By Jerry Rosie (USUA #A86096)

Hello again, Folks,

As I sit here typing this month's "Around the Patch", the TV is showing numbers of beautiful airplanes that were trashed by "Charlie". He has left our friends in Florida and is heading north up the coast toward more of our friends, and we can only hope that injuries and property damage are minimal. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all in the path of the first hurricane of the season.

Much more uplifting news comes to us from the Mountaineer Fun Flyers (Club #161 in Glen Morgan, WV). The author tells of spending some time with a RC pilot at a local airport, watching him fly his radio controlled airplane, when they were approached by a young lad who commented that he had a radio controlled car that he liked. One thing led to another and the RC pilot encouraged the young lad to try his hand at flying a basic RC airplane he had with him. The kid, blessed with the reflexes of youth, soon became quite good at controlling the airplane. When the young man's grandfather announced it came time to leave the airport, our friendly RC pilot gave the kid his airplane to continue to enjoy. As the author says, "You should have seen the shock on the little boy's face. It was pure pleasure for me to see this unfold.....I told xxxxx later that what he did was such a good thing. He said 'That young man will never forger that, and he may become interested in aviation in some form or another, and that is so much better than being out on the streets running around where trouble just waits for young people."

Aviators are good people!

And from the Black Mesa Flyers of Paulden Arizona we hear of an ultralight rescue. They wrote, "Several weeks ago a 14-year old girl with Downs Syndrome, who was missing for 10 hours, was found by searchers using ultralight aircraft. 'We basically flew low and slow over the trees until we saw her in a grassy swamp.', pilot Todd Ritchie said. 'When we saw her, she waved at us. We radioed the ground teams and circled until they got to her.'"

Aviators are valuable people!

Frank Dempsey of the Albuquerque Ultralight Association alerts us to a weather phenomenon with which some of us in the rest of the country are unfamiliar - Virga. If asked what a Virga was, I'd probably answer that it sounded like an Astrological Sign, but it is a term used to describe a weather phenomenon common in the southwest, where the rain falls from a cloud but doesn't hit the ground because of low humidity. Whenever rain falls, it cools the surrounding air which, in turn, falls and displaces the much warmer air below it. As you can imagine this can set up some horrendous down drafts that make flying an ultralight an 'adventure'. To quote from Frank's article, "At the last second, probably 5 feet from the ground, he recovered and came screaming skyward towards me. He apparently was using full power (80hp) all the way down, unable to climb out, and was able to pull out just before impact." Talk about getting the adrenalin flowing!

Before we leave the Albuquerque folks, they report that their friends Rudy and Sybelle Krebser have completed their yearly Quicksilver tour of the western U.S. and have returned to their home in Switzerland. Now that's adventuring!

Not to be outdone in the 'international relations' department, the North Coast Lite Flyers of Ohio introduce their new member, Pierrick Meron of Normandy, France. Pierrick apparently keeps in touch with his fellow club members by email and he reported on a weekend flight to Granville on the English Channel where he enjoyed lobster and a bottle of Bordeau. We wonder how many meetings Pierrick will make in Ohio. This group also promises a report next month on the third attempt at their flight to Kitty Hawk. Let's all hope that this time they were able to appease the weather gods and actually make the flight. The third time is the charm, after all....

To close out this month's ATP, I can report that the fifth annual Mercy Medical/Angel Flight Benefit Fly In at the newly named Franklin County Regional Airport was a success. Despite the fact that a number of the planned attractions could not make it, (the Christian Eagle was grounded with a bad mag, and the State Troopers who had volunteered to man the 'dunking booth' had to pull a double shift and were not available), the Millennium Flyers were able to donate $1,400 to Angle Flight. The officers of the Millennium Flyers asked that I publicly thank the USUA Headquarters Staff and Lew Clement, Chairman of the Board, for their presence and moral support for this worthwhile event.

One brief word about the new name of the Chambersburg Municipal Airport. As you may remember, the Chambersburg Borough Council announced, months ago, that they were planning to close the airport and sell it to the highest bidder. Due to the efforts of about a half dozen dedicated pilots at Chambersburg, this terrible prospect was averted, and the airport is now owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional Authority. It will not only continue as an airport, but will receive some much needed improvements. A few dedicated folks CAN make a difference and you CAN fight city hall.

Ya'all take care now...fly safe and check for TFRs during this political season...being shot down is guaranteed to spoil the rest of your day....

Cheers,
Jerry