West Coast Motorglider Fly-In [Aug 21-23]

[Webmaster]

Richard Pearl, Moderator of the Grob 109 Users Group posted:

We would like to link with your organization since we have a common interest. I am located in Sacramento, CA. We have 80 members in our group, worldwide. We are holding our first West Coast Motor Glider Fly-in at Minden (NV) 8/21-23 and would like your group's participation.

For more info contact Richard Pearl

[g109pilot]

The West Coast motor Glider Fly-In is definitely on for August 21-23 at Minden, Nevada airport (MEV). Activities include Flying, round table discussions of joint interest, a seminar on mountain flying and mountain weather by local experts, an on-field BBQ Saturday night, a Basque dinner on Friday night, and Flying. There is also the possibility of aerial photography by a professional photographer (picture your airplane against the backdrop of Lake Tahoe).

At this time we have ten airplanes and five "spectators." Grob's, Taifun, Lambada, Pipistral, possible Ximango and Stemme plus some others.

Contact: richard pearl (pennyrich@aol.com); 916.715.9666

[Steve Sliwa]

Here is the report from the Fly-In. The two Ximango attendees were Tom Muller and Ron Snedecor.

TOURING MOTOR GLIDER FLY-IN

MINDEN, NEVADA
AUGUST 21-23, 2009

Twelve motor gliders and twenty spectators attended the First Annual Touring Motor Glider Fly-In at Minden Airport, August 21-23, 2009. The event’s goals were to have fun, learn from each other, see other motor gliders, and to have fun. The goals were accomplished, and then some.

Organizers were Richard Pearl and Ray Buhr. Logistical support (meeting space, facilities, and a Saturday night BBQ) was provided by SoaringNV, a fixed-based operator on the field. Participating aircraft were: Grob 109 (2), Ximango (2), Pipistral (4), Taifun (2), Lambada (1), and a ASH26E. Pilots arrived from Washington state, southern California, and Nevada. There were several last minute cancellations, primarily due to equipment issues. Additional “spectators” included pilots who were looking to enter the motor glider arena (one from Colorado) or just had an interest in the motor glider concept.

For Minden in the late summer, the weather was definitely uncooperative on both Saturday and Sunday. This didn’t stop the two Ximango’s however from launching and hitting 16,000 feet.

Friday saw everyone arrive at various times. Dinner that night was at a Basque restaurant. If you haven’t been to this type of restaurant, it’s family-style seating accompanied by food that seems never to end. Lots of fun!

Saturday began with presentations on mountain weather by Doug Armstrong (the local NWS weather expert), John (Bumper) Morgan discussing mountain flying techniques, and Fred LaSor of SoaringNV educating us on wave flying. After that, it was a “show & tell” as we inspected the individual aircraft. The Pipistral dealer opened up his box trailer to display his two aircraft. One of the attendee’s Pipistral won the EAA CAFÉ Foundation’s efficiency prize; second place was won by the Lambada attendee. A few of the aircraft launched but for several of us locals it was just a day to hang out (hey, we cal always get to 16,000 feet around here).

Saturday night saw the SoaringNV-hosted BBQ. Owner Laurie Harden, partner and Chief Pilot Fred LaSor, and the flight and office crew cooked up a storm. They run an outstanding shop offering a full range of flight instruction (basic, X-C, wave) and equipment rental.

Sunday morning opened with a combination of overcast with occasional rain. It cleared about 11 AM and the aircraft started departing. The intended fly-over was cancelled.

Everyone certainly appeared to have a great time extolling the virtues of their aircraft, and telling the usual pilot lies. The fly-in originated as a Grob 109 gathering, but quickly evolved into a more inclusive event. We are, therefore, recasting it as the “Touring Motor Glider Fly-In” in preparation for the Second Annual event (check out the Yahoo group site: Touring_Motor_Glider_Fly_In), exact time and place unknown at this point. Perhaps we can use Minden as a staging point and then move onto another location…suggestions welcome.

See you next year!

Richard Pearl, Ray Buhr