Fall Hangar Packing and Cleanup

 

Saturday Nov. 12^th was our fall cleanup and hangar packing day and Pendleton aerodrome was a beehive of activity. An army of members assisted Jarek in packing the hangar with most of the work being competed by 1:00 PM.

An equal army lead by Dan Duclos attacked our wood pile and with the help of the log splitter, managed to fill the triangular woodshed by 2:30. 

 

By the end of the day everyone was gathered in the clubhouse for another GGC tradition, the bean, macaroni and sugar pie dinner. I don’t think that anyone left the clubhouse hungry! Special thanks to Ray and Marcel for once again hosting this amazing feast.

 

A special thank-you to everyone who came out and helped make the fall cleanup day a resounding success!

Roger

The tracker

I've had questions on the Open Glider Network (OGN) tracker receiver.  It is a small computer (Raspberry Pi 3 in my case, though there are others, the Pi seems to be fairly standard), connected to a Software Driven Radio (SDR) receiver, and an antenna, with associated cables. If you live in a noisy (electronically) area, you probably will also need a bandpass filter to cut the noise down.
Cost of a good Pi on amazon, with software images ready to install a version of Linux, Raspbian, is about $100; you can get less powerful Pi's cheaper, but the 3 comes with wireless and bluetooth built in; you have to add that to the others, and they come with a less powerful power supply.
Cost of a SDR can vary; I bought a $27 dollar one (NooElec TV28T v2 USB DVB-T & RTL-SDR Receiver) but it turned out I needed an amplifier, since signals are weak), so I got one with an internal amp on amazon.ca for $19.00 (FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver).  ADS-B is near the FLARM frequency and can be adjusted for it.  I was thinking of using a spare FLARM antenna I had kicking around, but Nick suggested it wouldn't be enough, so I got a 915MHz 5dBi Outdoors Omni-Directional Rigid Whip Antenna from Mouser.ca for $20.  

The FlightAware 'dongle' attaches to the Pi on USB (4 ports available). Plug a cable into the FlightAware (sma connector) or if you need a bandpass filter, the filter onto the FlightAware, and the cable onto the filter, then coax cable to the antenna. I needed an adapter from SMA to N (standard communications connector) - got one at Active Electronics on Merrivale (also avail at Radio Shack in the US).

There is a good Wiki on setting up the receiver at http://wiki.glidernet.org/ , on the left side "install a receiver".  This is mainly for Euro FLARM (868 Mhz vs our 902-928 Mhz), but Nick B really helped with a set of detailed instructions, which are really cut-and-paste.

I recommend anyone flying with FLARM within range of an OGN receiver register with the OGN devices database at http://wiki.glidernet.org/ddb - it takes only a minute. You need your FLARM id from your flarmcfg.txt file.  I will be doing a post later on how to locate an overdue aircraft using the OGN Search and Rescue function ( http://wiki.glidernet.org/sar ).  Easy and quick - if you're registered.  Your data is held for 24 hours on each flight, then wiped (unless 'locked' when doing a SAR search).

So, what does it look like?  Here are pics of the Pi, FlightAware dongle, the cable from the dongle out the window, then the antenna on a pole. Mount courtesy of Jarek T.; ladder courtesy of Adirondack Air Services (also their pole, wireless connection, and power). The site isn't really ideal, since the peak roof is metal, and shields the area to the North, but the installation works well from Whiteface to Mt Marcy.  
 Pictures:  Pi and FlightAware; cable out window; antenna on pole; receiver range (green squares show good reception); and sample screen of "spot the gliders" from my iphone, looking at DB's data at the time. I get a data point about every 2 secs from gliders within range. Nick and Frank's excellent CNF3 installation on the big Hangar is excellent, seeing gliders in the wave at 8000' at a range of 174 km; my first shot at an installation is basic; I got ranges of about 20 km, and not many gliders went beyond that distance (mountains, wind, etc).  Recall that the transmit power of a FLARM is 0.010 watts (Portable) or 0.018 watts (CORE).  Amazing that it is detectable at all.  I will also get a bigger ladder to put the antenna higher... I have about $140 invested, and am good to go (if you don't need the deluxe package, $70 CAD for the Pi will bring it down about $30).  You will need access to a wireless network.  I will tinker with the setup, and install it again next year at Lake Placid.  The higher you get the antenna, the better; the Pendleton set-up is 30m up...

There are receivers at GGC, RVSS, MSC, SOSA and I believe Champlain clubs.  It makes what we do accessible to the public, and it is a boon for the crew to wander in, look at the screen, and know whether their Sailplane Crew Union Membership (SCUM) duties will be required... You can also watch a race in near-real time, which was very popular at MayFly.  We also discovered a bad FLARM A antenna in the Puchacz installation, which we fixed by using a 1/2 wave dipole antenna.

In the US , there are receivers at Minden NV, Colorado Springs, and when the GGC Lake Placid camp is operational, there (1-10 October).   If the wave is up, and the gliders are above 8k you might see them on the Pendleton or Hawkesbury receivers.

To decrease noise, the pi and dongle should be separated (powered active usb cable works well, I'm told), and dongle and antenna as well (5 loops of 6" in cable also help, as do ferrities).  I did learn that standard coax losses are huge, and will be replacing RG58 (standard cable tv coax) with low-loss coax (probably LM200 or LM 240) to boost my detection range.  The fewer adapters, and the better the connectors, the less loss there is. Jarek and Nick improved my antenna and got a 9 dB gain on Saturday when it rained. We got at least a 10 km increase (no one got terribly far on a wave day - going up instead of out...

My next post will be a look at the October 10th wave, and the one after, using OGN for SAR.  If you want to spot the gliders, go to live.glidernet.org . You can see them in the Andes, Africa, Australia, Europe, and now, North America.

A big Bravo Zulu (navy-talk for good show) to Nick for bringing the first station into life in Canada, and helping techno-bozos (me) to get the thing going. 

Pi, FlightAware (behind PC in flight planning room). Power supply plugged into wall below)

Cable going out a window

5 dB antenna screwed into pole; ground plane added for better gain

Green blob shows glider detections - "it's all about the blob"- circles are 10 km

What it looks like on iPhone 5 screenshot; anywhere there's internet

click on a yellow glider and get info every 2 secs - trails too! Receiver at Lake Placid airport

 

Sat/Sun

On Saturday, it rained...

On Sunday, it all depended on the amount of moisture; a towplane test flight to Whiteface said there was a hole in the overcast and wave at Whiteface. Several gliders launched - DUO, 2D, 55, ST, DB, IAK - and the early ones got to see the hole close, and overcast get a bit thicker - moisture from Matthew.  The winds allowed ridge soaring on the Sentinel Range; the long wings (ST, DB) tried to get to Algonquin, but it was only 3000 AGL, and marginal, so they returned (they have sustainers, so it was safe).  After a pizza supper, there was a bonfire.

The HRRR shows wave is likely this morning, and after flying we have to dismantle the tracker - which Jarek improved on Saturday, so all flying is likely to be captured on it today - and disassemble the gliders and pack up for the trip home.

The winds are NW, favouring Whiteface, but there is a reduction in speed at 12000 that may be a problem. Regardless, we'll be having a go!

So far, I've had a challenging blue thermal day, and a wave attempt that ended up in Ridge. Will I complete the triple?  Time will tell.

Should increase with height; 9-12k a problem?

orange and green bands are wave just lower left of Lake Champlain (we hope)

About 2500 Bkn - Ovc right now. Rigging and waiting (update).

2D

Friday

It looked on the thermal forecast to be a weaker day than yesterday.  Nick suggested that, with the increasingly stable air and wind direction, there might be wave; only a light breeze on the ground. Jarek took the Pawnee for a look, and there was wave near Algonquin Peak.  A lot of nice flights, with those who invested in a 5,000 or 5,500' tow were rewarded with a few hours of localized wave, and those who took 4,000' tows and released on first bump were rewarded with a tough ride, having to use sparse rotor or slide downhill to the Sentinels to get up.  A couple of very nice flights were flown...  see the OLC.

Saturday looks a bit rainy at midday, with pretty well fully overcast.  That is the front, which will cool it down (quite warm, shorts and t-shirt weather), and on Sunday, swing the wind to NW, which is favourable for wave (if you have stable air).  Time will tell.  The low overnight Sun/Mon is -3C (was +4 last night).

The tracker seems to be working ok.  Tim from RVSS posted a pic on the SAC FORUM of ST thermaling near Whiteface. 

Pic of the MSC Duo Discus landing on the last flight of the day, 6ish.

MSC Duo, final for 32, grass.

Lake Placid - Thursday

The day wasn't as strong as Wednesday, but flights of 3 hours, topped about 5,800' ASL (Lake Placid is 1,745' ASL) were normal.  It started with a few Cu, but turned blue.  Most gliders have FLARM, and anyone with a good climb pretty quickly had a lot of company...

Two photos of my flight, one looking east at the Sentinel range, the other, over Lake Placid, looking out towards the north. You can see a strong inversion.

Today should be similar to yesterday, and we continue preparation for high altitude flights with oxygen fills. Saturday looks rainy, and is the front that should change the pattern to winter (and better wave possibilities).  Highs have been 75F/23C - very nice - but the low on Sunday is -2C.

Sentinels - ridge soared these briefly

Lake Placid, the MacKenzie range, then in the far distance, Canada

Lake Placid 2016

Quick update. We have an OGN tracker running; it doesn't have the range of the permanent installations at GGC, MSC, and RVSS, but it will allow you to see gliders within 10 miles or so of Lake Placid:
http://live.glidernet.org/#c=44.28043,-73.88772&z=10&l=ar&p=3&u=i Not great quality, since it is a screen shot from my iphone; better on a PC.

Here's an idea of the fall colours in Lake Placid; that's looking east to the Sentinel Range; the staging area on 34; the MSC Duo on final.

 View from the picnic table... nice

We had a bunch of flights, some just short of 300 km (almost to Potsdam NY and return - seen by the GGC tracker at 118km!  Other flights over 5 hrs.  MSC Duo, RVSS Grob, GGC Puchacz all did field checks.  Flights to 6000' ASL, and very calm.

I'm off to fly.

Sep 9, 10 work

On Friday Sep 9, the Junior was dropped off for maintenance at Bromont.  While it was an okay soaring day, there wasn't enough interest to fly, and a few of the usual suspects were out working on their trailers, and enjoying quite a nice day.

The entrance to the Carpenter Shack has been needed some TLC for a while... after 74 years, the wood beams were very soft. 

Jarek got 3 long 2x12 pressure-treated boards long enough to do an interim fix.  The story in pictures.  Work was about 90% Jarek, 5% Mike, 5% me.  While the punky boards will have to go, probably requiring a small digger (yippee!) rental, and a small concrete pour, and perhaps better drainage, the front of the shop should be ok for a year or two, and we can keep the tractor there over the winter safely. Work finished up late Saturday morning. 

The Carpenter Shack is great for maintenance on gliders, trailers, fabrication, and was used for briefings and scoring at the last National Soaring Contest we hosted; it's a facility that makes a lot of the things the club does a lot easier.  Thanks to Jarek and Mike for their work.

Beams fitted in (2 of 3) to replace punky wood

Using jacks to sister the boards into a beam (Jarek, Mike) to push the rotten wood back

Beams screwed together; blocks to connect to existing structure; plywood

Steel to direct water away from wood

Gravel to keep water away

One hour later, OR trailer under repair, and drive belt temporary installation ongoing (Jarek, Jacques)

Flying Friday 26 Aug

Nick Carter organized a flying day on Friday, and flew the club ASW-24 for an hour and a half; a group of private owners flew (OR - ASW-20; 2D - SZD-55; 64 - Std Libelle; 02 - PIK-20D; 55 - SZD-55) for nice late summer flights. There was a strongish North-West wind, and most tried to stay upwind.  There were nice cloudstreets that ran from the airport up past Thurso on the Quebec side of the Outaouais towards Lac Blanche. I ran the street past Thurso with 55 and 64.

This is a pic of 64, fighting the headwind with Lac Blanche in the top.

Andre, in 64, Std Libelle, pushing NW against the wind

It was a very nice day to fly, though it was easier if you could stay above 4,000' (we estimate cloudbase was about 6,500' north of the river), since the wind was chopping up the thermals lower, and there was a little mechanical turbulence down low too.  I eventually jumped to an adjacent cloudstreet, which ran from Saint-Andre-Avellin back to Alfred - it didn't take long to get there with a 25 kt tailwind!  After 2.5 hours of fun, I landed, and disassembled my glider to temporarily install an oxygen system for our upcoming mountain soaring camp at Lake Placid, NY, USA.   Thanks to Ryan MacNeil, our newly minted tow pilot, for the tows, the help of the other pilots in launching, and Jarek for the help putting 2D in its box.

We had a visitor from Montreal Soaring Council - DB in his very nice LAK17 - pass over on his way north, taking advantage of the lift from the Nations Golf Course. We could hear others (including Emmanuel in PE, just back from the Sailplane Grand Prix at Ionia MI, and the Canadian National Soaring Championship at Arthur, Ontario) enjoying the day.  

Those with trailers can appreciate this; then, Jarek and I worked at changing the trailer wiring for our used Junior trailer from Euro 7-wire round connector to the North American standard flat four; lots of fun. I didn't take pictures of that.  It works now - sorta!

Thursday 18 August - Day 4 - Instructor Course

Spin/Spiral Dive/Slideslip day; out with the parachutes!  We flew 13 flights, seven hours of flying time. Luc Savoie and Jarek Twardowski towed, and Greg B fixed a recurring snag on RM, then taught Dan how to use the tractor.  Dan then mowed 13/31, the takeoff area of 08, the paved area of 17/35, the mid-taxiway of 08/26 (enough to get a glider in), and touched up the staging area of 31.

First flight was at 14:39, last landing at 19:10; after class, giving a class, and getting the equipment out, flying, putting things away, and an hour of debriefing, it was another long day. The candidates are tired but coming along well. The weather is cooperating, and everyone is a bit tired but keen for tomorrow's two flights.  The soaring weather looks great tomorrow, for a change, and we expect to see a few private gliders out flying 300 km flights.

We'd like to thank the Course Directors for their time and expertise, giving back to the sport, and the candidates for giving up a week of vacation and footing the flying bill, in order to pass the sport on to a new generation of pilots (perhaps reading this blog) with enthusiasm, safety, and a sense of fun. Gatineau and Rideau Valley Soaring are getting a great bunch of instructors!

SAC Eastern Instructor Course 2016 - click to enlarge

Aug 17 - Instructor Course Day 3

Day 3 we caught up with the remaining flying from Day 2, and finished Day 3's flying too. The candidates are starting to really progress, and are hitting the books for the closed-book exam, as well as preparing for the next day's flights, and ground instruction lessons.  The looks are less glazed, and now, more tired.

All 3 of the club two-seat gliders are in use, though we will only use 2 today for spins and spiral dive instruction. Yesterday, a lot of stalls and approaches were flown.  3 private owners flew, totalling 4 flights and just under 8 hours flying, while the Pawnee had 25 flights totaling 3 hours 10 minutes. The club two-seaters had 7 and a half hours. All in all, a safe, very pleasant day.  A very light rain fell last night, and class begins at 9 this morning. The airfield has great drainage, yesterday, after at least 2" on Tuesday, you'd never know it had rained.

We were visited by two Air Cadet instructors from Quebec, who had seen that we were running a course, and came out to see us. Thanks for helping the private owners get their gliders out, and it was great to see you!

Thanks to Rick Sudeyko for the great tows!

Damp day... Eastern Ont Instructor Course Day 2

This is what "significant widespread rainfall" looks like

Morning academics were smoother, though most looked a little tired. The flight exercise started with 3,000' tows for slow flight/stall training.  This was easy at first, but the rain started at about 12:45, and steadily increased in intensity. We shut down just before 2, and put the aircraft to bed, wiping them down. We're going ahead with tomorrow morning's academics, as everyone dries out.  Tomorrow, we'll be probably doing an hour, then doing the remainder of today's flying (2 candidates must complete flight 3, 1 has done flight 4).  Overall, everyone is progressing well. Lots of hard work by all concerned.

We're near Montebello.

Eastern Ontario SAC Instructor Course - Day 1, Monday August 15, 2016.

On Monday, there were two private owners and one club member flying single seat gliders who launched in the late morning and had nice flights of 2, 3, and 4 hours.

After ground school in our wonderful clubhouse, the seven instructor candidates (two from Rideau Valley Soaring and five from Gatineau Gliding Club) came out to the airfield and got the 3 two-seat club gliders to the flight line, and began the first of ten instructional flights in the curriculum.  The course is conducted by the Chair of the SAC FTSC (see previous posting), Dan Cook is being assisted by senior instructors from RVSS and GGC and the Chief Flying Instructor of Gatineau.  Other GGC members are helping with logkeeping, launching, and returning landed gliders to the flight line.

Each of the candidates had two flights, and experienced many of the common events to junior instructors; concentrating on the lessson and not so much the location of the airport; words which didn't appear when needed; and sometimes getting ahead of themselves...  This will get better over the next eight flights.

After a quick dip in our Olympic size pool to cool off, the candidates started preparing for the Tuesday flights and ground lesson plans which they will give under the watchful eyes of the Class I instructors.

Thanks to John Kahn for his work as the tow pilot.   There were 16 flights, including the towplane test flight, last takeoff just after 6 pm, totaling 13 hours and a few minutes.

Tuesday morning, the forecast for a whole bunch of rain means that after morning groundschool, we are not likely to do a lot of flying, but will use the CONDOR Flight Simulator in the clubhouse to progress, and probably do a little of Wednesday's academics, so we can get back to the schedule.  The remaining week's weather looks great, and it is quite likely that we'll be able to finish up on time.

We thank the candidates for giving up a week of holidays to give back to the sport they love.

Sunday 14 August - Instructor upgrades

On Sunday, 14 August, the Chair of the Soaring Association of Canada (SAC) Flight Training and Safety Committee (FTSC) was in town to assess three of the senior club instructors for upgrading to higher classifications.

In Canada, Transport Canada awards the Instructor rating. SAC runs instructor courses, and recognizes 3 classes which recognize increasing experience and expertise. Instructors start with the TC rating, and are awarded Class III.

Class III: May instruct students up to and including solo stage. May recommend students for solo flight to a more senior instructor.

Class II: May instruct students up to and beyond solo stage. May send a student solo with second recommendation from another Class II or Class I instructor. May train pilots for passenger carrying and cross-country flight.


Class I:  As for Class II, plus may send students for first solo flights. May provide advanced training such as cross-country and, following additional training, may train pilots to become instructors.

Some instructors may also specialize in aerobatic instruction.

All three candidates were successful, and join several other members of the club as SAC Class I instructors:  In alphabetical order, congratulations to Greg Baumeister, Karl Boutin and Jeff Waters for their hard work, and recognized expertise. 

GGC is fortunate to have a skilled and hard-working cadre of instructors who enjoy teaching our new members how to fly.  Have you ever wanted to learn to fly?

  

Saturday July 2nd

Well, it blew and blew on Saturday. I thought I was on duty (in fact, Sunday AM), and pitched in to help the usual suspects catch up on a bit of work.  The impressive scrap wood pile, which wasn't burned during the Lobster Party last week because of the dry conditions, was lit during the recent thunderstorm downpour. It burned as if it was dry out... but safely. I gathered a few trailer loads of downed tree limbs and greens that Dan Duclos had cut, and burned that on the few coals left.  The tractor clutch system had a snag, and Jarek and Greg were working on it. I lubed the many lube points on it. After, the entry gate had collapsed tubes holding hinge points, making it sag. A trip to the Rockland TSC to pick up the required replacements, a torch, and a load of gravel later, it was fixed.

Jarek and Greg and the new hinges

 Last fall, the Board arranged for our handyman, Mr. Charbonneau, to pick up special paint for the metal roof of the Carpenter Shop. By the time it had arrived, it was too cold to apply. It was done Saturday morning.

In the picture, you can also see one of the new internet nodes that are springing up around the club. The old ones were not supportable, and were dying. You can see one on the right end of the roof...

Not pictured, Dan MacDonald washed and waxed the leading edges of the club 2-seat gliders.

Even if Mother Nature doesn't play ball, there's lots to be done at the club.

A good crowd had a nice dinner, a few Margaritas, and a good night's sleep before what was a duty day for many.

New roof paint and internet

Kilo Bravo vers Huberdeau

(text and photos by Karl Boutin; posted by Dan)

Let me tell you about two flights, two Fridays apart. Same task, same glider but two different cross-country adventures. In both cases, we were trying to organise mid-week flying operations in order to enjoy the great looking flying forecast that May or June can provide here in the North East. These few weeks of late spring are the best to plan long tasks or badge leg attempts.

Rémy and I keep in the memory of our Nano III flight recorder a few tasks ready for such days. We have different courses to match different possible weather conditions we can expect on a specific day. Before putting KB (Karl and Rémy's ASW-20 - ed.) on the grid, and once the latest 10 am Dr Jack (online meteorological site - ed.) update has been produced, we load up in the device the better task for the day. On June 3rd, Rémy chose a 300 km cat’s cradle task that would benefit from the good conditions expected north of the river. Pendleton - Cheneyville - Cornwall - Huberdeau - Pendleton makes a nice “N” course running north-south over the Ottawa river. It is the exact same task I attempted two weeks later to benefit, as he did, from the promised Cu’s that were going to pop over the northern hills.

Both Fridays were great flying days but the latter was a boomer! Cumulus did form around 14:00 over Pendleton on June 17 and cloudbase did reach into the 10000 ft MSL during that day. That may explain why I was able to get my Gold distance leg out of this flight. My partner, on the other hand, finished the afternoon of his flight on the porch of Brian & Lise’s mansion in Avoca, sipping white Chardonnay, while his partner was on his way for the retrieve!

Rémy and hosts (pretty blue sky...)

ASW-20 "KB" at sunset

 Have a look at both traces and you will be able to see the difference between those two flying days. The working band heights, the thermal strength, the wind drift and BS ratio (buoyancy to shear ratio - measure of how well thermals form and rise, or are torn apart by the wind -ed.) were all conditions that made for two very different stories.

Rémy's trace (map, altitude vs time, green is ground height)

 

Karl's trace

 

And what did we learn from this?

         “Quand tu pars pour Huberdeau avec Kilo Bravo, t’es mieux d’être haut!’”

Even not so good pilots (like Martin says...just kidding) can have epic flights. This time was my turn. On June 4th, I managed to soar for 6 hrs 10 min. My lower back still hurts ;)
I should able to apply for a Silver Badge duration leg (5 hours or more). Rather than bragging about it, my intention is to share the happiness with other glider pilots and soon-to-be glider pilots. The peaceful times you experience when soaring are priceless.
Cheers
Roberto-
 

Pendleton was a very busy airport during this year's MayFly.......Many guest pilots, very colorful Spring landscape, time to rest in the shade under a glider's wing and even dust devils. It is always a memorable event organized by GGC every year. Congrats to organizers, pilots, and people that supported the event. Please see below a few pictures. You can also see more photos under:
https://goo.gl/photos/FeasKMQAsxqX1y4s8
https://goo.gl/photos/WNATTJEPE1shR51Z6
Cheers
Roberto-