A Fantastic Season's Kick Start

It took a while to begin, but the 2018 soaring season got a great kick start over the past few days.

It began on Friday, April 20 when at last, and after a very long winter, blue sky and cumulus finally appeared above Pendleton

Cumulus over Pendleton

Windy, it was

But despite the challenging conditions, 12 spring check flights were completed thus opening the official  soaring season.

The spring checks continued on Saturday while the hangar was unpacked. New students joined in on the flight line and got a first taste at the club's ground operations. The flight line was busy with a continuous succession of spring checks but we were able to launch Georges on his initial training flight.  Bienvenue à Julie et Georges au GGC!

On Sunday, the nice weather held and the activities began early around the hangars. Rigging, inspections and overall maintenance of the fleet was carried out.

Question? If you have 3 x SZD-55 is it called a flock or a murder of Fifty Five?

Can you guess why this guy is smiling? (Hint: There is now a new ASW-24 at Pendleton)

After a thorough inspection of the Puchacz, the club designated Polish Test Pilot went up to verify that the  aircraft from the Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD) factory met the rigorous standards of the GGC

And during all this time, the mitty Citrabria kept on towing

Not all the snow is gone yet from around Pendleton 

But that does not mean it cannot be Booming!

This guy could not wipe the grin from his face....

On Monday, Martin in M7 and Karl in KB went out on a cross-country flight around the MayFly large triangle: Pendleton - MSC- Alexandria - Pendleton.

It was a blue day

But on few occasions, you could peg the vario

And while Martin and Karl were having fun with their friends from MSC, Luc the tow pilot hopped in the tractor and rolled the surface of 31.

Rust Remover in the Club House

Yet another set of photos from the warm and cozy interior of the club house.
Maybe soon, we will be able to go outside!

More than 24 people attended the Rust Remover seminar this morning in the club house. Roger presented a very informative session where the flow of remarks, comments and questions from the audience kept the pace up for this important season ice breaker. This is a good event to maintain and improve the safety culture of our club.

If you could not attend today, two webinars (online presentations) will be given on Tuesday, April 10 @ 19:00 and Tuesday, April 18 @ 19:00. Follow this link  to register on Doodle.

In the afternoon, the CTP an a cohort of tow pilots proceeded to the hangar. Martin, Jean-Marc, Jarek, Mike B., Roger and David S. were checked. Soon the glider pilots will also get their spring checks and as the weather improves, they too can spread their wings.

Remember: hangar unpacking is next Saturday.  In the mean time, young retiree can enjoy a good meal while waiting for the remainder of the snow to melt.