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CLUB NEWS Edited by NIKKI DELP Contributions to "Club News" should be sent to Nikki Delp, 4531 36th St., San Diego 16, Calif., by the 10th of each month for inclusion in the following month's issue. Clubs and associations are requested to send their newsletters and other publications to Nikki Delp, also. Photographs are welcome. Editor's Note: If you feel that your club has not been getting enough attention in these pages, check to see that you have assigned someone as a "Club News" correspondent. We are interested in any club activities, especially personal items and "tall tales" to give us a little laugh at ourselves. Blue Ridge Soaring Soc., Inc. Roanoke Virginia A Chapter of SSA With the opening of the soaring season, the Blue Ridge Soaring Society got the 2-22C into the air for the first time. The first day was a bit quiet, but the second weekend out saw our first real soaring flight. George Hess stayed up for about an hour for 2500 feet of altitude gained. To some of the oldtimers this may not be a terrific feat, but to our new group it represented a major accomplishment. After seven weeks of hard work, Bill Danco and his crew have completed our winch. The power plant is a 1954 Buick engine and transmission and it is designed for maximum performance from the 6000 foot strip at New River Airport. With the winch in operation and the 2-22C ready, there will be Birds in the Blue Ridge this season. A final word about the 2nd Annual Southeastern Soaring Camp. As the calendar shows, the dates are June 30 through July 8 at the New River Valley Airport, Dublin, Virginia. The Society's winch and a couple of tow planes will be available. By late May or early June, we will be arranging motel rooms and will have available extracts of the airport regulations for your reference. Plan to be there; a good time will be had by all. DAVID A. SCHETTLER, Secretary Columbia Soaring Club, Inc. Columbia, South Carolina A Chapter of SSA We spent most of 1961 getting all of our members ready for private ratings. Seven of the present nine members now have their ratings, so we are looking for more members to keep the club 2-22 busy, also to get more money into the treasury and to have more help in spreading the work load. During April and May of 1961 we were based at the municipal airport, using a Cessno 175 for aero towing. Getting the 175 approved for towing was a good 60-day job with much red tape to cut and frustration galore. But at long last we were approved. Then the local city authorities stepped in and more frustration, no radios, no flying from that field, period! So, more money, more time, and at last we got to fly. As a whole, it was not too successful. We all liked the comradeship of our little grass field and the picnic lunches, and at the power plane field, we were just in the way. This problem was solved very rapidly by the 175 having to make a forced landing down in Florida, while on a charter trip, with a cylinder head problem. It was sold after being repaired, so back to auto towing at our little grass strup at Pontiac, S.C. about 6 miles NE of Columbia on Highway 1. All summer long we auto towed and learned how to make the most of 800 to 1200 ft. of altitude. We tried every type, size and temper of wire and rope before lucking up on a few reels of 3/16" aircraft tow target cable of the sheathed or armored type. Starting in September we put on a length of this cable about 1800 ft. long. We are still using it after over 7 months of continuous use and over 250 flights, and we have yet to have a cable break. Probably the 1/8" tow target wire would give a bit more altitude, but we weren't complaining with tows running from 900 to 1350 ft. without a CG tow hook on the 2-22. A weak link of 3/8" manlia rope is always used as the breaking strength of this wire is close to 3500 lbs. It's on the heavy side and the take-off is somewhat longer, but the pilot can haul back with less worry about wire breakage. And the safety link can be kept in good condition by inspection and replacement as needed since it is only about 25 ft. long. A six-foot diameter parachute is a must, however, as the wire comes down mighty fast without it. But the real beauty of this wire is that it never, repeat-never, kinks. You just hook on to the end and take off without any fear of it kinking or knotting up. It's terrific. In November we got the partnership 1-26 kit finished and flying. With the CG tow hook on this ship we got as much as 1500' on tow with any appreciable wind. Flying off auto tow week after week sharpened up the members' ability. This spring, Morris Kline, Al Burnside, Larry Bond, and T. I. Weston all have made flights of an hour or more with consistency, and have reached altitudes from 3500 ft. to as much as 7500 ft. Morris Kline made one flight of 3 1/2 hours, most of which was over 6000 ft. with high point of flight about 7500 ft., but no barograph trace. With decent weather, we usually get off on a soaring flight in a tow or two. (To be continued next month) T. I. WESTON Mid-Georgia Soaring Assn., Inc., Macon, Georgia A Chapter of SSA The Mid-Georgia Soaring Assn. and the North Georgia Soaring Society (from Atlanta) have combined operations for the winter months and have been flying at a location in North Carolina, some 90 miles northeast of Atlanta. There are numerous ridges there which we hoped would produce some waves for us but so far all they have offered is slope soaring. During March, 108 flights were made. LIN BACHTELL Toledo Glider Club, Inc. Adrian, Michigan The Toledo Glider Club is planning to hold its annual Midwest Soaring Meet again this year at Adrian, Michigan, and the dates are as follows: Saturday, June 30th, to Tuesday, July 3rd, warm-up days for the contest; Wednesday, July 4th, through Saturday, July 8th, fly-home day. Everybody will be welcome and the rules will be practically identical to the 1961 Nationals rules, except entrance requirements and distance to be flown before a day is counted as a contest day. John Nowak will be contest director and there will be many trophies and prizes. About 30 entrants are expected. If this Midwest Meet is as successful as many of the previous ones, we will be well satisfied. Inasmuch as the 1962 Nationals are to be in California, this contest will serve as a Midwest Nationals. JOHN BIERENS Lanier Frantz, Garland Hopkins and Gus Street, swinging compass in Lanier's TG-3A in preparation for Lanier's Silver C distance attempt. (He made it.) Lanier and "Hop" are from Roanoke, Va., Gus is owner-operator of Central Carolina Soaring, Strawberry Hill Farm, Advance, N.C., area Schweizer sailplane dealer. Feet belong to Sam Street, Gus' 9 year old son. Photo by John R. Gordon [image] 18 SOARING
