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

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.

TASMAN TROPHIES, BOTH WON BY NEW ZEALAND Matamata pilot Tim Bromhead, fl ying 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.

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 World class

1 Sebastian Riera ARG 3505 2 Jorge Tartara ARG 3492 3 Jedrzej Sklodowski POL 3424

Club class

1 Santiago Berca ARG 6415 2 Tobias Geiger AUS 6316 3 Roman Mracek CZE 6300

Standard class

1 Sebastian Kawa POL 6102 2 Mario Kiessling GER 6038 3 Felipe Levin GER 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.

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 fi t 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 effi ciency. 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 AE50- series 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 fl own in a hang glider. In a ten hour thermal fl ight in which they fl ew 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 fi nd 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 fl ew a task out of Omarama in his ASW20C. He says he fi nished 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 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 fi rst US woman ever competing in a World Championship. Not only is she the fi rst woman competing in the Worlds, she is also the fi rst US woman who will compete in the Women’s Worlds in France in summer 2013. And, still not enough ‘fi rsts’, she is also the fi rst 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 fl ew 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.

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 fl ight 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 fi rst, and to date the only, Finn to win the World Championships in gliding. He won his fi rst 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 fi rst 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.”

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