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Next Indoor Zoom Meeting - Feb, 16, 2021
​ ​Heard from LIFT member Phil Diamond today about his new
"E-flite Night Radian FT 2.0m with AS3X and SAFE Select"
Day at field and dusk at home.  Flies great….have gotten sucked up into thermals more than once so high that I got scared and had to escape.  Love the new SAFE and AS3X technology and the lights which I haven’t done a lot with yet but are really cool.
Thanks to Fred for helping me with lots of questions and to all of you for helping me so much over the years
​Wonder where the clubs winch battery is being kept over the winter?
​Think no more as it is inside and attached to a float charger to maximize life and keep it charged until spring.
Frank Pfeifer has his glider ready for another year.
This past summer Frank had a number of good flights with this glider, with a few glitch's along the way, but all looks good now.   It is a beautiful looking and great flying glider.
Here are  a couple photos of this same glider from last summer. ​
Look  at this group of old friends (below) who are seemingly starring at me and saying: "Save Me!"
​Like so much of the stuff we have accumulated over the years,  we keep hanging on to it because:   "You never
know, we may just need it in the future."  How much "stuff" do you have?  Never enough I bet !
Question: What do you get when you combine and "Old Timer" fuselage and tail feathers with a "Radian" wing?
Answer: One very good flying sailplane from Ted Lanhan.
​An Association of Northern Michigan Model Clubs?
This writer would like to have a discussion on the feasibility and  benefits of forming an association of model clubs in northern Michigan .  With a decrease in the number of people in our hobby, loss of flying fields,  decreasing membership and more, an association may be of benefit to all with out losing each clubs identity and ​autonomy.
Members of other clubs may consider to have a similar discussion followed by a meeting of representatives of all clubs to consider specifics.
​SLEEPING BEAR NATIONAL LAKE SHORE
SLOPE SOARING AND PERMIT INFORMATION
There are three areas within the park that allow radio controlled gliders:
(2) Pierce Stocking Drive, #9 look out
The Dune Climb can be flown, but only during the winter months.
These are for motorless gliders only.  Gliders with motors can not be flown even though the motor is not used.
If you have not been to these locations, Pyramid Point and Empire Bluffs is about a mile hike. Pierce Stocking is close to parking.  All three are heavily visited in the summer months. But Pierce Stocking and Pyramid Point has been flown in peak tourist season in July with no problems
A PERMIT IS REQUIRED. It costs $50.00, and 5 people, at any given time, can fly under that permit.
The Process To Get A Permit.
1. Send an email or call local ranger station requesting an application (contact info below) and fill out the form that I attached. I also included a filled out sample form. The form is really an application for a one time event. Some fields are not relevant.
2. Send in form with $50.
3. They send you a permit for your review. You sign and send back. They then send it back to you, signed.
Refer to the information in this document named NPS Sleeping Bear Dunes SUP.  This document includes rules and maps of the various locations.
As of 2016, the contact at Sleeping Bear National Lakes Shore is:
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
There are a few other sites outside of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore that people have flown in the past.
The most common is the Lake Michigan over look located in Alberta, MI . From the parking area, you look down on the mouth of the Betsy River to your right and miles of sandy dunes and beach to your left (south).  This area has great lift with winds out of the southwest.  Landings can be challenging in that most fliers land at the bottom of the dune after walking down the adjacent road to the beach area.  Many LSF Level V tasks have been completed here.
Another location worth investigating is Green Point .
Site of the 1978(?) National Comp, this is the best ridge site on Lake Michigan. The Green Point Flyers Association owns several prime acres south of Frankfort that includes camping (for a nominal fee to the GPFA), setup area for more gliders than you can bring, and stairs leading up to a wooden ramp that's 370 feet above the beach. The main ridge is 2 miles long and works in a generally west wind. Permission from the Green Point Flyers Association is required
Another possible location is Peterson Park near Northport, MI.
Peterson Park and Alberta overlook currently have no known specific restrictions and a power or bungee  assisted launch may be required to get up over the brush to the lift area.