Forecasting...

A skill I'd almost forgotten.

Today - Friday.

Quite good I suspect with cloud bases upto 7-8000ft inland.
Light winds, minor overdevelopment.
Below is for the Pori-pori area...5000ft at lunchtime which will be good enough to get out of the Bay.
Good luck...I'm working and over gliding at present.

 

 

Below is an excellent video put together during the Nationals. the thunderstorm is the best I've ever seen.

http://vimeo.com/57126105

10 points Tim

I know this is late, everyone already knows the news and you're probably already back in NZ and back at work...BUT...well  done Tim.
Winning 2 days proves it wasn't a fluke...
Beating a West Islander in his home country, with home crowd is a great achievement.

Very cool...want to buy a Discus???

Moore's Law

This is actually about the exponential increase in storage capacity and processing speed...however you could apply this to gliding technology and new products.

Flarm mouse - from LX Nav.

A Nano with a Flarm added. Cool
I suspect the issue of compulsory use of Flarm at contest just got a leg up.

 

Wanaka...

Photos...as promised

Holiday snaps...feel free to snooze.

Whilst driving home you get time to think...lots of time.
I think that there were 12 North Island pilots who made the effort to travel down to the Nationals.
So a third of the field were flatlanders...
The Nationals that were held in Taupo had 3 South Islanders.
What does this mean??
I guess that without the support from the Nth Is a Nationals in Omarama would be a non-event...or at least a very small contest.
However its still possible hold a contest of 30 pilots in Nth Is venues with any requirement to get pilots to cross the Strait.
I have heard calls for the Nationals to be only held in Omarama...or at least more often than elsewhere. Clearly this is bollocks.

Overriding all of this is the slow decline in the total number of pilots willing to compete at a contest. I know some people dislike contests but there are still the focus point for much of the gliding calender.

 

 

Made it.

19.5 hours from Omarama to home. 1150kms plus a ferry crossing.
A record.
And we could have saved an extra 30 minutes as we were too early for the ferry sailing.

So a fun couple of weeks overv and done with. Time for work.

NEWS
My Discus CS GNM is for sale.
Wings refinished in 2008.
LX V7, LX Nano, and Oudie equivalent. SeeYou loaded.
Oxygen bottle.
Becker Radio and Transponder.
Outside Temp probe, back-up vario.
Excellent trailer.
Rig or de-rig in 20 minutes or less if you are organised.
Winglets, tip up panel, auto control rod hook-ups.
Excellent for early X-country pilots or experienced contest pilots in the Club or Standard Class. Also considered the best single seat option for clubs.
$92k
Contact me on 0274 517757

Surprise surprise

Yesterday was the last day and this morning it's raining. What luck.
So what does competing down cost a north islander?
Ferry crossing...about $800....thanks to the deal with the Interislander.
Tows...$885 including the entry fee.
Fuel...$800
Accommodation...$600
Fish and chips, pub meals, coffees, contest dinner, beer, more coffee, muffins, wine...who knows.

So it's certainly cheaper to bring your own glider down rather than rent.
It's just the long drive that does your head in.

Nationals done and dusted.

A nice fast wave day to finish. I think some of the speeds were 180 kph or more.
Down to Tarras, across towards the Dunstans,up to the Arrowsmith Range and home. About 400 kms.
So a good contest with plenty of fun, a few very competitive pilots in each class, a larger bunch who just wanted to be here and involved, and a good find in the Contest Director.
Time to head home tomorrow. 22 hours door to door...oh joy.
What's even more interesting is we have a few young up and coming new pilots. With some financial help, coaching and support maybe NZ could be back in the game at the Worlds...especially the Junior Worlds in Australia in 2015.
A quick count up of the number of 2 seat 20 meter gliders in NZ suggest we could hold a 20 meter contest perhaps alongside the Club Class Nationals down here next summer. A good environment for coaching and having fun. I realise we have lots of classes already (18 meter, Standard, 15 meter, Open, Club, and sports or 13.5 meter class) but there is food for thought here. A 20 meter 2 seat class alongside the Club shouldn't devalue or detract from that Class...no doubts others will have a view.

GNM is back in its trailer where I suspect it'll stay for a while now. I'm over gliding for while now...although the Club Class Nationals looms...

I was right...

The task setters did send us somewhere new. Branches...or by its other name the Shotover Valley.
I'd never been in there before. A bit scary. Given that the thermals were broken and fairly shattered, we had to rely on ridge lift and bits and pieces.
Getting above 7000ft was a real challenge.

Needless to say we all got into and out of Branches ok. One pilot had a real struggle to get out. The prospects of landing in there are interesting...to say the least.
Most pilots got around the 400 km task...yours truely couldn't quite work out how to get out of the Ben Ohau valley/ridge and over in the Jolly for the last turnpoint. Wave was the answer...quite why I didn't think of that I'll never know. Seems so easy when you think of it. Local knowledge (of which I though I had a bit) does help.

Last day tomorrow. There are quite a few possibilities in the scoring...albeit a real disaster would have to befall a current leader. But that's what all good Nationals are about.

I see young Tim is climbing up the scoring board in Benella. Excellent. We are watching Tim...no pressure.

On the Airspace front drama with Airways continues. Now they want to take away the uncontrolled airspace overhead Mt Cook. Apparently because of the twice a week flight from Melbourne to South America. Just great...not only do we have our own desk jockeys trying to stuff our access to a public good but now the Lucky Country are in on the game as well. What's next? The pavlova was invented in Australia as well, Phar Lap was born somewhere other than Washdyke...perhaps Jondongwillagong...

On a positive note our National Airspace Officer (who I last saw disappearing on the Ben Ohau Range) has a cunning plan for the Waikato airspace grab. You might remember that we were subject to a possible violation of our airspace rights in the spring. The first advance of the desk jockeys was repelled...but they will come again. So to beat them to a solution a proposal that meets theirs, ours, and CTC's requirements will be suggested. It remains to be seen how open to ideas Airways are.

Great BBQ last night

This Contest Director of ours is turning into one of the best I have ever met/worked with...actually he's Australian by way of New Zealand. And as it turns out the Duo Discus he owns I've flown in Darling Downs.
He got around most pilots during dinner last night...well done.
Yip...I got pinged for airspace yesterday. It will have been the pull up to slow down enough to pull out my airbrakes. I never thought about lowering my wheel for awhile to creat some drag. From memory the vario needle was stuck hard against the top of the dail and the netto readout suggested 16 knots. 200 ft in airspace for 30 seconds....never mind. One pilot has had all his points revoked...
Actually I've just discovered that leaving your main wheel down at VNE runs the risk of removing your gear doors in an unapproved manner.

2 days left.
Looks a little blue today and the thermals don't appear to be very strong in the forecast. No doubt the task setters will send us somewhere new and challenging..and no doubt I will feel appropriately doubtful of my ability to get around. I'm picking somewhere west in the mountains.

Breakfast awaits...yum.

That was unexpected.

After a marginal forecast and rain from the west sitting about the hills we finally got a launch at 3.15 pm if you please. That's the latest I've ever launched in a contest.
The task was 300 kms. They glide late in the day down here.

What a task. It turned to very strong wave off the Dunstans. In fact its probably the fastest 300 kms I've  ever done, on the long leg I never stopped. At VNE I was still going up at 2-3 knots. The problem was the airspace boundary was 200 feet above me. In the end I had to pop up, open the brakes and descend...I expect points to be deducted.

However on the downside it was a little rough in places. Especially the Lindis Pass.

I know it's hard to believve but a number of pilots finished the task and then decided to do it again. It's now 7 pm and maybe 7 to 10 pilots are back re doing their task. So that'll be 600 kms for the day having started after 4 pm. Not this camper...once was enough. And besides I'm not leading and under pressure.

BBQ tonight. Countrytime Hotel. I'm staying here for $40 per night including breakfast...and some one comes in and makes the bed each day...this is better than home.

Very cool thunderstorm

Best I've ever seen in kiwi land.
Probably an hour of lightening directly overhead.
My little Discus is tied down outside...hail would not be a crowd pleaser.
It's not looking crash hot for a contest day tomorrow...or Saturday.
Damn this is starting to feel like a Matamata contest...only I'm 22 hours from home not 40 minutes.

Update...the weather forecaster here in Omarama claimed that last nights thunderstorm was the best he'd seen in all the years he's been coming here.
There was a fleet of pilots sitting in their cars, out on the runway at 11pm watching. However once the lightning strikes got quite close most retreated.
No hail...thankfully.

What's an Oxymoron in gliding?

A smooth and productive contest pilots meeting totally lacking in vested interests and personal preferences. Actually as far as contest pilots meetings go today's was quite good if a little long.
The three stand out issues where (fascinating as I'm sure they will be to non-contest glider pilots...or in fact any other sane person);
Finish lines vs finish circles. Yip it's possible to sustain a hour long discussion about this. And the vote was...wait for it...16 for the use of circles and 16 against. That was productive... However it gives Contest Directors some latitude to decide what's best for each contest and each site.

FLARMS This was a bit more interesting. In this special site ( which some consider the only gliding site of worth in the whole country...sarcastic comment intended) its probably going to be mandatory to use a Flarm in each glider for contests but I also suspect for recreational flying as well. This will be achieved either by rules or through peer pressure.
So what of the north island??? It's coming. And the most logical first place would be ridge flying in contests on the Kaimais. However it will require a critical mass...there is nothing more pointless as being the only glider with a Flarm....and maybe the potential use of PowerFlarm that also detects transponders. We have a lot of transitory light aircraft traffic through the greater Waikato.

Lastly, our youngest contest pilot asked about the possibility of a juniors contest. Great idea and he is to be congratulated for having the gumption to stand up in front of a group of mostly over 50 year old grumpy contest pilots. There are lots of reasons not to have a juniors...none are compelling. My advice to our junior members...just do it.

Lets try that again...

So super hot and stable air was followed by a cool day with very strong easterlies up the valley.
So it was a relief to return to the sky yesterday.
The task yesterday was quite straight forward with the possible exception of a push into the Ahuiri Valley and a turnpoint in the lee of the Dingle Ridge. A very rough crossing through the Ribbonwood  Gap followed by a fair old thrashing to get high enough to push across to Ben Avon Station and get out of the valley. After that it was an easy run to Tarras and back up to the Two Thumb Range.

Today the task setters got out of bed very early, drank way too much coffee and got very enthusiastic. The little glider task (me) was 445 kms while the big boys (and girl) had a 500 km task.
It was a day of firsts for me (albeit not a first place...far from it) as I hadn't done that the nasty run from Dansys Pass cross to Kurow and onto the mountains to the north. Nor had I dropped off the Two Thumbs into the Rangitata river valley. Achieved both today...and a small amount of sweat.
The best climb was 12 knots...in a convergence/thermal/ridge combo.

I've taken plenty of photos of wild and woolly places so when I get a chance to download them I'll post some. But probably not the one of the fullest pee bag I've ever generated....must have been the nervous energy.

Go Tim...we are watching from here...no pressure.

Oh and if you think your day was bad...yesterday a Duo launched from here with the intention of flying to Lake Station....no mean feat by itself...probably 500 kms. However once they arrived overhead Lake Station there were sheep on the strip so they flew onto Nelson only to find the cross wind too strong so they elected to go across Cooks Strait and land at Wellington. So the long suffering retrieve crew needed to drive to Picton (8-9 hours), cross the strait, and de-rig, re-cross the strait, then on the Lake Station.

Good grief it's hot...

So hot and stable that the Contest Director pulled the pin on the task at 2.30pm.
33 degrees according to my car. So 2 days ago we had snow and rain...and now it's hot and dry. What a place. And the river is still too high and dirty to swim in.

Interesting things today;
The LS 6 that crumpled its main wheel yesterday was out on the grid today. Amazing what can be achieved in a hurry. A borrowed wheel strut  and main gear from  a LS 8 and plenty of hours through the night got the aircraft serviceable again. Good effort.

Saw one of the best low passes in a Duo...although I suspect the grumpies will be on to him.

I witnessed the first ever "flash mob" at a gliding venue...after days of interest and questions Brett finally relented and fired up the Jet. On the ground. What a leave blower...albeit quite a bit louder.
We had pilots running from all over the field to get a glimpse...even famous glider pilots like the one on the front page of the local paper...who's also the captain of a certain rugby team. The best advert by a glider sales rep I've ever seen....

I learnt where my mistake was yesterday...and how easy it would have been to go up the Ben Ohau's.

An impromptu, on the spot, totally unauthorised reccomemdation was made that all gliders in future Nationals must uses Flarms. That'll be an interesting discussion point in the north. I'd buy a Flarm ( as my V7 supports and displays Flarms outputs) but if no one else has one what's the point?

And lastly, December was another record month for hits on the blog. I'm not sure whether to thank you or suggest you must have bette things to do.

Go Tim....we will be watching.

Of mice and men...

Yesterday I was a mouse...the concept of heading into the Ben Ohau's in the blue, with not much wind scared the Bejesus out of me. One must be getting old. However the alternative path up the valley in the blue didn't work either. Hitting the encroaching sea breeze up near Burkes Pass killeed it for me. The scorer lists a land-out which is in fact me turning 20 km short of the turn point. It was a struggle just getting back home. No crew does alter your decision making. Landing on the east side of the Tekapo River would require a 4 hour road trip.

Yesterday saw the repeat of a flat tire on GVR...tire full of air in the tie down area, still full half way down the track to the grid, completely flat on the bottom 40 meters later.
So a repeat of getting the trailer out, jacking up the glider, taking the wheel off (no mean feat I might add) removing the tire, discussing all the options with the 20 assembled chiefs, replacing the inner tube, putting it all back to together, getting in and flying. We look forward to a repeat today...

One very low finish yesterday, just making over the road only to have the wheel collapse on landing...so a top competitor out of the 15 meter class...although panic repairs throughout the night could change that.

A Duo landed out in Wanaka...not the far away you would think...the retrieve took 5 hours...bloody hell...
I should know all this but surprisingly it has been 4 years since I've flown here...time flies...pun intended.


Speaking of today...looks very blue...and hot...if we get a start at all it will be late.

The big snow.

That was one of today's highlights. Quite a lot and really low for Jan. Meridian are spilling water from the dams...looks really impressive from the air. There should be no power shortages this winter. All the mountain fed rivers are in flood.
The other interesting points were;
The fastest winning time was 130 kph...about 15 kph faster than anybody else.
Brett managed to get his tyre repaired, refitted and launch, still manage a second place and was probably the only glider without ballast.
On the other hand I spent an hour getting out of the Maniatoto.
Looks like a good day today.
I can't get photos from my camera to this IPad thingy...that'll have to wait until I get home.

It's raining, it's pouring...

The old man is snoring....

This is starting to feel like a Nationals in Matamata.
As I look outside its raining and 12 degrees. I'm picking that'll mean snow on the hills in the morning.
The Ahuriri River is in full flood.
Campers in tents have abandoned their sites and headed for home.
The West Coast is no longer a round trip as the only road bridge in Hari Hari has been washed out.

And I've been to Oamaru again...for a nice lunch with friends.

So what about gliding???

Tomorrow we hope. Actually it's looking quite good for the next few days...but I'll believe it when I see it.
We have a sponsor for this years Nationals. Mt Cook Alpine Salmon. Yum salmon.
Also because the locals don't use Soaring Spot ( a mistake in my humble opinion) you will have to get the link to the results off the GNZ site .... Gliding nz.co.nz I think.
Also we have a new Facebook page...the link is on the contest web site...like it and that'll help keep the sponsors happy. Maybe next time we can get some more cash.

And the gossip....there is plenty.
The first land-out of the year happened 1 km short of the airfield...in rain and strong NW winds.

The Tauranga Club is very thin on the ground this year. There are more from Auckland...5 I think.

More later...

In da house...

And what a house it is...overlooking the cloud hills and up into the Ohau's.
It's good to back in the Mackenzie...
It only takes 1200 kms, 16 hours in the car, 4 hours on Cook Strait, 12 cups of coffee, $200 of fuel, and 8 CDs to get here.

Spent yesterday in Christchurch. I might have spent 4 years in the Garden City but its now really hard to find your bearings. So many buildings are gone...really sad.

Wave and high cloud in Omarama today. Rain tomorrow by the sounds of the forecast so it'll be a chance to do something else.

However it sounds like rain almost anywhere you go in NZ tomorrow.

The Heika Parata approach to consultation...

There is a nice little parallel between the bumbling performance of the Minister of Education and my local clubs High Command...
Try to ignore the issues and maybe they will go away over the Xmas break...fat chance sweetie's...

The public won't forgive the Minister and she'll be for the chop sometime in the New Year whilst we and all the reporters are at the beach...
And I'm not about to let this change in club direction from promoting activity to counting beans drop.
And I'm not a solitary aggrieved, single issue, grandstanding, loony (well maybe a few of those) but I'm not alone...so thanks to those who have noted these strange goings on...

And while I'm on farcical, out of touch organisations...the National Rifle Association believe arming teachers and putting armed police officers in every American School is the solution to their out of control gun culture...
If they want the constitutional right to bare arms...take your bloody shirt off you total nutters...

I'm still here...just.

So the Mayan's got it wrong...it's the 21st and we 're all still alive. Problem is the Mayan calender doesn't say whether it's the 21st GMT, or NZST, does it allow for daylight savings? And if they were so good with their predictions then why did they cease to exist as a civilisation???

However here in Tauranga my patience is being tested by the local High Command.
In October I communicated to the then club president that I would subscribe to the Club's option of taking a hanger space for 6 months at the listed price - $120.
Now I've been told the deal has changed mid-way through the term. The last 3 months have been cancelled and the price per month has gone up 4 fold.
Clearly they are struggling with the Fair Trading Act, Contract Law and maybe the concept of integrity as well.

Whilst the sum of money isn't material to either the club or myself, this goes to the bigger issue. Should the over-riding thrust of the club be left in the hands of "bean counters" or activity promoters?? Along with the hanger rental increase, the tow charges have been increased, and despite a number of members suggesting the Duo charges are a major dis-incentive to people flying said aircraft no reductions could be expected.
I suspect the "bean counters" main arguments will be;

1) we need more revenue to balance the budget - true but more activity always delivers a better outcome for all...but raising charges will just decrease activity. In fact the best profit outcome for the club is to have no activity at all...but remind me why we are here, and why we are a club??? It's also worth remembering that we generate a surplus of $50-60k each year from the shops...so we are hardly "strapped for cash".
2) we don't like spending on promotion because we can trust to trial flights to bring new members - a strategy that has failed to work for 20 years and won't work post Part 115
3) the charges at other clubs or hangers about the airfield are higher - irrelevant because we aren't competing in that market, its about what works for us.

Alas things are not well...sadly.
The upshot of this new policy regime is I have removed my glider from the hanger therefore the club will get;
a) no more rental income, and there isn't a que of other aircraft waiting for space so little chance of a replacement
b) less tow income as I now have GNM in a trailer and may choose to fly elsewhere...the benefactors are likely to be Piako, Taupo or Omarama.
c) the possibility of no annual subscription either as this total lack of integrity means it would be best if I shifted clubs. I also know a few others contemplating a similar move as well..
d) no newsletter editor...although I suspect one of the "bean counters" is dying to take over this role...

I guess it's not too late...an apology from the High Command might be a start.

Given that the total membership continues to decline, general activity per remaining club member also continues to decline, and there is no plan for promotion and fostering gliding, then can the last person out please turn off the lights...

Is this my last post???

The end of the world is nigh...yeah right.
Although the concept is quite interesting...

Is it worth buying Xmas presents?
Sorry...but why am I bothering to mow the lawns???
If you only 6 days left what would you do?

Go buy a gun and shoot up the local school...when will that country learn that whilst the National Rifle Assn claims that "guns don't kill people...people kill people"...THE GUN HELPS...you have to wonder about the collective IQ of "greatest democracy on earth"...oh well, I guess a country that finds it acceptable to launch drone strikes against schools in Pakistan isn't going to put much effort into stopping disturbed kids getting access to Uzi's.

Unfortunately we won't need to sweat these decisions...or maybe we should...

Top of mind at present is where is my Spot Tracker??
If the world ends I want the big fellow to be able to track my movements...
Actually it seems I've misplaced it...bloody thing, you'd think being bright orange I could find it in my office...I suspect this reflects on the state of my office as much as anything...

Gearing up for Omarama.
Glide is packed...then unpacked cos I forgot to remove the batteries, then repacked, then unpacked cos I decided to put the parachute and stuff in the cockpit etc etc
Airspace and Navpoint files up to data...spare radio, hat and so on.
Getting slightly nervous...I haven't flown in those mountains for 2 years...
But no Spot...bugger.

I watched the club's LS4 launch yesterday into a strong sea breeze convergence. Turns out it was the Bald One...it looks like he made it home...unlike last year.
We launched into a great sky last Xmas Eve...only to have to spend the evening travelling around the Matamata area trying to find wally...sorry Roy.

 

And I should sign off now as this is starting to sound like a Facebook page...

See you on the other side...of Cook Strait that is...

What a great day...

It turned out fairly much as forecast.
Launched at noon. The sea breeze had already started in Tauranga and had moved 10 kms inland. A tow to 3000ft (cloud base) and a dash inland resulted in a 4 knot climb in front of the convergence. Bases inland were 6000ft but slowly got higher and were 8000ft by the time we returned home.
Best climb was 8 knots but most were 3-5 knots.
My colleague got into a spot of bother near Bennydale and we had to wait while he struggled back up.
The plan had been a 300km out and return (as far as I know no-one at Tauranga has done one in thermals...wave is cheating). We didn't quite make the bottom T/P.
However saw a few others out and about...a Ventus from Auckland and a LS6 from Taupo.

Airways vectored a A320 between myself and Roy at Tokoroa. Here I was looking out for a Q300 and this really big piece metal cruised through. I'm guessing the heavy metal guys were worried. However they were at 7000ft...I'm at a loss why they would want to be any lower over Tokoroa...which raises the question why Airways feel the need to control the airspace all the way down to 4500ft. If you were a A320 pilot heading into Rotorua would you really want to be that low over tokoroa flying into rising ground and 40 kms out from Rotorua Airport???

Sunday. Looks as good albeit with less cloud. Plenty of strong climbs however the sea breeze will move quickly.
GNM is in it's trailer ready for the trip to Omarama.

It's a long long way out...But...

Saturday looks like a decent badge task day. A good 300km thernal flight should be possible...and maybe even a 500km...Maurice.

I'll update late tomorrow.

However if it's looking ok I pull GNM out for a practise/badge flight.

Update - Saturday - not looking quite so good...there will be thermals about and once you get into the high country cloud base is expected to be 7-8000ft. However the instability will allow some quite heavy showers form in the afternoon.
Therefore an element of chance will enter the equation...

The space we need...

Not the bit between your ears but the bit between the ground and outer space that we need to operate in.
I got the sense late last week that various members thought we had successfully seen off Airways for ever...think again young grasshoppers...
This from an editorial I wrote in our club magazine in 2008...

Changing subject for a moment and in reference to a previous editorial regarding Airspace, it is regrettable the once again our CFI has had to fend off Airways totally misguided attempts to increase the regulation of a public resource – airspace. The folly of Airways approach is that with limited resources and controllers they seem convinced they need to control more and more of the skies. Logic would suggest controlling less and less airspace would allow better management of those areas left under their control. But logic and bureaucrats don’t make good bedfellows…

 

And later that year I also made these somewhat prophetic comments;

 

Experience the freedom of gliding…yeah right. Not when Airways are involved. The gliding movement has lost its attempt to preserve unfettered airspace up to 6500ft in the Waikato for the enjoyment of the general public rather than be at the behest of commercial IFR training and airline organisations.

The changes may not directly affect local flying in Tauranga but it will impact on those attempting to fly out over the Waikato, and especially those going south beyond Te Poi/Tirau. Whereas all airspace up to 6500ft was uncontrolled in the greater Waikato basin, now that level has been reduced to 4500ft. In a concession the airspace above and North of the Waharoa airfield can be opened to 6500ft on advise (i.e. you call ATC and they have 15 minutes to open it – no exceptions), but the area south is on approval. And we have all experienced what “approval” means…any busy days, any glitches in radar coverage, or any other pseudo excuse will result in problems.

Can we live with this?? We don’t have much choice, but clearly the established practise of meeting with Airways on their terms during airspace reviews doesn’t appear to be very

fruitful. Our leaders in the gliding movement attended lots of meetings, and we should thank them for their time and effort, but maybe a more “political” approach might be required next

time…headlines that read “Government body seeks to remove public freedom” might be a better method. And will there be a next time??? You bet there will be. If one looks at the new airspace map you can predict next airspace theft will be to lower the whole region to 3500ft in line with the airspace around Rotorua and Hamilton airports. This could also impact on areas Alpha and Bravo. What can we do???

Use the new upper areas in the Waikato as much as possible. Go cross-country as often as possible. Always open GAA 255 and GAA 254 when you intend to go west of Area Bravo,

document the reasons (busy, lack of staff, bad hair day etc) that Airways deny access to GAA 255 (the approval airspace south of Tirau).

If we don’t use it we are going to lose it…

We will need to be on guard for the next infringement on our Airspace.

Like...whatever...

The forecast suggested a nice afternoon. Certainly it looked great at 12 noon. Light westerly, clouds that looked like they marked 6 knot climbs, very little high cloud...it should be great...Yeah right.

It was a struggle to get over the hill...which is where I wanted to be.

It took me three attempts.
The first ended at 1800ft out of glide range of home...bugger. Surprisingly, and thankfully, and luckily I bumped into a 5 knot climb but by then I'd drifted all the way back to the city.
So try try again...or so said that Scottish chap - Robert Bruce.
Attempt two ended in the bush about 4 kms short of the ridge with a dash back to the Poripori strip (which I checked was clear of stock)...followed by a very poor climb to stay airborne.
At this point I was about to give up and go home, mow the lawns...however I heard both GOI and GKM launch. So pride, ego and mana was at stake.
Surprisingly attempt 3 was a piece of cake.

Once over the hill it was OK only.
However the trip back was interesting. I left the ridge at 4500ft. 20 kms later overhead the airfield we were at VNE still at 4000ft.

For the first time in living memory the Northern Regionals had a fully flyable week. It might have been ridge based without a truely great thermal day or two...but I can't remember a regional contest that didn't involve sitting about telling stories.

Gliding is happening in Omarama...how do I know this??? If put your glasses on...and stare at the picture below...