Dear Gaye and Steve, You guys are great. Gaye, you do a fantastic job of keeping Austin Air Sports functioning smoothly. There are a ton of "little" things that have to happen efficiently for an operation like yours to thrive. Steve, I really appreciate the extra time you gave me over and above the instruction for the aero tow certification. I've been searching for the kind of information that you shared since completing my Hang 2. And, Steve, I woke up this morning thinking about the "imbalance" of the 195 that I reported to you as we were taking her down. While looking at your entries in my log this morning I realized that the winds were SE and I only noticed this "problem" when flying S. I think now that the winds were strong enough to require a bit of "crabbing" and that is what I was feeling. You guys are a great team and fun to work with. I won't hesitate to tell others about you and look forward to my next opportunity to fly with you. Sincerely, George

Hi Steve&Gay We had a great time and we apprecate your vacation delay,My personal goal was to fly a 100 miles,On Aug, 21 I flew from Hearne to Berleson a 117 miles it was an awsome flight for me with 6750 Alt. an 1200 FPM. thermals 4.5 hours.I must say the Texas air cooks and i will be back next year with my new laminar to fly 200 plus.Thanks again Ben.

Steve & Gay, Gina and I want to say thank you very much for a wonderful experience during the Nationals. People all too often use "Premier" as the superlative to describe an outstanding event. I truly believe you folks staged the PREMIER US Hang gliding Nationals!! It is amazing to me having learned to fly in the mountains of Colorado and currently flying the mtns. of San Diego, that the future of hang gliding is in the flatlands. It was fascinating to watch the contest and all the minutia associated with it, from a competitor point of view while playing the driver/support role. Everything from our point of view was fantastic. We enjoyed the meals, the tasks, and especially the friends we made while there. Thank you for allowing me to wind dummy for you. What an experience watching the bee hive of activity from the air. Thank you for allowing us to play. Gina has put together a photo album of some of the events. It focuses mostly on the San Diego crew but has some great shots of the awards ceremony and the people that made all of this possible. I want to reserve my place for next years contest now!! I hope to be flying a Swift next year following in my hero, Robin Hamilton's, footsteps. I figure if I ask now it will help keep some of the other Class 2 riff raff out. Again, thanks for a perfect contest and experience. The hang gliding community really, really, appreciates what you have accomplished. Sincerely, David & Gina Seaberg

Gaye and Steve, We all got home safely including Rhett who was the first one back other than those of us who flew back. It was another really great meet. We really enjoyed ourselves. I enjoyed working the flexwing launch line and then going to goal everyday. I got to see them leave and return. Of course the ride with John in the Bonanza was an added bonus. The first day, he actually let me fly en route to goal and back. Awesome! You guys have some really great resources between family and friends. Hope you are going to do it again next year. Barbara Flynn

Steve, Gaye & All, Want to reiterate what a great time and great flying I had in Hearne. I appreciate the combination of comfortable, down-home style and professionally run meet. Best wishes to you, James Lamb

Hi Steve, First I want to say I had a great time down there even if I did get sick the last three days I was there. Allergies, moisture, and heat made a bad combination for me. I didn't mind too much because the week and a half of flying I did get in was outstanding. I have a whole new perspective on Texas and Texans. This summer is the first time I have got to spend some time down there and now I am really looking forward to a return trip. Thanks, Don Sebastian

Steve and Gay: We're all home and safe, what a long drive. Just wanted to say once again thanks for a really great time. Also (Buddy) AkA "TEX" really likes his new home, this moring I put him outside to use the rest room and it was too cool for him here, but he'll get use to it, it's just a little foggie this moring. Thanks again: Reggie & Vicki & Tex

Gay and Steve, It was hot . It was high pressure. You worked your tails off. We had a good time. Just a note to say THANKS for all you did to get Roger and me into the Air this weekend. Sincerely Mark Stump

The clouds were streeting when I woke up at 10:00. I thought for sure as I hurried to the airport that the crew would be gone when I got there at 12:30. The cloulds were not as good past Rockdale and the wind was blowing hard. I set up and Steve towed me after the FL crew. 1300 was not enough and I landed back after 20 min. of strugle at 1000 to 1300. Steve had just enough gas to get me up to 2000 over Hearne (thanks Steve). I found cloud base at 4500 and the race was on. With the wind showing 15 to 25, I was moving fast under the clouds. Prior was way west and sounding like he was always about to land all the time. Tiki was east of Marlin and going strong. I wanted to fly long and far so I headed Tiki's way. 20 min. later I see a glider on the ground. My radio had come unplugged and I did not hear who landed. I plugged it in and was shocked that it was Tiki. I asked if I should land with her, the chase said yes. I complained about the lack of a shade tree. I asked were Prior was. He was on the west side of Lake Waco. The clouds were geat and I was high over 5000. I told the chase that I was going to fly around Waco and meet up with Prior. With Prior's suport (after all it was his van) thats what I did. Around the noth side of Waco and then strait West I went. We flew up the west side of lake Whitney. Prior was a litle ahead and landed at 104 miles, but behind a locked gate. I picked a spot on 174 to land with two flags and a shade tree. Just for M.D. I picked a spot that was 100 miles from Hearne. I circled at 3000 for a while and hit lift again at 1300. Landing at just before 7:00. I knew as I was flying that the day was special. It was no suprise when I heard about the new world records. That's the way I remember it. CZ

I'm still so tired from the drive back from near Oklahoma Sunday night, that my memory of the weekend has been somewhat dulled. As I get older, I'm not sure what is getting harder, the long XC flight out or the even longer chase when I go after someone else. Saturday looked ok as we set up and I got in into the air between 11:00-12:00. Had a great tow behind the trike and I was off to the races. Everyone knows the goal to the Ok border in now high on the list esp with the big guns coming from out of state. We want a Texan to the border first. Even though I thought the odds of me making it very far Saturday were pretty poor, I headed north to do my best and to get some much needed airtime. A goal to the Corsicana Airport was mentioned-about 83 miles. The 10mph winds would soon have anyone away from the airport and I wanted more than a one thermal flight. So with little concern given to chase, I headed out. The clouds slowly moved north with me and I was always on the edge of the development. A huge expanse of blue to the north and beautiful cumies to the south and south-east. Grrrrr. The first 30 miles (1.5 hours) found me never getting above 3000 agl. I'd slowly climb to 3000 and then glide to about 1500 before hitting light lift again. Some of the clouds I'd dash to would evaporate as I'd arrive under them. As I would cruise downwind, I'd keep my eyes in constant search mode up, out, and down looking for signs of lift. Many times by watching the cloud shadow downwind getting bigger, I could tell which one to dash too. The grass-hoppers that I'd seen in EVERY thermal on the 4th were nowhere to be seen on this flight. Buzzards and swifts helped me a number of times. I worked a lot of broken 100fpm thermals. The highlight of the flight were two low saves-one at 300'agl and the other about 400'agl. On the first I had dove to a cloud only to have it go away. I crossed over a larger area of trees to some large, rectangle shaped dark fields and headed for the middle of them. They ran down the wind-line from south to north and I thought I could reach the downwind end where a lot of times a thermal will lift off. The sink was 500fpm and my harness was unzipped as I prepared to whip back into the 10mph breeze knowing for sure I was about to land. I had 36 seconds to find something. A buzzard magically appeared below me; I think he had been sitting in the field. And the important thing was that he was not flapping so I knew there had to be lift. Man, did I want to get up. The heat was unbelievable and I wasn't ready to land yet. When you're low, motivation to get back up is half the battle. There it was-real light, but enough to stop my plummet. What a feeling! To get back up from so low is always an amazing thing to me. I knew I could make a turn and bale out to the south if need be. For the rest of the length of the field, about 1/2 mile, the thermal held me at a constant altitude as I banked sharply to stay cored. However, when the buzzard and I reached the end of the field, the therm turned on. I was soon at 4000 agl back in the cool. I rewarded myself with a fresh piece of gum, some chap-stick and a drink while sitting up in my harness. Never forget that if you're high enough to make a turn, you're still high enough to get back up. I know this to be a fact as I've thermaled up from below 100agl on about 6 different occasions. The blue/cloud line was always with me and the SE winds had me crabbing east the entire flight to stay on the roads running north. Otherwise the SE winds will blow you into DFW and the flight will have to be terminated early. Mexia holds a special place in my heart. Its about 50 miles out and I lived there when I first moved to Texas about 17 years ago. I was again low and south of the airport and I wanted to make the overflight again for the 6th. time. I was again unzipped at about 400' and had a field picked out, but made a dash to the corner of a freshly mowed hay-field where a red-tailed hawk was hovering into the wind. 0 sink rewarded me and I drifted with it about a mile down the highway and over the Mexia airport. Heat off the tarmac did the trick and soon the hawk and I were climbing again. The SE cross had kept me on the west side of the road until this point, but I was again on the west side as I headed towards Wortham. I needed to get on the east side to approach the Corsicana airport, but the drift was too much. The clouds were behind me at this point and with nothing to help me spot lift, I was soon over IH-45 cruising over the median at about 55mph groundspeed. I had the airport spotted, but needed one more thermal to get there. Had I kept going in that direction I may have landed 1/2 mile short. As it was, I had a pretty good field next to the Inter-State and landed 4.5 hours after launch about 81 miles out. A call to Gaye at AAS got the ball rolling on my pickup and she soon had Kent Robinson and a friend who was headed out to Dallas bringing Chris Z's truck with them for me. I entertained myself for 4 hours throwing grasshoppers into spider webbs. I got home about 11:00 beat, but happy. THANKS STEVE, GAYE, KENT, RR, CHRIS & EVERYONE FOR THE HELP!!! Sunday...My new personal worst out of Hearne 20 minutes after CZ headed out. I went 8.73 miles never getting above 2700. It's CZ'z turn to tell us how he did it. I got back to the field, got his truck and headed north. I made it to bed about 2 am. Great flight CZ--the bar ha been raised again. Mike Degtoff

no record, but I had a blast tooling around the airport and vicinity for 3.5 hrs on Sunday... If I had actually gone in one general direction for that amount of time, I would probably have gone 100 mi...Pete Hammer

Everyone who came to Hearne yesterday were treated to light south winds and day-long soaring conditions. I launched early and flew around the airport for 2 hours until Chris Z launched. RR was jetting around in his Mill and enjoyed 2.5 hours of Texas lift. Taulman cruised around for quite a while and went about 25 miles north. Cloudbase was low and the best I saw later in the flight was 4300 agl. Chris was in triangle mode and talked me into going with him to try the 49.1 mile flight to Franklin, Bremond and then back to Hearne. We arrived at Franklin at the same time, but Chris was higher and was able to cruise over a patch of woods that had me blocked to the north. While he foraged ahead I worked the sink down to 800'agl before some lift off a freashly mowed hay field broke loose and got me going again. While the farmers hate the plauge of grasshoppers that have arrived in vast numbers, I kept my eyes open for them being swept up in the thermals. It's grasshoppers, not farmers being swept up-we did see 500fpm on the averager. Every thermal had hoppers flying about. I don't understand why they're up there. The lift did not seem strong enough to pick them up like dust-devils picking up trash. I think they were looking for cooler temps or maybe thats how they travel a bit further to new foraging grounds. The purple martins were also out in force eating bugs. One martin swooped right in front of me nearly hitting me in the face. CZ got low at Bremond and I was able to catch him as we turned to Hearne and into a light head-wind. A huge blue hole waited for us and the lift was more scattered. I plowed ahead to the power plant and the gravel pit. When you're 2000' agl ove that pit, it gets HUGE. A nice cumie was over it, but I missed the lift. CZ by now had headed a little more west towards the main road and landed about 13 miles out from Hearne. I drifted his way, worked a few little teasers that didn't pan out and landed in his field too. RR came and got us, THANK YOU SIR!, and we headed back to AAS for some cheeseburgers, chicken, beans, beer and tall tales. The season is ramping up and pilots are scheduled to begin arriving early next week. Winds today will be south 10-15. Williams and Zimmerman will be out chasing lift today. This weekend is shaping up to be good weather. Mike

Thanks for including me in the results. It was a great day considering the sparse lift. I saw 4600 once and then lesser altitudes in subsequent thermals, working every ounce of lift under any little cloud before venturing out into the vast blue ahead. Got 2 1/2 hrs and 22.5 miles down to the Little Brazos river crossing of 6 in a zig-zag fashion going to any wispy more or less downwind. Very nice dinner, too, with thanks to Gaye and Steve. Hope to see you this weekend for some more fun. Jim Taulman

When Chico, my family and I arrived at Hearne around noon, the rain was just stopping. Steve got the trike ready and gave me an excellent tow. I Launched at 3:30 with a sixty mile goal in mind - home. Pulling off at about 1200ft. in 2-300 I slowly climbed to base of about 3800. The lift was plentiful but not strong, between 100 to 300. Losing only about 4-500 feet between climbs, it was easy to stay above 3000. The problem was over development to the north and west. To the south was clear blue and I was heading north east. It was strange to see lower clouds mixed in with the higher ones. I went for the higher one of course. As I approched Rockdale at 25 miles out after 90 minutes of pure fun, I knew it was over. Base was now 2700. Darkness and rain were just ahead. The only sun hitting the ground was south and no more Qs. I found a good feild for a no wind with drog landing. That new drog is nice. I can't wait to fly again. It is just starting to get good here in Texas. CZ

Burt Bazan is once again hosting his psycho flyin. Last year we had a bunch of texas pilots come down and everyone had a blast. Here is the info on this years event which will take place the weekend after alamagordo - The PSYCHO SOARING fly -in will be JUNE 8 to 10 .Entry fee is 25$ and twelve pack of beer!! IMPORTS NO DOMESTICS!! Longest x-c flight,Bomb drop,Spot landing,And the ever so famous GOLDEN HAMMER.Trophies and barbeque.Also we have plenty of x-c drivers available.If it"s your first x-c flight great!! There are lz's as far as the eye can see. CALL BURT (505) 421-3343 CELL (505) 660-8295 OR LEONARD (505) 438-0161

Saturday (3/31) WAS SO GOOD!! I'm glad the weathermen were wrong. The front they said would blow in from the NW sometime in the afternoon never arrived as forecasted. The day was warm with two cloud layers earlier turning to soft, puffy cumies hovering around 3000 agl by mid afternoon. Light west winds swung a little more north and was just enough to help slow down landings. John yanked me up first and I released a little too early in what I thought was good lift. It evaded me and it wasn't until I was around 350' agl that I blundered into some light air coming off the hangers. I gained about 100' and was blown east over the old barn with the red roof. Sometimes that barn is an excellent trigger. Not today! I headed back to the hangers and repeated the process several times never gaining more than 100' before ending the flight with a nice runout landing. Chris Z took one and landed and several others launched with the light west cross not affecting operations. My second launch was into much better conditions and everyone began to stay up. It was wonderful to see at least 6 gliders soaring over the airport. Body was feeling out his new Sensor. Jim was making little explorations to the north and back. Cummings was feeling good under the low cloudbase. Dave had a couple and a new pilot from La. was in town. CZ and I kept plowing north about half way to Calvert and then back as we were never getting much higher than 3400 agl. John got to cruise a while in the Fusion, so everyone appeared to soar. I did have a pleasant encounter with a huge raptor! It looked too large to be a hawk and it's color pattern was not of a type I knew. Looking in a bird book this morn makes me more confident it was a migrating immature Bald Eagle. He circled under me for a least six turns before I scared him off a little ways. He then rejoined me, made a 10' pass right over me with CZ in the background maybe 100'-200' higher. What a sight!! I had a disposable camera, but missed "The Shot". I was happy to shoot all 27 frames without dropping the camera of HG pilots with big grins. It was hard to get my cold fingers to work the way I wanted. Forgetting to put some gloves on was a small price to pay for the 3-hour flight. The pics should be ready this afternoon and I'll post them as an addition to this tale. Here we go. It should only get better from here out! Bring a TEN dollar bill and sign up for the new XC contest. The 2001 TX XC Contest will soon be under way. I'm thinking the contest dates will be 1 May -- 31 Oct. this year. Aeros Mike

Foot & mouth disease here in the U.K. has stopped all flying for several weeks & shows no sign of going away, neither does the rain !. (wish I lived somewhere that gets a bit of sun !!!)

Gaye and Steve, Thank you for all your efforts getting me into the new UltraSport. That tow to 3000 gave me some time to get a feel for it and build confidence for better conditions to come. I made it home fine, set the glider up again today. Looks real good. Hope to see you soon, Sam

YES INDEED!!! What a great day Sunday was. It was the best soaring day 2001 has treated us to s far. It was wonderful to see half-dozen pilots above the airport. CZ snuck off for the season's first XC jaunt--out to Calvert and back. B-1 Bomb again demonstrated his "multiple aircraft" talents by making RR's Mill look like it had an engine as he slowed her down and worked the light stuff. I took my camera along and after Steve dumped me in a therm at 900', I posed with a bottle of Surge, then a can of Mountain Dew, some peanut M&M's, and some Ice Breakers Gum. I'm hoping to land a sponsor. Fun, Fun, FUN!!! A bunch of tandems, the trike blasting around, the tug a-tugging--it was a beautiful day in the sun. Dallas looping and whooping was a treat to all. Nice stuff dude! A few of us even managed to work on the tans as I noticed some sun burn action. We all need to get the hats and sunblock out. Only 22 days till the first day of Spring. Lets get those chutes repacked, gliders inspected and tuned, and glider racks padded. XC season is about to blast off. We hope to run The TX XC Contest 2001 and it will begin 1 Mar. More info to come. Sometime soon, we'll get together in Hearne for the results of the 2000 Contest. Aeros Mike

Though I didn't soar for an hour (heck I didn't soar for 5 minutes!) I did reach an altitude of 3,000ft (ok so it was all on tow! what of it?) and would have beat John back to the ground except I decided to pull up around 800 ft :-) The wonderful warm evening air was smoother than I could have asked for, and it was nice to realize just how comfortable a harness can be without all that cold weather thermal underwear and such :-) I also had a theory about spins that I was able to test out, and also learned that all loop and no rollovers makes Dallas a bad rollover pilot. Note to self: work on rollovers. 5 hours round trip drive -- cost $30 5 minutes of airtime (maybe 15 counting the tow) to 3k -- cost $20 2 hours of adrenaline coursing though my veins -- priceless. There are somethings in this world money can indeed buy... everything else is hang gliding. -Dallas

Dallas doesn't make his aero demo sound like much but it was really spectacular. The spins, multiple loops, roll overs were all smooth and beautiful. It looks so easy when it's done right. I had a good time on the Falcon 195, thanks Steve and Gaye. It is really a nice thermalling wing. The old Ball said that we popped over 4 grand a couple of times by about 50 feet. Thermals from 200-500 fpm and smooth. The top of the inversion wasn't even the bouncy ride it often is. I've got to start learning the roads around Hearne. Jean's ready and it's going to be XC time before long. Jim Taulman

Flew both days (2/3-4/01) at Hearne. Saturday was very good, I flew for 1.5 hr., up to 2800ft with light winds and 2-300 ft/min climbs, staying within 2.5 miles of the airport. RR flew his rigid wing. Curtis topped out over 3000ft agl. Everyone was thermalling. Sunday was blowing harder but with stronger lift, up to 600 ft/min. which allowed climbs to 3500ft. Flight times around 30 min. were common. Good turnout both days. Also there were 4 tandems each day and trike instruction. Thanks to John "the bomb" for the tows and careful piloting as I towed off the shoulders for the first time. Wow! See yall next weekend. Chris Zimmerman

Thanks Gay and Steve. It was first of the season flying for several of us yesterday and conditions were just right. Warming up nicely with a slight north breeze. That is just what I needed to get a couple more aerotows under my belt. Curtis seemed satisfied with 45min. and Chris had 1 1/2hr, impressive for a non-thermal flatland day. You can bet the conditions will be prime for LS Nats. in August. Also, Brett got a quality intro. to the sport of HG. Chris did a superb job with the tandom instruction and John K. in the tug. Thanks again, see you soon.

For those of you that haven't read Weekend Update for the weekend of Nov. 25-26 on Burnzie's Corner, John Heiney and I went down to Hearne Saturday night (11/25) for fun in the sky on Sunday (11/26). We couldn't have asked for better air. I took 3 tows that day and John did 2 (one on my glider and one on his own with a camera mount). There seems to be some contention on how many loops I did during the day. I claim to have done 3 consecutive loops the first tow, 3 the second (on both flights I spun then did a rollover before looping), then 5 consecutive loops on the last tow (no rollovers, heh). Seemed that each one was getting better and smoother than the one prior to it. Keeping plenty of speed over the top and generally just having one heck of a good time. My arms were still a bit sore yesterday, heh. The contention seems to be that on the video that was taken, I did 4 loops on the first flight (I thought I only did 3 and a couple rollovers). John, Gaynelle and Steve studied the tape and came to that conclusion. I know this wasn't a story of an epic XC flight or anything but I figure it's still flight (or as a friend of mine calls it "semi-controlled-very-rapid-falling") in a hang glider, and it is fun. Dallas

Hey, you all missed some nice cold weather flying on Monday. Bill Heaner took the first tow with video camera mounted and was having trouble spinning but his loops were nice. Doh!, dead battery so no footage. I towed up next and the air was a bit too textured to attempt another loop so I hit a couple spins and some nice roll-overs. Landed, grabed my vario and Steve took me up to the birds. Released at 2300ft in the middle of some up air. Never leaving the airport and never got above 3300ft, but I was able to stay up for a full hour (whoa! I *can* soar) with the sky completly to myself (Gay, Steve, John, and Bill went to lunch! though they did remember me and brought me back a burger) and even got to mark a nice thermal for the birds who all immediately came over to join me although they were wimps about the cold and stayed low. Later in the evening, my arms were almost numb (8 flights in two days for a whopping (not...) 2 hours of airtime) so Bill took another couple tows and got some amazing footage of spins and loops with the setting sun lighting up his glider like stained glass. I'll try another loop this weekend! Dallas

Thanks for organizing and hosting this seminar. Watching John Heiney and Bill Heaner's extreme videos was a good primer for Sunday flying. The flying was incredible, but so was the hospitality. The accommodations, lasagne, enchiladas, loaned equipment, instruction, advise and patience as well as assistance from other pilots is much appreciated. Looking forward to more of this sort of learning format in the future. Man are my arms sore. Giving Thanks! Larry

Thank you for the wonderful weekend. I very much enjoyed the hospitality and instruction. Good food, good friends and a great flying day all combined for a memorable time by all. John Russell P.S. Ninety degree wangs are a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!

I m want hang gliding to buy thanks

Sunday Hearne was EPIC!!!! The tows were tough but once you climbed past 2K the lift got big, fat, and smooth. I climbed above 10K at will and maxed out to base at 11K with 1000 fpm. I found some sink down to 6K to warm up then hung around to watch the other guys climb out from the airport. My heart wasn't in it anymore so while watching the others, I flew straight back and forth from the airport to the river. Some of the time with my head resting on the base tube and my eyes closed! Doing this for the next hour I climbed back up to 8500', FLYING STRAIGHT!!!! I know this sounds like a joke but it's for real, from 4:00 to 5:00 today I flew straight to climb and circled to descend. Too easy. Go figure? I wonder how long these killer skies will last? BTW, Chris Z. and I cranked out a couple of ~25 mph average triangle times Saturday. MW

Steve and Gaye, You two rock! You're a flying dream come true. Thanks so much for the "sky-tribe" style hospitality. Keep up the good vibrations. I found a new home in Hearne, TX. Future home of many new world records. I'll be back. Love and Peace, David Prentice PS Thanks Neal...be free!

For Kenny Brown Hi mr Ken in 1992 i went at Salinas for couple of wekks tolearn about PacAir glider. I bought a Formula and still fly this one. If possible tell me what's going on with all these people who work with you at thi time. Better luck for your next competion Jean-Pierre Larouche Rimouski

Hey Steve and Gaye, I just want to write a quick note to thank you for the excellent week I had with you guys. All the pilots really appreciated all the effort and hard work you guys put into this meet. It was truly an awesome and very memorable event. I've already talked to three competition committee chair people and discussed my excitement for a great 2001 Lone Star National Championships. They all seemed very eager!! Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon. Take good care, Jerz

Yes, it was an incredible week. It all came together with the help from a lot of very generous people. RR did a fantastic job as the main safety dude and rain a smooth launch operation. I think a couple of scraped knees and Lionel's possible arm muscle strain were the only injuries. Thank you Steve and Gaye for the support and for providing us pilots a place to get together to enjoy our aerial adventures. Thank you everyone who helped me get airtime, chased, threw water my way, and cheerleaded. The names are many...........You know who you are................. I can hardly get started this morning, but it was wonderful to see everyone in Hearne in such amazing air. I've not totaled my air-time yet, but I think it's over 22 hours for the week. Flying with the "big dogs" has taught me I've still got tons to learn. Those pilots are simply "The Best!" in my eyes. And the SHRIMP was wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!! Till next time

Steve & Gaye, Fantastic job on running a smooth, safe, record breaking, kick-ass time at the LSC. I rubbed shoulders with amazing pilots, and I added to a pretty damn fine tan. Thanks for letting me be a part of it all. I truly look forward to next year, and perhaps it'll be one week earlier so that I can enter. Ben Easton

It is really cool watching RR and the Mil fly. Its performance paid off this Saturday. While I was struggling not to leave the air port in my Ram, RR just boated to where he wanted to go. Also that moderately turbulent air left me with sore triceps after only an hour. I hope RR's wrist did not get tired working the stick. As always thanks goes to John for tugging me around. That was me roughest air to tow in so far. Until next time out, Curtis

It was pretty quiet at AAS today, after the organized chaos of the LSC. Especially with much of the team in Houston this weekend. So, John was running the show. Anyway, I wanted to report two new personal bests for today. Just before launch John said "There's a big thermal right off the end of the runway" - so that's where he took me. I released at 2000ft and it took me to 4826ft (got to be precise here!). In all I stayed up in the Falcon for one and a half hours, so that's my highest and longest flight so far - and both on my birthday. Also got to see RRs Mill in action for the first time. This is the place to be y'all! And thanks to John AGAIN - he really takes care of his pilots on tow (RR described the day as "moderately turbulent"). John hung around, circling in the Dragonfly to be sure I wasn't going to wander off from that big thermal (which has been known to happen...when the third person says "Mick, do you have a vario?" after a sled run you get the feeling they're trying to tell you something).

Well, my umbilical cord grew today to an amazing mile or so. Still too much of a baby to stray too far from mother AAS. The Target wanted to keep going... with the wind and thermal (Lord knows it doesn't like a headwind of 25mph). Oh well I hope to gradually wean myself of the happy and large AAS LZ. I know I can in time especially with the great advice and help I've received from some great pilots. Thanks RR, Chris Z, Bruce, Mike D, and John Dragonfly. See ya'll soon - SKI. 4700ft, 75 minutes. Does anyone have a radio for sale? HA

Just a note to say thanks for the weekend of fun and flying. I met a lot of great people and made some new friends. Perfect I would say. Did not get to say bye, so I will say see you real soon. The aero-tows were awesome and forever in my memory....Chuck Germany

Another great day at Hearne. I think everyone flew and most soared on Monday. Gaye was the only one who did not take to the air, but she had a 100 mile smile. Thanks again everyone! Perhaps the XC season is just around the corner and we too can add a 200 miler to the list. Our 6.5 miler yesterday felt like 50--if you go for it, the miles will come!! Yesterday marked five years ago that I had my crash in NM. The date serves as a reminder to me that every day spent with friends is a great day indeed. The light thermals were filled with many buddies over Hearne yesterday. It was great to fly with everyone. Aeros Mike

THE FLYING SEASON HAS TAKEN OFF!! John and Gaye brought a lot of smiles to the pilots who arrived at Hearne to fly Sunday. We did not know what to expect with very wet fields surrounding the airport form the heavy rains on Saturday. By two or so, the pilots were lining up on the freshly mowed taxi and John started yanking. I think everyone who launched got to soar and most pilots only needed one tow. Many got to cool off at cloudbase just over 4000 agl and at one time there about 8 gliders in the air over the airport. Reed air-hogged for over three hours and had one of the biggest smiles around. Robin Hamilton jumped on his new diver and did an out-and-back; I think he may have gone to Franklin. Let's dust off the xc bags and get after it. Florida is kicking our butts! Davis just set a new east-coast record of 212 miles. We need to fly to Ok from Hearne to bust 200 ourselves. Rumor has it, AAS has a potential tug pilot on the way here this week. There should be a lot of activities/flying this next three-day week-end that Steve might be posting about soon. Thank you John for the tows. Gaye, we appreciate the mowing! Aeros Mike

I wanna second Mike's thatnks to John and Gaye. Even the inexperienced "pups" (myself and Buck) got to thrash around in a thermal or two for a short while. I don't know how other tug pilots compare with John, since he's the only one I've towed behind so far, but I do know that I have a lot of confidence knowing that he's watching me in that mirror and has the skill and experience to compensate for some of my shortcomings on tow. Any novices who haven't had the pleasure yet - get out there. They'll take good care of you! Mick

Hearne was ON Sunday! Where was everyone? Winds were very light as were the therms. I think everyone who flew got in some kind of extended soaring. My two flights netted me a little over two hours and resulted in some big grins. It was great to see Bomber John beaming up and I got to share some air with Martin who was down from Ft. Worth. Martin was THE MAN with bare arms and no gloves as he cored up into the cold air. Best gain was to 3400 agl-a bit higher than we have been getting, so it seems to be getting better. What a beautiful day as we begin to close out the "winter" flying season. The first day of spring is next week--perhaps the first 2000 XC flight will soon launch. Let's go get em!!

Fellow feathered wannabes, I enjoyed a three day trip to Austin Air Sports. Steve and Guaye's,(guessing on that spelling but she's a sweetheart) great hospitality is equally matched with their super towing and training capabilities. I could be bribed very cheaply to make an extended return trip. They have a great set up with excellent xc potential. I don't know how you could ever get a better tow than John "the Bomb" Krueger, a military jet bomber instructor, will give you. The only thing is that you have to address him as sir and salute him at least twice a day. If you can make it down there you should check them out. Warren

Hi Stevo, Just got finished reviewing the Pro SHop page. I especially liked the fact that you also listed the used equipment. Most pilots will enjoy this I am sure. Keep up the good work on the web page. By the way, I am glad to be back in business flying the tow plane. I really missed it when I was out with my back Later Joey

Hey all, Just wanted to give my .02 about my trip last weekend to Austin Air Sports. I was in Houston on some business and thought i would try to get a little airtime. I got in touch with one of their local pilots (Michael Williams) and he had plans to fly Saturday and said i was more than welcome to go. To say the least.... what a great place. It's located in Hearne, TX at an airport that apparently was an alternative landing strip for bombers from some base close by. It has a 7300' runway and open area as far as i could see. It's run by a guy named Steve Burns and his wife Gay. Its about an 11/2 hours north of Houston. The airport is open but gets very little traffic, we were there all day Saturday and not ONE plane landed or took off. I was most impressed with Steve and Gays' willingness to make make me feel welcome. It is very apparent that they are committed to making their operation a success. We spent the better part of Saturday aerotowing,aerotowing and aerotowing. They have 2 Dragonflys and a trike with gliders to rent. I ended up with 7 aerotows (conditions were not that great) and he had 2 new students making their first solo aerotows on a new falcon. There were also several local pilots just doing some sled runs. Steve is an excellent instructor and has tremendous patience with new students. The best part of the day was a tow to 3100' through a giant hole in the cloud base. The day was rather chilly but once we passed the clouds it warmed up the sun was shining and what a great sight it was. That was my first time above the clouds, Steve knew that and stayed up in the Dragonfly until I came back down under the cloudbase, which lowered my blood pressure a little. After we finished putting our gliders away (in the dark) Steve and Gay had all of us over to their home for Heinekens, margaritas and smoked turkey. After all I have been reading about flight parks lately I was a little skeptical about what to expect, but ended up with a great experience. As for price, let's just say he is rather flexible and accomodating, i spent half as much as I had anticipated. So if you are ever in the area and want to fly, I would definatley recommend giving him a call. From what I hear they have some excellent conditions in the spring and fall. 2 thumbs up, collin

I took my entire family out to Hearne for an afternoon of flying. Steve and Gaye were wonderful (as always) and saw to it that each of my sisters and nieces had a great time. They have memories of flying with Steve on the Dragonfly and the trike that will last a lifetime *and* it was an easy Christmas gift for me to give. Highly recommended. Jake

OK, so maybe the conditions were not that great for the experienced pilots, but a sled ride in the air beats one on the ground. I had a great time and did get a chance to ride a weak thermal for awhile. I think I made more left turns that day than all TX State Troopers combined. Seeing RR zippin back and forth below was pretty cool too. Just another day burned into my memory bank and one that lures me to the next day, the next flight. Thanks Steve and Gaye. SKI

Lisa and I run Cloud 9 Sport Aviation in Michigan. Now that the season is winding down, we finally got a chance to do some travel. We needed to go to Dallas for some business, and hooked up with Steve and Gaynelle at their Ausin Airpark in Hearne, Texas. They have an operation similar to ours, with two tugs, glider rentals, tandem instruction, etc. We called prior to showing up, and were able to rent a couple of gliders to fly. One of the really nice things for us was that we were able to launch off of a Cloud 9 A Model launch cart. (We had an article on that cart in the July 1996 issue of HG magazine. We now produce the B Model launch cart.) The conditions were good, so we were able to get up and cruise around at cloudbase (5600 feet) for a couple of hours. It was really great to fly with Steve and Gay. They did a great job at offering convenience. We certainly know what it is like to bounce around like pin balls helping everyone else fly, so we really appreciated the great service. It looks like a great cross county site. If any of you are in the area, we certainly recommend flying with them. Tracy Tillman Lisa Colletti Cloud 9 Sport Aviation Webberville, Michigan

Hi everyone. I just wanted to thank Steve for talking me in to going to Hearne at our club meeting. Thats right, I got my aerotow sign off. Steve, Gay, John and Joey are an unbeatable combo, not to mention all the other people who helped me out on the side. Until next time, see ya Curtis

Hi Guys, Well, Nov. 7th was a great day for all. 20 tows on the first day at work. All the pilots were very helpful in letting me know their preferences. Look forward to making it down on the 14th. I will try to bring my kiddo's with me. They will love it!!! Until then, fly safe Joey Soon to be known as Tow Joe

Hi Guys, Another Great weekend!!! Hats off to you. I am enjoying the process of giving John some relief on the aero tows. The tows on Sunday were Great. Guy certainly made me comfortable as he tracked right behind me. The tandow tow was even better. The Dragonfly sure handles a lot differently when towing. Maybe I can put some of my 5000 puls hours of foight experience to work now. Although I am accustomed to Mach .5 at cruise, 30 mph is bad and your eyelids don't turn inside out. Later and I will see you all on the 7th of November Joey

Well Gang....Stan got Aero tow rated this weekend...What fun! I got to take 2 tows to 1,000 with Steve, he said I was ready..I went for it. The Falcon tows really easy...so this moning I tried with my Gemini....Oscillation city! even with a Tail. I bailed out at just about 200 on the first one, and made my way back to the starting point. Second attempt went a bit better. I had to stay withit just another couple hundred feet, and he took me to 2 grand. I floated and floated and floated....had to fight to come down...Man, I'm looking forward to the next weekend!...I'm bringing a friend to introduce to the good air at HEARNE....Thanks STEVE...and Gaye....AN excellent operation> ....I'm satisfied. STAN

Dear Steve and Gay, Thanks again for a great day of flying. You guys were cooking today and deserve all the success that you have had. Another tug pilot will surely help - he looked solid! My solo without the wheels felt great, and the performance of the 195 gave me a great boost of confidence. Thanks, Mike

Austin Air Sports is the place to fly. In yet another of a string of great weekends, this past Saturday was an XC day. It was fun to be at cloud base with a half dozen gliders. I was out flown by everyone in the group and landed at Bremond. I had a couple of hundred feet on Len and he managed to climb out from 600' and I did not. Way to go Len. Reed and Paula provided a timely retrieve, thanks Paula. Colonel John is in the running for best tow-pilot in the world, tandem-king Steve is training up and coming pilots and Gaye ties it all together. What a team. Can you tell I am having fun at Hearne? RR

Thank goodness flying like that doesn't come every weekend. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to appreciate it so much! I have to admit the conditions were spectacular. For so many people to get up, stay up, and wait up, there had to be somethin' special going on. And it was. Hearne was going on. AAS was going on. The cues were going on. And now we're going on and on and on. . . . MD and CZ, you did a great job of coaxing all us pilots out of the airport area to head north. Things moved along at a nice leisurely pace. I appreciated the location and condition information you guys kept feeding everyone. There really is something special about gaggle flying. I have to echo the words on the great tows and hospitality coming from AAS. You have a great operation there which makes everyone feel welcome. Gaye, I have heard more than one person say that the part you play there is really noticed and appreciated. As I use the stairs here at work I just push out and climb. I was climbing stairs all day on Saturday. What a day! May your Thoughts Soar!

The flying AGAIN at Hearne was just THE BEST on Saturday. Art Stallings showed up and gave great chase as 7 of us headed north. Thanks Art!! We got to test the max load on my new racks with five divers side/by/side above us. We had duck tails (pun intended) with Carl, 800' dust-devil busting by Guy, 600' saves by Len, and "Come on-Let's Go!" XC chomping Chris. We can't wait to see the pics CZ has been grabbing. It was a great scene to see six of us therming up together at the power plant. Steve & John had two tugs going and many of us only had to take one tow to get up. It just keeps getting better. Aeros Mike

Steve and Gaye, I have really enjoyed the two weekends that I came down. I look forward to being the new additional tow pilot. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and I can get my ratings soon. Keep up the good work, you have a good thing going. Joey

Hi Steve and Gay! Just wanted to thank you for an awesome day Sunday! The tandems were awesome, and so was the trike - a whole new world! I am excited to get back in the air again soon, we'll be back down there hopefully before the end of the month. We'll keep you posted. Best Regards, Cindy

Couldn't agree with you more RR. Unfortunately I wasn't one of those to make it 7000'. More along the lines of 3000', on tow. But since putting a tail on my Sport and needing to test fly it, 3000' worked great. What better way to do some fine tuning to your glider. Seeing pilots from around region is great also. Heck, I didn't no Charlie Rodriguez was still around. Hadn't seen him for 12+ years. I think Burnzie has got a working "plan" there now.

Sunday sure was FUN! 7500 agl, at least 7 or 8 gliders up all at once, and lift marked by slow drifting cumies. Many flew for as long as they desired. Several 3.5 hour flights! Some new ladies from Dallas, a new tug pilot solo, and a new tandem solo. Great Stuff!! Time for everyone to break out the cool/cold weather flying gear. Fall is for sure here. I lost count of the number of pilots complaining due to the cold. Don't miss out next weekend because you forgot the barr-mitts. Great job Steve, John, & Gaye Aeros Mike

Saturday was very good and Sunday was better. Many pilots spent hours at the 7000+ foot (AGL) cloud base. Hearne is proving to be a consistent site and the services and hospitality offered by Austin Air Sports are second to none. It is great to fly with Houston and Dallas pilots. We used to only see each other a couple of times a year. Now, thanks to Hearne, we get to enjoy the company of more pilots both in the air and on the ground. great folks ... good flying ... see you there RR

There is absolutely nothing worse than having a new glider but not being able to fly it. After my Fusion arrived, I had one quick and dirty flight followed by several weeks filled with other commitments. Since there is no time on the weekends, I cut loose from work for a day and a half and did some serious aero towing with Steve and Gaye Burns at Hearne. What a fantastic towing operation - I did about 10 tows - 4 high, 6 low tows just to feel the glider out. A nice 25 minute thermal flight on the second day finished off a "good break in". Steve and Gaye were a fantastic team providing extremely personal service - a fantastic experience. The Fusion is a fine glider but it is a handfull - the best way of describing it is to say that you really have to actively 'fly' the glider in thermal conditions. Landing is fine - a little faster and a longer glide. Regards Dwayne.

Hi! I just wanted to thank you again for my awesome tandem flight up with Steve on Sunday!! I have always wanted to hang glide & the experience I had with Austin Air Sports was wonderful. Gay was so very helpful with the way she put me at ease about everything & then Steve was equally as calming when we were finally up in the air!! I have emailed everyone I know to let them know how totally awesome it was! (I keep trying to think of another word to describe the feeling but I'm still speechless!) I would love to try this again soon & will recommend everyone I know to you guys there in Hearne! Thanx for such a memorable experience!! Charlotte Stanton

Hey Guys - I just wanted to thank you for such an incredible weekend! You run a friendly, informative and professional operation. You have a lot to be proud of and Blair and I will be committed customers. Anyway, we learned A LOT and will be counting the minutes till Sept 9th. All Blair and I talked about on the way home was that 5th flight on the base tube, what a flight! Thanks again. Mike Cieminski That thing called hangliding...what a rush, what a consumer of my thoughts - the line between dreaming and reality. M. Cieminski '99

hey gang, sorry I missed last weekend. Sounds like good flying. I'll try to make it back soon! Thanks again for the hospitality. Ray says I needb to get my own E-mail address. When I show up ,I'll bring an anchor for Mike D. Stay in touch,no WACKS!!!

I wanted to add my many thanks to Steve, Fred, Gay, and everyone at Austin Air Sports for an unforgettable weekend. Great flying, great food, great friends, and a hell of a good instructionial cross country clinic. I was really impressed with all the efforts andhard work that made this come together. We have access to a first rate facility and I look forward to lots more good air as a result..............Get up Go far........Carl

A big amen to the grand opening, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The food was great, the shade and misters helped with the heat, and towing to a thermal made the soaring easy. Got to cloudbase twice, and boated about the airport for 2+ hrs. The only reason I didn't go XC was the apparent failure of my radio, which unbeknownst to me was actually shorted at my finger switch to constant broadcast. If I offended anyone with the various burps and muttered thermal comments/giggles, I'm sorry... I did eventually turn it off when I heard it bleeping battery-death at me. We'll definitely be back. ph

I'd like to say thanks for a great grand opening weekend put on by Steve, Gaye and the rest of the AAS crew. Great food, great flying and a great operation. I'll be back to Hearne in a couple of weeks. duane

Steve, Thanks for the spin in the Dragon Fly! My son was grinning ear to ear the whole time! I will be comig out there sometime after the 18th for a few lessons/Truck Towing etc. You guys have one hell of an operation goin out there! I look forward to being able to bringing some other friends out there too. Thanks again. Stan

The grand opening was definitely an awesome weekend...i had a great time, both while flying and not flying. thanks to steve, gaye, fred and jan for the wonderful hospitality, great food, etc etc, and to everyone who was there for the great company... Linda

MAN THAT WAS FUN! My memory of Saturday is beginning to come back. When I arrived at Kosse Saturday I was very excited to attempt the crosswind stage of the task to Marlin. Leaving the turnpoint with 4200' agl, cool air was felt as 1000 fpm DOWN screamed out of my Ball. With a landing field chosen, a sudden, bright flash nailed my watering eyes--I thought it was the western sun's hazy rays bouncing off a row of chicken coops. The air warmed significantly on my face, the g's pressed me into the harness and I quickly banked into the lift. The glowing light was back all around me as I began climbing out; all thoughts of the Marlin goal left me as I looked up into the light shaft that was pulling me up. The next thing I remembered I was setting up to land with no clue where I was. None of my instruments worked, the sun had set, and there was a gentle glowing spot of light in the middle of the field where I felt like I was "set" down. I remembered having taken off from Hearne about 2:30 as my instruments slowly began to come back to life. I marked my position on the GPS and saw I was 90 miles north of Hearne about 5.5 miles north of Blooming Grove. Many THANKS to the guys who forged on another 60 mile to pick up my mangy, flea-bitten, scruffy butt. I was in the doghouse again. Marko, Kent, Scott, & Lionel, I hope I can come reciprocate for you if the Alein Space Clones ever grab you and you need a ride back. Robin, Michael, & Austin Air Sports -- Thanks for the clinic. It was great. I think we should do several more XC clinics and practice more rnpoint/goal flying. Aeros Mike

Hearne, Texas -- On the weekend of September 11th more than 35 pilots attended a cross country clinic conducted by Robin Hamilton. The two-day clinic consisted of a morning lecture and an afternoon flying task. Robin shared his experience and insight into the requirements for competitive cross country flying. Austin Air Sports, was the host for the flying portion of the clinic. Robin described the site as offering "world class flat-land flying." With two dragonflys and a 5000+ foot runway, Austin Air sports is equipped to handle both aero and truck-towing. Large pastures and hay fields in all directions make this is a great place to sharpen your cross country flying skills. Robin Hamilton did a splendid job in presenting the material and leading the discussions. All in all it was a great weekend with a well organized clinic, good flying and good company. R.R. Rodriguez

I visited Austin Airsports at Hearne Airport yesterday and I must say that it has more to offer than any flight park in the central USA. I know I'm one of the last to get there because of kids / job/ college..... but Three tugs and ground towing at a perfect airport, (no general aviation was seen the whole day), out away from the cities and they even have shade / air-conditioned office / restrooms / cool water and great people. I predict this will become the center of flying in region 11 as time goes along. Thanks to Steve, Gay, Fred and the whole family for the great hospitality. The story and pictures will be in next month's newsletter. Until then, go see them ASAP. Warren Puckett