Aug 6 -- An American manufacturer interested in building a PW-5
kit receives a reply from DWLKK, with a copy to me.  (DWLKK is
the Polish R&D firm which built the PW-5 & PW-6 prototypes.)  A
few days earlier I had put the American company in contact with
DWLKK.  Reading between the lines, I do not expect much to come
from this inquiry.  Still, one has to hope.

Aug 6 -- My e-mail exchanges with Rafal Mikke at DWLKK continue
to fly.  Today he reports that he will go see the entrepreneurs
in Bielsko at the Avionic Company, which told us in July it will
build the PW-5 & 6.  DWLKK and Avionic seem to work hand in hand.
I have high hopes for the Avionic venture because Conrad
Suechting and I met at length with those guys and persuaded them
that they need to spend as much on marketing and promotion as on
production.  If they really do it, they will achieve at the world
level what the Schweizers did in the US with the 1-26.  Soaring
desperately needs that populist orientation.  The Avionic guys
smell big opportunity at this time in Polish history as it
continues to emerge from the untenable business practices imposed
by the communists.

Aug 13 -- I fly to Napa, California, for the summer WCSA Board
meeting the next day.  Director Gary Peterson hosts.  Five of the
six directors attend.  Incredibly, we complete the agenda in one
day, making major decisions about the organization and its use of
the Web.  (WCSA members will find a copy of the Board Minutes at
the end of this document.)

Aug 13 -- Very good news, which I receive in the morning before I
leave for California: DWLKK and Avionic will form a joint venture
in Bielsko called "Bielsko 1."  DWLKK will manage the technical
direction and marketing & promotion, while the young guys from
Avionic will run the production in Bielsko.  DWLKK also brings
important connections to the powers-that-be in Poland through its
long history with Warsaw University of Technology and Polish
aviation authorities.  Rafal Mikke at DWLKK asks me to send him a
copy of the World Class market study completed in 1995 by the
University of Tennessee, which Rafal wants to use in raising more
capital.

Aug 13 -- Piero Morelli copies me and others on his reply to an
inquiry from Angel Casado, the energetic Spaniard leading his
country's preparations for the glider venue in the 2nd World Air
Games in Summer 2001.  (The PW-5 has again been designated by IGC
as the representative of soaring to 2nd WAG, as it was in the 1st
WAG in Turkey in 1997.)  Piero summarizes recent World Class
events and offers an explanation for the poor attendance (25
competitors) at the 2nd World Class Worlds in Leszno, Poland.

Aug 17 -- Angel Casado replies to Piero that he is very concerned
about the World Class for the 2nd World Air Games, because Spain
is counting on a minimum of 60 competitors to break even.  He
sees "La Mancha Glide," the pre-WAG contest next Summer, as a
litmus test.

Aug 17 -- At the WCSA Board's request, I send an e-mail to Rafal
Mikke to ask if Bielsko 1 can deliver a PW-6 prototype & the its
version of the PW-5 to the US in time for the Albuquerque SSA
Convention in March.  I point out that it would make a huge
impression in one of largest PW-5 markets.

Aug 18 -- I send a quick e-mail to our Webmaster, John Wren, with
a summary of the Board's actions regarding the Web, so he won't
have to wait for the meeting minutes proper.

Aug 18 -- I receive a reply from Rafal: he likes the idea but
does not know if they can accomplish the job in such a short
time.  He will get back to me.

Aug 20 -- Rafal reports that they have just visited the Polish
General Inspectorate of Civil Aviation (AA for short, referring
to "airworthiness authority.")  The AA responded very positively
to their initiative and indicated that they would approve the
long list of changes Bielsko 1 wants to introduce, including a
new resin system, removal of the 5000m ceiling, auto-connect
controls for aileron & dive brakes, and tail ballast.  The AA
also gave Bielsko 1 (for free!) ownership of the type
certificates for all the PZL-Bielsko gliders, including the
Jantar and SZD series.  (PZL-Bielsko had ceased production and
gone out of business in late 1998.)  The message impresses me
with 1) how much support Bielsko 1 has received in such a short
time and 2) how fast these Poles can move.

Aug 22 -- I file the required WCSA report to the SSA Board in
advance of its September meeting.  The report summarizes the
critical market situation in the World Class and the positive
results from the World Class Marketing Summit in July, which came
out of a WCSA initiative in late 1998.  The report also asks the
SSA Board to change the venue of the US WC Nationals from
Ephrata, Washington, because we believe the Northwest location
will reduce participation even further from the poor numbers we
had previously drawn.  (WCSA members will find a copy of this
report, plus the report on the World Class Marketing Summit which
was attached to it, at the end of this document.)

Aug 23 -- Reply to Steve May that we would like to build an
online database on the Web of PW-5s worldwide starting with his
almost-complete listing.

Aug 23 -- Receive e-mail from Tore Skaar, our strong supporter
and PW-5 dealer in Norway, that money for Polish manufacturing
might be available from several Scandinavian governments!
Apparently Norway and others targeted Poland as a country they
wanted to help move successfully into the free market economy,
and Bielsko 1 might actually qualify.  The news floors me.  He
offers to look into the matter, and I reply immediately with a
request that he do so and let me know if we have something to
tell Bielsko 1.

Aug 23 -- Reached agreement by e-mail to carry the entire PW-5
production list as maintained by Steve May, a British aviation
historian specializing in Polish aircraft.  In exchange for this,
we will help him confirm locations for "lost" PW-5s and supply
him with photographs of each one as opportunity allows.

Aug 24 -- Tore replies that 1) the program is still in operation,
and 2) the text is entirely in Norwegian and will require some
time to translate.

Aug 26 -- A short e-mail from our Canadian supporter and dealer,
Charles Yeates, gets my attention.  He asks if there is an
opportunity for an investor to join in the Bieslko 1 effort.  I
reply that I am sure such a possibility exists.

Aug 29 -- Receive e-mail from Ron Ferguson, the Ephrata contest
manager, asking to get started on the promotion for the WC
Nationals for next year.  I suddenly realize I should have
alerted him as soon as I knew the WCSA Board was going to ask SSA
to move the contest from Ephrata to Texas.  An embarrassing
mistake sure to cause hard feelings.

Aug 31 -- I reply to Ron at some length explaining what we have
done and why.

Aug 31 -- E-mail from Ted Grussing quoted a report from Texas
about a premature tow-hook release on a PW-5, which could have
been catastrophic but fortunately wasn't.  The writer said,
"Whilst tidying up the pneumatic lines behind the panel the pilot
had inadvertently tywrapped the sleeve of the release cable to
the moving part of the gas strut on the canopy.  The result of
this was that the release worked perfectly normally with the
canopybut was pre-tensioned by deformation of the cable as
soon as the canopy was closed."  In other words, the tow-hook
lacked enough grip to hold the ring during the stresses of
launch.  I immediately copied this message to Rafal Mikke,
knowing that he would want to make sure the problem, which should
be easy to fix, came to the attention of Swidnik and Bielsko 1.

SEPTEMBER 1999

Sept 1 -- E-mail from Larry Sanderson expressing concern about
our request to change the 2000 nationals venue at this late date.
He asks that Ia dialog with Ron to try to resolve the
issue.  I forward this to the WCSA board for its information.

Sept 2 -- E-mail from Ron Ferguson expressing his dissatisfaction
with WCSA over this and saying that he and the Seattle Glider
Council intend to promote participation in the contest with much
more energy than we have seen in past nationals.  I forward this
to the WCSA board for its information.

Sept 2 -- At the request of IGC president Tor Johannessen, Piero
Morelli e-mails several key IGC members with a status report on
the World Class.

Sept 2 -- I e-mail Sonja Englert and Bob Lacovara to find out if
they could give an estimate of the value, if any, of the printed
drawings which Oran Nicks had made from the Polish computer tape
when he started his PW-5 project.  I continue to hope that
Phyllis Nicks will be able to recover at least some of the costs
incurred by the project.

Sept 2 -- An e-mail from Fred Weinholtz contains a translated
Aerokurier article by Wolfgang Schroeder, in which he advocates
development of a "leisure-time glider" with self-launching
capabilities and built of standard parts, which would allow wide
distribution of a kit.  His concern is the same one we all have,
of declining participation in our sport worldwide.  Tor
Johannessen replies that he finds the idea interesting.  I reply
that I think WCSA should support movement in this direction,
which might dovetail nicely with the overall plan eventually to
replace the PW-5 as the World Class glider.  E-mails fly around
the globe for several days, all expressing interest in the
concepts.  Piero favors wide publication of the article.

Sept 3 -- Reply from Sonja Englert saying that she did not know
about the tapes or the issue of creating drawings from them.  She
found no information in Oran's notes about the cost of having
that done, and she thinks it will be difficult to find out.

Sept 3 -- I finally complete the minutes from the August WCSA
board meeting and distribute them to the board.

Sept 4 -- I reply to Ron Furguson at length saying that we have
heard promises about promotion before and I did not want to
withdraw our proposal without some details.  I asked that he
provide those.  I copy this to the WCSA board for its
information.

Sept 4 -- Reply from Bob Lacovara saying essentially the same
thing as Sonja.

Sept 5 -- E-mail from Tore Skaar, our strong supporter in Norway,
with a request for information and photos of the PW-6.  He has
been asked to make a presentation to the annual convention of the
Norwegian Soaring Association.  I forward his message to Rafal
Mikke, who I know will come through promptly.

Sept 6 -- E-mail from Ron Ferguson laying out the things they
will do to promote the contest in Ephrata.  While we have seen
most of it before, in fact Ron's marketing schedule is more
aggressive -- and earlier in the calendar -- than others have
done in the past.  He also adds a few twists that might help. I
forward this to the WCSA board for its information.

Sept 7 -- I spend a couple of hours on the phone to trucking
companies to see if we could ship gliders in trailers on flatbeds
to Ephrata at reasonable cost.  My theory is that the truck would
start from, say, Atlanta, and haul them to Ephrata, thus making
it practical to get Eastern ships to the contest.  It turns out
that only four trailers would fit on a flatbed, and the owners
would have to pay about $1800 each.  Bad idea.

Sept 7 -- After feedback from enough board members to have
agreement, I e-mail Larry Sanderson that we withdraw our request
for a venue change.

Sept 7 -- I e-mail Ron and tell him we have dropped our objection
to Ephrata and go on to discuss the marketing issues and how WCSA
can support the effort.

Sept 7 -- E-mail exchange with Conrad Suechting on one of our
sillier projects: removable tattoos.  We are desperate to find
things for WCSA to sell to pay for its modest operating costs,
and we hit on the idea of temporary tatoos to sell at the SSA
convention.  Costs are reasonable and there is a good profit, if
we can sell enough of the things.

Sept 7 -- I receive by e-mail the final corrections to the
editing I have done over the past two months on the PW-5 Fatigue
Test report presented at the marketing summit by Miroslaw
Rodzewicz.  WCSA asked for permission to publish the document,
and I have polished Miro's English translation.  He, in turn, has
corrected my misunderstanding of certain engineering terms.
Finally it is ready to go.

Sept 8 -- Two e-mails from Louise Walker, chair of the SSA
convention in March 2000, regarding our request for booth,
aircraft and meeting space.  The WCSA breakfast will end up being
on the wrong day for us, but that is a minor disappointment.

Sept 8 -- Sam Giltner e-mails me saying he would like to host the
US World Class nationals in 2001 at Chester SC.  I will need to
follow up on this to see if there is now a conflict with Frank
Reid, whi had earlier asked to host it at Bermuda High.  Nice to
have two bids, for a change.

Sept 9 -- E-mail from Piero Morelli forwarding an e-mail from
Diether Memmert making the case for restricting PW-5
instrumentation to less expensive and sophisticated items.  He
believes the cost of instruments has a significant negative
impact on participation in the class.  Piero forwards the e-mail
to members of the IGC World Class Sub-committee (I serve on that
one) and to the IGC Bureau (the equivalent of an American
"executive Committee.")  Diether is a  strong competitor and a
strong supporter of the World Class, having flown at both Inonu
Turkey, and Leszno, so his message will require a considered
reply.

Sept 9 -- Rafal Mikke copies me on his e-mail to Tore Skaar
providing the PW-6 information and photos he requested.  (The
photos are large and take forever to download!)

Sept 9 -- Received Steve May's comprehensive database of all the
PW-5s ever produced.  An outstanding piece of work.  I hope we
can build out from that with pilot cantact information.  I
immediately forward it to our webmaster, John Wren, since the
database eventually will become part of our Web site.

Sept 10 -- E-mails to Piero Morelli begin to fly in response to
Diether's proposals about PW-5 instruments.  The general
consensus: good ideas but not practical to enforce as a
competition requirement.  I send a similar reply to Piero.  One
reply, from Spain's Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon, took strong issue
with the ideas themselves, and Piero promised to make special
note of Alvaro's points.

Sept 11 -- E-mail from Brian Spreckley to Piero and World Class
Sub-committee members, plus others, expressing concern that the
World Class cannot deliver the 60+ ships the Spanish are counting
on for the glider venue at the 2nd World Air Games.  He believes
that IGC will need to address this issue in March, and he says
they are considering adding another class to the Games in order
to fill out the field.

Sept 13 -- E-mail from Conrad Suechting to WCSA board noting that
the Outdoor Life Television Network, which is a satellite network
that few of us get, will carry an FAI-sponsored broadcast about
flying.  He proposes we try to find a tape of it to show at the
SSA convention.

Sept 13 -- I find a copy of the World Class market study from
1995 lying under some papers and suddenly remember that I had
promised to send one to Rafal Mikke.  I fire off an e-mail asking
whether he ever received it.

Sept 14 -- Rafal replies that he did not receive the study.  I
apologize and say I will send it ASAP.

Sept 15 -- Reply from Rafal to the message about the premature
release, saying they would look into the matter.

Sept 16 -- Expressed mailed the market study to Rafal, and
returned to my office to find an e-mail from him saying that he
did receive the study and had forgotten about it!  So now he has
two.  I am relieved that this mistake was his and not mine.  I
make enough as it is.

Sept 20 -- E-mail from Tom Pressley for Caprock Soaring in Texas
offering to host a World Class cross-country camp in May 2000,
aimed an qualifying more pilots for competitions.  He wants to
know if WCSA would support that and how many pilots we think
might come.  The WCSA board had already approved the concept, but
we had assumed a camp scheduled just before a nationals, which
will be in Ephrata in 2000.  I forward the message to the board
with a request for their views on whether this would work as
well.  (Replies come in over the next four days in support of the
Caprock proposal.)

Sept 22 -- The revised FAI Sporting Code comes out, and I send
off copies to the people in my address book who I know have an
interest in competitions.

Sept 23 -- E-mail from the American manufacturer interested in
the PW-5 with follow-up questions about the state of the World
Class.  He needs to decide soon between the PW-5 and another
project he had been asked to undertake.  I am surprised and
pleased that the PW-5 still seems to be on his mind.

Sept 24 -- I reply to the American manufacturer with ansers to
his questions.

Sept 24 -- I e-mail Max Bishop asking if WCSA can get its hands
on one or two tapes of the Eurosport soaring broadcasts from the
Worlds in Bayreuth, which appeared in Europe.

Sept 26 -- Two e-mails from Down Under from pilots hoping to fly
in Ephrata.  Evidently Ron Ferguson has already begun trying to
pull in international pilots.  Keith Willis, a record-holding
Aussie I have known since the 1st WAG, wants to come, as does New
Zealander Roy Edwards.  Roy is considering shipping his own
glider to Seattle and asks about tariffs, and so on.  I forward
his message to Ron, in the hope that someone in Seattle has the
knowledge to help him.

Sept 26 -- E-mail from Ron saying they have had a lot of
experience with international shipping, and they will work with
Roy.

Sept 27 -- May Bishop replies to the request for video tapes,
saying we should have no difficulty arranging for them.  I send
off a thank you.

OCTOBER 1999

Oct 2 -- E-mail from Sam Giltner saying that the requirement for
a "remote site fee" for Chester takes it out of the running to
host the 2001 US Nationals.

Oct 6 -- E-mail from Bermuda High Soaring offering again to host
the 2001 US Nationals, since Chester could not do it.  I need to
contact Tim Welles, the SSA site selection chair, to confirm
this.  Don't anticipate a problem.

Oct 7 -- Receive from Francois Pin a list of all the PW-5 Service
Bulletins and the serial numbers affected.  This will be an
important set of documents for anyone wanting to have their PW-5
certified as Standard rather than Experimental.

Oct 8 -- Send the Service Bulletin list to John Wren.

Oct 8 -- E-mail from Rafal Mikke revealing that Bielsko 1 may
take over PW-5 production from PZL-Swidnik.  This would
accelerate Bielsko 1's arrival in the market by several months.

Oct 8 -- In response to my earlier inquiry, I receive a second e-
mail from Rafal relaying the decision that Warsaw University has
agreed that Phyllis Nicks can re-sell the license which Oran had
bought.  This will allow her to recover some of the cost of
Oran's project.  I send an immediate reply thanking them for this
generous decision.

Oct 9 -- E-mail from Tom Pressley with draft of ad promoting the
XC camp in Ephrata.  He will post it on the Caprock Soaring web
site.  It is a good ad.  Very encouraging to see this moving
along under its own power.

Oct 10 -- I write a letter to Phyllis Nicks relaying the
information that she can, indeed, sell the license.

Oct 11 -- E-mail from Rafal asking if I can prompt the US company
interested in doing a PW-5 kit into providing a status report.  I
send out an e-mail to the company later in the day.

Oct 12 -- E-mail from Luan Walker, chair of next SSA convention,
in response to a message from me, saying they support the idea of
Flight Guides, like we used at the 1999 convention, but she is
not sure whether the local AIAA student chapter was large enough
to provide the help.  I will contact the chapter.  (Background:
WCSA created "Flight Guides" for the 1999 convention, who are
aeronautical engineering students from the nearest university,
and who provide guided tours of the convention hall for newbies.
In exchange for this service, the local club offers the students
an introductory glider flight.)

Oct 12 -- E-mail from John Wren saying he will get the Service
Bulletin list onto the new web site.  He is also concerned that
our curent web site is still registered with retired board member
Russ McAnerny -- and that Russ will get the bills for our domain
name.  I make note to call Russ and get this matter cleared up.

Oct 13 -- E-mail from Rafal asking what I think of the idea of a
PW-5/6 calendar for 2000.  I reply that I think we do not have
time to put it together but that 2001 could be possible.  I
express concern about the quality of the competition and note
that calendars from SSA and Germany have set a high -- and
expensive -- standard.  I am not sure we can sell enough to pay
for the cost.  (I did not mention this, but my brother recently
published a calendar and spent US$10,000 for 800 copies.
However, I know Rafal can get the printing done well and cheaper
in Poland, so it might be a practical project.)

Oct 13-15 -- Quick e-mail exchanges with Ron Ferguson about
placing an ad for the 2000 US Nationals in Soaring magazine.  The
deadline is the 15th, so we have to hurry.  The ad looks great,
and I ask only that a small text line be added giving WCSA credit
for providing the ad space for free.  The ad makes the deadline,
which means it will appear in the January issue.

Oct 18 -- E-mail from our English friend and amateur Polish
aviation historian, Steve May, noting that the data he sent us
has not yet appeared on our web site and wondering about the
status of the project.  I have let this slide too long and need
to get back on it.

Oct 18 -- E-mail from Charles Yeates, our Canadian friend,
describing how he put tail ballast in his PW-5 by the simple
expedient of inserting thin lead sheets in the cavity under the
rudder.  Since I know the IGC World Class Subcommittee will
propose to IGC that tail ballast be allowed in the PW-5, I
forward the message ot Piero Morelli, the subcommittee chair, for
his consideration.

Oct 20 -- E-mail from John Wren noting that there seems to be
renewed interest in the internet-based World Class soaring
contest and proposing that we restore the information about it on
our web site.

Oct 20 -- E-mail reply from the US company interested in building
a PW-5 kit saying one of the owners would like to call me with
some questions.  I send him my contact information.

Oct 21 -- John's & Steve's e-mails prompt me to e-mail Norbert
Niessler, the Austrian PW-5 dealer and strong supporter to ask if
he has any new information about the winch-launch accidents in
Europe, which some have cited as reason not to let new pilots fly
the PW-5 from the winch.  We want to get the facts onto our new
web site to help counteract the rumors.

Oct 22 -- Reply from Norbert Niessler with important details
about the accidents and some follow-up contacts in Austria and
the Netherlands.  Eventually we will get all of this onto the new
web site.  It would help to have somebody in Europe take the lead
on this document.

Oct 23 -- Have long phone conversation with a representative of
the US company considering a PW-5 kit.  I provide some useful
information, but mostly refer him to people who know more than I
do.  They have to collect more information before committing to
the project.

Oct 25 -- Update information from Steve May about recent PW-5
sales arrived by e-mail.  This needs to go into the database.

Oct 25 -- E-mail from Piero saying that he fully agrees with
Charles Yeates's approach and will see that IGC receives a
proposal from the subcommittee.re he flew his own PW-5. 
His place was secured many years ago.