Six area young people were introduced to the
fundamentals of flying “and the joy of soaring” in a four-day
University of Tennessee Space Institute short course held at the
Tullahoma Municipal Airport.
“Seventy-five glider flights were conducted with these
students,” said Dr. Peter Solies, UTSI associate professor of
Aviation Systems and flight instructor for the Soaring Camp held
June 5-8.
Students participating were Jessica Dickerson of Morrison,
Marcos More’, Ryan Morteson, and Neil Whitehead of Tullahoma,
Will Nelms of Lynchburg, and Weston Tennyson of Estill Springs.
Each day began with one hour of ground school followed by flight
activity. Each student accumulated ten or more flights in UTSI’s
tow-place glider, an Alexander Schleicher AS-K13.
Topics covered in the ground school included safe behavior on
airports, roles and duties of group members, foundations of
flight, aircraft terminology, aircraft controls, weight and
balance, ground launch and aero-tow procedures, airspeed
limitations, speeds for minimum sink and best glide, altimeter
settings, runway designations, landing pattern, understanding
and interpretation of automated weather observation methods.
Flight activities consisted of group activities and individual
flight instruction, Solies said. Use of radios was demonstrated
but not practiced in the course. Topics covered in group
briefings and hands-on demonstrations included tow rope
inspection and repair, glider assembly, ground handling, proper
tow-rope hook-up and hand signals, wing running, glider
retrieval, disassembly, and trailer operations.
Individual flight instruction included the following issues:
Walk-around pre-flight check, pre-takeoff check, emergency
procedures, pitch, roll, and yaw-control, ground-launch
procedures, stalls and recovery, adverse yaw and coordinated
turns, pitch attitude and airspeed control, use of trim, soaring
techniques, observance of air space, entering and executing
landing pattern, adjusting pattern to wind conditions, use of
dive brakes, aim point, landing flare, and roll-out.
On the final day of the camp, Mrs. Sarah Kelly, owner and
operator of Chilhowee Gliderport near Benton, provided aero-tows
in a Piper Pawnee. Each student experienced two aero-tows to
2,000 feet, including “boxing of the wake,” a required maneuver
for glider pilot certification.
Earlier flights were launched by the car-tow method on inactive
runways with landings on grass runways. Twenty-four introductory
flights were conducted with a 200-foot rope to familiarize
students with tow procedures and glider dynamics. Subsequently,
39 ground launches were conducted with the full-length,
1,500-foot rope, with typical altitudes of 1,000 feet.
“Due to the excellent weather, many of the flights were soaring
flights with altitude gains and extended flight times, and
demonstration of thermal centering techniques,” Solies said.
John Stubbs, manager of the Staggerwing Air Academy, assisted by
Mrs. Cathleen Gemma of the Tullahoma Chapter of the Civil Air
Patrol, recruited participants for the camp.
Participants in UTSI’s Soaring Camp are,
from left, Jessica Dickerson,
Dr. Peter Solies, flight instructor, Neil Whitehead
(sitting), Will Nelms,
Weston Tennyson, Ryan Mortensen, Marcos More’,
John Stubbs, (kneeling), manager of the Staggerwing Air
Academy.
Writer: Weldon Payne (931) 393-7222
wpayne@utsi.edu
