Jose Auil, a pilot flying a Discus BT out of the Vitacura airport in Santiago, Chile, went missing over the Andes on Sunday afternoon. An intensive search was carried out for three days and this morning the wreck was found in the mountains, with the cabin intact. There was a note saying: "I'm...

Anyone have experience installing a PowerFLARM in a Duo? We're thinking of putting the brick in the rear panel and antennas on top of the front panel, which may need some antenna extension cables. The display will probably be the rectangular one. We'd also like to connect the Flarm to an SN10,...

Klaus Ohlmann has broken more world records in Patagonia, some of the few he didn't hold (or rather some of his own records which were recently broken). Triangles in Patagonia are extraordinarily difficult because they require leaving the wave routes along the Andes to get a turnpoint in the...

Selling a 57mm Winter 4 FGH 20 altimeter in excellent condition. 0-30,000ft. 1994 model was in a glider imported to the US in 2002 and sent back to the factory to convert the scale and completely checked out. See photos and documentation. Price: $350 (less than 40% of new one) Send email to...

The World Air Games are on at Torino, Italy. There is a very cool live feed of the soaring races: http://www.wag2009.com/video/gliding.htm

New price for great ship. Arcus on order. Schempp-Hirth DUO DISCUS, 1999, 850 hours, as flown in the "A Fine Week of Soaring" video. Gelcoat 8/10. Standard Airworthiness Certificate. Annual 5/2015. SN10B flight computer front and rear, PowerFLARM with Butterfly display and connection to SN10B,...

Robert Drew, director of the classic "The Sun Ship Game", died at the age of 90. Most soaring pilots who love this film know little of his other ground-breaking films. Similarly, filmmakers familiar with those films have never heard of "The Sun Ship Game". When I made "A Fine Week of Soaring" he...

The Polish Grand Prix has amazing tracking in real time. But the scoring is a mess. Apparently there is an issue with the finish line and both days show all landing out. Anyone know what's going on? http://www.sgp.aero/poland2017/results-sgp/results.aspx?contestID=28344

Hello All, A friend suggested that I make my availability known to this group. I have a 250hp Pawnee and am available to tow during the 2016 soaring season. The plane is based full time in Jean, NV. I am open to towing in; Beatty, NV Jean, NV

Yup, there's a pending proposal to provide for "Commercial Off the Shelf" GPS data recording in Sporting Code Section 3 ("SC3"), effective 1 October 2009. (On the same date, cameras would officially become a thing of the past for Silver, Gold, Diamond and Diplome badges.) In many regards, pilot...

(AKA: Da Badgelady Speaks! Please use ' to respond... and bear in mind it's the busy season!!) Problems encountered evaluating FAI badge claims documented by flight recorder (“FR”) prompt the following notice to pilots and Observers: - if possible, retain the original flight...

Needed: intrepid volunteers to test an interactive Excel spreadsheet intended to deal with barographs, flight recorders and the myriad variables related to FAI badge claims. (Ten minutes of data entry and it tells you what badge leg(s) you're eligible to claim. Well, if you follow directions and...

Updates and guides for both 'Providers' and 'Candidates' will be posted on the SSA website this afternoon. Go to the main page, click on 'The Society' and follow links to either 'News' or 'Government News.' No need to log in as an SSA member. This just in from the TSA Office of the Chief...

Claim Check – an Excel-based spreadsheet – provides a comprehensive analysis of FAI badge flights in 2 minutes or less. Now, with new Sporting Code rules effective 1 October 2012, a newly updated Claim Check version 1.15 and two new utilities are available...

Looking for a hassle-free way to evaluate FAI badge and record claims? Try Claim Check. It "knows" Sporting Code rules, so the user needn't tweak myriad settings or edit the task to deal with instances when a declared Start or Finish Point was skipped, a Turn Point was used out of declared order or...

Seeking 10 - 20 volunteers to test a new spreadsheet system for FAI claim analysis, now posted on Windows Live (aka "Sky Drive"). Do you have 3 to 5 minutes to spare AND... ... at least one data file generated by an IGC-approved Flight Recorder or an NAC-approved Position Recorder; ... Excel...

Go to SSA.org and click on GLIDER EXEMPTION Judy

As many soaring operators have learned in recent months, current FAA policy allows existing Restricted Category tow planes to remain in service, but any newly-acquired tow plane must be certificated in Normal category. THIS APPLIES TO MANY/MOST PAWNEES!! In the Federal Register of November 2,...

A new TSA interpretation of the 'flight training' requiring security checks, photo identification et al is the subject of TSA Document 337, dated January 5, 2005. The new interpretation is addressed in some detail at the AOPA website, without mention of the glider exemption issued October 29,...

At 18:06 10 August 2003, Nolaminar wrote: Has anyone ever experienced an FAA Ramp Check when involved with soaring? Any such experience at a meet or competiotion. Yup. 15-Meter Nationals at Tonopah. One pilot randomly selected by the inspector was asked to pull out of the take-off line until...