seattle, Washington, area. Peters of Maple Leaf Design (the Encore), Denny He had seen the ease with which high speeds could be Maize of Pole Cat Aeroplane Works (the XP-4), Jerry generated via the discus technique. He also realized that Krainock (the Photon), and Oleg Golovidov (the it was much easier on the pilot’s shoulder. Taboo). All except the Photon are four-channel designs Dick began designing a line of sailplanes that could with camber control. take the sideways force of the launch. From that point, The Photon is the only built-up-wing model produced roughly five years ago, the prototypical glider found at that is strong enough to take a discus launch. The the IHGLF owes its lineage to him. balsa spar is capped with carbon fiber top and bottom, Constructed from Kevlar, fiberglass, and carbon fiber wrapped in Kevlar thread, and then dropped into a pre- vacuum-bagged over a foam core, the glider’s wing has formed carbon-fiber D-tube. It is a remarkably strong to withstand not only the upward force of the pullout, construction technique. but also the torsional force from the wing’s twisting Roughly half of the IHLGF contestants flew home- caused by the throw. The pilot holds onto the wing built designs, or at least modified designs from manu- with a small carbon dowel or blade securely mounted to facturers. Innovation and experimentation have been the wingtip. hallmarks of this hobby. Mark Drela of the Massachu- The wing usually has ailerons that control camber and setts Institute of Technology has devoted his extensive help in slowing the model. They perform double duty knowledge of low-speed aeronautics to the modeling as an aileron and a flap; hence they are called “flaper- community. He invented Xfoil, which is a modeling ons.” The pod is minimally sized for drag reduction, program to analyze the polars of any airfoil. but it has to be incredibly strong at the wing-to-pod In addition, Mark has optimized a set of hand-launch connection. airfoils that is the standard for all of the manufacturers. March 2005 The pod houses a small 350 mAh NiMH battery, a six- Continued on next page 5 Continued from previous page The AG44-45-46ct is used on nearly all of the sailplanes with camber changing because of its excellent combi- Next General Meeting nation of low drag and maximum lift. A fixed-camber Tuesday March 8, 7:00pm foil—the AG-16—is used on the Photon. At the San Diego Aerospace Museum, Joe Wurts, who is an engineer for Lockheed Martin, Balboa Park has also spent considerable time optimizing airfoils and planforms. As has Mark Drela, he has made his work available to the community. However, it hasn’t exactly would be a one-, two-, three-, and four-minute flight. A given the answers to the question of how to fly like Joe. perfect score in this instance would be 600 seconds. He has won the IHLGF seven times—a remarkable However, this perfection is unobtainable because feat considering the outstanding quality of competing there is “downtime” when the pilot catches and then pilots. relaunches the glider. The stopwatch stops when the Bill Watson is an “innovative prototyper” known for his model hits the ground or the pilot catches it, and it is many inventions and contributions. These include his started when the sailplane leaves his or her hand. An participation on the teams for the Gossamer Albatross off-field landing means a zero for that flight. (the first man-powered airplane to cross the English The man-on-man format means that all pilots fly in the Channel) and the Sunracer by General Motors: the same air, so it really comes down to who can work the solar-powered car that crossed the Australian continent. air the best. Many other factors come into play, includ- Bill is a prolific builder and designer who has come up ing a predictable afternoon wind at the Poway field; with several refinements, which include the arrow, or the tight, fast-moving thermals; and the split-second delta rudder, the asymmetric planform, and the framed tactical decision making while flying. pod design. This year he had a variable-dihedral plan The one who bests the others in the heat (of roughly that launched flat and then kicked up a wing panel, 10 pilots) gets 1,000 points, and the other pilots’ scores similar in concept to the F1C designs. Phil Barnes and are normalized to his or her score. With six rounds Phil Pearson work on opposite coasts but have probably flown Saturday, four rounds Sunday morning, and three built more wings and gliders than the bulk of the field rounds for the flyoff of the top 10 pilots, the field is put together. busy with activity. Phil Barnes has refined the composite scheme for Tom Clarkson of the TPG has created a scoring pro- a wing. His techniques have been chronicled in an gram and a CD that handles countdown duties. His instructional DVD. He is a master at the Kevlar-over- program, created in Microsoft Access, has evolved in foam composite technique. the last five years and now instantly scores all pilots and Phil Pearson has led the way in CNC evolution and is prints out scorecards, pilot tags, and heat scores, and it now producing even checks for duplicates or “over perfect” scores that beautiful CNC- may have been mistakenly recorded. It also generates a machined stabiliz- matrix that makes sure the pilots do not fly against the ers, rudders, and same competitors too often during the event. wings. The setup The CD has a recorded voice that announces the prep for this technique time left before the heat begins, the window time, and is still evolving, then the time left all the way down to a buzzer as time using a bed for expires. This has become a familiar sound across the the parts that are field as each pilot tunes into the task at hand. held in place by A total of 12,000 points were available for each of the vacuum. How- 65 participants, and this year’s winner had 11,769. To ever, the results illustrate how competitive the field was, the 10th-place are fantastic; you finisher had 11,116 points—only a difference of 654, can have a perfect or roughly 5%. Considering all of the flying, you could Above: George Joy per- move up or drop several places because of a single flight forms at discus launch at airfoil in all parts of the wing, and the planform can be the Poway field any shape, including elliptical. within a heat. It would be enough if these contributors just left their There was no room for error, yet with all the pressures designs for the hobby, but all of them are pilots as of competition, it was hard to find someone who was well—very good pilots. not having a good time. There is much camaraderie The IHLGF’s format is man on man. Each round has a and entertainment during the weekend, and the contest task with a certain window (working time). An example always seems to run without a hitch because of the TPC 6 Gull Wings club members’ extensive planning and hard work. would be a 10-minute window in which the tasks Continued on next page Continued from previous page When all of the dust had settled, Phil Barnes was this RC Soaring, year’s winner. He didn’t know he had won until the second-place finisher was announced. Phil was truly F3B style surprised, although the rest of us were not. He flew very Please read on, even if sport flying is all you ever well all weekend, launching high and not clutching up want to do. during the long downwind forays that the conditions Michael H. Smith, Vice President dictated. Dave Thornburg—the father of HLG—said the follow- The 2005 US team has been chosen for this year’s F3B ing in 1994. “Hand launch RC has opened up a whole World Championship in Lapeenranta, Finland. “So new world to me, a world of micro-micro-meteorology what” you say? Well let me be the one to toot my that takes place in the invisible air around us every min- own horn as well as that of another member of our ute ... a world of miniature highs and lows, cold fronts fine club. Aaron Valdes and I made a concerted effort and warm, that sweep and dance across flying fields no last year to gain a spot on the team so we could go larger than a baseball diamond.” represent the United States at the World Champs. The His words still ring true for the participants of the best possible scenario was for two of the three spots up IHLGF. for grabs to go to both Aaron and me. Unfortunately it John Erickson didn’t quite go as we had hoped. By the time the dust 24443 Zermatt Ln. had settled, Aaron was in sole possession of 4th place, Valencia CA 91355 and I found myself holding down spot number 3 and a place on the team. Aaron is officially the team’s first alternate pilot. This means that if for any reason one Club Contest of the other members cannot make the trip then Aaron gets the nod first. So, the team consists of Gordon Jen- Date Change nings, Joe Wurts, and me. Garth Warner, President “F3B? When I hear those letters mentioned in that combination it usually means these two guys dump a For those of you that have noticed, the SWSA club boat load of equipment onto the Poway field and take contest have been scheduled on the same weekend as over.” I can hear some of you saying that, I really can. our TPG club contest for the last 6 months or so. This Let me just say thanks to all of those that Aaron and I has resulted in a drop in attendance at our contests as did displaced during our practice sessions last year. We the LA crowd that use to come down is choosing to stay very much appreciate your understanding our needs up in LA. In an effort to draw more LA attendance, and accommodating us. TPG will be moving it’s contests up one weekend for F3B is the FAI rules designation for the class of radio the remainder of the year. TPG contests will now be on Below: Aaron Valdes controlled glider competition that tests 3 different launching his new X21 the Sunday preceding the club meetings. The Website tasks: Speed, Distance, and Duration. during the July 2004 calendar will be updated to reflect this change. monthly contest at Poway Continued on next page Please tell a friend. The new club contest calendar will tentatively be as follows. March 6th April 10th May 8th June 12th July 10th Aug 7th Sept 11th Oct 9th Nov 6th Dec TBD The Torrey Pines Gulls Radio Control Soaring Society

A non-profit society whose primary purpose is to support and encourage the activities of its members engaged in radio controlled sailplane flying March 2005 7 Continued from previous page this keeps one from picking up the extra-super go fast •Speed: Scoring is against the whole field of competi- model for the speed task, then switching to the Sharon tors for that round. Pro 3.7 (sorry, or any other great TD type glider, I am o 4 minutes of working time to make a single 4 lap so fond of the Sharon) for the duration task, and then (150 meters X 4) speed run. Current world record is going for the long, skinny-winged distance wonder that in the low 13’s, and I personally have witnessed a 12.72 you just bought or built especially for the distance task. sec. run! Very impressive indeed. Nope, you have got to fly the same glider for all tasks •Distance: Scoring is man on man, with 4 pilots per in the round. You are allowed to switch gliders from flight group. round to round though. I haven’t found an advantage o 7 minutes of working time to fly a single 4 minute to using anything other than my favorite glider from distance task. (as many 150 meter laps as you can round to round, but the option exists nonetheless. before you either run out of time or hit the ground. As some of you have already noticed, the designs World record now is 35 laps....must have looked like a seem to be converging on the same solution. The 4 minute speed run :) gliders are all starting to look the same. Similar wing •Duration: Scoring is again man on man, with 4 or so shapes. Same super skinny fuselage, and with some pilots per flight group. new exceptions, similar airfoils. The goal is to make o 12 minutes of working time to make a single 10 the glider that can do it all and do it well. If you have minute duration flight. the time and the curiosity the following link will show •Re-launches are allowed at any time, but keep in you many of the past and present gliders, and tell you mind that the working time clock never stops. It takes who designed them, and show you 3 views. Check out from 30sec to 1 min. to land and re-launch if you are http://www.aerodesign.de/ practiced at it. So you really only have time for maybe Well, once you have found the perfect glider, or at 3 launches for speed, 2 to 3 launches for distance and least your preferred variant of the perfect glider, all you only 2 for duration before you start eating into your on have to do is fly the tasks. Piece of cake. Yeah, right. course time or duration aloft time. Re-launches add a Ever try putting a heavily ballasted glider into a 3-5 whole different dimension to the strategy of the game. second straight down dive, pull to near level, and fly I’ll ask you to just ponder the possibilities while I get 4 perfectly timed and perfectly straight legs of an F3B on with the article. speed run? Well I have, and I am here to tell you there Sounds easy right? What so hard about speed, distance is no perfectly timed or perfectly straight speed run. and duration? Especially if you are going to let me It’s kind of like that old story of the hiker that insisted launch over and over.... on wearing running shoes for bear protection...don’t The catch is that one round of flying consists of one gotta outrun the bear, you only gotta outrun the other flight each of the 3 tasks. So, if you chose glider A meals, I mean people. So, its not that you have to be for round 1, then you must use glider A for each task perfect, you just have to be better than the other guys of that round. If you crash glider A, you may not use on the field that day. At last year’s finals, Aaron Valdes Below: F3B Team Selec- glider B for the remaining tasks. You must fix glider A put to good use his days of commandeering the flying tion at Muncie Indiana, to complete the remaining tasks for that round. Also, Oct. 2004 field. He was consistently the fastest guy there. Then there is that Daryl guy. Daryl Perkins is so smooth, it doesn’t even look like the glider is going fast until you hear the time called out. Personally, I think time slows down for him...I hate that guy! (inside joke) Seriously though, it is the flying of these three tasks together that is the most alluring part of this class of glider competition for me. It really teaches pilot skills, glider set-up, launch technique, creative finance, and hones the already well conditioned rationalization abilities found in most if not all of us in this sport/hobby. Like golf, it is at the same time frustrating, addictive, and expensive. Practice and more practice is the only way to develop the skills and timing required to perform well executing the F3B tasks. As to the State of F3B in the US....weak in numbers strong in talent. That aforementioned DP guy won the World Championships 4 times! Oh and lets not 8 Gull Wings Continued on next page Continued from previous page forget that Joe Wurts guy. He is just amazing when southeast of Phoenix for the South West Classic. The it comes to theoretical knowledge put to practical use SWC is hosted by the Central Arizona Soaring League, in our beloved sport/hobby. His flying skills ain’t too (CASL), in a location called Schnepf Farms. Schnepf bad either – ex World Champ and all. With these two Farms offers RV or dry camping accommodations with guys alone there is enough information and invalu- a built up central shower and bathroom facilities. The able experience available to us in the ol’ U S of A, to nearest hotel accommodations are about 17 miles down prepare oneself adequately for the sport of the World’s the road to the north west. competition. What’s even better for those of us here on This year, one hundred and sixty something contestants the right coast, they are very close by, relatively speak- entered in multiple classes, including Open, 2-Meter, ing. Their proximity has had and continues to have RES, and Grey Cup. Eleven intrepid TPG members a great influence on competitive soaring for those of made the pilgrimage to Arizona this year in an attempt us so inclined. There were only 23 competitors at last to bring home the wood. year’s team selection contest held in Muncie, Indiana at I should point out that the weather in Arizona in Feb- the AMA flying field. Fully 25% of them were in my ruary is always an iffy proposition. opinion contenders for the team. That is a super high The SWC has been plagued with problems related to percentage. Now if we can only find a way to get more wind and field layout for the last two or three years. people involved nationwide... I have my hopes. Seems that they can’t control the wind, but they have In closing, for me, RC soaring is 1 part competition, 1 part camaraderie, 1 part learning, and 3 parts self expression. I love nothing more than watching the grace, efficiency, and power of a glider flying past. I love flying full sized sailplanes too, but I have never had a flight when I didn’t think to myself, “I wonder how this would look from outside the cockpit”. When my feet are firmly planted on terra firma, I can think that same thought, and then make the glider do whatever I want to see. I love RC soaring – you do too, we have that in common. See you at the field. As soon as it dries out..... The Southwest Classic made significant progress on a common sense layout for Above: Southwest Classic TPG's Excellent Adventure TPG participants take the field. Garth Warner, President home wood: Overall But it didn’t start out that way this time. This year, 3rd place team trophy; During the course of every year there are several “don’t a buddy and I started out on interstate 8 heading for Mike Smith, 3rd place Phoenix about 3:30 AM on Thursday morning, in a overall; Garth Warner, miss” sailplane contests that are held in the western 7th place overall; Arthur United States. The largest of these are events like the effort to beat the traffic. Markiewicz, 10th place Fall Soaring Festival in Visalia, the “Spring Fling” in The wind was howling in east county. We made the overall, 4th place 2 meter. Pictured elsewhere: Sacramento, the International Handlaunch Glider mandatory rest stop at the Golden Acorn and walked Keith Finkenbiner, 3rd Festival in Poway and the South West Classic in out 10 minutes later with a little more coin than we place Grey Cup Phoenix. On the first weekend in February, contestants walked in with. Always a nice start to Phoenix. The from all over the western US converge in Queen Creek wind meanwhile had increased a bunch. Driving east as we dropped down into the desert was an adventure, especially when crossing some of the higher bridges. Gull Wings Info: We ended up in Phoenix about 10:30 AM, picked up a rental motor home and headed out to Schnepf Farms. - All submissions to the editor by the On arrival at the field, the wind was still blowing hard 15th of the preceding month enough to discourage us from putting up our EZ-ups. - Classified entries are free for all Nevertheless, we marked off a 40 ft square for team members TPG and watched a few other early arrivals attempt to fly in the wind. The wind never quit all day. The Continued on next page March 2005 9 Continued from previous page forecast was calling for rain Friday night into Saturday morning with a storm coming up from Baja. Things were definitely not looking good. Friday morning dawned overcast, cool and no wind for about the first 20 minutes of the new day. The wind then picked up again from the southeast with gusts to 26 mph. Nei- ther one of us wanted to risk our contest ships and the only other toys we had to play with were Shockflyer 3D electrics that your couldn’t even hold on to in the wind. Over the course of the da,y more contestants showed up with a few people losing aircraft in the wind. Toward evening things calmed down to the point that we were able to get the EZ-up shelters set up. The CASL club arrived in force about midday and starting setting up the winches and tents. Saturday morning dawned partly cloudy and warm with the wind diminishing. Things were looking lots better for a sailplane contest. CASL had scheduled 4 rounds for Saturday. The first round was a 4 minute Precision Duration round followed by three rounds of add-em-up, not to exceed 10 minutes each. The rounds on Sunday started with a 5 minute Precision Duration, your last add-em-up round to make 33 minutes total, followed by an 8 minute Precision Duration round. Saturday morning most people were able to handle the 1st 4 minute round with no problems. When we got to the 10-minute rounds things got be a little challeng- ing. Like any big contest, you have to fly when you are called. Saturday started out with small cycles of off lift and sink that became more pronounced as the day went on. In some cases 10-minute air was a no-brainer. In some cases your were scraping to get 3 minutes. The cycle spread so wide in the late afternoon, (as the wind picked up again), that many top pilots had to launch into sink and land with less than 4 minutes after a quick jog to the landing circles. In any event, the add-em-up portion of the contest kept the majority of the pilots in the hunt for Sunday’s rounds. Sunday morning dawned overcast and cold with light wind from the south to start the day. CASL turned the landing area 90 degrees to avoid down wind landings. (good call). The first round of the day was a 5 minute Precision Duration which most people managed without to much drama. The second round of the day was the comple- tion of your 33 minute add-em-up from the day before. CASL scorekeepers had your target time printed on your scorecard. Here things started to separate the men Top: SWC TPG Participants Richard Gilman, Rick Shelby, from the boys. Pilots had anywhere from 3 minutes Mike Smith (daughter Carly Rose), and Cliff Hunter to 9 minutes, fifty nine seconds to make up from the Middle: SWC TPG Participants Don Van Gundy and Cliff previous day. The conditions were very cool with a Hunter Bottom: Keith Finkenbiner 3rd place Grey Cup SWC blowing 6 to 8 mph wind under a partly cloudy clearing sky. Lift was mostly light with a distressing ability Continued on next page Continued from previous page to dissipate in the wind. The lift cycle was not clearly defined and it was pretty much catch as catch can. Mostly it was fly smooth, and stay on step to ride the small buoyant areas. Anybody who circled immediately had new “friends” all over him. Can you say “target rich environment”? For the last 8 minute round, big lift was starting to develop along with big sink on a 20 to 30 minute cycle. The sky was clearing but the wind had picked up to maybe 8 to 10 mph from the south. Depend- ing on when you were called to launch, either you had targets going up and downwind, or an empty sky as everybody in front of you fell out in big sink. In most cases catching lift meant following the crowd in big air off the end of the winch line and chasing it a ridicu- Above: Paul Anderson and Arthur Markiewicz lously long distance down wind, or, if launching during View From The relax after a hard day of a sink cycle, turning immediately upwind to find the flying in Phoenix next hook. Sometimes that worked, more often it did Top not. I managed the downwind chase on the 8 minute President's Message task, specked in 3 minutes to the cloud base, and spent Garth Warner, President 5 minutes flying back upwind to set up for a landing. (My timer made a good call). Unfortunately, the pilots Grumpy Pilot Syndrome, also know as “GPS” is af- that had to launch in the sink cycle got hurt pretty bad fecting us all as the unseasonably heavy rains contin- on their time. Of course, as soon as the last contestant ues to periodically close our Poway field. As I write landed the wind dropped significantly, the sky cleared this, we have missed three consecutive monthly club up a little more and it turned into a nice day. Never contests due to rain. That would be Dec, Jan, and Feb. seems to fail. Without the South West Classic in Arizona, many of us Over all TPG won the 3rd place team award. Mike would now be in deep contest withdrawal. Smith finished 2ndin Open, (later dropped to third On a more serious note, meeting attendance has also due to a scoring error), I finished 7th in Open. Arthur fallen dramatically in the last few months. Out last Markiewicz finished 10th in Open and 4th in 2M. meeting in Feb was advertised as a swap meet. This is Keith Finkenbiner finished 3rd in Gray Cup. For any usually the largest turnout of the year. This time we one who is interested, the scoring can be reviewed on only had about seventeen people show up. Our pro- the CASL website or at www.rcsoaring.com. Over all gram director is chomping at the bit to schedule some this was not a bad showing for our club. As is standard big name speakers, but to do that we need a bigger for a major contest, the host club sold raffle tickets turnout at the meetings. There has been some discus- and had a super raffle give away after the contest. New sion that our electronic newsletter is not being read by radios, kits, and accessories were won by a variety of the majority of the membership. What about it? As a people including a few lucky individuals in our club. test, if you are reading this, please drop me an e-mail at For anyone contemplating entering a contest of this size [email protected] lets see how many people are paying I would encourage you to do so. It is as much a social attention. In that same vein, keep in mind that this event as it is a contest. You get to rub elbows with all is your club. Participation at the meetings is a social the pilots in the western US. You get to see all of the event as well as a chance for you to ask questions, get latest hardware on the market, and you even get a t- help, and/or complain. Please plan to take the time to shirt that proclaims that you were there. attend our next meeting coming up on Tuesday March The only thing that I would caution you on is to bring 8th at the Aerospace Museum. The meeting starts at your own bottle opener. Mine got way over worked. 7:00 PM and runs until 9:00 PM. Enter through the You know who you are... back parking lot and walk up the stairs. Please note that membership renewal has been slower than normal this year. I’m sure the rain has had a lot to do with this. To further encourage timely renewal the gate combination on the Poway field will be changed in March. We will contact members with the exact date March 2005 11 Continued on next page Continued from previous page and the new combination when it is changed. Constricted As we move into March we are still having some problems finding volunteers to help with our train- Field Layout ing program for both thermal and slope. In the past, we have run this on a volunteer basis when the time Adjustments changes and the days get longer. As no one has stepped Garth Warner, President forward at this point I have removed any reference to training from our website. With the loss of our old landing area, (North side of I would be happy to help anyone at the field when the East/West field road), the remaining open space I happen to be there, but my schedule is irregular to has been getting tight. This has affected both the the point that I cannot keep a regular attendance. If glider folks and the sport electric flyers. In and effort anyone out there is willing to help train new pilots on to organize this space more effectively and with safety the Poway field or on the cliff please speak up. Remem- in mind, the following changes have been made at the ber we all had to learn at one point and we want new Poway field. members, just starting out, to have a quality experience. 1. The Pit carpets have been pulled back into what was If you are on the field or the cliff and see a new member the first row of parking. We ask that all pilots observe struggling, I am asking you as a member to please take this as the new pit area and avoid setting up airplanes the time out to help with the basics. That way it is a or field boxes/tents, etc, in the grass North of the power win/win situation for the club and the new pilot. lines. This move provides a safe corridor to transit Please note that membership renewal has been slower between the winch lines and the landing zone without than normal this year. I’m sure the rain has had a lot to having to step around, (or on), planes and gear lying do with this. To further encourage timely renewal, the on the field. When you visit the field, please encourage gate combination on the Poway field will be changed in other to follow this setup. March. We will contact members with the exact date 2. We respectfully request that sport electric flyers and the new combination when it is changed. Better launch & land wheeled aircraft along the East/West yet, come to the March meeting and pick it up there. road bordering the new planted area, (old landing We would like to see your face. zone). Please keep your airborne aircraft north of the winch/landing corridor to avoid any conflicts with the winch launch corridor or glider landing area Please do Below: The winter rain not fly electric aircraft over the Pit/Parking area, Horse is not just affecting the Corrals, or private homes to the East or West at any Torrey Pines Gulls as shown by this picture of time. Sport electric flyers can also hand launch or land the CVRC Soaring Club on the Southeast side of the parking area subject to the field in Visalia, CA on absence of vehicles parked in this area. If you fly on the Jan 9th, 2005. Notice the large lake to the left South side please keep your aircraft south of the glider of the launching area. winch and glider landing corridors. Please do not fly electric aircraft over the Pit/Parking areas or private homes to the East or West at any time. 3. In all instances, please keep pilots and visitors out of the planted areas. This is a cash crop for somebody. With the loss of the San Marcos field fresh in our minds, we do not want to risk losing this field as well. 4. The gate off Garden Road MUST REMAIN CLOSED AND LOCKED AT ALL TIMES. If you are a member, you have the combination. It is your field you are protecting by making sure that unauthor- ized/uninsured flyers and spill over cars from Garden Road Park do not have access into this area. All authorized member should have his or her AMA card and club membership card in possession when on the field.

12 Gull Wings The Torrey Pines Gulls

in co-sponsorship with

Airtronics

invite you to attend the

International Hand Launch Glider Festival 2005

June 4 and 5

TPG Poway Flight Center - West Garden Road, Poway, California

(15 miles north-northeast of San Diego) Ten Rounds of Competition -- Three Fly-Off Rounds for Open Championship Awards through 10th place -- Open Class; 3rd place -- Junior & Eagle Class Pilot Check-in: 7:00 a.m. Pilots Meeting: 8:30 a.m. First Round - 9:00 a.m. Entry Fee: $50; Junior Class (15 and under) - $25 No Entry Fee Refunds Lunch provided to pilots on Saturday and Sunday Pizza Party Saturday evening at Round Table Pizza -- Poway $10 per person

Lodging: LaQuinta− 858-484-88OO / Ramada− 858-748-7311 / Country Inn−858-748-6320 RV Parking at field - no hook ups CD: Don Richmond - (619) 988-1710 or e-mail - [email protected]

Entry limited to 90 Pilots - Entries must be postmarked no earlier than APRIL 1

Please complete the following information, together with Ron Scharck your check made payable to TPG, and return to 13520 Evening Cr. Dr. N Suite 160 Entries must be postmarked APRIL 1 or later San Diego, CA 92128 ———————— Name: ______(858) 668-2804 Ext. 122 Address: ______City: ______State: ______Zip: ______Phone: (_____) ______AMA #:______E-mail: ______Entry Fee ($50/$25) ______T-Shirts ($15 x ____) ______Class: Open ( ) Junior (_) Eagle ( _) Age: ____ Polo Shirts ($30 x ____) ______Frequency: 1st _____ 2nd _____ 3rd _____ Pizza Party ($10 x ____) ______Tee-Shirts: M____ L____ XL____ XXL____ Total Enclosed $ ______Polo Shirts: M____ L____ XL_____XXL_____ ��

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�� 1 10 Unlimited Total time – Three minute time limit per flight. Ten second penalty per throw after the first four throws. 2 8 Unlimited Four longest flights - two minute max time per flight

3 8 Unlimited Total time - two minute max time per flight. Ten second penalty for each throw after four throws 4 10 Unlimited Three longest flights - Three minute max time per flight. Ten second penalty for each throw after three throws 5 10 Unlimited A two, three, and four minute flight (any order). Ten second penalty for each throw after three throws 6 10 Unlimited Three longest flights - three minute max time per flight

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�� 7 10 Unlimited The most number of flights in the following sequence: :15; :30; :45; 1:00, 1:15, 1:30, 1:45: 2:00 8 10 Unlimited Five longest flights - two minute max time per flight. Ten second penalty for each throw after five throws. 9 10 Unlimited Three longest flights - three minute max time per flight. Ten second penalty for each throw after three throws. 10 10 Unlimited A one, two, three and four minute flight (any order).

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�� 11 10 Unlimited Five longest flights, two minute max time per flight. Twenty second penalty for each throw after five throws. 12 10 Unlimited Three longest flights, three minute max time per flight. Thirty second penalty for each throw after three throws. 13 10 4 A one, two, three and four minute flight (any order). ��

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�� Al Bendett � �� 5728 Honors Drive �� Diego, CA 92122� �

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16 Gull Wings