Very sadly Ralph Jones, one of the 'greats' of British Gliding died in hospital early on Sunday morning. He was only 73 but had been unwell for some time. A funeral will take place at Hungerford Church next week, details to be announced as soon as possible. Ralph had been British Champion nine...

What we saw on the new start at the Seniors was in simple words....works great, will be good for along time. Just a note you might want to remember. When you leave threw the top, make sure your flown distance agrees with the distance given you by the scorer. Most of us found a good thermal, dropped...

I can never keep these rules straight in my head, so I was happy to find this cheat sheet: http://www.evparts.com/img/voltsampsohmwatts.PDF 2NO /* software guy */

Last year we ran a little low on beer, so Orion has 30 gallons brewing for April 27-May 2nd. You can view the labels at http://region12.deltavictor8.com/ under "eat and sleep" Sean Franke again will be task dictator and Dan Ladd will hopefully be the voice of reason again. There will be dinner at...

It is not to late to sign up for the two day seminar. We must give a head count this Monday for meals, so please phone or emailus if you are coming. 2009 Soaring Seminar March 28 & 29 Innovation Park, Pennstater Convention Center State College, Pennsylvania Saturday Speakers

Hi All - I visited Charlie on Tuesday evening. He's in pretty tough shape. He misses all of you and appreciates all the cards. Hasn't lost his spunk despite the health trauma: Charlie: Nurse, I'd like a couple Tylenol to knock this fever down a bit. Nurse: We're not allowed to give you anything for...

Hey, guys, if anybody missed the free promotion they had last summer for Oshkosh, there's another free promotion around their promotion of a Nascar team this weekend. Seems like the same deal as before, buy a year of service for $150 and get the Spot free. Check out the link...

Anyone have a phone contact for those folks, hangar phone or cell phone? Rich

We've just finished a tie-down improvement project at the Soaring Club of Houston. It covered both the direct tie-down equipment and related items and processes necessary for protecting and taking good care of the seven club gliders in our hangars. Our gliders live in Quonset-hut style hangars with...

A very dear friend of mine was in the hospital (Carolinas Medical Center) yesterday on the renal floor. She crews for her husband who flies with Bermuda High. She and her husband visited Charlie Spratt yesterday and he e mailed me his impression last evening. He asked that I send it on to all who...

Freedom’s Wings Canada is looking for a set of hand controls for a Grob 103 Twin II or Twin II Acro. Actually, as our program expands, we are in need of three sets. With one factory built set, we can duplicate for the others needed. If you have an unused set, they could facilitate the expansion...

I've wondered why we have to get to altitude to catch thermals to climb. Why not just locate the thermals when they are the ground or right over the airfield - wouldn't that save a whole lot of effort? Just pull the glider to the base of the thermal (with a bit of a running start) and go! Yes...

If some of you didn't already know, Fred Lasor and Laurie Harden of Soaring NV at Minden, Nevada are hosting a wave camp April 8-12. Each morning a speaker will review a wave topic such as weather forecasting (Doug Armstrong), wave flying procedures at Minden (Fred LaSor), Sierra Wave Cross Country...

Hi, I'm based in the UK and am off to Perth 31 Mar - 22 Apr visiting relations. I'd love to fly while I'm out there, particularly, I'd like to do some cross country. I'd love to hear from anyone who can direct me to any pilots who might loan their a/c - given suitable insurance, etc.

Hi, This was a crazy idea I had that my son thought would be a lot of fun. The question is whether or not it is legal or advisable. The idea is to tie a bunch of helium party balloons to a SPOT unit, then let it go and see how far it gets. We would chase it down in a car. Theoretically, we...

with their own reduced size fuselage... http://www.alsgallery.co.uk/albums/glider/Jordy_wants_to_takeoff.jpg Seems a bit excessive that even 5 year old kids have trouble squeezing into the cockpit. Just for Fun... See you at cloudbase -Kevin

Is there anyone else out there that is considering it their 'moral obligation' to seek out a new Insurer after the latest bonus gaff from AIG? What other options are there when I vote with my feet at renewal time? They obviously don't need my business. Bob Hills 7U

I have emailed and called the Contest Manager for the upcoming club class contest in may. I am wondering i it is a bad phone number or email to Hartley. Maybe he is on vacation. Does anyone have a better way to contact the CM or anyone else in charge of the race? Thanks in advance Scott

Dear Friends, Can someone help me get my laptop to talk to my volkslogger to extract my igc. flight log please. I've got the instruction book out in front of me and have the logger powered up and in the download mode but nothing happens.. Do I need a special software to do this? I am trying to...

At the suggestion of several contest pilots, I am pleased to offer a "Seniors" discount of $20 off the purchase of GlidePlan http://www.glideplan.com. The offer is limited to the first 30 pilots, and good through the end of the month. Pilots must be listed on the official Seniors contest score...