February - Hang Gliding Federation of Australia

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