The Orange County Silent Flyers of Pine Island, NY AMA Club #2481,
will host a one day “Sailplane Workshop” on Saturday, October 10,
2009. Our flying site is located in Orange County, NY and is a huge
“World Class” sod farm.

The workshop will be limited to 35 AMA licensed pilots. Registration
is on a “First Come, First Serve” basis. We are encouraging anyone
who wishes to take their pilot skills to the next level to attend.
Experienced pilots will be available to work with novice pilots in all
aspects of soaring flight. Experienced pilots will have the
opportunity to fly and chat with a “National Champion and F3B USA Team
Member” and an expert ESL (Eastern Soaring League) pilot.


The landing fee is $20.00, non refundable. There will be one pilot per
frequency excluding 2.4 GHz. to avoid frequency conflicts. The
total number of pilots can not exceed 35. The fee would include
donuts, coffee and lunch at the field. The event would run from 8am
to 4pm. Pilots may continue flying at the field after 4pm.


Presenters:


Mike Lachowski (ML) of NJ, 2008 NATS Soaring winner in RES and
Unlimited Sailplane, ESL Expert Pilot and member of the 2009 USA F3B
team.


Steve Lucke (SL) – Expert ESL Pilot and a member of the North Jersey
Soaring Society


Workshop Topics:


 CG (Center of Gravity) – what it means and how it affects flight –
ML


 Reading the Air – Where to find the thermals – SL


 Thermaling Techniques and Search Patterns – SL


 F3B and F3J – introduction - ML


 Winch, Zoom and Hi Start Techniques – for Novice Pilots, “Woodies”
and RES – ML & SL


 Winch and Zoom Techniques for Unlimited planes – ML & SL


 Landing Techniques – RES and Unlimited – ML & SL


 RES and ‘Woodie” plane setups – ML


 Unlimited Plane setups – ML and SL


 LSF “Soaring Accomplishments Program” – BC (Aspirant forms will be
available at the field).


The workshop format includes a 20 minute seminar with a 10 minute
period for Q & A.


See our post in "Sailplane Events"....or visit our website
www.orangecountysilentflyers.org for more info


Bob Crane- CD

i think that our coordinates are wrong for the lat and long.....pls go to google earth and input transport lane/pine island ny...to get the correct ones

bob

Bob,

How is registration going?

A beautiful field.

Out of curiosity, are you guys at Orange county SF apart of ESL? I would think you are.

Is there a reason you do not host a contest?

I am sure there are plenty of guys in the NY Metro area and CT and MA that would love a close contest at such a beautiful field.

You have me drooling.....

Are there limits as to the number of pilots allowed to use the field at any one time?
Good luck with the workshop!

Frank

Frank...we are not part of the esl and do not wish to host a soaring contest....however.....you may be a guest of one of our members at any time.....

the way that the club is structured it is a closed club with a 45 member cap.....that is the wish of the land owner......and we do not want to risk loosing such a "world class" field

if you would like to submit your name for membership.....go to our website...download the form and send it in.....as of now we have 3 openings....

if you would like to fly at our field send me a pm and come on up.....our field is like "thermal city"......and you can do cross country work....it's that big

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the invite. I want to pass a reciprocation anytime you may be on Long Island. We fly out of Stillwell Woods Nature Preserve in Syosset, NY

If you are ever plannig to be in the area and need a quick thermal fix, shoot me an email and we'll help you quench your thermal thirst!!!

Frank

Bob,

How did the workshop go?

Hi Ed,

I was there on Saturday and despite the so-so weather, we all had a great time. The turn out was less than we thought it would be but we were treated to an awesome display of what F3B is by Mike Lachowski. Mike generously gave of his time to make the 2 hour drive up to our field with all of his F3B equipment (planes, winches, sighting devices), set it all up and did some speed runs, ballasted up his plane (he brought a Freestyler and Ceres Lift) to 130 ounces and thermaled in less than optimal conditions. The group was stunned at the height of his zooms!

Steve Lucke from the ESL came and talked to us about reading the air and then put on a thermaling clinic with his Pike Superior in quite overcast and windy conditions. He also worked seamlessly with Mike giving commentary and insight.

Many thanks to them both!

There were alot of guests at the field who took advantage of our wide open spaces to get some flying in, I got an up close look at an Ava Pro and met some great pilots from the region.

It's something we will plan on hosting again next year but hopefully when the weather is warmer. Saturday's weather was indicative of how the season has gone here in the northeast this year...cold, overcast and windy.

Dave took some pictures so hopefully they'll be posted soon.

Allan

Other than starting to feel like fall, the weather was great. OK, it you are intimidated by wind, and not used to an open field you might have some reservations.

With a front moving through, there was plenty of activity in the sky which was pretty easy to tell compared to bad air. So while it was not the best conditions to demonstrate techniques for finding thermals on nice days, it was good to show how much activity is also there on days many pilots don't like to fly.

I flew the Freestyler around 130 and 140 oz with full ballast (some of which is tungsten). So I think that works out to around a 22 oz wing loading. I wish I had my Bubble Dancer with me to show how well that would have done with 16-24 oz of ballast in it.

Mike,

I wish I could have been there. I can imagine that, at 22 oz, that plane has a fast glide. I imagine that it is totally unbothered by wind.

How many "student" pilots were there?

Good day all;
As soon as Dave forwards the pictures to me I will post them on the Orange County Silent Flyers website.

As Mike pointed out the air was very active and it wasn't difficult to find lift. I had at least 10 minutes and I know when I was talking to Steve he was finishing up a 15 minute flight with no effort at all.

I knew the air was very active once I launched. Those not familiar with the overcast, breezy conditions were a bit intimidated to fly.

True to form, Mike show the group how things are done.

I'd like to see more Workshops in the future. I learned how much I don't know and I've been flying for over 40 years.

Kurt

Originally Posted by mlachow

So while it was not the best conditions to demonstrate techniques for finding thermals on nice days, it was good to show how much activity is also there on days many pilots don't like to fly.

Absolutely Mike! Just watching you and Steve work the air showed me exactly that. Finding the lift as well as coming back home from being fairly well down wind in a real stiff breeze was eye opening to this Greenhorn.

Guys: I'll have the photos over to Kurt in the next day or so for the website and I'll probably pick a couple for this thread as well.

Dave

WOW...is all i can say.....all of the other pilots who has posted before me, summed up my thoughts....again thanks to mike and steve for sharing their time and expertise.....

i agree with kurt...i have been at this for over 35 years and its amazing what i don't know.

we will be hosting this again next year and hopefully the weather will cooperate.


Bob