Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
This is an interesting problem for SSI. I have been in the glider ready for a tow when a glider landing came in over me. It’s an especially uncomfortable situation. Don’s aforementioned heavy sink scenario is an all to real happenstance. At SSI with the wider taxiway that we should have next spring it should be possible to stage the glider on one side of the runway/taxiway while a landing glider stays on the side NOT occupied by the staged glider. I have seen this done at other locations without problems. We would have to retrain our pilots to the new method but safety would certainly be greatly enhanced.
A different take on this issue at SSI is: Anyone seen landing over a staged glider should receive retraining. At SSI, with a minimum of 2400 feet of runway there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to fly over a staged glider at the end of the runway. The landing pilot must land long. That is the only safe and responsible landing option compared to possibly landing on top of another staged glider. This is an example of “convenience” being put ahead of safety.
Just an FYI, I saw a couple days last summer where a winch crew was advertised for and a crew was not assembled to my knowledge. Also to a much greater extent than aero towing the winch is more weather dependent, especially cross winds. It’s much more problematic to advertise winching on x day 4 or 5 days into the future so folks can plan and then because the weather doesn’t cooperate the day has to be canceled.
The majority of our members are dependent on the tow plane now since they don’t winch launch and haven’t shown an interest in becoming winch launch pilots.
John Lincoln
A modified trailer hitch receiver is a good idea as long as a member with a hitch is willing to do it. It would fit many vehicles. The four wheeler would work but would be best if it was the Gator type. From a cost perspective my guess would be that modified trailer hitch receiver would be the least expensive.
This is only some help. We have a member who has a car trailer which I would assume he would lend or use himself to transport the Mule. Unfortunately old age seems be preventing me from remembering his name, Steve Snyder might know. Assuming he could transport the Mule to Don’s place then Don could use his lift to make the repair. We will have to rely on the trailer again to get the Mule back to the field. Any help here is greatly appreciated. John L
This topic has generated a lot of interest. I was originally in favor of Don’s proposal and I think it is certainly one avenue we must consider. I also want to thank Don for bringing it up and proposing his solution. We need this discussion. That said I think we should also consider all the other possible methods of generating the funds.
Interest rates are low right now and look to stay that way for a while. A loan makes sense. I’m retired and look at loans as a bad thing, but when I was younger they were a tool to get and hold the assets I needed and or wanted at the time. The club is NOT in the retirement stage of existence so we most definitely should consider using borrowed funds.
The Pawnee also isn’t at TBO yet. It looks like we should get in one more season before we get there. As far as I know it has been running good so far this year. I plan to work with Larry and Gary to check the compression to try to ascertain (to the extent we can) the health of the engine. If it checks out OK I believe we can expect to get one more season out of it before the overhaul. And if that’s the case we could add a fee to the cost of tows next year that is specifically for the overhaul fund. This is also entirely fair in my opinion because the pilots towing behind the Pawnee are the ones contributing to the overhaul fund. Based on the number of tows given this year the add on would be around $26.00 per tow to cover the entire short fall as of now. Obviously we wouldn’t add that much on so while it wouldn’t cover the entire cost it will get us closer to the number needed. (As a separate issue (but definitely tied to this issue) is weather or not we wish to overhaul this winter or not. We did 95% of our flying this year behind the Pawnee. If it goes down we will be extremely limited. Something to think about.)
Also our old method, asking one or more members to loan the club the cash, is also a viable way to cover the short fall we have right now. I know of a couple members right now who are willing to do just this.
Finally there may be other ways to finance the overhaul that I haven’t considered or know about.
Sincerely,
John Lincoln
I will be there on Thursday to talk with Chuck when he drops by. Thanks, John DeRosa for setting up the meeting. John Lincoln
To be sure corn husks can be hard to beat, but Erik did it. I saw a couple up around 4500 agl but didn’t think of trying to out climb them. I have old-guyitis and looked upon them as semisolid objects that I wanted to avoid. Congratulations Erik for out-thermaling our local silage. John L
Friday was nice. 2 to 5 knot lift under cumulus up to 6500 msl. Flights in Stars and Stripes. Thanks to Erik and Austen for towing, Andy for wing running. Good soaring from Harvard down to DeKalb. Thanks to Erik for the help in derigging.
