NOAA NWS Aviation Weather Center posted this interesting picture over on facebook. Here is a fantastic visible satellite image from this morning. Notice the wave clouds that are being produced by the strong northwesterly winds across the southern Appalachian...

Check out this Aviation Week item on drones in the NAS airspace within the $63B FAA Re-authorization bill: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/10807-bill-authorizes-use-of-unmanned-drones-in-us-airspace "..within nine months of the bill’s passage, the FAA is required to submit a plan...

This came from a separate thread "Typo in Battery Article in Soaring" On Feb 2, 10:11 am, Karl Kunz wrote: John, also enjoyed your article and will try your technique on a couple of batteries I am unsure of. Also, since we have an EE on the line I wanted to ask about battery...

With the start of our spring soaring season, I am a regular visitor to XC Skies web site. It has looked as if their problems from the recent hardware crash have not been overcome - the site has been misbehaving since they got it back up recently and last night it went down again. Any news or...

The March issue of Gliding International will go in mail this coming week. We cover • the SSA convention in depth, • an intelligent review of the IGC class structure and how to get out of the mess IGC as landed us in, • the annual review of world membership, sailplanes, clubs and fatalities and...

I am looking to have a custom canopy cover made for my new sailplane. Any recommendations for a Sunbrella type cover? thanks, Brad

This is crazy. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/7/coming-to-a-sky-near-you/ To steal a rhetorical device from Andrew Napolitano... "What if all the paranoid conspiracy nuts.... worked for our government?" -Evan Ludeman / T8

Hi all, I'm planning to show my glider at a local high school and also have the opportunity to give a 30 minute talk on "What is Soaring". Does anyone have access to a PowerPoint presentation/file that could be emailed to me? I'll have access to their audio/visual system and it would be a great...

Reminders from the SSF/SSA safety briefing at Reno: (1) The 1202 transponder code for gliders is effective nationwide this week. Do contact your local ATC and make sure they are expecting this... (2) Do NOT press IDENT unless specifically requested to do so by ATC. Lets all be good neighbors out...

It's fairly standard for tractors to have their tires filled with water. Curious if anyone has put water in their pneumatic tailwheel to provide a little more aft CG. Brass tailwheels exist, but they are pricey.

Updated US airspace information for the charting cycle effective February 9, 2012 is now available on my website at http://www.soaringdata.info and on the Airspace section of the Worldwide Soaring Turnpoint Exchange. Updated US airport data in formats that support virtually all glide computers and...

According to the Becker manual, the 4201 Low Voltage warning (blinking of the display) kicks in when the supply voltage drops to 10.5. I'm wondering if anyone has had a reason to independently check this out for accuracy. Reason for the question is that my Becker seems to be indicating low...

I am heading west from Albuquerque on Sunday ( 2-12-12) and can haul a trailer back to AZ, CA, or NV. Email me immediately if interested. Rick Walters

We get a low altitude wave when this layer of stable air rolls over our ridge and bounces back up. Saturday we topped out at about 6500MSL. Our valley floor is 600MSL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4b-CXRVunc&sns=em Boggs

New season starts in a couple of months and this is the time to make any panel changes. The "brick" version was supposed to be here in time for the season. Is it delayed again? There have been no updates on the "brick" arrival date that I am aware of. Anyone from PowerFlarm team would care to...

My mechanical Altimeter is not working properly and I am looking to replace it. Does anyone out there have one they would like to sell? Regards, Brad

Hello all, I see a new type of transponder antennas on the market, for example the Filser DP1090-5: http://glider-equipment.nl/catalog/product_info.php/filser-transponder-antenna-dp10905-p-63 These seem almost too good to be true; Low cost & complexity, easy installation inside (non-carbon)...

Good afternoon, I am a budding cross country pilot that is trying to work on the best flight logger to pair up to my Oudie for recording my flights for the BGA ladder and also for competitions and badge claim flights. The system that I use needs to be mobile as I do not want it hard- wired...

I have news about the Italian tax. Sad news, and finally a limited solution. The tax is a reality since last saturday. It must be paid by the owner (including financial leasing contracts etc), with the exception of aeroclubs. It is a yearly fee, the amount being fixed for gliders and balloons (450...

Interesting is where the glider set down in respect to Minden, S Lake Tahoe Airport and the Heavenly resort itself. The area where the landing occured was roughly 3 miles from the S. Lake Tahoe Airport and roughly 1500 to 2000' above the airport elevation. I created a couple simple maps showing...