Last finishes from this nice-to-follow-competition from Welkom.
via FB [SoaringSociety of South Africa]
They were just back in time to celebrate Christmas at home, the Dutch and Danish pilots participating in the South African National Competition . Just before leaving back to the rain and grey skies here in Holland and a nasty storm [again!!! number 3 and number 4 seems to ” arrive” this Friday] Ronald wrote a short resume, which I like to share as it shows why comps are so precious:
“After a great competition we are on our way back to the cold, but also to the family. We had the best weather with speeds up to 167 km/h average. We had blue, clouds, thunderstorms, wave and 250km. of convergence. But most of all we had a very good time with old and new friends!”
That’s the essence of soaring in a few words!!!
The ” waiting” for another worthwhile-to-go-up-day in Chile for Jean Marc was rewarded with a nice flight from 1.594 km. with 120 km. /h. AGAIN in a 15 m. version DG 808! CERTAINLY NOT TOO BAD!
Soaring continues if it is Christmas or not! I remember from my Sportavia -days that most of our staff wanted to have the day off ON Christmas day, so it was always George [towing and paddock retrieves when necessary] and Brutus [ office] , Ingo [CFI] and I working on that day and our young staff-guests helping at the field to bring the gliders out and later in for our guests. In between they could swim in the pool , making ” bombs” and lots of happy noise, while listening to the radio.
Their evenings were mostly spend on the river with a cool fresh beer on the white river banks.
—-One Christmas was superb with one of the pilots flying a 1.250, great Christmas present, followed up with bubbles.
—-One of the other things I never forget was the roman catholic service in the night from 24 to 25 in 1986/87 in Tocumwal, with about 30 pilots from all different nationalities , preparing for the WGC in Benalla. We were all sitting outside as the church was too small for their normal guests and those “colourful cool overseas dudes” and it was still in the high 20thies.
Friends who are not among us anymore as Tapio Savolainen and Leonardo Brigliadori, were part of it.
Not long and Benalla will have another WGC , looking forward to that.
—-Another story I never forget and I mentioned it before is the ” angel coming from heaven”.
One of our female German guests, a gorgeous lady, blond long hair and because she was small, always walking on high heels even flying with them, started for a 300. Her husband had the day off. Till late we did not hear from her and no contact was possible how hard we tried. We asked still flying pilots, to contact her from the air.
” No,this could NOT happen, certainly not on Christmas- eve -day” went through our heads when we were preparing for the dinner with a lot of international guests.Of course the office was manned and after we all got very nervous from the husband, who seemed more worried about the Christmas Eve dinners he had paid for, than his ” missing” wife, there finally was the phone call.
She had out- landed pretty far away as we heard from the farmer , but ” no worries, an angel has come from heaven “. Their normal, I guess maybe boring Christmas night was lightened up with this gorgeous lady, tired of course after putting her glider NOT close to a farm as learned in briefing, but far enough to NEVER EVER make that mistake again. The farmer said he could not believe his eyes , driving his tractor home to celebrate Christmas and ” finding” along the road in the middle of nowhere this blond angel on high heels walking over the scrub.
No stiletto’s of course but pretty high cork between the flat and highest part.
On the tractor she went with him to the farm where she got a place for the night and a roast with different people then she had thought.A lovely experience as we heard the next day.
The husband was less amused, as he did not believe the glider could be back before briefing ready for him to fly after.Later he cheered up, must have showed his worries this way and had a good soaring day, coming back home in the evening.
Off to Amsterdam to celebrate Christmas with my family. See you next Sunday and enjoy CHRISTMAS to the fullest!Also my “poor” friends in Canada and huge parts of the USA who are sitting in freezing cold weather a lot even without electricity and some of the mates in Italy, France and the UK ” hurt” and hit hard again by the storm and the rain with flooding.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
from
Ritz
On Wednesday December 25 2013.
A pity you can’t see the flash light IN the glider, ” constructed” by my grand daughter Indya.