Alphen aan den Rijn Sunday September 9 2012
ritzdeluy@hotmail.com www.glidinginternational.com www.soaringcafe.com
With temperatures here in Holland, up to 28 dgr. TODAY, this autumn is awesome. And ..not only the temperatures are good also the clouds at some days work harder then in summer. Good on them!!! On Wednesday Spain [Fuentemilanos] had a good day and Pepe managed to fly in his ASH 31 a great 745 km. distance with 118 km./h.
“Un dia increible”.. Such a great day made him forget some other more frustrating days.One day later he flew 830 km.
Paul van Dingenen a former Belgium airline pilot,[met him at several Keiheuvel comps] flew from Santa Cilia Jaca also in Spain also in an ASH but a 26 E. version , with 3 m. span less; 685 km. Friday he flew 713, while Denis Flamant in the same glider flew 945 km. after a 1000 on September 3. Good conditions over there in the Aragonese Pyrenees.
The French places as Vinon, Gap Tallard, Puimoisson, [ training-camp from the German Sport soldiers to close the European season] ] Sisteron and Serres La Batie are still making pilots from different countries happy with over 500 km. flights.
In the USA the DUST DEVIL DASH [ from Mountain Valley] was on….flying straight out as far as you can get…in a DG 1001 or an ASW 20, an LS 6 or Discus 2a.
A glorious autumn-day with between 700 and 880 km. as best results. Poor crew,….but some pilots made an out and return from it!!!!!!
While we are looking ahead at winter , down under they look ahead at summer and as they called it at Mount Beauty with the season “well and truly started ” , they should fly for “OLC points and review their look out procedures!” It’s nice to get their [Mount Beauty Gliding Club…S of Australia Victoria] updates via Ian Cohn, every week, VERY active club!!!!
Yesterday Geoff Pratt flew already 465 km. from Jondaryan [E of Australia Queensland] in the PIK 20.
Yesterday the ACvZ [the Amsterdam Club for Soaring] celebrated their 80 year anniversary/jubilee with a fly inn , a BBQ and a jubilee-task for members with a start point outside of Soesterberg and the finish OFCOURSE AT Soesterberg! The fantastic weather , the many guests and the always great atmosphere from the club will surely have made it an unforgettable party.
First start was , after coffee first,…… at 6.49….early-morning-soaring!!!see picture from FB.
Distance for open was 165 km en for club/wooden gliders 85 k.
pictures from FB [Zwevers] via one of the jubilee-organizers Ilse Hiemstra.
Ready to fly and for the party.
AND…also the club from the other big town in Holland Rotterdam [ZCR] celebrated an 80 year jubilee yesterday with BBQ for 107 guests, Fly in, passenger flying and a competetion day at Terlet . Task; 118 km. from Terlet. Before the BBQ and to close the day in style a demo in the FOX by one of our best glider-demo-pilots Peter Houtman.
Pictures from FB [Zwevers] via one of the jubilee organizers Aukje Engel.
Below ready to go!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH CLUBS
What a fantastic line-up from ASK 13’s!!!! All happening at the Airport/aerodrome from St Crepin .[September 1] What a great event from and for K 13 pilots !!!! There were 35 teams from different places in France and several from Europe. [Germany, Holland and Switzerland]
picture from FB.
Lufthansa passengers knew in advance that last Friday they were better out to take the train, as after 2 short brakes in work the cabin staff [ 19.000 in total] now was on strike all Friday and all over Germany. But…there was good news as well as the direction and the representatives from the cabin staff were on speaking therms again, so this was one was the last one.
A total of 1000 from 1800 flights were cancelled, 100. 000 passengers had no flight! Specially the big towns/airfields had a problem as Frankfurt, Munich , Stuttgart and Berlin. The railway did great business. And…as passengers knew before they took it easy, one said with a big smile; “I had no time to see the town, now I go and visit it”.
In Aboyne, Scotland, in the UK, the 15th open – mountain/wave -championship was flown with 15 participants organised by the Deeside Gliding club, renowned for being the foremost wave- flying-site in the British Isles with the UK height altitude of 38.600 ft. .
They even had great weather with 6 days in total and a well known winner for distance , John Williams in the Antares [Z7] . [ 5253 points]
Pilots fly for the task but some prefer the height-comp. HXH , pilot Roy Garden [DISCUS] was concentrating more on height then distance during this competition.
Also on Friday he asked for opening of the wave-box [13.49] and flew up to 14.939ft .3 Days in a row HXH won the height climb up .
In the end Roy won the height comps with a total of 56.634 ft.
As I read on their news site, on a strong wave day traces showed wind with 60 kts at 10.000 ft.
On the last, also warm day in the N of the UK, a 3 hour AAT was set between 178 and 480 km. and David Williams won that day as well with 280 km.
Interesting competition never really looked at it good, but it seems great fun! Next year between September 1 and 7 it happens gain!!!! Will keep a better eye on it then!
Neil Armstrong who died age 82 last month, get’s his grave in the sea! That in a way that “belongs”to him. When he was “young” he flew fighters for the marine and it seems that quite a lot of those pilots choose for a “sailor’s grave”. An extremely interesting person. More about him in the next G I.
Expensive???? But you sleep well……Cost of this project ….280 million Euro.
What do you get for that money? 8 Private SLEEPING rooms , each with a dressing-room, in a Boeing 747-8 AEROLOFT business jet, the newest biggest passenger plane in the world!!!
Necessary??? Don’t know, but when you have the money, or your business has the money, you work hard and travel a lot, it makes you a fitter person after arrival!!! Certainly when you are over 60. I feel it more and more and I look ahead at the next long flight already in the end of this year!!! Atleast ONE week of “suffering” in Tocumwal and one week back here in Holland,…but less!!!!
Another busy week ahead for me , even voting for a new government on Wednesday CU then. Cheers Ritz