Memorial Day?

[macofromoc]

No talk of a Memorial Day Fly In? Is it cancelled? I haven't seen any posts yet. Several of us from ABQ were planning on heading down. Maybe we're not welcome….. sigh….. Greg Clark

[Bill Cummings]

Hey Greg, You missed it at the top of the page that you started from.
So back arrow till you get to the home page
Go into "RGSA Club Information"
then "upcoming events."
Be there or be square.

[RobinHastings]

Hi, Greg! Please talk it up at SSA meetings. We're planning on the Fly-In happening! I'm just filling out the Forest Service paperwork for it now. May 23-25, meet at the Cox Field LZ about 8:00 am each day. Entry fee $25. We'll have a barbecue, trophies, and contests. I emailed Heather Berman at USFS and she said that the forest will remain open, thanks to the unusual spring moisture we've had. All in all, it's looking good! I'm slated to be the Meet Head again. Phone number is 575-541-5744. I'll be out of town May 8 to May 20, but we should have arrangements pretty well in hand before I leave. Put it on your calendar!
-Robin

[PatrickHarveyCollard]

Looking by the posts in our SSA mailing lists, we could be quite a few people from ABQ to come this spring. Pretty stoked. See 'ya all there.

Patrick

[JanZ]

Hi Guys,
if you want me to make T-Shirts for the Fly-In I need to know what sizes and how many.
Please let me know before May 15th because I have to order the Shirts and I'm out of Town from May 20th to 22nd.
-Jan

[Bill Cummings]

None for JanZ, I have so many t shirts from past events that I can make it to age 85.

[RobinHastings]

Hello, Jan! I'd say, let's take orders for T-shirts if pilots want them. We can mail them for a dollar or so. Do you want to use the same Dry Canyon design that you did last year? (The one that shows the launch.)

I'm looking forward to hearing about your Florida adventures. See you soon!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

The Dry Canyon Fly-In 2015:
Another success for the RGSA! We had a good fly-in this Memorial Day Weekend. (And THANK YOU for your service to this country, Bill and Ted and all other veterans. I and a whole lot of others appreciate what you've done for all of us.) A BIG thank you from me to Bill Cummings, Mike Ellsworth, Matt Hayes, Lee Boone, and Had Robinson for setting up this whole event while I was out of the country - and not to forget, all the pilots who showed up to make it happen. We had 15 pilots who saw some airtime. (Bill selflessly volunteered to run the LZ while I was up playing and shuttling pilots.) Mike Reedy, our former RGSA member, also showed up on Sunday to be the Launch Director, and not only helped me to soar, but 10 or 12 others, who had amazing glassoff flights in the evening. You don't find better folks than these.

Friday May 22nd kicked things off; I went up to launch with my daughter Keighley Hastings as driver, and Colorado pilot Tom Hubble. Tom got his first Dry Canyon flight, soaring for several minutes in small thermals before heading to the LZ where Mike Ellsworth guided him in. Conditions were squirrely in the LZ when I came in a few minutes later. I wound up skimming the entire LZ about 30 feet up and finally, completely out of available LZ, winning the Golden Hammer Award by crashing in the arroyo at the very end. No pain, no gain, and one downtube bent. That was the flying for Friday, as the winds picked up quite a bit later in the day. Bill, Mike, Matt and others put up tarps on the cabana, set up tables and chairs and a light, and made our base a going concern for the next three days. I headed back to Las Cruces, knowing that things were a lot better organized with them than I could possibly do. There was one PG pilot, Patrick Harvey-Collard of Albuquerque, who flew on Saturday morning in his mini-wing, but conditions got too strong the rest of the morning and afternoon. Some of us enjoyed the sights of Cloudcroft and Alamogordo, including the IMAX Theater and various coffee shops. The evening, though, was wonderful - winds were strong, but the glassoff was happening. Those who launched their gliders after 7:00 pm did not regret it. Mike Ellsworth led the parade, and about eight others followed, including Patrick in his mini-wing again. All were treated to smooth altitude gains and magic air. In the LZ, when twilight was vanishing and the first quarter moon was high above, they put away gliders as fast as they could and then were treated to Bill's Grill - hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and other delectables that Bill had waiting. We visited that evening under the cabana, occasionally looking through my telescope at the moon, Jupiter and Saturn in a glass-clear sky. About midnight people started heading for bed around the LZ, in tents and trailers and just sleeping under the stars. A very pleasant evening, though surprisingly cool for late May in Southern New Mexico. On Sunday morning, with the winds not howling quite so strong, PG pilots went to launch early and got some flying in. Almost everyone reached the Cox Field LZ, a 9:1 glide from the PG launch. Hang gliders flew then, too, with Keighley doing the driving for some of them. Flights of an hour and more were common that morning. I went up with Mike Reedy and Finis Miller for drivers and support crew, as well as Mario Manzo, and launched about 1:20 pm. I got to 12,000 ft MSL (5000 over launch) and soared for 90 minutes before settling in at the LZ (with a much better landing than Friday's!) The evening glassoff again was superb, and with Mike Reedy, George Woodcock and Finis to run the launch, almost everyone stepped off and skyed out. As visitors arrived in the LZ for the barbecue (among them our former RGSA President Tommy West and his family) we had the moon high above, the sun dropping low, and pilots specked out but dropping in for smooth landings all around the field. Bill had hamburgers and pork chops to give out, George and Velma had brought a big pot of pasole, and there were brownies and other potluck contributions to ingest. Lots of great food awaited all who needed it - pilots, drivers, friends and family. Nobody went XC this day, as the west winds were strong, but nobody felt the lack, either. There were awards for Spot Landing, Bomb Drop and Duration that evening, after Bill and I figured out just who did what; First Place trophies were beautiful agave walking sticks that Mike Ellsworth had made, smooth and varnished. The visiting went on to midnight. On Monday the winds were a little lighter, and again the PG pilots launched early, with everyone making the LZ except Jim Steltzer - no worries, the down air had dumped him by the Space Hall, and he was picked up within minutes. This was the day that XC finally took place, as Ted Sullivan of Austin, Texas flew his HG 20 miles north, out past Tularosa - in a single-surface Freedom, no less! He hit 13,000 ft MSL on the way. Ann Dunlap of Colorado finally had her first Dry Canyon flight that evening, too, launching in her Wills Wing Sport 2 135 - the last pilot to get some airtime this Fly-In. She was thrilled. Mike, Bill, et. al., got the site cleaned up and we visited around a lantern at the last, enjoying pizza that Jan Zschenderlein had generously brought for us all. We called it quits about 9:30 pm and headed for home, leaving behind another fine fly-in for the RGSA. And, hey - Columbus Day will be here soon! Put it on your calendar... (October 10 - 12, folks!)
-Robin