Skyline Soaring Club marks its 25th anniversary with a January issue brimming with adventure and club business. President Dan Ernst lays out the year ahead, including the January 28 membership meeting at the Samuels Library in Front Royal, a pending safety meeting, and a call for more social gatherings at the field. The club's Pawnee glider was ferried to Pennsylvania for a full fabric and paint overhaul, with hopes of having it back for the start of the 2017 season. On the international front, Harry Dogo reports a five-day pilgrimage to Omarama, New Zealand, where daily wave conditions, cloud-street thermals, and a spin-and-loop session in a Grob 103 at Mt. Cook made for a "gliding mecca" experience. Michael Bishton shares a detailed account of his first ridge flight at Dillingham Airfield on Oahu, navigating the quirks of unassisted takeoffs, a 9,000-foot runway, and a 25-knot headwind landing. JP Stewart has been named to the USA Junior Team for the 10th FAI Junior World Gliding Championships in Pociunai, Lithuania (July 27–August 13), joining teammates Noah Reitter and Daniel Sazhin. The Safety Corner notes the FAA's withdrawal of its proposed transponder requirement for gliders above 10,000 MSL. Other highlights include Chris Zaboji's new Flight Instructor-Glider rating, Christopher Carswell's Silver Altitude badge, a book review of Joe Karam's *Danger and Poetry*, and a call for crew volunteers for the 15-meter Nationals in Cordele, Georgia.
Skyline Soaring Club's February 2017 issue captures a surprisingly active winter: the Pawnee glider was ferried to Pennsylvania for a full fuselage recovery and repaint, a second Gator tow plane joined the fleet, and a long-awaited open hangar at Front Royal moved closer to approval from the Warren County Board of Supervisors. The annual membership meeting re-elected Keith Hilton and Dick Garrity to the board and saw President Dan Ernst present the Bela Gogos award to George Hazelrigg for his years of instruction, leadership, and off-season ground schools. A heartfelt tribute from Spencer Annear recalls Bela as the pilot who stayed up when everyone else gave up, the treasurer who kept the young club afloat, and the organizer who proved cross-country soaring was within reach. The issue also announces the 2017 Petersburg Wave Camp (March 24 – April 2), a member's farewell as Curtis Wheeler relocates to Nevada, a lighthearted Gator-naming contest, and a mandatory pre-season Safety Meeting on February 25.
The Warren County Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead to demolish the aging pole-barn T-hangars and build a larger, open-bay hangar purpose-designed for glider operations, a milestone the club is calling the first step toward 'Gliderville.' The season opened with a safety meeting, a weather-busted ops attempt, and a harrowing (but injury-free) hangar-door incident that prompted a club-wide safety reminder. The club's ASK-21 was deployed to the 2017 Petersburg Wave Camp in late March, spin training in a modified ASK-21 was slated for early May at Grant County, and a waitlist of sixteen eager new students underscored Skyline's continued growth even as soaring participation wanes nationally. Other highlights include Chris Zaboji's promotion to CFI-G after starting at the club as a fourteen-year-old, a humorous naming debate over the two Gator tow planes, and a fresh paint job for the club's ASK-21, affectionately dubbed the 'Old Buzzard.'
Skyline's April 2017 issue is packed with the energy of Larry Stahl's Petersburg Wave Camp at Grant County Airport, where pilots from multiple clubs logged six-plus-hour ridge flights, a 15,500-foot climb above a line of thermal lift, and a 6-hour flight by Chris Carswell, all supported by Shenandoah Valley Soaring's legendary "curb service." Back home at KFRR, 14-year-old Maryam Ali earned her solo in the Grob and followed it with a 1:10 flight from a low tow, while Piet Barber documented his winch-launch certification at the newly opened Eastern Soaring Center, comparing the launch acceleration to a Tesla in ludicrous mode. The issue also features Jim Kellett's entertaining account of United Airlines pilot Rock Skowbo repairing an ASW-20C canopy strut using improvised wooden jigs, a turnbuckle, and a piece of stranded control cable scavenged from a transponder. Other highlights include a heartfelt farewell from Martin Walker, who is stepping back from soaring after a cancer diagnosis; WSPA scholarship opportunities for women pilots; a solar-eclipse flying weekend at Chilhowee Gliderport, Tennessee; planning for the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association's July western safari to Hobbs or Nephi; and a cautionary tale about the club computer's ransomware infection. Upcoming events include the May 28 Burner Away Day at Woodstock, a spin clinic with Shenandoah Valley Soaring, and the annual Week of Training.
Skyline Soaring Club's May 2017 issue is dominated by Chief Flight Instructor Piet Barber's bold proposal to relocate the annual Week of Training (July 10–14) from Front Royal to Grant County Airport in Petersburg, West Virginia, where a 5,000-foot runway and near-zero traffic could enable 40–50 student instruction flights per day with under two minutes of turnaround between sorties. Fellow members Steve Zaboji and Pete Maynard enthusiastically endorse the plan, with Zaboji offering tow pilots, an instructor, and a rented motor home for the trip. The issue also marks a significant editorial transition: founding member and long-time editor Phil Jordan—himself a former design director at Air & Space magazine—hands the reins to Vern Kline after roughly 25 years at the helm. Other club news includes Tim Moran stepping in as Membership Officer, Dick Otis joining as FAST Instructor, the Sprite's rudder receiving a full fabric re-cover by Pete Maynard and Bill Vickland, a detailed safety write-up on a near-miss aileron-control jam in the club Cirrus, plans for a Spring Family-Away Day at Bill Burner's Woodstock, Virginia field on May 28, early M-ASA Summer Safari planning for Hobbs or Nephi, and a heads-up that the board is soliciting member loans to fund additional glider purchases under a new strategic plan.
Skyline Soaring Club's June 2017 issue captures a club in full stride. President Dan Ernst reports on the completion of the 2017 Strategic Planning Survey, the board's decision to accept two additional students into the training pipeline, and the upcoming Week of Training at Petersburg, West Virginia, where long runways and low traffic promise more sorties than the home field at Front Royal can offer. The issue's most vivid dispatch comes from Joe Lingevitch, who recounts a spin-training clinic at Grant County Airport in which five Skyline pilots worked the Schleicher ASK-21 with a factory-installed tail-ballast spin kit, holding the controls through four full rotations before executing recoverals and simulating the dreaded low-altitude traffic-pattern spin at safe altitude. Bruce Zivic lays out the Duty Officer's authority over launch queuing and the new first-come, first-served student rotation, while Chief Tow Pilot Steve Zaboji proposes a formalized 'Surge Tow Pilot' slot to tame the midday launch rush. Michael Bishton offers a lighter counterpoint from Seminole Lake Gliderport in Florida, where a 17-minute check-ride, a sand-grass runway, and a passenger ride with a retired State Department colleague reminded him just how well-equipped Skyline's own fleet is. The issue also announces a retirement BBQ honoring George Hazelrigg on July 22 and includes the club's aircraft maintenance and registration calendar.
The July 2017 issue of Skylines carries the club's biggest news of the year: the board has voted to purchase Charles Norman's meticulously maintained Discus CS "9Y," slated to join the fleet in October after Norman's final Region 4 contest. In the interim, the aging Cirrus is offered for sale at $7,000. President Dan Ernst also reports on a successful Away Day hosted by Bill Burner, the upcoming Week of Training (July 10–14), and a tick-season advisory for members working near the pole barn hangars. The issue features warm introductions from four new members, including Fernando Cuenin, an economist at the Inter-American Development Bank who grew up 300 km from Buenos Aires in a town known for asado and soaring; Kip Ongstad, a 64-year-old RC glider enthusiast from California; Derek Schesser, a staff scientist with a PhD in mechanical engineering; and Todd Morris, a 51-year-old national-security IT director in Chantilly. Chris Carswell is lauded for placing second in the OLC Region 4 standings, and Steve Wallace is congratulated on earning his CFI-G rating. Treasurer Steve Rockwood's mid-year report shows the club holding $155,800 in the bank with roughly $79,400 available for capital investment, while the maintenance section tracks inspection and registration deadlines across the ASK-21, Grob-103, SGS-136, Husky, and Pawnee.
Skyline Soaring Club celebrates a triumphant Week of Training at Petersburg (W99), where the club logged a record 52 launches in a single day and sent six students to their first glider solo, including Chief Tow Pilot Steve Zaboji's own first solo. The issue also covers Piet Barber's 500 KM Diamond Distance Task flown in August, Bill Vickland's role as contest director at the 1-26 Championships in Midlothian, Texas, and Chris Zaboji's adventure at the Junior Contest on Harris Hill in Elmira, New York. A heartfelt tribute marks the retirement of longtime member George after 35 years at the National Science Foundation, where he helped shape the Engineering Design program. Additional items include a soaring safety site survey by Burt Compton scheduled for September 3, volunteer calls for the Virginia Air Show at Front Royal, Clark Lundsford's account of instructing cadets at the CAP National Flight Academy for Gliders, Joe Lingevitch's practical guide to the FAA glider knowledge test, and a nostalgic look back at the Warrenton Airpark, the grass-strip birthplace of the club's predecessor, the Warrenton Soaring Center.
September 2017 was a banner month for Skyline Soaring Club. Piet Barber received SSA approval for his Diamond Distance claim on an August 5 flight, a milestone that cements his standing among the sport's long-distance aces. Meanwhile, Shane Neitzey launched from Front Royal, Virginia, and soared to 15,000 feet above Petersburg, West Virginia, capturing a stunning front-page photograph before turning back home—a flight the editors named the best of the month. The club also turned out in force for the annual Virginia Airshow at KFFR, fielding a glider display staffed by young solo pilots, running a live demonstration, and manning the ramp in a no-prop zone where one pilot earned a standing ovation for a spot landing. Looking ahead, the newsletter promotes the biannual Burner Away Day at Bill and Sharon Burner's family-friendly field in Woodstock, Virginia, on October 1. The issue also bids farewell to JP Stewart, heading back to Virginia Tech after an internship at Aurora Flight Sciences, and Mario Simula, returning to Italy after his F-35 program stint with the Italian Air Force.
The October 2017 issue of Skylines captures a club in transition at the close of its flying season. President Dan Ernst recounts a memorable Away Day at Burner Field in the Shenandoah Valley, where members thermalled alongside Black Vultures in a Bergefalke and a drop-top 1-26, and where Bill and Sharon's daughter Guinevere made a surprise appearance with her two young daughters. The newsletter also marks the departure of Theo ten Haaf, a Dutch military officer promoted to Major General to build a special forces command back in Holland, whom Ernst calls a warm and gracious addition to the club. On the competitive front, Chris Zaboji flew 4.5 hours from New Castle, Virginia to claim the Blue Ridge Soaring Society's Boomerang Trophy from Skyline on September 16, and Shane Neitzey offers an enthusiastic first-hand account of his debut at the New Castle contest, logging 1,395 km in 23.85 hours over eight days. A thorough instructional article by J. C. Kellet untangles the tangled American and British terminology around forward slips, sideslips, and crosswind landings. The issue closes with an operations update announcing the resumption of flying on October 21, a safety briefing, and a remembrance for Chief Tow Pilot Steve Zaboji, alongside the board's plans to induct a Discus CS into the fleet and sell the club's Cirrus.
The loss of club member, mentor, and pilot Steve Zaboji on October 7, 2017, while towing a glider from Front Royal, Virginia, dominates this issue of *Skylines*. President Dan Ernst opens with a somber message as the club resumes operations on October 21 following a mandatory safety meeting and remembrance. Keith Hilton contributes a deeply personal tribute recalling 76 hours of flight training with Steve, his patient mentorship, and the pilot's final radio call: "Front Royal traffic, Pawnee 866 departing runway 28 glider in tow." The club is actively searching for a replacement Pawnee tow plane, has completed the purchase of a Discus CS glider (N520RJ) now awaiting final FAA registration, and has established a $45,000 Pawnee Replacement Fund from the insurance settlement. Treasurer Steve Rockwood reports a healthy bank balance of nearly $153,000, while the Board outlines upcoming 2018 elections, a proposed hangar dedication to Steve Zaboji, and the club's fleet action schedule. The issue also reprints notices for the December 2017 FAI Pan American Gliding Championships in Buenos Aires and the 2018 SSA Convention.
Piet Barber's August 8, 2017 flight set multiple Virginia state soaring records, a feat the club celebrates alongside a feature in Soaring magazine highlighting four Skyliners at the Junior Nationals, where Keith Hilton's BW sailplane landed on the centerfold. President Dan Ernst reflects on a challenging year, welcomes FedEx pilot and Marine Corps veteran Erik Van Weezendonk as the club's new Safety Officer, and reports progress on the long search for a replacement Pawnee tow plane to retire aging 866. The issue also carries a tribute to late member Steve Zaboji, honored with the FAA Master Pilot Award, updates on the county-approved new hangar project, and details on the January 2018 membership meeting and a two-day Flight Instructor Refresher Course in Gainesville, Virginia. Rounding out the newsletter are features on the Arcus M and Genesis 2 sailplanes, photos from the 2017 Week of Training, and a recap of the CAP National Flight Academy Junior Camp and Contest.