So ends 2011...

The most rain we have seen in 18 years (which is as far back as my records go).
2.6 meters, or 2600mm, or 105 inches (for those of you still in the prehistoric world).

What will 2012 bring...no idea.

No rain...bloody hell I hope not.

Another GFC perhaps??

A JS1?? Probably not.

And 2012 arrived with another 100mm's...damn it's wet.

Enough already...

Apparently this rain is due to clear in 2012...

Just in time for me to depart to Slipper Island so I can watch the sky develop from the comfort of a beach chair relaxed in the knowledge that no matter how good the sky looks I can't get anywhere near it...

And no doubt when I return to the mainland the anti-cyclonic gloom will set in just to complete the picture...

Why do I own a glider??? I ask myself this quite frequently...

We have the Nationals to look forward to. Entered yesterday...by way of a complex process of electronic payment but old style paper entry form...go figure.

Trying to get enthused to do a 300km out and return from Tauranga.
No-one has done one yet..although I'm sure some-one will claim "that's easy" did it years ago...well show me the track...


It requires either a track down the western side of Taupo to Taumaranui or down the eastern side to 22 kms past Lochinvar. Both will have challenges. It's quite "do-able"...it was probably achieve-able on Xmas eve if I'd been a bit better organised.

Pictures from the 24th.

In no particular order...including GKM's resting place...amongst the hobbits.
The panorama is from the top of Mt Tahara on Tuesday.
I got so excited when I got past Whakamaru that I forgot to take any shots...sorry, it was  great convergence line.
And, yes I know, it's a bit like being forced to watch Aunt Beryl's holiday snaps...

What did you do on Xmas eve??

I retrieved a glider out of a paddock...
This, of course, is a positive thing because it means we went flying...
Probably the best day in a while. Track below.
Having reviewed the track I see a 68km final glide fom the Waikato river to home with 1500ft to spare.

The forecast was "spot on"...climbs of 5-6 knots, bases of 6-7000ft. Light winds and a few convergences away from the coast. If we'd been a bit earlier we probably would have made National Park as they was a strong convergence running along the western lake edge. Still a 300km out and return to National Park will be a big ask...

I ran into some itinerant Auckland pilots as well.

Poor old Chch...

Yet again the earth moved.

Closer to home we did the "reverse ridge" today.
Put another way it was an easterly rather than the more mundane westerly...the Kaimai's worked but along the other side. The eastern side feels somewhat more challanging as the land-out terrain is more limited.
The added impediment was the lack of Chch ATC so most of the airspace was closed...I gather the controllers were hiding under their desks or had left the building...a bit like Elvis.

Tomorrow might be a "goer"...it'll be hard to call and if things do develop the sea breeze will be in like a robbers dog...get going early boys and girls.

The Duo returns...I have to keep reminding myself it's a club glider...12 months in and one wheel is missing a hub cab, and jockey wheel has been left down at some point, and I have no idea if all the lights work. And that's only the trailer...I didn't bother to look inside. Anyone like to forecast what it will look like in 10 years??
update - 7am. Looks like it will be a soarable day. Light winds. Bases 4000ft near the coast working their way up to 6-7000ft inland. Sea breezes. Not much O/D but watch the hills.

The real challange will be airspace.

A small window of opportunity...

It just might work today...
Bases will be a bit low around the coast (sea breeze) but quite good inland.
Very little wind so very few convergences expect on the west coast.
A little bit of O/D in the late afternoon.

I guess everyone is rushing about buying Xmas presents, mowing the lawns (me), or towing the duo back from Auckland...again.

Saturday doesn't look as good as wet air and showers move in from the west.

Striking back against the Empire...

Our local life member, treasurer, Contest director, tow-pilot, marketing manager, scholarship organiser, and all round good guy, struck back against the Empire...may the force be with you Luke...correction Baldman.

So what if it was only in the BaySun... at least it illustrates the total lunacy that is Part 115 (at least for gliding that is...)
Remember 3 years ago we voted for John Key cos he was going to remove "red tape" and "all that paperwork"...yeah right. Pen pushers 1 - National Party MP's 0.

So I got it slightly wrong...

Tuesday isn't the stunner I said it would be...but hold on...back the bus up a bit...
I'm looking out the window...7000ft cloud base, thermals as far as the eye can see, little wind, easily a 300km day...
Oh that's right...I'm in Taupo.
Sorry dudes...right forecast wrong venue...better luck next time.

Those who can should...

Look to go X-country on Tuesday.
Looks like a nice afternoon...bases of 6-7000ft, thermals of 5-6 knots and well marked Cu's.
Light Easterly winds so no sea breeze convergences but a good run down through the Waikato to Taupo.

The Up's and Down's of life...

First it was an "Up"...the weather was looking good for Sunday...and my diary was strangely empty...
Then it was "Down"...an essayist I enjoyed reading finally checked out...
Followed by an "Up"...I attended a very pleasant celebration of a double half century (2 people turning 50 or the same night)...
Then the inevitable "Down"...our CFI has resigned...pity cos he's a great all round chap who I have no problem taking suggestions/criticism or delegated authority from...but clearly others do. Besides, I can beat him the annual rankings list...
But there is always an "Up"...had a great red wine or two with a friend from the West Island...Sydney to be more precise...he'd brought a case of red wine from the Barossa...outstanding...hence any spelling/grammar mistakes are his fault and not mine...
But the greatest "Down" was Sunday's weather turned out to be total, unadulterated, complete, and absolute crap...bugger those forecasters...

AND guess what??? Tomorrow looks OK and I'm stuck back inside...damn those forecasters

The Hitch is no more...

Christopher Hitchens passed away from cancer this afternoon...sad really.
At least I have 5 of his books to re-read.

A taste of his wit - on George Dubya before he became President..."He is lucky to be governor of Texas," Hitchens said. "He is unusually incurious, abnormally unintelligent, amazingly inarticulate, fantastically uncultured, extraordinarily uneducated, and apparently quite proud of all these things."

Gosh we are good bast&%ds...

Free milk in schools...
The list of benefits we dairyfarmers bring to this country is amazing...like having your very own Bill Gates pumping out cash day in and day out...

Where will it end...
And another 20 cents added to our forecast milk returns (just another $700 million for NZ Inc)...it's raining, the grass is growing, the exchange is coming down, the kids are on holiday, the dog is asleep...it's too good to be true.

I'd almost get excited and rush out and buy a Ventus 2cT...but $205k pulled me up a bit short.
Still I need an excuse to put one of these new LXNAV vario's in a glider - looks really awesome (cos we use "awesome" to describe anything these days...once the Universe was awesome...now my kids tell me the latest hamburger at BK is totally awesome...go figure)...I'm rambling...time to go

The Spanish Inquisition...

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition"...or so said Monty Python. However it's a weekly occurrence at the local Gliding Club.
The Catholic Church required the Jews and Muslims of Spain to "convert" or leave...(although the modern day version is playing out in Israel, albeit with the boot on a different foot) .
A press statement was issued to counter some of the "good news" BS that CAA has been putting about...all this "Part 115" is the greatest thing since sliced bread...the public will be much safer...all will be well in the world.
The fundamental problem is NOT for GLIDING. As a voluntary organisation who haven't injured a passenger since Adam was a Cowboy it just adds cost, work and bureaucracy.
So some-one needed to challenge all this propaganda in the newspaper, on National Radio and the like.
Fight fire with fire I say...but for some you'd think we issued a Declaration of War on the good folk of Wellington. Not so...

On to next weeks heresy...insurance perhaps...

There are rumours about...

That there is a new glider in the hanger.
At first I thought it must be the PW5 GZX having been re-polished.

Then maybe the Duo-discus having finally returned from Auckland having had the very complex electrical wiring fixed...for now.

I did wonder if some-one had seen the newly polished wings on GNM and get excited but no...

It's a JS1. Fresh from south Africa.
What can a JS1 do that other gliders can't? Go here to watch the results of the Sth African Nationals.. http://www.soaringspot.com/sanats2011/results/open/total/day1.html.

I'll post pictures when they come available...or you can go and have a look yourself...

If you can get into the hanger that is...what with changed codes for the security system and padlocks on the doors. Watch-out of the rabid attack dog lurking in the hanger...

Youth Development Camp.

Tauranga has a participant in the annual camp held in Mecca...whoops - Omarama.
This year Scott (and his Dad, who no doubt just went along for the ride...no chance of getting any gliding...yeah right) gets to really stretch his experience, confidence and langauge skills - you ask some-one down thataway to say "Bert put fert on the dirt"...

I instructed today...yeah yeah...I know...it's not a common event. Wasn't too bad either...some thermal activity in the hills, we even got out of the zone. With this wind the mount was working as well...

Wanta go gliding???

Wait until next weekend...the next 5 days will be a write off.
And that's all I've got to say about that...

JoeyGlide is underway in the West Island...sorry Australia.
A great idea to get young people into contest gliding.
http://www.joeyglide.com.au/

Over promising and under delivering.

Yesterday's forecast could fall into that bracket.
I take some comfort from the saying that "we only learn from our mistakes".
Although if the mistake is big enough the chance to learn is somewhat overwhelmed by our untimely demise...it goes with the saying "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger...". Yeah well maybe but probably not...

However optimistic forecasts can generate humorous outcomes...

A certain glider pilot who frequents Auckland (Lord only knows why...and even he might be forgiven due to his non-existence) was so motivated that he travelled swiftly from the Big Smoke to a smaller Puff (Tauranga) only to get a speeding ticket.
This was followed by a 4000ft tow into the blue (he being of a renowned frugal nature a 4000ft tow would have felt like a long dentist visit) and thereafter a hard grind at 3500ft feet only to get no further than Tokoroa.

I feel much better having been trapped in a meeting for the afternoon. Otherwise I might have taken my own advice and dragged GNM out into the sun.

Looking ahead the chances of any gliding out of Tauranga over the next week are next to very little...but then again this forecast could be wrong. Perhaps a dash back to Auckland might be a bad idea..

Only 17 sleeps until...

I can get some spare time of my diary.
Tomorrow (Thursday) look interesting.
But as usual I'll be confined to a meeting room looking out in envy...

Very strong consistent thermals especially in the Waikato and Taupo/Sth Waikato area.
Bases 6000ft over the Kaimai's rising to 9500ft west of Taupo.
Sea breezes getting very strong (enhanced by a slight E to SE wind) in the afternoon. Some late overdevelopment in the hills and in the Bay of Plenty.

If you can go...get going early, go south and west, and go far and wide.
Expect a long glide back into the sea breeze late in the day...you lucky lucky bastards...

Even the BOP can get a Cold Front...

Normally for those of us fortunate enough to live in the Bay of Plenty (emphasis on the "Plenty" bit...) we experience weather changes as a slow, mushy, indiscriminate flop from one system to another.

For my sins I once lived in Canterbury (for 4 years)...here the weather arrived as a great roaring, crashing, blundering event at anytime of the day or night. Nor-west winds, rapidly moving cold fronts blowing up the plains with dust, sticks and bits of grass pushed in front, temperature changes from 35 degrees to 14 in an hour...

But once in a while we here in the land of abundance get to see a new system arrive...
This from Bruce...a change from a sea breeze to a SE wind late in the afternoon.

I'm reliably informed the black smudge is the Duo (GXT) electrical system working at it's maximum...that or it's Brett's new Jet powered JS1 running at its economical best...

Sunday...no hope...

While today was super windy, tomorrow will be super blue...bugger.
Just when I had some spare time.
Thermals to 4000ft but not marked.

Lighter winds for a change.
Go fishing...

Seems I'm back as Newsletter editor again...with the Friday afternoon update there's not much to put in a newsletter. We'll have to see rumours, speculation, heresay, and other nonsense I can coax out of people...

It would seem the number of blog visits continues to climb. 90% from inside NZ and of that most locally. I'm guessing the one from Rwanda is lost...

Regionals start tomorrow. Looking ahead tomorrow will be challenging, Monday looks wet whereas Tuesday-Wednesday will be OK...after that it's anybody's guess. I gather there wasn't many entries...but I assume there will be lots of "roll-ups" at the last minute.

Will National win? Will Labour get any seats? Will Hone get back in?? Will I care???
The best thing about voting today was the 2 km walk to the polling booth.

RASP vs squiggly lines

The RASP looks great for the Waikato today. Thermals, ridge lift, high bases...but what the RASP doesn't make clear is a) high cloud and b) that the day will go blue.
If you look at the RASP picture for boundary layer cloud at 2pm you get a sense of how blue it will be.

 However once again we have to deal with high cloud...which will limit heating, which will mean the thermal tops will be slow to rise, which means it'll go blue later in the day...
As always you need a mix of forecasts to get it right...

It would appear it was a wave day...

There was this large funny shaped cloud that hung around all afternoon.
I timelapsed the sky from 1pm to 4pm so you can get a sense of how it moves over time.

I'm not sure how this will appear on your screen but it's quite cool on mine. The only disappointment was I wasn't flying it in GNM.

And these 2 photo's in taken from under the primary. Thanks Scott.

the day just keeps giving...more photo's...

A Day of Check flights

A longish story...make a cup of tea...

I arrived just in time to see the working bee coming to an end. Such a pity all that farm work had got in the way...

On to the flying...requests for check flights in the Duo...so the first one was suppose to be a quick up/down and motor start. Struggled to come down due to all the lift. 4-5 knot climbs all over the place.

Check flight 2. This was to be a longer flight as the pilot being checked is instructing in the X-country course next week. 30 minutes later and we are in the air once again. This time it's a real struggle to stay up. Long tow out to Welcome bay...only to see the LS4 scuttling back at low-ish levels...mmm
A weak climb followed by a series of short hops to get nearer the Poripori area and then a long low-ish glider into 28 knots of wind to get over the Kaimai's
In the end it was an easy crossing (800ft to spare) but my co-pilot was a tad relieved to be over the hill. Typical ridge day...some thermals...not great...plenty of ridge lift. We then got called back so left at 5000ft...easy trip home. Oh we did see the LS4 again at low level...in the trees.

Flight 3. We got back to find who ever had called us back was no-where to be found...seemed rather strange. Sky looked even better...I couldn't contain myself...found another pilot who was keen for a Duo ride...and launched into a deteriorating sky.
Then things got interesting. Cloud bases lifted to 7000ft and a street set up from Motiti Island to National Park. Pity it was now 4pm. We were heading into a 28 knot head wind so progress was slow. However the trip home was fast...ground speed of 140 knots. Pictures below.

What looks good but isn't...

Today's RASP. It shows very strong thermals and a high cloud base. How ever what isn't quite so obvious is the wind strength. 20 knots at 5000ft and 40 knots at 10,000ft. That'll make things quite difficult.
Also the direction is Southerly which means the ridge may not work...maybe in sections on south facing slopes.
If the wind doesn't eventuate than it will be a cracker...

That sure looks like wave Pa...

There was a suggestion once...

that a truely ground breaking flight could be achieved from Tauranga. Not ground breaking in the sense of a world record or such like....

But rather a wave flight that started in Tga, went up the Coromandel's and back down over Taupo and out onto the East Coast. From there the world's your oyster...mountain oyster perhaps...

So here's the chance Mr Wave Master...oh you of the DG400 and Pusdual (or whatever that cross of a PW5 and a motorised hang-glider is...)

There is a contest on...the Sth Is Regionals

But you won't know it if you went looking for it on Soaring Spot.

Whilst I accept that this inter-web thingy is a new concept in southern parts, and if you're in Omarama why would you care what others think but those of us (who could be classed as Flat-landers, or worse urbanites) are quite interested.

Soaring Spot guys...its the most popular means of publicising your contest results, updating track logs and letting the world know whats happening.

Just to help you out here's the link...http://www.soaringspot.com/

And look...the Drury Contest which is a third the size, half as serious and based in a flat, coastal site already has a Soaring Spot Site ready to go...you could learn something from those Aucklanders...

Is there a gliding contest on???

Judging by the Spot page I'd assume the Omarama Regionals are on. Click on the graphic below...it should make it much larger...and much more impressive.

XG is George Wills...I'm guessing he is either way out in front...or way behind. The Branches (Shotover area) must have been the first TP.

The big contrast...

In the Bay of Plenty we can expect thunderstorms, hail and rain later this afternoon. While in the Waikato an excellent afternoon with strong thermals and high cloud bases.

Squiggly line chart for Tauranga later today

What a difference a small range of hills and 20 kms make...

Text Book land-out

We often talk about what makes for a good land-out.
Selecting a good paddock, checking out the area in advance, a standard circuit, landing into wind if possible, or uphill.

Here's a good example. I've lost the photo of the paddock but it was a good one.
The glider appears from the bottom right. You can see the pilot clearly found a paddock at 2500ft. He then got a small climb back to 3000ft and headed off to look for a better thermal safe in the knowledge the local area had a good land-out site.

No further thermals could be found and at 2500ft and 6.5kms from his paddock he heads back. The glider arrives back overhead the final landing site at 1500ft above the ground. A final look for a thermal...no luck.
The circuit is started at 800ft. Finals at 600ft.
A safe landing ensued...followed by a long retrieve.

Text book stuff Maurice...no wonder you are CFI.
Update...and now you're are not CFI it was still one of the best out landings that has been demonstrated by any of our current instructors panel...

And around and around we went...

The day progressed almost to forecast. Highest cloud bases were 7000ft over the Lake Rotoma area. The ridge was working albeit mostly thermal assisted. The climbs to get out of the Bay area were difficult to start with (just look at my track) however 3 glider got across  but things got better over the swamp.
A bit of a close shave getting re-established after leaving the Kaimai's howevre all's well that ends well.

We just can't seem to get the Wx right.

Another weekend where in a normal spring/summer we would be looking forward to great thermal conditions however upper level moisture is going to disrupt things.

Forecast cloud bases for both Sat and sun look poor and there is a suggestion of high cloud about on Sunday. From my experience the RASP doesn't allow for high cloud which means Sundays RASP forecast will be optimistic.
You be the judge;

Saturday at 3pm

Sunday at 3pm.

I note a minor debate over the Duo use at X-country courses (and in general) has raised it's head again. One suggestion is the Duo shouldn't be allowed to go X-country with a student in the 2nd seat unless the Pilot in command has 50 hours Duo time and has completed at least 2 land-outs. That becomes a bit chicken and egg-ish...unless you do some serious X-country work you won't get to 50 hours (and remain current) and you won't land-out. We could just leave it in the hanger...much safer.

No-one has landed it out yet...I did try...so ipso facto it should not go X-country...

We have struggled as a club with this aircraft...a lesson for others maybe.



Who stole the airstrip???

Or why you shouldn't rely on the airstrip database in your glider computer...
This has become....

This...

Bloody developers...

The Duo's Oudie might want to be updated...

Friday or Saturday

We must get a good thermal day sometime soon...pretty please.
It's been a poor spring/early summer so far.

Friday or maybe Saturday is showing some promise bit neither will be a stunner...just OK.
I'll keep you up-dated nearer the time...I'd by keen for either day...or both.

What's the link between 176 million and 4???

For those who listen to National Radio you will know the answer...
For the rest....
176 million is the number of blog sites in the world...and rising at 2 per second.

AND

4 is the average number of readers per blog...that's just sad. In fact large numbers of blogs may only be read by the owner...a real definition of "only the lonely"

Just as well this one has lots and lots...1800 last month...

Murphy's Law

It's Monday and the day is shaping up to be a 300km day...bugger.
Thermals of 5-6 knots upto 6000ft locally and 8000ft inland.
Some ridge...convergences etc etc

Always on a Monday...

Scholarship flying

Due to a lack of instructors the organisers of the "Canyoudoit" promotion really had to dredge the bottom of skills pool and use your author to do a couple of evaluation flights.
And wouldn't you know it...the best 3-4 hours of thermal flying we have seen in Tauranga this spring and I'm in the back seat of a trainer.
Good people all the same.
One pleasant young woman who had never flown before managed a climb to 4500ft feet...8 knots...take note Maurice...8 knots.

So by the time I'd got GNM rigged showers had appeared. Waited a hour, launched into more rain and spent an unproductive hour trying to get over the Kaimai's. Waffling about at 2500ft in the bush under cold dark clouds doesn't do it for me.
The Poripori strip beckoned twice but we avoided that embarrassment.

Today...looks nice now but showers are due through later today. I think that'll kill any 300km attempts.

Update (lunchtime)...forecast was bang-on...it's getting grey..raining up at the farm...oh well...
I see the Duo returned from the Taupo contest with lots of wiring, finger and power problems. As these gliders get more complex more problems arise.
Simple is usually best...maybe removing the engine and all the associated electrical components might help...
If I allow my Discus to be rented for the trans-Tasman and use the club's Duo for the Nationals (sorry Maurice I'm next in line) I'll probably remove the engine for the contest. It'll allow lower wing loadings for those light days in Matamata (most days) and we can carry lots of water to make up for those strong days or ridge days (maybe 1 per contest).
Time will tell....

Part 115 AGAIN and Again and again...

I attended one of the most poorly organised seminar's of the year.
No lunch, no parking, no audio system, not enough hand-outs, little chance for questions etc etc.
Ever wondered what happens to the monies from all those fees we pay to CAA???
7 presenters were flown to Hamilton, accommodated at the Novotel to present Part 115...mumble grumble.

However what did we learn.
Firstly, any criticism of the introduction of Part 115 was very quickly shut down...secondly any objections were dismissed because Warbirds are very happy with the regulation...well bully for them.

What does it mean for gliding (despite the fact that there is no justification to apply Part 115 to gliding)??
Short summary - unless your clubs potential income from taking members of the public on fun flights will exceed about $15000 per year...don't bother.
Why...if the gross revenue is $15k less costs of $10k (fuel, R&M, etc) that leaves $5k. Annual fees are likely to be $1-2000 per year (initial setup costs might be $3k) plus you will need to pay your instructors to get an annual Class 1 medical...say $500 each. Answer...it will be a zero sum game...don't bother.
If your club earns more than $15k...it might be worth a look...but in the end all that is being achieved is more costs...can we raise the price of trial flights to cover this??? Doubtful...
Other points of note;
Tow pilots will need a minimum of 50 hours on type as well as 200 hours PIC...that might be a problem.
Instructors will need to occupy the front seat.
Friends/family offering to pay you take a club 2 seater on a flight will fall under Part 115.
To be a Part 115 certified organisation will require a CEO (yip you read that right) Ops Officer etc etc. That might be a challenge for gliding clubs...

More later...got to go...

A new way to get high...

The incentive to get over to Matamata today was the opportunity to get a tow behind Aviation Sports micro-light tow plane. A bright yellow one at that...
So how was it?
Almost as good as Piako's big Pawnee. Certainly nowhere near as loud.
Take off roll was a little slow to get going, but once we were up to speed everything else progressed like a normal tow. If I had had water on things would have been a little trickier...although the wing runner barely took 2 steps...
From the feel of things it performed better than our club's small Pawnee and similar to the Cub.
Have a look at the climb rate on tow - 5 knots.
It's worth noting that the little yellow tow-plane was also dragging a Twin Astir into the air every 30 minutes or so, all day long.
They towed the Twin down from Auckland on Friday on 23 liters of gas...whereas a Pawnee would have used 123 liters...perhaps.
The way of the future...

OK so what was the day like...fairly average. I over called it a bit. It got better and better but by 4pm bases were only 4000ft and climbs of 3-4 knots. 1 land-out that I heard of.
3 hours of practise...practising sitting still for 3 hours...

Finally...

After 24 years...I hope we don't have to wait another 24 years...I'll be 71 by then.
Well done...I wonder how many people were admitted to hospital with heart attacks last night...
(for those of you who live somewhere other than NZ, what am I talking about - the Rugby World Cup of course. Much more exciting than the world soccer contest who's results are picked by an octopus, or the world baseball series which is a competition between the US of A and and and no-one else)

AND...we will geta thermal afternoon.
Not an absolute stunner but not too shabby all the same.

Light westerlies, thermals to 5000ft by 1pm and going higher later in the afternoon.
Might be the odd blue patch.
Shouldn't be any overdevelopment except east of Rotorua.

Let's do it...

Today's Forecast

The RASP makes a good case to get all hot and flustered...
However the wind will be a problem...it's quite strong which will make the thermals quite hard to work.
A clue is the stipple on the RASP thermal strength forecast.
The squiggly lines suggest something quite similar.

We are on the edge of a really good day but i think the SE to S winds will which it tough.

Unfortunately there is a small wrinkle in tomorrows forecast...I had hoped it would be a ripper...especially as the wind was dropping and going more westerly...we'll see.

Saturday looks OK...maybe a few showers Sunday and be Monday things maybe deteriorating..

Weekend Weather...

It's looking better and better. Especially for the Sunday Speed Challenge. Tauranga has piked out assuming they will tow to the ridge and complete the task...so we can expect one flight rather than the opportunity for 4 or 5 pilots to compete and learn.
In fact the chances on even one trip seems remote...especially if it turns out to be a real busy time the airport, (with all those Rena rubberneckers, helicopters, TV crews etc), and Airways propensity to close upper airspace at the slightest challenge.

Never mind, those of us who are real glider pilots (in a real Discus) are determined to get out of the grasp of the babysitters in the tower and will put in the real kms.

The RASP seems to have stalled...hopefully itself sort itself out soon.

Let's get this Show on the road...

Kaimai Speed Challenge this Sunday.
Can you be the fastest pilot on the day?
The women's NZ 100km out and return record is still unclaimed...
The fastest 2 seater speed set so far is a pathetic 142 kph...should be beatable in a PW6...

I'm expecting a light ridge/thermal day so it'll require real skill not just "who's got the biggest pen@# - sorry most water on board"

And after the fun have a beer, maybe a hot sausage and a yarn at the Clubhouse.

Maybe I should have got motivated...

I looked at the forecast and the sky Sunday morning, and given the 1am finish to the party associated with the Welsh/French game, I decided to take a nap.
As the saying goes "You snooze, you loose"...

Maurice's high point for the day...about 250 kms.
I wonder what the low point was;
Was it in the first 5 seconds of the game when Cooper kicked the ball over the line...a sign of things to come.

Duty Day

DIFOTIS...otherwise known as Delivered In Full, On Time, In spec...

And so I was yesterday...opening the gates to the public at 9am. First on site...

We had one booked trial flight...who didn't show up.
In the end we did 4 training flights and 1 member headed upstairs for a private flight....

And for all this we had 2 instrustors rostered on...
All of this could happily have been handled by 1 instructor while the other got some work done...
Oh that's right we roster 2 instructors cos 1 might forget to turn up...does it follow that we should roster 3 because 2 mightn't turn up???

Why we continue doing what we have always done, despite the world changing around us, beats me...

The DG400 has been out and about despite the fairly average weather. 165 km track which wasn't too bad given the 4000ft cloud base.

Let slip the dogs of war...well maybe the cardigan crowd.

Part 115 made it's way into law this week.
The full transcript makes for interesting reading...and it's only 12 pages long...too bad for a Gov't document.

The two interesting tables I thought were these;
The first describes the cost of accidents by aviation type...note the huge cost from hang gliding/paragliding (I can see why I left those sports 20 years ago...if I hadn't I mightn't still be here) but also skydiving and micro-blighters.

Now lets look at the cost of implimenting this wonderful new regulation...

If you add up the 6 years worth of on-going audit fees for gliding it equals the accident costs...zero sum game. If only it was that easy...what the table doesn't disclose is the CAA costs of operating this scheme...another $120,000 per year...which they will recover elsewhere no doubt.

Also I'm not sure it encapulates the cost to gliding of up grading instructors and tow-pilots to CPL's???

So what can we conclude from the first glance at this regulation;
For gliding the costs will out wiegh the benefits to the public.
Gliding has suffered from the bad accident rate in other sectors.
Clubs will incur costs even if they don't register or carry-out "joy-rides".
The current Government has failed in its pledge to "cut red-tape.

Is your glider Organic???

It might be important...a farmer outside Palmerston north has managed to have a Golf course closed down because the miss directed golf balls were not organic and therefore compromised their Organic Farm status. (National Radio rural report)
Our friendly farmer claimed 20,000 balls were retrieved from his paddocks alongside the golf course over the last 12 months. This raises more questions than it answers;
1) Are there "non-organic" golf balls??
2) How totally myopic are their Organic certifiers??
3) How bad are the golfers from Palmerston North?? 20,000 balls in 12 months...that's 55 per day each and every day of the year...go figure.

This only illustrates the total nonsense that is "organic food"...because by default the rest is non-organic...yeah right.

So if you are considering landing out you might want to have a "fully organic" sticker on your glider...you could cut one off a package of over-priced, insect infested, grotty looking organic carrots from your local supermarket perhaps....

Testing times on the High Velt

Normally a test flight is carried out on grey day with marginal conditions...but not in South Africa.

Brett tests his new JS1 with a quick 150km out and return, cloud base 13,000ft.