This morning my mobile remained “beeping”. I was scared to look as it might/could be, that Kiev had fallen.
But no it was n’t, though it is too bad/sad for words what’s happening over there. More in my Wednesday blog.

Ingo passed away….. and from all parts of the world I got messages.
“The great man has left us. Gliding in Australia is infinitely stronger for having had Ingo, and will never be quite the same without him. Fly high.”
By Skyrace GP

Here is my personal tribute for an outstanding and erudite person;
I got to know Ingo in Rieti in Italy during the WGC in 1985 ,where he won in open class.
That was the beginning of a real friendship between our family from The Netherlands and several families from Australia.
Bruce Brockhoff, Peter Griffith, Paul Mander, Terry Cubley, Michael Giles and Tony Tabart….they all flew the Pre-worlds in 1984 and that is where it all started. The start of regular visits to Australia and to Tocumwal.
The Aussies invited us and till now we still visit our friends over there and some visited us here in The Netherlands.
In December 85, I saw the WW2 hangar for the first time and got to know people as Bill Riley and his family, Corckey and Peter who worked with David Riley in the “work shop” .
Bill told me how Ingo walked over the beams in the top of the hangar…scary….to keep the wooden beams in good order.
In between Bill supported Ingo with his competition soaring, as he saw straight away, already in 1969 , that Ingo was more than good!!!
That Christmas, Ingo and Teresa invited us for a drink in their caravan and we had a great time .Ingo got a bottle of “something very strong” [might have been Slivovitch ] and we happily drunk through the afternoon. Will never forget Ingo’s loud laughter and the movement of his whole body whilst laughing.

Through the years we became more and more involved with Sportavia and were regular customers making more and more friends also in Tocumwal town.
When Don, one of the owners, decided to sell he asked George, if he wanted to buy his shares and so the Schuit family George and I and Dennis and Inge got involved.
From customer to owner, a huge difference.
Ingo had been there for 20 years already and he kept being a great and never tiring factor.
Our Dennis died and Ingo wrote a message on the mortuary card, Ingo married Judy and we attended the wedding in their garden.
We had customers who specially flew over from Europe, Argentina or Canada to fly with Ingo.
One Canadian elderly gentleman threw his money on the desk in the office and for that money he wanted to fly as much as possible in the back of a 2-seater with Ingo. His last wish.

After some time Sportavia got a new owner in Richard who, after one season had enough of it and auctioned the lot off. It broke our hearts.
Ingo and all the other employees , I was one of them , lost their jobs unexpected.
Soon a modest new gliding club was formed and Ingo became the CFI from the Southern Riverina Gliding club and he and Judy worked hard to get some gliding activities going again, first out of the hangar of Mike Toth, later acquired by Bruce Wilson. Some years later they had to move out and managed to get some room in the old Sportavia hangar that had been sitting locked up and deserted for more than a decade.

Lumpy ,who bought the hangar for a dollar as I heard , did with his partner Sharon a great job to get it back in a good condition. Even the pool was working again and clean and the gardens were beautiful as they were in the past. Compliments for them. Tocumwal was back on track. Meanwhile the club fleet gradually grew and Ingo became quite busy again. 
Ingo was on the field whenever he could. He flew his own Discus when he had time and together with Judy , even on the day he married her, in the Kookaburra. Lots of guests flew with him in it as well.

In our time George set up the Outback Shootout. A gentleman competition, geared toward flying distance rather than achieving speed. Every year we invited a young promising new lad from Europe to soar with Ingo. I only heard good about those flights. Young Tijl Schmelzer has learned so much he told me and he uses it now for fabulous flights. 

Till the end Ingo FLEW. I knew already that he was sick for a longer time. It was no secret that he had bone cancer, which was detected, when the horse he fed in the meadow behind his house  ,broke his shoulder when nudging Ingo.
Not long ago I heard Ingo had leukemia as well and then it is only waiting for the message, which came to me this morning.
I shared a message on FB this morning;
“To all who flew at Sportavia and got to know Ingo, I send my love and sympathy, as this is a very tragic loss for all, also for me; Those who worked there, those who flew there and those who became his mates. He will be sadly missed, but we have an enormous amount of fabulous memories. Treasure them. RIP Ingo…you were the BEST…. for us, as a family including Dennis and Inge ,who both flew and worked with you and the grandchildren Indya and Dexter, who got to know you as “a legend” a couple of years ago ,when they visited Tocumwal.”

Ingo was a man of stature, he received an order of Australia and was loved ALL OVER THE WORLD.
In summer he flew in Tocumwal, to leave for Italy [Sondrio] in autumn and spring was the time for Oerlinghausen [Germany]. Yes he made friends everywhere and with his enthusiastic way of talking about soaring, he invited people to come to Tocumwal and they did.
One of these stories brought Dieter Albrecht” Dundee” to Australia. He just was divorced, bought a ticket to Australia and arrived without knowing ONE word of English ,at my desk in the office.
He was very pleased to hear that I spoke German. So I asked him what we could do for him. ” Well” he said” Ingo told me to come and fly here so here I am”.
How long do you stay. “Oh about 6 months. “
Did you book a room in town” No I want to stay at the field.”
It was high season , no rooms available. So our staff quickly emptied room 6, full of not used stuff. We put a bed in it made the room nice with a few small Aussie things and for a few years he lived there. We then offered him to buy one of the little houses, which he did.
He now is not fit enough to visit anymore, but he and Ingo became friends and when possible “at 4PM” they had a beer together.
“(Wenn um Vier bestimmen wir!)”
One of those nice unexpected stories.
R.I.P. Ingo and I wish Judy a lot of strength for the upcoming time .

Here is the message from the Tocumwal Aviation Museum ;
“Tocumwal has lost an aviation icon and true gentleman with the passing of Ingo Renner. Ingo was a legend of the soaring world and as well known within the powered flying fraternity. Ingo was a key part of the establishment of the iconic Sportavia soaring centre in 1970 in the former World War 2 hangar at Tocumwal and the name Ingo Renner has been synonymous with gliding at Tocumwal ever since.Our thoughts and wishes are with Judy and family.Blue skies, thermals and tailwinds Ingo.“

And here from Gliding Australia;
“Dear Members, It is with great sadness that I advise you of the death of Ingo Renner OAM, aged 81. Ingo passed away on Saturday 26th February following a long illness. Ingo is truly an Australian gliding legend. Through his career he had amassed in excess of 36,000 hours, had won countless Australian and four world gliding championships. He had set many gliding records and had taught hundreds of people to fly. Ingo is arguably the most naturally gifted and generous glider pilot the world has ever seen. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.Our condolences go out to Ingo’s wife Judy, his family and countless friends. He will be sorely missed.  There will no doubt be an opportunity where we will all be able to share our thoughts and celebrate Ingo’s life. Vale Ingo Renner OAM.
Steve Pegler
President
Gliding Australia
https://www.aahof.com.au/inductees/Ingo-Renner
here you can read Ingo ‘s introduction in the Australian Hall of Fame.

And here from Lumpy Paterson who runs the Sportavia Tocumwal business now. Ingo had his gliders in the WW2 hangar.
“My gliding experiences will be a little different now without my Hero, mentor and mate around anymore. Very sad day yesterday with the passing of a true gentleman Ingo Renner.I was so fortunate to have met and spent time with him, he last left a lasting impression with me which I will cherish. RIP Sir Ingo“

I will dig out more pictures before Wednesday.
CU then.

We had 3 very unwelcome visitors in The Netherlands within ONE week and not only here but in a lot of European countries around us even up to the middle of Poland.
Dudley was the first storm with up to 120 km./h and Bft. 10.
Eunice the second one and a very nasty one, with Bft 11 and wind gusting to 145 km./h. That day, last Friday, schools were closed at 2 PM, 170 KLM-flights cancelled from Schiphol …and oh oh the winter-sport -holidays started…no trains from 2 PM etc. They called it one of the nastiest ones in a decade!
Wind up to 145 km./h and NOT ONLY in coastal areas ,but also in the heart of Holland, around Utrecht.
In the UK, the army was ready to help out and all coastal areas from Portugal up to Norway were on full alert.
Also Germany and Belgium were hit hard!!!
In the end Europe mourns 15 people who died.
4 In The Netherlands and Poland, 3 in the UK and 2 in Germany and Belgium.
In the Netherlands ,..all by falling trees!!!
The damage bill will be huge, but the loss of lives is much more terrible.
When we were happy it was over,….. Franklin visited. He arrived in the night from Sunday to Monday with gusting winds up to 145 km./h and severe thunderstorms with huge hail.
3 Storms within ONE week and 6 days above at least Bft 9…. not normal!!!!AND,… a more than 500 million euro damage bill!
And that is,…only for Holland.

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Something totally different,…..
Grietje and Francesco Bruinsma, also from the Netherlands ,started their Australian soaring center long ago.
They stayed with us on a holiday , loved it and they wanted to buy Sportavia at Tocumwal, but when that was not possible ,they decided to start a new soaring center at Corowa about 80 km to the East of us.
I knew they were selling and now it will be in the hands of Keith Gateley.
I know Keith already for a long time too and wish him all the luck he needs. It is indeed a fabulous life style to run such a business ,but hard work.
Here is what he had to say on February 16;
“I am reminiscing about my gliding in the 1990’s. For a while I was a member of a Gliding Club at Corowa. It was Sunday afternoons activity of winching the IS28 up the wire with plenty of circuits flown and when conditions were good a cross country or two. The club had an Astir or two and a Cirrus. It was good times, flying with mates, no club politics and the freedom of using a large airfield, seemingly all to ourselves. Fast forward about 30 years and I was sharing a beer with Nick Gilbert and Adam I’Anson at Leeton. We were watching the final day finishers of Skyrace and talking about old times in gliding. Adam was a cheeky 4-year-old when I joined the club at Corowa, he is still cheeky and still likes a chat.
The boys told me that the Australian Soaring Centre Corowa property was for sale and before I knew it, I was hatching a plan to drive down to have a look. Another visit was made last weekend and I have decided to jump in and give it a go. After all I purchased the Corowa Winch 10 years ago and it is about time it returned home.
Its official as of today, I have exchanged contracts to purchase the land, buildings and pool where the Australian Soaring Centre Corowa were operating.
I will be sending a call out to those that have flown at Corowa in the past. It must be time you come visit, stay tuned as I have many plans for this amazing cross-country site.I am looking forward to a fantastic 2022/23 flying season. What are my plans?
They are evolving but likely to include the following activities:
-Home for my new EB 29r (due by October 2022), which will be available for hire.
Eta glider D-KFEM to be flying from Corowa for the 2023/24 season, available for hire with well known local and overseas competition pilots.
Hangar spaces available for glider and powered aircraft.
Club camps.
Winch launches.
Super Dimona for glider launches (up to 750kg aircraft) and local sightseeing flights.
Trial Introductory flights in the Super Dimona.
Competition flying.
Re-establish a gliding club for locals to join.
Access to fantastic clubhouse facilities.”

On top of that they took over the SKY RACE GRAND PRIX from Leeton;
“After 5 fantastic years at Leeton, the SkyRace GP organising committee have decided, for the first time, to switch venues. Before going any further we’d like to sincerely thank the Leeton Aviators Club, the Leeton Council and the Hydro Hotel for their support. In particular Barry Kirkup, Dave Dowling and John Mason from the Leeton Aviators Club have worked hard to make our event what it is.
We’re excited to announce that the next event to be held from the 28th of December to the 6th of January will be held at Corowa Airfield. Corowa is a sensational site and was on the competition venue rotation 30+ years ago, and we’re very excited to say that starting with our event, it’s back! Keep your eyes peeled on social media for a more detailed announcement on this subject.
So – here are the particulars for our next event.
Venue : COROWA AIRPORT
Dates : 28/12/2022 to 6/1/2023Classes : F1 & F2 (see entry form for glider eligibility)
Entry form is available here :https://skyrace.com.au/entry-form/
There has been a lot of interest in our newly introduced F2 class so get in quickly.

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Looking at the picture below, insiders will straight away say:
Porta Westfalica. I wrote in the past already about it as quite a few Dutch pilots spend their week or weekend there.
Also on the 14th of February when the ridge worked well and happy pilots returned home with a smile.
They can leave their gliders in the hangar over there during December, January and February.
During one flight they flew for nearly 3 hours, over 295 km. , lift 0.6 m and speed average 109 km./h and XC 102.
Only 1 % circling!!!

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More news for summer in Italy for the well known Rieti comps. Here is Aldo the CD;
“Rieti: CIM & CCR & Extended Club Class! – August 2022
Dear friends of gliding in Rieti, the dates for the Coppa del Mediterraneo CIM, and the Coppa Rieti CCR have been switched as:CCR: Coppa Città di Rieti, August (1 training) 2-9;CIM: Coppa del Mediterraneo, August (10 training) 11-20.The most significant difference between CCR and CIM simply is the duration of the event. At the CIM, of course, you must expect one “rest-day” if we fly more than 6 consecutive days.In both events we will fly in handicapped mixed class (the Index list will be similar to the German DMSt 2022 – WeGlide). Usually, the participants exceed the n. of 40, so we try to split the gliders in 2 groups, based on the Index value (discriminating Index will be somewhere around 118, still open to debate and analysis of all participating gliders).
Additionally, in 2022 we will accept gliders of the “Extended Club Class” we have introduced in Italy: it’s based on the IGC Club Class, but reinforced with higher performing gliders such as Discus2 LS8 LS6 Ventus Ventus2-15 Janus DG500 and others, all with no-ballast and applying the new Italian Club Class Index List. We really hope this will make the Club Class more interesting (especially for those who don’t like very high wingloadings).So essentially, if we have enough participants, both events may see 3 “classes”.
Please spread the news!
thank you very much!
all the best,
Aldo“

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Interesting flight by USA pilot Ramy Yanetz on February 17 flown from Byron [CA ] ;
“SkySight was right on again, this time nailed the strongest wave nearly 100% of the time allowing exploring in wave from Williams much further than ever before to near the Oregon border.”
And….Another great north wind wave. Wind from N-NNE up to 50 knots earlier, 75 knots later.
Temperatures in F at altitude were single digit. Was a bit cold in his ASG 29.
You can read his comment on the OLC that day with lot’s of pictures.

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The 2021 Australian 18 m. / open and Sports/15m. NATIONALS started last Sunday at Benalla and continue to the 26th. Their practice day was on Saturday.
18m/open:
Task 1…369.57 km; 12 pilots tried hard to be the best on day 1. Pete [Temple] in his 18m. ASG 29 won the “fight”. He started relative early at 1.50 PM whilst the rest mainly started after 2 PM. Pete flew around with a speed of 128 km./h, which was 10 k faster than the runner up, John Orton in the same glider.
Here is Pete on Pete Temple Gliding
“Day 1 of the Open/18m nationals at Benalla.I was keen for a solid start, and achieved that plus some. The day suited my style – I started well away from anyone else and flew mostly by myself the first half of the flight. After that there were gliders around, but I was higher and leading out so could fly my own flight. First glider home – it’s always nice to come home to an empty airfield. 5.2 knot average climb on task with an average speed of 128 km/hr, not too shabby in a vintage glider.6 more days to go.”

Task 2….345.05 km; The Nimbus 3/25.5 m. from Ryan [Driscoll] was still in good flying mood from earlier comps and proofed that by winning task 2. Speed 106.59 km./h
Adam [Woolley ] was as runner up, a tad faster with 109.83 km./h. [handicap Ventus 3 T is 1085, from the Nimbus 1050]
And here is Adam; you can follow both of them, when you are interested, with the link.
“Editors note: Congratulations Ryan on your first ‘nationals’ day win! Had an absolute blast today & had a lesson by the master, Peter Temple in blue conditions for the last 100km. Pete lead the first 1/4, then I lead the next 1/3, Geoff Brown the next 1/4. Peter lead from the final turn, it was clear that no one was going to get away from another at this late stage, all we could do would be lose it. So I used my old age & cunning to not go for it, but sit back & coast home.Nothing in it in all reality glider wise between the JS1, G29 & V3 today, all at 570kg. The only thing I’ll say is that I’d feel that I could cruise at a higher cruise speed inter thermal with the same LD – but with the low height of thermals, it was hard to get away. The feel of the V3 helped me into a few cracking climbs, etc.Finally, Pete is an insanely strong climber, I look forward to trying to match him one day – new goal.”
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Task 3….2.30 AAT; Won by Adam who started 3 minutes behind Pete. who was runner up with Ryan as number 3.
12 started and 1 was out.
Task 4….411 km; Speed for Pete and Adam 128 km./h and for Ryan 120 km./h. That was also the order of the daily scores today AND the overall scores after 4 days.
Short note from Adam “I effectively lead from start to finish today, all day, then got pipped at the end by one climb behind me, super frustrating, but that’s the game, I’ll be 1st or 2nd today, don’t know..”
The rest in the Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

The weather today;

standard/15 m;
Task 1…354.51 km; local racer Tobias [Geiger] won the day in his Ventus 2ax; 104.75 km./h. 6 Pilots started in this class
Task 2…297.16 km; Tobias was , no surprise, the daily best again. He was the only one again flying over 100 km./h.
Task 3…2.30 AAT; Tobias is a bit of “a class apart”. I know he loves his kilometer-eating, but he is great in competition flying too. He flew 317 km. in time 2.32 so a nice speed of 124 km./h.
Michael Durrant in his LS 8T was runner up with 298 km in time 2.43…speed 110 km./h.
7 Started 5 finished.
Task 4…361 km; And ,…Tobias won again with 127 km./h whilst runner up Michael had 114 km./h.
The 6 who started all finished.
So after 4 days Tobias leads with 3.734 points with Michael as runner up with 3.123 p. Pretty good lead is n’t it?
More next week.

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With the new season on the verge of beginning, we really do not want this to happen. FLY SAFE!!!!!

CU next Wednesday
Cheers Ritz on February 23, one day after 22-02-2022.

The great weather in Horsham continued .
“The Horsham Week competition has been operating continuously since 1967 and is an opportunity for friendly competition flying in some of the safest country in Australia (nearly every paddock is a one mile square airfield standard surface). The Horsham Club wanted this competition to be one where pilots who were quite inexperienced at competition flying could be welcome, feel that they were amongst friends and mentors, and where the fear of outlandings would not stop people from having fun.”

Task 6 , last Thursday was good for a 3 hour AAT in CLUB class and Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in his PIK 20 b is “on fire”. Every day in the top 4 , so very consistent and twice daily winner. With 243 km in time 2.59 ,he was now the best on 2 consecutive days.[80.86 km./h]
After 6 flying day’s they had a NO -TASK- day, to continue with the last day
Task 7….194 km; Not only Jarowslaw was good, there was one pilot even better; Steve Jinks in his Mosquito. He also won 3 days in a row plus the last day; speed 113 km./h.
Overall scores in club class;
1. Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in PIK 20b with 5.374 points.
2. Steve Jinks in Mosquito with 4.814 p.
3. David Meredith in St Jantar with 4.660 with a speed of 121 km./h
4. Thomas & Buelter in the Janus with 4.612, so pretty close.

Task 6 in standard/15 m. had a 3 hour AAT as well and it was good to see that Tim Shirley, scorer and CD at many comps , even in my time, won the day in the ASW 28; 259 km. in time 3.14.
8 Started 6 finished and one of the “outlanders” was Jack Hart. He was overall winner every day till now , but had an off day and was out after 161 km.,. Yes it’s sad but it happens ….as scores were close, he dropped from 1 to 4 and that hurts.
Gordon Trollip in his LS 6 was runner up and leads now with 100 points on Tim.
Task 7….195 km.2 pilots from Benalla won the last day. Gordon in his LS 6 was 4th but good enough over the whole period to catch the first spot.
3 Pilots flew their selves in the 5000 scores.
Here are the overall results in standard/15 m;
1. Gordon Trollip in LS 6 with 5.366 points.
2. David Nugent in LS 3 with 5.213 p.
3. Tim Shirley in ASW 28 with 5.185 p.

Task 6 in open/18 m. …2.45 AAT, was for a change not for Ryan in his Nimbus 3T , he was 3d, not for John Orton in the ASG 29,… he was runner up, BUT for Michael Durrant in the 18m. LS 8T ; 270 km in time 2.46.
Task 7….261 km; Ryan and John and Arnold Niewand flew with a speed of 137,135 and 134 km./h. over the track. Terry , was the last pilot to start and was 5th, but remained on spot 3 overall.
Here are their overall results;
1. Ryan Driscoll in Nimbus 3T/25.5 m with 5.992 points.
2. Michael Durrant in LS 8T/18m. with 5.491 p.
3. Terry Cubley in Ventus 2CXT/18m. with 5.285 p.
4. Arnold Niewand in ASG 29/18 m. with 5.253 p.

The final dinner , always nice after a good competition. I was really pleased to see that Lorelle is still doing the catering there. I got to know her in the mid eighties.

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News from :WeGlide on February 10.
“Are you dreaming of going gliding in South Africa?
To promote gliding worldwide and to support young pilots, Jonker Sailplanes invites the best juniors worldwide to participate in the South African club class nationals.
There will be two winners each year, the two juniors who win the WeGlide Sprint ranking for Europe and for the rest of the world.
Read more about the JS Challenge here: magazine.weglide.org/jonker-sailplanes-challenge/
Many thanks to the amazing team from Jonker Sailplanes for giving juniors this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

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News about comps;

The New Zealand Northern Regionals between February 5 and 12 flown from Taupo , literally “fell in the rain”.
23 Pilots were ready to go for it!!!
“We have to accept that sometimes we are the pigeon and sometimes we are the statue. 
This week Mother Nature has reminded us that she is the one that decides, and right now we are the statue, getting rained on very solidly.
Forecast conditions do not indicate any possibility of task flying for the next week so we have made the hard call to cancel the Northern Regionals for 2021/22.
Bugger.” by Hugh de Lautour .I really like his way of writing!!!!

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Still some great after-summer flights on the OLC, for South Africa and Australia.
Worcester; Swiss pilots Andreas Spielmann and Rudi Hiltbrunner flew in the JS 3 and DG 800B several long flights;786 km, 726 and 684 km.
Temora; Adam Woolley flew 721 in his Ventus 3T.
Narromine; Attila Bertok with 733, 642, 526, 660, 548 , 529 and 617 km. Nice week-out-in-Narromine for Attila. He flies his ASW 20.
Tocumwal; yesterday 572 km. by Grant in his St. Jantar and 524 by Swiss Chris.[ASW27]
AND, yesterday as well, a great long wave flight from Klaus Ohlmann from Serres in France in an Antares flying up to 5597 MSL and crossing borders again.; 1.104 km.
Here is what he said about it;
“45 minutes late, starting under light rain and 8 octas clouds there, where I hope to find wave: Not really promising! But once in the air, look for solutions: Downstream there is usually adiabatic outdrying. So it was.
Crossing the Rhone worked quite well. Now the clouds are welcome to see the rotors: Happy crossing to the Pyrenees and great alignments as well marked with nice rotor puffs in Spain:
I made only half the way to the west in order to be back at home for the Late night Mistral presentation.
Thanks for all the great help of all concerned AIS.”
Today is the 3d day of the Beverley Regatta, hosted by the Beverley Soaring Society. Beverley is located 130 km east of Perth [Western Australia].It’s the base from Norm Bloch who participates and flew 498 km.in his JS3 yesterday. Andrew King flew nearly 400 km [390] in a LAK 12. John Welsh flew in the Hornet 387 km.

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Spring is in the air, I can see it in my garden.

And to finish this post, a great picture from Ian Atherton

Not a lot happening, but the season at this part of the world starts soon.
CU next week
Cheers Ritz

2-seater Nationals in Lake Keepit.

With a few challenging days to go, the 2022 dual- seat- NATIONAL competition from beautiful Lake Keepit ended with a win for Bruce and Kel in the Duo Discus. You surely read their stories already on Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures or Taylor’s Gliding Page
“A fantastic competition where the first 3 place holders all landed out on 2 days each. Only 107 points between first and third.” is what Adam ended with
Task 5 on February 3 a 2 hour AAT, was cancelled, so 2 days to go.
Task 6 ….3 hour AAT; had 8 “starters” and 3 finishers and the best was Bruce/Kel with 338 km in time 3.54, so a VERY challenging flight!!!!
Runner up … Allan/Harry with 348 km in time 4.04. Adam/Keith was out.
Task 7 …2 hour AAT; 2 finishers …the day was won by Keith/Adam…216 km. in time 22.5 . Only one more team that finished; The Duo Discus [ Sportavia owned that Duo in the past and the Hunter Valley bought it for a nice price at the auction] with Paul/Ian, who were one of the 3 finishers the day before.
So NATIONAL CHAMPION and other toppers;
1. Bruce Taylor & Kel Burgess in Duo Discus with 3.257 points, winning 2 days from 4 flyable ones out of 7.
2. Allan Barnes & Harry Medlicott in ARCUS M with 3.244 p….13 points
3. Adam Woolley & Keith Gateley in ARCUS M with 3.153 p.
4. Paul Jacobsohn & Ian Steventon in Duo Discus with 3.036 p. They put on a great final spurt.

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The Aussie comps still continue and one of the nicest family and “topper”-comps is the one at Horsham….the Horsham week from February 5 till 12.
They fly in 3 classes club [10 pilots] , standard/15 m [10] and open/18m.[9]
The West also the SW has been good ALL year and it still is good now.
Great tasks….great weather.
Club;
They started with a 3.30 AAT and all the “good old” gliders finished and flew between 412 in the Janus [team Thomas/ Buelter]for 1000 points and 258 in the KA 6E.[Jennefer Goldsmith]
Task 2…. 259 km; 121 km./h for Steve Jinks in the Mosquito.
Task 3….380 km; good day for Steve again with another 1000 points. Jennefer unfortunately did not start .
Task 4 was another 4.30 set distance….AND it is Steve Jinks time. He bought this Mosquito and has extra wings with it; 116 km./h.
Runner up David Meredith in a St Jantar flew with a peed of 106 km./h.
11 Started and 7 finished.
Task 5 was a 2 hour AAT and other pilots like this better than others. Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in his PIK 20B was the daily winner with 208 km. in time 2.02. He was the only one with a speed over 100 km./h. AND he leads the overall scores at this stage with more than 400 points.
Late starts between 15.15 and 15.36
6 Started and 6 finished.

15m./standard;
Task 1…349 km; and Jack Hart in the Ventus c was the fastest with 127 km./h. Followed by Gordon Trollip in the LS 6;121 km./h.
Task 2….304 km. and Jack was the best again now with 132 km./.h. 8 Started and 1 was out.
Task 3…. 562.73 km; great challenge for the pilots ; 10 flew the task but only 5 finished and Gordon in the LS 6 won again .
Task 4 ….540 km...In this class it is Jack-time!!!! He won the 3 day as he did on the first and second. Good on him. 137 km./h was 10 km. faster than runner up David Nugent.
10 Started 7 finished.
Task 5 …2.15 AAT and also here a new face at the podium; Neil Campbell with 265 km in time 2.29.
9 Starters ,9 finishers.
Jack leads with 3 days to go.

Open/18 m;
Task 1…367 km; 9 started and finished. Daily winner Ryan Driscoll in Nimbus 3T/25.5 m. with 140 km./h. John Orton in the ASG 29 was runner up with 142 km./h.
Task 2…434 km; a 1000 points day and good for Ryan. Terry [Cubley] in Ventus 2cxT/18m was runner up.
Task 3….572 km; another great day for the long-winged-Nimbus 3T.;118 km./h for again 1000 points. 8 Started 1 was out after 243 km.
“Just about maxed out the day with this task I think. Bit of a struggle and the climbs far apart really brought the long wings into their own. Horsham day 3.” was the comment from Ryan.
Task 4 ….553 km...Ryan this time “lost” from Arnold Niewand in his ASG 29/18m.speed 140 and 136 km./h.
8 Started ,5 finished.
Task 5 …2.30 AAT and won by the Nimbus 3T …long wings bring you further…pilots Ryan who already won day 1.;305 km. in time 2.33.
Pretty clear Ryan leads at this stage with more than 500 points.

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Worcester in South Africa still has some good flights as well so late in the season. Andreas Spielmann from Switzerland flew 956 km in his JS 3.
Tocumwal had a few late strong ones as well; Grant with a 500 FAI triangle and a total of 618 km in his St Jantar, John 708 in his JS 1 [ a nearly 700 triangle] and Swiss Chris in his ASW 27 with 576.
And Atilla who converted from hang-gliding to gliding flew in his ASW 20 from Narromine 734 km.flying to the N and S. of Narromine. They have this week coaching as well and according to Bruce on his Taylor’s Gliding Page it’s “progressing well. There is a great turnout of very keen and capable cross-country pilots working at improving their game, with guidance from some of Australia’s best coaches.”

The 24th Olympic Games have started with 91 different countries and for us, The Netherlands of course the most important “subject’ these weeks is speed skating and short track.
A pity Sven Kramer was not on his best on his very last 5 km during his 5th participation, but Irene Wuest , got on het 5th Olympics her 6th gold medal. What a HERO…35 years old!!!!The 6th now in 2022 on the 1500 m. Before in 2006 on the 3000 m. then in 2010 on the 1500 m , again in 2014 on the team pursuit, AND on the 3000 m.
This NEVER happened before so I can say without chauvinism ; history is written!!!
For about 10 minutes The Netherlands topped the medal list, which is fabulous but also astonishing as we are not a real winter sport country. WE CAN SKATE however.

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Still not totally fit from my booster jab on December 19. A nuisance!!!!

CU next week
Cheers Ritz

Post 1.316 on February 2 or 02-02-2022 or 2-2-22 the day our King and Queen married 20 years ago.
YES!!!!…we had 11 dgr. C last Sunday, and then it feels a bit, like spring is not far away. But ….I do know better.
The weekend ended with a real Western storm, going into Monday with high water and lot’s of damage mainly in the NW.[10 million, the insurance companies said ” not too bad” ]

First back to last week when Norm [Bloch] had a super fast flight. I was not sure if it was a record but here are the facts:
Congratulations to Norm Bloch for his 6 national records!
1. 200 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19kph
2. 300 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19kph
3. 500 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19 kph
1. 200 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19kph
2. 300 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19kph
3. 500 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19 kphBeverley – Kojonup – Lake Grace – Beverley23rd January 2022
WOW!!!!!! Good on you Norm. Flown in his JS3.

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The WESTERN CAPE REGIONALS…CAPE GAUNTLET.…in Worcester in South Africa, flown in 3 classes, had in the end 5 days and one more in club class.
Open class with 8 pilots, had good to very good tasks with twice a 3.30 AAT.
Task 1 , 346 km., was straight away spectacular with a speed of 196 km./h!!!! In 1.46 minutes Andreas Spielmann from Switzerland raced in his JS 3, over the task area , but for only 507 points.
Task 2, with 360 km. was a prey for S.A. pilot Laurens [Goudriaan] in the ASG 32 and good speed again now 175 km./h. Dawid Pretorius in his JS 1 , was just a tad slower.
The next day-task was cancelled but, task 4 was 436 km. again and the Swiss guest Andreas, did extremely well by winning his 2d day.
Task 5 was a 3.30 AAT and John [Coutts] and his mate Nic[olas] Bennett finally had their ARCUS M fine-tuned and won the day, with 550 km in time 3.31!!Andreas just needed a bit more time , but was a tad faster;1000 for 973 points.
Task 6 ,last Friday showed another 3.30 AAT and that day was for Nic and John ago.
523 was the distance in time 3.32 [speed 148 km./h.
2 Great days as the last one was cancelled.
Dawid was runner up and Andreas 3d.
Overall winners from the Cape Gauntlet Cup in open /18m;
1. Dawid Pretorius in JS 1 with 4.019 points.
2. Andreas Spielmann [Switzerland] in JS 3 with 3.983 p.
3. Laurens Goudriaan in ASG 32 with 3.773 p.

The Club-pilots had 6 days and it was all between Sindle and Grobler in a Janus B and Kevin Mitchell in a 17 m/ DG 400. Kevin won 4 days, but 1 off days as well, loosing more as 300 points. Ian Forbes in an LS 3a had some good flights as well.
So the overall scores look like this;
1. Sindle & Grobler in Janus B with 2.704 points.
2. Kevin Mitchell in DG 400 [17m] with 2.493 p.
3. Ian Forbes in LS 3a with 2.300.

Only 5 pilots in 15 m. class but they flew 5 days with several just under and just above 300 km.
1. Findlay Smith in Ventus B with 3.758 points.
2. Rene Lans in Ventus B with 3.468 p.
3. Pieter (Tokkie) Carstens in LS4 with 3.194 p.
The Cape Gliding Club shared this news;
“Congratulations to the winners of the annual Western Cape Regional Gliding Competition. This year the #Gauntlet was run to an extremely high standard. The dynamic flying conditions in Worcester requires pilots to be at their best. The contestants came from far and wide to take part in this jewel in the #Gliding crown.”

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The N. Z Multi class Nationals, also in 3 classes finished with 7 out of 9 days .
In open they started with a set 310 km. task flown by 4 from the 8 pilots.
Ross Gaddes in a Ventus 2A, won the day with 84 km /h.
Brett Hunter and Patrick Driessen followed and also Derek Kraak was “in”.
Unfortunate day for Tim Bromhead who was out after 175km.
Task 2, had a 2.30 AAT and again a lot of non-finishers; 4 from 7, so only 3 in; Patrick, Brett and Ross . Tim was again the unlucky one! “Out” after 40 km.
Task 3, 303 km., only 6 started and ONE finished…. Patrick.
“Finally a ridge day! With a 10-14kn SW breeze .Open went straight South for Waipunga Falls, Pat made it home whilst the others fell apart around Rangitaiki due to the sea breeze.”
Task 4, 3 hour AAT. 327 km was flown by Brett in time 3.12, whilst Tim was runner up. Patrick was 3d and Derek 4th.
8 Started and 4 were out.
Finally much better weather; “Blue day all day. 7500 thermals with stunning views all the way down the course today“

Task 5 with 345 km. on a cumulus day, gave Tim 1000 points for his hard work. Finally not an off day for him.
Task 6 3 hour AAT; same same…Tim won again now with 305 km in time 3.04. Patrick and Brett followed in about the same time.
Task 7 on the last day; 2.30 AAT….won by ….Patrick with 272 km in time 2.28. Tim was runner up with with 274 km. in time 2.39.
“Final day of racing today had low and scrappy clouds that built in height and strength to the South. The strong NE breeze kept things tricky in the prestart but as the pilots got away the day thoroughly improved.”
7 Out of 9 days is good in this world with a changing climate.
Open class champion;
1. Patrick Driessen in JS 1 with 4.773 points. He won 3 days.
2. Brett Hunter in JS 3 with 4.395 p.
3. Tim Bromhead in Ventus CT[17.6 m] with 4.182 p. He started “down under” on spot 7, but managed with 2 daily wins and 3 “runner-up-spots” to finish on spot 3. Great achievement.

As written, there were 3 classes but I focused on open.
Here are the results from RACING CLASS from the in the end 19 flying pilots. It was “all about” the first 3.
1. Steve Wallace in Mosquito with 6.157 points. He won 3 days .
2. Mark Wilson in St Libelle with 5.794 p. He won 2 days.
3. Jason Shields in Discus 2T with 5.772 p.
By the way Tony was 5th. [5.743 points] He had a less good day on task 5 and 7.

Sports class had in the end 4 flying pilots and the best were 2 pilots from Auckland in their PW 5 with 4.611 points and 4.409.
1. Murray Wardell with 4.611 points.
2. Georgia Schofield with 4.409 p.

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The 2-seater championships [January 29-February 5] started in Lake Keepit and Adam flies there with Keith in the ARCUS M and Bruce with Kel in a Duo Discus [from Brad Edwards] , so when you read their blogs you are “sitting front row.”
Here are the links;
“More competition time! I’m back at Lake Keepit for the week, flying in the 20m two-seat national championships. I have borrowed a trusty (and very shiny!) Duo Discus from Brad Edwards, and will share the cockpit with our esteemed club president, Kel Burgess. Looking forward to a fun week. The weather again looks to be a challenge, but hey, I’m setting the tasks, so anything could happen! Practice day today, first competition day tomorrow.”
Results can be found at: https://www.soaringspot.com/…/2022-dual-seat-nationals…/ See you there!
Taylor’s Gliding Page
AND
“Fantastic looking sky for the practice day of the 20m nationals, Keith & I are here for the 4th year running in VH-FIG JAM (Comp ID!). Only this year, no engine in the back – guess I had better be on my best behavior“
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

Task 1 ;3.30 AAT and good old Harry [Medlicott] with Allan [Barnes] as his pilot flew 441 km. in Harry’s ARCUS M in time 3.31 and won the day. They were just ahead of Adam and Keith and David and Lesley.
8 Teams started and 7 finished on a good day.

Task 2 , 3.30 AAT, was in the end a “wet” one , with no finishers, BUT great flying by Bruce and his mate Kel in the DUO DISCUS, flying 367 km .
As all 7 who started not finished but flew min. over 250 km., it was a 1000 points day for them. Allan/Harry and Adam/Keith followed.

Task 3; 232 km. but in the end cancelled! Bruce was not happy with the decision to cancel,….BUT he is the tasksetter: “Sack the task-setter, I say! (Please )Firstly he outlands the whole field, then he cancels the day, and this happens… and this wasn’t the best part of the sky.”
Adam is milder; “All good BT, 100% of pilots were in agreeance when the text came through at 1400L. It’s just the way the game is sometimes.”
The weather…..look for yourself.

Task 4 today; it’s raining.

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Also for BITTERWASSER the season is over now. Gliders have been packed and it is time to look back, indeed a great season it was;
“The containers are on their way. Best cross-country weather in Namibia, but now the 21/22 season in Bitterwasser is definitely over. The Grid Boys’ packer team has once again grappled hard. Five Arcus were the last to find their place in the containers. The total of seven containers, some with up to six gliders, are now being shipped to Walvis Bay by truck. The freighter Green Mountain will take them to Rotterdam. They are expected there in early March. The gliders should then be ready to fly again in Europe in mid-March, just in time for the new cross-country flight season.”
A total of 713 flights by 112 pilots “created” 550.815,16 km. of pure joy and friendship.

Here is a nice story from a real nice young man I got to know , I think in Rayskala, where he created the most beautiful videos , which were showed every morning at briefing. His name Hubi or Hubertus Huvermann.
He describes not only the epic soaring, but also the spirit from this Centre.
I say; “that’s what soaring is all about”.
“I am back in Germany. Crazy. But true. I was shocked, realizing it is still night at 7 o’clock in the morning. And the day is not really getting any brighter than dawn. But at least you don’t sweat that much. Bitterwasser has been a great time. Probably it will take a while until I can tell what it was. Bitterwasser is a legend. An icon in soaring. That was clear to me in advance. I heard of Bitterwasser the first time as a flight student. And now you can’t think the OLC without it.
A place to set records – for sure. But somehow there is so much more to this place. A place that is attracting people from all over the world and merging them in aviation. A place forming friendships. A place where people are leaving nothing in the tank, working hard to keep this place like it is. A place cultures are facing each other. Where perspectives are changing.
Many gliders are already back in their containers and ready for the journey back to Europe. I still have some stuff left to show to you in the next days. I am thankful for now being part of the Bitterwasser history. It was a pleasure trying to show you some small parts of this oasis. Thank you all for the feedback via so many different channels. Now you get some nice photos so you know who’s behind the stories See you soon, Hubertus

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To finish this post I share a memory of 2016 , February 1, then shared by Jill McCaw editor of the N.Z. Gliding Magazine.
https://www.mccawmedia.co.nz/SoaringNZ-Magazine

I publish ,with his permission, regularly pictures from Geoff as I love them. And,…Tim is the Tim from the Nationals above!!!

Just a quick BRAVO again for Klaus Ohlmann. When he flies you know it’s something special.
He flew 1.343,55 km. departing from Serres La Batie, in an Antares 20 ,in mountain wave over the Pyrenees above the Nord of Spain and South of France and even Andorra .
Mind you, it is still early February so VERY short days. He used 9 hours and 59 minutes and 44 seconds.
Klaus; “Despite a lot of wind the waves were working very well. But of course flying the Cevennes against this strong wind the day was too short. But I’m happy to see my friends in Pic Saint loup.”

CU next week
Cheers Ritz