It Soars...!

I was inspired to try some soaring in the Challenger after a call from my friend Jeff in Virginia a few days ago.

He was gliding his Lambada motor-glider across the Shenandoah Valley. Down to about 2,000 feet he flew from sink into lift under a cloud street and began climbing, and climbing, until topping out at over 10,000 feet. From that height it feels like you rule the world, and a Lambada gliding at close to 30:1 could cover 60 miles in no wind conditions. (Less into the wind and more with the wind)

Jeff and I had taken many soaring flights in the Lambada. To keep the engine warm, and available, we would fly around with the throttle set to an RPM that would give zero thrust. Soaring upwards in thermals and descending in areas of sink. For hours at a time. All the while burning very little fuel from the Rotax 912.

I could do this with the Challenger! It has demonstrated many times that it will climb with the engine at idle. On a flight earlier this year I played around for a little under a cumulus cloud climbing with the engine at a low power setting.

Checking Dr Jacks BLIPMAP forecast on Monday night gave an encouraging forecast for soaring across Central NY with 700 fpm thermals.

At the airport there was little sign from the ground that soaring was any good. Cirrus had just passed overhead cutting off some of the solar heating but it was moving off to the east. There were no cumulus clouds in my line of sight.

It was kind of warm in the sun with a light breeze. Not wanting to feel too warm in the greenhouse Challenger, I left my jacket in the car. Besides I wasn't expecting to go high enough to get cold.

After take-off I climbed to 3,000 and reduced power enough to yield a gentle descent. (On a calm morning I will work out the best RPM for this) Gliding at 45 mph I hadn't lost more than a few hundred feet before coming into some lift. I immediately rolled into a turn and began feeling around for the core of the thermal.

I'm using a Google Nexus 7 android tablet running XCSoar software that draws its GPS data from a Dual bluetooth GPS. This gives very accurate positioning compared to the Nexus's internal GPS which is good for lateral position but has a much higher error in altitude.

As the plane begins circling the map displayed by XCSoar changes to a screen dedicated to thermalling. It zooms in and shows your path and also calculates drift for an estimate of the winds at that altitude.

As I climb it is obvious that this thermal is strong enough to carry me upwards without any help from the engine. Not yet ready to turn the engine off so I throttle back to almost idle. Just enough RPM to keep the engine smooth and I continue upwards.

At times I see over 600 FPM !

Reaching 5,400 feet I wished I had warn my jacket! It was getting cold. The lift is dying out and I turned west into the wind in search of the next thermal. Here is where I need to figure out the best power setting for between thermal gliding. At near idle my glide ratio is somewhere about 10:1 at 45 MPH. On a strong day with high cloud base that might be good enough, but on a weaker day some help will be necessary. Enough power to allow a 20:1 ratio will make staying aloft all afternoon possible. The season is early and I'll soon work out a couple solutions for different conditions.

Fortunately I didn't need to glide far for the next thermal, because I was down to under 2,500 feet in sink just north of Skaneateles. Climbing in lift I didn't make it as high this time before heading back towards Marcellus. Beginning my glide XCSoar indicated I would arrive at Marcellus with 400 feet to spare. That was before running into sink...

Short of the airport and down to 1,000 feet AGL I throttled up and cruised back home happy to find that, yes, I can soar in my Challenger II.

The flight lasted 48 minutes and I burned 1.2 gal of auto gas...

Soaring yesterday in the Valley of Virginia......

(From Jeff in VA)

Soaring yesterday in the Valley of Virginia......

I departed SHD around 2:00pm under an interesting sky and climbed under power southeast toward the Blue Ridge. The winds were very mild, and the sky was mostly blue, except that the length of the Blue Ridge and Massanutten were both marked by cu’s as far as I could see.

In a few minutes, and firmly established in lift over the Blue Ridge near Grottos, I shut down the Rotax and feathered the prop. Silence, finally. My plan was to soar to Signal Knob, at the north end of the Massanutten, and back to Shenandoah Regional airport.

I started north along the Blue Ridge. Exploring the width of the Blue Ridge and several miles north, I was not able to reach higher than 5500’. And it was very difficult to make progress below around 4000’. Conditions on the Massanutten looked considerably better, and there were a couple of haze domes and small puffy cu’s in the valley by then, so I decided to try to transit the valley south of Elkton. I tanked up and at 5300’ I started out across the valley at best L/D. I reached Massanutten Resort a bit low at 3000’, but immediately and luckily connected with a 6kt thermal that took me to over 6000’. So far, no bad decisions! I turned and headed north to my goal.

Conditions along the Massanutten were indeed very good. I was able to fly along without much circling, slowing down or circling only when the lift was extraordinary.

The Cu’s in the last few miles leading to Signal Knob were very sparse, so I loitered for a bit, trying to tank up for the run north. I arrived at Signal knob just over 3000’, turned and pointed at SHD.

Heading south, I had a difficult time reconnecting with the good lift. I found myself over Woodstock at 2100’, in survival mode. I found what I was looking for (ANYthing!) and climbed in 3-5kts to near 5000’. Back over the ridge,  conditions were significantly better. I connected with a boomer abeam Luray, which took me to 7240’, my high point for the day.

As I approached Massanutten Resort, conditions were sagging, I was stuck at below 4000 again, and I imagined that I might not make enough altitude to get home. I found a last thermal at the Resort, tanked up to 5400’ and took my 11 mile final glide, reaching home at pattern altitude. 3 ½ hour flight, averaging 56kph. Not a scorcher, but tons of fun!

http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=1066209327

Jefferson Shingleton

http://www.svsoar.org

AirVenture 2011

On our first morning we found that in addition to frequent buses circling the 'North 40', drivers of golf carts and cars would offer open seats to people walking. Rarely, did a vehicle pass that wasn't full. This morning as Jeff and I began walking towards Camper Registration a driver in a VW stopped to ask if we wanted a ride. The driver was Tom Poberezny, Chairman of the AirVenture Fly-in since 1977 and President of the EAA from 1989-2010. Thanks for the ride Tom!

Breakfast that morning was at the Warbird Cafe on the north end of the show and closest to our campsite. As you probably guessed from the name it is adjacent to an area filled with warbirds. Hundreds of them! I counted at least 2 dozen of my favorite, the P-51 Mustang.

On display is "Glacier Girl", a P-38 that made a crash landing on the Greenland ice cap in 1942 where it sat for 50 years while becoming covered with 300 feet of snow and ice. In 1992 it was recovered and then restored to flying condition. There is an interesting read of this aircrafts' final flight, and its recovery half a century later at: Glacier Girl

With over 12,000 aircraft arriving and departing AirVenture this is the busiest airport in the world during this week.

The Taurus G4, Pipistrel's electric powered entry for the CAFE Green Flight Challenge. Rules for the flight: 2 hours duration at 100 mph with a 30 minute reserve. Economy must be the equivalent of at least 200 passenger miles per gallon. One way to double passenger miles per gallon is by doubling the seating to 4!

Hundreds of vendors with parts and expert advise. Here, Jeff is discussing his options concerning the oil leak in his Lambada. This Rotax supplier has a good stock of parts on-hand and can have almost anything here within a couple days.

More interesting, around the corner...

The legendary Bob Hoover spoke to a crowd of over a 1000 in front of "Ole Yeller" the P-51 he performed in during the '90's. Bob answered questions and shared experiences from his early flight school days, interesting flights as a test pilot, and a great story of his escape from a German POW camp in a stolen Focke-Wulf similar to one parked a short distance away.

Focke-Wulf 190

Custom paint and the HP to back up the statement it makes!

I'd never seen this before. Helicopter aerobatics in the "Red Bull" BA105.

A centerpiece in the static display area was a collection of Burt Rutan designs. Thursday was Burt Rutan day and we were treated to both the Boomerang and the Starship taking to the air.

David, Jeff and Warren during show.(right to left)

Jet powered cars or trucks are real crowd pleasers. Lots of smoke and flame, very fast and very loud. In fact they are so fast, it almost doesn't look real. In the act a couple planes compete with stunts to decide who gets to race the car. Then with the jet engine on the car spooling up, the airplane makes its run. As the plane passes the car at over 200 mph the car driver goes to full throttle, releases the brakes and with an air shaking roar the afterburner kicks in. Within a few seconds the car is moving well over 300 mph and passes the plane like it is going backwards. Then add a little pyrotechnics...

The show was stopped briefly as we all were reminded that a go-around, even one in front of a crowd, is the best decision when things don't look quite right on final. The F-16 ran off the end of the runway collapsing the nose gear. Fortunately there were no injuries. Video of this on youtube I have to add that I don't know all the details on this incident and whether equipment malfunction might have caused this.

Mornings and evenings were special times while at Oshkosh. The brief time between the heat and humidity of the day and the mosquitoes at night was wonderful.

We had planned on leaving Wednesday by noon. However the night before we were already watching a line of showers on radar approaching from the west. We knew it would be a small window between when the airport opened at 7:00 and before the front arrived. Upon waking I rolled up my sleeping bag and readied my pack for loading in the plane. Stepping out of the tent I was greeted by the first light of the day illuminating, in brilliant red, a wall of clouds and showers approaching rapidly.

From the looks of the clouds I was convinced that the end of the world was approaching. We made sure everything was as secure as could be, grabbed what we could carry and quickly walked through the fence off airport property and to the Hilton for shelter. As it turned out the storms passed with only moderate rain and no significant wind.

While eating breakfast and waiting on the weather at the Hilton, I noticed that Harrison Ford was there for breakfast as well. I did take a picture of him from a short distance away that came out quite well, however I will not post it as I feel it is an intrusion on his privacy.

When the kids were young I used to joke with them that the Indiana Jones movies were based on my life before settling down. In fact Harrison Ford got that part because he looks so much like me. I would even stand next to the TV so the resemblance could seen.
I don't know why they would laugh.

First Flight of Jeff's Schleicher ASK-14

Friday we gathered at Skaneateles Airport to help Jeff rig his ASK-14 for a first flight. This plane is a beauty and was on the cover of SSA's Soaring Magazine in 2006.




Assembly went quite well with no real problems. For the summer it will remain assembled and hangared.


Willie and Jeff connecting the ailerons.






Before towing out to the runway Jeff spent some time getting comfortable in the cockpit. Then after a little trial and error with choke/throttle combinations the engine was started. It has a 4 cylinder 2 stroke Hirth engine of 28 HP.


On the runway and ready to go!


Lift-off...


A good omen!


I flew our 150 over from Marcellus so we could do a little air-to-air. Circling outside the thermal as Jeff was in lift, he easily out-climbed my 150 turning in sink or even neutral air.


For Jeff's first flight I kept a good distance away or above. We'll get together again soon for some closer photo work.




Jeff's flight lasted about 40 minutes, rolling to a stop just a short distance from his hangar. This is one sweet little glider. His smile says it all!

Flight to Melbourne

Once again another one of these "Once in a lifetime" flying adventures has presented itself to me.

This time it was an opportunity to assist Lauren Pitcairn, a Lambada owner in flying his motorglider from Hoge Farm 56PA in Pipersville, PA to Melbourne FL where it would be left with a dealer to be sold. He has a new Stemme on order and it is due to arrive soon.

While Laren is a capable pilot able to make the journey himself, it is always easier to have two heads and another set of hands in the cockpit. (And, it is more fun sharing the experience)

From Pennsylvania south, the weather was forecast to be near perfect for the two day trip beginning Sunday morning. However NY and PA had showers predicted for Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, fog and low clouds might prevent me from flying my Cessna down to meet him at his field. I decided it would be better to deal with showers than fog and headed out Saturday afternoon. This turned out the be a good decision as skies were mostly just partly cloudy, though my plane did get "power washed" briefly twice on the way down.

Hoge Farm (56PA)


Landing at Lauren's house we tucked the 150 behind a line of trees for the night until there would be space in the hangar the following morning. After a nice dinner with Laren and his wife, we planned the flight using Jeppesen charts and the AOPA Flight Planner.

Laren's Hangar


Sunday morning, as forecast, low clouds and poor visibility were upon us with better weather just to the south. We took our time getting ready for departure, allowing time for the clouds to lift a bit and visibility to improve. By the time we were fueled and loaded there were hopeful patches of blue.

In the air we found the clouds were indeed low. Not much over 1000 AGL and visibility was poor but acceptable. We pointed towards our first waypoint at COBUS intersection. This would bring us around the east side of Philadelphia's Class B and line us up for a straight shot to Cape May, NJ.

Cruising along at low altitude over the farmland of Central NY is fine. There we have so many fields, that with an engine failure you could almost establish a glide, close your eyes and likely roll out onto a field. Here, as we headed SE, the ground became more and more developed. Eventually it got to the point where even in a motor-glider our options were becoming scarce. Fortunately about that time the low cumulus clouds began to open up allowing an easy climb above.

Crossing the Delaware River


In the clear, cool air above this mostly scattered layer of CU we found smooth cruising and less headwind than was forecast. In a short time Delaware Bay came into view and flying SE along the bay we passed directly over Cape May and crossed into Delaware.

Approaching Cape May


Delaware and maryland passed and we were approaching lunchtime. We landed at Accomack Airport in Melfa, VA. Asking the airport operator about our options for restaurants he suggested the Island House Restaurant. He made a call and someone was coming to get us. This person turned out to be the owner of the Island House, who is also a pilot and enjoys coming to the airport to bring other aviators out for a meal overlooking the marsh. Both Laren and I chose the "Award Winning" crab cakes and were not disappointed. These were the best crab cakes I have ever had. A ride back to the airport from the manager and we were on our way.

Cruising along the Chesapeake


Within a short time we had come to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. With enough altitude for a motor-glider we crossed looking down at a couple dozen oceangoing ships waiting at the in the bay.



By late afternoon we were in North Carolina. Turning east toward the ocean visible on the horizon, we squeezed between two military operation areas and descended towards Beaufort, NC for the night. As we approached the coast we saw what must have been hundreds of boats returning from the sea and into the bay at the end of the day.

Approaching Beaufort




It was Sunday, the next day would be Memorial Day. Landing we found the airport packed with planes. There were no tied-owns available, with topped off tanks we had to leave the plane on the grass at the end of the line. Fair weather and calm winds we forecast for the night.

Sunset on the bay in Beaufort, NC


The following morning a cab ride brought us to a locked up airport. Neither of us thought to asks about access codes to the tarmac the night before. We might have had a long wait, but fortunately the airport operator showed up early and we gained access to the field after only a 30 minute wait.

In the air we headed west to clear airspace and climbed into the cool air before turning south to pick up and follow the coast again. Within an hour we were passing Myrtle Beach, SC. I made a couple unsuccessful attempts to contact my sister who was in Myrtle Beach with her family for my nephew's baseball tournament. Not that they would be able to see us at cruising along above the scattered clouds, but it would have been cool for the kids to know we were up there somewhere at that moment...

Passing Myrtle Beach


Cruising was easy and we were picking up about 7 kts of tailwind. Laren had a Garmin 496 for navigation and Jeppesen Charts. I've never used Jeppesen charts but found that I like the way they present the most used information. I have worked a little with a Garmin GPS before and after a quick refresher with the online manual before leaving home I felt comfortable entering our chosen course and changes during the flight.

Our view for much of the day


By lunchtime we were into GA and passing close to Saint Simmons Island, GA. Landing at McKinnon Airport we topped the tanks and thanks to the use of a courtesy car found our way to lunch at the marina.

Landing Saint Simmons Island


Lambada in good company...


Heading south along the tidal marshes, the fractal rivers and shoreline were absolutely amazing. What fun it would be to explore this area and its secluded beaches in my kayak!



Crossing into Florida in the distance we could see the clouds were beginning to grow. Further along moderate cumulus clouds were close to our route and moving to cross our path.

Looking down the Florida coast


Not a cloverleaf


As we neared Daytona showers were visible below these larger buildups. Fortunately there was enough room for us to squeeze by these clouds and restricted airspace to the west. We were now less than an hour from Melbourne. Ahead, more buildups. With no room to skirt these and tops higher than we wanted to climb we decided to descend under the clouds.

Laren with moderate cumulus


This gave us a nice view of the Kennedy Space Center as we passed. The Shuttle landing runway and launch complexes all visible in the distance.



Melbourne tower asked us to report in 10 miles out and immediately gave us clearance to land on 9L when we did.
Jim Lee was on the ramp waiting to guide us to the hanger.

Approaching Melbourne International


The following morning we rented a car for the drive to Orlando. Arriving long before our flight and checking for anything earlier we grabbed the last two seats on a direct flight to Philadelphia leaving two hours earlier than the one we had booked. This got us back to Laren's in time for me to hop in my 150 for a hazy, hot flight back to Marcellus that afternoon.

Approaching home in the haze. (Skaneateles and Otisco Lakes)


Thanks again Laren for sharing this adventure with me. I had a wonderful time!