Aoraki Hang Gliding Classic

~ January 2022

Words and Photos by Rod Stuart

it is no secret that some of the best soaring air in the world can be found in the Mackenzie Basin.

Omarama is situated inland on the edge of the mighty Southern Alps away from most sea breezes. The hot sun and clear skies produce stunningly strong thermals and the westerly winds produce wave that can lift you to the edge of space. Omarama makes you feel like an astronaut!

Tom Mulder has recently introduced Xcontest to the hang gliding scene in NZ. A simple way to score cross country flights using igc files recorded by a GPS.

I phoned Tom...

Rod: “Tom, do you think we could use Xcontest to score a hang gliding competition?”

Tom: “I see no reason why not. Would you like me to help you with score keeping?”

Rod: “Yes please! I am organizing a relaxed hang gliding competition first week of January.”

Tom: “I’m in!”

I also wanted to revive the Sterling Big Sky competition and phoned John Smith with this idea.

Rod: “John, would you help me set up a one day race with turn points for the Sterling Big Sky?”

John: “Great idea Rodney ~ I would love to!”

And so the Aoraki Hang Gliding Classic was born with Dirapuk, Marney and Rod’s ‘crib’ in Omarama as comp HQ. Registration was done at a relaxed New Year’s Eve party held at Dirapuk. It is always fun to catch up with flying friends and you could feel the enthusiasm.

What follows comes from my daily logs covering 8 superb days of flying in a row.

1st January

I did notice a few 0.0% alcohol beers in my fridge on New Years Day; perhaps some are taking this competition seriously? Nine pilots drove up to the Omarama Saddle and were treated to some superb conditions. Several pilots ventured down the Hawkdun Range and most made it back to Omarama township.

Matt Barlow made a flying start with a 104km flat triangle from Omarama Saddle, to Mt Ida, on to Omarama town and back to the Saddle for a score of 156.57 points. He takes the lead! Steve Ferguson established himself in first place for sports class with a 51km cross country to Twizel earning him 50.99 points.

An amazing 16 pilots have registered to compete this week! An exciting start and such a relaxed competition format. Thank you to all the pilots, drivers, friends and family for supporting this competition. Always great to get a flyable first day!

2nd January

On day two four car loads drove up The Buscot. There was a thin vale of high cloud blocking the sun but a few light thermal cycles were coming through take off. The

Above; Boot and Steve about to launch at The Buscot. That is Lake Benmore at upper left.

Below; Matt and John climbing with the Ben Ohau range in the background.

wind was hyper light and switching around. After changing take off sides DFC pilots Andrew, Hagen, James, Abe and Boot took off. “Run Forest, run,” was the call by those watching. Even two paragliders found take off light. Andrew led the charge and after a gallant fight he eventually floated down to the Twizel highway.

The rest worked one very light thermal on the point together. They glided off towards Omarama from about 5000’. It became a glide angle competition with Hagen winning the day with a 16km cross country flight. The wind then died completely and the remaining pilots had a long wait. Eventually a light NE wind kicked off some reasonable cycles. Ollie, Steve F, Steve C, Kirsty and Rod launched into some more lively air. Ollie and Kirsty landed on the Twizel highway and the rest flew towards Omarama.

I managed to get to 5,500’ and flew 10kms to land on the airfield in front of Terry Delore’s chalet. I was greeted with a cold Steinlager! Thank you, Terry! Steve C landed with some cows near the Ahuriri Bridge and Steve F flew over the airfield to maintain first place in Sports Class. Matt Barlow had a family day at Lake Benmore but has maintained his position in 1st place overall. Not a high scoring day but some nice flights were had and two out of two days flying in paradise ain’t too bad!

3rd January

With overcast conditions, ten pilots ventured up the Omarama Saddle. We were greeted by a nice steady NW wind blowing on take off. We rigged and enjoyed some nice soaring where some short scoring

Below; Rigging at the Omarama Saddle Photo; Liz Turner

flights were possible. The beauty of XContest is that you can choose your task yourself. There are 4 ways to score using igc files recorded by your instrument, GPS or smart phone. 1. XC Flight ~ start, 3 turn points and finish. Scored with 1 point per km flown. 2. Open Distance ~ longest distance between two points. Scored with 1.25 points per km flown. 3. Flat triangle ~ three turn points to form a triangle which must close to within 2% of the total distance flown. Scored with 1.5 points per km flown. 4. FAI Triangle ~ three turn points to form an equilateral triangle which must close to within 2% of the total distance flown. The shortest leg must be greater than 28% of the total distance flown. Scored with 2 points per km flown.

Pilots simply upload their igc file to Xcontest and the best score from the 4 options above is recorded. Scores are collated onto a spread sheet to score the Aoraki Classic. Your best 3 scores added together give a final result. All flights must start in the Mackenzie Basin and be uploaded to XContest on the day you flew.

Matt Barlow won the day with a very clever 18km cross country using mostly ridge lift.

There is some fierce competition heating up in sport class. Rod Stuart and Steve Cronin fly Gecko 170s and have named themselves ‘The Lizard Kings’. Landscape gardener Steve Ferguson is currently in the lead and the Lizard Kings have declared that they are going to compost him! Gary Turner has had a couple of days off but may return and mow us all over!

Boot (John Urlich) is holding 2nd place overall with Hagen Bruggemann and John Smith not far behind. Three days flying in a row and pilots are buzzing!

4th January

Another stunning day in the skies above paradise. Nine pilots ventured up The Buscot. The skies were overcast with high cloud but a small front was coming in from the south with a lot of activity. Clouds marked the lift to over 7000’. The usual Buscot glider shuffle took place and we ended up taking off to the north. Hagen’s glider bag was sucked up in a dust devil and climbed 200’ above take off ~ after a good 10 minute flight it landed 200m down the road to win first place for a kite bag!

Boot won the day with a very clever 38km FAI triangle for 76 points. This has put him in the overall lead! Matt had a family day. Hagen flew an amazing 52km cross country by flying to Magic Mountain, on to Mt Killermont and landing at Omarama. Andrew did a sneaky wee FAI triangle along the Benmores for 35 points.

The Lizard Kings, Steve C and Rod did some nice composting and scored with good cross country flights landing in the same paddock close to camp Kevin McManus. He kindly came over with cold beer for us ~ thank you Kev! Steve F had a short one but has hung onto the lead in sports class. Tom and Ollie flew xc and landed in Omarama. Every day is flyable!

5th January

I had a rest day with Marney and we took our dog River and a couple of beers to the Ahuriri River bank for some well needed chill time. But with a pair of binoculars and live tracking using the XCTrack app via XContest we could follow the action.

Ten pilots took off to the South directly behind the usual West take off at Omarama Saddle. Reports were that it was a great take off and everyone flew through the saddle to the west and into lee side thermals. It was a little tricky getting up with the bomb out claiming 5 aviators. We spotted Andrew McKirdy flying high over Omarama on route to Twizel for a 48km cross country.

Next, we spotted Tom Mulder flying down Mt St Cuthbert to land at the Omarama airfield for a 28km XC. John Smith flew high directly over us sitting at the Ahuriri River. He successfully closed an awesome 70km FAI triangle scoring 141 points. Hagen Bruggemann came so close to a 75km FAI triangle but that 2% closing rule is brutal and he ended up with a 72km XC.

Matt Barlow had his phone go flat at 8000’ about an hour into the flight. He left his Spot tracker at home so we had no idea where he was. He was spotted climbing on the west side of town at 4pm and last seen flying at 5000’ towards Mt Killermont.

Above; Matt’s incredible 128km FAI triangle

John Smith

Steve B

Abe Tom

Gary

Kev, Rod and Steve C Boot

Kirsty

Andrew

At 7pm Tom, Boot and I formed a ‘Find Matt’ chat group and put the word out. At 7:30pm Matt phoned from the land line at Twinburn Station farm house. He had just landed completing a stunning 128km FAI triangle. His flight took him to the far end of the Benmores, then up the Ahuriri Valley and across to the head of Lake Hawea high on the Dingle Range. He then flew back to the airstrip bomb-out paddock below Omarama Saddle to close the triangle. A very happy Matt arrived back in town to a nice meal cooked by Marney. 5 out of 5 days and Omarama just keeps delivering!

6th January

A rough day on The Buscot. 11 pilots drove up and 7 flew. A moderate wind was blowing up from the south directly along the spine creating some respectably rowdy air! John was first off; he took a while to get up but managed to fly a 12.9km FAI triangle for 25 points. Tom and Boot had short XC flights down to the Twizel highway area. Steve C flew over to the foothills of the Benmores giving Marney an interesting retrieve. Rod and Steve B flew short XC flights and landed at the Hat’s place beside the Ahuriri River. John landed beside them and we were all treated to a nice cup of tea beside the Hat’s pond in the company of his pet trout.

Matt Barlow was flushed off the hill low and was soaring lower Buscot with John Smith at one point. He caught a light thermal and decided to drift back in it towards Mt Eric. He was soon climbing high and heading north. He crossed Lake Ohau and started flying on the Ben Ohau Range towards Aoraki Mt Cook. A stunning effort saw him fly a 76km straight line flight landing just before the Mt Cook Airport earning him 96 points to maintain first place. Steve Ferguson has held onto first place in Sports Class with Rod Stuart just 13 points behind now! Pilots are enjoying the relaxed competition format where a day off does not necessarily penalize your final score. With six out of six days flying, a rest can be needed!

7th January

The drive up Buscot was a clown act right in front of owner Richard. Matt got a flat front tyre and had no spare. We tried to use Steve Ferguson’s spare but that was flat too! We drove back and got Ned’s Toyota truck. His spare was bolted on Matt’s truck. It moved one foot and the rim jammed on the brake callipers breaking them! Eventually gliders were transferred to Ned’s truck and everyone made it to take-off.

Matt Barlow won the day with a staggering 91km straight line flight. He landed knee deep in mud at Lilybank Station north of Lake Tekapo. John flew 74kms straight line for 93 points. Rob Campbell flew a very nice skinny triangle to Twizel and back for 55.5 points.

Upset of the day was Rod Stuart managing a 41km straight line flight for 51 points on his Gecko 170 named Peg. This gave him just enough points to take the lead in Sports Class by only 0.35 points over Steve Ferguson. Boot, Steve B and Hagen got a ‘pegging’ by all landing near Simons Pass.

Andrew flew a tidy little FAI triangle for 19 points. Steve F had a nice XC flight to Lake Pukaki and Gary Turner landed near him scoring with a straight-line flight. Pete Helliwell flew a nice 43km XC flying over lake Ohau and landed on a strange property behind a locked gate ~ ask him for the story! Steve Cronin did a nice wee skinny triangle over the Benmores for 27 points. Tom and Kirsty were our proud bomber squadron for the day landing on the Twizel Highway. Ned and Adrian also had nice flights but are not scoring.

8th January

On the eighth day we tried something different ~ two competitions in one flight! The Aoraki Classic was run in conjunction with the Sterling Big Sky race. John Smith set up a turn point task flying from The Buscot to Omarama Saddle, back to The Buscot and landing in Omarama. 12 pilots took to the air and were greeted by light but very usable lift.

Hagen was the only pilot to fly the whole task landing back in Omarama to win the Sterling Big Sky. Tom got to the Saddle and back to Omarama for second place. Pete Above; Hagen and Tom land in Omarama after the Sterling Big Sky Helliwell landed below the Omarama Saddle to claim Thank you to: third place. ~ Marney for helping with the

The Aoraki Classic was scored for competition, driving for us and the eighth day but scores did not organizing the prize-giving BBQ. affect placings much. Matt had a rest ~ Partners, family and friends who day but his best 3 scores added up supported and encouraged all the to make him overall winner. pilots for 8 days. overall results: ~ Tom Mulder for a ‘Sterling’ effort Aoraki Classic Open Class:1st Matt scoring two competitions. Barlow, 2nd John Smith, 3rd Hagen ~ The farmers who allowed us to Bruggemann. drive up, take off and land on their Aoraki Classic Sport Class: 1st Rod properties. Stuart, 2nd Steve Ferguson, 3rd ~ The competitors, who Gary Turner, demonstrated excellent Sterling Big Sky: 1st Hagen sportsmanship, flying skills and Bruggemann, 2nd Tom Mulder, 3rd camaraderie. Pete Helliwell. ~ The skies above Omarama for

There was a nervous moment turning on 8 out of 8 superb days before prize-giving for Sports Class. of flying conditions. Score keeper Tom Mulder realised During the week, 20 pilots took to Steve Ferguson’s track log from the skies. Boot was the only pilot XCTrack had failed to record part to fly all 8 days and he placed 4th of his flight. He needed to fly just overall. under one kilometre to beat Rod This week has been better than Stuart. His track log was uploaded my wildest dreams. We can all be into XContest from his vario and it proud of being part of an exciting was concluded that Rod had won and enjoyable new way to compete by just 0.37 points! An unbelievable with hang gliders. 370 meters separated them after 8 The next Aoraki Classic starts on days flying! 28th December 2022 and finishes on

A BBQ and prize-giving was held at 4th January 2023. You are welcome! Dirapuk. Matt Barlow was the clear Text Rod on 027 434 4822 and he winner of the Aoraki Hang Gliding will add you to the WhatsApp group. Classic open class. Hagen won the Sterling Big Sky race. The trophy had been in storage a few years at his place. His dogs had eaten the top off it! I have since repaired this trophy and completed the Sports Class trophy won by me! The most promising pilot award was given to Steve Cronin, aka ‘The Hood’.

Boot read out a beautiful poem about the late Sterling Meyer. A real hang gliding character from the past in the Omarama area. The outside fire was lit and we all enjoyed a few tipples celebrating 8/8 days of The new Sport Class trophy won by Rod and the repaired amazing flying and friendship. Sterling Big Sky trophy