SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015

WEATHER
Visibility: 30 miles but hazy
Wind: S at 3-6 knots
Altitudes: 2800 msl.
Time Aloft: 40 minutes
Max Lift: 4 knots but hardly anywhere
Temperature: Mid-80's
Comment: Maintenance on the tow plane early, five flights later.
Tow pilot: Jim Rickey, Harold Gallagher, Alex Caldwell

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REMEMBER IF YOU WANT TO SEE A LARGE SIZE OF ANY PHOTO JUST CLICK ON THE PHOTO AND YOU WILL SEE A SLIDE SHOW OF ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

The best part of the day was when all the mechanically-oriented guys got together and replaced the seals on the nose gear strut. It was a bit of a complicated job but they worked well together, and finished the task just a few minutes after their original estimate of 1:00 pm. WAY TO GO GUYS!!! THANKS FROM ALL OF US!!

So who were these guys? Morgan Hall, Rick Eason, Richard Walker, Karl Kunz, and assistance from Alex Caldwell, Jim Rickey, and Sergio Grajeda. One of the seals was quite messed up and the fluid coming from the strut had water in it indicating that too many times the strut was filled with air only, from a compressor that should have been filtering out most of the moisture. The strut looks great now, filled with the right kind of fluid and pressure by nitrogen, brought by Rick Eason.

The work went on seamlessly with all hands helping. Rick Eason is holding the prop.

Alex Caldwell, Karl Kunz, Richard Walker, Morgan Hall, and Sergio Grajeda.

Parts of the disassembly were a bit tricky requiring several hands on it at simultaneously.

Putting it back together was easier than taking it apart.

Looking at the seals and the surface of the cylinder for a scoring.

Karl Kunz, Richard Walker, Morgan Hall, Jim Rickey, and Rick Eason.

Moving the Orange Crush out for the first flight of the day.

Jennifer Bauman just ran the wing for Alex and Sergio's only flight of the day.

Madison Cors, 8 years old, is about to take her first glider ride.

Madison's Dad, Gus, is excited about his little girl's first flight.

Bringing the Orange Crush back to the launch area after Sergio's flight.

We made sure that Madison had plenty of cushions to sit up high enough.

Alex Caldwell and Gus Cors look on with pride as Madison beams with anticipation.

Yes, one final task is to straighten her hat before launching. Alex will fly this flight.

Moments from launch, Madison is now very excited and rightly so.

Jennifer Bauman brought to Avenal two students at Cal Poly who had been out before and were now continuing their training. Since there were to be five flights, we traded off with Alex who had two flights to make and I had three, alternating launches. Troy Wollman was first up and he is progressing nicely, taking most of the tow and doing well on maneuvers off tow.

Next up was Alex Caldwell flying with Sergio Grajeda who is coming along really well and Alex says he could be soloing soon. Sergio is our only student from Avenal and now looks forward to making a career out of flying.

Now it's Andrew Palmer's turn and he, too, having joined the club recently, is making great progress on tow and off, working on the basic flight maneuvers. Andrew has had no prior flying experience so his progress is just a bit behind Troy's because Troy has had power flying experience. Both are doing very well based on the experience each brought with him from prior years.

The fourth flight belongs to Madison Cors and Alex Caldwell. She seemed genuinely excited about the flight after returning to earth and her Dad thinks she might just be ready to start glider training in a few short years.

The fifth and final flight of the day was Troy Wollman's second launch and by far the best flight he's had in all previous glider training flights. He towed well, was steady on the stick, maintained good position, and off tow, his stick and rudder coordination is making excellent progress. He'll be looking at solo flight just a few weeks ahead.

At various times during the day, the Cal Poly contingent worked on the winch, got the engine running, were able to test the take up reel, and were generally satisfied that we could be using the winch one of these days.

That finished the day, around 6:00 pm after the Orange Crush was tied down. The Master Mechanics all had gone home right after the work on the tow plane and deserved at least an afternoon at home for all the good work they did on the strut. THANKS A MILLION, GUYS!!!

Next Saturday is Halloween and also the day when we'll have the CCSC Annual Banquet. If you haven't notified Julie Butler of your attending, please do so as soon as possible. Instead of the dinner in the evening we're planning on having it at noon so that one can either fly in the afternoon as late as one wants, or head home early to get the kids dressed up and out on the streets for the annual candy festival.

See you next Saturday.

Harold Gallagher