1998 Seminar Report

Women Pilots Save Texas

by Janet R. Sorrell

When the Women Soaring Pilots Association (WSPA) chose Texas Soaring Association (TSA) as the site of the 1998 Seminar, we were told that Texas summers are hot and their thermals are huge. The Texans didn't lie. When the 20th Annual WSPA Seminar began on August 3, the temperature had been over one hundred degrees for weeks, breaking all previous records. On Monday morning, the gliderport at Midlothian was 107F and deeply rutted with cracks caused by the drought. Misters sprinkled their picnic tables, offering a little relief from the heat. No one was allowed near a glider without a filled water bottle.

Thirty-two pilots, including one from England, participated. The Caesar Creek contingent included Gloria Dalton, Chris & Lou Schnier, and me. Some pilots arrived early for the seminar and started flying immediately. The TSA fleet includes Puchacz (that's Polish for Owl), Grob 103, PW-5, Russia, and Schweizer sailplanes. The seminar would be the place to try different gliders, fly cross-country, do aerobatics, and break some records.

For the pilots who could take the heat, the soaring was spectacular. Thermals were huge, gentle by Texas standards, and high. I reached 9000 ft AGL in a Puchacz on Monday, the highest I have ever been in a sailplane. Gloria did hammerheads, spins and other exciting maneuvers in a Puchacz on Saturday. Chris checked out the Texas terrain in the Puchacz, a 2-33 and a 1-26 during flights at the beginning and end of the week.

TSA is a lot like Caesar Creek, only bigger. The gliderport is surrounded by flat terrain, has a nice clubhouse, and lots of hangars. Like us, they use Pawnee towplanes. However, they also have grasshoppers. We are all familiar with Pawnees, but many of you may not know about the grasshopper. Grasshoppers are so big at Midlothian that the Texans train them to tow 1-26s. (Some of you may think this is a Texas tall-tale, but you didn't see the size of their grasshoppers!)

By Tuesday the flight lists were posted, and we knew the rules about water, parachutes, and tow cards. Cameras and barographs were ready.

So what happens when glider pilots gather? It rains!!!! A "passing" t-storm settled in on Tuesday afternoon and stayed and stayed. While there were more flights on Thursday and Friday, the booming thermals were gone. But we still had a great time. Ken Jacobs hosted at Bar-B-Que at his house for the group. Lou, Chris, Gloria and I visited the Silent Wings glider museum-and were allowed to sit in the cockpit of the CG-4A because we were soaring pilots. Chris and I (after a few drinks) co-authored the winning limerick this year. We met a woman who had been a WASP during WWII, learned to pack parachutes, and heard about flying in England.

Best of all, we know that we ended the Texas drought of 1998. By Thursday the temperatures had dropped, and the cracked ground was healing. Because we gathered a group of soaring pilots together, it finally rained. And that's how the women pilots saved Texas!