Post 1.480 on January 24 2024

Australian Nationals
Benalla
16 January 2024 – 26 January 2024

In my last post you could read what Bruce thinks about comps nowadays in Australia and it looks ,if world wide, comps lack participants.
If you look at Namibia …there are MANY PILOTS , ALL ENJOYING THEIR LONG DISTANCE TASKS WITHOUT SCORES. Are the goals for pilots different nowadays???Is pure pleasure more satisfying?
OR,…are WEGLIDE points or from the OLC more important, a bit of extra status when you end on top in the end of the day????
Luckily in several countries young ones are rising and shining ,so there might be still a future.
Matthew Scutter, CD from the last Joeyglide mentioned :
“I had the privilege to be the contest director for this great event – which is so important for the longevity of gliding in Australia.
More support is needed, but ahead of money & volunteers, the one thing the movement needs more than anything else is more juniors! If you have young pilots at your gliding club, be sure to let them know about JoeyGlide and the opportunities it offers!
Alongside the contest is a parallel ab-initio and coaching program ready to develop young pilots into great pilots, and there is a great track record of doing exactly that.“

As you heard/read Sebastian Kawa was not all that happy at the last WGC in Narromine . He was the “target-to-be-chased” every day!!!
I do understand Sebastian; you run out of ideas when to start and how to surprise the followers.
The IGC should really look into this matter at their next meeting, as PEV’s are for sure not enough.

Back to Benalla/Australia.
SO,…..Only “25 pilots” for 18m, open, 15m and standard class is not good.
It’s even worse,….as, when you look at 18 m. , you see 11 pilots and only David Jansen,[ASG 32MI] Phillip Ritchie in the Quintus , Ryan Driscoll in the Nimbus 3/25.5 m are added for open .
So 14 pilots in total!!!!!
I have been at Benalla at several Nationals, 1 even in which Bruce Brockhoff [ R.I.P.] got father and he still continued, with more than 50 pilots. They all wanted to be part of the nationals and,…qualifying for World comps. A bit different now!
I concentrate on open, so I have them ALL.
Task 1; 3.30 AAT.…. was flown and won by Bruce Taylor.In open by David Jansen.
No task on January 17.
Task 2 on January 18 ;3.30 AAT…..Phillip Ritchie in the Quintus started as the only 1, after 2PM. The rest around 1.30.
395.33km. was the best distance in combi with the time for a speed of 112.95 km./h.AND,….1000 points.
Pete [Temple] was the winner. Ryan [Driscoll ] in the Nimbus 3 was runner up .
David and Bruce had a less good day on spot 8 and 9 loosing more than 200 points, but,..they have only just started the comps.
Here is Bruce;”Today was very challenging. Strong post-frontal wind turned the sky into a washing machine and made it hard to figure where the climbs were, then difficult to work them when you did find one. My pattern-seeking mind was all awry and a number of times I found myself low, with no idea how I got there, and even less idea of how I might get up again!“
Much more on Taylor’s Gliding Page
Also a picture from AFTER the flight when it looked good.

Task 3; 3 hour AAT.…318 km./95.28 km./h. The speed says enough ,….another challenging day but Bruce won and was more happy with himself.
“It was a hard day, blue, low, and variable climbs, but I had a picture in my head of what was happening and I flew with much more confidence.” more on Taylor’s Gliding Page
Lumpy was runner up , Greg Beecroft 3d and it was a bit of an off-day for Pete, though he flew 312 km/89.27 km./h. he finished on spot 7.
Pete still leads overall followed a bit closer now by Bruce, Greg and Lumpy.
Task 4; was a 3 hour AAT but the day was CANCELLED.
Bruce;”Unfortunately today had to be cancelled. A big mass of high and mid-level cloud spread into the area overnight, and there was some hope that we might get a gap around midday to get away, but it just kept coming.
The next few days look hopeful, but there will be a few challenging flights coming before we finish. There has been so much rain this season and everywhere we go there is plenty of water visible on the ground. It’s a sure thing that we aren’t going to get any booming weather.”
In the East of Australia at Lake Keepit, Lasham pilot Andy Aveling flew in the Duo Discus XT, a distance of 802 km/
Task 5; 240,69 km…..a race won by Pete but a very slow “race”;87.90 km./h. Good to see Norm [Bloch] as runner up and open class pilot David was 3d.
ONLY 12 started and from them 7 finished.
Bruce was one of them on spot 4 with penalty points for a too low finish but as he wrote “I struggled back a bit behind and just a bit low to get over the finish circle. There was nothing left to get that last 150 feet of altitude, and searching further in dead air and a steady headwind was going to cost too much time, so I accepted the height penalty as a better option.”
Bruce;
“a horrible blue sky, the wind blowing, and cold, wet ground. Challenging? You bet. But the tough days are fun in their own way.” the full interesting story on Taylor’s Gliding Page
Task 6 ; cancelled.…“We really are having a run of very marginal weather.”
Task 7; 351.50 km…….Another racing task and Greg in the LS8, is slowly on his way to the overall top. Task 7 was his!!!! Speed 103.75 km./h. [handicap 1010] Norm , runner up, was the fastest in the JS3 ; 112.09 km./h.[handicap 1110]
Both are with Pete in the race for the top-spots!
Pete was on spot 7, still with 4.549 on top overall. Bruce 5th for the day, now has 4.433 points , Greg 4.427 and Norm 4.281 p.
12 Started and finished in open class.
Bruce about the day:”a few small cumulus arrived unexpectedly. By the time we started they had mostly gone. As usual the trip north as far as the river was very challenging, with a couple of 3-4 knot climbs from quite low.” the full story on Taylor’s Gliding Page
Task 8; today…. no flying Bruce mentioned in his post yesterday “Looks like we may only fly one more day on Friday… we’ll see.”
And it is only Wednesday now.
More next week.

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70-thies NATIONALS in open and club in Argentina[ continued].
 6 January 2024 – 19 January 2024

I left you on Wednesday January 17 when they, in Tres Arroyos , started in
club class;
Task 10; 3.15 AAT.…4 x an ASW 20 in the top with Martin Bossart as daily winner and Felipe Girado as runner up; 385.36 km/ 117.85 km./h. for 384.93 km/ 117.60 km./h.
All 23 started and finished!!!!
In open from 3, only 1 pilot was left over to fly; Juan Pablo Verdura; 3 hour AAT and he flew 414.58 km/ 138.19 km./h.
Task 11; 2 hour AAT,……173 km/84.14 km./h. for Matias Lanzinetti in his ASW 20. Lucio Zanassi was runner up bringing him from spot 3 to 2 for the moment.
Javier was 4th and Felipe 7th.
Task 12; racing task 280.22 km….Last day with 116.12 km./h Felipe won the day. Javier was 3d and only lost 12 daily points .But what did Lucio do?
He was 10th and lost his runner up spot with ONE POINT to Felipe!!!!!
Only 20 pilots started on this last day.

Overall scores after 9 out of 14 days;
1. Javier Gaude in DG 200 with 6,265 points.
2. Felipe Girado in ASW 20 with 6,010 p.
3. Lucio Zanassi in ASW 20 with 6,009 p. ONE POINT!!!!!!

In open class only Juan Pablo Verdura, was still flying , so no surprise he won in his Ventus 2cxM/18 m. with 6,829 points.
Congratulations to ALL.

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2023/2024 Multi Class Nationals in New Zealand
19 January 2024 – 28 January 2024

From Taupo, in a very beautiful area around Lake Taupo, an area I visited with John {Roake] [R.I.P.] and his wife Chris, the Nationals started in 2 classes with 35 pilots.
On January 19 they had a 2 hour AAT as practice but it was not flown.

Open;
Task 1; . Low cloud. Rain.” Why do these words so often go together?? “David Austin [blogger].
So no flying.
Task 2; 1 hour AAT….. from 14 only 2 finished Keith [Essex in an ASW 27/18E] and David Todd in Ventus 2CT. Keith flew 324 km/82.71 km./h and David 303 km/ 67.79 km./h. VERY challenging day with lot’s of engine starts or road retrieves!!!!
Then the news from the organizers on January 22 :”It was decided early that the day was to be cancelled due to weather. However, after this front goes through the rest of the week is looking good. We wait, and wait as soaring pilots do.”
SO,..no task 3 or 4 in both classes. BUT,……
Task 5; today……3 hour AAT….was a good one again …AND,…a 1000 points-day…. AND, for 2 pilots!!!!!Brett Hunter in his JS 3 AND Keith Essex in the ASW 27 /18E…both had 90 km./h for a flight from 274/270 km.
14 started and 8 finished.

Racing;
Task 1; they look forward to hopefully better weather tomorrow.
Task 2; 1 hour AAT....in the end 12 started and 6 finished. Daily winner,John Robertson in a Discus 2b with 230 km/ 65.88 km./h.
Task 5; today…2.45 AAT, more challenging for this class, as from the 17 pilots only 2 finished and that was not enough to make it a valid day!!!!
The Discus B and SZD 55-1 pilots, Henry Miller and David Moody, flew 200 km with a speed of just over 70 km . They started and finished,for ZERO points; worthwhile mentioning!!!!

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The WESTERN CAPE REGIONALS 2024 CAPE GAUNTLET
Worcester 20 January 2024 – 27 January 2024

Would the magic from Worcester be available this week?????
Yes ,……straight away I read; 40 dgr.C at the ground and 4000 m base, with the words “WorcesterMagic”.
They had a good practice day on January 20 with a racing task from 422.41 km. in open class [ 10 pilots plus 1HC pilot,..Tokkie in an LS4] and 330.76km in sports class.[2 pilots]
Open class;
Task 1 ; 433.61 km…..In this class a pilot from Switzerland, from Austria , from the UK and a combi team from the USA and N.Z. [Bennett and Coutts] in the ARCUS M.
BY FAR the FASTEST was Oscar [Goudriaan] in his JS3!!! What about 170.81 km./h. 7 pilots flew over 160 km./h and the LS 4 144.32 km./h.
I guess Austrian pilot Christian Hynek or his crew are writing for streckenflug.at
“All 10 pilots in my class flew the 400 km task without circles today (150-170 km/h average)!”
NO…Task ;on January 22 and 23….24. so the magic has stopped, most probably till after the last flying day. A pity.
Sportsclass;
Task 1; 334.50 km..only 2 participants Laurens {Goudriaan] in ASG 32 and from the USA Brad Jackson in Ventus 2CM/18m Brad won and Laurens was out after 306 km.

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—–Talking about New Zealand ; they had one of those epic flights with Norbert Scarlat & Justin Wills flying the DUO DISCUS over 1.047 km, with a speed of 103 km,./h NO not in wave but just pure thermals.
Norbert mentioned;”What a fantastic day in New Zealand. Probably the first predeclared 1000k done in NZ using only thermals and also the first one for me. It was a bit difficult in the morning, but it improved once we were past Tekapo. Amazing convergence in the north. Thank you Justin, I think this was one of our best flight we ever done.”
It took them 10 hours and 11 minutes.
You have to see for yourself how they flew by heading over to WeGlide to see the full flight…with pictures: https://www.weglide.org/flight/359625

—–Namibia ,more specific Bitterwasser, is now looking back at their season.
I was impressed to see how long it went on.
“Season finale
The season in Bitterwasser is slowly drawing to a close.
One by one, the gliders are being loaded into the containers. And still some teams fly over 1000 kilometers every day.
The results of the whole season are impressive! Over 230 flights have already exceeded the 1000 kilometer mark.
January has also allowed a lot more distance to be covered. So far, the strongest days in January have been 5.1.24 and 14.1.24 with 10 flights over 1000 kilometers each. And in the meantime, the thermals also showed their best side.
The clouds developed early, the bases were high and the temperature often rose above 35 degrees.
Well over 580,000 kilometers were flown over Namibia from Bitterwasser.
The best flying day this season was 22.12.23, when Simon Briel flew a total of 1413 kilometers, closely followed by Björn Gintzel with 1402 kilometers. Simon Briel thus covered the longest distance this season. Nils Fecker also managed an incredible distance of 1375 kilometers on this day. A total of 9 other pilots exceeded the 1000 kilometer mark.”

On January 18 still 9 Namibian 1000 km-flights!!!!!

My Lasham mates Roy and Patrick were more than happy in Bitterwasser and another 3 days in Kiripotib and shared the next message:
“Thank you to Bitterwasser Lodge & Flying Centre and Kiripotib Soaring for 3 weeks of super flying in Namibia and especially to my partner in crime, Patrick Naegeli, for the excellent company.
14.600 km and 96 hours flying (yes double checked those numbers and it really is 152 km/hour average!}.”
—-Kiripotib had a superb time too. Lasham pilot Garry Coppin shared the next words :”Well that just about wraps up part 2 of my Namibia season. Thoroughly enjoyable time flying with friends and guests in an area made for glider pilots.
A total of 35,000km & 325hrs flown now means it is time to have a little rest
My goodness me that “sounds” like WORKING!!!!

AND,…they were still flying long tasks, ….On January 19 still a flight from 1.335.63[ 1.022.17 km FAI] in the ARCUS M and the mighty EB 28 flew 1.373.78 km.with Reinhard Schramme in it.
Reinhard is since October 25 in Bitterwasser and only had a “holiday” from soaring in December, to be back again on January 4 and since then he had 15 flights and 10 over 1000 km.
This flight on January 19 was his best for the season and late in their season too.
And who said that the “good” season is “only between half of November till max. half of January???
Still big showers already, but they can fly around them.
On January 21; still 4 over 1000 km flights one even 1.266 km, again by Reinhard /Bernd Goretzki and in an ASH 31 a declared 1000 triangle by Frank Fuchs.
From Veronica in the TWIN SHARK a DECLARED flight from 1.042 km/ FAI 10008,14 km. by Czech pilot Jan Kantor .

—–For my Aussie mates;
Flying a 2-seater is getting more and more popular. When you look at Namibia, where the pilots fly together with a former or current champion , to learn from them , or at comps where younger pilots take elderly pilots to still enjoy competition flying, or “just” husband and wife or mates ,for a lovely trip.
Australian Two Seat Nationals
This year the open two seat has been changed to “The Sports two seat Nationals”
So you can enter with everything from a Nimbus 4dm to ASK21Mi, so this can be a lot of fun …. Also, a great coaching opportunity !
The 20 mtr Two Seat Nationals is still the same format as before and the Handicaps have been reviewed for the Duo’s and DG’S…. so round up some mates and come along.
We have kept the entry fee to a minimum to encourage more entries.
The entries will be open very soon via the Tocumwal Soaring Webpage, if you have any questions, contact us on info@tocumwalsoaring.com

AND,…more announcements ,this time already for the next season down under;
“Information for next SkyRace GP
The SkyRace GP will again be held at Leeton, NSW
Dates :
27th December 2024 to 5th of January 2025
The 27th and 28th will be practice days, with the first official competition day held on the 29th of December allowing for an 8 day event.
Classes :
F1 Class – will remain the same
F2 Class – will allow entrants from LS-4 to Duo Discus & everything in between.
For a full list of eligible gliders for both classes, please check out the Glider Eligibility section on this page https://skyrace.com.au/entry-form/

CU next week,
Cheers Ritz