[Don Grillo]

Fellow Members,

A friendly reminder that our mandatory spring safety meeting will be held at the hangar on Saturday, March 20th at 0900 sharp. Please plan on arriving at the hangar at least 15 minutes early.

For those that can absolutely not attend in person, we will stream the meeting on Zoom.

We will have some brief announcements and then get right into our safety talks. The schedule is posted below.  WINGS credit has been applied for and we are waiting final word for acceptance.

Our Topics and Presenters;

1. Accident Statistics in Soaring – Presented By: Don Grillo, CFI-G
2. Ground Maneuvering and Glider Handling – Presented By: Gary Palumbo, CFI-G
3. Preflight Takeoff and Tow – Presented By: Tim Ponsot, CFI-G
4. Traffic Pattern and Landing/Rollout – Presented By: Larry Kase, CFI-G
5. Personal Minimums – Presented By: Mark Dunning, CFI-G
   
6. Risk Management – Presented By: Austen Mersereau CFI-G
7. Emergency! Fly the aircraft first, Aviate-Navigate-Communicate Presented By: Steve Snyder, CFIG
8. Taking the next step in my flying career. Presented By: John Baker – CFIG
   
9. The FAA Safety Team  FAASTeam WINGS Program – Presented By: Mark Mallamo – CFI-G

COVID Precautions will be in effect at the hangar. Mask wearing and distancing will be in order.

Glider assembly may take place after the meeting, time and weather permitting.

All members including CFI’s are required to have the SoaringSafety.org Wing Runner course completion certificate for 2021 placed in their folder in the office prior to the flying season.
Tow-Pilots are also required to have the completion certificate for the SoaringSafety.org Tow Pilot course

The first 20 club members that present me with their 2021 Wing Runner Completion Certificate will receive the new Soaring Safety Foundation Wing Runner Badge.

Questions or comments, please contact me.

Don Grillo

Zoom Information;
John DeRosa is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: SSI Mandatory Spring Safety Meeting
Time: Mar 20, 2021 09:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85610556031?pwd=dXNmdHplcHJjcmd6ZU13NnpoRUkydz09

Meeting ID: 856 1055 6031
Passcode: 006767
One tap mobile
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+19294362866,,85610556031#,,,,*006767# US (New York)

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Meeting ID: 856 1055 6031
Passcode: 006767
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcRK0DoewM

[Don Grillo]

Hello John Baker,

We did have a lengthy, highly spirited discussion, during the clubs January monthly meeting on zoom.

The Safety Meeting will be held to the topics that the clubs CFI-G’s will be discussing as we are scheduled over 3 hours as it stands now.

Perhaps a later meeting in the year.

Best Regards,

Don

[Don Grillo]

Hello Sky Soaring members,

I have spent the last several days eradicating a virus that had infected the skysoaring.com website. The virus called the Favicon.ico virus has been around for a number of years and can infect a website that has vulnerable software code where the virus can get in through an open back door and inject itself into the website core files.  In our case it had gotten in some of the core files and into our uploads directory where all our club files are stored.

The virus never infected our SSI files but created new files that ran the virus code. What the virus did was to use the server that the ssi website is hosted on, it then sent out advertisements (yes, commercial ads) to other infected websites which in turn also sent out advertisements. A big circle where tens of thousands of websites are infected all sending out advertisements.

The good news is that all the corrupt files have been found and removed. It was a time consuming effort and also required the help of our website hosting service.

Please make note; Your home computer or device that you use to connect to skysoaring.com was never at risk of getting this virus. This was an internal virus that resided deep inside the core website files.

I have hardend our website so that (hopefully) it will not be infected again.

We use a common and widely used content management system called WordPress for our website software. It uses third party software called plugins for many items. An example is our photo gallery and message forum. All this third party software is vulnerable to attack. The answer is to not run third party software. That is not possible for our needs but it can be reduced so you may see some changes in our website soon.

I will post a notice after discussion with the BOD about removing some plugins, like the Links Page and photo gallery.

Sorry for the long explanation and that you weren’t to board with all this.

Regards,

Don Grillo

[Don Grillo]

Denny wrote: Wing Runner notices a sailplane on BASE LEG for landing. SSF answer: TP and sailplane to be moved off runway. This choice seems difficult to perform in the short time (~40 sec) remaining in the landing sequence,

Hi Denny,

I noticed that question and answer too.  The towplane can be moved easily by disconnecting from the glider and taxing off to the side of the runway.  Moving the glider off the runway quickly is another matter. In a case like that it may be wise to have the towplane move and ask the pilot/s of the glider to get out of the cockpit and stand clear.  We have encountered this same scenario at Sky Soaring too. It is a bit disconcerting when a landing glider flies directly over the top of a waiting glider on the grid by 20 or 30 feet.  If the landing glider hit a pocket of heavy sink on short final, it’s possible they would not be able to clear the waiting glider.  What is the solution?  One, would be to not move the next glider into takeoff position until all factors are ready ie; glider and its pilots ready, towplane running and ready, wing runner ready, runway clear.
What do you think?

[Don Grillo]

Hello Dick,

Thank you for the kind offer. The snow at the entrance of the driveway is probably 10″ by now and maybe more because the snowplows going by on RTE 20 add to the amount. I would suggest unloading your tractor at the Loves truck stop and driving your tractor a few hundred feet down rte 20 to our entrance. Unless you have a raised 4 wheel drive truck I wouldn’t suggest pulling into the driveway.  We can have someone meet you at Loves to help, just say when and we’ll be there.

Regards,

Don

[Don Grillo]

Hello CFI-G’s

Our Spring Safety Meeting will be held on Saturday morning March 20th, 2021, starting at 0900hrs.

At this time the meeting is planned for both in person at the hangar and online via Zoom. John Baker is working on getting WINGS credit for those attending both in person or online. More on that in the coming weeks.

Below are the topics that you have chosen to speak on. If you attend in person we will have a large screen TV that you can plug a laptop into via HDMI connection (please check your laptop for an HDMI connection.) If presenting via zoom, you will be able to share your screen.

Limit your presentation to 20 minutes maximum. We want to hold the meeting to around 3 hours.

1. Accident Statistics in Soaring – Presented By: Don Grillo, CFI-G
2. Ground Maneuvering and Glider Handling – Presented By: Gary Palumbo, CFI-G
3. Preflight Takeoff and Tow – Presented By: Tim Ponsot, CFI-G
4. Traffic Pattern and Landing/Rollout – Presented By: Larry Kase, CFI-G
5. Personal Minimums – Presented By: Mark Dunning, CFI-G – Remotely via zoom
6. Risk Management – Presented By: Austen Mersereau CFI-G
7. Emergency! Fly the aircraft first, Aviate-Navigate-Communicate Presented By: Steve Snyder, CFIG
8. Taking the next step in my flying career. Presented By: John Baker CFIG – Remotely via zoom.
9. The FAA Safety Team  FAASTeam WINGS Program – Presented By: Mark Mallamo – CFI-G

COVID Precautions will be in effect at the hangar. Mask wearing and distancing will be in order.

Glider assembly may take place after the meeting, time and weather permitting.

All members including CFI’s are required to have the SoaringSafety.org Wing Runner course completion certificate for 2021 placed in their folder in the office prior to the flying season.
Tow-Pilots are also required to have the completion certificate for the SoaringSafety.org Tow Pilot course

Questions or comments, please contact me.

Stay Safe,

Don Grillo
Flight Committee Chairman

 

[Don Grillo]

Hood River Soaring is offering ground school, see below link for registration.  Class Starts January 20, 2021!  Wednesdays at 7:30pm Pacific!

https://www.hoodriversoaring.org/glider-ground-school/#!form/GroundSchool  

—

Mark A. Stanfield, AGI, CFI, CFIG

Hood River Soaring President & Chief Flight Instructor

541-645-0447

[Don Grillo]

Art – since you volunteered to coordinate a new winch program I vote to keep the winch. I’ll give you administrative assistance in organizing the winch program.Mike Hurd 

[Don Grillo]

I’d like to extend my appreciation to the Board for initiating this conversation. This is a great club. The friendships we’ve developed here are more important than any one issue. I respect the people who have submitted their opinions and perspectives here even if I don’t fully agree with them. My objective, as always, is to remember that friendships come first and that differing opinions can be discussed without taking things personally.

The main challenge I see with the winch is logistics, not finance. The minimum crew requires a highly trained winch operator, a focused winch director who acts as the communications coordinator, one or two wing runners, and a mule car driver. This crew needs to be on duty for several hours at a time to have a credible winch operation. It’s a challenge for an all-volunteer organization to pull this crew together. Planning launch crews ahead of schedule has never been a core competency at Sky Soaring – that’s not a slam, it’s just the way it is for an all-volunteer club.

I voted in favor of the winch when the club decided to get it. But at that time my concern was more cultural than financial. At the time, I wondered if Sky Soaring had the self-discipline to train and motivate enough members to run a credible and safe winch program. In my opinion, time has shown that it has not demonstrated the will and the self-discipline to create a credible and accessible winch program. Sure, we have a few dedicated members who use the winch and love it but there’s been no real program to get members motivated and trained to use the winch.

I’ve seen no stats on how many members we actually have that are checked-off to run the winch and who have been trained to be winch directors. If I want to fly a glider all I need to do is call a tow pilot. If I want to launch with the winch how do I make that happen? I have no idea who is certified to run the winch, nor do I have any information on days and times those individuals are available. Ditto for winch director. With all due respect to the people who have put time into training others to use the winch, I have not seen a program that’s been thought through, communicated consistently to membership, and integrated into club culture. It’s nobody’s “fault”, it’s just the way it is.

The argument that we need to sell the winch to come up with money for the buyback program seems a bit surprising. When the buyback program was conceived and agreed upon, liquidating the winch to pay for it was never part of the plan. Therefore, talk now to liquidate the winch for that purpose is misguided, in my humble opinion. There are other ways to finance the share buyback. As a householder, my responsible goal is to minimize my debt. But it’s not always correct to assume the same finance model applies to an organization like Sky Soaring. Debt is not always bad. Others can speak better on that issue than I.

I like the idea of having a winch for all the reasons cited by others in this conversation. But unless a team of people steps forward to take leadership in putting together a viable winch training and usage program and commits to follow-through, I’m skeptical that it will ever properly and safely fit into Sky Soaring’s all-volunteer culture.

Finally, I’d like to see stats on how many members are trained to use the winch and how many members actually want to serve as winch crew in 2021 (and how many hours they actually commit to!) and how many pilots want to use the winch in 2021. Those stats would speak volumes and would help the club decide which way to go on this issue.

We need accurate data on what members want and what they’re willing to pay to get it. Once the data is available, it will be easy to make correct decisions without drama. I’ve proposed we use a survey to ask members these types of questions, and I’ve drafted one and submitted it to the Board. So, if you see such a survey in the near future, please respond to it.

Thanks!

Mike Hurd

[Don Grillo]

Denny, thanks for the question. As stated in my message the Bob Wander Flight Training Handbook and syllabus will be used for new student training.  As you mentioned, Bob Wander does make a very nice guide for Flight Review’s and it’s up to each individual instructor whether they would want to use it as a guide.  I do recommend that glider pilots purchase his guide and use it themselves to prepare for their flight review and spring checkouts.

Bob Wanders books can be purchased through the SSA, Cumulus Soaring and Wings and Wheels websites.
Don

[Don Grillo]

Hello Flight Instructors,

I have asked for input on using a training syllabus. Thanks Tim for your positive input and one of our other instructors commented via email to me.

We will move ahead this spring by incorporating the use of Bob Wanders, Flight Training Handbook and Syllabus.  All new student members will be required to purchase this handbook (the club may purchase copies to have on hand.)  In the back of the book is a syllabus that is filled out by the instructor before and after each section has been completed (see photo). This will help keep track of where the student is in regard to his/her training. This will also make it easier for the CFIG to concentrate on lesson plans that need to be completed by the student as well.

As shown below is a lesson plan with the corresponding Progress Record.  The Instructor Copy is on hard stock paper and is removable which can then be placed in the students office folder.

[Don Grillo]

John – I get those “you’ve won a prize” pop-ups occasionally. They come from having marketing malware on your device. One solution is to download an app called ccleaner or another app called malewarebytes. They, theoretically, delete uninvited advertising crap.  

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