Matamata XC Course

MATAMATA XC COURSE By Colin Bell

Colin Bell from the Auckland Gliding Club attended the Matamata Cross Country course. He usually fl ies 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.

As a relative new comer to unescorted cross country fl ying 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 diffi culty during the week, clamping the lift at various times, and making for some interesting decision making training. The course was designed around the students fl ying dual one day then fl ying 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 fl y, but the three days I fl ew P2 were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the fl ight 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 fl ight. 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 fl y 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 fi nal 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.

Duo TT climbing well after visiting ‘The Swamp’ at a comfortable level.

Colin Bell Photo

Duo TT Heading South. Almost at the Tirau turn point.

Colin Bell Photo

Land outs. The board sums up the day. Many people were learning about retrieving. You can’t learn cross country flying without finding out about retrieving.