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Photo from Nevada Soaring Association
SPRING/COVID 2020 EDITION
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Welcome to the Spring edition of SOSA News. Last year it was the rain that kept us from flying. This year it's the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
So far the weather this COVID spring has been wet, cold and depressing, so we haven't missed much flying.
At the moment, the Ontario Government is starting to ease restrictions and SOSA is now running a limited operation. Single seat gliders have been given the green light for flight.
With no two-seat flying, there are no official "spring checks". The CFI and his team are evaluating each pilot's experience and currency to see if they can start flying without a check-ride. As a guideline, CFI Joerg Stieber is using the BGA's guide on currency.
https://members.gliding.co.uk/library/safety-briefings/currency-barometer-pdf/
To find out if you qualify, go to the following link and fill in the appropriate information and the CFI and his team will have a look. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScc6rXdqLWkTiE9nCPNYrgiTo2u7xuiytyOfB6-mzwjwACHxQ/viewform.
Each pilot is also required to prove that their paper work is in order before flying. Bill Volmar has kindly agreed to check everyone's paperwork and enter the details into the SOSA system. Please scan your pilot's license and send Bill the following info: vollmarbill227@gmail.com
1. Name of Pilot
2. Aviation Document Booklet expiry date (yy/mm/dd)
3. Date of last medical
4. Instructor Expiry rating
Before going to SOSA, you must be a paid-up member to enter the property and the club is presently closed to the public. You are also required to sign in to "Click and Glide" and indicate your intentions before arriving at SOSA.
The SOSA website also has information on Social Distancing and other COVID-19 procedures that are now in place at SOSA.
If you're unsure about anything, make sure to ask.
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May 2020
SOSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
When At SOSA - Fly Safely - While Preventing COVID
Here’s How
Recommendations:
1.For Zero Risk for COVID: Do not leave your home. This is the best way to avoid becoming infected. Consider this approach seriously if your personal tolerance for becoming infected, or infecting someone else you know, is low. This is a reasonable option.
2.For Minimal Risk for COVID: When at SOSA, follow all self-screening, monitoring, and physical distancing guidance (in respect of self and others). Respect every surface as though it is contaminated. Assume that others may not have sanitized surfaces you will touch. Consider your own hands as being dangerous to yourself. They bring germs to your mouth, nose or eyes (but you won’t be infected through the skin of your hands). Note how often you are touching items that many others may have touched (doors, padlocks, dolly handles, glider controls, gaitor/golf carts ropes, steering wheels, parachutes, etc.). Do what you need to in order to ensure that your contaminated hands do not go to your face. Best is to decontaminate your hands after every single touch. Gloves must be used with caution not to touch your face. Consider a pocket size bottle of sanitizer with you at all times; or avoid touching a surface, or using equipment, that may have been touched by someone else within 3 days.
3.Safe Flying: Assume you are arriving at SOSA with a fraction of your brain’s abilities, and that all of the COVID calculations while at the club will use up even more. Minimize any additional brain burden by avoiding marginal weather, preparing without pressure, asking a peer to check what you’ve done or quiz you, setting up the cockpit before flying, choosing speeds and distances that leave plenty of room for safety. Be meticulous rigging your glider and don’t allow any distractions/interruptions. Be meticulous preparing your glider for launch – never allow yourself to be rushed. Be meticulous going through your ckecklists (again, no interruptions), visualize your response in case of a low level rope break (taking wind and other factors into account), fully focus on flying the airplane on the first 500ft of tow (do not adjust pedals, seat, instruments, radio) Ignore critters in the cockpit, even if it’s a snake! Fly the plane!!!
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TOWING AT SOSA
Our summer towpilot is Odin Griffin (young guy with big grin above) and he will be available Mon-Fri to tow at SOSA.
The club procedures require that everyone that will be at SOSA on a given day must pre-declare their intention on Click n Glide, so Odin will use that as his cue as to whether or not he needs to be at SOSA to tow any given day.
At 10 PM, Odin will check the click n glide sign up for the next day and if no one has signed up to fly, he will not be at SOSA to tow.
It is possible that weather conditions change and it only becomes obvious in the morning that it could be a flying day, so in that case, you still need to sign up on click n glide, but you can also text Odin at 519-803-8616 to check his availability for the day.
A similar procedure will apply on weekends where the weekend towpilot does not need to be at SOSA if no one has pre-declared their intention to fly by 10 PM of the previous night.
For tow pilots who have been given the green light to tow without an official check ride, Chief Tow Pilot Dave Springford is organizing tow duties and special COVID Procedures for the tow planes. Contact Dave directly if you have questions.
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SOSA'S 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The SOSA AGM is usually held on the last Saturday of February and this year was no exception. Four new members were elected to the 2020 SOSA Board of Directors. Here is the full slate of this season's SOSA BOD. Get to know your board members and see if you can help with their portfolios. SOSA relies on members to step up to serve on the BOD. It's a rewarding experience.
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Angelo Quattrociocchi - Director of Maintenance
Angelo is in his second year on the board in the position of director of maintenance. Angelo started flying nearly 30 years ago and returned to gliding after several years away, joining SOSA in 2016. Aside from running his engineering consulting business, Angelo is a flight instructor at Burlington airport and teaches electrical technology courses at Conestoga College part time. Any spare time he finds is spent with his family, flying gliders at SOSA or Harvards at CHAA.
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Dale Guenter - President
Dale trained at CuNim 40 years ago, and took his first intro ride with Martin Brassard at SOSA 17 years ago. He has shared a Jantar with Herrie for 10 years (a whopping 8 landouts in the first 3 years!). When not at SOSA, he works as a family doctor and teacher at McMaster University, and loves skiing when not flying gliders or towplanes. This is 3rd term on the board in 8 years, and 2nd year as prez. Livin' the dream!
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Joerg Stieber - Chief Flying Instructor
Joerg joined SOSA in 1983 and loves flying JS, his ASG 29 Es. Joerg started flight training in 1969 in Germany. While pursuing an engineering degree at the Technical University of Munich, he was an active member of the Akaflieg München. After immigrating to Canada, he spent 30 years at the helm of ODG, the maker of the amazing ARGO extreme terrain vehicle. As Chief Flying Instructor Joerg oversees the Club’s flight operations from a safety perspective with a focus on flight training.
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Tom Coulson - Treasurer
Tom Coulson has been a member of SOSA since 1980 and has been one of the Tuesday night instructors since 1988. On good days you can find him flying his Mosquito. His day job is with imbedded software controlling environmental systems on aircraft. He can be contacted at: treasurer@sosaglidingclub.com for problems and general account questions or E-Transfer deposits. For out of pocket expenses please use the claims processor on the SOSA web site. |
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Mo Attia - Membership Director
Mo has been a member of SOSA since 2015. He started flying with his dad when he was 10 years old in Cairo, Egypt before migrating to Canada in 1988. This is his first term on the board as Director of Memberships. When not flying, Mo spends time with his two daughters discovering new trails to bike and playing video games.
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Sergio Correia - Grounds Director
Sergio has been with SOSA since 2010 and is Condor CFI to his 10-year-old daughter! He’s a devoted family man and manager at the Ministry of the Environment implementing and modernizing regulatory programs. Any questions about grounds or machinery and Sergio’s your guy … any complaints and he’ll assign you more tasks!
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Andrew Corrigan - Club Secretary
Andrew Corrigan has been a member of SOSA for 28 years. He has a SZD-59 Acro that does not fly enough. When not at the Club he is a Proposal Manager with one of the biggest construction companies in Canada developing bids for large infrastructure projects like Darlington Refurb and pipe lines.
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THE ON-LINE CONTEST OLC
The OLC (On-line Contest) is a fabulous way to show the rest of the gliding world your cross country flights.
https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/segelflugszene/index.html
Instructor and competition pilot Paul Parker takes a keen interest in the OLC and has the following question:
Which airport had the most cross country glider flights in Canada in 2019?
If you answered Rockton, you would be correct. With 380 flights recorded on OLC.
(Invermere, BC was #2 with 346 flights)
(Hawkesbury, ON was #3 with 320 flights) home to Montreal
(St Raymond, QB was #4 with 294 flights)
Where did glider pilots fly the greatest distance in 2019?
Correct again! Rockton. OLC recorded 93,705km flown by pilots from Rockton
(Invermere, B.C. was #2 with 80,917 km) home to Canadian Rockies
(Hawkesbury, ON was #3 with 75,477km) home to Montreal
(St Raymond, QB was #4 with 34,964km)
If you're new to gliding and haven't embarked on your first x-country flight...ask a cross country pilot about the OLC and how it works.
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In above photo...Les' Libelle in foreground. In background, Les chatting with Rod Crocker.
Long time SOSA member, instructor, Libelle and K-6 driver Les Waller died earlier this year as a result of COVID-19 and other health issues.
Les had been a professional illustrator since he was 18.
Les saw the artistry of gliding as his recreation and flew his Libelle - NBE 22 (no bloody engine) as much as possible. Les started gliding in 1980 when he joined the Erin Club and had been a member at SOSA since 1986.
If you look around the clubhouse, you'll see his talent displayed on the doors.
Les was rather coy about his artistic achievements but he had in fact on several occasions been selected to display his work at the Royal Academy in London's Piccadilly.
Les came to Canada in the 1960's and has worked his art with several merchandisers as well as building design firms.
He was a lovely man who will be missed by his fellow pilots.
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SOSA MYSTERY COUPLE
The glider is a Slingsby Kestrel but who is the young(ish) couple standing beside the cockpit?
Judging by the cars...I'd say the photo was taken in the early 70s. Who could it possibly be? Maybe someone with an Eastern European accent?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingsby_Kestrel
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The Weather Machine by Andrew Blum was reviewed on your favourite gliding podcast late last year. It's a fabulous book all about modern weather forecasting. The first person to email h10cate@mac.com and tell me the name of the podcast...can have this review copy.
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NEW TRACTOR
From Ray Wood:
This winter the BOD asked me to do some research on pricing for a tractor to replace the Massey Ferguson 135. The tractor is in need of repairs and is older than many of our members.
After my research to Board decided a good used tractor was a better option than a new one.
After a fair amount of searching I found the Kubota 2920 that is parked in the work shop. It fits all the major criteria for doing what we need. The largest amount of horse power you can pack into a small, light package, on large turf tires that won't leave tire tread marks while rolling or cutting.
With this tractor I was able to cut and roll all of the runways and taxiways as they became dry enough to be driven over. I did more area in less time than the rental used last season.
If you would like a check out on the new tractor let me know. (It may be limited to the main cutting crew in the short term)
The large tractor and mower have been check over and serviced. All of the runways and taxiways that needed it were cut before the rain just ahead of the long weekend.
The grounds are in good condition I'm counting on a few of our regulars to help keep it that way.
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The next edition of SOSA NEWS will be out at some point in the summer. In the meantime, stay safe...
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The next edition of SOSA NEWS will be out at some point in the summer. In the meantime, stay safe...
Questions or comments...please email h10cate@mac.com
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