When: March 10,11,12 &13 

Where: Tocumwal airfield

Who: Everyone, especially club teams with two-seaters.

Launch: Aerotow or self launch)

Rules & Handicaps: as per Club Class competition.

Verification: Loggers or GPS traces

Entry Fee: Nil*

• Daily briefing and tasks set, AAT and/or Speed tasks
• Daily scores and Regatta winner but the main aim is to have fun!
• Coaching arranged upon request
• Arrangements can be made to get tows for the rest of the week.  

Accommodation: No camping on site. Visit the accommodation section of the Tocumwal website 
Contact: Jack Hart Phone: 0439 398199

* At stage we are planning no entry fees, as there is one tug on site. If there is enough interest to warrant the hire of another tug, a fee may be levied to cover the ferry cost. 

The VSA State Championships / Horsham Week 2007 have been completed in Horsham.

Standard Class (12 participants):

• Simon Brown, Cirrus, VH-GSM, 6th;
  
• Wayne Mackley, LS4a, VH-UKA, 3rd;
• Jarek Mosiejewski, DG300, VH-GDH, 2nd;
• Andrew Murphy, Jantar Stdandard 2, VH-IUD, 11th.

15m Class (10 participants):

• Alan Dean, LS3, VH-UKC, 8th. 

The Gliding Club of Victoria at Benalla has hosted the  26th Club Class National Gliding Championships.

Geelong Gliding Club has been represented by six pilots:

• Simon Brown, Ciruss Std, VH-GSM, 49th;
• Rolf Buelter, PIK-20B, VH-WQF, 13th;
• Tobi Geiger, LS4a, VH-HDL, 7th;
• David Long, Jantar Std 2, VH-IIT, 51st;
• Jarek Mosiejewski, LS4a, VH-UKA, 9th;
• Olgierd Szemis, Jantar Std 2, VH-IUD, 47th.
  

The Australian Junior National Gliding Championships.

This contest was held in Leeton, NSW from the 30th of December 2006 to the 6th of January 2007.

Two students at RMIT are currently developing a Glider Thermal Direction Indicator using temperature sensors mounted on the wingtips and nose of a glider. You can find a link to their webpage detailing their project on the "Links" page in the Gliding Instruments and Software section.

On Saturday, the 9th of December 2006, the temp trace for Gawler looked good thermals to 19,000' winds at the lower levels from the North-East and moderating during the morning. 

Flights of note:

• John Nicholls Discus 760 km out and return to Parachilina in five hours 152 Km/hr.
• Terry Cubley (our associate member) a 1040 km Triangle North To Death Rock East to Redcilffe South-East of Mildura 9.5 hrs 109 Km/hr max alt 13000'.
• Peter Temple out and return to Farina 1017km @118 Km/hr on the way home he flew 500km averaging 160 Km/hr max, hight 17000' still some distance below cloud base. Peter may have broken or set 3 Australian records.
• Jade Palmer a Junior pilot got her Gold height with a climb to 14500'.

Information source: Robert Moore, Aus-soaring mailing list.

Both flights can be viewed and downloaded from OLC: Terry Cubley's and Peter Temple's. 

And here is the email I received from Terry briefly describing his 1040km flight:

The temp trace was great, predicted thermals to over 15,000. The best money was to do an out and return flight along the trough (which Peter Temple did at a good speed, with a climb to 17,000ft) but I wanted to try an FAI triangle.

It was blue for all of the flight, cu forming behind me on the first leg and then ahead of me near the first turn.

Then I had the scrub - a long curved approach to get north of Wakerie, then I had to contend with the smoke from the bushfires - a quiet glide through. Crossed the border and the 7 knot climbs reduced to 4.5 knots - but still going to 10,000 feet. Around Redlciffs (Mildura) and back to the border. Climbed back to 11,000 feet and then had to glide through the thickening smoke. 2000 feet at Waikerie and I took a 3.5 knot climb back to 8000, then a glide to Stonefield where I found a 4 knot climb to final glide under cu. 9.5 hours on task - a long day in the office but good fun.

The text below is from a Herald Sun article Peace of the sky, published on the 17th of November 2006.  To see the scans of the entire article, click on the pictures below.

"...Our winged chariot, a two-seat glider with an enormous 17m wingspan and dual controls, looks beautifully and sleek just sitting on the runway.

Among the cloud, it proves to be as graceful as an eagle.

[...]

The sensation of flight in a glider is completely different to that in a helicopter or light aircraft.

The deafening noise of the engine is replaced by the sound of air rushing over the canopy as we slice the sky at 150km/h.

[...] 

The sensation of gracefully swooping through the sky, catching thermal updraughts of air to buy a bit more time aloft, is peacefully in the extreme.

Glider pilots tell of eagles and ibis gliding alongside them, effortlessly mirroring their every move.

  When [Tobi] Geiger hands over controls, I resist the temptation to do anything dramatic, instead settling for a few modest turns, dipa and alterations in course at his direction.

The big glider proves responsive, reacting smoothly to my commands.

[Tobi] Geiger takes back the controls after expertly sensing the presence  of  another thermal that will prolong our time, before handing back the stick and allowing me to straighten up and point the glider at the runway.

[...] 

The decision to head for home comes as a mixture of relief and disappointment.

[...]

The ground rises to meet us alarmingly quickly, but [Tobi] Geiger pulls of a smooth-as-silk landing on the grass runway... "