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| Shenandoah Valley Soaring |
| Vol.7, No.2 | Eagle's Nest-Waynesboro | April 2000 |
Our annual dinner and meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the South River Restaurant on Saturday, April 8. There will be a social time starting at 6:00. Dinner starts at 6:30, and at 7:30 we will begin the annual business meeting, which will include a financial report for the past year and election of officers for the coming year.
The South River Restaurant is near I-64 and Hwy 340. From I-64, take Exit 94 and drive north on Hwy 340. Turn right at the first stop light and go to the end of Windgrove Rd. The restaurant is located on the cul-de-sac across from the Holiday Inn.
(The following is a guest editorial by Jim Kellett, chief flight instructor at Skyline Soaring Club, on an issue of interest—and concern—to all Valley glider pilots.)
By now you have probably heard of the formally reported NMAC (Near Mid-Air Collision) between a Lufthansa 747 and a Pik-20 flown by a M-ASA member over Frederick, MD early in March. What you may not have heard was the long list of both reported (and unreported) NMACs over the last decade. And have you heard that ATC is nearing completion of a new software installation that will help them handle the expected doubling in traffic at IAD (Washington Dulles International Airport) over the next decade?
Gliders, as any other aircraft type certificated without an electrical system, are exempt from the requirement to use transponders in the veil to Class Bravo airspace. That exemption, however, can lead to glider pilots having a false sense of security. And that security is still false even when surprisingly far away from Class Bravo airspace, since currently ATC is dropping the traffic approaching IAD to low (e.g., less than 10,000') altitudes farther and farther away from the airport. It is not uncommon to see airliners flying approaches to IAD going northeast in the valley at 6,000' or so!
The Soaring Society of America now "strongly encourages" voluntary installation of transponders (with altitude encoding - Mode C) in gliders. That's based on extensive study by experts in the society who have been working on airspace and traffic issues for years, and who have established a dialog with FAA headquarters on the whole range of issues presented. If you own a glider flying in the Shenandoah Valley, this is very good and serious advice.
But, sadly, nothing's easy. The issue is exceptionally complicated. Right now, there are no perfect choices for instruments to install (all have some combination of too expensive, too heavy, too high power drain, etc.) although there are units that excel in some of these characteristics, and there exists the possibility that a better unit will become available "soon".
And the installation dramatically increases the maintenance requirements (and costs). And requires familiarity with regulations and procedures heretofore unused in soaring. Finally, a transponder still does not provide perfect protection from a MAC with an airliner, and it provides very little or no protection from a MAC with an uncontrolled general aviation (GA) aircraft. It only provides much improved protection against the low-probablity but VERY HIGH risk encounter with an airliner. (That's the really intolerable kind of accident that could pretty much end soaring as we know it.)
So, what should you do? Here are some suggestions:
Finally, a general word about the SSA and the FAA. One of the best kept secrets in soaring is that the Society is hard at work, quietly and in the background, working with key people at all levels of the bureaucracy to protect and preserve our position within the aviation community. This is a most delicate task, requiring a very high degree of technical and political savvy. Even the most astute and well-meaning glider pilot could, by directly raising issues and/or recommending solutions with the FAA (either headquarters or a FSDO) without coordinating with the SSA, do a serious disservice to the sport. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please work with the group of dedicated volunteers in the SSA!!
Who are the? Well, for starters Jim Short (short@megsinet.net) is the head of the Society's Government Relations Committee. Karol Hines (Karol_soarLL@compuserve.com) is the Chairperson of the Airspace Subcommittee, and Carl Herold (cdherold@gbis.com) is the immediate past Chair and a most knowledgeable resource about this topic.
Talk to them. They're on YOUR side!
Pete Bryce has been honored by the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association for establishing the first ski resort in the South. He subsequently noted, in his characteristic jovial manner, that he also established "the first airport in the world near a ski slope."
The SVS Operations Manual is nearing completion and, it is hoped, will be distributed to members shortly.
Jim Garrison's Cross Country Course, held Saturday mornings at the Augusta County Library, will wind up April 8. In addition to SVS members, Jim's excellent course has attracted glider pilots from the Tidewater Soaring Society and from Maryland.