SoaringNZ Issue 59 by mccawmedia

NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE

1ST NEW ZEALAND GLIDING CHAMPS ISSUE 59 NOVEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020

MATAMATA XC GREYTOWN YOUTH GLIDE MINI CAMP TEM • CLUB NEWS

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CONTENTS 24

FEATURES JOHN MCCAW

12 1st New Zealand Gliding Championships

20 Something Old, Something New ...

24 The George Rogers Memorial Youth Glide Mini Camp 2019

30 Aviation Sports Club

REGULARS

32 Where Seagulls Dare 36 Fate is the Hunter

54 Threat And Error Management Part 3

7 Log Book

48 A Question of Safety

Solo at 13 39

40 Look for the Unexpected

Gliding New Zealand 60 Club News

42 Rangi's 1000k Mode S and ADS-B 45

53 Central Plateau Gliding Champs

Instructors Column

Classified Advertising

4•

SOARINGNZ • ISSUE 59

CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR JILL MCCAW

It’s only the beginning of the season but there have already been some amazing flights made around the country. Just off the top of my head I can think of a 1850km flight by Justin Wills and Norbert-Alin Scarlat out of Omarama on the 8th November. Rangi de Abaffy flew the first 1000 km flight out of Springfield on the 27th October on a day that didn’t have many other pilots racing to get in the air. On the 13th November Pat Driessen topped the OLC rankings world-wide with his 430km out and return at 107km/hr out of Drury and on the 16th November Terry Delore and his daughter Abbey attempted to fly the length of NZ from Bluff to Cape Reinga. They didn’t succeed, landing at Springfield after some electrical issues but, as Terry said, “… decided to take it as a good trial run for an attempt another day.” They’d still flown from Omarama to the south coast and were well north of Springfield/ Christchurch when deciding to abort and turn back to Springfield. Do you dream of making these sorts of flights? Flying further, or faster, or maybe both? It is not beyond the ability of any welltrained pilot to do this, but it takes time and

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skill. Skill of course, is something that comes with experience and time.

experienced pilot now and again – as I did for many years.

That sort of flying isn’t for everyone and there is an awful lot of pleasure to be gained from local flights. Find the flying that suits you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a local pilot who makes a few great cross-country flights with a more

The question is, are you dreaming about it or are you actively making yourself a better pilot so that one day you can do an extraordinary flight? All these pilots have done their time in the cockpit. They have hundreds and in the case

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and 200km flights. Fly in competitions. Competitions really do build better pilots as you’re forced to fly on days you’d otherwise have chosen not to launch and go to turn points in places you’d really rather have avoided. But contests aren’t always like that. Some days the task is a glorious happy event that reinforces your love of the sport. All of this raises your skill levels, your currency and your instinctive abilities to read the weather and plan your flying. The camaraderie and help you’ll receive from other pilots is another bonus, something I’ve noticed right up to World level competition. What else do the epic flights have in common besides current and competent pilots? Terry Delore can tell you: preparation and planning.

of Justin Wills and Terry Delore, thousands of hours flying cross-country. Emulating them is no hardship if flying is what you really enjoy. Go to the cross-country courses. Start working through the FAI badges. A 300km flight is a massive achievement. Many clubs these days organise awards for 100km

In Issue 1 of SoaringNZ we ran a story of what turned out to be the last flight Terry had with his record setting partner Steve Fossett. Fossett died in a light aircraft accident on September 4 that year. On the 13th July 2007 Fossett and Delore gained the world speed record for the 1250 km 25% FAI triangle which was probably the last available world record using thermals. At the time Terry said: Our preparation for this flight was substantial. People don’t generally appreciate what is involved in a flight like this. You can’t just get up in the morning and think, I’ll have a crack at that. We have had to learn the weather in many different areas of the world. We’ve spent hours studying maps and analysing previous flight traces. We had to find the best flight tracks to avoid controlled airspace, to ensure the best task for the weather patterns and then pick the best tracks to turn points. We had to position the turn points at reliable thermal sources. Patience and persistence were very important. A flight of this type can’t be achieved in a hurry.

1ST NEW ZEALAND GLIDING CHAMPS ISSUE 59

MATAMATA XC GREYTOWN YOUTH GLIDE MINI CAMP TEM • CLUB NEWS

Terry has prepared a huge list of potential tasks for various weather systems. He watches the long-range weather forecasts, speculating when the weather will be right for the particular flight he wants to do, tweaking his expectations as the weather changes. When the weather gods align, he’s all ready to go. His glider is prepped. His flight computer is ready with the task preloaded. If he’s likely to be away overnight his bag is packed. The tow pilot will be prepped and ready. The crew will know what they need to do. He also doesn’t expect to complete a record-breaking flight on his first attempt. Terry said of Rangi’s 1000km flight, “This was a very well-prepared flight. On a very average gnarly day Rangi achieved the first FAI declared 1000km flight from Springfield. Congratulations Rangi. Very well done.” High praise from the master. Enjoy your flying. Stay safe this season. Jill McCaw

Fosset and Delore possibly the greatest record setting team ever.

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NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020

These day’s Terry’s flights are closer to home, but he still puts in the prep. When he arrives on the airfield he knows what the weather is doing, he’ll have worked out where it’s possible to fly and as he disappears into the distance, confounding everyone else when they hear where he got to that day, it is that combination of preparation and currency that got him there, and back.

Alexandra Lehmann enjoys her first glide flight. JOHN MCCAW

Next Issue: Summer competitions How the Youth Glide concept was received in China

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NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE

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For many years Max Stevens had a trophy in his possession, ex Bruce Cunningham’s safe after Bruce passed away. Max had no idea what this silver tray was. But then recently an old video surfaced and did the rounds on YouTube. The poor-quality half hour movie is fascinating viewing, showing a group of pilots ‘racing’ down the North Island in 1979. At the finish of the event the silver tray trophy was awarded to Ian Finlayson.

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On YouTube search for First Gliding Derby 1979 Auckland to Paraparaumu over 4 days.

LOGBOOK • November 2019–January 2020

•7

FINAL RED BULL AIR RACE

In the 94 races that have made up the history of the Red Bull Air Race, 10 pilots have claimed the season title, 14 have won races and 23 have stepped on the podium.

Ivanoff contributed, “For sure I will stay in aviation. I know nothing else.”

While the Red Bull Air Race will not continue beyond 2019, the World Championship pilots are not leaving the sky. As the season finale concluded in Chiba, Japan, they opened up about what’s ahead. Australia’s Matt Hall, who clinched his first title in September, said, “I’m taking a bit of a break, to tell you the truth. I’m pretty tired.” And Canada’s Pete McLeod was looking forward to float plane flying in the northern wilds before preparing for 2020. Air show flying, aviation businesses and foundations to encourage future generations of pilots are all on the cards for these pilots. French pilots François Le Vot and Nicolas Ivanoff – both known for their skill in coaching aerobatics – plan to remain flexible. Le Vot, among other projects hopes to eventually set up an air sport school. Ivanoff contributed, “For sure I will stay in aviation. I know nothing else.” As a key member of both the Blades Racing Team and the Blades Aerobatic Display Team, Ben Murphy has a lot in the pipeline. The Blades will tour the UAE this November, where, spearheaded by Murphy, they will offer flying experiences to corporate entities and individual flyers. Then, in 2020 Murphy and the team will travel to the USA for flight training on their new aerobatic aircraft, the GameBird GB1, before a busy summer season. Like several of the Red Bull Air Race pilots, Murphy also harbours ambitions to race again. Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic, who will be doing air shows and likely flying commercially, summed up the feeling of all the pilots: “Wherever my steps lead me, for sure it will be in aviation. It’s too early to know exactly where it’s going to go, but I’ll keep my wings on!”

SUNSEEKER DUO CALENDAR AVAILABLE See the solar-flight online store for the Photo Calendar 2020. Now available, featuring 13 high quality colour photos of the flagship, the Sunseeker Duo. In addition, the backs of the pages have black and white photos with text and quotes, to give some background into the pilots’ experience and the history of Solar Flight. www.solar-flight.com

8•

November 2019–January 2020 • LOGBOOK

THE AIRBUS PERLAN MISSION II

SOARINGNZ’S EMPHASIS ON WOMEN HITS THE SPOT IN SLOVENIA Niko Slana, a Slovenian glider pilot and aviation blogger is a big fan of SoaringNZ. Using the services of google translate it was great to see that our previous issue on exceptional women pilots and the problems women face in gliding had resonated and provided inspiration to Slovenian women pilots. Apparently, their gliding clubs have around 30 percent women and have similar problems with misogyny that we do.

Perlan has wrapped up their 2019 Campaign IV flights in Argentina. The team members have returned to homes across America and around the world. The Perlan 2 glider is on its way back to the space glider’s home in Minden, Nevada. Season IV was a great success, with the team having achieved incredible results on their key mission objectives: Innovation, Exploration and Inspiration. The Airbus Perlan Mission II team completed seven stratospheric flights, reaching 65,000 feet on Sept. 17 – the third highest glider flight in history. And it was only 600 feet short of being the second highest soaring flight ever. A rare stratospheric weather phenomenon, Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) over the South Pole kept the glider from reaching higher world-record altitudes this year.

The feature on Yvonne Loader was particularly well received. It is interesting to see our stories used to compare and contrast the culture and procedures of gliding clubs on opposite sides of the world. If you’d like to see the article and run it through google translate yourself, go to opensoaring.com and search SoaringNZ 58.

NEW ZEALAN D’S PREMIE

R SOARIN G MAGAZINE

Some of Airbus Perlan Mission II’s achievements this season: ISSUE 58 AUGUST/OCTOBER 2019

INNOVATION » High-altitude aeronautical innovation, including extensive stratospheric flight tests that mapped the performance curves of the Perlan 2, obtaining greater knowledge about high-altitude wing-borne flight.

» Improved aircraft systems performance and reliability. » Refined aero tow technology and techniques, accomplishing the highest aero tows in history.

EXPLORATION » Gathering data in the stratosphere to help scientists better understand how stratospheric waves influence the planet’s weather, climate and flight safety.

» Data collected on the very rare ‘sudden stratospheric warming’ (SSW) event as it disrupted the Polar Vortex. The last strong SSW in the southern hemisphere was in 2002. This year’s SSW was the strongest ever recorded.

» Launched 29 weather balloons into the downwind wave fields. INSPIRATION » Inspiration of the next generation of engineers, explorers and innovators, including team leaders’ presentations to universities and the War College in Buenos Aires.

» Team members speaking with multiple K-12 schools, and donated supplies to a local El Calafate school.

» Video interviews, photos, and articles were shared with global audiences through Airbus Perlan Mission II’s communications platforms, including subscriber emails, The Perlan Project Blog, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Airbus.com, and international news.

EUROPEAN GLIDING CHAMP

WOMEN IN AVIATION STEMME IN NORWAY TEM • CLUB NEWS

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DECEMBER 2019

December 13 - December 16 Taumarunui Fly In Taumaranui Airfield Taupo Gliding Club is organising a four day weekend away to Taumarunui from 13 - 16 December 2019. For more information contact Trace Austin. traceaustin@hotmail.com December 27 - December 31 New Zealand Sailplane Grand Prix Matamata Soaring Centre Formula 1 GP for Club Class Sailplanes Sailplane GP for Open Class Sailplanes Numbers are limited, get your entries in early. Online Entry. Entries accepted at discretion of the Contest Organiser: David Jensen. Contest Director: Rob Lyon.

JANUARY 2020 January 4 - January 11 Auckland Soaring Championships Auckland Gliding Club, 264 Appleby Road, Drury Entry form now available. See advert this issue.

FEBRUARY 2020 February 2 - February 15 National Gliding Championships 2020 Centennial Park Airfield, Taupo February 22 - February 29 Central Districts 2020 Waipukurau Airfield, Waipukurau We intend keeping the competition a good fun contest with an emphasis on helping new pilots gain experience.

GAVIN WILLS

M O U N TA IN SOARING SCHOOL Learn-to-Fly Post Solo to QGP Mountain Soaring Guest instructors: Uli Schwenk Justin Wills

ADVENTURE SOARING FLIGHTS

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FAI NEWS

France chosen for the Final of the 10th Sailplane Grand Prix Series It is with great pleasure that the Sailplane Grand prix management team are able to announce the venue for the 10th FAI/SGP final will be St Auban in France in September 2021. The 10th final was originally scheduled to be held at Innonu in Turkey as part of the FAI Word Air Games (WAG). The postponement of the WAG initiated a call for bids to host the final. The successful bid was submitted by the French Gliding Federation to hold the final at St Auban in the southern Alpine region of France.

Women in FAI: New CIMP President Marja OsingaMeek shares her aims (This article is abridged. The full article is available on the FAI News site. -Ed) After several years as Vice-President, Marja Osinga-Meek has, in 2019, been elected President of the FAI Medico-Physiological Commission (CIMP). A glider pilot and a physician, Marja’s ‘day job’ is in a geriatric clinic, something she balances between her roles of President of the Medical Board of the Royal Netherlands Aeronautical Association and as an Aeromedical Examiner. She is a member of the Rule Making Groups of EASA, representing General Aviation as well as

participating in aviation medical assessments for the Ministry of Transport Board of Appeal in the Netherlands. Marja kindly spent some time chatting about her new role: Could you share your ideas on what you would like to achieve within the role? During my years as vice-president I became familiar with the structure, procedures and aims of the CIMP. We have had constructive discussions on issues related to health, performance, safety and requirements for air sports pilots. It is important to bring together the delegates of the FAI member countries in order to share knowledge and scientific developments. What are the main challenges you will need to overcome? My aim is to involve more colleagues – physicians as well as psychologists - especially from other continents: Asia, South America, Africa, Oceania. I also wish to build up statistical data from air sports organisations. Figures on flight safety issues are very important in order to define the level of acceptable risks for pilots and we need to set up appropriate medical rules, dependent on the complexity and weight of the aircraft.

Fly with Peter Hartmann!

Jan 2020 @ Nationals

Fly with a world class competition pilot Peter Hartmann this coming season.

Peter will be available ahead of and for the Nationals at Taupo in 2020, approximately Jan 20 – Feb 15, to fly with interested pilots at clubs as well as the Nationals. Peter has suggested that the best results of coaching would be achieved with two days of flying - the second day after a gap so you can practice the ideas suggested after the first day.

podium at World and Continental championships as well as Grand Prix races on numerous occasions, successfully avoiding the elusive overall win. Peter’s current IGC ranking is #60.

Peter is a highly experienced glider and professional pilot, flight instructor and tow pilot from Austria. He has flown onto the

Peter is a personable, outgoing individual who loves the good things in life. He is enthusiastic about sharing and passing on his experiences, tips and ideas about gliding.

LOGBOOK • November 2019–January 2020

• 11

JAMES KETCHELL

British adventurer completes first round-the-world flight in a gyrocopter On 22 September 2019, British pilot James Ketchell completed the first ever round-the-world flight in a gyrocopter. The total length of his journey, which took him through France, Russia, Canada, and Iceland, was 24,000 nautical miles – well over the 37,000 km he needed to fly to set the first ever FAI world record for speed around the world in a gyrocopter. During the course of the trip, Ketchell also claimed a number of FAI records for speed over a recognised course. So, what was the highlight of the experience for him? “It was magical seeing the world from 500 feet – it is incredibly beautiful when seen from above,” said Ketchell, 37. “But the biggest highlight of the trip for me was being able to speak to young people in every country I visited.” Ketchell’s life as an adventurer started about 10 years ago, when he decided to row across the Atlantic after having a motorcycle crash that left him unable to walk for a long time. “I realised I loved going off on big adventures,” he said. “From that point I sort of fell into a different life. Since then, I’ve climbed Everest and cycled around the world, and I’ve also started doing a lot of travelling as a motivational speaker.” He had only been flying gyrocopters for a few years when he took off on his trip on 31 March from Popham Airfield in Hampshire, England. “I’ve always been fascinated by flying, but I only had about 200 hours of flying experience when I started my round-the-world trip,” he said. “But I did a lot of preparation for the flight, including taking advice from senior test pilots. I also had amazing support from the Royal Aero Club and

from General Aviation Services Egypt.” Ketchell faced some big challenges on his way around the world, “As I flew across the Atlantic from Greenland to Iceland, the weather was really bad,” he said. “I was flying at only about 100 feet above the water for most of the trip, and at times the visibility was almost zero. It was very frightening. I’ve never been happier to see land!” Managing the logistics of finding a hangar for his gyrocopter each time he landed was also testing at times. “There was a lot of faffing about on the ground,” Ketchell said. “I had to get the aircraft into a hangar every night, and there was the paperwork to get signed so I could set an official FAI world record. The flying was easy in comparison!” Now that Ketchell has completed his round-the-world flight in a gyrocopter, his next mission is to do the same journey in a boat. “I will definitely continue to fly gyrocopters; I love the calmness and the fact your mind empties of all your worries," Ketchell said. “However, my next plan is to sail around the world. "Nobody has ever circumnavigated the globe by air, sea, and land. I’ve already cycled around the world, and now I’ve flown round it, so if I can sail around the world, I’ll be the first person to do all three.” *The record is yet to be ratified and is therefore “pending” at the time of writing.

1ST NEW ZEALAND GLIDING CHAMPIONSHIPS MASTERTON NOVEMBER 1963 WORDS BY ROSS MACINTYRE

PETER LAYNE

The following is a contest report that is 55 years overdue, but well worth reading. Peter Layne and Roger Brown recently acquired a typed report written by Ross Macintyre. It had never been published.

1ST NEW ZEALAND NATIONALS • November 2019–January 2020

• 13

HE FIRST WINNER was John Cooper flying Auckland's Ka6Cr GCQ. Roger Brown says the report certainly highlights the inexperience and pitfalls faced by those intrepid glider pilots of the early 1960s.

John Messervy had arrived about an hour earlier and was inveigled into declaring a task. He played it hopeful and gave a 300 km out and return to Lake Pukawa or a 160 km out and return to Woodville.

“Pilots are welcome to land in the playing fields, as in the past, but please avoid the cricket pitch and running track which are easily recognised." Only one pilot later in the competition took advantage of this offer.

Newer pilots should remember that although the basic flights around a task part of a contest were the same then as now, verification was achieved by turn point photos (with a camera mounted just-so, to point down the wing) and barograph traces. Many gliders did not have radios. The gliders were physically sighted passing through the start and finish lines.

Howard Scoffin in Standard Austria (CX) got to within 10 miles of Waipukurau, a distance of 74 miles (118 km). Alan Cameron of Auckland in the Skylark 2 (BM) nearly reached Dannevirke - 54 miles (86 km). Some landed back, some landed out. Later in the day John Cooper caught the wave that had formed and went to 15,000 feet.

The Official Opening took place in the club house at 4.30 p.m. Dignitaries included Mr. Digby Sykes, president of the Wairarapa Aero Club, Mr. Bennett, chairman of the Aerodrome Authority and Mr. Cooksly, M.P. for the district plus Mr. I.F.B. WaIters, Divisional Controller of Operations in the C.A.A. They all spoke.

FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER

In his speech Mr. Walters said that the gliding movement was increasing rapidly in New Zealand and to avoid restrictions it would be far better for clubs to find their own sites, free from powered aircraft and airways traffic. It was up to the clubs themselves to do this. Those who help themselves should find their efforts will not be overlooked if assistance was required. He then officially opened the championships.

PRACTICE WEEK MONDAY 4 NOVEMBER A good wave developed about 4 p.m. Peter Heginbotham in Ka6, DB reached 15,000 feet in this wave but had to return because his ailerons had frozen up. Three others, John Edmundson, Naylor Smith (in the 463) and Gordon Hookings (Rhönadler) reached 10,000 feet and had to give up because their oxygen equipment was not working.

THURSDAY 7 NOVEMBER After 2 days of cold southerly conditions when no flying was possible, a fine day with strong well marked thermals arrived.

Friday brought hurricane force winds, flying was abandoned – not even attempted, apart from one 500 gallon water tank which blew from its stand and rolled across the airfield. One glider trailer, fortunately empty, was tipped on its side and one caravan likewise. Geoff White's Rhönsegler (CG) was damaged in its trailer while on the way to the champs.

OFFICIAL OPENING DAY SATURDAY 9 NOVEMBER Friday’s wind had dropped but heavy rain fell nearly all day. At a briefing in the morning a message was read from Mr O. S. Meads, the headmaster of Kuranui College.

A cocktail party was held that night at the Midland Hotel. The Mayor of Masterton, Mr. N. Tankersly, made a short speech here welcoming visitors to Masterton. The whole affair was very successful.

1ST NEW ZEALAND NATIONALS • November 2019–January 2020

SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER First contest day. Much better conditions greeted competitors at the 10 am briefing. Thermals were starting to pop, well-marked by good cumulus. John Messervy gave an 80 km triangle as the first contest task. The wind strength increased however and after about 15 launches when it was obvious that the strong southerly component was preventing anyone from making progress to the starting line, the recall was shown and those with radio were told to come home. At 1400 a new briefing was held with a new task of an out and return race to Lake Ferry Hotel and return (without landing!), a distance of 78 miles (125 kilometres). Nearly everyone contacted wave and shot off quickly. There was no starting line and the start time was take-off plus 15 minutes so it was all to the good if an early release was possible. (A launching height of 3000 feet was allowed). Howard Scoffin in his Standard Austria S (CX) was first home, he elected to have another attempt immediately and shot off on a second launch. After him there seemed to be a glider finishing few seconds. Speed was obviously the deciding factor in this race as eventually 20 out of the 24 starters completed the task. Peter Heginbotham in a Ka6Cr (DB) was the only one to break 60 minutes for the journey. His time of 58 minutes was the best for the day. Howard Scoffin would have come close to that on his second attempt but arrived at a very low altitude and after dodging several trees on approach landed short of the line. He had to be pushed over by hand. The only aircraft not to score was AQ, the Wairarapa Aero Club's Bergfalke which landed at Norfolk Road about 5 miles away, but didn't get back in time for a second launch. Many of the day's turning point photographs were very poor. Over exposure and blurred shots were very common and one film had nothing at all on it. If the pilot had not been able to get certificates from other pilots that he had been seen down at the turning point he would have lost all his points. Intending competitors in next year's competition should note this and remember, fast shutter speed, small aperture give the best results from the air.

• 15

RESULTS FOR DAY Place Pilot Aircraft Type 1 P Heginbotham DB Ka6Cr 2 H Scoffin CX Std Austria 3 P de Renzy CH Ka6Cr 4 J Cooper CQ Ka6Cr 5 A Pearce AN Ka6Cr Miles flown: 1988. 46 launches. 49 hours 56 mins.

MONDAY 11 NOVEMBER No contest day. Heavy showers fell during the day with a strong S.W. wind.

TUESDAY 12 NOVEMBER Second contest day. The wave was working again and as it was a big wave John Messervy set a big task. Hood Aerodrome, Gwavas Forestry Camp, Hood Aerodrome free distance. The set portion of the task was 190 miles (300 km). This was by far the longest task ever set in New Zealand and quite a few thought of making declarations for diamond flights. By declaring Gwavas and Hood as turning points, a goal and distance diamond could be won by doing the free distance section to near Eskdale. Others not so ambitious only declared Hood – Gwavas - Hood. Geoff White was one of these and he was the only one to complete the set task and land at Masterton. Geoff's Rhönsegler (CG) had been repaired by Fred Dunn and Ted Ashwell in rapid time to allow him to fly this day, after its damage in the trailer. With this flight Geoff won his Gold C distance and diamond goal award. Geoff was seen later carefully looking after his turning point photos and barograph. However, he only scored 498 points in the day’s placing as John Cooper in Rhönsegler (CQ) delighted everyone by completing the set portion and heading off to Wairoa, another 161 miles away. John landed there at 7 pm after throwing away 7,000 feet because it was getting dark. If he'd had another hour or so of daylight, he said he could have reached Gisborne, the wave system was so good. This flight could give John his 3rd diamond but this has yet to be verified by F.A.I. as John’s barograph trace was not at all clear. Nevertheless, this amazing flight of 351 miles certainly put John Cooper in the Auckland club's Rhönsegler (CQ) well in the lead. The Lift was turbulent near the rotor cloud and one or two called off their attempts when

Speed mph 80.69 78.00 72.00 67.83 66.86

Points 1000 954 857 795 781

the turbulence nearly tossed them upside down. Dave Wright in Olympia 463 (DJ) had an interesting retrieve from near Woodville. He landed on the only paddock available, on the west side of the Manawatu River. After a while a farmer came along and lent Dave his horse to cross the river (which is quite deep there) to ring up. There were no nearby farmhouses on the west side. This he managed without too much trouble, so he crossed back to the aircraft to look after it. After the picketing had been completed Dave and the farmer set out across the river again. Meanwhile the crew were in difficulty as the empty trailer had blown over. This took some time to right but eventually they met up with Dave. They were 400 yards from the glider but to get to it they had to borrow a Land Rover from a friend of the farmer, and drive 20 miles, mainly across country, opening and, closing (as Gerry Heitbrink, one of the crew put it, "14 b ••• b ••• gates") to retrieve the glider. Score for the day. 2 diamond and several Gold C heights.

RESULTS FOR DAY Place Pilot Aircraft Type Points 1 J Cooper CQ Ka6Cr 1000 2 G White CGKa6Cr 498 3 S H Georgeson CP Skylark 4 417 4 T Fowke CO Ka6Cr 411 5 K Wakeman BU Ka6Cr 374 CUMULATIVE 1 J Cooper CQ Ka6Cr 1795 2 T Fowke CO Ka6Cr 1119 3 S H Georgeson CP Skylark 4 1102 4 A Cameron BM Skylark 2 1066 5 K Wakeman BU Ka6Cr 1051 2061 miles. 45 launches. 85 hours 9 mins.

WEDNESDAY 13 NOVEMBER No contest day. A cold front passed over Masterton during the morning bringing rain and southerly winds.

THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER Third contest day. Conditions were not as good as they looked earlier in the day when the task was set as 335 [km] trip from Hood to Turakirae Head to Dannevirke Airfield and back to Hood. No lenticulars were visible and quite a few relights were needed for those who failed to contact the wave. Radio reports from competitors were much more cryptic than they had been on the 2nd contest day. There was not so much chatter between pilots as before. Dick Georgeson called his radio the greatest height waster there was, and he and the others were too anxious to gain height that day to use it much. The odd landing report filtered through and the first over 30 miles was Alan Cameron of Auckland. He landed south of Pirinoa, and as other reports came in a picture was formed of very strong winds to the south against which pilots could make little or no headway. A garbled report over the radio said that Heginbotham and Georgeson (who had been together) were down.

About an hour later Dick Georgeson phoned in from Wharekaukau west of Palliser Bay, giving landing reports for himself, Peter Heginbotham (DB), Peter de Renzy (CH), Jack Williams (AN), Ross Reid (DI), and John Trotter (CB) - the Oamaru Skylark 3. Dick asked for as many helpers as possible and if the wind proved too strong for the trailers; they were to leave them and carry on down. He was the only one able to leave his aircraft; the others were having a hard time just remaining on the ground. Jack Williams was being blown backwards with each gust even with the wheel brake on and spoilers out, so he reached out of the cockpit and screwed a picket into the ground to hold onto. Peter Heginbotham was in much the same plight. Eventually the crews arrived; DB's trailer had been blown over at Featherston and the rest had been parked under some trees. CP and CH picketed in the lee of a shelter belt. AN and DI were sheltered in a wool shed with DB's fuselage. The wings were picketed down on the paddock as it was dangerous to lift them. CB didn't have quite the same problems, as he’d landed in the lee of a hill.

Back at the field, we were waiting for a report on Keith Wakeman in BU. He had been with Georgeson and Heginbotham and rounded the first turning point with them, (they and John Trotter (CB) were the only ones to do so) and had last been seen ridge soaring along the Orongorongo River Valley! Meanwhile another report came in that CE (the Skylark 2 from Tauranga) was down at Trentham after crossing the Rimutaka range. Finally, BU's report came through from Dannevirke. Later Keith reported that he was too scared to land at Palliser Bay with the others and had just carried on. He was miles ahead of the rest of the field but as only 11 of the 25 scored, he received a mere 680 marks for the day. The Weihe (AE) hit a sheep on landing and broke its tailplane and had to withdraw from further competition. Cooper did not do too well and landed at Featherston and didn't score at all. The Bergfalke (AQ) landed downwind on the ‘drome after an out and return to Norfolk Road.

1ST NEW ZEALAND NATIONALS • November 2019–January 2020

other four gliders but it was blown sideways off the road too.

RESULTS FOR DAY RESULTS FOR DAY Place Pilot Aircraft Type 1 K Wakeman BU 2= S H Georgeson CP 2= P K Heginbotham DB 2= J Trotter CB 5= R Reid DI 5= J Williams AN 5= P de Renzy CH CUMULATIVE 1 J Cooper CQ 2 K Wakeman BU 3 S H Georgeson CP 4 P K Heginbotham DB 5 T Fowke BU Ka6Cr

Points 680 156 156 156 58 58 58 1795 1731 1243 1156 1154

FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER No contest day. It was a case of ‘all hands to the rescue’ next morning when about 25 bodies set off to Palliser Bay in an attempt to retrieve the six strays. The Oamaru boys got their trailer down to the coast without too much difficulty using two Landrovers. The remainder set about righting DB's trailer which had had to be tied down the previous night to stop it going over again. This was accomplished between heavy gusts and the trailer was marched on to the shelter of some trees with nearly everyone hanging onto some portion of the trailer and two trucks driving beside it to break the wind. Dick Georgeson decided to attempt to get his trailer down to the coast. After loading nearly a ton weight in old railway sleepers into it, he set of once again with two trucks alongside to break the wind. After one or two close calls with heavy gusts and a close shave with a narrow bridge, CP’s trailer arrived at Wharekaukau. CP was loaded into the trailer, but the trailer was left behind the wind break until later. While this was going on, ways and means of shifting DB’s wings were discussed. The net result was that they would not be shifted as the wind was still too strong. The other aircraft were checked for damage and left where they were. CB was able to be retrieved and that convoy returned to base. The rest sat around and waited for the wind to abate or returned to camp. Later in the day Dick got CP to Pigeon Bush (where the other trailers were) but not without a very heavy struggle with the wind; bodies all pulling on ropes and a Landrover to drag it up a hill, at last managed to get the trailer off the open ground into the more sheltered part of the road. The Hawke’s Bay four wheel trailer was called in to help the

Meanwhile a copybook wave system had developed at Masterton and practice flying was in progress. Doug Yarrall in DF, his Olympia 463, just climbed and climbed until he reached 31,500 feet. The temperature was -37 degrees centigrade. Eric Van Notten in the Sagitta (CW) went to 30,500 feet, Alan Cameron in the Auckland Skylark 2 (BM) went to 27,000 feet and Dave Wright in Wellington’s 463 (DJ) went to 24,000 feet. This gave all of them a Diamond gain of height. Four in one day all between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. John Cooper was released at 1,200 feet in (CQ) so that the TV cameraman could film a few circles and a landing. At 600 feet he struck lift, (Cooper, not the cameraman) and climbed to 12,000 feet. He could have gone higher too but could not reach his oxygen valve - it was meant to be only a circuit after all! The cameraman never did film Cooper landing! Some very worried pilots heard that night that there would be a contest next day if it was not raining. Ted Eadie forecast a lull at 4 am next morning, so at 3 am a large crew set off to Wharekaukau. The wind had dropped as forecast to only 30 knots and the gliders were retrieved with only moderate difficulty.

SATURDAY 16 NOVEMBER Fourth contest Day. At an early briefing pilots were set in a quandary. John Messervy gave them an out and return with the pilot selecting his own turning point. Russell

• 17

McDowell the scorer explained how the scoring system worked and showed that navigation did help here. Wave had obviously developed. A great number of 2nd and 3rd launches were required as pilots went up, tried the conditions and found that their first turning points were too ambitious. A great deal of ‘clag’ as Ted Eadie had by now learnt to call it (although it undoubtedly upset his meteorological background), prevented many pilots from getting away. Earlier in the day, most of the talk on declarations was Gwavas and back (the declarations were kept secret of course until after the last launch). But as the day passed, Pirinoa and return, or Lake Ferry seemed a better bet. Early in the afternoon a call over the radio had people worried as one pilot was heard to be in trouble. But a little later the same voice was heard asking if he was disqualified for wiping the black paint off his turn and bank - which didn’t work anyway because it wasn't connected. But as landing reports came in it became obvious that the majority had gone south to Pirinoa or Lake Ferry. Howard Scoffin, in the Standard Austria, had landed at Pongaroa to the north. Alan Cameron reached Dannevirke, his turning point. Dave Wright in DJ (Oly 463) did one task and not knowing that a second launch would invalidate his previous attempt, took off again and this time went further to Lake Ferry and back, going along with Ross Reid in his Ka6Pe (DI) and

18 •

November 2019–January 2020 • 1ST NEW ZEALAND NATIONALS

Geoff White in his Ka6Cr (CG). These three gained 2nd place equal for the day.

John Cooper in the Ka6Cr (CQ) was first for the day again. He had realised that most pilots on their first launch would declare Gwavas so with great cunning he declared 10 miles beyond Gwavas as his turning point. He completed this task to give him 720 points. Once again, not enough scored to make it a 1000 point day. Both he and Dick had to fly over quite large areas of 8/8th cloud cover to do their flights. This win gave Cooper a huge advantage over Keith Wakeman who up to then had been only 64 points behind Cooper and an even bigger lead over Dick Georgeson in 3rd place.

Mrs. Tom Grant, speaking for Mathew Wills [who was deaf] presented him with the Wills cup for winning the open class. Mathew then delighted the large crowd by emptying a large bottle of champagne into the cup, which was then passed around. John Cooper then received the Court trophy from Morrie Green (Ralph Court – Skylark 4’s co-owner could not attend the champs) as winner of the standard class. The Hansells trophy for the most meritorious flight went to Keith Wakeman for his flight to Dannevirke on the 3rd contest day and was presented by John Maunsell. Alan Cameron, still in his flying suit after a retrieve from Dannevirke airfield (he was beginning to get well known there after four landings in the last 10 days) accepted the

RESULTS FOR DAY Place Pilot J Cooper 1 2= R Reid D Wright 2= G White 2= S H Georgeson 5 CUMULATIVE J Cooper 1 K Wakeman 2 3 S H Georgeson 4 R Reid 5 A Cameron 6 P K Heginbotham 7 T Fowke P de Renzy / J Roake 8 9 H Scoffin 10 Handley, Pearce & Williams Hazlett, McCullock & Trotter 11 12 D Rowlands D Wright 13 A Robinson 14 G White 15 16 M Green A R Rowe and G S Huckin 17 18 I B Barber A Holdsworth 19 D Yarrall 20 G Ferner 21 N Murray 22 D McDonald 23 D Renner 24 E F Hardy 25

Aircraft Type CQ Ka6Cr DI Ka6Pe DJ Olympia 463 CG Ka6Cr CP Skylark 4

Points 720 180 180 180 165

CQ Ka6Cr BU Ka6Cr CP Skylark 4 DI Ka6Pe BM Skylark 2 DB Ka6Cr CO Ka6Cr CH Ka6Cr CX Standard Austria AN Ka6Cr CB Skylark 3 AY Skylark 4 DJ Olympia 463 CE Skylark 2 CG Ka6Cr CU Skylark 4 BN K7 BA Spatz DA K7 DF Olympia 463 CW Sagitta AE Weihe CT K7 BV Swallow AQ Bergfalke

2515 1771 1393 1204 1170 1156 1154 1058 1055 929 922 921 856 756 678 674 668 604 535 497 431 411 288 277 ---

Masterton Cup on behalf of the Auckland Club team which scored highest marks in the open handicap class. John Cooper, as the Auckland entry in the Rothmans contest, also accepted the Rothmans prize on behalf of his club. The last presentation was the C Roake Cup, presented by the well-known transport firm whose initials, NZR are found throughout the country (except Nelson of course.) This magnificent cup for the most consistent performance was presented to Mr. E.F. Hardy, whose unfailing ability to reach Norfolk Road was a marked feature of the championship. Mr. Hardy's aircraft, the Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club's Bergfalke also won this prized award at the Central Districts Championship last year. When won three times in a row it becomes the property of the winner!

Dick Georgeson was unfortunate, for he declared only Pahiatua and not a specific part of it. His distance therefore could only be taken as the centre of town although his turning point photographs were taken from beyond Woodville, miles to the north. Dick also returned to Hood to get 5th place.

At the presentation of prizes in the club house that night Carita Roake, deputising for John who was ill, presented John Cooper with the Roake Cup as winner of the open handicap class.

CKLAND

MPIONSH

HAVE YOU ENTERED YET? AUCKLAND SOARING CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 4-11 JANUARY Practice days 2 & 3 January

PRIZES 1st place

1,000

Social media prize: Smeg Blender Most helpful crew member prize: Smeg Espresso Coffee Machine

Plus daily prizes

ENTRY LINK on the Auckland Gliding Club website Entry Fee $180 per sailplane + launch fees Half price for Juniors aged 25 or younger This is a contest for all levels of pilots and glider types Prize giving dinner Saturday 11 January Dinner tickets $60 per person

SPONSORS

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW ... THE 2019 MATAMATA SOARING CENTRE (MSC) CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE WORDS BY DAVID MOODY

SUPPLIED

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW • November 2019–January 2020 • 21

OR AS LONG as I can remember, the MSC has been organising a cross country course around the start of the soaring season; it is intended to empower students around QGP level to make the jump from ‘local’ to ‘cross-country’ flying. Matamata makes a great location for this because of the generally flat terrain with plenty of landable paddocks. Of course, ‘generally flat’ fails to mention the Kaimai ridge which played a starring role this year... With ‘only’ 4 students this year (two with QGP, two nearly there), there was lots of opportunity for one-on-one coaching by instructors Russell Thorne (Auckland, PW-6) and Glyn Jackson (Taranaki, Janus). Glyn had a focus on ‘use of tools’, introducing the On Line Contest (OLC) as a measure of flight performance. "Up 'til this stage, flights are only measured in flight time; at the earliest stages of cross-country, the OLC is awesome. Just create a login, it does the rest." Of course, this requires a logger, and knowledge of how to set it up and use it, skills that Russell and Glyn were able to pass on. This year we scheduled Labour Weekend as the start of the course so only 2 days leave were required. We were lucky with the weather; five flyable days from five! Here we thank the Tauranga Club (Derek Wagstaff and Adrian Cable) for filling in the single no thermal, low overcast Matamata day with flights in the NZTG controlled airspace, a lecture from Edouard about badge flying,

and some time on their newly-upgraded VR simulator. All the other days included gentle but usable ridge lift, ideal for teaching on the nursery slopes. We graduated to transitioning to thermals away from the ridge to reach turn points. North-westerly winds on the final day tested the lessons about flying around spurs and gullies. Russell was motivated to instruct on this course to provide supervision for ‘his’ (i.e. Auckland Club) nearly QGP pilots; his satisfaction in instructing comes from seeing pilots make progress. On the first two days, Russell and Glyn coached all the students on ridge flying, figure eight climbs, likely thermal sources on the ridge, how to work around spurs, and setting up return flights across the eight miles back to the airfield (another opportunity to practice selecting paddocks). On the final two days everything came together, with tasks set using the ridge with turn points out in the valley, and a 50 km leg to provide for Silver Distance. On the 29th, the task was 71 Waharoa - 49 Flaxmill (52.5 km leg)-01 Matamata. Lois and Mathieu landed out near the northern turn, achieving their first paddock landings! Dennis also managed an actual paddock landing on the course. Rob managed to complete both tasks and had to postpone his paddock landing until he returned to Auckland the following weekend!

On the 30th, a similar task was set. 73 Wardville - 32 Te Poi - 03 Tirohia (51.3 km) 01 Matamata.

Russell comments, “Both turn points were away from the ridge, so the trip out/back from ridge wouldn't have been straightforward and with a slightly more NW aspect to wind, they needed to work different sides of spurs. Te Aroha to the Golf Ball was easy, but getting back from the ridge was into a headwind. The runway changed to 22, but everyone arrived back with plenty of height. I'd already made sure they all had a copy of the AIP Landing chart with circuit directions etc. This day resulted in everybody finishing the task (hence achieving 50 km Silver distance). A wonderful way to complete the event. We need to acknowledge the GNZ Umbrella Trust for a $1,000 donation to the course, Aviation Sports Club (who have an annual visit to Matamata over Labour Weekend) for providing some tows behind their FK-9 microlight (another new experience for our students), Piako Club for ensuring tows were available for the weekdays, and Marion for feeding us all so we could concentrate on the course.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW • November 2019–January 2020 • 23

Above clockwise: Flying ridges; Team photo: Back Row: Lois Kok (Auckland), Dennis Green, Glyn Jackson (Taranaki), Rob Meili (Auckland); Front Row: Russell Thorne (Auckland), Mathieu Turquier (Taupo), Marion Moody (Auckland), Bob Gray (Piako). Dennis Green on simulator.

Let's finish with the viewpoints of two of the participants: LOIS KOK WRITES I would like to thank everyone for the course. The instructors were very helpful and enthusiastic. The Saturday lecture about landing out helped me for my first solo land out on Tuesday. The mix of ridge flying and thermal flying tasks was great as we don't do a lot of ridge flying from Auckland. I completed my first 100 km task on the last day. I think that was the best part of the course for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the lectures and the whole flying team. I feel a much more confident flyer now! I would definitely recommend this course to all who want to get into cross-country gliding. Thanks to Marion for being our chef, her food was amazing, everyone else who helped for the course to run smoothly and Steve Wallace and GNZ for the donation.

ROB MEILI POSTED The five day cross-country gliding course at Matamata was an amazing experience; from learning how to fly the ridge down the Kaimai Ranges and taking my first steps into cross-country flying, to flying a 100 km task solo and sharing the sky with some very talented pilots. (Thanks to Tim Bromhead and Bob Gray for sharing the sky with the course - DM) Massive thanks to Russell Thorne and Glyn Jackson for instructing for the whole course, Matamata Soaring Centre for the use of their facilities, and Marion and David Moody for their hospitality, wisdom and commitment to making these five days so worthwhile. Gliding New Zealand was kind enough to help out with some of the towing fees also, so thanks to them for helping us take our first steps into far away skies. Bring on the season.

24 • November 2019–January 2020 • GREYTOWN MINI YOUTH GLIDE CAMP

THE GEORGE ROGERS MEMORIAL YOUTH GLIDE MINI CAMP 2019 GREYTOWN SUPPLIED

Amy Smith ( front) and Tony Van Dyke (rear)

AMY SMITH

WELLINGTON GLIDING CLUB AGE: 15 The YGNZ George Rogers Memorial Greytown Mini Camp was heaps of fun. There were a range of Youth Glide members, from pre solo to aspiring cross-country pilots, all of whom progressed massively over the weekend. By day we flew, by night, we waited until we could fly again! We kicked off the camp with a pouwhiri at the Marae just down the road from the airfield. Very kindly, we were allowed to stay there for the weekend. The conditions on the first official day of the camp provided a lot of learning. There was windy weather over the weekend, so it was steep approaches and close in circuits throughout. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of long soaring flights. I'd like to take this opportunity to blame the weather for all those who tried to soar and did not quite succeed, cough, me! Sunday was a day run by the youth. We had a quality briefing on the weather, a youth launch point controller, youth retrieve car drivers and overall an awesome day flying

courtesy of Youth Glide. We even had some longer flights. It must have been the change in administration! However, Monday was the highlight. Wave made an appearance and we made the most of it. The longest flight pushed four hours, some pre solo pilots had their longest time up in the air yet. I converted into a DG100 and it was a great way to end a great weekend. From the flying, to the company, to the food

and the organisation (but not to the rugby!) the camp was an awesome experience. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait for the next one!

Above: Amy Smith preparing for a winch launch in the Single Astir. Right: James Goldsworthy (left), Amy Smith (middle) and Tony Van Dyke (right) preparing for cable break practice.

GREYTOWN MINI YOUTH GLIDE CAMP • November 2019–January 2020 • 27

JAMES MITCHELL

WELLINGTON GLIDING CLUB AGE: 17 The George Rogers Memorial Greytown Minicamp 2019! Three days of being surrounded by likeminded Av-geeks. I don’t think there could be a much better place to spend a long weekend! The range of Ab-initio students through to budding cross country pilots created an amazing atmosphere through an awesome weekend flying. The weekend came by with strong westerlies of 10+ knots gusting much more… and a lot of dump too… This meant learning how to adapt circuits for the challenging conditions, and just to add to it we were using runway 29 (the shortest runway, which also has a turbulent approach). Through the weekend the conditions didn’t change all that much but Monday brought accessible wave! The tight scratchy rotor thermals made for some interesting flights but also a new learning curve including thermalling with other gliders in less than desirable conditions. For the students newer to the game this was an out of this world experience. It is one of

my most memorable experiences sharing a thermal with someone else for the first time. During the camp we were lucky enough to be able to stay at the nearby Papawai Marae. This is an amazing experience I don’t think many people are able to have. The history behind the Marae is incredible and being able to stay there adds a new cultural level to the camp. The beautiful starlit nights and the new friends made added to it all, making it an absolute winner of a camp.

Thank you to Wellington Gliding Club for hosting us and also Youth Glide and the volunteers who made this camp possible. Till next time!

Above: James Mitchell (left), Kieran Cassidy (middle) and Fergus Pitney (right) preparing for a launch in the DG1000. Right: Kieran Cassidy (left) and James Mitchell (right) presenting the weather at briefing.

NATHAN MONTANO

AUCKLAND GLIDING CLUB AGE: 21

Coming down to Wairarapa for my first Youth Glide Mini Camp has been one of the most memorable experiences. It was my first time flying away from my home base (Auckland) and also my first time flying the DG1000. With challenging conditions across the weekend including winds causing runway changes, I learned a lot of new things flying around Greytown. They even had their own home built gliding simulator made from an old glider and using Condor which was pretty cool. I’ve made new friends who are very passionate about flying and quite funny as well. We even watched Top Gun on our last evening of the camp. The view of the night sky at the Marae was also astonishing. I could literally see lots of stars with my naked eye, because there wasn’t much light pollution there. I managed to soar up to about 4600 feet on the last day of the camp. It is the highest altitude I’ve ever gained in my flying

experience which is my greatest achievement to date! Shout out to all those who attended, volunteers, the instructors! And a huge thank you to the Wellington Gliding Club, Youth Glide, and Papawai Marae for being welcoming, accommodating, and for the best experience in this camp. I will be back soon!

Above: Nathan Montano preparing for a familiarisation flight at Papawai Airstrip. Nathan Montano (left) and Stewart Barton (right).

GREYTOWN MINI YOUTH GLIDE CAMP • November 2019–January 2020 • 29

Clockwise: Inside the Papawai Marae playing games before bed. The youth cooking up a storm. Jessica O'Neill, Patel Schenk and Michael O'Donnell. Tim Austen, Charlie O'Connell, Jessica O'Neill and Patel Schenk. Group photo next to George Rogers Totara tree. Tim Austen giving Fergus Pitney a minor soaking to celebrate his type conversion. Everyone waiting for a turn on the simulator.

AVIATION SPORTS CLUB (GLIDING SECTION)

A BRIEF HISTORY COMPILED BY JONATHAN POTE

It starts right from the name. There is no other New Zealand gliding club name that does not include any geographical area (airfield or region), and no other club leaves the key word, Gliding, to parentheses as almost an afterthought. Yes, our club is a little different to the average gliding club in New Zealand, an inescapable fact that brings some great advantages and a few drawbacks. The energy of one person, Air Commodore Len Thompson, founded the club over fifty years ago, and he is still in contact with us. “After completing my ‘Wings’ course in 1954, I was posted to No 4 (T) Squadron at RNZAF Station Taieri ... My first glider flight was in (Slingsby Prefect ZK-GAB) on 18th

September 1954. This was a fifteen minute flight over Wingatui during which I had my first taste of soaring in a thermal. I was hooked.” Len progressed rapidly, and in early 1960 gained New Zealand Gold ‘C’ #5. Len is a medical officer, yet his day job then was flying a Mustang. Gliding ab initio training was in a single seat glider. Times have changed... Against official wishes, he formed the Aviation Sports Club (Wigram) with Rhönlerche ZK-GBZ and Tiger Moth ZK-ARJ. Later he formed the Whenuapai (never its official name) ASC, with sections for powered flying, parachuting, model flying with (almost) ballooning, hang gliding and early microlights as well. Power and model flying continue as separate sections at Whenuapai, which is why we are the

Aviation Sports Club (Gliding Section) to this day. The Wigram and Ohakea clubs no longer exist The other giant in the early Club history was Squadron Leader Lou Cadman. After wartime service as Commanding Officer 5 Squadron in the Islands, he instructed with unquenchable zeal for over fifty years, using his own Blanik ZK-GHA. He was particularly keen on getting ATC cadets airborne, a tradition we uphold today with a dozen ATC weekends a year. Sadly I never met Lou, but his name lives on with his eponymous hangar, painstakingly moved by the Club from Hobsonville. What is it like to operate as a largely civilian club within an operational military base? In summary, we have some tremendous advantages, but we do have to do as we are told.

FEATURE CLUB – AVIATION SPORTS CLUB • November 2019–January 2020

The grass vector 08/26 is perfectly drained turf with extensive over/undershoot areas in emergency. It is mown and weeded for us. The drainage is so good we can start operating the moment a long period of rain stops. Even if nominally closed, the airfield never sleeps, with a broadcast ATIS, and fire and rescue cover should things go terribly wrong. Being within a patrolled perimeter, our site, glider trailers included, is totally secure. If a military flight is due in, Air Traffic Control becomes active although we are sometimes allowed to continue to fly, especially those already airborne who can be sure to stay away for a while. Operating regularly with professional air traffic controllers gives us good radio and positioning skills. Because we are aware of our vulnerability, a very high standard of airmanship and behaviour has to be maintained, to our advantage long term.

The downsides are manageable. We can be told we cannot operate at times, with no appeal. Conversely, the Club has launched onto the West Coast on favourable mid-week days, fitting around Orions and Hercules. Being an international airport, the airspace around us is necessarily complex, again instilling discipline. A few years ago we negotiated an extra 1000’ (to 4500’) on approval which has helped those setting out on cross country, and allowed one person to get a Silver ‘C’ height gain overhead. All said and done, we are pretty much the average Club, with around thirty active members, nearly eight hundred launches and four hundred hours annually on eighty (of a possible just over one hundred) days. The Club still holds one New Zealand record, that of multi-seat absolute altitude (34,666’, Roger Read and Peter Coveney,

• 31

Being an international airport, the airspace around us is necessarily complex, again instilling discipline. Killermont 1987). A rather proud fact is that six members, some 20% of the membership, hold national posts.

AUCKLAND AVIATION SPORTS CLUB www.ascgliding.org Club Contact: Peter Thorpe pbthorpe@xtra.co.nz Ph 09 413 8384 Base: RNZAF Base Auckland (Whenuapai) M: 021 146 4288 Flying Weekends, Public Holidays

WHERE SEAGULLS DARE

BY STEVE WALLACE

SUPPLIED

A SHORT HISTORY OF FLYING ON THE WEST COAST This essay was written for the Aviation Sports Club’s 50 Year Celebration in 2016. I’m not sure exactly when, but I do clearly remember how the seeds of possibility, containing amazing and thrilling flying on the West Coast, were first sown in the fertile soils of my imagination. Pat Dreissen, one of NZ’s most talented glider pilots, wrote an excellent article for Gliding Kiwi recounting, what was to me, a wondrous flight. Towing out from Drury he described a day of fun, daring and excitement flying the coastal cliffs of Kariotahi before deftly negotiating with Air Traffic Control to facilitate a safe glide home. At the time, to me it was too far-fetched to even contemplate that I could ever do something as amazing as this. The seeds had however been planted and as my skills and confidence grew with time, what was once out of reach was all of a sudden just a small leap of faith away. My first tentative step into the lifting joys of the West Coast cliffs was on the 24th April 2000. I towed out from Hobsonville in my Mosquito (KT) into a 20 knot South West wind and was released somewhere a few bays south of Muriwai. I then spent just over an hour timidly picking my way a little north and a little south of my release point, carefully exploring the wonders of this new environment. All too soon though the feeling of being rather alone and out of contact with those

back at Hobby had me looking for a way home. Connecting with a thermal off the black dunes below, I drifted up the long valley behind Bethells Beach, popped over the ridge at the head of the valley and was greeted with the relieving sight of Hobsonville airfield, just a short 15 km downwind glide away. Four months later to check out the coast further south and emulate Pat’s flight, I towed out to the coast from Drury and flew the straight and friendly coastline between the Manukau Harbour and the Waikato River Mouth. The coastal flying was fun and easy but getting home to Drury not so. Drury is 35 km from Kariotahi and the airspace drops to 1,500’. I tried thermalling under it and did get a credible 20 km inland before having to plonk KT down in the school fields of Patumahoe Primary. You have to walk before you can run and step two was a nice eye opener to a coastline with expanding horizons. Thanks to John O’Hara the next flight was to be the big step. John, who was CFI at the time, was looking to incentivise crosscountry flying. John was the first and only ASC club member to have flown a 300 km Gold distance flight from Hobsonville. Kaikohe and back was the goal and many years had since passed; it was time for another ASC member to earn a Gold distance badge. So as an incentive John very generously put up a return trip for two to Sydney for the first person in the club to

repeat his feat and fly a 300 km flight from Hobby (soon to be Whenuapai). This was all I needed to focus my efforts and hatch a cunning plan to snare the prize. For three months I studied topographical maps of the West Coast, measured distances with a ruler and calculator, drove and walked to locations, plotted GPS points and studied the Sporting Code until I had come up with task that I felt sure could be flown and would get me my Gold distance. With the plan hatched, all I then had to do was wait for the weather. The weather did its thing on the 29th December 2001 and using my planned Sporting Code compliant turn points I flew 306 km at 145 kph to claim my Gold distance and the John O’Hara prize. One week later the weather again turned it on and I flew the same 306 km course but this time at 165 kph. These flights attracted the interest of serial entrepreneur, NZGA president and editor of Gliding Kiwi, John Roake who decided it would be a good idea to make and market a DVD to the world wide gliding community about flying on NZ’s West Coast. I teamed up with Bernie Massey and Murray Wardell from the Auckland Gliding Club along with a film crew and various others and we set about attaching mini cameras (before the days of Go Pros) all over the inside and outside of our gliders as well as hanging a big camera out the door of Drury’s second tow plane. We did six flights all up over an 11 month period, with two launches

FEATURE CLUB – AVIATION SPORTS CLUB • November 2019–January 2020 • 33

each from Whenuapai, Drury and Raglan (three of which were dual aero tows). The footage was then left with the editors and several months later ‘Blacks Sands, White Wings’ hit the shelves. I have no idea how many copies John sold but knowing John he would have more than got back the money he put in. During this period, I also did a lot of extra flying and exploring of the coast with Bernie and Murray including one memorable Friday 13th of August 2002, when along with John Bayliss, we all skipped work for the day and towed our gliders up to Ruawai airfield. We met the ASC tow plane there and were aero towed out to the coast where we first flew south to the North Kaipara head and then north to the beginning of 90 Mile beach before returning home to Ruawai. What a great fun, exciting and scenic flight of exploration that was. Another memorable flight around this time was when I winched launched out of Drury and flew out to the coast at Port Waikato in a light South-Wester. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could fly from Drury to Whenuapai. How cool would that be if I turned up at Whenuapai and was able to casually hop out of my glider and say “Yeah, I just winchlaunched from Drury and flew up here to see what you guys were up to”. Anyway, dreams are free and to cut a long story short I got as far as Karekare before light winds saw me landing on the beach. I then had to take the far less cool path of ringing my wife, asking her to pack our one year old son into her car, drive to Drury and pick up my car with glider trailer, drive to Karekare, help me derig, drive back to Drury to pick up her car and then drive home to West Auckland. Big time brownie point deficit that day!

To stamp home that distance badge flying was possible from Whenuapai, next on the agenda was a 500 km diamond distance. My first attempt saw me cover 430 km before a wind change had me once again landing on the beach south of Karekare. This time at least my car and glider trailer were at the right end of Auckland and a most entertaining retrieve involving John Restall, Bob Cridland, Lionel Page and Ivor Woodfield nicely rounded off the day’s fun and games.

club has been a pleasure to have been part of. Last year (2015) the ASC was New Zealand’s most active cross-country flying club on the OLC. 111 flights covering over 25,000 kilometres is something to be proud of. If I had relayed these figures to somebody in our club 10 years ago and said this is what our club will be doing 10 years from now I would not have been believed. How about 752 km in a Twin Astir at 115 kph? Most of the OLC world was impressed by that one. I can only assume 1,000 km OLC is the next goal.

Flying wise my second attempt was a success and on December 30th 2009 I completed the club’s first 500 km diamond distance flight from Whenuapai, covering 507 km at an average speed of 125 kph. While the flight was very well planned and executed, the retrieve from Muriwai Beach was far from it. Drifts of light sand pushed up by the strong South West winds made beach access with a trailer impossible and while it took just over 4 hours to fly the 500 km it took 4.5 hours to transport my glider the 200 m from the beach to the trailer. Kris Pillai and Murray Wardell were my saviours on this also very entertaining retrieve.

The ASC now has a great core of active cross-country flyers who are racking up not only coast flights but cross-country thermal and convergence flights to the north of Whenuapai. 50 km and 300 km badge flights are now regular and I’m sure more 500 km badge flights are not too far away. Land outs and retrieves are now common place and these are great fun for all involved. If nothing else land outs are an excellent club morale booster and bonding exercise. People always come back buzzing with stories of short paddocks, electric fences and farm girls in bikinis and gum boots. The number of privately owned gliders is ever growing and ASC pilots are turning up at competitions and events all around New Zealand and the world. If we had a trophy cabinet it would be full! The best thing about all of this is we now have a group of pilots that the club’s newer pilots can look up to; be coached, mentored and inspired by. These pilots may not realise it but they will be planting the seeds of possibility in the fertile imaginations of the club’s next generation of pilots who themselves will one day fly, where seagulls dare.

With 25 successful flights in KT to the coast and more often than not back, the ASC committee saw fit to grant me permission to take club members out to the coast in Mike Whiskey. Roy Whitby was to be the first brave victim in May of 2010 and following on from this successful flight, I have had the pleasure of introducing a further 15 of our club members to the joys of coastal flying. Most pleasing of all has been seeing a number of our members move on to independent operations on the coast. The cultural change in our club from a training only club to now, a training and an active cross-country flying

Youth Glide Nathan Montano and Stuart Barton in the Wellington DG1000 zk GGR (Golf George Rogers)

November 2019–January 2020 • 35

SUPPLIED

FATE IS THE HUNTER

AND THIS TIME SEBASTIAN KAWA WAS THE GAME The story of how a tiny piece of metal jeopardised Sebastian's chances of success in a contest and almost led to disaster. WORDS BY TOMASZ KAWA TRANSLATED BY TOMASZ CIESIELSKI SUPPLIED

EBASTIAN KAWA WAS to defend his world title in 13.5m class in Italy in the first half of September 2019. We were looking forward to this trip to Italy and the wonderful Apennine Mountains. The Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas embracing the Italian peninsula have a significant impact on the local climate and enhance the soaring weather phenomena over this mountain chain. Two opposing sea breezes sweep over the coastal areas to finally meet over the mountains. Days are often clear and sunny. Wonderful cumulus clouds build up in the convergence zone but frequently overdevelop and produce mountain storms. Flying in the mountains in good conditions is a delight and offers many alternatives for soaring pilots, but it also requires a large amount of knowledge, experience and skills to make the most of it. You must respect the mountains where the amplified atmospheric dynamics and topography produce lots of

invisible traps. Emergency landing zones in the mountains are difficult to find in general; in this region of Italy it is even harder. Here, for thirty centuries, man has used the bottom of the valleys and gentle slopes to build villages, farms and stone fences. The larger pastures and fields are on the steep slopes. Sebastian’s mountain experience has been acquired at home in the Carpathian Alps, the New Zealand Southern Alps, the Andes, the Pyrenees as well as his exploration of the Caucasus and Himalayas and represents a significant asset. Once again, he was flying the GP-14 Velo, the great Polish 13.5 m glider developed by Grzegorz Peszke from Krosno. The competitivity of this new design in which Sebastian won 2nd FAI World 13.5 Class Championship in 2017 was further enhanced by new rules allowing the use of water ballast in the 13.5 m Class. We were full of optimism.

The event was well planned. Pavullo airport, nicely situated among the hills had new function/briefing facilities. A spectacular opening ceremony was planned with a parade in the city and impressive airshow programme at the airport. The media coverage was good. Sebastian was almost ‘dressed in laurels’ before the competition even started. However, nobody has influence on the weather. The opening ceremony was ruined by a storm. An overheated and humid air mass parked over the competition area offered lazy thermals or early overdevelopment and show stopping storms. During the second practice day the lid closing the compartment of the BRS (Ballistic Recovery System - parachute deployed by a rocket) in Sebastian’s glider came loose and disappeared. This not only impacted the glider performance; the open compartment created an unbearable noise.

FATE IS THE HUNTER • November 2019–January 2020 • 37

On the last practice day, the weather deteriorated quickly. Most pilots were already headed for home after the first portion of the task while Sebastian flew deeper into the turning circle.

Two spares were sent from Poland, but wouldn’t arrive until two days later, missing the contest start date. Sebastian’s decision to search for the lost one in the woody hills made everyone laugh. He must drive for hours, climb the woody slopes and search for the one square foot piece of composite (OK-fortunately white!) in dense vegetation. But, using his logger, pictures and GPS, he found it! He then had to play Tarzan, climbing the high tree it was caught in.

However, he had an electric engine which so far had operated very well. The battery’s charge level would allow him to return to the airport with a comfortable margin. He still had a comfortable altitude but was faced with flying through 30 kilometres of a long narrow, unpleasant valley with no identified landing opportunities. He opted to use the engine.

We interpreted it as sign of good luck but the next day proved that that had been wishful thinking.

Once the mast with the engine and propeller were deployed, he attempted to start the engine – nothing happened. He retried the switches, checked the batteries, switched off all other instruments from the power supply, kept trying to start it - nothing.

On the last practice day, the weather deteriorated quickly. Most pilots were already headed for home after the first portion of the task while Sebastian flew deeper into the turning circle. Because of the weakening lift and unfriendly mountain terrain he would certainly have turned back earlier in a pure glider.

Now he was committed to landing. Between few possible slopes he selected one covered with grass, looking like a hay meadow. There were no obstacles on the up-hill final. The field was relatively steep, but he had landed in similar fields a number of times. Such landings require a large speed margin, which will dissipate rapidly after the flare when

the glider is flying up, parallel to the slope before smoothly touching down. Once on the ground the glider should be turned across the slope to avoid sliding back. Everything went smoothly as per the book, but after the flare, when the flight path needed to be near parallel to the ground the glider hit an unseen bump. With high speed this acted as a take-off ramp …

SEBASTIAN: (…) I am crossing the tree line, start pulling-up and am anticipating brushing the grass – all of a sudden - Boom! The glider jumps in the air at a high angle, immediately losing its speed. No speed, no controls…Wait… I see the top of the trees again. At the next contact with the ground, the landing gear is gone, the fuselage is cracked. For me it’s worse. As we hit the ground, I feel the pain in my back. I have difficulties getting out of the cockpit. For several minutes I lie down on the wing to calm

38 • November 2019–January 2020 • FATE IS THE HUNTER

the pain. I shouldn’t have moved! Fortunately, I can feel and move all my limbs. Never do that! Do not move. Do not strain yourself but wait for help if there is any doubt about the stability of your spine (…) It was a blow like a fall onto the butt from the roof of the house. I don’t want to think about what the effect would have been if the glider had entered the dive phase. Sebastian was probably saved by the engine mast, which when protruding from the fuselage changes the balance of the glider to nose-up. Sebastian was refusing to accept the effects of the accident. He considered the possibilities of fixing the glider and continuing in the championship. He was offered a glider. However, once the initial shock wore off and the pain intensified, he had to go to a local hospital. While tests did not find major injuries, full rest was recommended. Later extended diagnostics in a Polish hospital showed that the injuries are much more serious. The cause of the engine failure was trivial. The tiny limit switch which closes the power supply circuit after full deployment of the mast had failed. It is designed to prevent an accidental start before full extraction of the engine and propeller. This accident proves, once again that in aviation everything counts, even small things. If Sebastian had known that the sustainer system would fail him, he would not have flown into difficult conditions in a deep valley in the Tatra Mountains. Technical progress makes aircraft more perfect and reliable. However, it can prompt pilots to greater risk and increase the accident statistics when systems fail. Internal combustion engines have their

drawbacks and limitations. The impact of air temperature changes is one of them. Jet engines seemed a great alternative because of their low weight, but for now they are not fully reliable either. Electric drives give great hopes as the batteries improve. In each of these systems there are electrical control systems, and this is the Achilles heel. Digital and electrical components are susceptible to damage and break down without warning. They need to be backed up and warn about anomalies and/or allow the pilot to override automatic controls manually. To err is human. Man is less reliable than a machine in routine tasks, but humans can see, anticipate and remediate mistakes. Machines can't do that yet. At the present stage of development of auxiliary engines, the glider pilot should always act as if flying a glider without an engine. Don't fly to places where there's no turning back. Always have a safe landing option in the case of system failure. Designers too do not always pay enough attention to the ergonomics and comfort impacting the safety of the pilot. The idea that ‘the pilot is like a jockey - he has to find the way to fit a horse’ cannot be accepted. The glider pilot is flying in a sitting or reclining position. The full dynamic load of a hard landing is received by the spine and may create extreme loads on this system. Any deviation from the natural position of the spine increases the vulnerability to its damage, and worse - the spinal cord. Flexion loads increase susceptibility to fractures. The principle is simple - what is comfortable for the pilot must also allow for their safety. The GP-14 glider has, as said above, a BRS. The pilot therefore is flying without wearing

a parachute. The cockpit was equipped with a profiled bucket seat and backrest; if it wasn't, the extent of Sebastian's injuries could have been greater. Flying is beautiful and safe when there is no pressure and the taste for risk does not suppress the instinct of self-preservation. Human nature needs competition. Sport releases this instinct and even encourages gambling. Therefore, you need to be vigilant not to exceed the risk limits. It's just a game. No podium finish or record won should put health or life on the balance. Back to the contest. In Pavullo, Italian Stefano Ghiorzo came first. Second was Uli Schwenk from Germany in the Lithuanian Mini LAK. Tomas Gostner came in third. The 4th place was taken by the Italian Vittorio Pinni, flying a GP-14 from Krosno. Both Italians competed in the Polish Diana 2 with shortened wings. It's a good recognition for Polish gliders. This was the last glider competition for 13.5 metre class. The new class of electric powered self-launch gliders will fill this gap. It will be acceptable to use the engine to improve the result or to reach the finish. Specific scoring will be used. The difference from the day winner's result and the number of negative points for engine use will be used in scoring. To test this scoring system in practice an informal competition was organised in Pavullo in parallel to the 13.5m Worlds. The winner was Luka Znidarsic from Slovenia, the creator of the FES electric drive system.

SOLO AT 13 • November 2019–January 2020 • 39

SOLO AT 13 There’s a new young pilot in our ranks. Henry Hope-Cross made history as the youngest member of Gliding Hutt Valley to solo. WORDS BY JILL MCCAW

HE JOINS THE ranks of the few pilots who have soloed before their 14th birthday although Toby Read, who soloed at age 12, was probably the youngest. Henry is also only the second Air Training Cadet to solo at such an early age. Unfortunately, Tom Clarke, one of Henry’s instructors passed away at the end of October but he was there to see Henry gain his wings as a member of 22 Squadron ATC Upper Hutt. “My main instructors were Wayne Fisk and Bob Lock in the air. Tom who was also a tow pilot helped with ground training. CFI Ron Lovell sent me solo with Rob Fowley towing on the day. My Mum was there to see me solo.” Did you get dunked? “No. We had cake instead.” Henry has had a lifetime interest in flying, from watching bees and thinking about how

they flew to a ride in a helicopter. A scenic flight in a Cessna 208 when he was nine was a revelation when the pilot let him fly the plane for most of the flight. By the time he was 11 he wanted to fly gliders. Henry joined The Wellington Gliding Club’s Youth Glide section and started flying at Greytown but for convenience joined GHV, flying at Kaitoke.

SUPPLIED

the winter he’s been studying the papers for a PPL and has already passed FRTO and Human Factors. Once he gets his QGP he’d like to become an instructor and a tow pilot. He’ll be attending his first Youth Soaring Development Camp at Omarama this year and is really looking forward to it. Congratulations Henry. Your future in aviation looks bright.

Looking for other aviation experiences he joined ATC. He is very excited at the prospect of RNZAF flying and can’t wait to turn 16 so he can attend the ATC National Aviation Course Powered Flying and get his Power Flying wings. Eventually, when he’s old enough he wants to join the Air Force and fly the new P-8A Poseidons. Kaitoke Airfield is a 600 metre long, one way strip carved into the side of a hill, so Henry’s had a pretty good grounding for future crosscountry landings. He is looking forward to this season to progress his QGP, but over

Above: Rob, Bob, Henry, Wayne, Ron and Tom

LOOK FOR THE UNEXPECTED On previous wave flights around Mt Taranaki, I had ventured out towards the North or South coasts, so the next step was to go towards both in the one flight. WORDS BY LES SHARP PETER WILLIAMS

Above clockwise: over New Plymouth Airport, overhead Hawera Airfield, west of New Plymouth, flight from Taranaki map.

N SUNDAY 15 September our Club Captain, Glyn Jackson advised us of the forecast of a good convergence from the mountain extending East. As we are both glider and tow pilots, Glyn kindly offered to be the tow pilot. We talked about mountain generated wave as there were some clouds indicating the possibility. As a club, we have not done many flights in similar conditions, but from the experience of others I knew that if there was wave, it would be quite close to the lee side. Just as I was preparing to get into the glider (Janus NN), Peter Williams arrived and was offered the back seat, which he wasn’t slow to accept! We launched okay, and after a circuit around the field to gain a height margin, Glyn towed us west under the

convergence which at that time was looking a bit broken, and not overly convincing. We did encounter some consistent lift, so released at 3,300 feet and managed to climb under the cloud enough to head west. We have a club SOP to not cross the bushline at the National Park boundary below 4,000 feet, however because of the conditions we opted to climb to about 5,000 feet before pushing towards the mountain to see if we could locate wave. The cloud shrouded the summit and extended outwards down the sides “like an un-buttoned waistcoat”, so I aimed at the centre of the gap. The vario pointed consistently down, so we backed out of there and flew under one of the scrappy bits of cloud, which turned out to be rotor. At some point we found the

LOOK FOR THE UNEXPECTED • November 2019–January 2020 • 41

right bit of rotor and Peter complained that his pressure vario was jammed on the top stop. Not a concern for me as the altimeter was going rapidly in the direction we all like to see. We lost that climb, but soon found another, then at 6,000 feet hit that lovely silky smoothness and maintained a very good climb. The wave band was very narrow, but we worked it easily enough, and when we tapped on the airspace ceiling at 9,500 feet, turned and tracked south. With the wind behind us, it didn’t take long to get to where we could see Hawera Airfield between a couple of cloud streets and when we made an advisory call, were asked if we intended landing there. That wasn’t our plan because we were still at 8,000 feet. It was always an option if we couldn’t return north. There was a cloud street between us and the mountain, and we were getting down below the tops. As we turned out, there were obvious gaps showing in the shadows on the ground, so we picked one of the widest and tracked towards it. Now we had a headwind and the height loss was enough to deter us against heading back over the National Park. We headed back to the west of Stratford township and finally found lift in the same area where we had earlier released. From there we repeated the climb back to cloudbase heading towards the mountain. This time we set out again into the blue looking for wave although I declared a minimum of 4,500 feet. We reached it all too quickly and turned back towards the cloud and hit severe turbulence, nose down, only 40 knots on the ASI and not increasing. You think of the saying, “Where there is sink there’s always…” WHUMPH and now I was trying to get the nose down, the airspeed was climbing through 70 knots, the varios were on the top stop and the altimeter was going up so fast that we quickly forgot the escape plan. Again at around 6,000 feet we were in the wave, and Peter was happily videoing on his phone. As we climbed towards 9,000 feet I called New Plymouth Tower and asked if we can get a clearance to fly over the city. We were asked to hold where we were however about a minute later, we were given the clearance as we were going through 9,500 feet and were cleared to track towards the port at up to 10,000 feet. This was great because we were almost there by the time I had read back the clearance. The first couple of miles towards the city we were still in the wave, so I used

Where there is sink there’s always…” WHUMPH and now I was trying to get the nose down, the airspeed was climbing through 70 knots, the varios were on the top stop and the altimeter was going up so fast that we quickly forgot the escape plan.

full negative flap to reduce the performance until we were out of the wave. We cruised out towards the western edge of New Plymouth until I felt that the height loss was getting below comfort level (L/D to Stratford still good), got a new clearance and headed along the coast towards the airport. When we were close to overhead, we turned on track for Stratford. We said our farewell to the tower as we were leaving the CTA, called base to check in and Glyn suggested we try going east under the convergence. Peter took over and we got under the convergence at around 4,000 feet near the airfield and ran along it in generally strong lift up to near the 4,800 feet base. Because of the risk of the convergence collapsing and leaving us with a long leg into a 20 knot headwind, we headed back from about 10 NM out. We needn’t have worried about any collapse as we were flying at around 100 knots all the way back and had to use brake to get down into the circuit, and again when downwind to get out of a 4 knot climb. It is always an irritation to have to get rid of height with brake, but 2 ½ hours was enough for cold feet and the bits in contact with the seat. From my perspective, it was my best flight in Taranaki, and it showed the value of exploring conditions I hadn’t previously seen. Thanks to Peter for his input to the flight and for the photos, and thanks to Glyn for opting to be tow pilot and his later enthusiasm in putting the logger track onto the map.

JOHN MCCAW

RANGIʼS 1000K A new glider – a little nudging from Terry Delore and look what happens… WORDS BY RANGI DE ABAFFY

GUESS THIS flight started very early this year when Graham Johnson came up to me one day out at Springfield and said something like, “You would be a good sort of a person to have a half share in a Shark.”

I had not really thought of buying another glider since selling my LS4 (YH) about six years ago. However, over the next few weeks I thought about it. The glider was: newish, 18m, self-launch, had a hangar spot and was a good price. I decided that you didn’t get this sort of opportunity very often so decided to see if I fit and was comfortable in it. After 2 ½ hours sitting in it my back was stuffed for two months. Fortunately, YH was still at Springfield so I made a copy of the seating position of YH, made a seat insert and put it in the Shark. It worked. I have been able to sit in the Shark for many comfortable hours. Next up was flying it, learning about the LX9000, fitting a larger oxygen bottle, new battery, getting a motor glider rating…. I have been fortunate enough that I have had four really good

JOHN MCCAW

wave flights with Terry, coming to learn a few things about wave and what to look for. The club has been holding some seminars on the odd evening and one, by Terry, was on badge flights. There was plenty of general discussion along with talk about what badge flights we wanted to do. At some stage Terry handed me a laminated task sheet with two 1,000 km tasks on it. Forward to Saturday 26 October 2019. I had already seen that Sunday 27th looked good for a 1,000k attempt but I was on duty on Sunday. About 4pm I got a call from Terry to say that tomorrow looked good and that I had better find someone to take over my instructing duties. Fortunately, Warwick Bethwaite and John McCaw said that they would look after it. I did some preparation. The task was already in the LX, the batteries were charged, I watched the All Blacks lose, went to sleep. Sunday 27 October, having stayed the night at Springfield I got up at 6 am, stuffed about listening to the wind slowly getting up and eventually self-launched at 8 am before the wind got too

RANGI'S 1000K • November 2019–January 2020 • 43

strong. Under power I flew up until I contacted lift at 5,000 feet, about half way between Springfield town and the Lime Works, and then shut the engine down. After a while I got good lift and turned on the transponder. I contacted Christchurch Approach and got clearance to 15,000 feet. Advising them of my intentions. I then climbed up to 10,000 feet and flew 10 km southwest to start at 8,200 feet at 8:34 am at Russell Peak. Once started it was back towards the Lime Works and into the lee of the Torlesse range, climbing from 8,000 up 16,700 feet in six minutes flat. It was such a good climb rate, 14.5 knots that in hindsight I realised I should have got a higher clearance than FL180 and taken it much higher. I headed off towards Lees Valley but got a bit bogged down because the wave was not as far into wind as it had been on other days I had been in this area. I got down to 10,000 feet and backed tracked about 20 km before getting back up to 15,000 feet. I had not been much north of Lees Valley before except

for twice to Hanmer with Terry, however the weather on track looked clear with the odd wisp of what I hoped were markers for the wave and so I just flew on the up wind side from cloud marker to cloud marker up towards Hanmer Springs. As I got closer to Hanmer there was less lift and I was descending through 11,000 feet. As I went down through about 7,500 feet Christchurch Control called up to say if I continued descending then I would drop out of radio contact so they were removing my clearance to 18,000. However, they also said that should I climb up again, then just call them up and ask to be re-cleared to 18,000 and they would give it to me. I continued on track and at 6,500 feet I was abeam Mount Lyford. I turned downwind towards it, thinking I could always ridge soar it. After a while it occurred to me that Mount Lyford is probably a good wave generator and so I flew down wind of it. After 10 km at 6,000 feet I found rotor then wave, got re-cleared to 18,000 feet, climbed back up to 14,000 feet and then headed

44 • November 2019–January 2020 • RANGI'S 1000K

for the Inland Kaikoura Range lee wave. I contacted that wave at about 11,000 feet and from there through to about 80 km from home it was pretty plain sailing. The first turn point was about 20 miles south west of Ward. As I got to about 10 miles from it, ATC asked me to stay below FL160. About 1 minute before reaching the turn point I advised ATC of my intentions to turn and back track. Leg 1: 231 km at 94 kph. Having turned and about 10 miles out from the turn point I got cleared to FL180 again, and again in hindsight, as the lift was strong, I should have tried for a higher clearance. My second turn point was by Mount Hutt. Leg 2: 262 km at 182 kph. Low point 13,000 feet with most of the leg between 15,000 and 18,000 feet. Leg 3 was back up to 10 miles south west of Ward. 272 km at 191 kph. Low point, 13,000 feet twice, with most of the leg between 15,000 and 18,000 feet. I also noticed that there was a bit more cloud towards Springfield and the Lees Valley area. The forecasts had indicated deterioration about an hour or two from then. As I got close to the turn point I advised ATC that I was going to be turning and back tracking in about one minute, they asked me which way I was going to turn. This baffled me a bit, but I said to the west. Leg 4. All was going well but as I got past the Hanmer area I could see lots of cloud on track lower down and the indicator clouds that I could see were about 10 km further east of my previous tracks. About halfway between Culverden and Hawarden I was about 20 km south east of my previous tracks and down

at 10,000 feet. The wind speeds had picked up quite a bit, maybe even up to 65 to 70 knots at one stage. I managed to climb up to 15,000 feet again. I tried to push into wind to get back to where my previous tracks had been but could not because of the cloud and head winds. Cloud base was about 9-10,000 feet and so I had to go under it. It was rough underneath the cloud and continued that way until I got home.

I eventually crossed the Waimakariri River and into G951 at about 8,000 feet. I went off control, crossed the finish line (Springfield Airfield) at 7,850 feet at 15:51. I called up on the radio to advise that I was back and I was happy to see that at least someone was there as I could see the odd car. Airbrakes out, descend through 5,500 feet, advise ATC that I have finished with G951 and land with lots of speed. Leg 4: 237 km at 121 kph.

I got to the north end of Lees Valley at around 5,500 feet, still getting tossed around and got a small climb to 6,200 and kept pressing on. At about 5,000 feet and about half way down Lees Valley, ATC called up to advise I was descending and below controlled airspace and they are going to remove my clearance. I managed to ask her to open G951 but I knew that it was 10 km west I might not be able to reach it into the head wind and I didn’t know if there was any lift there either. It seemed that I would either be ridge soaring Lees Valley and/or landing in it.

My advice for those who want to do some cross-country wave flying: Height is your friend. Organise to get some dual flying with someone in a glider with oxygen in wave but not in local wave. Go somewhere unfamiliar and figure out what you are looking for as indicators of wave lift. Practice talking to ATC, go up and ask for clearance and fly on control, Christchurch Approach 120.9. Be out of controlled airspace, turn on your transponder, call them. Tell them roughly where you are, your height and what you would like to do.

About 4,500 feet I picked up what I thought was some lift but it was hard to tell because of the gusty roughness of the air. I climbed through 5,100 feet at 5 knots and three or four minutes after losing my clearance I was asking for a clearance to 7,000 feet. It was good that I got it because now I was climbing at 10 knots. I continued climbing above Mount Richardson up to 7,200 feet then headed for home. It was still rough and I was 30 km from finishing with too much lift and cloud above. I had already put the wheel down and was a bit worried about pulling the airbrakes but didn’t have much choice at 8,200 feet as the ground started to disappear….

It seems I got back at the right time because the wind had dropped and it was raining 10 minutes after I landed. No one else flew from Springfield that day as it was too windy by the time normal club flying would have started. The low point was looking at the possibility of landing in Lees Valley in windy and rough conditions. The high point was landing back at Springfield and people seeming to materialise from everywhere to welcome me back.

Above clockwise: Celebratory beer, Rangi and Terry, Rangi tired and happy.

MODE S AND ADS-B • November 2019–January 2020 • 45

MODE S AND ADS-B

AS SIMPLE AN EXPLANATION AS I CAN MAKE IT The recent press release announcing a Govt. grant towards ADS-B installation in our GA aircraft has initiated many enquiries at my shop; mainly from the sailplane owners, clubs and operators. I have noticed that there are quite a few who find the subject complicated and confusing so I will attempt to simplify it. Disclaimer: I am not an avionics expert, but I have gained some knowledge via the GNZ engineering work I carry out.

IN THE BEGINNING

When I bought my first glider, CAA announced an assistance funding to install transponders in our sailplanes. This was in order to enable them to utilise the Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) systems they had in place to provide coverage over a big portion of NZ. These radar are strategically placed and I think there are five in total in NZ. A transponder uses the 1090 MHz frequency in order to communicate with our Air Traffic Control and other airborne systems. This has not changed. Transponders still communicate with a strong signal, min 125 watts, via these 1090 frequencies. However, like our copper wire telephone system, they have recently found ways that allow them to carry much more data.

MODES A, C & S

(FORGET ADS-B FOR NOW) The modes are essentially pulses that provide communication interrogations between ATC and our transponders. Other aircraft with suitable equipment can also interrogate our transponders for situational awareness reasons (i.e. TCAS collision avoidance). Mode A – this mode enables our controllers to identify the individual aircraft using a four-digit code which can be manually set by the pilot. Mode B – this is not used here to my knowledge. Mode C – this mode sends altitude data, via a code, down the line and provides more positional accuracy than just the blip on the screen. Initially it required a small altitude encoder ‘box’ to be wired into the existing transponders. Many, if not most, glider transponders have these boxes which provide

WORDS BY ROSS GADDES

a coded message for the transponder to send out. Mode S – this is a later development which enables much more data to be sent to and from the transponder using the same 1090 frequency as before. It does however require a completely new transponder to the older mode A/C type. The more modern ‘S’ Mode transponder has been around a while now and while they still produce Mode A and C, the encoder is much smaller and usually built into the unit nowadays. As mentioned, the Mode S transponder is capable of sending much more data to ATC, so inside it is stored some important information. For example, it knows what aircraft it is installed into by way of a Hex code. Around the world the CAA equivalents have assigned unique six digit ID codes to every registered civilian aircraft and these get programmed into the transponder on installation. Other info also gets programmed into them as well, such as the speed range and category of aircraft. All this info assists ATC (and other aircraft) and enables them to quickly ID the aircraft and input the info into their own technology.

MODE S AND ADS-B IN GLIDERS

Of course, sailplanes are different to many GA aircraft in that we (like hang gliders and balloons) usually have no on board generation of power. We are also built to provide minimal drag so we must minimise the size of our equipment. The massive advances in minimising electronic component size and current draw have been of immense benefit to sailplanes. The aviation world is cumbersome and eons behind the digital technology that is commonplace in our everyday lives.

ADS-B OUT

(IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT THE OUT MEANS) This is basically adding another parcel of information for the S Mode transponder to send out. For the most part, it is the aircraft co-ordinates based on satellite GPS positioning in real time. It is important to know that the Mode S transponder needs a suitable GPS unit in order to use the ADS-B capability. In some cases, these are built into the unit, but in many of the units we use, the GPS unit is an add-on part to be placed into the system and a GPS antenna attached. Simply put, ADS-B OUT is the action of our Mode S transponder sending a GPS position out of the host aircraft.

ADS-B IN

This is a receiver that picks up the Mode S signal with ABS-B capability and inputs that info into the on board system. I believe a FLARM system display that can also show traffic from aircraft transponder signals (suitably equipped with ADS-B OUT) would be ADS-B IN. There are options with FLARM products that upgrade the normal FLARM (for an extra cost) to receive transponder transmissions on the 1090 band and convert that data and display it onto our on board devices. These can be an extra box to attach to our existing FLARM or they can be inside the later FLARM devices. It is very compact technology but does require a small antenna. The 1090 MHz signal is quite strong, so

antenna positions are far less finicky, unlike FLARM. I do not know if CAA would call this ADS-B IN.

THE NZ SITUATION SO FAR

Our CAA has announced (for some time) that all aircraft using controlled airspace under FL245 (24,500 ft) will require ADS-B OUT by December 31st 2021. They did consider removing the Secondary Radars (SSR) systems but have decided to still incorporate SSR as ‘belt and braces’, for safety reasons I guess. They were initially busy with the implementation of rules for over FL245. These rules and amendments have now been implemented and the equipment requirements defined. However, we still await the defining rules for flying in controlled airspace under FL245. There are various discussion documents but at this stage the only systems that we know for sure that will comply are those for over FL245. Very recently CAA announced that they will fund upgrades to ADS-B OUT to the tune of $2500 + GST maximum, and also $500 + GST for ADS-B IN. However, they have not fully determined what the appropriate equipment levels are, in order for the grant to be allocated to the individuals. The only thing to be sure of at this stage is that the equipment acceptable for over FL245 is eligible at the moment. It is retrospective to 14 June 2014.

I have chosen to represent the Trig Avionics product range because they have made a small unit with a main body that can be located away from the panel. The devices are light on power consumption and while they are not super expensive, they are not a low-end product either. We think this suits the sailplane market which requires little panel space. My experience is mainly with these units – there may be other units, but mostly, gliders with ‘S’ mode transponders fitted recently, will have a Trig TT21 or TT22 installed. Trig Avionics, (among other products), offer two transponders which are compliant in NZ and are particularly suitable for glider installation. These are the TT21 (130 watt) and TT22 (250 watt) S mode units. Currently, to be compliant, the ADS-B OUT system from Trig is a TT22 transponder with a TN70 GPS & antenna unit. It is compliant only because it is currently accepted for the over FL245 airspace. The TT21, which is less powerful, has been deemed acceptable in NZ because CAA feels 125 watts is ample for NZ surveillance requirements. It too will accept the TN70 GPS/antenna combo and will most probably be accepted as compliant. The problem is that the TN70 unit is quite bulky, has a fairly high current draw, it needs specific antenna placement and is expensive. Although the $2500 grant would help, an upgrade from a Mode C transponder will cost in excess of $10,000 if CAA decides on the current minimum levels of certification. GNZ is in discussion with other interest groups and is highly motivated to promote the Trig TN72 GPS source unit as an acceptable solution for ADS-B OUT for VFR traffic in controlled airspace. They believe that for gliders - that can only operate under VFR rules - this unit can provide a GPS position with adequate integrity. The

MODE S AND ADS-B • November 2019–January 2020 • 47

You can ask the question, “How successful will the uptake of ADS-B in gliders be in NZ if the current approved system is all CAA accept and the grant of $2875 is applied?” I guess if Airways reduced controlled airspace areas as a result of much higher accuracy and reduced separation then we could all avoid controlled areas. I doubt this is what they have in mind and many NZ gliding clubs operate inside controlled areas anyway.

TN72 is a ‘certified’ product and holds what is called a TSO-C199 level. This does not meet the current standards, which are the levels required for IFR and traffic over FL245. Part of the data sent along with the ADS-B data is also a message saying what the integrity of the GPS unit is. In fact, the Trig transponder will send a GPS position from any GPS including FLARM but unless the integrity is over a certain value (called a SIL level), then ATC must ignore the information and treat it as unreliable. So, ATC will know what GPS integrity is being transmitted to them and may ignore that which is not to an approved standard.

SUMMARY

TO FLY IN CONTROLLED AIRSPACE IN NZ AFTER 31ST DEC 2021 1. If you don’t have an acceptable S Mode transponder with ADS-B Out capability, then you will need to get one installed. A Trig TT21/22 will cost about $4000 plus installation and testing. A GPS unit can be installed at a later date (see point 3). 2. You will also need to add an acceptable GPS source and GPS antenna that is compatible with your Mode S transponder. There may be some other options out there with GPS integrated into the transponder unit, but I am only familiar with the Trig TT21/22 units which are particularly suitable for sailplane usage. The Trig options are the TN70 (currently approved) and the TN72 (no rules as yet). A TN70 unit is about $3800 which includes the GPS antenna unit. A TN72 unit is about $700 landed in NZ; it will require an appropriate GPS antenna ($150??) plus installation and testing etc. There is a large difference in cost for approved and non-approved antennae. I am not sure what GPS antenna will be acceptable for aTN72 system, even if the TN72 unit is deemed acceptable inside controlled airspace.

3. You can add the GPS system to the Trig TT21/22 at a later date in order to achieve an ADS-B Out solution. 4. GNZ will work hard to convince CAA that the smaller Trig TN72 type units, that achieve TSO C-199 level certification, provide a level of safety and integrity that is sufficient for sailplane operation VFR inside controlled airspace. 5. For ADS-B IN, which is not mandatory, we may be able to use our current modern navigation systems, which can show FLARM and transponder traffic. The FLARM needs to be able to receive transponder messages and convert them to the FLARM display system. A unit made in Germany called a TRX 1090 is what we can supply to upgrade an existing FLARM. More recently this ADS-B IN option is an optional upgrade to the PowerFLARM system. LXNav sell one called PowerMouse and also integrates them into their high end flight computers (LX9xxx series) as an optional extra.

MY OPINION

I hope I have not made this subject too complicated and I do not proclaim to be anywhere near to an expert on this subject. For this reason, I apologise if I lack detail or there are some inaccuracies but I saw the need to explain to our owners and clubs that this is a real situation and it is happening fairly quickly. Currently the cost of an approved ADS-B install (if you only have a Mode C transponder fitted) will be about $8200 plus fitting and testing, so expect about $10,000 all up. You can ask the question, “How successful will the uptake of ADS-B in gliders be in NZ if the current approved system is all CAA accept and the grant of $2875 is applied?” I guess if Airways reduced controlled airspace areas as a result of much higher accuracy and reduced separation then we could all avoid controlled areas. I doubt this is what

they have in mind and many NZ gliding clubs operate inside controlled areas anyway. The use of GPS positioning is becoming commonplace in sailplane use, especially with situational awareness (i.e. FLARM). It is widely accepted as improving safety and providing significant improvement in situational awareness. For this reason, any uptake of ADS-B IN and OUT has to be an improvement in regard to air to air traffic in any airspace, controlled or not. My understanding is that the smaller and less expensive TS0-C199 level of acceptability still offers a very high level of surveillance accuracy and there have been many tests overseas to verify this. It is also my opinion that given the amount of Controlled Airspace in NZ, many sailplanes will need to be equipped with ADS-B and a suitable transponder. The all up cost in money but also size and current draw requirements, will be prohibitive, even with the grants, and many simply will avoid, or at worst, fly stealth into transponder mandatory areas. The uptake of ADS-B should provide ATC and TCAS equipped aircraft with much better accuracy therefore our CAA and Airways should feel much more confident to allow entry for gliders to controlled airspace and reduce refusals. I understand that the TSO-C199 level will still be hugely better than anything used currently. I hope we can convince the authorities that this is extremely important if they are to achieve a successful rollout of what seems to me to be a positive initiative.

ROSS GADDES email ross@sailplaneservices.co.nz phone +64 9 294 7324 or +64 274 789 123

A QUESTION OF SAFETY MARTYN COOK NATIONAL OPERATIONALS OFFICER

AN AWAY CAMP AND SOME LESSONS LEARNED Alfredton strip is in a remote valley, 14 km east of Eketahuna in the Wairarapa. It's 50 km from the Wellington Gliding Club base at Papawai - a possible destination for a Silver Distance flight. Five gliders and 10 hopeful cross-country pilots checked it out at the beginning of November. My Dimona motor-glider was used for orientation flights and came in very useful. The strip - which the farmer had kindly mowed for us - has undulating hills along both sides, with more high ground just outside the southern boundary. On the eastern side the hills are slightly lower, and the circuit is a little easier on this side because the base leg is more into-wind in a nor'wester. But by mid-downwind in a well-proportioned circuit, the glider is only 100 feet above the pine plantation instead of 600 feet above flat ground. After that,

the trees finish, and there is space for the turn onto base - at a reasonable height above ground. But the turn onto final must be made close to a small hill, after which there are two banks of tall trees to fly between on final approach. The entire circuit is loaded with visual illusions. I found flying there in the motorglider very challenging, despite having made thousands of landings on flat terrain (and just a few in confined places). Working backwards from a full stop landing, the strip

sloped downhill towards the north, which extended the flare and landing roll. It also meant that the final approach in the Dimona (which has weak spoilers and side-slips are not very effective) had to be at a welljudged height and airspeed over the fence. Naturally the question arose: "Up-hill or into wind?" We couldn't have it both ways, but because the strip was long and narrow, we went with "into wind" to give better directional control on the ground. There was a stiff breeze from the north,

A QUESTION OF SAFETY • November 2019–January 2020 • 49

was solved on subsequent approaches by noticing a fence line which ran along the ground directly between the two banks of trees. I focused on following this guideline until past the trees, and then shuffled the motor-glider back onto the runway centreline. I had read in the Human Factors paper about "involuntary locking of the control column" but had only ever experienced it once before, a few years ago during simulated winch launch failures. The ASI would doggedly slip back to 40 knots the moment I looked away, and it took a huge amount of effort - and insistence from the instructor in the back - for me to move the stick forward and get the speed back up above 60 knots.

with a slight crosswind, and the trees were swaying around and generating mild turbulence. Flying low over the pine plantation, I noticed how difficult it was to assess my height above the tree-tops, especially when looking straight down, because the moving treetops became blurry and ill-defined. A similar illusion occurred when squeezing between the pesky trees on final, where a slight slalom course was needed. When I focused briefly on the swaying trees from right beside them it was very hard to judge how close I was. This

But during this turn onto final - above a small hill and with a slalom course of trees still to negotiate - I noticed that the inside wing of the Dimona simply couldn't be forced beyond 30° of bank. Subconsciously, my arm muscles just wouldn't move the stick across any further, yet I needed to turn more sharply to line up with the narrow strip. And at this angle of bank the ground felt like it was rushing up at me, tempting me to reduce the bank to conserve height. I was about to kick in some rudder when I remembered the spin-on-final scenario. I forced my eyes to look at the ball of the slip indicator - which was already showing a slight skid - meaning too much rudder was already applied. Gulp! With determined focus I plunged the inside wing down to 45° and managed to tighten up and complete the turn.

The rest of the landing was uneventful - a little extra speed was kept on because the strip was generously long at 600 m. But I found the "frozen stick" syndrome very sobering. Jonathan Pote's paper (on the GNZ web site) notes that most formative neural pathways try to prevent the body approaching the ground at speed - and this happens even when piloting an aircraft. These primal neural pathways are very powerful - it felt like I was outside my body watching it protecting me, but my aviator's brain was screaming "that's not right"! Needless to say, I had configured the aircraft for landing well before entering the circuit area. Otherwise it is highly likely that I would have not completed the pre-landing check list, because there were so many things competing for my attention. That's why it's a pre-landing check - to be completed before the pilot's attention gets completely absorbed by the circuit and landing. And beware of those neural pathways - always trust the yaw string and the ASI - and your training!

would not have prevented the accident but might have given enough clues to identify the cause and the opportunity to prevent a similar accident from happening in the future.

INSTRUCTORS' COLUMN STEVEN CARE PIAKO GLIDING CLUB

GLIDER TRACKING [Editor’s note. Throughout this article there are multiple web addresses. These are messy in print, but we have left them intact to ensure you can access the correct information.] One of the big adventures in gliding is exploring, going where few have gone before and being free to do your own thing. All of us are very aware that when we go cross-country there is risk involved and that it is our risk, not anyone else’s. Without some element of risk there is no reward and generally we manage it well. Restricting our independent freedom or imposing unnecessary costs doesn’t change safety, it only serves others and another bit of Nanny State bureaucracy. These views are not wrong, but they are rather selfish. It ignores the effect that a back-country accident has on others, the enormous costs, effort and emotion involved in trying to find a missing pilot. It’s even worse for family, the anxiety of not knowing; a price beyond measure. MH370 has taught us that a few hundred or thousand dollars of tracking equipment

There are a couple of flight following rules regarding glider cross country flight: GNZ Manual of Approved Procedures 10.6 For flight following purposes, pilots are to make regular position reports either to club base or to other airborne gliders if possible. Use of a GPS flight tracking device (such as a SPOT messenger) is highly recommended, particularly if the area to be flown is likely to be outside VHF radio coverage.

Regular position reports to other gliders and/or the base are now mandatory if you fly cross-country. It’s up to you to make sure that your radio is functioning, and your battery is not only fully charged, but is going to last the duration of your flight. This can be difficult in club equipment, so responsibility rests with both you and the club. Lead acid batteries often need replacing every couple of years.

SPOT

10.7 Base radio operators at clubs must log all position reports received. 10.8 In all gliding operations more than 10nm from the aerodrome from which the glider took off, the glider must have an automatic 406MHz ELT installed or the pilot must be equipped with a 406MHz ELT(S) or PLB. [Reference CAR Part 91.529(e).] Due to cost most gliders use the 406Mhz PLB option. These are about $350 to $500 through TradeMe, Boat or Electronic retailers. When you buy one, you must make sure it is registered with Search And Rescue, so they know who and what they are searching for. The batteries only last five years and they are generally not economical to replace, meaning you need to buy a new PLB every five years. Good news is the units are getting cheaper and smaller every year. Have it strapped to you rather than the glider to make access easier in the event of an accident. If you bail out, it’s you that needs to be found, not the glider.

There are several satellite tracking devices and tracking plans available; SPOT 2 & 3, InReach with a variety of tracking plans; FindMeSpot and a new one, Track Me NZL with NZ support and faster response times. [See advert for devices available - Ed] I am not able to go through all the options, but the most popular one seems to be SPOT Gen 3. For the first year (including new hardware) the cost is $560 (give or take) with $350 to $420 per annum after that. You may be able to pick up 2nd hand hardware cheaper and find plans that give more flexibility, so shop around. The benefits of SPOT through Track Me NZL is that it gives a very accurate tracking picture of where you are every 10 minutes, irrespective of how many hills or mountains are around. It must however have an unobstructed view of the sky, so may be better to mount it in the glider. It can also give a prepared message, ‘landed out’ to crew or SOS through Search & Rescue. None of the SPOT equipment gives altitude. You cannot fly with the Omarama and Canterbury clubs in the South Island unless you have SPOT.

INSTRUCTORS' COLUMN • November 2019–January 2020

FLARM The number, cost and variety of FLARM equipment is almost endless. The technology is improving quickly. The primary purpose is collision avoidance, but it can also be used for tracking through the Open Glider Network (OGN) and live. glidernet.org. This relies on inexpensive receiver stations, with access to power and the internet, of which there are 11 active: Whenuapai AF Down since Nov 2018 Drury Down since March 2019 Mercer Airfield Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains Matamata Airfield Matamata Down since March 2019 Taumata1 – Tauranga Tokoroa Airfield Taupo GC – Centennial Park Waipukurau Airfield Down since April 2019 Kaimata – New Plymouth Down since Feb 2018 Makahu – 40km east of Straford, New Plymouth Palmerston North City Masterton Airfield Martinborough Omarama Airfield Alexandra Down since Jan 2017 It doesn’t work well around hills or cell phone sites and is a little less reliable, but if you already have FLARM, it’s free. Just make sure you are registered on both GliderNet and OGN. The following is from the OGN SAR page, as a guide for Search and Rescue operations: -

» Contact civilian or military rescue service as soon as you suspect a glider is missing

» Contact FLARM according to the FLARM SAR protocol http://flarm.com/ wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SAR_Text. pdf

» Check on http://live.glidernet. org/#o=1&w=0 if you can locate the missing glider. (Remember to uncheck the "Ignore offline" flag in options). If you find the glider you can right click on the label to load its trace for the day.

» KTrax SAR page for locating missing gliders (data kept for 24 hours): http:// ktrax.kisstech.ch/ktrax/?mode=sar

• 51

You cannot fly with the Omarama and Canterbury clubs in the South Island unless you have SPOT. The FLARM SAR protocol should be read in conjunction with the above as it has extra information.

PARTICLE

TRANSPONDERS

Most gliders have a transponder to be able to enter airspace. It’s recommended that it always be switched on (1300 providing you have reasonable battery capacity) even in class G airspace as, you can then be seen by TCAS equipped aircraft. Lots of aircraft show on http://flightradar24.com but current mode C or mode S don’t track your location unless you’re on ATC’s radar screen. ADSB (i.e. the addition of a GPS to your Mode S transponder) will allow your location to be seen by other aircraft and ATC more accurately than radar. In short only ADSB signals will be displayed. Flightradar24 also gets data from the OGN FLARM network.

» Send an e-mail to contact@glidernet. org + info@flarm.com with maximum information: glider registration, FLARM radio ID, takeoff airport, takeoff hour (please specify if local or UTC)

» As soon as possible send to info@ flarm.com as many IGC files as you can get, coming from FLARMs of gliders which have flown in the same area as the missing glider (the same day)

» If the missing glider was equipped with a transponder check on http:// flightradar24.com/ if you can locate it

» If a missing pilot was equipped with a SPOT device (or similar), try to find its reference

» Check if the missing glider was tracked on Skylines, Livetrack24

This is a new device that provides better tracking than FLARM and is based on the cell network. Units cost around $250 and sim card connection is only $3 or $4 a month. It doesn’t work particularly well behind hills or where cell coverage is sparse but is proving much more effective than expected, particularly in the North Island. Contact Tim Bromhead (ph. 021 217 9049) or email tim@pear.co.nz if you are interested as he can steer you in the right direction for set up.

» If possible, try to send a working FLARM device with a rescue helicopter. If by any chance, the missing plane's FLARM is still operating it can be detected in that way. Call as fast as possible our office at +41 41 760 85 64, Andrea Schlapbach (+41 79 472 82 52), Urban Mäder (+41 79 433 83 24), Urs Rothacher (+41 76 394 56 49), Jerome Pasquier (+41 79 536 65 86), or Daniel Hoffmann (+41 79 900 85 64, +49 176 563 26 227), and notify them about the missing aircraft. We may not be easy to reach. Please note that just sending a mail is not enough. Call these numbers only for SAR purpose!

52 • November 2019–January 2020 • INSTRUCTORS COLUMN

TRACKING OGN flarm traffic can be found on live. glidernet.org https://gliding.net.nz/tracking This is the new GNZ tracking page Tim has developed and it provides coverage for SPOT, FLARM, Particle or your own cell phone with an app, all on the one screen. You can also use your own cell phone for tracking, using a couple of apps: overland on iOS or btraced for iOS or Android. Instructions are on the gliding. net.nz website under ‘your aircraft details’. The excellent site originally set up by Phil Plane is also still running http://tracking. gliding.co.nz and is well used, but only shows spot traces. The former and latter sites both require glider/pilot registration before tracking will show. Both sites can work with a mobile phone, which can be handy if you can’t access WiFi but have cell coverage. Individual SPOT traces can also be found on ‘findmespot.com’ but I think you need to sign in and be authorised by the Spot owner (not sure). Findmespot has a phone app that is handy for an individual. It is far better to be registered on the gliding sites for gliding.

MISSING GLIDER – GNZ EMERGENCY PLANS AC 1-05 These should be printed/on display in the clubhouse, hangar and caravan, depending on what the club has and is most appropriate. If only a couple of gliders are operating, it is important that someone on the ground can check on pilot progress and raise an alarm if someone becomes unaccounted for.

TO SUM UP I am sure that there are other things that I could have covered but the goal of this article is to raise awareness. I grew up on a farm at Te Poi at the base of the Kaimai Ranges and I remember as a teenager (before gliding) a glider pilot going missing in the Kaimais. It got front page news in the papers and TV, with Iroquois helicopters at great risk, searching in bad weather. By sheer miracle and luck, after three days the pilot was found semi-conscious but alive, still in the glider and deep in the bush with both legs broken. He had been caught out by cloud. Even

Schemp Hirth Ventus CT ZK-GOP

Serial Number 98, 1987. 3600 hrs, flights 1160, engine 38 hours, prop 19 hrs. 15,17.6, 18 wing tips. Polyurethane paint finish. Clear Nav digital vario with cross country license. Oudie 2. Nano logger. Dittel VHF radio. Microair transponder. Mountain Air EDS O2. FLARM mouse and FLARMview. Tail dolly and tow bar. Wing wheel. Metal clad trailer. Annuals completed. Serviced by Sailplane Services.

$90,000

Contact Andy Campbell email andy@eastwoodortho.co.nz mobile 027 295 6103

more fortunately, he later recovered. Since then there have been multiple counts of far more tragic ordeals. Had a few procedures been followed and a bit of well-functioning technology used, outcomes might have been different. The Canterbury Gliding Club have set a very high standard. All gliders must have SPOT (even local), but they also have a large screen in their launch point cabin displaying SPOT tracking. They have compulsory one hour Ops calls from all gliders with positions being logged into their timesheets by the duty pilot. If the radio call isn’t made, it flags in their electronic timesheet and radio calls relayed to find the pilot if the last SPOT fix was not recent. This set up may not suit all clubs but having some form of it is far better than nothing.

TRACKING SITES https://gliding.net.nz/tracking http://tracking.gliding.co.nz http://live.glidernet.org http://flightradar24.com https://ktrax.kisstech.ch/ktrax/?mode=sar

CENTRAL PLATEAU GLIDING CHAMPS • November 2019–January 2020 • 53

CENTRAL PLATEAU GLIDING CHAMPS When is beautiful weather not beautiful? WORDS BY HUGH DE LATOUR SUPPLIED

HEN IS BEAUTIFUL weather not beautiful? When it’s a big "old man" high pressure system camped over the North Island for the duration of the Central Plateau Gliding Champs! Beautiful weather for those who wanted to go to the beach, but no help to the gliding fraternity at all. It was a frustrating week for the Central Plateau Champs, but we did get a task in on Thursday (Day 5) and an even better one on Friday, so those who were able to sit it out until then were eventually rewarded. Thursday was definitely a ‘big wing’ day, and in the Open Class Brett Hunter in the JS3 and Christian Derold in the ASH31 led the way, with Ross Gaddes holding on well in the Ventus for third. No points were awarded in the Racing Class that day.

Friday was therefore the pivotal day, and pivotal it was. David Jensen flew well to just pip Brett for the day win, but the combined result for the contest put Brett in first place, Christian second and David third. Well done to those guys. The Racing Class did better that day with three making it round the task, one making it round his own task (having entered Rangataiki Airstrip instead of Rangataiki South - be careful out there!) and two landing out. The Central Plateau Championship is not a GNZ sanctioned event, so although we only had two point-scoring days, we did declare it a competition, and hopefully it served its purpose of being a bit of a tune-up for the start of the racing season for the experienced pilots, and a fun, friendly competition for the less experienced. Congratulations therefore go to the place getters; Brett

Hunter, Christian Derold and David Jensen in the Open Class, and Hugh de Lautour, Glyn Jackson and Neil Harker in the Racing Class. Our thanks to CD John Etches for getting us through a difficult week, and to all the pilots, tow pilots and volunteers who helped to make it the fun competition it was, despite the weather. See you next year!

Above: Theme for the Contest – "Blue Skies, Shining on Me" L to R: Stuart Barton, Brian Williams, John Etches, Tim Bromhead and Bill Kendall.

THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT

PART 3 COMPETITION SOARING AND OTHER SPECIALIST FLIGHTS In the last two SoaringNZ articles, I introduced Threat and Error Management (TEM) as a simple yet powerful technique for assessing threats affecting any and every glider flight, and discussed how to use TEM in local and cross-country glider flights. Recognising threats allows pilots to predict situations where they might make errors or forget something, which increases the possibility ofÂ accidents. WORDS BY ARTHUR GATLAND

SUPPLIED

THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT • November 2019–January 2020 • 55

As I said in the last issue, our accident rate in NZ is poor and yet none of our spate of accidents has been the result of structural or mechanical defects – all have resulted from pilots intentionally putting themselves in a situation that for various reasons has resulted in a crash. Ridges, rocks and trees do not suddenly leap out and hit gliders – yet we manage to collide with them on a regular basis. This series of articles apply to every glider pilot in New Zealand, regardless of experience. In this article I will continue the theme of TEM as it applies to competition flying, which of course includes all the threats

for cross-country flying, but add a few important extra threats and pressures. Remember that to assess what constitutes a threat, we use the concept of a pristine flight, and look for anything that introduces a variation to this theoretical flight. Let’s look at a pristine flight in the competition context.

PRISTINE FLIGHT (COMPETITION) Recall from the last issue of SoaringNZ that a pristine flight relating to cross-country flying would be a ‘straightforward’ crosscountry soaring flight where everything

goes exactly to plan. In brief, it involves a well-prepared glider, a current and healthy pilot, and ideal soaring conditions over friendly terrain, with no time pressure. Additionally you will have chosen the task and this is likely to be based on the best conditions (predicted or observed), and you have ability to select your launch time, length of task, and the choice of shortening it if the weather deteriorates. Of course, in competition flying there are many differences from a weekend crosscountry flight. These constitute additional threats for the competition pilot, and you need to have a strategy or plan to manage these threats. Let’s review some of these:

THREATS

CONSIDERATIONS

STRATEGIES

Unfamiliar airfield

A percentage of pilots competing in any competition will not be familiar with the airfield or local area, particularly when entering the Nationals which will be out of region for many pilots.

Arrive at the site early, check on local rules and procedures, fly a few familiarisation flights. Get used to finding the airfield from several directions. If you can’t arrive early, try to arrange a short local flight early on day 1 of the contest (in a glider, or hire a light aircraft).

Time pressure (ground)

Pre-flight: this is present every day in a contest; you simply can’t afford to be late getting ready for launch. This can lead to rushed pre-flight, distraction from simple tasks, and forgetting critical items such as drink, snacks etc.

Always allow far more time than you think you will need to allow for likely delays. It is far better to get the glider to the launch point very early, allowing time for a relaxed drink / snack before earliest launch time. Use preparation checklists to ensure you have covered everything. Delegate this to your ‘crew chief’ if you have one!

Time pressure (in flight)

In-flight: Time is everything. The pressure to keep pushing on is ever-present, and every time you do one too many turns in a thermal, or choose a cloud which doesn’t work as well as you hoped, the frustration and impatience increases.

Preparation: on your weekend cross-country flights you should give yourself realistic tasks and timed challenges for practice. You quickly learn that effective speed-flying is surprisingly relaxed, based on good decisions made by thinking ahead all the time. If the thermals are weak, relax by realising it’s the same for all competitors. Try to have a Plan B – “If this thermal isn’t at least 5 knots, I’ll go straight to that cloud over there.”

Time pressure can be compounded after what is perceived as a poor result the previous day. “I only came 3rd yesterday, I have to push on even harder today (i.e. take more risks)!!”

Launch delay

By the nature of competitions, you can’t launch exactly when you might like. Pilots can allow themselves to get frustrated by apparent delays in launching and by their place at the back of the grid.

In fact this should make very little difference to the task success. You must accept that (a) you have no control so accept your start time and (b) it’s unlikely to penalise you and it could actually be an advantage. Relax and don’t stress about it.

Navigation

Navigating over possibly unfamiliar terrain or routes that are not of your choosing add considerable pressure.

On your weekend cross-country flights, set yourself tasks over unknown country for training. At the competition, try to arrive early so you can fly a few local familiarisation flights. Consider hiring a light aircraft for a local scenic familiarisation flight (share the cost with other pilots).

Risk of landout

This increases in competition because you will try to complete the tasks regardless of the weather, whereas in weekend flying you would probably turn around and go home. When you start a contest, you should tell yourself that you will land out 2 or 3 times during the contest – and that you will make damn sure it doesn’t result in a damaged glider or worse.

Landouts should not present significant safety risk if you obey basic safety rules. Be practiced at short landings, ensure you are always within range of good landing areas, and continually monitor wind direction and local weather effects. Never take a risk where a safe landing is jeopardised.

THREATS

CONSIDERATIONS

STRATEGIES

Pressure to get home

Landing out on a cross-country flight is always inconvenient, but in competition it means loss of points, possibly cancelling any chance of winning the contest, and could mean a long retrieve resulting in a late night and fatigue for tomorrow’s task, or even missing the start time. There is an overwhelming temptation to push the boundaries to prevent landing out.

In your mind, carefully separate ‘tactical risk’ from safety risk. It might be smart to ignore a weak thermal and push on to a better looking thermal – albeit getting a bit lower – as long as there are good paddocks around. However NEVER defer the decision to land out hoping another thermal will appear by magic – because it won’t. If you damage the glider, you can forget any chance of winning the contest! A safe landing is always highest priority for the competition points as well as your life!

Few landing areas

Many competition flights in NZ involve flights over areas with few landing areas. It is very tempting to just say “I won’t have to land out” and push on regardless. This is called DENIAL and has been the undoing of many pilots in all forms of aviation. See also “impatience” below.

Always always always have a landing area in mind at all times. Make sure you have sufficient height to reach your designated paddock, and know your minimum height required to reach it. Do not leave the area until you have enough height to reach the next landing area. To win a competition you first have to finish the contest. If you take risks that will eventually result in damage, you will miss out on several days flying which really wrecks your points total (apart from the minor detail of risking your life, incurring repair costs and increased insurance premiums).

Impatience

Competitive pilots are always aware of the need to keep pushing on. This can lead to bad decisions based on impatience. You know you need 5,000 feet to move on, and be able to reach the next safe landing area. But at 3,500 ft the lift drops from 5 knots to 3 knots – you say “I can’t waste time, I’ve got to go now – I’m sure it’ll be OK...”

Listen to the little voice in your head that is telling you the required truth – that you are pushing your luck. Safety is paramount at all times – no exceptions. Gliding is a sport and should never be a life-or-death situation, however the evidence proves that some pilots have allowed it to become exactly that.

Frustration

Impatience always leads to increasing frustration, as things never go as well as you would like

You must be self-aware and recognise when you are becoming frustrated. Then make yourself be careful, be methodical, and double-check all your decisions.

Weather changes

Unexpected weather changes have caught many pilots unprepared. “I didn’t expect the wind to change direction”; “Unexpectedly the lift dropped from average 8 knots to about 2 knots”; “I didn’t expect that sea breeze”; “Suddenly it started raining and I was forced to land in a rough area.”

The term “unexpected weather change” is a contradiction. Nothing is more certain than the fact that the weather is constantly changing. This is a threat that you must expect to occur, and be ready. How many competition pilots have won the day because they were alert to the “unexpected” changes in the weather? Why do other pilots moan that “he was really lucky!”?

Inexperience

We all have to start somewhere! Pilots who have never flown in competitions can easily be a bit overwhelmed by the event, and excitement or adrenalin affects their thinking.

You must ensure that your first competition flight is the same as your last cross-country flight. Fly within your abilities and don’t worry what anyone else is doing. (In fact, this is what the top pilots are doing anyway!) Set realistic goals for each day.

THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT • November 2019–January 2020 • 57

THREATS

CONSIDERATIONS

STRATEGIES

Fatigue

As soon as you wake up and start your daily activity, you are starting to accumulate tiredness! This fatigue is more rapid when you undergo challenges, continual decision making, stress/adrenalin, heat or cold, dehydration and hunger.

If you ever say that you don’t suffer from fatigue, you are severely mistaken. Adrenalin enables many sportsmen to operate to a high level of physical activity for a period of time, but their decision-making often suffers. Glider pilots will always experience fatigue and their decisions at the end of a competition flight are often flawed. You must make safe conservative decisions and be aware of the risks of poor decisions.

Cloud flying

Instrument flying in gliders is a challenge, and requires training and practice. Threats include disorientation, navigation problems, rain or icing on the wings, procedural / radio requirements, inability to see where to go next etc. I won a day at the Nationals once with lucky cloud climbs, but more often it’s been a mistake – examples include icing on my wings which turned the Discus into a K6, or compass / navigation issues which meant I lost any likely gain etc.

Cloud flying, like any specialist skill, requires training and practice and we don’t often get the opportunity. More often than not there is no advantage anyway. I have heard pilots say they can maintain orientation in clouds without instruments – which is utter rubbish – gliders do have some natural stability but humans’ eustachian canals are very easily disoriented. If you’re not an expert in instrument flying don’t try it in a contest!

Water ballast

Gliders handle differently when carrying water ballast, including during take off, aerotow, thermalling etc. Additionally it is another threat that needs to be handled before landing in a paddock or back at the airfield. There are weight and balance limits to observe, and with high altitude flying a risk of icing.

Don’t underestimate the threat. Brief your wing runner, brief the towpilot, ensure you have clearance on both sides in case of ground loop. Know your best thermalling speed. Allow extra space from other gliders when thermalling because of reduced manoeuvrability. Have a contingency plan in case the water won’t jettison correctly (or does so asymmetrically). Basically, practice flying with ballast routinely before you enter a contest. Also you must observe your glider’s weight and balance limitations – do you know these?

Overconfidence

It takes a strong person to make an accurate assessment of their abilities and shortcomings, and over-rating your abilities can be fatal. Typically, all pilots go through periods of overconfidence in their flying careers – typically at 100 hours total time, then 100 hours on a new aircraft type or 100 hours after getting a Commercial Licence, or 100 hours of cross-country flying etc.

“Pride comes before a fall”, Proverbs 16.18, which shows how long humans have been aware of the dangers of overconfidence.

Competitions tempt pilots to push their personal limits, and after one successful contest day you can easily convince yourself that you are a god and can handle anything. Well ... you’re not and you can’t.

Ask any pilot who has flown 10,000 hours and they will openly admit you never stop learning about flying, and you will always make errors of judgement. Anytime you read accident reports and find yourself saying “what an idiot”, or “I would never do that”, or “I could have coped with that” – then YOU are overconfident. Always look for your mistakes – because they are there! The important thing is to recognise the big ones!

THREATS

CONSIDERATIONS

STRATEGIES

Poor preparation

Poor preparation can stem from overconfidence. (“I don’t need careful preparation because my experience or natural ability will see me through”.) Or it can stem from laziness, or lack of organisation or lack of time.

In all cases, don’t underestimate the dangers of lack of preparation, which can lead to errors in rigging, forgetting essential equipment, not being mentally prepared, added time pressure, and finally that little nagging voice that says, “I think I’ve forgotten to do something” which is a huge distraction (but it’s probably correct!).

Final glides

Final glides are a huge threat due to their nature – intentionally flying lower than normal, often based on a calculated glide distance which may or not be correct, through unknown lift / sink, coupled with fatigue at the end of a long flight and hours of adrenalin. There is a common threat of crossing the finish line and having no plan on how to actually land! This is partly caused by the phenomenon of ‘anti-climax’ – after stress or pressure is removed, particularly after a success, the earlier continual adrenalin causes an anti-climax, and people feel very flat and suddenly tired. This shows up as pilots finish a task but actually relax and forget to think about landing safely. I have personally seen several accidents after misjudged final glides, including trying to pull up into the circuit with insufficient speed.

Firstly, practise final glides regularly (this doesn’t mean a beat-up – it means practising the judgement involved with appropriate radio calls and local rules etc.)

Other gliders

Competitions involve large numbers of gliders often in close proximity. Mid-airs are invariably fatal.

Lookout, lookout, lookout. Particularly pre-start and at turnpoints – but just as important at all times.

High altitude

In Part 2, I talked briefly about some of the threats in wave flying. These include:

Without overstating the issues, any of these can kill if you don’t understand the issues and procedures. However with correct training, preparation, and self-monitoring and selfdiscipline, there should be no issues with any of these. Never be complacent with wave flying. Remember the ‘catch 22’ that hypoxia can lead to euphoria, over-confidence and loss of self-criticism – so if you find yourself thinking everything is fantastic, check your oxygen!

» Use of oxygen » Cold temperature » Higher wind speeds » Icing » Terrain » Aircraft limitations – IAS/TAS relationship » Turbulence In competition the threats are the same but the temptation is greater to push on when you are cold, low on oxygen, or otherwise uncertain about some aspect of the flight.

Secondly, make sure you always have a safe speed, and plan how you will land. If your plan is to pull up into a circuit, you must always have a Plan B – usually landing straight in if you don’t have over 100 knots at the finish line. Frank Gatland – who was still doing safe final glides at age 85 – was a firm advocate of always landing straight in – it is safe, just as fast, and removed the extra threats and challenges of a low circuit when you are tired. If you commit to a final glide and it is looking doubtful, don’t wait until 500 feet to decide you’re not going to make it. Start looking for lift at say 1500 feet, and commit to a paddock landing in good time.

All glider pilots should undergo RNZAF hypoxia training – it is an invaluable experience!

THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT • November 2019–January 2020 • 59

MANAGING THREAT All these threats increase your likelihood of making an error. In this context we are not talking about errors in speed-flying, like not picking the strongest thermal, or incorrect speed-to-fly technique. We are discussing errors that result in reduced safety margins, or ultimately could contribute to an incident or accident. Most pilots can very easily recognise all threats if they think about it, but a superior pilot will implement a strategy to prevent an error resulting from any of these threats.

INEXPERIENCE AND INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITY I could go on and on – but hopefully you have picked up the themes involved here. It’s all about recognising threats on any flight and managing them so that they do not lead to errors or significant risks. In other words, AWARENESS of the Threats and the right ATTITUDE for safe competition flying. As I said in Part 2 of this series, cross-country flying by its very nature has a significant number of threats, including continual possibility of landout, weather changes, unpredictable lift, different terrain with changes in height above sea level, often areas of partly unlandable country, or flat but very small paddocks, use of unfamiliar hills to find ridge lift, navigation challenges, and so on. It is actually the presence of these threats that form part of the challenge, the fun and satisfaction of cross-country flying. Competition raises this to a higher level, as you test your skills against some very skilled and experienced pilots. However you must not underestimate the risks that these challenges present. Because of often longer duration flights, dehydration and hunger are always present to some extent, and have an insidious effect on your decision-making. In the Nationals at Omarama years ago, I pushed a bit too far past the last good paddock but didn’t find lift and had to turn back to the paddock, and only just made it, ground-looping and giving myself a scare. I should have made the decision to land much earlier. I actually won the day but almost damaged the glider – why? – if I had landed in the paddock the first time I would still have won and not risked injury or damage, apart from the embarrassment!

Once again, instructors and experienced competition pilots must help us lift our game. They should be aware that inexperienced competition pilots (and even experienced ones!) may not recognise all threats existing on any particular day. You can help these pilots by simple discussions about the task, the weather, the terrain etc. A short helpful chat to ensure they are fully prepared, and has a plan, and is mentally prepared to land out if necessary, may save their life. It will actually help you to think about the Threats and focus your own mind on safety. As I said previously, the main ways that new pilots can gain experience and knowledge is by instructors or experienced pilots passing on these thoughts, OR letting them learn by making mistakes! Which method is better?!

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS When competition flying, the most common and most serious safety-related errors – that of late paddock selection and speed maintenance when ridge flying – have consistently proven to have serious implications including major damage, injury or death. Yet collectively we persist in committing these errors. To be blunt – why are we that dumb? I don’t know ... but I suspect it’s gross over-confidence, or ignorance, or denial – “It’ll never happen to me.” All I can say is that if this applies to you, then YOU need to wake up and realise how illogical your attitude is. Just ask your wife/ husband what they think about your attitude to survival...

SUMMARY FOR ALL GLIDER FLYING Every glider flight, whether local, crosscountry or competition, involves some threats, and all pilots must ensure they recognise these and have a strategy to manage the threats and prevent errors, and/ or have a process to catch errors or slips that may have occurred. Remember we ALL make some mistakes on every flight – the important thing is to ensure they are not critical ones, or that they are captured before they lead to an undesirable position.

WHAT ARE THREATS?

» Any variation to our straightforward pristine flight is a threat

» Every threat increases the likelihood of an error being committed

» Every threat requires a positive strategy to manage it and prevent errors USEFUL STRATEGIES: A reminder that the following are just a few examples of TEM strategies that should become automatic to be a skilled and safe pilot.

TEM STRATEGIES

» Use SOPs / Procedures diligently » Don’t succumb to time pressure » Always fly the glider first » When fatigued be more careful and conscientious

» After interruptions, say “Where was I?” » It is important to carry out a Situation » » » »

Awareness review after a period of high workload Don’t ‘see what you expect to see’ – look for errors Listen to ‘that little voice’ that questions what you are doing Take advice from other pilots, especially experienced glider pilots Check your ATTITUDE – safety above all else – it is after all a sport and should never become a life-or-death situation.

TO EVERY GLIDER PILOT Acknowledging your vulnerability to mistakes is actually a sign of strength. In flying, you never stop learning. Every flight, whether you have 50 hours, 500 hours, or 15,000 hours, presents you with the same threats that must be recognised and managed. On every single flight you need to ask: » What are my threats today? » How will I manage and mitigate these? Have fun out there – but be safe!

60 • November 2019–January 2020 • CLUB NEWS

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

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

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

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

CANTERBURY GLIDING CLUB Club Website www.canterburyglidingclub.co.nz Club Contact Kevin Bethwaite kevin.bethwaite@airways.co.nz Ph (03) 318 4758 Base Swamp Road, Springfield Flying Weekends, Public Holidays

OMARAMA GLIDING CLUB Club Website http://www.omarama.com Club Contact Bruce Graham bruceandstell@xtra.co.nz Ph (03) 358 3251 Base Omarama Flying 7 days a week 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 HAWKES BAY AND WAIPUKURAU Club Website www.glidinghbw.co.nz Club Contact E-mail: info@glidinghbw.co.nz, Ph 027 2877 522 Base Hastings Airfield (Bridge Pa) and Waipukurau Airfield (December & February) Flying Sundays and other days by arrangement 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 glidingwairarapa.co.nz Club contact David Hirst Ph 021 493 349 Base Papawai Airfield, 5km east of Greytown Flying Weekends, or by arrangement 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 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 MASTERTON SOARING CLUB Club Website www.nzsoaring.solutions Club Contact Michael O’Donnell modp@inspire.net.nz Ph (06) 370 4282 or 021 279 4415 Base Hood Aerodrome, Masterton Flying 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 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 TAURANGA GLIDING CLUB Club Website www.glidingtauranga.co.nz Club President Adrian Cable adrian.cable@xtra.co.nz Base Tauranga Airport Flying Weekends and Public Holidays, Wednesday afternoons and other times on request WELLINGTON GLIDING CLUB Club Website http://www.soar.co.nz Club President Brian Sharpe bwsharpe@xtra.co.nz Ph 027 248 1780 Base Greytown Soaring Centre, Papawai Airfield, 5 km east of Greytown Bookings Ph 027 618 9845 (operations) Flying Weekends and Public Holidays 7 days a week December through to March

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 the editor 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 14 Janaury 2020.

AUCKLAND AVIATION SPORTS CLUB With the soaring season upon us, we are about to have our AGM and season briefing. Since we last spoke, we have managed two coast flights between Muriwai and Raglan. The first was flown by Steve Wallace with an Air Training Cadet in our trusty two-seater Grob, accompanied by Andrew Fletcher in the club single seater. Dodging some squally showers (which is not unusual with these conditions) the intrepid team had an awesome soaring sortie down and back along the coast. They arrived safely home just prior to the weather capitulating to heavy rain. A further sortie with Steve took place a month or so later and this time club member Kazik had the front seat ride of his life. He is sold on ridge soaring and said it was the most amazing event. He was humbled by the scenery, Mother Nature and soaring where not many others have gone before. The weather, unfortunately, has not always been kind as you would expect in early spring and we have lost several weekends as a result. We have had some very wet weather and a small lake formed which is unusual on the air base. In spite of that we have managed to run several Air Training Cadet flight experiences with local squadrons. These have been very successful, and a number of these youngsters show a lot of promise. Our tireless CFI Ray Burns has undertaken briefing with the squadron cadets’ weekly parades to explain the nuances of soaring and provide safety briefing prior to their weekend flying sorties. Andrew Fletcher has joined the instructor ranks. Being a long-term flight instructor and training captain on Dash 8s has made it a rather straight forward transition. His knowledge and experience are greatly respected. Our students have been a little

scarce as a result of the poor weather however some brave souls continue to pop out for training and syllabus sign off. Some of the conditions have been challenging for all, but it keeps everyone honest and vigilant. The weather is definitely improving with the whole fleet up last weekend and each glider experiencing flights of several hours. So we must be heading in the right direction. Ian

AUCKLAND Whoops – last issue’s reports of good winter weather didn’t stick. We’ve had rain and wet. The field has just dried out, so not a huge amount of gliding was possible from Drury until late September. The season is coming fast but there are still showers to avoid. However, there were some long flights down towards Taupo and west of Hamilton only a few weeks ago (i.e. 12th Nov). It will take a little time to get members out regularly but that will happen soon as the spring progresses. We have had our AGM and there were no major shifts in power but we do welcome a couple of new players to the committee: John Robertson and Rob Meili. These guys are a lot younger than the rest of our committee so we expect to get some youthful inspiration from them. Planning is well underway for our early January competition so please keep an eye out for this special event. We also expect to see our onsite instructor from France in early January who, along with an enthusiastic member, Brian Rudell, will assist with operations during the mid-week days. In the meantime it is business as usual. As the summer progresses we will hopefully be able to train, introduce new pilots and satisfy our current members in the air, around Drury and elsewhere.

Auckland Aviation Sports Club:

Auckland: Hunua Dam, Campbell McIver

Visitors always welcome. Ross

CANTERBURY There’s a noticeable positive vibe about the Canterbury Gliding Club. We have new members joining including youth glide enthusiasts, a cadre of emerging pilots progressing through student pilot levels, and successful achievement flights being attained. The spring weather helps. Most weekends have had a mix of thermal and convergence or wave, enabling pilots to spread their wings. In October, Rangi de Abaffy completed the first FAI declared 1000 km flight from Springfield in what Terry Delore described as: a well-planned flight on a very average gnarly day. Mike Oakley achieved a 1750 km flight earlier in the year, Auckland:

landing at Springfield as the day came to an end. Student pilots have been progressing well, with Sandy Yong and Brett Schroeder enjoying steadily longer solo soaring.

Canterbury: Cross-country in the Twin Astir

At the annual awards dinner, the club made special mention and presented a gold bow tie to ‘retiring’ and long standing chief tow pilot John Goddard, who after more than half a century at the club and more than quarter century as chief tow pilot (says he has) completed his flying career. In another well-deserved award, Mike Marra’s work in maintaining the club fleet and property, and managing the project to refinish the wings on the club’s now resplendent Janus was recognised. In other changes, Warwick Bethwaite has passed the CFI role on to Alex McCaw, and Brett Schroeder has taken up leading the local youth glide contingent. Experienced members have started a monthly seminar series: Terry Delore led off by discussing cross-country flight preparation (flight plan, pilot and aircraft), and Lex McPhail is to follow on with flight track analysis in SeeYou. The private fleet is expanding with pre-QGP pilots Rob Kerr importing an LS4 from the USA and Brett Schroeder obtaining a Speed Astir. Last, but not least, the vibe continues with a ground tug looking remarkably like Thomas The Tank Engine.

GLIDING HAWKES BAY AND WAIPUKURAU

Canterbury: Thomas gets put to work

Late winter weather was typical for glider pilots with some brief views of classic wave mid-week with the weekends largely either calm and flat or unflyable due to rain and or wind. In what seems to be a new trend locally, wave is only forming for short periods of a few hours. This did occur one Sunday club flying afternoon just after a power plane suffered a mechanical on landing and blocked the entire airfield for safe gliding operations. By the time this was cleared, the wave looked great, but the sun and members had retired for the day. The club has gained two new members in Steve Lewin and Richard (Dick) Waterer. Steve is new to gliding while Dick went solo in the 1980s up north. We look forward to them joining the solo pilot ranks very shortly. A club BBQ was held to celebrate the over 40 years of service Bryan Malcolm has given to the gliding movement with both the Waipukurau Gliding Club and Gliding Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau. Celebrations were superbly organised by Jason Price and well supported. Youth flying continues with another grant successfully obtained from the local Eastern & Central Community Trust to enable the club to continue to offer free youth membership and

Nelson Lakes: Felix Harper, aged 16

CLUB NEWS • November 2019–January 2020 • 63

half price tow fees. Josh Fergusson has taken up a ground crew job at Omarama for the summer and will undoubtedly benefit greatly from this experience. A group of members is planning to visit Omarama after Christmas for some fun soaring. Despite omissions from GNZ lists, the 2020 Central Districts Gliding Championships are being held from Waipukurau Airfield from Saturday 22nd February 2020 (practice day) to Saturday 29th February 2020 inclusive. Further details and entry details are now online. Organisation is well underway and we look forward to another fun, friendly contest so get your entries in now. As always, we look forward to some classic Hawkes Bay thermal, convergence and wave days during spring and summer.

Nelson Lakes: Final briefing from his instructor Marc Edgar

NELSON LAKES My first Solo When I woke up on October 6th, I had no idea that 12 hours later I would have twice flown a glider solo. That was probably a good thing as it meant I only had five minutes to think about it before I launched! My first solo flight was only 3 minutes long because I released from the winch cable halfway up the normal launch due to the speed beginning to drop. My mind thought, ‘winch failure!’ so I pulled the yellow knob, put the nose down and did a circuit. I went up again just afterwards and had a much better launch to the full height. I went soaring over the ridges soaked in golden evening light next to the field at Lake Station for just shy of half an hour. Even after I landed, helped to stable the gliders back into the hangar and went home, my mind was still circling in the clouds - I'm not sure if I'll ever get it to come down. I know I will never look at the sky in quite the same way as I did before.

Nelson Lakes: The latest glider to arrive at the club during it’s first test rigging to complete the importation process.

Huge thanks to both the Nelson Lakes and Canterbury clubs and their instructors for putting up with me and I look forward to what the future holds.

Felix Harper

PIAKO Spring has sprung, our annual compulsory SOSB (Start of Season Briefing) has been held. Gliders have been getting their annuals and wings polished for the upcoming competition season. Members who have doggedly flown throughout winter are looking forward to experiencing decent thermal flights, achieving badges and Piako:

entering competitions. Matamata Soaring Centre have planned a Grand Prix Competition - 27-30 December, during Piako’s Annual Christmas Camp. We hope you will join us.

Piako: Tim Bromhead winch launching

Maurice Weaver, Ralph Gore and Brett Hunter made an early start to the competition season by going to the Australian Club Class Nationals in Kingaroy. Brett even won a day. Mike Borgelt ‘Australian variometer manufacturer’ has family in Matamata. He paid us a recent visit and kindly gave a very interesting talk on varios. He has been at the leading edge of research on the influence of horizonal gusts and is now selling one of (if not the most) advanced variometer on the market. It was great that members representing all the gliding clubs belonging to the Matamata Soaring Centre were present and the conversation continued over lunch. Our catchment area for ATC and Young Eagles is large and we both winch and aerotow these youth groups, reserving one weekend a month and flying our members after 1pm on those weekends. Norman Duke will be running the annual weeklong National ATC Camp in December. Last year we gained a new member ‘Joseph Rauch’ from the course.

GH & SC

TARANAKI

Piako:

Things are slowly improving with the weather and the private owners have come out to play with two or three good flights recently. The best flight this season was by Les Sharp and Peter Williams in the Janus NN. Towing towards the mountain they found and worked wave, getting to 9, 500 feet and heading south towards Hawera. From there they continued their journey back to the north. Les has written up the story for this issue of SNZ. This was at the very least an intrepid flight and would be the best cross-country soaring flight done within Taranaki that I know of. Dylan Miller enjoyed a splendid Trial Flight at Omarama with Sabrina Schell. I was very impressed with the pre-flight briefing that she gave Dylan. He now wants to join as a Junior Pilot. Both the PW5 and the Janus have been de-rigged in readiness of travelling to Waharoa for the Cross-Country Course there. That story will also be in this magazine. PJM

TAUPO

Piako:

Spring is here! After a very quiet period we have seen some great days and an increase of activity around the club as the days are get longer. We have seen some very good flights during this

CLUB NEWS • November 2019–January 2020 • 65

mixed period of weather, both local and cross-country. If these are an indication of what is to come, then we can’t wait for the longer hotter days. Around the club we have been busy putting the finishing touches to the clubhouse and surrounds in preparation of the Central Plateau Soaring Competition which begins on 3 November. Hopefully we will see some new faces experience our soaring conditions. The club’s largest project over the winter was the repair of runway 07. Excavation work has been undertaken to remove the bumps and level out the bad sections in the middle of the runway. The strip was then reseeded and the runway should be open for the start of the CPSC. As for achievements, Phil Overall went solo and achieved his ‘A’ Certificate and Henry HopeCross gained his ‘A’ Certificate. Congratulations go out to both of them. There is a new device at Centennial Park. Thanks to the kind generosity of our Patron, Mr Richard Izard, the club is now in possession of a defibrillator which is located in the clubhouse front room. Thank you Richard. Hopefully we will never have to use it.

Taranaki: Dylan and Sabrina after the flight

That’s about it from us. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and fly well. Trace

Taupo:

Taupo: Gordon mowing runway markings

Taupo: looking west

FOR SALE • WANTED • SERVICES • EVENTS

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 our webmaster. Ads notified to SoaringNZ 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 Std Astir CS77 ZK-GMC • 1820 Hours total time. Recent annual and ARA inspection. New nose hook. Becker AR3201 radio Terra TRT 250 transponder. Good trailer. Can be viewed at the Tauranga Gliding club. May consider a syndicate. $20,000 or make an offer I can’t refuse. Contact Ben Stimpson, Email bstimpson@xtra.co.nz, phone 027 555 5485

hanger space at Omarama. Excellent condition and well run syndicate. $19,500. Contact Paul Murphy, phone 027 249 4122, email paulmurphy@ netvigator.com Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus GHD • Based at Whenuapai, Auckland. Trailer tows well and is braked, with rigging equipment to make rigging easier. Glider is fitted with Funke mode s transponder, Kingair radio, basic instruments and Oudie GPS trackers. Glider will be sold with Annual and ARA. $18,000. Contact Nathan Graves, phone 211 862 781, email gravesn101@gmail.com Grob Twin Astir GTU • 4026hrs, usual basic instruments plus radio, Transponder, Cambridge electric vario with rear seat repeater, retractable undercarriage and trailer. $32,000.00. Contact Jamie Halstead, phone 021 409 933, email halstead.joinery@xtra.co.nz

PW6-U ZK-GPK • Constructed 2002. s/n 78-03-01. In very good order cockpit paint re-furbished. Normal instrumentation i.e. 2 x Altimeters and ASI's. Microair 720 Com. Borgelt B40 electric varios front and back seat. 2405 Total Service Hours in service. Full service history with Sailplane Services. Fully hydraulic disc brake Mod. (CAA approved). Currently no transponder or trailer but these can be supplied if required. Contact Ross Gaddes, email ross@sailplaneservices.co.nz, phone 027 478 9123

Glasflugel Mosquito • 40:1 performance, equivalent handicap to Discus. LX Nav S80 with AHRS, Nano 3 flight recorder, Becker radio, Microair Transponder, A&C. Electric Turn and Bank, Oxygen system, serviceable parachute and trailer. Tinted canopy, no cracks. Easy two man rig, automatic control connections. $30,000. Half share available if based at PGC, $15k. Contact Andy Mackay, phone 021 174 4719, email andymacfly2002@yahoo.com

Schleicher ASH25e GOA • 1210hrs, Engine 4.04hrs not currently fitted but can be refitted easily, Cambridge LNAV, Cambridge 25 GPS, Sage mechanical vario, T&S, EDS Oxygen, FSG71 radio, Transponder, 26.5m wingtip extensions with winglets, 2 parachutes, tow out gear, Cloud dancer all weather covers, Trailer, phone Jamie for more details. $100,000. Contact Jamie Halstead, email halstead.joinery@xtra.co.nz, phone 021 409 933.

ZK GOP Ventus CT • s.n. 981987, 3600hrs, flights 1160, engine 38 hrs, prop 19 hrs. 15m Maughmer, 17.6m, 18m Borowski tips. Polyurethane finish. Clear Nav digital vario with cross country license. Oudie 2. Nano logger. Dittel VHF radio. Microair transponder. Mountain Air EDS O2. Flarm mouse and Flarmview. Tail dolly and towbar. Wingwheel. Metal clad trailer. Well known glider resident at Drury. Serviced by Sailplane Services. $95,000. Contact Andrew Campbell, phone 027 295 6103, email andy@eastwoodortho.co.nz

Homebuilt self launch 18m • 4 piece wing flapped modern airfoil all glass, disk brakes, 28hp Hirth motor, with trailer. Mostly ready for paint. Ring for more details. Contact Garry Morgan, email gkmorgan54@gmail.com, phone 020 4118 7493 or 03 572 5409 Ventus 2a. s/n 10 Equipped with LX9050 with Flarm and control column unit. Maughmer winglets - Refinished in 2008. Has a Dittel FSG71M com and Trig TT21 Mode S (ADS-B out capable). Has an Aluminium top Cobra trailer, wing wheel, tail dolly and tow-out bar. Re wired with LiFePo4 batteries. My partner Malcolm wishes to sell his share as he is no longer based in Auckland. I will either keep my 50% share or sell outright (#2 choice). This aircraft is one of the best performing gliders in 15mtr class yet is a delight to fly, even when tanked, and exceptionally easy to handle. They land short and rig in minutes. Contact Ross Gaddes, phone 64 274 789 123, email rsgaddes@gmail.com Glasflugel Hornet 206 GKJ • s/n 22. 2543hrs, Borgelt B400 vario, Mountain High oxygen, reliable King KY97A radio, original gel coat all in good condition, good quality ground handling gear, tidy steel framed aluminium clad trailer. Roomy cockpit, 38 L/D and powerful trailing edge air-brakes make this glider an excellent club or first-time owner aircraft. Reluctantly selling as I am retiring from gliding this year. Hangared at Alexandra Airport. "Softie" parachute, in excellent condition, included. Price reduced – now $17,000. Contact Phil Sumser, phone 03 448 5411, email phil.sumser@xtra. co.nz Grob Twin Astir GJW • The Central Otago Flying Club is down-sizing its gliding operations and is seeking expressions of interest in the purchase of its Twin Astir GJW. S/N 3009, Built 1977, Hrs 4400, Mountain High oxygen, Microair 760 radio, Borgelt B40 Vario, new aerotow hook. Overall good condition and includes well-made steel open frame trailer. Contact Phil Sumser, phone 03 448 5411, email phil.sumser@xtra.co.nz Share of LS4 ZK GMT • Serial 4129. Omarama. Third share in LS4. Includes

Discus B • 1/3 share. $28,000. Contact Paul A O'Neill-Gregory, email oneillgregory@xtra.co.nz, phone 021 194 5065 LS6a - Z1 • PU Paint - by Sailplane Services. Fantastic condition 9 out of 10. Number of Vario options, you choose: S80 with A/H Stick remote - Flarm – Oudie, SN 10, LNav GPS, Becker 4201 Radio, Becker 4401 Transponder, EDS Oxygen. Z1 is in brilliant condition and is race & long flight tuned. Multiple 1000k flights & National winner. $85,000. Contact Vaughan Ruddick, email vaughanandpaula@gmail.com Discus 2cT 18 Metre Turbo • ZK GFR. 2004. Total Airframe - 275 hours. Total Engine time 9.5 hours. LX9000 with V9vario and stick remote. Flarm, Trig S mode Transponder, Microair M760 Com, Winter mechanical Vario, Disc Brake, Tinted blue canopy, Clear Carbon/Kevlar cockpit trim, Cobra trailer. Excellent condition. Hangared at Drury. $165,000. Contact Jonathan Cross, email jonathanc@xtra.co.nz, phone 274 984 962 STD ASTIR II ZK-GMM • In excellent condition. Instruments just done and will have new annual and ARA done before delivery. Comes complete with Microair 360 Radio and Terra Transponder. Gel coat in good condition. Retractable wheel and water ballast. Ready to fly. Has trailer that needs a little work but roadworthy. Selling because lack of use. Ideal first glider for someone or as an extra club aircraft. $15,000. Contact Don Grigg, email don.grigg@xtra.co.nz phone 07 348 6640 or 0274 947 948

AVIONICS LX 9070 with AHRS used • no FLARM and new V8. The 9070 has been used for 1 year and is in excellent condition. The V8 and the EAGLE speaker are new. Associated cables come with it. $7,000. Contact Christian Derold, phone 027 602 0111, email christian.derold@me.com Winter 80mm mech vario in KTS, used • New face and glass. Scratch-free

CLASSIFIEDS • November 2019–January 2020 • 67 GNZ members are eligible for one free non-commercial classified advertisement per issue. Deadline for receipt of advertising for our Fenraury 2020 issue is 26 January 2020.

glass, new face. $300. Contact Christian Derold, phone 027 602 0111, email christian.derold@me.com Winter 80mm ASI • Used, in excellent condition, new face and glass, LXNav FlarmView with 4 push buttons, used for 1 season, scratch-free surface. $250. Contact Christian Derold, email christian.derold@me.com phone 027 602 0111 New BUTTERFLY Flarm screen 8.1x4.2cm • Flarm screen display, length 8.1mm, width 4.2cm with push dial. $500. Contact Christian Derold, phone 027 602 0111, email christian.derold@me.com ELT, used • type ACK E-04, 406MHz. $200. Contact Christian Derold, phone 027 602 0111, email christian.derold@me.com LXNav FlarmView with 4 push buttons • used for 1 season, scratch-free surface. $250. Contact Christian Derold, phone 027 602 0111, email christian.derold@me.com Mechanical instruments • 80mm: ALT, Vario, VSI/ASI. 57mm: compass. Make an offer. Mechanical instruments for sale, individually or together. 80 mm Altimeter (serviceable) 80 mm Winter Variometer, knots (serviceable). NO FLASK. 80 mm Winter Combination Vario + ASI. (ASI needs repair). 57 mm Compass southern hemisphere (serviceable). Send a specific offer if interested. Postage costs borne by buyer. Contact Dane Dickinson, email dane@xtra.co.nz Borgelt Instruments B400 variometer • (57 mm version.) Excellent condition. Great vario. NO SPEAKER INCLUDED. $500 ono + postage. Contact Dane Dickinson, email dane@xtra.co.nz Terra TRT 250 transponder • Altitude encoder included. Fully serviceable. Make an offer. Contact Dane Dickinson, email dane@xtra.co.nz MGL Electronic compass • MGL AV-1 air-talk computer and compass module. Screen can be used for multiple purposes. Fully serviceable, but buyer takes all risk. $300 ono + postage. Contact Dane Dickinson, email dane@xtra.co.nz Flight Computer • This is an Oudie Clone I have owned 5 (?) years. Comes with a powerpack as the actual unit won't last 30 minutes on its internal battery (these clones never did). Performs okay. It is *NOT* IGC approved so you cannot use the saved trace for Badges but it will get you around a Comp Task. Loaded with both LX8000 & XCSoar software. Supplied in original Box with mains Charger, lead to connect to Power Pack, Window Suction Mount, Stylus Pen. A new Oudie just cost me over $2K so this is a steal. $140. Contact Neil Harker, email neil@eAccounts.co.nz, phone 021 921 188 Cambridge 302/303. 302 Direct Digital Variometer • GPS, IGC approved FR. 303 Navigation Display. Good condition, working perfectly. Temperature probe & GPS Antenna & data cable included. $900 plus shipping. Contact Dane Dickinson, email dane@xtra.co.nz

OTHER FOR SALE Tost High Powered Winch • Up for grabs is a high powered winch, on the back of an Izusu truck. Perfect for any club that needs a new winch. Comes with 2 new reels of wire each 1500m long, three new parachute assemblies, cable splices, crimping tool etc. V8 small block engine rated to winch up to 750kg gliders. $45,000. Contact Bruce Drake, email Drakeaviation@hotmail. com, phone 03 313 4261 Windsock for your gate, club rooms or control van • Length: 800mm, Inlet Diameter: 250mm. Come with a wire hoop to hold open. Great for assessing wind strength and direction for many activities. Put one at your flying field

gate, hanger, clubroom, control van etc. Light enough to take anywhere. I have sold these to Fishermen, Hunters, Emergency Services (for helicopter rescue) Pilots, Paragliders, Microlights you name it. Great product made from Ripstop Nylon like paragliders are constructed from. $14. Contact Pilot Pete, email pete@pilotpetes.nz, phone 027 455 9449 Copies of G Dale's The soaring engine Vol 1 Ridge thermal flatland mountain and Vol 2 Wave and convergence • are available from info@ thesoaringengine.co.uk Cost per book is $66 plus $5 postage and packing. Winch • High quality professionally built winch. Single drum, V8, Auto, Dyneema rope about 5200' long. Tost parachute. Generally launches a 2-seater 1500' AGL no wind. Selling because our gliding operations are down-sizing. Price is negotiable but expected to be north of 10k, please contact the seller to discuss. Contact Phil Sumser, phone 03 448 5411, email phil.sumser@xtra.co.nz Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes Blue-Ray Disk • In perfect condition. It was used once and has otherwise remained in its packaging. $24 including shipping to NZ. ContactTim Bromhead, phone 021 217 9049, email tim@pear.co.nz

WANTED Damaged/broken Oudie • Oudie1 (or Oudie2) to use as parts for repair. (cracked screen OK as I have a working screen). Contact Glyn Jackson, email glyn@glynjackson.com, phone 021 0250 4646 Blanik L13 nose cone and front cockpit canopy • In reasonably good condition for a non-flying project. Please make contact if you have any of these available for sale. Contact Mike Packer, email mikelpacker@gmail. com, phone +64 21 059 8648 Instructors Wanted, Omarama • Experienced gliding instructors required at Glide Omarama, October through March. Minimum requirements are a C Category instructor rating and cross-country mountain soaring experience. Applicants will be required to undertake a flight test prior to acceptance. Special consideration given to instructors with fluent German, a tow rating or tailwheel experience, email info@glideomarama.com or phone 03 438 9555.

ARE YOU ADS-B READY? Upgrade your transponders today TRIG

By 31 December 2021 it is proposed all aircraft flying in New Zealand controlled airspace will have to have operational ADS-B OUT on board. ADS-B will provide 45 percent greater surveillance coverage compared to the current system. Sailplane Services are New Zealand's soaring specialist agents for Trig. Buy once, buy right! Important: Be wary if buying from the US, UAT systems advertised as ADS-B may not be useable in New Zealand.

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NZ agents for Schempp-Hirth Sailplanes, LXNav Soaring Equipment and Trig Avionics all state of the art equipment for soaring aircraft. Ross Gaddes email ross@sailplaneservices.co.nz phone +64 9 294 7324 or +64 274 789 123

SoaringNZ Issue 59

Articles inside

FATE IS THE HUNTER

WHERE SEAGULLS DARE BY STEVE WALLACE A SHORT HISTORY OF FLYING ON THE WEST COAST