Oz Report

Thu, Jan 18 2001, 10:00:00 am EST

Forbes Flatlands – Task three

Attila Bertok|Belinda Boulter|Betinho Schmitz|Bo Hagewood|Davis Straub|Forbes Flatlands|Gerolf Heinrichs|Gordon Rigg|Mike Barber|Oleg Bondarchuck|Oleg Bondarchuk|Paris Williams|Richard Walbec|weather

You've got a bunch of happy campers here today, as we fly a little over 120 kilometers in a bit over two hours.  This is the kind of day you come to Australia for.  Fifty-five pilots made goal over of eighty five.

The day starts off cooler than it has been and with a milky white sky.  Not much promise, but people really appreciate that it is comfortable outside in the morning.  These are not the clouds that we've seen quite a bit here that are associated with high pressure, but very thin wisp high clouds.

By the time we head for the tow paddock around 11:30 AM, we see cu's forming underneath the high clouds to the southeast.  The light winds are out of the southwest.

As soon as we get to the paddock, it is non-stop setup time.  It is actually pretty pleasant out in this bare earth field, especially because the wind is not keeping us all on edge about our gliders blowing away.

Kari and I get up early.  It will be an hour before we take the start gate.  There are now cu's filling up the sky.  The task will be under called, because they didn't expect all these cu's. The predicted high temperature is already passed by the time the weather report is presented at the 12:30 PM pilots' meeting.

The cu's just get better as we climb up to almost 8,000' AGL playing the start gate clock game.  Pilots are way spread out so it is hard to tell who is doing what.

Gordon Rigg and Bo Hagewood take the 1:45 PM start hoping to get early bird bonus points.  Given all the cu's there is little need for pilots as thermal markers out front.

Paris, Revo, and a few other pilots get the 2 PM start gate.  Others dribble out at 2:15 and 2:30 PM with Kari getting hers at 2:30 PM. I spot Mike Barber and Gerolf hanging and waiting I've already told Kari to wait until 2:45 PM, but she's tired of hanging out over the paddock.  Mike doesn't spot Gerolf who's right above him.

Earlier I spy Berndt launching, getting off low, and having to relaunch.  Perhaps he broke a weak link.  We've waited so long that Berndt has relaunched and climbed up with us. There are about twenty pilots hovering over the tow paddock.  Bruno is up with us in his super-looking Swift.

Finally, I decide to take the 2:45 PM clock even though I've lost Gerolf and Mike.  Mike was apparently down wind of the six of us including Tomas from Austria who gets this clock.  We race right through the blue between two cloud street (dumb) while Mikey stays high, but down wind of course line under a cloud street.  I ask myself why we are doing this.

Our little group spreads out, and I find the first lift on the right side.  It is only about 350 fpm so after ten turns, I move on. The other five pilots come in under me and start working this first thermal, but I've already moved to the next one, which is much stronger.

They try to get into this next thermal, but none of the groups gets it and that is the last I see of this start gaggle.  I'm racing to get to the 2:30 and 2:15 PM pilots ahead of me.

Now I get to the cloud streets, and find the better lift.  Mikey is moving along high and fast on the down wind side of course line, but I keep pushing up wind.  The course line was supposed to follow the wind direction forecast for the day, but it is 60 to 90 degrees cross from it. The winds are pretty strong at altitude, so I think it best to move upwind on every glide, as I will drift downwind in the thermals.

There are plenty of clouds and the lift is happening under almost every one of them.  Itis quite easy just to keep flying until I hit something over 500 fpm, and then turn.  Mikey is passing everything that isn't at least 700 fpm.  I only get a few thermals that strong.

With the wind, the thermals are not glass smooth to say the least.  There is a lot of broken stuff, and you often have to put it on a tip to stay in the core.  The cores are also moving around a lot as you go up.

I can see the earlier pilots to my right, down wind, near a lake that is just to the right of the course line.  I've been moving upwind to get around the lake.  Mike will go right over it. These pilots, including Kari, are struggling in the blue (why did they go there?), while I'm coring out in the clouds.

Just past the lake, and I catch up with some of the slower 2PM and 2:15 PM pilots.  There are clouds all the way to goal, which is now only 60 kilometers out.  I do get a bit low at 3,000' AGL, but that just gives me more time in a strong thermal.

I'm pulling the bar in hard between each thermal, and there is no problem going out in front with the three pilots I connect up with.  The guy two pilots to my right finds it and we make cloud base once again at over 8,500'. We are now getting 600 to 700 fpm climbs.

At 50 kilometers out, I'm on my own again, as I just have too much performance for these guys.  I'm still near cloud base and everything I hit is 600 fpm or better.  Rough, so I often leave early if I think I can just keep going.

At 40 kilometers, I decide to ignore the lift and the sink from now on. I'm at 8,000'. I've got nothing but cloud between me and goal.  What's the point of stopping?

At 20 kilometers out, I'm down a bit to 3,500'. Not quite a glide to goal if there is sink, but I blunder into by far the best lift of the day, 1000' fpm, big and smooth.  Suddenly I'm able to do a complete turn without adjusting the bar.  I'm twirling and really liking it.

I've got plenty of altitude to make goal in the first two minutes, but this is too good to leave.  Jon Durand Jr who started at 2:30 is right above me in this same stuff.  Finally, at 7,000' I say that really I should quit this and go to goal as fast as I can as I am plenty high.  Jon takes it to 9,000' as he sees me falling out of the sky.  Of course, it looks like I'm falling cause he is going up so quick.

Belinda is at goal and reports that Gordon, who started at hour earlier, has been there for a while.  Paris, Bo, Attila (who started at 2 PM) and a number of other pilots are also there.  This will make the target a bit easier to see.

It is a fast glide to goal with Jon thirty seconds behind me. I win the day at 2 hours and 12 minutes.  Gordon is second with his early bird points and second fastest time.

Mike and Gerolf, who also got the 2:45 PM clock come in after me, with Mike at 2 hours and 22 minutes and Gerolf at two hours and 27 minutes.  Oleg came in just after Mike at 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Mike tells me that he got low twice, below 1,000'. His course line to the right was good at first, but then he had problems with 1,400-fpm sink.

Bruno made it on his Swift.  If they had known it would be this good, we would have had a longer task, and probably pilots would have taken an earlier start gate.

Berndt Weber on his ATOS was the last pilot into goal.  He has been second after Gerolf after the first two tasks.  Berndt was on final glide, and then realized 1.5 kilometers out that he wasn't going to make it. He went downwind 6 kilometers from goal to find a thermal.  He drifted and climbed in this and other thermals until he was 22 kilometers from goal downwind (there was a good crosswind), and then made it back to goal.  The goal crew brought him back to Forbes.

Results for the day:

Davis Straub
Gordon Rigg
Attila Bertok
Paris Williams
Mike Barber
Richard Walbec
Betinho Schmitz
Oleg Bondarchuck
Jon Durand, Jr.
Gerolf Heinrichs

Total results haven't been reported yet this morning.

Full results can be found at http://homepage.mac.com/chgcnews/forbes2001.

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Thu, Jan 18 2001, 10:00:01 am EST

Jorgensen's recovered

PG|Wallaby Ranch|Wills Wing

tina c jorgensen «jorgensensfly» writes:

We made it home Monday, to findi many phone messages and emails regarding our auto accident!  Please let everyone know that we are just fine, and already recovered from our bruises.

A couple corrections to your story about our "smash", Larry and I had both flown off Mt. Buffalo, Larry on the Litespeed 5 and Tina on a 165 Sonic.  I had an extended sled ride, and landed at the airport, Larry flew 2+ hours getting 9,000 ft and really enjoying the performance of the Litespeed5. Bob came to retrieve us, and then we took him up to fly the Sonic (Bob and I were sharing it.)

The other car that we hit was a 4 door Holden.  It had 4 passengers, a husband and wife with their daughter (12) and son (14). Their car had the airbags, not our van, and indeed everyone was ok except for a few glass cuts and bruising from the seatbelts.  They were on vacation as well, but did live in Australia.

Everyone involved was incredibly nice, calm and helpful.  Including the police officer that we later called from our hotel to report the accident.  Australians are the kindest, laid back people we have ever had the pleasure to meet.

Our Aussie Adventure was unforgettable, mostly due to Steve & Kim Moyes and their delightful children, Reba, Wylie, and Tavis (our girls cried when we had to leave to go home.) We were treated as family in all of their activities, including Christmas with Bill and Molly Moyes.

Wills Wing 28^th Anniversary party

«Ken» writes:

Celebrate Wills Wing's 28^th anniversary with us at the Wallaby Ranch, March 14^th - 18^th, 2001 This will be the fourth year that world renowned Wallaby Ranch (http://www.wallabyranch.com) has hosted the Wills Wing party and demo days.  Fly Falcons, Ultra Sports, Fusions, two new sizes of the Eagle, and the new curved tip competition glider.  We will also have the Swing Arcus and the new Swing Mistral 2 for paraglider pilots to check out.

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Thu, Jan 18 2001, 3:00:02 pm GMT

Wills Wing 28^th Anniversary party

Wallaby Ranch|Wills Wing

«Ken» writes:

Celebrate Wills Wing's 28^th anniversary with us at the Wallaby Ranch, March 14^th - 18^th, 2001 This will be the fourth year that world renowned Wallaby Ranch (http://www.wallabyranch.com) has hosted the Wills Wing party and demo days.  Fly Falcons, Ultra Sports, Fusions, two new sizes of the Eagle, and the new curved tip competition glider.  We will also have the Swing Arcus and the new Swing Mistral 2 for paraglider pilots to check out.

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Thu, Jan 18 2001, 3:00:03 pm GMT

Microlift

http://www.isd.net/sadkins/20hourworkweek.htm

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Thu, Jan 18 2001, 3:00:04 pm GMT

Gary's records at Hearne

Nikolai Boldyrev|William "Gary" Osoba jr.

FAI has ratified the following Class D (Gliders) records:

Claim number 6765 :
Sub-class DU (Ultralight Gliders)
General Category
Type of record : Out-and-return distance
Course/location : Hearne - Corsicana - Hearne, TX (USA)
Performance : 260.87 km
Pilot : William G. OSOBA Jr. (USA)
Glider : Woodstock One
Date : 2000-08-15
Previous record : 199.97 km (29.06.00 - Nikolai BOLDYREV, Russia)

Claim number 6682 :
Sub-class DU (Ultralight Gliders)
General Category
Type of record : Free out-and-return distance
Course/location : Hearne, TX (USA)
Performance : 262.88 km
Pilot : William G. OSOBA Jr. (USA)
Glider : Woodstock One
Date : 2000-08-15
Previous record : 205.4 km (29.06.00 - Nikolai BOLDYREV, Russia)

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Thu, Jan 18 2001, 3:00:05 pm GMT

ATOS – more on Christof's tumble at the pre-worlds

ATOS|Christof Kratzner|tumble

I heard a rumor from a rumormonger in the Esme Café at breakfast this morning.  We were talking across the café so everyone there also heard the rumor.  The rumor was that Christof had reduced the twist on his ATOS that he had at the pre-Worlds last year from 7° to 5.5°. The rumormonger told me to be sure and check with Berndt about this.

I asked Berndt and he said that it was definitely not true.  Berndt stated that Christof had the choice of three ATOSes to fly in the pre-Worlds, none of which had been test flown by the time he got to the AIR factory in Zainigen.  Christof was late, as always, and just took the first ATOS and left.

This ATOS did not fly right the first time that Christof flew it. It's stall speed with 5 to 7 kilometers an hour too high.  It's nose pitched down.  Christof felt that there was something wrong in the center section.  He felt that there wasn't laminar flown over the wing in the center section.

He increased the nose angle to reduce the pitch forces from the tips (and sail area behind the hang point), but that didn't help much.  He then put on turbulators in the root section of the glider, and that helped a lot.  He made other changes, but according to Berndt, did not lower the twist of the ATOS.

Berndt feels that Christof should have taken another glider, that there was something wrong with this one, and that he really couldn't fix it easily.  Christof just felt that he could.

The day that Chritsof tumbled the glider, he had removed the turbulators that were actually helping the nose down problem.

I've been flying the ATOS that Gilbert tucked.  In some situations, with the flaps on, I've noticed that I have to push the bar forward.  Berndt feels that I should do one more turn in the nose lever and put the tip back just on the other side of the factory setting.  Right now they are half a centimeter forward (wider nose angle).

When Gilbert was flying this glider before I put the new nose lever and sail on it, the tips were way back behind the factory setting (shallower nose angle – more sweep). Don't know why.

I didn't feel the bar coming back on me at all today, Mike says that the bar on the Litespeed comes back on him if he has full V-G on, so the ATOS is not unique in this consideration.

This ATOS is also configured with two different bungies for the spoilerons.  I put in a pair of much thicker bungies because last year when I flew it at Hay, Rohan said he noticed that the spoilerons would both come up every time I entered a thermal.

I can switch between the light, stock pair, or my thicker ones quite easily, and today I switched to the thicker one.  I didn't notice any problem with slower handling, and I went real fast today, so I'll stick with the thicker bungies

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