2015 West Coast TMG Fly-In - Cottonwood AZ - Oct 1-4, 2015

[Steve Sliwa]

Touring Motor Glider Association

2015 U.S. National Fly-In

Get Ready to Fly!

It’s back to Cottonwood, Arizona in 2015.

The fantastic Sedona area location, the wonderful reception we had by the city of Cottonwood, and the facilities, made for an easy decision. Specifically, the fly-in will be Thursday October 1^st thru Sunday October 4^th, and this year we’re guaranteeing no repeat of the unusually high winds we had last year in June. Actually, the weather is marvelous there in the fall, with beautiful foliage, ever-changing light patterns on the Red Rocks of Sedona, and milder temperatures. This year we expect to be able to fly to the Grand Canyon and several of the national parks for day flights. The October time frame also means that we should miss the monsoons of summer, and the late fall storms.

Last year, many pilots arrived at least a day early, on Wednesday, and this seemed to work out just fine. The actual schedule hasn’t been set yet, but will most likely see daily fly-outs, and evening group dinners. Since it’s the Sedona area, there are also many outdoor activities for non-flying partners. We’ll be working on these arrangements but, like last year, they’ll all be extra-special.

So, mark your calendars! We’ll be setting up a special sign-up sheet in the Events section of the TMGA website, and starting a special Forum section. If you’re planning on coming, let all of us know via the Forum, and as soon as possible.

Remember, the Fly-In is for all TMGA’ers, both owners and prospective owners. We’ll be working with the various TMG manufacturers to have demo aircraft at the event. If you have an extra seat available for a passenger, or if you need a seat, note that on the signup sheet. We’ll again have a Map of the prospective attendees.

Also, if you are one of our 195 non-USA members, consider coming to the event as part of an American holiday. Last year, Hideki Matsuura of Japan came specifically for the fly-in, and we were pleased to get him airborne on many days in several ships.

If you have any ideas, or suggestions for the event, please send them to me at: richard.pearl@touringmotorgliders.org.

Finally, the signup sheet is incredibly helpful in our planning so if you’re even reasonably confident you can make it, please sign up. We have had excellent relationships with the hotel and restaurants in getting late cancellation agreements.

On behalf of Team Cottonwood, we look forward to seeing you over the Red Rocks of Sedona.

Richard Pearl

Coordinating Director

TMGA

[Steve Sliwa]

Touring Motor Glider Annual Fly-In (wrap up)

October 1-4, 2015

Cottonwood, AZ

The sixth annual TMGA Fly-In was lots of fun in a gorgeous setting. It doesn’t get much better than flying in and around the Red Rocks of Sedona. This year – our second event in Cottonwood – the weather cooperated and we flew every day.

We had twelve ships (representing Phoenix, Sundancer, Pipistrel, Diamond, Ximango, Stemme) on the tarmac; several more planned on coming but had mechanical or weather issues. There were numerous potential owners of TMGs who came to look over the fleet and all got airborne at some point. The camaraderie was outstanding as at all our gatherings.

Several ships arrived on Wednesday. Thursday was the official start of the event and most all of us ended up at the same restaurant in downtown Cottonwood for dinner...a very raucous group indeed.

Friday entailed a lunch fly out to Payson, AZ, which was also attended by several participants who drove over the beautiful countryside to join the flyers. Friday night was the event dinner, with Al Grisemer as the after-dinner speaker. Al was the co-pilot on a record flight from Reno, NV to Barrow, Alaska and back, then from Reno to Punta Arenas, Chile, and return…an 8,000 mile journey over many months aptly named the Spine of the Sierra. Wonderful pictures and great commentary. Al said: “you only do something like that once in your life”. The Phoenix attendees accepted the TMGA Flight Line Award for having the most ships represented at last year’s fly-in.

The Saturday AM briefing included a talk on transponders and flight legalities by a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner – Terry Brandt. Terry is one of the good guys and he had a lot of information to share. Lunch was a fly-out to Winslow, AZ. The Saturday night dinner was held at the Blazin’M ranch/restaurant. Excellent food and a great dinner show.

Sunday was the fly-out home, and those who made it out early were able to depart. A few of the distributors were giving demonstration rides and they got caught by incoming rain and had to lay over.

Pictures of the event are in the Gallery. For those who were there, please add to the postings.

Next year…well, we don’t know at this point where we’re generating a survey for your comments. One point that was mentioned by several attendees was to increase the event time line by one day, i.e. fly-in on Wednesday instead of Thursday, and still depart on Sunday. The thought was that many people come considerable distances and it would be more enjoyable to have a longer time at the event. Since nothing is “etched in stone” at our events, this seems like a good suggestion.

Respectfully Submitted,

Richard Pearl

Chairman, TMGA