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... "

All club trailer electrical connectors have been changed from 5 pin layout to the 7 pin standard.

 *Colour code is just an industry standard, wire colour may not be the same on car or trailer.

If your car plug is wired as 5 pin std then the following changes need to be made:

1. Left indicator wire has to be moved from pin 2 to pin 1.
2. Right indicator wire has to be moved from pin 5 to pin 4.
3. Optional. If you have a reversing light wire, connect it to pin 2 (Pin previously used by left indicator in 5 pin std. This function is not used by club trailers.).

Google released the beta version 4 of its Google Earth program. If you have a fast internet connection, you can download it from: http://earth.google.com/tour/thanks-win4.html.  I'd recommend it to anyone; it is the next best thing after actually flying over the areas.

In this release, the Bacchus Marsh aerodrome is is covered by a high resolution image that resolves details to about 500m AGL. Although the airfield is partially under a cloud, the images are amazingly accurate.

I posted three pictures so that you could see it for yourself.