No Rest for This Crowd
As announced yesterday, the forecast was clear that we would not be able to fly today. Since there was not going to be a pilots meeting, we scheduled a rules input meeting. This is a great forum for the pilots to provide inputs to the rule making process or to make an existing rule easier to understand. Today the discussions centered around the lack of tow planes out west, handicapping process, cross class selection for US Team positions and pilot ranking. Additionally, we looked at data that is available in the cockpit, should the rules committee try to slow the addition of new technology in soaring, how to best manage the time the rules committee commits to a project and pilot entry into contests (specifically junior pilots who do not make it into a full contest due to their pilot ranking). A large amount of time was spent discussing making Flarm a requirement for all contests. The last subject talked about the insurance requirements that we have now and how that coverage needs to be increased. Liability in the soaring community is receiving greater emphasis. This is the first step in the rules process. A survey will go out in October for all pilots on the PRL (Pilot Ranking List) to ask their opinion on these and other topics received during the competitive year. Proposed rule changes or new rules, based on pilots inputs, will then go out to the pilots in November for their comment. After the rules meeting was over, everyone separated to pursue activities for their own enjoyment.
Tonight’s dinner was a traditional Green Chili Enchilada provided by the SSA staff. This dinner is always well attended due the outstanding food and ability to thank the people that make our society run. During dinner I stopped and asked several folks what they did today. The 98, AG and P7 guys are always looking out for a historical venue that happens to have a craft brewery nearby. Today they went to the Silent Wings Museum at the Lubbock International Airport. This is a great stop to see the history of soaring during WWII. These gliders were used in both the European and Pacific theater of operations. A full-sized glider was on display, and it must have taken extraordinary skill to fly these behemoths and conduct outlandings with troops and equipment aboard. After the historical box was checked, Gary pointed them to the Two Doc’s Brewery and a signature beer called Grogzilla. Everyone gave it a thumbs up.
The Carlsbad Caverns were another stop of note that many took advantage of. The funny thing is many glider pilots and their crews visited the caverns but few saw their fellow competitors. Maybe we should mandate Flarm when glider pilots go on liberty.
Of course, we had several pilots that had to work on their gliders. So far, I have never been to a contest where some JS pilot was working on their retractable tailwheel. This contest is no different. Another JS pilot used low temperature hot glue to secure a strap on their batteries. Well, in Hobbs the temperatures have reached over 100 degrees for 3 days in a row and the glue melted into a pile of gel. Another JS pilot was surprised to find out his ship actually has a CG hook. This was discovered while taking pictures to document the pristine condition of the glider before turning it over to the Polish Team for the WGC in Uvalde in just a few weeks. One of the more unique changes to their ship involved fitting a 57mm vario in an 80mm hole in the instrument panel. By using a piece of Lexan (a clear plastic sheet), the hole was covered up and the new vario was installed. From the pilot’s perspective, it looked like the vario was actually floating in air.
Some of the tow pilots visited the Lea County Regional Airport tower to speak with the controllers they will interact with during the competition. It was a very worthy visit and the controllers enjoyed seeing our folks.
A number of the families that are here took their kids to Core, a recreational facility owned by the county. It has playgrounds, swimming pools and a workout facility. There were other “admin” type chores to be done, like doing laundry. However, I did hear that GS did CM’s laundry to pay him back for providing a special tool that he needed to fix his ship. I do not know if I would do that, Lowes is right down the street, and they have lots of tools!
Well, it is a little late and I just watched a Blue Angels video on Netflix with the boys. You just cannot get a pilot to stop watching stories about these magnificent men and women who are on this Navy Flight Demonstration Team.
Tomorrow is another day, and the weatherman is promising another tough day for the CD. After that, the weather gets better each day, and we are ready for some competition. So, until then, stay safe and come back home.
Cheers,
Rich Owen
ZO