SoaringNZ Issue 55

NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE

76,000 FEET FOR PERLAN STEMME S12 THE WORLDS HUMAN FACTORS • CLUB NEWS i s s u e 5 5 N o v e m b e r 2 0 18 – J a n u a r y 2 0 19

IMAGES THAT SOAR ABOVE THE ORDINARY

John McCaw – aviation and agricultural photographer

McCaw

MEDIA

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C OMMIS SIONS A ND S T O CK LIBR A RY SP ECI A LIS T S

contents

november 2018–january 2019

features 14 The Perlan Glider breaks 76,000 feet!

18 An Interview with the World’s Top Glider Pilot 22 What’s Happening with Unleaded Avgas?

24 Flying High 30 SPOT Tracking 36 35th World Open, 18m & 20m Championships

14

32 18

24

32

38

38

STEMME S12

41

Bob Henderson elected President of the FAI

42

Central Plateau Gliding Completition

44

Taranaki Gliding Club

50

George Rogers

51

LS1 Restoration

52

Human Factors: Emergencies

55

Winning a Contest in a Ka6e

60

Youth Glide Meet and Mingle

regulars 6 Log Book 56 ab-initio 58 Blast from the Past 59 GNZ Awards & Certificates 61 GNZ News 62 Gliding New Zealand Club News 66 Classified Advertising

UK $100 Europe $109 USA $109

Publisher

Advertising, editorial and subscription enquiries

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Editor Jill McCaw soaringnz@mccawmedia.co.nz

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SoaringNZ invites contributions but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material.

ISSN 2018–January 1178-4784 2019 November 3

from the editor november 2018–january 2019 At the end of October, the GNZ executive and I met to discuss the future of the magazine. I’m very pleased that we are all on the same page. We want to keep the magazine useful, relevant and interesting to the full range of our members. That means we need articles that cover the range of experience of our members as well as stories covering the whole country. We need everyone’s help for that. We need your stories, whatever your experience level. If you’ve had a great flight, met someone interesting, or done something that might be best described as a learning experience, please let us know. My email address is in the red banner at the bottom of the contents page. If you don’t think you’re up to writing the story yourself, don’t worry, talk to me and I’ll sort it.

The Taranaki Gliding Club sounds like a great place to fly.

They’re kicking off our feature club series. I fully intend to get words on every active club in the country, so start thinking about what makes your piece of soaring paradise great. Think about your club’s history, the personalities past and present and why you love flying there. Be prepared to tell the rest of the country. It will take a couple of years or so to cover them all, but we will get to you.

And in other news, John and I joined the winter exodus and spent some time in Canada in August. We did a big loop through the Rockies, a once in a life time experience, sadly marred by wildfire smoke blanketing not just the Canadian Rockies but the entire west coast of the continent, from San Francisco to well north of Vancouver. It was extraordinary, and like living in a perpetual orange fog.

We spent a week at Panorama Mountain Resort where Robert, our younger son, was working. Panorama is about fifteen kilometres from the town of Invermere which is the home of ‘Soar the Rockies’, the Invermere Soaring Centre. Invermere is to British Columbia what Omarama is to New Zealand so of course we went to visit and, on a rare post rain day which cleared the sky a little, we got to fly.

Many visitors to Omarama will remember Trevor Florence who was a Glide Omarama instructor for a number of years.

Trevor says hello. Trevor is the owner and he’d love to see more New Zealand pilots come visit him for a very different sort of mountain flying to what they’re used to. I recommend you go before the end of July if you want to avoid fire season and smoke. Apparently, it was clear until the week before we arrived.

Invermere is in a valley surrounded by really big mountains, lots

PERLAN STEMME S12

i s s u e 5 5 N o v e m b e r 2 0 18 – J a n u a r y 2 0 19

4

and lots and lots of them. But they don’t get wave; well, not well set up streets of it like we do. That’s what makes their mountain soaring so different to ours. All their flying is in thermals. Most summer days the thermals are to 12 to 14,000 feet. Mind you, the mountains are well over 10,000. It was such a shame that the smoke didn’t let us get to experience that. I’ve seen the pictures.

It’s an incredibly scenic place when you can see it.

Trevor has a lovely Duo and he and John flew the day after it had rained when the sky was relatively clear. John got a reasonable flight and some good photos. I didn’t fly until the following day and the smoke was coming back. It was quite bizarre. There must have been an inversion at around 10,000 feet and the smoke was held below it. After the longest tow of my life, to about 8,500 feet, we scunged around in weak lift on the spurs and gradually managed to climb a little, all the time feeling like we must break out of the smoke soon. We never did.

next issue

NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE

THE WORLDS HUMAN FACTORS • CLUB NEWS

It would be scenic if you could see it. Trying to climb out of the smoke.

Brett Hunter brought his JS3 to Omarama for the South Island Regionals.

Photo Alex McCaw.

November 2018–January 2019

Next Issue: Youth Soaring Development Camp Nationals, Auckland Soaring Champs

magazine deadlines Competition Deadline for Club News, articles and pictures is 17 January 2019 and 26 January 2019 for advertising.

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The spectacular views were masked and muted and the whole world was vaguely orange.

On the return from our flight Trevor spotted a new and unreported fire starting in the forest high above the highway just across from the airfield and radioed it in. As the airfield is also the local base for a firefighting helicopter team, a helicopter came up to see while we circled to mark the place. That evening as the club put on a barbeque in our honour, we watched as fire fighters and their gear were ferried up onto the hill, settling in for a busy night. It barely raised eyebrows among the locals.

We’d spent nearly four weeks with skies ranging from slight orange haze to the low visibility of around 50 metres. We were never in the worst of it. It smelled like clean wood smoke and you actually stopped smelling it, except when trying to thermal through the top of it. Then it just made me sick. Coming home to clear blue skies was wonderful.

Enjoy our clear blue skies, weather permitting and enjoy the Christmas break. This issue is packed with in depth reading for your holiday pleasure. Don’t forget to chronicle your holiday gliding highlights. I’ll expect to hear all about it when we call for submissions in January.

Happy holidays.

Stay safe.

Jill

One Year Two Years

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logbook november 2018–january 2019

New Zealand 300 km Out and Return record Broken On the 7th November Canterbury Gliding Club member (and GNZ Executive officer) Max Stevens set a new New Zealand 300 km Out and Return Speed record of 200.6 kph. The previous record was held by fellow Canterbury member Peter Chadwick.

Max’ task started at 16,500 feet over Glentanner (near Aoraki/ Mt Cook). He reached his turn point at Clyde at 15,000 feet, dodged lots of cloud on his way back to Glentanner and arrived at 15,300 feet. What a run. Congratulations Max.

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November 2018–January 2019

Contributions to Logbook are welcome from all of our readers within New Zealand and internationally.

Email your news snippets to: soaringnz@mccawmedia.co.nz.

Please put "logbook" in the subject line.

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November 2018–January 2019

7

logbook november 2018–january 2019 Mike Oakley logs a 1933 km flight

On the same day that Max Stevens set the out and return record, Mike Oakley managed to log 1933 km in 13 hours in the South Island wave. His intention was an FAI 2,000 km but the hours of daylight weren’t quite long enough.

Mike took off from Omarama and did a remote start to the south at Clyde. This would have allowed him to land back at Omarama for 2000 km, all things being equal. His first turn point was Hamilton, an airstrip in the Rainbow Valley near Hanmer. The second was at Mandeville airfield near Gore with the third turn point at a place called Washbridge in the Wairau Valley near Blenheim.

While he had intended to land back at Omarama, Mike elected to land at Springfield when it became obvious that he couldn’t make it all the way before dark. Although he could have clocked up more kilometres he says landing at Springfield was far preferable to a land out somewhere in the Mackenzie.

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November 2018–January 2019

Mike did not want a big write up about the flight as he says he’ll have knocked off the 2000 km before the next issue.

We’ll hold him to that. It was a fantastic effort and earned Mike a New Zealand 1750 km Diploma. Congratulations Mike.

logbook

november 2018–january 2019

EDEN PARK FLY PAST

Following the story of the Eden Park fly past in last issue’s history column, Peter Layne received the following photos from Colin Ross, a long term Piako stalwart. The photos are of some

of the suspected pilots – from left Grahame Player, Hugh Schulte and Lew Cadman.

DOC AIRCRAFT TOPIC PAPER AORAKI NATIONAL PARK FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION

VIDEOS TO WATCH

Canterbury Gliding Club member Rob Hay has brought this to our attention.

You can find the full discussion document on the Department of Conservation (DoC) website. Simply search the title above. There is a matching discussion paper for Westland Tai Poutini National Park that may also have some impact on us.

A National Park Management Plan (NPMP) is a statutory document that provides integrated management objectives for the protection of the flora, fauna, natural and cultural features of the national park including the management of recreation, tourism and other activities in the park.

Rob says potentially the impact on gliding is slight, but these are points that should be looked into: • A proposed No Fly zone within 1 nm of Mount Cook.

• Limiting take-off and landing of aircraft at some locations (landing unlikely to affect gliders because of safety exemptions but may interfere with aerotow retrieves).

• Inclusion of gliders as aircraft, despite the definition of aircraft as ‘Any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air otherwise than by the reactions of the air against the surface of the earth (National Parks Act 1980 (NPA80) and the Civil Aviation Act 1990). Gliders arguably only fly as a result of ‘reactions of the air against the earth’. Maybe gliders are considered to do this one step removed?

The draft Aoraki/Mount Cook NPMP was publicly notified on 8 September 2018. Any member of the public can lodge a written submission on the draft no later than 4 pm Monday 4 February 2019.

You can put in a submission by emailing a submission form to aorakinp@doc. govt.nz or by post.

Surfing in the Sky, Max Romey Productions Young Alaskan film maker Max Romey visited Omarama in November 2017 as part of a trip around New Zealand. He arrived in time for the South Island Regionals and with no prior knowledge of gliding but excellent videographic and story-telling skills, put together this excellent 11 minute documentary about what gliding is and why we do it. Search Max Romey Productions on YouTube.

Youth in Gliding – New Zealand, Youth Glide NZ Professionally created as a promotional tool for Youth Glide this excellent video comes with a promotional kit of PowerPoint presentation and photos.

This is designed to be used by the clubs of New Zealand to interest young people in gliding. See the Youth Glide website for links to the full kit.

Ridge Soaring Mt Cook, Alex McCaw Up to nearly 10,000 views just a couple of weeks after posting, Alex videoed a glider pilot’s dream run along Mt Cook.

Shared on Facebook by just about anyone with a gliding background.

Scale Model vs Glider, Red Bull Blanik team.

A slightly surreal video as Red Bull Team Blanik flies in close formation with big scale model Blaniks from Team Schaerer. The scale model pilots control their planes from the front seat of the big gliders. Search YouTube.

November 2018–January 2019

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logbook november 2018–january 2019

FAI NEWS FAI News

New Zealand glider pilot Bob Henderson elected as President of FAI – see full article later in the magazine.

The future of taxi drones at the FAI International Drone Conference and Expo Lausanne, Switzerland – Urban traffic congestion is a huge headache for all major cities, with public transport infrastructures often crowded and roads frustratingly busy for drivers. How long will it be before humans take to the skies for reliable, quick transport around the city?

The major question hovering over the future of air taxis is that of safety, and working out how taxi drones could fit into the lower airspace. At the FAI International Drone Conference and Expo, airspace experts from around the world and the most brilliant minds in drone innovation came together in the hopes that the drone ecosystem can be built via close collaboration.

There are several businesses developing individual urban air transport; amongst them is German company, Velocopter. FAI asked Alex Zosel, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Volocopter for an insight into the future of taxi drones.

Alex, how far away are we from seeing taxi drones as public transport in major cities?

"It’s closer than you think, we expect the next demo cases to happen in 2019 and the first commercial routes will be open for use within five years. We are working together with cities and partners to show how such an air taxi system can be integrated in existing infrastructure.”

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November 2018–January 2019

The Volocopter aims to relieve city congestion as an urban public transport possibility rather than being developed for personal use. Why is that so important to the company?

"There are several aspects playing into that. Helping to relieve the impeding traffic chaos in megacities and changing the way people travel around their home town, is only possible if you provide a service with high capacity. Offering an air taxi for a few rich people will not solve the infrastructure challenges cities are facing today. We are also big fans of flying, so making urban air taxis affordable for the many, not the few, is important.

Taxi drones will allow them to see their city from a whole new perspective. I like the idea of that."

What are the key challenges for installation of an air taxi network, and how can they be overcome?

"The two biggest topics that still need to be defined before air taxis take off are regulation and the air traffic management system for the lower air space in cities.

The air traffic management system will monitor and coordinate all Volocopters, emergency helicopters, parcel drones and other participants in the lower airspace.

There are already many advanced projects working on this around the world, and with some of them we are already in discussions as potential partners. The other topic is certification. As we are already in close contact with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to define what is necessary for certification and what a flight test program will look like, we know that they are excited to be an enabler of this new technology. We are confident that these topics will be decided in the next 3 -5 years."

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November 2018–January 2019

11

logbook november 2018–january 2019 Martin Sonka wins 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Championship

The FAI congratulates Martin Sonka on his win at the 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Fort Worth, Texas, over the weekend of 17-18 November 2018. The pressure could not have been higher for the Czech pilot, who was last to fly and had to win the race to win the overall Championship. “This race was incredible. It couldn’t end up better than this,” he said afterwards. “It was a beautiful race with everything in it.”

Sonka was one of the favourites to win, but as he entered the final round of the 2018 Red Bull Air Race in Texas the points spread meant any one of three pilots could win and take the World Championship title. Matt Hall (AUS) and Michael Goulian (USA) were both in with a chance. But with Goulian knocked out early in the day, it came down to a battle between Hall and Sonka in the last race of the day.

Hall flew a perfect round, clean and fast, and had the crowd cheering as he scored a fast track time of 53.100 seconds. Minutes later Sonka flew through the chequered-flag start gates to start his round. Two perfect laps followed. Seconds later he flew back through the start/finish gate to win the race and the title – just 0.204 seconds faster than Australian Hall.

Martin Sonka is a former Czech Air Force fighter pilot with a strong

background in Aerobatics, particularly Freestyle Aerobatics. He has been flying the Red Bull Air Race for five seasons, and placed second in 2017.

Aged 40, he has been flying since he was a teenager, learning to fly gliders and parachute jumping at the age of 17.

Sonka's Aerobatics career started with gliders and then powered aircraft.

Since joining the Czech Aerobatic Team in 2005 he has won numerous honours including FAI European overall Vice Champion in the Unlimited category, two-time FAI World Freestyle Vice Champion, two-time FAI European Freestyle Champion, and six Unlimited and six Freestyle Championship wins at Czech Nationals.

Moved house? Changed email? Stay in touch Please update your details on Gliding NZ’s database. http://gliding.co.nz/ – About – Online Membership It’s important we have your correct address to ensure you continue to receive your SoaringNZ magazine.

Recently Gliding NZ sent out emails to all members, but we had quite a few bounce backs – please check

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November 2018–January 2019

your email address is correct on the database.

Please check the address you are entering into the GNZ database is valid with NZ Post. We need an exact match to ensure our database is compliant. See Address and Postcode finder/NZ Post. If you change your address via the GNZ website could you please also let the membership secretary know the address has been

changed. membership@gliding.co.nz Why not log in now and check your entry; you can also view your ratings and awards.

Any problems, contact membership@gliding.co.nz

Laurie Kirkham

Central Register Manager

logbook

november 2018–january 2019

Who is on Facebook?

Don’t forget that you can now keep up with all of your gliding buddies and share news of your flights on Facebook.

GNZ and Youth Glide NZ have a page and so do the following clubs: Soaring Northland Auckland Piako Tauranga Taupo Taranaki Wellington Nelson Lakes Canterbury

It’s only in the event of a

CL A IM

that you really find out who has the best policy!

GNZ also have a YouTube Channel where you can catch up on popular videos.

Contact your broker or phone Zandra and talk to the people who specialise in aviation insurance.

Contributions to Logbook are welcome from all of our readers within New Zealand and internationally.

Email your news snippets to: soaringnz@mccawmedia.co.nz.

Please put "logbook" in the subject line.

“Kiwis providing Glider pilots with aviation insurance for over 30 years”

TELEPHONE 04 473 5593

November 2018–January 2019

13

The Perlan Glider breaks

76,000 FEET! COMPILED BY JILL MCCAW

The Perlan Project topped (literally) an extraordinary season in Argentina with a week of record breaking flights.

O

n August the 26th pilots Jim Payne and Miguel Itrumendi broke 60,000 feet, setting an unofficial altitude record of 62,000 feet. This extraordinary feat was quickly surpassed, the next day, with a flight that made it to over 65,000 feet. But then, on September 2nd through an online link to a ‘virtual’ cockpit, thousands around the world watched as the glider, piloted by Jim and Tim Gardener reached 70,000 feet and kept creeping upwards. The glider topped out at 76,000 feet pressure altitude, higher than any winged aircraft has actually flown in sustained flight (the U2 spy plane flies at around 50,000 feet although it has set a record altitude of 73,000 feet). Chief pilot Jim Payne said, “The biggest impression is, it's a long way down from up here. The horizon starts to have a curvature in it and the sky is getting darker as we climb. … It's a fantastic experience, once in a lifetime.”

All of these flights easily break the previous record Absolute Altitude for a glider of 52,221 feet set by the Perlan team in September of 2017.

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November 2018–January 2019

The night before and in the early morning hours, El Calafate had hard rain, snow flurries, and hail. Initially Tim had wanted to launch early based on forecasts, but the forecasts changed to best conditions in the afternoon. The low (wink) tropospheric mountain wave to 20,000 feet looked extremely weak. The lift through the tropopause looked weak as well, but at least it was forecast to exist. The tropopause is what Perlan Project calls mid-level.

The Perlan 2 was pushed out of the hangar onto a semiwet ramp with brisk winds. Nothing was allowed to get wet.

The pilots’ walking soles were dried so there was no chance of ice forming near their feet. Then Jim and Tim put the last layer of insulation on. The pilots and all gear were loaded into the cockpits. The pressurisation test was flawless. The protection film was removed from the uber sensitive polycarbonate windows and it was time to go to the runway.

The Perlan 2 is optimised for high altitudes. But the higher you go and the faster the true airspeeds, the stronger lift Perlan needs just to stay level. A forecast of 5 knots lift (500 feet per minute) is not enough but until they actually fly in the forecast zone they can’t check the forecast. Is it offset 5 kilometres up/down wind?

Does the lift band actually start higher/lower than forecast? Do the downwind wave harmonics exist? Stronger/weaker lift? All of these questions have had conflicting adjustments from one

the U-2 record altitude above 73,000 feet. The actual high point was just over 76,000 feet pressure altitude. The FAI uses GPS altitude which was just over 74,000 feet. These numbers will be adjusted after the instrument calibration is performed as the rules require.

The landing at El Calafate was again with a mostly flat tyre, looking into the sun, with a brisk wind. Photos were taken of two happy pilots. The hot chocolates and teas were well received by the pilots. The NASCAR quality line crew aired up the tyre before pulling the Perlan 2 back to the hangar. The champagne was ready and the ecstatic team posed (mostly out of the wind) inside the hangar with the frozen Perlan 2.

Jim said, “We believe that this is the highest sustained flight by a winged, manned, subsonic aircraft...”

high flight to the next. More accurate weather models for South America can improve our understanding of weather globally. [As an aside, Australian pilot and designer of the SkySight forecasting programme Matthew Scutter was on site and working with the Perlan forecasting team. He has promised a story for a later issue.

-Ed.] They launched behind the souped up Egrett for an hour long tow but as they towed through the tropopause there was no lift for Perlan to work. They arrived at the bottom of the high wave zone and finally reported decent lift at the bottom of the stratospheric wave around 44,000 feet. Once off tow Perlan 2 climbed into decent wave, but not spectacular. It took an hour to get above the old record. Tim made a video from inside Perlan 2. At this point they were just above 20,000 metres or 66,000 feet. That is more than twice as high as Mount Everest! [See YouTube – Soaring inside Perlan 2 for a Record Altitude.]

Once in new altitude territory, Jim performed several test points to verify that the airframe was behaving as expected according to the flutter models. This is shown by the flat line on the barogram where they are not climbing. Lars Bensch in CapComm analysed the data real time. After these runs met approval it was time to seriously climb. The Perlan 2 passed 70,000 feet and stopped for more flutter excitation runs. Then they soared through

SoaringNZ has been reporting on the Perlan Project for the last ten years but realise that some of our readers may not have been around as long as your editor and don’t know the background to this project, or its connection with New Zealand. [The section below has previously been printed in Kiwi Flyer.]

The story goes something like this. Back in 1992 Nasa test pilot Einar Enevoldson surmised that the standing waves over mountains, frequently used by glider pilots to gain altitude and sustain long distance flights, must, if the conditions were right, continue into the stratosphere. He started to collect data on stratospheric wave and began reaching out to others who might help with knowledge and funding to soar a glider to the edge of space. In 1998 meteorologist Elizabeth Austin came on board and noted that the stratospheric polar night jet was the principal factor enabling the propagation of standing mountain waves high into the middle stratosphere. Millionaire Steve Fossett, multiple world record holder in many disciplines joined the team in 1999 and the project really took off.

A DG-500M motorised glider was bought and modified to remove all engine and related equipment with the space used for storage of liquid oxygen and a large supply of Li-SO2 primary batteries. The United States Air Force, on the basis of a NASA request, loaned the project full pressure suits. In 2002 Enevoldson and Fossett reached an altitude of 42,000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas in California.

November 2018–January 2019

15

PERLAN PROJECT

Later that year the team and the glider came to Omarama, to the great excitement of the New Zealand gliding fraternity. The glider was here for three years and some New Zealand recordbreaking flights occurred, but far short of what the team was hoping for. This was when Steve Fossett met NZ champion Terry Delore and many other Kiwis who became part of later soaring missions. Delore and Fossett went on to set multiple world soaring distance records together before Fossett’s death in 2007 – however that is not part of the Perlan Story.

The Perlan project moved back to the Americas, basing itself out of El Calafate (50° South) in Argentina. Elizabeth Austin was sure that the polar vortex which gets larger and more spread out during the southern winter, coupled with the high wave from the Andes would create the stratospheric waves needed. In August 2006 a flight to 50,671 feet showed that she was correct.

It was becoming obvious however that a standard glider, with the requirement for the pilots to wear bulky pressure suits was not going to be suitable for going all the way.

Fossett agreed to fund the development of a brand new aircraft, a glider with a pressurised cabin that could fly to 90,000 feet. Do you remember your physics of flight and density altitude? I don’t either, but the margin between the VNE and stall speed becomes increasingly smaller at extreme altitude, to within only a few knots of each other. The aircraft would be flying at extremely high true air speed. Control inputs have to be incredibly precise and a wing needed to be designed to minimise the effect. Creating the Perlan II glider was going to be a big job.

And then in 2007, Steve Fossett was killed in a light plane crash and the project went into hiatus for some time.

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November 2018–January 2019

Fast forward several years and various sponsors. In 2014 Airbus joined the project as partner and major sponsor and it was all on. The aircraft is a strange looking glider and looks even stranger if you’re used to looking at powered aircraft. One recent news report suggests that it looks like an aircraft made out of silly putty that’s been stretched on all axes. The goal is to eventually reach 90,000 feet but the team and the aircraft is still a long way off achieving this. The extreme altitude produces problems related to the extreme cold (-46.62°C at the top of the climb) and the low pressure. For instance, the landing wheel deflates due to the cold affecting different components of the tyre differently and breaking the seal. The cockpit windows completely fog, although they’re not really any good for visibility anyway. The cockpit seals don’t always hold but there hasn’t been a catastrophic lose of pressure yet. The cabin is pressurised to 13,000 feet pressure altitude as complete pressurisation is not possible. The pilots are breathing pure O2 to minimise the negative effects (the Bends) of a pressure loss should it occur. Plus you have to keep the pilots, and to a certain extent the instruments, warm.

Many of us think reaching 90,000 feet in a winged aircraft is a goal worthy of obtaining all on its own, but for those that need a little more justification, there is a point to the exercise – the science of the atmosphere. Ed Warnock, the aerospace engineer who heads the Perlan Project said data collected by the glider would help provide a better understanding of high-altitude air currents.

That could help commercial pilots avoid dangerous but invisible regions of turbulence. And since the Perlan 2 glider is unpowered, its onboard instruments can measure the speed, temperature and chemical composition of high-altitude winds without interference

PERLAN PROJECT

TEST PILOT OF THE YEAR

from a hot, exhaust-spewing engine. “This cannot be done with a propeller flight or jet, or from a satellite,” said Jie Gong, an atmospheric scientist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

After this season’s successful flights, the glider is undergoing maintenance and no doubt, more tweaking in its hangar at Minden, Nevada. On the team blog Jackie Payne says: The story goes, if you eat the calafate berry you will return to El Calafate town. The entire team repeatedly ate calafate ice cream, calafate/ malbec sauce on the lamb, calafate jam, and calafate liquor chocolates. See you in 2019!!!

Jim Payne, who piloted the Perlan 2 glider to shatter his own altitude record on September 2, has now joined another elite group: Payne was honoured on September 29 with an award previously given to Mercury and Apollo astronauts, along with the test pilots who first flew the Concorde and many other iconic aircraft.

Since 1958, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots has honoured one of its own with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award, given to pilots who make a singular contribution to aviation and aerospace.

"The achievement must involve actual flight testing ... and represent outstanding contribution to an aerospace flight program while acting as test pilot... It is direct recognition from test pilot peers...” Permanently housed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the trophy’s four pillars represent courage, integrity, knowledge and accomplishment; it is the highest honour bestowed by the society, recognition of a test pilot’s achievement by fellow test pilots.

Jim Payne was apparently taken by surprise at the society's annual awards banquet. He was nominated by Miguel Iturmendi, a co-pilot on several Perlan flights who, along with the rest of the Perlan Project team, kept that a secret during the recent expedition to Argentina, the team noted in a blog post.

Jim has now joined a select group of test pilots to be so honoured, a list that includes the pioneering pilots who tested the first commercial jet, the Space Shuttle, the U–2’s high-altitude feats (which Payne personally topped, in terms of altitude, on that September 2 flight), the first stealth fighter, and the first civilianbuilt spacecraft, among many others.

November 2018–January 2019

17

Photo Bostjan Pristavec

AN INTERVIEW with the World’s Top Glider Pilot

BY NIKO SLANA

Repairing the JS1

After a stunning year with another THREE World Titles under his belt Sebastian Kawa said, “I have no active projects now,” and yet is working on testing the Diana 3, finding new wave routes through Poland and planning gliding expeditions to out of the way places. No doubt after a season of back to back world championships, it feels like he is doing nothing. Sebastian spoke about his historic year to Opensoaring’s Niko Slana who shared the interview with SoaringNZ. At the end of the 2018 European soaring season Sebastian Kawa had the 29th win of his long soaring career, incredibly, three of those this year. It is hard to imagine the amount of energy he has put into this.

After you won the Third world title in a single season (FGP Vitacura, Ostrów, Hosin) you said that such an achievement most probably can’t be repeated, and we certainly believe you. How did you prepare yourself physically and psychologically to get through the season and all the competitions?

I am very happy that it came together because nothing went smoothly this year. I had previously tried to win three worlds in one season, but it didn’t work. This time, I set the goal and

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November 2018–January 2019

concentrated on it but there was no specific preparation. I am used to competing three to four times a year in big events. Chile was a biggest challenge as we had to fly in a remote mountainous area which I didn’t know. Ideally, I would have flown there a year earlier, in the Andes Open or in a Qualifying Grand Prix to gain local knowledge that is crucial in competition. Otherwise you are just lumbering behind local pilots. This was not possible because there was a competition in Australia.

Moreover, the competition in Chile was almost ruined for me before I arrived when the wings of the JS1 deformed when heated under black covers. It is crucial to have a well performing glider in a Grand Prix as you can lose by just metres on the finish line.

Usually we have a final glide 50 - 70 km long when at least several gliders leave the last thermal together. If you have a weaker glider you have no chance.

It seemed there was no way to repair my glider. Two weeks prior to a competition in a remote country, nobody took responsibility for the damage and there was no hope for help from a workshop in Poland or the manufacturer. I had to try to do something myself. I have never done it before, so I called friends, took some advice and for the next week I worked hard sand papering the bumpy structure in the morning, rigging the glider for the race, flying a task and coming back to the workshop in the evening. Fortunately, the club allowed me to work in their facility in the shade and I could use their machinery. The result was not bad as when stripped of paint ‘Papa’ flew like the newest gliders in the competition.

Chile itself was a challenge and was the hardest competition

Vitacura Photo Bostjan Pristavec

Ostrów, 1st and 2nd place Kawa and Grabowski

Vitacura's unfamiliar mountains

I’ve ever flown. It is difficult to fly there if you’re not familiar with the mountains. I’d flown there previously in 2010, but this time we flew much deeper into the mountains. It was much more interesting but very difficult and tiring. I tried to learn as much as I could during the Andes Open, but really needed at least one season flying there to properly recognise the paths through the labyrinth.

We made mistakes, flying in areas that caused local pilots to scratch their heads in disbelief. Once I flew north of Pelambres on the lee side from the main range, a shorter path, but with no land out areas. Next time I decided to extend an AAT task north to try to fly a standard route back but I missed the right slope and ended flying deeply into Argentina. The route was not so bad and eventually brought me back to the Geoglifo ridge but it was scary to fly in a waste of rocky desert seeing the dark sides of the proper ridges to the west.

I don’t know why, but in Chile we flew closer to rocks, with less margin [than in other sites]. I don’t think it was giving us any advantage, but it seemed that the pilots changed their mindset to accept more risk and we flew on a knife edge. I would like to organise a flying camp for European pilots in this area.

WGC in Ostrów was supposed to be easier; we were home, but again problems appeared. Only days before the opening ceremony I had to change glider. The GP 15 was not ready, and I took the [Polish team’s] good old ASG 29 with short wingtips. Last time anyone used it had probably been in 2010, in Chile. The first few days were relatively good days with team mate Łukasz Grabowski

and I getting to know each other in flight and learning to team fly. He took it seriously and flying in a pair was good. Mandatory open FLARM mode and no delayed tracking meant finding gliders was very easy and we realised that flying behind us on the start line was so successful that everyone tried to do it. We ended with something that one of the stewards named “Kawa guided tours”.

The Competition Director tried to counteract this by setting the time slotted start but the first day with this rule was not the best one. The weather was deteriorating, and everyone decided to start with us in the first moment the start line opened. After many protests the rule was withdrawn. A few days later we ended up with an even bigger gaggle when all classes decided to fly together in the same moment. Nothing happened but it was a Hitchcock like swarm scene.

For us, in 15m class there was no other way but to fight back with the same weapon. We decided to wait on the start line for our opponents until it was almost impossible to finish the task.

Our gliders, the Diana 2 and the engineless ASG 29 were lighter and possibly better performing in dying thermals in the evening. It worked. We managed to beat the French, but you can’t keep an eye on everything and the Germans sneaked out. For the last day the target was clear but again there was a line of gliders flying behind me from the moment I released from tow.

There was no way to hide. They would fly just a few minutes behind and in this situation my winning would be impossible.

Calculating that we still had an hour to wait until we would cross the start line, I counted gliders on the grid. My class was already

November 2018–January 2019

19

Photo Ekipa Poljske

SEBASTIAN KAWA

Grand Prix briefing

No. 1 Crew, Tomasz Kawa, Sebastian's father on left

all in the air, and I decided that there will be still about 30 minutes left if I landed and launched after the standard class. From 2000m altitude I opened the airbrakes and came down. Moments later the group of gliders dispersed, and the Germans crossed the start line alone. In the mean time I washed my glider, I fixed a bug wiper and I was waiting for the last gliders to be launched. It was very quick climb and I started immediately together with Łukasz who joined me on the other side of the start line. It worked. On the third leg we caught up to our opponents and completed the task, winning the last day and the whole championships.

Hosin was the same story. We arrived at the last moment as Mirek was busy working. [Sebastian and Mirek Matkowski were flying in the 20m Class in the two-seater ASG 32Mi.] The first few tasks were about getting used to a different glider. Again we had tracking and were handing information from the ground to the pilots. As a result, we had big groups flying together, with a minimal difference in scoring. Fortunately, we managed to get a small advantage in our favour. There were some teams trying to beat these games. The Belgian, Czech, Lithuanian, and French teams were choosing their own start times when the waiting game was too long and when we decided to challenge the Brits in a waiting game they also had a problem because their second placing was endangered too. They gave up. We could do what we wanted till the end of the competition and the game then became between the French and the Brits. In this season competitions were won on points.

Tactical flying took over and there was no room to spread our wings or develop our gliding skills. Sad. I hope in the future FLARM and tracking will be banned in big competitions or there will be other solutions to overcome the leeching problem. In the situation we have now, following on the start line is so fruitful that there is no other way to win. We had no choice but to join this game.

The one World title you haven’t won yet is in the Open Class. Will you attempt that in the future?

That was one of my targets for the year (as well as three WGC in one year.) Unfortunately, the Polish team has no competitive open class glider and as we saw in Hosin the gap between open class gliders is huge. We saw it in the final glide between Zdzisław Bednarczuk flying a JS1 against Michael Sommer in the EB 29.

20

November 2018–January 2019

From the last thermal Zdzisław barely reached the finish line flying 130 km/h while the EB29 zoomed along the same leg at 190 km/h.

Michael was out of reach. For now, I plan to try the new 18m Diana 3 in competition instead.

You have won so many World titles and so many medals that is hard to track it all. You have 25 World Gliding medals, 20 of those are first places. Next year will be the EU championships in Stolowa Wola and Prievidza. Is this rank of competition still a challenge to you?

All together I now have 29 medals from World Glide, Europe Glide and Grand Prix. 15 in classic WGC. For me, the challenge would be to fly in areas new to gliding, like I already have – flying in the Himalayas, the Caucasus and across the Ukrainian Gorgan mountains. It would be great to extend this route to the Romanian East Carpathians but that depends on the political situation.

We did it once and showed that it is possible. It would be very interesting for me to explore Tien Shan and the Pamir mountains.

This area would be an easy base for soaring, but again, it is not an easy part of the world. And of course, there is Antarctica. I suppose there will eventually be somebody else trying to do it. That project got stuck, as we needed a clear green light from the Argentinian side to make any progress.

This year there were a few Chinese competitors at WGC. Did you get an invitation to go there and explore the area?

That would have been very exciting, but no. No invitation.

Flying in China could be really something. Especially in Tibet.

Will you continue exploring in Himalaya and Karakorum or you rather continue with wave flying in Tatre here in Poland?

I have some are small goals on my home ground. One would be to finally join parts of the wave track from the Sudet Mountains to Beskidy, Tatra, Bieszczady and Gorgan. If the weather permits, I will give it a go. I have wanted to improve our national record in Tatras since 1966 and I have more ambitious goals that I am planning for next year.

What do you think about 13.5m Class? Will it last or it is temporary fashion?

After some hiccups with an unfortunate wing loading limit that struck newly designed gliders with smaller wing area, there

Photo Tanja Pristavec

SEBASTIAN KAWA

Grand Prix Champion – 1st Worlds title of the year

is now a chance for these gliders to become an interesting Ultralight (UL) event. Contrary to the PW5, performance is comparable or a little bit better to the modern standard class, so it is not a step back. Flying and handling of these light gliders is like a walk in a park. There is a plan for a few kilowatts of electricity allowance during a race and that opens completely new horizons. This would allow utilising more difficult weather conditions, making it easy for more conservative pilots to join in and bringing in competitors from the UL world. After all, if we have UL or Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) planes flying in competitions it makes it easier for producers and pilots to fulfil the regulations.

You are a doctor and also a professional glider pilot. We say that you are an ambassador of gliding. What do you think about that?

It is a huge load on my shoulders. I try to cope with my small problems instead. From my point of view, I don’t seem to have any influence on decisions made by our sport’s officials. I have seen a lot during these years but any suggestion from me is rejected rather than evaluated. For example, I had a proposal to include and unify rules and standard procedures in the sporting code.

Nothing. It is political game and politicians don’t like anyone with their own opinions. I try not to comment on anything if it is not crucial.

GAGGLE FLYING AND FLARM These screenshots, taken during the ‘short wing’ worlds in Poland show what world championships look like since the introduction of FLARM. In each case the lead glider, rego PL, is being flown by Sebastian Kawa. This became known as Kawa Guided Tours.

FLARM was designed to warn against collisions but has become a tool for flight following, from the air and from the ground.

It has become impossible to do well in top level competition without knowing everything about your opponents and adjusting your flight to match. Team managers now sit in front of computers funnelling relevant information to their pilots (because at least we’re trying to keep the actual pilots from watching the screens). But what the pilots are hearing has become crucial to winning, e.g. – “the French glider on your three o’clock is climbing at four knots but the ones just to the left are only getting two.” “The gaggle to the left has stopped to climb.” “Looks like everyone who stayed on track aren’t doing so well but the guys to the right are in a good climb.”

Obviously, the best tactic is to sit back and wait for the front runners to start, follow their track and then try to catch them on the homeward stretch. FLARM has completely changed competition and instead of making it safer is now causing super gaggles that stay together around the whole course. An attempt at staggered start intervals saw over half the field in Hosin start together, as opposed to a few minutes apart. Staggered starts are obviously not the answer but in the grounds of safety at least, something needs to be done. It also needs to be changed to allow for innovative flying to be rewarded, something that is never going to happen if the only way to win is to follow then overtake the leader.

What are your plans for this winter?

Unusually for me, this winter I have no plans for competitions.

I will stay home and try to be a good father and husband. In my free time I need to try to compare the JS1 and JS3 against the improved Diana 3 and GP 15. Those gliders will be a target for next season. After the competition in Hosin I did a longer flight one on one with a JS1 and it was nice to see the Diana 3 flying really well.

We found some problems, but the good news is that they are easy to fix. It is going to be an interesting year when all those gliders, plus the AS33, enter into service.

Sebastian, thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

November 2018–January 2019

21

What’s Happening with

UNLEADED AVGAS?

BY AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT JIM HERD

Unleaded Avgas may not be something most glider pilots think about, but fuelling our tow planes into the future is crucial.

Jim Herd has sent this update on the state of the fuel situation in America.

S

ince my last report on the Unleaded Avgas project in the USA some time ago, a lot has been happening and some of it was not expected. You may recall that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been under pressure to “force” the FAA to ban lead in avgas due to “alleged” serious environmental harm. And the central driving force has been environmental groups such as “Friends of the Earth” who have been manoeuvring, legally speaking, towards

22

November 2018–January 2019

what is called “a finding of endangerment” by the EPA. This pressure has been building for a couple of decades and in 2013 the FAA commissioned PAFI – Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative.

This is a joint project with participation from all factions and special interests of the aviation industry. The official goal of PAFI is to “develop a path forward for the identification, evaluation, and fleet-wide certification and deployment of the most promising unleaded replacement fuels”. That turns out to be far easier said than done!

PAFI set about inviting “candidate fuels” to be submitted for a long and exhaustive series of testing to whittle down a dozen or so submitted fuels to a short list that was to be challenged with even more exhaustive real-world testing, in the lab and in real airplanes flying with the new fuels. Note that the criteria list for performance evaluation is incredibly long, complex, and challenging, and any chosen fuel must function successfully in all corners of

Photo John McCaw

the spectrum of airplanes. These revolutionary experimental unleaded fuels came from the conventional oil industry as well as newcomers with fresh ideas and new chemistries trying to break into the lucrative opportunity. So, what has happened since 2013 and where are things going?

Well, General Aviation Modifications Incorporated (GAMI) is a privately held company in Ada, Oklahoma. In the last couple of decades they have revolutionised small piston planes with several game changing innovations such as “balanced fuel injectors” and “turbo-normalizers”. These have been profoundly successful ventures. Full disclosure – I have both balanced injectors and a turbo-normaliser from the same company in my Bonanza. This company had zero experience with fuels until the unleaded fuel challenge hotted up, but the leaders at GAMI are stereo-typical American entrepreneurs, brilliant technologists, innovators, and risk-takers. So, they jumped in and developed a fuel called

G100UL. Also, beyond the technology, they decided to bypass PAFI and go down the route of “Supplemental Type Certificate” (STC). This is a standard FAA procedure often used for hardware upgrades, such as their turbo-normalizer products. This basically involves proving to the FAA that hardware, or fuel in this case, is fully safe and effective in every aircraft make and model listed in the STC – so it is time consuming, expensive, and only valid for listed aircraft models. But it avoids the obvious hassles of being part of an industry wide project such as PAFI, with many factions and many more ways to get denied than approved. GAMI isn’t done yet, but successful so far with a limited list of tested aircraft, and a few local airports selling their fuel.

The early submissions of fuels to the PAFI process were reduced from a bunch to just two, as many fell by the wayside having failed one or more tests. One of the finalists was from Shell Oil and the other was from an upstart company called Swift Enterprises. Both the formulations remained confidential, but Swift has focused on non-petroleum organic “base stock”, as it is called.

The expectation was that the incredibly exhaustive testing would wind down about now, and that one or both fuels would be approved to proceed towards commercial availability and purging the entire U.S. manufacturing and delivery system of lead in the next few years. Then the world would have to follow because the source of the lead for 100LL would probably dry up. However, both fuels have failed the tests, and the reasons are not made public.

One problem appears to be “fungibility”, which is the ability to mix with conventional 100LL fuel during what is inevitably a long transition phase where airport tanks and aircraft tanks will have both fuels mixed in. Another problem is rumored to be chemical compatibility of the new fuels with existing components in the fuel systems of some aircraft. This is not dissimilar to the way ethanol “eats” some fuel hoses and carburetor rubber parts.

Obviously, not good!

So, back to the drawing board! In June this year PAFI halted all testing, and the fuels manufacturers (Shell and Swift) were challenged to go back and fix their problems. In response, Swift Enterprises gave up their PAFI project and decided to proceed down the STC path, as mentioned above. This is now ongoing.

Shell, on the other hand, has reformulated and resubmitted a new fuel blend, and the PAFI testing protocols were scheduled to restart in October 2018. It will probably be at least another year before any news is made public, unless the Shell fuel quickly fails again.

The message here is that developing an unleaded avgas fuel that will work satisfactorily in the entire fleet of piston sparkignition aircraft is incredibly complex and extremely difficult!

Far more so than it was to develop unleaded mogas back a few decades ago. There are lots of valid reasons, but that’s for another day. The bottom line for New Zealand is that there is likely to be no change for four years or more, the outcome remains uncertain, and TEL (the lead compound in 100LL) should remain available from the single global source in Britain.

The additional message is, of course, that many newer designed aircraft can run happily (and legally) on certain flavours of existing approved fuels. That is certain mogas, or on 94UL, which is basically 100LL minus the lead component. This may be a consideration for future purchase of tow planes in NZ.

November 2018–January 2019

23

FLYING HIGH

BY ERIC BICK, EDITOR SOARING (US)

Don't mess with hypoxia and hyperventilation ... these are life-threatening

The following article was published in the American Soaring magazine earlier this year with the following introduction by Editor Eric Bick. It is a long article and so we will be running it over two issues.

Part one looks at the physics of breathing during high altitude flight which should come as a refresher to those who read the Human Factors articles on the subject back in SoaringNZ issues 50 and 51.

This month we are focusing on the effects of too little oxygen while flying at higher altitudes. This article will point out some fallacies of popularly held glider pilot beliefs regarding hypoxia, hyperventilation, pulse oximeters, and supplemental oxygen systems. It will also provide guidance on how to ensure you are flying at minimal risk while in the upper atmosphere, and what the danger signals are.

As background, at the 2018 SSA Convention, a presentation by Jean-Marie Clément on low-level hypoxia caught the attention of those in the audience. Data were shown that the onset of hypoxia occurs at significantly lower altitudes than the FARs mandate for supplemental oxygen use. The presentation also showed data for Mountain High EDS oxygen systems, pointing out some risks associated with it if used improperly.

This is a very important topic for glider pilots whether they fly below 10,000 feet consistently for short recreational flights, or exceed Class A altitudes on a regular basis for prolonged periods.

Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to provide in one article

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November 2018–January 2019

that which you need to know to prevent hypoxia and its side effects, and to effectively use an EDS supplemental oxygen system.

Using input from Patrick McLaughlin, Jean-Marie Clément, and Dr. Heini Schaffner, Dr. Dan Johnson has put together what I think is an extraordinary article of utmost importance to glider (and other) pilots.

If there is one message to take from this, it is: Don’t mess with hypoxia and hyperventilation — they are each a different aspect of lower oxygen levels and each is life-threatening. Learn about your oxygen system and how to use and maintain it.

As a prelude to the materials being presented, there are some points that each of us has encountered during student training, and should be emphasised in annual safety reviews, and perhaps in-flight reviews regarding flying at higher altitudes (anything over 5-8,000 feet).

Humans, in general, are not physiologically designed to survive and thrive at high altitudes. There are levels of adaptability, but starting at 5-8,000 feet, the human body begins to experience a variety of symptoms, from hypoxia to hyperventilation to altitude sickness. As the altitude increases, the danger of hypoxia and hyperventilation becomes greater. Hence, we take precautions when going to higher altitudes. In the case of glider pilots, we carry supplemental oxygen onboard and use it, typically, according to the applicable regulations like CFR FARs in the U.S.A. Once we venture into the higher altitudes, we have put our well-being, and even our lives, at greater risk due to the decreasing

Hypoxia, Hyperventilation, and Supplemental Oxygen Systems

HOW EACH CAN KILL YOU … OR NOT PART ONE DR. DANIEL JOHNSON CONTRIBUTORS: JEAN-MARIE CLÉMENT, PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN, DR. HEINI SCHAFFNER

“Lack of oxygen dulls the mind and judgment, slows the reflexes, weakens the muscles, and takes away our higher faculties. The higher one goes, the more serious are these effects. Too many people forget this exactly at a time when they should be most responsive to the danger.” — Charles Houston (They forget, because memory itself depends on oxygen, and memory is the first to go ….)

Chris Richardson using a canula

amount of oxygen available (not to mention the sub-zero temperatures). Hence, we start to breathe more deeply, take more rapid breaths — or use a supplemental oxygen system. Once we are at altitudes that require supplemental oxygen to avoid hypoxia, or for survival and well-being, our lives are now dependent on the use and proper functioning of that system.

The primary burden for flying safely at high altitudes lies with the pilot in command. S/he must (not should) be fully trained and vigilant regarding the system performance, its correct use, and safety of any passenger(s). This necessitates the PIC understand the equipment, onset of hypoxic and hyperventilation effects, and what to do if these effects are suspected.

Those flying routinely in wave are perhaps more aware of this than pilots that spend most of their time flying below 10,000 feet.

To ensure a low risk, these pilots have systems and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that mitigate the risks of flying so high, and also account for the risk of a system failure or incipient malfunction. Due to the hostile nature of flying at 10-18,000 feet and above, even a slight degradation in equipment performance can lead to hypoxic and/or hyperventilation states for the pilot and passenger(s). These pilots know that to ignore their SOPs is to put their lives and well-being at risk.

The following article contains information and data that provide an extremely important update to this topic — please read and absorb ... your life could depend on it.

This article is sectioned by topic. We want to outline the pitfalls of altitude by repeatedly asking the famous sardonic question about seemingly straightforward things, “What could possibly go wrong?”

The first thing that could go wrong is our comprehension of the problem: Many pilots don’t understand how to use oxygen.

The second thing is that pilots fail to test the actual effectiveness of their system with an oximeter. Your body did not read the manual. The designed results are probably not your results.

The third is that low-altitude oxygen will prevent fatigue and stupid mistakes (that is, mistakes that you’d not make when your brain is at peak performance).

We want to avoid impairment, not only incapacitation (which leads to funerals) — we are safest and sharpest if we avoid impairment, which is often subtle, but is sometimes durable. The oxygen regulations are based on 70-year-old science and ancient US airline practice.

We can be safer than the regs require.

The rapid ascent of aircraft may bring pilots quickly to altitudes where hypoxia occurs. Many pilots have observed that subtle hypoxia causes noticeable loss of acuity, motivation, or alertness. Several hours of high-altitude wave flying may create mild persistent hypoxia, with troublesome impairing symptoms that may linger for many hours. (This may be incipient acute mountain sickness.) Pilots may not immediately recover from inattention, fatigue, demotivation, headache, etc. after full oxygen supplementation in the air or back on the ground. We may persistently have symptoms like troubled sleep, fatigue, weakness, headache, or lassitude for up to 24 hours. Hypoxia is not merely like a car without fuel; it’s like a car with contaminated fuel.

We recommend a zero-hypoxia goal to maintain a comfortable flying experience and peak performance.

November 2018–January 2019

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FLYING HIGH

The pilot who wants peak performance, yourself for example, will benefit from using supplemental oxygen at altitudes much lower than required by regulation. (Plan your supply accordingly.)

Pilots have discovered that oxygen prevents motion sickness, fatigue, attention deficit, or headache even at low altitudes. A good and safe practice is to turn the oxygen on prior to takeoff, regardless of altitude.

Smokers, due to carbon monoxide impairment of oxygen absorption and transport, everyone past middle age, anyone who’s overweight (most of us), and anyone with any kind of lung disease, should always use oxygen beginning at 5-7,000 feet msl.

Mountain-based pilots will be satisfied to use oxygen from the ground up. Pilots flying wave (over 6 km/20,000 feet) should have a redundant system, because they have only a very short time to discover and recover from an oxygen-delivery failure.

This article is not a review of oxygen delivery systems. We are going to discuss only one, the Mountain High EDS oxygen system because it is very commonly used, as it’s attractive to glider pilots for its ingenious design, effectiveness, and great efficiency, saving up to 75% versus a constant-flow device. (But with 7 settings, variable flow with altitude, and greater pulsed flow when used with a mask, its actual duration is unpredictable).

Yet it is complex, and not difficult to misuse or mismanage. It must be used thoughtfully, after learning how our bodies acquire oxygen, and how the EDS system is intended to work. It is not plug-and-play.

Jean-Marie Clément and Dr. Heini Schaffner began in 2008 to carefully study the effectiveness of their own EDS system in use. This included advising a bachelor-degree thesis at the Winterthur Engineering School of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), which unveiled the actual oxygen output of their EDS-O2D1 in their laboratory and in a hypobaric chamber. The results are detailed in the book, Dancing with the Wind.

Such study is important, for it allows us to understand the actual performance of a device as well as the designed performance. They went from the laboratory to the glider, where they carefully studied peripheral oxygen saturation during actual wave flights up to 28,000 feet. They found several important limitations in EDS performance and use, detailed in the book.

Caveat: it is impossible to test every device; deviations from expected performance could be manufacturing variability, but usually are due to neglecting maintenance, free-lancing pressure reducers or tubing, or personal characteristics.

Because Clément and Schaffner’s tests were done very carefully by professionals with relevant expertise, using appropriate equipment, with thoughtful analysis, we can learn much from them. Mountain High continues to make firmware changes in response to such experience, so that yesterday’s outcome may not quite be tomorrow’s.

THE ACTUAL PRESSURE OF OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE LUNGS IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING Altitude Ft/m

Air press mmHg

ppO2 mmHg Air=21%

Alv pO2 mmHg on air

% sat O2 > 90% desired

Alv pCO2 > 35 best

Alv pO2 with O2=100%

% sat O2 100% O2

Alv pCO2 100% O2

Sea level

760

159

104

97

40

673

100

40

10k/3k

523

110

67

90

36

436

100

40

20k/6.1k

349

73

40

73

24

262

100

40

30k/9.1k

226

47

18

24

24

139

99

40

40k/12k

141

29

58

84

36

50k/15.2k

87

18

n

n

n

16

15

24

n

n

n

Table 1: Alveolar oxygen and carbon dioxide pressure by altitude, atmosphere vs. 100% O2. (After Guyton & Hall: Textbook of Medical Physiology, 12th ed.)

Key:

Air press mm Hg – surrounding air pressure in millimeters of mercury ppO2 mm Hg – the part of air pressure related to oxygen Alv pO2 mm Hg – the pressure of oxygen within the lungs’ air sacs, the alveoli % sat O2 – the percentage of hemoglobin molecules fully carrying oxygen Alv pCO2 – the pressure of carbon dioxide in the alveoli (40 is normal, < 20 is bad) Alv pO2 with O2=100% – the max oxygen pressure possible in alveoli without a pressurized mask % sat O2 100% O2 – the best saturation possible without a pressurized mask Alv pCO2 – the pressure of carbon dioxide in the alveoli with 100% oxygen

Note that the blood oxygen saturation (%Sat O2), on air rapidly drops with altitude — which needs to be above ~90%. The only way to increase the alveolar pressure of oxygen with altitude is to increase the proportion of oxygen, up to 100%. With 100% oxygen it’s possible to fly to almost 40,000 feet without a pressurized mask. Above about 40,000 feet, it’s necessary to pressurize your mask to get the alveolar pressure of even 100% oxygen high enough to keep your brain working.

Carbon dioxide partial pressure is just as important as that of oxygen, which few know. Note the drop in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (ppCO2) above 20,000 feet msl. CO2 is important to cognitive function. Low pCO2 cuts oxygen delivery to your brain in two ways: • Its drop causes the brain’s blood vessels to constrict and decrease flow by up to half.

• Its drop hinders the release of oxygen from red blood cells to your tissues.

A pCO2 of less than 20 mm Hg will make you feel hungry for air and mentally clouded, and wrongly worried about what’s wrong with your oxygen system.

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November 2018–January 2019

FLYING HIGH

WHY ARE WE WRITING ABOUT HIGHALTITUDE BREATHING? It’s not the amount of oxygen in air that matters — it’s the pressure. And it’s specifically the pressure in the lungs’ air-exchange sacs, the alveoli, that drives gas flow. The atmosphere is 21% oxygen at all altitudes — oxygen pressure decreases with altitude and along with that, the ability of red blood cells to adsorb it.

It’s important to understand that each gas exerts its own pressure in the alveoli in proportion to the content — so oxygen itself exerts a pressure equal to 21% of total atmospheric pressure (and nitrogen 78%). The contribution of each gas is termed the “partial” pressure. It’s the partial pressure of oxygen in your lung’s alveoli — ppO2 — that keeps you alive.

Carbon dioxide is also important, and you need to understand the effects of the fact that carbon dioxide (partial) pressure in our lungs and blood decreases with altitude. This contributes to a CO2 deficit in the flight levels that may cause air hunger and other symptoms that can feel like hypoxia.

The medical term for this state of CO2 deficit is called “hyperventilation” — an unfortunate term because of the allusions that “hyper” creates. It’s simply over-ventilation — breathing more deeply or rapidly than required for proper CO2 pressure in the blood and tissues.

Ventilation (breathing) “blows off” carbon dioxide, which is necessary for proper acid-base balance and nerve/muscle function. Increased ventilation may also result from emotional response: delight, fear, anxiety; but the symptoms are themselves frightening and this worsens over-breathing. When the effects become incapacitating, then we are truly “hyperventilating.” (More details following: Carbon Dioxide — the Outgoing Gas.) [See also the Human Factors articles on Altitude and its effects – SoaringNZ issues 50 and 51] Table 1 lays out the key parameters associated with these atmospheric effects on your physiology.

THREE STEPS IN OXYGEN USE

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Ventilation! We exhale carbon dioxide produced through metabolism of glucose and oxygen, and we inhale oxygen (along with nitrogen). Both the depth and rate of breathing are important. Air hunger, and respiration, is regulated by the carbon dioxide content of the blood and the blood’s acidity.

Only when hypoxia is severe does it influence breathing rate, and hypoxia doesn’t cause air hunger.

What could possibly go wrong?

Though breathing is automatic, we stop breathing for a time during any startling or distracting event. (Attention and respiratory control share a spot in the midbrain.) Interrupted breathing can tip us into hypoxia if our supplementation is borderline.

Between 8,000 and 18,000 feet msl (2.5-5.5 km) we subtly overbreathe in response to decreased oxygen pressure; this reduces CO2, and the respiratory center, driven chiefly by carbon dioxide, briefly shuts down breathing. This can tip us into an unconscious cycle of hypoxia with roughly half-minute intervals in which we alternate between over- and under-breathing, called periodic respiration.

Above 5.5 km / 18,000 feet, the low oxygen pressure stimulates

ventilation more strongly, overcoming periodic respiration — but we still pause breathing when focusing attention and increase breathing when alarmed.

The EDS system skips every other puff of oxygen if the respiratory rate is fast (i.e., it doesn’t give a puff if “requested” too soon). This skipping is a clue to the pilot that we are overventilating. Our response should be to consciously slow breathing, for example by counting between breaths to five or six, slowly, out loud to cause slow exhalation. This will be quickly effective if done as soon as we notice mild hyperventilation.

Carbon dioxide — the outgoing gas The relationship is: {Optimal ventilation = normal oxygen supply + normal carbon dioxide level.}. Carbon dioxide partial pressure within the air sacs of the lungs is as important as that of oxygen.

As the atmospheric pressure decreases in climb, there occurs a natural over-ventilation in response to the decreased partial pressure of oxygen, resulting in decreased carbon dioxide in the body. We may breathe either more deeply or rapidly than is necessary to maintain the blood’s proper acid-base balance. We are not talking here about an emotional crisis! It is automatic and unconscious. Individuals are very different in the degree to which this occurs — and because this is unconscious, we can’t at first know whether it’s happening.

First there is increased depth of respiration and later increased rate. This overventilation of our lungs blows off carbon dioxide.

A reduced CO2 pressure causes the blood vessels of the brain to constrict and red cells to hold back oxygen — causing brain hypoxia even if your finger oximeter is happy.

Note in Table 1 that alveolar ppCO2 is near 20 mm Hg above 20,000 feet msl simply due to decreased atmospheric pressure, and this increases the risk of hyperventilation symptoms.

Abrupt over-ventilation that brings blood ppCO2 from the normal 40 mm Hg down to 20 mm Hg (easy to do in a few minutes) will result in a 60% decrease in cerebral blood flow, with a recovery time of more than 20 minutes. This also causes the blood pH to become alkaline, causing what amounts to static in our peripheral nervous system, with numbness and tingling, especially of the mouth and fingers. As this continues, severe and uncontrollable cramping of feet and hands may occur.

Ironically, if we feel short of breath, we are over-ventilating.

If we are tingly or start having uncontrollable muscle cramps in hands or feet, we are hyperventilating. The trick of putting our head in a grocery bag isn’t going to work in the cockpit, so s-l-o-w d-o-w-n until you feel better. Count out loud to five or six between each breath, and you’ll feel better in just a couple of minutes, but bear in mind that it may take 20 minutes of consciously slow breathing to fully correct the acid-base abnormality and recover brain blood flow.

Why so long? There are about 120 L of carbon dioxide in the body, with complex dynamics. This is a lot to replace, and it must be produced by our own metabolism. We don’t have any CO2 machines to replace it. While a person can recover from severe hypoxia of 40 mm Hg in about two minutes, spontaneous recovery from hypocarbia of 10-20 mm Hg takes more than 20 minutes.

It may take several hours to recover fully from severe hyperventilation. We recommend that you descend immediately and terminate the flight promptly and safely if you experience significant symptoms of hyperventilation.

November 2018–January 2019

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FLYING HIGH

2

Red blood cell oxygen adsorption and release. The red blood cells pick up oxygen in the lungs’ alveoli (“air sacs”) and give it up in peripheral tissues. This straightforward process has many interesting complexities detailed in physiology textbooks.

What could go wrong?

Various diseases of the lung hinder oxygen from diffusing across the membranes of the alveoli or capillaries. Diffusing capacity can be assessed in a pulmonary lab by a pulmonary specialist.

Anaemia involves having too few wheelbarrows to carry the bricks, resulting in “tissue hypoxia” — oxygen-starved brain cells — even with normal oxygen inhalation.

Acid-base disturbance of the blood (from severe exercise, infection, or hyperventilation, etc.) may hinder oxygen adsorption in the lung or release in the tissues.

3

Circulation — the red cells have to travel from lung to periphery and back.

What could go wrong?

We soaring pilots now are mostly old. (Military medical aviation research has historically classified “old” as “over 40.” Tough news for some of us.) The most common disease among us is atherosclerosis, which involves cholesterol deposits in arteries that may retard blood flow. In the leg, this risks frostbite; in the brain, this risks stroke and poor oxygen delivery. Smoking causes atherosclerosis and directly constricts arteries.

Dehydration reduces blood volume and thus g-tolerance, which reduces blood flow to the brain; cardiac and blood pressure medications also affect circulation and g-tolerance.

(Your doctor is not likely to have a precise answer, but do ask about each medication.) In the worst case, pulling g’s in steep turns or turbulence can cause unconsciousness.

Terry Delore flying with a full face mask

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November 2018–January 2019

REGULATIONS We are not flying commercially, and not in pressurized gliders, except for Perlan.

See the MOAP, advisory circular ‘AC 3-07 Carriage & Use of oxygen’ on the GNZ website for the full ten pages but these are the General Rules on Use of Oxygen in New Zealand.

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All persons in a glider are required to use supplemental oxygen during any time that the glider is being operated above 13,000 feet AMSL and during any period of more than 30 minutes that the glider is being operated between 10,000 feet and 13,000 feet AMSL.

2

Every glider operated at altitudes above 13,000 feet AMSL (or for more than 30 minutes between 10,000 feet and 13,000 feet AMSL) must be equipped with a means of indicating to the pilot-in-command the amount of oxygen available and whether oxygen is being delivered.

3

Oxygen used in gliders must be of Aviation Oxygen Standard, which is gaseous oxygen with a minimum purity of 99%, maximum moisture of 0.0056 grams per cubic metre, and nil carbon monoxide. (The extreme dryness is to avoid the possibility of water freezing in the system at high altitudes.)

Pilots intending to operate above 25,000 feet AMSL should take special care to ensure that an adequate supply of oxygen is available, including some form of back-up system, such as an additional constant-flow mask independent of an EDS unit.

The circular then goes on to describe pilot and passenger responsibilities and oxygen use at various height gradients.

4

FLYING HIGH

Learn how to properly use your system

MH 02 System for sale at Oshkosh

REGULATIONS

Monitor supply. Above 6 km / 20,000 feet, you must be able to easily see and read the pressure gauge of the oxygen cylinder. If you can’t read the gauge, you must have a proxy, such as a perfectly reliable pressure warning with a safe margin.

What could go wrong here?

First, pilots who misunderstand the regs may use an inadequate mask system instead of a proven cannula system and increase their hypoxia risk. Clément and Schaffner found through in-flight testing that the MH mask is inferior to the cannula in preventing hypoxia unless an F-setting is used, which reduces tank duration. They strongly recommend that the face mask not be used.

If your nose is obstructed, you must use a mask and must not use a cannula. With EDS, use the F settings, take a quality oximeter, and do not plan on flying much above 6 km / 20,000 feet msl. Expect higher oxygen use and shorter bottle duration.

The U.S. military and Dr. Heini Schaffner, with Jean-Marie Clément, have performed tests on the EDS system to explore its limitations.

Under a government contract to a university, an EDS cannula system was tested to 36,000 feet for military applications using a select group of exceptionally fit subjects. (Based on that research, MH has produced a special system for military use only.) This is exceptional performance demonstrating the use of a cannula at higher altitudes, and is not applicable to the glider pilot population in general or particular.

As extensively described in Dancing with the Wind, Dr. Schaffner initiated extensive formal testing of EDS function and effectiveness in the laboratory and in wave flights up to 20,000 feet; and with Clément did testing in wave flights to 28,000 feet.

They discovered some important limitations of EDS function and some pitfalls that are extensively described in Chapter 12.

The upshot of their work is that you must test the effectiveness of any oxygen system you use while wearing an oximeter. Oxygen is not plug-and-play! Buy the book and read the chapter!

The EDS system is efficient and effective up to about 20,000 feet. If you expect to fly above 20,000 feet, you must have an independent backup system and have a sound understanding of high-altitude physiology. Great care is necessary. The EDS system is designed to do the right things — but it is not a stupidity antidote.

It must be thoroughly understood in order to be used safely.

All oxygen-delivery systems are machines and must be respectfully used and maintained in order to be reliable. No machine adapts itself to your uniqueness.

MONITORING Altitude is dangerous because our body does not have an oxygen detector: We do not hunger or thirst for oxygen, we just get stupid, and when we get stupid, our brain’s stupid-detector breaks, so we must monitor our oxygen status.

1 2

Monitor function. Oxygen flow gauges are readily available and can be mounted in sight, such as used with the OxymizerTM oxygen-conserving system. (However, the EDS is not compatible with the use of the OxymizerTM reservoir cannulas!) The EDS system nasal puff with each breath is reassuring, though the fact of a puff is not a guarantee that its duration or flow rate is sufficient, nor is a 600 psi gauge reading assurance that the flow is what you need.

3

Monitor effect. There are three ways to monitor the effectiveness of our oxygen delivery.

Brain function. It is straightforward, in stable undistracted flight, to repeatedly perform some mildly challenging mental task such as calculating reciprocal compass/runway headings, recalling radio frequencies or ICAO abbreviations or other memorised lists. You will not notice impairment unless you are consciously testing yourself. Hearken to warnings about your function from folks who are listening to your transmissions, and have brief repeated conversations with ground personnel who can then pick up abnormal thinking or speech.

Peripheral oxygen saturation. Finger oximeters are available and widely used. Like any measuring device, they are not perfectly reliable. They are useful, but are prone to error: cold fingers, movement, sunlight, and more, are important. Just because a number is displayed does not guarantee it’s accurate — and just because your finger has a good oxygen supply does not mean your brain does, because of the natural altitude-induced hyperventilation. For safety, based on manufacturer statements, assume that your oximeter is reading at least 2 points high.

Every digital measuring device shows definite numbers. This display precision deceives us about accuracy. The best medical oximeters show dashes if a pulse can’t be reliably verified. Cheap fingertip oximeters show a “standard” reading while waiting for a valid signal, without giving a clue that it’s in waiting mode. Don’t stake your life on a $30 oximeter. Do your research and buy a Nonin, Masimo, or an equivalent alternative.

The second half of the article looking at specific aspects of the Mountain High EDS and its safe use will run next issue.

November 2018–January 2019

29

ADVERTORIAL

SPOT Tracking

TRACKME.LIFE SPOT trackers and the way we use them have improved markedly in a very short time.

A big part of the improvement is that New Zealand and Australian users no longer have to register and run them through America.

Now there is TrackMe NZL which directly links your SOS calls to the New Zealand rescue services while giving a much more reliable and accessible tracking/flight following function.

Do you remember when, to avoid paying the annual US$ fee we used to ‘cycle’ our SPOT, pressing the HELP button to leave a bread crumb trail that only worked for sixty minutes?

If you’re still doing this, you need to be talking to the team at TrackMe NZL right now.

Jill McCaw spoke to the very enthusiastic Tony Glentworth to find out more about TrackMe NZ, SPOT, and other tracking devices.

Tony, what happens if you are one of the people who still has a US connection? How hard is it to change?

It’s easy. Fill out the form at http://soloplan.trackme.life and enter the details of your connection in the notes field. TrackMe NZL will help you close your account and transfer your device.

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November 2018–January 2019

What’s the benefits of having a TrackMe NZL account?

Simply, we connect directly to the New Zealand Emergency services and not through an American third Party. If you need help, there is what is known as the Golden Hour. This is the time you want to have received medical attention to give yourself or your mate the best chance of survival. Connecting directly to the New Zealand emergency services saves valuable time. We have a dedicated New Zealand based 24/7 Response Centre and a New Zealand developed system giving you confidence that not only can you easily communicate with your family, but the Rescue Services are immediately on the ball. With a dedicated address for your inReach device, Rescue services can communicate with you directly to inform you of when help is arriving. Our online emergency system allows you to update contacts, and Emergency notes like health history or intentions from anywhere with an internet connection, you are in total control.

We also give you the ability to customise the pre-set email or text messages your device sends to your contacts. The McCaw family has two devices. The Garmin inReach Explorer Plus Jill and the boys take tramping is set up with two pre-set messages, “At the hut, all ok,” but there’s also the “Delayed by weather, ok.” The InReach works through the iridium network, if you need more help, say to arrange an early pick up, then you also have the ability to send a freeform text message to a contact’s phone, email or even another inReach on TrackMe NZL’s system. The SPOT G3 the boys carry in the glider can’t do that, but it does have three pre-set messages, one of which is “landed out, send crew.” If you want to change your pre-set messages you can easily do that via your account page.

SPOT TRACKING

A key point here, if only one SOS message gets out, and all other comms are not available, that one SOS message making it to NZRCC will ensure you are rescued.

Garmin-InReach Explorer

Garmin-InReach SE

SpotX

Garmin-InReach SE

There are lots of options for your pre-set messages. For instance, all the St John staff at the Christchurch A&P show were carrying SPOTs. They were all being tracked by a command centre set up for the event and their pre-sets were: “OK, in position,” and “need extra help from mobile unit.” Their SOS button, in a special case, went to their own command centre. The mobile units on quad bikes were then only sent to the cases that really needed them and ambulances went out to the true emergencies. You can check out our range of services at our new landing page at www. trackme.life So, what happens when you press the SOS button?

The message is sent instantly to the New Zealand Emergency response centre, but it also comes to our call centre. This process is regularly tested by our clients as we like them to see what happens when they push the ‘Big Red Button’. You want to have the confidence this will work for you when you need it, so we encourage testing, just let us know first!

Being alive bumps you up the priority list for rescue. For instance, an EPIRB activation does not necessarily mean that its owner is alive and if you can’t set off your PLB then it is no help in finding you. With SPOT and the inReach devices, we’ve got your track right up until you activated your SOS and that means that we know exactly where you are and that you were moving, and most likely alive, right until it was activated. (If you don’t activate the SOS and the device stops moving, we still know where to find you.)

Our 24/7 TrackMe Response Centre verifies your position from the device and liaises with the rescue services. Our staff will attempt to contact you via your cell phone to verify your emergency and what type of response you need. Of course, in New Zealand

this is often not possible, and that is why many people are now purchasing the inReach which allows two-way communication through the iridium network – anywhere in the world.

If the Response centre receive no communication from you then a rescue is escalated, and the NZ Rescue Co-Ordination Centre takes the lead on your recovery deciding the best response for your situation. If you need help it is more than likely that there will be a helicopter recovering you and if needed, landing you at a hospital in under an hour from device activation. We have plenty of case studies to show this.

Through all of this we will be keeping your emergency contacts informed. A key point here, if only one SOS message gets out, and all other comms are not available, that one SOS message making it to NZRCC will ensure you are rescued.

That’s very reassuring. Of course, in gliding we’re interested in tracking for more than just locating a pilot once they’ve landed. Phil Plane at Omarama has a great system and webpage set up to do this. Have you been working with him?

Yes, we have. Phil’s site has some very cool features, but these days the best tracking service is provided by us. In fact, Phil gave us a great endorsement. He said, “Glide Omarama have been very happy with the move to your service. It has improved reliability, reduced latency, and integrated easily with the GNZ tracking system.” You can still follow all the glider tracks on Phil’s site, just as you’ve always done.

During gliding competitions and such like I know you like to watch where all the gliders are and work out who is in the lead.

We organise similar multi-tracking pages for things like adventure November 2018–January 2019

31

Photo John McCaw

SPOT TRACKING

Adrian Cable has his SPOT on the dash

races, motorbike trail rides, the St John example above and corporate tracking for companies where staff are out alone – in the bush or in town. We hire out units for events and sponsor youth events like GO-4-12, the Secondary School Adventure racing, by providing SPOT units for the teams and inReach for the leaders, medics and support staff. We want to get young people into the outdoors.

We can customise exactly what the user wants from their tracker. Do they want something on their vehicle fleets that will alert them to movements outside a set perimeter (Geo fencing), do they want to have staff in remote areas have regular check-ins for safety? What we do for gliding is quite straightforward. And although the tracking side of things might be fun, the system is built for safety first. Whatever else is going on the SOS and rescue messages will always take priority.

I’m just thinking of how FLARM tracking is becoming a problem in competition. Is it possible to put a time delay on SPOTs? Yes, we can build that into the system, but is the genie out of the bag now?

The other day Alex was flying, and his track stopped, right up high in the Dobson. It was a bit of a worry. What happened?

A ha. Alex had his SPOT hanging on his parachute which is exactly what you should do, but he needed to have it higher on his shoulder. We actually sell a pouch called a “Tracker Packer” which was designed for motor bike touring that could be used for this.

The satellites that the units are broadcasting to are generally to the north, west, or directly overhead. They are what is referred to as LEO or Low Earth Orbit. If the unit is low on your chest and

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November 2018–January 2019

you’re flying south and east, it may not show up. The best place to put them in glider, if it’s not on the pilot, is on the top of the console. You can paint it black. That won’t hurt it.

If we change to a TrackMe NZL account can I still use my Spot or inReach overseas?

Yes. All our devices work globally just as they do with the old accounts, and we offer International Rescue service options. We have just made New Zealand the centre of our world rather than the little island off the coast of Australia, in fact some maps don’t even have us on them! Do check the coverage maps for SPOT as they have limited use in the oceans due to needing to see a ground station.

There are still people out there using the old Gen 1 SPOT. Should they be upgrading?

That depends entirely on what features they want. We’re up to Gen 3 at the moment. We do have some new products coming.

There is the GARMIN InReach Mini. As well as the fact that it’s smaller than a SPOT it has the features of the inReach family which includes sending, altitude, direction, speed, and a tracking interval as small as two minutes if you want. Coming soon too is the SPOTX which will allow two-way communication on the SPOT network, something that pilots who have landed out in the back of beyond will appreciate when they have no other way of contacting their crew.

We are offering a limited amount of ex-Hire, but well loved, G3 Spots for $150 to SoaringNZ readers so they can get the best of the technology.

What are some of the other features your system offers users?

We have an integration with a very widely used Safety App

SPOT TRACKING

“Glide Omarama have been very happy with the move to your service. It has improved reliability, reduced latency, and integrated easily with the GNZ tracking system.”

called GetHomeSafe. This allows companies to have a task-based safety system that is activated from their phone but now has the support of our satellite service. The growth in this area is going to be a big boost to our business and bring Remote Worker Safety to the next level in New Zealand, Australia and North America.

There is also a free version for families to use and it is very easy to setup and provides great reassurance to parents for their children, no matter what their age.

We have our own app for tracking of course and you can see our latest version of that on our website at www.trackme.life Probably our best kept secret is SALUS 2.0. The Roman Goddess of Safety & Well Being (Welfare, Health & Prosperity). As a server based AI Safety process she is very reliable and once you have engaged her, she looks after your regular check-ins, reporting times and lets your contacts know when you haven’t checked in, all using smart tools and satellite connections. Many companies are finding this simple but effective tool allows them to carry on with their work, knowing they will be alerted if someone gets

into trouble or fails to check in as arranged. This can be setup for remote field operations, sailing, flying, long tramps or everyday use. It is very flexible but powerful at the same time.

We also hire all the devices we sell so people can try before they buy as I often get people who want to know what they are buying is fit for purpose. That is important to us as we are not creating a one-off sale, but a client relationship we want to see thrive for years to come. We have no issues supporting other retailers as they sell the same products, if you see a better deal, grab it and then connect to our service, it is you that we connect to, not the type of device you have.

Where next for TrackMe NZL and Tony Glentworth?

We are far from done! Part of our Vision is to not only make people “Always Safe, Anywhere, Anytime,” but our key values include being Dependable, Collaborating with others and Innovation.

We are always looking to improve our services and adapt to the changing environment, something I believe Kiwis do well.

Change your view of Satellite Tracking, let TrackMe NZL capture your messages to the outside world.

Supporting SPOT and inReach devices, directly connected to NZL based rescue services and delivering superior data direct into the GNZ server.

Annual, seasonal and monthly plans available.

For more go to www.trackme.life Still with GARMIN or SPOTUSA? No problem we can help you transfer.

Tony, “ HiGlide Omarama have been very happy with the move to your service. It has improved reliability, reduced latency, and integrated easily with the GNZ tracking system.

”

PHILIP PLANE, SENIOR INSTRUCTOR, GLIDE OMARAMA

TRACKME @SPOTNZ.com 0800 776 869

November 2018–January 2019

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Auckland Gliding Club Photo Gerard Robertson

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November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

35

35th World

OPEN, 18M & 20M Championships

Hosin, Czech Republic, 28 July – 11 August The Czech Republic played host to the gliding ‘heavy classes’ at the beginning of August with some variable weather and some extremely close fought flying.

T

he competition saw Polish superstar Sebastian Kawa win his third world title for the year and German Michael Sommer add another trophy to his packed cabinet. The Australian dynamic duo of Matthew Scutter and Allan Barnes flew their socks off for a fourth place in the 20m class.

This was a big competition with 53 gliders competing in three classes. Gaggle flying was a huge part of the competition – see side bar to the article on Sebastian Kawa – and in an attempt to stop this, in the interest of safety, staggered interval starts were trialled. However, that saw 37 gliders pass through the gate together. This was obviously not safer and normal start line procedure resumed.

Auckland pilot Pat Driessen was representing New Zealand but unfortunately was beset with bad luck with his glider, his

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November 2018–January 2019

vehicle and a whole chapter of just about everything that could go wrong did, and then it did it some more. Pat also found the gaggle flying far too nerve wracking and dangerous and in the end made the decision to withdraw from the contest.

The Aussie team did very well here, as they had also at the previous ‘short wing’ contest in Poland. Matthew Scutter said: “I feel like Australia is breaking on to the international stage again - we have moved up from also-rans to viable competitors.

Collectively I count five day wins in the team, Adam's eighth overall place in Poland and our own fourth placing overall here.

“I think this success is directly attributable to the strong investment from the GFA over the last five years to develop the right culture, attitudes and pilots to compete at the highest level.”

WORLDS – HOSIN

Pat Driessen

Results OPEN

1 2 3

Michael Sommer Felipe Levin Petr Tichy

Germany Germany Czech Republic

EB29R EB29DR EB29R

10,662 10,571 10,301 Team Kiwi: Rae Kerr, Helen and Paul Rockell and Pat

18M

1 2 3

Wolfgang Janowitsch Mario Kiessling Jean-Denis Barrois

Austria Germany France

Ventus 3T 10,236 Ventus 3T 10,097 JS3 9,915

Matkowski & Kawa Jones & Coppin Sorri & Lehto Barnes & Scutter

Poland UK Finland Australia

ASG32 MI Arcus T Arcus M Arcus T

20M

1 2 3 4

10,600 10,335 10,211 10,190

November 2018–January 2019

37

STEMME

S12

Stemme gliders are not something we are used to seeing in New Zealand. The wider cockpit allows side by side seating and looks odd when you’re used to long narrow seating configurations. They are still very sleek looking gliders. There are three S10s (the original selflaunching motor glider built by the company) registered here but none of the newer S12 that this story is about. I doubt we’ll ever see the Stemme S15 which is a prototype UAV. (Do a Wiki search for the SAGEM Patroller UAV which is a military version of the S15.)

D

r Reiner Stemme founded the company Stemme GmbH & Co. KG in 1984. As an engineer and passionate glider pilot, he set himself the target of creating an aircraft capable of long-distance soaring flights at the highest level – independent of towing vehicles, winches and the accompanying crews. His design of a retractable propeller, which remains unique even today, connected by a drive shaft to an engine mounted at the aircraft’s centre of gravity allowed his idea to become reality.

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November 2018–January 2019

The S10 had its maiden flight in 1986 and received certification in 1990. The company has its headquarters at EDAY airfield in Strausberg near Berlin where the S10 and the S6 are built. The S6 had its maiden flight in November 2006 and received type approval from EASA two years later.

In April 2015 Stemme presented the Twin Voyager S12 at the Aero Friedrichshafen. There are three variants of the aircraft: the S12 with 25m wingspan and a glide ratio of 53:1; the S12-SW, a more compact version with 21.7m wingspan and a glide ratio of 50:1. And then there is the S12G, the luxury version with a glass cockpit and other luxury features. All variants have a ROTAX 914 F2/S1 Turbo engine.

So, what are they like to fly? Each year the company leads an expedition across Europe. It’s an advertising exercise but it seems to successfully sell aircraft with two participants putting in orders after this year’s June Horizon Tour. The following is from the company’s promotional material that came out after the event.

Stemme bring you up close and personal with the peaks of the Alps in their cutting-edge aircraft, the Twin Voyager S12.

The S12 is the ultimate motor glider. Granted you don’t see too many of them, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are few aircraft as flexible, nimble and captivating to pilot as the S12. It doesn’t fly; it soars.

As with any sailplane, the experience is almost silent and given its two-person capacity and panoramic cockpit, there are few more scenic ways to experience the land from the air. At least

November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

39

Photo Phil Powell

Photo Phil Powell

Photo Simon Rainer

STEMME S12

MTOM: 900 kg Wing span: 25m Height: 1.75m Length: 8.42m MTOP: 84,5 kw

Side by Side seats Retractable undercarriage 2 x 601 fuel tnks Propeller Dome with integrated Collision Avaiodance LED Stripe (optional)

without needing a parachute.

The difference between the S12 and other gliders however is that the Stemme hides a turbocharged motor inside. It means that rather than risking landing out after missing a thermal, the pilot can kick the propeller into gear for powered flight. It also means that the S12 can take off unassisted and run on its own aerial steam, becoming a true touring sailplane - it’s both a highperformance glider and motorized aircraft in one machine.

Of course, just as driving across the Alps is better in company, so too is flying above them. Stemme’s own Horizons tour brings together a few likeminded people, pilots and non-pilots to experience what the S12 has to offer in an extraordinary annual event.

Back in June, the tour of seven aircraft took flight from the Stemme AG headquarters in Germany before heading over the Alps to the picturesque town of Lienz, where guests stayed at the Grandhotel Lienz and enjoyed a dinner to match. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the journey which, over the next week, took in some of Europe’s most spectacular gliding hotspots.

From the southern Alps the flight headed across to Croatia, first to Grobnik, then the beautiful region of Rijeka and finally to Vrsar, whose airfield forms a key part of the Red Bull Air Race. The only hitch in fact was inclement weather – ever the adversary of flight – which called an early halt to gallivanting across Croatia and cancelled a banquet at a private estate in Sinj.

Still, it was hard to be put out, especially when Venice was the

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November 2018–January 2019

Photo Simon Rainer

SPECIFICATIONS

next stop on the aerial tour, with an Italian dinner waiting at the Piazza San Marco. After a day gliding over the canals of Venice and one final dinner, it was time to head back to the Austrian Alps around Innsbruck.

It's hard to explain the feeling of gliding across the mountains.

The peaks are close enough to touch and the eerie quiet when the propeller’s tucked away is almost surreal. There might be a good deal of feasting and flawless hospitality on the tour, but that comes a distant second to the soaring itself.

The tour might not have the feeling of achievement of a weeklong climb to the top of a mountain or the roaring sound of a V12, but there’s nothing else quite like it.

The difference between the S12 and other gliders however is that the Stemme hides a turbocharged motor inside. It means that rather than risking landing out after missing a thermal, the pilot can kick the propeller into gear for powered flight.

New Zealand glider pilot

BOB HENDERSON elected President of the FAI

H

onorary Life Member of Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau Gliding club and pilot Bob Henderson has climbed to the very highest level of sport aviation. Bob has been active in the FAI for a number of years, whilst maintaining a day job which, until recently, was as a Training Manager for the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 fleet. Keynote speaker at the recent GNZ conference he told us something of his new job, helping medical staff and in particular those working in operating theatres how to use the management skills and tools of threat and error management used by aviation in that environment to ensure better outcomes for patients. Bob currently lives on the Coromandel Peninsula.

When asked for comment on his appointment to President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Air Sports Federation Bob said, "This is a really exciting challenge. It is not one that I sought but a lot of people asked me to step forward and so I have. I'm really proud to be trusted with this role, and especially proud to be a Kiwi working in the wonderful world of aviation sports.

"I have learnt a tremendous amount from so many people here in NZ, especially on the gliding scene. Their dedication and self-sacrifice are powerful examples of the tremendous value that volunteers bring to their air sport, regardless of the specific discipline. "

Here is the official FAI press release: The FAI General Conference in Luxor, Egypt, in October, elected Robert Henderson, from New Zealand, as the new FAI President with a four year mandate. The last person from outside of Europe to serve as FAI President was Clifton F von Cann, of the USA, who was President from 1988 to 1990.

Bob Henderson has a background as a senior military officer and pilot and an instructor and, latterly, Training Manager for the Airbus A320 fleet with Air New Zealand. He has been made a Member of the Order of New Zealand for his services to sports aviation and is a glider pilot in his recreational time.

“Being elected by the world airsports community as their President is a great honour and a humbling experience” said President Henderson. “We are facing a number of challenges as an International Sports Federation, not the least of which is creating a sustainable financial position.”

President Henderson has set some key targets as part of his plan for the next three months, including ensuring the World Air Games, in Turkey, planned for 2020, are well-planned and efficiently managed. “This is a tremendous undertaking and involves hundreds of people, the vast majority of whom are volunteers. We owe it to THK, the Turkish organiser and our members and sports people, to focus closely on this event to ensure its success.”

President Henderson also said: “We have a strategic project running, called ONE FAI, and I want to accelerate the work on this project to urgently realise the manpower resource, decisionmaking and potential cost savings that I believe it will deliver.”

President Henderson lives in New Zealand, which means that it will be relatively easy for him to contribute to FAI Members in Asia, which he notes has countries that have major growth potential in air sports. When asked about how he might conduct the routine business of the FAI HO in Lausanne, Switzerland, he replied: “Zoom is a wonderful conferencing tool and we will be making maximum use of this capability to reduce travel time and travel costs.”

“I am looking forward to the challenge of the next two years especially, and there will be a lot of hard work required to move the organisation forward. We have a great team on the Executive Board and excellent staff working for us in Lausanne and I am confident that, with their assistance, we can make a difference.”

November 2018–January 2019

41

Photo Mike Strathern

CENTRAL PLATEAU Gliding Champs

This was once again an enjoyable week at Centennial Park. It must be said, however, that Clouds and Camaraderie were more in prominence than Soaring and Scoring at this year’s Central Plateau Champs.

P

ractice day on Saturday 3rd November dawned overcast and rainy and stayed that way pretty much all day.

Sunday was to have been Day One but again the weather gods said, “No,” this time with very strong winds. Some brave souls went flying, but not many.

Monday 5th. Guy Fawkes day but no fireworks on the scoreboard as again it was not possible to task due to the weather.

It was flyable and several gliders took advantage of a chance to have a look around the local area. Some were even able to experience a bit of wave flying which was a bonus.

At last. Tuesday dawned fine and a task was set. Conditions were testing with lots of blue holes, but with generous AAT circles around Galatea and North Arm it was a good task which allowed the experts to spread their wings and the ‘newbies’ to still have a chance to get around. There were good examples of both, and just enough landouts for the task-setters to know they had got it about right! Two of those landouts were on the Rangitaiki airstrip, and aero tow retrieves were requested. The tow pilot turned out to be navigationally challenged but found it in the end.

Day winners were Trev Terry and Rob Lyon in the Duo Discus, with Tim Bromhead second. The day was rounded off nicely with

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November 2018–January 2019

about twenty pilots and partners enjoying dinner at the local Cossie Club - along with lots of noisy Melbourne Cup fans.

Wednesday the 7th looked good although Skysight warned of overdevelopment late in the day. Contest Director John Etches got the field away as early as he dared and another AAT task was attempted, this time using Rerewhakaitu and Te Awa Camp as turn points. The winner of the day, Bill Kendall in his Discus CS, very wisely took notice of Skysight, got around the course quite quickly without penetrating too far into the circles and landed back safely to complete his first day win in competition. Bill and his wife then capped off a very successful day by hosting a beautiful roast meal in the clubhouse.

Unfortunately, Thursday saw a return to the earlier conditions of low cloud and drizzle - a no-fly day. There was some competition with a close finish on the golf course. In the evening there was a superb barbecue dinner in the main hangar, hosted by Trev Terry and his family in honour of Trev’s 75th birthday. Congratulations Trev. You have been, and still are, a big part of the gliding community both locally and nationally, and the tributes paid to you at the dinner were richly deserved.

Friday was again a no-fly day - the only bright spot being a good forecast for the following day.

And so it was. On Saturday 10th a task was set which combined convergences and thermals and which, after a good day’s flying, had a rather surprising result: Mike Strathern in his Ka6 used all his experience to win the day and beat Trev and Rob

Photo Mike Strathern Photo Mike Strathern

into second place, and that in fact turned out to be the placings of the overall competition, with Tim Bromhead third. Well flown Mike and thanks for coming to Taupo and beating us at our own game in the oldest glider in the fleet! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only in the workshop that Mike has proved the truth of the old saying that a bad workman doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blame his tools!

So perhaps the weather was a bit disappointing, but the competition overall certainly was not. Thanks to all the backroom organisers, CD John Etches, radio operators Mavis Oates and Tim Norman and the many volunteers; it was a great week with great food (thanks ladies!), great fun and true gliding camaraderie.

November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

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TARANAKI Gliding Club

BY PETER MILLER AND JOHN TULLETT

Taranaki is the first club to feature in a new series looking at the unique features of New Zealand’s gliding clubs. We want to share what makes members love flying at their gliding club. I asked Peter Miller and John Tullett to describe their club. What follows is in two parts. The first is a potted history of the club, written by Peter followed by John’s description of the club as it operates today.

T

he Taranaki Gliding Club goes back to 1958 when the New Plymouth Aero Club established a Gliding Section using a T31 purchased from the Auckland Gliding Club.

Not unusually, the mix of a Gliding Section did not fit well with a Power Section and the endeavour folded after two years.

The gliding enthusiasts however, were not to be denied and the Taranaki Gliding Club was formed in May 1960 and an order placed with Alexander Schleicher for a Rhonlerche two-seat glider.

Eventually, flying began in 1961. A winch had been built and a privately-owned Tiger Moth was available. The Bell Block Airfield was the main base of operations though several expeditions were made to local farm airstrips – or large paddocks. These were not without peril however, for there were a number of landing or takeoff prangs, fortunately without any injury reported. Operations

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November 2018–January 2019

on Bell Block Airfield were interesting. The airfield was a very large grass area with at least four main vectors. The surface had a pronounced curve from east to west and until radios were forthcoming, two or three people waving flags were the means of communication between the winch and the glider at the take off point. At that time the airfield was active with aero club and NAC traffic. Green or Red signals from the Control Tower would indicate what could or couldn’t happen.

Bob Struthers joined the club in 1967 and led an impetus in club organisation and flying operations. An instructors’ panel formed, Flying Rules were formulated and almost immediately a car raffle (illegal) was run. The winner was an ‘associate’ member.

This money was used to purchase an Olympia 463 which would go on to provide some great flights. Four Silver Height Gains during one afternoon from New Plymouth Airport was one memorable event as was competition flying for Bob Struthers and Harry Smith, as well as good local flying and cross-country endeavours.

Sea breezes and other air traffic meant there was a need to get away from the coast and a farm at Kaimiro near Egmont Village was found. The owner was of equable disposition and after a handshake we started cutting down trees and a bulldozer was employed. With splendid ‘outside the square’ thinking, the club purchased a Caterpillar D4 to help things along. The ground was on one of the vast shingle outflows from the nearby montane features. We had to move lots of stone including some big boulders. All this work was not without incident. Harry Smith

TARANAKI

Bob Struthers & Olympia 463

CI ready for launch at NP airport

German Hill Airfield opening 1970

John and Sam Tullett try out the new tow plane

was nearly killed when a large pine tree fell the wrong way. The first flight was during the spring of 1969. The airfield, named German Hill (after a local feature) was opened in March 1970 by the Hon. David Thompson MP. The clubhouse floor was the dais for the official party. The opening coincided with a visit from the Wanganui Gliding Club and the next day their members helped to stand up the clubhouse wall framing.

The work was by no means finished however. One runway needed finishing and work had begun on the second. The clubhouse needed to be finished, material sourced for a hangar for it to be built, an underground petrol tank found and buried.

A quantity of ex-hydro penstock pipes was acquired for a large culvert on the second runway and several 44 gallon drums were punched open, tarred and used for another culvert. This last one was later replaced by a quantity of concrete culverts which, all stacked up near the club house were described in the newsletter as resembling a street-kid housing project. The PC concept was not then invented.

The historic ex-Wills Weihe was purchased by Harry and his son Murray. It was a striking sight to see and fly with. Unfortunately it was written off after a landing accident and the casein glue that held it together was a factor in it not being repaired. Then the Olympia undershot in the same place. So, we lengthened the runway and repaired the glider.

No sooner than the hangar was finished, and the aircraft moved inside when the club lost its tow plane and single seater in a take-off accident. The glider pilot was seriously injured. But

Peter Miller with rock excavated from German Hill

WZon finals at Stratford

not standing still and crying to the heavens, the club acquired the ex-Keith Wakeman Skylark Two and another Auster. Operations commenced again but with a STOP signal added to the take-off sequence to ensure things were all okay.

The club was vigorously active for many years; aircraft were acquired or replaced at intervals. At least two major raffles were held each year with pub crawls selling tickets. Housie evenings were an ever present feature of club activity, added to which were aircraft maintenance, airfield and building repair. Another historic aircraft acquired by the club was the Bergfalke AQ which, many years before, John Court and Gordon Hookings had taken on a demonstration/exploration tour of the North Island. Bob Struthers undertook the first of his many trips to Australia. He would take others with him and all would achieve some substantial distance flying. There have been several successful club trips to various locations; Matamata on many occasions, a memorable one to Upper Valley club which was then at Whitemans Valley. Waipukurau was another. Some club members have gone on to significant roles in Civil Aviation and other organisations, Craig Emeny of Chathams Air being one.

The airfield lease, originally a peppercorn rental of $30 per year would later become a commercial lease, which led eventually to the club establishing at the Stratford airfield.

WHY MIGHT YOU COME AND FLY HERE? A look at one of the banner photos on the GNZ website might give you an inkling of why we like the place. There is the picture of our Janus, coming in to land on a winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s afternoon, with November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

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Mt Taranaki as a backdrop. On a flight like that, with areas of gentle lift and zero sink, you will have seen panoramic views of Taranaki. To the east is Mt Ruapehu and in between, seventy kilometres of tiger country. To the north, you see Kawhia and the curve of the coast back to New Plymouth. To the west, Egmont National Park, with Mt Taranaki at the centre of its sharp, circular survey line boundary. To the south, there is the coast from Hawera to Kapiti, with top of the South Island on the horizon.

On a day when the wind is from the south west, a strong and stable wave system sets up from the Pouakai Ranges and the Mountain. A short tow around the rotor in the lee of the peak, some oxygen and a radio call, and you’re on your way to 20,000 feet.

Indeed, the lift can be so stable that we were once asked to hold at or above FL110 for 30 minutes to allow traffic into and out of New Plymouth airport. Usually however, the weather is quite changeable and as needs must, we often fly in conditions that other clubs might not think worthwhile. We learn early on how to scratch about in a thermal. For quite a bit of the year, we are limited to staying within range of the airfield.

We are a small but stable club, with 15 active members and a long-term core of 10 or 12. This number has remained constant for many years. Our fleet is a Eurofox tow plane, a PW5, a Twin Astir and a Janus. There are seven privately owned gliders, including two thirds of the remaining flying Ka6 Es in the country.

Typically, the summer and autumn months are the best for thermal soaring, with the sea breezes setting up a convergence from the mountain into the eastern hills. Careful exploration of available land-out spots over recent years has seen ventures well into this country, with Tim Hardwick-Smith being the most adventurous.

On a classic summer thermal day, the sea breezes from the north and the south close in around the mountain in the late afternoon. The stepped convergence that forms stretches from the mountain to way out east, curving to the north or south depending on the prevailing wind. The miles of unbroken jagged hills beneath this convergence sharpen the mind a bit.

Unfortunately, Taranaki is frustratingly small for longer crosscountry tasks and the renewed interest in cross-country flying has resulted in six or seven of us occasionally flying from nearby clubs.

For the last few years, members have flown from Omarama, and attended cross-country courses in Matamata. And we’ve flown regional competitions.

WHAT MAKES THE CLUB SPECIAL? One of the strengths of our club is that it is small, but not perfectly formed. We can’t afford to have the politics that can sometimes distract from the core purpose and dilute enthusiasm. To this end, and out of necessity, the formal club structures and offices involve all the club members. Almost everyone in the club is on the committee, and as team work is essential in order to fly, a high proportion of our members have to be at the field for anyone to fly. For this to happen we have a pretty good communications network and we have to get on.

There have been many other factors within the club that have helped set a sustainable direction. Major ones are: 1 The impetus gained from Youthglide. Roger Read’s expertise in systems of teaching students to fly helped us set up a mini camp here last Christmas, and three of

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November 2018–January 2019

Photo Peter Cook

TARANAKI

SW pushing against the mountain 26.5.18

TGC having blown a fuse. About to leave Matamata 1992. From the front:Angela Rowe, John Spence, Bob Struthers, Peter Miller, Ian Hayton and Allan Thatcher

Waiting for the next concrete truck for the hangar floor

the six participants continued on, with one going solo soon after the camp, and one (after the wet season) still in regular pre solo training. We will make this a two yearly event.

2 The developments in being able to pick the best weather day of the weekend. Being a small club, it is nearly impossible to organise crews to fly on both days of the weekend, so a call is usually made on Thursday night as to the best probable day of the weekend.

3 The replacement of our Pawnee with a Eurofox.

4 A dairy at Midhirst that sells the biggest ice creams.

If you are in or about to visit Taranaki, look at our website for the most probable flying day of the weekend and contact us.

We will be more than happy to show you what makes Taranaki a unique and rewarding flying experience.

FLY

THE 2019 AUCKLAND SOARING CONTEST An Enterprise style competition with loads happening on the ground as well Fun for pilots and families.

7 - 13 JAN 2019

PRACTICE DAYS 5 & 6 JAN

Entry Fee per sailplane $80 Youth Glide members $40

This includes

1 x Auckland Soaring Championship T Shirt 1 ticket for the Prize Giving Dinner Sunday 13 Jan, value $60 additional tickets available $60 p/p

max 60 tickets available so GET IN EARLY! We will have a talented Chef to provide Cooked Breakfast at 9am $10 Packed Lunches $8 Dinner 7pm $20

Competition Format; FAI Approved Enterprise Approved for IGC / FAI Ranking List Contest Director Rob Lyon

All Sailplanes will be required to have two removable sponsor logos which will be provided for the duration of the competition.

ENTRIES CLOSE NOV 30 2018

Copy and paste this link in your browser to enter

https://goo.gl/forms/bC5Xvxi5zxjQG98R2 November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

47

WIN PRIZES FOR YOURSELF

Luxury Weekend Away for two with an Vehicle supplied

1ST PLACE PRIZE Luxury Weekend Away for two with an Alfa Romeo Vehicle supplied.

The First Place winner will additionally win a Smeg Glider Refrigerator for their club. (Valued at $10,000)

SOCIAL MEDIA PRIZE Smeg Espresso Coffee Machine

FOR YOUR CLUB a Glider Refrigerator

to the value of $10,000

MOST HELPFUL CREW MEMBER PRIZE Smeg Stand Mixer

MOST HELPFUL VOLUNTEER PRIZE Dinner for Two at Giraffe Restaurant

ADDITIONAL DAILY PRIZES PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

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November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

GUEST SPEAKERS

during the week in the club rooms

STEPHEN DAVIES HOWARD

MALCOLM THOMSON

FRANK PARKER

Will relate his experience flying a range of fighter aircraft old and new including as RAF Phantom display pilot.

GM of Cobham RAD Solutions, a division of Cobham which performs radiation testing and qualification on electronic components and materials for space and the military.

President of NZ Warbirds will take us on a journey of flying a Spitfire, P51 Mustang, P40 Kitty Hawk, Yak and Military Jets

MENU MONDAY Italian Style Pizza cooked in our Wood Fired Oven TUESDAY Moroccan Lamb Rump, Truffle Duck Fat Potatoes Green Vege and Moroccan Carrots WEDNESDAY Wood Roasted Eye Fillet, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Cauliflower topped with Caramelized Butter Crumble Tarragon Courgettes THURSDAY Spaghetti Bolognaise followed by Panna Cotta dessert with Strawberry Balsamic FRIDAY Chicken Breast with Sage and Garlic sauce Garden Salad and Parmesan Chips SATURDAY Wood Fired Pizzas cooked in our Wood Fired Oven SUNDAY PRIZE GIVING (max 60 tickets) Italian Mozzarella Salad, Clevedon Market Tomatoes Basil EVO and Aged Balsamic Half Italian Rotisserie Chicken, Peanut Slaw, Truffle Mashed Potato, Tomato Pesto Gravy Hot Rose and Vanilla Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

ENTRIES CLOSE NOV 30 2018 But contact the AGC to see if they can fit you in

FAMILY FUN This event is a fun FAMILY event.

There will be plenty to keep your kids entertained and while you are in Auckland, check out some other local attractions; Auckland Gliding Club located in Drury just 25 mins south of Auckland City & Airport, close to the beautiful Hunua Ranges. Unsurpassed bush walks, hiking, horse-riding, mountain biking and much more.

NZ Warbirds Association Museum, Ardmore Rainbows End Theme Park Hunua Falls Glenbrook Vintage Railway

LOCAL ACCOMMODATION CAMPING AND BUNK ROOMS AVAILABLE ON THE AIRFIELD

DRURY MOTOR LODGE 209 Great South Rd, Drury (09) 2947690 BYCROFT LODGE 19 Bycroft Rd, Karaka 027 310 7761 KARAKA RURAL RETREAT 151 Whangapouri Rd, Karaka 021 222 7347 TE HIHI ESTATE, 435 Batty Rd, Karaka (03) 450 0855 TOUCHWOOD MOTOR LODGE 146 Edinburgh St, Pukekohe (09) 2387205 THE DRURY HOMESTEAD 349 Drury Hills Road, Drury (09) 2949 030 November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

49

GEORGE GARFIELD ROGERS 10/12/1942 – 19/10/2018

BY DAVID HIRST

G

eorge made a huge contribution, not only to the Wellington Gliding Club, but to Gliding New Zealand as a whole.

As a glider pilot, gardener, golfer, grandparent, instructor and administrator extraordinaire, he was known for his calm demeanour, wry sense of humour and generosity of spirit. "A good solid bloke," and "a much admired gliding gentleman," are not uncommon characterisations. He wasn't one to brag or boast and his natural reserve often meant that those who didn't know him well had no real inkling of the depth of his talents, or of the contribution he made to everything he involved himself in.

The following passages have been collected from those who did know him, and their contributions are reprinted here with thanks.

George was involved in gliding since 1968 and, for most of those years, dedicated his life to all aspects of our sport, often sacrificing time for his personal flying. For the past 32 years, he worked tirelessly in almost every administrative capacity for the Wellington club. Several years ago, when he was both club President and CFI at the same time, he got tired of making repeated repairs on the aging club gliders. So, what did he do? He persuaded his club to purchase two new DG-1000s and even got one with his initials for a call sign. He quietly declared that the problem of glider repairs had been solved for a few years!

At national level he was a member of the Gliding New Zealand Executive Committee for 20 years, holding the position of President for four years. He also held the top operational position for Gliding New Zealand, that of National Operations Officer. He was elected Life Member of GNZ at the 2015 AGM, joining an elite list of only 11 such members over the years. He was awarded an FAI Paul Tissandier Diploma in 2005 and the Angus Rosebowl in 2011. In his spare time, he was also Vice President of the New Zealand Aviation Federation.

His vast experience, sense of history, and quiet achievements have all contributed enormously to the gliding movement as a whole and to the Wellington Gliding Club in particular. Brian

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Sharpe, the President of the Wellington Gliding Club, offers the following thoughts.

"I would not have entertained any thoughts of being the club President without knowing that George was both a friend and an encyclopaedia of all things to do with gliding in New Zealand. I think he was at some stage the President or head honcho of just about everything you can be a President or head honcho of in New Zealand gliding circles!

"He was a highly skilled glider pilot and an excellent instructor, equally at home with both the young and the not so young. I first flew with George in March 1986 – George was just returning to gliding after an extended break. I was George’s instructor on that occasion; I remember telling him he was generally flying too fast and made notes to that effect in his logbook. Little was I to know that 30 years later, when the tables were turned and I was being instructed by George after my own extended break, that I would be confronted with that comment in George's logbook and his recommendation that perhaps I should take my own advice!

"My last flight with George was in March 2016 when we had the honour of making the first transfer flight of our fleet from Paraparaumu to our new home in Papawai. We made that flight in a DG-1000 registered as GGR. Not so coincidently, these are also George’s initials."

George was known for a dry sense of humour. He will also be remembered as a man with a cool head when the going was getting tricky. Nigel Davy recounts the following episode.

"I remember a land out with him during a South Island Regionals. He was in his Cirrus, I was in my LS3 and we were in the Matukituki valley near Mt Aspiring. The Cattle Flat airstrip was in glide and we went there only to find it covered in sheep, so we opted to land in a nearby deer-fenced paddock.

"We called for an aero retrieve as it was late in the day and the Super Cub BFV was dispatched for us. When it finally arrived, after diverting to tow someone else first, it was really late in the day and

it was apparent that only one of us was going home that night.

"Then George had a brain wave. He checked if we had two tow ropes then gave me a dual aero tow briefing, hooked me on the short rope and said "I’ll follow you and assess you from the back." It was a close call with the length of paddock, two gliders and a Cub but we made it out and home for a well-deserved beer.

"I’m pretty sure that if anyone was staying in the paddock that night it was going to be me, so I was very grateful for my hasty dual tow rating."

Tom Davies recalls that "My wife, Amy Leask, decided to give gliding a go and George was her favourite instructor, so much so that when George had a heart issue that prevented him from instructing Amy wouldn’t fly with any other instructor, not even with her husband. Thus a Flying Member was lost but perhaps a marriage was saved."

Brian Sharpe continues.

"I mentioned previously that George was equally at home working with the young and not so young. A couple of weeks ago at Papawai, we held our Annual Labour Weekend Youth Glide Camp. It was three days of sun, a lot of flying and many happy faces. George, who has contributed so much over the years to make such an event possible as a huge supporter of Youth Glide, could justifiably look

George (R) with Martyn Cook

down and say to himself 'Mission accomplished.'

"As a lasting tribute to George we will in future be calling this camp the George Rogers Memorial Youth Glide Camp."

May you rest in peace, George. Thank you.

LS1

Restoration

ADAM CUMBERLEGE

Adam Cumberlege sent me photos of his beautifully restored LS1. I thought they needed a wider audience. - Ed

M

y LS1-f has been a 9 year restoration project. I bought if off Joachim Aerts back in 2015 in pieces and rubbed back to fibreglass. I thought it would be a three month project. How wrong could I be? It was Jo’s pet project when he worked for Sailplane Services, but he left to go back to Belgium and rather than ship it back decided to sell it. The price agreed to was, “in finished and flyable condition,” but it did not turn out like that, money ran out pretty quickly and the project was left in limbo, with no one wanting to fork out the extra cash required. I was in too deep to pull out so it fell on my shoulders. It’s been a real mission. But oh, so rewarding to have the finished product.

November 2018–January 2019

51

HUMAN FACTORS

EMERGENCIES

BY JONATHON POTE

This is the final chapter in our series on Human Factors which is abridged from Jonathon Pote’s excellent document. You can find the complete document in the training syllabus section of the GNZ website.

EMERGENCIES PARACHUTES Some clubs seem to believe that training flights in twin seaters are ‘safe’ and therefore parachutes are not needed.

However, when twins are operated high enough for a parachute to be effective, it makes sense to ‘go equipped’. Competent parachutists have survived emergency abandonments from as low as 1000’.

As with any emergency procedure, the time for familiarity and practice is when calm on the ground, not in the air when immediate use is imperative. Formal instruction by a parachute instructor should be complemented by self-tuition; always get out of the glider after each flight with your parachute still attached, practising as if for real, noting the relationship of the wing as well. An exit in anger should be a lot easier and quicker, aided by adrenalin and the lack of a cockpit canopy. It needs to be – time is short. Taking even a one-off tandem jump will mean that once the canopy has opened in your emergency descent, you can almost relax; you’ve done the rest of it before.

Remember the sequence: LOOK for the handle (‘D-ring’) GRIP the handle (use both thumbs through the ‘D-ring’) P ULL the handle (actually it’s a push, to your full arm’s length) A RCH your back (helps stabilise you in the free fall until the parachute opens) Some parachutes have a long slender pack which you partially sit on but, if you are tall, the compact pack behind you may be the only option. Examine the parachute as you would DI a glider – your life may depend on it. Check the packing date.

As a parachute nears its repacking date, the fabric is beginning to adhere to itself, and opening takes appreciably longer according to the experts. If it is out of date it may take too long.

The aircraft PLB is of little use in the crashed glider so attach it to the parachute harness. It will usually fit over the chest strap.

The straps should be tight enough to make walking difficult.

The time for which they need to be correctly adjusted is when

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November 2018–January 2019

you are hanging under the canopy.

Emergency canopies are not easily steerable, but try pulling on either riser to see if you have any form of directional control or look for steering toggles attached to the risers. If possible, aim to turn so you face into wind to land as most parachutes impart forward motion and this cancels some of the wind speed. Hold your legs together firmly, knees slightly bent. Twist slightly so that one hip is facing the direction of travel at touchdown.

Perfection is to allow your legs to fold as they absorb much of the shock, followed by a forward roll to one side and then, when

Examine the parachute as you would DI a glider – your life may depend on it.

If going into the water, do not panic; this is the softest arrival of all although good swimming ability is reassuring. DO NOT release from the harness until your feet at least are wet.

Delay is not serious. Do not panic if the canopy falls on you. It is entirely possible to breathe under a parachute canopy, just by lifting a small area in front of your face. Do not thrash about – this will entangle you in the lines. Slowly and deliberately follow a seam and you will reach an edge. If this happens to be the hole in the centre of the parachute, at least you know which way to go now.

Photo John McCaw

SURVIVAL AFTER ACCIDENTS

lying on the ground, spill the air out of the canopy (a fifteen knot wind will drag you under a full canopy) by pulling on the lower cords. Perfection is unlikely to be achieved!

If going into trees, hold the legs even firmer together and use one arm/hand to shield your face, above all your eyes. Keep the other hand firmly on a riser so you do not pitch forward but ‘spear’ feet first into the foliage. Unless you are sure the ground is very close, think extremely carefully (and at length) before releasing yourself from the harness. Rather stay in the tree until help arrives than fall and sustain serious injury.

Crash imminent: Even when a crash is inevitable, there is still the opportunity to influence the outcome for the best. Your priorities are as always aviate, navigate, communicate.

Aviating means to fly the glider all the way into the crash.

Do not give up. Try to steer the nose between big trees, rocks or whatever. Just before the moment of impact, get the feet back off the rudder pedals and put one hand over your face. A last pull on the stick might get you over a rock – better to stall over the rock than fly into it fast. Remember the adage that it is better to hit the far hedge at slow speed than the near hedge at flying speed.

A lot of your training has concentrated on touching down at an exact aiming point. Practice this with EVERY routine landing. Just possibly it is better to stay in, and even flatten, a spin near the ground, but it takes a calm person to assess that.

A spiral dive, however, is lethal so try to recover.

There is no navigating left to do unless you include boulder avoidance, but even a brief communication might be helpful. If you are on an ATC frequency as opposed to a chat frequency, and in contact, then your transmission has been recorded. Even if “Mayday” is not heard at the time, if an aircraft is missing the relevant tapes are replayed and may yield important information such as the exact time to relate to transponder traces etc.

Having a passenger aboard brings extra responsibilities.

Remember to tell them your thought processes so they are prepared, remind them to tighten their straps fully, to cover their eyes and support their head. Look after their welfare after the event.

Immediate post-crash actions: After the impact you may be unconscious, but you will not know how long for, nor perhaps even that you were knocked out at all. Even without a head injury, your judgement will be very poor in the immediate postcrash situation. Take time to recover a bit and only act when your brain seems to have cleared. Acting too rapidly has led to added injury or even death, such as by undoing straps and

November 2018–January 2019

53

HUMAN FACTORS

Photo John McCaw

“Even when a crash is inevitable, there is still the opportunity to influence the outcome for the best. Your priorities are as always aviate, navigate, communicate.”

falling onto the head, fatally. It may well be best just to stay strapped in and await help. Possibly you can use the radio, and might contact a passing aircraft (on 121.5 MHz if you can select it) to relay for you.

Survival longer term: Survival in a hostile terrain (mountainsides etc.) is a fascinating topic but has no place here.

Suffice to say that the mantra of priorities is: PROTECTION, LOCATION, WATER, FOOD in that order. If on high ground or if night is near, death by hypothermia is a real possibility. Your open parachute can provide valuable insulation and getting out of the wind is important. As to location, again a deployed parachute greatly increases your visibility to searchers. Perhaps that radio will work if you try again. This is a time to be thankful if you have been sending out regular position reports or have good ‘flight following’ procedures such as SPOT in place. If you have come down in densely wooded country, perhaps find a clearing nearby, but in general do not leave the crashed glider unless you have to as it is your best chance of being seen by those searching for you. You should have a first-aid kit, water and food and a warm, windproof garment with you on all crosscountry flights. Head cover (beanie, balaclava) is vital as much heat loss is from the head.

Rest assured that New Zealand has an efficient Search and Rescue organisation and you are very unlikely to have to spend a night out. If an aircraft appears, use a signal mirror when you are in the forward sector of the pilot’s vision. Leaving it until the aircraft is closer but you are to one side of it is a worse option, especially if the aircraft just happens to be in the area and is not actively searching for you.

First aid: You are participating in a sport that does have risks; for some that is part of its attraction. By law there is a first aid kit (usually pretty basic) in every glider, and hopefully in your caravan or clubhouse too. If you are not first aid qualified, then you should seriously consider taking at least a basic course.

NORMALISATION OF THE EXTREME “Familiarity breeds contempt”. The airfields of the world are littered with score marks where aircraft have landed undercarriage retracted. Thousands have simply forgotten to lower it – which fortunately is not too serious with gliders. Margins get eroded progressively over time as well as actions forgotten. Normalisation of the extreme requires a repetitive event with the margins being eroded a little each time (often with intentional rule breaking) ultimately resulting in an accident.

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When a glider pilot commences a downwind leg to land, aiming point in sight and just five hundred metres away in a direct line (albeit arriving in the wrong direction), the glider is able to glide another 10 km or so (L/D of 35/1) so there really is a large safety margin. However, few glider pilots can claim to have never eroded this safety margin. It is very human to get complacent about this, until the day comes when a dangerously low final turn or an ‘off airfield arrival’ eventuates. This is, of course, why periodic checks (biennial flying review in gliding, six-monthly for airline pilots) are mandatory throughout flying internationally. Nevertheless, normalisation of the extreme still occurs: for instance, an instructor initiating a ‘launch failure’ at the minimum possible height through normalisation of (his) extreme. Until one day they’re too low to safely land back on the field.

Other potential traps include coastal or mountain flying, flying close in to the ridge (rock polishing) having eroded one’s personal terrain clearance distance, or crossing gaps (rivers) that demand minimum heights at the start of crossing. What was your wingtip clearance when you first did a coast run?

What is it now? By what height did you intend to reach the far side of a gap the first time, what height do you accept now? Do you rigidly adhere to the Club SOP? Have you known a pilot that took risks you wouldn’t? Do you think they intentionally put themselves in danger, or has their behaviour changed slowly over time such that they perceive no risk (or an acceptable risk) in what is now their normal course of action?

Risk perception is very personal, and at times it is very difficult to tell the difference between normalisation of extremes and experience. However, a glider pilot renowned amongst colleagues for just ‘scraping in’ should be subject to their CFI’s wisdom.

CONCLUSION Study the accident/incident summaries that appear in the gliding magazines from time to time. Most have significant human factors amongst their causes, particularly with all that occur during out landings. There was certainly nothing wrong with the glider initially, and others would have made a safe landing. It is the pilot who is the cause; a human factor.

Good luck and safe flying.

Winning a contest in a

KA6E

BY MIKE STRATHERN

So, I get an email from the editor. “You showed ‘em. How about you write a page about it?”

Me? Really??

My girls will tell you I can’t spell, write or string decent grammar together (or cook), but you did ask.

(And as editor, I don’t care. You tell the story. I’ll make sure people can read it – and actually you didn’t do too badly – Ed)

L

et’s put a bit of background to the story and go back to 1988. There’s me, a younger slimmer Ka6e pilot flying on the aft C of G limit and I win the UK Northern Regionals in my beloved Ka6e ‘EAH’. What’s more interesting is, I did it without ever getting home; landing out every day.

Fast forward to 2018 and there’s me, older fatter, with a Ka6e ZK-GFM (a long nose sleeker one) on the forward C of G limit, and I won the Central Plateau contest (and demolished the local hot shot in the Duo which is always fun), only getting home once.

So, over 30 years and some approximately 180 more out landings it appears I’ve not progressed much other than the C of G moving forward, but it shows you can win in something other than a glass hot ship.

There is a common denominator between 1988 and 2018. I had fun. I had lots of fun and I had it in the lowest performance

glider in the contest, flying against gliders that had instruments that cost more than my complete glider. And, what was really good to see, and I hope will give inspiration for others is, I could compete on even terms with all the other gliders, showing that the handicap system works in New Zealand (most of the time, before you get the knives out). I had fun, I learned heaps about flying around Taupo (Toe Paw) and all at the lowest possible cost.

My hope in flying my Ka6e in NZ competitions (1st Overall 2017 Canterbury Champs, 2nd Overall 2018 Club Class Nationals, 1st overall 2018 Central Plateau) is that this will inspire you guys and gals out there (young and less young) that you don’t need the latest and greatest gliders or instruments to both have fun and stand a chance of winning.

For me competition flying is the best form of cross-country flying you can get. You’re going cross-country even if the weather is rubbish. And when you have struggled for hours in weather you wouldn’t normally bother to rig in you get back (via a trailer or by air) and you have a beer and a laugh over the day. First or last, it’s all about fun. It doesn’t get much better than this and the next day you do it all again with new found learnings and confidence from the previous day. And you land out again! This time in a paddock with fence half way across you didn’t see until on finals, but that story can wait for another day…

GFM

November 2018–January 2019

55

ab-initio ROGER READ YOUTHGLIDE INSTRUCTOR

Photo John McCaw

PRE-LANDING CHECKS

This undercarriage is fixed

Last issue we looked at what you had to do before you got into the air. Now that you are there you will eventually have to land.

Once you have made the decision to land, you will plan your circuit and approach.

And then you will need the subject of this month’s column: your Pre-Landing Checks.

If you fly a standard circuit, pre-landing checks can be completed as you start your downwind leg. If making a non-standard circuit … like joining on base or from a final glide, just make sure you do the checks before you land … that is, at least by the time you are on your final approach.

The Pre-Landing check mnemonic is SUFB. Some add another B which I shall cover in a minute.

Again, as recommended last issue say your checks out loud. Start your check by saying “Pre-Landing Checks”.

The first item is Straps. You may have settled into your seat or loosened the

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November 2018–January 2019

straps, so tighten them up and say “Straps; all secure,” if solo and “Straps; mine are tight, are yours all secure?” if dual.

Undercarriage is next. This regularly gives cause for concern when not completed properly so read carefully. Think about what glider you are in. If the wheel is fixed/not retractable, say “Undercarriage is fixed down”. If you are in a glider with a retractable wheel, look at the gear handle and the placards that show the position for up/retracted and down/extended.

Move the lever to the down/extended … and locked position. Once done, say “Undercarriage, down and locked”.

Next check is Flaps. If not fitted, just say “Flaps; not fitted”. If you have flaps, think about where they will need to be set for landing. On some gliders you can set the flaps for landing at this time; on others, you can elect to wait till later in the circuit, on base or once on finals. Here, the check is more of a prompt to remind us of when

and where we will set the flaps for landing.

So, if able to set flaps for our landing, I might say “Flaps, now set for landing” or if delaying setting them, I might say “Flaps, will be set on base for landing”.

Brakes are next and here you need to check they are going to be available.

Jammed brakes are a rare event but it’s best to find out earlier rather than later, so you can adjust your circuit if required.

So, open the brakes briefly then re-lock them. They don’t need to be extended fully and you don’t need to look at them because if they don’t open evenly you will get some yaw … which hopefully you would notice! Say “Brakes; operating okay” as you open and close them.

With the increasing number of gliders carrying water ballast, it is a good idea to get used to adding this to your checklist.

So, your final check item is Ballast. If you are carrying water, check it has been dumped as most gliders are not certified

Photo John McCaw

for landing with water ballast still in the wings (or tail if fitted). You complete this checklist item by saying “Ballast; not fitted” or “Ballast; dumped” as appropriate.

Some tips to consider for landing and take-off checks

Photo John McCaw

Practise doing the checks when sitting in a glider on the ground. This costs nothing but your time. The sooner you learn these checks from memory without prompting, the sooner we are ready to concentrate on flying and learning other things. If interrupted when doing your checks it is easy to miss a check when you restart. The safest thing to do is restart the checks and run through them again – it takes only a few seconds and it could save you from an embarrassing or dangerous error of omission.

Do not hook on or accept the towrope for attachment until your take-off checks are completed and you are completely ready for takeoff. It is quite okay to use a checklist or mnemonic penned on paper or your hand as a memory jogger.

The Janus needs to lock its undercarriage down for landing

Enjoy and Learn Advanced Flying with the Wind 304 Pages 22x28 cm 391 Colour photos and drawings

• A “must have” book. Sailplane & Gliding (UK).

• “The book of the Century… You must buy this book, sell whatever it takes, but buy it.”

Gliding International (NZ).

• Unmissable, alongside Reichmann, Bradbury and Moffat.

L’@éroBibliothèque (France).

• Will remain in the history of the literature, perhaps more so than Reichmann.

Volo a Vela (Italy).

• It reveals to you the invisible treasures of the atmosphere.

Alvaro de Orleans Borbón (FAI Vice President).

Price €50 plus postage. Order to info@topfly.aero

Jean-Marie Clément

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR PILOTS?

Enjoy your training and safe and happy soaring. Should you have any questions or comments about what has been written here, I always welcome your feedback.

Just email me at ramjet@gmail.com

Dancing with the wind

is there for a good reason. Don’t get lazy or slack with your checks … how you do them reflects a lot about your character and discipline as a pilot.

TopFly

The accurate and timely completion of checklists is important to the safety of gliding operations. Many accidents have been attributed to the failure of the pilot to complete a checklist item and in some instances, the results have been fatal. Each item in the checklist

Dancing with the wind

Jean-Marie Clément

November 2018–January 2019

57

blast from the past being test-flown in such a small area.

Unfortunately, the newspapers don't seem to have reported what the results were, although Barnard Owen's glider was flown again, from Sheffield, North Canterbury, probably on 21 March 1936.

PETER LAYNE HISTORIAN

The association of Latimer Square with gliders struck a chord in my memory, and I looked up a reference in my files.

Twenty six years later this is what the Christchurch Star had to say in its issue of Saturday 5 December 1959, "A curious crowd gathered in Latimer Square early last evening to speculate on the contents of a long, narrow, aluminium trailer drawn up behind a car.

Curiosity was quickly satisfied when the smooth-lined red and white fuselage of a high-performance sailplane, a Skylark II, was removed from the trailer and dragged onto the grass in the square.

ZK-GAS and ZK-GBH at Burnt Hill

A PERSONAL REFLECTION WITH STEW CAIN I read with sadness in a recent SoaringNZ magazine of Stewart Cain’s passing.

Recently I was prompted by Editor Jill McCaw for some more copy on New Zealand Gliding history and she made a comment about Stew Cain. Although we were in separate clubs (Canterbury and Auckland) Stewart and I shared an interest in gliding history and corresponded occasionally in the early 1990s. We agreed to meet during the 1995 World Championships and embarked on a very interesting (for me) flight in Canterbury’s Twin Astir ZK-GOR. I’ve no real idea where we went other than ‘out west’ and back but that’s another story.

Our strongest line of communication followed an article written by Derek Woodhall in the December 1992 journal of the Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand about gliders in Latimer Square, Christchurch.

Derek wrote: The Press newspaper of 12 April 1933 reported that a glider was being built by Mr W.B. Owen (better known as Barnard Owen) a Christchurch chemist, in a garage in Gloucester Street, and that it had been under construction for the previous seven months. It was a biplane type, with an

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enclosed fuselage, and he was going to attempt a record flight with it after tests had been carried out. The Christchurch Times newspaper had a photograph of the glider in its issue of 13 April 1933.

On 31 July the Times reported that Owen's glider was tested in Latimer Square, Christchurch, during the afternoon of Saturday 29 July. Latimer Square is not all that large, as inner city squares go, and the mind boggles somewhat at the thought of even a model glider

The sailplane, in five sections – fuselage, three wing divisions, and tailplane – was rapidly assembled by members of the Canterbury Glider Club (sic) for inspection.

British designed but assembled in this country at a cost of £1500, the glider has made several long-distance flights, including a crossing of Cook Strait from Lees Valley to Palmerston North, and the first sailplane crossing of the Southern Alps. It is constructed of spruce, with aircraft-grade plywood outer covering, and is fitted with oxygen and a special braking device to limit its maximum

speed to 120 mph. The wingspan is 48 feet. Last evening's exhibition was staged as publicity for a glider club (sic) display to be held at Darfield this Sunday."

Perhaps someone with better records than I can confirm which Skylark it was, both in Latimer Square, and taking part in the Southern Alps and Cook Strait ventures.”

clearly showing the diagonal registration of ZK-GAS. This and other photographs leave no doubt that it was ZK-GAS and not ZK-GBH in Latimer Square.

Derek reflected, “That seems straight forward enough, and I have noted down that the sailplane was ZK-GBH, a Slingsby Skylark II of the Canterbury Gliding Club.

But I also have a note that ZK-GBH was destroyed when its trailer was struck by a Christchurch to Greymouth railcar on the level crossing at Waddington, Canterbury, on 19 September 1959. The contemporary newspaper report of this accident says that it was "smashed to matchwood".

Peter Layne, a long-time member of the Aviation Historical Society responded, “I considered Stew Cain would know all the answers, so I wrote to him.

Back came a comprehensive reply.

Derek Woodhall is correct in stating that ZK-GBH was struck by the Greymouthbound railcar. It was being towed in a trailer from Burnt Hill, near Oxford, to Wigram for a trial two week period to evaluate Wigram as a base. The trial was successful, and the Club moved to Wigram at the beginning of 1960.

Though this report may have been somewhat exaggerated, it hardly seems likely that a complete sailplane could be displayed in Latimer Square on 4 December 1959 if it had been only even moderately damaged shortly before.

ZK-GBH however was eventually rebuilt by Fred Dunn and reregistered ZK-GCM for Des O’Connor.

As for the first airborne sailplane crossing of the Southern Alps, this took place on 23 January 1957, but according to my records it was Skylark II ZK-GAS which flew from Cass, Canterbury, to Rotomanu, Westland.

An attempt to fly back the following day was unsuccessful. The first Cook Strait crossing from south to north by an airborne sailplane occurred on 1 November 1957, during a goal flight from Lees Valley, Canterbury, to Palmerston North. The pilot on both occasions was Keith Wakeman.

For the Cook Strait flight the sailplane also appears to have been ZK-GAS, although the only photograph I have is from a newspaper and is a more or less head-on view which only partly indicates the registration. This was in the days before large two-letter registrations on the vertical tail were authorised.

In my photograph the registration, if it is ZK-GAS, appears to be painted diagonally up the leading edge of the fin.

All the above leads me to believe that it was ZK-GAS which was displayed at Latimer Square, not ZK-GBH. I have a vague recollection of seeing the glider in the Square that same evening and noting down the registration, but I can find no record of having done this.

Stewart confirmed: Barnard Owen's glider was built in Gloucester Street, which he adds runs across the northern side of the Square. He believes, and I would agree, that the testing was probably in the form of 'ground slides' or at best short 'hops'. The trees in 1933 would have been quite small, and ground tests would have been quite feasible. Early New Zealand gliders seldom reached sufficient height to complete a circuit.

Stewart had a very direct involvement in the 1959 visit. Referring back to the journal, it was he who towed the "long narrow aluminium trailer" behind his car to Latimer Square and was interviewed by the newspapers. He also took slide photographs as a permanent record of the occasion, and one is reproduced here,

Derek is also correct in stating that ZK-GAS did the first sailplane crossing of the Southern Alps on 23 January 1957 and Cook Strait on 1 November 1957.

Stewart Cain’s slide shows Skylarks ZK-GAS and ZK-GBH at Burnt Hill illustrating the similar but different livery confirming ZK-GAS to be the Latimer Square glider.

GNZ awards & certificates

AUGUST – OCTOBER 2018

EDOUARD DEVENOGES GNZ Awards Officer

gnzawards@xtra.co.nz 40 Eversham Road, Mt Maunganui 3116.

QGP No 3394 3395 3396 3397 3398 3399

Pilot’s Name Akira Petersen Matthew Williams Andrew Fletcher José David Bente Rémy Vicedo Alan Wilson

Club Taupo GC Auckland GC Auckland ASC Tauranga GC Glide Omarama Glide Omarama

Date Glider 28 7 2018 7 8 2018 20 9 2018 23 10 2018 23 10 2018 23 10 2018

SILVER DISTANCE

David Dennison

Piako GC

9 9 2019

DIAMOND DISTANCE 154 Robert A. Gray

Piako GC

17 10 2018 DG 100

THREE DIAMONDS 128 Robert A. Gray

Piako GC

19 10 2018

Duo Discus

November 2018–January 2019

59

Youth Glide

MEET AND MINGLE

BY UMA TUFFNELL

Y

outh Glide held its second annual ‘AGM Meeting and Mingle’ over the weekend of 6 - 7 October. This year we were generously hosted by the Auckland Gliding Club.

The AGM was conducted by president Tim Austen and Sam Tullett was elected as a new member of the executive committee. Both the President’s and Treasurer’s reports indicated Youth Glide to be in a strong and growing position.

Besides the formalities, the weekend provided an excellent opportunity to catch up, go flying and gawk at big aeroplanes.

On Saturday morning Gerard Robertson showed us around the Air New Zealand engineering workshop and hangar, taking us through the whole engineering process from custom machining to composite fabrication and the final paint job. He spoke about aircraft maintenance and structure, noting that that aeroplanes, much alike sausages, always split lengthways.

Roger Read let us experience what it was like to be a captain of a Dreamliner 787. We wanted to do some circuit practice, but Roger said, “Maybe next time”.

Our morning continued with a talk at Airways from Wayne Thomas and a visit to the Auckland Airport Control Tower.

While some of us chose to tour around the Airport, others spent the morning doing some gliding out at Drury. In the evening we had our AGM followed by a barbecue that Auckland Gliding Club had kindly organised in conjunction with their Pre-Season safety briefing.

On Sunday we visited the Ardmore Warbirds and two very enthusiastic members were overjoyed with their MOTAT visit in the afternoon. Tim Tarbotton and I thoroughly enjoyed bringing the event together and are happy to describe it as a great success! We would like to extend our thanks to the Auckland Gliding Club, Air New Zealand, Roger, Gerard, Wayne, Ardmore Warbirds, MOTAT and all those who took time out of their day to help make this event so special for those who could attend.

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gliding new zealand news STEVE WALLACE GNZ President

This column is intended to give readers an ongoing insight into the activities of the GNZ Executive and its Committees. Rather than a detailed report on matters currently under consideration, here are some recent items of significance.

Gidday and Kia Ora from the Exec As you read this the soaring season is well underway and most clubs are now a hive of activity, despite the usual weather ups and downs.

Rather than bore you with some of the drab details of GNZ business, I thought I would offer up something useful that if your club isn’t already, it should be using.

It is a seven step ‘How we do it’ formula from the Wellington Gliding Club for recruiting new youth members. The increase in youth members in our gliding clubs has been one of the great success stories of the last few years. It has real momentum now and long term is securing the future of our sport.

Youth Glide Promo Package in action Too much grey hair around the table?

›› The assembly audience was about

Could your club do with some more youth members?

400, of which 20 took a form.

We allowed a two-week return time after which we had six satisfactorily completed entries. ›› Joshua’s submission was the best: "I wanted to be a commercial pilot but now I would like to do it because of the view and excitement I will get when flying." ›› We, being Kuranui and ourselves, arranged a presentation to Joshua plus the other five entrants and had the local newspaper attend. The five other entrants were given a heavily discounted one trial flight voucher. ›› The newspaper ran the article after which we received a request from Chanel College in Masterton for a similar presentation. Whether a consequence of the article or not, we are also receiving about one or two enquiries per month from local parents regarding gliding opportunities. ›› We presently have five Youth Members attending our Sunday Rain or Shine To Solo Flying School and whilst we will make room for

Your local school has them, all you need to do is present something to them.

Below is a step by step guide to how the Wellington Gliding Club did it.

›› Arrange a presentation at your local school. Our youth student Anja Runge presented the YouthGlide Video and the associated presentation to a Kuranui College Assembly (resource available on the YouthGlide website ›› Following the presentation we made available to those who were interested a brief, 'I am interested in learning more about gliding,’ application form, with the incentive of a free gliding experience to whoever best answered the question, ‘Why do I want to fly?’ The gliding experience was our standard 'One day Introduction to Gliding Course' http://soar.co.nz/index.php/learnto-fly/ which is our main and most effective (about a 50% conversion rate) recruiting Trial Flight tool.

Joshua if he decides to proceed we are otherwise full until we can kick off a new intake in December.

The whole process requires a fair bit of planning and implementation effort, yes, but don’t most worthwhile ventures?

Congratulations to Joshua Wiegmann and the Wellington Gliding Club.

“I wanted to be a commercial pilot but now I would like to do it because of the view and excitement I will get when flying.”

November 2018–January 2019

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GLIDING NEW ZEALAND 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.glidingcanterbury.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 http://www.glidingwairarapa.co.nz/ Club Contact Diana Braithwaite Ph (06) 308 9101 Base Papawai Airfield, 5 km east of Greytown Ph (06) 308 8452 or 025 445 701 Flying Weekends, or by arrangement 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 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell modp@inspire.net.nz Ph (06) 370 4282 or 021 279 4415 Base Hood Aerodrome, Masterton Flying By arrangement

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November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

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

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 17 January 2019.

AUCKLAND AVIATION SPORTS CLUB Since we last wrote the seasons have changed and the weather has been more favourable. We have commenced active soaring and most pilots have had some good duration soaring sorties. The sky is giving indicators that it may be a good soaring season.

We have recently had our AGM and tied this in with our Season Safety Briefing.

We were delighted to have special guest Doug Hamilton from the CAA, and Adam Lawson, Air Traffic Control at Whenuapai speak to us on flight safety matters. This was very informative and useful information for all us to keep boosting flight safety. Many thanks chaps for taking the time out of your schedules and to our CFI for organising.

We have welcomed Andrew Fletcher into our fold. Andrew is a Dash 8 pilot and has all the signs of a great soaring pilot. Expect to see Andrew moving into the cross-country and competition arenas in the near future.

We also welcome Mark Hills who is rapidly progressing through the training syllabus and doing extremely well. We have also had Air Training Cadets continue their flight experience training.

The club ventured to Matamata for Labour Weekend. Incredibly the weather was fine and soarable for all three days. Our big thanks to the Piako club for welcoming us and putting on an absolutely top-notch dinner on the Saturday evening. Dave Todd has swapped and upgraded his long wing Kestrel for an equally long winged Turbo Ventus 2 CT. He has been out quite often flexing its wings, and now and then even powering up the trusty turbo. It also appears to be the time where a number of pilots are due for their BFRs and our trusty instructors have been putting the pilots through their paces. Of course, there are numerous judges on the ground watching intently for how each pilot handles the air brake failure and how far they go down the field.

CLUB NEWS

Auckland Aviation Sports Club:

And finally, after a two year hiatus, we managed to have a stunner West Coast day with five of our members doing the run between Muriwai and Raglan. Two students had their initiation on the coast with Steve Wallace, showing them how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done. A brilliant time had by all, with plenty of big smiles at the end of the day.

So happy safe soaring everyone, bring it on.

Club Skipper

CANTERBURY

Auckland Aviation Sports Club:

Late winter and spring in the South Island has offered good soaring on one, two (or three) weekend days most weeks. That and an increasing number of active pilots at all stages of their flying careers means plenty of activity at Springfield. Convergence and wave on the great days has seen many two to three hour flights or longer with old hands heading north as far as Lakes Station, or south to Omarama, Mt Cook, Ahuriri Valley and return. The seasons best so far - 1933 km

by Michael Oakley mid-week from Omarama to Springfield via Nelson Lakes (twice) and Gore.

Pilot numbers have increased with pilot and instructor Christine Franke, a PhD student here for three years from Germany with her partner Paul Schneider, a pilot and composites engineer. From a mini-YouthGlide camp, Xanthe McCurrie, Mackay and Callum Wakefield are continuing as student pilots.

Also starting gliding, accomplished and FAI Gold Badge awarded model aircraft pilot Alex Hewson. Craig Clapham has re-joined the club along with son Jack who is also keen to fly. Nick Oakley and Alex McCaw are back from their OE in the UK, Nick bringing a new British registered Discus 2 with him.

Auckland Aviation Sports Club: November 2018â&#x20AC;&#x201C;January 2019

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Instructing has been steady to busy with BFR renewals for many prior to the season start, along with a week-long ab-initio course and a visit by Greymouth ATC cadets. Several club students have been meeting in a selforganised tutorial group working through theory for the QGP exams.

Labour weekend welcomed resident instructors Jordan and AJ who as a team will provide both tow piloting and instructing for the summer, allowing the club to operate on every soarable day. Working bees have prepared the campground and classroom prior to the Canterbury competition in the first week of December. Caravan and tent sites make it practical to stay and fly and the welcome mat is out.

Photo John McCaw

CLUB NEWS

Canterbury: Jordan Richards will be towing and instructing during the summer

Typical spring weather has seen a combination of flyable and unflyable days.

One Sunday saw thermals start early with the first flight taking off before midday. The mostly local thermals brought flights of over an hour and climbs to over 3,000 feet enjoyed by students and experienced pilots alike. The late afternoon sea breeze killed the convection, but the smooth air was ideal for training. The first day of daylight saving started cold but fine. The temperature rose as the day progressed with some afternoon convection and convergence allowing members to soar to 5,000 feet around the local area for over an hour.

Other days have seen morning frosts and/or weather conditions more wintery than spring-like but when flyable, pilots have made the most of the available conditions.

A late August day saw youth pilot Josh Ferguson fly the club’s PW5 for over half an hour in blue and weak conditions before a wind change killed all lift. He followed this up with a longer flight in better conditions in September.

The club repeated the Fathers’ Day radio station promotion again this year. This saw an announcer taken for a flight and a short video compiled and placed on the radio station’s web site. Radio promotional trailers, announcer liners, Facebook activity and a website article added to the club’s promotion in return for a number of trial flights as prizes.

The success of the promotion remains to be seen but there was an increase in trial flight sales around the promotional period.

The local ATC cadets have had their annual flying camp with flights completed in less than ideal conditions. A total of 22 flights were flown on the day.

A further grant has been received from the local Eastern & Central Community Trust

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November 2018–January 2019

Photo John McCaw

GLIDING HAWKES BAY AND WAIPUKURAU

Canterbury:

to subsidise youth flying which continues to be the major driver of current training flights at the club.

Hopefully the weather co-operates and we get some classic Hawkes Bay soaring days as the season progresses.

PIAKO Our compulsory club ‘Start of Season’ briefing was held on Saturday 29 September and repeated on Wednesday 3 October. All active club members not overseas attended and then socialised over lunch. We have had 10 new members join the Club since July, so it was a good time for them to meet the club members who go into gliding hibernation over winter.

Piako’s season has started in earnest.

David Jensen has totalled some impressive flights and OLC points. Our CFI Bob Gray

achieved his 500 km Diamond (completing his 3 diamonds) and Sarel Venter his Gold 300 km on the same Wednesday in October. Then last Sunday Tony Davies, our Tug Master and B Cat Gliding Instructor, achieved his 500 km Diamond. Steven Care also did the 500 km task but already has his 3 Diamonds. It is interesting that no one in the club had achieved a ‘FAI 500 km’ for around 30 years but since 2010 we’ve had six.

Piako has a proud tradition of service.

Steven Care has been awarded the FAI Paul Tissandier Diploma for his many years of service, not only to Piako, but also to GNZ. An Instructor since 1985 with over 1,000 hours of instructing, he has been President, CFI and continuously on the Committee for over twenty years, latterly as Club Captain.

His service to GNZ is over ten years as

CLUB NEWS

Piako: Aviation Sports and Piako Members Labour Weekend Dinner.

Piako: Tony Davies Chief Tow Pilot & B Cat Instructor on towing duty. Still on Cloud 9 after his 500 km Diamond.

TARANAKI

Piako: Bob Gray in his DG 101 after his 500 km.

Assistant ROO, ROO and the last five years as NOO. Ralph Gore received this award in 2012 and Associate Member Edouard Devenoges in 2015. The Club feels very proud to have produced three Tissandier winners who have contributed so much over many years to PGC and GNZ Club Astir NI’s refurbishments have been completed with a smart leather interior.

Malcolm Piggott has project managed the ‘Snowmen’ since last year when the wings were refurbished. This year it’s been the fuselage and interior. Malcolm aided by David Cleverly and Steven Care have done an outstanding job. Most Club Members have assisted this project in some way. Like Carl Henderson who made a new wheel fairing, many gave what time they could to sand the fuselage. Malcolm as a new QGP was 5th in the Racing Class at the Nationals

in February in this glider, beating higher performance gliders and more experienced pilots.

Aviation Sports enjoyed three days of excellent flying when they made their annual visit at Labour Weekend. Made up for last year when they decamped on the Sunday because of the weather. We enjoyed the camaraderie over dinner for 36 on the Saturday night.

We will have a busy summer with more badge flying, training courses for our new members and weekends flying various ATC groups, Young Eagles and Rangers.

Piako is very grateful to Tauranga Gliding Club for the use of their Pawnee PNE while CNC sits in our hangar awaiting parts.

Hopefully CNC will be flying again for the Northern Regionals starting November.

GH

Our season started off in good style with a wave flight to 17,000 feet by Glyn Jackson and Jesse Robinson. There have been a number of cross-country forays

by Les Sharp, John Tullett, Peter Cook, Dennis Green, Glyn Jackson, Peter Williams and Tim Hardwick-Smith who has set the benchmark on October 8 with a 250+km flight out to parts east and west and good flights by others too. Over sixteen hours for the day. The best for many a day.

Liam Finer and Nathan Whittleston of Youth Glide fame have continued with their flying and Liam is now on the TGC committee. This has a side effect of reducing the average age of the committee members.

We must get another Junior in the group!

Both have been busy with their flying.

Peter Cook has converted to the Janus which he thinks is a good aircraft. Peter and Tim have been at Taupo with Tim being well-placed on a couple of days. Les Sharp is down at Omarama – he took part in Jerry O’Neill’s course and appears to have secured his Silver Badge. Glyn Jackson flew the South Island Regionals and was placed about mid-field and Sam Tullett had a couple of good long flights in a Duo Discus with good times.

The airfield came through the winter in good order and the weather has provided good soaring so far. This trend would appear to be one that might continue. That would be a GOOD THING. PJM

November 2018–January 2019

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F OR S A L E • WA N T E D • S E R V IC E S • E V E N T S

GLIDERS

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

SILENT IN • Self Launching Sailplane $44K. Alisport (Italy) self launching sailplane with retracting Alisport 302efi FADEC 28hp engine driving a monoblade propeller. For full details, Google 'Alisport Silent In' or <alisport.com>.

Airframe 890hrs, engine and propeller less than 4hrs (new 2013) Removeable winglets, tinted canopy, usual instruments plus Trig TT21 transponder (with Mode S). Wing wheel, tail dolly and one man rig gear. Excellent open trailer with current reg. and WOF. Currently registered as Class 1 microlight.

Neville Swan. phone 09 416 7125, email: nswan@xtra.co.nz

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. Price $21,000 negotiable. Contact Phil Sumser phone 03 448 5411 email phil. sumser@xtra.co.nz

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. Ben Stimpson. email: bstimpson@xtra.co.nz phone 027 555 5485

JS3 18m • Brand new this year. 18m wings, Jet turbine, excellent panel, Aluminium Cobra trailer. Full covers. Available now or alternatively I can order you one for delivery in 2020. Contact Brett Hunter phone 021 927 626 email bhunter@kinect.co.nz

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.

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. Ross Gaddes email: ross@sailplaneservices.co.nz phone 027 478 9123 ASW 20 cl in great condition • Piako Gliding Club in pvt Hangar. Price includes new instruments and radio. # 20823, Manf: 1985. TT 1655 hrs with 811 launches. 2 pot finish. Instruments: Ditter KRT2 Com, Terra TXPDR, Flarm. LX Navigation EOS Vario (GPS IGC LOGGER) with Remote Stick Controller. Water bags all good in wings. Mountain High oxygen system.

Homebuilt Trailer. Hangar at Piako by negotiation. $60,000 Contact S Griffin email oldbuick@hotmail.com, phone 027 595 5191 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. $110,000.00. Contact Jamie Halstead email halstead.joinery@xtra.co.nz, phone 021 409 933.

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 0204 118 7493 or 03 572 5409 Nimbus 2 GKV. • New PU paint on fuselage, double bladed air brakes, trailer. $25,000. Contact Steve Barham phone 021 642 484 email barham@xtra. co.nz Nimbus 2 GPA • PU Paint in good condition, tinted canopy, standard panel with microair radio. Optional instruments are a CAI302 &303 along with a Becker transponder (250 Watt). Has O2, Jaxida all weather covers and trailer.

Open to sensible offers. Contact Carl Jackson email c-jackson@xtra.co.nz 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

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November 2018–January 2019

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 Discus GPV • Discus B 1/3 share.1/3 glider and Drury hanger share for sale.

Contact Paul O'Neill-Gregory phone 021 194 5065 email oneillgregory@xtra. co.nz

AVIONICS Cambridge Vario readout • Suit LNAV or SNAV. As new large size readout.

Requires 80mm hole. Never used. $75. Contact Roger Sparks phone 0274 956 560 email r.sparks@xtra.co.nz Dittel FSG 71M • Pre-loved FSG71 in perfect working order. The only reason it got de-installed from my LS4 back home was the radio changeover to 8.33KHz in Europe. Device comes without a cable harness: on offer is just the radio, plus photocopies of the paperwork it was delivered with in 1985.

No EASA form 1, it is too old for that (it got grandfathered into EASA while it was installed in that LS4). $300. Contact Alexander Wilkie phone 021 222 6572 email alexander@wilkie.at Bendix King KY197A VHS transceiver • Suits 14 volt electrical system 760 channel VHF. Originally came out of a Piper Cub tug in the UK. $1,600.

Contact Annie Laylee email annlaylee@aol.com Panel Mount Radio Microphone • Brand new radio microphone designed for flush mounting in the panel of a glider. Much tidier option than the typical gooseneck arrangement. Compatible with most radios found in modern gliders. Supplied with a general wiring diagram and a specific wiring diagram for a Microair 760. Purchased directly from Germany earlier this year. The current microphone in my glider works fine so I’m leaving it alone. Selling below cost. $100. Contact John email drjmhudson@gmail.com Microair transponder and encoder • New. $1,250. Contact Garry. Phone 02041187493. Email gkmorgan54@gmail.com

GNZ members are eligible for one free non-commercial classified advertisement per issue.

Deadline for receipt of advertising for our February 2019 issue is 26 January 2019.

TRAILERS

ADVERTISE IN

As new trailer, 8m X 2.4. about 1.8m high. Was used to ship my motor glider to NZ. Spare wheel. $3000. Contact Garry Morgan. Email gkmorgan54@ gmail.com, Phone 02041187493

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 Bruce Drake email Drakeaviation@hotmail.com phone 03 313 4261

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. 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. Tim Bromhead phone 021 217 9049 email tim@pear.co.nz

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Photo John McCaw

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 0274 559 449

WANTED 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. Mike Packer email mikelpacker@gmail.com, phone +64 21 059 8648 Wanted Vintage, Classic Glider • A new pilot, wants to own and love a vintage or classic glider. Preferences for Slingsby T51 Dart 15 or Dart 17, Ka6 or similar, with trailer. Will consider other offers, including aiframes in need of TLC and restoration. Contact Martin Brill phone +64 21 0571768 email mbrillx@gmail.com

November 2018–January 2019

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SAILPLANE SERVICES LTD Specialist Composite Aviation Engineering

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 +674 274 789 123