Meeting Minutes from July 12, 2013 (Summer Meeting)

[sailin]

CHGPA Summer Meeting- July 12, 2013

Below is a summary of the club meeting that took place on July 12th in Takoma Park, MD. If you feel something has been omitted or incorrectly reported, please bring it to my attention so I can make the necessary additions and/or corrections. Thanks!!!

The club business portion of the meeting started at approx 8:00pm

Thank you to Matthew and Karen for opening up their home once again!!

Welcome new members- There were many new faces at the meeting tonight. I won’t even try to recount all the names, but there was a nice mix of new hang glider and paraglider pilots. Welcome to the club. Make contact with an Observer!! We look forward to flying with you!!

Recent flight stories- Krista had not arrived yet to tell us about her awesome flight from Edith’s Gap to Strasburg. Daniel Broxterman was not in attendance to give us a first hand account of his sweet flight from the Pulpit to High Rock (on a blue day no less!!). I (Jon Brantley) gave a quick account of Amy and my recent road trip to California. I flew Crestline/Marshall, Big Sur, Ft. Funston, Indian Valley and Hat Creek. It was an unforgettable road trip with great weather, super soarable sites and a host of new pilot friends were made on the west coast. Stand by for a long write up of it in the near future.

Membership dues ….is everyone paid up???- I believe we have 90 paid members now, which is better than the 50 we had earlier in the year. I think there is still approx 38 people that paid last year that have not paid dues this year. Take a look and see if you have paid up. The money goes a long way to reclaim, protect, and develop sites. Our dues are incredibly low compared to many other clubs nationwide.

Site discussion:
Woodstock launch improvement status- Currently in review by the USFS

Massanutten Peak SSW launch (near Harrisonburg, VA)- Patrick Terry is investigating the possibility of repairing/improving the current hang glider ramp located here. He is also communicating with the property owner regarding the use of this launch.

Ediths Gap- This site was reclaimed, due in large part to the hard work and organization of Patrick Terry. Way to go!! Patrick not only worked with the USFS to get this done but also organized a hugely successful work party to finish clearing the launch. Thank you to everyone that worked to get this site re-opened!!! We are still working on trying to get some grass planted at launch and erosion control. We are also working on getting a barrier to stop trash disposal. Amazing job by everyone!! There is currently a suitable LZ for paragliders and there is talk of being able to improve (landowner gave informal permission) a nearby field that would work well for hang gliders. The current LZ options for hang gliders are a “longish” glide away. Stand by for more info on that. The report from Patrick is that the locals are extremely welcoming and happy to have us back flying in the area. Sharon Terry read us all a nice letter that had been written from a local land owner. Again, great job to everyone. This is exciting stuff. And to top it off there were some great flights from the site both days it was worked on!!!

Daniels road and launch improvement- Matt Ingram is working to try and get permission from land owners and estimates on getting sections of the road to launch repaired. It seems to have been improved some years back and is now on a steady decline. He will report back his findings. He is also trying to get permission and estimates to clear launch and maybe plant something that will prevent the frequent growth that returns so quickly and requires lots of maintenance.

High Rock LZ fundraiser- By donation, we conducted a fundraiser to pay for the taxes associated with our landing zone for High Rock. We were able to raise $560 and Maryland Hang Gliding Association raised $231. That helped us exceed the needed amount by a few dollars!!! Way to go!!!!
High Rock launch cube- There has been erosion of concrete to parts of the High Rock launch cube that needs to be repaired. Matthew Graham has found a willing and able contractor. The asking price for the work to be completed is $1660.00. A motion is made to spend the money on the needed repairs. All present voted in favor of this motion. Matthew Graham will handle the coordination efforts.

Pulpit Secondary LZ (Paraglider Main LZ)- This is currently completely planted in corn. As it is right now, it is not a suitable LZ for either paragliders or hang gliders.

Reminder for important upcoming dates:

Sept 13th Fall meeting
Oct 18-20 High Rock Fly In
Dec 13th Christmas party

Check the events calendar on forum for local and national events and comps

Safety Talk- Thunderstorms and Gust Fronts…Tim Martin story from June 5th 2011- I (Jon Brantley) gave a brief safety talk on thunderstorms and the associated gust fronts. This is the time of year where these dangers present a very real threat to us (however, they can form no matter what time of year it is). Check the weather, check the radar and fly with radios!!! Choose the conditions you fly in carefully. Our hot, hazy days, provide the perfect cover for these imbedded thunderstorms to sneak up on us and change conditions rapidly. I gave a brief account of hang glider pilot, Tim Martin’s fatality, two years ago at Henson’s Gap in Tennessee. It was the result of a thunderstorm and the associated gust front. New club member, Richard, is going to look into giving us a tutorial on using radar and base reflectivity to “see” and forecast where gust fronts will strike.

Thank you to Richard Hays for setting up his hang glider at the elementary school in McConnellsburg. It was a great success and excellent public relations for free flight in that area.

Richard Hays reminds us of the re-opening of the training hill, “Hallam Hill” outside of York, PA. Looks like it takes a north wind.

Recent Hang Gliding Article in Harrisonburg Newspaper-I (Jon Brantley) brought a copy of a local Harrisonburg, VA newspaper that did a feature article on Hang Gliding from Woodstock. Several of our club members had quotes throughout the article.


1st Annual CHGPA Film Festival and Video Contest. – Discussion started by me (Jon Brantley).

In an attempt to promote fellowship and activity away from the mountain, I am proposing the 1st Annual CHGPA Film Festival and Video Contest. This would take place in a setting that would allow us to share our free flight passion with friends and family. I will make a detailed informal proposal soon on the forum that includes specifics such as cost, dates, locations and event details. It is my hope that we can get some active club discussion on the forum about the proposed event. I will then submit a more formal proposal to the club at the Fall Meeting (Sept 13th) and ask that a vote be made to proceed or not. The basic idea is that we have a night (approx 3 hour block) that we rent out a local theater and invite our club members and their family/friends to view videos created by our own pilots and played on the big screen for us all to enjoy. There will be a video contest component of it with prizes. The videos should celebrate free flight! Stand by for a thread I will start on the forum with more details. I hope you way in on it so we can partner up and make this a wonderful time!

Discussion started by Cragin to investigate the potential benefits of using “Kickstarter” as a way to accept donations for future projects.

Discussion started about the possibility of doing a parachute re-pack clinic. Initial thoughts were to try and plan this for 2014.

The business portion of this meeting adjourned approx 930pm

Hope to see you out flying!!!
Jon

[davidtheamazing1]

Great job Jon! Exactly as I remember it, but with better details.