Flyfunston

I'm helping organize another HG aerobatic clinic to be held October 28-29, 2006 at the New Jerusalem airport near Tracy, CA.

If you have any desire to do steep dives, wingovers, loops or spins, I highly recommend getting advice and supervision from experienced pilots. This clinic will be a great opportunity to do so! Even if you don't plan on pursuing an aerobatic career, learning to fly your aircraft in unusual attitudes will give you more confidence and control on those big thermal days.

Our mentor will again be the accomplished Dallas Willis. You can check some of his videos at http://www.bigskyhg.com/ There is a clip from last years aero clinic at the bottom of the page. Dal does a cool 3-loop set at the very end!

How it works: Dallas loves to come out and fly with us and does not ask to get paid. All we need to do is cover his expenses. Airfare from the east coast is running around $364-, so with a few bucks for food his cost is about $450-. If we get 6 to 8 participants it's only $75- to $56- each for a whole weekend of mentoring!

We can do an introductory ground school on Friday evening for those new to aerobatics. Even if you already have some experience you will begin by flying at your current comfort level and take it easy from there.

Paul Splan agreed to tow us up with his trike. It will cost you $25- for a tow to 2,000' agl, and $35- to 3,000' agl. Your total cost for the weekend depends on how many tows you take.

We don't do aero in thermic conditions so this clinic will start EARLY. Plan on having your glider set up at sunrise. Two sessions are planned each day, early AM and early evening or as soon as it calms down.

For those who don't have their AT rating, Paul can give an AT ground school on Saturday mid-day or so. This will enable first timers to tow that evening and do both sessions on Sunday. You will need to demonstrate about 10 good tows to get your rating.

An earlier aero tow only weekend is proposed for September 23-24 where you can work on your AT rating. This is a good idea if you want to focus on aero in October.

Interested? Please direct questions and RSVP to Steve Rodrigues; [email protected]

We now have 7 participants signed up, so I'm closing the sign ups to make sure everyone can get their share of airtime and coaching.

Anyone else who is interested is welcome to get on the waiting list in case someone else drops out.

Steve