21 NOVEMBER

Another Winch Solo at Toronto Soaring

Sunday, 21 November was another good winch day at Toronto Soaring. A small but hardy group saw the sky improve as the day wore on. Taz Hashmi went solo after showing his trembling instructor, Bill Cole, just how close he could get to the far fence after a simulated cable break at 100 metres with no head wind. Al Foster, Master-of-the-Winch, supervised his proteges Geoff Le Breton and Dave Ellis who split the launches between them. We even had two intro flights to complete a fine day for late November while Hans Vetterli and the two Mujic's, Rusmir and Munib, were also on hand to participate in the day's sport.

Thanks to Geoff for the Photos and weekend update.

TSC-Winch launch movie

Left to right Hans Vetterli, Dave Ellis, Bill Cole, Taz Hashmi, Geoff Le Breton, Al Foster, Shadow Foster

Taz's Pre winch-solo

Up

Down

Back safely 4 min.

A GOOD DAY - 15 NOVEMBER

With three of four club gliders stored for winter and a towplane under maintenance, a promising weather forecast (for mid-November) saw seven enthusiastic members at the field early for a day of winching. Congratulations to Randy Nielson who 're-soloed' exactly 20 years after his last winch launch in 1984. With a wind of 7-8 knots straight down the runway and cool, dense air the 2-33 climbed on the winch like the proverbial home-sick angel. Al Foster and Geoff Le Breton shared the launching between them while Bill Cole, 'Daves' Ellis and Gossen, Marion Nowak along with Randy enjoyed flying in the wonderful visibility of this cool November day. A special thanks to Hans Vetterli whose donated Nissan 4WD truck did yeoman service on its first day of cable retrieval. Weather permitting we will repeat this next weekend. Thanks for the prose Geoff .

Next winch day ?

Keep an eye on the weather, and check back here or email

Here are some winch information links

Glider Winch Launch Simulation by Larry Bogan - Bluenose Soaring Club September 2000 | Adelaide University Gliding Club Inc.
OPERATIONS MANUAL: Winch Driving | AVIATION INVESTIGATION REPORT A02A0065

Happy 16th birthday to Shawn Burgessm

Your grandparents are giving you a flight at Toronto Soaring.

Hear is a special treat for our highflying grandson. Gift Certificate will be mail to you (valid for 1 year).

Have fun on your birthday. Grampa and Granma.

Congratulations to Tasneem Hashmi and Randy Neilson who went solo (Sept 26/04).

Tasneem is a newly converted power pilot and Randy is returning to the sport after a hiatus. Well done! Lets hope for a mild pleasant fall with a cold front passing through late Thursday and clear sunny weekends from now on. To download a high resolution version of this photo (taken by Geoff Le Breton) click here
Cheers Bill