Well, we are going briskly into summer, and I use the word briskly with purpose. What is up with all of these foggy mornings? I guess it is like Mark T said, the coldest winter he ever spent was summer in S.F. I guess the lesson here is to be patient and wait for those afternoon clearings. I can tell you from personal experience that the afternoons make for great crosswind experiences at both Palo Alto and San Carlos. This is a great time to work on those all-needed X-wind landings.

The club as a whole is doing very well. The month of July was notable for several events.
     1. We marked the final payments on our legal bills. Yeah!
     2. We have broken the thousand "active" member mark for the first time in several years.
          a. 1007 Total active members
          b. 881 Regular and CFI members
     3. We are hitting all of our short-term financial goals.

Hayward has been growing at a nice rate. We currently have 7 aircraft at that facility with 2 more for August and 3 more by October. The newly annointed CFIs have been doing well to gain a new member base for WVFC.

As a reminder, the Palo Alto Airport Association is sponsoring an Airport Day on September 12, 2004. The admission will be free. Aircraft will be on display. EAA will be providing Young Eagles rides. Many food vendors will be available. This should be a really fun event. We are looking not only for people to come out and join the fun, we are also looking for volunteers. The volunteers would help to facilitate not only what we are doing at WVFC but also the event as a whole. Volunteering for the event not only wins you our hearts and admiration, there will also be a volunteer recognition dinner beforehand, as well as a free lunch at the event. Please let me know if you would like to help with the event. We believe it will be a positive move forward toward the continued health of Palo Alto Airport.

As far as fleet updates, there will be another Arrow added to the fleet. This Aircraft will be at HWD, is 200 HP, and is equipped with a Garmin 430. The Straight leg Saratoga N83763 has been added to the fleet at Palo Alto. This brings our total number of of 6-seat aircraft to five.

Please note that the fuel surcharge will stay at $1/hr for August.

Thanks for your support.

Back from Oshkosh and had a great time. Flew one of our SR22s to Montana, then to Michigan to see their WACO factory and on to Oskosh. Got in line with a multitude of other planes from Ripon to Fisk and landed without incident.

Always work with that many planes on downwind or base. Got the camp sight set up and began to explore. Met with others from West Valley and checked out the fly market. You know they won't open until Tuesday.

Tuesday began the search for treasures and learning. The acro was as usual and the amount of planes seemed even more than last year. They are organized there.

Martin Michaud and Torea Rodriguez organized a Bar-B-Que on Wednesday and most of West Valley attended. Great job Marty & Torea!

Flew all the way back on Thursday as I had a class to attend on Friday.

There was a landing incident in Elko, Nevada with one of our planes. The pilot and two others were on their way to Oskosh. I was called by the pilot and turned around and called Kevin in maintaince. He flew to Elko the next day after he had dispatched two of his mechanics. The work is in progress.

For those who have not been to Oskosh, it is Mecca for pilots. Every pilot should attend at least once. We can show you the way!

When you arrive at your appointment for the checkride, you will need to have an airworthy aircraft available. As part of the test, you must show that it is in fact airworthy. How do you make that determination? There are three elements:

1. The Airworthiness Certificate. That document, which must be in view within the airplane, shows that the airplane was inspected at the time of manufacture or re-manufacture and found to be in accordance with its type certificate.
2. The Maintenance Records. These are documents that show that the prescribed maintenance and inspections have been performed by qualified people.
3. The Pilot's Preflight Inspection. This is where you determine, to the best of your ability, that, since the aircraft was last returned to service by maintenance personnel, it has remained airworthy.

"What goes around comes around." In most circumstances, this means that a person just got what he deserved. In flying it has a more positive meaning, as we'll see.

We spend a lot of time in flight training recovering from landing errors, both self-induced and those initiated or augmented by our instructors. Pretty clearly, there is a need for the skill. After all, how many perfect landings do we do? In about 18,000 landings, I've done 6. Most of the rest (and a mere 50+% qualifies as "most") were good enough not to need any error recovery. However, many of my landings and many I've witnessed by students have required some specific action to make them acceptable.

And we all know the actions to take - maintain the landing pitch attitude, apply a bit of power if necessary, return to alignment with the centerline if necessary, touch down, and follow through.

There is often, however, a better way to recover. Recovering to a landing is often more trouble than it's worth. You have to take action quickly; you're near the ground, and there are a variety of ways in which things can go wrong. And despite the fact that recovery techniques are widely taught, there is no FAA requirement for them, nor is there a PTS requirement or performance criterion for them. On the other hand, training in go-arounds is required prior to student solo. It's also required on the practical test for Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, and Airline Transport Pilot.

I suppose you could make the argument that "a real pilot" should be able to turn any approach into a landing. On the other hand, the superior pilot uses superior judgment to avoid situations that require superior skill. The superior pilot will go around more often. In fact, the criteria the pros use are pretty stringent - on a visual approach, if you're not stabilized (and happy with what you have) by 500 feet, it's a mandatory go-around. We fly slower planes with less momentum, but we should be seriously considering a go around at 200 feet if we're not stabilized. In fact, one of the major success factors in a landing is actively considering a go-around as a viable option on all approaches. On phase checks, and on normal aircraft checkout flights, when an instructor calls for a go-around, the student almost always delays three or four seconds before the execution. The go-around wasn't part of the plan or part of the thought process. It should have been. It always should be.

When is a go-around a viable option? Just about any time before the plane is on the ground, and sometimes even then. The only non-emergency case in which a go-around shouldn't be attempted is when you've gotten the plane out of control on the ground, for example, starting into a ground-loop. Other things being equal, I'd rather be out of control on the ground than out of control in the air - you're slower, and burning off your remaining speed more rapidly on the ground. Out of control on the ground usually results in minor damage to tires, wheel pants, and wingtips (if you ground loop) and somewhat greater damage to the self-esteem and ego. Out of control in the air frequently results in far greater damage to the plane and often damage to the pilot's body.

There are a couple of particularly dangerous attitudes that get folks in trouble on landings that require "recovery." One is "it's good enough, and it won't be better next time," which encourages us to land when we should go around and try again. Another is "let's get this over and get onto the ground," which often results in forcing a plane onto the ground when it isn't ready to land. The latter sometimes falls under one of Fry's basic laws of flight, "If it feels like things are happening too fast, they probably are." And when that happens, go around, slow down, and try again.

The basic (or even advanced) go-around is a pretty simple maneuver captured by the five Cs.

• CRAM - Full power, prop forward, and carb heat on
• CLIMB - Establish a Vy pitch attitude (Vx if required by obstacles)
• CLEAN - Pull up the first notch of flaps immediately, and the gear and the rest of the flaps at the appropriate airspeeds
• COOL - Open the cowl flaps
• COMMUNICATE - Call tower and say you're going around

We have always been taught that no one is perfect. And despite what we think of our beloved planes, they are not perfect either. But, as pilots, we must be the one exception to the physical law of imperfection. No matter how well we think we are flying, there is always one more thing we can correct, tweak, trim, calculate, anticipate, or otherwise aviate.

For example, you just entered your takeoff roll. You remembered to check your heading indicator to the magnetic compass on rollout, you remembered to check the oil pressure, all the while keeping the plane perfectly on the centerline correcting for torque, P-factor, slipstream effect, and winds, and you finally get to that ethereal point when the wheels just leave the ground and you transform a land vehicle into an air vehicle, but are you maintaining best rate of climb? How is your extended centerline tracking? Do you have the proper amount of crab? I know these will all become second nature in no time (I hope, I hope), but as a student pilot, it seems like you have this endless list of things your instructor expects to be perfect.

Inevitably, after I take off, I'm smiling to myself at all the things I know I'm maintaining perfectly, and, inevitably, my instructor finds SOMETHING I could be doing better. "Keep the ball in the center." "Maintain best rate of climb." "Tap the brakes to stop the shaking." "You're drifting off the centerline." My proud smile disappears (I mean, the plane was flying, was it not?) and is quickly replaced by even greater concentration than before.

Apparently not all instructors are this picky, but they should be. Of course, I joke about how he always finds something wrong out of the laundry list of things I'm doing at any given moment, but I'd rather be a student attempting to near perfection than a student attempting to near mediocrity. When he takes the controls to fly a pattern, everything is dead-on perfect - just as it should be. "Watch my deviation from the centerline as I apply full power," he says, as if there would be any deviation whatsoever to watch. I watch nevertheless, waiting for any semblance of aforementioned drift so that I may find tangible evidence of his inherent human imperfection; but, try as I might, I can't find a thing that's not just as it should be.

But, ladies and gentlemen, that's not all. When we're flying around, I'm too busy keeping that endless list of things to do perfect, but I'm also expected to already know a safe place to land if the engine quits at any given moment. So… wait a minute. Not only am I supposed to keep everything in the plane perfect, but I'm also supposed to keep everything outside the plane perfect… just in case?! I know a lot of pilots think they're god, but I know I'm not. It's hard enough remembering which fork goes with which course, and you expect me to handle all this, even stuff over which I have no control?! I already know I have no control over weather. I've tried various forms of raindances (although, out here, I had to go to the Shaman of the Native Bay Areans to learn a slight variation on the raindance called a "fogdance"), I've paid homage and sacrificed virgins to the Trim God so as to get favorable winds on the days I solo, I have kissed the spinner on my plane hoping it will return the favor and be kind and obedient to me.

Of course, none of this stuff works, but it would be bad karma to suddenly stop doing it, right? So if none of this stuff works, how, o knowing instructor, can I keep pilot, plane, place, and performance perfect? …Of course, I will do what you say to do.

Hello again, culinary fans. You know Roger is known in many circles as a man about town and in some cases about country. In this case, Roger flew back to the sacred land known as Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The place where all of us who like to wear long shorts, polo shirts, and baseball caps seem to hang out. The flight comprises approximately 1200 miles of great USA passing beneath the belly of your aircraft. Well Roger does have one note. "WHY DON"T ANY OF YOU MID WESTERN AIRPORTS PUT A RESTAURANT AT YOUR AIRPORT!!!!!!" I mean c'mon, what the hell is a hungry stomach supposed to do for these 3 hour legs?

The only greasy hangar café that was easily accessed on airport property on my route was at Ogden, Utah… a nice little greasy spoon located on the airport right next to a fuel stop. The eggs there could be used to block engine oil leaks and, as a consequence, fill the tummy nicely for the next long leg to Nebraska or Iowa. My flying partner - I'll call him monkey - was in desperate need of many food breaks. This required us to pack a decent amount of snack food, as most spots required us to use the airport car. I will comment as well on Friar Tucks. This is a greasy spoon disguised as a restaurant on the north western edge of Oshkosh. The food is ehh, but the drinks are cheap and the bar is full. Let's just say that Roger Wilco and his compatriots washed the trip away with some refreshing libations. It's the perfect place to go after the long travels there and recount your many interesting twists and turns. If anyone has any suggestions on good places to stop on the way to KOSH please email me at rogerwilco@wvfc.org. I will post them in my next article for future flight planning. Thanks, and this is Roger Wilco Over and Out.

A few weeks ago, I received a flyer from a company calling itself SOMA Aviation. I was not aware of any aviation companies South Of MArket in San Francisco (for you suburbanites - that's a pretty rough neighborhood of the inner city where anything can happen, but hardly any flying). Nor could I imagine any somatic application to things with wings unless they were gnats or mosquitoes. So the name didn't tell much (I'll let you know the name's origin if you stick with me to the end of the story). And so - not much for the name, but the picture was telling me volumes. There was a good old Delfin L-29 on it, in genuine Soviet VVS markings, red star and all, front and back cockpits manned by helmeted pilots with the modest motto, "Fly with us for the Experience of a lifetime" under it.

I don't care much for ads. Just like all of us, I've been notified so many times that I am entitled to win $$$$$ on the 6 and 7 digit scale... only to find in very small letters that before I can claim it I have to spend just $19.95 for something. So I sort of lost interest eventually. But put the word FLY in it and I will at least read it, no matter how dumb the ad itself might turn out to be.

This one somehow managed to hold my attention. I don't trust them, don't get me wrong. I wasn't born yesterday. Get out of here. It claimed (can't be true of course) that for $350 I can fly this Eastern Block ex-jet-trainer for 35 minutes. The aircraft is fully aerobatic and can do just about anything except snap rolls and sushi rolls…. Can't be true. Well. What? You think I have $350 to throw into those air intakes and out the tail pipe for 35 minutes in the air? You know how much I can fly a Decathlon for that? Those jets, what are you talking about, what - you never flew on a liner? I'm telling you, brother, I'm not WASTING that much money for nothing. Better go fly a Pitts. For $350 you can do 1.5 hours in a Pitts. Don't be a kid...

Everybody knows how rational aviators are. There's no way anybody can entice us to spend a penny on a flight or some piece of equipment without rational justification. Toy airplanes? So what - everybody knows how important they are. You put one on your desk and it inspires... Well, it helps you to do your job, you know. Kind of lines things up. You are checking balances or writing a code or filling out a spreadsheet or writing a business plan and then you look at this toy airplane and think - what a beautiful bird; imagine what it would feel to hold those controls, yeah, I've seen an actual checklist on one of them, take-off at no more than 75% power or that V-12 will flip you over...

Anyway, where was I - right - airplanes definitely are rationally justified, even a child knows it. And we never spend more than is absolutely necessary, period.

And there is no way I would spend $350 on a 35 minute flight. Except… I just couldn't get this thing off my mind. Acro flight and jets. You put them together and you hear the thunder and see the lightning pass and then the silver spot climbs vertical and vanishes into the Big Blue. Don't tell me it didn't make YOU one day in the past walk through some door of some small airport office and ask the initial question. Don't tell me it wasn't part of the equation.

At any rate, these days you don't have to make a fool of yourself calling on the phone and ending with $350 spent because some crafty salesman on the other side of the line talked you into it. We know this gypsy business. Just like the barnstormers in olden times. Go fly where only the eagles and angels go! They won't pull it on me. Al Gore gave us the Internet and we know how to use it! Here it is: www.jetflights.org. And nobody sells you anything. Hm-m.. Look at that dash... Interesting... Yeah, would be cool to sit in one. Real jet. People flew this and then transitioned to MiGs... Can you imagine? Remember what Adolph Galland said in 1943? FEELS LIKE THE ANGELS WERE PUSHING. I can only imagine...

Anybody who flies knows better. Once your thoughts go along those lines there's no escape. Just like Event Horizon in the Black Hole. Once you are there that gravity will get you. But with the black hole you pass beyond the line and there are no events past that. Aviation has a much brighter perspective. It provides the line beyond which events actually start happening. You take off towards the horizon, and it is an event already.

The Angel Push.... In the history of aviation Zee Germans left quite a mark. Nobody can deny it. Adolph Galland, one of the Top Guns of his time, General der Jagdflieger (the General of Fighters) when he was 26 - was among the best. Evidently, to experience that angel push, understand what made him say so - evidently this was too cool to run away from.

And so you guessed it - I booked me a 35 minute lesson at a mere cost of $350.

Remember the barnstormers? Those gypsy pilots? Flying the length and breadth of the US in open cockpit biplanes, selling rides? Remember? They now are the staff of the legend. Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Lincoln Beechee - the Flying Fool who rolled the wheels of his Curtis pusher on the walls of the buildings and landed on roofs. Great Waldo Pepper. Ernst Udet, the greatest of them all, another Flying Fool who landed on alpine glaciers and picked handkerchiefs off the roof of a Lincoln limo with the wingtip of his Flamingo... They were amazing and dangerous. We live in a much more pragmatic time. The gypsy pilots of the Jet Age need a lot more logistics...

L-29 was parked in one of the transient spots at KLVK (that's Livermore Muni airport, just in case). Five men were standing by it, immersed in thought. A couple of them sported cowboy hats instead of the baseball caps we are so used to seeing around airplanes. They were the FAA, and it was not safe to fly until the correct form was FAXed in. When? It will hopefully take no more than 45 minutes, I was told. Jets are not your simple barnstorming affairs. They don't land on the grass. They need thousands of feet of concrete runway and they carry thousands of pounds of fuel. This could not be safe unless the FAA-approved paperwork was on file.

I spent that time watching a magnificently restored P-51D Mustang buzzing 25R a couple times - appropriate prelude to the Experience of a Lifetime. The Gypsy Jet family were waiting for the FAA approval. "Scott" - the pilot, instructor and owner-operator, has a unique family business. He flies L-29 along the Pacific Coast of the US, selling type checkouts and rides to the flying and general public. Amazingly, he was not an ex-fighter pilot with Brazilian Air Force, as I initially thought. He started his flying career as a rotorcraft and helicopter instructor (1500 hrs instructing time) and THEN proceeded to fixed wing. Around 400 hrs in the jet, some 5000 hrs total time. As he flies North and South, he is followed by the family in the trailer - the regular gypsy style - his wife Carena takes care of the paperwork, phones and computer connection, and kids - Scott Jr. and Gabe help with simple chores like filling the pneumatic system of the jet and getting those FAA FAXes. It's not that simple to be a gypsy these days; one has to be a lot more professional. The home base is Troutdale, OR. About 2 years in this jet business by now.

As I was pumping the family for information, the youngest son, Gabe, came running in from the terminal, FAX in hand. The Wild West figures in cowboy hats made their move, shook hands with "Scott" (stick with me, I'll explain the quotation marks later on) and that ancient gypsy benefit - freedom - was ours once again.

I was scheduled to fly the second flight of the day, so I watched the initial student strap in and lower the canopy, "Scott" following with his own procedures in the rear cockpit, back canopy still slid back for air and finally - the whine and the whistle. There's something about the jet whistle. It is the future singing to you. It is Star Trek and Star Wars and Blue Angels all rolled into one, and can you believe somebody flew something like this in 1943? Strangely enough, it's some 60 years since Galland coined his "angel push" phrase, but this whistle is still it - Da Future. You hear it, and you see the air behind the tail of the jet become visible, scorched, and knotty. And then the metal beast rolls.

I watched their take-off. They rotated around midfield, wheels up, gear up, low angle climb, right turn over the hills and they quickly disappeared heading East, towards Byron. Now I had to wait some 40 minutes. Carena assured me that I don't have to stay out in the sun since I "will hear them coming." Well, some minutes are much longer than others. It really is strange how much this whistle impresses you. I waited forever until I finally heard it again, and now it was my turn. I visualized myself pulling 7Gs and watching the skies turn black.

Anybody who was lucky enough to get a Yak-52 ride with Nick Ulman can imagine the L-29 cockpit. Same rough and ready Soviet layout, a few more instruments and switches, button-studded military style stick, and a rather convenient throttle quadrant with your left elbow resting comfortably on the console. Bubble canopy and visibility from the front seat is excellent. I used my own headset. Some stuff in the cockpit was placarded in Russian, some in English. (I wonder if they have similar arrangements at the International Space Station.) The airspeed was calibrated in miles per hour, according to "Scott." Taxiing was a little funny, you push rudder pedals to turn but the turn is actualized by the break application. Breaks are pneumatic and are activated by the handle on the stick - a standard Russian design. Sounds a bit like a bus or a Kenworth truck. But the jet whistle is with you all the time until the back canopy slides forward and locks, and then it's suddenly pretty quiet, a lot quieter than a Warrior or a Skyhawk. And - rock'n'roll!

I was expecting the PUSH, but it never came. It was nice and smooth and easy. Not much rotation needed, L-29 flew itself off the ground and we continued our shallow climb. The machine is not picking up speed too fast; it builds it, like all the early jets did. We were considerably underpowered even in comparison with the Messerschmitt-262 that gave General Galland such an angel push 60 years ago. Me-262 Schwalbe (Swallow) had 2 Jumo engines with around 4000 lbs thrust at a gross weight of 14000 lbs; the first Soviet MiG-9 had 4400 lbs thrust at gross of 11000 lbs, and we sat in front of only 2000 lbs push in an 8000 lbs machine. And just about then, I realized that in the famous quote from the German General the major accent was not on PUSH, but on the ANGELS - it was so smooth. Smooth and quiet. It really was a great morning - first watching that Mustang roar down the runway (what a magnificent sound those V-12 have), pulling up steeply and then taking off in a jet. I thought of Galland and Chuck Yeager and Bob Hoover and other guys who flew airplanes that are air show jewels now and some of the best of those machines were powered by the V-12 piston engines 1500 to 2000 horses strong. I could only imagine how it was to sit behind that monster for hours with its deafening roar and vibration and then being given a chance to fly something principally new - the jet. Smooth is the word. Smooth as an angel push.

The flight itself provided very few thrills. Once past the initial excitement of the whistle and the clear view, it is essentially a high performance complex airplane you fly. A little bit on the speedy side, but in the case of the L-29 it is not extreme. Some 350 MPH is all you can get and that's tops. My flight was mostly between 7000' and 5000' at 280 to 150 MPH. Controls are responsive yet at the same time hard. You have to push and pull; none of that Pitts Special feeling, where you just think and it zooms. Of course the jet allows you to roll right as easy and smooth as left - a very pleasant feeling to be able to do it without fighting that prop. "Scott" did not allow any sustained inverted flight - quite a disappointment to me, since his web site claimed it possible and I really wanted to see the world upside down with that bubble canopy providing such a great visibility. A Cuban 8 and a loop and - sure - fuel getting low, time to go home. Amazing how such a long time as 40 minutes (I just waited forever in the lobby for those to pass, remember?) flies by the jet before you even know.

I have to compliment "Scott" on his instructing ability and professionalism; nice, quiet, smooth as the jet itself, and he actually let me land it with small corrections. Touchdown was solid and simple, and as in any speedy nose dragger you have to keep that nose up. The landing speed was about 110 MPH and with our considerable mass (some 5 times heavier than the Decathlon) we used all of 25R in KLVK - that's 5200'.

If you ask me now if it was worth spending almost $400 on it ($350 yes, but don't forget the taxes), I'd say yes. For one, you can't find a cheaper deal, and if you can, don't take it, it'll probably be dangerous. For two - I have actually flown the jet and I have it logged and signed. For three - I satisfied my curiosity on the "angel push" quote from A. Galland. And overall, it was a bit of adventure, a perfect morning spent at a nice airport with the roar and whistle and sun and blue skies and thinking of flying and talking with a few people who talk the talk and fly the flight. I do think it was worth it. Jet flying is well beyond my reach financially, but a snatch of it is good enough. For now. I keep buying lottery tickets, so there's always a chance.

As to the riddle of SOMA Aviation - you would have never figured it. See - it is for a reason that "Scott" quotationalized his name. Because it's a nickname. His real name is somA. Only you have to read it backwards.

The NEW Instrument Checkride
Presented by Mike Shiflett, FAA and UK CAA Pilot Examiner
August 11, 7:00 pm PAO
Learn how to pass an instrument checkride using the new Instrument Practical Test Standards. The new PTS goes into effect on October 1, 2004. We'll discuss what has changed in the PTS and why these changes were made. We'll also discuss some general tips on passing the Instrument checkride. Mike Shiflett is one of our local Designated Pilot Examiners. He began flying in 1984 and taught as a civilian IP for the Royal Air Force in 1997. He is dual authorized as an FAA and UK CAA Pilot Examiner and flight instructor.

Cross-Country Flight Planning at the Speed of Light
Presented by Rob French, CFI
August 18, 7:00 pm PAO
Modern PC and web-based software makes cross-country flight planning fast and convenient. In this seminar we will discuss the use of AOPA's free on-line flight planner and its big brother, Jeppesen FlightStar. Live demonstrations will show how to use these systems for route planning, terrain avoidance, weather avoidance, and up-to-the-minute TFR information. In addition you will see how to print navigation logs, flight plans, and weight and balance reports. Rob French is a flight instructor with West Valley Flying Club. In the last three years he has flown over 430 hours and 60,000 NM (enough to fly around the world 2.5 times) on personal cross countries in single-engine piston airplanes, including traversing the continent five times. He has used FlightStar to plan every trip.

The club has four ground schools in session or starting soon. Membership at WVFC is not required, so feel free to invite along a non-member friend or acquaintance who is also interested in learning how to fly. You may begin attending any ground school mid-session.

PAO Private Pilot Ground School meets Thursdays from 6:30 pm with instructor Kyp Kypta. The cost for the course is a once-only charge of $100, after which you may attend any and all sessions as often as you like. Current session started July 1. Next session starts September 2. Contact Kyp at lkypta@earthlink.net.

SQL Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesdays from 6:30 pm with instructors Molly Davis and Justin Warren. The cost is $200. Current session began June 22. For information, contact Molly Davis at molly_s_davis@hotmail.com; or Justin Warren at justinwarren@sbcglobal.net.

HWD Private Pilot Ground School meets Tuesdays from 6:30 pm with instructor Rich Eiselt. Current session runs July 6 to August 31. Contact Rich at rnbeiselt@sbcglobal.net.

INSTRUMENT Ground School meets Tuesday evenings from 6:30 at PAO with instructors Ali Ashayer and Lindsay Hanson. Current session started July 13. Contact Lindsay at linsgrins@hotmail.com, or Ali at aashayer@aol.com.

August will be a busy month, so plan now to attend some of the club's upcoming events and activities.

PAO TOWER TOURS
Tuesday, August 10, 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Meet at WVFC at 5 minutes to the hour and walk to the tower as a group.
Come visit the Palo Alto Air Traffic Control Tower in person. Get to know some of the great people behind those calm and steady voices in your mic. To comply with Federal law, all tower visitors must be US citizens; please bring your passport or some other form of identifying your citizenship status. To RSVP write to Richard James at RichardJames@KiaOra.com with your name, member number and preferred time (6:oo pm or 7:oo pm). Visits are limited to 6 people at a time, so RSVP ASAP if you would like to secure a spot.

WINGS, Stanford Theatre
Wednesday, August 11, 7:30 pm, University Avenue, Palo Alto
A rare treat is in store at the Stanford Theatre on Wednesday, August 11th, at 7:30pm. The WWI Classic silent film "Wings" is being shown, accompanied by perhaps the best concert organist in the country. The link to the internet movie database is: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0018578/. This is by far the best "old" movie about WWI flying in existence and won the "Best Picture" award for 1927 (which became, by default, the first Academy Award ever made). Stunning aerial stunt work, sophisticated camera work and great storytelling. The flying sequences were actually filmed near San Antonio, TX (the birthplace of military aviation and the Army Air Corps). This is the WWI equivalent aviation movie to the 1969 WWII movie "Battle of Britain." This is a remarkable movie that appeals to everyone, not just pilots. The movie starts at 7:30, but arrive by 6:45 to get a decent seat. For questions, or to coordinate with other club members, please contact Dan Baggett, at dbaggett1@sbcglobal.net.

SULLIVAN PROPELLER TOUR
Thursday, August 12, 7:00 pm, Hayward
WVFC Director of Maintenance Kevin Pinger has arranged for club members to take a tour of Sullivan Propeller. This is a unique opportunity to see how your propeller really works, how it's made, how it's maintained, and what really goes on inside a constant speed prop. Sullivan is right next to the club's new Hayward location, so our Hayward CFIs will be hosting a Bar-B-Que for members and their guests prior to the tour. RSVP is not essential but will help in planning food and space. Contact Rich Eiselt at rnbeiselt@sbcglobal.net

CAMPING TRIP & MOUNTAIN CHECKOUT @ MARKLEEVILLE
August 14-15
Bring your family, and join us on this West Valley camping trip to Markleeville. We'll be landing at Alpine County (M45), 15NM SE of Tahoe and about 140NM from Palo Alto. The actual campgrounds are a 3 mile walk from the field. M45 is at nearly 6,000', so a WV mountain check-out is required. Or consider bringing along your favourite CFI and do the check-out during the trip. Several pilots/planes have already signed up, and a couple are offering free rides to members. Well known WV personalities such as Kevin Pinger and Josh Smith will be there, ensuring plenty of...erm...entertainment. If you want to come with the crowd, we'll be meeting at the PAO clubhouse at 10am on the Saturday. In any case, if you plan upon coming, please pass word to Craig.Eldershaw@parc.com. Also let him know if you'd like someone to share the HOBBS with, or would like to ride in one of the planes already going.

HAYWARD TOWER TOUR
August 18, 7:00 PM, Hayward
Eric Jewell has arranged for West Valley members to tour the Hayward tower beginning at 7:00 pm on August 18. To sign up, contact Eric Jewell at eric@flywitheric.com. You will need to bring a photo ID. The tower can handle up to twelve people at a time. If there's a big turnout we'll have groups of twelve tour every half hour. Eric will give further details including where to park and meet to those who sign up. To comply with Federal law, all tower visitors must be US citizens; please bring your passport or some other form of identifying your citizenship status.

SARATOGA SEMINAR
Thursday, August 19, 7:00 pm PAO
Many members have asked about more 6-seat aircraft on line, and the club now has two Saratogas. One has fixed gear and one retractable. To give members a chance to find out more about these great 6-seaters, there is a Saratoga seminar scheduled for 7 pm Thursday August 19 at WVFC in Palo Alto. It will be presented by Scott Stauter, WVFC CFI, and Lee Price, owner of N432LT. The seminar will cover basic high performance, fuel injected operations, and operation of the KLN 90B GPS. Attending this seminar will familiarize attendees with the proper handling of these aircraft and give you a head start in filling out your ground review form. These are good aircraft for taking the family on a trip.

TRACON Tour
August 21, 10:00 am, Mather
This tour is already full. If you previously signed up and have had a change of plans, please contact Rob French rfrench@rfrench.org.

WVFC MEMBER PAUL CAYARD @ THE OLYMPICS
August 21, 1:00 pm, NBC
Show your support for Paul Cayard and his crewman Phil Trinter, America's best chance at a gold. NBC will be airing the Men's Star Races beginning on Saturday, August 21 at 1:00. Show your support for one of our own and tune it in. If you'd like to join other club members in cheering Paul on, contact Erin Seidemann at TestaDellaCorsa@cs.com to coordinate an appropriate big-screen location.

BBQ @ PAO
August 27
Mark your calendars, and stand by for details on the end-of-August BBQ at PAO.