First real autumn- storms here in Holland last week .On Sunday we had gusting wind up to 110 /120 km./h.Pretty tough!!!Quite some problems, for car’s and trains and for walking people at the street getting debris on their bodies. Also planes at Schiphol Airport had problems and noticed some spectacular good landings.

A lot of TOP-wave flights this week with pictures. Enjoy!!!

———-

34th AUSSIE NATIONALS .

Club and sport-class pilots continued their competition, whilst I was in the Southern part of Holland for 2 days.
By the way I am moving house in Mai, back to “the roots”, to the southern part between the Belgium border and Eindhoven , the Phillips-light-town .
November 17, race 5; 364 km. and 547 !!!!!!
A brilliant,  ” cracking” as Adam who flies from Kingaroy in the East,calls it, day and a new name on top in club class for the day; Leigh Stoke in the ASW 20 C.

Leigh, after his very first win in a National Championship. Good on him.
Courtesy Waikirie Gliding Club…Nationals.

7 From 14 finished and one of the “out-landers” was Bernie Sizer who was on such a great spot 2 overall. Now he was out after 247 km. and dropped to 6.
Ailsa ,Allan and Terry [Cubley] belonged to the finishers.
In sports class a real nice long task and 4 from 10 finished!
Peter Temple has no problem with such a task, as experienced as he is, he won the day with a speed of 112.85 km./h.
It took Grant Hudson more than 6 hours to finish,…. but HE DID!!!!
Scott Percival [ASH 25 M] out landed and dropped from 2 to 3 overall.Andrew finished and is 2 again overall.
Scott was only less than 3 km. out from the finish circle.Such a pity but safety first!!!!

Safely tied down. Ready to be picked up the next morning by aerotow-retrieve.
Courtesy Waikirie Gliding Club…Nationals.

November 18 ; scrubbed!
November 19 race 6 ;club 169.59 km and sports class 175.80 km.
After a non-flying-day, the pilots had short flights for their last day.In club another daily winner this time Steven Cesko in the St Libelle flying around with 75.13 km. /h. Allan was a tad faster but lost on handicap .
So pretty easy to say who is this years AUSSIE CLUB CHAMPION; Allan Barnes with 4.432 points.
Runner up Ailsa, mostly flying with Allan,[ as he said he had to hold her off as she was gaining on him since day 3,]  was runner up, [4.103] good on her!!
Her own idea:” ‘The Cirrus that doesn’t know it’s a Cirrus”. Took a few days to work out that it still wasn’t quite as good as an LS8, then started relentlessly following Allan around each task.”
Jaroslaw Mosiejewski [PIK 20 B with 3.981] was the 3d on the podium.
Start times between 1.42 PM and 2.40 PM.

                                     

Allan, Ailsa and Jaroslaw and Andrew ,Peter and Scott with ASH 25 team mate Mark “Lumpy”  for friends.
By the way Lumpy is the new owner of our old WW2 Sportavia hangar. The SRGC [with Ingo] seems to be back there.
as shared by the organizers.

In sports class Waikirie pilot Grant Hudson [ASH 31 MI] was the last-day-winner. Slow speed but good enough to win ;87.69 km./h.
As Scott was 2d for the day and Andrew 3d,  with Peter on a 5th place the final scores were clear!!!
New AUSSIE SPORTS CLASS CHAMPION is Peter Temple with 4.572 points. Runner up Andrew G. with 4.044 and Scott was 3d with 3.887.
Our Chinese friends practicing for the WGC had 1.569 points [Guangwei] and 1.494 [Andrew].
Andrew was so kind to inform all pilots about soaring in China.

Text;
“Andrew Du describing the recently set up China Loong International Soaring Centre to the pilots and crew this morning. Close to Gobi Desert, a 700km ridge and high mountain peaks. Retrieval options out of the Gobi Desert are somewhat limited.”
Courtesy Waikirie Gliding Club ..Nationals.

AND

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!!

    

“Congratulations to Bjoern Rechinger as the inaugural winner of the new Swaantje Geyer- trophy for best performance at the Australian Club and Sports Class Gliding Nationals. Presented at Waikerie which was a place Swaantje loved to visit.”
And a big thank you to Brendan for organizing the trophy![the Claffey’s]
Picture and text; Waikirie Gliding organizers and  Catherine Conway, she also hands over the prize to Bjoern.

VERY PLEASED!!!!! LIKE!!!!!!!!

By the way ,the day after the comps Bjoern flew 715 [500 km FAI triangle] from Waikirie in his 18 m. Ventus 2 CT.
As Allan mentioned;” We had a good mix of weather; cu, blue, strong, weak, windy, calm, but sadly no classic high Waikerie days. That was saved for the drive back home.” How often does that happen !!!???

———
HIGH Height excitement!!!

the view from 20.000 ft., south of Kiamichi Ridge

The first message on FB from one of my USA SOARING MATES was ;
“Diamond Altitude. Ft. Worth got me to FL200. OK state altitude record!” November 17; 6.112 m. MSL/5.870 AGL.
Tony Condon got his Diamond altitude; Well done Tony! Flown from Talihini Airport in the USA.

I straight away contacted him and heard in a first message that he flew it in the Silent Electro:
“My State Record only stood for a few hours, Randy Teel launched after I landed and worked up to 21,900 ft in the late afternoon. We’re pretty excited. Previous record was 17,900.”
” After I landed yesterday, I told Randy to go catch that wave and see if he could go higher. AND HE DID! How cool!! Fantastic day of Soaring in Oklahoma!”

Here is his OLC comment, which says it all as Tony said;
” Wow! Thank you so much to Leo and Jen Benetti-Longhini [ I met them as well in Uvalde and indeed thay are lovely people!!!!]for letting me use their glider. Dave Pauly loaned me his O2 bottle. Steve Michalik called the weather 4 days ahead of time.

Lucky enough to launch right into some weak rotor which put me in the secondary right away. 5000 ft there then up to Albion where the primary is usually located. It was and that got me to about 11,000 ft.
With the southwest wind I hypothesized that the east end of Tombstone would work best since it curves a bit southeast there. Found the big climb there. Occasionally spikes to 3 knot average but otherwise most of the climb was 1-2 kts. Slow and Steady.

Fort Worth Center was very kind and accommodating in issuing an IFR clearance up to FL200. Was still climbing about 1 kt at that altitude, but the diamond was in the bag and I wasn’t well equipped for a long stay at altitude.
It wasn’t cold! Temp on the surface was over 80F and the freezing level was around 15,000 ft. A nice comfortable way to get Diamond Altitude.
Looking forward to more flying in Talihina! This place has it all!”
AND
“It was an incredible day and hopefully we can get back to Talihina on a wave day soon. It is about a 5 hour drive from my house in Wichita.Attached are a couple full size pictures for you. One is the view to the south from 20,000 ft and the other is me with the glider after landing. This is the same Electro (JEN) that Leo and Jen l loaned me for the World’s in Lithuania as well as the Nationals last summer in Uvalde. I owe them a LOT!”

   

Tony “with his text;” Diamond smile!” and Randy with about the same smile but “different”.
Pictures shared by Tony.

And this is Randy’s FB story;
“What a great day of soaring in SE Oklahoma. I want to thank Dooley Rucker for getting me launched and for Tony Condon for showing up in Talihina and providing me with FT Worths Center Frequency 132.2. Todays flight would not have happened with out the both of you.
A couple more PENDING OKLAHOMA STATE ALTITUDE RECORDS. Absolute of a approximately 21,900 feet and Altitude Gain of approximately 20,500 ft. I have been trying to get Diamond Altitude 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) since we first doing wave flights in 2007. I knew it was possible. It was just a matter of being here at the right time.”

———

EVEN MORE HEIGHT GAIN……..by the Schmelzers.

     

Bert jr. and Bert sr. on these pictures at another occasion.
Bert jr flies in MILVUS clothes.

And up to 7300 m. this time!! Dad and son Schmelzer, both called Bert ,added  another awesome soaring day to their lives.
“ A great Sunday afternoon with my dad”  was the short message:
” 7.000m and -25°C in the Schesaplana wave.”

After 700 km. driving from Belgium to Switzerland WITH a trailer on the back of the car!!!, Bert sr. arrived  and flew the next day with Bert jr. this great flight!!

Here is the FULL story, as I got it from Bert sr.: THANKS!!!!!!!!He was still excited , only wanted to share the pictures with me , but I loved the story with it,… so here you are.
—-On Friday evening Bert jr. called from Zurich to Bert sr. in Antwerp in Belgium. There would be Foehn on Sunday. Would he like to come to Zurich ??!!A storm depression in West Europe and foehn in the Alp,….a classic situation for November. Hilde and Bert had other obligations but decided at the spot to prepare and travel to Switzerland.

First to the Keiheuvel the home field from the Schmelzers,  where on Saturday afternoon quickly the transponder, just back from a repair-job, was installed in the Ventus by friend Jef Dekoninck. A check if all was OK, hooking on the trailer checking the lights ,….and off they went!!!!

At 8 in the evening they arrived in Zurich at Bert and Barbara’s place. During dinner ,…..preparations as, airspace, frequenties from Zurich info and Innsbruck and Vienna radar and a discussion about flying in wave,this ALL to keep EVERYTHING SAFE!!
I know the Schmelzers for a long long time and they REALLY PREPARE!!!!

At 4.30 AM, the alarm-clock  went off. Time to go to Hausen Am Albis where Bert jr’s 18 m. Discus 2T, was rigged as well as the 18 m. Ventus, 2CT. This all in the dark, early and coldest period of the day!!!
At 7 the tuggie was ready; daddy Schneebelie father of the young Schneebelies helped the early birds out. At 7 AM Bert jr , who wanted to start at first light, went up ,about half an hour later Bert sr.
Very turbulent weather but all went according to plan. At 3000 m. Bert sr put on his oxygen installation.
Though checked before ,….it did not work!!!!!Damm,……
He had to fly back and landed for a relight!!!!!!
Everything was tested and checked again  and one hour later he was up in the air .
Bert jr had flown back to catch up and as Bert sr. said “we had the most remarkable flight ever”.
Over the Schesaplana in the Montafon- mountains they climbed with support from Innsbruck radar to just over 7000 m!!!!
Overwhelming views from approx 150 km. were the present for all their efforts, as well as their best height ever.—-

In the evening after the flight Bert and Hilde de-rigged, packed and drove home again where they arrived at midnight after a fabulous day and even Hilde enjoyed it to the fullest!!!!On Monday they were back at work as usual.
Enjoying MINUS 25 and up in the morning at 4.30, CHAPEAU for the “old Bert” !!!
And how well knows young Bert his dad to call him. Chapeau!!!!
This is family soaring at his best!!!!

Here is a preview -picturefrom last Sunday’s wave flight “As seen from 7.300 m”

And here is already a the link to 4 of the pictures, more to come;
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3m8xssj9e9z9o3o/AAA9SYBf6lJpx6XfQgJ2E8MSa?dl=0

———–

OMARAMA.

Norwegian pilot Arne Martin Guetler enjoyed a great time flying in Omarama in N.Z, making the most beautiful pictures.
Who is on FB can see them all under his name.
He wrote:
“Omarama is Māori for “Place of Light”, a reference to its extraordinarily pure and clear sky.”
On November 11 “: Last day flying in New Zealand. And probably one of our most amazing flights, despite being probably our slowest and shortest!
Very difficult thermals, but we soldiered on regardless, and in the end was rewarded with some weak wave which got us to our goal of Mount Aspiring which we’ve been trying to reach for a long time!”

“We finally made it to Mt Aspiring!
At 3000 m it is New Zealand’s highest mountain outside the Mt Cook area.”

When they left the weather changed and on the 12th the South Island Championships 2016 started [November 12-19] at Omarama with 18 pilots. As far as I could see on www.soaringspot.com  they unfortunately  had NOT ONE valid day.

Great picture shared by Milan Sawyer with the text:”YOU MUST COME TO OMARAMA.”
Yes this is OMARAMA too.

———

Interesting OLC flights.

Great to see the Corowa season has started as well. Good to see the familiar names on the OLC with their comments!!!Have a look when you have time.
Also Tocumwal has action and on Thursday all over Australia already nearly 50 flights .
My friends from Finland arrived in Tocumwal as well. Eddie,  from Sportaviation,  mentioned on the 18th:
“First Super day for Tocumwal 12.500ft”
Interesting wave-flight in an ASW 15 from Krnov in the Czech Rep by Jan Ratz; 530 km.
Temora in Australia is one of those underestimated glider fields. So early in the season Brian Du Rieu already showed the potential flying his LS 8 over a 800 km triangle !!![820 km./804FAI triangle] Good!!!!
He was pleased that “the day was exactly as forecast. Strong WNW wind on the 2nd leg, and final glide under complete overcast for the last 110km albeit with nice buoyant air!” Brian topped the OLC-day of November 18.
On November 19,  great flights from Veronica in Namibia N.E.  of Bitterwasser. Never heard of that airfield but 3 over 1000 km flights ,all in Arcus ,were flown from there.
One day later also Bitterwasser and Kiripotib, as well as Pokweni added over-1000 km. flights.
Gawler had a great flight on November 20;Philip Ritchie flew 792 km [743 FAI triangle] in a Mosquito!!! His comment on the OLC;
“Classic trough day out of Gawler SA. Very long glides into wind heading north. Some strong climbs. Slow on final leg as the day went very soft.”
Yesterday , “fresh champion”  Allan Barnes just back home as winner from the Australian Club Class Nationals in Waikirie[see above] in  the South  Australia , flew 717 km [500 FAI triangle] in his LS 8 from Lake Keepit this time  on the East side of OZ.
He topped the OLC list with this flight.

———

Benalla.

Not long and the Benalla WGC will be flown. I was amused and a little amazed to see that the USA added an extra pilot to their team. Here is the message I found on FB by Pete who I got to know in Uvalde. Nice fellow and already in Aussie atmosphere!!! Really hope it works out well and IN TIME!!! I know about customs , carnets and quarantine etc.
“G’Day All,
I’m very pleased to announce Mike Robison’s addition to the US Team going to Australia in Open Class.
Mike will be flying N1K (JS1- CJ) which Steve Nichols very graciously lent to Mike.
Thanks to Fernando Silva for working behind the scenes to help Mike work out all of the logistics and helping Mike to find a good ship to fly in a very short amount of time.
Welcome to the team Mike!
Pete Alexander
US Team Committee Chairman.

Miss Dick Butler on the list now. Does that mean NO CONCORDIA in Benalla???? Would be a great pity as those paddocks are huge even for those long wings and that of course only when Dick would have out-landed.I’ll check for you.

Between all men I only found ONE lady to fly there; Anne Ducarouge from France in 15 m. flying an ASG 29.
So many “strong” pilots in all 3 classes. It will be more than exciting. Such a pity I can’t be there.

———

NO NEWS NEXT WEEK.
I will be taking care of my grandchildren.
SO CU you on December 7.
Cheers Ritz

With 38 cm of snow in Stockholm on ONE day,  winter presented itself early in the Scandinavian countries. In 100 years there had been not so much snow as in the first week of November.On pictures last week we saw more early snow in Finland but not as much as in Sweden.
It caused quite some problems, even for a country totally used to lot’s of snow!
We had minus 5 and that meant “first-time-window-scratching”.Now it’s only raining!

———-

WORLD FINAL OF THE 7 th FAI SGP at Potchefstroom.

On top and making the picture,…Sebastian.
Courtesy Sebastian Kawa and processed by the SGP media team.
” Next technology step is coming very soon and we will be able to get these beautiful footage live from the air ! Many thanks Seb.“

Day 4 Race 4 ;
was cancelled due to thunderstorms so 3 days to go!!!
They tried hard . Here is their news;
” With the last sailplanes still launching, the thunderstorm announced its presence with  lightning and approaching rain. The entire area to the West was being closed down and now the question was whether we would have enough time to make the start. The twenty minute start procedure was initiated on the radio, with hopes that the pilots would be able to make their start on the right side of the line, but in the end the thunderstorm came in too quick, taking down with it the route to the first turn point.”

Gliders return to the field.
As shared by the organizers.

Day 5..Race 4.. 294.05 km.
with the early morning tweet AND picture;
“Today’s menu. You will find a “plan B” and a “plan C” on the picture but let’s be optimistic with a possible start gate opening at 11:30 Paris time (12:30 local time) for a just less than 300km race to go !”

So an early start at 12.40 and good speed to be back again. French pilot Christophe Abadie flew around with 146 km./h. Just a tad slower, 145.8 was to be seen at the log file of Oscar.So,….Oscar sees how his lead grows a bit with these extra 8 points. Now he has 25 ,just 3  ahead though ,on Sebastian ,who was 3d and gained 22 over 4 days.
Bad day for Mike loosing nearly 23 minutes on the toppers. I know he can race as the best, but sometimes has to dig himself out and that cost.
Here is part of the official review:
“With Oscar and Sebastian maneuvering to get the best possible energy lines, Christophe, who was lower, elected to fly straight on following the shortest possible path. This was a significant gamble, as he would have to slow down significantly and lose his position, should he encounter bad air. By the end, Christophe had managed to inch ahead and win the day, finishing with as speed of 146 km/h, with Oscar and Sebastian finishing seconds behind him.”

Christophe on his way to win the day after passing Sebastian who took the picture!!
146 and 145.8 km./h.

Day 6.. Race 5..169.03 km.

    

The morning briefing looked very relaxed, but Brian is ,as long as I know him pretty relaxed, but the soaring- news was …..waiting;
“Briefing is postponed to 12:15 local time. Weather conditions were quite bad this morning but blue sky is coming now but competition direction needs to fine tune the task of the day. Pilots are heading to hangars to prepare the sailplanes. Wait and see.”
How bad you can see on the picture where Sebastian makes an African snowman from hail. Happy pilots whatever weather, as you can see on picture 3 throwing their hats in honor of sponsor Daly Land Rover. All pictures shared by the organizers.

So with a late start at 2.30 PM the pilots had ,after a lot of morning excitement, to go for race 5 with 169,03 km.
No start-games as they all start at the same time at the same place. Will be interesting with such a short race ,who keeps the calm.
It was a battle field!!!!! Holger [Karow] and Christophe were about “in”  at the same time, slow [83.8 km./h ]but finished!!!
9 points for Holger and 7 for Christophe. ” Poor”  Oscar out landed after 112 km and and even more “poor “Petr, as he was nearly back [163.4 km]
The full story is on www.sgp.aero but here is a little part ;” There could not have been two more different flights than Andy and John, one taking the high level wave route and the other pushing hard ow down and using thermals in the blue conditions.”
Andy was 4th John 3d this day.
At FB the organizers mentioned:”Andy Davis (GB) has been the hero of the day, definitely, just missing one good thermal but what a courageous move he made before turnpoint one ! Guest of yesterday was also Mr Wind, blowing the pilots away and killing efficiency. Impressive.”

Day 7 ..Race 6..205.89 km.
Last day and EVERYTHING IS STILL POSSIBLE!!!
On the last day the weather did not co-operate as you would expect and hope for in South Africa. Not a “dream-day” ,but real European weather and that showed as Matthias Sturm won the day with a speed of  123 km./h. and UK pilot Andy Davis was runner up.
Matthias got the last-day-11-points and Holger who had that fabulous day earlier was 5th and got the 5 points added to his 30 which was enough to make him the CHAMPION!!!Well done Holger, congratulations!
Oscar was 3d and received 7 points , not enough for spot 1 but certainly enough to be RUNNER UP.
French pilot Christophe was the 3d at the podium. Good on him. He surely would have loved a better last day but with a 7th spot he was number 3 in the final scores.
Andy and Sebastian followed.

   

The happy- chappie-CHAMPIONS ans Shaun talking with Holger .
As shared by the organizers.

A great race as expected with a top winner ,safe pilots and beautiful gliders. Here is one from the JS 1 flown by LucianoAvanzini . Picture courtesy Bertus Le Roux.

AND
a GREAT one from Robert Atkinson from Oscars JS1 EVO TJ

AND
After the race the 5 SA-gliders and 2 trailers went in the container in again a different way of “packing”.

   

——-

Staying in South Africa and Namibia.

When November starts and the gliders have arrived the “overseas-circus” starts straight away. Pilots rush to their destination and with mostly not too much time difference they hop in the glider and start aiming to fly as much kilometers as possible and to have a great time. Some just like the soaring in spectacular weather and do not need long distance flights. They enjoy it to the fullest.
So for all kind of pilots and their crew or family, there is something there.
Flying with the champions has started and top pilots fly again with upcoming pilots to show them “the tricks”  or to give them the boost to fly long distance or short distance in co ordination with looking at the weather.
Great concept from Ludwig and Wolfgang both from Austria and long time friends.
Mind you after they travel to Australia to get used to the Benalla weather and circumstances. Wolfgang flew there already many times and also last season as practice.
The first 1000 km flights from Bitterwasser and Kiripotib have been added to the OLC and we will see many more!!!!
Also Pokweni is busy and in South Africa the first long flights have been posted from Gariep Dam and Douglas Backhouse.

———

36th Australian Club and Sports  Nationals in Waikirie  .

Allan Barnes top-Aussie- pilot shared this picture from the practice day with :
” Big storms through Waikerie this afternoon. Nationals practice day called off – I was first launch and spent an hour below 2500ft in rough hot windy conditions.”
And
“Unfortunately after an interesting looking sky the practice day has been scrubbed. Heating has been slow after alto-cumulus popped during the morning briefing and virga has been evident.”

They started last Saturday with 14 pilots in club and 12 in sports class and a bit better weather, though very tough wind. Among them the 2 Chinese participants for this WGC in Benalla. They know they will not win there, but they practice as much as possible to have at least a few competitions under their belt. Good on them.Their promotion for soaring in China is a great effort.

Gliders ready for day 1, as seen by Robert Smits, who did not fly on day 1.

November 12 day 1;2 Hour AAT’s were set for both classes.
In club Allan [LS1f] was the best with 171 km. in 2.44; 655 points.
In sports class Peter Temple flew 233.33 km in 202.34;617 points.
November 13;no flying. Message from the organizers:
“No flying today. We look forward to the comp continuing tomorrow.
A special mention by Peter Temple (our day one sports class winner) of the good job the Club Class pilots did in flying under very difficult and windy conditions yesterday. Couple of other lessons were; keep flying straight ahead into wind, don’t turn and ensure a safe final glide angle of something like 1 in 12.”
November 14 day 2;it looked like another scrubbed day , but they started for a 2.30 AAT in both classes.As Grant Hudson one of the participants [ASH 31/18m.] mentioned:
“A lot of cloud cover early made for softish conditions but as the day dried out cloudbase went up and so did the climb rates. Good fun but tough in places.”
Allan won the day again but he took 2 rides for the victory, here is his own OLC comment:
“they launched us on a 2.5hr AAT when the first sign of lift appeared. I came off tow and ran to the only thermal in the sky, then struggled to get up. Made an early start, then after a long dead glide into wind found a weak climb and took it all the way back to the airfield. Restarted with a few others and had a much better run. Caught the first turnpoint just inside it at about 1400ft (they say to take into wind turns low, don’t they?), and got a good climb so decided that I would head for the second. Conditions soon improved and I ended up running to the far side, until I was 15min over time. Managed to pull that back to 5 min; it would have been less but I took a security climb halfway back just to be on the safe side.”
9 From 14 finished Terry [Cubley] was runner up. Allan flew 219.49 km in 2.35.
In sports class Andrew [Georgeson] won the day in his JS 1 racing over 307 km. in 2.49. Peter was runner up.
November 15 day 3;the official morning message;
“Today we have Sports Class first off the grid with a distance task of 252.4km – Club class distance task of 205km. Light winds some small Q now but predicted to be a Blue day. Trackers should be working today.”
In club class I was pleased to see that young Ailsa won the day in the St Cirrus [handicap 990]. She started and finished in about the same time as Allan who was 2d in the LS 1 f[ handicap 1010].
As Allan mentioned ;” Bad timing – Ailsa who was with me recentred into 5kt just after I bailed. Flew hard to catch up and got a 9kt just before the second turn – hurrah! That turned out to be the thermal of the day for me – could not shake the gaggle and we all finished roughly the same time.”
In sports class Andrew [JS 1 c handicap 1075]won again with on his heels the ASH 25 [handicap 1065] from Scott [Percival] and the ASG 29 from Peter [handicap 1075]
Some called the day “underset” others “it was hard work.”
November 16 day 4…. today; 2.30 AAT in both classes.
Ailsa is in the right “groove” ,… she won AGAIN . Good on her!!!! Overall with 3 days to go she is now on spot 3 behind Allan [ nearly 300 points ahead] and Bernie who is doing a great job in his new glider; PIK 20 b. In the past he rented the club’s [SRGC] ASW 15 [Dundee is the owner of this glider] but he liked competition gliding so much, that he bought himself a more competitive glider, so he did well.
Today he called it an ” Interesting day, some big climbs but way apart. Had to dig out of two holes today.”
In sports class Peter won again and leads the class with more than 300 points. GOOD!!!
As scores are very fresh they are preliminary.

———

Some interesting OLC news.

November 11 showed some great flights and very different. In the USA Baudouin Litt raced in his LS 8 over the mountain tops with a nice combined thermal, wave and ridge flight from Mid Atlantic Soaring; 919.2 km.!!!!
Same day but in the spring time in Australia Brian Du Rieu flew from Temora in the 18 m.LS 10 a 600 km. FAI triangle. He “went” for a 750 but as he said ” the cu in the NE was further east than forecast so most of the flight was in the blue. South of abeam Forbes to 50 km out from Temora on the last leg the ground generally is still wet and flooded around Lake Cowal.”
On November 14 Dennis [Tito] this time flying with Bill Hill, nearly 2000 km. [1.985,94 km] with a speed of 206 km./h. From Chos Malal in Argentina. One day earlier Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock flew 1.130 km. with a speed of 127 km./h. Both flights in the Perlan Project DG 1001 M.
It’s great to see how many 2-seaters  nowadays give joy to “teachers/champions and students”, to friends and family members. LIKE!!!!!!
As usual and as expected it starts to rain 1000 km flights in Bitterwasser, Pokweni and Kiripotib.Have a look at the OLC;
www.onlinecontest.org
And Australia’s weather is top too, certainly in the East ; Today Chris Woolley , yes father of… flew already 820 km[600 FIA triangle]  in his 18 m.Ventus 2CM from Kingaroy. Former Sportavia instructor Alain Potier flew from there in the St Jantar 531 km. Adam flew too and called it an awesome day.

——–

And to finish a great picture from Joke Termaat, [yes, Ronald’s mum]
Autumn in Holland.

——–

Cheers CU next week.

Our autumn , here in Holland, really has started now, not a lot of leaves on the trees anymore and 925 km. of traffic jam on the first rainy, windy day where it “snowed leaves.”The colors are/were just fabulous.
In Finland some of my friends shared pictures from the first snow!!

       

As shared by Jorma and Antti.

And Art [Grant] and his wife, moved quickly from Canada to their summer residence in Texas.
Reinhard [Pankow] who flew in the past with us at Sportavia, is one of the first Namibia pilots for the season and settled down in Pokweni, as did Axel Nuss, who flew a 524 km. task with a speed of 151.88 km./h. in the Nimbus 3D ,…..so it’s all happening there as well.
Bitterwasser had it’s first flight for the season too; 400 km. to start with in an ARCUS. And yesterday a 1000 by team Reinhard Schramme in the EB 28; with 133 km./h.
Gariep Dam is unpacking and nearly ready to go.

as shared by GARIEP DAM GLIDING

———-

POTCHEFSTROOM is HOT in different ways, 7th SGP final!!!!

Last Friday practice for pilots and organizers as the official practice day on Saturday should be TOP. Important part; the scuteneering . Here is Mike [Young]waiting with the JS 1 for his turn.
AND,…..look at the skies!!!!!

.

Both pictures shared by the SGP organizers.
www.sgp.aero

RACE 1;209.61
The very first competition day was last sunday and the regatta start was at 2PM.The skies of picture 1 were the skies from day 1.The practice day by the way, was scrubbed.
So not the very good SA weather,tricky, but very interesting for a first day.
Youngest participant and from Germany,Simon  Schroeder was the first daily winner. Well done !!!Even with some penalty points he got the 10 points for the day. A slow day as the top speed was 86.1 km./h.
As they said on the SGP site; “This was a day that called for conservative and quick thinking, but in the end it was won by the pilots who played their own game.”
Can’t say it better!!!

Ready for race 1 as shared by Oscar.

RACE 2; 225.78 km.
Another day with difficult circumstances as there was a possibility for thunderstorms. 3 Tasks were set , in the end the weather held and the 225 km was flown .
This time the 10 points were for Sebastian flying around with a speed of 125.8 km./h. Simon only flew 2 km./h less but only  got 3 points. Oscar[Goudriaan] and Holger [Karow] arrived at the same time and both were called for a 3d- place- celebration.
Andy [Davis] was punished “hard”with 436 penalty-sec, mainly for a much too high start.
After 2 days the 2 German pilots Holger and Simon top the total list,but still enough time for the others.”it ain’t not over yet!”
RACE 3 ; 365.31 km.
the weather for race 3….;the picture says it all. Cloudstreets to follow, super conditions!

As shared by Philippe de Pechy from France .

Racing weather means ,….FAST,means……OSCAR!!!!! Yes he won the daily 10 points with a speed of 150.1 km./h and that was just enough as Petr Krejcirik was on his heel/tail!!! 149.9 km./h. So 8 points for Czech pilot Petr.
Andy and Mike were on spot 3 and 4 both flying over 146 km./h.
Oscar raced to the top with 17 points in 3 days , then 3 pilots with 15 points, Sebastian, Andy and Holger.

Race -3-winner OSCAR.
As shared on the news site from www.sgp.aero

Today; 324.64 km. and an early start.
Cancelled due to upcoming thunderstorms.

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And last but certainly not least

GLIDING INTERNATIONAL.

The cover from the November/December issue is a glider half an hour before sunset in Germany in GOLDEN skies. Very appropriate for the Christmas season.The picture is by Tobias Barth. You can find his web page on ;
https:/www.flickr.com/photos/1114908652NO5/
Much more in this last Magazine for 2016 as 2017 is awaiting.
— Aldo starts with a great story about flying in the  Pyrenees.
He flew himself during the Spanish Nationals in Santa Cilia and won in open class in the ARCUS. Great pictures as well.
—Why do so many [at least 5] military air forces buy/order the DG 1001 Club??? That’s what Myles Hynde wanted to know . A full story also about DG where Holger Back, who flew his first 1000 km. from Tocumwal after the Benalla WGC in 1987, is the president and one of my friends and in the past in “my”  junior team Jelmer Wassenaar ,is the chief designer.
—Gliding at the Olympics?? Why not yet? Already in 1936 it was a demonstration sport……
—another story by Aldo, about the first two seat electric sustainer, the new electric variant of the 20 m. 2-seater by Schleicher
—is the 13.5 m. class a success?
—the provisional entry list for Benalla 2017 and chief editor John Roake [already in his eighthies but forever young] will be there in the last week to make the full story for his magazine.
—my last ” Ritz reports from Europe” due to my health problems, sorry but doctor’s advice.So there is a vacancy for a European correspondent!!
You can contact the editor at www.glidinginternational.com

I will receive my Magazine in the future too, so I can keep you up to date.

Cheers Ritz
Not too much news today have been in bed with a real painful bursa inflammation of my right hip.
Still suffering , but the medicines help.

Worried as well about our WORLD. Populists are slowly taking the lead [ Trump now, Brexit in the UK and in March most probably an ultra right winger with the most votes in Holland]
Sad.

Now the time, here in most parts of Europe has changed back  to the standard time, we could sleep one more hour , which felt good.
Down under in most parts [not all] they had a shorter day ,but no worries their summer, is arriving reason for a good mood.
Have to get used again to the difference when sky-ping with my Aussie friends, as it is not 8 but 10 hours now!!!
Already  November …… time flies AND time for many to pack the suitcase for short, long or very long visits to overseas soaring destinations.

Not long anymore and the Benalla WGC will start as well. It was a huge happening already in 1987 , specially for me and my family.My ex flew with our son Dennis in the brand new [prototype] of the Nimbus 3D; first ever father son combination in a WGC. My daughter Inge was their crew together with George’s brother Adrian and I helped where ever I could ,also crew from team Gerrit [Kurstjens].
I opened my huge book full of papers and pictures from that year and straight away was back in good old Benalla. I will write a bit more about it during the WGC . From home,…. as I am still not fit enough to go myself.
Looking forward to the season.

———

South Africa.

Just ahead of the finals of the FAI SGP in Potchefstroom, Oscar [Goudriaan] started his season with a ” big bang “; 1000 km. FAI TRIANGLE with a speed of 154 km./h!!!![October 28]
The full flight was 1.122.5 km. with 153.7 km./h and the FAI triangle 1.064.4 with 154 km./h. Good on you Oscar!!!
He flew his JS 1 C TJ Revelation 21m. with OG as call sign.
Oscar is ready for the Grand Prix!!!
So is John Coutts;865.32 km [596.2 FAI triangle] with a speed of 141.11 on October 30 in an 18 m. LAK 17 flying from Orient.

FINAL of the 2016 FAI SGP Potchefstroom is  about to begin!

AND

18 Top participants, 17 JS gliders [18 m] and 1 Ventus 2cxt flown by French pilot Phillipe de Pechy and 11 different nationalities .Here is an appetizer from the site about the side, the rest about the top-pilots,  you can read there:
“This will be the 7^th SGP final to take place since 2005 and the first to be held outside a mountain region which will certainly change the dynamics of the contest. Potchefstroom 120 kms south west of Johannesburg is situated in the vast high plateau of South Africa. The combination of high temperatures dry air mass and high altitude flying in this region should provide competitors with some excellent racing conditions.

The host airfield is the home of Jonker Sailplanes manufacturers of the JS1 sailplane, a new design in the world of sailplane racing which has established itself as a formidable competitive sailplane.

Most of the competing pilots have chosen not to ship their own sailplanes from Europe and will be flying JS1 sailplanes. This will make the contest almost a one design contest removing any controversy surrounding the performance of the machine and allowing a true comparison of the pilots abilities and performance.”

The first race is on Sunday the 6^th of November, for live race coverage results and pilot interviews go to the event web site at http://www.sgp.aero/finals2016

For the latest news of  race broadcast times, race progress and results follow us:-

On Twitter at  https://twitter.com/faisgp

On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/faisgp

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Gliders for sale in Australia!

Checking the October-Alpine Flyer , the internet soaring magazine/news from the Mount Beauty club I noticed 2 adds . Specially the Cirrus 75 is here in Europe popular for the young [top]pilots.So for sure also in Australia or New Zealand;
Here you are, specially for those who are interested as I have space now and maybe there is space in the containers coming back from Benalla:
CIRRUS 75 – IUV
Airframe and wings professionally refinished by Rowe Aviation Services
 No crazing or cracking on the gel coat.
 New instrument panel with the following units:
 Xcom VHF radio with press to talk, rear speaker and boom mike.
 Swiss FLARM.  Tasman V1000 vario.
 PDA mount on panel with 20 cm extension.
 Tasman flight pack air data engine – coupled to Tasman vario, Swiss flarm, temperature probe, pitot and static vents and PDA.
 Mountain high oxygen, AL180 bottle with EDS oxygen regulator.
 Clam shell trailer with mechanical brakes.
Price $19,500 Contact Richard Todd
E: richardrtodd@hotmail.com

The other glider is a PILATUS B4 GLIDER VH-GCD
Currently airworthy with 40 yearly inspection completed in September 2015. Open trailer. Price $8,000 ono
Contact Andrew:
E: skyfox49@gmail.com

All the news on; www.mtbeautygliding.com

———–

And news from the Tocumwal Residential Park

“Welcome to the Australian Aerobatic Club who are hosting the 2016 National Aerobatic Championships at Tocumwal commencing today and running until Sunday the 6th. We have turned the weather on just in time…we hope you enjoy your time here!”

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Latest news from SEVENTY 2 ONE!

***** LIMITED INTRODUCTORY OFFER ******

The first 50 Gift Certificates for €500 each.

The certificate entitles a glider pilot to experience the ultimate in cross country soaring, a day flying the magnificent Eta 70:1 sailplane with Uli Schwenk from Münsingen Germany.

To purchase your certificate email Uli Schwenk at Uli.schwenk@jaxida-cover.de . Once your payment is received your certificate will be posted to you.

You can use your certificate in the 2017 or 2018 season and you can share the experience with a friend where you can have two shorter flights on the one day.

Book now, don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

#christmasgift #bucketlist#ultimateglidingexperience #70:1

On a question how many flights for the E.500, the answer was;”you get a full day. You can share it with one another pilot. It will depend on the day of course, maybe a 5 to 7 hour flying day. When you book email Uli and let him know what you would like to do.”
Always interesting!!!!

———–

Have a good week.
Cheers Ritz
Finishing with this awesome picture I got in my FB messages [zwevers] shared by Constant Godefroy on October 30.
With his text ;
“This is gliding as well.  The DG 1001T from the  KZC, on final at sunset.”