Soaring Reports

Soaring Report – Sunday, November 17, 2024

Hi, all: Today may have been the final flight operations day for the 2024 soaring season. Rain, wind, and cooler temps are forecast. Plus, we're putting all of our aircraft into non-flying status for 90 days, starting on December 1st. This will save some money on the...

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Soaring Report – Monday, November 11, 2024

Hi All, We are less than six weeks from the shortest day of the year, and by mid-afternoon, the sun is already so low that you don't dare fly without sunglasses. Still, it was a nice day to be out flying. Today's flights: - Tom flew a solo flight in the L-23. -...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, October 26, 2024

Hello, all: This morning, we flew ten CAP Cadet Glider Orientation flights.  It was a chilly morning with bright sunshine and a light 6 knot wind blowing from the southeast.  Dan P, Tom S, Bud S, Jeff F, and Frank M handled equipment set-up and flight operations for...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, October 19, 2024

Hi, Club Members: Today was Oral Exam and Check Ride day for Jeff F and Ryan K.  DPE Tony C arrived in his Cessna 120 on Friday evening, and was at Skywerx and ready to go early on Saturday AM.  Jeff was first and spent about two and a half hours with Tony while they...

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Soaring Report – Monday, October 14th, 2024

Hi all: Another chilly morning today! We're expecting our first frost and freeze this week. And yet, there were thermals popping late this afternoon. I took Will M. along for my flight, and we were up for 45 minutes and reached 4,900' MSL. Not bad! Today's flights: -...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, October 12, 2024

Hi, all: A chilly start today! And, still no rain in weeks. The runway is very dusty. The badgers and ground squirrels can't keep their holes open, because their dirt tunnels just collapse on them. There's no moisture in the soil to hold the dirt together. The dust...

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Soaring Report – Friday, October 11, 2024

Hello, all: It was yet another nice, early fall day. We decided it was far nicer to be at the airport vs. at home doing fall yardwork. There'll be plenty of time for yardwork! There wasn't much in the line of thermals until late in the afternoon. The longest flight of...

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Soaring Report – October 6, 2024

Hi, all: The fuel pumps at Skywerx are still not functioning. So, we only had enough fuel for four tows. We checked into buying fuel at the North Omaha Airport, and we can't. We talked about sending the Pawnee to Tekamah to buy fuel, and decided it'd take too long. As...

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Soaring Report – Friday, October 4, 2024

Hello, all: What a nice day to fly unpowered aircraft in Nebraska! It was a fun day, even though we didn't fly many sorties. Today's flights: - Beth C. flew two flight lessons with Eric H. - Jonathan F. flew two flight lessons with Eric H. - Ryan K. flew a practice...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, September 29, 2024

Hi, all: Another nice, but warm, day with eleven sorties flown. The local farmers are busy harvesting their bean and corn crops. Once the crops are harvested, the mostly bare ground will be heated by sun. When the sun heats the bare ground, thermals will form. When...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, October 26, 2024

Hi, all: We flew eleven sorties today: - Jose C. flew two flight lessons with Steve R. instructing. - Sean S. flew two sorties in his Jonkers JS-3, launching once via an aerotow and a second time via self-launch. - Bob A. and Dave L. flew two sorties together in the...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, September 22, 2024

Soaring Report - Sunday, September 22, 2024 Hi All, What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we were wearing shorts and t-shirts, and today long pants and a light jacket were needed to be comfortable. We can feel that fall weather is moving in. There are a lot of...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, September 21, 2024

Hello, all: There's not much to report today. We started early to fly-off a group of the 'Mile High Experience' gift certificates that have accumulated. There were some flight lessons and check ride practice flights, and two bi-annual flight review flights. Otherwise,...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, September 15, 2024

Hi, all: This morning started with a Ground School session in the Glider Pilot's Lounge at KBTA.  The session was open to all club members, but it was held primarily for the two members who have Oral Exams and Check Rides coming up in October (Jeff F and Ryan K) and...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, September 9, 2024

Hi, all: Today we celebrated Jamie A’s 90th birthday.  For anyone who doesn’t know Jamie, he has a long history in aviation.   Jamie was a naval aviator back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.  He flew as a pilot for United Airlines for many years.  He taught in the...

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Soaring Report – Monday, September 2, 2024

Hi, all: Today was Labor Day, and we felt it’d be best to celebrate it while we ‘labored’ at the airport.  We ‘labored’ our way through thirteen flights today: Steve R. took Matt L. up for his ‘Mile High Flight Experience’. Sean flew a flight in his Jonkers after...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, September 1, 2024

Hi, all: It was a quiet day today, with only nine flights.  This may have been due to the Cornhusker football team winning their season opener for the first time in five years.  People probably thought they’d better go to church, just in case.  Today’s flights: New...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, August 31, 2024

Hi, all: It was a very nice day today!  Professional writing coaches will tell you that including ‘very’ in a sentence is unnecessary, but on a day like today, it is necessary!  Why?  Because it was VERY nice out!  Even though there were no thermals at all, it was a...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, August 17, 2024

Hi, all: Today we flew a total of twenty-two flights: 1 - 7)       The first seven flights were CAP Cadet - Glider Orientation flights.  Dan P. and Steve R. flew the CAP flights. 8)            Dan P. took the Iowa CAP Wing Commander for her first glider ride. 9)     ...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, August 10, 2024

Hi All, What a nice day to be out flying.  We flew five CAP Cadet Glider Orientation flights in the morning.  Two of the cadets were from the Iowa CAP Wing, and one was from the Nebraska CAP Wing.  At the end of CAP, Dan gave a ride to Mary, the Iowa CAP Wing...

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Soaring Report – Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Hi All, Today we flew seven flights.  The weather is unseasonably cool, but you won't hear anyone complaining!  Oh, so nice out!  Jim D. wanted some rear seat time and to log more flight hours, so he did the first three flights, two with Jaime A. in the front and one...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, August 3, 2024

Hi All, Today we flew a total of twenty flights.  First, we flew ten CAP Cadet Glider Orientation flights, and then we flew ten club flights.  The morning was pleasant, but it got hot around noon.  Todays club flights: 1) Jim D. flew a flight in the L-23 with Bob A....

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Soaring Report – Saturday, July 27, 2024

Hi All, Today we started with ten CAP Cadet Glider Orientation flights.  These flights were followed by nine club flights: 1) Mike M flew two pattern flights with Steve, and one flight to 3,000'. 2) John H flew a solo flight to 3,000'. 3) Will M flew two pattern...

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Soaring Report – Thursday, July 25, 2024

Hello, all: SkySight forecast that there’d be solid lift today.  It was a lie!  First off, there’s a lot of smoke in the upper atmosphere from the ongoing Canadian wildfires.  We never have good soaring conditions when the sky is hazy with smoke.  Secondly, the corn...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, July 21, 2024

Hello, all: We are in the summer doldrums!  It’s hot.  It’s humid.  There’s hardly any wind.  There isn’t much lift.  Even the turkey vultures aren’t soaring more than a few hundred feet above the ground.  We flew ten or eleven flights, but the flight conditions were...

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Soaring Report – Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Hello, all: The weather on Wednesday was so nice!  Light winds, a high temperature in the mid-80’s, and very tolerable humidity levels.  It was so different from last weekend when we wisely chose not to fly, due to the excessive heat and humidity.  This was a gorgeous...

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Soaring Report – Monday, July 8, 2024

Hello, all: The thermals didn’t materialize as was predicted by SkySight.  As predicted, there was lift to almost 5,000’, but it was a constant struggle to find and stay in the small thermals we found.  The cumulus clouds were popping and passing overhead, but only...

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Soaring Report – Sunday, July 7, 2024

Hello, all: We expected a short day today, but we ended up with a total of eighteen sorties.  Since it was a nice day with cooler temps, low humidity, and light winds, multiple club members came out who hadn’t signed up to fly.  There were thunderstorms that passed to...

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Soaring Report – Saturday, July 6, 2024

Hello, all: There’s not much to report today.  We started flight operations at 9am with nine Civil Air Patrol - Cadet Glider Orientation flights.  There were five Cadets signed up, and all five flew at least once.    The last of the Cadets had motion sickness and...

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