Roger & Debbie has come up with a funny new contest for all the pilots of Lookout Mountain Flight park. What a HOOT ! I want the airtime, however, I think I would make it just 1 minute short of the best time for the week, rofl! ! ! :^}



Viagra Award

Do you have what it takes to get it up and keep it up?!?

Do you want to be the envy of all your friends, and co-workers?!?

If so, you could be the proud winner of next weeks Viagra Award. All you have to do is keep your...glider... in the air longer than anyone else. The weekly contest begins at sunrise each Sunday and ends at sunset each Saturday. Report your longest individual flight time to the official Judge, Debbie Tubbs, Saturday night at the cookout.

Honesty must prevail. In case of a tie you may be asked to prove your time by showing her your...vario. The decision of the Judge is final and cannot be appealed. Employees, (“Robin signs your check”) cannot qualify. Sorry, you are professionals, so that would not be fair.

The prestigious award will remain in the clubhouse for all to see and honor. This trophy stands 17 inches high, is made of fine shinny solid gold plastic, including a fancy engraving of a hang glider. Your name will be preserved in history on a 3 x 5 index card placed handsomely next to the trophy.

Rise to the occasion. We will see you at the cookout.


Debbie & Roger Tubbs

While at Joel's b'day party last night, I notice a new print as an addition to the clubhouse. It shows a little about the progression of aviation over the last 100 years.

I'm sure everyone has read about the Women's Festival in the fall, in the USHPA magazine. Here is more on that, from one of the spokespersons.

Hello all you hang gliding people:
The organizers of the 2008 Women's Hang Gliding Festival have scheduled some great activities for the upcoming event, beginning with a wine/cheese reception late afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 25.
We will have an Open Mike Night Thursday evening, so all closet musicians/comedians/entertainers can come and share their talent,whatever it may be. Well, you know, within reason. So people like Gordon, Dave, Stacy and Don Murdoch, Roddy/Rex, Rachel, Liz, and whoever else would like to participate and have some fun, start working up yo' stuff and let's make it a great success. Seriously, it really could be a good time, but only with participation and support!!
Friday evening we have plans for a terrific Disc Jockey to come and play great dance tunes, along with a delicious catered dinner.
On Saturday evening we have hired a cool band out of Chattanooga, a catered dinner that evening as well. During the day Friday-Sunday, lots of training on the hills, ground schools, fun flying tasks for active pilots, seminars for everyone, some great videos, several creative non-flying activities are planned, and we will conclude with the awesome John and Dale Bird Show in the hanger Sunday late morning. Whoa, how could you miss this???

We are counting on pilots to begin "marketing" this event to anyone, male or female, who has even a remote interest in hang gliding. Our objective is to empower more women to take a look at this great sport, but we are certainly interested in the guys being a part of it as well.
Check out the website for registration. Anyone who might want to volunteer a little of their time to help out prior to or during the event, please let Dale or Jen know of your interest.
Until next update, fly safe and have fun!
Stacy

Roadie Joel (he is a setup guy for Gretchen Wilson band)had a surprise 30Th birthday party this evening. Lia did a fantastic job with the arrangements & food. It was the coolest hang gliding birthday cake that I have ever seen. I bet Scott had a hand in making it, or at least the glider & pilot. We were kind of concerned that the candles would catch the glider on fire.
He received a lot of really,mmm,,, funny gifts! My favorite,,,the re-inflating whoopee cushion.
I never said our community was quiet right,,but,,,oh so much funn to be a part of !

I thought there was going to be a storm brewing again this evening, however,,,,didn't happen.

There was a couple of shots that I took on Sunday, that really needs to be posted. It has nothing to do with what was going on that day, however,,, they still have their intrinsic value.
This first one is of a new student breaking the Number 1# rule of the flight park. Do not drive on the grass/active runway/breakdown area/pool area,staying out of the hangers,,,etc..... Shown here clearly breaking the rules, and trying to escape,,, oh contraire,,,,Kid Dave(head of the LZ/tow operations), met him with the Moyes dragonfly and put an end to his illegal activity. Kid Dave shown here coming out of the seat. What a diplomat, and all around funny guy.

During the event on Sunday, Flights for Charity, Steve Lee launched from the site in Dunlap, TN.(Henson's) and flew to Lookout and landed. The rowdy conditions in the LZ causes him to have less than a perfect landing. However, nothing broken or bent. He has breakaway downtubes on his Atos. When a pilot needs help, everyone that can, lends a hand. There is another example of some amazing teamwork.

Living on top of Lookout mountain has it's advantages. Being a pilot, I really enjoy watching the development, and dissipating of clouds and storms. This is this evenings sunset, and it's progression.

There was a fund raiser for the Sheriff this evening. At this time, you can vote early. He has done a lot of great things in the last 4 years, and I feel that he is the best person for the job. I do hope that he gets the chance to continue in this office.

The following all donated raffle or silent auction items - Terry Presley, Barry Auchly, LMFP, Mary Clor, John and Dale Stokes, Donny Lingerfelt, Susan Russell, Scott Schneider, Nancy Gattone, Jesse Faircloth, Monda Wooten, Dr. Chad McDill, Lynne Dorsey and Barry Brown.

A grand total of $2,485 was raised, thanks to all who attended and gave so generously.

Shown here are all the politicans that showed up this evening. Allan Bradford, Peter Cervelli, Sheriff Patrick Cannon, Nathan Wooten, and Ronnie Page. They really support the hang gliding community, and they will be getting my vote !

Alot of items were put out for silent auction this evening, by a lot of different people. There was also a lot of door/raffle prizes that was won.

The best prize for the evening, was the Stearman package. Terry Presley auctioned off an hour flight in his classic airplane, all over the valley, to support Sheriff Cannon tonight. I believe the winner got it for $250.00.

The winners of the coveted prize, the Stearman Package. Scott & his son, out of Detroit, came down to fly with us this summer. Lucky guy !

Quite a few people turned out to enjoy the meal & music this evening.

The band for this evenings get together was good. They even had a groupie sitting in, haha. Just kidding, that's Rick's girlfriend, Tami.

This post is about http://www.flightsforcharities.org/ , and Jim Rice. Quite possibly the toughest post that I've done in a very long time, for a couple of reasons.
Reason 1 - I took a lot of pictures doing this, and trying to pick out the best to portray this event, was almost impossible to do. The rest of the pictures will be posted somewhere, just don't know where yet. I will let everyone know, in the next day or two.
Reason 2 - I had REAL reservations about a Hang 2 pilot attempting 39 mountain launches in a single day. Especially, in the conditions that developed during the day. It was great conditions until it started heating up. It was very thermatic, and switchy,,,and I'm being nice.
Reason 3 - some of the set-up & breakdown crew had never been around a hang glider before. Much less setting up 3 different kinds of gliders Falcon, Pulses, Stingx2, and his final flight was taken on a Horizon.
With all these factors in the mix,,,where ever I was, I was trying to keep a watchful eye for Murphy ! Jim's first launch was scheduled for 5:59am. Due to rain the night before, and the cool air associated with it,,,well,,,, you see the result in the picture above. This shot was taken at 8am, 2 hours later.

This is some of the set-up crew on launch, waiting on the fog to move out so that they can "Get this party started". You can imagine the mood at this point. However, at 10am, the fog broke, and we finally got a glimpse of the LZ and the race was on.

Below, is the amazing breakdown crew. Most of these guys stayed for the duration, instead of just doing their 4 hour shift.

Below is a shot of Jim taking his last flight of the day, on his own Horizon glider, to achieve his goal for such a worthy cause. This was the only landing that he did on his feet. Smart move, to wheel it in all day.

The crew applauding Jim on his way to the score board.

Below is the most everyone that was involved with "Flights for Charities".

There is a lot more to be said about this event. I will try to make it brief and to the point on here, so I don't bore anyone to tears.

Experience, in my opinion, is the only reason that I feel this event was a total success. He had all of his aces in the right places, people like Terry & Linda Presley, Scott Schneider,and others. With their extensive knowledge & experience, when things were a bit unsafe, or the approaches were less than desirable, or things on his pre-flight were missed,etc....they did what had to be done to ensure proper safe procedures. Jim was the first to admit that. He thanked everyone and told them that he could not have done it without them. Everyone from the setup crew, breakdown crew, the drivers that drove him up the mountain, Doris, Debbie,and others, for the food & water all day, Lia(the floater extraordinaire'), go-cart drivers, they all did a most outstanding job, and put any doubts that anyone had(even myself),to rest. Many people made the comment,"they look like well oiled machine". And, by the end of the day, that's what these folks were! Well, it may not have been oil, however......

Jim Rice made 39 mountain launches on 6-22-08, in 9 1/2 hours, which is 1 mountain launch every 14 minutes, and raised $6,222.45 for http://www.flightsforcharities.org/ . I know that money figure is incorrect because a lot of pilots, after they flew for a couple of hours and watched it from the air and then landed, came and pledged more money to this cause.

I challenge anyone to do any better. I think Guinness World Records ought to be called !

Think he should get a meritorious Hang 3 out of this?

Nate sent out a testimony for the use of our "Pilot needs a ride" t-shirt. If you fly XC,,, it will always help to have one of them. It also helps the club. Win/Win situation to me. I have mine,,You need one? Read below, and pictures of them also. Whether your a Flexie, or a Stiffie,,,one just made for you.

We've still got some extra T-shirts.

You can order easily online: http://www.treetoppers.org/

I used my "Pilot Needs Ride" shirt on Thursday. The wife made the husband come over and ask me what I was up to cause she thought I might be a serial killer next to where I landed. I smiled said "I'm a hang glider pilot" and pointed to my shirt which said "Pilot Needs Ride" with the very obvious hang glider symbol/sign. He asked if I had a ride coming and I said "No, I'm a bit stranded at the moment". He offered to give me a ride and I gladly accepted and gave him some money for the generous offer.
Don't be left stranded without one!
Nate

Do you care about Breasts????
I bet I got a bunch of raised eyebrows on that one, lol. My Dad sent me this link, and at first I was expecting a joke, or something like that. However, this is the real deal. My Mother died of bone cancer, which started out as breast cancer. I wish that they had the knowledge, and technology back then, that they have today.

Donate a mammogram (costs you nothing!)

A favor to ask, it only takes a minute....
Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window).
This doesn't cost you a thing and you don't have to give any information. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammograms in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com

PLEASE TELL FRIENDS TO TELL FRIENDS

Claire Vassort has just finished a major project for the town of Trenton, Ga. Below is a picture of the first one in the series of 10. I will post a picture of each of them, with their explaination soon, for everyones viewing enjoyment.

A note from Claire:

NEW BANNER SERIES INSTALLED IN TRENTON

Claire has just completed a series of 10 painted banners on canvas that are displayed along Jenkins Park in Trenton. The series starts at the intersection of Route 11 and Price St (almost straight across from CVS) and goes all the way to Chamber of Commerce. If you have time, walk along and check the signs underneath the banners. These signs provide a theme to each flag. The series is called "Eyes to the Sky" and is centered around the pursuit of happiness and flying. The City of Trenton sponsors such a series every 4 to 6 months.

There will be a presentation/party to introduce and explain the development of the banner project. It will be announced as soon as the date, time and venue are finalized.

Thanks,
Claire

A strange thing happened at the house today. While the guys were working on the retaining wall, they come running up to the garage. Apparently, a swarm of honey bees decided to make the bluff their new home, and descended upon the place looking like a sci-fi tornado. The bees settled down and work resumed. Word travels quickly on the mountain. About 3 hours later, a guy shows up & was walking down the property next to ours looking for them. He was having trouble locating them, so I showed him where they were. Just a few minutes later, the guy teaching him about bees and hives showed up, to taught him how to capture a wild hive. Below, is how a master bee man does it.

Walking through some weeds, would you ever see these bees before you were on them?

He trimmed all the vines attached to the primary stalk they had settled on. Cut the stalk, and he shook the stalk with all the bees on it into the box. Then, calmly placed the lid on it. I was standing with him thru most of the process, and even tho' there were 100s of bees all around me, I could tell that they weren't angry. It was a weird feeling. Main thing to remember while this was going on,,,,do not swat or kill one of the bees. When a honey bee stings, not only does it die soon, but before it does, it secretes a pheromone that acts as an alarm to every other bee in the hive. That would not be a pretty sight. Things nightmares are made of.

After they all settle down, every bee from the hive goes marching in a small opening, to enter the new hive box. Then, guards are placed outside the hole, to protect it from foreign bees(or anything else), from trying to enter into their new home. Around sunset, or when the air cools off, every bee goes inside and the hole can be blocked off, and transported anywhere you like. It will take about a year before they can harvest the honey from this particular hive. Learn something new every day, hopefully. Never a dull moment around my house! ! ! !

The summer weather patterns have started. And, what excitement they bring. The pictures below are from yesterday, and today. The sunset is taken in the western sky, of course, the others are from the opposite.

These next three are over Chattanooga, at the same time as the sun is setting.



This one is from tonight at sunset. Yes, there was a nice storm associated with it, and a major gust front.

Roger & Debbie Tubbs had their official retirement party tonight. They really did it in style . A lot of friends & family turned out for it. Here the happy couple are shown holding a gift that Ricker had given them. In the picture from the left: Colin, Ricker, Roger, Debbie and their youngest son.
Here is the start of the food line. The menu included: Cole slaw, loaded potato salad, veggie baked beans, and some different kind of baked beans that had meat & pineapples(best I have ever had), and some Great bar-b-que and all the trimmings, and desserts. There was also 2 kegs of beer for everyone to enjoy.

Uncle Lightning band was on hand, to help us dance the night away.

Part of the ceremonies tonight included them burning what was left of their Law practice. Shown on the burn pile: law books, crayons, a RED pin(which Debbie loved putting on this pile),and alarm clock, a neck tie, an appointment book, and a briefcase. Shawn manned the gas to start the fire tonight, as usual.

He didn't disappoint lighting the bonfire tonight ! Such a pyro, lol !

Thanks for a great party. Tomorrow should be SW-WSWS, so Whitwell should be flyable, unless you are going to tow here at Lookout.

Here is some picture that I took at last years Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge. Below the pictures, is the new email that Ollie sent out today about the upcoming Team Challenge.
Kevin Carter is working on Eric Donaldson's glider. That Kevin just keeps giving his talent to others! I hear that Kevin & Eric are doing well at the ECC this year, also.

Mark P. & lady. Talking about a world class pilot !

After it was all over, the food was served and the band started play, only then did Ollie slow his pace a little.

Ollie wrote:

Looks like the TC might fill up before we even advertise it! So far we have 38 registered and a team of 5 from Pennsylvania led by Dennis Pagen. Dennis says they are committed, but only one is registered so far. Dennis sent me an email today requesting space for the PA team. He may or may not fly, depending on how his ski injury is healing. Dennis plans to lead a video launch seminar and help with all our other seminars.

We are very fortunate to have so many talented pilots willing to help us!! Mark Stump will give his fabulous "Fly4Fun/Is It Safe" talk to start us off Saturday night. Mark's is my favorite hang gliding talk and will set the tone for the meet.

Jim Lamb will give us an "Essentials of Thermal Soaring" talk to help us stay airborne.

Terry Presley will give us a "Restricted Landing Field Technique Seminar" with video enhanced learning for when we venture from the nest.

Mike Barber will help with his great "XC Decisions" talks and others.

Kevin Carter will do his "Landing Techniques" and "XC Strategies" talks with video enhanced learning and everything else he does.

New Englander Lindsey Chew will do a SeeYou Seminar with Stan Roberts helping. We plan to download a team's flights and run them simultaneously on SeeYou over Google Maps to relive the "Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat" thing with the team that wins a good day.

We'll have a "Weather Talk for the Attention Deficit Disordered." No! I will NEVER make you suffer through one of my weather talks again! This talk will be fast and furious weather for the point and clicker with help from Nate Newkirk, Jeff Nibler and me. We'll try to hand outs! Nate has come up with some amazing stuff. It's guaranteed to blow your socks off!

OK! Lets count em!

Thats 5 Former World Team Members, A World Record Holder, A World Champion, some New Englanders that talk funny, a couple of not too shabby old Arkansans and some incredibly talented up and coming pilots in this group. How could you miss it???!!!

How bout it Colorado?? I'm talking about you Jim Yocom!!

AND THERE'S MORE! We'll have to have rest days from the seminars! We'll have a great party at the end of it all and a mid week party where we'll take over a local Mexican place with some great live entertainment!I can't wait!

I'm flying in this one so we'll need lots of organized volunteer help to keep everything going. TC2008 ran so well, we'll be Meet Headless again this year. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated, including designated drivers for the Mexican Party nite!

I can hardly wait!

Ollie

This is a call for your VOTE! no, not for any politician-----it is to help a fellow birdwannabe Hang glider pilot win a video contest on YouTube. Very easy to do. Click on the link below,,,go to vote, watch the videos giving them either a thumbs up, or thumbs down. Click on the thumbs up for our friend and fellow pilot, Lucas Ridley,alta8bird. You just click Next Video, to scroll through all of them. It's the best one on there, guess I'm just a little biased. He just took 3TD place with another contest. This contest is for a new car. Wish I knew how to do a video, might give him a run for it. However, for right now,,,, please,,let's show some support for him. The voting ends tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/sync

Lucas is also flying in his first national competition,,,the ECC (East Coast Championship). Eric Donaldson & him are having a lot of funn at this meet. Good luck, guys! Attached is a picture from the 1st day, from Lucas.

This morning I was awakened by the sound of thunder, and the flashes of lightning on the ceiling in my bedroom. My first thoughts,, rut rooh,,Jim may not be flying this morning. His first flight was to be at 6:01am, in an attempt to accomplish 39 mountain flights today. To make a story short,,,I will let the pictures do most of the talking. The first picture was taken at 6:05, and the last one,,,,,about 8am.

This is when Jim had come to the decision to cancel the day, and cut the crew loose.

Here Jim is being consoled by Doris, the Social director extraordinaire. Plans to reschedule is still unknown for sure, since Jim is leaving Monday to head to a new job in Texas. Better luck next time ! !