Table of contents:
The original postscript version of the newsletter is available here.
Annual party and elections: The club is planning to hold its annual party sometime in early February 2001, so keep that month free! At the party, we will introduce our new board of directors and award the club trophies. The last page of this newsletter contains a form that you can use to nominate club members for a board position or for a club trophy. Please send your nominations to Phil Gaisford by January 13.
New members: Oona Aldrich joined the club on September 30. She writes, "I live in Shaker Village, Harvard, with three dogs, two birds, ten fish, two frogs, and six chickens. I am a firefighter, Shiatsu therapist, and interpreter at Fruitlands Museum, and I work with horses. Off and on for the last ten years I have been racing modern and vintage motorcycle sidecars across the United States and Canada. I am still recovering from a street luge crash were I broke my femur three times and six other bones. I fully enjoy life, and smile and laugh a lot. I am an avid bird watcher and have always wanted to learn to fly. I heard about gliding at the fire station, since a few of our guys have done it in Germany and Vermont. I hunted around airports until I found MITSA. It was love at first sight! Now I'm thinking about selling some of my race bikes. I am glad to be part of the club."
Steve Moysey rejoined the club in early December.
New certificates: Bob Hunt earned his private pilot certificate on November 4 at Ridge Soaring in Julian, Pennsylvania (the Knauff and Grove soaring operation there). Bob says, "I am indebted to the instructors at MITSA for getting me off to a good start."
Fred Looft earned his private pilot certificate on November 12. Instructor Mike Baxa reports that examiner Wally Moran considered Fred was so well prepared for his oral portion that he was given an abbreviated oral exam, something Wally rarely does. Wally was equally pleased with the flight portion. He had high praise for the MITSA instructor pool in their preparation of this pilot. This was Fred's fourth attempt to schedule the exam, since the previous three exams were canceled due to bad weather.
New badges: Phil Rossoni and Steve Waitekaitis have earned the SSA bronze badge. The bronze badge indicates cross-country readiness and it is the culmination of the A, B, and C badge program. Both are now positioned to begin working towards their silver badge. Bernie Loraditch completed the classroom and written test portions of the bronze badge requirements. Finally, Matt Tadry, a MITSA Junior, recently earned his C badge and is working toward his bronze badge.
New solos: Bill Dietrich went solo again on November 19 after many years away from the sport. We hear he greased all his landings! Paul Frere soloed on December 3, making him the third MITSA Junior to solo since the inception of the program.
Engagements: Now we know why Jim Emken owns a two-place glider: he became engaged last month to Laurie Pilla of Newton. "We have not been up flying together yet, but plan to do so in the spring."
Soaring lectures: Bob Fletcher is holding a series of soaring lectures in Northborough just off Interstate 290 across from the Solomon Pond Mall. The talks are currently scheduled for 12/16, 1/6, 1/20, and 2/10 from 6-8 p.m. Contact Bob for more information at fletcher@ultranet.com.
Winter operations: MITSA policy is that we do not launch with snow and ice on the ground. In clear conditions, winter operations from the hard runway are possible. Aircraft should not be staged on the runway center line, since this forces powered aircraft to fly over the staged glider. When using runway 34, stage with the main wheel in the white box marked on the tarmac. Brief the wing runner to assist with steering onto the runway center line to ensure that you remain on the paved area during the ground run.
MITSA Juniors: The MITSA Juniors are looking for a few good kids. We have two openings in the MITSA Juniors program, and before we go advertising that fact outside the club, we'd like to ask the membership if they know of a 14-18 year old who would like to learn about aviation, and, in particular, how to fly gliders.
As you know, the intent of the program is to get kids interested in flying by offering them a work-for-lessons program with MITSA. The program requires that they work at the field on weekends helping with ground handling, launching, and retrieving the club ships, and in return they get lessons with our instructors. So if you have a relative who wants to learn to fly, or know of a neighborhood kid who has been drooling on your glider, then you have a chance to be a hero. Have them get in touch with Ray or Matt Tadry at (978) 422-8082, and they will take care of the rest.
Glider for sale: Roy Bourgeois is selling his ASW-17 for $18,500. Roy says, "This sailplane was previously owned by Karl Striedick and has been with the current owner since 1983. The ship can be flown in either 20-meter or 15-meter configurations. In its full 20-meter span, it took the world out-and-return record and was the first glider ever to fly 1,000 miles. In 15-meter mode, it won the second 15-meter National Championship. The aircraft is easy to fly by relatively low-time pilots and maintains an honest 48:1 glide ratio and remarkable climb performance. The ship is currently located at Franconia, New Hampshire, where it is maintained in good solid flying condition and is flown regularly." Contact Roy for more information at (508) 856-7216 (home), (508) 798-8801 (office), or (978) 859-2681 (voice mail).
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
November 2, 2000
Directors present: Bruce Easom, Phil Gaisford, and Peter Vickery. Since only three people showed up, there was no quorum.
We discussed the results of the survey Peter conducted on the position of duty officer. The consensus of the membership seems to be that that the DO position should stay, and no changes were proposed.
We asked Steve to give us have a financial report. Since we are entering the winter period, we asked him to include an estimate of current and expected liabilities, and the likelihood of our being able to meet them.
It is time to identify candidates for next year's board of directors. Any board member thinking of retiring, should start looking for a replacement. We'd like to see elections conducted so that the new board can start work sometime in January 2001.
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
December 7, 2000
Directors present: Bruce Easom, Jim Emken, Phil Gaisford, Steve Glow, Walt Hollister, Carl Johnson, and Peter Vickery.
Elections: New elections for members of the board are scheduled for January 2001. The president polled the present members about their willingness to stand for reelection. Those not intending to run for reelection were asked to propose other members who might be willing to serve if nominated and elected. The president will contact those members to verify their willingness. He will also request the general membership to reply to him if any member wishes to run for any office.
Finances: Steve Glow reported on the current balance in the bank. There still has been no billing from the airport manager for fuel for the season. Peter Vickery has discussed his proposal with 3B3 owners to have them paid by tow altitude or retrieve distance so that the operational record can be used directly for billing. Apparently 3B3 is happy with the status quo where MITSA pays the insurance on the Citabria in return for occasional towing during periods of high demand as needed. Peter was instructed to close with 3B3 over any balance due and the plan for future billings.
Operations: Peter Vickery presented his detailed, four-page, up-to-the-minute, statistical report, complete with color graphs and four-year trends on all operations including tows, tow altitudes, flight duration by glider, and cash flow from operations. November showed a total of 58 glider cycles and 21.22 glider hours. The high month for the year was July with 134 glider cycles and 68.17 glider hours. For the year to date there were 717 glider cycles and 284.27 glider hours. Both annual totals have grown each year for the past four years. He circulated a simple form for gathering additional data on tow plane operations. Bruce Easom will establish procedures and brief the tow pilots. It was requested that the golf carts be left on the battery charger at the end of the day's operations throughout the winter.
Annual meeting: Carl Johnson is again organizing the annual meeting, aiming for early February 2001.
Web site: ClubTools is now up and operating. Checks have already come to MITSA from e-commerce on the ClubTools web site. There have been Internet requests from parties who wish to join the web site. It was decided that those should be forwarded to the membership director for response by email.
Juniors: Phil Gaisford reported on the Juniors program in the absence of Ray Tadry. There are now two slots free for new juniors. Ray would like to give priority to member-sponsored candidates where possible. John Wren has offered the use of the gear needed to calibrate barographs if the Juniors want to utilize it and calibrate barographs as an income source.
Talks with GBSC: Phil Gaisford reported that the proposal to coordinate towing from a single grid during periods of high demand is still on the table, but unresolved. Action on the proposal for a short paved takeoff strip has been tabled until spring. The cost is expected to be in the $6,000-7,000 range.
For some people, a soaring flight isn't worth remembering unless it covers an enormous distance or places them in imminent danger. Perhaps it is the fact that this summer's soaring conditions were so poor, or maybe it is because of my age or the limitations of my piloting skills, but I've derived enormous pleasure from two flights this fall that have never taken me out of gliding range of the home field or placed anyone in jeopardy.
November 12
My niece Wynne, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, has come to Boston to attend a conference. She has never been in a glider or light plane before but seems eager to fly with me. Sunday morning is brilliantly clear and chilly. Her husband, Don, decides to accompany us to watch and work on his crossword puzzle. When we arrive at Sterling, Andrew, one of my partners, is getting ready to rig our Pegasus (FH). They watch us put it together with some fascination. Since I've thought to call a day or two ahead, there is a Blanik waiting for us.
Andrew takes off ahead of us in FH. I do a ground briefing, and Karl Krueger helps strap Wynne into the front seat of 8BB. She is not very tall, and the 182's wings appear above her head on the canopy, not in their usual spot, coming out of the passenger's ears. The tow to 3,000 feet demonstrates that it is a smooth day with wonderful visibility. A dark band of airborne junk clearly marks an inversion at 3,000 feet. The Boston skyline glistens to the east. Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire is clearly visible in the northwest and beyond it I can make out the shape of Mount Ascutney near Springfield, Vermont. I ask if my passenger if she is comfortable. She responds, "Yes, it's beautiful," and I can hear the smile in her voice. We encounter a bit of smooth, weak lift north of the airport. I tentatively roll into a gentle right turn, asking her to let me know if she's at all uncomfortable. Her reply is chirpy. I spot Andrew to the southwest of us. He, too, is circling. I've increased the bank to 30 degrees and slowed to 38 knots on the air speed indicator to make our circle small. We're actually showing a whole knot up, out-climbing the Pegasus. A dark streak crosses the top of my field of vision. As I lift my head to look, a turkey vulture puts on the brakes, splaying his feather at the tips, and pulls up not twenty feet above the canopy. I announce his presence, but he decides that he is wasting his time on a weak bubble, quickly changes to cruise configuration, and moves on. "Come on, Andrew," I say without a radio on board, "Join us. We've got better lift here."
A minute or two go by. The lift weakens to mostly zero sink, and FH joins us, half a circle away at just about the same altitude. The aerial ballet begins, winged waltz partners dancing on invisible legs. The beauty of the moment isn't lost on Wynne. We're actually beginning to descend slowly as the lift dies out, but the sound of pleasure from up front is unmistakable. Down nearly to pattern height, Andrew breaks off to land. I loiter for a few more turns to make for comfortable separation in the pattern and then follow. We watch as the beautiful glass bird lands long. We touch down and pull over near the T-hangars, where I help my grinning passenger out.
We hang around the field for the afternoon. I help with the usual launch and retrieve chores, and she mingles with the gang, especially Andrew and Karl. We're all going to go to dinner at Barber's Crossing. She tells me that she has enjoyed getting an anthropological view of a new subculture: glider pilots. About 4:00 p.m., Richard Gammon walks by preparing to fly his Merlin. I introduce him to Wynne and ask if he'd like a passenger. He says he'll be ready to take her as soon as he brings back some auto gas to fill his tanks. They take off just in time to have an aerial view of the sunset. Beer, nine dollar lobsters, and good fellowship follow their landing. On the way home in my car, after she has repeated how much she has enjoyed her flights, I suggest she start flying lessons when she gets home. She answers that she just might.
November 18
I've been watching the weekend forecasts and the weather maps for several days. Saturday looks best to me. At 8:00 a.m. the soundings predict very unstable air with cloud bases at about 4,600 feet. The winds aloft are ripping. At 3,000 feet it is blowing 30 knots out of the west. Two years ago, Joe Kwasnik and I were able to thermal up to wave at Sterling on a rather similar day. We went to 8,500 feet in a Blanik, Joe's first wave flight, where he learned that in wave you can trim up and then steer by leaning. As I head out Route 2 at 9:30 a.m., the cumulus clouds are already beginning to pop. A half hour later they're beginning to form east-west streets.
There is a stiff, cold breeze on the field, mostly across runway 34, with some sharp gusts. Bob Salvo is rigging his Genesis (RS), Phil Gaisford is putting his Discus (PG) together, Joe Kwasnik already has the Russia ready to go, and Jim Tsillas is preparing to fly his Pik. Andrew Watson helps me rig our Pegasus (FH). I tell him that I'll be happy to bring it back by 2:30 p.m. so that he too can get a flight. He seems pleased with the idea. The streets are still to the north of the field, so I decide to eat my lunch before going off. The Russia, PG, and some club ships depart.
I load the usual gear into the cockpit: a map, a Camelback full of water, a pocket GPS that my kids got for my birthday, and a pee bag. The cockpit seems cramped now that I'm wearing a heavy sweater under my winter parka. It is about 1:00 p.m. when I reach the front of the grid. The Pegasus has only a CG tow hook and very little low-speed rudder authority, so takeoff in the left cross wind requires full right rudder to start, and back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheel pinned until lift off. The tow is choppy down low, but uneventful. I release in what turns out to be broken up lift and struggle to gain 500 feet with the averager saying two knots or less. On the radio I hear several of the earlier launchers announce their entry into the pattern. I've now drifted a couple miles southeast of the field to the other side of Wachusett Reservoir. Looking to the northwest, I see the shadows of a street that has formed running westward, and I decide to dash for the first cloud in it about four miles away.
The cloud marks a five knotter that takes me to its base at 5,500 feet in under 10 minutes. Let's run this street to the west, maybe out to Gardner, and then decide. I'm dead into the wind pushing the nose down just far enough to keep out of the clouds at 85 to 90 knots. A mile or two ahead, there is a break in the street. The shadows on the ground confirm it. The lift strengthens as I approach the break. A single word springs to mind, "Wave." I reach the hole and do a pull-up of 300 feet. At the top the air speed indicator says 40 knots, the variometer indicates better than five knots, and it is dead smooth and utterly silent. Textbook thermal-to-wave transition! Looking down through the hole, I see that I'm moving slowly upwind over the ground. I crab to the north and begin sliding along the wave front, watching the white windward face of the cloud, now somewhat off to my right.
To this point, I've not seen any other gliders aloft. I've heard some announce their patterns returning to the field. I presume that PG is well on his way to Canada sliding along the wave. Looking out at the billowing white ridge beside me, I press the push-to-talk on the stick. "Sterling gliders from Foxtrot Hotel: I've contacted wave and am passing through 6,500 feet at five knots. You can thermal to it under the street." Andrew's voice crackles back from his hand held, "Keep it up as long as you like. I'm going to take up the club 1-34." At 7,500 feet I make another radio call. This time I think to take the little GPS out of the pocket and give my distance and bearing from Sterling hoping others will soon join in the fun. Okay, now it is time to explore.
I have a theory about these waves in central Massachusetts. They come only in the fall with strong winds out of the west. There aren't any big mountains here, but there are lots of north to south ridges and valleys, starting in the Berkshires. I suspect that there is a resonance where the vertical oscillations of the air caused by the interplay between buoyancy and gravity are reinforced by the contour of the terrain below. The result should be a series of north-south bands of lift running like a ladder most of the way across the state, the rungs separated by about five miles. If, as seemed the case, there is also a wedge of unstable cold air pushing its way east at the time, the sink between the bands should be mild, perhaps even non-existent.
I let myself drift. At 8,000 feet I'm still climbing slowly and then sinking at perhaps one knot. I turn, and find much the same for a couple of minutes. Then the lift picks up again to three knots. I'm about five miles downwind of where I broke into the first band, and I've now entered a second. At 8,500 feet the canopy starts to frost up from breath condensation. I open the fresh air intake and the canopy vent window. It is now chilly, but the sun is bright and my clothes are warm.
Resuming my climb, I see a glory on the top of a cloud east of me. The rainbow ring is clear, but my shadow is only a gray blob in its center; I'm too close for a good airline style image to form. Hmm, come to think of it, there is an awful lot of cloud down there now and just an occasional hole. I hear more radio calls for landings, including Andrew in the 1-34. I guess it has overdeveloped and covered up. I'm not going to get any company. I peer though one of the holes and see the Route 2 interchange near Fitchburg - I think. Well, I have my little GPS to tell me where home is, and the lift is still good. A braver man, a better pilot might, at this point decide that this is the day for a wave cross country. Since he is both, not to mention having a Discus, I presume that PG has done just that. I decide to stay within a small radius of the field, figuring that the worse that can happen is a landing at one of the airports, like Fitchburg, that come at about ten-mile intervals along Route 2.
I continue the test of my theory, and drift another five miles. Sure enough, there is another band of lift, this time it is five knots again. At 9,000 feet, I'm over a small hole in the undercast. There is a small lake directly below, but I have no idea what it is. I'm VFR on top now, the sun the only visual directional reference. I slide along the band, crabbing into the wind and using the GPS to adjust my ground track to stay in the best lift. At 10,000 feet, the climb rate is down to three knots, the view is breathtaking, and I'm not far from Sterling according to the GPS. Now I recall that my GPS, meant mainly for hikers, gets only about three hours on a pair of AA alkaline cells, that I've been running it at home to download an airport data base, and that I've got no spare batteries with me. "Carry on," says I.
Then it's suddenly time to use the plastic bag with the Diaper Doublers in it. I take it out of the pocket on the right side of the cockpit. Never have tried this in the winter before. First there is the parka and then the long sweater to be dealt with. I'll certainly have to undo the belts and maybe my parachute to manage this. How will the 'chute take to being wet? What will my partners say when they see me scrubbing the seat pan with Lysol? Perhaps discretion is the better part of valor in this, too. I can see a small hole in the clouds in the direction that the GPS tells me is home. I head for it into what my ground speed tells me is a 40 knot wind. I'm at 10,500 feet and still climbing at over two knots, but I'll never know how high the lift went.
I'm over the hole by a thousand feet. It is filling with wisps. The GPS says that I'm about five miles from home. I pop the huge double-paddle dive brakes full open, bank up at 60 degrees and spiral down at 65 knots. It takes two minutes or so to descend through what seems like a narrowing opening, but it feels quite a bit longer, particularly as I also have to concentrate on retaining my water ballast. Suddenly, I'm in the clear at 5,000 feet, and the familiar runway and hangers are in plain site. There is not a sunlit spot to be seen anywhere. Now it is just between me and my bladder. Even with full spoilers and 80 knots, I still have to make a couple of turns get down to pattern height at the initial point. I land and roll out a bit short of the trailer, since Jim Tsillas has his Pik sitting ready to derig at the next trailer down the runway. As I stop, Jim comes to give me my tail dolly and lend a hand pushing. I leap out of the cockpit, 'chute and all, and, barely acknowledging him, run for the nearest little clump of trees. Parka, sweater, jeans, 'chute, long johns, briefs - even here it is a bit of a chore. It has been one heck of a couple of hours, and for a little while, I've been king of a hill with an indescribably wondrous view.
Much to my surprise PG is on the ground in the trailer area. I must have missed his landing calls. It is dark everywhere, but looking up at the solid overcast, we can see a series of banded lenticular clouds, the ladder of lift. Phil decides to give it another go, taking a high tow, but never makes solid contact with the wave. Karl Krueger goes up with Chris Gagnon, one of our MITSA Juniors, in a Blanik. Experience pays. They connect and go to 9,500 feet! What a motivator for a young student! I show off my little GPS off to Steve Moysey, who has been the duty officer for the day. Ten seconds after I switch it back on, the low battery warning appears on the display. Karl lands, Phil lands, the sun sets, we put all of the toys away and go out to dinner. Driving back home east on Route 2 at 8:00 p.m., I look up and see the rungs of the wave ladder, illuminated by the lights of the towns and city, continuing all the way back to Boston. I awake at 3:00 a.m. feeling euphoric. I'm looking down at the fields of cumulus from 10,000 feet again. I can see the clouds whirl around me as I spiral down through the shrinking hole and then the welcome site of home right where my "instruments" say it should be.
MITSA is happy to announce the introduction of a new service to our members. You may have noticed a new navigation bar on the MITSA web site. This navigation bar links to several pages on ClubTools, a Boston-based company that provides web services to clubs with college affiliations. Some of these services are:
The major feature ClubTools provides is the ability for MITSA to accept credit cards or online cash payments over the Internet. This, we hope, will give members more flexibility, and the convenience of paying from home.
No longer will you always need to bring a check or cash to the field. In some cases you may even want to take that extra tow or go another thousand feet higher because you know you will be able to pay when you get home. No longer will the DO have to chase down all pilots and students at the end of the day.
In fact, you will have several choices:
You will be receiving an email from ClubTools with your user ID number and a password to log on to the MITSA ClubTools online account. If you do not receive this email, we may not have a current email address for you. If this is the case, please contact John Wren or Carl Johnson and we will add you to the ClubTools directory list. If you have any other questions about ClubTools, please check the FAQ at
Special thanks to John Wren, who took the lead in finding and evaluating ClubTools.
Please note: ClubTools is a company separate from MITSA. You are responsible for entering your own personal information into their web site. Any questions regarding the protection of your online personal information and the safekeeping of your credit card number should be directed to them. If you prefer not to use the ClubTools services, please email cjohnson@alum.mit.edu and we will remove your email address from the list.
| Date | D.O. | Instructor | AM Tow | PM Tow |
| 12/31 | Cary | Bourgeois | Poduje | Easom |
| 1/06 | E. Frere | Gaisford | Clark | Hollister |
| 1/07 | Gold | Johnson | Easom | Friedman |
| 1/13 | Kwasnik | Krueger | Gammon | Pugh |
| 1/14 | Kaynor | Newman | Fletcher | Clark |
| 1/20 | Looft | Wren | Hollister | Friedman |
| 1/21 | Loraditch | Rosenberg | Poduje | Fletcher |
| 1/27 | MacMillan | Baxa | Gammon | Pugh |
| 1/28 | Martineau | Bourgeois | Clark | Hollister |
| 2/03 | Moysey | Gaisford | Gammon | Friedman |
| 2/04 | Nelson | Johnson | Poduje | Clark |
| 2/10 | Nordmann | Newman | Fletcher | Easom |
| 2/11 | Ozbas | Rosenberg | Hollister | Fletcher |
| 2/17 | Rossoni | Wren | Gammon | Pugh |
| 2/18 | Ruel | Krueger | Poduje | Pugh |
| 2/24 | Timpson | Baxa | Gammon | Friedman |
| 2/25 | Tsillas | Bourgeois | Easom | Hollister |
| 3/03 | Vickery | Gaisford | Gammon | Clark |
| 3/04 | Waitekaitis | Johnson | Fletcher | Easom |
| 3/10 | Wong | Krueger | Pugh | Fletcher |
| 3/11 | Ballou | Newman | Poduje | Friedman |
| 3/17 | Brine | Wren | Clark | Hollister |
| 3/18 | Blieden | Rosenberg | Easom | Pugh |
| 3/24 | Cary | Baxa | Gammon | Friedman |
| 3/25 | Detrich | Bourgeois | Poduje | Clark |
| 3/31 | E. Frere | Johnson | Gammon | Easom |
| 4/01 | Gold | Krueger | Hollister | Pugh |
The members listed below have agreed to run for the indicated positions on the MITSA board of directors. Feel free to nominate yourself or any number of other club members for board positions. Each person you nominate for a position must sign your nomination form to indicate that they agree to run for the position. You must also sign your form. Your nomination form must be returned to Phil Gaisford, 1A Corcoran Rd, Billerica, MA 01821 on or before January 13, 2001.
Your name: ________________
Your signature: ________________
MITSA has a number trophies that are awarded annually in recognition of soaring achievements during the preceding year. Of course, before there can be any awards, we must first have the nominations. This year, the board of directors has decided to solicit nominations from the membership. Here are the awards and categories to which they apply:
If you think you know a candidate for any of the above awards -- even if you think you are a candidate -- please let us know. Imaginative use of the category descriptions is encouraged, but do make it clear for what you are nominating someone.
The deadline for receiving nominations is January 13. After that date the board of directors will consider the nominations received and determine the winners. The awards will be made at the next annual party.
Club email address: mitsa@deas.harvard.edu
Club web page: http://www.mitsa.org
For more information about MITSA, you can contact the club by email, visit our web page, or contact Joe Kwasnik, our director of membership listed above.
The Leading Edge is the newsletter of the MIT Soaring Association, Inc. The newsletter is edited by Mark Tuttle, and published every other month (more frequently during the soaring season). The submission deadline is the first of each month. Please send any inquiries or material for publication to Mark Tuttle, 8 Melanie Lane, Arlington, MA 02474; tuttle@crl.dec.com.