Post 1.405 on February 22 2023.

—–I finished my last blog with the hope that a lot of my Dutch “fellowmen” would donate for victims of the earthquake from Syria and Turkey.
They did ,……in the evening there was 89 million Euro, PERFECT!!!!
And,…the amount is still growing…..

——With the start of the 2-seater Nationals in Corowa [NSW.Australia] , I thought it would be appropriate to share this news from Chris Kiehn;
“Congrats to 30 years of the Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus. It’s been over 30 years in other words since I did my apprenticeship there as I helped build the wing plugs and molds for this aircraft that pretty much created a new class of aircraft that no one new they needed. Was it foresight or staunch belief from Klaus Holighaus that people would accept the idea of a 20m glider at the time? Either way, it’s rare to find a 20m 2 seat comp these days without a Duo or the Arcus being represented. Job well done

—–News from Tocumwal Aviation Museum
“On this day 79 years ago: 15 February 1944, Number 7 Operational Training Unit formed at RAAF Station Tocumwal.
The Royal Australian Air Force’s first Heavy Bomber training unit formed at RAAF Station Tocumwal on the 15th of February 1944 with an initial establishment of 473 personnel and 9 aircraft. This would grow to over 2,100 personnel and over 70 aircraft by mid-1945.
Over the next 18 months, 7 OTU would train over 4,000 aircrew and 2,000 ground crew.
Known primarily for the iconic B-24 Liberator, 7 OTU would also operate other aircraft including P-40 Kittyhawks for fighter affiliation, Vultee Vengeances for target towing and Airspeed Oxfords for transport and training.
7 OTU would become the largest and most significant of all Operational Training Units operated by the RAAF during World War 2“
Very proud to have been a very small part of this history by opening at our time the WW2 hangar for busloads of guests to see the WWII memorabilia’s in our briefing room.
We also got to know some of the survivors with great stories and many family members who brought memories from their dad to our little exhibition, ran by Gina and Bob Brown.

—–Dutch Nationals; 18/27 May 2023.

—–Jordan [Johnson] flew his first declared 300k on February 18!!!! He launched from Lleweni Parc in the UK and is a member of the Bidford Gliding and Flying Club. He had a bit of wave over beautiful Wales, but did ‘nt use that too much ,as he was on a 300 km mission. He flew an ASW 20 B.
https://bgaladder.net/FlightDetails/

—–Back to a competition!!!!

Dual Seat Nationals in COROWA.
18 February 2023 – 25 February 2023

Above you read the news from Chris already ,so in Corowa there are 9 teams and from them 6 Schempp-Hirth gliders.
3x an ARCUS M, 1 ARCUS T and 2x a DUO DISCUS and one ASK 21MI, an ASG 32 and a DG 1001.
It could well be that the Duo from the Hunter Valley is “our” former Duo sold for a very nice price at the auction in 2005. We were glad the Hunter Valley “had it”.
Adam [Woolley] arrived from Japan to fly with the new owner from Corowa Keith.
Good old Harry, in his nineties who flew the last WGC with Alan [Barnes] are as team reunited again in Corowa.
Brad Edwards and Bruce Taylor arrived from Lake Keepit and Lumpy with Joergen from Tocumwal. For them it is about 80 km, for Harry , Allan , Bruce and Brad about 844. A long drive over the Newell Highway,…we did that with the WWGC.

Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures started his stories as well both have pictures too.

Task 1 ; 141 km……on Sunday February 19, when we start our carnival- festivities here.
And,….when you start a NATIONAL COMPETITION, you have to use every possible window even if only a 141 km tasks fits in.
4000 ft in the blue , best climbs 4 to 5…….. according to Adam in his vlog.
So off they went, the 9 teams, for a day with not a lot of points to gain or loose,….but A DAY.
Daily winners as well; Brad and Bruce, …112 km./h….2 WGC pilots for a long time. I met Brad for the first time in Uvalde Texas in 91 when he became world champion.
With a late start at 4.03 they left, as did Keith and Adam; 295 and 291 points.
2 were “out”.
Bruce mentioned;”Again I was witness to the fine work of Brad, setting to his business in the front seat while I enjoyed the ride in the back. It wasn’t a day that could be called treacherous, but it wasn’t straightforward either.’ more Taylor’s Gliding Page day 1.
Task 2; 3.30 AAT..…much better weather much longer task. 445 km in time 3.59 was the best result and for 1000 points. They were for Bruce and Brad with as the day before Keith and Adam as runners up.
3 From the 9 teams were “out”.
Bruce was the “driver ” and part of his story was ;”Climbing out of the glider I felt totally drained and quite dejected. We’d come so close to doing a really nice flight and I’d managed to throw it away… … … until half an hour later when we’d heard everybody else’s stories and realized we’d had a great day. This gliding game is crazy!”
Interesting statement from somebody who is in this world already for such a long time.
The full story on; Taylor’s Gliding Page
Task 3; 221.86 km….. Interesting day as a DUO DISCUS was runner up. Brad and Bruce had their third successive win with a nice speed of 139.41 km./h. The Duo [handicap 990] was slower than the ASG 32, [handicap 1074] pretty normal, but they did well with 123 km./h.
Starts between 14.21 [ASK 21MI] and 15.36. [ASG 32]
Tocumwal Soaring Centre mentioned; “They say taking a Duo to the Nationals is like taking a knife to a gun flight !Jack and Dave have their knife very sharp !The team are flying our Duo and having a great time, well done guys.”

Task 4; 2.30 AAT….today…..
According to Adam ,…..Another cracking day, though heavily influenced by strong surface winds & wave on the first leg. Something happened on the 2nd leg, the day organized itself & it was all go go go!”
Indeed Adam and Keith won the day with a speed of 121.32 km./h over 327 km. They started 2 minutes behind Bruce and Brad.[121.27 km./h. over 320 km.]
Bruce mentioned about the day: “Quite a fascinating day today. Even as I was taking my morning walk down by the river the sky was full of alto-cumulus… for the non-flying populace that is puffy clouds with a flat bottom (like a cumulus) but not connected to lower level convection. Often if the day is good enough the lower level convection improves until the alto-cu actually becomes cumulus, but this is difficult to pick and to get your head around how best to use it.” the full story on Taylor’s Gliding Page
More next week.
Overall scores after 4 tasks; Brad and Bruce with 2.585 points,2. Keith and Adam with 2.498 p and david Jansen and Leslie with 1.981 p.[ARCUS T]

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It’s with HUGE sadness that I have to share this message from Belle Brockhoff. My LONGTIME good friend Bruce passed away not long after I had contact with him on his 80thiest birthday, on January 28!!!

Don’t know what to say, it’s a bit of a shock to me. Yes he was old but still……..only 80!!!
R.I.P. dear Bruce! You have been the most inspiring person to invite us to Australia , where we stayed to live for more than 10 years. Your introduction to Sportavia opened a brand-new world to us, with countless new friends….and a lot are STILL FRIENDS.
I wrote a long article on Bruce in 2012 which was published in SOARINGCAFE, GLIDING INTERNATIONAL and in my blog on February 16 2012.
You have to scroll down to February 2012 below and it is worth doing that. He was so much more than glider pilot Brockie.
www.soaring.eu
Title of the blog;

“Some pilots in life remain friends for ever…time to introduce Bruce Brockhoff“

Sad , yes I am very sad, as his longtime “best friend” as he called me till now, but glad to have known this outstanding man.

Ritz