Alphen aan den Rijn Friday December 10 2010 ritzdeluy@hotmail.com
Just checked in for the trip from Amsterdam to Hongkong and Hongkong Melbourne !All done now and ready to go!
Weather was awful here with frozen rain, hail and rain yesterday, but the sun was shining as well ; today and the weekend will be around plus 6. So not too bad and no worries to leave Amsterdam.Snow has disappeared for the sun.
Different then Paris and Frankfurt where yesterday still flights have been cancelled due to heavy snow. From Munich I heard that it is totally white again. Was I lucky!!!
While waiting in row at Munich on Wednesday , some people really were “pissed off”, when they found out that there were no flights to Paris. But what can you do when 11 cm of snow falls down from heaven, the worst since 1987. Even the Eiffel tower was closed for a while to avoid accidents. On Thursday it was open again.
In Portugal, a tornado caused lots of pain and damage. 40 People were injured under them 19 children. Damage was beyond believe. This weather is just weird!!!!
No worries for pilots in Africa and Argentina. But still not the normal weather in the Australian paradises, where I hear gardens have never been so beautiful green as now. To be honest I have seen more dry years in Tocumwal then wet ones. Only brown fields then, as even watering was forbidden , to not spill water. That is for sure different now. But….last year January was excellent, so …no worries.
In Argentina [ Chapelco] Klaus flew a nice 1000 km triangle as well. Not the up and down and up and down, but a nice FAI triangle of 1.608 km. As I told you before it is really good to see so many triangles on the OLC now.
Daan had his day off but friend Jos was flying in Kiripotib and he also flew a 1000 km. Most of my Dutch and German friends are really having a ball in Namibia and Gariep Dam.Yesterday Daan flew on his flying-day another 1000 km., as if it is normal to fly a 1000 every day.
Good to see Lasham mate , Roy flying at Bloemfontein, with good old Dick Bradley; 870km in Ventus 2CT.
The first 50 pilots flew last Wednesday between 678 and 1.728 km. I noticed that day 27 over 1000 km flights.No complains!!!
Today more great flights and the first 30 flights on OLC were for Namibia. Very pleased to see Hans Raschke flew his 1000 in a duo discus T.
Today I saw that Corowa has much better weather, very pleased for them!!! When they have good weather Tocumwal has it too, certainly when pilots fly to the west from Corowa, so Michael , who flies in Toc since “ages ” can do some good flying in his DG600.
You remember Brutus? He visited during his Africa-trip, Gariep too and Ute , Hans, Karin and Uwe, really were pleased to unexpectedly see him. He also caught up with Tjeerd , Max and Marc. Brutus still knows so many in our soaring world as well. He travelled with a friend through Africa and returned last week, visiting the Krueger park and enjoying Africa to the fullest. From 30 dgr + to -1 was less nice!
I noticed that the forecast for Johannesburg is partly cloudy with thunderstorms throughout the days and temperatures between 14 in the night and 25/28 during the day.
Namibia’s airspace is bigger!!! The Civil Aviation Authorities of Botswana have been so kind to open up a big area East of the border of Namibia ,with even up to flight level 195. Look at the site at” aktuelles”, if you want to see what has changed. [www.bitterwasser.com]
At the M[ountain] W[ave] P[roject] site [www.mountain-wave-project.com] , I read today that on December 8 that very nice triangle from Klaus included 3 WORLD RECORDS in one flight, in a class D-glider. Distance over a triangle course of 1.600,2 km . Free triangle distance of 1.608,2 km and Speed ove a triangle course of 1500 km ; 122,77 km/h. The former record was by the deceased Steve Fossett. Pilot reports and impressions will be soon on their site. His first reaction you might have read on the OLC comment in German ; “There you see it all goes in wave as well. But..it was pretty difficult”.
The Mountain Wave Project (MWP) – a project of the scientific and meteorological panel of OSTIV, was conceived during an OSTIV seminar1998 in Serres/France by René Heise and Klaus Ohlmann and attracted several enthusiastic scientists/pilots since.
Was nice!Wrote on Facebook that I will visit Tauranga and straight away got an invitation to see the local gliding club over there. So…When I have time, I will report about them as well, as …..we share the news.
Also on Facebook; My Aussie friends Anita and Bruce Taylor are in South Africa preparing for the South African Nationals at the airport of Welkom. Ronald our former ECG champion will be there as well. As dealer for Jonkers JS1 in Holland it will be nice to fly with so many JS1’s , 11 in total in 18 m. class in the country were the glider is built and…against the 2 Jonkers brothers Uys and Atti. Other well known pilots flying during these comps ; Oscar and Laurens Goudriaan, Mannie McLaughlan, Sven Olivier, Arne Boyer Moller , John Coutts and daughter of Dick Bradley, Jennifer.[www.sssa.org.za] Competition is from December 13-22. Will try to keep an eye on it as well.
To get in the Aussie mood already I share with you a few lines of the last Narromine Cup , as seem through the eyes of Brian Hayhow, winner of these special comps, also now distributor for Schempp Hirth and Jaxieda in Australia. Interesting to see Dutch pilots as well; a couple, William and Evelyne, both airline pilots in Holland and collegues of my daughter Inge, spending quality time in winter in Narromine as well. As said before, this world of ours is SOOOO small.
Hope to “see” you in Tocumwal, in Springhill and in Tauranga, as I have the info ready to reach you all. Bye for now from grey Holland, Ritz
Narromine Cup has been around now for some eleven or twelve years and has become, probably, the most well known of these events. It continues to draw pilots from all over the eastern and southern states, and usually, some overseas visitors (this year from Spain, The Netherlands, Japan & the USA). It is always a chance to catch up with old friends, as well as get in some good flying for the old hands, while affording the newcomers the opportunity to take advantage of that wealth of experience.
The Cup has always been about providing the opportunity for pilots to be able to achieve their flying goals. There is a complete infrastructure on hand to facilitate that, along with full catering and the scoring via the On Line Competition (with its associated handicap factors). It really could not be made easier or more encouraging for the pilot. The focus is on distance flying and after the morning briefing & weather, pilots will usually split up and task according to their experience and aims.
It’s not uncommon to meet pilots who are looking for their first 50km or 300km flights and just down the grid, find others who are attempting 1000km. It is just that diversity that makes the Cup one of the more interesting for all the pilots involved, the newcomers can fly with coaches and mentors and pair up with others who can assist them around a task. That encouragement & assistance has always resulted, year after year, in many pilots going home with substantial developments in their flying.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Cup for that reason, and in previous years have been involved in a coaching role there at an introductory XC level. This year Paul Mander ran the morning lecture series and, as always, gave great insight into the art of soaring. We were blessed with six challenging days flying and a lot of kilometres covered.
If you are looking to extend your flying, or just want an atmosphere of mutual encouragement, consider adding the Narromine Cup to your schedule. I know that having flown five of the last six Cups has been of tremendous value to me and I look forward to seeing you there at the next one.