Brokenstraw Soaring Club
Youngsville, PA 2007

Come join is for Labor day 2008............. or anytime!
Daily memberships available to glider pilots,
you must have your own glider but can buy tows at low club rates...
membership $10.00 a day
COME JOIN US RSVP PLEASE!

Christmas comes early!
How many 14 year old's get their first airplane before they can even get a learner's permit to drive a car!?!
On October 6th 2007 Matt Williams got an early Christmas surprise when his grandfather showed up unannounced with a Glasflugel Libelle.
Matt was up flying "his" beloved (Club K8) when club members assembled the Libelle next to the hangar.

In the background Matt is approaching with the K8 not knowing why everyone is standing around some glider.
When Matt landed he was scolded by his instructors for manipulating the K8 and that next year things were going to have to be different! "No one else had been given a chance to fly the K8 when Matt was around ..."

then he was ordered over to help move this glider out of the way so we could get things into the hangar and people who had to wait for him to land could go home.... not yet knowing it was "His Libelle" we needed to move.
Maybe feeling a bit embarrassed to get ordered around like this in front of everyone it was finally told that this was in fact HIS glider!

Starting to sink in.....this really is "MY GLIDER"!

The prank went pretty well and even after being told it was really his he was still in disbelief and thought that maybe telling him this was his was the prank after all...

Shown here Matt in the cockpit, his grandfather Pete Hall, "the gift giver" on the left and the instigator, one of Matt's instructors and one who arranged the purchase Tim Mara pointing out the finer features of the Libelle on the right.

Above, Matt tries the Libelle on for size as family and friends look on. Matt's X-love is in the background.
(the K8 may forever now be known as "Nikki II")

Tim Shows Matt how to put it away until next year.....this is going to be a long, long, long off-season! Now, rest assured that Matt will be doing everything right in the meantime....now that we all have this to hold over him!

BROKENSTRAW AIRPORT LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2007
 "SOARFEST"
37th Annual Fly-In / Drive-In Picnic
Saturday September 1, 2007—Noon until Sunset
Another GREAT Labor Day event is in the bag...
Once again we had a great turn-out with visitors from Aero Soaring, Cleveland
and the locals all filling the sky with excellent soaring enjoyed by all...
Thermal conditions were excellent on Saturday, good one Sunday and still soarable on Monday but then we were finally shut out late in the day as high cirrus clouds came to tell us it was time to go home.
Everyone there remarked at want an excellent site Brokenstraw is for sailplanes...fly as long as you like, enjoy the company and facilities and just relax with friends...just as it should be
Hope you too will join in next year!

getting assembled and ready

Pig Roast....no one wanders far away when this is almost ready!

SOARING!

DD (LS3) from the cockpit of HN (Pegasus) north of Brokenstraw near Chautauqua Lake

Warren Witford is the Aero Soaring K8 at 6500' cloud base from HN

Grob Twin II north of Brokenstraw on Sunday in weaker conditions still found 5600' as seen from the K7

Brokenstaw Soaring clubs K7 coming in to land after  a near perfect Labor day soaring adventure

2007

Give 'em and inch..... Matt Williams got to solo the K8 and now he thinks he owns it!

BUT WAIT! There's a challenge to who's the K8 king at Brokenstraw..
Just a week after solo in the K7 Austin Zeyfang took the K8 solo for the first time and now it's a
matter of who shows up first!

Austin Zeyfang joined BSC in 2007 and has since soloed with the CAP 233's, L23's and more recently soloed the K7 at Brokenstraw. Since the CAP doesn't encourage "soaring" as a sport Austin's logbook had only two out of nearly 60 flights with altitudes above release with the CAP he had in his dual first K7 flight at BSC an altitude gain of nearly 5000 feet! Since then he has completed his SSA "A, "B",  and on only his 3rd solo completed the "C" Badge requirements.

Matt's mom and all-around ground crew extraordinaire, Terri Williams
(as you can see, Terri has her eye on a new sailplane for Matt :o)

#2 on the ground crew and #1 cookie baker is Jennifer Williams

Pete Hall joined the club in 2007, Pete is tow pilot, Terri Williams father, Jenny and Matt's grandfather and financier for Matt's soaring. Pete also got his glider rating 20? years ago in 2-33's but never had a soaring flight until this one ended after 2+ hours some short X-C and 5000'+ altitude gains at BSC with Tim....
chances are, Pete will do more soaring now :o)


New also in 2007 a Centrair Pegasus was added in partnership to BSC

2006 THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Brokenstraw Soaring's newest solo pilot
Matt Williams

Congratulated by CFI-G Rick Hernan and is given his proper soaking by Club President Bill Holder.
Matt soloed on his 14th birthday,  November 10th, 2006.
Matt's Grandfather, Pete Hall, was the tow pilot through Matt's training, and did the honors for the solo flights.
Congratulations Matt!

NEWEST "PRIVATE GLIDER PILOT" AT BSC
Congratulations Cori!.......It's Official!
Pictured below Cori Capik accepting her  Private Pilot certificate from FAA Pilot Examiner Bob Bianco from the Rochester FSDO on August 10th, 2006 having successfully completed her FAA Private Pilot practical examination and flight test.

And with her FIRST PASSENGER as an FAA Certificated "PRIVATE PILOT"
Here Cori straps her Mom, Cherry in for a ride in the BSC K7

Cherry also is a "Private Pilot Airplane" having just recently also passed her FAA check ride
and wishing them many more....

Sunday July 30th 2006

It's getting pretty hard not to make Cori the main attraction,
(seriously folks there are other things going on at BSC!) But again on Sunday July 30th., Cori made another milestone with her first flight in a modern fiberglass sailplane, the Club Libelle.
(Cori is one of 4 partners in this glider)

Getting serious: July 9th Cori made her first flight of a single-seater in the Brokenstraw Soaring Club's K8

BOOMERANG
Changing hands twice in 2006
Boomerang Trophy - The Region 3 Boomerang Trophy is a "capture-the-flag" style of trophy. Starting at their home field, any soaring enthusiast who is a member of Soaring Region 3 can land at the gliderport of another club then in possession of the Boomerang, and that club must turn over the wooden trophy and its log book. In the logbook are the comments, notes and reminiscences of previous pilots' Boomerang exploits. The pilot now taking possession gains the right to place his Boomerang Trophy Story in the log book, and to hold onto the Trophy until another competitor comes to snatch it. The Trophy fosters cross-country soaring and friendly competition among clubs.

Early in 2006 one of our members, Rick Hernan made the flight to Dansville to re-claim the Boomerang
The Trophy stayed secure at Brokenstraw until August 13th when it was claimed by Niklay Silipov from Harris Hill Soaring Club.

Image above of Riz after returning home to Dansville (Finger Lakes Soaring) with the Boomerang trophy
The Region 3 Boomerang trophy has resided at Brokenstraw Soaring club for the last 2 years only making a short vacation at Mayville NY (Aero Soaring Club) for a few days before members from BSC once again flew in to claim it. Finally on July 23rd 2005 Jim Rizzo from Finger Lakes Soaring Club made the flight into Brokenstraw to claim the trophy....
Congratulations to RIZ! .... We'll be back for this very very soon!

Current Club & Members Sailplanes
Schleicher Ka7
(owned by BSC)


Schleicher K8
(owned by BSC)

Bill's Grob G-103 Twin II
often used by members of BSC

Dana's Ka6CR


Al's L-Spatz-55


Partnership owned, Club Libelle

Dan's LS3
(typical location)

John's Grob Astir CS

Rick's Grob Astir CS

Pegasus 101A in Partnership at BSC
(additional partner shares are available)

Tow Plane

Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee
2005 a year in review
PARTNERS!
A Club Libelle partnership was formed in August 2005 at Brokenstraw Soaring Club
 
The first partner to take flight was JJ Kush on August 28th.

NEW 2005 MEMBERS
Brokenstraw Soaring club is still in it's infancy, only it's 4th full year since inception, but alive, well and growing.

Cori Capik
1st. Solo JULY 16th 2005!

Sue Wonderling
 Sue Wonderling has taken up Soaring at BSC in 2005

John Carroll
from Pittsburgh, came to visit BSC last summer and vowed to return....July 2005 he did!
John is also a private  and is partner in the Club Libelle!

Phillip Bender
 is the youngest member at just 11
 

and Previous:
First flights take place at Brokenstraw Soaring Club

Pawnee 235
Club founding members gather with the first Club Ship....
Schleicher K7
The Airport

The local area

A river runs through it.........Brokenstraw Creek

Chautauqua Lake (NY) to the north taken from the Libelle

Allegheny River and Warren Pa to the east
More images
Bergfalke
Eagle!
Dana's K6
Labor Day weekend picnic and Soarfest 2005
Labor Day weekend 2002

Information on:
Brokenstraw Soaring Club, Rates and membership
HOW TO FIND US.......
http://www.airnav.com/airport/P15
FAA Identifier: P15, 1 mile E of PITTSFIELD, PA
Lat/Long: 
41-49-57.3690N / 079-21-41.5940W
41-49.956150N / 079-21.693233W
41.8326025 / -79.3615539
(estimated)
Elevation: 1230 ft. / 375 m (estimated)

Printable Local Driving map to the airport on this link


Official site of Brokenstraw Airport
 www.flybrokenstraw.com
 Brokenstraw Airport - Pittsfield, PA - (P15)

Current Brokenstraw weather available on:
http://www.wunderground.com/swf/Rapid_Fire.swf?units=both&station=KPAPITTS30