Minutes

December 2000 Meeting Minutes

This was the annual Christmas party meeting and it was a good one. Some forty-one people were at Matt

and LoriÕs house for the event. We played pool and darts, watched videos, ate and drank while waiting for

the meeting to start.

Once again the food was outstanding. There were fresh vegetables, salads, cheeses, pizzas, taquitas, and

giant shrimp and of course PeterÕs now legendary fresh smoked salmon. Lisa Tate brought hang glider

shaped cookies. There were also other deserts and casseroles and too much food to mention. Peter Humes

also furnished a keg of home-brewed beer. It was a very smooth and tasty dark ale called Steep Canyon

Stout.

The partiers included Lori and Matt Jagelka, Elaine and Charley Warren, Todd Robinson, Roger Butler and

Keith, Rich and Danny Sauer, Dianna and Larry Roberts, Frieda and Gunter Lohrentz, Jon James, Leo

Jones, Anne and Bob Storms, Shelia and Duane Taylor, Anthony Abate and friend, Chris McKeon and

Jenny, Kurt Bainum, Barry Levine, Laura Thurston, Maya and Ernieclause Camacho, Albert and Donna,

Lisa Tate, Terri Edington, Robin Ramsey and Hank Roberts, Greg Sugg, John DeAguiar and Ariel and

Sylvia, Leo Bynum and Kate Withey, Marcus Peterson and Justin Miller.

The meeting portion of the party convened around 9:30. First we thanked the most gracious hostess and

host Lori and Matt.

Albert briefly recapped a rough year for the club. Unfortunate events included Todd and Matt having their

gliders stolen, trips to the Owens where people didnÕt get to fly, a couple broken bones and a lot of broken

tubing. Much better events included Rich Sauer placing second in the Nationals, Bob Storms smoking at

the Regionals, the Chelan trip and the awesome King Mt trip.

Next Albert introduced the slate of officers for 2001. They are Albert Branson President, Ernie Camacho

Vice President, Matt Jagelka Treasurer, Kurt Bainum Secretary, Leo Jones Site Director and Jon James

Safety Officer. Jon gave a short speech. Ernie has volunteered to do the newsletter next year. He says it

will be done online.

We heard from new member Leo Bynum. He comes to us from southern Ca and is rated to fly tandem and

has a tandem glider. He wants to fly with us. He is presently living in Sebastopol. His phone is

415-509-2084, e-mail leo@nearspace.com.

Awards presentations were next on the agenda. Nominees for best flight were Rich Sauer for a 150Õ save in

Texas, Matt for his first 100-mile flight, and Kurt for a 100-mile flight from King. The Best Flight Award

winner was Mike Kunitani for a 169-mile flight in the Owens.

The Go-for-It competition had 18 entries. Rich Sauer won with a score of over 1100 for his ten longest

flights. ThatÕs an average of over 110 miles each for ten flights! Rich made a short speech and said that as

long as we all keep flying together we will all get better.

DriverÕs cups were awarded to Donna Matthias, Linda Sauer, Lori Jagelka and Nancy Ferguson. We cannot

thank our drivers enough.

Rich also won the Coffee Can. He made us all agonize while he read off all the names on the five-dollar

bills in the can. Rich said that some of these were harder to win than others. He also said that he was quite

pleased to win some of them. He thinks it will be hard to repeat this next year.

The club service award went to Leo Jones for all of the many things he has done for the club for the past

couple years. Also in contention were Jon James, Duane Taylor, Ernie Camacho and Charley Warren.

The turkey award went to Matt for a blown launch at St Helena. Matt got up and told his side of the story.

There were many contenders for this one including Leo for two blown launches, Barry Levine for breaking

the same arm twice, Ernie for driving off with untied gliders on his car at least three times and Chris

McKeon for an incident at St Helena where he struck a tree on launch then plowed into the ground short of

the LZ in rainy conditions.

The most improved pilot award went to John DeAguiar who had his first soaring flights this year. John

reports that he has sold his training glider to Justin Miller who has persuaded Wally Anderson to give him

hang gliding lessons.

Next we heard the tale of the cooperative effort to get shirts made by the party. An idea was spawned at a

meeting about six weeks ago. The next day Albert called Kevy Metal Graphics to reserve a production

slot. The same day Leo contacted Roger Butler with an idea for a cartoon depicting a glider landing then

being chased by two sheriffs, an ostrich and a buffalo. The artwork is great! Albert and Donna were a little

late arriving to the party because they were folding shirts as they came out of KevinÕs ink dryer. It was

that close. Contact Albert to get your shirt. They are a must have!

Also for sale, through Ernie, are speed gliding videos for $15. The proceeds are to benefit Paris Williams

to help defray competition travel expenses.

The meeting was adjourned around 10:30.

The next meeting will be January 18th at 7:00 at the Occidental Rd Round Table Pizza.

November 2000 Meeting Minutes:

This is your invitation to the Sonoma Wings Christmas Party! The event will
be held at Matt and Laura Jagelka's house on 12-8-2000 at 7:00pm. The address
is 514 Poplar Way, Windsor, Ca. Take Hembree Lane to Bay Tree Ct, turn right
onto Poplar Way. It's right around the corner. I have found mapquest.com to
be great if you want a map. Go to the site, type in the address, print out
the map. Matt's phone is 838-3594, in case you get lost.
   Bring no beer to the party. Peter Humes has been named honorary Sonoma
Wings Brew master and will be bringing a couple kegs of homebrew and some
homemade wine as well.
   Sorry for the short notice. I have been pretty ill for a week now and
haven't been up to typing.
   Now for the minutes of the last meeting.
   The meeting was 11-20-2000. At the meeting vying for club offices were
Ernie Camacho, Justin Miller, Steve Acton, Ghigo Acton, Charley Warren, John
DeAguiar, Kurt Bainum, Marcus Peterson, Albert Branson and Donna Matthias,
Duane Taylor, Gunter Lohrentz, Scot Huber, Leo Jones, Derk Steggewentz, Matt
Jagelka, Jon James and Bob Storms. While waiting for the meeting to start we
watched a cool video of speedgliding in Austria and another of Carrie Castle
in the Owens.
   Order was called at 7:48.
   We got a brief recap of the Officer's meeting. They made some changes to
the officer's duties. The changes will require the bylaws to be amended. We
voted to accept the changes and amend the bylaws. The most significant change
was to split the Flight Director duties into two offices a Site Director and
a Safety Officer. The Vice President was also given actual duties!
   From there we went right into the election of officers. There were many
heartfelt stump speeches and a couple close races. There was an infusion of
new blood balanced with the "old guard". When all was said and done Sonoma
Wings Officers for next year are as follows, Prez Albert Branson, V.P. Ernie
Camacho, Secretary Kurt Bainum, Treasurer Matt Jagelka, Site Director Leo
Jones, Safety Officer Jon James. We would like to say a special thanks to
Duane who was Treasurer for what seemed like forever.
   Ernie volunteered to take over the newsletter duties. Thanks Ernie!
   Leo and Ernie will be working with John Blacet to update the webpage.
   Club meetings next year will be less business oriented and more fun. Most
of the business will be conducted offline.
   Leo displayed a great piece of artwork from Roger Butler depicting the
landing situation in the Stonyford area. He and Albert will be working on
getting shirts made with it by the Christmas party.
   We heard from Steve Acton who recently moved to Ukiah from Bishop. He said
it was a job related move and assured us that yes it is a bit of a flying
adjustment. Steve's son Ghigo wants to learn to fly.
   Justin Miller, one of our few PG club members, has started to learn to fly
hang gliders.
   Marcus Peterson is from Santa Rosa and has been learning form Doug Prather
in Modesto. He reports it's no further than Hollister.
   Pilots are encouraged to take gifts to landowners around St John and St
Helena to help with our landowner relations campaign.
   Justin reports finding a good PG site at Lake Sonoma in the Pritchet Peak
area. He has talked to the head ranger and will be pursuing the issue.
   The next officer's meeting will be after the Christmas party.
   If anyone has anybody they would like to have acknowledged at the party
let Albert know beforehand.
   The tug group has $14K but needs $30K.
   We talked about setting a goal for the club for 2001 to develop a training
site. It was agreed that Crazy Creek would be a likely spot.
   The meeting was adjourned at 9:26.
   The next meeting will be the Christmas party 12-8-2000 at Matt Jagelka's
house.
CW

October 2000 Meeting Minutes

Attending this meeting were Steve Bickford, Ernie Camacho and kids Maya

and Jesse, Derk Steggewentz, Albert Branson and Donna Matthias, Duane Taylor,

Greg Sugg, Charley Warren, Peter Humes, Kurt Bainum and kids, Scot Huber,

Gunter Lohrentz, Matt Jagelka, Leo Jones, Jon James and John DeAguiar.

While waiting for the meeting to begin people exchanged flying stories and

ordered pizza. Peter Humes brought some cool photos of himself paragliding on

Mt Fuji in Japan.

The meeting was called to order promptly at 7:48. First off the club

agreed to send Gaspo money to help cover travel expenses to the USGHA board

meeting in October.

Albert motioned to have a T-shirt design contest for the club fly-in next

year. The winner would be decided on by a panel of art experts from our club.

Entries would need to be 8X10 size and submitted (Ed. Presumably to Albert)

by 4-1-2001. Administrative details to follow. We also discussed getting hats

or patches but no actions were taken on, from the discussion.

The Parachute clinic on January 13&14 has eight paid participants. If

interested send $50 to Duane. Check payable to Sonoma Wings. We need to get

at least two more participants to cover Betty's expenses. We need someone to

donate a couple control bars that pilots can hook into and get spun around in

and deploy their 'chutes from. The base tube will most likely get bent

because pilots will be trying to climb into it. If anyone has room to put

Betty and Rich Pfiffer up for a couple nights please talk to Steve Bickford.

The motion was made to have free beer and pizza at the next meeting to

draw more people to the elections. After heated discussion the motion was

denied. Damn. I hate it when that happens!

Pilots are reminded that proxy votes have always been acceptable in Sonoma

Wings elections. Write or e-mail them to the secretary, me. Also new

nominations are allowed right up to the time of the vote.

A movement is afoot to change the format of the club meetings. There is a

feeling that the business of running the club should be done aside from the

meetings and reported on there. The meetings should be more fun! In this vain

it was agreed to have an officers meeting at Ernie's house on October 24,

2000. The officers will be reviewing the bylaws and discussing a system to

keep track of the membership.

Greg proposed a Zen fly-in at St John next year. No Instruments of any

kind would be allowed. Not even a watch. Sounds like a great time to me. Look

for it in the spring. Good luck.

There is now a map online of the area between St John and East Park

Reservoir. The map is for the benefit of the local landowners. If one of them

does not want us landing on his property we can get the word out this way.

Pilots flying in the area are responsible for knowing where it is or is not

acceptable to land. If you don't know, consult local pilots before flying. We

are staying apprised of any legal issues involving hang glider and paraglider

pilots in the area. Please relay info to Jon James.

Pilots should carry a pen and paper in their harnesses and note people's

names where you land. Make an effort to find them, you may get offered a free

beer. Leo has a few hundred Sonoma Wings business cards left that you can

write your own info on.

The St John ramp is still in the works. The process was definitely slowed

down by the Sheriff. Please respond to the e-mail that went out to members

asking for public input on this project.

There will be a Halloween fly-in at McClure the weekend of 10-28.

The Logging Road to Pillsbury is open and is reported to be like a super

highway. Gunter has a 6" harness for sale. He also has Berry Levine's glider

and is looking for someone to return it Barry.

The meeting was adjourned around 9:40. The next meeting will be 11-20-2000.

September 2000 Meeting Minutes

In attendance were Peter Humes, Charley Warren, Albert Branson and Donna

Matthias, Derk Steggewentz, Kurt Bainum and kids, Anthony Abate, Marek

Lechowski, Charlie Gutierrez, Matt and Laura Jagelka, Justin Miller, Leo

Jones and Jon James.

Albert sold T-shirts while we waited to start the meeting and we watched

videos of the Nationals and paragliders at St Helena.

At 7:55 the meeting was called to order.

Albert sent Thank You cards to all the sponsors of the St John fly-in.

That included everyone on the back of the shirts except JustFly, Airtime and

Timberline, who got left on accidentally.

It seems the Sheriff has thrown a wrench in the works on the St Ramp

project. He told the Forest Service that there would be 400 pilots at the

fly-in! The Forest Service had a representative at the fly-in. We would

presume that they reported the accurate number of around 20 pilots. Leo will

be in touch with Jessie Rosenquist at the Forest Service regarding the ramp

and the fly-in. Jessie said that our application had been held up due to the

complaint.

Sonoma Wings has made great efforts to find complaining landowners and

have not found any yet. If any pilots get complaints from landowners, please

be sure to write down their name. Use the business cards that Leo has ordered

to leave them your name. It has the Sonoma Wings web address on it if they

have any questions or concerns they can contact us.

The Go-for-It contest has 18 pilots on the web list and only 12 have paid.

If you are in the contest and have not paid, get you five bucks in. Kudos

went out to Jon James for keeping the Go-for-It results up to date on the

web.

Leo says we should think about what we want out of the contest and bring

ideas to him about how to make it better for next year.

Tug update. Everyone is too busy flying right now. We haven't forgotten it

yet and will renew efforts this winter.

The USHGA is asking for nominations for Chapter of the Year, Safety and

the Presidential Citation.

Turkey Award nominations have begun pouring in they include Leo for two

blown launches, Scot for landing in jail, Ernie for loosing gliders off his

car twice and Barry for breaking the same arm twice in one year.

Officer nominations include for Prez, Albert Branson, for VP Ernie Camacho

and Matt Jagelka, for Secretary Charley Warren and John DeAguiar, for

Treasurer Matt Jagelka, for Safety Officer John DeAguiar and Todd Robinson.

Leo proposed doing club business on the side and making the meetings more

fun. We also discussed having a Social Secretary who would come up with ideas

for the club meetings.

BAPA is having a fly-in at Elk on 10-13,14&15.

Some members have not received membership cards for this year yet.

The parachute clinic will be held at 11650 Graton Rd. That's west of

Graton. Be sure to sign up if you have not already.

If anyone has nominations for club awards call them in to the Prez.

The Christmas Party will be on December 8th at Matt and Laura Jagelka's.

August 2000:

Minutes of Sonoma Wings meeting, Monday 8-21-2000
   Meeting was called to order by Pres Albert at 7:45, interrupting the
viewing of a video by Brauinger.
   Present were Albert, Donna, Matt and Lori, Derk, Scot, Kurt and 2 children
(Spencer and?), John DeA, Ernie, Greg, Leo, Duane, Gunter, Larry, Jon, Bob S,
Sterling.
   First was a critique of the St John Fly-In of the previous weekend.
   Things that went right were: the flying was great, the barbecue
at the lake (by Glenda and Heather) was great, no downtubes were bent
or broken all weekend, all landowner contacts were very positive,
the location of the hidden letter on Sunday was devious but good,
the meteors on Saturday night were very good. The low-key, club
atmosphere was nice. The T-shirts are great.
   Things that could have been better were: the barbecue was a little late
because of a flat tire (but not too late, we ate by 6:30 and the evening by
the lake was very nice), no locals came to the barbecue even though we
invited several, we could have used more X-large t-shirts (maybe a size
choice on next year's entry form). USFS wondered about the late entry
premium on our original entry form, but we changed that and asked for
donations of $30 to recover our costs.
   Be sure to give your drivers some money. The food cost about $11 per
meal served. There was all the food you could eat and then some.
Cost of T-shirts isn't finalized yet but it looks like we lost some money
overall. This is a typical result. There was discussion of moving the
dinner to Saturday night, but late returns from long flights were mentioned
as a likely conflict.
   Positive landowner contacts were made on Sanhedrin Ranch Rd by Greg and
Jon, on 162 by Larry, at the old airstrip in Elk Creek (NOT Black Diamond) by
Derk, at the old letter location by Derk, and on the straight Ladoga road by
Jon.
   Scot offered to do the T-shirts next year. Other options were mentioned.
Donna had a tank top this year. Sweatshirts, polo shirts, hats, patches,
and tattoos were all suggested.
   We talked a little of our contacts with the Sheriff's office this year.
There were no contacts during the Fly-In. Two rangers came to launch on
Saturday and asked how they could learn to hang glide.
   Leo had Sonoma Wings business cards to distribute. We have started using
them and the response so far seems good.
   Albert and Donna had dinner with Lisa Tate of Idaho, who has made some
trophies for us, last Thursday. Scot joined them, as did a Leo (not our
Leo). Lisa was passing through the area.

A show of hands for who expects to go to the Owens over Labor Day indicated
A big turnout. Mick Morris well be here again. Maybe we can get him to fly
if we bring him a glider and twist his arm. Not too hard.
There was an announcement that the newsletter will be distributed via the
web. Ernie said he could post it.
Meeting was adjourned at about 9:15. Some leftover prizes were
distributed in a drawing. Almost everyone at the meeting got something.
Respectfully submitted by Jon James

July 2000: None taken

June 2000 Meeting Minutes

While waiting for the meeting to start pilots were treated to tales of good flying at St John on 6-17. Rich set a new site record of 55.6 miles, flying to the Red Bluff municipal airport. Greg passed out downtubes to the waiting masses. At the meeting were John DeAguiar, Donna Matthias and Albert Branson, Charley Warren, John Blacet, Justin Miller, Duane Taylor, Ernie Camacho, Kurt Bainum, Todd Robinson and Terri Hickey, Derk Steggewentz, Matt Jagelka, Jon James, Bob Storms, Rick Canham, Gunter Lohrentz, Leo Jones and Scot Huber.

First we got an update on the runway situation at Pillsbury. The situation is that we can not use the runway. We can not tow there according to the Forrest Service. We can still land off to the side even after it closes. The Gravely Valley airstrip will close on 7-8-2000. Leo reports that the Friday 6-24 SF Chronicle will have an article profiling Andy Whitehill.

As mentioned above the St John site distance record for a flex wing was broken by Rich Sauer on 6-17-2000. Rich flew to the Red Bluff municipal airport.

Duane gave the club a mid-year Treasury report. He says that it looks like we will have enough money to cover expenses for the rest of the year. We have $250 advance money for the chute clinic happening in January.

We discussed how the website is pulling the club together. The bulletin board is a great tool to coordinate club trips and weekend flying. The photo page also has a lot of useful stuff on it.

Plans are coming together for the King Mt trip. Scot and Ernie are hosting a Barbecue on Saturday 7-8.

Modesty has become an issue for the club recently. Several club members were confronted by a Sheriff's deputy for skinny-dipping in East Park Reservoir after a long hot day of flying and retrieving.

Leo, Matt, Bob, Greg and Scot met with Forrest Service officials on launch at St John to discuss plans for improvements to the launch. The ramp will be steeper, wider and longer. The rock on the left most likely will not get dynamited away. Darn I wanted to see that The Forrest Service thinks it can be done in 45 days. If it doesn't take long to approve the permit it could be done before the meet. They are also willing to do work on the other two launches.

We have had some issues lately with LZs in the St John area. We discussed landowner relations. Everyone should take the time to talk to the landowners where they land. If there is a home on the property knock on the door and tell 'em who you are and that you landed on their dirt. And Thanks. Ask 'em if it's OK to land there again in an emergency. Don't climb over fences. Be discreet about LZ usage. We agreed to get a map together showing friendly and unfriendly LZs.

There are rumblings about a Barbecue at the lake at the fly in this year rather than the dinner at the Timberline.

The following is the list of who's doin' what for the fly-in. Albert - shirts, John DeA - Entry Forms, Donna - Prizes, Ernie - Tasks and Scoring, Todd - Safety, Leo - Meet Head.

Justin reports knowing someone who can do caps for us if we want.

Jon has maps of the Chelan area for those who want 'em. The drive to Chelan is 16 to 19 hours. Most people are stopping in Oregon at least one night. It looks like there are about ten pilots going to Chelan for the last week in July. Some are also going to the Nationals in Lakeview the week before.

Todd admonished us all to spend less time looking at flying stuff on the computer and GO FLY! And the meeting was adjourned at 9:05. CW

May 2000 Meeting Minutes

While waiting for the meeting to begin we watched videos of launches from Elk and from the St Helena rain-in Fly-in.

Attending the meeting were Ernie Camacho and Laura Thurston, Andy Long, Charley Warren, Rick Canham, Peter Lindquist, Albert Branson and Donna Matthias, Anthony Abate¢, Todd Robinson, Larry Roberts, Jon James, Wally Anderson, John Blacet, Kurt Bainum, Scot Huber and Leo Jones. President Branson brought the meeting brought the meeting to order at 7:56.

The first item on the agenda was a report on the Saint Helena fly-in. A couple people who signed up still owe. As those who were there know the event was rained out. About 20 pilots showed up. Eleven got off before the rain prevented further launching. Everyone who flew launched in light rain. We had fun and built good relationships with Jane Campbell, the landowner. She was bummed about the weather. We were bummed too but we know weather is as much fun as flying. Jane hung out with us in the rain under the awning of an outbuilding. We ate great Mexican food and drank keg beer for a couple hours. Then we packed up all our wet gear and headed for dry homes. The field we landed in was huge and flat and clear. Leo says if the wind is howling we should land here, as long as there are no cows in it, rather than Pierre's.

Albert is still working on getting a Red Cross basic first aide and CPR class set up. We discussed other options to get the training.

Ernie is preparing insurance information for the landowner at Black Mountain. For now negotiations to fly there are stalled on this point. Chelan trip update. There is info on the photo page of our web site about the flying up there. There are also links to flying clubs local to the Chelan area. Jon James offered to make some copies of maps of Chelan. We need to figure travel arrangements before hand. Ernie volunteered to coordinate the effort. Leo says expect to pay gas if you are riding.

Pilots are urged to use the bulletin board to coordinate rides to King Mt. Bring O2 and be sure your driver knows the routes. Be sure your radio gear is in good condition.

Several pilots are planning to go to the Regionals.

Leo informed the club that Bud Getty, the Superintendent for the St Helena area, had a stroke. He has always been good to us and we wish him well. Leo sent him a card on behalf of the club. He is recovering.

The Forest Service is waiting for us to give them plans for what we want to do for the St John ramp. They may need to do an environmental study.

Lake Pillsbury news. The lake is 100% full. Landings are occurring in the slot and at the airstrip. Airstrip closure is not eminent. Some locals have presented plans to build and operate a restaurant adjacent to the strip. The proceeds would go to maintain the runway. The Forrest Service is evaluating the application.

Regarding the towing issue at Gravely Valley Airstrip, Jon James called around and found that we presently have no permission. Jon wrote a letter requesting permission and help in dealing with local law enforcement. He also lodged a formal complaint with the FAA. Funds for the repair of the logging road have been scaled back. There will be a temporary fix only and it will not open before Labor Day. Expect logging traffic on the road to Elk in the meantime.

Finally the club got an update on the progress of the aerotug efforts. Moyes America has kits in stock and would only need to schedule assembly time when we order. Delivery time would be quick. The group only needs a few more people to get the process started. There a few people interested in being tug pilots.

April 2000 Meeting Minutes

In attendance at the meeting were Sterling Calder, Eric Gromala, Albert Branson, Donna Mathiass, Brian Sharp, Charley Warren, Kurt Bainum, Steve Bickford, Glen Archer, Greg Sugg, Andy Long, Larry Roberts, Gunter Lohrentz, Leo Jones, Scot Huber, Ernie Camacho, Jon James, Duane Taylor, Matt Jagelka and John DeAguiar.

The meeting started promptly at 7:56. Seems our new president gets up at 5:00 am and likes to begin the meetings closer to the advertised 7:00 pm start time.

Concern has been expressed about flying paragliders at St Helena. Ernie has talked to Wally Anderson and stated that we, Sonoma Wings, are somewhat trusting paraglider pilots to assess their own experience levels. Jon James informed us that we don't have any rules for St Helena regarding paragliders. There was much discussion on the topic and it was agreed that we need to address to situation. Wally has offered his knowledge to help us establish guidelines. Leo will work with him. The general feeling of the club members present was that it should be OK for P4 pilots to fly there on good days. Ernie asked that people review the site descriptions on the web site and give him feedback. He will update them with the new data.

Steve said that Betty Pfiffer would conduct a parachute clinic for us on January 13 & 14, 2001. The fee will be $50.00 per person. Kurt offered a large building in Graton for the clinic. Interested pilots should send payment to Duane. We need to pay asap in order to secure the date. Several pilots did at the meeting. Next we heard from Glen Archer who is the hang glider pilot who was recently stopped for towing on the Gravelly Valley airstrip. He is an H3 from Angwin.

The consensus is that the vehicle code applies on the highways and not on an airstrip. The real problem is that we don't have formal permission to tow on the strip. The FAA has a history of forcing airport authorities to allow towing on airstrips. July 8, 2000 is the Forest Service target date to close the strip. Jon James volunteered to contact the FAA to see what we can do before July to keep Gravely Valley airstrip open. In the meantime we can address the Forest Service as individuals to protest the closure. We heard from Eric Gromala next. He is a 16-year-old neighbor of Sterling's who was given a hang glider by another neighbor. It is believed to be an old Chandelle standard. Eric has flown the glider by having a friend tow him with a rope in his front yard! We offered Eric modern gliders and directed him to Mission Soaring for lessons.

The aerotow syndicate has been officially started. There are three payees and three other firm commitments. Much of the legal work has been done. The syndicate needs to meet and start the corporation process. Members joining later may have to pay a fee to amend the corporation. Contact Jon, Larry or Leo for further information. Albert looked into setting up a First Aid clinic for the club. It will be a seven-hour Red Cross lesson. It will be held on two consecutive nights during the week. He will post options on the bulletin board and allow people to vote on the most desirable dates.

There was some discussion about the future of the newsletter. Whoever takes it over next year may do it electronically.

Leo proposed a few changes to the organization of the club. He proposed a Safety Officer, Site Coordinator and a Social Secretary. He also proposed that much of the business that bogs our meeting down be conducted in committee meetings and that the results get reported at the club meetings. This would allow the club meetings to be more fun. No action was taken on the proposals.

Also Leo reported that the Forest Service is waiting to hear what we want to do for a ramp at St John.

Pilots were reminded that the Coyote Howl is coming up at McClure on May 13 & 14. Conditions are said to be "always good".

March 2000 Meeting Minutes

Appearing at this meeting, in order of arrival, were Denise and Peter Lindquist, Duane Taylor, Kurt Bainum, Ernie Camacho and Laura Thurston, Anthony Abate¢, Charley Warren, Larry Roberts, Albert Branson and Donna Matthias, Leo Jones, Justin Miller, Charlie Gueterriez, Steve Bickford, Matt Jagelka, Jon James, Gunter Lohrentz, Greg Sugg and Scot Huber.

While waiting for the meeting to come to order we heard tales of soaring Elk for hours in ridge lift and looked at photos. Albert brought the meeting to order at 7:35.

Albert began by reporting that we have received back from the USHGA our club charter and insurance papers. We carry USHGA insurance on St Helena, Vista Trail, Goat Rock and Crazy Creek.

Next we heard from new member Anthony Abate. He is a P4 rated pilot now living in the Glen Ellen area. He comes from Santa Barbara and has flown all over the place.

Justin and Ernie have been working on access to Black Mt. It is the peak just south of Geyser Peak, by Geyserville. They report that we have permission to land in a 20-acre field next to Geysers Road. However we can not drive on the property so land close to the road. There is also permission to launch but Ernie is still working on some details there. Contact Justin or Ernie before flying for the details.

Steve Bickford reports that he sold his tow rig. The pilots who bought it said they were hassled by rangers at Gravely Valley airstrip for not wearing seatbelts while in the back of the truck. They were very insistent and even wanted the pilot to have one. They contacted their supervisor who said that this is an illegal activity.

We made firm the week of July 24 for the Chelan trip. We talked about stopping at Pine Mt, in the Bend Oregon area for a flight on the way up, since it is about a 19-hour drive to Chelan. Everyone should let Ernie know their travel plans and he'll coordinate.

We talked about getting a bulletin board on the web site. It's up! Great job John! There will be a HAM radio class the weekend of April 8&9. Contact Albert to sign up.

Albert will also look into setting up a CPR class for the club. People are encouraged to carry extensive first-aid kits, especially in retrieve vehicles. Jon James has one that anyone can borrow for events or trips. Albert has a First Responder kit in his truck. Also everyone is encouraged to continue to look out for each other and to offer and accept constructive criticism.

Steve Bickford will set up a Betty Pfiffer clinic for the club next winter. It will be on a weekend with two rainy days.

There was discussion on helmets and paraswivels. Wills Wing has issued an advisory on their swivels. If you have a Wills swivel check their web site for details. On helmets, thicker foam offers better protection. Steve has the best, latest for sale. Also see the Oz report from 3-19-2000 for more discussion and advice on the subject.

Next we got an update on the effort to bring an aerotug operation to the area. Larry has opened the account and is ready to accept money from interested parties. Fifteen people expressed a desire to put up $2000 each to get the tug off the ground. Larry would like to hear from those people as quickly as they can scrape up their money.

The fund was up to $6000 at the time of the meeting. It needs to be up to $20000 to get started. A legal organization needs to be set up before any money can be spent. And they need money in the account to set up the organization. Ultimately it will take $30000 to complete the operation. The hope is the money will come in quickly so the operation can be running this summer. It won't take long to get the tug once the order is placed and qualified tow pilots are standing by waiting to fly. Crazy Creek was pretty good last June. Larry's contact info, lroberts@jps.net, ph 707-584-5030

Meetings of the aerotug group are ongoing. See the Sonoma Wings web site bulletin board for details.

There was a request for input from the paragliding community as to how we can include them in the Coffee Can and Go-for-It comps. Send input to Leo. Finally, there was discussion about another Cinco de Mayo flyin at St Helena. It would be on the sixth of May. Leo will ask the LZ landowner for permission.

February 2000 Meeting MInutes

Attending the meeting were Justin Miller, Eric Beckman, Albert Branson, Donna Mathias, Ernie Camacho, Larry Roberts, Charley Warren, Duane Taylor, Todd Robinson and Terry Hickey, John DeAguiar, Leo Jones, Scot Huber, Jon James, Rick Canham and Greg Sugg

While waiting for the meeting to begin there was some radio talk and talk of palm pilots. People ended up beaming each other right before the meeting started.

At 8:15 Albert brought the meeting to order.

First we got a report on a Regional meeting held on 2-12-2000. Regional Director, Scott Gasparian, a.k.a. Gaspo, called the meeting. All the officers of all the clubs in the region were invited. Sonoma Wings sent five representatives. There were about 15 people there. The purpose was to bring the region closer together. Gaspo would like to be more informed as to our wants and needs. There is also an effort to coordinate our event schedules to get more participation. Topics discussed included making it easier to become observers, Mt Tam needs volunteers to help with site administration and WOR is trying to organize the world's largest fly-in. That will probably take place September 16 &17 at Ed Levin. They are hoping to get around 500 pilots signed up! We talked about interclub comps. WOR would like to have one at Dunlap in July. The St John meet would be ours.

Now back to the Sonoma Wings meeting.

Justin Miller reported flying his paraglider at Dillon Beach. Leo and Jon went out there and talked with Mike Lawson. Mr. Lawson says that their insurance company says no hang gliding there. He stated that the Lawson's would love to have us back out there. Eric Beckman reported talking to their insurance agent about ten years ago and was told at the time that no amount of insurance would be enough. We believe the USHGA waiver has changed that situation. Leo and Jon will continue to work the issue. Eric informed us that the Nationals have been changed to Lakeview, Or. July 16 ~ 22. He will be asking G W Meadows about having a club competition within the Nationals. We think Sonoma Wings could win it.

Ernie and Justin went to Black Mt and have a good LZ picked out. There are launches facing west. Ernie is working on access.

Leo is working on access to Rincon Ridge.

Eric says we have BLM permission to fly Cow Mt, Red Mt on the maps. LZs are an issue. If you know of a good one let us know. He says there are acceptable LZs with compliant owners that are a long glide away. There was talk of a work party, in March, to clear brush around launches.

Finally we came to the much awaited radio portion of the meeting. Ernie gave us the low-down. The highlights include the following. Radios are a safety item, not a convenience. We could be 50 to 70 miles from our chase at the King Mt meet. Nickel-metal batteries are best. 12 volt gel cells can be had for about $80 from HAM shops or you can make a set-up for about $7. The cheaper one is bigger, heavier and requires you to do soldering. Ask Ernie about batteries.

Use a half-wave or 5/8 wave base-load antenna for ground communication. You can store it in a thin piece of PVC in your harness to keep it from getting broken. Use a J-pole antenna for your harness. It needs to be away from your body. A high-voltage wire can be used to make one. If it is the same length as the "hot-rod" antenna it can use the same base load. The PTT and headset are the root of most radio problems. If anyone has ever told you your radio sounds bad in any way work on it. Get it fixed. If possible program alternate frequencies before flight. Off, on, volume and squelch should be accessible in flight.

As Albert and Ernie checked radios with an SWR meter the meeting faded into the night.

January 2000 Meeting Minutes

While waiting for the meeting to begin there was much hang talk watching videos from the Christmas party and exchanging pictures.

Attending the meeting were Justin Miller, Roy Massan, Eric Beckman, Albert Branson, Donna Mathias, Ernie Camacho, Andy Long, Larry Roberts, Charley Warren, Duane Taylor, John DeAguiar, Leo Jones, Scot Huber, Gunter Lohrentz, Bob Storms, Jon James and Matt Jagelka.

Albert brought his first meeting, as president, to order at 8:03. The first item was to hear from two new pilots, Roy Massan and Justin Miller. They are both paraglider pilots and are looking for places to fly in the area. They are also interested in possibly learning to fly hang gliders. Justin also flys a paramotor. They learned to fly from Wally Anderson and report that he has lost his training site at Nicasio Reservoir.

This news led to a discussion on the status of Dillon Beach. Leo and Jon agreed to make a trip to Dillon to talk to the landowners. Eric reminded us that the property will eventually be included as part of the National Seashore, then we will have the same access we have to any national park. Our membership roster and insurance money are due to the USHGA. This year they are also asking for a copy of our bylaws. We are insuring four sites this year for $725.

Leo and Eric Beckman are the only observers in our club at this time. We talked about making it easier to get more observers and encouraging people to sing up to be observers. Eric will be going to the spring BOD meeting. Leo will be talking to the people from the Forrest Service, in charge of the St John ramp, to keep that ball rolling.

Pilots are reminded to sign up for the Coffee Can and Go-For-It competitions. See the web site for details of this year's rules. There have been some subtle changes.

There will be a class toward the end of February to get HAM radio licenses for those who don't have them. Contact Albert for details. Bring your radio gear to the February meeting. We will have a session to check the gear for efficiency and reliability.

The Santa Rosa Rose Parade planning is ongoing. So far the committee includes Charley, Albert, Larry and John Blacet. We could use just a couple more.

We discussed club trips. Several pilots are going to the King Mt meet, July 7~9. People are going to the Nats in Lakeview July 16~22. The Chelan trip will be the last week in July. The St John fly-in will be August 18~20.

We discussed getting a group together to buy an aerotug. We need 15 people willing to spend two thousand dollars each. There will be a meeting at Ernie's house on 1-20-2000 at 7:30pm.

Charley reserved the same meeting room again for the third Monday of every month for 2000. The next meeting will be 2-21-2000 at 7:00 at the Occidental Rd Round Table Pizza. CW

February 2000 Meeting Minutes

While waiting for the meeting to begin there was some radio talk and talk of palm pilots. People ended up beaming each other right before the meeting started.

At 8:15 Albert brought the meeting to order.

Topics discussed included making it easier to become observers, Mt Tam needs volunteers to help with site administration and WOR is trying to organize the world's largest fly-in. That will probably take place September 16 &17 at Ed Levin. They are hoping to get around 500 pilots signed up! We talked about interclub comps. WOR would like to have one at Dunlap in July. The St John meet would be ours.

Gaspo informed us that he and a couple other pilots have rented the building that was Airtime and that it is available for meetings and events. Gaspo is also interested in hearing positive suggestions regarding how to handle the situation with alleged dangerous pilots at Funston. We agreed to have more meetings like this. It was a very constructive three-plus hours. Now back to the Sonoma Wings meeting. Justin Miller reported flying his paraglider at Dillon Beach. Leo and Jon went out there and talked with Mike Lawson. Mr. Lawson says that their insurance company says no hang gliding there. He stated that the Lawson's would love to have us back out there. Eric Beckman reported talking to their insurance agent about ten years ago and was told at the time that no amount of insurance would be enough. We believe the USHGA waiver has changed that situation. Leo and Jon will continue to work the issue.

Eric informed us that the Nationals have been changed to Lakeview, Or. July 16 ~ 22. He will be asking G W Meadows about having a club competition within the Nationals. We think Sonoma Wings could win it. Ernie and Justin went to Black Mt and have a good LZ picked out. There are launches facing west. Ernie is working on access.

Leo is working on access to Rincon Ridge.

The PTT and headset are the root of most radio problems. If anyone has ever told you your radio sounds bad in any way work on it. Get it fixed. If possible program alternate frequencies before flight. Off, on, volume and squelch should be accessible in flight.

As Albert and Ernie checked radios with an SWR meter the meeting faded into the night.

The next meeting will be 3-20-2000.