Central Indiana Soaring Society

On May 19, Kevin soloed in 809S to become CISS's newest and youngest solo pilot.  HIs tow pilot, Mike Nichols, did his usual fine job of putting Kevin in some lift when he released from tow. There were some comments from observers that Kevin appeared to be heading for Stottlemeyer; but, he later returned to CISS for a perfect landing. Tod Herrli was waiting with the traditional bucket of cold water which he shared with Kevin along with his mom and dad, Erik and Dawn. Dawn then produced a pair of sissors and cut off Kevin's shirt tail.

Danielle Pierce is from Mitchell Indiana and plans on attending Purdue University to major in Aviation this fall. She has joined CISS as a Student Member and wants to earn her glider rating as the first step for a career in Aviation.

"Wings Over Indiana," a special one-hour edition of the science series, Indiana Expeditions, has received three Emmy nominations from the Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The video-the collaboration of producer WFYI Productions, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and the Academy of Model Aeronautics-was made possible by a NASA grant. Winners will be announced at the 44th Annual Emmy Awards Gala on June 1, 2013, in Cleveland.

The full video is available at:  

The following link was posted on rec.aviation.soaring and might be of interest to CISS youth members who would like to join the facebook group. 

I along with Daniel Sazhin have formed a facebook discussion group for Jr pilots in the US. If you are a junior or know of one, please pass this along to them to join us. We hope to have an active group of youth excited about soaring and meeting others with the same passion. https://www.facebook.com/groups/USJRSoaring/

JP Stewart 

Last Saturday, over 40 members participated in the club's annual safety meeting.  Afterwards, the 2013 soaring season officially opened with Mario Lazaga's crew launching 15 flights in the afternoon.  Great job guys.

The SSA Competition Committee is offering any qualified USA Junior
pilot a rebate of 90% of their contest fees for a sanctioned Regional
or National contest during the 2013 season. There is a limit of one
rebate per pilot.

Download the application form here.
http://www.ssa.org/files/member/2013%20JUNIORS%20Rebates.pdf

For the committee,
John Godfrey (QT)

What a deal! Burt Compton, a Master Flight Instructor and 2010 recipient of the Soaring Society of America's Warren E. Eaton Memorial Trophy is offering free checkrides until 31 March 2013. See his post to rec.aviation.soaring below:

On the last day of the 2012 soaring season for CISS, Mike Meister successfully completed the requirements for the SSA Bronze Badge. Congratulations Mike!

Members interested in improving their soaring skills and looking for a challenge are encouraged to review the requirements for the SSA badges and set some goals for next season.

On Saturday 9/22/12 Gardiner Dennis braved strong winds and the fearsome DPE to earn his Private Pilot Glider Rating. Gardiner is shown in the photo with DPE Dan Tannas following his flights. Olaf Tessarzyk was his recommending instructor and also the tow pilot for his flight test.
 

On September 21, 2012 Richard Smith and Tim Woenker managed to dodge the rain showers while towed by Kris Maynard and successfully completed their practical tests to become certificated glider pilots.

They are shown in the photos being congratulated by their DPE, Dan Tannas. Also, they are shaking hands with each other and agreeing that this was not as bad as they had expected. Both passed with flying colors.