Daily News
Comp starting: John Hudson, Greg Jackson, Ann Woolf
Day 1: Pete S, Ann Woolf, Adam Woolley, John Hudson, Terry Cubley
Thursday's flying: Ann Woolf
A glider pilot's idea of fun: Lisa and Peter Trotter
Friday's weather: John Blyth
Day 2: John Blyth, Adam Woolley, John Hudson
Day 3: John Hudson
Day 4: John Hudson, Adam Woolley
Day 5: John Blyth, John Hudson, Terry Cubley
Thursday 20th: rain and shine, John Blyth, day cancelled, John Hudson
Day 6: John Blyth, Pete S
The 2005 Club-class competition got underway on Monday 10th January 2005 with good weather for practice day.
This competition was preceded by "Performance Week", which consisted of a basic and an advanced cross country course hosted by the SAGA under Bernard Eckey. Performance Week was well attended with approximately 45 gliders and their crews participating. Flying was possible each day, which consisted of a lecture/discussion followed by flying with a debrief in the evening.
Practice Day
After a detailed initial briefing, including a review of the important safety elements, the task for the competition Practice Day was announced - WKI, The Gums (homestead) Allawoona to the repeater station (east of Renmark) and back to WKI. Good lift conditions prevailed with climbs to 6000 / 7000 Ft.
From John Hudson, Sun 16 Jan 2005, 21:53 CST. ^ top
Performance Week wound up on Saturday 8th January 05 with presentations and a dinner for over 80 people.
Many of the competition pilots and crews arrived on Saturday, and many of the pilots were keen to get into the air. A very busy time for the Comp's organising committee finalising registrations and the set up the facilities. This year a bank of computers have been provided for competitors to download their own loggers and probably 50% of the pilots will know before leaving the room if their flight has been validated.
Captain (Rod), the Chef is again delighting us with gastronomically excellent meals.
Practise Day on the Monday went well for the organising committee with a very comprehensive briefing. It usually takes a little longer on the first day due to the amount of information that must be passed on. The weather and safety briefings particularly were outstanding. Marshalling was on time thanks to cooperation from the many pilots and crews, launching taking a little over an hour.
From Greg Jackson (Jet), Thu 13 Jan 2005, 12:45 CST. ^ top
Clubclass comp starting
Clubclass competition pilots and their crews began arriving on Saturday. Unfortunately Robert Musgrave had to leave us on Sunday due to problems back home and Jim Crowhurst is stuck in Sydney trying to get his glider off the boat and through customs.
The National Sports Class Competition began with a practice day on Monday 10th January: the weather looked good. There are 54 pilots entered with 50 gliders as there are two 2 seaters - both motor gliders - the Stemme and the DG 500, and there are two pilot pairs - each pair shares a glider, flying alternate days. Nearly all the pilots flew on the practice day which Joy Shirley, the scorer, said was probably a record. Normally only a few pilots fly, which doesn't give the organisation or the scorer any practice, and it is only on Day One that they find out where things are going to go wrong, which is really the wrong time to find out.
From Ann Woolf, Thu 13 Jan 2005, 13:07 CST. ^ top
Clubclass comp - day 1
On Tuesday 11 January, Dean Maywald, Mayor of the District Council of Loxton Waikerie and Karlene Maywald, MP Member for Chaffey and Minister for The River Murray came to the briefing and opened the competition.
It turned out to be a booming day with temperatures of 45 deg C and wave clouds (lenticulars) all over the sky. Many pilots had climbs to 10,000 ft and the ones that had oxygen fitted in their gliders climbed even higher. I am hoping we may have some short articles by some of today's pilots which will be on our website.
On the ground we all sweltered. Drinks and cold water were taken out to the launch point to top up the spare water the pilots and crews had out there already. Greg Jackson did a run to the local recycling depot with the empties from the past week, then on to Banrock Station 30 kms east of us to replenish our wine stocks and some tasty soft drinks. Thanks Greg.Our cook, Rod van den Brink, is doing a grand job in the kitchen with the help of Bill and Shirley Mudge in the mornings and Jean, Anne and Marie Hudson in the evenings and also some of the other people about the place that give a hand when it is needed.
Bronwyn Blyth from Carnarvon, WA is manning the bar all day selling soft drinks, sandwiches and baguettes and Betty Vinall from Waikerie will be coming in to help her. Peter Page and Grant Hudson do the evening shift.
From Ann Woolf, Thu 13 Jan 2005, 13:10 CST. ^ top
Day 1
Day 1 of the competition, Tuesday 11th, dawned with a forecast maximum temperature of 43 C and northerly winds ahead of a cooler change. Forecast convection to 14,000 - 15,000 Ft saw a task for WKI, Burra, Allawoona, Woolpunda to WKI. The RAAF / ATC co-operated releasing restricted military airspace to 12000 Ft over Burra.
After the official welcome by Mr Dean Maywald, Mayor of the Loxton Waikerie Council and official opening of the competition by the Member for Chaffey and Minister for the River Murray Ms Karlene Maywald, the gliders were gridded in strengthening north-westerly winds.
With 5 tugs, the 50 plus fleet was launched and the start gate opened at 1400 Hrs. Soon gliders were reporting climbs to 11000 - 12000 ft - with slow progress into the strong north-westerly wind. The downwind leg to Allawoona saw some good speeds, with Cu forming under the cirrus cloud. The radio chatter was interesting for the land based crews, with reports of 15 Kt climbs to 15,000 (The typical Waikerie weather).
Some of the radio comments included:
- When the start gate opened "Tally-ho, and off we go"
- A comment with 15 Kts on the vario, "This is awesome, I've never seen anything like this before".
- Another pilot, sounding jealous "I've only got 14 Kts".
- Yet another pilot, "Lets leave, its only 14 Kts".
- And another pilot, "It's getting crappy, down to 12 Kts".
- And another, "I wish I had oxygen".
Day one Nationals
The task was an assigned area task, first to the west towards Burra (50km radius) and then South East to Alawoona (also 50 km) with a slight dog leg to Woolpunda to make sure that everyone comes home from the same direction. The scratch distance was something like 400 km, but potentially up to 600 km. Given a 3 hour task time, this wasn't going to be a problem. I expected to fly something like 330-350 km, giving an average speed of over 110kph.
The weather briefing looked great, with potentially thermals to 14,000 feet, but in the blue. The major issue at briefing was making sure that we didn't infringe the 12,000 foot airspace around the Burra turnpoint.
I started with Peter Buskens and Lisa Trotter at approx 10,000 feet to the north of the river. This meant that we didn't have to cross the river near Morgan, a notable sink hole. The route to Burra is quite desolate, lots of low scrub, a single road and an occasional smoother section of scrub that could possibly be landed on. There is an airstrip at The Gums (50km out) and then nothing else until near to Burra. However, at 10,000 feet the world takes on a better complexion.
A couple of 6-7 knot climbs had us well on the way. There was a band of high cloud coming over the task area, and a really thick band that hinted reduced climbs. Peter and I decided to fly north of track ahead of the band and we were rewarded with some quite good climbs, and areas of good air - not too much sink - which means that you can extend your glide. Lisa Trotter and a few others turned early but Peter and I continued on until a little north east of Burra. Time to go back - with the joy of a tailwind. We turned at the top of a climb at 11,000 feet and achieved a ground speed of 220kph for the next 50 km to The Gums with a climb of 7 knots to 10,000 again. Crossing the river at Morgan, there were a few gliders down low and we picked a good climb across the river to top up height and then decided to head south of track to a few cumulus clouds.
This was a bit of a detour, and the first cloud dissipated just as I arrive. I pushed on to the second cloud and was rewarded with an 8-9 knot climb back to 11,500. All of a sudden, there was a great street towards the second turn at Alawoona, with even better looking clouds beyond. I was starting to wish that we had turned Burra earlier.
I was able to glide 65km for only 3000 feet, achieving over 200 kph over the ground. I was now doing the calculations as to when I should turn back to Waikerie so as to achieve the minimum task time of 3hours. With 45 minutes to go, and at 3km per minute I should b able to travel 135km. This would mean no more climbs, but there appeared to be good streeting on the way home. I took a 7 knot climb to 12,500 feet and then pushed south of Alawoona under the streets until 40 minutes and 120km to travel and 13,000 feet. I turned 30km past Alawoona and headed home.
Heading north, now into a headwind, there was good streeting to the East of track but well worth the detour. I caught up to others who elected not to make the detour and who were previously 10 minutes ahead of me.
The glide home was uneventful but not quite 3km per minute, arriving home 3 minutes over time, but feeling pretty good. Final result was 139kph for just on 420 km in 3 hours. A good Waikerie day.
From Terry Cubley, Tue 25 Jan 2005, 10:45 CST. ^ top
Cake Please
1st Comp day soon arrived with the met man telling us that we'll see 14,000' in generally blue conditions. Wow and WOW, it turned out to be better than expected - one pilot reporting a 14kt climb to 16,000'! Unfortunately, I didn't have a VNC with me and elected to stay below 12,500' for the day. It's a tough life...I certainly had fun on this day, although on the really BIG days I have lots to learn. My main problem was not knowing where the thermals were, the way out was all the spare height up the sleeve. Our first turnpoint was over totally unlandable terrain after about 40km out, thankfully I didn't get below 5,500' and didn't have to sweat too much..
25kts+ of wind blowing at all levels bought the tactics into play. I elected to maximise my time in the downwind leg, so punched to the northern sector (50km radius) by 40km and made a dash for the second. It was a great run, picking up some good speed while trying to 'cherry pick' the good climbs.
A 1/3rd the way down this leg I noticed cu's forming (@ 16,000'), so it was a mad dash towards those. Unfortunately by turning in the far northern sector of the first, I was only able to run 3 cu's before turning for home to meet the 3hr AAT time limit.
I started the glide @ 11,500' 70km out, obviously looking good for a phat glide. About 40km out I was starting to question it all, but WinPilot said I should be cool. I left the decision to late to climb so was forced to keep pushing on. At 10km out I was 500' below glide, and 6km I was 750' below - although eyeballing looked fine. Every time I got reduced sink I s-turned to maximise it..
By the time I was 2km out, I was 1000' below glide and ended up sticking the nose down in the final paddock to ground effect it in. I was pumped and was feeling good. A quick bunny hop over a small shrub and I was home! Crossing the line at 70kts, drop the wheel and land straight ahead. Great days soaring.
If I could have my time over again, I would've turned short in the 1st and gone deep deep into the second to run the cu's! I also would've had a thermal minimum of at least 7kts.. I was stopping in 6kts or better most of the time, only once getting 11ks. The winner was only stopping in 8kts with one 14kt climb to base!! This is a huge learning curve for me - MASSIVE days are certainly not my strong point.
My final speed and distance in the lovely Charlie 2 was 300km at 100km/hr. The winner getting something like 125km/h after handicapp! Very Impressive flight on the SeeYou flight analysis program!
And Tom, if you've got some Cake left over - I'll go for that please!
From Adam Woolley, Fri 14 Jan 2005, 22:03 CST. ^ top
Day 1 flying
Day 1 has been flown and scored. It was a big day - hot, high, strong. Terry Cubley won the day, flying 426 km at 139 km/hr (before handicap). The slowest raw speed was 73 km/hr in a Boomerang.
The Comp Director declared Wed 12th a no-fly day, because there's a large inversion around 4000 feet that looks like staying today. People have gone to Banrock Station, the laundry, shops etc and are getting ready for tomorrow.
From Pete S, Wed 12 Jan 2005, 17:21 CST. ^ top
Thursday's flying, 13 Jan
On Wednesday no task was set, as there was a very stable airmass and an inversion so some of the pilots and their families took a trip to Banrock Station, some arriving back very much the worse for wear. Ray Humphrey and Janine had a most enjoyable day in the Barossa Valley.
Thursday started off with a very still morning. Briefing was at 10.00 and a task was set but with an inversion at 3,000 ft which Terry Moore, the Comps Director, hoped would rise as the day progressed.
Gridding was from 1130. Wave could be seen forming to the NW as we drove out. After a hot wait - 34 deg C recorded at Renmark - Sarah Allen in the Libelle was sent up as a sniffer. She only managed about 2 knots eventually and climbed slowly to nearly 3,000 ft. The first gliders finally launched, but after 27 had been launched it became evident that the inversion was not going to clear: the highest glider was getting to 3,200 ft, and any further launching would be dangerous. The day was called off and all but a few gliders landed back at the airfield whilst the few went on to fly the task - it being safer with less gliders in the sky.
From Ann Woolf, Fri 14 Jan 2005, 09:02 CST. ^ top
A GLIDER PILOT'S IDEA OF FUN
(On 13 Jan) a 6000' blue day was forecast with convection to 4000' starting at 1300. A 3 hour AAT with a minimum distance of 183 km was set. The task was changed to 2.5 hours because the launch was delayed. After half the fleet was launched, the day was cancelled because convection height was not getting up much higher than 3000'. For a bit of fun and practise we decided to do the task. We flew 212 km at a HUGE 60 kph - it took 3.5 hours. Getting home felt very satisfying!
Before we started we asked on the chat frequency if anyone wanted to join us. The silence was deafening. Rolf Buelter had already started and was 30 km ahead of us. He was a hero for doing the flight on his own. It was a definite advantage to have some company. There were a couple of times when we got below 1000' with not many prospects and helped each other out. We stuck together, waiting for each other at times.
We started at about 1420 at 3300' and cruised between 2000' and 3500' for the first 50km taking 2-3 kt climbs. We said "woopie" when we got a 3 kt climb to 4700' and figured we were going to have a good day. This was on the first leg when we had a tail wind from the NW of about 10-15 kts. But it turned out that we were to spend most of the day under 3000' and mostly around 2000' with 2 kt climbs heading into 10 kt headwind. At 1600, nearly two hours into the flight we managed to get over 4000' for the second time, but spent the next hour under 3000' again, mostly below 2000' and below 800' at one stage.
The inconsistency in the apparent convection height was curious. On only three occasions over the whole flight we climbed above 4500', but the rest of the time we were struggling to get over 3000'. When we were scraping around at 1000', Rolf ahead was reporting being in wave over 5000'. What was going on??? Needless to say, we didn't find the up part of the wave. But we think that the time we spent in the weeds was to do with the down part of the wave. Possibly the convection was being suppressed by the wave.
The thermals were not well formed and inconsistent - it felt like there was a large dose of stability in the air. To make it more complicated there was some mottled cloud shadow to dodge. After getting down below 1000' again about 80 km from home at 1630, home looked a long way away. Finally we found the up part of the wave system and worked thermals progressively higher - 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 - until we got final glide home.In our last climb we were talking about the beer waiting for us at the bar. It wasn't a lounge chair ride, but why bother going gliding if you want to sit in a lounge chair. It was exciting, an adventure, satisfying and an interesting learning experience. We went to bed with the usual gliding high and don't remember the head hitting the pillow.
From Lisa and Peter Trotter, Tue 18 Jan 2005, 14:14 CST. ^ top
Friday's Weather - Perfectly Predicted!
When I flew the temp trace in Nigel's Dimona at 0645, I was hopeful that Thursday's huge inversion had moderated. Well, it had, but with a front expected at 1400 to kill any lift, and conditions still very weak before that, there were no dissenters at all from the Tasking Committee for a no task day.
Disappointing for sure, but much better than having fifty gliders out landing. David's weather predictions had turned out to be spot on by mid afternoon, and by that time many stalwarts had retired delightfully to the grassy shores of the Murray River for a BBQ and the occasional glass of something refreshing!
Hopefully, there will be a change of air mass to at least 5000ft by Saturday, and we can look forward to another 16,000ft day before too long.
A nice headwind for launching would be nice too.
From John Blyth, Fri 14 Jan 2005, 17:27 CST. ^ top
Flying at Last....
There is some SUNSHINE at last in Waikerie, and after three no flying days, everyone is eager to get launched.
Marshalling will start at 1145 with launches hopefully underway by 1300. At the moment there are lots of CU around at about 2000ft, and we are hoping they may eventually rise to 4000+ later in the day.
The task is fairly small - Notts Well to the south west, Allawoona to the east, Loxton to the north, then Maggea and Kingston, then home to Waikerie. A distance of 244.8
From John Blyth, Sun 16 Jan 2005, 11:14 CST. ^ top
Comp Day 2
The forecast good conditions arrived. The overcast burnt off leaving a blue sky with 10 - 15 Kt southerly winds. Good lift conditions developed early, allowing climbs in excess of 6000 Ft.
An AAT task was set, - WKI, Notts Well, Allawoona, Loxton, Maggea, Kingston to WKI. After launching the fleet of 50+ gliders, the start gate opened at 1420 Hrs.
Radio comments during the task included:
- "I owe you at least a six-pack for this one", by a pilot who entered a thermal found by another pilot.
- "Here comes the whole bloody pack again", by a pilot entering a thermal and looking back along track.
- "You beauty, 8 Kts"
| Day 2 | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Wallace (NZ) | 94.44 Kts (H/Cap 87.83), 545.3 Points | 1070 points |
| David Wilson (Aust) | 90.83 Kts (H/Cap 84.02), 491.0 Points | 1237 points |
From John Hudson, Mon 17 Jan 2005, 9:26 CST. ^ top
Day 2
All the pilots were running around like kids in candy stores this morning, we all woke to a cool, but fresh looking blue sky. Early on in the day wisps formed and soon into fully developed soft looking cu's. By launch time there was 10kts of south-westerly blowing with bases lifting and a nice day soaring ahead.
Straight off launch barrelled into a nice climb straight to 5,000'. Worked my way onto track testing the air, and soon found that it was quite buoyant with regular and easy to pick climbs. With a sky full of fiberglass over 'Bravo 1' start point, we were soon on our way. Initial thoughts were to start late, but as the minutes were ticking by it was evident that an early start would be the way to go as cu's were thinning out.
I flew alongside Wolli in his mates lovely ASW-15, a very schmick looking glider. Having nice glides in the boyant air, cruising at 75kts. Climbs were excellent and better than expected with 7kts around! Turned to the South-East of TP1, onto a nice line of cu's to the second. A relatively straight foward leg with wisps giving a good sign of workable energy.
Turned at Allawoona and barrelled along for Loxton, I felt a little slow on this leg taking a couple of ordinary climbs to stay in the working band. Around Loxton and the next leg to Maggea felt long and slow with the growing 16-18kt southerly. Although the sky was filled with gliders, it was quite easy to punch on and find the better climbs.
I'm still not picking the best climbs, today working 5.5kts to 7kts to 6,000' when the lift seemed to drop off. The pilots are of a very high standard here, and I can see the Top 20 will be very hard to get. The top pilots generally circling in 7kts, and the occasional 8-9kt climb! The buggers...
Turned the final TP and it felt like someone turned off the light switch - I have a suspicion that the sea breeze came in and low wasn't the place to be.. I ended up arriving back home after 2 hours, 30 minutes and 8 seconds! Covering 221km @ 88.40km/h.
From Adam Woolley, Sun 16 Jan 2005, 21:32 CST. ^ top
Day 3
Day 3 dawned similar to day 2, with a 10 - 15 Kt southerly with an overcast sky which is expected to burn off early. Here's hoping.
(later) A RUN task was set, from WKI to Woolpunda, Wunkar, Notts Well, Morgan back to Woolpunda, repeated for the set 4 hour task duration, about 175 km per lap. As launching finished the sky had cleared almost to blue.
The RUN task provided the opportunity for those on the ground to be more involved in competition, monitoring the progress of the gliders by radio and observing their passage past Waikerie airfield as most gliders passed the airfield twice.
From John Hudson, Mon 17 Jan 2005, 22:00 CST. ^ top
Day 4
The anticipated good gliding conditions for Day 4 eventuated as predicted. Following the daily Pilot Briefing, which included the various segments of a safety briefing developed by Sakka (for the World comps), the gliders were marshalled in light and variable wind conditions.
An AAT task was set for Day 4, WKI, Blanchetown, Copeville, Peebinga, Lindsay River, Loxton, Woolpunda to WKI, with a minimum distance of 274 Km and a maximum distance of 599.5 Km.
Thermals were expected early, providing lift to 6000, rising possibly to around 7000 with an expected wind shift to the north-west. As launching commenced, Cu developed in the north east and progressively spread across the task area.
While there were a few outlandings, most of the fleet completed the task. Bruce Taylor won the day, flying an average of 116 km/hr before handicap. Peter Trotter was second at 114 km/hr. Simon Hackett and Catherine Conway averaged 118 km/hr in the Stemme, but the handicap put them back to third place. Full scores here.
A great performance was put in by Derek Spencer flying the Adelaide University Gliding Club Boomerang, the only wooden ship in the competition, who completed the task late in the day.
Day 5 has dawned with an expected maximum temperature of 38c ahead of a cooler change, possibly with thundery showers, which is expected late in the day.
From John Hudson, Wed 19 Jan 2005, 08:56 CST. ^ top
Club Class Nats - day 4
You little Ripper! a 10th placing on Day 4, the best thing was that I flew my own race and got this result! Really enjoying this competition stuff, I highly recomend you all get out there and fly the NSW State Comps coming up. Details can be found at www.joeyglide.com/nswstatecomps/
Got an early launch and flew away to a good 20-30km from the airfield (over the scrub) - blundering around in a 1kt climb relaxing. This was an excellent time to prepare for the flight and visualise what I thought had to be done.
Once the start gate opened, I was off within 10minutes - bumping into Phil Ritchie soon after and grabbing a couple of nice climbs off him in his LS-4. 3 climbs later, he had pulled away from me and was left to fend for myself. This was no drama's as I had my own plan ticking away. The task was a 4hr AAT flight, with Min of around 220km, Median of 400 or so, and max of a whopping 600km!
In the past few days I've learnt a bucket load more, and found that on this flight I had more confidence and was pushing lower in search of the good climb. Also, pushing the Cirrus around at 80kts between climbs.
The final hour went soft, and was forced to take a couple of 5kt climbs, and once taking 2kts when low low to get back into a suitable working height. Moved over to the north of the road from Woolpunda and had a nice final glide home. Finishing 3 mins under for a speed of 99km/h - a 10th placing and 895points! I'll take it!! After Day 4, I'm 22nd on the Aggregates out of 56...
Bring on Day 5!
From Adam Woolley, Thu 20 Jan 2005, 09:29 CST. ^ top
Weather Looks Interesting for Day 5
The temp trace line was dead straight from 1000 feet to 8,500 this morning as I enjoyed the clear early morning skies above Waikerie in Nigel's Dimona, so there are no inversions to worry about today.
There is a front coming in from the west, so the time of its arrival is going to have a critical impact on the day's flying. Either way, it looks like it is going to be magnificent before the front arrives. Just when that will be is being currently discussed by the task setting committee.
Yesterday was generally below 6000 feet, but there were some excellent thermals about, which various "Sucking Gods" pulled 4 or 5 gliders earthwards. For the pilot of EM it was two days in a row, but now he has experienced the delights of both Wunkar and Meribah pubs for an extended period.The other 50 pilots reported generally enjoyable conditions, with almost calm upper winds giving Boomerang pilot Derek Spencer a later but extremely joyous arrival after a flight of more than 300 kilometres.
From John Blyth, Wed 19 Jan 2005, 09:03 CST. ^ top
Day 5
Day 5 was predicted to be a good day, with a forecast maximum temperature of around 38c, with early lift, developing thermals to 10,000 later in the day ahead of a forecast thundery change. Winds were from the north and expected to tend westerly ahead of the change.
A task, Waikerie, Notts Well, Merribah, Merringur, Taldra, Lindsay River, Hawkes Dam, Waikerie was set. The start gate opened at 1420 Hrs, with reports of gliders at around 10,000 Feet (another typical Waikerie day).
Derek Spencer continues to put in a great performance in the Boomerang, again completing the Day 5 task.
From John Hudson, Thu 20 Jan 2005, 12:13 CST. ^ top
Day 5 Nationals
This was a 3.5 hour assigned area task, fairly complex with 6 turnpoints. The weather predicted good lift to 12,000 feet or more, but with a front coming through at the end of the day.
At launch time it was blue with fairly thick bands of high cloud coming through, but we were still getting up to 9,000 feet. The lift was quite weak below 3,000 feet, and although there were large areas of lift, the actual cores were quite hard to find. I decided to stay above 3,000 and realised that if I only found weak climbs that it would be worth searching around a little. There appeared to be some weak thermal wave at 9,000 feet but I only managed to reach 9,300.
I started at 8300 feet and headed directly to Notts Well, 35km to the South West. With cloud shadow out to the west we decided to just go into the turn point and then head SE to Meribah. I managed to meet up with Peter Buskens in the first climb - 7knots for 2000 feet - and we turned Notts Well and headed straight to a small gaggle just East of the turn.
Chasing after the lead gliders, it was obvious that there were long glides, and when coming under other gliders, quite often there was no lift at the lower altitudes. 50km glide and a 6knot climb enabled me to stay above 4000 feet. There were small cu ahead but every time I approached they would disappear.
The task really required that I go to the bottom of the assigned area, and the next leg was over the large section of scrub (40km wide) and there was a couple of nice looking clouds in a direct line from the bottom of the sector. It was going to be critical to get a climb here, otherwise there would be problems in getting through the scrub.
There were three of us heading to the small cloud at the bottom of the sector. Rolf flew under the edge of the cloud , found nothing and headed off toward the scrub. I pulled up under the cloud and decided that a search was worthwhile. Eventually we found the core, starting at 5 knots and then gradually increasing to 8knots through to 9,000ft. Peter Buskens missed the main core and was 2,000 feet below when I left. Jarek Mosiejevski in the DG300 and I flew straight over the thickest scrub towards the main cumulus 20km away and found a good climb. Jarek eventually found the main core which was 10 knots, and we climbed to 11,000 feet. I headed off at 95 knots over the scrub toward the far edge of the next turn sector. A couple of small cu provided good lift which helped me to glide ot the far edge of the sector, arriving at 7,000 feet.
The leg back West was under shadow and I flew fairly conservatively through this sector, topping up a few hundred feet in each 4 knot climb that I went through. Over the Victorian border scrub at 3500 feet I finally found a 5 knot climb and then a small cu formed just to the south. Throughout this section I noticed that Cu were forming behind me - very frustrating - so it was good that one had finally caught up. As the thermal turned into 8knots. Peter Buskens and Tracey Tabart pulled in overhead- they had caught up 20 km over the past 60km.
The sky looked rather threatening ahead. Bands of heavy cloud, some high cu, also in bands, and towards Waikerie the front was rapidly approaching. With clouds over 10,000 feet there is good potential to glide through the darker areas, but how quickly was the front coming? 3 turnpoints to go.
We climbed to 11,000 feet and flew to the back of the Taldra sector, and then along a few cu towards Lindsay River, back to the North. The sky and ground were dark but there were good looking cu over Renmark, off to our left. We just touched the next turnpoint sector and turned towards Renmark. After a 70km glide we arrived in a thermal over Renmark aerodrome at 5000 feet. What a climb, 8-10 knots which we worked to 10,000 feet.
Once again the calculations. 20 minutes to go, 60 km to the finish line, but more than enough height. I decide to drive further into the last sector to gain some Km, but flying at over 100 knots - keeping an eye on the distance to Waikerie and height available. Turn too soon and you get back too early or too high, turn too late and you are below glide with pressure to find another climb. As it was, there were great climbs and clouds - the best part of the sky. 120 knots on final glide, I finally came in 3 minutes over time, but with 126kph for approx 440km. Another exciting Waikerie day.
From Terry Cubley, Tue 25 Jan 2005, 10:57 CST. ^ top
Thursday - It's Raining at 0520
I have just woken up to fly the temp trace, but it is raining quite heavily with a little thunder as well, so I might go back to sleep for a while, and dream of the exciting day yesterday.
The task setters had a difficult time yesterday, but in the end they were the toast of everyone, as not only were there no out landings, but the lift was generally superb, with 12,000 foot CUs dotting the task, particularly in the latter stages.
Waikerie Club member Brett Potter seemed like a shoe in for first place, as he started very late and got the best of the conditions. However some canny flying by others like Bruce Taylor , and Don Woodward from WA, saw Brett finish a still creditable tenth.
As much as I hate to admit it, the "self" marshalling by the pilots has gone speedily and well - even if the line up has grown by 60% in length. The debate of marshalling from the front or rear still has dedicated bands of supporters, but our volunteer's labours are certainly reduced by not having to whip and brutalise the pilots to position then gliders to the millimetre!
Finishing yesterday was something of a rush at times, and with the wind swinging from West to North and back again, those that chose to land with a tail wind component on the 18 hangar area had a few exciting moments.
Bernard Eckey enjoyed flying his ASW 25 to 13,700 in thermal wave above Waikerie while waiting for the fleet to land, much to the angst of those of us earth bound!
From John Blyth, Thu 20 Jan 2005, 05:40 CST. ^ top
Yippee - The Sun's Shining Again!!!!
Funny what difference an hour or two can make!
It was raining heavily two hours ago, with lightning bolts and thunder to add to the display. Now the sun is shining brightly at Waikerie, and it looks like it might be another great soaring day.
I think the task setters are going to have a hard time of it looking at the forecast, and the winds could be over 30 knots. While doing the temp trace in Nigel's Dimona, I had some good wave in the turbulence at about 3500 - 4500 feet, where I enjoyed a climb rate of up to 800 ft/min.
From John Blyth, Thu 20 Jan 2005, 07:46 CST. ^ top
Thursday 20th weather
Thursday 20th January dawned with thunderstorms, showers and strong winds. The thunderstorms and showers cleared, however the strong winds led to the cancellation of the competition day.
Tasman Trophy aggregate scores:
| Steve Wallace (NZ) | 3385 points |
| David Wilson (Aust) | 3657 points |
From John Hudson, Thu 20 Jan 2005, 12:19 CST. ^ top
Final Day - What's the weather going to do???
Thursday's task was cancelled owing to strong and gusty winds which were right between runways 20 and 26. The wind speeds were constantly over twenty knots, with frequent gusts over 30, so the task was cancelled as the wind was significantly over the crosswind component of the tugs, as well as the danger to aircraft handling in general.
This morning's temp trace started in sunny skies, but as I climbed through 4,500 feet, the cloud began to fill in below, and by the time I got to 7,500, my safety hole was rapidly filling. A rapid descent with full airbrake failed to beat the cloud cover, so I set up the Dimona in a left turn with full airbrake to make use of the half turn I could get in clear air.
I was very happy to see the ground appear in its correct place 20 seconds later...
Today's weather doesn't look so promising now, with fairly thick cloud at 2,500. Hopefully it will burn off quickly and give us good flying for the last day of competition, but that won't be certain for another hour or so.
From John Blyth, Fri 21 Jan 2005, 08:50 CST. ^ top
The Sun is about to Shine....
Yeh! The Sun's almost shining, and a 192.2km task has been set for the final day.
Marshalling is about to start at 1115, with the motor gliders leading off the fleet at 1230.
A certain pilot from that group by the name of Tracey though he might have sudden spark plug problems, but the threat of a points deduction suddenly improved his engines performance remarkably!
Task is Notts Well - Allawoona - Woolpunda - Waikerie
From John Blyth, Fri 21 Jan 2005, 10:57 CST. ^ top
The competition is finished
We have a winner: Bruce Taylor. Well done Bruce! Peter Temple and Terry Cubley were close behind. The full scores are here: Joy Shirley showed how well she has this organised by producing today's scores just after 6 pm.There were two outlandings, but the pilots should be back at Waikerie in time for the competition dinner. The usual awards will be given, the usual kinds of stories will be told, you can probably imagine...
From Pete S, Fri 21 Jan 2005, 20:21 CST. ^ top