Dawn Patrol ?

At 0830 sharp Saturday morning, three keen students were at the hangar to get the flying day going. This may not yet be quite early enough to call it a Dawn Patrol, but we are getting there.

Mike B. Joseph S. and Luc S. pulling IFX out of the Lacasse hangar

The flying operations began early and all of the flight done before 1100 benefited from the tow Early Bird special. The tows may have been cheaper but because of  the winds they were still quite challenging.

Two new GGC members began their training on this windy day. Welcome to Luc Sanscartier and Joseph Siouffi.

By lunch time, both the L-23 and the Puchacz were on the flight line. Thanks to a great field management team, we kept aircrafts in motion and all pilots were able to enjoy another great day of flying

Joseph Siouffi and Karl in IFX, JCZ getting in position on the flight line

Some were even running after gliders trying to catch up with all the fun...

Don running the wing for Paul in M7

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.

Spring at Pendleton

Spring has arrived at Pendleton and through out the day we could feel that the gliding season is just about to begin.

The four GOMX amigos met early at CNF3 for some Champ ski flying. In preparation for the flight, the pilots agreed on the proper dressing code for the day: the Official GGC Tuque.

While some members were laying out fuselages for gel coat repair before the soaring season

Others were using the Pendleton aerodrome at their discretion

The view from above still shows a lot of the white stuff, but darker patches are beginning to peek through. And the thermals are already pumping!

It may still be too early to spend a full day on the flight line, but at least the club house is operational.

And until the new BBQ promised by Martin shows up, we can retire to Wendover for pizza and beer...

SAC Eastern Zone Championship - GGC MayFly 2017

Friday May 19th is Day 1 of the Championship. With the cold front/thunderstorms/high wind last night, and low cloud this morning, it was hard to be optimistic, however, they're up and flying. There are four gliders equipped with trackers participating, and two others are flying a fairly long task from Hawkesbury. Here's a picture.

Gliders AT, PG (from Montreal Soaring Council), 84 (from Rideau Valley Soaring, Kars), and RM (GGC club glider) are seen running a short quadrilateral Pendleton, Plantagenet, Fournier, Lemieux; and gliders DB and ST, long-wings from Montreal Soaring are returning from Spencerville.  The forecast for Saturday is very good, and Sunday as well.  We also have a visitor flying from York Soaring.

MayFly is a learning contest, and mentors are assigned to new cross-country pilots; there are briefings as well on various topics; Flight Safety, How to Fly Faster, etc.

To see the live glidertracker, go to http://live.glidernet.org/#c=45.33400,-75.15207&z=10&s=1&l=ar&p=2&u=i .

Mid-afternoon on Friday of the long weekend. Sucks to be at work I imagine. Click on image to make it larger.

Carleton University "Blackbird" UAV Team at GGC

 

Over the last two weeks, GGC has hosted the Carleton University “Blackbird” UAV team as they have been preparing their fixed wing and rotary wing UAVs for the national student competition in Alma, QC on April 28-30, 2017. Check out the links below:

 

http://cedalma.com/en/evenements/competition-etudiante-canadienne-de-drones-organisee-par-unmanned-systems-canada/

https://www.facebook.com/BlackbirdUAV/

 Started in 2009, the Blackbird UAV Team was created to provide students at Carleton University with an opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gained through their coursework by giving students hands on experience in the design, construction and implementation of an unmanned aircraft and its systems. Approximately 30 undergraduate and graduate students have been involved in the development of the Team’s entry into this year’s Unmanned Systems Canada Student UAS Competition.

As an extra-curricular project, the Blackbird UAV Team has relied on the generous support of multiple organizations on and off campus.

GGC is proud to support the Carleton Blackbird team again in 2017 by providing the team a flight test location and we wish them the best of luck at the upcoming competition!

2017 Flying Season Underway at GGC

After a wild winter of dramatic temperature swings and alternating snow and rainfalls, flying finally started on Saturday April 8^th.

The day started with the first session of our annual mandatory “Spring Rust Remover Safety Seminar” in the clubhouse which was attended by over 20 GGC members. A great turnout for the first flying day of the season!
After the briefing, spring flight checkouts started with tow pilots (Jarek, Martin, Mike and Jean-Marc) then shifting to flight instructors (Wolfgang, Karl, Gord and Roger). A stiff cross-wind (exactly between runway 26 and 35) provided an honest challenge for everyone to refresh their skills. Mike also managed to get his glider checkout after the instructor cadre had completed their flights.

 

After flying, everyone retired to clubhouse to get back into the regular summertime routine of completing the daily logbook entries.   

Here’s to a great 2017 flying season!