Feeling blue? Depressed?

Have a look at Omarama's weather...that'll always make you feel better...or jealous...3 new webcams installed. http://www.glideomarama.com/conditions/web-cams

Just maybe....

I might be enticed to get the mighty Discus out of the garage, onto an airfield and into the sky. The weekend might finally signal the end of this crap weather

.

Aerobatic contest cancelled...

And not for the usual reasons...ie lack of participants. It was too many date changes. First we tried October...but it clashed with the Central Plateau contest...then we tried a weekend in November but then ATC couldn't supply sufficient staff to handle the airspace requirements. So then we all agreed on another November weekend...ATC were happy, we were happy, it didn't clash with another contest so it was all go. And then the chief judge and instructor remembered there was a contest in Omarama...their Regionals (which last year had 1 flying day out of 7)...so we called the whole thing off. I feel sorry for the man who had the idea in the first place who was subsequently aided and encouraged by the "chief judge and instructor"...who then pulled out. It wasn't an easy concept to get support for as the club is naturally adverse to change... I didn't help much as I subsequently got snowed under with other work committments (and the bloody wet weather). But it is worth persisting with...maybe in the Autumn when the contest pilots aren't distracted. And it should be held in Tauranga not Piako. It'll be a free display for the general public of Tauranga...all 100,000 of them. Rather than farmer Bob and his dog at Piako. Let's hope.

Good Golly Miss Molly...

People are still out there doing it...despite the rain, earthquakes or gliders crash landing on city streets. One intrepid Welly pilot did 400+ kms on the hills above Paraparaumu this week.

Now here's a conundrum....

Your are in one of the local clubs' gliders, let's say the LS4. You have decided to enter a contest, maybe the Club class Nationals in Matamata. On day 2 you land-out. No problems...just get home put the glider back together and your ready to fight another day. But whoa, back the glider up...you're forgotten the club has degreed that any land-outs require a engineer to inspect the glider before another flight (on somewhat dudious logic). And the club has tendered it's engineering services out. Once we had had a local lad who did inspections for no cost, but he resigned, or did he jump before he was pushed?? We may never know...but I digress. So now you are stuck...unless the club approves the use of another engineer at short notice, or the assigned engineer (who could be anywhere from Kawerau to Auckland) can come to your aid your out of the contest. Didn't think of that one did we???? On a happy note...here's a video from a mass land-out last summer. You might notice a big yellow thing...it's called the SUN.

Remind me why we need 600 meters of runway???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPSElw8qEsI

Oh bugger...

Picture says it all really...

Some of you might notice it's the Cirrus Brian and Brian used to own.

Failed to get back from the ridge to Paraparaumu airport. Dangers of flying in built-up areas...there by the grace of god (or some such deity) goes us???

What spring???

Photo is from the farm in southland...5 minutes outsde Inver's. Whereas up here in sunny Tauranga we had a small tornado on Friday night. Lifted the kids trampoline 200 meters down the orchard and deposited it in the top of a shelter belt. No signs it had touched the ground between take-off and landing. We have a heap of trees down but otherwise not much damage. The neighbours through the hedge lost a heap more. As we look across the gully to a pine plantation there is a strip 100 meters wide where all the trees have lost their tops. Biggest wind I've experienced...

No power yesteday til 5pm so the cows were very very uncomfortable.

Wave anybody??

10,000ft winds are forecast to be 90-100knots over parts of Godzone tomorrow morning. I expect to see some huge distance record set by a Sth Is pilot.

Failing that, anybody keen on going surfing in the Catlins??? I once remember hearing the Navy had called off surveying parts of the Fjordland Coast one spring because the waves were higher than 9 meters...

Huge storm heading our way...

Or so say the NZ Herald and stuff websites. So it'll be another super weekend. We recorded 420mm of rain in August and 200mm so far this month. Welcome to La Nina. At least it's not cold...until Sunday. The lucky ones are getting out...I see we have 4 Kiwi's entered in the Oz Nationals to be held in Dalby - Queensland. I'm almost tempted...warm temperatures, sun, no rain...oh and thermals...remember those???

Oh...before I forget...

The weekend weather...crap. Building Northerlies on saturday, followed by rain, rain on sunday clearing late in the day.

iGlide...for your iPhone

It was only a matter of time until some-one found a way to utilise that expensive bit of fluff (otherwised called an iPhone) for gliding.

There is also this link

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glidepath/id383714417?mt=8

I must admit the screen on these iPhones are fairly cool...however our nieghbours brought 2 iPhones last year and so far both have failed...

A club with more towplanes than gliders...

Or so it seems...I guess sh%t happens. At least it's been a totally unfly-able spring. We're not missing much. However the word from "on high" is we are to inspect every glider after every out landing. That's interesting. Whilst there is some anecdotal heresay that more damage is happening where gliders are landed somewhere other than at "home", the statistic's would suggest otherwise...if 95% of the gliders landing are at the airfield and the accident rate is 2-3% that still trumps a 20% heavy landing rate off field for the other 5%. In other words the apparent damage from a previous heavy landing is twice as likely to have occurred in front of our very eyes on 04/22. So thinking ahead...if some-one enters GKM or GXT in a contest and land-out...what happens then?? I wonder if training, education and an understanding of what is a heavy landing and what can happen, would be a better appraoch than a "new rule"...

A sister town for Omarama??

Minden - Nevada...in the US of A. I've been there...although we were passing through, in a huge snow storm, on our way to Tahoe. At least a meter of snow fell in 6 hours...and we had a old 2WD car...real fun...not. But Minden has mountain ranges, snow, irrigation, sheep and cows, wave and thermals and gliders. What benefit is a sister town???...I have absolutely no idea...would we get cheap glider hire and tows...I doubt it...would we get US citizenship...no thankyou... However it does show thinking out of the box...good stuff. And we might even get to meet Sarah Palin...now there's a scary thought...

Make sense of this photo...

Wave/ridge tomorrow???

Sadly I don't think so. With most forecasts picking the rough weather going up the east coast late today and tomorrow morning I think the wind will be to far south for much to happen. Mind you it would only take a 5 degrees change in wind direction to chnage that...however it hasn't been a winter/spring for SW winds. Blame it on the building La Nina.

New Tow Plane

Finally a tow plane that's not made of fabric, runs on Jet A1, a tow seater, plenty of NZ experience, doesn't use Lycoming engines, and can tow to 35,000ft...into wave.

Available for just $148,000NZ. cheaper than a supercub.

Go Trademe for more details...

747 gets a paint job...

Quite a cool timelapse...thank god repainting a glider doesn't this many people or paint...http://www.wimp.com/boeingpaint/

Cheap parachute

I see Bruce Bartley is selling his parachute from his gliding days. He moved onto helicopters apparently because they are safer... On Trademe...a bargain at $250 assuming it still works...http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Aircraft/Other/auction-312926754.htm

Where in the world is Roy???

Here he is...lucky bugger...at the Swiss Gliding GP. In the mountains, sun is shining, warm temperatures...

Oh dear, how sad, never mind...

Brings back memories of the state GKM was in when Maurice flew it in a contest in Matamata. a real worm burner...

By Popular Request...

or at the very least...as I promised. NOAA Air Resources Lab...aka...squiggly lines http://ready.arl.noaa.gov/READYcmet.php Enter your desired Lat and Long...remember to account for the Sthern Hemisphere ie use a negative. Choose sounding - 0-192h Global. Choose the latest cycle (not forgetting that everything is in Zulu time - GMT - UTC etc). Pick you time (I'd suggest 12 and 3pm...which is 00 and 03 UTC). Enter the code and hey presto you're ready for your 300km. RASP forecasts - http://zakalwe.com/ - don't be put off by the cat...a gun might help.

First ridge flight of the season...

That I'm aware of...admittedly it started from Matamata

So - will there be wave on Sunday??

Saturday will be a write off. Sunday...maybe. Looks like it will be a little too northerly but the wind is increasing with hieght and the things look a little more stable than the last few days. I'm sure some-one will have a go...

Things are getting slightly ludicrous...

How many people do you need on the Committee of a Club to manage 50 members of which maybe 30 are actively involved? Maybe 5? or how about 7, just to spread it around a little. No one in their right mind would suggest 13, would they!!! Much to my disappointment that's exactly what seems to have happened at the local Gliding Club. I'm only surmising that someone thought you had to fill all the possible vacancies. No you don't. I guess I should be thankful that the wise people who attended the AGM didn't start appointing people to the committee who weren't even at the meeting...like me. Without doubt it time to prune the rules. A President, maybe a vice President but that role is becoming redundant, a CFI, a chief tow person, and three others. From there you can delegate or co-opt as required. I tried this once about 10 years ago...was shot down by the oldies...change is hard. Big committee just allow people to duck any responsibilities and very little gets done. Of course we could appoint every member to the committee and sit back as nothing happens...