Gleaning meaningful content from the dross, the CHGPA Club Secretary makes it appear as though the adminis-trivial portions of our meetings last 15 minutes, tops! Through their efforts we can provide summaries to those who can't make it to the actual meetings. So sit back, pretend The Gardinator is making jokes behind you, you've got a cold beer in hand, and enjoy....

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Below are the minutes from the May meeting;  sorry for being late; I had hoped to include the letter from PA DNR, but it has gotten away from me. <sigh> R2 g

ACTION LIST:

Megan McGill:

Will create a giant check for donation to McConnellsburg Rescue Squad for photo-op.

Mark Cavanaugh:

Will contact the local paper in McConnellsburg to arrange a photo-op for the donation from the
Pulpit Fly-in.

Ralph Sickinger:

Will draft a press release for the photo-op for the donation from the Pulpit Fly-in.

Cragin Shelton:

Will contact the printer to find out what he can do and what it might cost to print glossy brochures
for the clubs to hand out at static events.

New Faces:

Chris Wood - new pilot, training out of Ridgely
Joe McManus - new pilot, training out of Ridgely
Bruce Engin - been in the club for about a year
Scott Frohman - wuffo, found us on the web

Attendance:
Hang-0:  1
Hang-1:  2
Hang-2:  8
Hang-3:  8
Hang-4:  8
Hang-5:  1
Observers:  9

Old/Ongoing Business:

Ideas for Recruiting New Pilots
Visit UMD Physics or Engineering departments with gliders
Do a static display of gliders on the main lawn at UMD

Actions: Megan can coordinate with school, but needs volunteers with gliders
Volunteers with Gliders:  Ralph

Donation to Rescue Squad
We will be donating $400 to the rescue squad.
 
Action: Megan McGill has volunteered to make a giant check for a photo-op.
Action: Mark Cavanaugh will contact the local paper in McConnellsburg to arrange said photo-op.
Action: Ralph Sickinger will draft a press release for the event.

Flight Director's Info Request
Carlos is requesting information from observers/experienced pilots who have tips for our specific sites.  (The intended target audience would be the up and coming Hang Is and IIs.)

Treasurer's Report
We currently have approximately 70 out of 120 members from last year who have renewed.

Mentor Program
Tom has suggested starting a "mentoring program", where an observer would try to take a Hang I/Hang II under his wing, and help him transition from the training hill to the mountains.

"New Pilot Issue" of SkyLine
We would like to put together a "New Pilot" issue of the newsletter that would focus on information for new pilots.  We would keep extra copies of this issue which we could hand out or mail to new pilots or give to people who are potentially interested in flying.

Old Gliders
Tom is looking for old gliders for the club;   if you have a glider that you can't sell, consider donating it to the club and taking the tax deduction.  We are looking for gliders that we could give to the schools to help train advanced students for mountain flying, or to sell to new pilots to make it easier for them to get into the sport.

Application for CFC
The board was looking into getting the CHGA listed as "charitable organization" for the United Way.
It has been decided that this is not worth the effort involved.

Greg DeWolfe Seminar
Do we want to get people to chip in to pay Greg to come up and give a seminar at one of the meetings.

Action: Tom McGowan is going to talk to Greg to see if he's interested and how much it will cost, and will try to set it up.


High Rock Lawsuit
USHGA has determined that we don't own the land, and the incident was not hang-gliding related, so USHGA is claiming no responsibility.  They have sent a letter to the county informing them of this fact.

Osceola Video
Ralph Sickinger has a video from John Stokes, the pilot who took an injured bald eagle (named "Osceola", who is missing one wing) aerotowing.  This video will be shown at the next meeting (we hope).

New Business:

Newsletter Editor
Ellis Kim has volunteered to become the new Skyline Editor.  The next issue of  Skyline will be the "New Pilot Edition".  We still need articles, if you have any ideas.

New Award
Bacil Dickert was awarded the "Most Frustrated Pilot"  award.

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Safety Panel:

John Middleton:  It's important to watch out for the venturi-effect when crossing gaps in a ridge.

Marc Fink:  Hang Gliding is dangerous, but that danger is largely relative to your judgement (or lack thereof).  Pilot judgement is something that all pilots should be working on throughout their entire flying career.  

Marc Fink: The group safety record seems to be cyclical in nature;   we fly safely for a while, then gradually begin flying more agressively, until there's a rash of accidents, then we hold a safety meeting, and everyone starts flying conservatively again, until the next cycle of aggressive flying begins again.

Mike Chevalier:  Be careful flying in strong conditions, and don't fly in anything that you wouldn't be comfortable landing in.

John Middleton:  You also need to judge the conditions in weak conditions;   is it really worth taking the risk to get into the air, if it's going to be difficult flying?  (Is it going to be any fun?)

John Middleton:  One of the big problems on launch is people taking off too slowly (with too high an angle-of-attack.)

Mike Chevalier:  One of the big problems at Woodstock is people coming out of the slot too slowly.

Mark Fink:  Woodstock seems to be one of our most dangerous launches (statistically).  The relative wind blowing up the slot is very close to the angle of the slope, which makes it effectively a flat-slope launch, which requires a very hefty run.

Steve Kinsley:   Woodstock shouldn't even be attempted in no-wind, because there is no room to extend the run, if you are not taking off fast enough.

Mike Balk:  There is a wall of air at the bottom of the slot;  if you do not have enough speed to penetrate that wall, it will push up the nose of your glider and force you into a stall.  Likewise, if you try to turn parallel to the ridge while you are still in the slot, it will lift up your wing and literally turn you into the mountain.

Dan Tomlinson:  There is no reason to turn that early at Woodstock;  it is extremely rare to sink out because you didn't fly 100 feet out before turning.

Cragin Shelton:  It is important to "chair fly" any flight, and think all the way through not only what can get wrong, and what to do about it, but how you will go about doing it.  Example:  while on truck tow at Manquin, the tow line broke;  I had thought about that possibility, and new that I needed to get rid of the line;  what I hadn't thought through was how I would do that (or the fact that I had a secondary release right on my chest of my harness, which I could have used for that).

Tom McGowan:  Why do we seem to have so many accidents at Woodstock?

Marc Fink:  There seems to be the notion that if the wind is any combination of West and Northwest, then Woodstock is the place to go;  as a result, it is very easy to end up there in strong conditions and end up pushing it.

ON RUNNING THE GAP:

Marc Fink:   You shouldn't have to convince yourself to jump the gap;   you should have enough confidence in your abilities, and enough judgement to correctly assess your abilities, to know that you can go across the gap, before you jump the gap.   Something to be aware of is that, because the terrain changes, the wind conditions where you land are not at all likely to be the same as what they were when you launched.

Matthew Graham:  As a new pilot, you have to make sure that you keep your eye on your bail-out points;  at any point, you have to know what landing fields are available, and which ones you can still get to.

Joe Gregor:   We've talked a lot about knowing the limitations of our abilities, and the limits of the conditions;  but it is also important to know the limits of the glider itself.  Under the right [wrong] circumstances, it won't matter how good a pilot you are, or how well you can turn, it may be physically impossible to make the glider go where you want it to go.

Marc Fink:  Always be looking around when you are flying the ridge;  be aware of other gliders, and try to think ahead to avoid collisions (or near misses).

Ed Reno :  You don't have the right-of-way until it is given to you.

Tom McGowan:  You should always be trying to avoid other people, and do not count on the right-of-way to protect you.

Matthew Graham:  I try to wave at other gliders that I'm close to;  if they don't wave back, they don't see me, and I need to get well out of their way!

EQUIPMENT:

Marc Fink:  A lot of people do not do a thorough pre-flight;  one of the worst offenses is not being hooked it;  even if you think that you have a method that is foolproof, it is possible to forget.  One of the best ways to prevent this is to use "the australian method" where you hook the harness into the glider as part of the glider assembly, and then put on the harness only after is has been hooked in and locked.

==================================================================== ===

ACTION LIST:

Megan McGill:

Visit UMD Physics or Engineering departments, see about coordinating static display event. Needs volunteers with gliders.

Will create a giant check for donation to McConnellsburg Rescue Squad for photo-op.

Mark Cavanaugh:

Will contact the local paper in McConnellsburg to arrange a photo-op for the donation from the
Pulpit Fly-in.

Ralph Sickinger:

Will draft a press release for the photo-op for the donation from the Pulpit Fly-in.

Cragin Shelton:

Will contact the printer to find out what he can do and what it might cost to print glossy brochures
for the clubs to hand out at static events.

Tom McGowan

    Will talk to Greg DeWolfe to see if he will come to one of the CHGA meetings and give a seminar.