NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE
WORLD CHAMPS FROM FOOTY TO FLYING AGM AWARDS TAUPO YOUTH GLIDE • CLUB NEWS i s s u e 4 6 A u g u s t – O c t o b e r 2 0 16
IMAGES THAT SOAR ABOVE THE ORDINARY
John McCaw – aviation and agricultural photographer
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contents august–october 2016 features 10 Kiwis Take on the World 34th World Gliding Champs 15 OSTIV
10
16
From Footy to Flying
20 22 24
Gliding NZ AGM – Awards 2016
28
Summer flying in the French Alps
30
Flying in the Drakensburg of South Africa
32
Low Level Incidents
34
Human Factors
42
Getting to know Grae
Taupo YGNZ Mini-Camp Solar Impulse 2 completes First Round-The-World Solar Flight and writes Aviation History
24
28
regulars 6 Log Book 40 A Question of Safety 41 Airworthiness 42 Gliding New Zealand News 44 GNZ Awards & Certificates 45 Gliding New Zealand Club News 50 Classified Advertising
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©SoaringNZ is subject to copyright in its entirety. The contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the owners. All material sent to SoaringNZ will be assumed to be publishable unless marked not for publication. SoaringNZ invites contributions but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. ISSNAugust–October 1178-4784 2016 3
from the editor august–october 2016 HOW MUCH RICHIE IS TOO MUCH RICHIE? This was the question going on around social media in the last few weeks. You can’t have missed Richie McCaw recently, he’s been everywhere. The highlight, of course, was the release of his movie, Chasing Great that followed him through the year leading up to the Rugby World Cup. This ‘warts and all’, no holds barred, “people should say whatever they like about me,” documentary on the ex-All Black Captain has been criticised for not containing any warts. There was no dirt dished. The story, according to one commentator, lacked “grit”. Of course, those of us who know Richie know that there was no manipulation in the telling of his inspirational tale. He really is a genuinely nice guy who gives 100 percent to the task in hand. There was no behind the scenes manipulation of the material in the film, by the Rugby Union, Richie, or anyone. What you see is who the man is. He is a truly great leader of men who took the best advice he could find and used it to mould and lead his team as they faced the huge challenge of winning a second Rugby World Cup title. And then, the World Cup won, in a moment so poetic I nearly cried with joy, Richie in the film says, “That’s it. I’m done,” and flies off – if not into the sunset, definitely west, as the film cuts to Richie in his Discus, soaring above Mt Cook. It was glorious. It was an amazing contrast to the battle and noise we’d just been witnessing on the rugby field. It was the end of the movie. Although there was not a lot of gliding in the movie and the sport was not actually spoken of, the gliding footage is used as a back drop to some voice over introspection, it is still a great advertisement for our sport. Richie didn’t have to include gliding in his story, but it is part of who he is. He wanted more gliding included but it didn’t fit with the story the writers were trying to tell. Where it was used it was to very good effect. The filming of the flying sections, like all the filming in the movie is gorgeous. And this too – isn’t what we usually see of gliding on the screen, where a reporter might go for a flight in a Twin Astir, GoPro in his face and come back looking slightly green and unnerved? This was a man alone in a sleek Discus 2c, soaring over the scenic and gnarly Southern Alps. It looks great. It looks inspirational. The gliding movement couldn’t have scripted it better. John, our boys and I were all around when the gliding section was filmed at Omarama in January. As a writer and story teller
Donald McCaw and Gavin Wills give advice to film maker Michelle Walsh and her camera crew.
I really enjoyed watching the director work with her team, planning out the shots she wanted and how to get them. John enjoyed yakking with the helicopter pilot and pouring over the amazing camera equipment attached to the craft. This was the same ‘steady cam’ equipment that we last saw used to film the gliding Grand Prix back in 2007/08. It is amazing kit. There was 80 hours of film footage taken that day. Richie has copies of all of it and hopefully we will get to see more of it over time. I hope you’re not over Richie because in this issue we reproduce “From Footy to Flying,” the article that first appeared in CAA’s Vector magazine. While some readers will have already seen it, those of you who are ‘pure’ glider pilots probably have not. I like this article. Richie points out things he’s learnt through playing rugby that can be related to flying but he doesn’t labour the points. It is up to the reader to make the connections.
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NEW ZEALAND’S PREMIER SOARING MAGAZINE
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Next Issue: Angus Rose Bowl Winner Martyn Cook WORLD CHAMPS FROM FOOTY TO FLYING AGM AWARDS TAUPO YOUTH GLIDE • CLUB NEWS i s s u e 4 6 A u g u s t – O c t o b e r 2 0 16
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Winter soaring at Canterbury. Graham Erikson in his Ventus 2. Photo John McCaw
August–October 2016
ASG 31e Start of the soaring season
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Pulling this winter issue together is fun. There is no pressure to get the issue out while the news from a certain contest is current and there is room to include pieces randomly sent to me from Kiwis flying away from home. We’ve got pieces from France, South Africa and of course Alex McCaw and Nick Oakley taking on the world in Lithuania. This is also the issue that we look at who has won the GNZ National Awards and take inspiration from their stories and achievements. Spring is nearly upon us. Start dusting off the glider trailer, check the parachute packing tag, get yourself current and BFRs done. I’m looking forward to a long and exciting soaring season. Stay safe Jill McCaw
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logbook august–october 2016 Perlan Project Update On 9 September, the Airbus Perlan 2 glider made its first Southern Hemisphere flight, a short Functional Check Flight (FCF), from El Calafate, Argentina. Chief pilot Jim Payne and Flight Test Engineer Miguel Iturmendi pressurized in front of the Aero Club Lago Argentino hangar and launched only 15 minutes later.
After the Perlan 2 launched, towed by the Laviasa Pawnee (Puelche), there were three commercial flights all wanting to land, only ten minutes apart. Jim released from tow early, performed some in-flight flutter and telemetry connection testing, flew an approach to stall, and then pulled the air brakes out to land and clear the runway prior to the three in-bound flights. The team declared the flight a success, finally airborne over the skies of El Calafate, less than a year after the first flight in Oregon. Jim Payne, Chief Pilot of the Perlan project updates SoaringNZ readers. The goals for this season in Argentina are to soar safely and to expand the flight envelope as much as possible. If we are able to break the current (height) record, it will be a smashing success. So far, winds aloft forecasts and the satellite photos have said that El Calafate is not having a good wave season. While it would be nice to try a high altitude flight, especially since it is the tenth anniversary of Einar Enevoldson and Steve Fossett’s world altitude record, we have a disciplined flight test schedule to follow. The Argentine gliding community has been extremely helpful and we have been learning the rules and regulations of the airfield and surroundings while we waited for the glider to arrive. The sea journey, for the container with the glider and equipment, was supposed to be 22 days but turned out to be 38. Everyone is very ready to go to work. The whole team breathed a sigh of relief to have the glider on the ground in El Calafate. For Tago De Pietro and Jackie Payne, who had worked the logistics for months, this was better than Christmas.
Corrections
In Bernard Eckey’s article on Hydraulic Jump in our last issue, the photo of a pseudo lenticular was wrongly attributed and was actually taken by Jean-Marie Clement. In Ross Sutherland’s piece about Greytown, he incorrectly elevated David Hirst past his lowly position as instructor, describing him as Gliding Wairarapa’s CFI. In fact, Vern Grant holds that role. We apologise for the mix up.
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August–October 2016
Front from left: Miguel Iturmendi, Morgan Sandercock, Doug Perrenod, Ed Warnock, Linda Warnock, Jackie Payne, Ellen Stoddart, Liz Kennick, Tim Gardner. Back from left: Stewart Tattersall, Alec Guay, Tago DePietro, Martin Heltai, Jim Payne.
The winds aloft forecasts for the next 10 days say that El Calafate will have light winds. Now we have the first flight out of the way we will be looking to do some “shake down” flights. Ten years ago Steve Fossett and former NASA test pilot Einar Enevoldson reached hit an absolute altitude of 50,722 feet (15,460 metres) while flying in mountain wave above the Andes in Argentina, also flying from El Calafate. The flight was the culmination of the original Perlan Project and their record still stands today. The Perlan II mission, is aiming to fly a pressurised glider to 90,000 feet, or 27,432 metres. Commercial airliners fly at 10,000 metres.
STOP PRESS GNZ announces that they have secured two Tissandier Diplomas for Lemmy Tanner and Trevor Mollard. These will be officially announced by the FAI at their meeting in Bali on 13 October. We will do a full write up next issue.
logbook august–october 2015 Hungary wins Double-Gold at the 19th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships
Matkopuszta, Hungary, 30 July 2016 – Hungarian pilot Ferenc Toth secured a hat-trick at the 19th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships – winning the third World Championship gold medal of his career. Team Hungary finished first on the nations’ table. After a 10-day competition that saw 20 of the world's best glider aerobatics pilots battle it out in the skies above Hungary, Toth's win confirmed his position as the best glider aerobatic pilot in the world. “I was a bit nervous on my last flight, but my friends told me it was ok and it was enough,” he said. "I am happy with my performance and I am very happy with my win." Toth dominated the competition all week, winning three of five rounds. Each round consisted of each pilot flying a three-minute aerobatic routine in a 1,000m-x-1,000m-x-1,000m cube-shape performance zone in the air. It is Toth’s third World Championship win. The competition in Hungary was the 19th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships to be held and attracted 20 of the world’s best glider aerobatic pilots. The FAI World Glider Aerobatics Championships takes place every year. RESULTS 1 Ferenc Toth Janos Szilagyi 2 Jerzy Makula 3
(HUN) (HUN) (POL)
8,578.09 8,281.92 7,902.39
GAVIN WILLS
M O U N TA IN SOARING SCHOOL Learn-to-Fly Post Solo to QGP Mountain Soaring Guest instructors: Uli Schwenk Justin Wills
ADVENTURE SOARING FLIGHTS
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August–October 2016
7
logbook august–october 2016 Russian, Fedor Konyukhov breaks Steve Fossett’s Ballooning Record
Fedor Konyukhov, 64, landed near the small town of Bonnie Rock, near Perth, Australia on 23 July at 16.15 local time (08.15 UTC) after a 11 day, 8 hours and 42 minutes flight in a Roziere combined (hybrid) hot-air and helium gas balloon. His voyage began at 07:33 Tuesday 12 July, crossing the meridian of his take-off site on Saturday 23 July, to finish the Round-the-World feat. Only three balloons have succeeded in circumnavigating the world so far. The statistics are: Names
Year
Time RTW
Distance
Bertrand Piccard & Brian Jones
2000
370 h 24 min. (15d 10h 24m)
40.814 km 19d 21h 47m
Steve Fossett
2002
320 h 33 min. (13d 08h 23m)
33.195 km 14d 19h 50m
Fedor Konyukhov
2016
269 h 32 min. (11d 05h 32m)
32.996km 11d 8h 42m
MORNING GLORY CLOUDS HAVE OCCURRED IN NORTHERN EUROPE
We have two photos of Morning Glory roll clouds seen in two different locations at different times. The first was sent to us by amazed, SoaringNZ correspondent Tomasz Kawa. The photo was taken of a Morning Glory cloud moving slowly with the wind over the town of Silesia at 5 am on 30 May. Tomasz says, Silesia is big industrial region in South Poland near the Beskidy mountains. In the week leading up to the Morning Glory appearing the weather had been nasty with a stationary cyclone over Europe with intensive thunderstorms, rain and hail.
Flight Duration The second picture was captured by G Dale, at 6 am one morning at the Pociu¯nai Airport during the World Champs in Lithuania. He says,”this looks like nothing special but is in fact a soliton wave, a moving roll cloud, better known as a Morning Glory. It was triggered by the outflow from a powerful thunderstorm pushing under the diurnal inversion. It is the first time I have seen this phenomenon. It moved over me and away at about 20 knots, with a light breeze behind it. Quite a special moment!”
CALENDAR 10 October – 21 October 2016 Australian Nationals, Kingaroy, Australia. We have 5 pilots competing in Australia as practice for the Worlds: – Mark Tingey (JS1) – Brett Hunter (JS1) – Alan Belworthy – Steve Wallace – Tim Bromhead (Discus B) 29 October – 5 November 2016 Central Plateau Contest, Centennial Park Airfield, Taupo, New Zealand. Practice Day Sat 29 October. Contest Start 30th. Details on the Taupo Gliding Club website. Jerry’s XC Soaring Course 2016, Omarama, New Zealand. Details on the Glide Omarama website. 6 November – 11 November 2016 12 November – 19 November 2016 South Island Regional Gliding Championships 2016, Omarama, New Zealand. Details to come. To be run by the Canterbury Gliding Club. 21 November – 25 November 2016 Matamata Soaring Centre XCountry Course, Matamata Airfield, Waharoa, New Zealand. This year’s North Island XCountry Course at Matamata is held over 5 days Mon 21–Fri 25 November 2016, just before the Regional Contest. Full details available on the MSC website. 26 November – 2 December 2016 North Island Regional Gliding Championships 2016, Matamata Airfield, Waharoa, New Zealand. Practice Day Sat 26 November, Contest Sun 27 November to Sat 3 December. Entry form can be found online on the MSC website. 3 December – 10 December 2016 Women in Gliding Australia Week, Mt Beauty Gliding Club, Victoria, Australia. Our weeks are for friendship, flying and fun. We have coaches, mentors and help each other overcome. New Zealand women pilots are very welcome. Contact Wendy Medlicott, Women in Gliding Australia representative. wendymedlicott@optusnet.com.au 4 December – 10 December 2016 ATC National Gliding Course, Matamata Airfield, Waharoa, New Zealand. For details contact Rob Owens 027 489 7305. 2 January – 14 January 2017 Gliding New Zealand National Multi-Class Gliding Championships 2017, Omarama, Airfield Road, New Zealand. Note that this is a change of dates from those set earlier (originally set to avoid a clash with the WGC in Australia January 2017). The new dates return to the traditional early January and will now clash with the WGC. 8 January – 21 January 2017 World Gliding Championships, Benalla, Australia. We have 6 NZ pilots competing: – Mark Tingey (Open JS1C) – Brett Hunter (Open JS1C) – Alan Belworthy (15m Ventus 2a) – Steve Wallace (15m Ventus 2a) – Tim Bromhead (18m ASG29) – John Coutts (18m JS1b). One week practice before the start on the 8th. 8 January – 13 January 2017 OSTIV Congress in Benalla in conjunction with the Worlds. The XXXIII OSTIV Congress will take place in Benalla, Australia from 8 – 13 January 2017 in conjunction with the World Championships and represents a rare chance for Kiwi glider pilots to rub shoulders with some of the movers and shakers of technical part of the gliding world. There are 3 OSTIV panels: Meteorology, Sailplane Development Training and Safety. Much of the technology you use in gliders today has been influenced by the work and shared knowledge of these panels.
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August–October 2016
logbook august–october 2016
It’s only in the event of a
CL A IM
Jean-Marie Clement Launches a New Wave Soaring Expedition in Patagonia
that you really find out who has the best policy!
If you’re looking for something new, or feel that NZ mountains just aren’t big enough for you anymore then you may be interested in the TOPFLY’s 13th wave gliding camp in Patagonia, from mid-November to mid-January. National and World records will be up for grabs but if you just want to explore the almost unlimited wave and enjoy the immense scenery, then that is fine too. You can bring your own glider or use TOPFLY’s Nimbus 4DM. As in previous years they will operate from Lago Nahuel Huapi Aero-Club, 800m altitude,º at San Carlos de Bariloche, the largest mountain resort of South America. See the website www.topfly.aero for more information. Contributions to Logbook are welcome from all of our readers within New Zealand and internationally. Email your news snippets to: soaringnz@mccawmedia.co.nz. Please put "logbook" in the subject line.
Contact your broker or ring Arden and talk to the people who specialise in aviation insurance. “Kiwis providing Glider pilots with aviation insurance for over 30 years”
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AIR GLIDE – A new take on soaring avionics! We now have a complete system with Vario Display S and Display M coupled with an Air glide TRX 1500 Flarm / ADS-B / Mode C traffic warning system for customers to evaluate here in Masterton.
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August–October 2016
9
Kiwis Take on the World
34th WORLD GLIDING C
POCIŪNAI AIRPORT, LITHUANIA 31 JULY 2016 – 13 AUGUST 2016 BY ALEX MCCAW AND NICK OAKLEY
PHOTOS ALEX MCCAW
New Zealand’s Junior representatives, Nicholas Oakley and Alex McCaw have both headed off for their OEs. Conveniently, this meant they would be in Europe for the ‘small wing’ Worlds in Lithuania. With GNZ’s encouragement they decided to have a go at it, especially as it would be at the same site as next year’s Junior Worlds where they are planning to fly. The young men had made a very good showing at the Australian Junior Worlds in December but flying in Europe and flying at a Worlds contest with people who had been competing since before they were born was a whole new experience. Alex wrote us a report and Nick added his thoughts.
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August–October 2016
G CHAMPS
016 Nick Oakley flying Ross Drake’s beautifully modified Libelle.
F
or me, the first challenge about flying in the World Championships in Lithuania was just getting there. As you can imagine, it’s a very long way to travel from New Zealand to Lithuania. The logistics alone are difficult without the travel on top of that. Dane Dickinson and Ross Drake were an amazing help in organising all aspects of the trip, with Dane even kindly lending me his new car for the adventure. After 2500 km of driving across Europe to Lithuania (mainly on the wrong side of the road), we arrived at the Pociūnai airfield at three in the morning, a week before the start of the competition. Nick says: It didn't really feel real at first, even though we had just driven across Europe to be there. We were the third team to arrive for the contest practice week and it was a bit quiet. Then everyone else started turning up and we started
Jess Stauss, Ross Sutherland, Alex McCaw and Nick Oakley at the opening ceremony.
to see some of the big names in gliding, people like Sebastian Kawa, then it started to feel real. For me, the feeling was much the same as I’d felt in Australia – proud to be there representing New Zealand. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball and we only got a few practice flights in before the competition. It wasn't all bad because it allowed us to work on my glider in an attempt to get it competition ready. I was flying a Cirrus, kindly lent to me for free by a UK junior pilot, Ben Hughes. It was great to have a glider for free and it was probably the only way I could afford to get to the Worlds. The glider itself was an ex club glider with over 8000 hours and in okay condition but it needed lots of work to get it competition ready. Unfortunately, I don't think we ever really got 100% there and I felt a bit behind the field in terms of August–October 2016
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WORLD CHAMPS
Results STANDARD CLASS
1 2 3
Louis Bouderlique Felipe Levin Guillaume Girard
France Germany France
Discus 2a Discus 2a Discus 2a
5,972 5,901 5,882
20 MULTI-SEAT CLASS
1 2 3
Duboc & Aboulin France Arcus T Ghiorzo & Mangano Italy Arcus M Jones & Jones United Kingdom Arcus T
6,068 5,925 5,919
CLUB CLASS
1 2 3 20 47
Jan Rothhardt Eric Bernard Riccardo Brigliadori Nicholas Oakley Alexander McCaw
Germany France Italy New Zealand New Zealand
LS 1-d 5,696 Std. Cirrus 5,658 Std. Cirrus 5,479 Std. Libelle 201B 4,856 Std. Cirrus 2,758
glider performance. I was very lucky to have Ross Sutherland as crew; he did an amazing job helping me get the glider up to spec and was always happy to pick me up from anywhere in Lithuania and even collected me when I managed to land in Poland. We were also very lucky to have Australian Junior, Jess Stauss acting as Team Captain. Jess was a last minute addition to the team and did a great job. We couldn't have got all the paperwork and logistics sorted without her. The Lithuanian countryside was pretty much as we expected it to be with large areas of forests, lots of lakes and mainly flat land, although in some places the terrain was very undulating and rolling. In certain areas you had to be very careful flying across the forests as the land out options became very marginal, if there were any at all. During the practice week, one poor French pilot made the decision to land his Discus 2 in a lake; which was considered a ‘good’ option for the location he was flying. The airfield itself was basically a huge round field that meant you could take off and land in any direction and which would often happen at the same time. G Dale stood up at one briefing during the practice week and asked
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August–October 2016
the organisers if they could stop having tow planes landing the opposite direction while 100 odd gliders tried to finish and land in the other direction. He also mentioned getting a bit of a surprise, finding a club glider performing aerobatics over the field while finishing. Nick says: The weather was very tricky at times but about what I expected. I had an idea of what flying in Europe would be like from the three thermal flights I had had in the UK. You just had to know when to push it along and when to hold back and take it easy. That said, the last two days were epic and I was getting 6-8 knot climbs with the odd 10 knots. The safety briefing provided an interesting insight into Lithuanian geography as we were warned about what areas to stay clear of in order to avoid being shot down (Russia and Belarus) and what areas of the countryside produce the best moonshine. The South Africans seem quite keen to explore these areas. For me, the competition can be summarised by one word, ‘land outs’ and lots of them. Nick and I had a fairly solid plan coming into the competition about how we would fly as a team
WORLD CHAMPS For me, the competition can be summarised by one word,
‘land outs’ and lots of them.
August–October 2016
13
Photo Mika Ganszauge
WORLD CHAMPS
The Lithuanian youth training gliders were very popular on a non-contest day.
and what tactics we would try to use but it didn't really come together because I was finding it really hard to gel with either the weaker European conditions or the glider. I would often end up alone and find myself pushing too hard to catch up, more often than not ending up in a hole or on the ground. Looking back, I needed to be much more patient and should have stuck with the weak lift down low, rather than pushing on in hope of finding better. Although most of the land outs were pretty disappointing, it was always a pleasure to meet the farmer and the retrieves were always an adventure. Even my best results were on days when I landed out. Language barriers were always a problem but often overcome using Google translate on my phone. In the case where the farmer couldn't read, I had to use his 10 year old grandchild to translate for me. Nick says: The locals were very friendly and helpful once we got past the language difference. Farmers seemed very friendly and I even met one during harvest who was happy for us to land in his paddock. For me, the competition was a bit of a disappointment but I learnt a hell of a lot that I will be able to put in place if I fly in the Junior Worlds next year at the same location. Nick finishes up: Flying Club Class at this level was a new
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August–October 2016
experience with the handicap of my glider playing a big part. As I was flying a Libelle, I had one of the lowest handicaps in the contest and going into the comp I was thinking I would be spending a lot of time on my own because I wouldn't be able to keep up. But that wasn't the case. I was lucky enough to fly Ross Drake’s reconditioned Libelle which now had new fairings, winglets, racing canopy and the latest instruments as well as bug wipers. It went really well. This was my first time flying a Libelle and I was really impressed at how well it went. I could keep up with most of the gliders in the class, even when we were cruising at 80 knots between climbs. From what I had been told about Libelles, I didn't expect to be cruising that fast. So I played the start line games when I needed to and flew with the gaggle on the days I thought it mattered. I also did my own thing on a couple of days which sometimes worked well and sometimes not so well. But I learnt lots and had a great time. I would like to thank Ross Drake for getting the glider ready for me to fly, Jess for stepping in as Captain and Daisy for crewing for me and helping with the drive there.
Alex and Nick both thank GNZ and the many people who helped them with finances for the competition.
Organisation Scientifique et Technique International du Vol à Voile OSTIV will probably be an unfamiliar acronym to most glider pilots, especially as it stands for Organisation Scientifique et Technique International du Vol à Voile. In plain English, the International Scientific and Technical Organisation for Soaring Flight.
E
arly glider pilots were not only fascinated with the idea of flying without an engine; they also wanted to understand how the weather worked and how to improve their aircraft. With these goals in mind, specified as "exchanging experience and friendly co-operation among the specialists and pilots of all nations engaged in soaring", the first international soaring organization, ISTUS, (Internationale Studienkommission für den motorlosen Flug) was formed in 1930. OSTIV is the post-war successor to this organisation, with the additional goal of “the furtherance of the technical development of soaring by the sharing of experience by glider manufacturers and glider pilots”. It does its work via panels, covering Meteorology, Sailplane Development plus Training and Safety. Much of the technology you use in gliders today has been influenced by the work and shared knowledge of these panels. The Board of OSTIV includes some names which will be familiar to glider pilots: Mark Maughmer of winglet design fame, Judah Milgram, translator of the German text “Fundamentals of Sailplane Design”, along with others from Canada, US, Germany, Turkey etc. OSTIV Congresses, the gatherings where papers are presented and ideas shared, represent the opportunity to hear some of the leading thinkers in the soaring world expound their views. OSTIV holds its Congresses at the same time as the World Gliding Championships, which means that the next meeting will take place in Benalla, Australia from 8th to 13th January 2017. It is hoped that one of the evening presentations will be given by Dick Butler, who was the driving force behind the design and development of the Concordia, that gargantuan of the skies with a wingspan of 28 meters and a glide-ratio of 72:1 at 80 knots.
My own experience of OSTIV started with the World Championships in Omarama in 1995, where I had the pleasure of meeting Gerhard Waibel, famed designer of Schleicher gliders from the ASW12 to the ASW28 (with the 'W' showing that he designed it for Schleicher). I’ve now been given the opportunity to join the Training and Safety committee as the Australasian representative. As I’m a practicing aeronautical engineer rather than an academic, I’ve elected to start a project to gather together best practice from around the world in the use of simulation, including the actual construction of simulators. I’m going to be helped in my understanding of the world of simulation by my medical wife, who does both anaesthetics and runs the anaesthetic simulator at the University of Auckland. There are clear overlaps between aviation and medicine (though I do point out to her from time to time that air transport is considerably safer than medicine: a sure way of being invited to sleep in the lounge!). If you have an interest in understanding more about gliding and would like the chance to rub shoulders, listen to and meet some of the leading thinkers in gliding, make the effort to come to Benalla. For more information visit OSTIV.com
BY GERARD ROBERTSON
August–October 2016
15
From Footy to
FLYING BY PEN MCKAY, FROM CAA’S VECTOR
Former All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw learned a lot about performance and safety on the rugby field. Richie told Vector magazine what he’s taking from there into the air. This article was reproduced with permission. PRE-FLIGHT Preparation is everything. It gives you confidence and helps you perform better. If the ABs played poorly and we weren’t as focused as we should have been, when we analysed it post-match, we could always track it back, at least partially, to a lack of preparation. We didn’t quite fix something as well as we should have. I ended up having a preparation routine, so when I got to game day, I was confident that I’d done everything I could. It’s easy to pay lip service to preparation, especially if it’s the same routine every week. Just ‘check listing’ stuff, you know, ‘yeah, that’s fine, yeah, that’s fine, done that, ticked that
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August–October 2016
box,’ and you get on the field and it’s a bit different. You realise why it’s important to be genuine in your preparation. Those drills you thought you could miss and it would be okay, then it doesn’t work and you think ‘Oh God, I should have done them.’ Often a few little things missed in preparation can add up to a lot during a game. So, I’d get to Friday and I always gave myself a bit of time to think about what was going to happen the next day, and made sure I’d thought about what could happen, before I got on the field. If you don’t do that, each little ‘what if’ comes at you once you start playing.
ANTICIPATING A WEATHER CHANGE Being flexible means that when the game wasn’t going the way we expected it, we could easily change tack. The opposition might have thrown something at us that was completely different from what we’d been expecting. But in your prep, you’d get ready as much as you could for
PHOTOS JOHN MCCAW
Filming at Omarama for Richie’s movie Chasing Great.
those differences as well. We’d do our homework on who we were playing and what the game was going to be like, and we’d get out there, and the opposition wouldn’t play the way we thought they would. So we had to be flexible. ‘Change the game plan, because this isn’t working’. The night before a game, I’d take some time on my own and consider what could go wrong, ‘What happens if we end up with a guy sin-binned? Or two guys sin-binned? How am I going to deal with that? What will I do if we’re ten points down with five minutes to go? What are my options?’ So the next day, you’re hoping it doesn’t happen but if you get there, and it does happen, you’ve got somewhere to start, ‘Oh, that’s what I thought about.’ I wasn’t left feeling helpless, I had things up my sleeve to try. Also, what you don’t want after the match, is everyone looking at the game again, and saying to you ‘It was obvious, why didn’t you change?’ And all you can say is, ‘Well, I don’t really know, it just wasn’t the way I was expecting it to be.’
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG Forget the mistake you just made, you’ve got other things to take care of right now. On the rugby field, you concede a try or whatever, and if you dwell on that mistake, you’re not going to focus on what you’ve got to do right now. Your attention has to be on the here-and-now. You’re ten points down and there’s ten minutes left in the game. Is worrying, and cursing yourself for the error, and being really tense, going to help? It’s about what you can do right now that can maybe turn that situation around. So you have to stay engaged, stay thinking and keep watching what’s happening. As Captain, I’d always be trying to think ahead to avoid those mistakes – ‘If something happens at a certain point in the game, this is the decision I’ll make, this is the option I’ll take’. Not thinking ahead, I’d run the risk of the decision being made for me, when I’d be out of options. August–October 2016
17
FROM FOOTY TO FLYING
especially if they don’t agree. Because once a decision is made, you have a better chance of buy-in from everyone.
KNOW WHEN NOT TO FLY
Helicopter camera ship follows Richie and his tow pilot, Dad Donald as they take off from Omarama.
FOR INSTRUCTORS, CFIS, OPERATORS A high-performance activity is unforgiving of mistakes. Lessons have to be learned quickly. Early on, if someone new to the team made a mistake, I used to get a bit frustrated with them, because the consequences of that mistake could be quite big. Then one of the coaches said to me, ‘Did you give him everything he needed to avoid making that mistake, all the information, all the resources? Or did you assume that just because he’s a Crusader now, he should know everything?’ And it made me realise that often when someone makes a mistake, the failure is that of the people around them. What did they not do or say that they probably should have? If a mistake is made, I look at the learning environment first, for why. Apart from it being fair, it’s the best way for someone to eliminate mistakes as much as possible, as quickly as possible. That’s good for the whole team.
LEAVE YOUR EGO OUTSIDE THE COCKPIT When I became New Zealand Captain, I felt like everyone was looking at me and I had to know it all. I had to be the one to make the decisions. But I had a lot of good senior players around me, especially early on, who’d captained provincial sides, and who knew just as much as, if not more, than me. But I felt like I had to prove myself to them a little bit. When I became more comfortable, I wasn’t worried about how we got the right answer, as long as we got it. And it didn’t always have to be coming from me. One of the other boys would decide to do something and I’d think it was good. When you mature, you don’t care where that right idea comes from – if it’s the right one, then just get on with it. What I did do however was make sure we had an environment where dialogue was pretty regular. As Captain, I was just as vulnerable as they were, in terms of feedback – I mean, they could give me advice and I’d take it. You’ve got to have an environment where you’re all debating things, so even if we said, ‘Well, this weekend we’re going to do this,’ and not everyone agreed, we’d make sure we had a proper debate over it. Sometimes you don’t get consensus, but it’s really important everyone feels like they’ve had their say, and it’s considered,
18
August–October 2016
Sometimes as Captain, I’d have to say to the guy who was limping around the field, staying staunch, ‘Hey mate, it might be time to get the other guy out here. Go and sort yourself out because you’re only going to make it worse.’ I had to do the same and put my hand up when things weren’t right. We always came back to what was best for the team. When you’re trying to be tough and gutsy, but really, you can’t perform, it’s actually not good for the team. We had an environment where you could say, ‘Look, I’m struggling here.’ And if it was the right thing for the team, then no one took it wrongly. If it was genuine that you couldn’t do your job right, or you were endangering yourself, then you put your hand up. I’m not saying we always played with things 100 per cent. Sometimes we did play when things weren’t quite right, but you’d discuss it with the doctor and the physio first to make sure they were okay with it. There were several times when I’d been training during the week, hoping I’d come right. I’d get to Thursday and I just knew I couldn’t play. Actually, it was a relief to make the decision. You don’t want to let the team down, but actually, you’re letting the team down by not saying so. If it was obvious you shouldn’t play, that wasn’t so bad. The really tough decision, that took some maturity, was if things were marginal. I’d go to someone I trusted and ask them what they thought I should do. I’d say to the doc, ‘This is the way I’m feeling. What’s your opinion, do you think I could make things worse, by playing?’ Talking to other people usually made the decision quite clear.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS On the rugby field, you have to be very aware of what’s happening around you. You need to know where people are coming from. You use your peripheral vision, your head is up and you’re taking in the things in front of you and around you. When you’re under the pump, it’s easy to lose spatial awareness. You drop your head and your eyes start gazing at one thing, you know, that ‘thousand-mile stare’. We learned that when you’re under pressure, the brain sort of shuts down and you don’t see anything, so how could you decide what to do then? Whereas you want to be up, looking and taking in what’s being offered to you. So you lift your head up and suddenly, you can see what’s going on, and you can make proactive decisions and you feel better – ‘Hey, where do I go now, what do I do now?’ In some games, I’d be head down with that tunnel vision and kind of lose where I was in the game, but I’d catch myself and I’d force myself to look up and I’d see the stands and the far posts and then the peripheral vision would start opening up. Then I’d be back to the moment and not worried about what I’d done or what might happen as a result. It became ‘okay, what do I do now?’
2000 feet AGL Glider
TOW CHALLENGE BY GLYN JACKSON
There is a beer on the table at the 2017 GNZ AGM for the NZ tug that does the fastest (wheels off to wheels on) 2000 feet AGL (or greater) glider tow (aka The 2000 feet AGL Glider Tow Challenge).
There is a second beer on the table at the 2017 GNZ AGM for the NZ tug that does the fastest (wheels off to wheels on) 2000 feet AGL (or greater) two seat training glider (2up) tow (aka The 2000 feet AGL Two Seat Training Glider (2up) Tow Challenge).
To kick it off, below is a barograph from the IGC file of Eurofox ZK-TGC towing glider Ka-6CR ZK-GEH. It was a 2205 feet tow and took 5 minutes 00 seconds (wheels off to wheels on).
To kick it off, attached is a barograph from the IGC file of Eurofox ZK-TGC towing glider Janus-B ZK-GNN (2up). 2200 feet tow which took 8 minutes 00 seconds (wheels off to wheels on).
304 Pages 22x28 cm 391 Colour photos and drawings
• A “must have” book. Sailplane & Gliding (UK). • “The book of the Century… You must buy this book, sell whatever it takes, but buy it.” Gliding International (NZ). • Unmissable, alongside Reichmann, Bradbury and Moffat. L’@éroBibliothèque (France). • Will remain in the history of the literature, perhaps more so than Reichmann. Volo a Vela (Italy). • It reveals to you the invisible treasures of the atmosphere. Alvaro de Orleans Borbón (FAI Vice President).
Price €50 plus postage. Order to info@topfly.aero
Dancing with the wind
Enjoy and Learn Advanced Flying with the Wind
TopFly
A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR PILOTS?
Jean-Marie Clément
Both should be easy to beat. Log a glider tow (any IGC logger, Oudie or Smartphone with an IGC logging app in the tug will do the trick), and email the IGC file to glyn@glynjackson.com to claim the beer.
Dancing with the wind
Jean-Marie Clément
August–October 2016
19
GLIDING NZ AGM
AWARDS 2016 Guest Speaker Doug Hamilton presented the awards.
Mark Tingey receives the Air NZ Soaring Award.
Jevon McSkimming receives the North Island Air NZ Cross Country Award.
Max Stevens receives the South Island Buckland Soaring Award.
Tim Bromhead receives the North Island Buckland Soaring Award.
AIR NZ SOARING AWARD
CWF HAMILTON TROPHY
Mark Tingey
Terry Delore
This trophy is awarded to the pilot who has shown the most significant improvement in their personal standard of competition or record flying during the year. Some might think that Mark has come from nowhere to post some great results in recent times. However Mark has a long family history of involvement. His father was a founding member of the Tauranga Gliding Club. Mark joined the club in 1995 and in his very first contest, in the ‘90s, he won a day in the PW5 class, as he was the only pilot to get around. His tenacity stood out that day. Since those early days he has always wanted to compete, but family commitments came first. Now he has the time, the right glider and the competitive desire to challenge the best in New Zealand, as is shown by his recent contest placings. We believe Mark is on the verge of some outstanding results. He has been selected to compete in the Worlds in Benalla next January. Although he sees this as a very steep learning curve, he has a plan. Watch this space! We wish him and his fellow team members all the best for Benalla.
This trophy is awarded to a New Zealander operating in New Zealand for the most meritorious flight that is a New Zealand gliding record. There was one NZ record broken during the year, which also qualified as a World Record. Terry flew his ASW27 at Omarama. 185.1 km/h was achieved on a 500 km speed triangle in the 15m category.
20
August–October 2016
AIR NZ CROSS-COUNTRY AWARDS This is a decentralised competition aimed at encouraging cross country flying from club sites, particularly by pilots new to cross country flying. It is a distance event, extending over the season and is run in two divisions; one for flights originating in the North Island and one for flights originating in the South Island. OLC handicaps and scoring is used. Any NZ resident glider pilot with a GNZ QGP certificate may enter the contest provided that, on the first day of the contest, no more than 10 years have elapsed since their QGP was awarded and they have not flown a ratified (or subsequently ratified)
NATIONAL AWARDS Gold distance flight. North Island Division Jevon McSkimming Wellington South Island Division Ken Montgomery Nelson Lakes
ASW 20
1,209 pts
LS 4
1,614 pts
BUCKLAND SOARING AWARD This is awarded annually to the highest scoring New Zealand national in the New Zealand division of the Aerokurier Online Contest (OLC) for the previous season. OLC rules and handicaps are used. There are two divisions; one for soaring flights commencing in the North Island and the other for soaring flights commencing in the South Island. The winning pilots stand down for the following two seasons. South Island Division Max Stevens Canterbury Ventus 2C 3,523 pts North Island Division Tim Bromhead Piako DG 300 2,357 pts
Grae Harrison receives the Friendship Cup.
THE FRIENDSHIP CUP Grae Harrison Awarded for outstanding contribution to the gliding movement during the preceding year. Grae began gliding in 1975 at the early age of 16 and gliding has been a huge part of his life ever since. Over the years, it became increasingly evident that The Wellington Gliding Club’s tenure at Paraparaumu was looking very shaky because of high rent and more and more operational restrictions. There was endless talk around the bar about this but it took the entrepreneurial flair of Grae Harrison to finally do something about it. The necessary catalyst was the purchase by the South Wairarapa District Council of the land on which Gliding Wairarapa has operated for many years through the generosity of its owner. Here was a chance to establish a Soaring Centre, like Matamata and Omarama, if the idea could be sold to the Council and a long-term lease entered into. To cut a long story short, Grae was a key driver in achieving that goal, overcoming many unforeseen obstacles on the way. He became the first President of the Greytown Soaring Centre.
GNZ’S PREMIER AWARD
THE ANGUS ROSE BOWL – Martyn Cook
Presented to the NZGA by Bill Angus, one of the original pioneers in aviation in New Zealand, the Angus Rose Bowl is awarded in recognition of outstanding services to the sport of gliding in this country. Martyn Cook has been a recreational pilot and engineer for forty years; in hang-gliding, homebuilding, power aerobatics and gliding. Gliding is where he has really made his mark, contributing to the operation of his club as an instructor and tow pilot over many years and quietly achieving in many other ways. An “ideas man” and high achiever, Martyn has brought new approaches in areas as diverse as Gliding NZ’s administration of the engineer system; to the way in which cross country soaring is taught in his club and more recently in the innovative design of the new hangar at Papawai. Now, in the light of best-practice training methods, he is turning his attention to the fundamentals of our glider pilot training syllabus. His aim is to refine the present system to better support trainee pilots and new instructors. Recognition of his outstanding service to the sport of gliding seems long overdue.
SoaringNZ will profile Martyn in the next issue.
August–October 2016
21
Taupo YGNZ
MINI-CAMP BY HUGH DELAUTOUR
The four Fs: Flying, Fun, Food and Funding were all well and truly achieved. We even added another F – some lifetime Friendships were established.
T
he weather forecast was pretty horrible leading up to the camp but when the time came, it brightened up considerably, although the winter temperatures in Taupo were a bit of a challenge for some! All the participants – two each from Hawke’s Bay, Tauranga and Taupo – arrived on Friday afternoon and got to know each other better. There was some fun at the local AC Baths hot pools followed by dinner at the Gliding Club. One Hawkes Bay family had their own house in Taupo but their gliding daughter Alexandra still stayed at the Club accommodation, bunking in with Laura from Tauranga. Nolan’s parents, also from Tauranga, stayed on site as well and were a great help with supervision. Of the other participants, Josh from Hawkes Bay and Akira
22
August–October 2016
from Taupo shared a bunkroom, while Bradley stayed home and juggled his work schedule. Saturday dawned overcast but was on the improve so, after an official welcome and an ‘introduce yourself’ confidencebuilding exercise, we got underway with a site and safety briefing from CFI Bill Kendall. This was followed by a session on ridge soaring. By then, the cloud was lifting and the fresh southwesterly wind was blowing straight down the runway. Out came the gliders, to be rigged, readied and gridded before a delicious lunch of fresh sandwiches and freshly-baked bacon and egg pie, courtesy of our super-cook and camp mother, Kirstin. A little less ballast was needed in the front of each of our two-seat trainers – a K21 GTG and Twin Astir GME from Taupo and the Grob G103c GHB which was very kindly loaned to us for the weekend from Hawkes Bay and Waipukurau. GHB came with its friendly instructor Graham, who worked alongside our own team of Bill, Brett, Gordon and John. That afternoon provided great ridge soaring conditions on Mt. Tauhara and each of the participants flew two flights to put the morning’s briefings into practice. It was a weary but
...
the emphasis is on social and technical aspects of gliding, as well as providing the chance for more gliding experience
excited crew who turned up for the next great dinner from Kirstin’s Kitchen, before heading in to town to see some of the free exhibits and spectacular lighting displays which were part of the Taupo Winter Festival. Sunday’s weather wasn’t so kind to us with nasty squalls coming through most of the day. We all learned lots from Rob Lyon’s meteorology briefing in the morning, followed by a video presentation on Situational Awareness. After lunch we realised we wouldn’t get any flying that day but a bit of outside time was needed. This turned out to be a practical session on DI s which was taken by Gordon. It was then back inside for a bit more fun over the pool table and the card table, which somehow seemed to involve spoons (yes, spoons) flying in all directions! After surviving that, we went in to the Taupo Events Centre where the Gliding Club, as they do every year, had a PW5 set up at the Hobby Expo. Our students had a chance to have a wander around the Expo before closing time when we all helped de-rig the PW5 and put it in its trailer to return to the Club. We arrived back just in time for a great final dinner put on by CFI Bill and his partner Mary.
During dinner there was quite a bit of discussion about the next day, Monday, and when everyone would have to leave. The weather forecast was looking much better, so it was unanimously decided that we would stay on and make the most of our opportunity for another day’s gliding. That proved a great decision and everyone flew at least one more ridge flight in really good conditions, including Alexandra who got her wish of a solo flight in the “Expo” PW5 which had been rigged that morning. It was a very different crew who said goodbye on Monday afternoon from those who had said a nervous hello on Friday. There were hugs and handshakes, swapping of addresses and promises to keep in touch, and that, to me, was the most rewarding part of the whole weekend. I hope those promises will be kept – I’m sure they will – and likewise, we in Taupo will keep in touch and promise to be available again to host such a worthwhile and positive event.
August–October 2016
23
Solar Impulse 2 completes First Round-The-World
AND WRITES AVIATION H
On the 26th July, 17 months after Solar Impulse’s first departure in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi (UAE), Solar Impulse landed back at its original take-off point.
A
fter over 12 years of research and design, Swiss pioneers Dr. Bertrand Piccard (Initiator, Chairman and Pilot) and André Borschberg (Co-founder and CEO and Pilot) finished the first round-the-world solar flight, powered only by the sun with no fuel or polluting emissions. “Who could have once imagined that FAI World Records would be set by electric airplanes producing their own energy from the sun and flying around the Earth without fuel? This is the magic of aviation: to innovate, inspire, surprise, and push us always further for the benefit of humankind. May everyone now implement on the ground the same pioneering spirit of clean technologies for a better quality of life,” Dr. Bertrand Piccard stated. André Borschberg added: “It seems clear today that electrical propulsion has a great future in the aviation industry, simply
24
August–October 2016
e-World Solar Flight
ON HISTORY
Since the beginning of the adventure, FAI has received 19 world record claims from the Solar Impulse Team. The current records achieved and claims received by the Solar Impulse 2 Team are listed below: Group
Type of World Record
Performance
Date
Claimant
CS
Flight Around the World
TBA
2016-07-26
Solar Impulse Team
C-d VI
Speed over a recognised course
72.2 km/h
2016-07-13
André Borschberg
CS
Distance along Course, pre-declared waypoints
5,850 km
2016-06-23
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Altitude
8,535 m
2016-06-23
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Distance
5,739 km
2016-06-23
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Speed over a recognised course
80.6 km/h
2016-06-23
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Altitude
7,315 m
2016-05-13
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Distance
1,537.5 km
2016-05-13
Bertrand Piccard
C-d VI
Speed over a recognised course
84 km/h
2016-05-13
Bertrand Piccard
CS
Distance along a course, pre-declared waypoints
3,927 km
2016-04-24
Bertrand Piccard
CS
Absolute altitude
9,420 m
2016-04-24
Bertrand Piccard
CS
Gain of height
8,919 m
2016-04-24
Bertrand Piccard
CS
Straight distance, pre-declared waypoints
6,449.8 km
2015-07-03
André Borschberg
CS
Duration
117 h 52 min
2015-07-03
André Borschberg
CS
Free Distance along a course
7,039.9 km
2015-07-03
André Borschberg
CS
Straight distance, pre-declared waypoints
1,468 km
2015-03-10
Bertrand Piccard
Class C-d VI: Electric – powered Aeroplanes Class C-S: Solar-powered Aeroplanes
The Solar Impulse 2 Route:
thanks to its incredible energy efficiency. Setting firsts and breaking records of course help to demonstrate the potential of new technologies and solutions.” The circumnavigation took the team 17 months with landings in four continents, nine different countries and 16 legs, over 42,000 km and over 555 hours of flight. The longest leg, an 8,924 km flight from Nagoya in Japan to Hawaii, USA, lasted nearly 118 hours and saw Mr. Borschberg break the FAI World Record for longest (Duration) uninterrupted solo flight. During this fantastic adventure the Si2 Team touched down at historically significant destinations, such as Dayton, which is considered to be the birthplace of the legendary Wright Brothers. Additionally, the aircraft has been flown by both alternating pilots above iconic landmarks such as the Statute of Liberty on the way to New York and the Pyramids of Giza on the way to Cairo. Additionally, whilst being aboard, Piccard had live conversations with aviation entrepreneur Richard Branson and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as he was airborne over the Pacific Ocean on “Earth Day” (22 April 2016).
Flight
Route
Duration
Distance
Pilot
Leg 1
Abu Dhabi (UAE) to Muscat (OMA)
13 hours 01 min
772 km
André Borschberg
Leg 2
Muscat (OMA) to Ahmedabad (IND)
15 hours 20 min
1,593 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 3
Ahmedabad (IND) to Varanasi (IND)
13 hours 15 min
1,170 km
André Borschberg
Leg 4
Varanasi (IND) to Mandalay (MYA)
13 hours 29 min
1,536 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 5
Mandalay (MYA) to Chongqing (CHN) 20 hours 29 min
1,636 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 6
Chongqing (CHN) to Nanjing (CHN)
1,384 km
Bertrand Piccard
17 hours 22 min
Leg 7
Nanjing (CHN) to Nagoya (JPN)
44 hours 09 min
2,942 km
André Borschberg
Leg 8
Nagoya (JPN) to Hawaii (USA)
117 hours 52 min
8,924 km
André Borschberg
Leg 9
Hawaii (USA) to San Francisco (USA)
62 hours 29 min
4,086 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 10
San Francisco (USA) to Phoenix (USA)
15 hours 52 min
1,113 km
André Borschberg
Leg 11
Phoenix (USA) to Tulsa (USA)
18 hours 10 min
1,570 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 12
Tulsa (USA) to Dayton (USA)
16 hours 34 min
1,113 km
André Borschberg
Leg 13
Dayton (USA) to Lehigh Valley (USA)
16 hours 49 min
1,044 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 14
Lehigh Valley (USA) to New York (USA)
04 hours 41 min
265 km
André Borschberg
Leg 15
New York (USA) to Seville (ESP)
71 hours 23 min
6,765 km
Bertrand Piccard
Leg 16
Seville (ESP) to Cairo (EGY)
48 hours 50 min
3,745 km
André Borschberg
Leg 17
Cairo (EGY) to Abu Dhabi (UAE)
48 hours 37 min
2,597 km
Bertrand Piccard
August–October 2016
25
GNN, Taranaki’s Janus b, their new acquisition from the Tauranga club. Photo Tim Hardwick-Smith
26
August–October 2016
August–October August–October 2016
27
SUMMER FLYING in the French Alps BY WARREN DICKINSON
Convergence on the French/Italian border
For the past five to six years, during June and July, a number of Kiwi and UK pilots enjoy flying from Serres (pronounced as ‘Serr”) in the French Alps. Serres is Klaus Ohlmann’s lair, where all of the pilots are expert, the tow pilots are beautiful, the flying is above average and the SOP is common sense. Although pilot numbers have increased each year since 2010, we reckon it remains the best-kept secret in the French Alps – hence we limit the braggadocio. Dinner is usually at the old workshop, now restaurant, on the airfield and prepared by the lovely Lison. This year, young Nick Oakley joined the ‘olds’ for a few tips on what not to do when in Lithuania. I’ll let the pictures show the story.
Ecrin Massif & Glacier
28
August–October 2016
Parcour with glider
Band for Dinner on the airfield
Tow pilot Charlotte
Nick at chalet getting tips from Dane D and Tony Flewett
Serres Aerodrome August–October 2016
29
Flying in the
DRAKENSBURG of South Africa BY JOHN COUTTS
The southern edge of the Drakensberg with the relatively rare sight of a lenticular cloud. The City of Durban and the Indian ocean is just on glide on the far right of the picture.
John Coutts is a world class Kiwi pilot currently living in South Africa with his family. He still flies under the New Zealand flag at international competitions but he’s becoming part of the South African soaring scene. John tells us about the winter wave camp to the Drakensburg mountain range (part of the Great Escarpment), an environment quite different to NZ mountain flying.
W
hen one thinks of flying in South Africa, thoughts of dry open vastness, thermals off the clock and 1000 km flights probably come to mind. However, there is a range of mountains that almost covers the whole eastern flank of the country and enables reasonable ridge and wave flying. When you look at a map you will see that the mountains are in fact very high, many of them are almost of high as Mount Cook with the highest peak just under 11,500 feet. The
The Drakensburg laid out from 23,000 feet. Wind is from rear right at over 60 knots. Ground speed on this leg was more than 425 kph at times.
30
August–October 2016
All the white section is Lesotto.
This picture was from another day when the upper level wind was from the left (South West) and the warmer air was coming up the escarpment from the right. On this day the meeting was marked with clouds. When it is like this, it is possible to surf across the clouds, in what I like to call, a cross between wave lift and sea breeze convergence.
Typical flight on Drakensburg.
highest peaks which are actually in Lesotho (a small independent country that is completely within South Africa) and most of central south Africa have a minimum height of over 4,000 feet and the true reach of the mountains from valley to peak is approximately 6,000 feet. In the picture from Google Maps, all the white section is Lesotho. Every year in August the Magalies (Johannesburg) Gliding Club organises a camp for a week's flying in the “Berg”, as it is affectionately known. They operate from a privately owned airfield, ‘El Mirador’. Late winter gives the best opportunity of catching mountain waves which are not very common in our parts. The mountains face the north east, almost perfectly aligned to harness the August winter sun. Many parts of the mountains are very steep and have bare rock which warms nicely in the low sun angles at that time of year. I think the geometry also plays an important part in ensuring that, provided the sun is shining on the face, the anabatic flows are always stronger than any lee slope effects. Irrespective of the wind direction, the standard practice is to fly as if ridge soaring on the slope. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where such large distances can be flown in
this manner. It is possible to fly more than 150 km like this and if conditions are right, it is possible to fly that distance out and return without having to stop to climb. The trace shows a typical flight on the Drakensberg. On this day there was a proper south westerly of about 20 knots at the ridge crest. This lee wind was only present right at the top of the mountain and below this level, there was actually a very gentle north easterly breeze against the mountain. The countryside is very dry at this time of year with nearly all rain falling in the summer. It’s common to get numerous veld (pronounced feld) fires which are grass fires and although nearly always started by human influence, are a regular feature of the Savanna regions of Southern Africa and are beneficial to the vegetation. Before human settlement lightning would have set the fires off and they would have been able to run for literally thousands of square kilometres. The smoke from these fires gives a good indication of the lower anabatic winds where they meet the winds at altitude that are regularly over the back. Ridge soaring tight to the mountain in these conditions can be very turbulent and you need to stay much closer to the slopes than perhaps you would for a jaunt up the Ohaus. The key is to never really leave the slope, as it seems that if you get more than a few hundred metres away from the slope, the lee effect takes hold and you get drilled. You notice this if you perhaps try to take a shortcut and jump a small gap. A few areas are real sun traps and here you can score a nice strong thermal that will take you all the way into the wave. With modern instruments, it’s really interesting to watch your drift as you climb in the thermal. Once you start to notice the normal south westerly at altitude and in starts increasing rapidly, you know the inversion must be close and it is time to push forward into the wave.
August–October 2016
31
Low Level
INCIDENTS BY PHIL PLANE
Recently I had an incident where the tow plane lost power and waved me off at low level. I turned back and landed on the runway without further incident.
T
his all worked out well for a number of reasons. I am very current, doing a lot of take offs and landings as a full time instructor. I probably pull the low level launch failure on students three of four times a season, so I'm familiar with the options close to the airfield if the launch fails. The conditions were very calm, just a light breeze. The glider was a Duo Discus, which is very forgiving at low speed. All these things contributed to a good outcome. There are many accidents which happen when gliders are turning close to the ground. The two classics are the turn from base to finals, and the low level launch failure turn back to the airfield. In mountainous areas, thermalling close to terrain and turning close to the ridges are significant contributors to accident statistics. Given that we do the base to final turn most flights, why do pilots continue to make basic mistakes when in the sort of situation I found myself in?
VISUAL EFFECTS The effect of wind is very apparent at low level and this can lead to quite powerful visual illusions. (See the Human Factors article on page 34 for more on this.) When flying into wind at a constant airspeed the groundspeed is low and this can lead to lowering the nose. Downwind the groundspeed is high and this may result in the nose attitude being raised.
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When flying across the wind the effect of drift is most noticeable. A suitable reference point on track must be chosen. In order to track towards this reference point, the appropriate amount of drift must be offset and coordinated flight maintained. When turning from into wind to downwind an illusion of slipping into the turn will occur and likewise, when turning from downwind into the wind, an illusion of skidding out of the turn will occur. The strength of this illusion increases in proportion to the wind strength. Reference to the yaw string during low level flight is vital. When looking down the low wing while turning at high altitude the wing tip appears to travel backwards across the ground. At low altitude the wing tip appears to travel forward over the ground. The altitude where the wing tip appears to be stationary relative to the ground while turning is called the pivotal altitude. To find the pivotal altitude in feet, square the true airspeed and divide by 11.3. At 60 knots, pivotal altitude is 318 feet above ground level. At 50 knots, it is 221 feet. This may lead to a tendency to yaw the glider around the turn with the rudder when below the pivotal altitude to keep the wing tip moving backwards relative to the ground. At low altitude, as the glider descends, the horizon appears to rise. This may lead to a tendency to raise the nose. To reduce these undesirable tendencies, it is best to look over the nose, not down the wing. Looking over the nose you
can see the attitude of the glider, the angle of bank and the yaw string. The ground isn't going anywhere so it can be seen adequately with peripheral vision.
WIND SHEAR When the glider is descending into wind at low altitude, as is normally the case on finals before landing, there is likely to be less wind close to the ground. As the glider descends into the reducing headwind it loses energy. The sink rate increases and the airspeed decreases. Maintaining steady airspeed can only be achieved by lowering the nose and increasing the sink rate, and/or reducing the airbrakes. When the glider is ascending downwind the same loss of energy occurs. The worst case is doing a competition finish downwind, then turning into wind to land. Energy is lost in both directions. This is the opposite of dynamic soaring.
MITIGATION Always fly the glider within the limitations of the pilot, the glider and the conditions. If the pilot is inexperienced, not current, or just cautious, it is best not to perform turns at low level. Fly a conservative circuit that has the final turn completed above 3-400 feet. In the case of soaring close to terrain, if the pilot is not 100% confident that they have plenty of margin they should be cautious and back off, even if this means they don't get the climb they were after.
Some gliders have benign handling and are reluctant to stall/spin. If this is not the case it is best be more cautious. A smooth stable day with little wind is very different to an unstable windy day. What is acceptable on an easy day might be completely inappropriate on a less predictable day. To avoid getting caught by these low level gotchas, we must be aware of the potential problems and train to do the correct actions. Upper air demonstrations are not adequate as they do not show the visual illusions or the effect of wind shear. Every landing gives an opportunity to observe the illusions and experience the wind shear. If the pilot knows to look for the problems they are less likely to sneak up and catch the pilot by surprise. To avoid having problems while turning at low level it is important to fly accurately, maintaining the safe speed near the ground and keeping the glider coordinated, we were all taught at the start of our flying training. This is just basic airmanship. A good scan is important. The attitude, angle of bank, path of the glider, traffic, rate of climb/sink, airspeed, etc. must all be continuously monitored. Getting fixated on any one thing can lead to missing important changes in other areas. By maintaining airspeed and coordination, keeping the glider flying smoothly, we can safely handle the glider close to the ground.
NZ Agent: Roger Sparks 0274 956 560 r.sparks@xtra.co.nz
August–October 2016
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HUMAN FACTORS Chapter 4:
ORIENTATION AND DISORIENTATION BY JONATHON POTE
We continue our series of articles abbreviated from the Human Factors syllabus. The full document can be found on the GNZ website. We recommend that you read it as we are leaving out a lot of detail to allow us to keep the articles a manageable size. In this issue we start the chapter on Orientation and Disorientation with the sections on Vision and illusions. Next issue we will complete the chapter with the sections on balance and disorientation. VISION Glider pilots are fortunate in that the standard deemed necessary for them is less than that for a powered pilot and equates to that deemed safe for a car driver. You must be able to read a car number plate at twenty-five metres, but do not need to pass colour vision tests. Having good sight alone is not enough; one must know how to use it effectively, understand its limitations, understand the situations in which it may let you down (visual illusions) and be aware of those factors that also intrude, such as hats, sunglasses, canopy design and clarity.
The eye and sight: Vision is a very complex process that involves fine muscle movement, receptive cells, nerve impulses and the translation of those impulses into images in our consciousness. Please read the full document for an in depth look at the anatomy and physiology of the eye and sight. The take home message for glider pilots is that vision can be affected by age, illness and adequate oxygenation of the eye and brain, and thus vision is affected early on by hypoxia. Our physical receiving equipment – the rods and cones in the retina, the way they are arranged, the way the impulses leave the eye and other factors – are imperfect. The brain is used to correcting these defects so that we don’t notice gaps in the image. We have a significant blind spot where the fine branches of the optic nerve come together at a point on the retina. This area is a few millimetres across with no rods or cones present. We are normally unaware of this because with two eyes, the two blind spots fill in for each other. This becomes very dangerous when another glider is in the blind spot of one eye and hidden by a canopy arch from the other eye; you simply cannot see it. The brain also fills in the gaps with what has been seen in the past and what it expects to see now.
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Spot the glider
The visual process involving avoiding a mid-air collision: Rods and cones react differently to each other. Rods are linked in a way that allows them to detect movement, automatically causing us to turn towards a perceived threat in “the corner of our eye.” This places that image in the centre of our visual field where the most cones are situated. Cones need greater light density than rods but can detect objects in great detail.
The take home message for glider pilots is that vision can be affected by age, illness and adequate oxygenation of the eye and brain,
and thus vision is affected early on by hypoxia.
a combined closing speed of 120 knots will cover up to 500 metres in this time. If the other aircraft closing in with you is a jet, up to a mile will have been covered in these seven seconds.
Scanning – the twenty degree/two second rule: It is necessary to actively scan for other aircraft. The area of good visual acuity covers a mere 20 degree field. Thus to reliably scan an area, we have to divide it into 20 degree segments and look at each for two seconds for an image to actually form within our consciousness. As this would actually take several minutes, certain areas have to be selected. Ahead is obvious, but also look into turns before and whilst turning, look down during HASELL checks and so on. Practice effective scanning; when running the wing, check the circuit systematically from the downwind joining point to final approach before you signal ‘take up slack’. At other times, look for gliders in the air, practice searching the sky systematically to pick them up. If they are up there and you cannot see them, or if others seem able to find them more quickly, you need to practice more. Note how gliders seem to disappear and re-appear as they turn. It is just the same when you are flying, so a ‘clear scan’ of an area does not prove it is empty. Look again soon.
Empty field myopia: Somewhat surprisingly, at rest the eyes focus only a few metres away, not at infinity. This tends to occur when the visual field is uniform. Be aware of the problem and occasionally focus on a cloud, for example, during your scan. If nothing else is available, the wingtip is an option. After a look at the instruments, consciously refocus your eyes into the distance. Photo John McCaw
Constant angle, constant danger:
If positive identification is not possible, the brain does its best from the available information and past experience. Often this ‘guess’ is good, but sometimes dangerously wrong. This input is now evaluated and a response can be made. Then the glider itself takes more time to respond (see chart on page 37). From the time you first notice another glider, it can be over seven seconds before you are taking effective action i.e. you manoeuvre your glider to avoid collision. Two gliders with
We noted above that the rods are good at detecting relative movement and the eyes then look that way for better information. If two aircraft, each flying straight, are on a collision course there is no relative movement. Even the apparent size of the image hardly increases until very close to impact. To avoid this danger, bank and turn a little, frequently. This makes you more visible to the other pilot and his aircraft will move in your visual field; collision is far less likely. Weave a little as you approach a thermal entry point as other gilders may also be approaching the thermal from the opposite direction.
Hypoxia: The visual system is very sensitive to even mild hypoxia, colour vision reducing at around 6000 feet. Bear this in mind when you fly high. August–October 2016
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HUMAN FACTORS
Luminance:
Depth perception illusions:
Remember that at the end of the day, if landing towards the west, the sun in New Zealand can be very blinding – and may only appear below cloud as you get low. Your eyes become fatigued just like any other part of your body. Using sunglasses helps reduce this fatigue.
Surprisingly, we have binocular vision only to a distance of about four metres. Beyond that, we estimate distance largely by comparison with familiar objects such as another aircraft, farm animals and so on. You can become conditioned to the look of your home airfield. Being familiar with large trees on final can fool you if your land out strip has short ones in a similar place. Farm buildings can be treacherous – is that a big barn or a small shed? Livestock are friendlier; as you learn to glide, look at the cows and sheep below you as you start your downwind leg. Note at what height you can see their legs clearly; you can trust your altimeter at your home strip as you set it recently for this very strip (remember that it is still altitude indicated, not height). Tractors and cars are helpful standard sizes too. At all stages in the circuit, you should be relying on angles rather than constantly re-assessing heights.
Contrast: Gliders are generally white (for good reasons) but this makes them more difficult to see in the air. Cloud shadows can reduce contrast considerably on the ground. As you fly along a ridge, if a spur ahead is in cloud shadow you may not see it until too late as there is little contrast to help you.
Colour vision: If you are affected by colour vision defects, be aware that maps and instruments may be harder for you to read. This may influence the model of GPS or other aids you use; go for the brightest screen, add a sun visor and possibly use a black and white screen model for the glide computer etc.
Rain on the canopy: Flying in rain has its own aerodynamic problems but also causes a visual problem. The rain drops stream backwards across the canopy, rising towards the rear in concert with the airflow and partly obscuring the view. The eyes tend to focus on the rain drops on the canopy and not the landing area beyond. Only when below the normal round out height may you notice how low you are, resulting in a rapid raising of the nose, perhaps too late to prevent a heavy landing. Thus a landing with raindrops on the canopy is at increased risk and great care must be taken.
Visual Environment: Having considered all these details, let us come back to the obvious (although frequently ignored) basics. You will see better through a clean canopy, so carefully cleaning that should routinely accompany the DI. Sunglasses should be pristine (plus of wrap-around shape), and hats must have a brim that does not intrude into your field of vision.
ILLUSIONS Visual or optical illusions are intriguing. It is well worth looking up ‘Optical Illusions’ in Wikipedia. Whilst in most cases they are not relevant to gliding, you will see how easily our brains are misled by visual input. The Ponzo illusion however is VERY important in gliding. Look at it and learn the lesson well.
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Approach illusions: Gliding clubs operate from fairly level strips about fifty metres wide and eight-hundred metres long. To help you appreciate the illusions to be described, find a convenient object with about an aspect ratio (1:16) – a narrow 30 cm ruler should do nicely. Effect of up and down slope: Hold the ruler level about 30 centimetres away and slightly below your line of sight so that it looks like a runway as you are on short finals. Without raising or lowering the near end of the ruler, rotate the ruler thirty degrees up at the far end. If you have done enough gliding to get a feel for the visual aspect when on approach, you should ‘feel high on approach’. Now rotate the ruler thirty degrees down; you should feel ‘low on approach’. And yet the threshold (near end of the ruler) is at a constant point below your line of vision. This effect reads over to gliding; on a runway sloping downwards into the distance, the tendency is to approach too high (you feel low, so raise your flight path). On up-sloping runways, the tendency is to be too low. These effects are exactly what you do not want: a late correction landing on a down-slope gives you extra speed whilst the landing run is going to be prolonged anyway whilst on an up-slope a late realisation that you are too low means less energy for the increased round-out angle necessary to hold off on the up-slope. By approaching at a pre-determined and accurately flown airspeed, using partial airbrake, a glider is within the bracket to be landed on an up-slope as well as a (very slight) down-slope. If the down-slope is significant, this must be appreciated during field selection and either a different paddock selected or (if unavoidable) an up-slope, downwind landing made. Effect of Runway length and width: As mentioned, runways for gliders and light aircraft tend to have an aspect ratio around 1:16 and as we learn to glide, these proportions become the expected norm. On very wide or very long strips, there is a tendency to get approach angles and thus heights wrong. When approaching very wide strips, the landing run available seems less than it actually is. However, if the strip is very thin, it may seem longer that it really is until the far end hedge approaches at an alarming speed and a ground loop may be your only option. Again, if interested, find yourself an appropriate set of ‘runways’ to hold in your hand and explore the effects of differing relative lengths and widths.
HUMAN FACTORS
Farm buildings can be treacherous
Photo John McCaw
– is that a big barn or a small shed? Livestock are friendlier; as you learn to glide, look at the cows and sheep below you as you start your downwind leg.
Effect of transverse slope: If a field slopes gently across the intended landing run (not ideal, but acceptable if there is no better alternative) then on the downwind leg with the paddock sloping downwards towards you, you may feel high as the angle of the ground to your position has been increased by the angle of the slope. If unaware of this effect, you may end up too low as you turn onto base leg. False horizons in the mountains: Gliding training carried out in flattish surroundings will normally enjoy a good horizon for reference purposes. However, in mountainous areas the lack of a clearly defined horizon creates visual illusions that may tempt the pilot to raise the nose or to bank inappropriately. These tendencies must be eliminated early during training for safe ridge and mountain soaring. Stall/Spin during the final turn: Last in this section, but very definitely not the least, is another recurrent killer, stall/ spin at low level. When ascending in a thermal, it is easy to overlook the fact that we are in a descending turn within our micro-air mass. Virtually every turn in a glider, several hundred per flying hour, is in descent. Why, then, are the last two descending turns (at the start of base leg and even more so the final turn) so lethal? Sergio Colacevich (SoaringNZ #37, May – July 2014) gives a detailed theory, which is well worth a read, but even he cannot satisfactorily explain the fact that a 2001 Air Safety Foundation report found that, of nearly five hundred fatal stall/spins, over 80% and possibly 90% occurred below 1000 feet and thus by implication after turning onto base leg. Human factors are at play. It takes a conscious effort, especially for the low-hour pilot, to put (and keep) the nose down when close to the ground. Most formative neural pathways try to prevent the body approaching the ground at speed; repeated training can overcome this aversion but it never really goes away. When you're tired, dehydrated or overloaded, it takes even
more conscious effort to conquer and this can sometimes prove too much. Watch your speed and the yaw string; do not just give lip service to that mantra. Finally, remember that a turn when ridge soaring has much in common with a finals turn in respect of distance to terrain and relative movement. That is also a moment of danger to respect. 90% of dangerous stall/spin events occur in perhaps 0.25% of descending turns – the ‘finals’ turn. In our next issue we conclude this chapter on Orientation and Disorientation.
Time Lapse Between Looking & Responding PROCESS
Time for each phase
Total time lapse
Looking
Is there something out there?
0.2 sec
0.2 sec
Seeing
Yes, there is definitely something out there!
0.3 sec
0.5 sec
Recognising
It is another glider … a Twin Astir!
1 sec
1.5 sec
Evaluating
It is coming this way … I need to turn – and now!
3 sec
4.5 sec
Responding
Manoeuvring to avoid collision
3 sec
7.5 sec
... of nearly five hundred fatal stall/spins, over 80% and possibly 90% occurred below 1000 feet and thus by implication after turning onto base leg.
Human factors are at play. August–October 2016
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a question of safety about getting instructors up to speed, but also the valuable networking that goes on at these events. A Northern Region Instructors Course is being planned for October, with Central and Southern possibilities for autumn.
STEVEN CARE National Operationals Officer
Start of Season Briefings There are several clubs in the Northern Region now doing these, usually in September: Piako, Auckland, Aviation Sports and Tauranga. Julian Mason and Bob Gray started these at Piako about seven years ago and they are a great tool for getting pilots to think about safety early in the season, when everyone is least current and most ambitious. Piako gets about a 95% membership turnout and it has been 100%.
Greytown Operation I attended the first few days that the Wellington club had their new winch at Greytown. Simon Adlard, a senior UK instructor trainer, did a great job of introducing winch launching to aero-tow only rated instructors and demonstrating the good routine for getting the task done. Thank to Brian and the team for making me feel so welcome.
Standard Operating Procedures
Aerobatics I am sure everyone is aware we have had some pretty serious restrictions in our ability to fly and train in the area of aerobatics for many years. The matter had been discussed with CAA but Graham Erikson and Max Stevens took up the mantra and capably managed to get an exemption to allow us to more easily teach and rate qualified pilots. Doug Hamilton, who is now working in CAA, also did a lot of work getting a system in place. It has only been very recent, so please keep an eye on the GNZ web site for more information and hopefully a full article in the next issue.
Syllabus At the recent AGM we had a good presentation from Martyn Cook on possible future development for the current training syllabus. There are many who have openly voiced opinion on how we train our students and it is important to remember that the goal is
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to provide a good amount of practical and theoretical knowledge to be able to fly as safely as possible. The Operations team is very much in favour of making sure that short cuts are not taken, but all are aware that substantial improvement to delivery is needed. It is a task that although significant, should not be seen as unsurmountable and needs to move with and incorporate technology that is now available. There is more to come on this.
Operations Team We currently have a full team of Operations personnel, which is something we have not had for several years. Graham, Mike, Peter and I are having monthly Skype meetings and although there are a few technology bugs, it seems to be a good system for passing around information and best practices.
Instructor Courses We are keen to see these courses not just in the Northern region but also in the other two regions. It is not just
I have mentioned SOPs in previous articles but there remains a lack of understanding by some quite senior pilots about the importance of them or what should be in them. The SOPs should have procedures that are of importance at your site and to the make-up of your club. Each club is different. You may have tricky conditions when the wind is in a particular direction, have a ridge that is close or some distance away, you fly a glider with some idiosyncrasies, have insurance issues, have launch or landings procedures to make things safer or your pilots don’t or do regularly fly cross country. For that reason, you cannot take the SOP from another club and copy it. The make-up of both the site and the club will be different. Someone else’s SOPs can be the basis for yours but during audits I always look for things that are possible risks and see if they are mitigated in the SOPs. OPs 10 incident reports should be used to review your procedures and make changes where appropriate to try to prevent these incidents from recurring. There is a very well written AC 1-02 which provides a good guide.
airworthiness so heavily that the wings broke off at the roots! Richard's lower back suffered a similar crushing fate and the injury affected him for the rest of his life.
MARTYN COOK National Airworthiness Officer
But the story doesn't end there. There's a recurring AD on the Nimbus glider (DCA/SH/15) which perhaps was a result of Richard's crash. This AD requires an annual check of the spring-loading flap setting system. The AD was not extended to the Janus model for some reason. The sliding leaf spring is not such a good engineering solution, as I found when I owned a Nimbus 2 – it snags and scrapes and needs to be kept well-greased. In the Nimbus model the spring is visible on the inside of the cockpit wall, but in the Janus it is concealed and a cut-out needs to be made to gain access.
Photos Mike Strathern
"Don't Get in a Flap" You are a Class 1 Glider Engineer as soon as you have "Daily Inspection" signed off in your training programme. This means you are expected to find defects or faults which are serious enough to make the glider no longer airworthy. If you feel a bit rusty, I suggest a review of GNZ AC 3-01 Glider Daily Inspection. One of the DI checks is to make sure the controls work correctly – full and free movement and in the correct sense. The aileron, elevator and rudder controls all float freely. The airbrakes lock at one end of their travel. The flaps – if fitted – can be locked in a number of different positions. So there are slightly different things to look for on different controls. Although not mentioned specifically in AC 3-01, a person conducting a DI should be able to detect when a flap lever doesn't snap cleanly into the locking detent for example, which could indicate a
gummed up linkage, lack of lubrication or a weakened or broken spring. Recently a Defect Report came across my desk which described a very weak flap spring on a 2-seat Janus glider. The fault was found during an annual inspection, but it is almost certain that it had passed a number of DI's with the gradually weakening spring. This spring has 3 leaves: two were found broken and the third one cracked about 2/3 through (see photo). Such failures are the result of gradual deterioration and can be difficult to detect. A weak flap-locking spring has caused serious accidents in the past. One of my instructors in the 1980s, the colourful Richard Halstead, was making an out landing in his Nimbus-2 and while closing airbrake on short final, the flap lever moved out of its landing flap detent and jumped forward into a negative flap position. With the sudden loss of wing lift the glider flopped onto the ground
A further complication is that the Schempp-Hirth web site was searched by glider model and serial number, but no documents pertaining to the flap spring weakness were found, despite being virtually identical to the Nimbus 2. Another diligent glider engineer, after reading the Defect Report (which had been circulated to all NZ glider engineers) produced a link to a SH document, giving general advice on flap spring maintenance, which has proved very useful. This document wasn't able to be located with a search engine – on the manufacturer's site nor a more general Google search. I understand that a manufacturer might be embarrassed to issue advice about checking for worn, defective or deteriorating mechanicals, but the risk to operators is considerable if the documents can't be readily found. Later model gliders are not immune! Schempp-Hirth Ventus models use a torsion spring on the flap drive rod, but this is tricky to adjust and has been known to slip out of adjustment, so that the locating key doesn't drive all the way home into the slot. The flap detents also wear. So please, take your time and pay attention on that Daily Inspection!
August–October 2016
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gliding new zealand news KAREN MORGAN GNZ President
Flying matters. Firstly, congratulations to Terry Delore whose newest world record has just been confirmed. This is for a 15 metre glider over a 500 kilometre triangle, at 185.10 km/hr. That’s fast flying! New Zealand was represented at the World Club Class Champs in Lithuania by Nicholas Oakley and Alex McCaw. The weather sounds to have been untypical and Alex in particular had lots of local experience in the Lithuanian paddocks. We are pleased that they came through incident free, especially after two other pilots landed more awkwardly, one in a lake and the other on the roof of a house. Well done to both of the team and all of their helpers for being good representatives. The team for Benalla in January 2017 is looking pretty organised now, and team leader Julian Elder has matters under control. The full team is Brett Hunter, Mark Tingey, John Coutts, Tim Bromhead, Alan Belworthy and Steve Wallace, covering Open, 18m and 15m classes. You will be able to follow progress on GNZ’s Facebook site easily, and the daily results will be on the international website ‘Soaring Spot’. You can expect some good video coverage too. Many of the team are competing in Queensland this spring, where they can also support Steve Foreman who is representing us in the Tasman Trophy. AGM events. The AGM was pretty amazing this year. We wanted more than ‘same old’, so jiggled things around and the tone was pretty positive, with some amazing presentations. If you weren’t there, please consider coming next year. This is not just where dry decisions are made and jobs are handed out – this is also about the future of YOUR sport. Also, there is some great socialising! Speaking of decisions, two were of note. The funding change of introducing a glider fee passed quite overwhelmingly after a long discussion. One consequence has been greater analysis of the CAA database, and we have found that nearly 10% of gliders are owned by people who are no longer members of a GNZ club – and who
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therefore are not reading this article. We are keen to get these gliders flying again, either with their current owners or passed onto other members. Some ‘retired’ owners have taken the challenge and sold their gliders at a good price to juniors, which is good for the juniors, the gliders and the sport. The YouthGlide people also restructured their funding to support all Juniors under 26, not just those under 19, and this has freed the rules on clubs so that you can support the Juniors in your own way without restrictions from us. For me, this is the year of the Juniors so please get behind them in your clubs. The premier awards given at the AGM are the Friendship Cup, and the Angus Rose Bowl. This year the Friendship Cup was awarded to Grae Harrison for his significant efforts towards the formation of the Greytown Soaring Centre and the Wellington Gliding Club’s move to Greytown. The Angus Rose Bowl was awarded to Martyn Cook for outstanding effort over many years in areas as diverse as the GNZ engineer system, teaching cross country soaring, the training syllabus and the innovative design of the new hangar at Greytown. Congratulations to you both. Coaching is here. The latest updates to the Manual of Approved Procedures (MOAP, see the GNZ website) include the introduction of the coaching programme. This is part of the Executive’s goal to encourage cross-country flying to further the aim of retaining members in this sport for longer. We are pleased to advise that G Dale is the new national coach for New Zealand, and he will be putting together the coaching manual this spring. The next step is the training of coaches and the appointment of Regional Head Coaches this summer. There will be coaching courses held at Matamata, Greytown and Springfield in November, December and March respectively, where the concept will be more clearly explained and training on how to coach will be given. If you are interested or want to find out more, please contact Steve Wallace or G Dale (contacts on the GNZ website).
‘Voice of the Participant’ survey. Another step towards improving the marketing of gliding to prospective members will occur in March 2017. We are joining with Sport NZ on a professional survey of all our current members. We don’t know what it is that we don’t know, so this is a chance to find out what’s really happening at club levels. Brian Sharpe, our voluntary publicity person, is leading this exercise and we understand that the survey will be in the form of an email with a link. It would help if all members ensured that their email addresses were correct in the GNZ database, so please, could club officials updating the database in the next couple of months check this detail too. Jobs. We are still looking for one or two people to take charge of the content of the webpage and Facebook page. Our webmaster Tim Bromhead is looking after the IT side of things and has some great innovations underway, but he can’t do that and find the content as well. If you are tech savvy or get out gliding a lot, please contact Tim at info@gliding.co.nz to find out about the jobs. Next, three changes have come from our mates at CAA. Weak-links for aero tow ropes have been sorted out. In July, CAA granted an exemption to Part 91 that has the practical effect of allowing a 300 kg weak-link. This is important for microlight tugs, where their low mass puts them at risk when using the traditionally much stronger weak-links. A 300 kg weak-link is commonly used in Europe. We are leading the world in getting this issue sorted out, but we rely on the clubs to put this correctly into effect. Check out GNZ AC 3-02 Aero Tow Ropes for full details – this is a chance to check that your tow ropes conform. It is not OK to have a rope without a weak link. Ageing tow pilots can now carry on towing with a Recreational Pilots Licence (RPL). A change to CAR Part 61 in April means that our older tow pilots, who in many cases have given years of service to their clubs but are finding it too
This column is intended to give readers an ongoing insight into the activities of the GNZ Executive and its Committees. Rather than a detailed report on matters currently under consideration, here are some recent items of significance.
expensive or difficult to maintain their Class 2 medicals, can now drop to an RPL and still tow gliders. Again this is something that we have worked on for a long time, so it’s more good news.
Emergency plans. Has your club got one, and is it up to date? Take a look at GNZ AC 1-05. The search & rescue bits have recently been updated in the light of last summer’s experience.
New rules for glider aerobatics. For the past 20 years the CAA’s one-sizefits-all rules for aerobatics have not been practical for gliders. GNZ has been trying for years to get this fixed – and we’ve finally succeeded just last month, with CAA granting exemptions to Parts 61 and 91 that allow reduced height limits for aerobatics in gliders. There are of course strings attached! Existing holders of aerobatic ratings and also aerobatic instructors must get their ratings converted to the new system before they can enjoy the new privileges – you have until 30 June 2018 to do this. Full details are contained in GNZ AC 2-06 Aerobatic Flight in Gliders dated July 2016, so have a look on our website and get your ratings in place. The new lower height limits will avoid the need for those expensive high tows, so training and currency should be facilitated. Thanks to Southern ROO Graham Erikson for pushing this, and all his hard work helping to make it happen. Graham and Arthur Gatland have collaborated in combining and updating their respective aerobatic course notes, and Graham has already run an instructors’ ground course at Canterbury. Hopefully, we should see a revival of interest in glider aerobatics.
Currency – take a check flight if you have hibernated this winter, and don’t fly cross-country until you are sure that your glider/trailer/parachute/mental preparedness for anything are OK. Be careful.
Now, some thoughts on safety. With the new season upon us, now is the time to reflect on your personal arrangements for flight following. Carrying a SPOT tracker or similar linked to tracking.gliding.co.nz is highly recommended, wherever you fly, but especially if you regularly fly in remote areas or mountainous terrain. Please make sure that your tracking subscription is up to date and your tracker actually works on the tracking site! Don’t risk other people’s lives to find you.
We are working on the impact that the new Health and Safety legislation may have on our sport and how you operate at your club, and we will release some supportive resources to you as soon as they are ready. Finally, is your club ready to receive visitors, including prospective members? Are you going to offer the sort of experience that makes any stranger coming to your site want to join you? Have you got helpful signs to tell them where to drive/park/walk? Are you (all) friendly? Have you got adequate facilities? Have your parachutes been repacked this winter? Do you have safe gliding equipment suitable for all sizes of visitors? Recently I have been to some clubs here and in a couple of other countries, and no club is perfect all of the time. My personal difficulty is finding sufficient ballast and safe cushioning to make it possible for smaller/younger people to fly safely in club gliders. If your club is one where members hunt around the caravan or hangar and find some lovely soft cushions, please chuck all of these out this spring and invest in a good range of high density foam pads. The risks to smaller pilots of soft cushioning was well known twenty years ago (cushions squash back and leave pilots unable to release or control the aircraft, and they increase the chance of injuries in a heavy landing). If you don’t have ballast weights for your training aircraft, see your engineers.
TAKING OFF The towplane’s rolling slowly into place and heat haze ripples through the runway’s end as I watch how the rope uncoils itself across the waiting surface, stretches tight and starts to pull my sailplane into life. But it’s as clumsy as a seal on sand until the airflow’s fast enough to grant authority in yaw and pitch and roll then flying speed. Now – though the tug is still committed to the blurred and rushing ground – the long-winged sailplane’s quivering to leave and with one small shrug like a breath released we lift from two dimensions into three
Have a great time gliding this season! THIS IS FROM “ONLY BY FLYING” A COLLECTION OF POEMS BY HELEN EVANS
August–October 2016
41
Getting to know
Photo John McCaw
GRAE
Grae Harrison was the very worthy recipient of the Friendship Cup, presented for outstanding contribution to our sport in the preceding year. Jill McCaw realised that in spite of years of acquaintanceship with Grae she knew very little about him. She set out to ask some questions and share what she learnt with the rest of NZ glider pilots. You were 16 when you started gliding. What sparked your interest? I was always interested in flying from a young age. I used to clean and refuel aircraft at Wellington Aero Club as a kid in return for flying. I attended Rongotai College which was right next door to the Aero Club and in my teenage years, on my way to school I used to use a small forklift to load colour TVs into Cessna 402s. They would be flown over to Blenheim and Nelson customers. This was the early ‘70s when 26 inch colour TVs were all the rage. On some Saturday mornings when I wasn’t either playing soccer or rugby I’d load the 402 with the Dominion Newspaper to take to Christchurch and the West Coast at 5 am. Depending on the aircraft weight the pilot would allow me to sit in the right hand seat. A Victa Airtourer was $14 an hour dual then and I couldn’t afford power lessons. What club did you learn to fly at? I joined Wellington Gliding Club in 1975 and have been a member for 40 years now. I did have a couple of years as a member of Gliding Manawatu in 1979/80 when I was posted to Palmerston North. At Wellington club, there were quite a few of us 16 year olds that all joined at the same time. There was quite a bit of competition between us after we went solo. Being first at the airport meant first on the flying list for the K6E or Libelle. When I got my driver’s licence and the use of a car, there were several times I would come across members on the Wellington urban motorway. This ended in a high speed drive to the gliding club gate. Who dares wins as they say.
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When did you first solo? The late Richard Halstead sent me solo in a Blanik when I was 16. I can still remember that day. I don’t think any pilot forgets their first solo. I got my driver’s licence the following year but had plenty of practice for my driving test driving the buggy around the airfield retrieving gliders. Two weeks after getting my driver’s licence I was asked to tow a K6E and trailer to Waipukurau for a competition with said members’ 1965 V8 Ford Fairlane. It was affectionately known as the Yank Tank. How did you fund your glider training? Mum and Dad didn’t have spare cash to fund my training. In fact, they weren’t keen on me joining the club, saying that I couldn’t afford it and gliding was too dangerous. Being under 18, I needed their signature to join the Club and had to become quite creative to acquire that. Part time jobs after school on Friday and Saturday nights and school holidays got me through, but I ran a tight budget and only flew when I could afford it. Blaniks were 5 cents a minute and there was a huge outcry in the club when tows went up to 27 cents a minute. Have you stayed in gliding or had a break for family/business reasons at any stage? I’ve been gliding every year for the past 40 years. There was a period of 10 years when Dellys and I were building up a business where I didn’t fly much of the soaring season but I always flew competitions. When we sold that business I had a couple of years off and flew a few competitions in Australia along with pre-Worlds and World Champs in Bayreuth, Germany. They
Photo John McCaw
Photo John McCaw
were great times. In Queensland I flew with Mike and Kate Oakley, the Speights and the Finlaysons for six weeks along with John Coutts and Ben Flewett in Germany. We unpacked the glider container at Kingaroy (no trailers of course), then launched to fly to Chinchilla about 120 kilometres away. Unfortunately, we got shot down by high cloud about halfway. I was the lowest and ended up landing in a cricket ground in the middle of a small town called Jandowae and managed to convince the others that this was the place to be, with pubs on three sides. We all ended up on the cricket pitch. The retrieve the next day is another story. Celine was born during the time of the Omarama Nationals in 1997 but Dellys still allowed me a couple of days off whilst my mother in law was still lurking. I flew down to Omarama for two days flying before going back home again. How many hours do you have? Over 5,500 hours in gliders and around 300 helicopter hours. I went for a helicopter lesson at Queens Wharf and got hooked and eventually went through to obtain a PPL-H. Sometimes I’d take a machine to Paraparaumu with a mate, land, then take them gliding. On one memorable dual cross country flight with my instructor in an R22 we flew to Nelson, Rainbow Ski Field, then Blenheim to refuel and back to Queens Wharf. Approaching Rainbow Skifield there was good cumulus around 9,000 feet right over the ski field. I said to my instructor that we’ll climb up under that thermal and head downhill to Blenheim. He said there was no way we could get up to cloud base in a Robbie. But we did, with almost no collective, as we had very little power above about 5,000 feet. When we left the thermal it was a steady 1000 fpm descent to around 5,000 feet where we could maintain level flight. My instructor was pretty impressed that you could thermal a helicopter.
You’re a well-known competition pilot. What do you like about competition flying? I’ve always been competitive with most things, whether its tiddly winks, bike riding or gliding. There are days we fly in competitions that you wouldn’t ordinarily get the glider out of the hangar. Those are the days you learn the most about the atmosphere and how far you can push. The après part of gliding is also important to me and there is nothing better than sharing the day with friends around a BBQ or cold craft beer. What I least like about competitions is the hanging around on days which are not taskable waiting for a ‘window of opportunity’. I think Contest Directors need to make positive decisions on these weather related kind of days and not be influenced by the few pilots who will always say, “We are here to fly.” It is a waste of everybody’s day when we could be doing something more productive with friends and family. How much flying do you do outside of contests? If the forecast is good for flying, I’ll be out as much as possible. Thermal days are preferred as I’ve spent 40 years on ridges and wave. Our new Greytown site requires exploring and this has given me renewed enthusiasm. I spend on average 40 days a season at Omarama and average 110 hours a year. Competition hours rack up quite quickly. What is the highlight of your gliding career? There are many highlights in gliding. No one day is the same but undoubtedly helping to set up the Greytown Soaring Centre and the club’s shift to Papawai was a highlight. I wasn’t expecting to receive the Friendship Cup at the AGM last June which was in recognition of the contribution that myself and others put towards the Greytown Soaring Centre. I was delighted that Martyn Cook received the Angus Rose Bowl for his contribution, which is immense.
August–October 2016
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GETTING TO KNOW GRAE
GNZ awards & certificates
Who are your role models in gliding/in life? I’ve had some excellent mentors in my business life. Bernie Knowles, CEO of the NZ Dairy Board in the ‘80s and early ‘90s was one who gave me immense opportunity, along with Ollie Newbegin in the travel business and property. I still keep in touch with him today. I’ve always been inspired by men such as Ian Pryde and what he did for the Auckland Gliding Club, purchasing a farm and setting up the Club for decades to come. We will never forget Bill Walker for putting Omarama on the gliding map and everything he did to help others and his neverending enthusiasm. Jerry O’Neill has been of immense support to me, particularly with moving to our new site. Martyn Cook is one of my closest friends and his work ethic and enthusiasm have to be admired. Greytown would have been a step too far if Martyn wasn’t on board. Does being a travel agent let you go to some exotic soaring locations? I’m always checking the sky when I’m travelling but we all do that of course. I was in Moscow last year and the thermals over Red Square were incredible. When flying between the West and East Coast, or vice versa, in the US I always prefer a window seat to check conditions. One time I was having a skype chat with Wendy Delore, who was in Ely with Terry, checking for thunderstorm activity around Nevada when on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. I enjoy flying in Australia but my favourite place in the USA is Parawon, Utah. I have flown before at Ely but Minden is easier to get to and preferred by families. Both Dellys and Celine love Minden as there is plenty to do, like shopping. They bought another suitcase on our last trip in July to bring everything back. A few of us are planning a soaring safari next year in Utah and Nevada. I hope we can pull it all together. I don’t know quite what I want to ask, but I’d like a little background into your involvement with the Greytown Soaring Centre if you would. You ran an article last issue about how the Wellington Club came to leave Paraparaumu. Fortunately most of the club knew that we needed to find a new home. I took it upon myself to find a permanent and acceptable solution and began discussions with the local Gliding Wairarapa people at Greytown. It took me two weeks to convince Martyn Cook to get behind the idea of moving to Greytown. Martyn initially thought we were crazy and that we should just relocate to Masterton’s Hood Airfield as it was easier. Martyn and I had discussed, back in 2012, about how reliable and safe winch launching was the future for gliding and we could only achieve this at Papawai with its long 2.5 km North/South grass runway and handy ridge right next to the strip. Four years of planning, meetings, setbacks, hurdles and high fives and we finally made it. But not without the help of a very talented Greytown Soaring Centre executive, all of whom are either professional, commercial or farmers. It’s fantastic to work with a talented bunch of guys who got on with the job and
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MAY 2016 – AUGUST 2016
EDOUARD DEVENOGES GNZ Awards Officer
gnzawards@xtra.co.nz 40 Eversham Road, Mt Maunganui 3116.
QGP No 3333 3334 3335 3336
Pilot’s Name Simon Adlard Richard R. Black Mark Wilson Rudolf Struyck
Club Wellington GC Taupo GC Wellington GC Auckland ASC
Date 12 5 2016 24 5 2016 7 7 2016 26 7 2016
Photo John McCaw
What else do you wish to achieve in gliding? I would like to knock off a 1250 km flight from Greytown which, on a reasonable wave day, is quite achievable. Just mucking in and helping out around the paddock and working with Juniors is what I’m enjoying the most at present to help get the club underway.
it is a credit to all the club members that rallied to the cause once the decision was made to shift four years ahead of the lease expiry. Now we have completed Stage 1 with the hangar and access. Next is the new SW runway vector which will provide 1.5 km of into wind launches. Resource Consent has been approved for an October 2016 start on the SW vector. What’s next? Stage 3 – fundraising for our new Training Academy Building. This new 150 sqm building will have showers and toilets at one end for those camping in tents and caravans, a kitchen in the middle and a 90m2 training academy for lectures and socialising, complete with office and committee room. The building cost is $200,000 and I’m hoping we can get 200 people to invest $1,000 each towards the future of gliding as we head towards what will be our Gliding Training, Centre of Excellence in the lower North Island. So far 35 glider pilots have deposited or pledged $1,000 which is a fantastic start. If you are able to help us achieve our goals I would love to hear from you (0274 429 337). I realise that some of you will say that this is of no benefit to yourself personally but, if after reading this you feel inspired, leaving a $1000 donation for the future of gliding in New Zealand, whether it be your own club or another Training Centre such as ours, would really be appreciated. You are certainly a busy man. So if you’re not working, volunteering or soaring, what else do you do for fun? Biking and the Hurricanes are our other interests and of course travelling. We live over a wharf in the Wellington CBD and like trying out the great selection of restaurants we have here with both gliding and non-gliding friends.
GLIDING NEW ZEALAND CLUB NEWS
CLUB DIRECTORY
Link for club info www.gliding.co.nz/Clubs/Clubs.htm Auckland Aviation Sports Club Club Website www.ascgliding.org Club Contact Peter Thorpe pbthorpe@xtra.co.nz Ph 09 413 8384 Base RNZAF Base Auckland (Whenuapai) 021 146 4288 Flying Weekends, Public Holidays
Norfolk Aviation Sports Club Club Website http://www.geocities.com/norfolkgliding/ Club Contact Kevin Wisnewski wizzbang@xtra.co.nz Ph (06) 756 8289 Base Norfolk Rd Flying Weekends and by appointment
Auckland Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingauckland.co.nz Club Ph (09) 294 8881, 0276 942 942 Club Contact Ed Gray info@glidingauckland.co.nz Base Appleby Rd, Drury Flying Weekends, Wednesdays, Public Holidays
Omarama Gliding Club Club Website http://www.omarama.com Club Contact Bruce Graham bruceandstell@xtra.co.nz Ph (03) 358 3251 Base Omarama Flying 7 days a week by arrangement
Canterbury Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingcanterbury.co.nz Club Contact Kevin Bethwaite kevin.bethwaite@airways.co.nz Ph (03) 318 4758 Base Swamp Road, Springfield Flying Weekends, Public Holidays
Piako Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingmatamata.co.nz Club Contact Steve Care s.care@xtra.co.nz Ph (07) 843 7654 or 027 349 1180 Base Matamata Airfield, Ph (07) 888 5972 Flying Weekends, Wednesdays and Public Holidays
Central Otago Flying Club (Inc) Club Website www.cofc.co.nz Club Contact Phil Sumser phil.sumser@xtra.co.nz Base Alexandra Airport Flying Sundays, and by arrangement
Rotorua Gliding Club Club Website http://www.rotoruaglidingclub.blogspot.co.nz/ Club Contact Mike Foley roseandmikefoley@clear.net.nz Ph (07) 347 2927 Base Rotorua Airport Flying Sundays
Photo John McCaw
Glide Omarama.com Website www.GlideOmarama.com Contact Gavin Wills gtmwills@xtra.co.nz Base Omarama Airfield Flying October through April 7 days per week Gliding Hawkes Bay and Waipukurau Club Website www.glidinghbw.co.nz Club Contact E-mail: info@glidinghbw.co.nz, Ph 027 2877 522 Base Hastings Airfield (Bridge Pa) and Waipukurau Airfield (December & February) Flying Sundays and other days by arrangement Gliding Hutt Valley (Upper Valley Gliding Club) Club Contact Wayne Fisk wayne_fisk@xtra.co.nz Ph (04) 567-3069 Base Kaitoke Airfield, (04) 526 7336 Flying Weekends, Public Hols., Mid week by arrangement Gliding Manawatu Club Website www.glidingmanawatu.org.nz Club Contact Ron Sanders Resanders@xtra.co.nz Base Feilding Aerodrome Flying Weekends, Public holidays Gliding Wairarapa Club Website http://www.glidingwairarapa.co.nz/ Club Contact Diana Braithwaite Ph (06) 308 9101 Base Papawai Airfield, 5 km east of Greytown Ph (06) 308 8452 or 025 445 701 Flying Weekends, or by arrangement Kaikohe Gliding Club Club Contact Peter Fiske, (09) 407 8454 Email Keith Falla keith@falla.co.nz Base Kaikohe Airfield, Mangakahia Road, Kaikohe Flying Sundays, Thursdays and Public Holidays Marlborough Gliding Club Club Website http://glide_marl.tripod.com Club Contact bmog@paradise.net.nz Base Omaka Airfield, Blenheim Flying Sundays and other days by arrangement
South Canterbury Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingsouthcanterbury.co.nz Club Contact John Eggers johneggers@xtra.co.nz 33 Barnes St Timaru Base Levels Timaru & Omarama Wardell Field Flying Weekends, Public Holidays & by arrangement Taranaki Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingtaranaki.com Club Contact Peter Williams peter.williams@xtra.co.nz Ph (06) 278 4292 Base Stratford Flying Weekends and Public Holidays Taupo Gliding Club Club Website www.taupoglidingclub.co.nz Club Contact Tom Anderson Tomolo@xtra.co.nz PO Box 296, Taupo 2730 Ph (07) 378 5506 M 0274 939 272 Base Centennial Park, Taupo Flying 7 days a week Tauranga Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingtauranga.co.nz Club President Adrian Cable adrian.cable@xtra.co.nz Base Tauranga Airport Flying Weekends and Public Holidays, Wednesday afternoons and other times on request Wellington Gliding Club Club Website http://www.soar.co.nz Club President Brian Sharpe bwsharpe@xtra.co.nz Ph 027 248 1780 Base Greytown Soaring Centre, Papawai Airfield, 5 km east of Greytown Bookings Ph 027 618 9845 (operations) Flying Weekends and Public Holidays 7 days a week December through to March
The club news is your chance to share with the rest of the country and abroad, some of what makes your club the best gliding club in the world. Club scribes, please watch the deadlines (but we'll make allowances for special circumstances so contact the editor before you panic) and likewise, the word count is supposed to be 300 words to allow everyone to have a say. If you need more words than that, you probably should write a real article about that special event. Deadline for club news for the next issue 10 November 2016.
CANTERBURY There has been great progress on the clubhouse with the Team Leaders, Kevin Bethwaite, Jordan Vanderlem and Neil Walker leading the way. New windows are installed, insulation put in and decking dismantled and engineering started on the beams. The twin Astir PR is now hanging in the hangar roof, thanks to Kerry and his staff. The airfield surface is getting softer after recent rain and snow and it might be worth considering rolling it soon. Nicholas Oakley and Alex McCaw have competed at the World Gliding Championships in Lithuania. Nick managed a very good 20th place and Alex was further down the list. Both gained great experience. The weather was fairly ordinary and Alex took a while to gain confidence and found his glider wasn’t competitive. The club has had a few great soaring days in the past month with one day with thermals to 7,000 feet and wave and ridge days with some wonderful flights. The club hosted the Turners Auction personnel for a very successful corporate day. We are looking forward to a resident instructor to be based at Springfield from Mid-September and hope this will stimulate flying activity. Mark Aldridge has organised an ab-initio course for new pilots for early
Masterton Soaring Club Club Contact Michael O’Donnell modp@missionkayaking.com Ph (03) 473 1721 Base Masterton Aerodrome Flying By arrangement Nelson Lakes Gliding Club Club Website www.glidingnelson.co.nz Club Contact Frank Saxton franksaxton@gmail.com Ph (03) 546 6098 Base Lake Station Airfield, St.Arnaud Ph (03) 521 1870 Flying Weekends and Public Holidays Canterbury: Nick, Alex and Daisy at the International Event at the Worlds. August–October 2016
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CLUB NEWS
Canterbury: Edwin Oude Vrielink enjoys the winter wave.
September and Labour Weekend will see an extended camp at Springfield. Everyone is welcome to come, fly and camp. The Eurofox TUG is now sold. It has gone to Kaikoura. I am trying to keep up regular correspondence to club members before and after the weekend to stimulate activity. John McCaw
CENTRAL OTAGO It's been a quiet winter down south. We've been weathered-out on a couple of Sundays but have generally kept up the training flights for our three students. Soaring has been
Central Otago: Nick Sherlock after his recent solo.
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limited but we haven't tried that hard, often choosing winch circuits over cold wave flights. Nick Sherlock continues to make the weekly drive across from Dunedin each Sunday and this has certainly paid off, with a first solo off the winch followed by an aero tow solo a week or so later. Nick’s progress is a real advert for regular flying and a truly dedicated outlook. We had our AGM in August. This saw a couple of long-serving office bearers stand down after many years of wise and valuable contribution to the club. Alexandra airport
is really thriving, with lots of GA and micro lighting now happening. New hangars spring up every day...it would be a great location for any keen soaring pilot to move to! The days are lengthening and we can start expecting thermals again soon. Our multifunctional 172 is awaiting a new engine after reaching TBO, and it should be ready again for towing in spring. JR
GLIDING HAWKES BAY AND WAIPUKURAU Most July and early August weekends saw winter weather with no flying due to rain and/ or strong and/or gusty ground winds. However, Allie Thompson and Josh Ferguson attended the YouthGlide mini-camp in Taupo during the July school holidays and enjoyed meeting other young pilots and the flying opportunities available to them. A mid-June sub-zero winter morning start did not deter Jason and Nicholas Kelly from launching just after 11 am to surf the local wave in the club's Grob 103C III SL GHB. Despite few initial wave markers, they fairly quickly jumped into the primary wave and reached 9,500 feet to soar south past Dannevirke and return. They ended the flight with a 18m 36s traverse around the local triangle at an average ground speed of 107.2 km/h. The tow plane had some minor maintenance issues that day which saw just two other launches with John McConville and Allie Thompson reaching 6,500 feet locally
CLUB NEWS late in the afternoon before having to return due to impending darkness. A typical fine and mild Hawkes Bay autumn day in May saw a variable ground wind that swung from a westerly early afternoon to a light northerly early evening. This made conditions on the ground and in the circuit a little challenging but did provide some extremely gentle wave. Launching to just over 3,000 feet in the ASH25M GRJ, Brian and Jason Kelly contacted weak wave of generally 2-4 knots. However, the sky was largely full of 8/8 cloud which prevented them travelling any great distance. They did reach 9,500 feet and completed the 33.3 km club triangle of Bridge Pa – Maraekakaho – Paki Paki in 9m 52s which gave them an average ground speed of 202.5 km/h. John McConville and Richard Keir in the club's self-launching Grob 103 C III SL GHB and Mads Slivsgaard in the PW5 YP both towed to Maraekakaho but did not quite manage to catch the wave which was messy and not well marked. Spring is not far away and we look forward to improved soaring weather.
GLIDING WAIRARAPA Ah, winter! The wind. The rain. The thermal underwear. Brief appearances by sunlight in conjunction with wind and/or rain. Flying in spite of it all. Ploughing up and smoothing rough patches of airfield. Herding cows. Moving fences. Washing cow-poo off cars and gliders. Charging batteries. Flattening batteries for no good reason. Charging batteries again. Cooking your lunch by broadcasting on the newly-fitted antenna in FY. Dumping vast swathes of gravel to make access roads. Levelling said gravel. Scaring the bejeezus out of new students by taking them to 8000 feet for their first flight. Scaring the bejeezus out of others by threatening to run two winches side-by-side. Running two winches side-by-side with no issues. Moving more fences. Herding cows. Washing cow-poo off cars and gliders. Brief appearances by sun. More flying in spite of it all. Another layer of clothing. More rain. More wind. Ah, winter! DH
PIAKO It feels like we are the only club dry enough to be still operating this winter. We have had quite a few good ridge days but they always seem to be on a Wednesday. Great for those who have a day off! Tony Davies flew North of Thames recently and Sarel Venter had a two seater 2hr 20m flight in weak wave, getting to over 7,000 feet.
NORFOLK AVIATION SPORTS CLUB Here are some photos taken by Stacey Baker, a friend of Clinton Steele’s on a gliding flight over Taranaki.
August–October 2016
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CLUB NEWS Flying notices are now posted on the website for people to search out and work out if they can get to Stratford. Our Timesheet is now of the all-singing, all dancing variety and calculates the various flying fees. Also newly developed are the Pilots’ accounts which track what is owed and what is paid and the amounts paid in. This is all very good for the Treasurer’s peace of mind. Papa Mike Photo Dougal Wickham
Wickham
Taranaki: Our tow plane yesterday after a busy day of launches. It was an impressive show for a few moments before the sun dipped below the Pouakai Ranges.
Taranaki: John Tullett coming in to land in NN Janus B, our new acquisition from the Tauranga club.
Taranaki: Taken from a high point on our farm track at Uruti.
Iggy Wood, our esteemed President, and his wife Diana held a dinner for all of the committee and partners. It was a great success and adds considerably to club spirit. There have also been some changes on the committee and priority has been to get a Club Captain (we have been without one for the last year, despite asking lots of club members). Our very capable Treasurer, Dave Dennison, has taken on the Club Captain role and our equally capable Vice President Bob Gray has now taken on the biggest job of all, the Treasurer. Coming up on the 20th August we have our mid-winter dinner, where we give out all of our annual prizes. September we will have our SOSB (Start of Season Briefing). We have been doing this annually and it’s a great way to get everybody thinking about safety early in the season. Peter Thorpe (GNZ Northern ROO) is also looking to run an Instructors Course at Matamata in October, so look out for dates on the GNZ web site. The coming year is going to be quite busy at Matamata with Cross Country Course, Regionals, ATC Camp, Xmas Camp, Raglan and Club Class Nationals to look forward to. SC
‘steady as she goes’ period with flying on any one day of the weekend. The private owners have been doing most of the flying, though the PW5 and Dougal Wickham have been chasing things along. We have a new kid on the block in the shape of the K6 EH from Nelson, being flown by the Tullett partnership. There has been some agonising over Short Term Membership, prompting a look at the provisions in the Constitution. A shiny hard cover book is now at the launch-point with names in it, entered as the various Trial Flighters show up. Our flying has become quite dependent on RASP forecasts with decisions about weekend flying left until Thursday or Friday.
TAUPO It has been a productive period here at Taupo since our last club news with new memberships, solo flights and QGP’s. Not to mention the annual dinner, AGM and YouthGlide minicamp. Akira Petersen went solo on the 15th of April, which was 40 days before his 14th birthday. Richard Black, a power and helicopter pilot, converted to gliders and has since achieved is QGP and Nick Simmonds is well on the way to achieve his QGP. Our other new members, Maurice, Josh and Andrew are progressing well with their training. We have had our annual dinner and prizegiving along with the AGM. Congratulations go to those who picked up trophies and to the new office bearers. Hugh de Lautour has taken over as Club President from Tim Norman and we would all like to thank Tim for his contributions here at the club. The first North Island YouthGlide minicamp was held here in Taupo. Six young glider pilots got together and had a great time. There were two participants from Hawke’s Bay, two from Tauranga and two from Taupo. Although the weather was a bit dubious, they all enjoyed the flights and briefings along with the camaraderie. During the same weekend as the minicamp, the club once again displayed a PW5 at the Taupo Hobby Expo for all to see. The Hobby Expo enables us to interact with the public, promoting the club and the gliding movement in general.
TARANAKI This winter’s flying can be described as a
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Taupo: Centennial Park.
Taupo: Snow all around.
CLUB NEWS
Tauranga: YG scholarship recipient Nolan.
Tauranga: GSU2
Weather depending, we intend to fly at Matamata around the third week of September. This will be a good opportunity for club members who have not flown outside of Taupo to experience different surroundings. Winter is meant to be drawing to a close, but if you look at the photos we have snow all around Mt Tauhara. Gordon and Hugh had an enjoyable hour or so floating above this magnificent view in GTG. However, winter will be over soon and I am sure everyone is looking forward to the new soaring season. Don’t forget the soaring season competitions start here in Taupo on 29 October, see you there. Trace
TAURANGA Like many parts of the country, it’s not been an easy time trying to get any meaningful flying done over the Winter months. When it has been flyable, it has been good with some thermals to keep the skill level at a minimum, but those days have been few and far between. However, the students are still plugging away at their syllabus and the night school lectures are now in full swing to get them prepared before the next season starts in earnest. Two of our YouthGlide members made the most of the Taupo invitation camp and had a windy but enjoyable weekend there, plying their skills and testing themselves in new surroundings. Thanks to Taupo and the organisers for the effort and time involved. Our trusted and well-loved Janus, GNN, found a new owner in the Taranaki Gliding Club. It had its last day in Tauranga in early June, before heading off to Taranaki on a long aero tow behind their EuroFox tow plane. It was somewhat sad to see it go, but
Tauranga: Scott Wagstaff taking Roger Read for a fly in the Taurus.
it makes room for an improving fleet as we gradually move towards upgrades. GNN had been with us since 1982 and coincidentally, one of the Air Traffic Controllers on duty on the day of its departure was the son of one of our early members instrumental in the purchase of the two Janus back then. Youth Glide scholarship recipient Nolan, through the YGNZ Soaring Development Camp at Omarama in December, won an opportunity to spend a day with an Air NZ Flight Crew. He flew from Tauranga to Auckland, to Christchurch, back to Auckland and on to Tauranga again. For each of the flights, he sat in the jump seats on the flight decks. He spent time on both Q300's and A320's. As someone who wants to be a Commercial Airline Pilot, this was a huge opportunity for him and is a direct outcome of his time with YGNZ.
WELLINGTON In early May our new Skylaunch winch arrived in the country and by early June, it came through the gates of our Papawai
home. Since then, it’s been all about winching and getting weaned off the tow plane. To start our training, the club hosted Mike Groves from Skylaunch (British glider winch manufacturer) and Simon Adlard (BGA coach) for five intensive days of winch instruction. These two were excellent value and imparted a huge amount of knowledge, expertise and "attitude" in a very short time. Over five days we had 140 winch launches, rated four members as drivers, four members as instructors, and about eight club members were cleared for solo launching. In addition, we found we could launch to 2500 feet in calm conditions. Last week Tony van Dyk launched directly into wave above the field. For the remainder of June, July and August, more members have been rated to drive the winch and cleared for solo launching. Winter has also been good for growing grass on newly levelled areas of the launch vectors. Although there are many benefits to running your own aerodrome, it comes with a lot of work in maintenance, building and planning. At the same time, this
Wellington: The Skylaunch arrives at Papawai.
August–October 2016
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CLUB NEWS
F OR S A L E • WA N T E D • S E R V IC E S • E V E N T S
We take our classifieds list from the GNZ website and from ads detailed with us personally. To update your ad, please go online or advise our webmaster. Ads notified to SoaringNZ will appear on this page but we are unable to make changes for you on the web page. Please contact the webmaster if your item sells.
GLIDERS DG 400 Self Launching Glider • ZK GOM first flew in December 1984. 1,793 hours and 247 hours on the engine. 15 and 17m tips, tow out gear, hanger covers, 2 canopy covers, EDS and A8A oxygen with quick connect refill. Cambridge nav and Winter mechanical varios. Dittel FSG60M radio and Terra transponder. Trailer has cobra fittings and ability to charge batteries via an external socket while glider is in the trailer. Ideal syndicate glider – fly any day of the week! $83,000. Mark Aldridge. Phone 0274 508 505 email: mda@308.kiwi.nz Wellington: Learning how to safely hook on winch cables.
ASW 28 15m. ZK-GSS • LX8000 flight computer, Mountain High oxygen, Wing walker & tow out gear. Kerry Greig. Phone 021 857 066 email: kerrygreig@hotmail.com DG 300 Elan • GOZ (3E-99) Full panel. Road trailer. Excellent full capacity water bags made in the USA bring glider up to all up weight of 250kgs. Near new electronic oxygen system and good sized bottle. 750 channel Dittel Radio. Very good with 4 pre-set channels. Borgelt Vario with average and glide computer. Winter Vario and Altimeter and excellent compass. Apply to Errol Shirtliff. Phone 03 526 8724 email: shirtliff@xtra.co.nz
Wellington:
Lak 12. ZK-GRR • 20m Glider. Open/18m class flapped glider. 50:1 performance with a wide range of wing loadings. A nice glider to fly with no bad vices. Always hangared, no crashes. Price includes trailer, Australian Parachute, Tow out gear. Just had 1000 hr and 20 year check done and came through perfectly. Price reduced to $35,000, negotiable. May sell half hangar share. Contact Bill Mace phone 027 541 0948 email: wajvmace@gmail.com Wellington: Learning to drive the winch.
Janus ZK-GSH • Very tidy two seater training, cross country, completion glider. 3164 hrs. Built 1977. Retractable undercarriage, water ballast, winch or aero tow. Tow out gear, wing covers and trailer. Reluctant sale due to lack of use. For sale from the Hauraki Aero Club, gliding division. $50,000. Phone Paul Watson 027 470 8915 email: Hauraki-ac@xtra.co.nz SILENT IN • Self Launching Sailplane $46K. Alisport (Italy) self launching sailplane with retracting Alisport 302efi FADEC 28hp engine driving a monoblade propeller. For full details, Google 'Alisport Silent In' or <alisport.com>. Airframe 890hrs, engine and propeller less than 4hrs (new 2013). Removeable winglets, tinted canopy, usual instruments plus Trig TT21 transponder (with Mode S). Wing wheel, tail dolly and one man rig gear. Excellent open trailer with current reg. and WOF. Currently registered as Class 1 microlight. Phone 09 416 7125 email: nswan@xtra.co.nz
Wellington: Small work party of tree planters.
has brought together many club members on working events. In fact, our membership has increased in the past three months. We look forward to hosting competitions and youth training events, which previously were difficult to do at Paraparaumu. But no need to wait for either – just come visit and ride up the cable! However, you might want to book ahead. WD
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August–October 2016
Nimbus 2. ZK-GKV • A well known glider and glider type. I am sad to have to part with this wonderful glider but needs must so I have reduced the price. 49:1 – best LD for money. Brand new PU paint on the fuselage and wing PU only 5 years old. Double bladed air brakes. New Schempp Hirth canopy, new mylar seals on wing, good road trailer. Price Reduced. $35,000. Phone Steve Barham 021 642 484 email: barham@xtra.co.nz Ventus 2cT 15/18m – ZK-GRY • Finished in PU paint from new and has every factory option available at the time including 15m Wingtips, Mountain High 02 system, Nose and C of G hooks, On board refuelling system, Tail tank etc with Anschau Komet trailer. Full panel including 57mm Winter
GNZ members are eligible for one free non-commercial classified advertisement per issue. Deadline for receipt of advertising for our November issue is 22 October 2016.
• EVENTS
Altimeter, ASI and vario, Microair radio and Txpdr, CAI 302DDV with Oudie2 flight computer and Tru Track A/H with GPS heading. $195,000. Phone Alan Belworthy 027 496 0748 email: a.belworthy@xtra.co.nz Grob 109 Motorglider + Hanger 1/8 Share • The Grob 109 is a comfortable two seat side by side touring motor glider. It has recently undergone airframe refurbish inside and out which includes leather seats, rebuilt instrument panel, new seatbelt webbing etc. Normal cruise is between 85-100 knts, burning 13-15 litres and hour. 80 litre fuel tank. Gliding performance angle 27:1. Equipment includes a 720 channel Becker comm, Terra transponder, Cambridge audio vario, Kennard fixed ELT plus the usual set of analogue instruments. Nominally a glider, with a very reasonable gliding performance, it has a beefy ninety horses up front to push it along at over 150kph. I’m selling my one eighth share, including the hangar space to store. $10,000 Phone Michael Furniss 022 611 4565 email: jnmfurniss@gmail.com JS1C TJ • Expressions of interest are invited for my JS1C which will be available when it returns to NZ after the WGC in January 2017. ZK-GVZ is an immaculate competition tuned sailplane landed Dec 2014. All major options with 18m EVO and 21m wingtips. Jet sustainer. Cobra trailer (15m size.) Very complete instrument panel including LX9070. Custom Gagula leather cockpit interior. LiFePO4 batteries. Ground handling equipment etc. Phone Brett Hunter 021 927 626 email: bhunter@kinect.co.nz Puchacz aerobatic trainer • Two seat ab initio trainer with classic spin and recovery. Tauranga is serious about selling one or both of its Puchacz trainers as we wish to purchase a DG 1000. Check our club Facebook page for videos of these gliders in action. $35,000. Adrian, phone: 0274738231, email: adrian.cable@xtra.co.nz Ventus a, GNL • 15m with Masak winglets and 16.6m with winglets. Has wingroot fillets, tail tank and extended rudder for better handling. Flown c. 2410hrs Microair radio, Cambridge Lnav and GPS Nav and Terra transponder. Wooden trailer and glider combo weighs c. 710kg, so tows well. Ilec SN10B and MH O2 available as options. $55,000 Colin Bryan. phone: 211263776, email: colinbryan@netscape.net Nimbus 2b ZK-GIW • Next ARA due Dec 2016 1857hrs 533 flts. PU Paint, Fixed Tail plane, All Surfaces Sealed and Mylared, Tabulator Tape, Mask Winglets, Double Bladed Airbrakes, Tinted Canopy, Adjustable seat back, L-Nav, GPS-Nav, Oxy, C Mode Transponder, National Parachute, Tow out gear, Trestles, One man electric wing rigging cradle. Trailer refurbished and New Trojan Axles fitted. Glider located at Auckland. $45,000 ono. Phone Marc Morley 027 462 6751 email: morleym27@gmail.com
Omarama 20M Locked Hangar Space (first row) • with water, power and painted floor. Great neighbours and very secure. Phone 0274 340 074, email david.p.laing@gmail.com, price reduced to $42,000
OTHER FOR SALE 2015 Cobra Trailer • As new. Set up for ASH 31mi. Will fit 15m also. Mint condition Complete with all fittings loading ramp, Jack, spare wheel etc. $20,000. Phone Terry Delore 021 782 694, email: terry-wendy-delore@ xtra.co.nz Trailer Suit 18m Glider • Currently used for DG800, should be available November 2016. $5,000. Email: doug@waipapaeyecare.co.nz phone 021 118 5797 Parachute originally used in a K6 • As far as I'm aware this parachute has never been used. It was repacked about 2012 by a master parachute packer in Masterton and was certified fit for use. It has been stored at home in a linen cupboard so is dry and free from mould etc. Am happy as condition of sale for the chute to be repacked (at purchaser’s cost) and certified as fit for use as a condition of sale. Selling as I no longer have a glider to use it on. All reasonable offers considered. Email: paul_clarke@ clear.net.nz, phone 027 264 2254
WANTED I’m looking for an old second hand EW MicroRecorder SD • if anyone has one that they no longer need and want to sell please let me know, thanks. Glyn Jackson. Phone 021 0250 4646, email: glyn@glynjackson.com Instructors Wanted, Omarama • Experienced Instructors required at Omarama from October through March in one of the three following categories: 1. BCat Instructor, 1000 hrs, 500 hrs at OA. 2. BCat Instructor, 1000 hrs, tow rating, 200 hrs tail-wheel. 3. BCat Instructor, 1000 hrs, 500 hrs OA, German speaking. Extensive cross-country coaching as well as basic instruction experience is required. Guy@glideomarama.com phone 03 438 9555
OMARAMA CHALET FOR SALE
Whangarei Gliding Club Assets • Janus CM, motor glider, 2 seater with Trailer. Fully equipped. New Batteries. $69.000. Two Seater trainer glider with open trailer. Radio and basic instruments. $15,500. Club Libelle. Well equipped with trailer. $12,000. 1x 2 drum V8 powered winch, rope launch with 5 retrieve parachutes. $7,000. Inquiries to: Bill Rossiter Q.S.M. Phone 09 437 2807, Cell 027 226 8213. Email brossiter37@gmail.com
HANGARS: 18m hangar spaces in the Omarama Hangar. $ 30,000 or near offer • Phone Mike Hamilton 03 962 1530 email: mike.hamilton@hamjet.co.nz Hangar space, 15m, east hangar at Omarama • Asking $1500/m or reasonable offer. Contact Linda vindaloulou@gmail.com, 03 348 7009 or 021 071 8402.
On the airfield, one of 27 chalets on land subleased from Omarama Soaring Centre, built 2009 for Dick Georgeson. Furnished & fully equipped, dishwasher etc., sky tv Enquiries from 10 October 2016: Anna 03 322 8190 email: wilson.georgeson@gmail.com
August–October 2016
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SAILPLANE SERVICES LTD Specialist Composite Aviation Engineering
NZ agents for Schempp-Hirth Sailplanes, LXNav Soaring Equipment and Trig Avionics all state of the art equipment for soaring aircraft. Ross Gaddes email ross@sailplaneservices.co.nz phone +64 9 294 7324 or +674 274 789 123