Prez-Sez

Joe Brauch

This summer has breezed by. I cannot believe I am writing the September column and it is getting close to October. Well to sum up the summer. Hot, South West, Traffic. It seems it's either a marginal Fisher day or a post frontal call between the Pulpit and Woodstock. No, I have not taken that time to learn to tow. I went down to visit Manquin 3 times and actually made it there once. I have never seen towing and I am still waiting. Scooter towing looks really cool and a great way to get those "slightly out of shapers" into the sport. I was glad to finally see what the tow park looks like and to finally meet Steve Wendt. I have talked with him many times and finally have put the face with the name. He is a good guy. I will be heading there and Highland now that the traffic on the weekends heading east and south should not be so bad. (Sorry Guys I just hate summer traffic!) I just might become a tow head this fall. This brings me to the subject of the column...

Fall Flying

Well the big event coming up for the fall is of course the Pulpit Fly-in. It's coming up and promises to be a great weekend. Pre-register to avoid those pesky lines at the registration desk. Hopefully you have headed out on those marginal days and honed all those skills you are going to need for the better fall conditions. The light in the evening is dying fast. It still stays light till around 7:30 now, but we are losing more everyday now that we are getting into fall. So, that long wait for the evening glass off might not give you all the airtime you need so make sure you have that aggressive take-off run down pat so you can fly a little earlier. If you have practiced those spot landing you could come away a winner at the fly-in. Remember, crashing into the spot does not count.

Fall flying is usually a little spectacular (foliage-wise) but do not forget your basics. The wind is still going to drift those thermals over the back so keep an eye on your distance back or make other plans to land out. (This happened to me recently and just came to mind.) The thermals are smoother and winds seem more consistent so keep your fingers crossed and go enjoy the beautiful fall weather to come. Fly safe out there!

9/11 has come and gone and we still cannot fly at High Rock. Events seem to be occurring that can possibly work in our favor to get the Rock opened up again. Joe Gregor will have some updates at the next meeting along with some NPRM news. So hold off on the civil disobedience for a couple of months. I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Come to the meeting and listen to the updates. "Protests" can wait until after the good fall flying weather.