February - Hang Gliding Federation of Australia

■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