POST 1.400 on January 18 2023.

2023 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS from WAIKIRIE.
10 January 2023 – 21 January 2023

In 1974 the 14th WGC was flown from Waikirie. George Moffat won in open class [Nimbus 2] and Helmut Reichmann in Standard.[LS2]
ZULU ROMEO..GOOD START, the video on you tube of this WGC is still famous!
Ingo lost the lead here on the last day, after a mechanical problem [airbrakes] . Straight after he was launched in ZR ,he had to land in the relight area again. After looking and repairing the problem, he started again.
Helmut was back after a fast run, not sure if it was fast enough he went for a 2d run,….. for Ingo there was no time for a 2d run. Helmut’s 2d run was slower ,but he still won, 29 points ahead, as his first score was the fastest. Scoring in those years was slower and pretty inefficient due to cameras and barographs.
Helmut’s extra run was not necessary ,but it shows how he eager he was to win his 2d title.
By the way for George it was the 2d title as well.
They both won already in 1970 in Marfa in Texas.
ZR has been on line for many years at Sportavia [SSC]

Back to Waikirie NOW!

OPEN /18m CLASS:
TASK 1; 1.45 AAT.…
The first day …January 11….showed in the end participation of all 11 pilots and smiling faces from the winners in open/18 m ,Adam [Woolley] …..Freakin cool glider, still can’t believe I own it. In 15m config, it just talks to me, carries the water so effortlessly & handles so beautifully, a little rocket ship …..and Matthew [Scutter] ….”when I started everyone else had left. I made good use of the storm convergence, took a few 4kts to keep the flight low risk, and got home with a respectable speed”….both flying in a 15 m configuration.
Adam called it a fantastic/sensational day, after they first thought they had to cancel the day.
“161kph!! And to think that we almost scrubbed today, turned out to be amazing” . They “found” between 7 kts and 11 kts, en route.
Craig Vinall, a local “hero” was 3d in his 18 m. AS 33es.
They all started after 3 PM.
Task 2; 255 km.…Bruce must have thought…I have an 18 m glider [ASG 29e],….. so I fly an 18 m. glider, anyhow if these were his thoughts I don’t know, but he won the day;112 km./h. and a rather early start.[15.06, Pete started half an hour later]]
Runner up was Pete who had already a great practice period behind him in Gawler and Matthew and Adam in their 15m conversion-gliders the Diana 2FES and the VENTUS 3T.
Pete and Lumpy were the last to go on track.{15.36]
11 started and 6 finished.
“Extremely challenging day – I was very concerned about the southerly and the influence of the flooded area on the later sections of the task, so I went with the big gaggle and played safe all day. Everything went to worms about sixty kilometres from home and the gaggle almost parked it at Renmark airport – late starter Pete ran into the back of us here and we grovelled away for a slow final glide.
Points defended with minimal risks required, so a satisfactory outcome.” Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
And daily news on Taylor’s Gliding Page
On Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures you can see and hear his daily update on video. “RACEFANS!!!!!!!!!!“….
Lumpy, also from Tocumwal was last and it is good to hear a comment from a good pilot finishing last, as well.
“Well that didn’t quite go to plan….
Very difficult day yesterday with a lot factors influencing the WX which I didn’t read correctly. There was certainly safety in No’s if the day didn’t go as forecast and the gaggle did really well to get around, especially navigating through the wetlands of Renmark.
My worst ever day result at a Nationals but I will draw from it and reflect on decisions made. I love that this sport can be so rewarding one day and bring you back to earth ( literally) the next, I’ve still got a lot to learn.”

Task 3; 3 hour AAT...so better weather and a good task. BUT,….it’s awful when you prepare for such a start and you have a flat tire!!! That happened to Matthew.
“I had not one but TWO flat tyres this morning during gridding, which caused a bit of excitement and left me launching a bit late and overheated, but thanks to Jack and Mandy I got away with it.
High and fast day, blue locally with cumulus at FL130 on the hills to the west. It was strong enough that I wasn’t concerned about flying alone so I made a start by myself and barely saw anyone the whole day.”
Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
AND,….his first day-win during these Nationals with Adam as runner up and Bruce as number 3.
Matthew; 414 km in 3 hours. Adam about the same 425 km in 3 hours, for 1000 and 982 points.
All 11 started and finished.
AND,…Lumpy was 4th!!!WITH the highest speed however; 144 km./h. over 437 km.
Adam; “Another cracking day at the 18m nationals, loving getting to know the V3 in 15m config, little rocket with great feel! A very close 2nd today to Matty Scoote” more on Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

“Unfortunately the internet was down at Waikerie which has taken the OGN tower with it, so sadly no live tracking for Day 3 until further notice.“
Task 4; 311 km….”Big windy cu+wave day with a late start and an early and sharp finish, I made a really clean start just about the perfect time of day as cumulus were forming ok track and didn’t give too much away to the wave starters behind me.” as Matthew started his blog, but then it went wrong for him, why and how you can read in Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Daily winner was Pete with Adam, Lumpy and Bruce following.
Matthew was 7th and lost some points .He got 453, Pete 593
4 Flew with a speed of over 160 km/ph. Lumpy in the Quintus even with 167 km./h.

January 15……REST DAY!!!! Time to “listen” to Lumpy, who after a bad day recovered very well.
“The WX although seemingly looking great ( based on the speeds ) has been very challenging, with shortish tasks, it’s all been about the timing. Picking the right time to start to maximise the best of the conditions. When your racing with pilots who make every second count, leaving to soon or a tad too late will cost you positions.
Over the past two days, we haven’t had flights all under Cu, so it’s been very tricky to work out what part of the flight you’d like in the blue ( cause it’s going to happen ) and how you transition too and from these different air masses loosing the least amount of momentum. It’s been interesting to see the different thoughts and strategy’s as these flights unfold.
The two days have seen me with the fastest times, however the handicap pulls the points to reflect a fair race ( as it should ) but it’s nice to be up there again !“
AND to Bruce;“I tried hard to ignore the booming sky behind me and to make the best of things in front of me. Despite being really high the climbs were not super strong. 7 knots was pretty normal, with one that was 9 for quite a way, but heights were now up around 12,500 feet and it was lovely and cool. Strange to look down and know that it was 42 degrees on the ground!” much more on Taylor’s Gliding Page
After 4 days the overall scores look like this;
1. Bruce with 2.812 points. 2. Adam 2.803 p.3. Matthew 2.705.
An exciting 2d week to go!!!!

2d Week…..
January 16...no flying. Day “canned” as they call it.
January 17; challenging..…would they be able to fly??? Yes they were…..and HOW!!!!
A 2 hour AAT was set and many flew over 300 km and with GREAT SPEED; winner Craig in his AS 33es had a speed of 157 km./h!!!!|
Craig started as last raced over the circuit, passed them all and was back after 2 hours at the dot!!!!!
All 11 started and finished. 4 Pilots flew over 150 km./h. Adam was runner up. Matthew 5th.
Bruce who was 4th mentioned ;“Home safe, another exciting day. The task was near perfectly set (again) and there ensued many and varied ideas about how to approach it.” much more in his Taylor’s Gliding Page
Matthew;“The weather forecasting was trickier than the flying today – approaching front with 45kt gusts expected to go through Waikerie at 2.30pm meant a very small window.” Matthew Scutter’s Gliding

SPORTS CLASS;
Task 1; 2.15 AAT…..
5 pilots in this class and the winner was David Collins in ASW 20. He flew 260 km. in time 2.17 and had a late start. [15.28] Robert from “the Alice” started an hour earlier, ….after 35 km he was out in his Cirrus. ” First day of the sports class nationals, first day in a paddock for a long time…. Bugger, got it all wrong today.…”
Hopefully many more days to come. Bernie [Seizer] in his PIK 20B was runner up.

Task 2; 2.30 AAT...they all started within 15 minutes but after 3 PM. Bernie won the day flying 247 km in time 2.38,41. David was runner up.
All 6 started and 1 pilot was out.
Task 3; 2.30 AAT….Same task than the day before, but more kilometers flown. Bernie did well again with 287 km in time 2.29. David was runner up again; 800 for 731 points.
Task 4; 208.97 km....It’s either Bernie or David, they are a real match for each other, though David was quite a bit faster during this task; 138 km./h for 119.
January 15; RESTDAY!!!!!
After 4 tasks it is; 1.David with 2.702 points.2. Bernie with 2.655p 3. Sid with 2.365p.

2d Week;
January 16...cancelled, not a good beginning of the last week.
January 17…2 hour AAT….task 5 was again between David and Bernie. David won the day with 276 km with a speed of 125 km./h. Bernie flew 249 km with 117 km./h.
Robert did not start.
January 18, it looks like NO FLYING TODAY IN BOTH CLASSES.

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On January 11 , an other SUPER-Namibia-SOARING-DAY, my friends Patrick and Roy declared and completed 1.267km task with 3 TPs @ 143kph from Bitterwasser!!!
Great result. I am very pleased for them.
“A grand day out today for Patrick Naegeli & I.
We declared a 1.267km polygon and took off at about 1020 and started the task at 1038.
Felt like a hairdryer at the launch point, 15-20kt wind and temperature 33C.
So set the task directly downwind first. A good plan as the wind at altitude dropped from 34kph on the first leg to 18kph in the middle and end of the flight.
We finished at 1932hr so the average speed on the task was 142.4 kilometres per hour.“
Apparently this is the first flight from Bitterwasser over 1.250km., 3 or less turning points which were pre-declared before take-off in a two seat glider. If so,…CONGRATULATIONS and SO DESERVED!!!!
https://www.onlinecontest.org/…/gliding/flightinfo.html…
They flew 1.307 in total and that was NOT enough to top the day.
That spot was for the Twin Shark with Bernd Dolba flying from Veronica; 1.338 km [1.263 FAI TRIANGLE]
AMAZING 5 x a 1300 km flight and many FAI TRIANGLES, what a year!!!!!
It seems the weather predictions are spot-on as well.
Belgian pilot Johan Luyckx flew in a Ventus 2CXM/18 m his 1.250 FAI Diploma!!!!1.297 km with 141 km./h. also from Bitterwasser.
On January 12 another 4 flights over 1.300 km. …..one in a Ventus 2CM/18 m. by Markus Langemann from Pokweni. He started in Pokweni on the 19th of December and flew till now 10 over-1000-km-flights.
34 Over 1000 km-flights in total last Thursday.
On FRIDAY JANUARY 13 only ONE 1000 km flight flown by young Fillip Jonker in his JS 1 from Douglas in S.A.

Yesterday , and it was already January 17 …pretty late in their season, BITTERWASSER still had 6x a 1000 km flight with even an 1.202 in the magic ARCUS M by Bernd [Goretzki] with Florian in the back.
And put 2 top pilots in such an Arcus M, Reinhard [Schramme] and Stefanie [Muhl] and they fly nearly 1.200 km. as well.
4 from the 6 flew an FAI TRIANGLE!!! TOP!!!……Lothar in a Ventus 3M.

KIRIPOTIB, is already slowly starting to look back at their season and what season they ALL had in Namibia.
Could this be the best ever Namibian season???
Eager to find out!!!
“It’s colorful at Kiripotib – we enjoy international flair. This season we were happy to welcome guests from 14 nations: Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Slovakia, Poland, England, Slovenia, Spain, France, USA, Canada, Germany and Austria.

They are still flying. On January 15 they still had 4 over 500 km flights. Yesterday still 2x over 600 km.

It’s nice to see that between all those “power-flights” from Africa, in fancy gliders, you find 2 former top- hang -glider- pilots, flying from Narromine down- under in an ASW 20; Tomas [Suchanek] 723 km and Atilla [Bertok] 692 km/650 FAI triangle .
Both once flew a hang glider competition in Tocumwal with us. It might even have been a world championship??

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The British Women Pilot’s Association handed over in the beginning of this year a Special Recognition Award for 2022 to Liz Sparrow.
“Liz worked tirelessly to ensure WWGC 2022 was a success, giving up her chance to compete for Team GB in order to take on the role of competition director.”
A very much deserved recognition for her hard work. I totally agree!!!!

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The WEST CAPE REGIONALS started on January 14 in 3 classes at Worcester.
Open with 10 pilots amongst them 1 HC. 15 m with 3 and club with 4.
I concentrate on open, but you can find all scores on www.soaringspot.com
On day 1 a task from 426 km was set. An International top 3 for the day. Laurens [Goudriaan] from South Africa as number 1 with 149 km./h.[JS 3] Runner up Andreas Spielmann from Switzerland with 147 km./h [ JS 3] and a strong “combi” in the Arcus from the USA and New Zealand, Nick [Bennet] and John [Coutts] on 3.[ARCUS M]
day 2; 279 km....Sven[84 km./h.] and the STEMME S12-pilots [77 km./h] flew the task, but it turned out an invalid day, as the rest did not fly far enough or did not fly at all.
day 3; 2.30 AAT....5 Pilots flew the task but AGAIN it turned out an invalid day. A pity for the USA/NZ combination in the ARCUS M as they flew 367 km with a speed of 148 km./h.
They , Nicolas and John mentioned ;”Day cancelled again. We flew the task anyway, with a speed of 148kph.” And shared this picture.

Task 4; 2.30 AAT….yesterday…..won by Sven, good on him. Only 7 were scored and only 2 were “in”. Sven and Laurens; both flew 265 km , no they did not start together, as Laurens started about 15 minutes earlier, but they had the same speed106 km./h. and about the same points;535/532.
Sven moved up from 5 to 3 [1.249 p] with a few more days to go and Laurens clearly leads now ;1.416 points. Andreas is in between them with 1.266 p.
All scores still preliminary.

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9th NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP for CLUB CLASS in ARGENTINA
Pigüé…16 January 2023 – 27 January 2023

45 Pilots fly in this Club Class for the National Argentinian title from Pigüé ! Never heard from the field, BUT, never too old to learn.
Task 1; 3 hour AAT….so the “little ones” straight had to go for “a few ” kilometers. And they did!!!!
Well known pilot Javier Gaude was the daily winner in his DG 200 with 343 km in time 3.07, speed 110 km./h.
Then 4 ASW 20 gliders with among them Jose Dentone and 3 LS 4 gliders with p.e. my soaring mates, Lucas and Damian Goldenzweig.
Task 2; there was NO TASK 2.
More next week.

That’s it for now, more than enough news for this week.
Cu next Wednesday.
Cheers Ritz