"Illusions" & GGC History

It is sometimes said that life is not a destination but rather a journey and that things usually come full circle. One of those things came around full circle in Lake Placid this past weekend.

The past 2 weekends have provided pretty good mountain flying conditions for those intrepid aviators for GGC, RVSS and MSC that wanted to get a jump on the wave camp fly week but nothing prepared me for the visitor we had at the end of the day Saturday. After being kicked around in mixed wave/thermals conditions for most of the afternoon the KLKP glider pilots were treated to some fine “18m span eye candy” with a visit of a 1938 snapshot of how to build an 18m span aircraft (well, 18m spread across two wings that is...). Jim Catalano dropped by in his “better than new” Fleet model 16 biplane (better known as a “Finch” to those of us in Canada). To new members of GGC your first reaction may be “cool” but where is Roger going with this…stay with me…

Back when Pendleton aerodrome was established as a home for #10 Elementary Flight Training School (EFTS) for the RCAF in 1942, the aircraft used for training where Tiger Moths and Fleet Model 16s (Fleet Finch). Kind of interesting now that GGC has started to make a pilgrimage to LP for a fall wave camp that one of the ghosts from RCAF and GGC history is lovingly cared for and flown by a local LP pilot.

For those Richard Bach fans, the Fleet Finch (powered by the famous Kinner B5 engine) is the type of aircraft that he flies in his book titled “Illusions”.

The photos say it all…

Cheers,
Roger

The “Cri-Cri” is Alive!

Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Cri-Cri?


This past Sunday the Boudreault hangar was abuzz with preparations for the first flight of David’s recently acquired Cri-Cri aircraft. This aircraft design holds the distinction of the world’s smallest twin and looks like a model where a large bubble canopy for the pilot clearly seems to be an afterthought. After a series of low and high speed taxi tests and a detailed inspection, Ron launched the Cri-Cri into the skies of Pendleton with it’s two 15 hp single cylinder engines spinning the props at 4500 rpm. After a few circuits the Cri-Cri was back in the hangar for a well deserved rest.

So the next time you look to the skies at Pendleton remember that you may not be looking at a model airplane buzzing around at 300 ft but rather a full-fledged aircraft at 2000 ft!

2009 GGC Lobster Party

The 2009 edition of the annual GGC Lobster party was held last weekend under cloudy but dry skies. The cooking fires were lit by 5:00 PM and soon the cast iron pots were boiling with fresh cooked lobster. Barbeques were also lit for those tastes were preferred the bovine variety of “Alberta Lobster”.

Throughout the evening, diners were entertained by the GGC version of those “Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines” (using models) as Jeff flew his self designed, blue foam “Thing” and Greg with his sleek electric glider. A true study of contrasts…The "Thing" once again proving that with enough thrust and flight control software (gyros), you can make anything fly and Greg showing what can be done with 10% of the normal thrust from his “Superflugel”.


As darkness fell, Nial set up a non-stop 10 minute fireworks extravaganza which was quickly followed by lighting the bonfire with bow and arrow (al la Barcelona Olympics…well…sort of).
Special thanks to all who helped make the 2009 GGC lobster party such a resounding success!

GGC @ Vintage Wings 2009

Early June signaled the annual migration of a GGC towplane and glider to the annual Vintage Wings “Open House” at Gatineau airport. The day started with low overcast skies but things cleared up completely by noon. Vintage wing’s recent acquisition, a P-40 Kittyhawk was prominently on display with flybys of the Corsair, Mustang and Staggerwing occurring through the day. There was steady traffic around our L33 (TR) that was ably flown in by Dan…after a 40 minute long holding pattern tow, to wait for a slot to land at the airport. Special thanks to all who contributed to make this event a success!
(photo M. Lacasse)

MayFly 2009!

This past Victoria Day weekend GGC was a beehive of activity as the 2009 edition of the MayFly competition got underway. The four competition days ran Friday (15th) through Monday (18th). 10 pilots/teams in a mix of single and dual seat gliders took to the skies around Pendleton to challenge the weather, and each other.
The MayFly competition was started 11 years ago as a “learning” competition to introduce novice cross country pilots to competitive soaring. A blended handicapping system that combines pilot experience with glider performance has proven quite effective in leveling the playing field amongst pilots and aircraft.
Over 2300 km were flown by all pilots over the three contest days. 1500 km on the Monday the 18th alone! Doug provides an interesting insight to the launch activities on the second contest day.

"Initially with only the Pawnee launching the contest grid, a gopher came out of his hole in the third last L-33 on the grid, saw his shadow, jumped into the Citabria and began towing gliders to hasten the launch, After a few tows this intrepid groundhog was seen racing back to his trusty L33 mount to fuss around with parachutes and cushions etc., and after a few minutes joined the other MayFly pilots on course. Special thanks "Wiarton Martin" for his enthusiasm and persistence to keep the launch grid moving! "

Morning briefings focused around analyzing the pervious days’ flights and contest flying strategies/techniques. Evening barbeques and entertainment in the clubhouse rounded out the weekend. The 2009 contest results are posted under the MayFly tab of the GGC website.

Special thanks to all who helped to make this GGC signature event such a success for 2009.

Roger "(and Doug)"

Early May GGC Adventures

What a weekend! May 2-3 provided stellar conditions for soaring even with 24 kt SW winds at altitude. 7000 ft thermals with average thermal strengths of 4 kts made for a memorable 2 days of flying.

Saturday evening also provided good clear sky conditions for the first runway walk of 2009. Runway walks at GGC are a tradition that go back to the early years of club operations at Pendleton aerodrome. A group of members usually head out after dark to walk the triangular circuit of GGC runways, usually stopping at the far SW corner of the runways for star (and satellite) gazing. Norm, Andrew, Brenda, Lucile, Niall and yours truly bundled up to officially usher in the 2009 runway walk season.


Roger

Where Eagles Soar...

Last Saturday provided a very unusual sighting in the skies over Pendleton. While climbing in a 3kt thermal (thanks Nick) I saw what looked like a large hawk. However as I approached, I realized it was a bald eagle (white head, brown feathers and yellow beak/talons). This is the first time I have seen a bald eagle in Pendleton. Red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons and the occasional golden eagle are more typical raptor visitors. This was a majestic, humbling sight. After a few minutes, a red-tailed hawk joined the thermal below us. The eagle’s quickly scanning head movements froze and locked on the hawk. A few seconds later he tucked in his wings and rolled into a dive toward the hawk. The hawk, sensing that something was up, also tucked in his wings and rolled into a similar dive, away from the eagle. It was like watching a raptor version of “Top Gun”. That evening I searched for more information about bald eagles in Ontario and discovered that they are making a strong comeback and the number of sightings has increased dramatically over the last 6 years. 20 years of flying at Pendleton and every year there is something new to discover… (photo: John Michell)

Roger

Wind, Soaring & Stars

Friday evening (April 24th) saw GGC visited by an area astronomy club for some serious star gazing. Multiple telescopes of all sizes with all manner of tracking mechanisms set up on the runways to take advantage of the very dark nights we have at Pendleton (away from the light pollution of Ottawa & Montreal). Fun was had by all and our friends from the astronomy club will likely return throughout the 2009 season.

Saturday (April 25th) was one of those balmy, almost tropical days when winter bypasses spring in Canada, and almost leaps into summer. By contrast, and if to remind us that this is indeed Canada, Sunday was dull and overcast. However on Saturday we had recorded 24 flights at Pendleton, in windy conditions (gusting to over 20 knots), and more members had their Spring check rides. The Puchacz recorded 14 flights, and at one time the Blanik was brought out for a single flight, as was also one of the L-33s. Karl and Doug entered the "time-machine" and had short but very enjoyable flights in "Sparky" Smith's Schweizer 1-26, as also did Ron Smith. Nobody beat Alice's record the previous week of a little over an hour (guess, Alice "through the looking glass", has the magic touch, in the Pendleton "Wonderland").

In the private world of ships, Roger christened the season with a couple of flights in "AT", while Nick “ST”, unobtrusively soared around the skies in the windy conditions for four hours.

Many thanks to those TOW PILOTS and FIELD MANAGERS who helped to make it all happen. As an interlude in the day, Ron and Wolfgang and others walked a group of members through the de-rigging and rigging procedures for the sleek new ASW-24. (Photo: Andrew Kissman)

Doug & Roger

Our New ASW-24 - First Flight 2009

It's official! On Thursday April 2nd, M7 flew for the first time as the flagship of the GGC fleet.


After a thorough read of the flight manual and briefing by Ulli, Martin was off in M7. Karl caught the flight on the ground and later in the air from the Puchacz (yes that white stuff in the photo on the ground is snow!).




Throughout the afternoon Karl continued with spring checkouts in the Puchacz.


It was an amazing day with impressive spring soaring conditions! Martin will be grinning for weeks...

2009 Flying Season Underway @ GGC

Saturday turned out to be a picture perfect day to start the 2009 flying season at GGC.


The grins on the faces of Remi and Lee say it all! The temperature topped out at 15C and 2-3 kt. thermals were being generated by the campground forest. Doug got into the spirit with his customary shorts and t-shirt.


Although the runways were clear, there was still a significant amount of snow in the forest and campground. 24 spring checkout flights were flown by the end of the day.