PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Head to Leppert & Hensley this Thursday evening, February 21, at 7:00 P.M. for a dose of Springtime. In addition to all the normal updates on the club, we hope to have some interesting pics and info re: the SSA convention just held in California. If the CD, projector, and narrator all come together at the right time, we hope to enjoy Dave Newill's photography and narration by Ron Clarke. See you there. There's more in the program, so come out and erase those winter blues.

The Relocation Committee is continuing its efforts after our initial efforts were shot down by a combination of high prices, and some unrealistic expectations on behalf of the seller. For all who were fortunate to hear Jim Pitcher of Silver Creek at our banquet, it is clear that the potential rewards for moving forward are many - but some difficulties are to be expected.

I am still looking for someone who would like to be the Program Chair for our monthly meetings. If you are new to the club, and not involved in some way other than crew duty, this is a great way to learn more about your club, and gliding in general. If there are any others who would like to be more involved in the various aspects of club operation, I would ask that you also let me know of that interest, and if you have a specific area of interest. There are plenty of areas that are begging for more able bodies, so if you have an interest, let me know!

Tom Ruble
truble1@prodigy.net
317-849-7008

POSITIVE CONTROL CHECKS

After reading some discussions of this subject in Soaring and in the rec.aviation.soaring discussion group on the internet, I'd like to encourage using a different way of carrying out these checks. The discussions centered around difficulties with making sure L'Hotelier fittings were secure, but the methods suggested make lots of sense by giving both the pilot and the checker a more positive biofeedback and greater assurance that the connections are indeed secure.

Let's look at an aileron check. Mostly, we have had the checker hold the aileron in the neutral position while the pilot put left and right forces on the stick. The difficulty here is that the checker must try to clamp the inboard edge of the aileron to the adjacent trailing edge of the wing, using just his hands. Not everyone has strong hands and the coordination with the pilot is sometimes iffy just because the checker hasn't quite got the aileron stabilized.

A much better method is the one we use to check spoilers ---- move the control to the two extreme positions and have the pilot apply stick force against it. To check an aileron this way, the checker should press the aileron all the way down against the stop. This action will move the stick to the opposite side's extreme position and at this point the pilot should try to force it back to center. The checker has the control stop to press against. This gives both pilot and checker a more stable platform for checking stick forces and linkages.

Then, the checker should lift the aileron all the way up against the stop. This will move the stick to its extreme position toward the aileron. Again, the pilot should try to force the stick back to center. By now we have seen that the aileron moves the stick freely in both directions, that the stick exerts proper force on the aileron , and that full travel of both aileron and stick are normal in both directions. In my view, this is a much more thorough checkout of the linkages.

This same procedure suits the checking of elevator and rudder just as well and once again provides a much more thorough check . I note that some our club members are already using this method. Now that we are getting new

WE NEED YOU TO HELP WRITE HISTORY

In an effort to make sure our efforts to take care of the future don't overshadow our past, Ron Clarke was asked if he would work on compiling a CISS history (1960-2002). He has already been working on this for a while – understandably when the compiling didn't interfere with the cu. He has invited anyone interested in contributing to this effort, to send him any good information you may have to add to the record. Exciting events in the past, humorous accounts of happenings at the field, interesting members of past years, etc.

Feel free to e-mail him information at ZASOARS@aol.com, or a written account (typewritten preferred ) - to his snail-mail address (11732 Sea Star Drive , Indpls , IN 46256 ). Ron says even a phone call will do. Ron isn't going to guarantee when the project will be completed since the aforementioned cu's will have priority, but whenever it is, I know the finished product will be something we all will look forward to.

Here are a couple of the reports that he has already collected:

"Power of the President" (Mike Morgan 1978)
Mike Morgan reported on the spot landing contest by saying that every participant was disqualified by either touching down before the line or going past the mark. The wind was light and variable ,and changed to a quartering tailwind during the course of the afternoon - causing the task to be very difficult . The contest will be run again on June 24 - without a tailwind.

"Oops"
Dick Hutch reports on a "bomb drop" contest (1971) at Combs Airport (now Boone Co) where our club got together with the Lafayette club. "The usual, bomb drops, etc. Only this time one of the "bombs" went thru the wooden wing of Bob Atkinson's L-Spatz. Needless to say , he was a little more than perturbed."

Thanks Ron!