The shortest day - 3 times in one year

This years shortest day has just passed...I now realise that I'll experience 3 shortest days in 12 months.
I plan to be in Banff Canada on the 21st December and back in Kiwiland next winter.

By that time I expect to be a poor imitation of an Eskimo...

Hopefully we will get to experience the Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis

A win and a loss

It appears that finally this nonsense of turning off electronic devices for take off and landing is being reviewed with a view to scrapping it. Frankly using my Ipad or cell phone while taking off or landing my glider has never affected the planes nav systems...oh wait where has that airfield gone...
A working group assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration to research the use of electronics on airplanes is expected to recommend relaxing the ban on portable devices during takeoff and landing.

However in a twist the cardy wearers (CASA) has.. "CASA has confirmed that pilots will need to comply with the regulations of CASR 21.M to install "GoPro" type cameras on the external surface of an aircraft."
Plonkers.

Sitting and talking

Yip...it is AGM time again.
Gliding NZ holds it's AGM in Wellington.
Held over 2 days to allow time for Sailplane Racing, Club Presidents and others to meet and talk on the Saturday and the actual AGM to be held Sunday morning.
It feels a bit like a "Union" meeting with delegates and voting and procedures but rules and history dictates...

However the stand-out hour was a presentation on how to address declining membership.
As I have mentioned on here before declining membership of gliding clubs is equally matched by declining membership in many sports. The day I spent with SportNZ attested to this.

However it could be argued that we (Gliding in NZ) don't have too much of a challenge enticing people through the front door ...the problem is shortly afterwards they exit out the back door ...usually just after they have gone "solo".

A survey carried out by our friends in the Northern Hemisphere of 3000 pilots suggested that the reason pilots stay involved in the sport is X-country flying...and maybe by extension contests. It's not because it gives you a reason to wear a silly floppy white hat...

There was much much more in this presentation but a condensed version is due in the SoaringNZ mag...so perhaps we should wait for that.

The Field-days beckon...apparently farmers are expected to be spending up bigtime...so I will be seeking out the most expensive short black on offer (coffee that is)...

Why painting things on your glider is not a good idea...

This chap painted shark jaws on the front of his glider...looked quite cool...just. Remembering of course, that the gap between looking "cool" and looking like a "dickhead" is quite small...(just ask Aaron Gilmore).

 

Here is a video of the "shark" flying along some coastal area in the UK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x46ffIbdRA0

This is really cool...no dickheads to be seen.

Although if this is representative of an English summer by the beach it's no wonder they invaded hot countries in the Middle East...however that doesn't explain the Falklands...strategic sheep purposes perhaps...

Sadly his shark when swimming...
Read it here...
http://soaringcafe.com/2013/06/swimming-with-a-shark/

Ouch is all I can say...

Flying suspended...Why?

I've broken yet another bone...I think this makes 17 or 18.
There must be a message in this...

Sadly it wasn't broken in the pursuit of something great or altruistic...no it was the result of too much office work...
This is what happens when your foot goes to "sleep" and then you attempt to dash out the door...

It might even interfere with the coming ski season...