Pre-Flight

Ralph Sickinger

SIGH. Summer is over. Labor day is behind us, and the nights (if not the days as well) are getting cooler. However, the changing season also means beautiful fall colors out in the mountains, and (hopefully) more northwest days with a little more wind, so we can finally get some serious air time in! And of course, the highlight of the season will be the 20th Annual Pulpit Fly-In. (If you haven't already registered, what are you waiting for??) This is one of the club's biggest parties of the year, and everyone should come, whether you're flying or not. If you can't fly, we can always use a pair of extra hands, for retrieving pilots, monitoring the spot landing contest, assisting the flight director, etc. Keep in mind too, this event is also a fund-raiser for the McConnellsburg Rescue Squad. Sadly, we did need their services this year, and this is a way for us to maintain good relations with them and the town itself.

In this month's issue: Dan Tomlinson provides some flying tips for new (H-II) mountain pilots, and Ric Niehaus tells all about his fabulous Labor Day weekend trip to Ohio, by way of Bill's Hill. The center-spread is a map showing Ric's flight-path to Lake Milton. [Editor's note: I had to copy the path by hand from the map that Ric sent me; as a result, it is only an approximation - I apologize for any inaccuracies.] When you see it laid out on a topographical map, it is REALLY impressive! Congratulations Ric! I can't wait for the X-C clinic, so that I can learn from one of the masters...

Anyway, October should prove to be a busy month, but should be lots of fun too - hope to see you out there!