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coming in 4th after a 201-mile flight. This time I decided to keep going and try and make Blythe, another 34 miles.
     With the wind out of the South and a heading of Southeast, there was now a slight headwind component. Combined with areas of sink and no lift, I was soon down to 1,000 AGL looking at the desert scrub several miles short of my intended alternate landing site, Ford Dry Lake along Freeway I-10.  Just as I lifted my radio to tell Harald I was landing, a small bump came that developed into a 3,500-foot climb. I could now see Blythe! One more 500-foot climb a few miles farther gave final glide into the Blythe airport, located on the California/Arizona state line along the Colorado River.  The 6 hour 5 minute flight covered 235 miles, the longest yet for both LK S/N 48 and for myself.
     Harald arrived at the airport about 45 minutes later, and we were ready to roll right at dark.  Harald had driven 340 miles from Tehachapi to Blythe -- almost all on 2 lane desert highways that are not very straight! After an uneventful drive back, we pulled into Tehachapi at 1:45 AM Sunday morning.  Later that morning we found that most pilots had gone north but landed 50-60 miles out. A few high performance gliders had "broken through" and gone much further, but we did not know where they landed.  Also, I had seen Dan Koneck in his Phoebus near Victorville, and there was no word on where he landed.
     After a few days of suspense, we learned that Jim Payne with co-pilot Bob Ettinger had flown the farthest in Jim's ASH-25 with a sensational flight of 457 miles to Wells, Nevada.  Marty Eiler (ASW-27) made it 309 miles to Austin Airport, Nevada, while Dan Koneck flew 245 miles to Overton, Nevada.  I came in 4th on raw distance with 235 miles in the LK-10.
     Once handicaps were calculated, the LK's 1.65 handicap gave a final score of 388 miles vs. the ASH-25 handicap of .768 giving a 2nd place score of 351 miles.  A 60-year-old tube, wood, and fabric LK-10A had won the Dash!
     Coincidentally, Jim Payne, Bob Ettinger, and I all work for the Unmanned Systems business area of Northrop Grumman Corporation   We work on un-piloted aircraft during the week, and fly un-powered ones on the weekend.
     Get out to Tehachapi this year on September 11th and fly the "Dash" in whatever you have -- beating those $100K plus gliders is fun! All you need is a glider, a crew, a plan, and LOTS of luck!

Promoting and Building Soaring --  Why Didn't We Think of This Before!

     Recently, the editor of the San Diego County newsletter sent an e-mail to all 16,000 employees asking for names of people who had interesting hobbies or activities. A young lady in another division submitted my name.  She knew I was active in soaring, and had helped keep Torrey Pines Gliderport open for the last 10 years. She also knew that my Great Dane "Devon" had made some TV commercials and worked as a therapy dog. 
     As a result, I got a call from the newsletter, and met the county media guy at Torrey Pines. You can see the end result by
looking up page 4 in the San Diego County May newsletter at this link: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dmpr/newsletters.html. In the days after the article went online, I had dozens of emails from county employees.  Many were from people I knew after 20 years on the job; others were from strangers who were exposed to soaring through the article.  There is a good chance we can land a new member or two for the Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California.  We shall see. 
     A funny aside is that the author of the article "pulled my leg" by suggesting that he was having a hard time deciding whether to write about me or my dog.  Devon is the real star; perhaps the author really did find her more intriguing.       
     We all work in diverse jobs or professions; we are members of different groups and associations. Why not use these contacts to spread the word about our sport to attract new pilots and build the sport?  Anything will work -- from an email to co-workers about a glider display at an upcoming airshow, to publicity in a newsletter.  Give it a try!

Ed Slater is a Supervisor in the County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health's Hazardous Materials Division.  He has been soaring for over 30 years and is a past president of the Torrey Pines Soaring Council and the AGCSC.

Gliders on Display at Camarillo Airshow     

     In an effort to expose the general public to soaring, RESCO/SSA pilots will be staffing a booth and displaying several sailplanes at the EAA sponsored Camarillo airshow on August 28th and 29th. Discount ride and lesson coupons will be distributed for use at Region 12 commercial operations. Everyone is welcome, and it will be a good opportunity to introduce your friends and colleagues to our sport. Stop by our booth to say hello!

Webpage: http://www.camarilloairshow.com/

A Brief History of Soaring at Inyokern     By Bertha Ryan

     In the 1960s, pilots from the San Diego area started coming to Inyokern to enjoy the unsurpassed soaring conditions - both thermals and the world-famous Sierra Wave. They camped out in the hangar overnight and flew their sailplanes during the day.  None of this could have happened without the hospitality, enthusiasm and expertise of Joe and Sue Kilgore, who ran the Inyokern fixed base operation. The name Inyokern became known and recognized throughout the world as a premier site for outstanding soaring conditions - summer thermals and winter wave.
     At this time, there also was an enthusiastic glider club at the China Lake Navy base. The club even had a building on the base devoted to the construction of sailplanes, where several Schreder designed sailplanes were under construction. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the building and the unfinished sailplanes.  Charlie Drew owned and continued soaring the only surviving Schreder

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ments and your team, where "your team" is you, your glider, your airborne equipment, your ground equipment, and your crew.  Generally, the better your team does, the farther you fly.  Unlike competition soaring, there is no start-gate and little benefit in waiting for leaders to depart.

The Decision Is Yours

     Pilots who consistently make successful free-distance flights have several common characteristics.  The most important is that they have decided to make free-distance flights, rather than just think or talk about it.  Another common characteristic is that they have good crew. 
     The secret to finding good crew is a big subject, and will not be discussed here.  You are, however, much more likely to get good crew if you project an assertive attitude.  "I am going to fly straight-out this season and I am looking for crew " is much better than "Boy, I would like to fly straight-out this season if I could only get someone to crew for me." In addition, many pilots have discovered that once they made the decision to fly straight-out, they didn't have any problem finding crew. 

The Season Paradigm

     In order to be a successful free-distance pilot, you must think of free-distance soaring as something you do for the entire season.  Think of it the same way that farmers think about their job: "plant in the spring, harvest in the fall."  When they are doing their seasonal chores, they are not bothered by trouble on any one day.  It's the season that counts.  "We had a good harvest this year."   
     Try to think like ski instructors who move to the mountains "for the season."  Skiing is something they do "all season long."  They are not upset if at times the skiing is poor -- they focus on the season.   Or think like a fisherman -- if you want to catch the big one, you must go fishing every weekend. 
     The more flights you make, the better your chance of having a good season.  A study of Crystal Squadron flights shows that about 60% of the flights were diamond-distance.  Thus, there is a good chance that just 1 or 2 flights will not produce satisfactory results. 
     Commit yourself to making a free-distance flight every Saturday from the first weekend in May through the second weekend in September.  That's about 18 flights.  Or, make a free-distance flight every other weekend  -- about 9 or so flights.  What's important is that you define "your season" and commit yourself to flying it.   If you adopt this perspective about your free-distance soaring, you'll be delighted with your comfort level during each flight.  You will find yourself more focused and more mentally at peace.

Planning

     Detailed planning for cross country soaring flights is very important, particularly with respect to alternate landing sites.  When new pilots come to fly with the Crystal Squadron, typically they spend hours with the more experienced pilots.  They go over the routes, clearly identify the safe alternates as well as route strategy and well known lift sources.  This is very important.  For example, when flying between Baker, California and Jean, Nevada, there appears to be a good landing strip near Halloran Springs next to the I-15.  The fact is, however, the "runway" is riddled with steel posts.  It's that kind of little tidbit that is really useful to know. 
     By tradition, on Sundays during the drive back from our Saturday flights, we often stop at alternates that are not "regular airports," and check them out to convince ourselves they are still safe to use.  Alternates often change over time.  They get washed out, or people build things on them that are not glider friendly. 
     If you are fantasizing about a dream flight, I would suggest you convince yourself there are safe landing sites somewhere in the great expanses between charted airports along your envisioned route.  This might require a road trip, or a power-plane trip.  During the off season, it is not uncommon for Crystal Squadron pilots to make power-plane or automobile trips all over the western US looking for alternates, and familiarizing themselves with airports and surrounding terrain.  [One such effort appears at http://www.socalsoaring.com/index.php?page=landout, which is Peter Kovari's and Steve Smith's compilation of landing sites   
-Ed]

Safe Alternates

     To safely fly a glider cross country (especially in the Western United States), the pilot should always have sufficient altitude to glide to a safe landing place.  It is not enough to simply look up the valley ahead, to see green agricultural checkerboard pat

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They pushed and pulled and directed traffic, hooked up tow lines, ran wings and generally kept things moving in an orderly fashion.  Thanks guys!
      After take off, it was a struggle to go north as the wind blew across the west-facing canyons of the Inyo mountains.  Most of us were not getting high enough to get across Westgard Pass.  But several pilots persevered -- Rick Barber and Larry Forqueran found some wave in the pass and climbed to a high altitude, just to give most of it back to get to White Mountain.  Kevin Wayt flew to Darwin, Patterson and back

Sunday

     Since Saturday had been better than Friday, some thought Sunday would be "the" day.   It was not to be.  Several folks only got 8800' to 9200' in ratty chop.  It was a struggle to go north, though conditions improved as the day wore on.  Stan Foat got a start at Cerro Gordo and turned Boundary Peak for a 300K out and return. Rick Barber also turned Boundary, showing great patience in the not-so-good conditions.  John Medley and Paul Robinson got fed up with the conditions at Mazourka (on the northern Inyos), and decided to give the Sierras a shot.  11K was as high as they got. 

Monday

      Our final day saw a good portion of the pilots call it quits, and head for home to try to beat some of the holiday traffic.  Of course, it turned out to be the best day of the weekend.  Paul Robinson flew up to Waucoba Mountain, found some wave to 15.5K, crossed over to Coyote Flats at 16.4K and then returned on the Sierras. John Medley and Don Buman scooted up to Boundary and back running at 17.5K plus.  Kevin Wayt headed off for big miles. 
      Around 1 pm, the SCDSA fleet towed to the Sierra side, ridged to the top and thermalled home.  Dave White and Carlos Miralles paired in the 103, Jason Muhkerjee had his first glider XC in the 102, and Brian Iten loitered for Jason while enjoying the club's Discus B.  Marty and lineboy Jeremy Storey made the flight home in 1:07 in the DUO.  Doug Easton went north, then south in his DG-800, and struggled before shifting into wave at Inyokern for a glide home at Cal City.  Kevin came along a little before sundown, bemoaned the change in ridge line at Barren Ridge, and wished he could have moved Mt. Baldy aside for a glide to "home" at Corona or Elsinore.

What the Pilots Had to Say

"Saturday's weather wasn't great, so we (8 of us) decided to go to Whitney Portal for a hike...6 hours later we made it back and had a fantastic time with our significant others, dog (Rudy)  and great  friends.   The next two days produced 400 miles, 17.9K  and just over 13 hours   of flying...can it get any better?"
Kevin Wayt, RW, Ventus C

"Struggling for an hour and 15  minutes attempting to scale the Inyos.   Jim Madson  driving up the hill and back down the hill uncomplaining but in a grumbling tone.  One 9000 ft. thermal and a glide to the Sierras.  A fast rough passage south, listening all the while  to the 1-26 crowd running the Whites and the Inyos south from Bishop  at 16,000 feet  plus.  A final glide from Inyokern to Cal City at 100 kts indicated, starting  one thousand high and  ending two thousand high.  Landing  in a windy hot desert atmosphere and forgetting to get The Egg!"
Jack Harkin, JH, AS-W 27

"Lone Pine 2004 was much more challenging than previous years.   But it was still loads of fun.   Sharing knowledge and thermals with new people is a great way to improve your soaring.   At least the 'Biker Karaoke' lived up (down?) to its dark past.   Robin and I had a great time."
Jay McDaniel, WE, Libelle

"First Cross Country = Hooked for Life.  The conditions were amazing, they were calling for thermals to be above 15k  along the Sierras.  I launched at Lone Pine shortly after noon and towed up to the switchbacks and released at about 7500'.  Climbed up in a 10 knot thermal to join Carlos M in the [Douglas] club G103 and headed south with Brian Iten following in the club Discus.  We pretty much ran along the top of the ridge, and made only a couple of turns; we climbed a bit at Olancha Peak to obtain glide to Inyokern, and then again at Boomer ridge to get Cal City.  It was a great flight."
Jason  Muhkerjee, 1A, G-102

"Climbing Mt. Whitney sucks" [when there was a glider available and you went hiking instead].   Brian Iten, 17, Discus

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use.   Unlike the many mechanical and electrical instruments available at high prices, the organic variometer utilizes information of several kinds combined in real time.   And, while audio varios allow you to keep your head out of the cockpit (a feature many of their owners still seem not to use), my organic model requires you to keep focused on the outside world.  That in itself is a terrific safety feature!  
     Several elements make up the organic vario.  Some may be more useful than the others in particular flight situations.   Therefore, the sequence in which we discuss them does not suggest their order of importance (they all are important).
     Let's start off with the "seat of the pants."   Folks have been using this term since the earliest days of aviation, and it's really as simple as it sounds: you feel for changes in pressure between the sailplane's seat and your own.   Increasing pressure means more lift or less sink, and decreasing pressure means the opposite.   Here, technophiles will protest that turbulence confuses the issue - but no, turbulence is itself another dimension that enhances the basic up-and-down data.  Its rhythm gives truly observant pilots an even better way to discern whether a momentary indication of lift is the real thing or just a patch of atmospheric junk.
     We've all heard since our first days in soaring that we should turn toward the wing that rises. Little is said, though, about changes in control response.   Perhaps you've started a turn but it doesn't develop as quickly as you expected.  This is evidence that the lift is stronger than you thought, and you should turn more aggressively.   Or, if suddenly the ship is turning much easier and steeper than you expected, then the lift is stronger on the other side (this can be detected through aileron or rudder - or through both at once).   Or perhaps you've encountered sink and begin pushing over to gain airspeed, but nothing much happens.   This means that the sink is worse than you thought, and more forward stick is necessary - NOW - not later when your computer screen says "PUSH".
     Next, drag your eyes for a moment away from your flight director, your GPS, and your whizbang whatsit, and look outside at the non-virtual landscape that surrounds you.   You can actually learn to see whether you are going up or down by comparing how things look now to how they looked a moment ago.   This works best when you're low or flying near high terrain, and especially when gaggling with birds or other sailplanes.   High above a flat landscape it's a bit more difficult, but is still possible.   Imagine you're sitting on a park bench looking at the grass, and then stand up - you can see the grass drop away, and when you sit back down the grass comes closer again.   Perception such as this from several thousand feet up is very subtle, but it can be learned if you make a conscious effort.
     Your eyes can do more for you than simply replace exotic avionics; they can also tell you where you are.   I was up once with a fellow soaring pilot who happens to be a world record holder, and we stumbled into some surprise wave.   His immediate reaction was:   "Damn, we don't have a GPS to mark this lift."
     "Well," I answered, "if you look down, you can see we're directly above the intersection of two major highways."   Call me old fashioned, but it seems that if you need a GPS to tell you where you are, you are lost!
     How do I calculate the altitude needed for a long glide without GPS?  I make up distance tables like those in an atlas, tying together all important points in a general soaring area.   Typed out on both sides of a recipe card and laminated, one such table covers thousands of square miles, costs something less than a dollar, and is quicker and much easier to use than a GPS.

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     Your ears also can provide more than one kind of valuable information.  The most noticeable is the sound of air passing by the cockpit.   For any given speed the sound is steady, but then will become louder when rising currents strike the sailplane from below.   Conversely, if you're holding constant speed and the sound becomes quieter, you know you just flew into sink - or weaker lift.   The core of a thermal can easily be heard in this way, and you can make appropriate adjustments of attitude sooner than with the most expensive variometer on the market.   Of course, this information may be unavailable if you insist on listening to an electrical noisemaker, so it's best to turn that annoyance off.  Save your battery power for something important, such as communication.
     The inner ear also provides useful sensations.   The head of any good pilot is of course continually turning and moving all around, and this distorts inner ear information.   But during those moments when you're nosing into possible lift, it might pay to hold your head quite still for a few seconds and concentrate on what you feel in those delicate organs on each side of your head.   Guarantee:   it will not work for you unless you try it.
       But wait, the organic variometer offers even more!   Your sense of smell can be very useful at times, especially in spring, summer, and fall.   Let's say it's May, and you're gliding down, wishing you could find some lift.   If suddenly you smell flowers, turn into the wind and follow the fragrance up!   Or maybe it's July and you smell cow manure:   time to climb (though not as aesthetically pleasing as an aroma of spring blossoms, there are few thermal sources more reliable than a farmer spreading manure - so long as the sun is shining on that particular field at the time).  
     In October, the scents most apt to indicate lift are those of burning leaves or grass stubble.   This brings us to the many other odors that arise from the often smelly "hand of man."   Whether fumes from traffic, factories, dumps, or other more noxious sources, smells of any sort, detected aloft, generally indicate soarable lift.   The more they stink, the stronger your motivation to climb fast and get away.
     Now, how about your sense of   …   imagination?   Yes, you can use creative thought to combine all these sensory resources, and to interpret what they tell you.   Think like a bird.   Think like an air molecule.   Think like a soaring pilot who does not need to be told by a machine what to do.   Think for yourself!   It can be very gratifying stuff.
     Okay, we've covered touch, sight, sound, and smell - and even imagination.   So, what about taste?   Forgive me if you must, but a good way to develop your organic variometer is to cultivate a DIStaste for other, more costly, less satisfying means of information gathering.   Shut those electric gizmos down and go fly for a while.   Just you and the sky.   Using natural information in this way puts you more directly `in touch' with the air through which you are floating.   It's fun, it's challenging, and it will reward you with confidence in your own judgment, your own abilities, yourself.
The organic variometer, after all, is you.   Good luck, and have fun!

A CFIG for about 25 years, Dale Masters has flown mostly in northern New England and southern California.  Since 1999, he has instructed full-time at Great Western Soaring School at Crystal.

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Southern California Soaring

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