Eric Rupp sets new 444 mile distance record from Holister!! • June 21, 2008
HGC would like to congratulate Eric Rupp on his record-setting 7.5 hour, 444 mile straight-out glider flight from Hollister to Calxico on the Mexican border! It took more than five years for a strong-willed, talented and skilled glider pilot to persevere and break the previous straight-out record from Hollister. As his prize, Eric will receive the $500.00 worth of tows that was promised by HGC for the accomplishment of such a task!
Eric looks out over his wingtip at the Sonoran Desert on his way to Calexico.
HGC will continue to offer another $500.00 worth of tows to any glider pilot who can exceed Eric's record by at least 10%. And there is absolutely no reason why a determined pilot cannot venture a few dozen miles into Mexico if all of the proper preparations and paperwork are correctly lined up. Where there is a will, there is a way!
Happy Soaring,
Quest
THREE more checkrides passed at HGC!! • June 13, 2008
GC would like to congratulate Joy Pierce, Gabriel Flores and Yossi Meshulam on passing their initial Private Pilot Glider checkrides with Designated Pilot Examiner Dave Morss. Congratulations to all three of you! Great job! HGC would also like to thank Jeffrey Hazlegrove for his great work and dedication in getting all three of these applicants perfectly prepared for the sign-off for their checkrides. Great job Jeffrey! HGC would also like to thank both Ruth Cook and Drew Pearce for their contributions as flight instructors as they performed phase checks and other student instruction with our three new pilots. Thanks you two!
Joy Pierce, who is also HGC's dedicated Office Manager and BBQ organizer/cook (as well as being a dedicated glider crew member for a private owner), came to me a couple years ago saying that she wanted to pursue her license. Now, she has finally accomplished that dream and we are all very proud of her. Joy passed her checkride on Friday, June 13th(!).
Examiner Dave Morss with Joy "Red Baron" Pierce.
Gabriel Flores came to us from the ranks of hang-glider pilots. He said that he's decided to move on to sailplanes as he "wanted to go somewhere" in the sky now, and hang-gliders were just not fast enough for him. As Gabriel moves ahead in his glider flying and soaring, look for him to be joining BASA and learning to fly cross-country from all of the great cross-country pilots who fly out of Hollister. Gabriel passed his checkride on Thursday, May 29th.
Examiner Dave Morss with Gabriel.
Yossi Meshulam still has his original logbook from a brief stint he did in the Israeli Air Force many years ago. There are about a dozen glider flight entries logged in there, but we got him a new logbook for his current training. Yossi has already joined BASA, and is checked-out in the Grob. He's hungry for thermals, so any BASA members who'd like to pass on their soaring/thermalling knowledge and techniques are welcome in his empty seat! Yossi passed his checkride on Thursday, May 29th. Congratulations again to all three of you, plus your Flight Instructors, for a job well done. We look forward to seeing all of you flying at Hollister very soon.
Examiner Dave Morss with Yossi.
—Happy Soariong, Quest
SPOT provides real-time tracking of your favorite glider pilot!
We now have a page on this website where you can follow the progress of your favorite SPOT-equipped glider pilots on their cross-country exploits. See our new Hollister SPOT page for details!
Two more checkrides passed at HGC!! • May 25, 2008
HGC would like to congratulate Mike McKinley and Winfried Wilcke, both of whom recently passed their checkrides with DPE Dave Morss for the addition of a Glider Rating onto their pilot certificates. Both Mike and Winfried added the Rating onto their Commercial certificates. Congratulations are also in order for CFIG Jeffrey Hazlegrove for his great work in preparing both pilots to perform at the high levels of flight proficiency and knowledge that HGC requires of its students. Great job guys!
Winfried has been enjoying flying his C172 and Bonanza. And now he's jumping right into the exotic world of cross-country soaring as he is a co-owner, with Wolf Weber, of glider "5W" which is Ramy's old LS-4 (previously known as "TG"). The glider may possibly have embedded within its fiberglass structure old memories which will give it the inate ability to find and stay in lift!
Mike is a retired SF firefighter who owns an Aviat Husky and spends lots of his time flying a P-51 and T-6 out of Hollister. He enjoys doing formation flights, fly-bys and training clinics with war-bird enthusiasts from all over the country. Additionally, he's expressed a desire to join BASA so that he can pursue the challenges and rewards of advanced soaring in their high-performance modern ships. Let's warmly welcome Winfried and Mike to the family of sailplane pilots and soaring aficionados who enjoy one of the purest forms of aviation within the entire spectrum of flight! Congratulations again to all three of you for jobs well done!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Hollister Airport Improvements Will Include New Facilities For Gliders
The latest (May 30, 2008) Airport Layout Plan ("ALP") for Hollister Airport shows new proposed facilities for glider operations, including a glider staging area to expedite glider operations on Runway 24. You can download PDFs of the Interim and Ultimate ALP here: Excerpt of the Interim ALP showing just the areas with glider elements (Adobe PDF file, 292 kb) Interim ALP (Adobe PDF file, 1.4 MB) Ultimate ALP (Adobe PDF file, 1.7 MB)
Second Weekend of 2008 Hollister League Race Results • May 3 & 4, 2008
Saturday 5/3:
Task was up to 3 turnpoints with 20 miles radius turn area: Lookout north of Black, Twisselmen and New Cuyama. Most claimed 2 turn points by going as far as the north end of the California Valley between Twisselmen north and south. Results:
1 - Jonathan (Std Jantar) - 362km - 95.3 kmh - 95 kmh handicapped
2 - Ramy (ASW27) - 512km - 105.76 kmh - 93 kmh handicapped
3 - Darren (DG800) - 412km - 105.76 kmh - 88 kmh handicapped
4 - David (DG300) - 325 km - 85.45 kmh - 81 kmh handicapped
5 - Tom (Discus 2) - 225 km - 80.46 kmh - 75 kmh handicapped
Sunday 5/4:
Task was to the Lookout turn area and New Cuyama. David, Jonathan and myself made the New Cuyama turn area, the rest went as far as Avenal and Lost Hills area. Plenty of landouts and relights due to blue holes and OD.
Results:
1 - Ramy (ASW27) - 597km (to 18 miles SE of New Cuyama and back to Hollister)- 111.50 kmh - 93 kmh handicapped (with 5% ballast penalty)
2 - Jonathan (Std Jantar) - 349 km (to 20 miles from New Cuyama, landed at Avenal) - 93.21 kmh - 93kmh handicapped
3 - Darren (DG800) - 410km (to Belridge area, relighted at Panoche)- 92.78 kmh - 77 kmh handicapped
4 - Eric (DG300) - 358km (to Belridge, landed at Harris Ranch) - 77.42 kmh - 69 kmh handicapped (with 5% ballast penalty)
5 - David (DG300) - 443 km (to 20 miles from New Cuyama, landed at Harris Ranch) - 71.73 kmh - 68 kmh handicapped
6 - Rodger (Discus) - 245km (to Avenal area, landed at Los Banos) - 72.35 kmh- 67 kmh handicapped
7 - Steve Saglio (Pegasus) - 138 km (to New Idria, landed at Hollister) - Task not completed All traces are available on OLC
Few rule clarifications and reminders:
1 - At least one turn point must be made to score. The 100 km minimum distance was for pilot selected tasks, not turn area tasks.
2 - The standing is based on rounded handicapped speed. In case of a tie as above, the longest distance wins.
3 - Water ballast is optional and carries additional 5% penalty, unless dumped at the beginning of the flight.
4 - All landouts (or relights) are scored as well.
5 - I was asked why am I using statue miles for turn area instead of Nautical miles. Well I checked the contest rules on SSA web site, and indeed task distances are measured in statue miles by default, unless specified otherwise. So we will keep it at 20 statue miles, which is 17.38 nautical miles.
And last, a tip: The earlier you launch, the higher your chances to complete the task. Waiting for conditions to get stronger will improve your overall speed, but reduce your chances to complete long tasks, so plan your launch time according to the day's conditions and the task length.
— Ramy
Opening Weekend of 2008 Hollister League Race Results • April 26 & 27, 2008
Saturday April 26:
Task was up to 3 turnpoints with 20 miles radius turn area: Lookout north of Black, King City, Lick Observatory. Due to marginal conditions locally at Hollister, it required a Panoche tow towards Chemise to get away, which only Ramy took, and as such was the only one to fly a task by flying west of EL4 to claim 2 turn areas (Lookout and King City). Harry almost made the Lick turn area, but was short by 0.5 mile.
Results:
1 - Ramy (ASW27) - 160km - 52.17 kmh - 46kmh handicapped
Sunday:
Task was up to 3 turnpoints with 20 miles radius turn area: Lookout north of Black, New Cuyama, Lick Observatory. Most pilots turned near Center Peak to claim the Lookout turn area and over San Antonio valley to claim the Lick turn area.
Results:
1 - Jonathan (Std Jantar) - 311km - 80.22kmh - 80kmh handicapped
2 - Ramy (ASW27) - 361km - 86.49kmh - 76kmh handicapped
3 - Harry and Kurt (DG505) - 295km - 80.15kmh - 74kmh handicapped
4 - Buzz (DG800) - 381km - 86.9kmh - 72kmh handicapped
5 - David (DG300) - 324km - 72.69kmh - 69kmh handicapped
6 - Steve (Kestrel) - 218km - 56.15kmh - 50kmh handicapped All traces are available on OLC
Monster Wave Day! • March 16, 2008
On March 16th Hollister had an amazing day of wave lift, and several Hollister pilots got to 18,000 feet over Santa Cruz! Watch this video made by Kurt Thames on YouTube:
Ali Rastegar Adds Private Glider Rating to his ASEL Pilot's Certificate • Feb 9th, 2008!
On February 9th, Ali Rastegar passed his checkride at Hollister with DPE Dave Morss to successfully add his glider rating onto his Private Airplane Singe Engine Land Pilot's Certificate. Congratulations Ali! Thanks also go out to Ali's CFIG, Jeffrey Hazlegrove, who worked with him through the fall and into the winter. Great job Jeffrey! Ali had been weathered out twice before over the last few weeks with the storms and rain that we were having, so the clear skies of Saturday morning were a welcome sight. Ali is a hang-glider pilot, and has flown the Cessnas at Gavilan Aviation on the Hollister airport. He'd begun his glider training at HGC late last summer, flying with Ruth Cook, and occasionally going for some great soaring flights with Drew. After a brief absence, Ali got back onto the HGC schedule with Jeffrey Hazlegrove. Congratulations once again to Ali, Jeffrey, and everyone else who helped along the way toward his successful checkride!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Ettore Leale Rang in the New Year by Passing his Private Glider Checkride!
Mr. Ettore Leale rang in the New Year by passing his private glider checkride with examiner Dave Morss to add his glider rating onto his ASEL certificate. Congratulations Ettore! Ettore began flying with Jeffrey Hazlegrove just about three months ago, and made very fast progress towards excellence in glider flying. He soloed after just a couple full-day training sessions, and seems to be a truly natural, gifted pilot. Ettore made great strides quickly, and then was away for the holidays. When he came back, all he had to do was brush up a bit, and his checkride was a breeze. Great job Ettore! And also congratulations to Jeffrey for doing a truly excellent accelerated training course with Ettore to make it all look easy. Great job Jeffrey!
Ettore lives in San Francisco, and flies power on the Peninsula. We're looking forward to seeing him when the weather gets warm, and he especially wants to come to Hollister to experience Panoche Valley. We'll definitely reserve a time slot for him at the next Gliderpalooza in the fall.
— Happy Soaring, Quest
Lars Fore Passes Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride! • November 27th, 2007
Hi everybody, HGC would like to congratulate Lars Fore for successfully passing his checkride for a commercial glider add-on rating to his airplane certificate. Additionally, Lars required only one flight to get the job done with examiner Dave Morss. Great job! Lars has been flying at Hollister off and on for about six months, coming out when he has a few days off from his job flying as a First Officer for a large commuter airline. HGC's very own Ruth Cook was the proud Flight Instructor who deserves a great round of applause for another job well done. Congratulations once again to both of you, and Lars may now enjoy the unique pleasures of soaring flight that only a glider pilot can truly appreciate.
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Johannes Zadrozny Passes Private Pilot Glider Checkride! • November, 2007
Another checkride passed at HGC! Hollister Gliding Club would like to congratulate 16 year old Johannes Zadrozny for passing his Private Pilot Glider checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner Dave Morss on Friday, November 16th! Great job Johannes!! CFIG Erick Teeters was Johannes' Flight Instructor, and another big round of applause goes out to him too.
HGC would also like to congratulate and thank Johannes' parents, Graciela and Peter for their complete and unwavering support for Johannes over the last three years of his pilot training. Johannes becomes the third generation of pilots in his family. His father is a power pilot, and his grandfather was a glider pilot.
Johannes chose to begin his training in gliders after being encouraged to do so by airshow performer Sean Tucker, whom he'd talked to one year during the Salinas Airshow. He began at Hollister as a member of the Youth Soaring Academy when he was thirteen. Johannes worked the line on many Saturdays and took his first few lessons with Russell Holtz. He then moved on to fly with Brett Hinze, and when Brett left HGC for greener pastures, he hooked up with Erick Teeters, another HGC success story. Johnannes is now attending a preparatory college, and hopes to go into international business law. He also wants to begin working on his Airplane SEL rating as well. And with his determination, as well as his refusal to never give up, I'm sure he'll accomplish all the goals he sets for himself. Congratulations again to Johannes, as well as to Erick, Brett, Russell, and his parents! Great job everybody!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Anders Vernblom and Mike Morrison Pass Their Checkrides! • October, 2007
HGC would like to congratulate Anders Vernblom and Mike Morrison (pictured with Jeffrey), both of whom passed checkrides with Designated Pilot Examiner Dave Morss earlier in October. Congratulations!
Both Anders and Mike hold Power Pilot Certificates with Single Engine Land ratings, and we enthusiastically welcome them to the ranks of Private Pilot- Glider! Anders worked with Ruth Cook over the last few months, and he also enjoyed coming down to our Panoche weekend Gliderpalooza a couple weeks ago.
Mike Morrison worked diligently under the guidance and tutelage of CFIG Jeffrey Hazlegrove, coming down to Hollister from Silicon Valley every other Friday beginning in early May. All the work has now paid off, and HGC wishes to thank both students and instructors for a truly great job! We're looking forward to seeing Anders and Mike out at Hollister flying as Private Glider Pilots sometime soon!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Deepak Aatresh Passes Private Pilot Glider Checkride! • Monday August 6, 2007
Congratulations to Deepak Aatresh for completing the goal he set for himself last Christmas: To become a licensed glider pilot! Deepak successfully passed his private pilot glider checkride after completing his training with instructor Ruth Cook on August 6th. Good job, Deepak!
Ferenc Omasz Passes Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride! • Monday July 16, 2007
HGC would like to congratulate Ferenc Omasz for passing his Commercial Glider checkride with Designated Examiner Dave Morss on Monday, July 16th. Congratulations Ferenc!!!!!
Ferenc is a First Officer on the Boeing 757 and 767 for a Major Air Carrier, and we warmly welcome him to the ranks of Commercial Pilot, Glider! I guess he just wanted to come someplace where he could use the rudder a little bit! The day after his checkride Ferenc was off to fly the San Francisco to Honolulu route, so maybe he'll venture over to Dillingham and do a fam. flight on Oahu with them. Ferenc is Hungarian, and we hope to see him frequently at Hollister after he visits relatives in Budapest.
HGC would also like to thank CFIG Ruth Cook for her dedication to Ferenc's training, and to CFIG Jeffrey Hazlegrove for his phase-check flight with Ferenc before the checkride on 7/16. Congratulations all of you for a job well done!!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
David Schoenwald Passes Private Pilot Glider Checkride! • Friday May 25, 2007
HGC would like to congratulate David Shoenwald for passing his Private Glider checkride to add his Glider Rating onto his Private SEL Airplane Certificate!! Congratulations David!!
David passed his checkride with Dave Morss on Friday, May 25th. David's flight instructor was Ruth Cook, and she also deserves congratulations for a job well done. Great job both of you!!
David is a power airplane pilot who hadn't flown for quite a few years, and decided to get back into aviation by aggressively pursuing his Glider add-on Rating. David and Ruth worked out an accelerated training schedule which involved David flying all day for a handful of days, spread out over a couple weeks. This just shows what students and instructors can do by using enthusiasm, hard work, planning and dedication.
David has also jumped right into cross country flying, as he and Ruth towed to Panoche, soared, and did a Panoche retrieve on Memorial Day, only three days after the checkride. Once again, great job David and Ruth, and we welcome David to the ranks of Private Pilot, Glider. We hope that you continue learning the art of soaring, and gradually break those apron strings to discover the true joy of cross-county flight!
—Happy Soaring, Quest
Multiple Pilots Attempt Mad Dash to Mexican Border Town of Jacumba • Thursday May 24, 2007
Forecast onditions looked right for Ramy Yanetz's "fantasy flight" to the Mexican border on Thursday. Four pilots accepted the challenge, but Ramy made the longest straight out flight of the day at 571 kilometers (355 statute miles).
Ramy reports: Mexico will need to wait for a better day. Made it to Apple Valley (around 50 miles east of Crystal, south of Barstow). It was a great day, but not enough. It was completely blue, did not see a single cloud the whole flight, but lift was strong and topped around 10K. I had a fast run to New Cuyama, getting there at 2:30PM, 2.5 hours from start.
But once in the Cuyama valley it was hard to find the shear line, and needed to polish some rocks until finally got over Mt Pinos and climbed to 13K, the highest for the day. But it was all down hill from there, the sea breeze was already in the Mojave desert and it was a slow progress. At some point I had Palm Spring in marginal glide, but when trying to get over Bear Mountain I lost the glide. Eventually I ran out of lift and backtracked to Apple Valley.
Apple Valley is a nice big airport, and luckily I met a flight instructor there which is also a CFIG and used to fly gliders. So I got a ride to Ontario, caught the last SouthWest flight to Oakland, and am back at home. Will make a trip to Palm Spring this weekend and retreive the glider.
David Schoenwald's First Solo in a Glider! • Monday May 14, 2007
Congratulations to David Schoenwald, and his CFIG Ruth Cook, on the occasion of David's first solo in glider N87R on Monday, May 14th. Great job both of you! David is a power pilot with single- and multi-engine ratings who's been out of aviation for a few years, and is getting back into things via gliders and HGC. He's doing an accelerated add-on, so look for news of his successful check-ride sometime within the next week or so. Good luck David!
Lars Fore's First Solo in a Glider! • Monday May 7, 2007
We'd like to congratulate Lars Fore on his first solo flight in a glider at HGC on Monday, May 7th. Great job Lars!! He accomplished this feat under the watchful tutelage of CFIG Ruth Cook. Congratulations to both of you! Lars is a power CFI, as well as being an airline pilot, and seems to be gifted and skilled in all aspects of aviation. We'll be keeping an eye on him as he pursues his Commercial Glider add-on to his existing certificate. Next stop: checkride!
Deepak Aatrash, Mike Morrison & Joy Pierce all Solo! • May 4 & 5, 2007
On Friday, May 4th, Deepak Aatresh soloed an SGS 2-32 under the watchful eye of CFIG Ruth Cook, and Mike Morrison did likewise under the direct supervision of CFIG Jeffrey Hazlegrove. On Saturday, May 5th, Joy "Red Baron" Pierce soloed perfectly (well almost) under the telepathic back-seat voice of CFIG Jeffrey Hazlegrove. Joy has been a dedicated student at HGC since last summer, and we all applaud her venture into the air with an empty back seat! Joy has also been our chief chef at the HGC BBQs, and will be working in our new office on assorted Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays. Congratulations to all three of you, and I'm looking forward to scheduling your checkrides at some point in the near future!
Hollister League: Thermals & Wave! • Saturday May 5, 2007
Saturday was a mix bag of some strong bullet thermals, wave and wind. We all launched after 2PM, releasing near Casa De Fruta. Earlier the lift was stronger and I climbed from 4000 ft to 8000 ft in thermals, contacted a wave and climbed almost to 10,000 ft in wave. Later the thermals were not strong enough to get back to the wave, so we spent the rest of the day in thermals up to 6K. The best lift was in the valley right over Hollister. Kurt used an iron thermal and reconnected with the wave later, when it got stronger and climbed to 12, 500.
We didn't declare any long tasks as it wasn't clear how far we can go today, so the nearest turnpoint was a 20 miles turn area around Reid Hillview. Some of us made it past South County to the turn area, but I have no results yet and not sure how many of us flew more then the minimum requirement of 100km OLC distance. Sunday should be warmer, better thermals, and more easterly wind. If the wind will be light we should have good thermals locally, and if it will be strong we should have good wave as the direction will be more favorable than today. Lets be ready to meet at 11AM.
—Ramy
The Hollister League Starts with a Bang! • April 28 & 29, 2007
Saturday 4/28:
1 - The short task was Hollister to Lookout turnpoint (on the ridge before Black Mtn) to King City and back to Hollister with optional landing at Salinas for the show. The Lookout area turnpoint allowed pilots to turn as short as EL4 or as long as Black Mtn. King City area turnpoint required a minor detour west of EL4 to get within 20 miles.
2 - The long task was Hollister to New Cuyama to King City and back to Hollister (500km). There was some confusion regarding the last turn point (King City) so we decided to not count it.
1st - Darryl in DX - 62MPH handicapped - 458km
2nd - Ramy in TG - 61MPH handicapped - 577km
3rd - Shannon Madsen in EP - 58MPH handicapped - 580km (first time flying at Hollister)
4th - Darren in U2 - 57MPH handicapped - 524km
5th - Jonathan and Morteza in 1CH - 50MPH handicapped - 469km
6th - Eric Rupp in ER (completed short task)
7th - Steve Saglio in JH (instrument problems, stayed local)
Sunday 4/29:
Sunday started slower with high clouds and stronger winds, however the shear line was exactly as predicted by Blipmap and RASP, way east. It was coupled with some wave activity just west of I5 to 10,000 feet. The wind was below 15 knots, yet there was sink and rotor and weak wavelets. It was definitely an interesting day, but slow going. The long task was again an AAT to New Cuyama and back and the short task to the Lookout and back. Due to the slow going and the easterly route we modified the long task to Avenal and back.
1st - Harry in JH - 46MPH handicapped - 321km
2nd - Ramy in TG - 44MPH handicapped - 347km
3rd - Jonathan in UV - 42MPH handicapped - 273km
4th - Joel Taylor in 7H (went to the MW towers and back)
5th - Darryl in DX (had a bad day, did not complete)
6th - Kurt in PS (stayed local to Panoche)
Overall it was a very successful weekend: No landouts, 3 flights of over 500km, personal best for at least 4 pilots, and 5 new participants. I invite the new participants to share their experience with us.
Kevin De Van Passes Private Glider Pilot Checkride! • April 9, 2007
On Monday, April 9th, Kevin De Van passed his check-ride with Dave Morss (in just one flight!) and successfully added his Private Glider Rating to his Private Airplane SEL Certificate! Congratulations Kevin! Kevin began flying with Drew Pearce in late spring of 2006, and then transferred over to Jeffrey Hazlegrove during the summer. He flew with Jeffrey a little bit into the fall, but then stopped sometime in October because of a lack of time. We were glad to see him show up back at HGC just a few weeks ago with enough time available to put the finishing touches on his training. When Kevin came to us last spring, he began using a small headset while flying in the 2-32. It worked so well that we decided we liked the idea, and now we have headsets available to all students who fly N87R. Thanks for the idea, Kevin! Please welcome Kevin into the ranks of Private Pilot, Glider!
Eiji Hagiwara Passes Commercial Glider Pilot Checkride! • March 22, 2007
Today at HGC, Eiji Hagiwara, flying with Dave Morss, passed his Commercial Glider rating add-on to his Commercial Airplane certificate. Congratulations Eiji!!! (Pronounced AJ) I think that Eiji also has a helicopter rating in there somewhere, as well as a selection of instructor ratings in his native Japan. Congratulations also to his dedicated instructor, Jeffrey Hazlegrove. Great job both of you! Eiji began flying with Jeffrey at HGC last summer, and kept at it into the fall, and even completed one of the cross-country tasks in a 2-32 with Ruth last September during our Panoche weekend! He vanished after Panoche, and just resurfaced a few weeks ago wanting to finish up his rating ASAP. It came right down to the wire as he's getting ready to move back home to Japan (Tokyo) on April 1st. In fact, he had to run out on the movers today to come and do the checkride. Talk about cutting it close! He's got a "For Sale" sign on his Mercedes convertible. and will be out of here very soon. Thanks for flying with us, Eiji, and HGC wishes you well in Japan, and hope you find a gliding club to fly with over there. (In fact, where DID the Fox go to over there??) Congratulations again Eiji! Bon voyage!
John Goldsworthy Passes Private Glider Pilot Checkride! • March 12, 2007
John Goldsworthy passed his private glider pilot checkride with Dave Morss on Monday, March 12th. Congratulations John!!! John began his training at HGC last spring with Drew, and then took up with CFIG Ruth Cook in the summer. He's been coming out to Hollister religiously, and the hard work finally paid off! Congratulations also to his instructors: Drew Pearce, Ruth Cook and Jeffrey Hazlegrove who did a final phase-check. Great job, all of you. John has been working the line for us the past few months on the weekends, and his tireless efforts and dedication are much appreciated. John went to the SSA convention this year in Memphis, and is looking into purchasing his own ship. (Possibly a Labelle). Please welcome John to the ranks of Private Pilot, Glider, a goal which he's been wanting to achieve for some time, and has now realized his dream! Again, congratulations John!
Post-Frontal Fun! • March 1, 2007
Each of the recent storm systems moving through the area have resulted in some great pre- and post-frontal soaring conditions around Hollister, often with beautiful cloud streets running off in all directions. Last Friday Joel & Matt took the DG 1000 for a 100k jaunt north to Loma Prieta Peak (west of Morgan Hill), back south to Fremont Peak and then south east to Bickle. A 3 hour and 6 minute flight from a 1,700 foot tow! Max altitude was 6,500 feet. The next day Jeremy & Miguel flew the DG on another 3 hour local flight. They would have stayed up longer except for the chill at altitude (-5 degrees. Remember to wear your wool socks!) The same day Jim spent the afternoon brushing up on his thermalling in the Junior, and he "had a blast."
Good Wave Soaring Over the Holidays! • January 8, 2007
Over the Holidays we had a few good soaring days. Charlie and Hud soared to 12,500 feet in wave lift over the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The first week of the New Year started off well with a few wave days. Matt and Haven had a great Wave flight that lasted 5.5 hours with a max altitude of 13,500 feet.
There will be a fun competition consisting of a thermaling contest and mini race both days. The contest will be designed so that participants can launch from Hollister, Panoche or Avenal. And a few adventurous souls have considered trying to make the flight down from Truckee. We will decide on the contest requirements each morning. If you will be launching from a different airport we will find a way to let you know the race for that day. Please RSVP for our planning needs and bring tie-downs if you will need them.
Gaggle of gliders thermalling in the Panoche valley.
The BBQ will be on Saturday afternoon and will be provided by the Panoche Inn. They will start serving around noon and have food available throughout the day. The BBQ will be $10 a plate plus drinks. Please indicate if you prefer beef or chicken if you plan to attend the BBQ. The BBQ is open to all the Panoche Inn customers so we will have a chance to mingle with the locals. Sandwiches are available at the bar.
Ziggy, the new owner of the Panoche airport, hopes to be there that weekend as well. He has been very gracious in allowing us to continue using the airport with the same arrangements we had with Bill Parker. Because the airport has not been fully cleaned up yet and Bill still has some of his aircraft in the open hangar, we have been asked to not congregate on the airport property but to use the Panoche Inn as our hang out spot. We need to make a good impression with the new owner, so please let anyone you bring down know our concerns.
We have access to the gate so you can trailer down or trailer out if you fly in. Glider pilots that want to fly down in a power plane should contact us for approach and departure procedures that we are requesting to minimize the noise impact and for safety.
The Mercey Hot Springs Resort is a short drive away for those of you who want to camp in the valley that Friday or Saturday night.
The Mercey Hot Springs airstrip has X's on the runway because of county airport regulation issues. The owner said that if somebody needed to use it that he would not care. The last reports about the airstrip were landable but very hazardous.
Tows will be available out of Hollister all day Friday and Saturday morning until everyone has launched then the tow planes will relocate down to Panoche for the weekend.
'Hope to see all of you there, or at Hollister, for a fun, friendly, challenging weekend of soaring and comraderie. We'll say goodby to Summer and hello to a promising local Fall soaring season. (HGC will still be operating as usual out of Hollister during that weekend.)
Look for frequent updates on this forum regarding the activities of that weekend. I'll post them as needed.
Happy Soaring,
Quest
NEW HOLLISTER AIPORT GLIDER OPERATIONS PROCEDURES • JULY 2006
Do you know where spectators are permitted? How about where you should turn off after landing? Things have changed since HGC moved to its new location on the ramp. Download the PDF file and check out the latest HGC Operations Procedures. - HERE
GUIDE TO FLYING PANOCHE Panoche is a grass strip 30 miles south of Hollister in the Diablo Mountain Range. Unlike Hollister, Panoche is protected from the summer sea breeze. Thermal lift here often goes to higher than 10,000 feet. This Guide is for flying the Panoche Run from Hollister. You will aerotow from Hollister to Panoche, fly in lift at Panoche, land there, and then get an aerotow back to Hollister. You do not need to be X-C checked out to fly at Panoche. Download the PDF "Guide to Flying Panoche" for an overview of requirements and procedures - HERE
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