Field Officer duties must be taken seriously, as a missing FO translates to reduced flying and less fun for everyone that day.
Contact Tony Verhulst to get added to the weekday list.
When you ask for a tow pilot via this list, you are taking responsibility for the operation. This list is set up to respond to the author, rather than the entire list so the organization and planning can take place privately and not intruding on nearly 100 mailboxes (more to come), of which 90 are not likely to be able to attend. So if you make a call for a tow pilot, and or perhaps some pilots (for critical mass) they will likely respond directly to you. You then sort out with the tow pilot, the timing etc, and make an announcement to the group. So in two public emails, you have achieved a call to arms, and an announcement of the operation.
But your fun is far from over. The "organizer", the one that put together the operation, is now on the hook for the field operation. This entails, getting the rope out, seeing that a log is kept, and doing the final walk away check at the end of the day (club ships tied down properly, rope put away, golf cart put away, log in the treasures mail box, and club house secured). Lastly, and perhaps most important, is everybody back and safe. Now when I say on the hook, any or all of the above can be delegated (assuming you find some delagees) but, be absolutely sure that is understood, buy whoever says they will do it, that they are actually going to do it.
We do not have a weekday SFO, you (all) are it. It is great when (as is often the case) all do their part to help out, BUT someone must understand that they are on the hook for insuring that all these things are done.
No student pilots may fly weekdays without an instructor present on the field. Solo pilots must always have the permission of an instructor (who has evaluated the conditions at the field) to fly weekdays, or weekends. Simply having an instructor present is not adequate, s/he must give you their permission. So prearrange with an instructor, so they know they will be meeting you there, and providing that permission, and/or, providing instruction.
Lastly, when you are flying XC on a weekday, be extra diligent to inform your fellow pilots where you are, and how you are doing. Without the extra traffic that is present on a weekend that might have seen you somewhere, should you go down, it greatly increases your chances to be found if someone has some idea where you were, and where you were going.
Because for some reason people buy into my forecasts, I have often been the organizer of weekday operations. We try to pick the best weather of the week, and put together the operation on that day. I try to do this as far in advance as possible, to enable pilots to plan some. That of course is not always possible, and some get called on short notice. We have avoided calling one "steady" day (ie Wednesdays) because that is just like another weekend day, maybe good, maybe bad.
So to summarize, call one on a good day, organize prior, and following the operation, have fun, and fly safe.
-- Rick Roelke "1M"
It's also worthwhile to call Sterling Airport (978-422-8860) any time you're thinking about soaring on a weekday; they will be able to tell you whether there's any current glider activity, and whether a towplane is operating. Of course, the tow pilot may go home by the time you get there, so the email list is far preferable.
Winter flying tends to concentrate on the weekends, but weekdays can sometimes be arranged. New Years Day flying has become a GBSC tradition.
The club keeps a 2-33 insured to fly year-round, and of course private gliders are always welcome.