February - Hang Gliding Federation of Australia

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G F AG F AJun • orJournalJoeyGlide 2010Adam Webb – PresidentAustralia Junior Gliding ClubTen juniors competed in the seventhannual JoeyGlide competition held inWaikerie from 11 to 17 December last year.The competition, originally plannedfor Narromine, looked like being cancelleddue to the flooding rains aroundthe NSW central west district earlierin the month. The organiser, BathurstSoaring Club’s Gus Stewart, displayedgreat leadership by arranging a changeof venue only a week or so before itwas due to start. There was initially somehesitation from Queensland, but Gus’senthusiasm won through and JoeyGlide2010 went ahead. Well done, Gus!After the last minute change ofvenue, we ended up with flying andtasking every day of the comp (includingtwo practice days), a total of eightconsecutive flying days. This had neverbeen done before in the seven yearsof JoeyGlide.JoeyGlide 2010Thanks again to everyone who helpedout, especially the people involved in thelast minute move. Special mentions go tothe Waikerie Gliding Club, led by ‘Super-John’ Hudson, who made everything runsmoothly and drove the tug every day;Jean for cooking up a wonderful mealfor us every night; Ann Wolfe who sortedus all out with accommodation; all theWaikerie club members who staffed thebar and put up with us invading theirclubhouse; Grant Johnson for keepinghis watchful eye on us as safety officer;Cath Conway for helping hugely withthe move, setting us great tasks (evenif I didn’t make it around them all) andcoaching in the K21 and Duo; ‘Nifty’ NevDonald for jumping into a tug with noPhoto: Simon Hackettwarning, and giving us some jolly goodtows; Andrew Horton for his continuedgenerosity to the Juniors and helpingout coaching; and Derek Spencer, PaulMander, George Brown and BernardEckey for their time in the back seatcoaching for the week.Again huge thanks to Gus Stewartwho comp directed the week, who pulledoff an awesome comp with everyone:competitors, coachees and anyone elsewho popped in, having a great time.If he wasn’t shooting off to England for a few years he’d have a job for life.We also have to thank our sponsors:Internode once again supported us hugely,without them we wouldn’t have acontest; it was great to see Simon popin for an afternoon! Thanks alsoto OAMPS who help out not onlywith generous cash sponsorships,but also with insurance. Thanksalso to Modelflight, Go Soaring,Maddog Compersites and BernardEckey for helping out with prizes.Winner of the competitionwas Andrew Maddocks fromBoonah, with Matthew Scutter,Adelaide, taking out secondplace and Nathan Johnson,Wagga Wagga, third. Well doneto all competitors.Now it’s time to start lookingforward to next year! At thepilots’ meeting it was decided tomove the comp up north to Queenslandnext year, and Adam Woolleywas nominated competition director.I’m sure we’ll be hearingfrom him before long!JoeyGlide 2010 placegetters Matt Scutter(2nd), Nathan Johnson (3rd) and AndrewMaddocks (1st)Photo: Adam WebbJoeyGlide 2010 – From a Canadian PerspectiveJoeyGlide is over for another year.Overall I think it was an incrediblecontest to be a part of and I amvery glad that I made it out. Theopportunity to fly with other pilotswho are the same age and have a similarlevel of experience provides young pilotswith a fun contest and a good gauge oftheir abilities. I hope that one day we canhave a similar kind of contest in Canada.The camaraderie between competitorsat JoeyGlide is fantastic. In the air everyoneflew safely and fairly, giving thesafety officer and penalties’ committee aneasy job during the contest. The positiveatmosphere continued on the ground.Before launches, more experienced pilotswere willing to discuss strategic plans andperceptions of the upcoming day. In theevening you could count on the fact thateveryone would get together and sharetales of the air over a beer; talking aboutdecisions that were made, both goodand bad. These stories evoked a lot oflaughter, but also some serious learning.There were many times where youcould tell we were at a junior contest.Although some may perceive the radiochatter as unprofessional, it helped makean entertaining and friendly contest.Webbsi Max FM was on the airways allweek, providing us with good jokes (HeyJohno, niiiice cirrus!) and quality music(Top Gun theme song!). On the groundmany practical jokes were played, includinggiving some gliders new call signs (MCHammer and Canada 4) and the furniturefrom an entire room being moved outside.Although not typical of a glidingcontest, these friendly antics createda fun atmosphere that will keep youngpeople coming back for future contests.JoeyGlide also had a serious side to it.I think everyone who was involved in thecoaching clinic greatly benefitted fromthe knowledge the coaches brought tothe contest. Morning briefings also gavenew pilots information about strategyand safety.Through the eight days of flyingI learned a lot about myself and aboutcontest flying. One thing I learned isthe importance of a good start. It isimportant to find a balance betweenflying with the rest of the field on somedays, having patience to start when theday is good, and not starting so latethat you miss the best part of the day.Selena BoyleReflecting on each day of flying I cansee how I could have improved my start.Another thing I learned about is flyingwith other pilots and using them to markthermals, particularly on day three whena large portion of the field flew togetherfor most of the day. Watching otherpilots and how far they travel on theirstraight glides has taught me that this issomething I need to improve on. Part ofthis is being more selective about whichclimbs I take, which requires discernment.If I am able to improve on this aspect ofmy flying I will increase my speed. Oneof the biggest aspects of my flying thatI need to improve on is learning howto read the sky, understanding wherethe good air is, and being aware of thechanging weather as the day progresses.I can see that each of the things I havelearned and hope to improve on will onlyimprove as I gain more experience andfly more! I am looking forward to it!I would like to give some huge thanksto several people who helped me duringthe contest. First of all to Tobi Geiger:thank you so much for being so generousto lend me your glider and all of yourequipment! Your glider is definitely themost beautiful glider I have ever hadopportunity to fly! I really appreciate yourgenerosity and all of the help you gaveme throughout the contest. Thank youalso to Swaantje Geyer for lending meyour vehicle: without it I would not havebeen able to get to the contest. Thankyou to everyone who sent me notes ofJoeyGlide 1981Emilis PrelgauskasCanadian entrant Selena Boyleencouragement and constructive criticismduring the contest, especially to ChrisGough. Every little bit of information thatI can gather will make me a better pilot.Thank you also to Internode and all ofthe personal sponsors who helped providefunding for JoeyGlide. As a young personwith limited money I cannot properlyexpress how much all of the supportmeans to us! I would also like to thankthe Australian Junior Gliding Club forbeing so kind to award a foreigner likemyself a scholarship!Now for a cheesy sentimental moment:thank you to each and every pilot whowas at JoeyGlide this year. I had a greattime getting to know all of you betterand racing around the skies with you.I had a few moments where I lookedaround the room and thought howincredible it would be if we were all stillflying in 40 years and could sit arounddrinking beer and laughing about thegood old times of flying JoeyGlide.Keep enjoying the thrills of the sky!This is the 30th anniversaryof an earlier generationof Juniors.In 1981 they gatheredin Mildura at the Sunraysia GlidingClub to fly the early year contestwhich was run there for decades.This photograph by Don Hein records the contest day where these pilots in pre-1970ssailplanes set out on a 500km set task (Mildura – Balranald – Birchip – Mildura).The old fox Keith Nolan is included at left as the first time an Olympia (his ‘YellowWitch’ shown here) had covered that course length.The Juniors shown are Gary Stevenson, Guy Harley, Graeme Newcombe, ChrisDearden and Graeme Parker. All except Graeme are still active pilots.Not shown are other pilots attempting the course, notably eight Adelaide Universitystudents who shared a two-seat sailplane in rotation. They only flew 450kmof the course that day.6 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 7

Mt BeautyG F AJohn IngramPhoto: Mark BlandIt’s A Pity The CameraWasn’t WorkingThe Barossa Valley Gliding Club troupe visited Mount Beauty Gliding Club (MBGC)– three instructors and two engineers – from 22 to 29 of October 2010 to fly‘the mountains’. As flat-landers the mountains would probably be daunting!Passionateabout soaringPerformanceBut first, for me to get there: well it’sin Victoria, somewhere. My plottedcourse was Gawler, Palmer, TailemBend, Bordertown, Horsham, StAnaud, Bendigo, Shepparton, Benalla,Wangarratta, Bright, turn-off atGermantown to Mt Beauty. Got lostin Bendigo, Shepparton, Wangarratta,and on ‘a hill’! (My map doesn’t showcontours.) On top of that hill (apparentlythe highest point between Germantownand Mt Beauty) I asked a couple, “Is thisMt Beauty?” I was told Mt Beauty was“down there”, in the valley, not on a hill.So all the way down the other side ofthis winding road, I went (it’s a goodthing I didn’t have a trailer). The journeytook 13 and a quarter hours and 1023km.I wasn’t wanting to go solo, notinto unknown territory in an unknownaircraft, so (24 October) I first flew withOlly Barthelmes in the IS28, VH-WVU,for 19 minutes. “Oooh, those trees andhill are close!” There were pockets oflift, but not expansive ridge soaring, asI imagined; lift was in the convergencesof the ridges. Something unique, takeoffwas always on 34, but landing canbe either 34, or 16! The slope/layout isthe reverse of Lake Keepit: At Mt Beautythere is a pond/lake and the strip runsdownhill from there; whereas, at LakeKeepit the strip runs down to the lake.Thanks Olly.As MBGC has a new hangar, it is stillunder construction, I happened to havespare time, so I assisted with a littleconcreting (Mark the builder set outheight level boards for floor levelling)and filled to that level: this Mark’s (thereare two Marks) primary task was settingthe south end’s door tracks; excessconcrete we used to make this floorlevelling guide. For this, Mark Bland,also concreting, took me in the ASK21MIfor a four-minute flight, from a winchlaunch, thanks Mark. Looking around,we flat-landers can’t appreciate there canbe so much water and grass – and stillquite flyable: it’s green! Our home baseStonefield is normally brown and dusty.At the end of the day (28 October)Kevin Barnes and I had a seven-minuteflight in the IS28; uneventful, it was after1700. Thanks Kev.As there was no consistent ridgesoaringfor the uninitiated, thermalswere used, and they started around 1100.Mark B, knowing the locality, took Kevin the ASK21MI. When they returned,I was next. ‘We’ used the motor onthe ASK21MI. As we approached thehills Mark took control; getting lift westruggled for a while, but with the aidof the motor we moved up, along, andover. When we had a safe height I tookcontrol – hey, it’s unknown territory tome. I was very conscious of where ourescape routes were, just in case. Well,yes, I was totally disoriented, but ifnecessary I could have got out of thearea, and landed; but I wouldn’t knowwhere. We worked thermals, and ridge,to 6000 plus feet, and headed out toanother hill, Mt Feathertop!We ‘buzzed’ a couple who were ontop of the mountain – what were we,200ft higher? When the ground is thatclose, the altimeter becomes unimportant,just the escape routes constantly identified.A couple of circuits of the summit,a wave to the couple, and onto the nextpoint of lift: I’m glad Mark knew wherehe was!The next hill in the distance lookedpromising, so we worked towards it.On the way a few features were pointedout: hill names, huts, lost pollies; thenonto this other hill, Mt Bogong, thehighest hill in Victoria; we were wellover 6000ft. Again, huts, and trails,pointed out; no landing sites, only takeoffsites for hang gliders. A leisurely flydown the valley with Mark pointing outa couple of lakes; it was a pity my camerawasn’t working. And yes, I was lookingback to the airfield, determining whetherI could get back, Mark reassured me wehad sufficient height; but we did have theiron horse as back-up. We had sufficientheight and we landed two hours andtwo minutes from take-off. Thanks Mark,I would not have the confidence to flythere alone.My initial intention was to go toBacchus Marsh for Sunday’s meeting,however, I got caught with ‘foodsensitivity problem’ (wine cleared withmilk products?), so I decided to go homethe easy way. With misleading road signs Igot lost, again. Going down the valley toWodonga was not a problem: localssuggesting the best way, “You go…and…, you can’t miss it.” I ended up inNSW, looking for a road 10km out fromWodonga; 15km later still no road. Ieventually found Finley, Deniliquin andSwan Hill. Did you know Swan Hill has aroundabout inside a roundabout; Ifollowed the signpost, and went up thewrong side. And then there’s Pinnaroo:there are two signs in Pinnaroo, one says‘Ouyen’, and the other says ‘Bordertown’:so where is the road to Adelaide? Askanother local, “Well, yes, you have totake the Bordertown road for a start.”After 12-and-a-quarter hours I was home.I suppose I wasted two-and-a-half hours,and nearly half a tank of fuel, goingthe wrong way, getting lost, and beingvery frustrated!Sub-editor’s note: Hope you receiveda car GPS for Christmas John!HigH Speed FligHtgliders@highspeedflight.com.auwww.highspeedflight.com.auMobile 0414 672 709Po Box 293 Thirroul NSW 2515Australian agent for Schempp-Hirth Gliders and Jaxida Covers8 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 9

H G F ACraig Worth OpenForbes 2011Compiled from Jonny Durand’s andRicker Goldsborough’s blogs and the OzReportLaunch linePhoto: Jonny DurandDragonflys and their pilots worked hard to get everyone in the airPhoto: Jonny DurandAbove Forbes launchPhoto: Ricker GoldsboroughD ay 1The day started off looking good withsmall clouds popping in front of a slowmoving trough line. A 113km task wasset to the NE, trying to escape the overcloudingthat was moving in from theSW. There are about 65 pilots here andmany were off and towing early takingadvantage of the blue skies.The satellite photo showed anembedded cu-nimb 50km away when wegot to the airfield at 11am. The forecastwas for high temperatures, 38ºC and itwas sunny and warm where we were.We starting launching soon after noon.A few pilots headed north-north-westCloudbase Foundation FundraiserAbout 65 pilots met in Forbes for the Open. Executive Directorof the Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships was DavisStraub, the task committee included Gerolf Heinrichs, JonnyDurand and Attila Bertok.Almost $2000 offunds were raisedfor the CloudbaseFoundation [www.thecbf.org] to supporttheir charityprojects for children.Ricker Goldsborougha bit upwind to wait for the start time.Once on course, some rain was seen andsoon there were many more sections ofrain. Not long after Vicki sent out anSMS to stop the task. With Jonny Durandin front the task was stopped due tooverdevelopment and thunderstormson the course line.D ay 2After checking the weather in themorning it was looking like we weregoing to have thunderstorms quite early.A re-brief at noon saw us heading outto the field just in case the weather wasgoing to turn good for a late task.As we arrived at the strip it wasclear the weather was not changing ina hurry as another cell moved by us withlightning and rain. The safety committeedecided to cancel the day around 1pm.Most pilots went to Parkes to swimand explore, others hung around theairport and took a flight and somewent to the local pub. Ricker spent theafternoon looking for a local charitythat CBF could assist.Line of storms moving in, cancelling Day 1 taskPhoto: Jonny DurandD ay 3 – Ta s k 1With no chance of thunderstorms andlight winds, the task committee calleda 165.7km triangle task with a start timeat 1:30pm. Cloudbase was expected tobe at around 8000ft.Davis: During launch a pilot got hisVG line stuck to the cart and crashes. Hewalks away from it, the ambulance guysand launch director were immediatelyout to render assistance.At the next day’s briefing advice wasgiven on ways of how to prevent thisfrom happening again. I subsequently putmy VG line in a bungee on my downtube.It was a long slow climbing tow acouple of kilometres east to the lift, butit was a steady climb to a 5400ft base,quite low for Forbes, but also quite cool.I took off at the first clock at 1:30pm.A couple of slow climbs, one beforeBogan Gate and one just after beforeI finally got up good after Bogan Gateand got low before Trundle. Ricker andI joined another pilot for a reasonablyfast climb and made our way to Trundleturnpoint.Two kilometres past the TP, we spotteda pilot going up quickly and came inunder him for a 600ft/min to base, nowat 7800ft. There was a cloud street tothe east toward the Alec Town turnpoint.With Ricker just below and behind,I emerged from the mist and headedeast under the cu’s. I worked weak liftand cursed so much I lost it and soonlanded. Ricker made it around the secondturnpoint, but landed less than halfwayto the third turnpoint at Bogan Field.Ricker: I launched second and endedup with Davis Straub and Larry Bunner atthe start. I took second start and landedjust short of turnpoint three at 122km.Larry had a low save and made it in,but Davis landed short too..Twenty-two pilots made goal.Task 11 Curt Warren M AUS 9892 Attila Bertok M HUN 9593 Dave Shields M GBR 949D ay 4 – ta s k 2Race to Goal 148.8km, Forbes–Grenfell–Eugowra–Cudal.The CAPE forecast showed thunderstormsto the north of Narromine,quite a way from Forbes. It also showedgood lift and cu’s to the east of Forbeswith cloudbase at 9000ft. The surfacetemperature was predicted to be mildat 32ºC. The task committee came up witha local task.Davis: I hate going south to Grenfelland suggested a five-kilometre radiusturnpoint which would allow us to stayon the hill sides before Grenfell. TheLine-up of Dragonflys at the airfield and......cars lined up in front of the Vandenberg Hotel headquartersReleasing from towPhotos: Ricker Goldsborough10 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 11Day 3 winner CurtGreen flatlandsPhoto: Jonny DurandPhoto: Jonny Durand

H G F AH G F ADay 3 start gaggleJonas LobitzDay 5 and Overall winner, Jonny DurandPhoto: Jonny DurandPhoto: Jonny Durandsuggestion was gratefully accepted bythe task committee. We also wanteda five-kilometre turnpoint at Eugowrato keep us near the hills to the east.The last two legs would be downwind.Photo: Jonny DurandThere was lots of high level cloudcausing shading, and there was a cu-nimbto the NE. It looked good to the southand SE, but not so good to the east andNE. The thunderstorm was a lot closerthan the forecast had let us believe.With all the shading, lift was weakin the 10km start cylinder. Despite that,I managed to get to 7400ft just beforethe 1:30pm start.Ricker and I took off, but apparentlya lot of pilots took the first start time.The first thermal averaged 350ft/min,not strong nor weak. A cu above markedits location and there were plenty ofcu’s ahead. The lift improved furthersouth and just before the hills north ofGrenfell, I found a core under a cu thatreally turned ’on’ to over 1000ft/min onthe averager. A Wedg-tailed Eagle joinedme. He doesn’t attack, just shares thescreaming lift. We climb to over 9000ftand it’s cold up there for my fingerlessbicycle gloves and two long sleeved shirts.A quick glide around Grenfell turnpointand back to the ridgeline I got backto almost 8000ft then headed down theridge looking for the next strong lift outfront and a bit to the west under thegood looking clouds. I get to 9400ft andam beginning to shiver.I head NNE toward Eugowra undera nice cloud street and don’t get below6600ft as I make the turnpoint andhead for the tree covered hills betweenEugowra and Cudal.Over the hills I found a strong thermalto 9300ft 31.5km from goal beforeheading on final glide. Ahead it was blackfrom the cu-nimb to the north, but goalwas still in sunshine, yet north of it theshade reached for miles to the east, westand north.Almost halfway to goal I left the hillsand my L/D went down to 8. The tailwindhad turned into a headwind from thecu-nimb which was now shading goal.I started flying at best glide for the last10km, coming over the goal line at 200ft,turning and landing in thick wet alfalfa.The day saw 33 pilots in goalTask 21 Gerolf Heinrichs M AUT 9802 Jonny Durand M AUS 9113 Lukas Bader M GER 899D ay 5 – Ta s k 3This was a huge task for many pilots,308.3km Forbes–Milby–Hay, and thesecond longest called task yet in Australia.The lift is supposed to be good,predicted to only about 6000ft at launchtime with cloud cover, but getting toover 9000ft during the task out to thewest. The cu’s are supposed to disappearfor the last 100km toward Hay. Launchopened at 11:45am with the first starttime at 1:15pm.Davis: At least 20 pilots if not almostall start at 1:15pm. It will take aboutsix hours to complete the task by 7pmand the lift is supposed to be light forthe last two hours, so its a good ideato get going.I start a little below cloudbase, butcatch the gaggle at the first thermal.I’m wearing more clothes than the daybefore and it is cold even at 6000ft. Firstturnpoint is a 20km circle around Milbyto keep us to the north and away fromstanding water. I work with two or threeother pilots, including Tulio from Italy,as we zip down the course and see thatahead we will soon be out of the clouds.I’m highest as we approach a treedhill 95km from Gunbar and 80km pastMilby turnpoint. We are over 5000ftand I can see a nice cloud right over theextensive forest. Other pilots seem a bitshy about the forest, but it looks goodto me so I charge ahead. I am rewardedwith 475ft/min on the averager. Tulio andanother pilot join me, then four or fiveother pilots come in under us.Out ahead the clouds thin out andwill soon end. I’m on top of the stack andclimbing fast. I get near the cloud andstuff the bar to get away from the cloudat 9600ft, the highest I’ve been all day.All my potential friends are now behindme. This is my big mistake for the day,now I have no reference point.I race out into the sunshine, searchfor lift and for the first time since leavingthe start cylinder have to work weak lift.I find 500ft/min to over 8000ft by myselfAn awesome flight!Photo: Ricker Goldsboroughthen work lift from less than 3000ft nearGolgoowi back to 8600ft. I find good liftas I make the turnpoint at Gunbar butcan’t get over 5000ft. I hear other pilotsare getting to 8000ft, but can’t find thatand land 50km short of Hay.Ricker: After seven hours and 50minutes in the air, I landed 38km shortof goal. Three PBs for me: longestdistance (180 miles or so), longest time,highest I’ve ever been (over 10 000ft)and I had lunch while flying.Jonny: I won the day in five hoursand five minutes ahead of Curt who wasabout 17 minutes slower from the firststart. I beat Gerolf by 29 minutes.An amazing 29 pilots make the goal,some landing as late as 8pm. Almosteveryone had a Personal Best experiencetoday: longest, highest, furthest,…All report epic conditions on course andover 25 pilots record personal best flights.TAsk 31 Jonny Durand M AUS 10002 Curt Warren M AUS 8783 Gerolf Heinrichs M AUT 747Overall1 Jonny Durand AUS Moyes LS RS 3.5 28272 Curt Warren AUS Moyes LS RS4 26873 Gerolf Heinrichs AUT Moyes LS RS 3.5 26504 Attila Bertok HUN Moyes LS S 5 25095 Steve Blenkinsop AUS Moyes LS S3.5 23716 Carl Wallbank GBR Moyes LS RS 3.5 23477 Trent Brown AUS Moyes LS RS 3.5 22988 Roberto Nichele SUI WW T2C-144 22859 Michael Jackson AUS Moyes LS S 5 226910 Lukas Bader GER Moyes LS RS4 2262Thanks to the Moyes family and factory.What a special group of people! MollyMoyes and Vicki treated us like family.The sport would not be what it is withoutBill Moyes and his family.Forbes Flatlands HG Competition Part 2,the Steve Hocking Challenge followedthis competition. Report will follow innext month’s issue.12 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 13Cranking upThe trophiesPhotos: Ricker GoldsboroughPhoto: Jonny DurandRicker and JonnyPhoto: Vicki MoyesCraig Worth Open winners: Gerolf Heinrichs,Jonny Durand and Curt WarrenPhoto: Ricker GoldsboroughCurt Warren, second overall at the Craig Worth OpenPhoto: Ricker Goldsborough

G F AContrasting soaringconditions this seasonB i t t e r wa s s e rSpectacular soaring conditions prevailed in Namibia thisseason with the OLC showing 142 one thousand (plus)kilometre flights from 22 November to 29 December 2010from Bitterwasser alone, along with numerous other flightsto 1000km. The photos, courtesy of Hans Georg Raschkewho completed 1002km on December 10, show the Namibmountains and desert to the west of Bitterwasser.G F AN a r r o m i n eFlooding in many parts of NewSouth Wales in December forceda decision to relocate JoeyGlide2010, the National Junior GlidingChampionships, from Narromineto Waikerie in South Australia.Disappointment turned to joywhen every day of the event wasflyable, the first time this hadhappened in the seven years ofcompetition. The photo, taken byShinzo Takizawa on 7 Decemberlast year, shows floodwater on theoutskirts of Narromine from theswollen Macquarie River. Narromineaerodrome can be seen centre right,and if you look closely you will see aglider in the sky.D a l byPoor weather conditions disrupted the Multi-class National GlidingChampionships held at Dalby in October 2010 with only five daysflown out of the proposed 12. A photo taken by Terry Cubley showsgliders surrounded by water in the tie-down area, and another, takenby Paul Mander, of Sandy Mander retrieving GO’s tie-down equipment.Wet weather also resulted in postponement of the NSW State GlidingChampionships which were due to be held at Lake Keepit from 27November to 4 December 2010. These will now be held at Lake Keepitfrom 26 March to 2 April this year.W e s t e r n A u s t r a l i aWhile weather conditions in parts of NSW andQueensland brought no joy to glider pilots,those in Western Australia were experiencingsuperb soaring during December. In thesephotos John Welsh, flying VH-GMY, is shownsucking on Mountain High oxygen in a nice9.2-knot thermal coming up to 10000ft, thenenjoying the view from 145000ft during a600(+) kilometre flight from Beverley.14 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 15

G F AG F AWeather StationWind, rain,temperature,humidity,barometer,plus more…Contrastingsoaringconditionsthis seasonJ o n d a r y a nNo Christmas day joy for pilots ofthe Darling Downs Soaring Clubwhen torrential rain throughoutQueensland resulted in flooding ofthe Jondaryan airfield including thetrailer tie-down area and caravansite, as shown in the photos taken byBob Flood.Australian Agentfor Davis Instruments.ECOWATCHUnit 5, 17 Southfork DriveKilsyth VIC 3137Ask for yourFREE catalogue.Phone: (03) 9761 7040 Fax: (03) 9761 7050email: web: [www.davisinstruments.com.au]L a s h a mThey say “mad dogs and Englishmengo out in the midday sun”, well theyalso go out in zero-degree weatherby the look of these photos taken byPaul Haliday at Lasham Gliding Clubsite in Hampshire, England, on BoxingDay 2010. Now that’s dedication tothe sport of gliding!16 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 17

G F ATHE AIRSPEED INDICATORMathew CameronThis instrument is another that is not, in my opinion, fully understood by gliderpilots. Similar to other instruments that we rely on either to fly safely or navigate bythere are some characteristics that we need to know about to use the instrument toits utmost capacity.In its most basic form the instrumentis connected to a pitot tube which isaligned with the airflow. Air underpressure from the forward movement ofthe glider is connected by tubing (usuallyplastic) into the body of the instrumentwhich contains a metallic diaphragm thatis able to expand due to the increased airpressure. This expansion is magnified andthe resultant movement is indicated onthe face of the instrument, in Australia itis calibrated in knots per hour or simplyknots. The case of the instrument is sealedand connected via plastic tubing to thestatic vent.This vent allows the air outside themetallic diaphragm to have the samepressure as the air surrounding theglider. If this vent becomes blocked theinstrument will read incorrectly. Thusas the glider speeds up the air pressureincreases within the pitot tube and thediaphragm, the resultant extra speed isindicated on the dial, when the gliderreduces speed the reverse occurs.It is important to note that theexpansion of the diaphragm is directlyproportional to the speed of the gliderplus the air density, which is a direct resultof the temperature and pressure of thesurrounding air. Of course there has to bea basis for what we are relating to and inthe case of temperature and pressure it isthe International standard atmosphere.This standard has the following basicparameters:• A sea level pressure of 1013 millibars• A sea level temperatureof plus 15 degrees Celsius• A temperature lapse rate of 1.98ºCper 1000ft of altitude to a heightof 36 090ft, thereafter thetemperature is assumed to remainconstant at -56.5ºC.Using this standard, airspeed indicatorsare calibrated at sea level, andproviding the above standard is adheredto indicated airspeed is the same as trueairspeed at sea level under these conditions.This is all very well but as gliderpilots we want to be as far away from sealevel as possible, how then does altitudeaffect the instrument reading? What wehave to consider is the effect of the airdensity on the air that is forced into thepitot tube by the forward motion of theglider. Because air pressure and densityboth reduce with altitude the number ofmolecules of air in each cubic centimetrebecomes less, thus to attain the sameindicated airspeed as the glider at sealevel the true airspeed of the glider is infact greater than that indicated.T h e A i rs p e e d I n d i c at o rNote that we have two airspeeds: indicatedairspeed that we read off the dialof the instrument and true airspeed whichwe are able to calculate in reference toaltitude and the actual temperature atthat altitude. So we have an error thatbecomes greater with altitude to thepoint that at 36 000ft the true airspeedis almost, but not quite, double the indicatedairspeed value.As pilots we relate all our airspeedsto indicated speed; that which we canread on the dial of the instrument, thisincludes stalling speed, thermalling andapproach speeds. You might well askthe question, ‘Why do we need to knowthis relationship between indicated andtrue airspeed?’ The reasons are two, oneoperational and one navigational. TheV ne (never exceed speed) of a particularglider as specified by the manufacturerin the operations’ manual and on thelimitations’ placard in the cockpit relatesto a true airspeed, you will note that theindicated airspeed for V ne on the placardreduces with height.This is straight forward, the navigationalrequirement becomes more complicatedfor several reasons. A powerpilot setting out on a cross-country flightwill calculate his true airspeed and basehis navigational calculations on thatparticular figure and a constant altitude.In the real world of gliding we haveseveral problems. The first is the needto thermal to stay aloft, hence for anygiven indicated airspeed our true airspeedis going to vary with height. We willalso have a different indicated airspeedbetween thermals and this is where trueairspeed can be important, particularlywhen high.Power pilots calculate true airspeed(TAS) using a pilots’ navigational computer.The settings on the instrument areinitially pressure altitude and the actualtemperature at that height, very simpleand straightforward. Let us assume forthe sake of the argument that your speedbetween thermals is an IAS of 75kt, aspeed suitable for an ‘X’ type of glideron a particular day.If our cross-country glider pilot isat 5000ft what is the TAS? As the temperaturereduces by 1.98, say two degreesCelsius per 1000ft, the temperaturein the standard atmosphere would be15º minus 5 x 2 = 10º, ie + 5ºC,the resultant TAS is 81kt.You might well argue that such adifference in not all that great and youwould of course be correct. However, youwill note that we have used standardatmospheric conditions, not very relevanton a plus 40ºC day in outback Australia.If we redo the calculation based ona ground temperature of 40ºC and aresultant temperature at 5000ft of 30ºCwhat is the result? The answer is 84ktTAS. Let’s take it a step further, underthe same conditions what is the TAS at10 000ft? Thus 10 x 2 = -20ºC. Thereforeactual temperature at 10 000ft is +20ºC,the resultant TAS for an IAS of 75kt is91kt, a considerable difference.As a matter of interest, at that heightfor an IAS of 100kt the TAS is 122 TAS.So it is fair to say that the higher theIAS at any given height the greater theTAS difference.We need to base our navigationalcalculations on some realistic figures ifthey are to be useable. The tables shownwith this article might be considered anaverage range for many glider types.A i r s p e e d I n d i c at o rYou might ask how it is possible to usea table such as this when a glider isG F A75ktIASTAS TAS TASSurface Temperature Plus 20 76 Plus 30 77 Plus 40 785000ft Plus 10 81 Plus 20 83 Plus 30 8410 000ft Zero 88 Plus 10 89 Plus 20 10385ktIASTAS TAS TASSurface Temperature Plus 20 86 Plus 30 87 Plus 40 885000ft Plus 10 92 Plus 20 94 Plus 30 9610 000ft Zero 100 Plus 10 102 Plus 20 10315 000ft Minus 10 108 Zero 110 Plus 10 11595ktIASTAS TAS TASSurface Temperature Plus 20 96 Plus 30 97 Plus 40 995000ft Plus 10 103 Plus 20 105 Plus 30 10710 000ft Zero 112 Plus 10 113 Plus 20 11515 000ft Minus 10 121 Zero 123 Plus 10 125constantly thermalling. On any givenday I am sure that there is a band ofpreferred altitudes that you wish to fly in,for example, suppose that lift is predictedwith an upper limit of 10 000ft. It wouldbe reasonable to assume that the middletop of the band would be in the regionof 7500ft and that is the figure I wouldbase my calculations on.How we use true airspeed in the realworld of navigation and calculate theresults is the subject of the next article.18 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 19

H G F APara-Kiwi in PakistanRobert van den Ham, reprinted from Airborn NZ magazineIn September 2007 I was all set to go to Pakistan, I thought.The previous year, whilst in Bir in the north of India, I hadmade contact with some people that had been to Pakistanand their stories about big mountains made me want tohave a look for myself.Unfortunately my passport was lost bythe courier on the return trip fromthe Pakistani consulate and whenI got a new one sorted, I got an eyeinfection just prior to my departure.Pakistan was not to be that year. Too bad,since the guys I was going to meet therehad a ball, had amazing flights and brokeall kinds of records.Fast forward two years through somemore visa requirements, this time tobecome a permanent resident, and somemoney making exercises and we get to2010. Pakistan is not known for its safetyand stability. Whenever it is in the newsthere are bombs exploding in the capitaland the western frontier where al-Qaedaor one of the many other fighting groupswreak havoc. The south-west of thecountry has no law enforcement at alland the big metropolis of Karachi holdsdaily religious killings. However, thecountry is big and it is easy to avoid thosehotspots, more so as the areas of interestare far away from the unrest.Before I started organising my trip,I had my reservations about the sanity ofthe idea and asked Pakistan veteran BradSanders for his advice. He sort of put mymind at ease by saying how wonderfulthe people are and telling me about hisown experiences.The picture of Pakistan we get dishedup through the western media is highlyexaggerated and doesn’t do it justice.Don’t get me wrong, the violence is realand the government is the most corruptin the world. However, as a tourist with abit of commonsense, you can have a mostenlightening experience revealing a verydifferent Pakistan, not to mention theamazing flying.Ridge soaring Hunza at 6000mRob in the airI spent days online to get as muchinformation as possible, looking at tracklogs from people who had been there,GPS coordinates of important points inthe landscape, transport, accommodation,local contacts, airline tickets; the listwent on and on. I spent hours on GoogleEarth to study the lay of the land andthe possible routes. It was all part ofthe fun though and if I got frustratedwith something I found myself going toYouTube to watch some of the awesomevideo footage of flying in the Himalayas.Although I usually prefer to travel bymyself, I felt that this trip warranted theinconvenience of a travel companion toshare the load, a load in the literal senseof the word as we were travelling witha lot of gear. Grey Hamilton turned outto be the almost perfect candidate; hedoesn’t snore, his farts smell as bad asmine, he is always upbeat and he canput up with my bad sense of humour.With the original date of departureset for the beginning of May, we soon ranout of time. Grey wanted to buy a housebefore leaving and I had some difficultygetting my oxygen system from theUS. Getting the visa for Pakistan wasn’tstraightforward either, with more thana few emails and phone calls needed tosatisfy the authorities. In the end Greygot his house and his visa a week beforedeparture and I got my oxygen systemthe day before departure which had beenrescheduled for 25 May.Our plan was to spend two months inPakistan, then travel overland to India toshelter from the monsoon in the far northand end up in Nepal in October to dosome tandem work in Pokhara. It meantthat we had far more luggage than the30kg allowed on our Emirates flight andended up sending 30kg by airfreight.The day of our departure it rained catsand dogs and it felt good to leave theapproaching winter behind.We had a 16-hour layover in Dubai,with hotel and food paid for by theairline, so we had the time to go intothe city and see the outrageous use ofsteel, glass and concrete to build themost extravagant structures. The money,energy and materials wasted on creatinga totally artificial living environmentis concerning and makes a joke of ourefforts to save energy. However, it is thereand interesting to look at and; we flewRob getting all his gear onH G F Athere in a gas guzzling jet so I should justlet it go.We arrived in Islamabad at threein the morning so we hung out at theairport till daylight. Then we droppedour stuff at the hotel and went in searchof our local contact who runs a travelagency and is the president of thePakistani Association for Free Flight. Thereception was amazing. Everything wasorganised for us. In one day we had ourextra luggage cleared from the airport,tickets for our onward flight, sim cardsfor our mobiles, our money exchangedand we got to meet lots of local pilots atan evening BBQ. The next day our flightgot cancelled so we ended up taking thebus, which was organised for us as well.Our first destination lay in the northwestof Pakistan in the province ofChitral, a one-hour flight from Islamabador as we did it, a gruelling 17-hour busride. Once there, we installed ourselves ina little hotel where we would stay for thenext 30 days. Our local contact; Farhad,son of the former king of Chitral and apilot himself, visited us in the evening andfilled us in on the local dos and don’ts.The take-off is a 40-minute drive towhat once was the summer residence ofthe royals. The grassy slopes around theremnants of the summer palace lay at1600m above the valley floor which runsnorth-south. To the north-west the view isdominated by the bulk of the 7708m highTirich Mir, a complex ensemble of peaksand glaciers. The main valley runs furthernorth to Booni and Mastuj, where themain road veers of to the east.Our first morning was spent puttingour flying kit together and Farhad helpedus find a place to fill our oxygen bottles.The day was flyable so in the afternoonwe went for our first flight.With the take-off at 2700m and cloudbaseat over 5500m, the pre-flight preparationsare a bit different than for a flightin NZ. Although the temperature on takeoffis a balmy 25ºC, we have to dress fortemperatures below freezing. By the timeI’d put on my long johns, fleece pants,pants, flight suit, two down jackets,balaclava and wind stopper gloves Iwas dripping with sweat. It took a fewflights to get into the right routine to geteverything on and hooked up in the rightorder. When acclimatised properly, youwon’t really need extra oxygen till youreach 6000m, but I found it gives instantrelief for cold hands and feet when youturn it on.Our first flight was about three hourslong and took us up to 5500m. At thataltitude the horizon is a long way awayand left us with a vista of mountains aftermountains after mountains. Tirich Mirlooked only a glide away, although thedistance is about 40km. To think thatwe flew a good 1500m higher then theThe Company Which Produces High Quality Paragliding Wings And EquipmentWhich Sets NEW World Standards!OUR SPECIALfor this season,till 31 May 2011, we give a fantasticup to 20% off of a sold wing, and 10% offall rescue chute and harness equipment.GREEN (DHV 1) – the first DHV 1with finesse over 8 t 20% offBLUE (DHV 1-2) – wing for beginnersand advanced pilots t 15% offBLUE MT (DHV 1-2) – the ultra lightwing starts from 3,5kg t 20% offBLUE two – wing fortandem flights t 20% offRED (DHV 2) – a champion wingfor champions t 15% offDynamic has one name: BLACK (ACRO) t 10% offORANGE ST – the lightest manageable rescuesystem that can take up to 130kg of weightGREY – is a perfect multi functional harnessfor all body size and shapesMake your new wing your own in choosing your own liked colour – visit our website!Find out more details by visiting the AIRSPORT TEAM 5 Pty Ltdwebsite www.airsport-team5.com.au or email View of Chitral Valley20 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 21

H G F AFlying above Karimabad HunzaChitral looking north towards Booni. Iron ore rich deposits in the foregroundtop of Mt Cook gives an idea of the scaleof things.The landing was an adventure initself. To avoid the expected crowds,I didn’t land on the polo grounds in themiddle of town, but on a small field nextto the castle, some distance from thecentre of town. I had been spottedthough and within minutes of landinga crowd of hundreds of kids and adultscame crashing through the bushes andorchards and surrounded me. That gaveme the first lesson in crowd control.In future landings I would pick out anEnglish speaker in the crowd to keep thepeople away from my gear till I packedup and then I would pull out a packetof biscuits to share with them. Not thatI ever had to worry about things gettingstolen, which not even seemed to crosstheir minds. A few times I forgot an item,but it would get picked up and returnedto me.Walking back to our little hotel, webumped into Mukrim, a pilot fromCanada who had arrived in the Chitralarea a few days before us. In the followingweek Dimitry, from the Ukraine,joined us which made the four of us theonly foreign pilots in the area this year.This first flight left us totally wantingmore. The sight of Tirich Mir and themountains further north was irresistible.I came to Pakistan with a plan, aiminghigh. The record flight to beat is the260km from Booni to Karimabad, a flightdue east along an east-west runningvalley for most of the way, which can beextended on both ends. Starting fromChitral adds a few kilometres and on theother end it is possible to fly further easttowards Skardu.In the next three weeks we acclimatised,got used to the scale of the landscape,the size and strength of the thermalsand figured out a way to connectChitral with the existing route east.However, although we had epic flying,the conditions were not conducive tolong flights for which one needs a highercloudbase and less cloud development.The one shot we took at it was well-timedand made for one of the most memorableflights. Here is an extract of my blog forthat day:1 2 J u n eBlue sky again and the taxi driver is latepicking us up. Once on the launch siteit is clear that we have wasted a fewhours of flying time. The thermals areKalash girl Chitral and a centenarian, 111 years oldAttabad group Hunzaripping through and the sky fills rapidlywith puffies. It is Saturday so we havespectators. Dimitry gets draggedon launch and ends up in Mukrim’s glider,doing some damage to his competitionlines. We all take off and get hoveredup to 5000m in no time. I don’t get timeto put my feet in the stirrup till I getto cloudbase.I’m in a hurry so I lead the way crossingthe Chitral Valley. The first part of theflight is going to be a repeat of the flightof two days ago, so I fly straight to thethermal points I remember. The cloudsare forming on the mountain range, onevalley back from our previous flight, soI cross over into the next valley and flyfrom thermal to thermal, not botheringto climb to cloudbase. The thermals arevery strong and entering them is like ridinga wild bull. Several times my glidercollapses and opens with a bang so loud,I have to look up to see if it hasn’texploded. I get 8m/sec sustained climbsand Grey goes two better with 10m/sec,averaged out over 10 seconds. On theglides I get time to adjust my gloves andto take in the scenery, but overall it israther intense flying.The views are spectacular. From ourvantage point it is hard to get a grip onthe scale of things. The valleys are at1500 to 2000m altitude and when we getbelow 4000m we feel that we are gettinglow. The valley we fly up is about 40kmlong and ends in a glaciated saddle at analtitude of about 5500m, We fly over thesaddle into another valley that runs eastfor about 20km. At this stage I’m flyingwith Dimitry, Grey is about 10km behindus and Mukrim has gone down to landin Chitral to repair his broken line. I crossthe saddle with 150m to spare and haveto choose between the left and the rightside of the valley. I choose left and gettotally drilled. I drop like a brick and seea premature end to my flight loomingtogether with a monster walk outthrough this desolate rock strewn desert.I manage to cross over to the south sideand soar some little ridges on the 40kmplus wind that is blowing down the valley.I jump from ridge to ridge flying backwardsin dynamic air mixed with the occasionalthermal. Then the valley floor dropsaway sharply where it connects with thenext valley system. I stay very close to thetrue right hand side of the valley and findthe life saving thermal that takes me allthe way to 6200m and safety.Dimitry came over the saddle andchose the right side and flew straightinto a thermal that kept him well above4500m. He joined me in my life saving22 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 236700m cloudbaseI give biscuits, you carry my glider, Hunza

H G F ATake off above Karimabad, HunzaTop: Paraglider over Baltit Ford, HunzaInterested crowdsthermal and together we spiralledupwards. Then he glides of towardsMastuj with bad stomach cramps andends his flight there. Now I look downon the Shandur Pass and into the GhizerValley that runs all the way to Gilgit.For the first time I get an impressionof the scale of the landscape. I’m at6200m, some 2000m higher than MtBlanc, but here I’m soaring around thesummits. The snow-covered peaks dominatethe view in all directions as far as theeye can see and the valleys, far below, arecoloured by a patchwork of bright greenirrigated fields surrounded by endlessacres of barren rock. It is about 3pm andI should have another four hours to flythe 200km to Gilgit.I try to raise Grey on the radio, butget no reply. I don’t know if he made itover the pass, so now it is each for himself.With a light tailwind I’m doing 45to 50km/h and make good progress. Thesky ahead is over-developing, but thereis still enough sunshine on the ground toprovide a climb every 10km or so.Then Grey comes through on theradio. He had a similar experience to mecoming over the pass and is some 30kmbehind me. The kilometres tick away andI’m getting in a rhythm of sorts, climbing,gliding, climbing, gliding. Every time I getover 5000m I turn on my oxygen systemto get a little squirt of gas with everybreath. Its effect is almost instant andmost noticeable in the fact that my handsand feet warm up again. At the 120kmpoint the cloud cover increases and theclimbs become more difficult.Grey comes back on the radio sayinghe is going to land. I push on another10km and then I fly into a headwind andstrong sink. All of a sudden the ridgeshave rotor and I sink below 3500m.Ahead the valley becomes narrow andit looks like potential landing spots arefar and few between. I try to get Greyon the radio to tell him that I’m turningback to join him, but I get no reply. At130km I turn around and soar the cliffs inthe valley breeze to maximise my returndistance. I can see the poplar trees slowlyswaying in the wind and my GPS indicatesa 15km/h tailwind. I line up a nice greenfield and hover upwind for severalminutes to check for gusts and powerlines.It’s a real spiderweb down there,but the wind is constant. My hovering hasattracted the attention of everyone in thevillage and I land on the road in front ofthe usual crowd.I pack up quickly with the help ofthe English-speaking local and I’m readyjust as a jeep drives up. I get a ride onthe roof and leave the stunned villagersbehind. I hope Grey has kept his radioon so I will not drive past him. Every fewminutes I try to raise him, but get noreply. Then I come around a corner in thevalley and my radio jumps to life. I tellGrey I’m on a jeep and instantly he saysthat he can see me. I expect to see himon the ground, but he is nowhere to beseen. He urges me to stop the car so I do.The car leaves and I’m in front of a littleshop on an empty road in the middle ofnowhere. Grey is not answering my callsanymore and for a moment I start toquestion my sanity. Did I really talkto him? Why is he not answering?Frozen passenger after reaching 7455mRakaposhi 7788m, HunzaI climb the ladder that’s standingagainst the shop wall and try again.A flustered Grey comes on the radio.He has just landed flying backwards andhas taken a tumble. He was still flyingwhen I came around the corner and hesaw me on the roof of the jeep. All iswell and after a few minutes I walk intohis welcoming crowd.While Grey packs his gear I stop everyvehicle that’s going back up the valleyto get a ride to the nearest place tospend the night. Not that there is a lotof traffic though. The third car is a taxi,actually going in the opposite direction,but for the price of a bus ticket fromIslamabad to Chitral he will take us 10kmup the road. We are tired and don’t fancygetting stuck where we are, so we paythe 500 rupees. The Lake View Hotel inPhander is just perfect for us. Situated ona high point above the lake we have agreat view over the valley. The public buspasses the next day at 2 o’clock to takeus on the five-hour ride to Mastuj wherewe spent another night and then take ataxi Jeep back to our hotel in Chitral thenext morning. Cross-country flying hereis a test of endurance. We decide our nextflights are going to be triangles or outand-returnsto cut out the retrieve drive.From Chitral we moved to the Yasinvalley, about 200km east of Chitral, atwo-day trip by bus and jeep. In the pastmonth we had all been sick at some pointand the lack of a complete diet startedto make itself felt. Our bums got fairlyskinny so that the long bus rides werebecoming painful on our backsides.www.poliglide.comVia our royal connection we got intouch with the remnants of the royals inYasin. Our host, the chief justice of Gilgit,put us up in his summer house whereservants looked after us with food anddrinks. This valley was uncharted terrainfor us so we had to find a suitable takeoffand had to learn the lay of the land.It turned out to be a magic spot withpotential for many days of flying up themain valley and the many side valleysthat feed into it. The highest peaksare over 6000m and the cloudbase washigh enough to allow us to fly over thetops. The enormous glaciers looked likehighways snaking down into the valleysand the summits where caked with flutedsnow. While Grey and Mukrim went of tothe annual polo competition at ChandurPass I had the most fantastic flight aroundone of the highest mountains in the area.Again an extract from my blog.6 JulyThis morning I’m going it alone. Grey andMukrim are leaving for Chandur at lunchtime,so I take the taxi to the bottom ofthe hill by myself. The conditions lookgreat and again we start walking toolate. I think this site is on early in themorning and a good launch time wouldbe 10:30am. When we walk up, yes I’musing a porter again, the thermals comethrough strong, but by the time I’m readyto take off the sun has gone to the sideof the hill and thermals are less frequent.It is so bad that I almost bomb out andTracklog on Google Earth; Yasin, Mt Twy, from the northhave to pull all the tricks out of the bagto stay in the air. The house thermal isnot working and it is not soarable. I trymy luck further away from the hill andfind something to get me back to takeoffheight, but then I lose it. I go fordrastic measures and fly across a valleyonto some scree slopes baking in the sun.It is still not convincing and it takes alot of manoeuvring to work my way uphigh enough to cross the main valley andfinally hit the good stuff. When you onlyget one shot at the day and you have towalk two hours to get to the launch site,it’s a good incentive to try a bit harder.From then on it all becomes easy andthe next hour to reach the head of thevalley is a walk in the park. It looks veryfeasible to fly close up to those awesomeglaciers we saw yesterday during ourexcursion by road. Now I just have tomake the right choice; do I go wide andfor the complete motorised experience24 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 25

H G F AH G F ATwo amigos at Mastuj after 100km and seven hours flyingfollow the sunny sides of the mountainsor straight across onto these massive wallsof ice and hope for some dynamic lift?Small thermal clouds are actually formingon the shady side of the mountain and Idecide for the direct route.From 6000m I glide over the mainvalley, onto a shoulder and soar my wayup close to an enormous wall of ice. Whata totally awesome spectacle. There is noway to describe this. I’m flying over milesand miles of ice and I’m thermaling up onsome lift generated by the few rocks thatare not covered by snow. I glide alongthe entire north face of this mountaintowards a saddle which I reach just a bittoo low to see what’s on the other side.I have not the faintest idea of the lay ofthe land on the other side and have tomake up my route while I’m there.I find some lift at the far end of thesaddle and get enough height to glideback and get a look over to the otherside. I have two seconds to make up mymind whether to go across this pass ornot. In those two seconds I see a massivewall of ice, a glacier at the bottom ofthe valley and a rock face at the sunnyside and way down a river that seemsto flow to the south. I pop over andimmediately regret it. The sunny rocks arenot that high above the glacier and thelift generated by them is very broken. Thebag of tricks is being called upon for thesecond time today and the prospect ofa three-day walk out keeps me fighting.It works and the reward for this is a flightto the summit of this 6500m high monsterof ice and rock called Twy Mountain. I getto the sunny side which has more exposedrock and easily thermal to the top.From this altitude the topographyof the area is clear and I can see my wayback home. It is only 2:30pm and I havea ‘What now?’ moment. What do you doafter such a spectacle? I decide to put theChandur Pass into the ‘Go To’ on my GPSand find that it is only 82km away. I makegood progress for the first 15km, but thenit gets more cloudy ahead. With manymore mountains to cross and a totallyunknown lay of the land, I decide that Ihave pushed my luck enough for the dayand head for home. I only have to fly outof this one valley for 15km and I will behome where the cherries and green teaare waiting for me.I can’t figure out what is going onwith the air. As soon as I decide to turnaround, I find massive sink and headwind,then get propelled up in erratic thermalsto fall out of the sky again with a tailwind.The prospect of a landing in thisnarrow valley looms and the walk outwould be a total bummer. I skim themountain side to catch as many bubblesas I can and slowly get to the mouth ofthe valley with a sigh of relief. I go onfinal glide, clear the last powerlines withone metre to spare and touch downat the far end of the landing field. Myapproach was so low that nobody sawme coming and for the first time thereare no hordes of kids to deal with. Whata totally awesome day!There was so much more flying to bedone in Yasin, but time was ticking awayand we wanted to see at least one otherflying site.Karimabad is situated in the Hunzavalley, running from the Chinese borderin the north to Gilgit, 250km to the south.The valley is part of the ancient silk routenow better known for the Karakoramhighway that connects China withIslamabad. This is part of the KarakoramRange, with the greatest concentrationof the world’s highest peaks, 14 summitsover 8000m.I was already blown away by the sizeand beauty of the mountains I had seenso far, words fail to describe them aroundKarimabad. The highest in the valley isRakaposhe, only just short of 8000m; itTwy Mountain, Yasinis an imposing sight with glaciers runningof its slopes to all sides. Behind the villagethe 4922m ‘Lady’s Finger’ stands out withits red coloured rock and right next to itis a whole cluster of 6000 and 7000m highglacier-capped giants.The first two days I was by myself asGrey and Mukrim were still at the polofestival. My first flight was a bit of ananti-climax. Surrounded by all thosegiants I only managed a glide down tothe valley. The second day was betterand I was able to climb up to the Lady’sFinger and fly around the summit of the6100m high Hunza peak. The sight of theglaciers in the valley over the back is hardto describe, freeways of ice filling thevalley floors and so many peaks with nearvertical faces plunging down thousands ofmetres. Flying along those walls, almostbrushing the snow with my wingtip,playing with my shadow on the snow forthe best pictures, I really felt privilegedto be there. Those flights were of greatintensity and it was only after lookingat the video footage afterwards that Icould fully appreciate the full scale of theexperience. When I look at the video nowI can’t suppress a huge smile while I stillget butterflies in my stomach.The flying conditions were challengingwith stable, hot weather making ithard to get away from the take-off. Weall had to deal with the frustration of atop to bottom at some stage which wasparticularly frustrating on one day, whenbase was high and Grey had a spectacularfive-hour flight to Rakaposhe while I wason the ground within 20 minutes.What has made our trip to Pakistanso memorable, apart from the outrageousflying, is the interaction with the people.The people are genuine in their desireto help and it was rare that I felt takenadvantage of. Never did I feel threatenedor unsafe, whether during the day or inthe dark walking back to the hotel duringa power cut, something I can’t say I feelcomfortable doing anywhere else I havebeen. In no other country, including NZ,have I ever felt so safe.Every time we landed after some XCflight we would be welcomed by a crowdand invited to stay the night. Never werewe hassled or targeted for our money andseldom did we end up paying a ‘tourist’rate. People would spontaneously comeup to us to offer their help and that notfor monetary gain. It may be a behaviourthat is imposed by their religion, but itcertainly felt genuine.Here’s a few statistics of the time spentin Pakistan. We spent roughly 63 daysin Pakistan. Of these, 25 were flyable andon 23 of them we actually flew – so weflew on roughly every third day. It rainedor was not flyable on 21 days whichmakes for 30% of our time in Pakistan.We lost four days to travel time backfrom our XC flights and used seven daysto get to the different flying sites, notincluding our return to Islamabad. Finally,I was sick on five days. Our total expensesonce in Pakistan were US$1000, aboutUS$15 per day.We had very few days with a cloudbaseexceeding 6000m, something you needin this area to be able to fly big crosscountrydistances. The prevailing upperlevel wind direction was west to southwest,rarely exceeding 50km/h.StatisticsLongest flightLongest time in the airFastest climbHighest altitudeTotal flying time140km7 hours11.7m/sec / 2300ft/min7544m / 24 750ft75 hoursHistory hasn’t been very kind to thispart of the world, it has been a playgroundfor the big powers to play theirgreat game. On top of that, as I writethis, 14 million people in Pakistan aredealing with one of the biggest naturaldisasters the world has seen. The monsoonrains are destroying everything;infrastructure, crops, houses, food storesand livestock. It takes a fair bit of resilienceto deal with so much drama. It is acountry with a hopeless political situationwhere corruption is everywhere, but alsoa country with the most beautifulmountains and an exceptional playgroundfor paragliding pilots. I hope it will stayaccessible for foreigners in the years toYasin; mountains after mountains after mountainscome both for the benefit of thePakistanis and the visitors.If you are interested in reading my blog[Parakiwi.blogspot.com]You can find most of our tracks onLeonardo and I have a slideshow witha selection of our photos on Facebook.26 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 27

■GLIDING FEDERATIONOF AUSTRALIA INCAirworthiness InspectionFORM 2 and C of A NoticeA Form 2 inspection is due. $165* paymentis enclosed■ The C of A requires renewal. $42* paymentis enclosed and the existing C of A documentis returned■ Initial registration package is required.$400* payment is enclosed* Fees include GSTPayment method:■ Cheque ■ Credit Card ■ Direct DepositFor internet payments, deposit into:BSB: 013-442 Account No: 304729562A) Documentation request■ Please send me a transfer of ownership document■ Please send me a change of registeredoperator documentAircraft Type................................................................................Registration marks VH – ............................................................Address to which documents are to be sent is:Name ..........................................................................................Address ...........................................................................................................................................................................................State......................................................Postcode.......................Forward to: GFA Airworthiness Secretary,Level 1/34 Somerton Road, Somerton VIC 3062.Email: Fax: 03 9303 7960for the worse. Although there were manyclouds still about, the lift underneath wasdying rapidly. Much of the ground wasnow in shadow; the last reasonable climbI had took me to a pleasant 9000ft. Thatcloud softened significantly towards thetop, dropping off quite a bit in the last1500ft. Looking ahead however, I figuredit was worthwhile to take every last footof height on offer and so I took it allthe way to cloud base. Looking ahead Iknew it was going to be a tough call toget back to Narromine. The sky aheadwas breaking up and blueing out quickly.The cu line, or what was left of it, wasalso moving quickly westwards. The windat altitude was still the same direction ithad been all day, but careful observationshowed that the ground level wind hadswung to ENE and was increasing asindicated by the patterns on the damsand the harvester dust blowing along theat ground level. There was no doubt inmy mind that the wind was also providingadditional cooling effect.Determined to get as close to home aspossible, I did manage to find a numberof small climbs, no more than 2.5kt andtending to break up and dissipate ratherquickly. Having realised that landing outwas now high probability, the Oudie PDAG F Aagain came to the forefront by providingvisible land out options and potentialreachability (calculated L/D). The firstoption was to land at Peak Hill (showinggreen in Seeyou), however anotheroption though, currently in the yellowzone, was to reach out for Happy Valley.Getting down to 5000ft in the blueI began searching for thermals by following‘gravel’ clues and flying upwind.There were still a few cu whiffs appearingover some of the higher ground, but theywere very short-lived. The base had alsodropped rapidly to around 6000ft. Bydiverting to some slightly higher groundwhere a couple of whiffs appeared andfollowing a gravel line upwind, I wasrewarded by a 1000ft climb to cloudbase.It was, however, getting darker everymoment with the spreading overdevelopmentblocking out any remaining potentialfor the day. With that extra 1000ft,I was now on a slightly over marginalglide to Happy Valley. I was keen to getthere if possible as this would put me ina tug retrieve position rather than trailerout. On track I did manage to find acouple of small energy lines that helpedstretch the glide. Getting lower, I couldsee that the wind had shifted further tothe east and I now had about 10kt on thenose. I was still not certain that I wouldmake it to Happy Valley, and there werestill some sink areas playing with the L/D.With plenty of cropped wheat paddockson track, land out options did not placetoo much of a concern.Keeping a close lookout (andpreserving that ‘don’t give up’ attitude),I did notice just to the left of track alarge flat wheat paddock being croppedby several harvesters. The paddock alsoended in a creek line and trees. I took apunt that this, if anywhere, could be agood place for some lift to happen. If itdidn’t, then there was a great paddockwith plenty of people around and easyaccess to the road. The decision toinvestigate paid off; the small diversiongave me an extra 50ft of altitude and alsoa small energy line on exit, enough heightto reach Happy Valley. The problem withthis thermal was it was quite weak at onlytwo knots. Coupled with the wind drift,this meant it was only just over a negativeequation, and therefore not enough toget me to Narromine, so once I had safeglide indication on the PDA, I headed offto Happy Valley.Arriving at Happy Valley with 900ftagl at hand, the approach and subsequentlanding were straight forward. The windsock indicated a wind that was straightdown the runway (It’s a big X) and at 10to 15kt, making for a nice approach. Therunway did have some grass as well asdenuded areas. Favouring the red-browndirt prevented any wing drag as it wasa little hard to see how tall the grass actuallywas. That was a good decision, as oninspection it was probably tall enough tocause a problem if one wing was to dropinto it on the landing run.Due to unavailability of the tug thatevening, the plane was safely accommodatedon the runway overnight and asuccessful tug retrieve was achieved earlythe next day. Thanks to Dave Boulterfor his assistance in picking me up anddropping me back in the morning. Retrievesare always a good time for a chat.As a side point, I was surprised athow early lift can work. I arrived backat Narromine at 9:30am the followingmorning. So just for fun and havingplenty of height I decided to explore thelocal area for lift. There was in fact plentyin the area. It was topping out at about2800ft agl, but was already showing aVarT at 2.5kt.Focal Points:• Get landing options selected early• Keep searching and keep looking out• Try and find whatever energy is left,at minimum sink speed, even smallbits extend the glide surprisinglyI would like to thank Paul Manderand his crew for a great instructionalweek at Lake Keepit earlier on in theyear. Much of what I learnt then wasput to good use during Narromine CupWeek. Anyone considering amping uptheir cross-country skills should definitelyconsider participating in this instructionalweek when it is next run. I would alsolike to thank Mike (Wombat) Cleaver atTemora for affording me my independentops rating a few months back and Craigand Eugene Blunt for providing theMozzie to use for a few months. As such,I have been able to add some 40 plushours of solid cross-country to the logbookearly in the season. Thanks also to BryanHayhow [www.highspeedflight.com.au/]and Arie Van Sprossen for their encouragementand assistance along the way.Hopefully, if we get a break in weather,the National club class competition willrun in Benalla in January 2011 and I canenjoy another awesome experience in thegreat company of fellow gliders. I hopeyou are doing plenty of ‘dust dances’Mr Shirley.GFA News • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •GFA Presence atAvalon Airshow 2011The GFA Marketing & Developmentdepartment has approval to attend the2011 Avalon airshow on the GFA’s behalfwith an exhibit comprising an aircraftas a static display, the GFA simulator andvarious display and marketing merchandising.Key to this exhibit will be the useof, and sale for, time spent in the GFAsimulator and the running of a contest tocapture and harvest any interested publicwho can be both measured and directedto a participating club.Details of the promotion, contest,exhibit and equipment are being developednow. Part of that process is theidentification and securing of both equipmentglider(s) and personnel who maybe available to contribute two half dayseffort to staff the exhibit between the4 and 7 March 2011.To help contain costs to the GFA, weare seeking volunteers in the first instancefrom the Melbourne catchment who mayhave a vehicle and can both assist withdaily staffing, but also transport logistics.All VSA clubs are being approachedto assist the process by directly solicitingand canvassing their members who maybe able to donate their time in exchangefor two free half days for airshow viewingduring the period.The project is being managed bya dedicated coordinator Daryl Connelland interested members are directed tocontact Daryl in the first instance to lodgetheir willingness and availability. Daryl’scontact details are or 0418 207107.Maurice Little, GFA Chairman of theMarketing & Development DepartmentPositions Available in NSW GlidingNSW Gliding is still looking for a RegionalDevelopment Officer for NSW. This rolerepresents NSW on the GFA Marketingand Development Committee. You willbe working with Clubs across NSW toimplement GFA marketing initiatives,collaborate and share programs betweenclubs and offer feedback to GFA onfuture plans.NSW Gliding also has an opening fora person to look after the equipmentthat NSW owns and lends to Clubs acrossNSW.If you are interested give DaveBoulter a call on 0417 705 997 or email.Dave BoulterF r o m t h e G FA P r e s i d e n t ’ s D e s kMember Protection PolicyAll clubs are reminded of the needto comply with their respective stateand territory legislation regardingworking with children. The GFA MemberProtection Policy (MPP) provides detailson the matter. The MPP also givesguidance on codes of conduct anddealing with discrimination or harassmentissues should they arise. Many difficultsituations can be avoided if an initialproblem is dealt with sensitively andfairly. The MPP provides a frameworkwithin which difficulties can be resolved.Tug Pilot QualificationsClubs utilising aerotow launching areadvised to ensure they have arrangementsin place to satisfy themselves that anytug pilots they use have a current licence,a current medical certificate, a glidertowing permit and meet recency requirements.CASA delegates who are checkinga pilot for the issue of an aerotow permitshould be aware that they are requiredto confirm that the applicant is appropriatelyqualified at the time they areassessing the candidate. It is expectedthat the delegate will actually sight therelevant documents. This reminder isthe result of a couple of recent incidentswhere CASA has raised concerns with usabout tug pilots reportedly operatingwithout valid documentation. Theimplications for a club if an accidentoccurs involving an unlicensed tug pilotshould be obvious.Maximum Cockpit WeightsMany members will be aware thatthis issue arose at a recent Nationalcompetition. The issue of responsibilityfor complying with the rules on thismatter had been raised due to legitimateconcerns by the contest director and thesafety officer about their responsibilitiesin this regard. The matter was resolvedon the understanding that the pilotis responsible for complying with allrules and that a person supervising anevent is entitled to accept the normalpre-competition written undertakingfrom a pilot that they will complywith all relevant rules. What should beunderstood, however, is that the rulesabout maximum cockpit weights havenot changed and all pilots are responsiblePhil McCannfor complying with the placard weightfor their aircraft. Notwithstanding anentitlement to expect all pilots to complywith the rules, should a person withsupervisory responsibilities determine thata breach has occurred, or is likely to occur,they are entitled to investigate and takeappropriate action to address the matter.Blanik GroundingThe worldwide grounding of all Blanikscontinues to be a problem for manyAustralian gliding clubs, as it is internationally.The Type Certificate holder isworking on a fix which in all probabilitywill be an inspection regime focussing onpossible cracks in the wing structure. Theonly information available at this time isthat something may be available early in2011. GFA has been working with bothCASA and Dafydd Llewelyn, the holderof the STC for the modification of Blaniksto L13A1, what is generally known as the‘Llewellyn mod’. The possibility of a CASAapproved exclusion from the worldwideAD for aircraft which have had the fullconversion to L13A1 is being consideredbut more work is required and if it comesto fruition initially it will be limited to avery few specific aircraft. Blanik ownerswill be advised of any developments.Phil McCann40 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 41

G F AG F ASMS Implementation –Residual Effects Of AlcoholReprinted from Back 2 Basics Flying SafelyThe effects of alcohol can bedemonstrated long after any traceis detectable in the blood.The alcohol you consumein beer and mixeddrinks is simple ethylalcohol – a centralnervous systemdepressant. From amedical point of view itacts upon your body muchlike a general anaesthetic,although its effect is milderand slower acting.You have undoubtedly heardtime and time again that alcohol is adepressant and not a stimulant. Yet afterone or two drinks you certainly feelstimulated. This sensation is misleadingand occurs because part of the depressantaction of alcohol working on the brainbrings about a release from the usualpsychological restraints and inhibition.You may enjoy feelings of security,wellbeing, confidence, and freedomfrom pressure. In reality; however,your thinking has become sluggish,you respond to urgent situations lessefficiently, and your ability to performsimple tasks with speed and accuracy isdiminished. If in addition, you happento be tired, hungry or under stress, thesehandicaps will be compounded.The effect of alcohol is greatly multipliedwhen a person is exposed to altitude.Two drinks on the ground areequivalent to three or four at altitude.This is because alcohol interferes with thebody’s ability to utilise oxygen. The effectsare rapid because alcohol passes into thebloodstream and the brain is a highlyvascular organ immediately sensitiveto changes in the blood’s composition.For the pilot then, the lower oxygenavailability at altitude, along with thelower capability of the brain (under theinfluence of alcohol) to use what oxygenis there, adds up to a deadly combination.H o w l o n g i s p e r f o r -m a n c e a f f e c t e d ?The approach to alcohol and flying byAustralian pilots generally seems verymature, and there are fewrecorded examples of peopletrying to pilot an aircraftwhile suffering fromthe immediateeffects of alcohol.However, manypeople do notappreciate thatthe deleterious consequencesof drinkingcan adversely affect performancefor up to 48 hours.This was clearly illustrated ina series of experiments conductedin the US, the results of which werereported in the US Army Aviation Digest.Tests were conducted in a flight simulatoron volunteers, using a blood level of 0.08%.Almost without exception the subjectsexhibited very serious errors of omission.Had the aircraft been real, theseerrors could have resulted in fatal accidents,or at least would have resultedin placing the aircraft and its occupantsin potentially dangerous attitudes andsituations. The most interesting findingoverall was that the effects of the alcoholwere greatest on those pilots who, on nonalcoholflights, had shown themselves tobe the calmest and most co-ordinatedunder pressure. If they were relaxed whenthey mounted the flight simulator, thiscondition was drastically changed by thealcohol, and performance deterioratedaccordingly.Behaviour such as dumping fuel,inadvertently putting the landing geardown at high speeds, placing the aircraftin irrecoverable attitudes, and attemptingto land at 10 780ft rather than 780ft (thelocal field elevation) were but a fewexamples. So that these findings could notbe attributed to chance, the experimentswere repeated using different subjects,with basically the same results.A follow-on study then examined theeffects of alcohol on errors of omission,for example, forgetting an importantfunction or overlooking an importantdetail. For this study, emphasis was placedon how accurately subjects could followa 78-item pre-flight checklist that eachsubject took on every flight. The task inthis experiment was basically the sameas that of any pilot; to sequentially performeach function listed until all itemswere completed.Prior to all flights, the experiments,were preset with several errors withoutthe knowledge of the subjects:• the landing gear handle wasput in the ‘up’ position;• the brakes were placed in the‘off’ position;• the altimeter was adjusted to1000ft agl.Close adherence to the checklistshould have caught all of the pre-seterrors. Each subject flew two test flights,one without alcohol and about onemonth later one with alcohol (0.08%blood alcohol level).The results showed that under theno-alcohol conditions 11% of all subjectsfailed to correct at least one major pre-seterror but under the influence of alcohol,79% of all subjects failed to correct atleast one major error. These pilots, itshould be remembered, were consideredlegally sober and capable of driving a carin most states of the US.Most of the experiments were conductedin the late afternoon or earlyevening. It was noticed that some of thesubjects complained in class the followingmorning that they still felt lousy becauseof the previous day’s flight.A check of the literature showed thatthe amounts of alcohol ingested normallyshould have metabolised easily within10 hours after drinking. In addition, fromperusal of airline publications and militaryaviation journals, it also was noted thatthe general rule-of-thumb for socialdrinking recommended to pilots was toallow eight to 12 hours between ‘bottleand throttle’. It was thought, at the time,that although there was no longer anydetectable alcohol in the blood, hangovereffects might still produce a decrease inperformance of complex tasks such as thepsychomotor response required in flying.A recent study followed this line ofreasoning as tests were commenced onthe so-called hangover residual effectsof alcohol. The results are presented inabbreviated form here.The subjects already were familiarwith pre-flight, in-flight and post-flightchecklist responses and the basics of flyingbefore the experiment proper. A sixby-nineinch card containing a detailedchecklist was given to each subjectand all subjects were told to adhereto it religiously.This was followed by an actual handsonsimulated flight consisting of take-off,climb-out, levelling at altitude, and fullstoplandings. When the subjects reachedthe point where they could successfullyhandle these checklist flights at leastthree times consecutively without theslightest error, the experiment properwas begun.After this pre-training, but beforethe first test flight (non-alcohol), thefollowing errors were pre-set by theexperimenters:• the brakes were placed in the‘off’ position;• the landing gear handle wasput in the ‘up’ position;• the fuel select switch was placedon auxiliary tanks;• the flaps were set at 50%;• the altimeter was adjustedto 1000ft agl.At the pre-flight briefing, each subjectwas told to take off, climb to 6000ft andmaintain that altitude for five minutes.When requested, the subject was toprepare for a landing and complete thelanding at their discretion.The only essential difference betweenthe flights described above and thesecond test flight (alcohol) was that 30minutes before the alcohol flights, eachsubject was given enough 80% vodkamixed with an equal amount of gingerale to attain a blood alcohol level of0.1%. Finally, a third test flight wasgiven 14 hours after the alcohol flight.The results were interesting to saythe least. During the first test flight (nonalcohol)10% of all subjects overlookedat least one of the major pre-set errors.For the alcohol flight, 89% of all subjectsmade at least one oversight error.Fourteen hours after alcohol intake68% of all subjects still overlooked atleast one pre-set error. It is apparentthat performance 14 hours after alcoholintake was more like that 30 minutesafter intake than that of the first nonalcoholflight The evidence suggests thatalthough most, if not all, of the alcoholhad been processed through the bodyduring the 14 hours following intake, theresidual effects were contributing to thisperformance deterioration.All pilots should be aware of thisresidual effect and should rethink andpossibly recalculate the margin of safetyimplicit in the old rule-of-thumb of eightto 12 hours between bottle and throttle.W h at a r e t h e c a u s e s o ft h e r e s i d u a l e f f e c t s ?Alcohol consumption temporarily dehydratesyour body by stimulating thekidneys to produce an abnormal volumeof diluted urine, so that the body losesmore fluid than it takes in. This dehydrationproduces a concentration of all thesolutes normally found in body fluids, causingweakness, fatigue, and irrationality.Another element in the making of ahangover is the assortment of organic impuritiesfound in all alcoholic beverages.These aldehydes, ketones and othersubstances are metabolised in complexways and may remain in the bloodstreamlong after the alcohol itself is gone. Aslong as these substances are present theyproduce untoward side effects.T h at s p i n n i n g f e e l i n gFinally, some of you may have noticedthat after a heavy night’s drinking, youneed to wait for the bed to go pastbefore you can jump onto it, and thatthings get even worse when you liedown. This happens because of therelationship between vestibular (innerear) stimulation and eye movements.The semicircular inner ear canals arebest regarded as angular accelerometers.Each one is a fluid-filled tube with awatertight swing door across it. The fluidtries to stay still because of its inertia anddeflects the door one way or the other,depending on the direction of the head’sangular acceleration, whether producedby voluntary head movement or by someexternal motion such as aircraft yaw,pitch, or roll.Head movements detected by thissystem are used to stabilise the visualworld on the retina by the elicitation ofeye movements, that is, eye movementsare made to compensate for headmovements in order that the world doesnot appear to fly about on the retina. Youcan check that this happens by noddingwhile reading this article, you should stillbe able to read it. If, however, you wavethe magazine up and down instead ofnodding, then you cannot read the text.PA N 1 a n d PA N 2In order for this system to work, thewatertight door must be unaffected bylinear accelerations such as gravity and,to be so unaffected, the door must havethe same specific gravity as the fluid.Alcohol in the system disturbs this specificgravity balance. The flap tends to floatand the deflection is interpreted as ahead movement and a compensatoryeye movement is made. However, asno real head movement was made, theeye movement is inappropriate and thesubject perceives the world as moving.This effect follows closely on theconsumption of alcohol and is knownas Positional Alcohol Nystagmus (PAN)1. a phase where there is an absence ofabnormal eye movements as the fluidand flap come into alcohol imbalance.This is followed by a second phase (PAN2), which is caused by an imbalance ofspecific gravity between the fluid and thedoor as the system loses alcohol. (Alcoholremains in this system well after theblood levels have become negligible.)With increased G-forces the imbalanceis effectively amplified. The upshot ofall this is that abnormal eye movementsthat are evidence of vestibular problems,can be produced up to two days afterdrinking the equivalent of only a coupleof schooners of beer if the subject isexposed to 2 to 3G. This effect can bedemonstrated long after no alcohol isdetectable in the blood. The precisesignificance of this as far as flying isconcerned is difficult to determine,but it can safely be said that if you findyourself in an unusual attitude and beingsubjected to unusual accelerations, theeffects discussed above may well leadto you becoming disorientated whenyou might otherwise not have beenand, once disorientated, make it moredifficult for you to recover the situation.S u m m i n g i t u pThe prevention of the short-term andlong-term hangover effects of alcoholis simple: don’t drink. The cure for ahangover is also simple: wait, and beforetaking to the air, you may need to wait48 hours. Remember, alcohol can killbeyond the time of the blood reducingto zero alcohol level.42 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 43

Contact AddressesG FAAustralian Gliding Museum2 Bicton St, Mt Waverley VIC 3149,03 98021098.Gliding QueenslandC/- Treasurer, 67 Glenora St, Wynnum QLD4178, 07 38348311, 0417 762621.NSW Gliding AssociationThe Secretary, 44 Yanko Ave, WentworthFalls NSW 2782, 02 68892733, 0268891250, Trs: 0407 459581.South Australian Gliding AssociationPO Box 65, Millicent SA 5280, 08 8733421,0427 977218.Victorian Soaring Association4/139 Roberts St, Essendon VIC 3040,03 83835340, 03 93355364.Vintage Gliders Australia22 Eyre St, Balwyn VIC 3103, 03 98175362.WA Gliding Association Inc.59 Wellington Pde, Yokine WA 6060,08 93282511, 08 94449505.NSW Gliding Association (NSWGA)327 (Gliding) Flight, AustraliaC/- R Sheehan, 176 Macquarie Grove Rd, CamdenNSW 2570, 0427 977127, 02 46553171.Bathurst Soaring ClubPO Box 1682, Bathurst NSW 2795,02 63371180 (weekend), 0427 470001.Byron Gliding Club IncorporatedPO Box 815, Byron Bay NSW 2481,02 66847627.Canberra Gliding ClubGPO Box 1130, Canberra ACT 2601,02 64523994, 0428 523994.Central Coast Soaring ClubPO Box 1323, Gosford South NSW 2250,02 43639111, 02 43844074, 0412 844074.Cudgegong Soaring Pty LtdC/- Matthews Folbigg, Level 7, 10-4 SmithSt, Parramatta NSW 2150, 02 96357966,02 96357966.Grafton Gliding Club16 Fuller St, Mullaway NSW 2456,02 66541638, 0403 088551.Hunter Valley Gliding Club Co-op LtdPO Box 794, Singleton NSW 2330.Lake Keepit Soaring Club234 Keepit Dam Rd, Lake Keepit NSW 2340,02 67697514.Leeton Gliding ClubPO Box 607, Leeton NSW 2705, 02 69533825.Narromine Gliding Club Inc.PO Box 240, Narromine NSW 2821,02 68892733, 0418 270182.Orana Soaring Club Inc.PO Box 240, Narromine NSW 2821,02 68897373, 0418 270182.RAAF Richmond Gliding ClubRAAF Base, Richmond NSW 2755,02 45873214.RAAF Williamtown Gliding ClubC/O Mr G R Lee, 10 Federation Dr, MedowieNSW 2318, 02 49829334.Scout Association NSW GlidingC/- Bob G Balfour, 80 Malvern St, PananiaNSW 2213, 02 96951100.Soar Narromine Pty LtdPO Box 56, Narromine NSW 2821,02 68891856, 0419 992396.Southern Cross Gliding ClubPO Box 132, Camden NSW 2570,02 46558882, 0417 705997 (emergency).Southern Tablelands Gliding Club57 Munro Rd, Queanbeyan NSW 2620,02 62973504.South West Slope Soaring P/L181 Fishers La, Bendick Murrell NSW 2803,0488 531216.Sydney Gliding IncorporatedPO Box 633, Camden NSW 2570, 0412 145144.Temora Gliding ClubPO Box 206, Temora NSW 2666, 02 69772733.Gliding Queensland2 Wing AAFC School of Aviation Inc.201 Squadron Air Force Cadets, PO Box 647Archerfield QLD 4108, 07 38791980, 0415150965.Barambah District Gliding Club2 Yellow Gully Rd, Wolvi QLD 4570,07 54867247, 0412 719797.Boonah Gliding Club Incorporated164 Depot Rd, Boonah QLD 4310,07 54632630, 0408 016164.Bundaberg Gliding IncorporatedPO Box 211, Bundaberg QLD 4670,07 41579558, 0417 071157.Caboolture Gliding ClubPO Box 920, Caboolture QLD 4510,0418 713903.Central Queensland Gliding ClubPO Box 953, Rockhampton QLD 4700,07 49331178.Darling Downs Soaring ClubLevel 1, 1 Swann Rd, Taringa QLD 4068,07 46637140, 0409 507847.Gympie Gliding ClubPO Box 722, Cooroy QLD 4563, 07 54835380.Kingaroy Soaring ClubPO Box 91, Kingaroy QLD 4610, 07 41622191,0438 179163.Moura Gliding ClubPO Box 92, Moura QLD 4718, 07 49973265,0428 360144.North Queensland Soaring CentrePO Box 3835, Hermit Park QLD 4812.Pacific SoaringPO Box 259, Caboolture QLD 4510,07 54994997, 07 54994805.Southern Downs Aero & SoaringPO Box 144, Warwick QLD 4370, 07 38348311.SA Gliding Association (SAGA)Adelaide Soaring Club Inc.PO Box 94, Gawler SA 5118, 08 85221877.Adelaide Uni Gliding Club IncorporatedAdelaide Uni Sports Assoc, The University ofAdelaide SA 5005, 08 88262203, 0412 870963.Air Cadet Gliding ClubPO Box 2000, Salisbury SA 5108,08 83805137, 0429 805137.Alice Springs Gliding ClubPO Box 356, Alice Springs NT 0871,08 89526384, 0417 530345.Australian Junior Gliding Club67A Balfour St, Nailsworth SA 5083,0417 421650.Balaklava Gliding ClubPO Box 257, Balaklava SA 5461, 08 88645062.G FA M E M B E R S H I P F e e s 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1Membership: Normal FamilyNSW $225 $183Victoria $230 $188South Australia $232 $190Queensland $230 $188Western Australia $230 $188Student membership: Full FamilyNSW $136 $94Victoria $141 $99South Australia $143 $101Queensland $141 $99Western Australia $141 $99Short-term membership: 1 Month* 3 Month*Queensland/Victoria $62 $79New South Wales $67 $84South Australia $74 $91Western Australia $72 $89*Note: Once only purchase to Australian residents,thereafter 12 months membership to be purchased.International postage for Soaring Australiato be added to membership fees:Zone CountryPrice1 New Zealand $512 Singapore $513 Japan, Hong Kong, India $514 USA, Canada, Middle East $745 UK, Europe, SouthAmerica, South Africa $74• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Barossa Valley Gliding ClubPO Box 123, Stonefield via Truro SA 5356,08 85640240, 0488 841373.Bordertown Keith Gliding ClubPO Box 377, Bordertown SA 5268,08 87521321, 0409 693027.Millicent Gliding ClubPO Box 194, Millicent SA 5280,08 87333421, 0427 977218.Murray Bridge Gliding ClubPO Box 1509, Victor Harbor SA 5211,08 85543543, 0409 677677.Northern Australian Gliding ClubPO Box 38889, Winnellie NT 0821,08 89412512.Renmark Gliding ClubPO Box 450, Renmark SA 5341,08 85951422, 0417 890215.Scout Gliding Club22 Burford Crescent, Redwood Park SA5097, 08 82895085, 0418 815618.Waikerie Gliding ClubPO Box 320, Waikerie SA 5330, 08 85412644.Whyalla Gliding ClubPO Box 556, Whyalla SA 5600,08 86452619, 0413 127825.Victorian Soaring Association (VSA)Albury Corowa Gliding ClubPO Box 620, Wodonga VIC 3689.Beaufort Gliding Club41 Ruby St, Essendon VIC 3040,0431 702175.Bendigo Gliding ClubPO Box 846, Bendigo VIC 3550, 03 54423459.Bothwell Gliding ClubPO Box 288, Sandy Bay TAS 7005, 03 62267615.Corangamite Soaring ClubKurweeton, Kurweeton Rd, DerrinallumVIC 3325, 03 55939277.Geelong Gliding ClubPO Box 197, Bacchus Marsh VIC 3340,03 93385925, 0409 212527.Gliding Club Of VictoriaPO Box 46, Benalla VIC 3671, 03 57621058,0429 950580.Grampians Soaring ClubPO Box 468, Ararat VIC 3377, 03 53525710,0417 514438.Horsham Flying ClubPO Box 158, Horsham VIC 3402, 03 53823491,0427 315845.Latrobe Valley Gliding ClubPO Box 625, Morwell VIC 3840,03 51221081, 0407 839238.Mangalore Gliding ClubPO Box 208 Nagambie VIC 3608,03 57985512, 0428 635717.Melbourne Motor Gliding ClubPO Box 278, Dingley Village VIC 3172,0418 511557.Mount Beauty Gliding ClubBox 486, Mt Beauty VIC 3699,02 60591417, 0402 075131.Murray Valley Soaring Club LtdPO Box 403, Corowa NSW 2646, 02 60335036,0400 244578.Soaring Club Of Tasmania34 Clinton Rd, Geilston Bay TAS 7015,03 62437508.South Gippsland Gliding ClubPO Box 475, Leongatha VIC 3953, 0437 454986.Southern Riverina Gliding ClubPO Box 32, Tocumwal, NSW 2714,03 58743052, 03 58742914.SportAviation Pty LtdGate 10, Babingtons Rd, Tocumwal Airport,Tocumwal NSW 2714, 03 58742734,0427 534122.Sunraysia Gliding ClubPO Box 647, Mildura VIC 3500,03 50257335, 0448 293927.Swan Hill Gliding ClubPO Box 160, Nyah VIC 3594, 03 50376688.Tumbarumba Gliding ClubC/- Judds Engineering P/L, PO Box 5283,Wagga NSW 2650, 02 69251642, 0428 251642.VMFGGPO Box 1096, Melbourne VIC 3001,0402 281928 or 03 98486473 (h).Wagga Wagga Soaring Club Inc.PO Box 613, Wagga Marketplace, WaggaWagga NSW 2650, 0427 205624.WA Gliding Association (WAGA)716 Flight Australia Air Force Cadets7 Wing HQ, RAAF Base Pearce BullsbrookWA 6084, 08 95717800.Beverley Soaring SocietyPO Box 136, Beverley WA 6304,08 94595719, 0437 377744.Gliding Club of Western AustraliaPO Box 6231, East Perth WA 6892,08 92212164, 0417 992806 (weekends).Morawa Gliding ClubPO Box 276, Morawa WA 6623, 08 99723022.Narrogin Gliding ClubPO Box 232, Narrogin WA 6312,08 98811795 (weekends), 0407 088314.Stirlings Gliding ClubC/- Peter Hardy-Atkins, 8 Parker St, Lockyer,Albany WA 6330, 08 98428816, 0408 842616.H G FAAll correspondence, including changesof address, mem bership renewals, shortterm memberships, rating forms andother administrative matters shouldbe sent to:HGFA National Office4a-60 Keilor Park Drive, Keilor Park VIC3042, ph: 03 93367155, fax: 03 93367177,, [www.hgfa.asn.au].HGFA Operations ManagerJohn Olliff 0417 644633 .Information about site ratings, sites andother local matters, contact the appro pri ateState asso ciations, region or club.Board Members 2008 to 2010Pres: Alex Jones 08 97344531 , 34 McAvoy Rd, AllansonWA 6225.V-Pres: Rob Woodward 0408 808436, 38 AddisonRd, Black Forest SA 5035.Sec: Martin Halford 0434 427500.Board Members:Chris Drake 0466 005967 , PO Box 988, Noosa QLD 4567.Benn KovcoGreg LowryLee PattersonBrian WebbStates, Regions& Special Interest GroupsACTHPALPO Box 8339, ANU, Acton ACT 0200;[www.acthpa.org]. Pres: Matthew Smith 0402 905554;V-Pres: Nic Welbourn 0422 783763; Trs: Kristina Smith 0407 905554;Sec: Nic Siefken 0418 421683; Committee: MiguelCruz 0432987819, Andrew Luton 0404 254922; Public Officer:Barry Oliver 0407 825819; Meetings: 1st Thu/month7.30pm Yamba Sports Club.Hang Gliding Association of WA Inc.PO Box 146, Midland, WA 6936. Pres: Peter South; V-Pres:Alex Jones ;Trs: Greg Lowry ;Sec: Mirek Generowicz ; Trs: Colin Brown 0407700378, .NSW HG and PG AssociationPO Box 3106, Bateau Bay NSW 2261,[www.nswhpa.org]. Pres: Bruce Wynne0417 467695, ;V-Pres: Brett Coupland ; Sec: Ray Firth ; Trs: Graeme Cran 0414668424, ;Committee: Nir Eshed, Tony Sandeberg, Andrew Polidano,Tony Dennis and Curt Warren.North Queensland HG AssociationPO Box 608, Kuranda QLD 4881. Pres: Bob Hayes0418 963796 ; V-Pres: Daniel Keech ; Sec/Trs: Tracey Hayes, PO Box 608,Kuranda QLD 4881, 0418 963796 .Queensland HG AssociationPres: Greg Hollands , PO Box 61, CanungraQLD 4275 07 38448566.South Australian HG/PG/ML AssociationSAHGA Inc, c/O PO Box 6260, Hallifax St,Adelaide SA. All email: . Pres: Stuart McClure 0428 100796;Sec/Trs: Rob Woodward 0408 808436.Tasmanian HG & PG Association[www.thpa.org.au]. Pres: Stephen Clark 0419997550, ;V-Pres: Pete Steane 0407 887310, ; Sec/Trs: Simon Allen 0438086322, . NorthernTAS info: Richard Long (Burnie PG pilot), 0438593998, .Victorian HG and PG AssociationPO Box 157, Northcote VIC 3070, [www.vhpa.org.au]. Pres: Phil Campbell 0438 428569; Sec: Nick Abicare0418 104506 ; Trs:Stephen Leake 0409 553401 ; SO: Kevin Grosser 0419 022225 ; Sites: Mark Pike 0408801356 ; Committee:Hugh Alexander 0417 355578 , Jan Bennewitz0423 139923 ,Tony Hughes 0417 379847 , Anthony Meechan 0407 163796.The Pico Club (National Paramotor Club)Pres: Brett Coupland 0409 162616; V-Pres:Rob Van Riswick 0428 290462; Sec: GrantCassar 0416 269894 , 59 Empress Terrace Bardon QLD 4065;Trs: Chris Drake 0414 505452.NEW SOUTH WALESBlue Mountains HG Club Inc.[www.bmhgc.org.au]. Pres: Kacper Jankowski; V-Pres:Gregor Forbes 0421 376680 ; Sec: Alexander Drew 0423696677 ; Trs: AllanBush (HG SSO) ,0407 814524; Comps: Mark Stewart (PG SO), 0421 596345,Comp: 2nd and last Sunday of each month.Meetings: Contact committee.Central Coast Sky SurfersPO Box 3106, Bateau Bay NSW 2261, [www.centralcoastskysurfers.com]. Pres: Frank Warwick0409 468337, ; V-Pres: Anthony Scurrah 0427 000410;Sec: Philip Wheen 0414 357928, ; Trs: Geoff Bednal0418 468065, , SSOs: Paul Cox 0417 355897, JavierAlvarez 0418 116681. Meetings: 1st Thu/month,7:30pm, Erina Leagues Club, Ilya Ave, Erina.Dusty Demons Hang Gliding Club6 Miago Court, Ngunnawal, ACT 2913. Pres:Trent Brown 0427 557486, ; Sec: Peter Dall 0428 813746,; Trs: Michael Porter0415 920444; SSO: Peter Dall 0428 813746.Hunter Skysailors Paragliding ClubPres: Bob Lane 0422 744285, ; V-Pres: Brent Leggett 0408826455, ; Sec: AlbertHart 0421 647013, . Meetings: Last Tue/month, 7pm,Hexham Bowling Club.Illawarra Hang Gliding Club Inc.27a Paterson Rd, Coalcliff NSW 2508. Pres:Frank Chetcuti 0418 252221 ; Sec: John Parsons; SSO: TimCauser 0418 433665 .Kosciusko Alpine Paragliding Club[www.homestead.com/kapc]; Pres: MichaelPorter 0415 920444 ; V-Pres/SSO: James Ryrie 0417 491150; Sec: Mark Elston0428 480820 .Manilla SkySailors Club Inc.PO Box 1, Manilla NSW 2346, [www.mss.org.au]. Pres/SSO (PG): Godfrey Wenness 0267856545, , V-Pres:Matt Morton , Sec: Suzi Smith ,Trs: Bob Smith , SSO(HG) Patrick Lenders 02 67783484 , SSO (WM): Willi Ewig02 67697771 .Mid North Coast HG and PG ClubPres: Nigel Lelean 0419 442597; SSO: LeeScott 0429 844961.Newcastle Hang Gliding ClubPO Box 64 Broadmeadow NSW 2292; [www.nhgc.asn.au]. Pres: Dawson Brown 0429675475 ; V-Pres:Gary Herman 0401 772289 ; Sec: Don Bremner 0421346997, ; Trs:Allan McMillan 0400 637070 ; SOs: Coastal – Tony Barton 0412607815, Inland – Scott Barrett 0425 847208,John O’Donohue 02 49549084, PG – JamesThompson 02 49468680; News letter: DavidStafford 02 49215832 .Meetings: Last Wed/month 7:30pm SouthNewcastle RLC, Llewellyn St, Merewether.Northern Rivers HG and PG ClubPO Box 126, Byron Bay NSW 2481; [www.nrghpgc.net]. Pres: Jan Smith 0438 876926; V-Pres:Brian Rushton 0427 615950 ; Sec: Marco Veronesi 0405151515 ; Trs:Paul Gray 0407 738658 ; PR: Cedar Anderson 0429070380 ; Sites:Peter Wagner 0431 120942, Col Rushton0428 751379 ; SSO (PG): Lindsay Wooten 0427 210993; SSO (HG):Andrew Polidano 0428 666843 . Meetings: 2nd Wed/month,7pm, Byron Services Club.Stanwell Park HG and PG ClubPO Box 258 Helensburgh NSW 2508; Pres/Trs: Peter Ffrench 0403 076149 ; Sec: Johnathon Kinred 0457 299893; Committee: FredSmeaton 0402 808031 ; SSO: Mark Mitsos 0408 864083, .Sydney Hang Gliding ClubPres: Dean Tooker ; V-Pres: Martin Wielecki ; Trs: John Selby 02 93447932; Sec: Bruce Wynne0417 467695 or ;Dev/Train: Owen Wormald 02 94667963; SO: BillMoyes , Doug Sole, KenStothard; Web: Glen Kimpton; Comps: VickiCain; Training: Shannon Black. Meetings: 3rdWed/month, 7:30pm Botany RSL, Botany.Sydney Paragliding & Hang Gliding ClubPO Box 840, Mona Vale NSW 2103 [www.flysydney.org]. Pres: Peter Rundle ; V-Pres: Brett Coupland 0409162616, ; Sec:Kirsten Seeto 0405 887857 ; Social Sec: Shanta Wallace0416 938227 ; Committee: Graeme Cran , Sandy Thomson, JeffWoodhall .Meeting: The Mascot RSL,1271 Botany RdMascot every 3rd Wed/month at 7:30pm.NORTHERN TERRITORYAlice Springs HG and PG ClubPres: Ricky Jones 0406 098354, , contact for paramotoring,PG ridge soaring and thermal flying.QUEENSLANDCaboolture Microlight Club50 Oak Place, Mackenzie QLD 4156. Pres:Derek Tremain 07 33957563, ; Sec: John Cresswell 07 34203254,; SO: Graham Roberts07 32676662, Cairns Hang Gliding ClubPO Box 6468, Cairns QLD 4870. Pres: BobHayes 0438 710882 ; V-Pres/SO: Brett Collier 0431 151150; Sec: LanceALL CLUBS PLEASE CHECK DETAILS IN THIS SECTION CAREFULLYCould all Clubs please ensure they maintain the correct and current details of their ExecutiveCommittees and contacts here in the magazine. Specific attention is directed to the listing ofSSOs and SOs for the Clubs. Please ALL CLUBS and nominated Senior SOs and SOs confirmALL SSO and SO appointments with the HGFA Office to ensure thatthose holding these appointments have it listed on the Membership Database and can receivenotices and correspondence as required. Appointment of these officers is required to beendorsed by Clubs in writing on the appropriate forms. Sometime in the future if confirmationis not received, those listed in the Database where no current forms or confirmation is held,the appointment will be taken as having expired.General Manager, HGFAKeough, 31 Holm St, Atherton QLD 4883,07 40912117; Trs: Nev Akers 07 40532586.Canungra Hang Gliding Club Inc.PO Box 41, Canungra QLD 4275; [www.chgc.asn.au]. Pres: Phil McIntyre ; V-Pres: Lee Patterson; Sec: MarkKropp ; Trs: BrandonO’Donnell ; Ed:Cameron McNeill 0419 706326; Gen-Exec:Greg Hollands ; SSOPG:Phil Hystek 07 55434000 (h), 0418 155317; SSO HG: Lee Patterson0417 025732 .Central Queensland Skyriders Club Inc.‘The Lagoons’ Comet River Rd, Comet QLD4702. Pres: Alister Dixon (instructor) 0438845119, ; Sec:James Lowe 0418 963315, ; Trs: Adrienne Wall 07 49362699,; Events: Jon Wall0427 177237, ; SSO: Bob Pizzey 0439 740187,07 49387607. Towing Biloela: Paul Barry07 49922865, .Conondale Cross-Country Club[www.conondaleflyers.asn.au/] Pres: DenisDavis 0428 130375; V-Pres: Paul Underwood0407 177793; Sec: Andrew Dobinson; Trs: SteveStocker 0411 226733.Dalby Hang Gliding Club17 Mizzen St, Manly West QLD 4179. Pres:Daron ‘Boof’ Hodder 0431 240610, ; Sec/Trs: Annie Crerar 0418711821, ; SSO:Jason ‘Yoda’ Reid 0424 293922, .Fly Killarney Inc.Pres/SSO: Lindsay Wootten 0427 210993,; V-Pres:Alistair Gibb 0414 577232, ; Sec/Trs: Sonya Fardell 0415 156256,.Sunshine Coast Hang Gliding ClubPO Box 227, Rainbow Beach QLD 4581;. Pres: GeoffreyCole 0408 420808, 07 5455 4661; V-Pres& SSO (HG): David Cookman 0427 498753;V-Pres (PG): Tex Beck 0407 238017; Trs:Gary Allen 0417 756878; Sec: Chris Ferreira0420 980572 ; (HG):David Cookman 0427 498573, 07 54498573;SSO (PG): Jean-Luc Lejaille 0418 754157,07 54863048.Wicked Wings ClubPres: Peter Schwenderling 0427 461347; Trs: Craig Dunn, Sec: Sonya Fardell0415 156256, SonyaFardell, 260 Postman’s Ridge Rd, Helidon SpaQLD 4344.Whitsundays HG ClubSec/Trs: Ron Huxhagen 07 49552913, fax:07 49555122, .Tasmania (see States & Regions)VICTORIADynasoarers Hang Gliding Club; Pres: Dale Appleton0408 382635; SSO: Rob van der Klooster0408 335559. Meetings: 1st Fri/month, venuesee [www.dynasoarers.vhpa.org.au].Melbourne Hang Gliding Club Inc.PO Box 5278, South Melbourne VIC 3205[www.melbourne.vhpa.org.au]. Pres: GabrielToniolo 0407 544511, ; Sec: Scott Rawlings 0409675408, ; Trs:Noel Bear 0425 801813, ; SSO: Peter Holloway 0408 526805,, Committee:Glen Bachelor & Peter Cass. Meetings: 3rdWed/month, Tower Hotel, 686 Burwood Road,Hawthorn East VIC 3123.North East Victoria Hang Gliding ClubPres: John Chapman 0412 159472 ; Sec: Bill Oates 0466 440049 ; Trs/M/ship:Greg Javis 0407 047797; Committee: BarbScott 0408 844224, Bill Brooks 0409 411791;SSO: Karl Texler 0428 385144; Meetings:[www.nevhgc.net/].Sky High Paragliding Club[www.skyhighparagliding.org]; Pres: Steve Leak, 0409 553401; V-Pres: Alister Johnson 0418 323692 ; Trs: Phil Lyng 0421135894 ; Sec:Frank Adler 0408 264615 ; M’ship: Loz Pozzani 0421 389839; Nov Rep:Mike Armstrong 0412 329442 ; Web: Frank Adler 0408 264615 ; Safety:Hamish Barker 0437 137893 ; Committee: Dave Frecheville.Meetings: 1st Wed/month 8pm RetreatHotel, 226 Nicholson St, Abbotsford.Southern Microlight Club[http://home.vicnet.net.au/~stclub/]. Pres:Mark Howard 0419 855850 ; V-Pres: Ken Jelleff ; Sec/Ed: Kelvin Glare 0421060706 ; Trs: DeanMarriott . Meet ings:2nd Tue/month 8pm Manning -ham Club, 1Thompsons Rd, Bulleen.Western Victorian Hang GIiding ClubPO Box 92, Beaufort VIC 3373, [www.wvhgc.org]. Pres: Anthony Meechan 0407163796, ; V-Pres:Greg Beglehole 0419 889153, ; Sec: ZhenshiVan Der Klooster ; Trs: Richard Carstairs 0409 066860,; SSO:Rohan Holtkamp 0408 678734 . Meet ings: Last Sat/month, The Golden Age Hotel, Beaufort, 7pm.WESTERN AUSTRALIAAlbany HG & PG ClubSSO: Simon Shuttleworth 0427 950556; Sec: JohnMiddleweek 08 98412096, fax: 08 98412096.Cloudbase Paragliding Club Inc.Secretary, 12 Hillside Crs, Maylands WA 6051.Pres: Colin Brown 0407 700378 ; V-Pres: Eric Metrot 0407003059; Trs: ColinBrown 0407 700378 ; Committee: Shelly Heinrich 0428935462 , RodMerigan 0439 967971 , Clive Salvidge 0402 240038 , Julien Menager 0423 829346 ; SOs: John Carman, NigelSparg, Colin Brown, Mark Wild. Meetings: LastTues/month, 7:30pm, Osborne Park BowlingClub, Park St, Tuart Hill.Goldfields Dust Devils Inc.[www.dustdevils.itaustralia.org]. Kalgoorlie:Pres: Toby Houldsworth , 0428 739956; Trs/SSO: Murray Wood, 08 90215771;Sec/SO: Richard Breyley , 0417 986896. Perth: SSO:Mark Stokoe , 0414 932461.Hill Flyers Club Inc.. Pres/SSO: RickWilliams 0427 057961; Sec/SSO: Gary Bennet0412 611680; SSO: Gavin Nicholls 0417690386, Mike Ipkendanz 08 92551397, DaveLongman 08 93859469. Meetings held on siteduring club fly-ins at York, Toodyay.Western Microlight Club Inc.Pres: Brian Watts 0407 552362; V-Pres: KeithMell 08 97971269; Sec: Paul Coffey 0428504285; CFI: Brendan Watts: 0408 949004.Western SoarersPO Box 483, Mt Hawthorn WA 6915; [www.westernsoarers.com]. Pres: Michael Duffy; V-Pres: Jason Kath; Sec: Cyril Eliopulos; Trs: Greg Lowry; SSOs: Shaun Wallace,Gavin Nicholls, Matty Coull, Rick Williams,Michael Duffy. Meetings: See [http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/western_soarers/].44 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 45

Classifieds • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •G FANOTICE TO ALL GFA ADVERTISERSAll advertisements and payment can be sent to:The Gliding Federation of Australia Inc/AdvertisingLevel 1/34 Somerton Road, Somerton VIC 3062.Ph: 03 9303 7805, Fax: 03 9303 7960Email: Advertisements may be emailed in high resolution(300dpi at 100% size) using TIF or EPS formats.Photo graphs may be pro vided in either photo printor slides. Low resolution digitals are not suitable.Photo graphs, slides or disks may be returned. Pleaseinclude a self-addressed and stamped envelopefor the return of any promotional material.All GFA advertisements must be paid for prior topublication. (Payment by cheque, money order orcredit card). Don’t forget Classifieds deadline is the25th of the month, for publication five weeks hence.For current advertising fees, go to [www.gfa.org.au].Single-seater SailplanesASW 17 VH-YKL. Complete enclosed trailer &instruments now in Australia, $35000. Ph: BradEdwards 0427 202535 or 02 67711733.Cirrus 75 VH-GQT, 2550 hrs, 1220 landings. Wingtip extensions, new canopy, good trailer, Form 2completed Aug. $19000. Ph: Tony 07 46614090.Hornet GEY with winglets, basic instruments, B20,720ch radio & U/C warning. Trailer & tow-out gearare included. This aircraft has been professionallyrefinished & will be sold with a fresh Form 2 includingthe 6000-hr inspection. Price $20000 ono. Ph:Bruce 0407 795412.Jantar Std 2 VH-IZT 1850 hrs, 1100 landings.Good clean condition. Microair radio, Borgelt instrumentation,canopy hinge. Well thought out trailer& all tow-out gear. Competitive Standard Class performance,price negotiable. Ph: Paul 0404 851876.Kestrel 17 VH-GXC in excellent order, 42:1 glideratio, 3600 hrs, complete with, enclosed dual axleweather-proof trailer, wing & canopy covers, parachute,tinted canopy, tow-out gear, Cambridge datalogger,S-Nav Glide computer, current Form 2 (Nov2011). Delight to fly, no vices, will go the distance.More details [www.brookmanonline.com]. $23000.Ph: 08 87565019 or .Libelle 201B VH-GCJ, serial number 454. 2900 hrs,new canopy, new panel with Borgelt vario, LX20GPS logger, radio & Flarm. New water bags & comeswith tow-out gear & a good trailer. Wing covers &fresh Form 2, $16000. Ph: 02 66243999.LS8-18/15 + Cobra XL Std & 15m Nationalswinner. Fully equipped/optioned. Price flexible $120to $135K depending on equipment Ph: Miles Gore-Brown 0755789904 or .Pik 20B VH-GVF, good condition, winglets, fibreglassfactory trailer, oxy, many Pik spares, recentlycompleted Form 2 & ready for the soaring seasonwith all tow-out gear. $23000. Integrated L-Nav isavailable (neg). T-hangar available at Bathurst ifrequired (neg). Ph: Geoff 02 48614284 or Andrew 0419 479392.Std Cirrus GOX excellent condition. New gelcoat,winglets, Flarm, Microair radio, tow-out gear, VGenclosed trailer. $20000 ono. Ph: 03 97437605 or.Ventus 2cx 18m NNA – sell aircraft, includingtrailer, available for inspection at Warwick airfieldQld. Very low hrs, asking price $139500. Ph: 0438371145 to discuss further.Self-Launching/Motor GlidersGrob Twin III 103 Self-launcher. Very low hrs,refinished; delight to fly. $125000 fly away. $135000with trailer tow away. Ph: Dave 0428 716807 or.SF25 B Scheibe Jabiru 2200 Motor FalkeVH-HNO, TT 2275 hrs, engine 215 hrs before topoverhaul, 32-litre tank plus 10-litre long range tank.Basic instruments, Microair radio, new tyres, spareprop, etc. 187kg cockpit load. $38000. Ph: 03 95510965 or .Ventus cM Self-launcher $15000 PRICE DROP!Be Quick! First to see will buy! 17.6m, ~800 hrs TT.Engine 5 hrs, Altair, Vega, Dittel, Flarm.Cobra trailer.Refinished 2008. Fresh Form 2, perfect, beautiful.Just fly it. Now only $95K GST incl. (& possibly negotiable).Ph: 07 38793005 .Ventus bT 16.6 1700 hrs, engine 20 hrs. Enclosedtrailer, tow-out gear, MH oxygen, new canopy,Cambridge & OzFlarm. Current Form 2. Outstandingcondition. Polyurethane finish. Based at Bunyan(Canberra). Sale due to owner moving overseas.$59000. Ph: 02 61284548 b/h, or 02 62425630 a/h.Silent TARGA Fuel Inject[www.alisport.com]Highly optioned new demo unit, < six launches &test hours for CofA only. 1 man self-rig package(20 min), steerable tail wheel, super COBRA trailer.Pure fun & independence. Price negotiabele.Ph: Greg 0400 114747 or .Gliding PublicationsAirborne Magazine: Covering all facets ofAustralian & New Zealand modelling. The best valuemodelling magazine. Now $60pa for six issues.Plans & other special books available. PO Box 30,Tullamarine, VIC 3043.Free Flight: Quarterly journal of the Soaring Associationof Canada. A lively record of the Canadiansoaring scene & relevant international news &articles. $US26 for one year, $47 for two years, $65for three years. 107-1025 Richmond Rd Ottawa,Ontario K2B 8G8 Canada, email: .Gliding International: The new internationalgliding magazine edited by John Roake. Specialisingin being first with news from every corner of thesoaring globe. A$60 p.a. Personal cheques or creditcards accepted. Contact: Gliding International,79 Fifth Avenue, Tauranga, New Zealand. Email:.Sailplane & Gliding: The only authoritativeBritish magazine devoted entirely to gliding. 52 A4pages of fascinating material & pictures with colour.Available from the British Gliding Asso ci ation,Kimberley House, Vaughan Way, Leicester, England.Annual subscription for six copies £17.50.Sailplane Builder: Monthly magazine of the SailplaneHomebuilders Association. $US29 (airmail$US46) to SHA, c/o Murry Rozansky, 23165 SmithRoad, Chatsworth, CA 91311 USA.Soaring: Official monthly journal of the SoaringSociety of America Inc. PO Box 2100, Hobbs,nm88241 USA. Foreign subscription rates (annu ally):$US43 surface delivery; $US68 premium delivery.Technical Soaring/OSTIV: Quarterly publi ca tionofSSA containing OSTIV & other technical papers. c/oT U Delft, Fac Aerospace engineering, Kluyerweg 1,NL-2629 HS DELFT, The Netherlands.Vintage Times: Official newsletter of Vintage GlidersAustralia, edited by David & Jenne Goldsmith, PO Box577, Gisborne VIC 3437, Mem ber ship $20 pa.H G FAAll aircraft should be suitable for the intendeduse; this includes the skill level requiredfor the specific aircraft being reflective ofthe pilot’s actual rating & experience. Allmembers must adhere to the mainte nancerequirements as contained in Section 9 ofthe Operations Manual & as provided bymanufacturers. Secondhand equipmentClassifieds are free of charge to HGFA membersup to a maximum of 40 words. One classifiedper person per issue will be accepted.Classifieds are to be delivered to the HGFA officefor membership verification/payment by email, fax: 03 93362177 or post:4a/60 Keilor Park Drive, Keilor Park VIC 3042.The deadline is 25th of the month, for pub li cationfive weeks hence. Submitted classifieds will run forone issue. For con secutive publication, re-sub missionof the classified must be made, no advance bookings.When submitting a classified remember to includeyour contact details (for prospective buyers),your HGFA membership number (for verifi ca tion)and the State under which you would like theclassified placed. (Note that the above does notapply to com mer cial operators. Instructors mayplace multiple classified entries, but will becharged at usual advertising rates.)should always be inspected by an independentperson, an Instructor wherever possi ble.Advice should be sought as to the con di tion,airworthiness & suitability of the aircraft.It should include examination of maintenancelogs for the aircraft. It is unethical& a legally volatile situation for individualsto provide aircraft which are unsuitablefor the skill level of the pilot, or aircraftthat are unairworthy in any way.Hang Gliders & EquipmentNew South WalesAeros Topless 119ft 2 . Very few hrs, looks like new,Stealth II with Combat L sail cloth, carbon battens,etc, 29kg. Its ability to glide truly amazing. Greatbuy for small pilot. Ph: Maggie 02 66858768 or.Sting 3 154 ‘Like new’ 17 flights/27 hrs. Boughtit new in February 2010. Includes spare DT & allweatherbag, asking $5100. Located in Newcastle.Ph: 0429 039006.Paragliders & EquipmentNew South WalesUP Ascent 2 (XS) suit pilot 60-75kg. Backpack,stuff bag, speedbar (like new, 1-hr flight), ApcoIntegral 2 Chairbag harness, 2.6kg, reversiblebackpack. = Apco Mayday 16 Light reserve [http://db.tt/8ygk7LA], $3500. Ph: Nigel 0406 752850 or.Microlights & EquipmentVictoriaTrike Trailer custom-built tilt, VIC Reg, two jerrycan holders, wing holder, very good condition;Hepworths Green All-In-One Freezer suit & hood,Size XL $60 VGC; Punkin bar gloves $60 VGC;Com-munica helmet, headsets & visor x 2 withinterface box, PTT, $1100, VGC; Garmin GPS 90communication & navigaion, in box, never used,$200. Ph: Steve Romer 03 97968978, 0407 337226or .46 Soaring Australia February 2011 February 2011 Soaring Australia 47GeneralConcertina BagPARA SUPPLY / Cocoon3 concertina bag,PARA SUPPLY / Cocoon3 concertina bag,PARA SUPPLY / Cocoon3 concertina bag,PARA SUPPLY / Cocoon3 concertina bag,www.parasupply.comPoliglideHGFA SchoolsVICTORIAKangookThe latest range of Kangook paramotors,Dudek Reflex paragliders, trikes, flight decks, spares& your reserve parachute equipment all on ourwebsite for your inspection with prices. Ph:Ben 0418 753220.Press To Talk SystemPARA SUPPLY / PTT sys, PARA SUPPLY / PTT sys,PARA SUPPLY / PTT sys, PARA SUPPLY / PTT sys,PARA SUPPLY / PTT sys, PARA SUPPLY / PTT sys,www.parasupply.comVICTORIA• • • • • • • • • • • • •PARAGLIDING CENTREWe are based in Bright, NE Victoria, widelyrenowned as Australia’s best flying region.Bright has been host to numerous Australian &international competitions.Feel confident that you are learning with thebest, our CFI Fred Gungl (six times AustralianParagliding Champion) has been involved inparagliding since 1990 & instructing for over10 years.Courses• Introductory & HGFA licence course• Thermal & XC clinics for all levels• SIV courses• Tow courses• XC tandem flights• Equipment SalesWe are now conducting SIV courses.See website for details.Dealer for all major glider manufacturers, Charly reserves,Insider helmets & various accessories.Active FlightFred Gungl, ph: 0428 854455www.activeflight.com.auestablished 1988Why come to North-east Victoriato learn with Eagle School?• Apart from being fortunate enough to have themost consistently reliable weather for trainingin Australia…• Australia’s longest running Microlight school.• Our person centred approach means that wevalue feedback and individually tailor our trainingmethods to suit the student’s needs.• We specialise in remedial training when you getstuck in your present learning environment.• We are interested in seeing you achieve yourgoals and make your dreams a reality.• You will receive ongoing support afteryour licence• We aim to shape you into a safe and confidentpilot by encouraging you to challenge yourselfin a safe and supportive environment.• If you are already a Hang Glider, Paraglider orGlider pilot you’ll learn for half price!We look forward to assisting you to mastera new set of skills which will take youto new heights in every respect.NO PRESSURE SALES!!! BUY IN YOUR OWN TIMEFeel free to contact us, we are happy to chat with you.STEPHEN RUFFELS CFIMail address: 16 Hargreaves Road, Bright, 3741(03) 5750 1174 or (0428) 570 168email Look up our website:[www.eagleschool.com.au]download our’Learn to Fly’ brochurefor what’s involved, plus costs.