Table of contents:
The original postscript version of the newsletter is available here.New instructors: Carl Johnson and Phil Gaisford have earned their instructor certificates. Carl is already instructing for the club, and Phil will probably be instructing soon. Congratulations, Carl and Phil!
National competitions: Doug Jacobs, Phil Gaisford, and Bob Fletcher flew in the Nationals in Uvalde, Texas. Doug won the contest! Guenther Eichhorn flew his Pitts in the International Aerobatics Championships in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Guenther placed third in the advanced category!
New members: Chris Craig joined the club at the very end of June. Before I had the chance to meet Chris at the field, I corresponded quite a bit with Chris via his father, Peter Craig, since Peter is the member of the family with the email account. Peter says, "Chris is interested in a wide variety of things such as building model airplanes and, more recently, model boats. He enjoys boating, fishing, and riding his mountain bike. He also likes drawing and cooking. (He'll be taking a week-long cooking class at the local high school the first week of August). He is also interested in weather and geography, and of course, he likes to fly! His only flight experience prior to joining MITSA was an opportunity to take the controls of a Cessna this last April at Sun n' Fun in Lakeland, Florida. Chris is planning on becoming a commercial pilot. Chris' dad (me) got him involved with MITSA as a way to get exposure and experience with aviation. I heard about MITSA through Ian Clark with whom I work."
John Farrington is a 1-34 pilot who may have plans to put some time on our under-utilized 1-34. John is a commercial pilot who flies with GBSC and has joined MITSA as our first member in the new associate membership class. John retired in July after 35 years with AT&T, and has three children and three grandchildren after 35 years of marriage. John says, "At 15, I started sneaking away from the farm to take lessons in a J-3 at Tewksbury International (it's now a par three golf course with attached old age housing), but Cesar Chavez had not unionized New England truck farms, and half an hour a month was all I could afford. After six hours, it was off to the University of Massachusetts. Once in dear old Amherst, I found out that psychiatry majors would pay good money to find out why an otherwise seemingly sane individual would jump out of a good aircraft, so on Friday I would talk with them for 45 minutes and then go jump with the school club on Saturday. In the early 70's, I happened on the glider port in Salem, and stayed there until it also turned into a golf course. (Not to worry, following the progression of 3-30-300, Sterling should have till the year 2298 before it starts growing greens.) I became half-owner in a SGS 1-34 in 1978, and sold it a year before Salem closed down. While I had a few distance flights out of Salem, I could never afford to land out, I had to put the ship away at 4 p.m. and get to an evening job, so there is no Silver in my past. While a few people earned diamonds in our ship at North Conway, I seldom made it above the ridge top. Another soaring location that bit the dust. Thanks to a job with a large company, I have been privileged to close some of the best soaring sites in the country: Ovida, Florida; Fremont, California; Black Forest, Colorado; and Lagoon, California, have all bitten the dust soon after a visit by me. Many have survived, however: Calistoga, California; The New Lagoon, California; Tehachapi and California City, California; Turf and Maricopa, Arizona; Minden, Nevada; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Marysville, Ohio; and the new Soaring Seminoles west of Dizzy World have all made it after one or more of my visits."
Phil Rossoni joined the club during August. "I first started soaring lessons with Captain Eli's up in Pepperell. Then when they moved to Sterling and ditched the commercial operation, I had to choose which club to join. I will need to overcome an airsickness problem and hope to do my training early in the morning when possible. I have my private pilot rating and have been current for the better part of the past 15 years. I work at GTE Laboratories in Waltham primarily in wireless network engineering. I love to travel and have visited GTE Networks nationwide and in the Dominican Republic, British Columbia, and Argentina. I play cello in the Lincoln Sudbury Civic Orchestra."
Peter Vickery joined at the very end of August with a PPL from the UK. Peter has lived in London, Los Angeles, New York, St. Thomas, and Nassau through various career changes, and currently runs a small email/intranet company providing services to specific companies (not to the general public). Peter says, "I first learned to fly as an Air Cadet in England, longer ago than I care to think about, gaining the basic A gliding certificate, and did some air experience flying in Chipmunks and Tiger Moths. I eventually found the money to take powered flying lessons at Biggin Hill Kent with the Surrey & Kent flying club. I have a couple hundred hours as a VFR pilot, having flown the Beagle Pup, Cessna 172, Cherokee 140 and 180, and Robin DR200 and DR400. I'm a Charlton Athletic supporter. For those not familiar with them, they are the greatest soccer team in the Premier Division of the English soccer league. For those that are familiar with them, say nothing the checks are in the mail! I'm just about to start doing some off-roading with a Land Rover club that is now based in Vermont, which should be fun for the family, especially during the winter and on those days when the birds are walking. I like drinking beer, laughing, flying, and my family, not necessarily in that order -- certainly flying always comes before drinking beer!"
Tow pilots: Ian Clark needs more timely information about changes in the status of the tow planes. Please note the tach time and any items needing attention and the urgency of that attention, and send this information to Ian each time you tow. Ian can be reached at iclark@ctihelix.com, (617) 924-7637 (phone), and (617) 926-9066 (fax).
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
August 6, 1998
Directors present: Bruce Easom, Jim Emken, Stephen Glow, Walter Hollister, Carl Johnson, and Joe Kwasnik. Phil Gaisford and Al Gold were on vacation. Others present: John Wren and Ian Clark.
New tow plane: Ian Clark reported for the subcommittee that he and Bill Brine have examined and flown another candidate Cessna 182 in New Jersey. Ian showed a short video tape of the aircraft and led a 90-minute question and answer discussion about the plane. The 1960 aircraft is in good condition, has about 200 hours on a new engine, but has not been used as a tow plane. The radios and electronics have not been upgraded to the latest quality for instrument-flight, something which our operation does not require, and which puts the selling price within our range. Drawbacks are that it has no view to the rear other than a mirror, will need a tow hook installation at about $500, shoulder straps, and for hot weather operations, probably a larger oil cooler. A pre-sale inspection/evaluation had already been accomplished by an A&P mechanic at the field. The board approved a $500 deposit on a purchase and sale agreement. Pending the satisfactory completion of a title search, the board intends to go ahead with the purchase. An expenditure of $10,000 from the checking account was authorized. Joe Kwasnik will organize a canvas of the membership by the board to accelerate action on the bond issue. MITSA bonds are being offered for sale in $500 units (minimum of two) at either four percent annual interest, repayable after seven years, or five percent annual interest, repayable after ten years. Sign up with Steve Glow. The balance of the purchase price will come from a bank loan. The Cessna 150 will be kept in service until the 182 is on line.
Relations with GBSC: Carl Johnson will communicate details of the MITSA Associate Membership to GBSC. There was concern that some inaccurate information was in circulation. A sign-up sheet with the details spelled out should be made available. There was a suggestion that copies of the MITSA newsletter also be available as well as our balance sheet, which for a non-profit corporation, is public information.
Safety and operations: John Wren discussed several safety and operational issues. It was reiterated by the board that it is the responsibility of the chief instructor to take action in the event of safety violations. The chief instructor also has the authority to stop an operation which he considers to be unsafe. Recently there have been a number of no-shows on the part of duty officers, tow pilots, and instructors. It is the responsibility of the duty officer to insure that the tow pilots and instructor are aware of their weekend assignments. It is the individual's responsibility to keep his commitment. Several corrective measures were discussed, and will be acted upon at the next meeting after discussion with the operations officer.
Membership: Joe Kwasnik reported there is a preliminary design of a logo for the advertising posters, T-shirts, and SOAR MITSA bumper stickers. He is planning to install a dedicated phone line and answering machine in his home for calls from potential new members.
Youth program: There was a proposal to use the winter months to plan a youth program that would introduce teenagers to soaring starting next summer. Such programs have been effective at other locations. Connections with Scouting or Civil Air Patrol are to be considered.
| Date | DO | Instructor | AM Tow | PM Tow |
| 8/29 | Sovis | Baxa | Fletcher | Proops |
| 8/30 | Watson | Krueger | Poduje | Clark |
| 9/5 | N/A | Bourgeois? | Dershowitz | Easom |
| 9/6 | Gaisford | Rosenberg | Fletcher | Gammon |
| 9/7 | Nordman | Baxa | Hollister | Easom |
| 9/12 | Gold | Krueger | Friedman | Proops |
| 9/13 | Koepper | Rosenberg | Poduje | Clark |
| 9/19 | Blieden | Johnson | Dershowitz | Easom |
| 9/20 | Brine | Wren | Fletcher | Friedman |
| 9/26 | Wong | Baxa | Gamon | Hollister |
| 9/27 | Loraditch | Krueger | Poduje | Easom |
| 10/3 | Kwasnik | Bourgeois? | Proops | Clark |
| 10/4 | MacMillan | Wren | Dershowitz | Easom |
I am happy to be able to inform you that MITSA has completed the purchase of a new tow plane. A Cessna 182 was purchased in New Jersey and is currently undergoing conversion to a tow plane at Yankee Aviation in Plymouth. The board expects the quality of the launch service to improve greatly once the 182 is in full service. I should like to thank all the people who have given so freely of their time to ensure that this project has run so smoothly. In particular: Bill Brine and Ian Clark for scouting and evaluating candidate planes, Steve Glow and the rest of the Board of Directors for arranging the financing, Jim Emken for dealing with the technical issues of the conversion, Adam Dershowitz and Richard Gammon for delivering the plane, and Adam again for taking in hand the process of checking out our tow pilots on the new plane.
Thanks are also due to our bond holders. While still yielding an interest rate competitive with savings institutions, each $1,000 of MITSA bonds will save the club many hundreds of dollars in interest charges over the period of the loan. We will be publishing the full list of bond holders shortly. If you wish to appear on this roll of honor, contact the treasurer immediately.
I have met a number of old friends this summer, including a number of formerly active club members.
Steve Moysey was at the Lawrence airport one Saturday morning, May 23. He said that after three long years, he is nearly done with his doctoral work in business management at Tufts and hopes to be returning to a normal life involving tons of aviation again soon. When I met him, he was talking to one of the instructors at the Four Star FBO, and this instructor took us into the hangar to show us a Schweizer 1-35 that the FBO's owner was rebuilding. Lying next to the 1-35 was the hull of the 1-35 that crashed in a stall-spin accident on approach to the Pepperell airport last year. The work on these gliders was quite interesting to see.
Later that same day I ran into Shaun and Cathy Keller on the Lexington bicycle path. At least I was running. The whole Keller family was out riding bicycles together on that sunny, breezy afternoon.
Boaz Ben-Zvi was in town and dropped by my lab for lunch on Thursday, June 11. I asked Boaz to write a few lines for the newsletter, and he wrote, "I joined MITSA in September, 1986, and had a wonderful time flying those old 2-33s and the 1-26 until school and family became higher priorities. About five years ago, I returned to Haifa, Israel, to work for the IBM research lab here on interesting things like real-time computing and analyzing Java programs. Last December, I left IBM and joined a friend from MIT who started a new lab here for Tandem, where we work hard on building better databases. Janna, my wife, has just finished her Masters degree at Clark University in Worcester, so for the last month I was left as a `single parent' taking care of our three kids (ages 10, 8, 4). We are making some plans on moving west in about a year, maybe to my parent company in California. This could be an opportunity to go soaring again, and take the kids, too. What I remember of MITSA more than flying are the great people I met there, so I picked up some pictures from those great days and gave them to Mark to put in the newsletter." The first of these pictures appeared at the end of the August newsletter. You can contact Boaz at boaz@alum.mit.edu.
Al Cangahuala surprised us all by showing up on the field one day in August. He is still working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and if I remember correctly, he is working on navigation software for deep space flight. He was coming to town to present his work at an aeronautics conference in Cambridge, so he took the red-eye in order to arrive in time to visit Sterling, and drove directly from Logan to Sterling. Al says he has been flying a great deal with a glider club not too far from Pasadena. He and some friends have formed a small group and have spent many weekends packing up a club glider, driving to premiere soaring sites like Tehachapi, California, and flying the life out of the glider. Al has a number of good wave stories to tell. Al also told interesting stories about his experience as a contestant on the television game show Jeopardy.
Lee Marzke was in the area in August and spent a day at the field. Lee was an instructor and tow pilot for the club, signed me off for my private certificate in gliders and started my training in airplanes, until he left for a job at an avionics company outside Philadelphia. Lee has left this company and is working as a consultant with a team of consultants that meets in New Hampshire periodically to synchronize their work, but he rarely gets a chance to stay the weekend. Lee has been instructing in airplanes down south, but hadn't flown gliders much, so he took his three launches to become current again and then flew with me in a Blanik and gave me some pointers about my back-seat flying.
As those of you who follow soaring via the Internet doubtless already know, this year's national championships were held in Uvalde, Texas. Here is a personal account of the more memorable aspects of the event.
Texas is relatively warm in August. With one exception, temperatures followed the same daily pattern, starting at about 80F at sunrise and climbing to about 100F by early afternoon. We were constantly being warned of the dangers of dehydration, and drinking sufficient water was quite a struggle. Some pilots would report drinking a gallon of water in the course of a flight. Weatherwise, we were informed that the conditions encountered during the contest period were atypical for the area--how often have we heard this at a contest? The sea breeze that normally brought moist air to the area overnight was largely absent. As a result, we had to deal more with blue thermals in the drier area. Although apparently not up to the usual standard, the soaring at Uvalde was none the less exceptionally good, with flights of 200-300 miles being the norm at average speeds of 70-80 miles per hour. Cloud bases were generally very high and on occasion exceeded 10,000 feet. We flew on 11 of the 12 days that we were in Uvalde, and a quick analysis with my GPS logger software and a spreadsheet shows a total of 3,900 kilometers and 50 hours flown, which interestingly is roughly comparable to the amount of driving required to attend the event from Massachusetts. I suppose what they call good are the sort of conditions that allowed Eric Mozer to fly 1,000 kilometers in his new Discus 2 a few days before we arrived.
Much of Texas has been affected by drought conditions this summer. Uvalde was not one of the most badly affected areas, but the arrival of gliders from all over the country effectively ended a prolonged period without rainfall. The passage of a trough caused one day to be abandoned due to widespread shower activity. We used this opportunity for an excursion to San Antonio. Isolated showers and thunderstorms remained for the rest of the contest, and the area has subsequently been subject to the attention of tropical storm Charlie, which caused severe flooding along the Rio Grande from Del Rio to Laredo.
The largely predictable course of the weather development lead to establishment of the following daily schedule. In order to avoid laboring in elevated temperatures, most people would have their gliders ready and parked beside the runway by 09:00. The pilot's meeting was at 10:00 in an air-conditioned hall in town about a mile away. My crew became addicted to the cable channel American Movie Classics, and would skip this--it was also cooler to stay at the motel. The grid (or griddle, as some crews were calling it) was formed at 12:15, and launching invariably began at 12:35. The standard class would launch first one day and the open class first on the next. With a total of 80 gliders to launch, it could be 15:00 before the last glider was airborne. There was a varied fleet of tow planes, including both a Cessna 150/180 and a Cessna 182, and agricultural planes similar in configuration to the Pawnee, but best tow plane award went to a turbine powered Saia-Marchetti--this plane would get you to 2,000 feet in under two minutes.
Tasks for the standard class came in one of two sorts. Assigned tasks in the range 220-240 miles alternated with four-hour pilot selected tasks. Since the former represent about three hours flying, you would plan on starting at about 15:30. As the PSTs were longer, a typical start time would be more like 15:00. By the time that you had derigged, handed in your electronic flight log and score card, and enjoyed an informal debriefing session at the contest HQ buffet, it would be eight o'clock and time for dinner. The organizers did a great job in arranging for varied and fun entertainments every other night.
Texas hill country lies to the north of Uvalde. There are large areas here where the outlanding options are restricted to the few airports and more numerous ranch airstrips. The remainder of the contest area is entirely flat, and much of it is agricultural and quite landable, though some areas appeared to be uninviting and somewhat remote. The "PG" team has invested in some electronic gadgets this year--a cell phone in the glider and a GPS receiver in the car--so we felt a little more comfortable when operating over the rough areas.
Your club was well represented, and for a while there were three MITSA members in the top ten. The author's performance faded, however, and both he and Bob Fletcher contrived to land out on the last day to aggravate matters further. No problems for Doug Jacobs, though, who flew very consistently throughout, and who won the last day and the contest, ably assisted by the then contest leader who also landed out on the last day. Congratulations, once again, to DJ. The gory details can be obtained by the Internet from the SSA web site and the flight logs are also available for downloading.
In summary, great organization and weather combined in Uvalde to allow a spectacular contest. Try it if you can. Next year we are off to Minden, Nevada.
Oshkosh was still a few weeks away and yet it was time to head for Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Fond du Lac (FLD) is about 15 miles south of Oshkosh. It hosts the annual International Aerobatics Championships. This year it would be also the Championships of the Americas, an FAI sanctioned international aerobatics competition. In years past, this aerobatics contest was during the week after the EAA convention at Oshkosh. This year it was a few weeks before the big EAA event. July 11 saw me take off for the long trip. Since I have only 23 gallons of fuel capacity, I have to make several stops on a trip like that. This may be a good thing too, because a Pitts S-2A is not a traveling airplane by any standard you care to apply. After two hours in the cockpit of the Pitts you are more than ready to take a break, especially on the third or fourth leg of the day. Uncomfortable is putting it mildly.
Since I expected to have to stay overnight somewhere on the way, I didn't leave very early. The first leg was the usual one for me with a fuel stop at Tri Cities airport near Binghamton, New York. When calling for weather from there I got a pleasant surprise. It looked like I would have a tailwind all the way to Fond du Lac with the wind shifting from northeasterly to easterly to southeasterly to southerly during my flight. The forecast was right on and I needed only two more fuel stops in Salem, Ohio, and Warsaw, Indiana, to get to Fond du Lac. This was the first time I made it from Sterling, Massachusetts, to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in one day. In fact, I got there by 16:00 which allowed me to go for a practice flight after some rest. This turned out to be a good start for my annual pilgrimage to FLD. Arriving a day early allowed all of Sunday for practice and I ended up having four practice flights, including one in the box at FLD. The area in which aerobatics contests take place is a square of 3,300 feet on the side. This may sound big, but when you look at it from 3,500 feet, the top of the competition airspace, it looks awfully small.
On Monday my category (Advanced) was already scheduled to fly the first flight, the Known sequence. There are five categories in power aerobatics, Basic, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited. Each category has a different sequence of figures to fly as the Known sequence. This Known sequence is the same throughout the competition year, but changes from year to year.
In the Advanced category at FLD there were 12 pilots this year. This contest is one of the biggest contests in the US and usually draws the best pilots from throughout the country. I had been flying at FLD for six years. Usually I placed in the lower part of the top third. I had never placed at this contest so far.
My Known flight didn't go very well. I ended up in ninth place out of twelve after the first flight. That wasn't a good start, but as Yogi Berra used to say, it ain't over till it's over.
Tuesday I was off flying and on judging. I judged in a few categories and assisted in others. An aerobatics contest needs lots of volunteers. When one pilot is in the air, there are about 30 people necessary on the ground to support that. It is important that everybody pitches in and helps out. Fortunately there are always lots of people around who are willing to help.
Wednesday was our next flying day, the Free program. The Free program is a sequence of maneuvers that each pilot designs individually according to his or her preferences and airplane capabilities. Certain types of figures have to be in each sequence, with the type and difficulty level of the figures increasing from Intermediate through Unlimited. The Basic Category does not fly a Free program, and Sportsman normally does not either. Only very few Sportsman pilots make use of the option to design a Free. This is mainly because the Sportsman Free has to have the same difficulty number as the Sportsman Known, which changes every year. This means that the Sportsman Free has to be re-designed every year. On the other hand the Free programs in Intermediate through Unlimited have a constant difficulty level and can remain the same over many years. My Free program flight was better than the first one and I ended up in fourth place overall after the second flight.
Not everything, however, went well on that day. On that afternoon some planes were moved around in the large hangar, and one of them poked a hole in the fabric of my lower wing. Some 3M tape fixed it, since it was only a small hole, but it was quite upsetting.
After the Advanced category was through flying, it was back to the judging line for me. It was hot out there, but fortunately I don't mind the heat. Just give me enough water and I'll be fine.
Thursday morning was the third flight for Advanced, the Unknown. This is a sequence of maneuvers that we get after we have flown the Free program. We are not allowed to practice this sequence. This very often changes the standings considerably since it is easy to make a mistake in an unfamiliar sequence. After the Unknown it was back to the judges' line again. While I was out there, somebody told me that I was in third place after the Unknown. At first I didn't really believe the rumor, since my flight didn't seem to have been that great. But it was true, I came in third place overall. This was quite exciting since, as I mentioned above, I had never placed in this contest.
Friday it was time to head back to Massachusetts. The forecast was mixed, but it sounded like I should have a tailwind all the way back. The weather gurus were correct again, and I made it back on Friday with three fuel stops just like on the way to FLD. All around, this was a successful and fun trip to a great aerobatics contest. I am looking forward to 1999 to be back at FLD.
An interruption in the pre-takeoff checklist can be the first failed link in a chain leading to an accident. I knew a very experienced and responsible Grob 103 pilot who decided to take a friend for a ride in the front seat. They were strapped in and the pilot became distracted with the passenger during his checklist review. Not uncommon, the pilot was also being rushed by the ground personnel to get launched. His final verbal command to the launch folks was, "Make sure the front canopy is latched." It was, his wasn't. At about 200 feet under tow his canopy flew open and to the right on its hinges. The pilot had the presence of mind to leave it alone and focus only on flying the aircraft. He went up to pattern altitude and released from tow, but was unable to close the canopy. Upon landing the plexiglas cracked. The pilot did the right thing in this situation.
Being rushed at the launch point was a factor as well as being distracted by the passenger. If you are ever interrupted in doing your pre-launch checklist, stop and start over. I also believe we on the ground need to be more considerate and patient with any pilot preparing to launch. I am always impressed with a pilot who refuses to be rushed just prior to takeoff. He knows he is the pilot in command and decisions rest with him. This point was driven home to me one day years ago when I was helping to launch a highly respected 747 skipper in his fiberglass machine. There were many ships waiting to get launched and I was trying to hurry him along. He was hooked up and ready to wag his rudder when he motioned for me to put the wing down. He disconnected and we pulled his glider to the side as all watched. He said he felt he was rushing through his checklist and therefore did not feel comfortable in proceeding. No one said a word, least of all me. I got the message, as did everyone else.
Gliders can be flown without a canopy. The accident records demonstrate what happens when a pilot tries to switch his focus from flying under tow to closing the canopy. If securing the canopy cannot be done easily, do not try. Taking your eyes off the tow plane and moving your arms in strange configurations, while one hand is on the stick will quickly result in your glider being out of position. This may necessitate an emergency release by you or the tow pilot. We all know we must release immediately whenever we lose sight of the tow plane. Additionally, never release an attached or dangling canopy unless you must. It could fly back and severely damage the control surfaces of the tail. It is safer to land with it dangling than to release it. The proper procedure is to leave the canopy alone while under tow and to climb above pattern altitude. Upon release from the tow plane, you should then have time to close the canopy safely. If it cannot be closed, be prepared for a moderate increase in the sink rate during landing due to the increased parasite drag. There may also be minor control adjustments necessary to counteract the lopsided canopy drag. Rule number one in aviation is always fly the aircraft first.
While on the subject of canopies, here are a few other points. Take a look at the condition of a private owner's canopy. I will wager it is clean with few scratches. The reasons for this are pride in ownership and a desire to maximize visibility. Now take a look at the canopies on the gliders of clubs everywhere. It is my view that cleaning the canopies of club gliders with water and a soft rag should be part of the every morning preflight preparation. Also, there is an excellent product called Micro-mesh (about $20 for the kit). It consists of a series of very fine abrasive sheets, which can remove virtually all moderate to fine scratches on any canopy within a few hours. All it takes is a little elbow grease and water. Canopies are expensive to replace, so when a crack appears, it is time for prompt action. Canopy cracks can be stopped from growing by drilling a very small hole at the top of the crack. Always caution passengers about leaning on, forcing, or bracing against the canopy. In flight and with turbulence, passengers may want to push up on the canopy to brace themselves. I always instruct passengers to grab and hold onto their shoulder straps as soon as they are strapped in. Do this and you will not have to worry about hands doing things they shouldn't. Finally, never fly below birds. They seem to dislike canopies (or their occupants) and may just dive at you.
Proper radio use is part of being a good aviator. Many who have been trained in gliders without radios are at loss as to their proper use. I am not implying everyone must have radios nor am I proposing they are the answer to all safety issues. This is intended for those private pilots who have or are thinking about their own ships and plan to use a radio. Initially, many may be intimidated by the jargon. Using the proper phraseology and techniques improves effectiveness in communication. Prior to transmitting, the pilot should first pause and listen. You do not want to transmit over someone else speaking as you will jam receivers and your transmission will not go through. You then want to think about what you are going to say. Messages should be brief and succinct. You want to speak clearly and slowly with a slight pause between words. The microphone should be held next to your lips and you should speak in normal conversational tones. VHF is generally limited to "line of sight" for transmission range. Therefore, the higher you are the greater the range. If you are in dialogue with someone and have just spoken, you should state "over." To acknowledge a reception you should state "Roger/Affirmative" or "Negative."
Call signs refer to your aircraft N number. "N," by the way, identifies that you are flying a U.S. registered aircraft. You should drop the N in identifying yourself, but should state your aircraft make and registration. For example "Glider Niner Sierra Foxtrot calling Great Barrington for an airport advisory...over." You should be familiar with the FAA phonetic alphabet, which can be found in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) section 4-2-7. The May 1998 Flight Training magazine included a letter to the editor titled "Phonetic Madness" from a pilot named Carol Foster. She memorized the FAA alphabet with this nonsense story:
Bravo Charlie ate alfalfa before flying Delta. Memories of his vegetarian girlfriend, Juliet, echoed throughout his mind. She loved to foxtrot but he preferred golf. They once vacationed to India and stayed in a beautiful hotel. Charlie's friend, Mike from Lima, was arrested for carrying one kilo last November. His papa, Oscar, bailed him out and now he's starting clean in Quebec. Mike's brother, Romeo, lives in the Sierra Mountains where he teaches the tango in a tuxedo uniform. His uncle, Victor, loves whiskey but xrays show liver damage. He's a diehard Yankee and will never stop 'til he's put in a "zulu." (Pretty good, huh?)
The most important routine transmission a private owner makes is in announcing his intentions to land. First, one should monitor the radio and listen for other aircraft with similar intentions. I believe that for private ships one should make two transmissions, one upon entering the downwind and one turning onto base leg. For example: "Sterling traffic...glider niner sierra foxtrot entering downwind for runway three four on the grass...Sterling traffic." You would make another announcement just prior to turning onto your base leg. Radio use is much more involved than the above, so review the appropriate sections in the AIM.
One bit of information that might be helpful to all pilots or private owners with radios deals with emergency situations. Let's first give an example of what is and is not an emergency. An off-field landing in a plowed field is not an emergency for a trained glider pilot. A forced tree landing in a remote region is an emergency. In any case, if in an emergent or urgent situation, turn to frequency 121.5 (write this down and stick it next to your radio). This is the emergency frequency for all aircraft, and should only be utilized as such. The procedure is to state "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" if it is an emergency or "Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan" if it is an urgent request for help. Stating either of these clears the air waves and puts you in touch with air traffic facilities. Remember, if you are low, your VHF range will not be as great as that at higher altitudes. If you cannot reach air traffic facilities announce "Mayday for any station" on a well-used frequency. Once someone has responded, announce your aircraft identification, nature of distress, altitude, last known position, and that you are a glider without a transponder. Do not hesitate to ask questions or request assistance.
Instruments can cause difficulties for just about every pilot regardless of experience. New and old pilots alike can become enchanted and distracted with them. A new pilot in a thermal will more than likely have his eyes glued to the vario while an accomplished pilot can get himself in trouble by playing with his high-tech toys. The other end of the spectrum is when we are in a situation where we should be relying on our instruments but ignore them. For example take the pilot who refuses to believe his vario when it's pegged down while on his downwind leg. He is usually thinking, "This can't be right," so he keeps flying a normal pattern. It seems that when instruments are a direct or indirect result of an accident, it is because we either rely on them when we shouldn't, don't trust them when we should, or become preoccupied with them.
Two bad crashes I witnessed from a distance were the result of the above. In one case an instructor and student were forced into a quick off-field landing that resulted in an impact with a tree after their wing tip hit the branches of another tree. Both suffered only minor injuries thanks to the sturdy construction of the venerable 2-33. They were flying around at a low altitude thinking their altimeter had been set to zero prior to take off when in fact it had been set at field elevation (a 700-foot difference). It wasn't until they were 300 to 500 feet agl that they recognized they were low and could not reach the field. The airport was less than three miles away. They trusted that the altimeter was giving them the "right information," which it was. They also failed to assimilate or accept the visual clues of the growing terrain in favor of the reliable altimeter. On a personal note, I believe the ancient glider controversy of whether you set your altimeter to field elevation or zero is a non-issue. Just always be consistent one way or the other so you don't get yourself confused. Besides, a good glider pilot shouldn't have to rely on his altimeter to land.
The other accident involved a highly-skilled and experienced cross-country pilot. He had just installed a new nav-system and became totally engrossed in playing with it while in flight. He forgot to look outside the canopy or glance at his altimeter. He finally realized he was low and no where close to a landable field in a heavily forested area. He was forced to accept a rough small clearing with heavy overgrowth and a stone fence on both ends. He hit the trees at high speed, caught his tail in the branches, and then dropped straight down 40 feet or so. He was dazed and it took a couple days before he fully recovered from the psychological shock of the event. However, he literally walked away from this accident with only a few scratches. Getting his tail stuck in a tree probably saved his life, given the short field and stone fence. By the way, those of you who have not seen the result of a bad fiberglass crunch can do the following: get an egg, put a hole in each end and suck out the yoke and egg white, place the intact egg shell carefully on the floor, and take a running leap and land squarely on the egg. They brought the fuselage and parts back to the field the next day on a small flat-bed truck. You couldn't tell if it was once a white Corvette or just someone collecting roadside fiberglass.
Instrumentation in most gliders is pretty basic and a review shouldn't be too painful, so let's take minute. The magnetic compass is very reliable but can be difficult to read after swirling around in a thermal with the compass spinning like a top. I replaced mine years ago with a good vertical card compass and I am much happier with it. Compass deviation refers to compass distortion usually resulting from metallic interference from within the aircraft. Corrections for compass deviation should be noted on the compass card. We are mandated that each aircraft carry a compass deviation card (interestingly, we aren't required by regulations to have the deviation noted or even anything written on the card, just that a compass card needs to be in the glider to be airworthy).
The pitot-static system for the airspeed indicator, altimeter, and variometer works on a pretty simple principle but the system is not foolproof. A pitot tube plugged with dirt, bugs, or moisture can result in reading errors. You need to take a reading off any system with a "grain of salt." Errors with the system or within the instruments themselves are not uncommon. If you tell the tow pilot you want a 65-knot tow speed, but he gives you a 75-knot tow, don't be surprised. His airspeed indicator might be off, or yours, or both. The same holds true for variometers and altimeters.
Static pressure in the pitot-static system is the pressure at the altitude at which the glider is flying. It is measured via the static port which is a small hole or tube at right angles to the direction the glider flys. The static port is strategically placed so as to minimize distortion in readings due to airflow. The pitot port faces forward and measures the ram air pressure of the incoming air. This incoming air varies with the speed of the glider. The airspeed indicator measures the difference between the impact air pressure and the static pressure to give us airspeed. Also, the higher we climb the bigger the difference between our indicated airspeed and true airspeed. This occurs because the air is less dense at altitude. Generally, with each 1,000 feet of altitude our true airspeed increases by two percent over the indicated airspeed. There is no effect on stalling speed as glider performance specs relate to indicated airspeed regardless of altitude.
The altimeter measures changes in the static pressure. If we set our altimeter for field elevation, it will give us a fair estimate or measurement in pressure differences as we climb or descend. We say "estimate" because the altimeter is calibrated based on standard air temperatures and we don't always fly in standard air temperatures. Additionally, we know the atmospheric pressure varies according to the pressure within a given air mass. Again, the altimeter, like the airspeed indicator and variometer is an "indicator" of general altitude, not an exacting measurement device. For temperature and pressure the old axiom holds true: "When flying from high to low, look out below." If flying from a high pressure or high temperature region into a low pressure or low temperature region, our altimeters will be showing more altitude than we really have.
The variometer has a sealed reference chamber with a small hole leading to a static port. Where the altimeter measures static pressure changes in terms of feet in altitude, the variometer measures the rate of change in static pressure as knots or feet per minute. Many pilots love their audio vario (the incessant beeping was always too annoying and distracting for me). We also love our back up mechanical varios, varios in which the sensitivity can be adjusted, total energy compensation systems, and so on. The bottom line is that if the needle is pointed up you are probably going up, and if the needle is pointed down you are probably going down. As noted in the two instrument related crashes, it is a good idea to have your eyes spending more time looking at the reality of the situation versus your instrument's interpretation. The exception of course is when you find yourself in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), where we shouldn't be in the first place.
Given all of the above, what is the best instrument? A few years back I was chatting with a commercial pilot and good friend who gave 2-32 rides. He was a natural pilot and is now flying with the airlines. He was looking at my instrument panel and mockingly said, "Wow, these dials, knobs, and instruments are pretty impressive. In fact, after seeing your panel I think I'll upgrade my glider. Maybe, I'll add a yaw string." He never did. The yaw string is sensitive, accurate, and reliable. It doesn't work well in the rain or spins, but then we don't spend the majority of our time in these situations. No, when it comes right down to it, the best instrument glider pilots have is the one located between our ears. It too may not always work 100% but it does have a built in self-survival mechanism, and if we use it calmly and correctly, it is much more reliable.
Safety articles are especially challenging to write given the varied experience, knowledge, and skill levels of the audience. Therefore, special thanks to John Wren and the other members of the editorial panel. John has reviewed these articles for errors, omissions, and oversights. His comments and feedback have been very much appreciated. Also, mucho thanks and appreciation to Mark Tuttle who has dressed up these articles for public dissemination. On occasion he has prevented me from stepping on my (editor deleted) by pointing out inappropriate or politically incorrect language. Seriously, though, thank you.
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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 02174; tuttle@crl.dec.com.