Caesar Creek Soaring Club in Waynesville, OH hosted a cross country soaring camp for young and old during August 3-7, 2020. The purpose of the camp was to allow experienced soaring pilots to take a small group of gliders out on course to build cross country experience and confidence. Daily tasks were set with the goal of flying 2.5 hours and up to 150 miles.
This year four Junior pilots were sponsored by Caesar Creek Soaring Club and awarded Camp grants by the Soaring Society of America’s Youth/Junior Committee.
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The four recipients were:
- Michael Hayter
- Lucas Hoffman
- Kenny Kirk
- Viktor McElfresh
Michael Hayter
Thank you Soaring Society of America for awarding me the grant for the Cross Country Camp. I flew 8 times and I had multiple flights over one hour, all in the Schweizer SGS 2-33.
There are two flights I would like to write about, the first on the 7th of August. I flew from Caesar Creek Soaring Club to Warren County Airport, a round trip of about 17 nautical miles. The other flight was on the 8th of August. That day I flew for 2 hours and 40 minutes, I stayed local because the weather would not permit extended cross country flights in the 2-33, but I got to work on my thermalling skills.
The guest speakers were excellent and I learned a lot about cross country flying from them. I want to thank Caesar Creek Soaring Club and Chuck Lohre for organizing the 2020 Cross Country Camp, and thank you to Jim Goebel for flying with me this week.
Sincerely
Michael Hayter
Lucas Hoffman
Kenny Kirk
Viktor McElfresh
I would like to thank the Soaring Society of America for the grant which allowed me to experience amazing days of flying. These days played an enormous role in my progress to solo.
Each morning we’d have a briefing on the weather, cross country soaring, and other various topics. I am thankful for all the knowledge I gathered during the camp week.
I enjoyed learning a lot flying the 2-33 from both sides of the runway, landing and taking off in cross winds, and staying aloft on my second solo for over 2 hours.
These experiences would not be possible without the generous help from Chuck Lohre who organized this great week and all my excellent flight instructors over the years including Sami Rintala, Bob Anderson, and most importantly Rich Carraway, whom I give so much appreciation for introducing me to the excellent sport of flying to staying with me over the years and helping me achieve my solo in the 2-33.
This week was also made special by the following SSA members: Lizz Suda for support (and Subway sandwiches), Crew Chief Lucy Anne McKosky for all of her hard work getting me 9 flights in a single day, and Michael Hayter for exceptional efforts he put in helping everyone around him.
Finally, I would like to mention to the SSA the wonderful work CCSC does each summer during their Youth Education Week. Steve McManus and Paul McClaskey, especially, generously give so much of their time, and without them I would not have begun in this sport.
So again, to the people of the SSA, thank you for helping us excel through these magnificent experiences you brought upon us.
Sincerely,
Viktor McElfresh
