NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE
NATIONALS NORTH ISLAND REGIONALS YOUTH SOARING DEVELOPMENT CAMP JOEY GLIDE • CLUB NEWS
issue
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IMAGES THAT SOAR ABOVE THE ORDINARY
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contents february/march 2013
FEATURES
Pg 10
10
Mt Cook Alpine Salmon National Gliding Championships 2013
20
Northern Regional Gliding Champs 2012
23
Tales of the North
24
The Healing Power of Flight: A Season as Glide Omarama Writer-in-Residence
28
Youth Soaring Development Camp
34
Joey Glide
36
GNZ Survey of New Members
37
Matamata XC Course
38
Securing Your Future, The Importance of District Plans
43
New Products From Trig And Lxnav
Pg 20
REGULARS Pg 24
Pg 34
6
Log Book
39
GNZ Awards and Certificates
40
Vintage The First 10 Years
44
Gliding New Zealand Club News
50
Classified Advertising
Pg 28
Printer Blue Print Advertising, editorial and subscription enquiries
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ISSN 1178-4784
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from the editor february/march 2013
I seem to remember that this time last year, everyone was complaining about the lack of anything resembling a summer. This summer feels completely different. As I write, we are coming to the end of a long stable period of anticyclonic, hot, dry weather. There’s a front due through in a day or so and then more of the same is expected. I love it, but then I’m not a farmer waiting for that last rain to fill the crop before harvest and we haven’t had water restrictions in Christchurch this year, so it’s been easy to keep the garden in good nick. There’s been plenty of hay made out in the countryside and there seems to be a bumper crop of summer fruit in the shops. The cherries I’ve been buying are huge. There are a lot of happy glider pilots, although the stable weather is starting to make thermals hard to find. Memory is short though. In putting this magazine together and sorting through photos from the Nationals and the Youth Soaring Development camp, I see there are photos from both events that show snow on the Benmores, across from the Omarama airfield. I had forgotten how cold it got during those weeks. We’ve actually had a real mix of weather over the last couple of months. There was so much rain that it wasn’t possible to swim in the Ahuriri river, at Omarama, as it was in flood. Don’t forget that there have been huge floods in Queensland, and the north of NZ got clobbered with some of the left-overs of those systems. Weather forecasters have a thankless job. The hit rate these days is pretty good. According to some quick Google research, the consensus is that weather reports have around an 87% success rate for the short term (three to five day) forecast. It is long range forecasting that gets really complicated and therefore more inaccurate. Many of us (and by that I mean glider pilots) often mutter that we can do better than the RASP, MetVUW or ‘official’ forecast. The thing is that, yes, often we can. I love that one of the side effects, if you will, of learning to fly gliders, is learning to read the weather. We become so attuned to what the atmosphere around us is doing, that we know intuitively what the weather is going to do, often for days ahead. Are you even aware that you can do this? I bet, right now, you can tell me what direction the wind is from and a rough estimate of its strength. A glance out the window would be enough for you to say if the upper wind is different from what’s happening on the ground, and what that means in your location. You can see the amount of cloud cover and say what you expect the wind and the sky will be like by the end of the day. How hot/cold is it going to get? Is the weather you’re experiencing going to stay similar for a few
next issue
NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE
NATIONALS NORTH ISLAND REGIONALS YOUTH SOARING DEVELOPMENT CAMP */%9 ',)$% s #,5" .%73
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days or will it be completely different tomorrow? Most glider pilots I know can tell me this, at least. There you are, you’re forecasting. The weather report just confirms what you already know. Weather forecasting is an exact science, dealing with vast amounts of inexact data. There are so many variables involved in a forecast, from air pressure systems to humidity, sea temperature, land temperature, land form and so much more, that it is amazing that the forecasters can predict anything. My son toyed with the idea of studying meteorology for a while but decided that these days, forecasting involves far too much computer work. He’s an out and about sort of person, so this wasn’t the career for him. I was disappointed. I’d really hoped to learn more myself, through him. In the meantime though, I’ve learnt to read the tephigrams that our forecasters use at competitions. Many thanks to both David Hirst - whose articles on how to do this appeared in issues 3 and 4, and my University lecturers in Environmental Physics. If there is enough interest, we may reprint David’s articles. You can teach yourself more. There is an excellent text book on meteorology that you can buy through university book shops or online book stores – Oxford University Press: The Weather and Climate of Australia and New Zealand by Andrew Sturman and Nigel Tapper. I’ve read it cover to cover. And, of course, there’s Google. In the meantime, I’m just sorry that gliding has destroyed the innocent pastime of seeing animals in the clouds, because once
A GoPro on the wing of Taranaki's Pawnee gives this spectacular view of a glider releasing over the mountain. Photo Glyn Jackson
World, Club and Standard Class World Champs. NZ Contests. In praise of local flying.
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subscription form Name: ______________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Postcode ______________ you’ve started seeing lift sources instead, you can never go back to fluffy elephants. Enjoy watching the sky the new way. Stay safe Jill McCaw
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LOG BOOK APOLOGIES In Issue 31, we wrongly credited Lionel Page as the author of the story on the West Coast run. Actually, the story was penned by Ian O’Keefe. We are sorry for the mix-up.
OUR CAPTION COMPETITION FROM LAST ISSUE
World Standard and Club Class Championship, Argentina Sebastian Kawa, popular Polish pilot, is once again World Champion in the Standard Class, fl ying a Discus 2a. The championship was held in three classes, World, Club and Standard. There were no New Zealanders competing in this competition, but the next best thing, the Australian team, did very well, with Tobias Geiger, fl ying an LS4, coming second in the Club Class. We will have a report on the contest from the Aussie team in the next issue. Results Champions
Your editor thought of a crude one, and then came up with – Blow the man down. Way! Hey! Blow the man down. We have had two other suggestions: Prostrated competition pilots collectively sought divine assistance and prayed to the sky gods for a boomer day. – Tony Collins And: Fred's homebrew was just too much for these guys at the South Island Regionals. – Fred McKee.
World class 1 Sebastian Riera ARG 2 Jorge Tartara ARG 3 Jedrzej Sklodowski POL
3505 3492 3424
Club class 1 Santiago Berca 2 Tobias Geiger 3 Roman Mracek
ARG AUS CZE
6415 6316 6300
Standard class 1 Sebastian Kawa 2 Mario Kiessling 3 Felipe Levin
POL GER GER
6102 6038 5955
Sebastian Kawa sent us these photos from Poland. They have nothing to do with the contest, or Sebastian’s new book. Sebastian just wanted to share the beauty of his country with New Zealand readers.
TASMAN TROPHIES, BOTH WON BY NEW ZEALAND Matamata pilot Tim Bromhead, flying at the Australian Nationals at Benalla, Victoria, has successfully claimed the Tasman Trophy for New Zealand. We will run Tim’s story next issue. Congratulations Tim. Meanwhile, in December, Nick Oakley won the junior Tasman Trophy, competing at JoeyGlide (see article page 34). This is a fantastic result. Tauranga's Cub BKJ tows KM over the Mount.
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NEW ROTARY ENGINE FROM AUSTRO MAY BE A VIABLE OPTION FOR MOTOR GLIDERS Diamond Aircraft's Austro Engines has bench tested a new dual FADEC-controlled rotary aircraft engine, the AE80R, that aims to match a weight of 60 pounds with a power output of 80 hp. The engine has been in development for more than two years, and builds on Austro's experience with the AE50R 55-hp rotary engine but has differences in its internal design that incorporates a "no loss lubrication system." The new engine is targeting the LSA and ultralight aircraft markets, and may also see use in unmanned aircraft. Christian Dries, chairman and owner of Diamond Aircraft, which owns Austro, says the new engine "has no vibration" and is a good fit for weight-sensitive small aircraft. According to Diamond, the dual FADEC system will keep fuel consumption at its lowest possible limits and the engine oil system will result in extremely low oil consumption, maximizing its efficiency. Last summer, Austro Engines pursued airframe manufacturers other than Diamond, seeking potential matches for its diesel engines, which it sees as a growing segment in European aircraft markets. The company already offers diesel and rotary style engines. Austro's recent production of AE50series rotary engines has been close to 125 engines per year.
HANG GLIDING FLIGHT RECORD Straight distance - General 764 km 2012-07-04 Dustin Martin (USA) In July, Dustin Martin and Australian Jonny Durand both launched from Zapata, near the southern tip of Texas, a few miles from Mexico, fl ying independently, yet together, in an attempt to fl y the furthest anyone had ever flown in a hang glider. In a ten hour thermal flight in which they flew their own track for much of the time, they were close enough to cheer each other on when they passed the previous record distance of 704 km. At the end of the day, around 8 pm when the thermals were dying, it was Martin’s fortune to find one more thermal and get that little further, taking the record. It is a phenomenal distance to fl y in a hang glider.
NEW NEW ZEALAND SPEED RECORD 300km O&R – 196.35km/h. P Chadwick, 12 Jan 2013 Peter flew a task out of Omarama in his ASW20C. He says he finished too high, so obviously wasted time climbing. He also had to go 9 kms past the top turn due to cloud, so it should be possible to be around 15kph faster. "It was good fun though," he said.
HIGH ACHIEVING WOMAN PILOT
Photo Wolf Elber
My call last issue, for more pictures of women, and particularly, for a woman for the cover of the magazine, prompted Frauke Elber of the Women Soaring Pilots Association to send me this photo of Sarah Arnold. Sarah Arnold is the first US woman ever competing in a World Championship. Not only is she the first woman competing in the Worlds, she is also the first US woman who will compete in the Women’s Worlds in France in summer 2013. And, still not enough ‘firsts’, she is also the first pilot (male or female) competing in two world Championships in the same year. Sarah is owner and operator of the Chilhowee Gliderport in Tennessee.
Sarah flew an ASW 20 and placed 25th in the Club Class at the Worlds. Unfortunately, the photo is not of good enough quality for the cover, but Sarah’s achievements need to be recognised.
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LOG BOOK SUNSEEKER FLIES IN THE DEPTH OF WINTER
The solar powered aircraft SUNSEEKER has been fl ying in the Slovenian winter. Owner/pilot Eric Raymond sent us these pictures of his flight on the 31st January. He was up three hours and says, “As usual I could have stayed up into the dark, even in January! This time there was wave lift, but very weak, despite 30 knot winds at 6700 meters.”
MARKKU KUITTINEN HAS DIED Markku Kuittinen, two-time standard class World Champion, passed away unexpectedly on the 21st of December 2012. He died in his sleep at home in Kouvola at the age of 64. He was born on the 15th of July 1948 near the city of Jyväskylä. Markku Kuittinen was the first, and to date the only, Finn to win the World Championships in gliding. He won his first World Champion title in Benalla, Australia in 1987, and his second in Omarama, New Zealand, in 1995. In addition to his two World Championship gold medals, he also won the bronze medal at the 1989 World Championships in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Following his first World Champion title, he was awarded with the winter season national Key Athlete Award, in Finland and later that year he ranked within the top ten in the ‘Athlete of the Year’ nomination. Both achievements are the best ever seen by aviation sport in Finland. (Thank you to the Soaring Café for this information.)
“In the pictures you can see the inversion clearly, and the Adriatic covered in a blanket of clouds.” “My batteries are very old and cold, but I still got high enough to connect with the wave, which went on forever.” “Taxiing was tricky because of big lumps of snow, so I landed downwind, as the taxiway is not cleared.”
Contributions to Logbook are welcome from all of our readers within New Zealand and internationally. Email your news snippets to: soaringnz@mccawmedia.co.nz. Please put "logbook" in the subject line.
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February 2013
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• • • • • • •
ASK 21 ASH 26E ASW 27 ASW 28-18 ASG 29 ASH 30 Mi ASH 31 Mi
in NZ please contact: 2-seater - with or without engine Theo Newfield 18m Self Launcher L/D = 50:1 71 Penruddock Rise Top Gun in Racing Class Christchurch 18m unflapped glider (also with engine) New Zealand 18m flapped with and without engine Tel: (03) 33883629 February 2013 new Open Class 2-seater Fax: (03)3388374 Mobile: 0274326015 self Launcher with 18 and /or 21m wingspan 11/02/13 9:17 PM
MT COOK ALPINE S NATIONAL GLIDING CHAMPIO By Contest Director, Ralph Henderson
Australian pilot Ralph Henderson is a very experienced gliding contest director. He and his wife Helen Wood graciously agreed to come to Omarama to run our Nationals. The contest was fun, safe and successful, and pilots and helpers agree that Ralph’s leadership was superb.
1 January 2013, Omarama. We had a contest director, a contest team of about ten people, fi ve tugs with tow pilots, 30 gliders entered with pilots and co-pilots, and we were all ready for the practice day of this summer’s Multi-Class nationals. And it was raining! Lemmy gave his usual daily weather briefing, which gave no hope of fl ying. The safety officer, Gavin Wills, gave the initial safety briefing and I gave the required first day briefing. Some had flown a contest with me as director before (Grae, Bill, Chris, Dave and Graham) and apparently some were a little unsure what they were getting with a ‘foreign’ contest director. It would be Thursday 3 January before we got flying, by which time everyone had had enough of sitting around. By Saturday 12 January, we had flown seven competition days out of a possible eleven. The weather had been highly variable, with an initial sprinkling of snow providing great photos for the website and Facebook page. We were to lose other days due to rain, strong winds and hot stability.
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There was a good representation from the North Island and that is where most of the trophies went. Grae Harrison took the trophies for both 18m and Open class, and the Richardson Trophy for the highest speed. Vaughan Ruddick took out the 15m trophy, the trophy for the most meritorious flight, and the prize for the highest placed pilot from the other island. It was left to George Wills to take out the only other class winner trophy for Standard class. G Dale and Mark Aldridge won the Continental Airlines Trophy for the winner of the longest speed task, 500.1 km. In a worrying sign for the future, the trophies for the highest placed young pilot and highest placed pilot in their first nationals were not awarded, as there were no pilots who qualified. The trophy for highest placed pilot over 60 had any number of contenders, but as the trophy was missing, by general consensus of the pilots, no award was made. The organising team was highly experienced and competent and a joy to work with. A special thanks to all of them: Contest Organiser, Max Stevens; Safety Officer, Gavin Wills; Task setter, Jerry O’Neill; Weather, Lemmy Tanner; Scorer Lex McPhail; Tugmaster, Ash Hurndell; Airspace, Trevor Mollard; Radio, Sue Wild, Paula Ruddick, Noeline Verheyen; Grid Marshall, Dave McKenzie;
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SALMON Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
ONSHIPS 2013
Contest treasurer, Karen Morgan; Social organiser, Helen Wood; Tow pilots, Darren Smith, Annie Laylee, Lemmy Tanner, Don McCaw, Chris Garton, Brad Newfield, Peter Chadwick; Rope runners, Alex McCaw, Robert McCaw, Jill McCaw, John McCaw, Abbey Delore, Sonya Walker, Dave Tillman, Paul Jackson, Matt Aldridge, Brett Hunter and many others whose names I can’t recall. Thank you to the Sponsors: Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, Glide Omarama, Ostler Wines, TMS Consulting, JSR Soaring and Wine Pourings, and thank you to Alan and Catriona Holgate for letting us use their Chalet. The pilots flew safely and well in some challenging conditions. There were some very fast days and some long hard days at the office. Two days out of seven everyone got home, including Mark Wilson in his Libelle, and on two other days there was only one land out. There were a dozen or so land outs in total, all without incident. I have an old philosophy that a happy contest is a safe contest and I believe this contest was both. Thank you for the experience of running a New Zealand nationals. Helen and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time at Omarama.
Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
A: Ralph Henderson. R: Helen Wood and Dave McKenzie B: Alex McCaw and Oliver Winkler.
Overall Results Open class 1 Grae Harrison 2 Theo Newfield / Graham Parker 3 Doug Hamilton / Karen Morgan
Ventus 2cxt
6361
ASH 25e ASH 25
6343 6315
18m 1 2 3
Grae Harrison Nigel Davy / Nigel McPhee G Dale / Mark Aldridge
Ventus 2cxt 6355 Duo Discus (w) 6327 Duo Discus X 5789
15m 1 2 3
Vaughan Ruddick Dane Dickinson Alan Belworthy
LS 6A LS 6c Ventus 2ct
6578 6194 4732
Discus 2c Discus B (w) LS 8
6277 6004 5784
Standard 1 George Wills Max Stevens 2 3 Tony van Dyk
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MT COOK ALPINE SALMON NATIONALS 2013 By Grae Harrison
One of the reasons I still enjoy turning up for a gliding competition is that you are tasked to areas you wouldn’t normally fl y to on a regular club day; and on some days you wouldn’t even bother taking the glider out of the hangar. Yet, you complete the task, along with all your fellow competitors, sometimes at high average speeds. Sometimes it’s a struggle, but you learn a heck of a lot and have a great time doing it. Competition flying sharpens your skills and tests your abilities and judgment, compared with your regular weekend cross country flight over familiar terrain. The weather for the 2013 Nationals at Omarama was certainly indifferent - dominated by a strong westerly flow, with heavy rain in the headwaters and clear skies east of the main divide on many of the days. This proved to be challenging for the task setters, to provide optimal tasks to maximize the playground. But Jerry and his team did a fantastic job of setting reasonable tasks of up to 500km, with very high completion rates. There were few landouts or land backs during the Nationals.
DAY ONE I was fairly relaxed by Day 1 of the contest and was pleased the previous day had been cancelled due to weather, as I had picked up a bug of some sort and was trying to shake it off. The task was 330km, Thompsons Track – Danseys Pass – Two Thumb ski field, when I got low with Chris Richards (XL) at the Danseys Pass Hotel. We got up, after probably 15 minutes or more, but I could not get high enough to safely cross the high plateau of the Mary Range. Instead, I went east of the Mary Range to Kurow and in to the Haka, which looked great but wasn’t delivering the expected good climbs. Pushing along the Hunter Hills to the east of the valley, getting lower and lower, I turned on the fuel and ignition, picked a good in-to-wind paddock in case the engine did not start, when I literally blundered in to a smooth seven knot climb that quickly took
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Photo John McCaw
Wellington Gliding Club member Grae Harrison has been flying in competitions for a long time. He started competition flying at 17 years old in his Skylark 4. He has won Nationals in Standard, 15m, 18m and Open classes and regularly crosses the strait to compete in Omarama. This year he won the 18m and Open Class, flying his Ventus 2cxt CH. Grae reports on the contest from his point of view.
me to 8,000ft. Great, I’m back in the game I thought. I was pleased to finish 3rd and not too many points behind Nigel Davey & Nigel McPhee in the Duo Discus but questioned how I could have done the Mary Range transition better. I soon realised I was too impatient. Theo & Graham, in the unhandicapped Open Class where 18m class are also scored, had a great start and were well ahead on points. Later, my trace showed I was 1000ft above ground when I picked up the 7knot save - very lucky.
DAY TWO Was a tricky thermal day. Cromwell – Macaulay, AAT task, with a 20km circle around Cromwell and 30km around Macaulay. Cromwell was straight forward but just as well there was a 30km circle around the top turn, as it was all blue and difficult to get on to the mountain tops for a final glide home. Luckily, many of us were able to nick the circle over the flat areas but we were barely 6,000ft and 85kms from home. Fortunately, a weak convergence had set up along the east side of Lake Pukaki. Just as well it was there, as most of the field would have landed out if it weren’t. The Ventus SN10 computer works really well for AATs and tells you when to turn in the circles and make it back within the prescribed time for the task. I made it back within 3 seconds of the 3 hour set task. It ended up a good day.
DAY THREE I’ll remember as encountering some of the worst turbulence for many years. After completing the southern turnpoints, the last turn point was Bush Stream, well up the Two Thumb Range, at the north east end of the McKenzie Basin. There was a reasonable line of convergence cloud running from the Benmores to Burkes Pass, which almost all competitors used, except for four of us
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who decided to ridge soar up the Ben Ohaus in search of wave off the back, or up the Dobson. My plan though, was to use the convergence, which was much more on track. But when I saw Theo flying the big ASH25 ZZ heading to the Ben Ohaus, I knew I had to go with him, because if he found wave he would clearly beat the field by 20-30kph. Crossing Lake Ohau with ZZ just in front to my right, I watched in amazement as the 26m wings deflected downwards as they hit rotor and negative G, then bent upwards. The ASH looked more like an albatross flapping its wings for a moment. Seconds later, I received a pasting, which continued all the way up the Ben Ohaus. When conditions change like this in the mountains to more than uncomfortable, I always go to a heightened state of alertness. My main concern is not the aircraft breaking up or anything like that, but maintaining adequate separation from terrain, with multiple escape routes and no slower or faster than 80 knots, for good control ability. Limit 360 degree turns as much as you can, stay wings level, pull up in the lift but keep the speed on 80 knots during the gusts, and keep focused. Above all, stay positive. After a while, it was becoming too risky to continue up the Dobson and I bailed right over the lee of the Ben Ohaus, abeam Glentanner, and glided to the Two Thumbs, which were working well in smooth ridge lift. None of the four that went up the Dobson found wave, but we had some stories to tell around the bar that night. A huge deviation for no result. I should have stuck with my gut instinct and chosen the convergence route.
DAY FOUR By now I realised how well the two Nigels were flying in the Duo. They had a useful handicap advantage (8 minutes per 100) but they were flying extremely well in any case. Today was a 500 km task. Great, I thought, I’ll get them on this one. It was a great day until I mucked up the final glide by not climbing high enough in the last climb and needing a climb at Grays Hill, 50 km from home. The cloud petered out as soon as ZZ and I got to it, so we both had to duck around the back way behind the Benmores, ridge soaring all the low hills towards Otematata and finishing in the opposite direction, from the east. Instead of being beaten by the two Nigels, it was another Duo, flown by G. Dale and Mark Aldridge this time. They had found wave and beaten us all, by over 20kph. Darn, I knew where they got the wave, as I had a cursory look myself, but was too impatient to search around and make it work.
DAY FIVE Was a late start, due to the clearance of a front. Bendigo – Grampian – Two Thumbs 350km. The task setters probably meant for this to be on the ridges, but the whole flight was in wave. The wave was stacked up over the Dunstans, so that even flying at VNE it was difficult to stay below 9,500 feet, the upper limit in the Cromwell valley. Pilots flew with the wheel down or air brakes open for this section. I won the unhandicapped Open Class this day, at an average speed of 175kph, but it wasn’t enough in 18m, as the two Nigels, in that b#&*@y Duo, took it out on handicap at 189 kph.
DAY SIX 442km, Thomsons Track – Branches (in the Shotover) - Graf Spee. Weak thermals to the east, with ridge and wave out west. What a struggle getting from Thomsons to Branches, around the
North end of the Pisa, to avoid lower airspace levels further south. Several of us were low at Glendhu Bay, along the shore of Lake Wanaka, climbing to a little over 6,000 ft at best. Too low to flop over to the Shotover from Treble Cone ski field and only just enough height to cross the saddle when approaching Branches from the Motatapu. With standard class arriving, I knew I was having a bad day and in the end decided to give it a go and hope to fi nd a thermal in the Shotover. If all else failed, there’s an excellent airstrip at the turnpoint, where I could light up the engine. Crossing the saddle from the east at 5,000 ft, I spotted a possible convergence thermal 5 km away to the west. Figured there was enough height over the low hills to nail it and if not, get back to Branches. The climb was a very welcome 6.5 knots to 8500 ft. It’s always nice to be high in the Shotover. On exiting Branches, I came across several others who had started ahead of me, so I didn’t feel so bad. Again, I met up with ZZ and we headed north together. Down below, I saw many low gliders only just staying up on ridges. One was that b*&^$dy Duo. Good, I thought, got ‘em now. Trickling north, I found weak wave over Minaret Station to 10,500 ft and continued to the Hunter ridge and on to the Ben Ohaus, ridge soaring up the valley, before finding wave at the head of the Dobson. Then I heard Nigel Davey on the radio, sounding really perky. Bugger, he’d got out of the Shotover and sounded as though he was in wave, so I had to get a move on. The wave slowed down at 12,500 ft and it was time to move on before the Duos overtook me. From this height, it was an easy 130 km final glide to Graf Spree and home, via Two Thumbs at 80 knots.
DAY SEVEN The last day, with wind again. There was silence amongst the pilots when the 450km task was announced. Tarras – Matakanui (east of the Dunstans near Omakau) then Mt Arrowsmith, way up in the Rangitata, for all classes. You could do this on ridges, but nowhere near as fast as in wave. What was going to develop at launch time, we wondered? To add to the drama, the Contest Director announced that the start gate would close one hour after opening time for each class, instead of the normal 3 hours. The idea was to get the pilots on track and home earlier for the final night do, and for Lex the scorer to confirm the final results. At 103 points behind the two Nigels and 330 points behind Theo and Graham in Open Class, I knew I had to do something different today. I said to my wife Dellys that it was no point coming second, so I’d be taking a few calculated risk opportunities today and if it didn’t work, then so be it. Shortly after release, I climbed in 8 knots, straight in to wave, then went exploring the lee of Magic Mountain, which was working well. Marking the wave on the GPS, I maneuvered towards the start circle and descended to 9,000 ft, before accelerating in the sink and exiting the start circle at the required 8,000 ft, heading straight to the GPS marked wave 15km upwind. Reaching the upwind edge of the rotor/cu formed cloud at 6600 ft, I immediately burst in to rough rising air, which turned smooth by 7500 ft and up to 12 knot climbs at times. Not wanting to climb too high, as Tarras was in the 9500 ft sector, the stick was shoved forward and we barrelled along at about 130 knots, crossing St Bathans on track to Tarras at around 9000 ft, still in wave. Short of Tarras, the expected sink from an up-wind wave kept the vario pegged downwards, but I kept the speed up, as the next turnpoint downwind was looking spectacular, with a wave cloud in the lee of the Dunstans.
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MT COOK ALPINE SALMON NATIONALS 2013
Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
Jenny Wilkinson did something different at the Nationals and took the chance to fly with a master. She flew P2 with Dave Speight in his ASH25. Here are a few words from Jenny about the contest. Highlight Going somewhere new. Flying Open class tasks with David Speight in his ASH was a great way to go further afield and learn how the air works in places you haven’t been to before. Experiencing the Taylor Range convergence and getting into the Shotover, from the Mototapu valley, were new to me.
L: Scorer, Lex McPhail. R: Contest Director, Ralph Henderson,
RESPECT! To Ralph, who as Australian CD, introduced the 3km finish circle and cancelled low-level competition finishes for the contest. It was a brave move on his part and it did attract some criticism. The finish proved to work well, even if it was not as spectator friendly and I will be very interested to see if it is endorsed by the pilots for the next competition. To Jerry, whose superb task setting allowed the pilots to make the most kilometres for each day. When it looked very flat ahead on task, a convergence would appear and I think he planned it that way. Chuckle moments Observing Dave’s competitive spirit. Whenever he noticed a glider was ahead, the stick would go forward to pass, regardless of the strategic plan he had underway. Thanks to all the organisers for a happy and exceptionally well run contest. Jenny
Photo Jill McCaw
The wave cloud behind the Dunstans was not as strong as expected, but as I was within the sector for this turnpoint, I decided not to waste any more time, but continue along the wave west of Falls Dam. Cruise climbing at high speed all the way to the Clay Cliffs where the wave was really going strong, I climbed to 15,500 ft and continued cruise climbing up the Ben Ohau wave to 17,000 ft. Staying on track as much as possible and using the height and energy to descend below 13,500 ft for the Mt Arrowsmith section, I was able to follow the upwind ‘lumps’ of clouds over 8/8ths cover towards Mt Arrowsmith. Terry Delore once told me that when he flew his record breaking long distance flight of 2500km, he flew these ‘lumps’ when arriving in the Wairarapa (lower North Island). The North Island was under 8/8ths, but the photos he produced indicated it was safe to soar, as long as there were breaks in the cloud to the east, which you inevitably get in westerly conditions. The lumps worked perfectly and maintaining 100 knots at 13,000 ft was straight forward. Around Mt Arrowsmith and back, to a nice wave sitting 15 km upwind, at 9,000ft over Cloudy Peak. Not a very strong climb, but it was a matter of being patient and climbing to just under 13,500 ft to push further upwind, back in to the Mackenzie. Another climb up the head of the Godley and a final push west to the lee of the Murchison River, where there was no obvious cloud marking wave, but I could feel it working by flying 1km downwind and parallel to the ridge. Now I could see the Ben Ohau wave to the south. If I could just maintain between 9000 ft to 12,000 ft, I could dive forward and under the cloud, and zoom down the west side of Lake Pukaki for home. That’s what happened, at an average speed of 181 kph. Omarama can be equally frustrating, as well as exhilarating, often on the same flight. I have certainly had my fair share of frustrating days, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. But that’s when you learn a heck of a lot about the weather and local conditions, as well as about yourself. The more you do it, the more obvious it becomes. If you haven’t experienced it, then book a course with Glide Omarama, or bring a two seater with someone who has flown extensively at Omarama. You’ll always want to go back for more. I sure do.
Lowlight Turbulence: the air was rough on a couple of sou’west days. I even felt airsick in the Dobson one day. I haven’t done that for years!
Jenny Wilkinson and David Speight
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Photo John McCaw
Vaughan Ruddick is a Wellington pilot, who regularly flies at Omarama over the summer. He is another long term competition pilot, who this year won the 15m class.
Tasks: Were generally set with the first turn point in the south, then to the east and then up to the north, before returning back to Omarama. In general, the tasks were well set racing tasks, with some great speeds being achieved. This is great advertising for what a great place we fly in. My Flying: One of my goals this year was to fly more consistently. In past Nationals, I had made a few mistakes that had cost me the competition, so I really wanted to work on that. Also, the ridge running / convergence type of flying really suits my flying style. Dane and I also had a little bet on: “The 15m day winning speed had to be 10kph faster than the 18m/open class boys.” Highlights for me : The flying - Omarama never lets you down. Task speeds, Ding dong battle with Dane, the yearly catch up with all our friends and all the associated pranks / fun times.
Superb crew Paula Ruddick
Photo John McCaw
The Weather/ Conditions: The weather during the comp was not the standard summer time Omarama weather. There was a lot of moisture to the west; and with west to southwest winds, it was not ideal for the making of thermal conditions. However, we were treated to an amazing lightning show one night and then awoke to a good dusting of snow down to 2000ft above the field. This meant that most of the tasks were to the south east /north east of Omarama. However, we did make it into the Shotover one day… just. We had a bit of everything really, ridge / thermal / wave / convergence.
Photo John McCaw
After a good build up at home, with some good early flights and some tweaking of my glider Z1, I was really looking forward to the Nationals in Omarama this year. Dane was coming back from Belgium to fly DC’s LS 6 so it was to be all on…….
Not so good things: The finish circle - this has to go. There is nothing like a good smoker for the pilot and people on the ground at the end of a flight. Thanks: As always, thanks to my wonderful wife Paula for all her help and support. Leah’s training continues… Pissie, for the endless bouncing of ideas and help that you put up with. Ralph and Helen, for all their outstanding efforts in running a great competition, bar the finish circle, being Aussie’s we will forgive you… All the volunteers that help out - thanks to Lex (the Coruba scoring machine), Tow-pilots, rope/wing runners, radio operators… thank you all.
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A FRESH SET OF EYES ON THE
NATIONALS By Ralph Henderson
The Nationals should be GNZ’s flagship event of the year. Consequently, how they are organised and promoted should be of interest to all GNZ members, as well as racing pilots.
Having come into the Nationals organisation from the outside, I have some suggestions about how the event could be run differently. I do not wish them to be seen as ‘Australia does things better’ but rather a fresh set of eyes looking at what you do. In simple terms, I think there are some out-dated practices which can be done away with, there are new technologies of which better use could be made, and there are new procedures being used overseas which could be adopted. These suggestions are based on my experience of running two Australian Multi-Class Nationals with over 50 competitors, the Queensland State Championships and countless Queensland Easter competitions which have around 40 competitors. Over recent years, members of our club have attended worlds, pre-worlds, women’s worlds and junior worlds, and the experience they have bought back, plus our experience of preparing and coaching pilots and team members for the various world comps, is reflected in these ideas. I accept that not everyone will agree with my suggestions.
What could be let go Classes The contest should be run as a two class competition: those aircraft with handicaps less than 1.05 (basically 15m and standard together), called racing; and 18m and open together, called open. Racing gliders can opt up to open class but not vice versa. Score the open class as both a handicap class and unhandicapped. Racing class is handicapped only. To maintain the long history of the FAI class based trophies, award the trophies as follows:
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The standard trophy goes to the highest place standard class glider i.e. 15m unflapped.
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The 15m trophy goes to the highest placed 15m class glider i.e. 15m and flaps.
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The 18m trophy goes to the highest placed 18m glider.
The open class trophy goes to the winner of the open class unhandicapped. This leaves out the Duos and other 20m two-seaters. Given how many of them there are in New Zealand and that they are now a world championship class, perhaps it is time to have a new trophy for them. Gridding There is no need for allocated grid positions, other than to ensure fairness between pilots, by having different pilots on the front each day. Therefore, rotate the first line only, in each of the two classes. Put a cone out at the start of each class and leave the rest to the pilots. It’s a waste of time to have a grid marshal and produce a grid sheet every day. Starting It is no longer necessary to call start times. It clutters the airwaves and requires someone to sit in the office and record them. The scoring program can work out the start time. Trophies The following trophies should be ‘retired’ Hookings Trophy Most meritorious flight over a non-triangle task Trophy missing Messervy Trophy Most meritorious flight over a triangle task Trophy missing
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Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
MT COOK ALPINE SALMON NATIONALS 2013
Veterans Trophy
The highest placed pilot in any class aged over 50 (or is it 60 or 65?) years Trophy missing NZ Open Class Motor Gliding Trophy Trophy missing Masterton Trophy Highest placed club owned glider Trophy missing
‘New’ technology, of which better use could be made Flarms and SPOTs Make Flarms and SPOTs compulsory! Full stop, end of discussion! The technology has been around for many years and should be used. Flarms are not perfect and they alone will not make gliding safe, but they provide a significant safety improvement at relatively low cost. They have a place in the North Island, as well as at Omarama and I can’t see why Auckland, Piako and Wellington clubs haven’t adopted them fully. Making SPOTs compulsory would cut out a lot of the radio calls which pilots find annoying, and leads to pilots turning off their radios. Scoring Use an automated scoring program. Pilots should be responsible for delivering their flight trace to the scorer by uploading it to a web site where it can be scored automatically within minutes, just like the OLC. With the capability to upload a trace from anywhere there is internet access, pilots can then upload their traces from the hangar on a laptop, or before returning from a retrieve. All of which enables faster scoring, which everyone wants.
It has become common in Australia for scoring to be done remotely. At the recent Joeyglide at Lake Keepit, the scorer was in Adelaide. The process should be fully automated, and contact between pilot and scorer is only required if something isn’t right, usually pilot error. This can be easily resolved by email or a quick mobile phone call. All results should be on Soaring Spot, where the entire world can find them. Had the results of this competition been on Soaring Spot, any pilot in the world checking the World Championships in Argentina or the Australian Nationals would have known that the NZ Nationals were also on. Internet access It should be a requirement of the organisers to provide free Wi-Fi internet access to everyone at the contest site. In today’s world of laptops, IPads, IPhones etc. it is a necessity. It makes it easier for pilots to upload their traces and enables crews and families to remain connected. Web presence A Facebook page should be set up for the competition before it starts. This can then be used to keep everyone up to date with what is happening. Getting gliding in the media has proven to be very difficult over many years. The web now provides a way to get around this. GNZ should review the whole web presence of gliding competitions in New Zealand, including Soaring Spot, blogs, Facebook and the GNZ website, and find a way to provide a single point of access to simple, user friendly information on all competitions in New Zealand.
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Photo John McCaw
MT COOK ALPINE SALMON NATIONALS 2013
‘New’ procedures that could be used Finish ring The main advantage of the finish ring is that it separates, by time and location, finishing the competition flight, and fl ying a circuit and landing. A pilot sets the finish point in the GPS and flies towards it. 3 km out, the glider crosses the finish line, the pilot then has 3 km and a number of minutes to set up for finals and land. There are no dramatic or near ground manoeuvres. There is no rapid decision making. Finish rings are standard procedures at Australian and World Championships. My decision to set a finish ring at the Omarama nationals was based on the following:
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It is standard procedure at other contests I had run and had been used successfully.
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The fi nishing and landing graphic issued as part of the local rules seemed to have too much traffic doing too many manoeuvres in too small an area.
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There was only one fi nish line regardless of the direction pilots were fi nishing from.
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There was a change in circuit procedures from what was used during ‘non-competition’ periods which other incoming traffi c may or may not have been aware of.
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The fi nish line procedures included fl ying over the campground area, which is normally not permitted. Prior to making this decision, I discussed my intentions with selected members of the contest team and the pilots, and there was general support. I understand that a finish ring had only been used once before in New Zealand, at a Club Class Nationals at Omarama. More than one said they had been wanting to make the change for years but could not get support to do so. I began to feel like I was the guinea pig! The issue of finish ring versus finish line was discussed at the pilots meeting. Pilots were given the choice of voting for one or the other and the vote was 16 all. Some pilots would have liked to have voted for both. The choice really comes down to beat-ups versus no beat-ups! I have observed many successful high energy, low level finishes by pilots with the skill and experience to do so. I have also observed some awfully bad attempts by both experienced and inexperienced pilots, and this is where the finish line is less safe. Some pilots believe that the task is not complete until the beat-up is completed, and that the removal of beat-ups from the
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competition scene removes the sport of its spectator appeal. I contend that safety comes before ‘crowd’ appeal. At one contest, a straw poll was taken of pilots partners and it was overwhelmingly against beat-ups! It would be useful if an objective risk assessment was done for both procedures. In doing so, the rules that are made about the use of the finish ring need to be considered. In Australia, the rules state that no minimum finish height can be set. The Worlds require that there be a descending flight, i.e. no pull ups. The NZ rules require that a minimum and maximum height be set for crossing the fi nish ring. In hindsight, I don’t know if these heights are required, although extremes e.g. 10ft and 20,000ft, could always be set! Complying with such heights requires a certain amount of attention inside the cockpit at a time when eyes should be outside. For flights in thermal conditions, typical in Australia, there is no real need for a maximum finish height. For flights in wave, the implications of setting a maximum finish height need to be adequately considered. If a maximum height is set, pilots have to descend through rough air to cross the ring. If there is no maximum, pilots could finish above 10,000 ft at VNE in the smooth wave. When I issued my instructions after Day 2 at Omarama, I was as much concerned about the pull-ups, and pilots turning back against other incoming traffic, as I was about low-level fl ying. Both of these manoeuvres, pulling up after a low level finish, and proceeding deep into the finish ring and then turning back, potentially towards other incoming traffic, have long since disappeared from finishes in Australia, and are severely frowned upon, or worse, at World Comps. The comment was made that the low traffic density at Omarama made these rules unnecessary, due to the low number of competitors and the small amount of other gliding and GA traffic. These points are valid, but procedures should be valid for both high and low levels of traffic. You cannot change the procedure just because the traffic gets busy one day. In summary, I think the 3km finish ring worked, especially once pilots got used to it and overcame their resistance to change. Having watched most of the finishes every day, I never once became concerned about the safety of finishers who were following the required procedure after they had crossed the finish ring. Whether or not minimum and maximum heights are required, and what they should be, is a matter for further discussion and may need to be site specific, depending on the prevalence of wave.
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HBW VISIT TO OMARAMA By Jason Kelly
Photo John McCaw
DECEMBER 2012 – JANUARY 2013
Photo Jason Kelly
While the late Peter Lyons was a regular visitor to Omarama, it has been a good few years since Gliding Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau last visited as a club. With encouragement from Graham White, four other members joined him in the trip south, to coincide with the National Championships. James Foreman took his LS3a (MF), Jason Price the club’s Grob 103C Twin III SL (HB, a self launching two seater), Jason Kelly took his LS4 (NJ) and Graham had his LS8 (XS.) David Davidson completed the group and he flew with Jason Price on three days in HB. After the long road journey south, visits to possible safe outlanding airstrips were made prior to fl ying, and some of these were looked at further, as the first fl ying day was spent in familiarisation of the local area and conditions. Graham decided not to fl y due to a head cold. With thermals, ridge and wave lift to use, good local flights were had by all. With a non-fl ying day the next day, further safe outlanding airstrips were visited, which also showed some of the different types of terrain that could be flown in. The next flying day saw Tony van Dyk lead James and Jason Kelly around until James had a problem with his aileron tape and Jason a problem with his radio while all were climbing in wave with oxygen. Meanwhile, Graham in his LS8 was giving Jason Price and David Davidson advice as they flew HB. Staying in the camp ground, the meat supplied by James was eyed with envy by other campers and devoured by hungry pilots. The van Dyk’s also graciously assisted with cooking facilities when torrential rain hit the area. Water bombs on otherwise dry evenings from a number of parties were met with retaliation, with Terry Delore attracting a personal dousing, even though most of the water bombs missed their targets. All too soon our time was up and it was time to return home. Despite the weather giving us all four seasons during our visit:
Photo John McCaw
Omarama over the summer season is not just about contests. It is also the summer camp site of many of NZ’s glider pilots. While the South Island clubs have been the regular attendees over the years, North Islanders do venture down. The Wellington contingent has been part of the scenery for years. Aucklanders usually visit for the Nationals. This year however, a new group of intrepid pilots braved the Mackenzie for the first time. Jason Kelly from Gliding Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau tells of his club’s camp at Omarama.
In a wave.
summer heat, snow, rain and electrical storms; we managed some good flying. Jason Price teamed up with Graham in HB for some one-on-one tuition, while James and Jason Kelly explored the area further. The weak conditions one day saw Jason Price and David become the first pilots in New Zealand to outland HB in the South Island. With a good number of fl ying hours clocked up in a short period of time and the potential of the area barely scratched, all agreed it was certainly a trip worth repeating.
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NORTH ISLAND REGIONALS 2012
NORTHERN REGIONAL GLIDING CHAMPS 2012 25 NOVEMBER – 1 DECEMBER 2012 By Steve Wallace
Sometimes the weather gods do smile on us gliding folk and this was certainly the case for those at Matamata this year towards the end of November. Following on from a successful week-long cross country course, with flying every day, the Northern Regional Gliding Champs got underway on Sunday 25th November. There were 17 gliders entered in two classes, nine in the Club Class and eight in the open Class. Seven out of seven scheduled fl ying days were flown, with every day being a 1,000 point day in both classes. It simply doesn’t get better than that, but of course it was not all plain sailing, or gliding as the case may be. DAY ONE Started out hopeful, with the forecast promising more than it delivered. A 300km task was initially set in such a way that those wanting to compete and chase Gold and Diamond distance/ goal badges could do both. Unfortunately, a thick layer of cloud did not burn off until late, so the task had to be scaled back and turned into a 2hr AAT, with a large circle around Tihoi, the southern turn point. Lower than hoped for cloud bases and some big blue holes made life tricky on the second and third legs, with four out of the eight Open and seven of the nine Club gliders landing out. Eventual winners for the day though were:
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Club Class – local legend Bob Gray from Piako, in his DG101, (235km at 73kph) Open – Steve Wallace from Aviation Sports, in the mighty Mosquito, (also 235km at 73kph).
DAY TWO A mostly ridge racing task, with off-ridge hard points to the north and south. 280km for the Club Class and 317km for the Open Class. The cloud base started off at 4,000ft but lowered to 3,000ft by mid-afternoon, as moisture was fed into the area by an approaching warm front. This led to considerable cloud development and very little sun on the ground, that made the off-ridge turn points a significant challenge, especially to the south, which claimed two land-out victims in the Club Class and five in the Open Class. Winners were: Club Class – ridge master John Bayliss from Auckland, in his infamous Discus B (117kph). Open – Steve, who needs water, Wallace (103kph).
DAY THREE Too much cloud yesterday but not enough today. The warm front went through overnight and, despite an overcast start to the day, by launch time, most of the cloud had burned off and apart from the odd wisp, the day went blue as predicted. 10 – 15 kts onto the ridge and lots of sunshine, meant thermal assisted ridgelift was available and blue thermals were to be had off the ridge. An AAT task was set, with the northern turn point as Maramarua, with a 20km circle and the southern, Tokoroa, with a 20km circle.
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Bill Mace (RR) and Trev Terry (TT) on the gird
Bob Gray's DG101
The sparseness of the off-ridge blue thermals proved too much for six of the club class (although Sandy in her trusty ASW20 did make it around, but a flight computer set to 25km instead of 20km resulted in a missed turn point and a virtual outlanding in the South for her). Four of the Open Class guys got around, making it a good day points-wise for finishers, but not so good for the outlanders. Winners were: Club Class – local lad and Club Class Champion for about the last decade, Bryan O’Brian from Piako, in his trusty Hornet (240km at 70kph). Open – rounding out a successful day for Glasflugel, Steve Wallace in the Mosquito (236km at 76kph).
DAY FOUR So Day 2 had too much cloud and Day 3 had not enough cloud, today had too much cloud to start with, then not enough to finish with. Hard to keep glider pilots happy! An AAT task was set that had the field heading south at first to Tapapa, to give the low cloud base time to rise. For some reason, 2,000 feet is not considered enough for the ridge leg around Te Aroha. The northern turn point was Hikutaia and luckily, by the time the first gliders got there, cloudbase had risen to a generous 2,500 feet. The southern turnpoint was Wharepapa South, but with a 20km circle. This proved to be challenging, with four land-outs in the Club Class and one in the Open Class. As pilots pushed out into the circle, the clouds thinned out nicely into streets, before starting to blue out completely. Winners for the day were the same as yesterday. Club Class – Bryan O’Brian in his Hornet (292km at 89kph).
Tim Bromhead
Open – Steve, this is getting boring, Wallace in the Mosquito (273km at 109kph). Glasflugel does it again.
DAY FIVE The weather for the day was interesting, with rain in Auckland all day and the low cloud and humidity from this system reaching down into the upper Waikato; while the south Waikato was a blue, sunny, cloud-free zone. This made for a tasking challenge. Not too far north into the rain and murk, but not too far south into the blue and still. At least the ridge was sort of working. A 216km racing task was set, going north first to Tirohia, south to Tirau, north again to Waitoa, south again to Tapapa and home. Ditty for the day was “If you go round Te Aroha today you’ll be sure of a big surprise”. And the surprise was that as pilots came around the corner onto the front faces of Te Aroha, instead of being greeted by the expected joyous chirps of a happy vario, 6kts down of dumping air was to be found. This immediately claimed two land-out victims from the Club Class, with a number of others coming close. Cloud base from here, north to the turn point, was only 2,500ft, as the wet airmass further to the north made its presence felt. For those that survived this first test, the run south along the ridge was like coming out of the dark caves of Mordor and into the happy sun drenched fields of Hobbiton. Cloud base rose from 2,500’ to 3,000’ abeam Matamata, to 4,000’ at the Tauranga Road, before blue-ing out completely. Luckily, the task setters had cleverly set the turn point at Tirau and not further south, so most punters were able to make use of a cloud street just north of Tirau to push out from the ridge, claim the turn point and then turn and scarper back to the ridge. It was not
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all easy though, as this turn point claimed another two victims from the Club Class. Waitoa was next, so for the survivors it was back up the ridge and back into the thick low cloud and Mordor-like doom and gloom. Due to the earlier bad experiences, some people chose the strategy of staying well clear of Te Aroha and headed out to Waitoa early, while others braved the trip around Te Aroha for a second time, to try to gain height on the far side, before pushing out to Waitoa. Either way was not easy and this seemingly simple turn point claimed a further four land-out victims: two from the Open Class and two more from the Club. For those that made this turn point and got back onto the ridge, the run home, back out into the sunshine, was sweet relief. Winners were: Club Class – John Bayliss from Auckland, in the Discus B (80kph). Open – Trev Terry from Taupo, fresh from a self-imposed rest day (having instructed at the cross country course the week before) in his Duo Discus T (95kph).
Dave and Sarah Jane Jansen with GXT
DAY 6 The wind was blowing a good 20kts straight onto the ridge, cloud base was high but also included a large sheet of very thick high overcast, that looked likely to remain all day and prevent or limit any off-ridge turn points (not that it turned out this way), so a pure ridge task was set. Start Wardville, north to Thames, south to Tapapa, north to Hikutaia, south to Tapapa and home, 329km. A good fast ridge racing day that everybody enjoyed, nicely finished off with beer and good conversation in the afternoon sunshine, as there were no late retrieves to be had. Club Class – John Bayliss from Auckland, in the Discus B at a speed of 124kph. Open Class – Mark Tingey and Brett Hunter, in Tauranga’s Duo Discus XLT at a speed of 146kph.
DAY 7 An important and tense last day for the Club Class pilots, with only 206 points in overall scoring separating the top four placed pilots, meaning they all had to fl y fast but not stuff up, if competition victory was to be theirs. In the Open, it was a fight for the minor placings, as Steve Wallace, at over 1,000 points ahead had already taken out the championship. With a nice looking thermal day, a 3hr 15min AAT task was set, with the northern turn point the State Highway 2 / 27 intersection and the southern turn point, the Orakei Korako thermal attraction on the Waikato river near Taupo. All important winner for the day in the Club Class, and with his first day win in the competition, was local lad and Trans-Tasman Trophy hopeful, Tim Bromhead, in Piako’s Discus B (257km at 79kph). Tim stormed through the field on the last day, to take out overall victory as Club Class champion by 81 points from John Bayliss. For the final time in the Open Class, having dropped only 111 points all competition, was Steve Wallace in the Mosquito (322km at 99kph).
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Sandy and John Griffin
Club class – Overall results after day 7 # CN Pilot Team Glider 1 XP Tim Bromhead Piako Discus B 2 PV John Bayliss Auckland Discus B 3 CS David Hirst Auckland Discus CS 4 JD Bryan O’Brian Piako Hornet 5 NV Bob Gray Piako DG101 6 LK Peter Himmel Auckland LS3 7 VC Ralph Gore Piako ASW 20 8 RS Sandra Griffin Tauranga ASW 20 CL 9 NR Grahame Player Auckland Apis 13 10 IY Nelson Badger Piako LS1f
Total 5460 5379 5290 4775 4320 3701 2820 2743 1713 849
Open class – Overall results after day 7 1 KT Steve Wallace Aviation Sports Mosquito 6889 2 XT Mark Tingey Tauranga Duo Discus XLT 4131 3 RR Bill Mace Piako LAK 12 4022 4 ZO Ian Finlayson Piako ASW 27 3871 5 TT Trevor Terry Taupo Duo Discus T 3466 6 TX Conal Edwards Auckland Ventus CT 3090 7 RT Russell Thorne Auckland ASG 29E 1729 8 YL Team Pretty Woman Piako Duo Discus 670
February 2013
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TALES OF THE NORTH by Paul Rockell (with tongue in cheek)
Let me tell you a true tale of a remarkable place likely to make grown men shrivel. It is a place of rolling bush clad hills and long dissecting harbours, unsealed roads, rugged headlands and long crashing surf beaches, Incredibly beautiful, this alluring land is fabled to be the home of glider devouring demons, just waiting to pull the wings off those soaring innocents who usually play on the plains of Hobbitville and Springdale, should they dare be seduced by the sirens of the Far North.
I have occasionally seen pilots who escaped southwards from this Northern landscape with silly grins, claiming it was a great experience and that they would be back, bring reinforcements. Our small band is still waiting and is forced to continue the adventure alone. The summer campaigning of sea breeze convergences is wearisome. Kilometre after kilometre is flown to the north and south, through grasping white tendrils hanging low but the reward is a vista of pearly white sand and the languid teal waters captured by headlands of Pohutukawa. One of our monsters of the North is frequently sighted but not often engaged, despite residing near Kaikohe Gliding Club, and can be seen very often, beating them with a good stiff rotor. They know a good day and stay well tucked up at home, while others, from Whangarei Gliding club, lacking good sense, have set out to battle with it and its siblings, over the years. The Prince of Lenticulars is over 70 kilometres long, forming behind the Tutumohe Plateau, often rising to 30,000 feet in a good strong westerly, while all the north/south ranges regularly produce good wave over 9,000 feet high. Anecdotally, climbs to 16,000 feet have been talked about. I have been to 12,000 feet three times before breaking away in still strong lift, and 9,000 feet several times farther south. One wave that has never been flown is slightly off shore, between Cape Brett and Whangarei Heads, caused by wind falling over the East coast escarpment and bouncing, to give good lennies around 8000 feet plus. A Duo Discuss climbed away to 7,000 ft behind Mount Mania, out at sea near Whangarei Heads some years back. I also am
top L: lenticular off West Coast Hills top R and centre: Lenticular stayed for three days and nights at 23,000 feet. bottom R: High point, no oxy
sure that the consolidated sand dunes rising about 600 feet high at the North and South Kaipara heads must produce a wave over the Kaipara Harbour at times. RASP predicts these Northland wave bar events with good accuracy, according to what I am seeing and experiencing. So be brave and venture north to share our good fellowship, fairy stories and have a crack at those demons. The worst that could happen is having to wash dust off your car.
December 2012
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THE HEALING POWER OF FLIGHT: A Season as Glide Omarama Writer-in-Residence By Rebecca Loncraine
I was extremely lucky to spend the 2011/12 soaring season in Omarama, hosted by Gavin Wills as Glide Omarama’s first writer-in-residence. Those four months were fascinating, fun and fruitful. Flying into Queenstown for the first time, I was amazed by the rippling ridges of the Remarkables. Driving to Omarama, I marvelled at the dry open plains of the Mackenzie country. I’ve come to like the New Zealand poet Brian Turner, who lives in Central Otago. His poem ‘Deserts, for instance’ speaks of this landscape: “The loveliest places of all”, he writes, “are those that look as if there’s nothing there to those still learning to look.” I came to gliding in 2011, after the traumatic experience of treatment for cancer in 2010. I took my first flight at the Black Mountains Gliding Club in Wales in Spring 2011, and was immediately hooked. I’m a freelance writer. At the time I started flying I was suffering from writer’s block but flying got me writing again. I approached Gavin Wills and explained how inspirational I found gliding after illness and he generously agreed to host me. My numerous flights that season, with Gavin’s excellent team of instructors, over 12,000 foot snowcapped mountains, turquoise lakes and long rippling glaciers, were truly remarkable. In addition to these incredible soaring experiences, I met many interesting pilots from across the globe, and I learned so much, talking with them in the Kahu Café, over cups of Dagmar’s excellent coffee. Watching Terry Delore’s aerobatic display, to the sounds of Enya booming across the airfield, on December 31st was a great way to say goodbye to 2011. I also ran two creative writing workshops for glider pilots and thoroughly enjoyed discussing ways to enliven our descriptions of soaring. I tell fellow gliders how much flying helped me after cancer and some asked exactly how and why. I reflected on this and thought it might be of interest to try to spell it out. After some thought, I realised that I discovered many things in gliding that I needed. Lifethreatening illness isn’t just physical; it’s also psychological, emotional and spiritual. It’s these subtle and highly personal aspects of coping with treatment for cancer that often leave people feeling isolated and helpless; this was certainly true for me. In the immediate aftermath of my treatment, I felt profoundly traumatised. I was supposed to feel grateful for having survived but I had no idea how to live, in the light of what had happened. A gruelling year of invasive medical procedures left me feeling exhausted and emotionally numb. I was shell shocked. Glider flying reached down from the sky and took me, at a moment
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when I needed something really new and demanding, to give me a different perspective on everything. The Sky as Emotional Space Flying gives us access to the sky - a huge spacious place apart from the bustling world on the ground. When I first started flying I was blocked; there didn’t seem to be enough room on the ground for my overwhelming post-treatment emotions. But up in the sky, there’s so much space that I could allow myself to feel the turmoil of grief in small, manageable doses (in moments when my instructor did the flying). The sky was big enough to hold these giant feelings; they even began to seem quite small next to the vast scale of the sky. Flying, I could visit the sky for an hour or so and let myself feel emotions that needed to be discharged. It was as though I left those difficult emotions up there when I landed. In soaring, I internalized the great blue openness of the sky, which gave me a much-needed feeling of inner spaciousness. Getting up into the air was psychologically expanding and gave me more room to emotionally breathe. Newfound Courage Made Visible Just a few years ago, I was terrified of flying; my palms would drip with sweat during even the shortest hop. Each time I flew, especially if it was turbulent, I’d promise myself that I’d get the train back or walk home if I had to – I would not fly again. I couldn’t understand how my fellow passengers could sit quietly and read glossy in-flight magazines. My fear of flying got so bad, I resorted to taking valium, especially for long-haul flights to the USA to research my book about the author of The Wizard of Oz. I spent a few truly horrible hours in a 10-seater plane crossing the Midwest, dosed up on valium, listening to my iPod to stave off panic. But this all changed after facing the real danger of life-threatening illness. Cancer and its treatment cracks you open and forces you to find inner strength and resilience you didn’t know you had. Flying allowed me to use the new courage that I had had to develop, in order to cope with diagnosis and treatment. I had become brave and this new bravery needed to be flexed in a different direction, one that brought me joy rather than simply survival. I chose something that used to frighten me, as a way to explore the deep changes that had taken place in me through facing cancer.
February 2013
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Rebecca Loncraine is a British freelance writer, based in Wales. Her home club is the Black Mountains Gliding Club in the Brecon Beacons. Her last book was The Real Wizard of Oz: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum (Penguin USA). She’s now writing about many aspects of soaring, and giving presentations to cancer support organisations about fl ying and coping with the psychological and emotional dimensions of illness. See www.rebeccaloncraine.com
It’s very important for me, my family and friends to understand that transformation took place through my illness, and I cannot return to being the person I was before. I’ve found it very frustrating when friends say things like, “you’ll be back to your old self soon.” They mean well, but don’t understand that this simply isn’t possible. I’ve had to grieve for my past life; my friends and family have also had to let go of the person I was. The process of transformation that often takes place in people facing life-threatening illness needs to be allowed to unfold, but finding space for this isn’t easy. Flying became that space for me. Back in the Body Flying is physical as well as psychological (even though it’s a great deal of sitting!), and it provided me with a new way of experiencing my body. Illness involved the surrendering of the body to the medical establishment, to doctors and specialists, and your body feels profoundly changed by this process. Reclaiming my body from a new perspective was an important part of recovery. Gliding is a lot about feel: the air is often invisible, so you have to feel your way to find the lift. As well as enjoying the physical sensation of soaring, flying offers a new way of being inside my body. Slowly learning to tap into the sensations of lift and sink, of feeling the subtle differences between entering and leaving a thermal, is a way of rediscovering being in my body and experiencing joy through it. New Perspectives Gliding provided new psychological perspectives from the point of view of the sky. Looking down on the landscape of the Black Mountains of Wales, at the shapes of the hills and valleys that I’ve known so well since childhood, the earth looks very different. Looking down on the winding patterns of rivers, the trajectories of roads, the slopes and dimensions of hills, I’ve a feeling of rediscovering my familiar world but from a much wider perspective. Flying in the extraordinary Southern Alps, in a profoundly unfamiliar landscape, is thrilling in a different way, totally wrenching me away from a ‘grounded’ perspective. It’s fascinating to explore a new country from the air. Flying became a physical expression of my altered perspective on life in general after illness. Looking at the landscape from the sky mirrored my new way of looking at my life on the ground, trying to see the wider connections and appreciating the bigger picture.
Nature Flying enabled me to develop a new relationship with nature. The idea of what’s ‘natural’ can be a sticking point after illness. Cancer made me feel excluded from nature, especially as I became ill at a relatively young age (in my 30s). After diagnosis, my body felt alien - a mutant rejected from the natural order. Through learning how to use the natural elements to fly unpowered, to give me this amazing sensation of soaring, I’ve integrated myself back into the natural world, become part of it again. Flying has also helped me to see illness as part of nature. And in some ways, cancer is ‘natural’; there may be all kinds of evidence that the disease is being caused by things we’re doing to nature in our foodstuffs and the environment, and I’m not denying this or suggesting that we don’t do all we can to stop it, but in the medically advanced Western world, we mustn’t demonise illness altogether. As animals living in an extraordinarily complex organic system, we will never be able to completely exclude illness. I now try to accept the inherent vulnerability of what’s natural, including me. I’ve come to think of life-threatening illness as a breaking point, through which new perspectives and transformation can be catalysed. After all, it’s only my post-cancer ‘broken’ self that could learn to fly; my previous ‘well’ self would have been too scared, too full of the grounded world. I’m interested in what psychologists call ‘posttraumatic growth’ as opposed to ‘post-traumatic stress disorder.’ After a crisis, both conditions can exist simultaneously, as they did for me. There’s the grieving, the wrench of having my assumptions about life and my body torn asunder, and the horror of on-going tests. But at the same time, there’s the deepening of my relationship with life, the creation of enormous resilience, courage and authenticity, and a greater ability to live in the present. Learning to fly gliders has created a space for me to acknowledge and explore the transformative nature of serious illness, and to rediscover the world and my place in it from the thrilling new perspective of the sky. I felt very welcomed by the whole Glide Omarama team, and everyone else I met in Omarama, during the season. I’d especially like to thank Gavin Wills for his willingness to explore the ways gliding can touch people in different ways by generously hosting me.
February 2013
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Auckland's Duo DX over Lake Tekapo during the Nationals.
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February 2013
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Photo Oliver WInkler February 2013
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This year the YSDC delivered: Six fi rst solos • Four Silver Badge Duration 5 hour fl ights • One Gold Badge Height gain • We fl ew 465 aerotows and 8
YOUTH SOARING DEVELOPMENT CAMP
( YSD C
The third annual Youth Soaring Development camp was, like its predecessors, a huge success. We will let the participants tell their own stories. This year our feature story on the camp is by a very enthusiastic instructor. It is wonderful when the adults involved are as excited as the participants.
Very generous sponsorship was received from: First Sovereign Trust $15,000 towards the YSDC flying costs Air NZ $2000 CAA NZ $2000 Dick Georgeson Trust $2000 We had generous supplies of products and use of equipment from: Heinz Watties NZ Ltd Oakleys Fresh Vegetables Meadows Mushrooms Nigel and Sheena Davy Fantastic prizes were received from: Air NZ (Mount Cook Airlines), NZAWA, Helicopter Line, Ballooning Canterbury, Accelerated Flight Testing, EMDA Ltd, Glide Omarama and Kerry Jackson. Scott Wagstaff and Mike Strathern
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February 2013
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YSDC
ws and 82 winch launches for a total of 547 Flights • The 16 gliders used flew a total of 358 hours and 12 minutes •
Mike Strathern back in his youth.
Photo Oliver WInkler
Everything you say and do is soaked up and tested, with lots of “Tell me more Mike.” “Why Mike?” “How do you do that Mike?” And the most testing one, when we get low, “You have control Mike. Get us out of here.”
Toby Read (instructor) and Enya McPherson
AN INSTRUCTOR’S VIEW... By Mike Strathern
Back in 2010, I was invited to assist with the first YGDC, and I was asked again in 2011, and again in 2012!
A willing band of helpers rig a twin
Photo John McCaw
D C)
Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
Harry (helper from England) and Roger Read
Between the camps and a bout at the South Island Regionals with Ms Delore (another story for another day), I’ve done a huge amount of flying with our young people in NZ and I’ve got the bug. The YSDC is the highlight of my gliding calendar now. At the latest camp, last December, I flew eight days on the trot and did between 30 - 40 hours; flew around Mt Cook and got to 21,000 ft a few times; flew hundreds of cross country kilometres, had a few six hour flights and had some unplanned looks at a few fields and strips when things got squeaky. We threw a few loops, chased each other around like the Red Baron and Snoopy, and I added a few more good friends into my life and my Facebook pages. Above all, it was just immense fun, and I learned a lot about myself, teenagers and gliding. Flying with the group is exceptionally hard work, and I mean hard work. Everything you say and do is soaked up and tested, with lots of “Tell me more Mike.” “Why Mike?” “How do you do that Mike?” And the most testing one, when we get low, “You have control Mike. Get us out of here.” It’s a total blast. I seem to have a love of teaching young people to fly (and I’m not a teacher), probably as I was a young pilot once, doing what
February 2013
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The instructors panel and Roger Read.
these guys are doing, so I can draw a parallel to them. I learned to fly gliders when I was 14 (in a T21, Bocian and Blanik) and had the same unstoppable passion as I can see in many of our YSDC students. I only wish I could have flown the gliders they get to fly when I was 15! It took me 20 hours solo (many 3 minute winch launches) to get into a K8 and 50 hours solo and Bronze C (QGP) to get into the Skylark 4! (Now I sound old.) My Ka6e and I were lucky to get onto the British Gliding Association (BGA) squad training scheme, along with a Mr G. Dale in his Libelle. We had similar experience in the early 1980’s to what YSDC is having now. We gained some fantastic experience from some great coaches (John Williamson was one). I remember those days fondly and very well. (Like a certain G. Dale setting off for a huge drive to Scotland from Husbands Bosworth, to do a downwind dash 300 km goal record attempt. It rained if I recall, and G. had a huge drive back.) I have been lightly pressured to put some of my experiences at the camp in writing and I wanted to share how much fun it is as a YSDC instructor. Here is a story from the very last flight of this year’s camp. Imagine trying to brief a student from the back of a Janus about how to put on a cannula for the first time, while climbing rapidly through 10,000 ft and dodging cloud. Sounds easy? Yeah right. It’s not. It took about 15 minutes of semi aerobatic manoeuvres with the Janus to doing its own thing, as my student attempted to fit her cannula so it wasn’t knotted around her neck and it was going click and hiss at the right time. Yes, I know I failed to brief on the ground (I wasn’t expecting to go that high), but we managed. I tried to take
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Photo John McCaw Photo John McCaw
Daniel Town and John Eggers.
Photo John McCaw
Mike Strathern and Abbey Delore.
Photo John McCaw
YSDC
Doug Hamilton made TF available for cross country training.
a photo of mine on and pass it forward, but what with keeping out of cloud, soaring and explaining the technicalities, that didn’t work either. Enya, I think you’ve got it figured out now. Then at about 6.55pm, half way to Mount Cook at 12,000 ft, we realised dinner was in five minutes so we had better head back! Rolling up ten minutes late to the final dinner/party, all the students came out dressed up posh and whipped the Janus off so we could get changed out of our flying gear for the final dinner. This just showed what great teamwork there was (by the way I took the batteries out at 2.30am to put them on charge) or maybe they just wanted to get the party started. That’s another story, but there are a few interesting photos going around. In a past camp, I was in wave with an Auckland student (he’d never been in wave, never been to 20,000 ft, so both those boxes got well and truly ticked) as we passed over Mt Cook, hidden under 8/8th cover. I piped up, “Let’s jump downwind and I’ll show you how to jump over to the next wave bar. 100 knots, off we go. Yes it’s easy. See? And another bar, and another (no GPS reminding me we probably had a 200+ knot downwind ground speed). We were getting below the cloud so we needed to make sure we stayed in the wave, but also needed to see exactly where we were, as we peeked underneath the cloud. “OK,” says I half confidently, “That’s Lake Pukaki far in the distance.” Only it was TEKAPO beyond the curve in the earth! Man that wind was strong! It was a real cross country, as we had to work out how to get back upwind, wave gap jumping. That was fun. The student had a smile like the Joker when we landed.
February 2013
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Photo John McCaw
Photo Ray Burns
Campbell Hall and Ray Burns
Photo Ray Burns
Photo Ray Burns
Toni Thompson solos
I’m supposed to show these people how to do it and they end up getting some REAL experiences of how it’s done, complete with in-flight lecture and demo of some true stuff-ups to add to the flavour. They do make great bar stories and I usually end up sharpening my low level scratching skills. I can still hear Abbey Delore’s words to me at about 4,000 ft, up the top of the Ahuriri Valley (e.g. 1500 ft and too close to the ground, in the washing machine of rotors), “Dad says, ‘Never get low in the Ahuriri when the wind’s this way.’” Well we climbed off the clock, after seeing clearly what a party of picnickers had in their hampers. What is it like being an instructor at the camp? Just brilliant. Crawl out of my bed and into breakfast at 8am (late and last). The camp runs on NZAF time, not normal gliding club time. We have people to train, from ‘what does that stick do,’ to ‘show me how to go faster.’ I head out to the Canterbury Caravan, which is the camp base on the airfield. I arrive just in time to see a group of hooligans running for buckets of water and looking skyward. A first solo. We all watch from the side line as someone performs the perfect circuit and text book landing. Then, about 20 bucket wielding young people race out to the glider, chuckling and cheering. Quickly, formalities are dispensed with, such as ‘well done’ from the (relieved they didn’t crash) instructor, a few formal photos, followed by heckling to get the parachute off and get their ‘reward.’ Thank goodness this wasn’t the ritual when I went solo. Great fun. This year we managed six first solos, in 2011 I recall seven and three in 2010. This really is an intensive course for the beginners.
One of this year’s solo students had had two flights in his life before he came! Certainly, the team of instructors for the beginner group do a sterling job and produce some great pilots. One final story that stands out from the 2010 course, was when a student said, “Mike, I wanna race. I don’t wanna mince around sightseeing Mt Aspiring. That’s boring. I wanna race, I wanna go fast, I wanna see how to race in the mountains.” So, off to Siberia we raced. Chasing speed, ignoring poor climbs and doing okay. Off around the Dobson, doing really well in race mode, exactly as I was asked to do. Half way down the Ohau’s and we were now on final glide and I mentioned that we have to be careful that the easterly sea breeze hasn’t set up. We’ll see it spilling over the Ben Ohau’s.... a bit like that cloud is spilling over the top in front of us, and making the vario fall off the clock and the altimeter unwind and the lake get closer. We fell off the end of the hills a tad low and started scratching. This was more like the student’s customary Auckland soaring, grinding around at 1,500 ft over the ground, but we made it. I met up with this young chap again this year and he remembers the flight well, rather too well. For good measure I demonstrated the same effect almost blow by blow with another Auckland pilot (an instructor) this year. (Note for self: in 2013, don’t do it for a 3rd time.) The Youth Soaring Development Camps are a ball. The students want to be there and love it. We all pull together as a team, and best of all, I get a week where I don’t have to cook. The catering is simply fantastic, from Kim and her team of helpers.
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YSDC
JONATHON WARDMAN
Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
As we were travelling down to Omarama, I was wondering what the weather was going to be for the week. It was pouring down outside and it had not really rained for the previous month. The next day at the briefing, Lemmy told us that the weather was supposed to get worse. After that weather briefing I was concerned that we may not be so lucky this year but I was wrong. I have been on the last two development camps and this year we had the best weather by far.
ENYA MCPHERSON
Photo Jonathan Wardman
My highlights for the camp were a flight to Mount Cook and back in the Duo UO with Graham Erikson, and then an unexpected flight to Milford Sound with Doug Hamilton in TF. I was already excited for this flight, as it was my first time in an ASH25. We didn’t really have a plan of where to go, but to have a good flight and take the best looking route. It was a stunning thermal day and we rarely stopped to climb. Most of the day was flown in full negative flap above 90 knots. On the way to Milford we passed Mount Aspiring twice and flew over Lake Wanaka and Lake Wakatipu. On the camp I also had some good solo flying. I completed my LS6 rating with a nice flight to Ohau Ski Field, and it was my goal to be more confident flying further away from the airfield, after gaining my cross country rating at the last camp. The Youth Soaring Development Camp is fantastic for any aspiring youth pilots who wish to learn to fly and have an awesome time. Thanks to Roger and his fantastic team of helpers for such an awesome 10 days. Bring on YSDC 2013!
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Flying has been my passion ever since I can remember. I really like planes, and being able to fl y them is one of the most incredible feelings ever. Being part of the Youth Soaring Development camp for 10 days in December was an experience I will never forget, and being around like-minded, fun and courageous young people certainly enhanced the memories and excitement. I had been solo before heading down to Omarama but had very little solo time under my belt. The first couple of days of the course were circuit-bashing with Steve Green, and then a check flight with Roger Read, before sending me for my first solo in Omarama! It was definitely one flight I will never forget and felt like my first solo all over again! This completed my A certificate, and boy, was I stoked. I had an incredible flight in the Duo Discus with Toby Read and I learnt so much. We flew all the way to Lake Hawea and did a few wingovers over the beautiful blue lake; it was absolutely stunning scenery and the first time I’d flown over mountains with snow! Our 44km final glide with a practice competition finish made for a bit of fun. Toby and I had a flight time of 3 hours and 15minutes - my best flight to date. (His second, I think.) Before heading to Omarama, I had never used oxygen before and being from Auckland, we’re lucky if we get over 4000ft! On Saturday evening, my last flight at Omarama was with Mike Strathern in the Janus. We were being optimistic and put our cannulas in the glider. After a lot of hard work, with almost an hour of ridge soaring, we were climbing slowing at 2+ in wave at 8,000ft. It slowly got stronger and, as Yvonne would say, it began to feel as if we were ‘riding velvet.’ I can now say I’ve used oxygen, which is cause for a lot of excitement for any glider pilot from Auckland. Time went by quickly and we realised we had to come down pronto for the final dinner. Loops and wingovers added to the adrenaline, and having such a memorable final flight makes me even more eager to come back. Bring on the soaring season for 2013! I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved, especially my instructors – Toby & Steve. I learnt a huge amount, and my passion for flying has become greater than ever! The thank you’s are endless: the five-star food staff, the sponsors, everyone involved, and Roger Read for a huge commitment to Youth Glide in New Zealand. Thank you.
December 2012
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Photo Ray Burns
Photo Ray Burns
Campbell Hall
Soaring conditions were ideal, with wave lingering above us almost every day, and regularly there would be stories exchanged at the end of the day about two gliders high over Mount Cook, and even around Invercargill. Personally, I question the validity of the name Mount Horrible, as the lift it produced was anything but. Before long, we were halfway through the camp and some were achieving their first solos. I’m not sure if I can remember all the names, but I’ll try. Toni Thompson, Anna Bisset, Fraser McDougall, Campbell Hall, Arun Raju and Angus Ward all completed their first solo. Of course, much to their delight, the rest of the group threw ten buckets of water on each of them. I’m running out of things to write, so I’ll throw in a personal experience here. Mark Aldridge and I were doing circuits on Thursday, and after landing, Mark told me we’d line up on the grid again and do “one more flight.” This is where the other side of the story comes in. Roger Read and another student were flying in the Janus, and Roger had pre-arranged with the tow pilot for a low-level launch failure, purely for training purposes. However, the tow pilot
Toni Thompson
Photo John McCaw
To be a part of Youth Glide is a huge privilege in itself, but being able to fly at Omarama is one that only 30 (or some other small number) youth pilots have had. As this was my first camp, I don’t know what went on in previous years, but from what I can piece together, this year was a very successful one. There were 4 - 8 Grob twins available to fly each day (depending on need), a Duo Discus, a wide range of single-seaters and an ASH 25. This alone would satisfy any teenager with an A certificate, but then we had nine days of weather that could not be equalled, often above 30 degrees. Anything between one and four tow planes would be operating at any given time.
Photo Ray Burns
TIM MARSHALL
Peter Shields
did not realise that instead of having Roger Read behind his tow line, he had Mark Aldridge, and so we received a slightly unexpected wave off, perhaps 200 feet above the ground. As a result, I now have a signature in the column beside ‘Low level launch failure.’ Each day brought in more flights, between 60 - 80 launches per day. It is a huge privilege to be able to fly in Omarama as the weather is usually ideal, the soaring terrain is just incredible, and there is never a shortage of anything: from gliders to towplanes, to all the equipment needed to run an airfield. This is majorly due to the huge efforts of Roger and Kim Read, and everybody else that spent time organising the camp. Their organisational skill was amazing, to say the least. Sometimes Roger would remind us that each time we flew, we were operating up to a hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment, which usually made me think to myself, go easy on that landing! The camp was definitely worth it and I will hopefully be going back next year, as will most other people I asked.
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Photo John McCaw
JOEY GLIDE
David Tillman accompanied Alex and Nick on their Joey Glide experience. He was team manager, crew, driver and one quarter of Team NZ. The 4th team member was Dave’s wife, camp Mum Lynette. This is Dave’s story of the competition. Our adventure started well. Adam, who had arranged for Alex to fly his glider and for all of us to use his car, was away, but his flatmate was expecting us and we were on the road from Brisbane by about 10 am, with glider in tow. It was a nice day but as we went inland it got hotter and hotter. We later found out it was 42° C. Thank god for air-conditioning of sorts – more about that later. The first thing I noticed was that the car didn’t have cruise control, but if I kept my foot hard to the boards on a flat road we’d eventually get to 100 km, which was the next best thing. We often think of Australia as flat, but in reality they have hills and plenty of them. Some are actually quite steep, which is a problem when the car only has enough power to do 100 km on a flat road. When it hit a hill it slowed down, considerably! You can imagine what happens to the temperature gauge when it’s 42° outside and you’re in first or second, grinding up a hill at 10 or 20 km, tapped out. Quick thinking Nick told us to put the heater on full, which meant we needed to wind the windows down, but this didn’t help because it was just as hot outside. Our only respite from the heat was when we were going down hill. It was a long day, but we finally made it to Lake Keepit at 9.30 pm. We found our rooms easily enough and quickly had the aircon going flat out. Going a week early proved to be a great idea, as we ironed out all the bugs in the gliders and the trailers. We had a worrying time with Nick’s LS7, when we rigged it after a land-out. The pitot
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tube had all but broken off in the trailer. The locals were great and repaired it in a couple of hours, however when Nick flew, he was getting wild readings from the vario. Time to bring in the big guns – namely Mike Maddocks, who tested all the lines, by-passed this, plugged that up and voilà, the instruments were working again. Thanks Mike. By the way, if you need to plug an instrument tube, try using a golf tee, they are designed perfectly for the job. During the first week we cooked our own meals, which wasn’t too hard. Nick & Alex were great with helping out. However at the end of each day they were pretty tired and it made a real difference during the contest when we could buy an evening meal for only $10. One of the hardest things for me was getting the boys out of bed in the morning, however I discovered the secret to this when Lynette arrived – food! She would have a cooked breakfast ready for them at 8.00am every morning and they would drag themselves over to partake. Even better, lunch was made for them as well. Then, about an hour before take-off, more food was supplied. I’m sure the boys will agree that for the next trip it’s essential we have a chief cook and bottle washer. Also, having Ivan and Jan Evans on site helping out made a big difference. Ivan, of course, always had his pearls of wisdom, and I’m reminded of the Speight’s Ad where the old fellow says “You can call me old, son, but you can’t call me stupid.” All in all, it was a great adventure. The boys flew really well against some excellent pilots. The Aussies were good value. They really looked after us and included the Kiwis in all activities, including the friendly banter. A special thanks to Ian Downs, the Lake Keepit manager, who couldn’t do enough for us. Lessons learnt: take lots of food, go a week early, get air conditioned accommodation, make sure your car can hack the heat, take a Mum to fuss, and take a bit more food just to be sure. In case you’re wondering, the trip home was no less exciting. It again got to 42°, and to cap it off, we lost our exhaust pipe a couple of hours into the drive; but that’s a story for another day.
February 2013
11/02/13 9:18 PM
NICK OAKLEY
Photo Nick Maddocks
I had never flown an LS7 before. I had a check flight and then launched again to explore the area and get used to the glider. My first impressions were that it was probably the most comfy glider I had ever sat in and by the time I got back I loved the glider. It wasn’t the best at thermalling, but in a straight line it would just keep going. After two days flying, I decided to try it with water. At first I only half filled it, about 80 litres, and it went a bit better in the thermals. I had to fly at 60 knots, no less, to get it to even think about climbing. I flew most of the comp only half full. This was a big mistake; I then
flew the last three days with it full. I should have flown it full every day, as it was a much better glider to fly. It was a weapon. I had my three best days flying with it full, coming third on the last day. One of the best parts of the competition was the final glides across Lake Keepit. One day I would be doing a 70 km final glide on a 4 knot Macready, so 90 knots all the way, with the last two km on the deck, at 140 knots over the lake, to land straight in. What a buzz! Joeyglide was just one part of the competition for me, as I was also selected to represent New Zealand in the Junior Trans-Tasman Trophy. I was competing against Eric Strauss, and was lucky enough to lead from day one because, unfortunately for Eric, he landed out on the first day. This took a bit of stress away. I knew all I needed to do was be consistent and get home every day. It came down to the final day, I was leading by just 200 points and I knew I was going to have to fly well. He ended up 2nd for the day and I got 3rd but that was still enough for me to win overall.
Photo Nick Maddocks
I hired the Lake Keepit Soaring Club’s LS7 for Joeyglide. The club kindly let me and Alex join as junior members (under 25 years), which gave us the same discounted deals, including glider hire and accommodation, as the Australians.
ALEX MCCAW Alex is one of the foundation members of Youth Glide Canterbury, an instructor and, at 18 years old became the youngest person to fly an FAI 1000km flight. Now 20 years old, competition fl ying is his passion. In December, he and fellow Cantabrian Youth pilot Nick Oakley went to Australia to compete at their Junior Nationals, known as Joey Glide. I’d heard about Joey Glide from a few people and was really keen to get the chance to fly against other young pilots. Then I heard that the 2015 Junior Worlds would be held in Australia and thought that going to Joey Glide would be a huge stepping stone towards the Worlds. I let Nick know about the idea and he was really keen too. We got in contact with some of our gliding friends in Australia and eventually found Adam Webb, who is president of the Australian Junior Gliding Club. He was a huge help with planning for the competition and organising gliders. We were looking for a crew to come over with us, because our parents were too busy to come. Dad told me that Dave Tillman might be keen to come over and crew for us. So I gave Dave a ring and he agreed to come, but Dave become much more than our crew; he became team manager. He helped find sponsorship and
organised all our money. Without Dave, the trip wouldn’t have been such a success. We thank him greatly for helping us. Hopping out of the plane at Brisbane, we were instantly hit by the heat. It was only 8.30 am but it was still at least 30° C and humid. We picked up the car and glider from Adam Woolley and drove eight hours to Lake Keepit (read Dave’s article). The next day, I got the first look at the Cirrus and followed Woolley’s instructions to put her together. She was a beautiful looking glider, with winglets and a very unique, red instrument panel. We had a quick check-flight with one of the instructors from the Lake Keepit club. Once we’d got this out of the way, it was about 1300 and the day was just getting hotter and hotter. We later found out it got to 42°. I jumped in the Cirrus, did my pre take-off checks and closed the canopy. Shit. Suddenly I was baking in the oven that the cockpit had become. I learnt later that it was best to leave the canopy open almost until the tow plane was all out. After take off, I tried to hook into a thermal but kept falling out of it. I couldn’t get above 2000 ft. It was hot, I couldn’t thermal and I was likely dehydrated. I wasn’t enjoying myself. However, I managed to stay air borne for two hours, getting more frustrated by the fact that Nick was at 8000 ft. It was only when I came into land that I realized the glider had a huge amount of stick lift. That made me feel better - I wasn’t a crap pilot after all. Later, I found out that the TE was blocked. An easy fix, just blow
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out the TE line. The next flight went much better and I found I could easily centre a thermal and just hold it in the core flying at 40 kts. This was great because it meant I could get high out of the heat. I felt much happier. The glider was handling like a dream and I could finally explore the area. Lake Keepit is a really easy site to fly out from, with large landable paddocks in almost every direction. As the name indicates, the airfield is right next to a large dammed lake. The lake and surrounding dams turned out to work quite nicely as thermal triggers. The next week was spent getting used to the gliders and conditions. The conditions weren’t the best for the week before the comp, so the first few days we just flew around trying to get used to the big fat Aussie thermals that seemed just as tight as the New Zealand mountain thermals I was used to. Later in the week, we set a few practice tasks and had our first land out, in blue conditions. Nick and I were both about 100 km west of the air field when things started to go soft. We carried on, with the mind set that if you run through a forest with your eyes closed you will eventually hit a tree. We didn’t hit a tree. We tried all the possible thermal triggers we’d been told about, but none of them worked. So I found myself a nice big stubble paddock to land in and pulled up outside the farm house. I then saw Nick land in a big perfectly groomed airstrip across the road from the paddock I landed in. There were 18 pilots flying in the comp and another 10 doing coaching, which meant that they would fly around the task with coaches in Duos and other two-seaters. The competition was organised and run by juniors, and ran like any other competition except for a few odd things, such as it being compulsory to wear a bathrobe to the pilots meeting, a tradition that has been around for a few years now. There was lots of other friendly banter; one of the pilots who tried to keep his birthday quiet woke up to find his glider decorated in pink balloons and streamers. There was lots of non-standard radio talk on the competition frequency, with the occasional sing-along and plenty of kiwi jokes. The flying was very competitive, with many of the pilots having competed at junior world and national competitions. It was great to have a chance to really test ourselves against good guys. The competition went pretty well for me. I learnt lots and reckon I will be able to do way better when I go back again. I only really made one major mistake. I stuffed up my final glide and had to land in a paddock on the other side of the lake from the airfield. I had the choice of a dodgy glide across the lake or a safe landing in the paddock. I chose the paddock. I was gutted, because I’d flown through a few 10 kt thermals but decided not to take them. Bugger. Oh well, a lesson learnt. When you did manage to make it to the airfield, the final glide across the lake was awesome fun. You could fly across the lake on the deck and land straight ahead. Results Nick came 8th and I came 9th overall. Most of the people who finished in front of us are at the end of their time as juniors. This puts us in a good place for future comps, and for the 2015 junior worlds. Overall, the trip was a great success and we will be going back. The next three junior competitions will be held in Narromine: Joey Glide 2013, the pre-Junior Worlds 2014 and the 2015 Junior Worlds. We’re aiming to be at all of these, as well as other practice trips in Australia. We would like to thank all the people who sponsored us and helped us out along the way. A special mention and thank you to the Mike Rix and the Ian Pryde Memorial Trusts. We couldn’t have funded the trip without their support. 36
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GNZ SURVEY OF NEW MEMBERS By Roy Edwards
In October 2012, GNZ emailed surveys to members of Gliding Clubs who had joined in the previous two years. There were 154 who met the initial selection criteria (i.e. not having rejoined after an absence, member of a family group already members, valid email address). This was whittled down to 100, mainly as the survey software was limited to 100 participants. We had over 33 replies which is pretty good in survey land :-) The questions asked were: Q1 What got you in to gliding? Q2 What was the ‘trigger’ that made you take the first lesson? Q3 What do you think the gliding movement could do to attract more members? Keep in mind that we don’t have a large promotional budget. Q4 What TWO things do you think your local club could do to make learning gliding easier? Q5 Have you any other suggestions on how to ‘grow’ the sport of gliding in New Zealand. The answers to question one were interesting and slightly unexpected. Always wanted to fl y - 16 responses Introduced by a friend - 6 responses Saw a glider fl ying - 4 responses. (One had a glider “sieve his fence” so thought, give it a go?{sic}) ATC - 4 responses Got a gift voucher - 3 responses Nobody ticked the box “Because Richie McCaw does it”. Replies to “What was the trigger” didn’t have any theme, however the most interesting reply was, “My wife getting pregnant and realising I might never have time after the baby was born.” Trying to ascertain how people got their information, we asked about their thoughts on promotion. 11 said, advertise in local media (Radio & newspapers) 9 said, local club promotions 6 said, national promotions 5 said, promotions in schools Questions 4 and 5 are not easy to pigeonhole, however they tend to support the things that we have been talking about for years. The major sentiment is about the time requirement and time required for quality structured instruction. If I was to summarise this information on how we should ‘grow gliding’, I would be looking at: a) Reviewing the product we are selling. i.e. the instruction and its support materials, manuals, DVDs, websites etc. b) Asking every glider pilot in New Zealand to ‘bring a friend to fl y’. c) Create some marketing ideas, with associated materials, that clubs could use for local promotion. d) Do some national promotion around the ‘Always wanted to fl y?’ theme We would be interested in your thoughts before we take the next step. Drop me a line at roy_baldman@yahoo.com
February 2013
11/02/13 9:18 PM
MATAMATA XC COURSE
Colin Bell from the Auckland Gliding Club attended the Matamata Cross Country course. He usually flies at the other end of the tow rope so it was an interesting experience to be gliding into the wild blue yonder. He took a few photos and shares a few words on the experience.
Duo TT Heading South. Almost at the Tirau turn point.
Photo Colin Bell
Land outs. The board sums up the day. Many people were learning about retrieving.
Photo Colin Bell
Duo TT climbing well after visiting ‘The Swamp’ at a comfortable level.
Photo Colin Bell
Photo Colin Bell
As a relative new comer to unescorted cross country flying I enjoyed the assistance of the senior pilots. The course was well set up and functioned very well. The course notes were excellent. They will provide a valuable refresher to the basics of cross country. High cloud caused some difficulty during the week, clamping the lift at various times, and making for some interesting decision making training. The course was designed around the students flying dual one day then flying solo the following day, repeat, giving each participant the opportunity to go and test out what they learned the day before. The Auckland Gliding club provided the PW-6 and Duo-Discus. I didn’t have a single to fly, but the three days I flew P2 were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the flight with David Moody who let me make the decisions and we travelled from the swamp with the lift just weakening at the end of the day Instructor Dave Moody says, (The course was) “An excellent experience for all of us. It certainly demands a lot of an instructor to explain exactly why or how decisions are made, moment by moment, during cross-country flight. With the “late” stages of the anticyclone sitting over the country, along with a stationary front out to the North East, we had high cloud. This made us think about whether to continue with the task or cut short and fly home. There were also blue conditions with a strong inversion that was visible from the top of the thermals, sometimes with blue thermals, sometimes with just stable long final glides, so plenty to think about. A great training opportunity. We even had the odd good thermal!” Thanks to Bill Mace and the team for an excellent experience.
You can’t learn cross country flying without finding out about retrieving.
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Photo Colin Bell
By Colin Bell
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SECURING YOUR FUTURE THE IMPORTANCE OF DISTRICT PLANS By Robin Britton
Several years ago, I reminded members to keep an eye on their local District Plan, to make sure that their airfield was protected from encroaching activities. Now I think it’s time to provide a reminder and encouragement to keep your eyes peeled. All District or City Councils have a District Plan. District Plans are prepared under the Resource Management (RM) Act, and the focus of this legislation is to control land use activities, irrespective of who owns the land. This includes, for example, rules about airfields, but also rules about the rural (and residential) land that surrounds airfields. The presumption in the RM Act is that you can do anything on your land unless the District Plan says otherwise, in which case you are likely to need to get a resource consent from the Council. Many of these plans are now being reviewed. Please go and check what is happening in your District! District Plans can place constraints on how you operate - but they can also provide protection to your operation (reverse sensitivity). Things you need to keep an eye out for include, for example:
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Changes in noise controls (that may curtail when you operate, or how loud your plane can be, or may require sound proofing)
◗ ◗
Changes in hours of operations
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Are your take-off and landing fl ight paths protected from other activities?
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Change in any provisions relating to reverse sensitivity – are your current operations protected?
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Changes in rural subdivision in proximity to the airfield
Changes in height restrictions of buildings and trees, particularly if they are in flight paths
paths – e.g. new line of pylons, power lines or additional buildings near strips that you use for camps, for aerotow retrieves or paddock landing practice
◗
So how does a plan review process happen? Some councils will review the whole of their current (called operative) District Plan in one effort – others will do a rolling review and pick on sections over time. Either way, there will be a draft document and consultation with the public before any changes are formally “proposed” and “publicly notified”. At this stage you can write a submission, or a further submission (if you oppose or support something someone else has said). This is summarised by staff and a Council Hearing follows. Decisions are released and if you don’t “support” any of the decision, you can appeal them to the Environment Court - where a “de novo” hearing takes place. This whole process is not quick, so someone in your Club should be keeping an on-going eye on these issues! I can’t reiterate this strongly enough - if you don’t know what is in the District Plan that applies to your airfield – please go and find out NOW. Keep an eye on the District Plan Review process and, if in doubt, go and talk to one of the Council planners, ask them to take you through what they are doing and when the review is going to happen. Also ask to go onto their mailing list, so they will inform you when changes are being drafted. And while I am having my rant – please also keep an eye out for:
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Changes in access and roadway requirements Changes in building controls on the airfield
How to approach a plan:
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start by looking at the maps and fi nd out what zoning and policy overlays apply
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check out the rules that apply to this zone
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now look at the same information for all land that is in the general area of your airfield
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don’t forget about other areas where you fl y regularly – watch out for developments that may affect your fl ying
check out the information that goes with the rules e.g. standards, procedures etc.
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Don’t think too narrowly about geography or about possible restrictions – if there are key areas to be protected for safe fl ying in the future, identify them and make sure they are protected in the District Plan.
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the annual plan that Councils put out – this is in general about work programmes, budgets and fees – if your field is operated by a Council, they will expect you to look at this document for any changes being proposed for the coming year, or in their 10-year planning horizon. The Reserve Management Plan, which may exist if the land has a reserve status, and can control activities within the reserve, alongside the District Plan Good luck with protecting your Club’s future right to operate
BIO: Piako Gliding Club member Robin Britton is an independent consultant, based in Hamilton. She has worked for over 25 years in resource management policy and planning, mainly focusing on coastal issues. She also works with central, regional and local government covering many different topic areas.
February 2013
11/02/13 9:18 PM
GNZ AWARDS & CERTIFICATES DECEMBER 2012 – JANUARY 2013 GNZ Awards Officer, Edouard Devenoges gnzawards@xtra.co.nz 40 Eversham Road, Mt Maunganui 3116. QGP No 3192 3193 3194 3195 3196 3197 3198 3199 3200
Pilot’s Name Paul F. Castle Thomas W. Gmür Thomas P. Claffey Thomas Dantoft Oliver V. Collette-Moxon Timothy M. Austen Peter A. Boyes Scott K. Wagstaff Vojtech Labuda
Club Piako GC Glide Omarama Glide Omarama Glide Omarama Auckland GC YG Omarama Otago S’land GC Tauranga GC Wellington GC
Date 3 12 2012 16 12 2012 16 12 2012 16 12 2012 16 12 2012 5 1 2013 5 1 2013 5 1 2013 7 1 2013
Glider
SILVER DISTANCE David R. Muckle Roy D. Innes Neil T. Harker
Piako GC Auckland GC Auckland GC
18 11 2012 23 11 2012 9 12 2012
Club Astir ASW 20 PW5
SILVER DURATION Steven T. Evans Moritz Althaus Adrian F. Faulkner April B. Rumsey Timothy M. Austen Philip J. Milne
Omarama GC Wellington GC Nelson Lakes GC Nelson Lakes GC YG Omarama Wellington GC
16 11 2012 14 12 2012 15 12 2012 16 12 2012 14 12 2012 19 12 2012
LS 6 Astir Std ASW 28 Ka 6 cr LS 4 ASW 20 A
SILVER HEIGHT Steven T. Evans Neil T. Harker Neil Raymond Philip C. Dunlop Jordan R. Kerr Timothy M. Austen Philip J. Milne
Omarama GC Auckland GC Piako GC Auckland GC Gliding Hutt Valley YG Omarama Wellington GC
16 11 2012 9 12 2012 20 11 2012 14 12 2012 10 12 2012 14 12 2012 19 12 2012
LS 6 PW5 Discus B Discus CS LS 4 LS 4 ASW 20 A
SILVER BADGE 1152 Steven T. Evans 1153 April B. Rumsey 1154 Philip J. Milne
Omarama GC Nelson Lakes GC Wellington GC
3 12 2012 5 1 2013 19 12 2012
GOLD DURATION Steven T. Evans Moritz Althaus Adrian F. Faulkner April B. Rumsey Timothy M. Austen Philip J. Milne
Omarama GC Wellington GC Nelson Lakes GC Nelson Lakes GC YG Omarama Wellington GC
16 11 2012 14 12 2012 15 12 2012 16 12 2012 14 12 2012 19 12 2012
LS 6 Astir Std ASW 28 Ka 6 cr LS 4 ASW 20 A
GOLD HEIGHT Steven T. Evans Philip C. Dunlop
Omarama GC Auckland GC
16 11 2012 14 12 2012
LS 6 Discus CS
GOLD DISTANCE Neil Raymond
Piako GC
31 12 2012
Discus b
GOLD BADGE 322 Steven T. Evans
Omarama GC
3 12 2012
DIAMOND HEIGHT Bernard Eckey Roger Wey 411 Jerrold M. O’Neill
Australia Switzerland Canterbury
28 11 2012 2 12 2012 12 1 2013
ASH25E LS6/17.5 DG 808B
DIAMOND DISTANCE 147 Oliver Winkler
Canterbury GC
31 12 2012
Discus CS
AIR NZ CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Glider
Distance
Points
NORTHERN DIVISION Neil Raymond David Hirst Neil Harker Philip Dunlop David Muckle Roy Innes
Club Astir/Discus Discus PW5 PW5 Club Astir ASW20
490.28km 332.43km 123.23km 112.16km 112.20km 65.04km
507.34 334.94 151.19 135.83 129.47 65.76
OFFICIAL OBSERVERS QGP No Pilot’s Name 09/103 Hugh de Latour
Club Taupo Gliding Club
Date 5 1 2013
Glide
GNZ FIRST COMPETITION AWARD 022 David Muckle 023 Roy D. Innes 024 Neil T. Harker
Piako GC Auckland GC Auckland GC
3 12 2012 3 12 2012 13 12 2012
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VINTAGE & CLASSIC
VINTAGE KIWI
THE FIRST 10 YEARS By Ian Dunkley
Every now and again it is useful for any organisation to look back, to see if the initial objectives have been achieved, to review options, and plan for the future. The best and only honest place to start, is with the initial objectives, which was all about Saving our Gliding Heritage. Our means of achieving this was to encourage the restoration and fl ying of vintage gliders. Have we achieved this? If we followed the international definition of ‘Vintage’ - designed before 1956, we would be dead before we started. NZ had been more than a bit careless with its old aircraft and we were at least 10 years too late. We were left to cheat, and for NZ, vintage means anything made out of wood, even if the fuselage is metal. We were much luckier with ‘Classic’, which internationally means anything designed over 25 years ago. Thus we can now include ASH25’s, for as each year passes, more non-wood aircraft become a target for a new battle strategy. A few years back, I saw three old SZD gliders
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hanging at Warsaw airport and today SZD are restoring gliders of all makes from the 1930s and later. Vintage Kiwi’s small print also allows any brand new gliders built to pre-1956 designs. 1956, to be classed as vintage, in case NZ ever follows international practice and builds replicas of the old and famous. This includes massive gliders, like Kronfeld’s ‘Austria’ and wartime military gliders; flying and non-fl ying replicas of the latter are already being constructed overseas. An opportunity for Peter Jackson and Weta Workshop to restage Arnhem perhaps? Finally, eligibility for ‘Vintage Kiwi’ membership did not require ownership of any glider, only interest and the ability to pay our modest annual membership fee. Thus scale modellers, historians, those fl ying inordinately expensive gliders with money left over, and foreigners who forget to check exchange rates are amongst our members. Back in 2003, we listed 34 two-seater gliders and 52 single, as being on the NZ register, plus 22 off-register - some potentially restorable. Since then, several of these gliders have been restored to either fl ying or museum standard and three vintage gliders have been imported in flying condition, which is more than can be said
February 2013
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VINTAGE & CLASSIC
S
Above: US Austria
Right: Charlie Stanton with his Sunbird at a Nelson Lakes Rally. Below: Ruth Harte (nee Kidson) says goodbye to her Swallow.
Taupo rally on a bad day.
for the owner. Inevitably, or as a result of VK failure, the number of off-register gliders has increased in the last 10 years, so it could be said we are fighting a losing battle. Internationally, the number of glider pilots has also fallen. This is of course not good news, although with a bit of statistical shenanigans, I could probably claim that international vintage gliding is growing faster than mainstream gliding is declining. Unfortunately, this would not be good news for us, for as a gliding parasite, we are reliant on a healthy host to feed us. We decided early on that Vintage Rallies would be a major recruiting feature, as these would bring together like minded pilots/owners to encourage each other and also demonstrate our predilections to main stream pilots present. The fact that in many countries ownership of vintage gliders includes owners of modern gliders is encouraging but this is yet to develop here. Our first rallies took place in 2004 in Taupo and Lake Station and were successful; Vintage Kiwi was off the ground. However, one unfortunate fact of life is that the centre of gravity of NZ Vintage Gliding is somewhat north of Wellington and an expensive chunk of water has meant that rally activity has been mainly in the North
Island, as is our membership. Special discounts from Interislander brought gliders south a few years back, but even with the discount it needed a re-mortgage, so this has not yet been repeated. Flying is, of course, only part of the story. Restoration is perhaps more important and this effort is also affected by population, although, more significantly, by CAA regulations. In general, Europe and the USA have less onerous requirements for cutting and gluing bits of wood and fabric together. Informal discussions with the CAA on relaxation for vintage gliders indicated that hell would freeze over first, so we will have to live with this difficulty. The cost of professionally restoring an old glider becomes unrealistically excessive in NZ, even assuming professionals will take on the work. In Europe, there are professional restorers who are now quite busy and the recent US Cherokee restoration articles in SoaringNZ show what is possible there. What else have we done in the last 10 years? The VK Collection has been established at Classic Flyers in Tauranga, and now comprises a Cherokee, Ka6, Swallow (all renovated by VK) and a home constructed, foot launched microlight. Space will also be made for display cabinets in the near future, with plans for future
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VINTAGE & CLASSIC
Photo Sonia Walker
Photo Greg Douglas
Semi restored Eagle was at Wigram. Where is it now?
Dick Georgeson's Prefect "flies" again at Queenstown airport.
Kookaburra at Norfolk Aviation.
expansion when more floor and roof space becomes available. Outside of Vintage Kiwi, MOTAT has a Grunau Baby, currently off-display for renovation, while the RNZAF Museum in Christchurch has an ex-ATC Rhönlerche in store, with plans to exhibit when their new extension is completed. Down the road at Ashburton, the remains of Dick Georgeson’s Weihe, an Olympia, can be seen, plus Charlie Stanton’s ‘Sunbird’ motor glider (donated to the museum at our suggestion) and a T31 under display restoration. On the flying side, VK have their restored Kookaburra at Norfolk Aviation Sports Club, where the club have also restored a Slingsby T31 and Ka4 amongst others, and are working on others to restore to fl ying condition. Norfolk is undoubtedly the most active vintage minded of NZ gliding clubs, having also restored Blaniks, now unfortunately grounded internationally. The youth wings at Omarama and Canterbury GC are operating Dick Georgeson’s Slingsby Skylark 3f, that he donated to VK. Private restorations include a Skylark 3f, an Eon Baby, plus gliders maintained on the current CAA register. Recent imports include a Weihe - the subject of current restoration, a Skylark 3f and a Fauvel flying wing. There are others, such as the Ka4 and Ka6 at (Nelson Lakes – check) plus others that I cannot bring to mind. In fact, if anyone would like to take on the job of listing all gliders restored over the past 20 years - a period chosen to acknowledge vintage pioneers and to see if they are still fl ying, I would like to hear from them. That completes the quick review of what we have done so far, so I can now go on to what we could do. This item is highlighted to emphasise that we cannot do all of these things without both more members and those who are prepared to get stuck in. Last year, after receiving the invoice for our GNZ affi liation fee, I sent an email to GNZ outlining what we could do with more members, more workers, and a strong tailwind. We have many enthusiastic members who support our cause with their subscriptions, whilst leaving all the administration to a small number of people. We have many ideas for improving our marketing to ‘mainstream’ gliding, vintage aircraft enthusiasts and the general public, whose perception of the cost of gliding tends towards the gleaming white things. What they don’t know is that an airworthy glider can
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Ka6 contest.
be obtained for less than an ‘old banger’ and many mountain bikes. I would very much like us to extend our ‘Young Vintage Kiwi’ operation, co-operate in the development of vintage wood competitions for Ka6s, Fokas, Cobras etc, and NZ versions of the UK’s Two-seater Competition, younger/new pilots often fl ying P2; and the long running ‘Competition Enterprise’, an idea developed by Phillip Wills. These opportunities will only be realised if there are people to take on the development roles. Further ideas include type rallies for Ka6s and other gliders, and expeditions to the old gliding sites such as Simons Hill, or finding new sites to explore. An opportunity to include a vintage element to the Canterbury G.C. Open Day was lost due to trailer problems and, even more frustrating, was the inability to take up the offer of a vintage space at Warbirds over Wanaka following our appearance last year at Omaka. An opportunity lost due to a lack of man hours. It would also be valuable to be able to take VK’s gliders on visits to gliding clubs, in addition to the more formal rallies which have tended to be site specific. In short, our problems can be summed up as saying our ambitions exceed the number of members that have the time, or inclination, to do more to help VK move forward. Our initial aim was to ‘stop the rot,’ and I think while we may have reversed the trend, there are still gliders at risk. What we now have to do is to ensure that there is a gliding environment that actively encourages the utilisation of older gliders; the rest will follow. If all we can do in future is to find museum homes for old gliders, then we will soon, if not already, run out of display spaces. We would have failed to have truly joined those countries that have an active and growing vintage movement. Within two years of the start of VK we were ahead of many of the main gliding countries in terms of vintage members as a proportion of total glider pilots. We have now fallen back, and will continue to do so, unless we succeed, not just in increasing our membership, but more importantly, converting new and existing members to workers.
February 2013
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NEW PRODUCTS FROM
TRIG AND LXNAV From Ross Gaddes, of Sailplane Services Ltd., NZ’s Winter, TRIG and LXNAV representative
LXNav V80 This is an exciting, high tech, new product. The V80 has an 80 mm indicator with QVGA 320*240 RGB pixels screen, with 1200cd brightness. It is able to display many flight parameters (vario, alt, AS, netto, wind vector, AHRS, compass heading (calculated 20 times per second.)) It has an external SD card (on the front side), for firmware update, and data exchange (in case of standalone unit) . It is compatible with existing LxNav RS485 bus, meaning you can connect it to your LX9000 as an additional indicator. This instrument completes the state of the art panel and represents the very best in modern electronic instrumentation.
LXNav Flarm Mouse The Flarm Mouse is a stand-alone flarm unit with built in GPS antenna and micro SD card. It also has an IGC flight recorder (up to Diamonds). It is designed to have extremely small dimensions (it weighs only 40 g) and low power consumption -typically 30mA. It is compatible with all flarm indicators (12V). If you are considering the installation of a flarm into your glider, this tiny unit can fulfil many purposes in addition to collision avoidance. LXNav Flarmview The Flarmview shows traffic information provided by FLARM or ADS-B devices. As a stand-alone instrument, this is the logical companion to the Flarm Mouse. It has a high resolution, sunlight readable, colour screen and is only 9mm thick. It is capable of picking up ADS-B and A/C Mode traffic and will work with Power Flarm. There is no doubt in our minds that LXNav are developing as the leader in sailplane instrumentation. These new products are compatible with each other, ensuring that LXNav products fit with each other when considering up-grades and new installations. They are well made and our experiences so far have proved LXNav to be very pro-active when support has been requested. These new products also show that LXNav are developing and advancing, as more knowledge and better components become available.
TRIG Avionics TY91 VHF Radio Of interest to the glider market is this new radio for aviation use. The new TY91 is a fully certified 25 kHz / 8.33kHz VHF radio. It is a low power, 6 watt model, which is ideal for the majority of GA users. This unit is perfect for light sport, ultra-light, glider and balloon pilots. The Trig TY91 takes up minimal space and weight. A small control head and separate radio hardware unit provides more installation options, especially when space is at a premium. The control head can be conveniently mounted in a full 57mm round hole or even smaller compact mount. Fitting is straightforward, and once installed, the depth of the radio control head is only 74mm. In
TY91 and TY92 Controller and hardware
practice, this means that the Trig TY91 and TY92 control head can be located in an aircraft instrument panel where a ‘single box’ radio simply will not fit. The TY91 is the perfect com partner to the TT21 and TT22 Mode S (1090 ES ADS-B Out transponders). This VHF radio includes a dual-frequency listen feature; pressing the monitor button toggles this feature on and off. When the monitor is active, an icon appears next to the standby frequency, and the radio will scan between the active and standby frequencies, listening for transmissions. The primary channel has priority – a transmission on the primary channel will interrupt the secondary channel. This is useful in an aircraft with only a single radio, since it allows you, for example, to copy the ATIS whilst maintaining a listening watch on the ATC frequency. We consider this unit as ‘state of the art’ when considering soaring avionics. As with LXNav, the after sales support has been superb, and there have been very few issues with the transponders anyway. The biggest issue so far has been a delay with the release of the radios, mainly because of certification which, not surprisingly, has taken some extra time. These are not a cheap alternative, but the pricing of the TY91 Com is to be compared with Becker and Dittel. We believe the quality (as with the TT21/TT22 transponders) to be at least on a par with their German competitors and offer more features. They are fully certified to EASA (ETSO) and, within days, to FAA (TSO) standards. The units will start to be shipped as soon as some pre-production issues are sorted, so they should be available within weeks. To sum up, we believe that using Trig for the avionics and LXNav for soaring instrumentation completes the normal traditional panel installation. Winter has long been the popular choice for the mechanical instruments and we see them as market leaders as well. Both Trig and LXNav have informative websites, and with the NZ dollar being strong, this is a good time to consider adding or upgrading, especially flarm for Omarama, and eventually the North Island.
TT21 and TT22 Controller front and sideview
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CLUB DIRECTORY Link for club info www.gliding.co.nz/Clubs/Clubs.htm Auckland Aviation Sports Club Club Website www.ascgliding.org Club Contact Peter Thorpe pbthorpe@xtra.co.nz Ph 09 413 8384 Base RNZAF Base Auckland (Whenuapai) 021 146 4288 Flying Weekends, Public Holidays
Norfolk Aviation Sports Club Club Website http://www.geocities.com/norfolkgliding/ Club Contact Kevin Wisnewski wizzbang@xtra.co.nz Ph (06) 756 8289 Base Norfolk Rd Flying Weekends and by appointment
Auckland Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingauckland.co.nz Club Ph (09) 294 8881, 0276 942 942 Club Contact Ed Gray info@glidingauckland.co.nz Base Appleby Rd, Drury Flying Weekends, Wednesdays, Public Holidays
Omarama Gliding Club Club Website http://www.omarama.com Club Contact Yvonne Loader loaders@clear.net.nz Ph (03) 358 3251 Base Omarama Flying 7 days a week by arrangement
Canterbury Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingcanterbury.co.nz Club Contact Kevin Bethwaite kevin.bethwaite@airways.co.nz Ph (03) 318 4758 Base Swamp Road, Springfield Flying Weekends, Public Holidays
Otago/Southland (YouthGlide Omarama) Club Website www.youthglideomarama.org.nz Club Contact Tom Shields tom.shields@century21.co.nz Ph (03) 473 1721 Base Omarama and Dunedin Flying By arrangement
Central Otago Flying Club (Inc) Club Website www.cofc.co.nz Club Contact Phil Sumser phil.sumser@xtra.co.nz Base Alexandra Airport Flying Sundays, and by arrangement
Piako Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingmatamata.co.nz Club Contact Steve Care s.care@xtra.co.nz Ph (07) 843 7654 or 027 349 1180 Base Matamata Airfield, Ph (07) 888 5972 Flying Weekends, Wednesdays and Public Holidays
Glide Omarama.com Website www.GlideOmarama.com Contact Gavin Wills gtmwills@xtra.co.nz Base Omarama Airfield Flying October through April 7 days per week Gliding Hutt Valley (Upper Valley Gliding Club) Club Contact Wayne Fisk wayne_fisk@xtra.co.nz Ph (04) 567-3069 Base Kaitoke Airfield, (04) 526 7336 Flying Weekends, Public Hols., Mid week by arrangement Gliding Manawatu Club Website www.glidingmanawatu.org.nz Club Contact Ron Sanders Resanders@xtra.co.nz Base Feilding Aerodrome Flying Weekends, Public holidays Gliding Wairarapa Club Website http://www.glidingwairarapa.co.nz/ Club Contact Diana Braithwaite Ph (06) 308 9101 Base Papawai Airfield, 5 km east of Greytown Ph (06) 308 8452 or 025 445 701 Flying Weekends, or by arrangement
Rotorua Gliding Club Club Website http://www.rotoruaglidingclub.blogspot.co.nz/ Club Contact Mike Foley roseandmikefoley@clear.net.nz Ph (07) 347 2927 Base Rotorua Airport Flying Sundays South Canterbury Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingsouthcanterbury.co.nz Club Contact John Eggers johneggers@xtra.co.nz 33 Barnes St Timaru Base Levels Timaru & Omarama Wardell Field Flying Weekends, Public Holidays & by arrangement Taranaki Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingtaranaki.com Club Contact Peter Williams peter.williams@xtra.co.nz Ph (06) 278 4292 Base Stratford Flying Weekends and Public Holidays
Hauraki Aero Club Club Website www.flyhac.co.nz Club Contact Ron Bergersen d.rbergersen@xtra.co.nz Ph (027) 277 4238 Base Thames Airfield Flying Weekends and Public Holidays
Taupo Gliding Club Club Website www.taupoglidingclub.co.nz Club Contact Tom Anderson Tomolo@xtra.co.nz PO Box 296, Taupo 2730 Ph (07) 378 5506 M 0274 939 272 Base Centennial Park, Taupo Flying 7 days a week
Hawkes Bay and Waipukurau Gliding Club Club Website www.skyhigh-photography.com/Main/ Aviation_and_Spaceflight/HB_Gliding_Club.php Club Contact David Davidson Dhcd@clear.net.nz Ph (06) 876 9355 Base Bridge Pa Airfield, Hastings 0272 887 522 Flying Sundays. Other days by arrangement
Tauranga Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingtauranga.co.nz Club President Alan Belworthy a.belworthy@xtra.co.nz Ph 0274 960 748 Base Tauranga Airport Flying Weekends and Public Holidays, Wednesday afternoons and other times on request
Kaikohe Gliding Club Club Contact Peter Fiske, (09) 407 8454 Email Keith Falla keith@falla.co.nz Base Kaikohe Airfield, Mangakahia Road, Kaikohe Flying Sundays, Thursdays and Public Holidays
Wellington Gliding Club Club Website http://www.soar.co.nz Club President Philip Milne milnelaw@gmail.com Ph 021 803 37 Base Paraparaumu Airport Bookings Ph 04 297 1341 (clubhouse) Ph 027 618 9845 (operations) Flying Weekends and Public Holidays 7 days a week December through to March
Marlborough Gliding Club Club Website http://glide_marl.tripod.com Club Contact bmog@paradise.net.nz Base Omaka Airfield, Blenheim Flying Sundays and other days by arrangement Nelson Lakes Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingnelson.co.nz Club Contact Frank Saxton franksaxton@gmail.com Ph (03) 546 6098 Base Lake Station Airfield, St.Arnaud Ph (03) 521 1870 Flying Weekends and Public Holidays
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Whangarei District Gliding Club Club Website www.igrin.co.nz/~peter/gliding.htm Club Contact Paul Rockell rockelkaym@xtra.co.nz Base Rockelkaym Ridge, Gibbs Road, Puhi Puhi Flying Weekends and Public Holidays
GLIDING NEW ZEALAND CLUB NEWS The club news is your chance to share with the rest of the country and abroad, some of what makes your club the best gliding club in the world. Club scribes, please watch the deadlines (but we'll make allowances for special circumstances so contact me before you panic) and likewise, the word count is supposed to be 300 words to allow everyone to have a say. If you need more words than that, you probably should write a real article about that special event. Deadline for club news for the next issue 11 March 2013. AUCKLAND AVIATION SPORTS CLUB After all our moaning about crappy weather through winter, with only the tow pilots happy about the smooth fl ying conditions, summer has settled in quite nicely. Some excellent soaring conditions have been our fortune through December and the Christmas holiday break. We have managed fi ve hour flights by both Steve Foreman and Gary Patten, both in our PW5. Pretty good efforts considering our 3,500 ft ceiling cap. Our cross country folk have extended themselves, and so have our retrieve crews. Steve Foreman is certainly showing the benefi t of the Cross Country course and is getting further afield. Ian O’Keefe has been visiting the RC model fields in the area to show them the full sized version. First solo for Rudolph Struyck, and a number of our students have transitioned to the singles. Our youth gliding endeavour continued up to the Christmas break, and two of our members, Enya McPherson and Campbell Hall, attended the Youth Glide camp at Omarama, both going solo. We continued through the Christmas break with good flights from many of our members. We even managed a West Coast run, much to the delight of those able to turn out. All in all, a good summer for us so far. Graham Lake CANTERBURY The club moved the fleet to Omarama during December for the Youth Soaring Development Camp and they are still there at this time. Under the care of Roger Read and many helpers, a very successful camp was held for the young ones and is reported elsewhere. As this was taking place, Alex McCaw and Nick Oakley were representing us at the Joey Glide competition in Australia. Both put up a creditable display and Nick brought the Junior Tasman Trophy home with him. An excellent effort and was a close run thing I understand. The main summer camp has had a hotch potch of weather, varying from record heat to teeming rain and gale force winds. In between, some good
February2012 October 2013
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Auckland Aviation Sports Club: L: Steve Foreman after his five hour flight. R:Relaxing after a good day’s gliding.
soaring conditions have allowed for successful flights. One of these saw Richie and Alex McCaw, fl ying a Duo, come second in their class during the early part of the New Zealand National Gliding Championships. When I first flew at Omarama in 1959, the propelling noise came from a Tiger Moth or Auster tow-plane and this year a new sound filled the sky when a jet engined glider soared overhead. Back at home base at Springfield, the grass is growing flat out and hopefully we are making a bit of money from it. Welcome news from Yvonne Loader, who has a fantastic ability to raise funds from everywhere, is that we have a $25,000 grant from Pub Charity to shift our clubhouse from Hororata to Springfield. Great news by any standards. The club will return to Springfield on the 20 January. Stewart
CENTRAL OTAGO We’ve had pretty good fl ying in the later part of 2012. Club pilots flew to Mt Cook twice in December. Pete and Vivienne’s flight on the 16th was especially notable, being the best achieved in the club’s Twin Astir (JW) for many years. They launched off the winch into pretty poor wave and struggled for much of the 6hr flight. Ten points for persistence! Pete says, “We spent nearly 2 of the 6 hours at the Omarama saddle climbing back into the wave, then it was 1hr 25 min return from Mt Cook”. This was actually a club challenge set by Doug White, to be first to take JW to Mt Cook. The other flight to Mt Cook was by John Robinson, his first from Alex. Doug and Owen also enjoyed a wonderful flight in JW recently. This time is was strong thermals, high bases and the stunning scenery of the Hector and Remarkables Ranges. So far in 2013 we’ve had wave and thermal soaring, and we’re looking forward to the rest of summer. JR
MANAWATU It’s been a fantastic couple of months for us in the Manawatu. On the coat tails of Vaughan Ruddick enlightening us to cross country soaring, we were rapt that Tony Van Dyk also accepted an invitation. Wharite, on the Ruahines, at 12Nm from the field, has never been so close. With our new-found wisdom and testicular fortitude, the fledglings, flappers and mottled albatrosses among us have finally found our wings. Some memorable flights and significant achievements have being witnessed. Ross Anderson, with Ian Rowe in the back seat of the DG 1000, did a 300 km on the ridge. Ross Anderson and Rob Laskey, jumping the ridge in search of wave, soon out-landed in Dannevirke. They aerotowed back to the ridge, and then went to 12,000 ft in pressure wave. I am reliably informed that both Rob Laskey and Stuart Cawood have taken (fl own that is), their respective partners behind Purity Hut in the Kawhatau Valley now! Ian Rowe and Ron Sanders, among others, have had great ridge flights. Patrick Richardson has being introduced to ridge, along with a well planned and executed practical lesson in out-landing or, as
Central Otago: looking South over Lake Ohau on Pete and Vivienne’s return from Cook in JW.
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CLUB NEWS
Nelson Lakes: On Sunday 16 December April Rumsey finally flew her K6 for over 5 hours from Lake Station and in doing so completed the last component for her silver badge. She looks happy and so she should be.
his instructor for the day, Stu Anderson(RNZAF) described it, “the only carrier landing I’ve ever actually pulled off.” The tale of the club is Rob Laskey and Stu Cawood heading for the eastern side of the Ruahines, tripping over a rocking horse turd and hooking into easterly wave over the Manawatu. A steady climb through to 20,000 ft plus! Both sacrificed their cell phone batteries, which should have being logging the flight, but instead were used to take 823 photos of every altimeter in the glider, digital, analogue, hell - if it was an instrument it got photographed! Photography was only interrupted by phone calls to anyone who would answer for the fi fth time! From the entire Manawatu club, we raise our glasses to you. Well done guys! While toasting, we cannot forget either our President Ross Anderson, who arranged for over 135 people to take up the opportunity of a trial flight via an internet deal (Grab one) in less than one week – solvency, ahhhh bliss; and to our altruistic engineer Ron Sanders tirelessly rectifying that which needs rectifying. Two stalwarts of our club, who make every flight we fl y possible. We salute you. Patrick Frame NELSON LAKES It’s been a summer of pretty darn good
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weather so far, after a great spring. The club members are out in the weekends in good spirits. There has been some excellent fl ying around Xmas, often with high cloud bases, some wave and convergence. The club has been trying to fl y both days on the good weekends and these days have been well supported. Some members are staying up overnight to have lashings of ginger beer and to swap yarns. Thanks to the instructors that have been willing to be Duty Instructor on the extra days. Julian Mason from Piako Gliding Club popped in in the New Year, so it was great to meet him. Flying wise – well, April Rumsey knocked off her 5 hours for her Silver badge in December in her Ka6. Well done. Frank Saxton came back from his Omarama pilgrimage and has had some good fl ying over on the eastern ranges, down past Hanmer Springs and back home via Dillon’s cone (on the Inland Kaikouras), with Chris Richards, who flew from Omaka. Mike Strathern popped back down to Omarama to help out at the youth gliding camp there and has been busy fi xing gliders. Andy Heap did his biggest flight into the mountains around Nelson lakes with the club’s Ls4, GCX, with Kerry Eggers in GJK. Kerry then split off and headed over into the Molesworth country to Shingle peak. This was a summer goal of his and he knocked it off before Xmas. Others
Nelson Lakes: Nick in NH
have been enjoying the Ls4 too, with the latest happy punter being Andrew Lush. Pete Mundy, in his Cirrus GHD, has often been the first to climb away off the local ridges lately, and has been knocking off a few personal goals, stretching his cross country legs. Dave Smith has been becoming well acquainted with the Robert ridge, in the club’s Single Astir GNH. Chris Stanton has worked hard to get back into gliding after a wee break and is now beetling around in GNH. The Nimbus GKU club has been up and about, snooping around the
February 2013
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CLUB NEWS
Piako at Raglan
ridges, and Adrian in GSS has been fl oating over Roberts and St Arnaud’s ranges. Coming up in February is the club’s Ab–initio course, and then followed by the fl ying week, which many are looking forward to. PIAKO Yesterday, Tim Bromhead won Day 4 in the 15m Class at the Australian Multiclass Nationals at Benalla. Tim is defending his Tasman Trophy and is currently going neck and neck with his Aussie counterpart, Ian McCallum - both fl ying Ventus C’s. Tim is currently sporting 2961 points, behind Ian’s 3200. We are really delighted for him and watching his daily blog on our website with great anticipation. The club is on our annual camp to Raglan (2 20 Jan) and the weather is doing its best to spoil the party. On the good days, we have had a lot of interest, and some very interesting visitors from around the world - Japan, UK, USA, a super yacht crew, and even the press - Neroli Henwood of Aviation News and husband Bill dropped in to chat
re a story she is doing about Matamata airfield, the people and their planes. On Tues 7 Jan, our team rigged the duo for fi ve flights in awful but safe conditions, from Raglan to Port Waikato harbour mouth and back, at 900 ft max! Truly symbolic of the very different fl ying conditions that can be experienced at Raglan and the beautiful coastal scenery. Our Christmas camp was a weather washout on more than 50% of the days, but my log shows 3 days fl ying - 2 thermalling in very unpredictable skies and one gem of a ridge day, where we were pretty happy chalking up a trip to Thames and back in UL over 2.5 hours. We arrived back to find Neil Raymond had completed a 300km task, after having chatted to us in the air a couple of times, having never let on what he was attempting. A huge well done to him for a very meritorious flight. Carl Henderson, David Muckle and I achieved QGP status in November. We also widened our instructor’s panel, with Phil Smith and Dennis Crequer returning to frontline duties, after breaking away for a period. Congratulations all round!
A Happy New Year to all and a wish for a wonderful and safe year of gliding in 2013 PC ROTORUA A busy summer here in Rotorua. Our last flying day saw nine flights in total, which is good for us and may result in some new membership, which would be welcome. The silly season seems to be behind us and we have been able to make plans for more regular flying days in the months ahead. Hopefully the weather will last, it’s been great here. A recent flying day with crosswind conditions challenged our student pilots, but was no problem for Mike or Don, who were able to demonstrate with precision how it should be done. We are grateful to Tauranga Gliding Club for loaning us their tow plane. It would seem our regular Pawnee (the pink one in the photo) has moved on, so we will continue to use PNE from Tauranga as we are able to. As we have come to know a few of the Tauranga tow pilots over the past months, we thought we should pay them a
Rotorua: Mike getting checked out by Don. February 2013
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CLUB NEWS
Taranaki: Ralph Gibson towing over Mt Taranaki. Left: Melissa Jenkins & Glyn Jackson ready for a wave flight. Photo by Peter Millar. Below: A new trolley for our Twin. Made by John Tullett.
visit. We were made most welcome by the club members there on the day, and three of us had flights over the Mount Maunganui area. A fantastic day out that we will repeat sometime soon. CT. TARANAKI The annual Christmas/New Year diaspora, as usual, dictated our fl ying as much as anything
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else over the past few weeks. Nonetheless, some did happen and some of it was quite good. It’s helpful too that stretching the SoaringNZ deadline, not to mention Madame Editor’s patience, I do have a bit more to write about. The fact that we have deregistered our Blanik JB will wait for another time to talk about. Firstly though, a big welcome to new members Viv Davy and Justin Wonderlick, who have begun their fl ying training with us. Viv is local, Justin is from the US of A. Dennis Green is a possible starter but is away at the Hang Gliding Nationals. Anirudh Tyagi is still somewhere between here and India but should be back soon. We also were privileged to have Melissa Jenkins grace our operations for a few days. She belongs to the London Gliding Club, fl ying from the famous Dunstable site. Her visit is not co-incidental though. Viv is her mother and Melissa was keen to help her get started - which she did. A good reward was a wave flight with Glyn Jackson in our Twin. Actually, they had to grovel in rotor, unlike Will Hopkirk, who kept further upwind and soared to more than 9000ft. Steve Barham has been doing some fl ying, getting ready for the return of his Nimbus. The Nimbus rabbit is probably looking forward to the return as well. Tim Hardwick-Smith has built on his Omarama flying and has had two or three long flights, as have Glyn and Peter Cook. Glyn has followed up his Taupo flying by barrelling into paddocks near York Road on successive weekends. John McFadgen towed him
out of one, but it was retrieve by road the second time. He had a long flight the next day, keeping well away from the York Road ‘Bermuda Triangle’. It is usually a reliable thermal area for most. Pilots have made good use of convergence lines that develop from time to time. The trick is now, how to extend out from them, or how to get away, without relying on the convergence lines. They are fun to fly and if one can climb up alongside, provide a sight of extra-ordinary beauty. Such a flight I had years ago with John Spence at German Hill is a precious memory. PJM TAUPO Since the completion of the Central Plateau Soaring Competition, things have not slowed down here at Taupo. The weather has been great and there have been a number of achievements. We had members Bill Kendall and Joe Ward attend the cross country course that was held at Matamata, with both members having a great week. Bill has had previous cross country experience, however with instructional and tow pilot duties, his private fl ying slowed up. The opportunity to have a cross country refresher was not to be missed. Joe had some back seat time during the CPSC and broke the boundary of the home field in the PW5, so he was also very keen to undertake the cross country course. Both members said that the course was well worth doing and recommended it to anyone wanting to
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CLUB NEWS
Taupo: Christmas Camp
go cross country fl ying. Back at home, there has been the ATC camp, which was held during 07-09 December, and the club’s Christmas camp, which went from 26 Dec – 06 Jan. The weather gods allowed for some very good fl ying days and everyone had a fun time. Once again, we have our two overseas family members join us again for the summer - Sid Gilmore from the UK and Denis Filgas from Switzerland. Sid helps out with instructional duties and Denis, we like to think, takes over from Tom as Club Manager. Both enjoy being here to fl y and, of course, the warmer weather. The 3000 hour maintenance work has been completed on the Jantar and, as this piece is being written, the Jantar is being prepared to go to Waipukurau for the Central Districts Competition. It has been a long three months without the use of this club aircraft and with another 3000 hours of extended life, I’m sure club members
will enjoy fl ying it. Trace WHANGAREI The weather system is having a neutral year thus far. Farming emotions swing between the risk of being drowned by a tropical cyclone, to being fried to a crisp in baking Australian air. The same vagaries of easterlies and westerlies afflict us on the gliding front. With the loss of older members due to recession, and the fact that we do not have fancy club gliders, other than a K13 at present, we may be in a neutral year also. We are endeavouring to raise funds, thus far unsuccessfully, and had been hopeful of the sale of our Grob 109 to enable us to purchase a quality two seater for cross country pilots. Yet, on the flip side, it has been heartening to have six young men join us this summer and keep our instructors and equipment active, with long thermic and convergence
flights to settle down in. Alan Jolly from Camphill assisted with instructor and student training, with Mark Arrowsmith becoming a C cat, and Tim Gordon going solo two weeks after joining. Most of the others are close behind. New Year’s Eve was celebrated with a ‘Beast Feast’ of wild pork and was a great occasion. Lots of fl ying visits from aircraft and gyros; pilots and visitors from around the world to liven us up.
PIK20 ready for launch down street Whangarei: Sea breeze coming in from Hokianga Harbour.
Sea breeze convergence
Evening at clubrooms
Student pilots
Alan Jolly and student Tim Gordon
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F O R S A L E • WA N T ED • S ERV I C ES • E V EN TS
We take our classifieds list from the GNZ website and from ads detailed with us personally. To update your ad, please go online or advise Roy Edwards, our webmaster. Ads notified to me will appear on this page but we are unable to make changes for you on the web page. Please contact the webmaster if your item sells.
GLIDERS ASH 25M, ZK-GRJ • in top condition, possibly the best available. Schleicher self-launching two seat motor glider, complete with German trailer. Fully equipped, re-finished by Sailplane Services in Autocryl, in very good condition. Low hours. Annual just completed. Always hangared. Fully instrumented. Contact Brian Kelly, phone 06 876 7437, email: Erinpac@xtra.co.nz Ventus b Turbo – GSP • NZ$74,000, but his arm can be twisted a little bit if you have a good story and he takes pity on you. 15 and/or 16.4 metre. Includes trailer, oxygen and parachute plus GPS. In good condition and competition ready with trailer. Phone Auckland 09 478 8858 or email tony.timmermans@paradise.net.nz ASK 13 • Fresh annual inspection. King KY97A com, Borgelt B40 electric vario with rear seat repeater. New winch hook and tailplane fittings installed at last annuals. Further details, please contact Alan, 0274 960 748 or a.belworthy@xtra.co.nz Std Cirrus GXA • Will also consider half share based in Matamata. Best performing Std Cirrus in NZ, re-profiled wing, all Std Cirrus 75 mods done (reshaped nose, wing roots, double-blade airbrakes). 2800 Hrs logged, gel coat in good condition, tinted canopy. Fibreglass clam-shell type trailer. M-nav computer, Terra mode-c transponder, Icom radio. Genuine 37:1 performance. $28K ono, Contact Karl on 0274 999 183 or karltht@ yahoo.co.uk ASW 20F ZK GYR • Equipped with Cambridge 302 and IPAQ loaded with Seeyou Mobile. Parachute (2004 new) and repacked Feb 2012,radio, transponder, oxygen system, wing covers, wing extensions and winglets, recently upgraded trailer with internal winch, insured through to 31/10/12. Price $52,000, to view check out http://discuscs.blogspot. co.nz/2012/01/gyr-looking-really-clean.html Contact Paul 0274 409462 DG 300 Elan • GOZ Full panel. Road trailer. $45,000 or near offer. Apply to Errol Shirtliff. Phone 03 526 8724 or email shirtliff@xtra.co.nz Discus B ZK-GPV • NZ$78,500 includes oxygen, C transponder, Ilec vario with speed to fly, rate of turn indicator, mounts for two extra batteries, blue tint canopy, ‘chute, ground handling gear and good trailer for easy two person de-rig/rig. Superb handling characteristics with 41/1 performance. Please contact John Bayliss 09 278 1760 or baylissj at pl.net DG200 GNA 15M 40:1 L/D XMAS SALE • $27,000 or near offer. Current ARA. Tidy condition just finished cut and polish. Cambridge GPS, Mode C transponder, Radio, parachute, wing covers and ground handling equipment. Oxygen system available. Good trailer with recent new galvanised sub-frame. Best value L/D and ideal XC performance suit low time pilot. Total 2400hrs Contact: Mike gdg200@gmail.com or phone 04 904 0651 Libelle 201b GIU • 2358 hours 1688 launches (20 August) O2, Transponder, 6 channel Tait radio, Borgelt B40 vario, Chute, Trailer. Good original finish. Annuals currently underway. $20K. Phone Paul 021 331 838
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Cobra 15 (ZK-GJE) • In good condition with a refurbished trailer. Easy to fly and fully aerobatic with a 38:1 glide ratio, comparable with a Libelle or Standard Cirrus. Includes tow out gear, Borgelt B40 vario and a parachute. Price now dropped to $9,995! Contact Russell Jones on 09 575 9788 or email:prismconsult@gmail.com ASH 25, ZK-GXZ • Placed 1st and 2nd in Open Class at last two Omarama New Zealand nationals (with a little bit of help from the pilot) 1,700 hours. Serial no: 25016, the lightest Ash to come out of the factory. Instruments: Glide computer Ilec SM10B, Becker radio, O2 EDS, 25.6 winglets, transponder, 4 water ballast bags, 1 parachute. Trailer: Aluminium Top Cobra Tandem wheel, tows extremely well. Cobra lifting tail dolly. NZ$150,000. Hangar space also available in Omarama to fit the ASH (35m) - right next to the airstrip. Contact: Garry Wakefield, phone +64 3 357 8995, or email garry@investment.co.nz TeST 10-M • Self launch microlight glider 15 mtr single seat self-launch glider. Rotax 447 UL retractable 40 hp engine. Brauniger ALPHA MFD digital instrument panel for flight & engine management. XCOM VHF 760 Transceiver. Becker ATC 4401-1 Transponder with mode A plus C. Glider is finished in epoxy paint and has tinted canopy, winglets and HI high performance air-brakes and ground-handling equipment inclusive canopy and wing-covers. Asking price: $67,500 emailgeraldv14 squiggle gmail. com LS4a GKP • $55,000. Imported by and maintained by Sailplane Services. Only 1069 hrs since new. Really nice condition with very good Komet trailer and tow out gear. Strong parachute, Colibri secure logger, Mode C transponder, Borgelt B500 vario and B2500 Glide Computer. Located at Whenuapai. Contact Peter phone 021 0225 1470, 09 473 7979 or email petercove@ihug.co.nz ASW 20CL ZK-RA • 1984. Serial Number: 20772. 15M & Optional 16.6M Tip Extensions, Tinted Canopy with Tilt-up Panel, Disc brake & Tailwheel, Blow Turbulators, Factory Ballast Bags, Transponder & O2 System, Cambridge 302 DDV & 303 Nav, Full ‘Tow-out’ Gear, Annuals due Nov 2013, (also have ASW 20 Winglets for this glider available, price negotiable) 1600 Hours, asking $59,000. Trailer locally built, Clam-type (composite top) in tidy overall condition. email: richard.downer@xtra. co.nz phone 06 364 5767 Discus CS • GNM 1100 hours, 420 launches. Wings refinished in 2007. No damage history. LX V7 and Nano plus Oudie lookalike. Becker radio and transponder. O2 bottle and refill system installed. Very good trailer. All auto control hook ups. Excellent first contest/X-country club. Ideal for clubs. David Jensen 0274 517 757 david@puketiro.co.nz Ventus 2cxT • 730 hours and only 207 launches. Engine approx 11 hours. Fantastic pocket open class performance with easy handelling. MAUW 600kg. Fully equipped with SN10, Becker radio and transponder, MH O2, Flarm and Cobra trailer. Glider is in immaculate condition. Terms available to approved purchasers. Contact Grae Harrison grae@letsgotravel.co.nz 0274 429 337 Ka6-CR L/D max • 31:1 at 80 kph /43 kt. GLR annuals and new paper work completed on 20/12/2012. Basic instruments and excellent road trailer. $6,850 or near offer. Call Simon Lillico Phone 04 4797 123 or email slillico@gmail.com ASW15 ZK-GGO • S/N 15069. Microair radio and transponder. Cambridge 302 DDV and 303 nav screen. $15,000 ono. ph 0274 972 723, g_gaddes@xtra.co.nz.
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GNZ members are eligible for one free non-commercial classified advertisement per issue. Deadline for receipt of advertising for our April issue is 22 March 2013.
Two adjacent 18m hangar spaces in the Omarama Hangar • $30,000 each or near offer. Contact Mike Hamilton phone: 03 9621530 email: mike.hamilton@hamjet.co.nz.
The editor of the Canadian soaring journal has available some old issues of S&G magazine • The issues are: 1948 Jan to Jun, Sept to Dec; 1949 Feb; 1950 Jan, Feb, Apr to Aug, Oct; 1951 Jan to Sep, Dec; 1952 Feb to May, Jul to Oct; 1955 Jan/Feb, May/June. If interested, e-mail Tony Burton at t-burton@telus.net
Hangar space, 15m, east hangar at Omarama • Asking $2000/m or reasonable offer. Contact Linda vindaloulou@gmail.com, 03 348 7009 or 021 071 8402.
Becker Transceivers and Transponders - Icom Handhelds • We guarantee to be the cheapest source in New Zealand – John Roake Ltd avionics@johnroake.com
Hangar Space for rent at Omarama • 15m. Call Paul Chisnall on 021 162 2396 for a good deal.
WANTED
HANGAR:
Hangar Space 15m at Omarama • We need the cash for new toys so here’s the deal, $1500 per metre. First in gets a bargain. Call Paul on 021 162 2396 or Nigel on 027 274 1624 or email pchisnall@xtra.co.nz Hangar spaces for sale in Omarama • 20m and or 15m next to the runway. $1,800pm ONO. Both in the most eastern hangar. Contact: Garry Wakefield, phone +64 3 357 8995, or email garry@investment.co.nz
Discus or similar in good condition with good trailer • Contact Nick 021 717 837 or nick_white@xtra.co.nz Share in glider hangared at Omarama • Contact GNZ webmaster for contact details. Any junked Terra TRT 250 transponders for parts • resanders@xtra. co.nz 021 0262 2191
OTHER FOR SALE Second hand Accusat MT410 406/121.5 Mhz Personal locator beacon. • (Non GPS type) Battery due replacement July 2014. $350ono. Contact Lionel Page, Aviation Sports Club, 021 333 031 GPS-Nav/L-Nav for sale • Complete unit, wiring, cables and flask. Available because I’ve up-graded to an LX V7/Nano combination. $900ono contact David - david@puketiro.co.nz or 0274 517 757 Chalet Omarama Airfield • new build - biggest and warmest - completed Oct 2012 - Fully furnished - move in and put the kettle on. raymar@vodafone.co.nz Generic Aviation GPS • 4.3” display, touchscreen, running full Winpilot 12, also runs IGO car nav software, can run LK8000 or XCSoar, has media player, e-reader, complete with suction mount, charge cables (mini-USB), micro-SD card etc, $120 ono, ph 021 174 4719 or andymacfly2002@ yahoo.com Free. HP iPaq HX4700 with faulty charge socket • Has USB cradle and battery that lasts for approx 1 hour. Has been used previously with XC Soar software. Free to a good home, ideally someone else with an iPaq that needs parts (e.g. battery, screen, cradle, memory card etc), so they can make a working one. The stylus is missing, but the hx4700 is ‘meat stylus’ compatible. Interested parties should email pete@fiberphone. co.nz.
FOR SALE
OMARAMA CHALET Get a syndicate together – make it more affordable – enjoy a rental income when you are not using it. Under construction now – Act fast to choose your layout
Available as completed shell to allow buyer to finish or completely finished to buyer specs. No more sites available
PHONE 0274 774 885 FOR SALE
OMARAMA CHALET One of the originals, built early 90’s, recently refurbished, with new carpet, tiled kitchen/ bathroom flooring (heated). New kitchen with ceramic cooktop, dishwasher, sink waste disposer, fridge/freezer and microwave. Enquiries to Alan Holgate.
Phone 03 454 2144 or 0274 367 442
GHS 15 mtr. Foka 4 Polish Built. LD 34-1; VNA 141kts (aerobatic) Good trailer and ground gear. Just passed annual airworthy and bore-scope inspection. Total hours 1791. Based Taupo Club. Includes ownership, hangar space to 2012. $16,000 Phone Colin 07 378 4862
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QUINTUS BETTER BY
design
NE
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NEW ZEALAND AGENT FOR
L X N AV The most advanced soaring instruments and trig avionics
Please contact us for servicing onsite at our Omarama workshop.
Sailplane Services Ltd email sailplaneservices@xtra.co.nz phone 09 294 7324
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