Briefing at 1030 "Don't be late" - I was told at breakfast by Alan Dean, my copilot for the day. The day was already 27 deg and promising to be a hot one. Maybe today we will get some Cu's that will make it a little easier than yesterday, when Mark Simpson and myself pushed the OWL around 245 km Horsham Birchip silo, Rosberry silo, Homham in 3hrs 57min for an average speed of 62.1km/h. Our cruising speed had been 55kts and 75 to 85 when in sink, depending on the amount of sink encountered. The only Cu we saw were at Birchip and they produced nothing to warrant serious. All our climbs were in the blue, 4 - 6kts a flash of 7, and 8kts. We were both very happy with that result as we thought that it was close to the maximum we could get the "Puch" to do without dusting in, and this place is dusty. Final glide was 55km out from 8750 feet, starting at 65kts, increasing to 70kts at 50km, then 75kts at 30km and finally 85kts at 14kmn till home at lO00ft. Beer all round, and on reflection, not a bad final glide.
It certainly did not go down at speed like a greased house brick as the polar curve seemed to suggest. But back to briefing, maps all laid out, pencils ready. Up go the tasks on the board. Sports Class: Ouyen 178.89km, Boort 173.61km, Horsham 150.81km = 503.31 km total. Standard was 574km with a dog leg Ouyen, Swan Hill, Pyramid Hill, Horsham and Open Class 624km, going 34km further north; then home the same as standard class.
A collective moan went up and an aside from the back: "better get the trailers ready". "Get the torch, we will need it to read map on the final glide home!" - this was my first thought. With the take off at 12:30, across the start at say 13:15 and judging on yesterdays times that ment 8 hours in the air, home at 21:15, just after dusk. What was the frequency for the runway lights? Oh yes, here it is on the daily briefing sheet. Winds NNW 15 kts to 7000ft, the westerly 16kts above this. At least we should have a bit of a quatering tail wind on the way home with luck.
Temperatures were expected to be 37 at 12:00hrs, 39 at 14:00 and 40 at 18:00 and cloud base 4000ft and 8000ft between 12:00 and 14:00 hrs and up to 10000 after that - all of a moderate nature. Well after yesterday's experience of stronger thermals above 6000 it will be a get high - stay high day if we are to get around at all.
The usual rush after briefing: water, food, check car for rediness for retrieve and then pull out to marshall and line up on the grid. We are placed third to take off. The "sniffer" takes off at 12:15 and happily climbs away, although slowly, but forgets to radio that back to the rest of us waiting on the ground. Much ribald humour about his radio technique: he turned it off when he started to climb - he stated later - as he new he would have to conserve battery for the long day ahead.
Take off at 12:38, We are airborne behind the CoolAir a slow climber at the best of times. He heads straight out labouring in the heat and at 200ft AGL heads WNW till 1500 AGL . When for the next 5 min we hit sink and fail to gain any extra height we break out of this over the highway. 5 km out and at 2000AGL still no lift - start to dive for home, bung, gone. We start a large right hand circle for lift, not a sump. 'Head due east" Alan says - "at least if we need a relight we will be getting closer to the field". Just then 6kts down, the big sink! We push up to 75kts, still getting worse, up to 80 - losing height at an alarming rate. "Keep going" - Alan yells from the back - "if we don't get out of this at least we can use this as our downwind leg for a landing on 26 (cross wind) and stop before the cross strip, get out and pull her back down 36 for a relight!". FUST check and about to start a turn onto base for 26 at 750ft AGL. What a disastrous start in front of everybody. At least we can see that the second wave of launches are now towing directly north and not into our sink, well away from us.
Well, you guessed it. Bump under the left wing 2kts! I crank it over saying: "One turn and if its nothing into 26 we go". Nervous relief - it is 2kts all the way round. Well that's 100ft back slowly, we gain till 1500 AGL then we must re-center to right hand turns as it is a right hand day within 5 km of airport. Alan takes over and we continue to climb 3kts then 4kts, real relief. At last at 4000ft this is slowly getting better.
We top out at 10,600ft 4 km from the start. Much discussion about taking take off time as against going back to start line. In the last 1000 ft Alan wins this one with "we have to get going if we have any chance of getting home before dark". Conservative cruise at 65kts, 35km out our first decent pull up. "Discard it!" - yells Alan - "it is only 2 to 3 kts, we need better if we are to make it!". On we go till opposite Warracknabeal we hit 5 kts we climb. It gathers strength as we climb at 9 kts to stop at 11,500ft. Well so much for the MET briefing... We see Cu's to the north at least to our height at about Hopetoun at 105 km out.
One more thermal and under the Cu's at Hopetoun. The first of the fast standard class are now with us but all lower than us. Heading full bore for the Cu's! What's this?! The "Guppy" (PW5) is up there 1500ft above us. We center on him and climb to 12500ft as the HP14 and a Janus join us below. It is fascinating to see them bore right on in straight to the middle of our circle, 100ft below. No thermal joining etiquette here; straight in and pull up, 6 in this thermal with a Cirrus right behind and just below. I wish they had rear vision mirrors on the "Puch" - my neck is getting sore trying to keep them all placed in relation to us. 8 to 9kts in this one. We had better crank up the cruise speed and try to stay with them. One by one they peel off. It is amazing how hard it is to keep them in sight after we only did one more circuit of the thermal and joined in the chase.
Next big Cu is 35km away, at Patchewollock. We bore on in this time, cruise is 80 to 85kts, we pull in and there is Tony Harris in GVE up above, about to head off. Top out at 12000ft and head for Ouyen which is under another big Cu. Good, we will bung in a turn point photo while in the thermal. Well around we went and headed to Sealake and Boort; at least its getting closer to home all the time now.
The "Guppy" heads straight down the line, but it looks a bit blue hole territory on direct track so we head off a little south to weave under large Cu's and grab height by pull ups. 700ft we grabbed in one and flew at 65kts till through the other side then back to 80, and 88 in sink as cruise speed By this time I have stoped watching the altimeter as its just disheartening seeing it wind down so quickly at these speeds but we were going places and at this rate we will be home before dark.
Four decent thermals to Boort, the last one just over the town. Working 8000ft to 12000ft plus band as the thermal strength is at least 6kt up to 8000ft and off the stops, almost up to cloud base 10kts plus. Whee!!!! 360 to 400ft a circle! I wonder how we can transplant a few of these to Bacchus Marsh.
Well up to Boort my navigation had been spot on. Round we go heading for Charlton and Donald. Over Charlton we top up and as we head off. Alan queries where the hell am I going? "Heading for Donald, see straight ahead the town". Where is the lake,? Well the map shows it dashed as it may be dry. - No I flew over it yesterday and it was b... full. Then my thoughts went straight to "compass" and Dougie Rodgers explanation at the Xmas camp at how he got off track. "I flew to the first silo and it was the wrong one, and was lost from there on out". But for having somebody else with me Dougie I would have been off, on your track.
"Good fortune always follows the mugs". Our track was under a good Cu. We topped up and found Donald and its "large" lake while thermaling under it. We head off and reach Donald at just under 7000ft. We need 10000ft plus for final glide from here, I calculate at 65km from home, and it is 18:00 hrs.
We are heading just south of Donald and west to a large Cu that looks ordinary. Only 2 to 2 1/2 kts under this. The day is dying as all the way home the clouds are deftnitely decaying. What about that one, 5 km further west? It looks very black underneath; we reach it at 6500ft and fly on under, Nothing. It looks like we overcooked it... At the western end 4 kts. Relief. "We will work this till the very end" - declares Alan. At 10000 its up to 9kts and we keep climbing to see what cloud base is. After 12000ft and still climbing from the back comes - " I wish you weren't here in the front. I could have my gold height out of this climb!" Up and up till at 13800ft still going up at 9 kts, and at least 1000ft under the bottom, we head off and home we come. 87 kts and up to 95 in the blue hole parts of the final glide. 5km out and still at 3800 AGL, call finish line: "OWL 5km out and high". Back comes: "How high?" -" 3200 AGL" - answer. "Oh, up there..." - is the reply.
A real quick circuit of Horsham to get rid of the excess height and a left hand circuit to 26, keeping a very wary eye out for more finishers. as the finish line is the end of 28. So on base we really needed 4 pairs of eyes to spot all the low, fast finishers.
We are down and pull up short opposite our tie down area just as GVE swoops in over us. Finishing 2 min later UKA with John Ashford swoops in also. Wayne Mackley's COX and Bart Simpson's IUD are already home just finishing tie down. What a day! All home we will celebrate tonight and in John Ashford's words: "As I swooped in over the finish line and saw OWL being tied down I did not know which made me the happiest: my longest flight 574 km in a single seater or the relief of not having to retrieve the OWL".
Thanks to Alan Dean's relentless pushing and marvellous thermal centring in the back seat we did it!
Well chaps, its 80.1 km average off the stick to beat. Go for it!