Table of contents:
The original postscript version of the newsletter is available here.New members: Several new members have joined the club since the last newsletter.
Fred Looft joined the club on May 15. Fred is a professor and the associate department head of electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He says, "I learned to fly in a 2-22 near Cleveland, Ohio, during high school and my first year of college. I had about 60 winch launches and 40 aerotows behind a super cub in the 2-22, lots of solo time, and no cross country experience (there was only one glider in the club, although some members had their own sailplanes). I had scheduled my flight exam for my pilots license for the day before I left for college (University of Michigan), but the inspector never showed up (bad weather, surprise!), and I then ran out of money... That was 27 years ago, and I figured that it is about time to get back into the type of flying that I really love. I lost my logs long ago, and my skills are so poor that I figure the safest thing to do is start over from scratch. The warmth, competence, and great attitude of the people I met the day I joined the club (Carl Johnson the instructor and Terry Wong the duty officer) affirmed my belief that MITSA is the right choice for me. I look forward to meeting others."
Mark Knox joined on May 1. Mark is at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, and he already holds a private certificate with a single-engine land rating.
John Carlton joined on April 18. John is a member of the Oxford Gliding Club in England, and he holds a British gliding license.
Douglas Sharpe joined on April 11. He holds a private certificate and has a USHGA hang glider rating. He owns both a hang glider and a paraglider. New sign-offs: Peter Vickery recently made his first flight in the 1-34, and completed the altitude leg of his Silver badge. Phil Rossoni has moved into the 1-26, making his first flight in that glider on Sunday, May 11th. Congratulation to you both.
New solos: John Nordmann is learning to fly power with Claire Bentley at the Lawrence airport, and he soloed in a Cherokee 180 in the afternoon of March 21. Carl and Claire Bentley have taught several MITSA members to fly: John Nordmann, Lee Marzke, and Mark Tuttle. As I'm sure you can tell from that list, they produce only the best pilots.
Tow plane news: The Cessna 182 suffered a prop strike while taxing in the grass at Sterling, so it will be out of commission until it is repaired. The Greater Boston Soaring Club will be providing tows to MITSA until then, so we do not anticipate any interruption to our operations. Until further notice, however, duty officers should collect the normal MITSA tow fees for launches (GBSC will bill MITSA directly), contact any board member to learn the status of the Cessna 182 before contacting the scheduled tow pilots, and contact any 3B3 member to learn the status of the Citabria for towing if a busy day is anticipated.
Thanks: John Wren and Mark Koepper organized members of the club to go out and pick up rocks and debris left on the grass strip by the snow plow over the winter. Mark says, "Thanks again to everyone who helped. Now that the rocks are gone, the area along the edge could be made quite a bit smoother by rolling. A few cubic yards of loam and some grass seed would finish it off nicely."
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
March 4, 1999
Awards: The board selected this year's recipients of the club trophies. The trophies will be awarded at the annual banquet.
Dues: After some discussion of club finances, it was decided to leave the annual dues structure at its current level.
Tow pilots: Bruce Easom reported that there are two new potential tow pilots. Fuel dip sticks have been purchased, but need calibration so that we can tow with less than full fuel. It will be determined at the time of the annual what items can be removed from the tow plane to make it as light as practical. There are also plans to get an aircraft manual for each tow pilot.
Sterling airport: The remainder of the meeting was a lengthy exchange of information about the long term future of Sterling airport. On March 10, there will be a meeting of the Sterling selectmen at which time there is expected to be a proposal to purchase the airport for the expressed purpose of making the airport into athletic fields. Other parties are also thought to have long-term interests in the property for non-aviation uses, which has raised an alarm for those of us who would like it to remain an airport. Bob Fletcher has organized a group of MITSA members to seek help and information from various aviation organizations in a save-the-airport campaign. No additional action was taken other than to urge support of Bob's effort.
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
April 22, 1999
Finances: The annual on the tow plane is done. All five glider annuals will fall in the next four months. New seat belts for the Blaniks are needed. Payments of annual dues are starting to come in. The insurance is paid up.
Tow plane: The tow plane annual is complete. Repairs included a rebuilt flap, prop governor, exhaust valve, carburetor air box, and motor mounts. The mirror is being repaired. Tow pilots are requested to notify Jim Emken or Richard Gammon whenever there are less than seven hours to go before the next oil change. It was suggested that tow pilots be given a short course on oil change procedures in case they find the aircraft over 25 hours since last oil change. It was also requested that tow pilots inform the duty officer about two tows before stopping to refuel.
MITSA Junior Program: Joe Kwasnik and John Wren have started the MITSA Junior Program with six to eight interested youngsters. They have had two meetings to date and an opportunity to fly in the Citabria. They all use email and have a web page at http://www.wrenmm.com/juniors (check it out). They all have log books, and the duty officer should record the hours they work at the field in these log books, so these hours can be redeemed for glider flights. Juniors will have their own officers and finances. The club board is looking for an involved member to represent the Junior Program on their board.
Sterling Airport: The Sterling Airport is still up for sale. There is a warrant article on the agenda for the Sterling town meeting which is not expected to carry. Apparently the Metropolitan District Commission only wants the land associated with the swamp and the hill. Another long-range concern has arisen with Massport's takeover of Worcester Airport. If commercial traffic increases significantly, then Class C airspace could be established in our very near vicinity and seriously curtail the gliding operation.
These minutes have been edited for publication in the newsletter. --Editor
May 13, 1999
Operations: A proposal to have MITSA and the Greater Boston Soaring Club merge tow operations between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a trial basis was discussed. Under this proposal, a tow plane from either organization could tow the next glider on the grid, independent of the organization associated with the glider. The plan should expedite launch operations at a critical time of the day. Pilots would pay their home organization for the tow using the home organization's rate structure. Each organization would pay the other organization for tows received at a mutually agreed-upon rate, which initially would probably be the GBSC rate. MITSA would create a new membership class (MITSA Light) specifically for GBSC members to receive towing privileges only. GBSC will probably have a similar procedure to guarantee insurance coverage. The president and chief flight instructor will meet with GBSC to work out common procedures, signals, and tow rope standards, as close as possible to SSA guidelines.
John Wren and Bruce Easom are going to update the existing operating rules and put them on the web. When released, they will be accessible through http://www.mitsa.org.
MITSA Junior Program: Joe Kwasnik and John Wren reported on the MITSA Junior Program. They plan to visit Harris Hill the second week in June. Peter Vickery was appointed as the MITSA Junior Liaison to the board, an involved member representing the Junior Program on the board.
The morning was sunny and warm, reasonably dry, and promised to be a blue day with more than a small likelihood of being capped by a low inversion. On the other hand, it was the beginning of May, the snow had melted, the field was dry, and it was Saturday. More than enough reason to spend as much of the day in the air as possible.
After rigging and positioning the gliders, everyone sort of looked at each other with that "you first!" look. Despite what might be a late starting day, the sight of a tow plane doing nothing and no gliders in line ahead of me did the trick. I was off at 11:15 and climbed to 2,000 feet. The first thermals were weak to 4,000 feet msl but definitely there. After a climb or two, the top of the lift got to 5,000 feet and promised to go higher, so I started, very tentatively, in a northerly direction. The lift seemed reasonably consistent, and three or four thermals got me to the north-south ridge line east of Jaffrey. Right about there, three things happened. First, I found a seven-knotter to 6,500 feet. Second, isolated small cu started to form further north over the Vermont and New Hampshire mountain peaks at an altitude far, far above the top of the local lift. Third, I began to grin.
I set the GPS for Mount Washington and started north in earnest, in good lift to 7,000 then 8,000 feet. Following the high ground, I hit the first cu's north of Interstate 89 by Lake Winnipesaukee, at which time the roof blew off. Eight to eleven knots was the norm, top of the climb was at 11,000 feet, and the grin turned into a long series of "Yahooo's!" The soaring was straightforward in that all the cu's seem to be working, and light northeasterly breezes at altitude formed nice northeast/southwest streets over the peaks. Heading into the wind and dolphining between 8,000 and 11,000 feet, I got to Mount Washington just after 1 p.m. and wondering what to do with the rest of my afternoon. A triangle to Sugarbush, long considered but never before attempted, beckoned. There was no cu over the Connecticut River valley, but blue lift was highly probable given the conditions early at Sterling. Getting as high as I could in the last cu, I pointed her west and off we went. In fact, Spruce Mountain, which lies about halfway between the two, was working great. I got all the way down to 5,000 feet -- my lowpoint of the day, believe it or not -- and hit an 11 knot screamer back up to 11,000 feet. This made the turn at Sugarbush a breeze just after 3 p.m. From the top of the lift, my final glide would have been good for half the distance to Sterling, and it was still reasonably early. It seemed a shame to waste a minute of such a spectacular day. At this point, the Vermont chain had a well-developed street heading south for as far as I could see. There's something about a great street I've never been able to deny, so I gulped, set the GPS turnpoint for North Adams, and headed off, figuring that if it got weaker or I got slower, I could cut the turn at any point and head southeast for Sterling. No such problem, it was booming the whole way. I got to North Adams at around 4:30 p.m. and was able to stay high and fly straight the whole way. The way home had blued out, however, and there was some concern that I wouldn't make it. I decided to climb as high as I could, see if I could get up to a zero McCready final glide, and scootch on in. At a minimum, I was able to leave North Adams with Turners Falls, Orange, and probably Gardner made. Once into the blue, the air became very quiet and the final glide seemed to go agonizingly slowly. North of Greenfield I ran into a bit of burble, frogged around looking for a few minutes, and suddenly tied into a hummer going up at six knots. That was all she wrote. McCready 4 plus 1,000 over the field ought to be enough for anybody but I took that and more just be be sure we came home in style. A fast pass over the field and a touchdown six hours and twenty minutes into the flight. Good for 375 miles, my longest New England flight, and I heartily enjoyed every second of it.
Glider flying is a challenging and exciting sport. Some of the excitement comes in managing the risks that are inherent in flying gliders. We must manage these dangers in order to reduce the likelihood that we join the turf club and be printed up in the NTSB Reporter. One high-risk activity that we need to manage cooperatively is gaggle flying.
Gaggle flying is when two or more gliders share the same thermal, often flying in close proximity to one another. Gaggles are more prevalent close to launch sites, on busy days, and on days with weak lift. Flying close to other gliders is challenging and dangerous work. Gaggle flying is not a time to be learning to thermal, reading maps, fiddling with the GPS, or fixating on the variometer. It is a time to have your head out of the cockpit and eyes moving. Try to visualize in three dimensions the location and relationship of all gliders in the gaggle with you. And be aware that you probably do not see them all! Never assume you are alone in a thermal. Circling gliders attract other gliders like bees to honey.
My first gaggle flying experience was over Great Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts. After a tow to 3,000 feet in a 1-26E, I released in lift and started to circle. As a newly minted solo pilot, I was using all my thermaling ability and most of my brain power just to keep airspeed in control and wings banked into the thermal to keep the little 1-26 going up. Like bees to honey, DJ, RC, and 90 (highly-experienced pilots) swooped in below me, and quickly and elegantly circled by me. I fell out of the thermal and watched these three climb up and away. While circling with these more experienced pilots, all of my concentration went from thermaling to collision avoidance. DJ, RC, and 90 could thermal their heavily loaded ships, avoid each other, and zip by me with apparent ease.
On that day over Great Woods, a gaggle of four was a big deal at MITSA. Today it is commonplace. With over 30 gliders based at Sterling, a gaggle of five gliders or more is common. We need to be cautious and evaluate our own skills as pilots. A collision in a gaggle will not only effect you but the other pilot as well.
Helmet Reichmann writes about gaggle flying in his book Cross-Country Soaring. "A few common sense rules so no one gets too close to one another and no one is endangered or inconvenienced:
Reichmann continues, "Observation of other sailplanes in the gaggle is not only required safety factor, but shows us clearly where we must move our circle for the best lift. If everyone is watching they'll all see, almost at once, why one sailplane has moved, and they'll move over together, thus avoiding traffic problems. Rowdies who zip right through, and the `head down and locked' type whose gaze is riveted only on the hypnotic dial of his variometer are inconsiderate types who are obviously not yet ready for competition-caliber flying."
Some other things to think about while gaggle flying:
A good way to learn to gaggle fly is with an experienced instructor in a two-seat glider. My first contest experience was with John Wren in the back seat of PI. Flying in weak lift with fifteen other gliders in our thermal was beyond my ability at that time. John's second set of eyes and his sense of the three-dimensional aspects of the gaggle made the difference between staying in the air and landing. Thanks, John.
As much as we try to manage the risks in soaring, accidents happen, and people get hurt or worse.
Take gaggle flying seriously. If you are flying in a gaggle and you are unsure of what you are doing, or if another pilot is flying erratically, look for traffic, level your wings slowly, and leave the thermal. You can always rejoin the thermal from below, find another thermal, or land. These may all be better choices than putting yourself or others at risk.
Soaring is a sport of the mind. Use it or do not fly.
The well-attended annual banquet, once again perfectly organized by Carl Johnson, was held on a Sunday afternoon at the Pappa Razzi restaurant in Wellesley. The food was good and the service quick, perhaps too quick, as it didn't do to talk at your table too long if you planned on revisiting the buffet. Aside from the usual social pleasantries, there was official business to conduct. After announcing the results of elections to the board of directors (no changes to report), the president, assisted by chief instructor John Wren, was pleased to announce the winners of the annual awards for 1998.
The Nicki Velforth Trophy, given to the "best student of the year," was awarded to Peter Vickery. The "paddle" (the Nash-Webber Trophy), given to the "most enthusiastic new member," was also awarded to Peter Vickery. The board did consider other candidates for this award, but Peter was the only one of them smart enough to buy a ticket to the party, so that swung the decision in his favor.
The Tommy Thompson Trophy, given to a person the club expects to give something back to soaring this year, went to Andrew Watson. Andrew is currently working on acquiring his instructor rating.
The Draper Trophy, given for the best flight in a MITSA glider, was awarded jointly to Al Gold and Joe Kwasnik for their wave flight from Sterling in one of the Blanik L-23s.
The Alan Trophy and the Francis Trophy, given for the best triangular flight and best 100K triangle, respectively, were not awarded this year. It seems that the cross country pilots are too shy about their achievements, and the board was unable to identify any qualifying flights in these categories.
The president was also pleased to recognize the following for their services to the club in the course of the last twelve months: Ian Clark for maintaining much of the equipment; Richard Gammon for managing the sale of the former Cessna 150 tow plane, and acting as ship captain for the new Cessna 182 tow plane; and Bill Brine for his role in managing the Cessna 182 acquisition. All these tasks require the expenditure of many hours of volunteered time.
The board was then able to introduce the new MITSA logo. Bill Brine was in charge of sales of t-shirts and hats, the latter being a sell-out. Contact a board member if you missed out. You will by now have noticed the logo on signs about the airport, on the gliders, trailers, and golf carts. It will also play a part in our future promotional literature.
The entertainment highlight of the evening was the MITSA Jeopardy game, complete with signal buttons and jeopardy, double jeopardy, and final jeopardy rounds. Alex Trebek was unfortunately unable to attend, but did take the time to instruct John Wren sufficiently in the role of quiz master. The question categories were more than a little slanted to the interests of the audience. I seem to recall titles such as "MITSA couples," "Contest Sites," "Sterling," and "FARs." You get the idea.
| Date | DO | Instructor | AM Tow | PM Tow |
| 5/29 | Drew | Bourgeois | Easom | Pugh |
| 5/30 | Farrington | Johnson | Poduje | Easom |
| 5/31 | Gold | Krueger | Clark | Easom |
| 6/5 | Koepper | Wren | Gammon | Hollister |
| 6/6 | Kucan | Johnson | Poduje | Friedman |
| 6/12 | Kwasnik | Baxa | Pugh | Hollister |
| 6/13 | Loraditch | Bourgeois | Clark | Friedman |
| 6/19 | MacMillan | Johnson | Gammon | Hollister |
| 6/20 | Rossoni | Rosenberg | Easom | Pugh |
| 6/26 | Nordman | Bourgeois | Clark | Easom |
| 6/27 | Sovis | Rosenberg | Poduje | Friedman |
| 7/3 | Watson | Wren | Gammon | Hollister |
| 7/4 | Tsillas | Rosenberg | Clark | Easom |
| 7/5 | Vickery | Bourgeois | Pugh | Easom |
Good-bye, 1-26: Al Gold, Walt Hollister, and Joe Kwasnik have sold their 1-26 to two friends of Mike Baxa who will be storing the glider in a warm hangar in Wurtsboro, New York. Al says that the glider has never had it so good since its early days in New Mexico.
Hello, Pegasus: Al Gold, Walt Hollister, Karl Krueger, and Andrew Watson have formed a syndicate and bought a Pegasus from Wally Moran, the designated examiner for the area. The Pegasus is known to have performance of just a hair under 40:1, is a good penetrator, and is thought to have benign handling characteristics.
Hello, Russia: Joe Kwasnik has decided to buy a Russia, one of the designs entered in the world-class design contest along with the Blanik L-33 and the PW-5. John Wren says that on Joe's first flight, John remembers seeing a small speck in the sky all day, and he doesn't think Joe ever fell below 7,000 feet. Al Gold says that the Russia is the design that Dick Johnson was supposed to have liked the best. It has light, sixty-pound wings, single-pin rigging, and automatic control hook-ups. So always say "yes" when Joe asks you to help him rig, and you can walk away knowing that you have done your duty to the club without having to rig, oh, I don't know, maybe a Grob. Joe found the glider through a dealer in Montana, and the plan was for Joe and the current owner to meet somewhere in the middle of the country like Chicago to hand off the glider.
Hello, ASW-20: Steve Sovis is in the process of buying an ASW-20 CL in Wurtsboro, New York. Steve says the glider was owned by a German engineer for BMW, so this must mean the glider is in perfect shape, right? Steve sold his share in the Grob 102 to Mark Tuttle, so Mark now owns the Grob outright.
We have had some great soaring over the last few weeks. I have experienced wave on two days to 12,000 and 8,500 feet, and booming thermals on three other days. On April 21, I set a new state record for a 100K triangle, posting a speed of 62.12 mph for standard class, 15 meter class, and open class, and a speed of 59.01 mph for sports class (the handicap for an LS-4 in the sports class lowers the speed). Mark Koepper had claimed the state record for the sports class and world class earlier this year, and he still holds the state record for the world class.
All credit for this flight goes to Mark Koepper for laying out a very nice 100K triangle from Sterling. He spent months constructing this triangle. The course is well thought-out, and takes the pilot over "landable" terrain for most of the trip. This is a fun triangle to fly and is within the reach of most early cross-country pilots on a good day, although you will need a GPS to identify the first turn point and to find Brookline Airport.
I would like all cross-country pilots to try this triangle. I set this record without carrying any water, so I'm sure others could fly the triangle even faster. Before you fly this triangle, though, be sure to talk with Mark Koepper about the good landing spots and thermal sources along the route.
This article was written from email and phone conversations with Bill Brine. There have also been good flights by other members. On the same day as Doug Jacobs flew to Mount Washington, Sugarbush, and North Adams, Ira Blieden (UC) flew to "somewhere north of Lebanon, New Hampshire" and back; Phil Gaisford (PG) flew a triangle around Post Mill, Vermont, and Turners Falls, Massachusetts; and Peter Vickery completed the altitude leg of his Silver badge. --Editor
As the season begins at Sterling, let's go over two very important airmanship issues.
First, it is very important that we all attempt to clear the active runway after landing. In most cases, this can be done just by rolling clear. If for some reason you find yourself with insufficient energy to roll off the runway, then it is up to you to get out and move the glider quickly. Do not wait for the retrieve crew. Even the trainers can be moved short distances by one person.
Second, do not thermal in the pattern area. I watched an L-23 thermal at low level, just west of the field. During three or four attempts to get away, this glider blocked off the glider pattern area and crossed into the power pattern area.
I remind all MITSA members that it is your responsibility to be familiar with the Operations Manual ("The Red Book") that has been in the MITSA office for the past eighteen months. Pattern information can also be found on-line at
Tow pilots: Please check when the tow plane is due for an oil change each morning, and let Jim Emken or Richard Gammon know when there are seven hours or less left before the next oil change. The oil is changed every 25 hours. Also, let the duty officer know several tows before you have to stop to get fuel. It would be nice if you could try to get fuel when there are no gliders waiting on the grid, as opposed to when there is a backup.
Duty officers: Please remember to adjust gliders in the grid with GBSC when the tow pilot stops to get fuel. Please send someone to assist the tow pilot in fueling the tow plane so that the tow pilot can use the time to get something to drink or use the restroom while the tow plane is being refueled. This will make the refueling process quicker.
Pilots: Aviation fuel should not be used in the golf carts, as they run better on auto gas. There is a gas can in the Citabria hanger which can be used to get auto gas. Leave the batteries in the gliders except to charge them. We need to get in the habit of charging a different battery each week. There are five identical new batteries, one for each of the gliders, and they are labeled one through five. When you place a battery on the charger, leave it on the charger for at least twelve hours so that it will be fully charged. Once the charger fully charges the battery, it goes on a "float" mode, and it may be left in this mode indefinitely, so the battery will not be damaged. Once charged, a battery should be able to power the electric variometer for several months, provided the variometer is not left on overnight or all week! Each time you place a battery on the charger, record it on the battery charge sheet on the wall in the MITSA office above the desk by the battery charger. This way we can track when a battery was last charged and which battery should be charged next.
Mark Koepper is planning to fly in the World Class National Contest in Albert Lea, New Mexico, on June 5. The club also received the following plea for support for the World Class World Contest in July. --Editor
The US World Class Team is ready to carry the flag at the Second World Gliding Championships of the World Class that will take place in Leszno, Poland. The competition dates are July 2 through July 18. Practice begins June 26th.
The US Team is composed of two pilots, Francois Pin and Pat Tuckey, Bob Hurni, Team Captain, and George Kulesza. Check for team information in the "News and Views" section of http://www.glider.com. The US Team will be facing the highly-organized and experienced teams from Germany, France, Poland, Russia, England, Italy, and many other countries at the top of the soaring scene. But our determination and spirit are high. We want to win.
As you probably know, the World Class is a FAI Class and, as such, the World Class Team is entitled to a share of the US Team Fund. However, that share, which is proportional to the number of entrants in the various National contests, is consequently small during this phase of growth of the World Class. It appears that less than one-fourth of the costs will be covered by this share. We need your help.
Would you help and consider a tax-deductible donation to support the US World Class Team? Maybe $25, the cost of just one aerotow? Maybe your company can help with a tax-deductible contribution? Any and all contributions will be extremely helpful and will be acknowledged with a letter from the World Class Soaring Association (WCSA) confirming the tax-exempt status of the contribution. As a token of the appreciation of the entire US WC Team, the Team will also bring back a memento from Poland for each donor.
Checks for tax-deductible contributions to the World Class Team Fund should be made payable to "WCSA" with a note specifying "for US WC Team Expenses" and sent to USWC Team Captain, c/o Bob Hurni, 516 East Meadow Lane, Phoenix, Arizona 85022.
On behalf of the entire US World Class Team, our greatest thanks to you for the support you will provide.
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.