Park Forest South Aviation Group

PFSAG

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Park Forest South Aviation Group

PFSAG encourages information sharing on recent and memorable flights.

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November 23, 2011:

New Rating Achieved

Ted Sanders passed his Certified Flight Instructor - Glider checkride in the Grob G-103 at Lake Village Airport, Indiana.

Ted is an FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor, a National Association of Flight Instructors Master Instructor, and NAFI Board Member, with Commercial ASEL, ASES, AMEL, Instrument Airplane, Glider, CFI, CFII, MEI and AGI ratings.

Ted looks forward to teaching new glider students and new cross-country soaring challenges in the next year. When he is not teaching in gliders his favorite sailplane is the club's Schweizer 1-26b.

Pictured with Ted, standing second from left, is, left to right, PFSAG's Bill Helgersen, CFI-G, FAA Designated Pilot Examiner Daniel Tannas, and Atlantis Soaring Society's Winfried Rudloff, SSA-I, CFI-G.

Special thanks to Winfried Rudloff and Atlantis Soaring Society for furnishing the Grob and to Bruce White for the great photos.

October 4, 2011:

Addicted to Soaring

Paul Cantwell passed his Private Pilot Glider checkride in the Grob G-103 at Lake Village Airport, Indiana.

Paul is an Airplane Private Pilot and fell in love with soaring a few years ago after taking a ride in the Janus CM motorglider. His comment was "I can see how this can become addictive!" Following his new-found addiction led him to transition instruction and then multiple solo flights totaling over 4 hours at a time primarily in the LS-1b, earning his ABC badges, and topping the club list of total number of solo student hours flown in 2010.

Pictured with Paul, center, is FAA Designated Pilot Examiner Daniel Tannas on the left, and Atlantis Soaring Society Instructor Winfried Rudloff, SSA-I CFI-G, on the right.

Special thanks to Winfried Rudloff and Atlantis Soaring Society for furnishing the Grob and to Bruce White for the great photos.

August 28, 2011:

First solo for Jason

Jason Standish soloed in the Grob G-103 glider for the first time after joining PFSAG less than a year ago with no flying experience.

Bill Helgersen, CFI-G PFSAG, and Winfried Rudloff, CFI-G SSA-I Atlantis Soaring Society, both worked with Jason to reach this milestone. On his special day Jason flew two more times with Winfried around the pattern and then waited a few hours for the wind to get below 10 MPH before getting the thumbs up from Winfried to try it on his own.

Jason flew a spot-on approach to a full stop landing and was greeted by the entire ground crew for the ritual hazing.

Joining in the ritual ice dunk is member Glen Thomas. Student Jason is so engrossed in the post-flight critique by Instructor Winfried that he doesn't even notice as Glen walks right past him with a full Thermos of ice water for the re-gifting!

Congratulations Jason!

Special thanks to Winfried Rudloff and Atlantis Soaring Society for furnishing the Grob and to Bruce White for the great photos.

July 31, 2011:

Paul Cantwell's fun flight in the LS-1.

Click here to see interactive Google Map of flight track

Click here to see 3-D Google Earth depiction using KMZ file

June 25, 2011:

Eric Steinle solos in gliders.

Winfried Rudloff SSA-I CFI-G, on the left, congratulates Eric Steinle on the accomplishment of his first glider solo flight. Eric is working to attain Private Pilot certification in Airplanes and Gliders before he goes off to attend the Professional Aviation Flight Technology Bachelor of Science program at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana this fall.

Eric joined PFSAG and started his glider training in April. He was able to achieve his solo milestone in part through a Glider Scholarship grant through the Walter Gleason Memorial Scholarship Fund.

PFSAG is proud to have Eric as a flying comrade and wishes him the best in achieving his next soaring milestone and in his educational pursuits to a flying career!

October 9, 2010:

Bruce White's first glider solo.

Bruce White, on the left, receives congratulations from his glider instructor Bill Helgersen on the accomplishment of his first glider solo flight. Bruce is working on his Commercial Glider add-on rating and will soon be giving glider rides to the general public!

September 16, 2007:

Uwe Rudloff's solo 200 KM triangle cross country in the Janus CM 2-seat motorglider on a cloudless blue-sky thermal day.

Uwe says: "A real seat-of-the-pants experience. Only thermal markers were dried corn-stalk leaves swirling up in the thermal cores. All that Indiana corn put to another good use today. Very satisfying"

Confirmed Indiana state records: Speed around 200 KM triangle, Distance around a triangle.

Confirmed Silver Badge legs: Distance, Altitude gain.

Click here to see interactive Google Map of flight track

Click here to see 3-D Google Earth depiction using KMZ file

Flight Details:

Takeoff Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Turnpoint: White County Airport (MCX), Monticello, Indiana
Turnpoint: Wichman Airport (96LL), Stockland, Illinois
Landing Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Minimum Soaring Altitude: 2558 ft
Maximum Soaring Altitude: 6060 ft
Triangle Speed: 35.57 mph
Triangle Distance: 128.89 miles
Soaring Performance Flight Time: 3:37:13
Janus CM Performance:

L/D max. 43:1 @ 110 kph / 59 kt / 68 mph
Min. sink 0.60 m/s / 1.97 fps / 1.17 kt @ 85 kph / 46 kt / 53 mph

September 1, 2007:

Paul's first flight in a sailplane, the Janus CM 2-seat motorglider.

Even after circling for nearly two hours, his comment was "I can see how this can become addictive!"

Click here to see interactive Google Map of flight track

Flight Details:

Takeoff Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Landing Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Minimum Soaring Altitude: 2316 ft
Maximum Soaring Altitude: 4370 ft
Total Soaring Flight Time: 1:34:12
Janus CM Performance:

L/D max. 43:1 @ 110 kph / 59 kt / 68 mph
Min. sink 0.60 m/s / 1.97 fps / 1.17 kt @ 85 kph / 46 kt / 53 mph

December 9, 2006:

Dave McEntyre is at it again with the Blanik L-23, practicing those precision tows and carrier landings. Recently completing his Commercial Pilot Glider add-on certification, soon he will be a newly-minted Certified Flight Instructor - Glider.

A little different than jockeying a throttle around - eh Dave?

Click on images below to view full size

June 24, 2006:

Uwe Rudloff takes the new Volkslogger VL GPS logger on a cross-country flight in the Janus CM 2-seat motorized sailplane for a test run.

Click here to see interactive Google Map of flight track

Flight Details:

Takeoff Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Turnpoint: Van Voorst Airport (5LL8), Union Hill, Illinois
Landing Point: Lake Village Airport (C98), Lake Village, Indiana
Distance to Turnpoint: 30.8 nm
Minimum Soaring Altitude: 2598 ft
Maximum Soaring Altitude: 6739 ft
Total Soaring Flight Time: 1:25:05
Average Track Speed: 21.72 kt

Janus CM Performance:

L/D max. 43:1 @ 110 kph / 59 kt / 68 mph
Min. sink 0.60 m/s / 1.97 fps / 1.17 kt @ 85 kph / 46 kt / 53 mph

July 27, 1996:

PFSAG's own Wally Gleason carries a commemorative postcard in a Schweizer 2-33A sailplane from Park Forest, Illinois to Miller Beach, Indiana, landing on the beach close to where Octave Chanute carried out his legendary gliding experiments 100 years earlier.

The occasion marked The Chanute Glider Centennial Celebration celebration of Chanute's work, and the National Soaring Museum's landmark dedication at the site.