Oz Report

Will fly for subscriptions

Eugene Yagrushkin|Oz Report

Oz Report readers who helped out on Friday: Eugene Evans ($20), anonymous ($20)

You can see how to send in $10 for a yearly subscription/donation to the Oz Report below.

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The 2003 Wallaby Open

Aeros Combat|Aeros Combat 2|Australia|Betinho Schmitz|competition|Florida|Flytec Championships 2003|game|harness|Icaro Laminar MR|Jim Lee|Jon Durand snr|Kari Castle|maps|Moyes Litespeed|Nene Rotor|Paris Williams|Wills Wing|Wills Wing Talon|Worlds

http://www.wallaby.com/wallabyopen/2003/

The FSL MAPS modeled data for Kissimmee:

Shows winds predicted to be up to 29 mph at 3,000’. The top of the lift is forecast to be 3,200’, with the lift predicted to be 400 fpm (subtract your sink rate). By five o’clock the top of the lift is forecast to be 2,600’ with the lift at 200 fpm.

There is a warm front to the northwest in Panama City in the Florida panhandle where there are presently (around noon) thunderstorms.  With the strong winds we would have to call a task to the northwest toward the area of likely thunderstorms this afternoon.

Malcolm calls the day at the 10:30 AM pilot meeting, based on wind strength in the field itself.  The forecasted wind conditions for tomorrow are for similar strengths with more of a west component.

Results so far:

Rigids who made goal on day five:

We averaged 27 mph, which is pretty slow, given the fact that we averaged 36 mph on the last and longest leg.

Rigids after five days (and likely the final results):

As at the 2002 Worlds, Alex, Christian, and David are in a separate class from the rest of us duffers.  Christian just missed goal one day or he would be in a tight contest with his friend Alex for first place.

Flex wings:

On day five:

The pilots that started at 2:15 PM were the quickest into goal, not being held back by the lollygagging rigid wing pilots, but Manfred was first to goal, so that counted for something.

Yesterday, before the task, Manfred was in twelfth.  Today after winning the fifth (and likely last) task:

Oleg benefited immensely when Manfred didn’t make goal two days in a row and he then kept the competition far away from him.  Oleg ended up only 100 points behind Manfred at the Flytec Championships and when Manfred didn’t make goal at the Wallaby Open the first time, Oleg jumped ahead of him by enough points to make it very difficult for Manfred to catch him.  Perhaps that was his consideration when he raced to goal and landed 1 mile short of Wauchula on day four.

Antoine, after not even registering on the applause-o-meter in Australia (but doing well enough to come in at 11^th at the Flytec Championship), did very well at Wallaby.  He was able to gain a few extra points on the fifth day by racing ahead and getting a minute on everyone else at goal.  Funny how things change so rapidly.

After Paris and Mikey took themselves out of the competition, Curt flew well and was the first American.  He was 10^th at the Flytec Championship just behind Paris and ahead of Mike, so he definitely improved.  Too bad he landed after gliding with me on the third day or he could easily have been in second place at the Wallaby Open.  All he had to do was keep gliding over the Bok Tower.  I would have appreciated his help at that point.

Carlos has yet to decide whether to fly for the Brazilians or on the American National team (if he makes it). He beat his fellow Brazilian Betinho after finishing at 16^th at the Flytec Championship behind Betinho at 11^th there.

Jon Durand Jr. finished very well again doing a little better overall in this competition than the last one where he was sixth.  Jon is a strong pilot who is willing to take risks, and came out the top Australian in the Wallaby Open.

There were two Aeros Combats in the top ten at the Wallaby Open with Paris out and three at the Flytec Championship.  This is certainly a jump in their top numbers.

Only Manfred is representing the Icaro 2000 Laminar in the top ten.  Kari Castle on the Laminar did very well at the Flytec Championship to come in 14^th (and perhaps hold her place on the US National team). At the Wallaby Open she dropped down a little to 16^th, behind Jim Lee at 14^th. She is still looking for a harness that works for her and doesn’t cause such pain in her chest (maybe I can get her to try my harness).

Moyes continues to win the numbers game with six Litespeeds in the top ten.  Lots of pilots fly the Litespeed and many of them do well (right after Manfred and Oleg). Wills Wing had Carlos on the Talon, so that rounds out the top ten pilots.

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Rigids have their own world records

CIVL|FAI|Paula Bowyer|site

From the latest CIVL Plenary:

Class Definition Group Class definitions seem to have been widely accepted.  It was proposed to allow Class 5 to set its own World Records in both Class 2 and Class 5. Agreed, with 2 abstentions.

(editor’s note: I see that the FAI/CIVL web site has not been changed to reflect the fact that the Class 5 world records are separate from the Class 2 world records.)

Paula Bowyer «paula» writes:

Thanks for reminding me, I’ll get back to you on this when I have an answer when the FAI will do this.

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CIVL land grab

advertising|CIVL|FAI

CIVL Plenary minutes:

Everyone read the FAI Bylaws regarding advertising.  We would like the Bureau to consider the adoption of the document and vote on it next year with the following amendments.

1) Organisers may also require the pilots to include advertising on the right leading edge of an area = or < .25m². As a point of information the lower surface right wing could carry 50cm x 50cm.

2) The minimum time for the sponsorship to be approved is currently 6 months and should be lowered to 30 days.

3) The number has to be included with the advertising.

The addendums will be in force in the World Championship in Brazil 2003. It was agreed unanimously.

(editor’s note: 1 foot by 2.7 feet. This is the additional square footage of your sail that the World’s organizer now owns (for advertising purposes). CIVL has doubled the real estate owned by the organizer.

But, you still own the rest of the sail.  You can put anything on it you want.  Any sponsor ads that you want to put up or whatever.  The organizer has not right to tell you what to put on the rest of your sail.)

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Forecasting – in Florida it’s the windcast

altitude|Florida|weather

When I thought that the windcast was down during the Flytec meet, I felt like I was forecasting the weather in the dark.  Sure there were plenty of other tools to come up with a forecast, but it is the windcast that really tells you the story.  It is the primary indicator of the conditions (as they are all related), and once you have the windcast, then you can tell what every thing else means.

First of all the wind direction.  Often the wind direction on the ground is the same or very close to the wind direction at altitude, so we have a very good idea of where you are going to have to fly the task.

Wind direction also tells you a lot about the general whether conditions.  South east winds usually mean moisture and cu’s. Northwest winds bring blue days.  Northeast could be some cu’s. Frontal passage and the cycle between front passages are all related to wind direction.

Second, wind speed.  The wind speed is less on the ground over land than over the water or at altitude, still it gives you a very good idea of whether you can call a task to come back to your launch location or not.  Speed and direction tell you about the first leg of your task, and whether you can send pilots into the wind for the last leg of the task, where that leg should be and how long.

Third, wind speed variation over location and time.  Will there be on shore flows at the coasts to set up a convergence area where the wind speed dies down?  Look at the 2 PM and 8 PM windcasts to see if the convergence sets up. If it does, and your FSL chart shows little or no chance of over development, then you want to fly in the convergence zone.

If I had only one tool to let me predict the weather and call the task, it would be the windcast.

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Terry Spencer dies

accident|Florida|Flytec Championships 2003|Joseph Andrew "Terry" Spencer|Mike Barber|Paris Williams

During the Flytec Championship I wrote a story about a pilot who augured in and then bounced hard.  That pilot was Terry Spencer and it was announced today on the hang gliding mailing list that he has died.

I’ve spoken with a few pilots about what happened, and there doesn’t seem to be any good idea of why Terry flew in the manner that he did that caused the accident.  It occurred right behind the take off and staging line on the north south runway at Quest.  We don’t know if he was trying to avoid something or whether he encountered some anomalous air conditions, or whether there is some other explanation.

I must say that there has been an inordinate number of flying accidents in the last few weeks here in Florida.  Paris has his arm in a sling and Mike Barber is walking around on crutches, and they are the least of the accidents.

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Going to Hay (and avoiding Florida)

Australia|competition|Florida|Hay|site|towing|Worlds|Worlds 2005

There continues to be a lot of discussion here among the top pilots about the choice of Hay as the site of the 2004 pre-Worlds and 2005 Worlds.  They continue to see Florida as a preferable location.  With two flight parks (in central Florida) that provide ready-made services to the pilots they continue to wonder why they have to go out to the desolate outback and make their own arrangements for towing, etc.

I have set up a poll for the top competition pilots to vote on whether they want to go to Hay, NSW, Australia or to Florida (either of the two flight parks in central Florida) at forum/viewtopic.php?p=283#283

If you are a top flex wing pilot likely to make your national team for this time period, you might want to go there and vote for the site that you want.

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Flight for Plight II

cost|history|Maria Diekmann|record|site|space|survival|tow|world record

www.RESTafrica.org

Rafael Dubois «Rafael» sends this announcement:

The Rare & Endangered Species Trust (REST) is excited to announce the scheduling of its second Flight for the Plight of the Cape Griffon Vulture.  This year's Flight will take place from October 14 - 23, 2003, and will raise funds for Namibia's most endangered species, the Cape Griffon Vulture (Gyps coprotheres).

The Plight

We must act to save this species from extinction now!  The Cape Griffon Vulture is endemic to southern Africa and is experiencing continuous declines as the result of poisoning, electrification, habitat destruction and diet deficiencies.  There are only an estimated 8-11 birds remaining at Namibia's last colony at the Waterberg Plateau Park near REST Headquarters.

The Flight

October 10 - 13 will be arrival and test flight days with participants arriving from all over the world at REST headquarters near the town of Otjiwarongo.  From October 14 - 16 pilots will launch near REST.  Flight days will consist of downwind races with open distance in order to accumulate as many sponsored kilometers as possible and to add to the possibility of a pilot breaking a local or world record.

On Friday, October 17 we will hold a Community Awareness Fly-in day at the Otjiwarongo Airfield.  The public and press are invited to visit and watch the pilots launch.  There will be information on Cape Griffons and REST founder Maria Diekmann will be on-hand to answer questions.  Nelson, REST's educational Cape Griffon vulture will be on hand to meet visitors and show off his beauty.

On the 18^th our pilots will depart on a cross country tour, heading towards a mountain launch site in the south of the country and ending at the edge of the Kalahari desert for more tow launching.

Two years ago 23 pilots representing 3 continents and 6 countries participated.  Because the pilots and the vultures share the same air space and use the same engine - thermals and the sun, we feel that this is an excellent way to raise international awareness and to generate funds for this endangered species.

Why help?

This is a marvelous opportunity to save this majestic yet misunderstood bird from extinction in Namibia.  If we lose these vultures, it will be only the second time in recorded history that Namibia has lost a species, and the first species, the white rhino has recently been successfully reintroduced.

All funds generated from this fundraiser will go to the following projects:

Satellite telemetry collars for the ultimate flight - so that we can collect vital information on the bird's foraging, behavioral & social patterns.
Testing the birds for contaminates & heavy metals.
Photographing and expanding our 'vulture passports' so that we can positively identify the current population.
Supplemental feeding programs at REST's vulture restaurant.

Outputs from Flight for the Plight I - 2001

N$15,000 was earned and covered the cost of building materials for the vulture hides that the international volunteer organization Raleigh International built for us. This hide has become the center of all of our observations - both for pleasure and scientific research.  Photographers and filmmakers have commented on the enhanced quality of their productions based on the design and location of our viewing hide.

On the 19^th and 20^th of April 2003 this hide held observers who discovered 3 new young birds in our Namibian population.  This was a major breakthrough for our research.  REST owes the pilots from the FP 2001 a huge thank you for your contributions to the survival of the Cape Griffon in Namibia!

To register, contact:

Jörg & Maria Diekmann
REST
PO Box 178
Otjiwarongo, Namibia 9000
Telephone: 00264.67.306226
Email: «awt»

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Flying with Vultures

altitude|book|cloud|fire|James Oakley|job|Knut Ryerson|landing|Maria Diekmann|Mark Griffin|Markus Hanfstaengl|news|record|Rob Manzoni|smoke|space|survival|tow|trike

Rafael Dubois «Rafael» sends in his story about the previous Flight for Plight

Once upon a time, in a very remote and exotic land lived the world's loneliest hang glider pilot.  He was lonely not because he was an ageing pilot who refused to join a trendy para-world and flew solo through crowded skies bursting with inflated, multicoloured rags.  No, our hero flew alone because there were no humans sharing his aerial realm.  In that magical land his only companions were vultures, eagles and buzzards, who would share the strong thermals that would take him aloft, high above the pristine, stunning and endless landscapes.

The happy pilot was married to a beautiful Queen and together they worked hard to preserve their wonderful kingdom from the evil forces of irresponsible commercial farming and apathy towards nature.  One day, after discovering that a group of their beloved feathered subjects were in serious peril, the Queen commanded her winged knight to set forth on a noble quest.  But such an enterprise was difficult and our pilot, together with his faithful glider and trusted vario, couldn't face alone the enormity of the worthy mission.  He needed to recruit outside help and thus the "Flight for the Plight" was born…

Namibian pilot Jörg Diekmann is the country's last active hang glider pilot.  He lives with his family in a farm in the middle of that beautiful but almost uninhabited corner of the world, where his nearest neighbour is another farm over 50 km away.  The Diekmanns are concerned about the survival of a rare species of African vulture: the Cape Griffin, whose last Namibian colony nests at the Waterberg Plateau's cliffs near the Diekmanns' farm.  But this is not an issue of merely liking vultures or wanting to have them around as thermal markers.  Theses birds do a vital job as refuse collectors in their natural habitat, eating away decomposing carcasses and leaving the savannas clean from decay and disease.  Consequently, in 2000 the Diekmanns established a conservation fund called REST (Rare & Endangered Species Trust) with the aim of saving this vulture species.

Namibian farming is a tough business: droughts combined with abundant predators kill thousands of cattle every year.  The easiest solution is to kill hyenas, jackals and leopards with poisoned carcasses.  However it is often the birds that find these deadly baits first with terrible consequences - one treated carcass can kill over 100 vultures.  Although a total poisoning ban would be the best environmental solution, this couldn't be realistically enforced due to the remoteness and spread of the farms.  The best pragmatic solution is to educate the farmers, so that they voluntarily minimise the ecological impact of poisoning by using it in a controlled and responsible manner.

After the successful launch of REST, the next step was to embark on a national campaign of awareness and education aimed at the farming community.  To achieve that, the Diekmanns needed to come up with something high-profile and original in order to generate news in the local papers and media.  Their solution was the "Flight for the Plight", an international free flying rally to raise money and awareness for REST.

The event took place during the first two weeks of November 2001. The first week was located at the base of the Waterberg Cliffs, from where daily tasks were set.  The second week consisted of a "traveling rally" covering the most spectacular sights of Namibia by flying to a different goal everyday, where pilots spent the night and took off the following day.  In between, there was a full day dedicated to the local press with an aerial display at Otjiwarongo, in the heart of the Namibian farming community.  Although everybody was welcome, the majority of participants were hang gliding pilots, 17 in total, with only 4 paraglider attendees.  There were pilots from South Africa, Holland, Germany, Britain and Venezuela.

That is how I found myself in an Air Namibia flight looking through the window, imagining I was gliding, spotting flying routes and landing fields.  To my horror, after more than 30 min flying over the bushveld of near Windhoek, I had not seen a single tiny patch suitable for landing a paraglider, let alone a hang glider.  My first impression of Namibia was one of hundreds of square kilometres of desolated emptiness that were evenly covered with boulders and nasty looking thorn scrub - later inspection confirmed my worse fears: each plant has thousands of incredibly hard, sharp and pointy lethal spines.

Namibia is not only a really beautiful country; it is also a fascinating place full of surprises.  The drive from the airport to the Diekmanns' farm revealed troops of baboons, herds of kudu & oryx, warthogs and a jackal.  The same impromptu safaris were repeated daily on our way to the tow field, with the constant addition of more species.  Watching giraffes running near the car against the sunset and searching for ostriches feathers at the tow field were just part of the experience.  Despite all these idyllic descriptions, we were flying in an area far from being a wholesome paradise.  I took notice of this during my first pilot's briefing where the main emphasis was on avoiding dehydration, the possibility of spending days in the open bush waiting for retrieve and how to handle dangerous wild life such as snakes, hyenas, and leopards!  There is no where to land but on gravel roads, which are sometimes narrow and perpendicular to the wind.  Dust and thorns are everywhere ready to damage your sail.  The sun is so strong that my eyes became strained despite of wearing sunglasses constantly - we towed from salt pans and the glare was worse than climbing a glacier on a cloudless day.  Perhaps the worse were the number of strong dusties which damaged several gliders during our adventure.

Having said all of that, Namibia is a pilot's paradise well worth the extra care.  Conditions were absolutely outstanding: one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to fly in. There were cross country flights over 200 Kms (The longest flight was Germany's Markus Hanfstaengl of 283 km) I broke my own altitude gain record reaching cloud base a little over 5,200 Mts.  and being over 4,000 Mts.  above the tow field!  (For those of you still living in the Neanderthal Imperial system, this is 13,100 feet over the ground) And believe me, terra firma was an awfully long way down.

I could write a book about all the great experiences we had in Namibia, but due to space constrains I'll limit myself to only 5 anecdotes that should illustrate the diversity and uniqueness of the adventures that we enjoyed.

1. Petrol: the most precious commodity for the Namibian drive.r Being a relatively unpopulated country there are few petrol stations.  Often during an all-night retrieve we were forced to take 60 to 80 km detours from the main route just to fill up the tank.  One night after collecting all the pilots we didn't have enough fuel to make the 60 km needed to reach home, so we were forced to drive in the opposite direction 40 km to the only known 24-hour petrol station, which of course increased the total driving distance to 140 km. Upon arrival, the service station was closed and no matter how much we banged the door and beeped the horn the owner understandably didn't feel like filling our tank up at 2:00 AM. Eventually we went to the police station for help.  The officers, still wearing their pyjamas but carrying their machineguns, managed to wake the owner and have him sell the precious liquid to us. We eventually reached home at 4:30 AM.

2. Kalahari sands.  Flying late in the evening towards the end of a fantastic cross country, I was enjoying the beginning of the sunset.  Suddenly, against the sun, I noticed the smoke of a large fire far in the horizon.  After a few minutes gliding I glanced again towards the smoke to check the wind direction.  To my horror I realised it was now ten times bigger and coming fast toward me: it was a sand storm!  The sight from the air was breathtaking; it was shaped like an arrowhead, but slowly moving like a gigantic wave, continuously growing and advancing.  Fascinating as it was, I knew I was in trouble so I had to think fast.  I was still high and I didn't have time to land before it reached me, so I decided to ride the front and get as far as possible from the point of the "arrowhead". When I reached the gust level my glider started to fly backwards, so I descended full VG on completely vertically with very poor visibility due to the blasting sand and the twilight.  Luckily I was over a farm with a large cleared field and my retrieve was already waiting, ready to assist me with the difficult ground handling.  Children don't try this at home!

3. Biblical times.  Often, we had to deliberately cut short a cross country to land at a farm in order to use their phone.  You need to do this as there is no mobile coverage, the lack of distinguishable land features and few inhabitants for what can be several dozens Kms.  At a very remote farm, even by Namibian standards, I landed in the middle of what I thought was a party due to the amount of cars parked there.  Instead of a jolly atmosphere, I was very solemnly escorted inside the farmhouse to a phone.  I was beginning to feel completely out of place with dusty feet & sandals and Oakley sunglasses pushed over my head.  As I picked up the receiver, I froze in front of an unforgettable sight.  I was facing around 30 God-fearing Afrikaners, who after a long awkward silence and plenty of stern, disapproving looks, chose to ignore me and started to sing religious hymns accompanied by an old organ and 3 accordions.  All of them were modestly dressed in conservative, Victorian-style clothes which I suspected had changed little from the ones worn by their Boer ancestors who trekked to these lands in the late 1700's! After I finished my call, I was politely ushered out of the house and had to wait for my retrieve outside.  This was the only farm were I wasn't welcomed to wait inside I wonder why.

4. South Africa: Land of Saints We were lucky to count on two of our very own South African Saints, who share the same name although they couldn't be more different of each other.  Saint Rob Manzoni was everybody's guardian angel, happily helping anyone who had the slightest need of assistance.  I have never met someone so self-giving, who really put everybody's need above his own and his interest in flying.  Thanks St. Rob!  The other, Saint Rob Rademayer, was the democratic joy-giver who shared his immense love of flying with anyone who showed interest in it, regardless of their relationship to our group, age, gender, race or social status.  Saint Rob generously brought a dual-seat trike just to give people rides over the majestic Namibian landscape without expecting anything in return.  Everybody, from a tourist who-happen-to-be-there, to 70 year-old ladies working on conservation projects, from humble farm workers to pilots' children, from drivers to people simply hanging around.  For all of them, Rob was always there smiling and ready to share the miracle of flying.  Thanks St. Rob!

5. What if… After a late start, a 120 km out-of-return was set on the last day.  On the way back, the only two pilots close to goal were Germany's Knut von Hentig and I. We weren't very high, the sky had deteriorated very quickly and it was obvious that the day was dying fast.  We were only 20 km from goal and a brave Knut went for a direct glide over no-man's land.  The glide was very tight and he risked the possibility of shredding the glider to pieces in a thorny bushveld-landing and, in the case of surviving it, walking all night to the nearest road.  I mentally wished good luck to the courageous German ace, but personally restrained myself in following his path to glory.  Instead, I settled for a chicken run, safely flying two legs over the dirt track that added an extra 10 km to goal - rather than flying Knut's hypotenuse shorter route.  Obviously my judgement spared my glider but didn't take me to goal; I landed 14 km short despite scratching in the air for another 45 minutes until sunset.  Luckily Knut did indeed land in goal but only just.  He said that the worst was not skimming the harsh thorn scrubland or dodging tall trees for what it seemed ages.  No, what really scared him was the sudden realisation that the last 5 km to goal involved flying over a wild lion reserve that we were strongly warned against doing three days earlier!

…and so the noble quest was a success.  The Queen and her winged knight managed to raise money for REST and communicate the message of the vultures' plight to the farmers.  Are they going to live peacefully ever after?  I don't think so because the Diekmanns are planning to repeat the Flight for the Plight in November 2003, which means that lots of pilots will have fun in their magic kingdom once again!  For more information please check www.restafrica.org or contact Jörg and Maria at: «awt»

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