Home Time

RESULTS HERE:
www.moyes.com.au/Forbes2009/Results/Results.aspx
And so the long drive home begins - we get an hour back from daylight savings like magic as we cross the border so the trip is much shorter ;) I won (finished that is) the Sport Class and picked up a very nice trophy that has 1/4 oz gold in it, plus a shirt and bag. I am not so broke that I yet need to dig it out and cash it in but with the GFC who knows what might happen. I said when I got the trophy at presentation that it was not so much that I had won anything more that I had been rewarded for having a really great time. I sincerely would like to see this Class - Sport Class as defined by CIVL and our own HGFA Comp manual become a solid and permanent part of competition flying.

Everyone in the Club Class had a great time, they towed really well and were, much to my surprise, quite competitive about the whole comp, but still able to let go of performance aspects and have fun with each other, quite a lot people were swapping teams during retrieves to make it easier on everyone, a real camaraderie was formed.

Sport Class has a place but it is up to pilots and attitudes to prove it could become an enduring part of the competition scene, I can easily see just having Sport Class with some form of handicap system - bigger turn point and goal radius for example - seems like a great idea, Wes Hill (Forbes Scorer) suggested that. Some pilots in Open Class admitted they would liked to have flown a couple of our easy shorter tasks as compared to the longer ones - they wondered if they could make it and even if they really felt like trying. I think our tasks were well called for Club Class, probably a bit short for Sport Class at times, but then, I never felt like flying on after getting to goal - I had filled my flying day sufficiently each time I made it.

Forbes is as intense as you could get hang gliding - up to 40deg + some days. Dusties (and Non-dusties) ripping through the paddock makes for gusty and very strong cycles - it was described as average conditions while we were there, so it can get even more severe. Climbs were reported at 1500-1600fpm on average and some days pilots were going to 11000'MSL + (from 770MSL agl. This place is not for the faint of heart, unless you are prepared to fly morning and night, as once the day gets cranking you are at the mercy of the conditions while on the ground. It is better to be in the air during those times. Each day I did not set up until I knew that I could - SET UP, GET IN AND GO! Limiting the exposure...

I must say I have a new found respect for Davis and hi Oz Report, just keeping a half decent account of what was going on seemed like a lot of time burning work - especially with dodgy internet access. He does well to keep the Oz Report going year in year out - comp after comp, when competing AND helping to organise. You have to admire his dedication and commitment.

Anyway Forbes is done, Dalby will be my next comp www.hgfa.asn.au/~dhgc , hope to see you there....

Sunday- Last Day

The Dragonfly's do some fly-bys to bid farewell on the last day of flying, they then all get to taking us to our our next great ride. Forecast is for , much the same as yesterday but less isolated rain and storms later in the day. They call the launch open for Open and A Class early. They all get up and have to wait around for a while. By the time the Sport and Club Class get to towing at just after 1 it looks in danger of OD'ing pretty quick. Brendan tows me up after I ask him to give me a little more speed on tow. I get a pretty rough tow but end up in 4-500 up for a deserving reward for the beating I got.. kicked like a mule. (Brendan later told me he also felt he was copping a hiding and kept looking back to make sure I was still with him, he was happy to see I was.

I move off from base on course (again to Grenfell Race Track and the sky looks real good but I can see some vertical development in cloud close by, nothing to worry about. As I get about 25 K out I can see that a particularly big cell is starting to dump rain. Another right on course looks like it could burst out any time. The are both moving east to west and it looks like I would get in behind the first smaller cell and in front of the next one. AS I glide on I saw soome lightening and decided that I did not want to get any closer as the bigger cell to my right was building fast. If I beat it to goal I would still get hit by it. Anyway when still 20k away from the storm (25 from goal) I had decided to land as the clouds en-route look pretty strong too. When I went on a low glide for a good paddock closer to goal I started too hit long defined areas of good lift. If I encountered it any higher it seemed like 'oops I can't down down' type lift. I was happy enough to land in a nice paddock in smooth conditions. They stopped the task about 15 minutes later.



The comp ends. I win my Class (Sport Class = 3 dudes only two flying. ME + 1). I have had 7 flying days got to over 10g about 20 hours of airtime and flew a couple of hundred KM through the week. TEX OUT!

Friday is a rest day for the competition and many people fly off to Sydney for Steve’s funeral. I head out to the paddock with most of the Club Class pilots to help get them in the air for a little more flight time. Blaino and Leeroy will be towing them up. We discuss a task and talk about them going out to West Wyalong about 93km but conditions that way are not looking the best with most of the clouds forming off to our east. In the end they are talking about little out and return etc and will decide once they are airborne.

We are just about set to tow and I see a dusty over near the hanger, straight away I look left towards where the tugs are parked and there is one on it’s nose. Leeroy was just about to get airborne and was taxing off the tie down area and saw the dusty pop up right beside him about 20m off. He has to turn back to the west as he is too close to the fences to just take off, as he turns around it is too late and the right wing comes up and as easy and slowly as you could hope for it rolls around the left wing and over onto its nose. From 5-600m away I can here Leeroys anger F@@@@@@@@@@RRRRRKKKK!!!!!!!! . He is alright there only scratch is when he releases his seat belt and falls to the ground: more screaming profanities.

Very little damage is done with a busted chute container and slightly bent vertical tail fin and a small hole in the right wing tip. It is flying again already.
In the end we get the crew in the air and pretty quickly and they have a nice fly around, some go about 45km or so. I get two people with my pre flight check in the dolly’s (one Topless Pilot and another Club Class Pilot) who have not put there leg loops in… 2!!!!!! They are ready to launch none the wiser until I ask…
Saturday I am real keen to get back in the air after running dollies and helping pilots out. It is not to be; by 1230 the day is canned with rain and thunder storms in the area. There is some hope for tomorrow but it could be similar just more isolated than today. Here is hoping. It has already cleared quite a bit

The long task the Open Class did on Thursday was an amazing flight under the conditions with Blay telling me he was in the air for 6.5 hours and did the task in 4.5. He never got higher than 6000’. Tim Howells just beat his Dad Keith in by 40secs on our 74km task even though they took completely different routes. Only one day to go and Classes; Open, A-Grade, and Club only have about 40 points in between the top placements – I still have my 800pt lead against my nemesis the lime green Litespeed ;O) A two pilot comp, I am pretty embarrassed but I will take the trophy as it has like a ¼ oz gold coin in it. SWEET!

Forecast was for SW winds to 16kts. Lift to 6g around the area getting better down the track for the big task, we would not go so far to get the better air forecast on the RASP. Stable air, wanting to work = little cores, low height getting 6g was it, where there was an inversion. The Open Class had a big task 264km we had a little 74km job to Peak Hill North of here, two club Class gliders made it in to goal, they are flying so well some of these guys. One tailed me for half the course before I glid off and hit the deck. He kept up wind and made the goal pretty easy. Real nice to fly with these pilots who are just hitting form and loving the competition and conditions. It will be interesting to see how they progress to the HP ships when the time comes.

So I land a thermal short (good tail winds) to land 17km out. I still win sport Class and now hold a handy 800 point lead against my only other competitor pretty funny...

Tomorrow is Steve's funeral and a lot of the pilots are going to attend. I think a few of us are still going to go for a fly....

Day 4

Day 4 and it is pumping! The winds are probably 8-10kts avg with gusts (cycles) up to 20kts, these are big cycles and you know you are in Forbes a premier thermal site because I would call the conditions, in the paddock at least, extreme. Dusties in view most of the time that look like small tornadoes gliders getting battered as they are set up and 40 deg + on the ground. So in the Sport class we are launching after the main field and watching the main field does little to inspire your views on towing safely. Watching the dusties rip through and gliders locking out. At one stage three gliders all get knocked off tow low (200’-300’) right beside each other in a dusty, it is no one that is tearing up dirt but it is obvious what it is. My first reaction is OK guys you’re going to have to just pull the nose in and fly out front to escape this monster. NOPE! This is a competition damn it, let’s try and get up in it. They start to dance with the devil and the devil doesn’t dance well at all.
One glider nearly tumbles but comes back for more, it is obvious that this thing is kicking like a prize rodeo bull but they persist, big surge, big sink getting smashed all the while barely in control. The one pilot hits the big surge as he turns cross wind, banks left to turn in it, falls out as he goes down wind and the glider pitches nose down accelerates and and barely gets almost level as it drives into the ground, from 150’. Well another dead pilot I think. Horrific to watch and completely unnecessary. Anyway turns out the pilot was unconscious for a while but wakes up and is keen to tow again. EEERRR! DUDE! look at your glider; obvious concussion. So the ambulance arrives and takes him off for a free helicopter ride to Orange Hospital. Trent Brown it was, and last I heard he is OK with a huge bruise and maybe some broken ribs.

I shut down launch for the Sport and Club classes until 3pm. It is too wild and pumping for our field. Once Trent is moved off the aerodrome, the Open guys start towing again. WE wait until 3 and make the decision to start towing at 4pm – no change to the task. 80km to Cudal. At 4pm we launch and and 4 off and I pop off in what seems like good lift, I look at the vario, oops 1100’agl, I was told we can stay on as long as it took because we are so late. Anyway I find a steady core at 300fpm and next I know the three tugs behind me are all losing their pilots as they ping off too, OH NO I think I hope these guys are not getting off because I did, as I am not sure just yet that this one is going to be the one. Pretty soon we are all in good cores and climbing out nicely ALL THE WAY TO 10000’ + (10000’ is the legal height here) That is over an 8000’ height gain, oh so sweet.

Things get a bit scratchy after I glide of 20k down the road and I get stuck scratching at between 4-5 grand. Meanwhile my team have all landed and got a flat tyre, I feel kind of bad because I had the driver (Laura) sitting out in the heat all day and now they have to deal with changing a tyre in the heat. OK I said I will dribble to the next town and find the pub. I need to get a little lift to get to the most convenient paddock to town so push over some small rocky ridges. The glider start to speed up as it gets sucked into something that really wants me to be a part of it. Slowly the glider starts to climb I wait, wait a little more and start to turn the way I think will give me the cores, one turn and I am climbing at 600fpm, 7 at times 8 it I lose it in spots, Sorry crew but I cannot say no to this. Not long later I am at 10000+ again and it looks like I have goal from 38km out. OH Yeh! I glide toward the turn point taking it easy and enjoying the view. The turn point is really just a spot on the course line we wanted the pilots to fly too to keep them closer to the roads, it is only 15k from goal. I hit another nice climb about 8k from the TP and cannot resist a little more lift, even though I don’t need it. The view in the horse shoe valley, (stark contrast to the surrounding flats) I have just come over is spectacular so I stop to ponder it some more, who cares about times when there are only three people in your comp, if only I had my camera – but I keep forgetting it in the hot and hectic paddock, it is just one more thing I do not need to worry about. A lazy easy glide to goal. LIFE IS GOOD!

back on deck

Photo's above are Tim then his Dad Keith Howells, these guys, in fact all the club class were flying and towing well - DUSTY!

Sorry missed a couple of days due to getting tied up a little with the accident that happened here on the first day and unfortuntely our friend Steve "Missy' Elliot did not survive his accident. He basically did not get out of the cart straight or at all before things went wrong. I will let the accident investigation to sort out whatever facts that can be determined.

I did manage to make goal on the the second task for the Sport Class we are setting tasks that are the same for the Sport and Club Classes, it is a bit ridiculous that the Sport Class only has 3 gliders and one of them is a topless glider. Validity and such is all screwed up because the field is so small- 250 pts for making goal... Meanwhile the Club class has a decent field, in fact if I were in there I would be getting spanked at the moment due to missing a day and then yesterday I got dumped off tow downwind from the air field and could not make a glide back in the 12-15kt winds, I committed to go, as I had to, and hit the deck just up the road. The top Club Class Pilot has made the goal every day in his Sting... good to see. Yesterday was an 82km task and today we will use the same goal with a different turn point to make it right on 80km to the west of the forbes airport at Cudal.

Anyway have to shoot off for an interview with the Police, hard to keep the head space right under these circumstances.

OH! also the internet access we have at the HQ is pathetic you can not upload photo's and quite often it is down. I have to regularly try and publish these posts numerous times so it is a real pain, looks like I might start hitting the WiFi at McD's instead

and so it begins

So after a lazy fly around on the practice day we move onto the first comp day. I was asked to help on doing the tasks for the Sport Class, when I asked Gerolf (who is on the task committee along with Davis and Attila) and Lukas about their thoughts on task setting for this class he laughed pretty hard when I said it would be good to get lots of people in the class at goal and make it 'fun', Lukas said task length did not matter if it was tail wind, yawned and walked off. No real help there, had to wait and see what the 'Task committee' suggested... the first task was set at 74km for Sport Class and 30 or so for "club Class" no I assumed Sport class was all king posted gliders with club being the new aero towers or single surface glider so I thought the Sport Class was probably a bit short especially for the HP gliders while and they agreed to change it to 89km, achievable by all. Turns out all intermediate gliders are the Club class and Sport Class is: One Discus, One U2 and One Litespeed HUH!

Anyway when we finally made it out to the airfield we all of course are launching last in these classes so no real hurry to do anything. Then someone yells "CHUTE" and sure enough there is one of the Russians in an Aeros Combat L coming down under chute about 800m west of the tow operations. Well I jump in the closest car with Vicki, Marty and Laura and motor on over there. Before we arrive we can see the pilot up and walking around, it was Sergei, and he explained as best he could that he had simply been thermalling and tumbled, it did appear that he came down nice slow and stable under his aero chute.




Then after we had 'broke down' the Combat and were heading back to the operations area I see a glider come out of the cart badly banked left, up it goes turns and plows in nose down. NOT GOOD! when we get closer Vicki needs to get out as she does not want to see the damage, fair enough, I drive over we already have a good crew helping 'Missy' Elliot who is having difficulty breathing and cannot feel anything below his neck. They have him on his side as best they can in his harness, he wants to be on his back but a brief discussion ensues and it was decided he was better not being moved. When the ambulance arrived there were grave concerns with his breathing so he was logged rolled over to his back and at one stage hi breathing was that labored and infrequent that someone said 'he's gone' I thought he was too, then he took a huge gasp and we all did the same. His breathing continued like that until they started bagging him. Not good to watch...

They finally got him off the field and I set to packing up his glider which had very little damage considering. Latest report is that he will recover. No spinal cord damage besides some damaged discs, he is in an induced coma at the moment. Damn good prognosis considering I thought he might not make it at all.

By this stage it was about 3.30 before the field opened again. Only the sport and club classes remained, plus a few gliders that had suffered significant damage from a dusty that blew through, me, I had a headache pretty bad by now and choose not to fly I told all the remaining guys to just shorten the task to the first turn point it was so late... then took a little lie down........

Left Brisbane at 9 o'clock for Forbes on something of a downer as our little dog Jet had gotten spooked by all the fireworks on New Year’s Eve and did a runner, we haven't managed to track him down yet but he has never gone very far from home if he ever escaped before. Our little girl is also a bit sick carrying a high temp and glands swollen the size of my fingers…. Quite stressful driving out from home on a long journey when all is not well even though I am powerless to change anything regardless of where I am…
Still thing are a little better than the residents of Boggabilla on the Qld NSW border who got hit by a monster storm cell a few days ago. A fair bit of carnage with big trees and even road signs flattened by the winds, the cleanup had progressed pretty well but the damage and destruction was obviously still evident.
The trip down was quite enjoyable and easy with Big Jon and Gemma in the car, made for some good conversation and the trip passed by without any significant events besides the odd B-Double trying to drive us off the road by choosing very poor areas to overtake vehicles traveling the other way. Around dusk I started to get a bit more vigilant on the lookout for kangaroos by the road side but with recent rains they do not really need the fresh grass that usually grows there with plenty to be found elsewhere. The only wild life was a lone emu; we both got a surprise as I drove by. 11hrs later (with a stop for some food) and we had arrived. Jonny had organised some houses in town for a large number of pilots. Basically the owners move out for the duration of the comp and go on holidays while we take over their pads paying a very reasonable (cheap) fee. I am sharing with Ant, Jamie and Blay might show up today to bunk down with us also.

News just in Jettie has BEEN FOUND whew! :O)
Currently sitting in registration at the Van hotel… I WILL be flying the Sport Class. A light to moderate southerly has kicked in and it is quite cool. The 40c+ temps forecast later in the week have now been downgraded to high 30's nice!