Greater Detroit Soaring and Hiking Society

10/12/2026

Thanks for everyone who came out for last GDSHS Make-up 2026 F5L Soaring event.
Thanks again to Sue who helped score the event, Roger, and Rich, and everyone else not mentioned who always helps out.
We have a great group!

Very nice temperatures but a little windy and challenging at times made for a nice fall soaring day.
We ended up flying 6 rounds with two flight groups, and self timing.
Even after starting 1/2 hour late and pausing contest for Mike's plane in tree, we still ended shortly after 2:30 pm.
Very enjoyable soaring day!!

If you could not get into the strong wave liff at the south tree line of the field you had to circle and travel with the lift.
We had several mishaps with Mike's plane the tree being the most difficult.

After further discussion at the field I think the self timing even in 2 flight groups is preferred.
It makes for a fun event even more casual without having to always fly or time and search for a timer.
In the future if majority agrees we will continue with the self timing.

Congrats to Podium finishers: 1st John Ferguson (Purito), 2nd Place Jack Iafret (Medina), and
3rd Place Steve Martinez (Yellow Jacket).

Attached are the final scores, average landing point scores and the actual contest Excel file.
For those interested in looking at individual round scores you can open up the Excel file and just click "round scores"
on the bottom tabs. If you do not have have Microsoft Excel you can just down load office Libre for free and view the file.

Thanks again for everyone's help and support. A great group of guys (and gals) with good camaraderie.
Hopefully everyone had fun and it was a great end to the 2026 F5L soaring season!

Best Regards,
John Ferguson F5L C/D

10/04/2026

Good Afternoon Pilots

Yesterday we flew the F5J Make-up and boy, what a day. It was a small group so we used self-timing throughout the day and coupled it with Gliderscore to reduce pilot load on everyone. The weather was perfect. This time of year the contest start was pushed back a bit to allow the chill to come off the field. All day long we saw a mix of sun and cloud with light winds out the NNE at around 5 mph. The lift was ample so in many rounds it came down to launch height, and landing points to separate scores. Throughout the day, launch heights were lower than we typically see at our field with some rounds the launch heights were just above 100 m which is a rare occurrence at Addison Oaks. For the contest, we flew a total of eight(8) rounds, which included a drop round. There was no flyoff due to the size of the group so all pilots flew all eight rounds. There was only one mishap over the course of the day which was due to an aggressive landing, in which the pilot (me) experienced a rudder failure taking him out of the last two rounds. At the end of the day, the podium positions were as follows, Wilbert Hutchings in third place, Steve Martinez in second place, and besting the group was John Ferguson at the top of the podium.
I want to thank everyone for coming out to participate in the contest. A special thanks to Roger Van Elslander for helping with scoring. Also thanks to Rich MacCleery and Tom Kelley for coming out to chill and enjoy a beautiful day at the field. In my book some of these late season flying days are the best of the entire season. There was also plenty of talk about what people are going to be working over the winter ahead. Thanks again and we’ll see you next time.

09/27/2026

Thanks for everyone who came out for the GDSHS 3rd 2026 F5L Soaring event.
Thanks again to Sue who helped score the event, Roger, and Rich, and everyone else not mentioned who always helps out.
We have a great group!

What a nice fall soaring day with light to moderate winds for the whole contest and comfortable temp's in the mid 60's.
We ended up flying 8 rounds with one large flight group and ended shortly after 2:00 pm.
Very enjoyable soaring day!!

Strong thermals were not easy to find and the ones I found you had to circle and travel with.
We had a mishap with Steve losing elevator control putting his beautiful Encanto in the tree at the east end of the field.

After further discussion at the field I think the large one flight group contest worked out well.
It made for a fun event with more action and a more casual shortened contest (11:00am to 2:00pm with lunch).
In the future we will try to do more of these and it is possible to fly (6) in one group, but will have to make another landing tape.

Congrats to Podium finishers: 1st John Ferguson (Purito), 2nd Place Steve Martinez (Encanto),
and 3rd Place Jack Iafret (Purito).

04/01/2026

Wow!

BREAKING NEWS: Major Open-Source Firmware + Sensor Breakthrough for F5J and F3K Pilots!

After months of closed-beta testing, the "Air Stream Intelligence" (v4.01) patch is finally dropping, and it’s a game-changer for the soaring community and competitions.

The "Neural Gimbal" Integration
They’ve finally bridged the gap between telemetry and physical haptics. By utilizing the ultra-low latency of modern protocols, your transmitter can now interpret vertical air mass movement in real-time.

For F5J Pilots, the firmware now includes a "Launch-Height Optimization." Once you cut the motor, the radio analyzes the pressure gradient. If you aren't in lift, the elevator stick will physically vibrate and "shove" forward to force a search pattern until a 0.5m/s climb is detected. No more wasting your 30 seconds in dead air!

For the F3K Crew, the "Auto-Core" Haptic Feedback is insane. During the zoom move after a launch, the hall-effect sensors in your gimbals will "lock" into the direction of the nearest bubble. You’ll feel a physical "pull" on the aileron stick toward the wing that’s being lifted. It’s basically "Power Steering" for thermals.

Technical Specs:
Protocol: Adaptive Thermal Displacement (ATD)

Hardware Req: High-torque digital gimbals and a specific variometer with a refresh rate of >100 Hz.

Compatibility: EdgeTX, Ethos, and Jeti (v4.0 or higher).

⚠️ CAUTION: Beta testers have reported "Gimbal Snap" when flying near strong dust devils. Please maintain a firm grip on your transmitter to avoid the sticks snapping to full deflection during high-alpha turns.

Download the patch via the link you can find on https://planet-soaring.blogspot.com/ (if the server