Gone West, Roy Coulliette

Long time owner and operator of Turf Soaring passed away Weds.

Roy M Coulliette

VISITATION: Monday, March 13, 2017, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

FUNERAL CEREMONY: Monday, March 13, 2017, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Monday, March 13, 3017, 1:30 – 2:00 p.m., Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1500 East Baseline Road, Mesa, Arizona 85204

On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 5:20:58 PM UTC-8, BobW wrote:
I had no idea when he started Turf, but I was under the impression he'd had to move the
operation once, and I seem to recall it was a going concern by 1972 when I
blundered into the sport. I was glad for the opportunity.

I started soaring in Tucson in 1973. At that time, I believe Turf was still operating at its original location alongside Turf Paradise horse track in Phoenix and also had a satellite location in Pleasant Valley. I'm pretty sure I crewed at a weekend contest in 1975 near the track.

Some info on the old location he http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AZ/...ix_NW.htm#turf

-Tom

On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 6:20:14 PM UTC+3, Frank Whiteley wrote:
Long time owner and operator of Turf Soaring passed away Weds.

Roy M Coulliette

VISITATION: Monday, March 13, 2017, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

FUNERAL CEREMONY: Monday, March 13, 2017, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Monday, March 13, 3017, 1:30 – 2:00 p.m., Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1500 East Baseline Road, Mesa, Arizona 85204

In 1994 I spent a few weeks in Phoenix. At first it was a business trip, and then I stayed to attend Space Access conference, staying at the house of the conference organizer, Henry Vanderbilt, and helping out with a few errands.

At other times I headed out to Turf.

I have to say the reception was as warm as you could hope for. They asked me what I wanted to fly. I said the ASK21, as I hadn't seen one before (I'd flown Grobs before). I went for a flight with one of the instructors -- a bit of soaring, mild aero, slack rope. Got back down and they said: "I'll sign you off now as a solo student under supervision. You can do anything you want .. go cross country .. except take passengers. There's the price list to come and get you if you land out. Don't hit a saguaro cactus -- if you're lucky there's a fine, and if you're unlucky it'll fall on you and kill you. Take your New Zealand log book to the FAA office and get a reciprocal license if you want to take passengers. I'll write up the student paperwork now while you go and do two more landings on type for insurance purposes. Take two 1000 ft tows. We'll only charge you for one of them."

I did end up doing the FAA visit and in the next couple of weeks took almost everyone I knew in Phoenix for flights :-)

On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 7:20:14 AM UTC-8, Frank Whiteley wrote:
Long time owner and operator of Turf Soaring passed away Weds.

Roy M Coulliette

VISITATION: Monday, March 13, 2017, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

FUNERAL CEREMONY: Monday, March 13, 2017, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., LDS Church of Peoria, 9543 West Jomax Road, Peoria, Arizona 85383

GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Monday, March 13, 3017, 1:30 – 2:00 p.m., Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1500 East Baseline Road, Mesa, Arizona 85204

At 04:54 11 March 2017, wrote:
On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 5:20:58 PM UTC-8, BobW wrote:
I had no idea when he started Turf, but I was under the
impression he'd
=
had to move the=20
operation once, and I seem to recall it was a going concern by
1972 when
=
I=20
blundered into the sport. I was glad for the opportunity.

I started soaring in Tucson in 1973. At that time, I believe Turf
was
stil=
l operating at its original location alongside Turf Paradise horse
track
in=
Phoenix and also had a satellite location in Pleasant Valley. I'm
pretty
=
sure I crewed at a weekend contest in 1975 near the track.

Some info on the old location he
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AZ/Air=
fields_AZ_Phoenix_NW.htm#turf

-Tom

I was in USAF pilot training at Williams AFB in Chandler, AZ back in
1973. Roy was operating from the Turf Paradise Racetrack airfield
at the time. I instructed and gave rides for Roy on the weekends
for a few months during my time there. Roy was a nice guy. RIP

RO

It must have been a decade or two ago; I went to Turf for acro lessons while my wife took golf lessons 25 miles away. I wrote the following for my country's soaring magazine:

The shriek of the wind noise dropped in volume and pitch. I was straining to see the horizon reappear, leaning my head back as far as I could, when first I heard the singing. "Zippity do-dah, zippity aye, wonderful feeling, wonderful day!� It was Roy, voicing his contentment and joy at the feeling, as I searched for my cue to ease the back pressure on the stick and float over the top of the loop. This was moments after my first loop, and during the first loop I flew myself, with Roy Couliette, the owner of Turf Soaring in Scottsdale Arizona, instructing from the back seat.
Aerobatics has always been my favourite part of the air shows, and although the Pitts and EXTRAs astound with their power and violent defiance of gravity, there is no equal to the grace of the slow motion ballet inscribed by the glider. And issue after issue, the back and inside-front covers of Soaring carry intriguing ads for aerobatics courses at Turf Soaring and Estrella. I visited the Web sites of both, and the offering seemed the same: ten lessons from 5,000' AGL plus two hours of ground school for $950.00 (U.S.) I consulted with our club eminences grises,, wrote e-mails, and revisited the Web sites. The choice was easily made by my wife. Turf is close to a renowned golf resort, - The Boulders, offering superb accommodation and a program of golf lessons for women. My wife won't fly in a glider, and has recently discovered a passion for golf the equal of mine for gliding. Turf it was.
The connections to Phoenix are superb; a non-stop from Toronto aboard an Air Canada 767. The Captain readily proffered the requested invitation for "a glider pilot to visit" the flight deck, and I passed one of the four and a half hours hangar flying at 39,000'. The First Officer was himself a former glider pilot (Air Cadets), and the Captain, a friend of the Air Canada pilot who owns the strip where Great Lakes Soaring operates, had already planned to give soaring a try come summer.
Shortly after arrival we stowed our bags in the trunk of the Cadillac, a gratuitous upgrade from Avis (but Honey, I don't drive Cadillac), and feeling like a character from a Larry McMurtry novel, we drove north forty-five minutes to our hotel. You can see your destination from several miles away; and why it's called The Boulders. Larger than houses, and cubic, their corners rounded, they are stacked like a giant's toy blocks. Golf Magazine, whose readers voted it one of twenty "Gold Medallists", describes it: "Chiseled into the Sonoran foothills north of Scottsdale amid fantastic rock formations, The Boulders continues to exceed guest expectations.� The accommodation is in free-standing "cassitas", mock pueblo style of the south-west, that blend into the desert surrounding the incongruously lush fairways of the two 18 hole golf courses. After settling in, we set off to check out the airfield, a 20 minute drive west on Carefree Highway.
I have never been in the desert before, and this was nothing like the sea of sand I have seen in pictures of the Sahara. A flat plain lying between low mountains, it is covered with low bushes and cactus, and surrounded by barbwire fencing to keep the free-range cattle off the highway. We pass a gun range (Public Welcome), horse trailers left empty on the shoulder, and balloon chase trucks collecting their charges after early-morning flights.
Although the Highway was ‘Carefree’, I most certainly was not; in fact I was as nervous as I was excited. My first concern was my flying ability; I had fewer than 100 hours P1, and I have always regarded aerobatic pilots with a certain awe. I hoped I would not find the coordination and orientation beyond my grasp. Then there is the motion sickness. A friend who flew a Pitts in Miami cheerfully informed me that she was sick as a dog her first two flights. My previous passion was sailing, and veteran ocean racers say that you're not really sick when it's so bad that you're afraid you'll die, but when it is so bad that you're afraid you won't. I had come prepared with a box of slow release Gravol, and two air sick sacs liberated from Air Canada.
The field itself was somewhat reassuring. A little seedy, in a well-worn and comfortable way, in the manner of most gliding fields. The staff were the usual collection of eccentrics, and one uniquely so: BeBop, a white Macaw, like a parrot with full options, he can flirt with a melodious "Hello", or screech in fury if left alone. He is usually in the "Pilot's Lounge", a room about 15' by 20' with a couple of desks, a sofa, a desktop flight simulator, and a wealth of memorabilia. A porch runs around two sides, the wider side facing the runways where BeBop's other perch is located. Here, behind a counter sits the line chief, John, affable and unflappable. He tells me Roy has pencilled me in the book for himself, but he isn't back from vacation yet. I'll meet him tomorrow.
We spend the rest of the afternoon walking around The Boulders, a light lunch by the pool, a great dinner, and off to bed. I take my Gravol and eat a light breakfast, (I'll never again fly in turbulent conditions on a full stomach, especially not with cherry pie), and I set off for the field. I read and sign the field rules ("never point your glider at anything you don't want to buy"), and then I meet Roy. He is soft spoken, patient and slight, sporting a grey beard to match his hair. He gives me the manual for the ASK-21 to read while he scans my log book, uses an aerial photo to explain the field, and then we go out to pre-flight the ASK.
Turf has three parallel strips, two and a half of them paved with a thin strip of asphalt down the centre of the gravel, and one perpendicular cross wind. A commercial "Trike" operation, (a flying cloth wing atop a three wheel undercarriage with a small pusher engine) uses the far runway. Turf's planes are tied down between use at the edge of the field or on the nearer strip, and the middle one is used for landing. The fleet consists of several 2-33's, a 1-26, two Grob 103's and the ASK-21.
It is well used, but nicely maintained. You can see the ravages many landings on the loose gravel have wrought on the undercarriage, but everything aboard is functional and tight. We tow the plane out with one of the golf carts, and Mathew, Roy's helpful and slightly shy son, gives me the cockpit check and assists me with my parachute. I climb in, and Matt straps me in tighter than ever before; - the usual five-way with the lap belt ends looped under and tied, and then another cross lap belt for security.
On Roy's command, ‘You have control’, I do my pre-flight checklist; - signal for hook up, - close my canopy, - check both of the canopies and the spoilers are locked closed, then give the thumbs up and wag the rudder. The towplane, a Pawnee, acknowledges with his rudder and throttles up. I fly the take off and tow, where Roy has me box the prop wash, and we release at 5,000’ AGL. We do a couple of stalls, and turning stalls (incipient spins), until, satisfied, Roy gets to the serious business.
We begin with the Loop. It will be my first loop ever! Roy puts the nose down into a 45-degree dive to accelerate to our entry speed of 110 Kts, and tells me to watch the horizon and the G-meter. He pulls back until we are pulling 4 G's, and I search for the horizon’s reappearance. He eases the backpressure as we coast over the top, and then reapplies it to pull us through the back half of the loop. We cross the horizontal at about 100 k, again pulling 4 G's until we are in a 30-degree climb, slowing to 50 Kts only 300' or so lower than we began.
As another song says, "Oh, what a feeling, what a rush!"
Then it is my turn to try one. I like this. ‘Zippity Do Dah...’; Roy likes this. I try more and I hoot with exuberant laughter. So he tells me to do a double loop. Next, we turn to inverted flight. This feels very strange, hanging from my many straps with my glasses riding up my forehead, and I learn to push the stick to control my speed.
We have run out of altitude, and following Roy's instructions, I head for the IP and enter circuit to land. The flight was 27 minutes; the range over the week would prove to be between 20 and 44 minutes. Roy debriefs in a quiet and positive manner; inserting a business card under the clip of ballpoint pen, he makes a model to illustrate that all manoeuvres are combinations of the loop, the roll, the hammerhead, the wingover and inverted flight.
So far, no nausea, nothing over my head. But Roy tells me I’ll find the Roll a little more interesting. We discover on tow a mutual love of sailing, and swap war stories the rest of the week. Off tow, we do our clearing turns, and Roy demonstrates the roll. VERY INTERESTING!
We accelerate to 110 k entry speed, (later I’ll learn that we can enter as slow as 80 k), and then pull up 'til the nose is slightly above the horizon. Relax the stick. We begin as in a coordinated turn, with initial left rudder, feeding in aileron to full deflection, and holding it there. As we roll through 45 degrees, we neutralize the rudder, (gently, smoothly), and then approaching 90 degrees, we feed in right, or top rudder to control the pitch, and as we roll to inverted, relax the top rudder, but reassert pitch control with forward pressure on the stick, maintained while inverted. Then as we go through 270 degrees, the rudder goes neutral, then back to top rudder (remember, your other rudder is now top rudder, the left one), having gradually relaxed the forward pressure on the stick as we left the inverted attitude. Approaching level flight again, we (“smoothly, smoothly!�) reduce aileron deflection, and adjust pitch either to regain our altitude, or our entry speed for our next manoeuvre. Oh, and make sure to come out of the roll on the same heading as your entry.
The mechanics come easily, the finesse is elusive, and there is a rush of exultation with every near success. Oh, how I like this! I can’t stop telling Roy how much fun this is, and I worry that I sound like an idiot. But he can’t stop ‘Zippity Do Dah...’. We finish with a few more loops, attempt a little thermalling, and then cede to the altitude and enter circuit. We decide two lessons is sufficient for day one, but Roy offers me the 1-26 for the afternoon, so I ask for a lunch recommendation. Roy points over the trailer park to some white structure, tells me it is the Wild Horse West, and advises me not to get in a fight.
The parking lot features mainly Harleys and pickups. On the door, a sign over a ‘Budweiser Racing’ poster announces ‘NO GUNS’ (later, I ask Roy if the sign is serious, and he tells me it surely is, and that local protocol requires you remove the bullets from your gun, pocket them, and surrender the gun to the cashier for the duration of your visit). The decor is a dense collection of animated beer signs, (you know, the kind where the moonlit lake, the fire and the stars behind the cowboys all twinkle), two mangy bison heads, and a "Home of the Harleys Club" sign. The menu is painted above the bar: Hamburger, Cheese Burger, Swiss Burger (Swiss cheese and fried onions), Hot Dog or Grilled Cheese and Bacon, all with a bag of potato chips. Despite the warm ambience it is not long until I am back at the airfield, pulling into the parking lot just ahead of a bus.
As I reach the porch, someone calls out “It’s Show Time�, and the day’s crowd of ‘Rides’, about thirty in number, files up to John. They pay $75.00 for a 3,000’ tow in a 2-33, or $110.00 for the ‘Acro Ride’, a 4,000’ tow in a Grob 103 or the ASK-21. I get the 1-26 launched before the Show begins, taking a 2,000’ tow, but can find only weak lift, landing at the 27 minute mark. I watch the low passes that are the culmination of the acro rides for a while, but it is anticlimactic. I call it a day, turn on the oldies station in the Cadillac, and sing all the way back to The Boulders.
Day two, we add Cuban 8’s and Reverse Cuban 8’s, basically a half loop with a half roll after or before, respectively. I fly three lessons, adding Rolling Turns and Clover Leaf Turns (a loop with half a roll, you turn to the right on the up side of the loop, and exit 90 degrees left of your entry vector). We finish in spectacular fashion as Roy flies a low pass over the crosswind runway at 135 Kt, gaining back 450’ with a rolling climbing turn into pattern nearing the end of downwind. YES!!
Today the Wild Horse West is full with the membership of an equestrian club, and I go with the Swiss Burger on rye, and then return to Turf for another round with the 1-26. I can find little better than zero sink. They suggest I come back in April to find 15,000’ thermals.
Day three, the only new element is the Wingover, and we review and practice the loops, rolls, Cuban 8’s, reverse Cuban 8’s and clover leaf turns. The emphasis is on smooth execution, (“You’ve got the mechanics, work on doing it smoothly, feeding in full control gradually�). Three lessons, lunch, ( I stay with the Swiss Burger, and I notice nobody else eats the potato chips either), then 33 minutes in the 1-26.
Day four, we learn the Split S, (a half roll to inverted, hold Until the speed drops to 50 k, and then pull through with a half loop), and I screw up. Just past the halfway point of a roll, I remember it is only supposed to be half a roll, I try to reverse the rotation, and forget to hold the nose up with forward pressure. Roy, calmly and for the first time, takes control. Undeterred, we go on to the Hammerhead, (dive to entry speed, 120 - 135 k, and then pull up, until approaching vertical, relax the stick, but as the plane slows, gradually feed in rudder so one wing drags, until it stops climbing, hanging suspended for a surprisingly long moment, and than falls to the side. Improper execution can lead to a tail slide!), and review all that went before, picking up thermals today, and then spending the altitude in more practice. Before the next flight, Roy draws my first routine, using the IAC (International Aerobatic Club) symbols. It calls for a loop, - a roll, - a half Cuban 8, - a roll, - a wingover, - a roll to inverted, hold inverted, and then roll to upright, - and a loop to finish.
Day five, and Roy has been busy at the photocopier, reducing the IAC 1998 ‘Known Compulsory Programs’ for the SPORTSMAN 1 GLIDER class, to 3� by 4�, suitable for taping to the instrument panel.. He modifies it to eliminate the Tail Slide, for which the ASK - 21 is not certified. It calls for: - a tight 360 degree turn, - a split S, - a roll, - a wingover, - a roll, - a hammerhead, - a loop, - a half Cuban 8, - and a climb to regain altitude. Roy has also introduced the discipline of ‘The Box’. It is marked out on the ground, the centre a white cross, and the sides parallel to the runways, mentally subdivided into nine square sectors. The idea is to ensure that we are always aligned with the sides of the box, and to move sectors, never doing two manoeuvres in the same sector. Oh yeah, and I must waggle the wings before the first figure, and after the last, to signal the judges the start and finish of my program. I do the waggles fine. In between, as a French teacher frequently wrote in my report card, there is room for improvement. But improve we do, and that’s a good thing, because tomorrow my wife is coming in the capacity of designated audience for an air show!
Last day! My wife watches me do the D.I., Matt helps me tow the plane out, the tug arrives, but Roy is still occupied with his morning constitutional.. Matt radios him to say we are on the line and ready. He responds that he will be a while, but I can fly it solo, or I can take my wife, or wait 10 or 15 minutes, and he will fly with me; my choice. Matt suggests I take my wife. I explain that Riki will not fly in a glider even for a scenic ‘intro’, so an acro ride is definitely out. Matt thinks me fortunate, but shares his technique for those who wish to eliminate their wife’s shared interest. ‘Start with a high-speed entry, say 135, into a hammerhead, and when it’s hanging there, just before it falls, say over your shoulder “OOPS!�. You’ll probably never need to take her flying again.’
I elect to wait for Roy; I figure I can’t look worse for having a coach in the back, and soon we are off. I start with the IAC program, and then improvise. We fly and fly, everything I have learned, (Zippity Do Dah indeed!) until we are getting close to pattern entry height. I ask Roy to show my wife a low pass. He says I can fly it. Accelerate to 135 k, and with both hands on the stick to ensure steadiness, hold the speed and head for the crosswind strip. We streak across the field less than 10’ off the ground (‘Not bad, - no PIO's, not bad at all!), a climbing turn into a low and abbreviated circuit, and it is over.
It has been the most excitement I have had flying since I soloed. I decline a second flight, because there is no way I could improve on the one I just finished. Roy suggests I should move to Arizona, and join the Turf Acrobatic Team. I decline the move idea, but I promise I’ll be back next year. He ensures that I will go back with a tentative offer to fly his Swift (‘like Formula 1 of acro gliders’).
I should warn you; there are grave and hidden dangers in this acro flying. Last fall I purchased a half interest in a Discus CS, but now I feel the need for use of a second glider, - an acro certified one. Exposure to this type of flying can cause you to surpass Ene (Expenditure Never Exceed)! If however, you are willing to take this risk, Turf Soaring can be found at (602) 439-3621, or on the Web at www.turfsoaring.com.
_It cannot be stressed enough. Aerobatics is not to be self-taught. An error in inverted flight can result in screaming past Vne to destruction.