Volume 34 No 4 Aug-Sept 1983.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

sand drifts. Thermals rose to 5500ft but a15kt headwind persisted from the previousday. However another long flying dayextended the record to 430km, landing atMildura.The weather pattern remainedunchanged on January 6. Thermals roseto 6000ft with the 15k t headwind becominga beam wind. This day took us to PortAugust3 via Waikerie - 480km, we haddone it again!low over reservationThe seventh day promised to be somethingspecial. Hot surface air from thehinterland pushed the afternoon temperaturesup to 45°C with thermals boomingup to IS OOOft. Unfortunately the windswere westerly at 25-30kt. Neverthelesswe made 580km over the first of the rea'lGAFA, landing at Ya'lata Mission on theNullabor plain. As the thermals died atthe day's end, I was low over anAborigine reservation.My very wise adviser on Australianaffairs, Dennis Gorton, convinced me byradio that if I landed I should quicklyjump out of Solarbird and stop all theinstruments required to validate worldrecord claims, then quickly take-offagain. I landed with no one in sight butwithin seconds I was being charged downby about fifty of the most horrendouslooking indigenous gentlemen. Twoworld records that day - 580km and thequickest ever take-off! Once airborne Icontacted the crew by radio and flewback 50km to rendezvous at Nundroo forthe night.Solarblrd at high speedJanuary 8 was a day of sheer joy. Norecords this time, but a memorable flightof 385km to Mundrabilla, mostly flownalong the sea cliffs of the Nullarbor plain.For 2Hlkm I ridge soared the sea clifffrom Nullarbor to Eucla then inland, still,following the ridge to Mundrabilla. Theridge is south facing, between 175 to300ft high. It 'has a steady south-westerlysea breeze of 15 to 20kt blowing onto it.Highway I runs along the cliff top formiles, and Solarbird raced along at highspeed at cliff top level right beside theMerccdes which, whilst being driven atthe llOkm/h speed limit, was no matchfor the sailplane.After the previous day of optimisingevery effort to achieve maximum distance,it was great 10 relax and enjoy thesteady, reliable lift. of the ridge, sharingthe sky with hundreds of eagles andwatching numerous 'sharks clearly visiblein the water below.Mi5Sioll complete. The team. left 10 right. Tug and Mar/ene, Dellnis Corton alld Hal Sulton.A cold front passed through on January9, thus preventing further progressthat day. On the 10th we continued,planning to follow Highway I to Norseman.Unfortunately the SW wind carriedsea air to the highway, so t had to moveinland into the wide open space of theNullabor plain. For the next. seven hours Ididn't see a single recognisable featurefrom which to map read; no roads, rivers,salt lakes, hills - nothing but flat sand.Thermals were to a max,inlum of 4S00flso I had a close, long look at that sand!Throughout the day I knew I hadHighway I on my left and the Trans­Australian railway on my right. The two,being mostly 150 miles apart, converge tomeet at Kalgoorlie, and that was where Ifinished. Throughout those seven hours Ihad been out of radio conlact with theground party, however Qantas Fright 24,east bound from Perth, k,indly relayed myprogress to them to allay their concern.The 650km flight lasted 9hrs 15min.At long last on January I1 the weadlercame good, as the hoped-for high pressuremoved into the Bight. This producedthe first tailwind and although thermalswere still only 4500ft we covered the414km to Cunderdin in 3hrs 56min. Onthat day it would have been possible tohave completed the task and reach thecoast, but the Standard Class Nationalshad their final night party and there wasno way we were going to drive past allthat beer!And so, on January 12, Solarbirdlanded at Mandurah by the Pacific tocomplete the first ever flight acrossAustralia. The entire flight had been donewithout ever using the engine after havingpassed the start gate each d:;lY. Theworld motor glider single-seater straightdistance record of 324km had been resetfive times finishing at 652.7km. TheAustralian media interest was enormousthroughout and the arrival was coveredby satellite on the national televisionnews of 130 countries worldwide.The potential Is thereMy only disappointment was at nothaving had the opportunity to fly theIOOOkm. Certainly the potenlial is therefor very long distances. Given the goodday with ,the regular 1000ft/min thermalsto 15 OOOfl, a 30kt tail wind across theNullarbor, a high TAS from cruisingabove 10 OOOft, an extra I Ihhrs sun timefrom chasing the sun and a waterballastedDG-400, then 1500km wouldbe a distinct possibility for the future.Sadly this time, with one exception, it wasshallow, blue thermals into a headwind.Dennis said I flew iltlike a real Pom - Inever did find out whether that was acompliment or not. What I do know isthat it was a truly wonderful experiencefor which I will always remain indebted toeveryone who helped the project on itsway, especial'ly Marlene, Dennis and Ha!.They know for sur,e just how long a4000km retrieve really is!Now for the rea'\ly big one of soaringfrom Hong Kong through China and overEverest - but 'fhat will be another story.*Interpretation: - Pom - an Englishgentleman (oft married to a Rose); Fairdinkum - description for truthful EnglishMet gentleman who has gone downunder but feels no pain and GAFA­Great Australian Vast Open Space.August/September 1983155