Post 1.552 on October 30 2024

Thanks for the many reactions I got already on the news that I have to stop writing my blogs end of this year. Even friends I did not expect to read my blogs , seem to have read it. Good to hear.
Luckily people understand my position.
I started actions to find out if the FAI or IGC have a server to host my blogs to “preserve” gliding history as some call it and I am hopeful, as the best of the best in IT , look into the matter!!
Will keep you informed.
Logistics for these last 2 months;
The next blogs will be on Wednesdays November 6 and 13 , 20 and 27 and on December 4,11, 18 and on Tuesday December 24 and Tuesday ,December 31, last day of 2024 AND,…last day of Ritz’ soaring.eu blogs.

–—–Mind you, on one of the last flying days in the season 2024, they flew in The Netherlands still over 300 km. We had the warmest day’s ever in the end of October, with up to 23 dgr C in my region.
Great weather also for the autumn camp at Terlet from the Gelderse.
Sikko flew from Soesterberg in the 15m ASG 29 E340 km.
“Nice flight at the end of October. Started with cloudbase of 600m but after Apeldoorn it went down to Max 500. After Holterberg cloudbase went up to 600m again after turning 10km past Twente weather improved and at Deventer cloudbase rised to 900m. Turned at Soest en then went to Terlet and back to soesterberg. 340km…… Nice“

—–The down under season slowly starts. After a huge amount of rain on ONE day, they got the next day 30dgr. C in Tocumwal, not bad!!!
Lumpy loves his flying and shared last Sunday;” If today was an indication of the season ahead …… bring it on !! We had a trough sitting over a good portion of NSW which generated some nice Cu’s. The wind made it a little difficult to work out where the lift was, however when you found them it was a good ride ….
650kms at 105kph in the might Duo”

–—–John McCaw also loves his gliding , but he flies over the mountains in N.Z. Lucky for us ,he often shares pictures , as he did also last Sunday. A nice Sunday- afternoon out.

——Deeside Gliding Club at the airfield of Aboyne, [I have written often about their wave weeks] shared the next news;
“We’ve had some great wave flying this week with visitors from Booker, Lasham, Chilterns and Wolds exploring the Scottish mountains and glens and making lots of high altitude flights, many up to c.15,000ft, several to c. 20,000ft with Gold height for Patrick Clear and Diamond height for John Otty. Visitors and DGC members have been out as far as Callander, Dunkeld, Strathspey and North of Inverness, with notable x-countries by Roy Wilson (500km) and Sant Cervantes (300km).”

—–HpH Sailplanes is pretty active. They shared news and a picture from the Maiden flight TwinShark SN 40-TS.

—–For all those who have been at Terlet, OR will go there for the FAI SGP in May 2025, [ https://sgp.aero/netherlands2025 ,many top pilots are involved already and a long waiting list!!] ,the famous and very GOOD “workshop” [Service Center Terlet] got a new roof!

—–Benalla has next week the MELBOURNE CUP REGATTA, no this time not the running horses , they run in Melbourne,…the day the nation stops…. but flying gliders. Here is the announcement.

–—-Most of us have seen TOP GUN. I read that the instructor of Tom Cruise and all other pilots for that movie, were trained by Charles Thomas ’Chuck’ Coleman .With more than 100 flights he prepared the cast in F 18 Hornets for their amazing jobs.
SADLY enough he died on Sunday October 20 ,in a small plane, a 2-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 as single pilot, during an AIRSHOW at Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport, when it crashed. They stopped the show.
Chuck had 10.000 hours in his logbook, participated in hundreds of air shows and flew more than 3000 stunts.
R.I.P.

—–and to finish this post, this spectacular airfield, belonging to the most dangerous in the world.

CU next week,
Cheers Ritz