THREE MORE CHECK RIDES, PLUS A MEMORIAM

Last week was busy for glider check rides. Amit Dubey got his private rating, and Cal Hadley-Thomas and Mark Fredette got their commercials. Congratulations guys!After sub-par season so far, our thermal conditions all this past week have resembled the terrific stuff this place is famous for - clear air, lite winds and strong lift with tiny little cumulus up around 14,000 feet.Will it last forever? Nothing does.

Long live MAX RITVO

A former student pilot has passed away. Max Ritvo was in his early teens when he flew here, an effervescent kid determined to grab the world by the ears and shake some sense into it. Max was gifted in seemingly every way and a joy to soar with, the kind of person everyone loves.Then he grew up fighting a rare cancer for the whole last third of his life - and that’s where his specialness really shone. Max Ritvo’s remarkable story lies beyond the scope of this weekly venue, but do yourself a favor and google him. It will break your heart yet make you glad of living twenty-five years on the same planet with such as him, whether you knew he existed or not.Regarding Max’s brief soaring career, I’m proud to admit the following indiscretion. On perhaps our last flight together, we shared an inspiring series of chaste wingovers inside wispy pink rotor clouds at sunset. (Don’t blame him, the crime was mine, but his enchantment is what made it happen.) Of all the companions I’ve been blessed to soar with, it was divine justice to be with Max that day.Thank you Max! We’ll see you when we get there.