The pessimists thought, whilst looking at the flooding and rain in NSW that maybe the Narromine comps would/could be a swimming competition.
BUT NO they were wrong.
Task 2 from the AUSSIE NATIONALS ,was after all the rain in the week before,… a good one;
Narromine Gliding Club Official said;” It is turning into one of those cracking soaring days that Narromine is famous for, 6kt climbs to 8,000ft and doesn’t stop until 6pm.”
15 m….467.82 km and the Ventus 3T from Adam was with 130 km./h the best.
He started about 5 minutes later than the rest and “got them all” even his mate Butch in the AS33es.
Matthew was 4th and called it a “a solid defensive day.”
About the start he said ;”Woolley wanted to play some start games with me but I wasn’t keen with the potential for an early and hard shutoff (it is March and everything is wet!).”
Bruce was unfortunately out. “I chose to make a high risk move“
You can read the day through the eyes of the pilots on
Taylor’s Gliding Page
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Club class;307,67 km..Jim Crowhurst from Kingaroy is doing well, he won both the tasks till now. Speed 99km./h in his ASW 20. The Mosquito from Jack Hart was runner up.

Task 3 was another good one.
15 m….3 hour AAT; all 10 pilots flew and one was clearly the best this day! Kilometer-eater Toby [Geiger] from Benalla, in his Ventus 2ax flew 433 km in time 2.59,36 …a speed of 144.5 km./h…so 1000 points for him. It brings him for 5 to 2 overall.
Even the Ventus 3T, [Fantastic day in the saddle all the way until the last leg.. I was averaging well over 140kph for most of the flight, then dropped back to 138kph on the last leg. I could see the problem unfolding, but couldn’t do anything about it.” A33es or Diana 2 fes,[I have never driven the Diana 2 so hard, cruising 120kts between 6-8kt climbs.] could not keep up with him. They were 5th, 4th and runner up.
Club…..3.30 AAT; the little ones had a big day ahead of them ; 405 km for the winner in his ASW 20 Jim in time 3.30 at the dot and also for him well deserved 1000 points, so he leads after winning every day till now with nearly 400 points.
116 km./h on the “clock’ which was 10 k faster than runner up Jack in the good old Mosquito.
All 9 started, all 9 finished!!!
Bernie Sizer [PIK 20 b] was unfortunately out on task 1, after 302 km. but took revenge with a 4th spot today. Bernie flies from Tocumwal.

15 m. class;
Task 4….2.30 AAT; Scutter- day, or Matthew- day, or Diana 2FES -day, what ever you like! Anyhow Matthew won the day with 339 km. in exactly 2.30 at the dot;134 km./h.
Quite a bit faster than runner up Tobias who flew 329 km. in time 2.35; 127 km./h.
“Smashed it – short task due to forecast storms which did end up blotting out part of the second sector, requiring almost max distance in the other sectors. The key decisions were to go right to the edge of the storm which let me turn shorter in the last sector, staying with the good cu, and an aggressive gear change down when we turned off the downwind leg that saw a lot get low. Probably a few rest days in the foreseeable, time to do some washing.” as shared by Matthew.
Club class…2 hour AAT; to keep with the same words…Jim-day, ASW 20-day. They all started after 2 o’clock and Jim won AGAIN. His 4th successive win!!!!244 km. in time 2.01 showed a speed of 120 km./h.
Runner up David Collins from Waikirie [pff far driving for him!!!] flew 270 km. in the ASW 20F but needed more time 2 hour and 29 minutes; speed 114 km./h.
Task 5 was CANCELLED for all classes.

15 m. class;
Task 6…351 km. and this time one of the other toppers in this class “climbed the podium”. Butch…John Buchanan in his AS 33es; 141 km./h What about that!?
Matthew was runner up [135 km./h] saying “Straight forward day, the first task we have used the PEV markers on for the start. They turned out to be largely not necessary as the task was sized well to the window available so we all went more or less as the gate opened.” more in his blog Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Bruce was 3d in the borrowed Discus;132 km./h.
“Quite an interesting day. The lift had a more organized, solid feel right from the start today, even allowing for the fact that we launched later than on previous tasks. So it was with some dismay that after a good start at cloudbase right on the line, I had a glide down to almost ground level right near the first turnpoint without having flown through any lift!”
Taylor’s Gliding Page
That leaves Adam and Toby, they were on spot 4 and 6 with Ray [Stewart] in the JS 3 between them.
Adam;”I’m really sad” was my comment over the radio waves today, followed by extremely loud shouts of expletives to myself. My stats for the day were effectively the best on all counts against the others, minus the one stuff up described below (my deviations today were 11% or 20km more distance travelled than the others).” more in Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Club class; 297 km...Great day for Jack who won the day with 107 km./h in his Mosquito. A tad slower than David in the ASW 20 F.
Jack was more than pleased with this win , he not only stopped the every-day-win from Jim, but so to see he does n’t win a lot and seems a real inspiration for others.

15 m;
Task 7….3.30 AAT;6 pilots flew over 400 km. Butch and Toby used more than 4 hours [4.03] Matthew, John and Adam started about the same time. In the end Matthew’s Diana was the best with a speed of 117.99 km./h. Adam had 117.46 and Butch needed more time but was 3d with 109.90 km./h
Matthew; “Finally some weather that requires more skill than pushing the stick full forward – a moderate breeze and bands of high cloud rolling through the task area.” more in Matthew Scutter’s Gliding.
He also said that” those who stretched the day paid dearly“.
Bruce was one of them after 256 km.

Adam; “Huge mental game today with such a phenomenal first leg where I clearly out flew everyone, followed by survival. At every moment, I told myself, fly the best flight you can, fly the fastest flight you can, from this moment on.” More in Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

With 3 days to go it looks , that Matthew WITHOUT problems, has the best option to win, with more than 350 points ahead on Toby. For him , Ray, John and Adam there are still enough chances; Toby 4.966, Ray 4.926, Butch 4.906 and Adam 4.900

Club class;
Task 7….3 hour AAT; 9 started and 6 finished and I was more than pleased to see that Jo was runner up today, behind Jim who was back in his “winning mood”;358 km. in time 3.04 so 117 km./h.
Jim is nearly 500 points ahead with 3 flying days to go.

15 m;
Task 8….2.30 AAT and today it was a good and pretty fast day with 335 km. for Matthew in time 2.29, so a speed of 134.15 km./h which devaluated the points to a max of 800.
Matthew; “Another challenging day, but right in my court – big climbs and big storms. Taking it easy and not taking any risks that could upend the comp for me turned out to be a good strategy for the day with the very tricky conditions working both sides of storms. Probably got the last clean climb of the day to get home.”
Adam was runner up but with a higher handicap he lost a few points though they started and finished in about the same time.[746 points]
Ray ,Butch and Toby followed.
Matthew clearly leads but the game is not over yet for Ray[5.655 p] Toby [5.653 p.] and Adam [5.650 and Butch is in the race as well with 5.620 p.
Matthew added; “Maybe only one day left, tomorrow is uncertain.“
Bruce mentioned; “A quick note to say that I have decided to leave Narromine a little early. There are some reasons I need to be back at home just now.”
Club class; had a 2.30 AAT as well and also 800 points for daily winner Jim with 300 km in time 2.29.
Jack in the good old Mosquito had a less day and finished on spot 7 with 489 points. He dropped from 2 to 3 overall, but hey,…still on the podium…now.
All 9 flew 1 was out.

——————————————————————-

Seminole- Lake Gliderport:
“This is the 32nd edition of the Senior Soaring Championship. We are again having a Sailplane Grand Prix fun event starting the week before the Seniors. More on that at a later date. What started as a friendly competition between friends have turned into a highly competitive event pitting some of the best pilots in the country and beyond. We welcome World and National Champions, as well as, first time competitors to Seminole-Lake Gliderport. “
You must be 55 years old or older before the first contest day. They allow 5 pilots as guests that do not meet this criterion, which always includes a junior racer.
Between March 12 and 18, the “oldies” , with a lot of respect, fight for the best positions.
Practice on March 11.
Contest director is John Good and the scorer is Rick Sheppe.

They started with thunder and lightning on March 12, and… it was cloudy, dark and cold. Indeed NO ingredients to start a competition.
March 13; showed several tasks and YES, the 59 gliders started with task F in the pocket. After relights the last was airborne at 5PM.
Luckily for John the CD ….he kept positive…the day turned out nicely.
“It was definitely a day to get high and stay high, where “high” in this case was just a bit over 3500 feet AGL at task opening time.”
36 pilots completed the task and only 2 real outlandings.
Bif Huss [ Ventus 3M] who won the comps a few years ago, was the daily best.
March 14; the forecast was for “warmer, stronger, higher, and less breezy weather“. And,….. it was a good day with task 2.
“It was a 2-hour TAT, with a big circle down south, accompanied by a pair of smaller “steering” turn areas, one outbound and one inbound, to keep the traffic separated.”
45 From the 53 who started finished and Jim Lee was the best in his 18m JS 1 C/jet.
After consulting the meteorologist, the crews, and his crystal ball, Contest Manager Enrique Mertins declared that tomorrow will be a rest day….so
March 15 is a rest day.
More next week.

—————————————————————————-
Vale Alan Patching 

Another legend of the soaring world has passed away.
When I think of Benalla, I see Alan.
R.I.P. Alan.
It is with great sadness that we …Victorian Soaring Association…advise of the passing of Alan Patching on Sat 12th March. He was 97 years old, (nearly 98), and was a Life Member of GFA. He passed away peacefully at home.
In 1976 Alan was invited to become a member of the OSTIV Sailplane Development Panel and was appointed convenor of both the Fatigue/Service Life and Crashworthiness Panels and is now an Honorary member of OSTIV.
In 1994 Alan was given an Order of Australia AM for his services to Australian gliding.
Alan received the highest FAI gliding award, the Lilienthal Medal, in 2007 for his eminent services to the international gliding community over many decades, and in particular for his extensive and substantial contribution to glider airworthiness and sailplane fatigue life.

————————————————-

And to finish this great picture, what a “monster”!!??

Kiki mentioned on March 12 that he and his wife have safely arrived in Paris in France BUT with their heart in the Ukraine. They are grateful to all those who have helped them escape, sometimes with danger for their own life.
Chapeau et merci a tous!!!!

CU next week.
Cheers Ritz….20 dgr.C…not bad! Love it.[ BUT,…the red SAHARA-sand from Africa is arriving soon as dust and I just had my window cleaners here.]
That’s what the glider pilots thought last week too at Terlet,

Always in the beginning of March the “important” people from the IGC get together, to share visions, change or update rules and to look back and ahead!!!
I hope they ALL looked back on what happened at the WWGC, so that this never happens again.
Here is some news I got from Rick [Sheppe] , who is on his way…a 2 day trip… to Florida where in Seminole Lake the first competition starts in the USA with only “grey eminences”.
“The IGC Plenary took place online over three days, March 3-5. 
There were 34 countries represented. 
Sadly, Russia and Belarus had to be excluded.
We made a few decisions on the technicalities of Flight Recorders, start speed limits, and record claiming procedures. 
We formalized a new racing format for electrically powered sailplanes, and we approved a series of virtual gliding (Condor) competitions.  Eventually, we hope to add virtual gliding to the list of FAI sanctioned events.

There is also a current championships calendar, which is incomplete and
subject to change:  https://tinyurl.com/yrdeycjs
I was very pleased to hear that Marina got the Pelagia Majewska Medal for “her eminent services to the sport of Gliding.” WELL DESERVED!!!!!
“The next meeting will be in Copenhagen, this time for sure!”

————————————————–

Talking about the IGC….As you might have noticed I added in my last blog the adjustment of the IGC Ranking List according to the decision of the International Appeals Tribunal. If you missed it here is the list of each of the classes ;
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3925
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3926
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3927
And here is a link to all classes of the competition: 
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_displaycomps2.php?champid=2012
A big thank you to Reno Filla.

————————————————–

I found this on the internet and would like to share it;
“I am Olena Zelenskyy, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodmymr Zelenskyy. I met my husband when we were schoolmates, but were never acquainted. He once said that he knew many of my classmates, but not me. We got acquainted much later — when I was studying at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Kryvyi Rih National University. We dated for eight years before getting married on 6 September 2003. On 15 July 2004, our daughter Oleksandra was born. On 21 January 2013, I gave birth to our son Kyrylo. Aside from being First Lady of Ukraine, I am also a writer and architect. I am also being targeted for death by Mr. Putin.”

The last news from Kiki today;
“In tears this morning. Torn between the desire to stay and the reason for safety. Between the risk of dying and the desire to live.”
Kiki and his wife have left Kyiv.
Wise but hard decision.

————————————————————

The opening of the gliding season from the Gelderse at Terlet in the first weekend of March was busy and pretty cold due to a Easterly wind, but with a hot sun and blue skies and most important,…check starts for all who wanted to fly again.
Great start of the season I heard with enthusiastic words as “ a 3.6 m. lift average, with 1200 m. cloud base” and that on March 6!!!!!
Some started with 230 k. cross country flight.

—————————————————————–

And one more time,…...INGO…….a nice and SO TRUE story by Stephen Curtis;
“Ingo would have to have been the most gentle minded person I have been with in any environment. I spent 3 hours in the Caproni with him a few years ago. He gently corrected my thermal finding strategy, carefully suggested our headings and let me fly almost all of the flight from start to end. Yet, here was I, a rank amateur soaring pilot, not being chided nor imposed upon, nor made to feel awkward at any time, by the world’s best at his game. Humility, gentleness and amiability in a package. Nothing would ruffle his demeanor. This is a commonly held sensation by anyone who met him. We are lessened by his passing, not only as glider pilots. but more so as human beings who share an appreciation of a solid essential humanity that Ingo had in endless measure. This man was a worldly wise, steady, careful and considerate human being. None shall replace him.”

and a picture from Ingo and his wife Judy.
AND, with one of his mates Tony Tabart who worked in the early years of Sportavia with Bill Riley as an instructor. Both flew several WGC’s.
And with me thanks to Nick Gilbert who “found” it.
And with good old tuggie Bill Harvie.

And with Bill Harvie in the Caproni. Bill and Ingo were “ALWAYS” at the field. Ingo instructing, Bill as a tuggy. Bruce Wilson, who took this picture, was as a tuggie also always there..

INGO, FOREVER YOUNG!!!!! He was buried last Saturday. I heard that it was a day with laughter and tears , as a good funeral should be. I was AWFULLY pleased to hear that Ingo is buried about 5 m. from Dennis.
The protecting oleander is [temperately I hope] gone, but Ingo is now close by.
There will be a memorial service at Sportavia on the 26th of March at 1pm for Ingo Renner for all those who would like to pay their respects. 
They have created a dedicated email page as a memorial to Ingo Renner. They would like to invite you to add your story, message, photo, video or article. 
“We have created a webpage and invite you to tell your stories about Ingo, Sportavia and gliding. As much description as you can would be wonderful to read, or it can be short and just a note to say that ‘you was here’.” by Lumpy .
Please send your story or attachment to:
ingomemorial@tocumwalsoaring.com 
I would love to add to plant a tree that day in honor of Ingo.
The white gum at Sportavia which was planted 34 years ago for Kees and Dennis, is a huge “for-always- monument”.

———————————————————————–

Talking about the cemetery…Eddie had a look over the last couple of weeks at the oleander behind Dennis’ grave, which was brutally cut to the bottom. He did n’t want to create hope ,but look…… small miracles happen, NOW the big miracle …….PEACE IN THE WORLD.

—————————————————————-

Having lived in Australia for quite a long time , I HAVE to share with you the death of Warney…Shane Warne, only 52 years old.
A hero and epic cricket player….one of the best bowlers ever, with huge charisma, sometimes controversial, but definitely a LEGEND.
I do not know a lot about cricket and after all those years the rules are still abracadabra for me , but who does n’t know Shane Warne??!!
The Federal and Victorian governments have made the offer of a state funeral following the shock death of Australian cricket legend Shane Warne.
He passed away in Thailand in a wellness retreat …. to get back to the shape from a few years ago,…. due to a suspected heart attack..
2 Aussie Cricket heroes passed away in a short time; Rod Marsh passed away as well in the same way, but he was about 20 years older.

—————————————————————–

I really hope the weather will not spoil the Nationals in Narromine. It’s already a huge disaster the flooding in parts of Queensland and NSW. Several people , the last I heard 21, died because of the high water. And there where the land is always DRY, it’s flooded now.
Here is some news from the Nationals from Ross McLean ;
“The National Championships for Standard, 15m and Club Class started this weekend at Narromine. 
If you don’t want to miss the all the action you can watch the racing live on Glide and Seek, with the day’s tasks overlaid on the map. 
To view the action every day just click here:  NARROMINE LIVE TRACKING
It is a hot field with Club Class dominated by ASW20’s flown by several formal National and World Championship winners and a combined Standard/15m class comprising a collection of Australia’s top pilots.  Plus we have a JS3M and a Ventus 2CX slugging it out in 18m/Sports.
The competition also showcases the very latest in gliding technology with several JS3’s, the only AS33 Es in the country, a number of Ventus 3’s and a Diana 2-FES.  Additionally the classic field of LS8’s will be punching above their weight under the predicted conditions.”
See all the entries here:  PILOT ENTRY LIST

They started last Monday March 7 with practice days and continue till March 18 but during the first days there was no task as there was no weather to fly.
“Narromine is under the influence of an upper trough to the NE, so the practice day has been cancelled.” update March 7.
“The upper low system that was sitting at the top of NSW Coast has been firing moisture and instability at us, so the weather models  told us it was poor soaring weather again” on March 8.

You can follow them now on the above link and the scores on www.soaringspot.com
More in my next blog, as I hope they can squeeze out a few days as some top pilots in top gliders are participating, which is always nice to follow.
For today there was a task 1 ;
15 m….2.30 AAT ; won by former JWGC world champion ,Matthew in his Diana 2FES ……339 km. with a speed of 125 km./h. There are 10 pilots in this class among them Adam in Ventus 3T, Bruce [Taylor] in a “borrowed’ Discus, Butch in his new AS 33ES and Tobias [Geiger]in his Ventus 2ax.
Club …3 hour AAT; 7 in this class and they all finished with as” best for the day” Jim Crowhurst in his ASW 20; 342 km in time 3.27.
There is a combined “open class” with the same 15 m. pilots PLUS Brian DuRieu in a Ventus 3Mneo and Matthew Atkinson in an 18m Ventus CX.
Same task as 15m class.
There will be 3 blogs as well from Adam, Bruce and Matthew so enough to read
Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Taylor’s Gliding Page

——————————————————————————-

Staying down under, I got the March 22 Alpine Flyer from the Mount Beauty Gliding Club in which I could read a lot about a major construction project at their airfield. The completion date is still set at early May 2022.
“During the shutdown of the Mount Beauty Airport for runway upgrade works, our club has temporarily relocated its operations to Corowa Airport until early May 2022. Here we are enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Grietje and Francesco Bruinsma of Australian Soaring Centre with Grietje providing us with aerotows while we wait for issue of a NOTAM for operating our Tost winch at Corowa. “
Grietje flies, whilst George [from Outback Soaring in Tocumwal] is in Europe his Scout VH SFO, so the “engine keeps running” .Good on her!
Good to see they are in a nice way busy before they leave after selling to Keith.

———————————————————-

News from Sweden about the Uppsala Masters;
“These are dark days. We all need something to look forward to -now more than ever. We hope you will join us for the next edition of Uppsala Masters. Final registration deadline is march 31st. Lets get together and make it an international event in the spirit of friendship and collaboration! Link to final registration is here:
https://eu.jotform.com/form/220604630978357

—————————————————————-

CU next week.

Also with news from the comps for the “oldies with lot’s of respect” at Seminole-Lake Gliderport, [Florida] the first competition for the season in the USA .
AND,…..It feels like spring has started…..15dg.C but still cold nights.
My mate Bertje must have felt it too, he went for a nice aerobatic flight in his “toy” and shared this picture from March 2.

All the best in these difficult times.
Cheers Ritz

There is a lot of important news in this blog, so read it carefully.
About the WAR, which should not even been there, too sad for words, about the final verdict of the WWGC …updated later with IGC ‘s latest ranking list….and about “banning good people” from FB; EDDIE MADDEN and YES he is well.
I was stunned and ANGRY!!!!
And of course about INGO.

It’s unbelievable that Putin, who with blue open eyes ,without blinking, said, that all the movements from his army were JUST training, attacked Ukraine in the early morning of February 24.
What a LIAR!!!!
Our world changed that day!!!
For the older mates, Kiki [ Jacky Clairbaux] is a well known name. He was for years the French TC and VERY involved with soaring ,also in the past in France, Italy and now in Spain.
He just married an Ukraine lady Helene and lives in Kiev/Kyiv.
He stays there as well ,even now. I wish them both ALL THE BEST!!!!.
“The war has started everywhere in Ukraine . The Ukrainian people are ready to resist .SLAVA UKRAINIA“
AND…
“PLEASE DON’T FORGET UKRAINE ! WE ARE WORRIED AND ALONE !“
His later message was that he moved away from Kyiv to a place somewhere in the country. God bless them.
No TV anymore but still on line.

And some support with this picture. It had a link for donations to support financially, but with the many different financial sanctions I do not think that will work. BUT,….within ONE day the Dutch people donated 1.5 million to the Red Cross for help on Ukraine.
You can donate to your Red Cross as well.
My thoughts are with ALL the people in the Ukraine.

The FAI Sailplane Grand Prix shared this news and picture:
“We strongly condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and are calling for an immediate ceasefire. The Sailplane Grand Prix Group stands by the side of the Ukrainian people and particularly to our friends from the Gliding Club Buzova, near Kiev.”

AND…
“The Ukranian government has confirmed the destruction of the world’s only An-225 in its Hangar following a rocket attack by Russian forces. The world’s largest aircraft is no more.”
News from Spotter Magazine
What a waste!!!

And yesterday more sad and shocking news:
“Colonel Oleksandr “Grey Wolf” Oksanchenko who was the Ukrainian Air Force Flanker display pilot between 2013-2018 has lost his life on Friday night when his jet was shot down over Kyiv by Russian S-400 Triumph Air Defence Missile System.”
He came out of retirement to defend his country from the Russian invasion and paid the highest price.

Col. Oksanchenko was not only a very experienced pilot who won a number of awards for the best flying display at many events across Europe, but he was also a true fan of airshows. Despite leaving the active service and joining the reserves in late 2018 he volunteered to remain in the Ukrainian Flanker Solo Display Team as a coach/advisor and travelled with the team during the 2019 display season which was also the last airshow season for the team.
R.I.P Colonel.

—————————————————-

It’s weird to talk and write about soaring now again, but life continues and I promised you ,so here is
Task 5 in Benalla …..a 2.30 AAT but cancelled for both classes.
So they continued on Friday with one more day to go.
Task 6….was in both classes 2.30 and with the weather forecast for Saturday, the last day, task 6 could be the last one!
You know when you fly.
In open/18m. only 9 pilots [ 2 were out because the penalties for their airspace-infringement earlier was huge… no reason to fly anymore] were still flying and Lithuanian pilot Joris Vainius in his ASG 29, won the day with 116 km./h!!
Runner up Pete with 110 km./h and Adam with 106 km./h
Adam tells how he experienced the day in Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
In standard/15 m it was Tobias again and he was also the only one flying over 100 km./h in his Ventus 2ax; 262 km. in time 2.24.

Indeed there was no last day [February 26] , though a task was set and the skies looked not too bad; “Awesome looking sky, a 1.5-2.5hr AAT was on. But to be fair, to task it would’ve only been possible with hindsight & also, the results wouldn’t have changed at the top, so nothing really lost, just amusing!” by Adam
Pete shares his look on the comps in Pete Temple Gliding

Here are the final scores;
Open /18 m.
1. Pete Temple in ASG 29 with 4.425 points.
2. Adam Woolley in Ventus 3Ts with 4.246 p.
3. Ryan Driscoll in Nimbus 3/25.5 m. with 3.960

Standard/15 m;
1. Tobias Geiger in Ventus 2ax with 4.534 points winning EVERY day.
2. Michael Durant in LS 8 T with 3.819 p.
3. Bernie Sizer in PIK 20b with 3.288 p.
After task 1 Bernie who flies from Tocumwal, was number 6 .Slowly he moved up to finish on the bronze spot. Being 2x third! Good on him.

—————————————————————————–

This is Joel and he flies in/from the very RED “heart of the Australian continent.
“Yesterday Joel flew over 300 km in the LS4. He started gliding about a week ago! With the flight he finished his B-certificate, and did a 5 hour flight and 1,000 m height gain for his silver badge. Pretty impressive – congratulations Joel!”
Of course I add mine!!!!

————————————————————————-

There is FINALLY a verdict ,a FINAL verdict about the 2019/2020 WWG in Lake Keepit about 25 months AFTER the comps.
The CAS …Court of Arbitration for sport…has spoken .
“The appeal to the FAI International Appeals Tribunal lodged by Australia against the decision as confirmed by the International Jury at the WWGC 2019 with the main request that all penalties against the Australian Team Pilots be completely removed and United Kingdom and Germany with the main request that all Australian pilots’ results obtained in the Championships be invalidated and the pilots be disqualified from the championships was finalized and a report published.
Australia then decided to go further and filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS has in February 2022 informed FAI that the appeal is considered withdrawn. Consequently, the verdict of the FAI International Appeals Tribunal is upheld.”
https://www.fai.org/sites/default/files/3_2022_igc_president_report.pdf

The termination order was written on February 15 2022 in Lausanne.
More is not possible, this is the end station and the “girls” who won, remain winners and the girls who were stripped from their scores ,remain without their medals.
Sad that such a great competition had to end like this….. for all involved!
I just got the latest on the Ranking list;
Regarding final scores of WWGC 2019:
the IGC Ranking List has now been adjusted according to the decision of the International Appeals Tribunal:
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3925
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3926
https://rankingdata.fai.org/SGP_CompPage.php?compid=3927

About INGO. thanks for the reactions on my personal tribute. SO many people knew him and so many loved him. I was proud to work with him. I wish Judy ALL the best in this difficult time.
Many more people shared their connection with Ingo.
A good story about his flying, is to be found, also in English, on
https://nordicgliding-com.translate.goog/ingo-renner-37000-timmar-segelflygtid/?fbclid=IwAR0cDm24LNF6LQFtvV1-q4RFIMvAlDgvjVc5nNx5BVZnFDsZg7zGgfkeK4k&_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Here are some pictures by his “mates” from all over the world.
the French team;

In his Discus XX, which he owned with Judy and in which they made SO MANY HOURS.

And one of the last pictures. Ingo still at the airfield ,81 years old, with an always smiling face.
How many times in his life has he be on a picture like this. EVERYBODY wanted on the picture with Ingo.

I heard that the GFA are planning a BIG CELEBRATION EVENT one day in Tocumwal. Ingo deserves that.
The funeral will be , as I heard a private affair .
He will be buried at the cemetery , were our son Dennis is and “connected” again with his mentor Bill Riley, with Dolf and Maureen Huber, Jeff Close and good old Jim Taylor and his wife Marg. All involved in the past with Sportavia, all worked with him.
It’s getting more and more busy there!
My next visit, will be a totally different visit , without Ingo’s welcoming smile. He was always there.

On the last picture to the left you see the hangars from Sportaviation/Eddie Madden.
Some of you might wonder why Eddie ,who was very active at FB, disappeared there from February 8 onwards.
NO he is not ill, he is well, but you are going to NOT believe this news from him.
“I was forever banned by Facebook for uploading the video of my Granddaughter Sunday on her scooter in my hangar,
This was deemed as child exploitation by Facebook and so all my links Eddie madden and SportAviation have been removed forever.”
More than BIZARRE.
For those who missed him you NOW know why .
The WOKE idea is good against disinformation, but not for kind people who even need it for their business!!!!
In what world do we live????
I hope the word forever will change, so he can be back with his nice stories about soaring and other views on the world!!!!!

CU next week. Hope the war will be over then. Most probably to optimistic/euphoric.
More news also about the Australian Nationals in several classes from Narromine between March 7 and 18. Lot’s of top pilots.

Cheers Ritz. ….on March 2…meaning the meteorological spring has started Hurray!!!
Not to forget; The next FAI Gliding Commission (IGC) Plenary Meeting will take place in Copenhagen (DEN) on  and 5 – 6 March 2022.

This morning my mobile remained “beeping”. I was scared to look as it might/could be, that Kiev had fallen.
But no it was n’t, though it is too bad/sad for words what’s happening over there. More in my Wednesday blog.

Ingo passed away….. and from all parts of the world I got messages.
“The great man has left us. Gliding in Australia is infinitely stronger for having had Ingo, and will never be quite the same without him. Fly high.”
By Skyrace GP

Here is my personal tribute for an outstanding and erudite person;
I got to know Ingo in Rieti in Italy during the WGC in 1985 ,where he won in open class.
That was the beginning of a real friendship between our family from The Netherlands and several families from Australia.
Bruce Brockhoff, Peter Griffith, Paul Mander, Terry Cubley, Michael Giles and Tony Tabart….they all flew the Pre-worlds in 1984 and that is where it all started. The start of regular visits to Australia and to Tocumwal.
The Aussies invited us and till now we still visit our friends over there and some visited us here in The Netherlands.
In December 85, I saw the WW2 hangar for the first time and got to know people as Bill Riley and his family, Corckey and Peter who worked with David Riley in the “work shop” .
Bill told me how Ingo walked over the beams in the top of the hangar…scary….to keep the wooden beams in good order.
In between Bill supported Ingo with his competition soaring, as he saw straight away, already in 1969 , that Ingo was more than good!!!
That Christmas, Ingo and Teresa invited us for a drink in their caravan and we had a great time .Ingo got a bottle of “something very strong” [might have been Slivovitch ] and we happily drunk through the afternoon. Will never forget Ingo’s loud laughter and the movement of his whole body whilst laughing.

Through the years we became more and more involved with Sportavia and were regular customers making more and more friends also in Tocumwal town.
When Don, one of the owners, decided to sell he asked George, if he wanted to buy his shares and so the Schuit family George and I and Dennis and Inge got involved.
From customer to owner, a huge difference.
Ingo had been there for 20 years already and he kept being a great and never tiring factor.
Our Dennis died and Ingo wrote a message on the mortuary card, Ingo married Judy and we attended the wedding in their garden.
We had customers who specially flew over from Europe, Argentina or Canada to fly with Ingo.
One Canadian elderly gentleman threw his money on the desk in the office and for that money he wanted to fly as much as possible in the back of a 2-seater with Ingo. His last wish.

After some time Sportavia got a new owner in Richard who, after one season had enough of it and auctioned the lot off. It broke our hearts.
Ingo and all the other employees , I was one of them , lost their jobs unexpected.
Soon a modest new gliding club was formed and Ingo became the CFI from the Southern Riverina Gliding club and he and Judy worked hard to get some gliding activities going again, first out of the hangar of Mike Toth, later acquired by Bruce Wilson. Some years later they had to move out and managed to get some room in the old Sportavia hangar that had been sitting locked up and deserted for more than a decade.

Lumpy ,who bought the hangar for a dollar as I heard , did with his partner Sharon a great job to get it back in a good condition. Even the pool was working again and clean and the gardens were beautiful as they were in the past. Compliments for them. Tocumwal was back on track. Meanwhile the club fleet gradually grew and Ingo became quite busy again. 
Ingo was on the field whenever he could. He flew his own Discus when he had time and together with Judy , even on the day he married her, in the Kookaburra. Lots of guests flew with him in it as well.

In our time George set up the Outback Shootout. A gentleman competition, geared toward flying distance rather than achieving speed. Every year we invited a young promising new lad from Europe to soar with Ingo. I only heard good about those flights. Young Tijl Schmelzer has learned so much he told me and he uses it now for fabulous flights. 

Till the end Ingo FLEW. I knew already that he was sick for a longer time. It was no secret that he had bone cancer, which was detected, when the horse he fed in the meadow behind his house  ,broke his shoulder when nudging Ingo.
Not long ago I heard Ingo had leukemia as well and then it is only waiting for the message, which came to me this morning.
I shared a message on FB this morning;
“To all who flew at Sportavia and got to know Ingo, I send my love and sympathy, as this is a very tragic loss for all, also for me; Those who worked there, those who flew there and those who became his mates. He will be sadly missed, but we have an enormous amount of fabulous memories. Treasure them. RIP Ingo…you were the BEST…. for us, as a family including Dennis and Inge ,who both flew and worked with you and the grandchildren Indya and Dexter, who got to know you as “a legend” a couple of years ago ,when they visited Tocumwal.”

Ingo was a man of stature, he received an order of Australia and was loved ALL OVER THE WORLD.
In summer he flew in Tocumwal, to leave for Italy [Sondrio] in autumn and spring was the time for Oerlinghausen [Germany]. Yes he made friends everywhere and with his enthusiastic way of talking about soaring, he invited people to come to Tocumwal and they did.
One of these stories brought Dieter Albrecht” Dundee” to Australia. He just was divorced, bought a ticket to Australia and arrived without knowing ONE word of English ,at my desk in the office.
He was very pleased to hear that I spoke German. So I asked him what we could do for him. ” Well” he said” Ingo told me to come and fly here so here I am”.
How long do you stay. “Oh about 6 months. “
Did you book a room in town” No I want to stay at the field.”
It was high season , no rooms available. So our staff quickly emptied room 6, full of not used stuff. We put a bed in it made the room nice with a few small Aussie things and for a few years he lived there. We then offered him to buy one of the little houses, which he did.
He now is not fit enough to visit anymore, but he and Ingo became friends and when possible “at 4PM” they had a beer together.
“(Wenn um Vier bestimmen wir!)”
One of those nice unexpected stories.
R.I.P. Ingo and I wish Judy a lot of strength for the upcoming time .

Here is the message from the Tocumwal Aviation Museum ;
“Tocumwal has lost an aviation icon and true gentleman with the passing of Ingo Renner. Ingo was a legend of the soaring world and as well known within the powered flying fraternity. Ingo was a key part of the establishment of the iconic Sportavia soaring centre in 1970 in the former World War 2 hangar at Tocumwal and the name Ingo Renner has been synonymous with gliding at Tocumwal ever since.Our thoughts and wishes are with Judy and family.Blue skies, thermals and tailwinds Ingo.“

And here from Gliding Australia;
“Dear Members, It is with great sadness that I advise you of the death of Ingo Renner OAM, aged 81. Ingo passed away on Saturday 26th February following a long illness. Ingo is truly an Australian gliding legend. Through his career he had amassed in excess of 36,000 hours, had won countless Australian and four world gliding championships. He had set many gliding records and had taught hundreds of people to fly. Ingo is arguably the most naturally gifted and generous glider pilot the world has ever seen. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.Our condolences go out to Ingo’s wife Judy, his family and countless friends. He will be sorely missed.  There will no doubt be an opportunity where we will all be able to share our thoughts and celebrate Ingo’s life. Vale Ingo Renner OAM.
Steve Pegler
President
Gliding Australia
https://www.aahof.com.au/inductees/Ingo-Renner
here you can read Ingo ‘s introduction in the Australian Hall of Fame.

And here from Lumpy Paterson who runs the Sportavia Tocumwal business now. Ingo had his gliders in the WW2 hangar.
“My gliding experiences will be a little different now without my Hero, mentor and mate around anymore. Very sad day yesterday with the passing of a true gentleman Ingo Renner.I was so fortunate to have met and spent time with him, he last left a lasting impression with me which I will cherish. RIP Sir Ingo“

I will dig out more pictures before Wednesday.
CU then.

We had 3 very unwelcome visitors in The Netherlands within ONE week and not only here but in a lot of European countries around us even up to the middle of Poland.
Dudley was the first storm with up to 120 km./h and Bft. 10.
Eunice the second one and a very nasty one, with Bft 11 and wind gusting to 145 km./h. That day, last Friday, schools were closed at 2 PM, 170 KLM-flights cancelled from Schiphol …and oh oh the winter-sport -holidays started…no trains from 2 PM etc. They called it one of the nastiest ones in a decade!
Wind up to 145 km./h and NOT ONLY in coastal areas ,but also in the heart of Holland, around Utrecht.
In the UK, the army was ready to help out and all coastal areas from Portugal up to Norway were on full alert.
Also Germany and Belgium were hit hard!!!
In the end Europe mourns 15 people who died.
4 In The Netherlands and Poland, 3 in the UK and 2 in Germany and Belgium.
In the Netherlands ,..all by falling trees!!!
The damage bill will be huge, but the loss of lives is much more terrible.
When we were happy it was over,….. Franklin visited. He arrived in the night from Sunday to Monday with gusting winds up to 145 km./h and severe thunderstorms with huge hail.
3 Storms within ONE week and 6 days above at least Bft 9…. not normal!!!!AND,… a more than 500 million euro damage bill!
And that is,…only for Holland.

———————————————————

Something totally different,…..
Grietje and Francesco Bruinsma, also from the Netherlands ,started their Australian soaring center long ago.
They stayed with us on a holiday , loved it and they wanted to buy Sportavia at Tocumwal, but when that was not possible ,they decided to start a new soaring center at Corowa about 80 km to the East of us.
I knew they were selling and now it will be in the hands of Keith Gateley.
I know Keith already for a long time too and wish him all the luck he needs. It is indeed a fabulous life style to run such a business ,but hard work.
Here is what he had to say on February 16;
“I am reminiscing about my gliding in the 1990’s. For a while I was a member of a Gliding Club at Corowa. It was Sunday afternoons activity of winching the IS28 up the wire with plenty of circuits flown and when conditions were good a cross country or two. The club had an Astir or two and a Cirrus. It was good times, flying with mates, no club politics and the freedom of using a large airfield, seemingly all to ourselves. Fast forward about 30 years and I was sharing a beer with Nick Gilbert and Adam I’Anson at Leeton. We were watching the final day finishers of Skyrace and talking about old times in gliding. Adam was a cheeky 4-year-old when I joined the club at Corowa, he is still cheeky and still likes a chat.
The boys told me that the Australian Soaring Centre Corowa property was for sale and before I knew it, I was hatching a plan to drive down to have a look. Another visit was made last weekend and I have decided to jump in and give it a go. After all I purchased the Corowa Winch 10 years ago and it is about time it returned home.
Its official as of today, I have exchanged contracts to purchase the land, buildings and pool where the Australian Soaring Centre Corowa were operating.
I will be sending a call out to those that have flown at Corowa in the past. It must be time you come visit, stay tuned as I have many plans for this amazing cross-country site.I am looking forward to a fantastic 2022/23 flying season. What are my plans?
They are evolving but likely to include the following activities:
-Home for my new EB 29r (due by October 2022), which will be available for hire.
Eta glider D-KFEM to be flying from Corowa for the 2023/24 season, available for hire with well known local and overseas competition pilots.
Hangar spaces available for glider and powered aircraft.
Club camps.
Winch launches.
Super Dimona for glider launches (up to 750kg aircraft) and local sightseeing flights.
Trial Introductory flights in the Super Dimona.
Competition flying.
Re-establish a gliding club for locals to join.
Access to fantastic clubhouse facilities.”

On top of that they took over the SKY RACE GRAND PRIX from Leeton;
“After 5 fantastic years at Leeton, the SkyRace GP organising committee have decided, for the first time, to switch venues. Before going any further we’d like to sincerely thank the Leeton Aviators Club, the Leeton Council and the Hydro Hotel for their support. In particular Barry Kirkup, Dave Dowling and John Mason from the Leeton Aviators Club have worked hard to make our event what it is.
We’re excited to announce that the next event to be held from the 28th of December to the 6th of January will be held at Corowa Airfield. Corowa is a sensational site and was on the competition venue rotation 30+ years ago, and we’re very excited to say that starting with our event, it’s back! Keep your eyes peeled on social media for a more detailed announcement on this subject.
So – here are the particulars for our next event.
Venue : COROWA AIRPORT
Dates : 28/12/2022 to 6/1/2023Classes : F1 & F2 (see entry form for glider eligibility)
Entry form is available here :https://skyrace.com.au/entry-form/
There has been a lot of interest in our newly introduced F2 class so get in quickly.

———————————————————–

Looking at the picture below, insiders will straight away say:
Porta Westfalica. I wrote in the past already about it as quite a few Dutch pilots spend their week or weekend there.
Also on the 14th of February when the ridge worked well and happy pilots returned home with a smile.
They can leave their gliders in the hangar over there during December, January and February.
During one flight they flew for nearly 3 hours, over 295 km. , lift 0.6 m and speed average 109 km./h and XC 102.
Only 1 % circling!!!

—————————————————-

More news for summer in Italy for the well known Rieti comps. Here is Aldo the CD;
“Rieti: CIM & CCR & Extended Club Class! – August 2022
Dear friends of gliding in Rieti, the dates for the Coppa del Mediterraneo CIM, and the Coppa Rieti CCR have been switched as:CCR: Coppa Città di Rieti, August (1 training) 2-9;CIM: Coppa del Mediterraneo, August (10 training) 11-20.The most significant difference between CCR and CIM simply is the duration of the event. At the CIM, of course, you must expect one “rest-day” if we fly more than 6 consecutive days.In both events we will fly in handicapped mixed class (the Index list will be similar to the German DMSt 2022 – WeGlide). Usually, the participants exceed the n. of 40, so we try to split the gliders in 2 groups, based on the Index value (discriminating Index will be somewhere around 118, still open to debate and analysis of all participating gliders).
Additionally, in 2022 we will accept gliders of the “Extended Club Class” we have introduced in Italy: it’s based on the IGC Club Class, but reinforced with higher performing gliders such as Discus2 LS8 LS6 Ventus Ventus2-15 Janus DG500 and others, all with no-ballast and applying the new Italian Club Class Index List. We really hope this will make the Club Class more interesting (especially for those who don’t like very high wingloadings).So essentially, if we have enough participants, both events may see 3 “classes”.
Please spread the news!
thank you very much!
all the best,
Aldo“

————————————————————————-

Interesting flight by USA pilot Ramy Yanetz on February 17 flown from Byron [CA ] ;
“SkySight was right on again, this time nailed the strongest wave nearly 100% of the time allowing exploring in wave from Williams much further than ever before to near the Oregon border.”
And….Another great north wind wave. Wind from N-NNE up to 50 knots earlier, 75 knots later.
Temperatures in F at altitude were single digit. Was a bit cold in his ASG 29.
You can read his comment on the OLC that day with lot’s of pictures.

—————————————————————————————

The 2021 Australian 18 m. / open and Sports/15m. NATIONALS started last Sunday at Benalla and continue to the 26th. Their practice day was on Saturday.
18m/open:
Task 1…369.57 km; 12 pilots tried hard to be the best on day 1. Pete [Temple] in his 18m. ASG 29 won the “fight”. He started relative early at 1.50 PM whilst the rest mainly started after 2 PM. Pete flew around with a speed of 128 km./h, which was 10 k faster than the runner up, John Orton in the same glider.
Here is Pete on Pete Temple Gliding
“Day 1 of the Open/18m nationals at Benalla.I was keen for a solid start, and achieved that plus some. The day suited my style – I started well away from anyone else and flew mostly by myself the first half of the flight. After that there were gliders around, but I was higher and leading out so could fly my own flight. First glider home – it’s always nice to come home to an empty airfield. 5.2 knot average climb on task with an average speed of 128 km/hr, not too shabby in a vintage glider.6 more days to go.”

Task 2….345.05 km; The Nimbus 3/25.5 m. from Ryan [Driscoll] was still in good flying mood from earlier comps and proofed that by winning task 2. Speed 106.59 km./h
Adam [Woolley ] was as runner up, a tad faster with 109.83 km./h. [handicap Ventus 3 T is 1085, from the Nimbus 1050]
And here is Adam; you can follow both of them, when you are interested, with the link.
“Editors note: Congratulations Ryan on your first ‘nationals’ day win! Had an absolute blast today & had a lesson by the master, Peter Temple in blue conditions for the last 100km. Pete lead the first 1/4, then I lead the next 1/3, Geoff Brown the next 1/4. Peter lead from the final turn, it was clear that no one was going to get away from another at this late stage, all we could do would be lose it. So I used my old age & cunning to not go for it, but sit back & coast home.Nothing in it in all reality glider wise between the JS1, G29 & V3 today, all at 570kg. The only thing I’ll say is that I’d feel that I could cruise at a higher cruise speed inter thermal with the same LD – but with the low height of thermals, it was hard to get away. The feel of the V3 helped me into a few cracking climbs, etc.Finally, Pete is an insanely strong climber, I look forward to trying to match him one day – new goal.”
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Task 3….2.30 AAT; Won by Adam who started 3 minutes behind Pete. who was runner up with Ryan as number 3.
12 started and 1 was out.
Task 4….411 km; Speed for Pete and Adam 128 km./h and for Ryan 120 km./h. That was also the order of the daily scores today AND the overall scores after 4 days.
Short note from Adam “I effectively lead from start to finish today, all day, then got pipped at the end by one climb behind me, super frustrating, but that’s the game, I’ll be 1st or 2nd today, don’t know..”
The rest in the Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

The weather today;

standard/15 m;
Task 1…354.51 km; local racer Tobias [Geiger] won the day in his Ventus 2ax; 104.75 km./h. 6 Pilots started in this class
Task 2…297.16 km; Tobias was , no surprise, the daily best again. He was the only one again flying over 100 km./h.
Task 3…2.30 AAT; Tobias is a bit of “a class apart”. I know he loves his kilometer-eating, but he is great in competition flying too. He flew 317 km. in time 2.32 so a nice speed of 124 km./h.
Michael Durrant in his LS 8T was runner up with 298 km in time 2.43…speed 110 km./h.
7 Started 5 finished.
Task 4…361 km; And ,…Tobias won again with 127 km./h whilst runner up Michael had 114 km./h.
The 6 who started all finished.
So after 4 days Tobias leads with 3.734 points with Michael as runner up with 3.123 p. Pretty good lead is n’t it?
More next week.

—————————————————————

With the new season on the verge of beginning, we really do not want this to happen. FLY SAFE!!!!!

CU next Wednesday
Cheers Ritz on February 23, one day after 22-02-2022.

The great weather in Horsham continued .
“The Horsham Week competition has been operating continuously since 1967 and is an opportunity for friendly competition flying in some of the safest country in Australia (nearly every paddock is a one mile square airfield standard surface). The Horsham Club wanted this competition to be one where pilots who were quite inexperienced at competition flying could be welcome, feel that they were amongst friends and mentors, and where the fear of outlandings would not stop people from having fun.”

Task 6 , last Thursday was good for a 3 hour AAT in CLUB class and Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in his PIK 20 b is “on fire”. Every day in the top 4 , so very consistent and twice daily winner. With 243 km in time 2.59 ,he was now the best on 2 consecutive days.[80.86 km./h]
After 6 flying day’s they had a NO -TASK- day, to continue with the last day
Task 7….194 km; Not only Jarowslaw was good, there was one pilot even better; Steve Jinks in his Mosquito. He also won 3 days in a row plus the last day; speed 113 km./h.
Overall scores in club class;
1. Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in PIK 20b with 5.374 points.
2. Steve Jinks in Mosquito with 4.814 p.
3. David Meredith in St Jantar with 4.660 with a speed of 121 km./h
4. Thomas & Buelter in the Janus with 4.612, so pretty close.

Task 6 in standard/15 m. had a 3 hour AAT as well and it was good to see that Tim Shirley, scorer and CD at many comps , even in my time, won the day in the ASW 28; 259 km. in time 3.14.
8 Started 6 finished and one of the “outlanders” was Jack Hart. He was overall winner every day till now , but had an off day and was out after 161 km.,. Yes it’s sad but it happens ….as scores were close, he dropped from 1 to 4 and that hurts.
Gordon Trollip in his LS 6 was runner up and leads now with 100 points on Tim.
Task 7….195 km.2 pilots from Benalla won the last day. Gordon in his LS 6 was 4th but good enough over the whole period to catch the first spot.
3 Pilots flew their selves in the 5000 scores.
Here are the overall results in standard/15 m;
1. Gordon Trollip in LS 6 with 5.366 points.
2. David Nugent in LS 3 with 5.213 p.
3. Tim Shirley in ASW 28 with 5.185 p.

Task 6 in open/18 m. …2.45 AAT, was for a change not for Ryan in his Nimbus 3T , he was 3d, not for John Orton in the ASG 29,… he was runner up, BUT for Michael Durrant in the 18m. LS 8T ; 270 km in time 2.46.
Task 7….261 km; Ryan and John and Arnold Niewand flew with a speed of 137,135 and 134 km./h. over the track. Terry , was the last pilot to start and was 5th, but remained on spot 3 overall.
Here are their overall results;
1. Ryan Driscoll in Nimbus 3T/25.5 m with 5.992 points.
2. Michael Durrant in LS 8T/18m. with 5.491 p.
3. Terry Cubley in Ventus 2CXT/18m. with 5.285 p.
4. Arnold Niewand in ASG 29/18 m. with 5.253 p.

The final dinner , always nice after a good competition. I was really pleased to see that Lorelle is still doing the catering there. I got to know her in the mid eighties.

———————————————————————

News from :WeGlide on February 10.
“Are you dreaming of going gliding in South Africa?
To promote gliding worldwide and to support young pilots, Jonker Sailplanes invites the best juniors worldwide to participate in the South African club class nationals.
There will be two winners each year, the two juniors who win the WeGlide Sprint ranking for Europe and for the rest of the world.
Read more about the JS Challenge here: magazine.weglide.org/jonker-sailplanes-challenge/
Many thanks to the amazing team from Jonker Sailplanes for giving juniors this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

——————————————————————–

News about comps;

The New Zealand Northern Regionals between February 5 and 12 flown from Taupo , literally “fell in the rain”.
23 Pilots were ready to go for it!!!
“We have to accept that sometimes we are the pigeon and sometimes we are the statue. 
This week Mother Nature has reminded us that she is the one that decides, and right now we are the statue, getting rained on very solidly.
Forecast conditions do not indicate any possibility of task flying for the next week so we have made the hard call to cancel the Northern Regionals for 2021/22.
Bugger.” by Hugh de Lautour .I really like his way of writing!!!!

————————————————————–

Still some great after-summer flights on the OLC, for South Africa and Australia.
Worcester; Swiss pilots Andreas Spielmann and Rudi Hiltbrunner flew in the JS 3 and DG 800B several long flights;786 km, 726 and 684 km.
Temora; Adam Woolley flew 721 in his Ventus 3T.
Narromine; Attila Bertok with 733, 642, 526, 660, 548 , 529 and 617 km. Nice week-out-in-Narromine for Attila. He flies his ASW 20.
Tocumwal; yesterday 572 km. by Grant in his St. Jantar and 524 by Swiss Chris.[ASW27]
AND, yesterday as well, a great long wave flight from Klaus Ohlmann from Serres in France in an Antares flying up to 5597 MSL and crossing borders again.; 1.104 km.
Here is what he said about it;
“45 minutes late, starting under light rain and 8 octas clouds there, where I hope to find wave: Not really promising! But once in the air, look for solutions: Downstream there is usually adiabatic outdrying. So it was.
Crossing the Rhone worked quite well. Now the clouds are welcome to see the rotors: Happy crossing to the Pyrenees and great alignments as well marked with nice rotor puffs in Spain:
I made only half the way to the west in order to be back at home for the Late night Mistral presentation.
Thanks for all the great help of all concerned AIS.”
Today is the 3d day of the Beverley Regatta, hosted by the Beverley Soaring Society. Beverley is located 130 km east of Perth [Western Australia].It’s the base from Norm Bloch who participates and flew 498 km.in his JS3 yesterday. Andrew King flew nearly 400 km [390] in a LAK 12. John Welsh flew in the Hornet 387 km.

———————————————————————

Spring is in the air, I can see it in my garden.

And to finish this post, a great picture from Ian Atherton

Not a lot happening, but the season at this part of the world starts soon.
CU next week
Cheers Ritz

2-seater Nationals in Lake Keepit.

With a few challenging days to go, the 2022 dual- seat- NATIONAL competition from beautiful Lake Keepit ended with a win for Bruce and Kel in the Duo Discus. You surely read their stories already on Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures or Taylor’s Gliding Page
“A fantastic competition where the first 3 place holders all landed out on 2 days each. Only 107 points between first and third.” is what Adam ended with
Task 5 on February 3 a 2 hour AAT, was cancelled, so 2 days to go.
Task 6 ….3 hour AAT; had 8 “starters” and 3 finishers and the best was Bruce/Kel with 338 km in time 3.54, so a VERY challenging flight!!!!
Runner up … Allan/Harry with 348 km in time 4.04. Adam/Keith was out.
Task 7 …2 hour AAT; 2 finishers …the day was won by Keith/Adam…216 km. in time 22.5 . Only one more team that finished; The Duo Discus [ Sportavia owned that Duo in the past and the Hunter Valley bought it for a nice price at the auction] with Paul/Ian, who were one of the 3 finishers the day before.
So NATIONAL CHAMPION and other toppers;
1. Bruce Taylor & Kel Burgess in Duo Discus with 3.257 points, winning 2 days from 4 flyable ones out of 7.
2. Allan Barnes & Harry Medlicott in ARCUS M with 3.244 p….13 points
3. Adam Woolley & Keith Gateley in ARCUS M with 3.153 p.
4. Paul Jacobsohn & Ian Steventon in Duo Discus with 3.036 p. They put on a great final spurt.

————————————————————————

The Aussie comps still continue and one of the nicest family and “topper”-comps is the one at Horsham….the Horsham week from February 5 till 12.
They fly in 3 classes club [10 pilots] , standard/15 m [10] and open/18m.[9]
The West also the SW has been good ALL year and it still is good now.
Great tasks….great weather.
Club;
They started with a 3.30 AAT and all the “good old” gliders finished and flew between 412 in the Janus [team Thomas/ Buelter]for 1000 points and 258 in the KA 6E.[Jennefer Goldsmith]
Task 2…. 259 km; 121 km./h for Steve Jinks in the Mosquito.
Task 3….380 km; good day for Steve again with another 1000 points. Jennefer unfortunately did not start .
Task 4 was another 4.30 set distance….AND it is Steve Jinks time. He bought this Mosquito and has extra wings with it; 116 km./h.
Runner up David Meredith in a St Jantar flew with a peed of 106 km./h.
11 Started and 7 finished.
Task 5 was a 2 hour AAT and other pilots like this better than others. Jaroslaw Mosiejewski in his PIK 20B was the daily winner with 208 km. in time 2.02. He was the only one with a speed over 100 km./h. AND he leads the overall scores at this stage with more than 400 points.
Late starts between 15.15 and 15.36
6 Started and 6 finished.

15m./standard;
Task 1…349 km; and Jack Hart in the Ventus c was the fastest with 127 km./h. Followed by Gordon Trollip in the LS 6;121 km./h.
Task 2….304 km. and Jack was the best again now with 132 km./.h. 8 Started and 1 was out.
Task 3…. 562.73 km; great challenge for the pilots ; 10 flew the task but only 5 finished and Gordon in the LS 6 won again .
Task 4 ….540 km...In this class it is Jack-time!!!! He won the 3 day as he did on the first and second. Good on him. 137 km./h was 10 km. faster than runner up David Nugent.
10 Started 7 finished.
Task 5 …2.15 AAT and also here a new face at the podium; Neil Campbell with 265 km in time 2.29.
9 Starters ,9 finishers.
Jack leads with 3 days to go.

Open/18 m;
Task 1…367 km; 9 started and finished. Daily winner Ryan Driscoll in Nimbus 3T/25.5 m. with 140 km./h. John Orton in the ASG 29 was runner up with 142 km./h.
Task 2…434 km; a 1000 points day and good for Ryan. Terry [Cubley] in Ventus 2cxT/18m was runner up.
Task 3….572 km; another great day for the long-winged-Nimbus 3T.;118 km./h for again 1000 points. 8 Started 1 was out after 243 km.
“Just about maxed out the day with this task I think. Bit of a struggle and the climbs far apart really brought the long wings into their own. Horsham day 3.” was the comment from Ryan.
Task 4 ….553 km...Ryan this time “lost” from Arnold Niewand in his ASG 29/18m.speed 140 and 136 km./h.
8 Started ,5 finished.
Task 5 …2.30 AAT and won by the Nimbus 3T …long wings bring you further…pilots Ryan who already won day 1.;305 km. in time 2.33.
Pretty clear Ryan leads at this stage with more than 500 points.

——————————————————-

Worcester in South Africa still has some good flights as well so late in the season. Andreas Spielmann from Switzerland flew 956 km in his JS 3.
Tocumwal had a few late strong ones as well; Grant with a 500 FAI triangle and a total of 618 km in his St Jantar, John 708 in his JS 1 [ a nearly 700 triangle] and Swiss Chris in his ASW 27 with 576.
And Atilla who converted from hang-gliding to gliding flew in his ASW 20 from Narromine 734 km.flying to the N and S. of Narromine. They have this week coaching as well and according to Bruce on his Taylor’s Gliding Page it’s “progressing well. There is a great turnout of very keen and capable cross-country pilots working at improving their game, with guidance from some of Australia’s best coaches.”

The 24th Olympic Games have started with 91 different countries and for us, The Netherlands of course the most important “subject’ these weeks is speed skating and short track.
A pity Sven Kramer was not on his best on his very last 5 km during his 5th participation, but Irene Wuest , got on het 5th Olympics her 6th gold medal. What a HERO…35 years old!!!!The 6th now in 2022 on the 1500 m. Before in 2006 on the 3000 m. then in 2010 on the 1500 m , again in 2014 on the team pursuit, AND on the 3000 m.
This NEVER happened before so I can say without chauvinism ; history is written!!!
For about 10 minutes The Netherlands topped the medal list, which is fabulous but also astonishing as we are not a real winter sport country. WE CAN SKATE however.

——————————————————————————————————

News shared by :
“Jonker Sailplanes is bij M&D Flugzeugbau GmbH & Co. KG. 3tm22S4a029nlrd757u1  
Get the JET for LS4 !Our main partner M&D Flugzeugbau proudly presents the retrofit installation of their successful JET engine for LS4 gliders.With meanwhile 200 installed engine units in JS-MD1 and JS-MD3 gliders worldwide, M&D is the largest and most experienced manufacturer of JET engines for gliders. The M&D JET engines are worldwide in use and work extremely reliable.
In addition to the JET installation in new aircrafts, M&D has never lost sight of converting existing, older gliders to JET powered gliders.
Time has now come for the LS4! M&D will apply for the EASA approval in the 1st quarter of 2022.For further information:
https://md-flugzeugbau.de/…/jet-antrieb…/get-the-jet/
Interested? Then please contact:JET@md-flugzeugbau.de

Still not totally fit from my booster jab on December 19. A nuisance!!!!

CU next week
Cheers Ritz

Post 1.316 on February 2 or 02-02-2022 or 2-2-22 the day our King and Queen married 20 years ago.
YES!!!!…we had 11 dgr. C last Sunday, and then it feels a bit, like spring is not far away. But ….I do know better.
The weekend ended with a real Western storm, going into Monday with high water and lot’s of damage mainly in the NW.[10 million, the insurance companies said ” not too bad” ]

First back to last week when Norm [Bloch] had a super fast flight. I was not sure if it was a record but here are the facts:
Congratulations to Norm Bloch for his 6 national records!
1. 200 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19kph
2. 300 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19kph
3. 500 klm triangle speed record – Open Class – 165.19 kph
1. 200 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19kph
2. 300 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19kph
3. 500 klm triangle speed record – 18 metre Class – 165.19 kphBeverley – Kojonup – Lake Grace – Beverley23rd January 2022
WOW!!!!!! Good on you Norm. Flown in his JS3.

————————————————————-

The WESTERN CAPE REGIONALS…CAPE GAUNTLET.…in Worcester in South Africa, flown in 3 classes, had in the end 5 days and one more in club class.
Open class with 8 pilots, had good to very good tasks with twice a 3.30 AAT.
Task 1 , 346 km., was straight away spectacular with a speed of 196 km./h!!!! In 1.46 minutes Andreas Spielmann from Switzerland raced in his JS 3, over the task area , but for only 507 points.
Task 2, with 360 km. was a prey for S.A. pilot Laurens [Goudriaan] in the ASG 32 and good speed again now 175 km./h. Dawid Pretorius in his JS 1 , was just a tad slower.
The next day-task was cancelled but, task 4 was 436 km. again and the Swiss guest Andreas, did extremely well by winning his 2d day.
Task 5 was a 3.30 AAT and John [Coutts] and his mate Nic[olas] Bennett finally had their ARCUS M fine-tuned and won the day, with 550 km in time 3.31!!Andreas just needed a bit more time , but was a tad faster;1000 for 973 points.
Task 6 ,last Friday showed another 3.30 AAT and that day was for Nic and John ago.
523 was the distance in time 3.32 [speed 148 km./h.
2 Great days as the last one was cancelled.
Dawid was runner up and Andreas 3d.
Overall winners from the Cape Gauntlet Cup in open /18m;
1. Dawid Pretorius in JS 1 with 4.019 points.
2. Andreas Spielmann [Switzerland] in JS 3 with 3.983 p.
3. Laurens Goudriaan in ASG 32 with 3.773 p.

The Club-pilots had 6 days and it was all between Sindle and Grobler in a Janus B and Kevin Mitchell in a 17 m/ DG 400. Kevin won 4 days, but 1 off days as well, loosing more as 300 points. Ian Forbes in an LS 3a had some good flights as well.
So the overall scores look like this;
1. Sindle & Grobler in Janus B with 2.704 points.
2. Kevin Mitchell in DG 400 [17m] with 2.493 p.
3. Ian Forbes in LS 3a with 2.300.

Only 5 pilots in 15 m. class but they flew 5 days with several just under and just above 300 km.
1. Findlay Smith in Ventus B with 3.758 points.
2. Rene Lans in Ventus B with 3.468 p.
3. Pieter (Tokkie) Carstens in LS4 with 3.194 p.
The Cape Gliding Club shared this news;
“Congratulations to the winners of the annual Western Cape Regional Gliding Competition. This year the #Gauntlet was run to an extremely high standard. The dynamic flying conditions in Worcester requires pilots to be at their best. The contestants came from far and wide to take part in this jewel in the #Gliding crown.”

—————————————————————————-

The N. Z Multi class Nationals, also in 3 classes finished with 7 out of 9 days .
In open they started with a set 310 km. task flown by 4 from the 8 pilots.
Ross Gaddes in a Ventus 2A, won the day with 84 km /h.
Brett Hunter and Patrick Driessen followed and also Derek Kraak was “in”.
Unfortunate day for Tim Bromhead who was out after 175km.
Task 2, had a 2.30 AAT and again a lot of non-finishers; 4 from 7, so only 3 in; Patrick, Brett and Ross . Tim was again the unlucky one! “Out” after 40 km.
Task 3, 303 km., only 6 started and ONE finished…. Patrick.
“Finally a ridge day! With a 10-14kn SW breeze .Open went straight South for Waipunga Falls, Pat made it home whilst the others fell apart around Rangitaiki due to the sea breeze.”
Task 4, 3 hour AAT. 327 km was flown by Brett in time 3.12, whilst Tim was runner up. Patrick was 3d and Derek 4th.
8 Started and 4 were out.
Finally much better weather; “Blue day all day. 7500 thermals with stunning views all the way down the course today“

Task 5 with 345 km. on a cumulus day, gave Tim 1000 points for his hard work. Finally not an off day for him.
Task 6 3 hour AAT; same same…Tim won again now with 305 km in time 3.04. Patrick and Brett followed in about the same time.
Task 7 on the last day; 2.30 AAT….won by ….Patrick with 272 km in time 2.28. Tim was runner up with with 274 km. in time 2.39.
“Final day of racing today had low and scrappy clouds that built in height and strength to the South. The strong NE breeze kept things tricky in the prestart but as the pilots got away the day thoroughly improved.”
7 Out of 9 days is good in this world with a changing climate.
Open class champion;
1. Patrick Driessen in JS 1 with 4.773 points. He won 3 days.
2. Brett Hunter in JS 3 with 4.395 p.
3. Tim Bromhead in Ventus CT[17.6 m] with 4.182 p. He started “down under” on spot 7, but managed with 2 daily wins and 3 “runner-up-spots” to finish on spot 3. Great achievement.

As written, there were 3 classes but I focused on open.
Here are the results from RACING CLASS from the in the end 19 flying pilots. It was “all about” the first 3.
1. Steve Wallace in Mosquito with 6.157 points. He won 3 days .
2. Mark Wilson in St Libelle with 5.794 p. He won 2 days.
3. Jason Shields in Discus 2T with 5.772 p.
By the way Tony was 5th. [5.743 points] He had a less good day on task 5 and 7.

Sports class had in the end 4 flying pilots and the best were 2 pilots from Auckland in their PW 5 with 4.611 points and 4.409.
1. Murray Wardell with 4.611 points.
2. Georgia Schofield with 4.409 p.

————————————————————–

The 2-seater championships [January 29-February 5] started in Lake Keepit and Adam flies there with Keith in the ARCUS M and Bruce with Kel in a Duo Discus [from Brad Edwards] , so when you read their blogs you are “sitting front row.”
Here are the links;
“More competition time! I’m back at Lake Keepit for the week, flying in the 20m two-seat national championships. I have borrowed a trusty (and very shiny!) Duo Discus from Brad Edwards, and will share the cockpit with our esteemed club president, Kel Burgess. Looking forward to a fun week. The weather again looks to be a challenge, but hey, I’m setting the tasks, so anything could happen! Practice day today, first competition day tomorrow.”
Results can be found at: https://www.soaringspot.com/…/2022-dual-seat-nationals…/ See you there!
Taylor’s Gliding Page
AND
“Fantastic looking sky for the practice day of the 20m nationals, Keith & I are here for the 4th year running in VH-FIG JAM (Comp ID!). Only this year, no engine in the back – guess I had better be on my best behavior“
Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

Task 1 ;3.30 AAT and good old Harry [Medlicott] with Allan [Barnes] as his pilot flew 441 km. in Harry’s ARCUS M in time 3.31 and won the day. They were just ahead of Adam and Keith and David and Lesley.
8 Teams started and 7 finished on a good day.

Task 2 , 3.30 AAT, was in the end a “wet” one , with no finishers, BUT great flying by Bruce and his mate Kel in the DUO DISCUS, flying 367 km .
As all 7 who started not finished but flew min. over 250 km., it was a 1000 points day for them. Allan/Harry and Adam/Keith followed.

Task 3; 232 km. but in the end cancelled! Bruce was not happy with the decision to cancel,….BUT he is the tasksetter: “Sack the task-setter, I say! (Please )Firstly he outlands the whole field, then he cancels the day, and this happens… and this wasn’t the best part of the sky.”
Adam is milder; “All good BT, 100% of pilots were in agreeance when the text came through at 1400L. It’s just the way the game is sometimes.”
The weather…..look for yourself.

Task 4 today; it’s raining.

——————————————————————————————–

Also for BITTERWASSER the season is over now. Gliders have been packed and it is time to look back, indeed a great season it was;
“The containers are on their way. Best cross-country weather in Namibia, but now the 21/22 season in Bitterwasser is definitely over. The Grid Boys’ packer team has once again grappled hard. Five Arcus were the last to find their place in the containers. The total of seven containers, some with up to six gliders, are now being shipped to Walvis Bay by truck. The freighter Green Mountain will take them to Rotterdam. They are expected there in early March. The gliders should then be ready to fly again in Europe in mid-March, just in time for the new cross-country flight season.”
A total of 713 flights by 112 pilots “created” 550.815,16 km. of pure joy and friendship.

Here is a nice story from a real nice young man I got to know , I think in Rayskala, where he created the most beautiful videos , which were showed every morning at briefing. His name Hubi or Hubertus Huvermann.
He describes not only the epic soaring, but also the spirit from this Centre.
I say; “that’s what soaring is all about”.
“I am back in Germany. Crazy. But true. I was shocked, realizing it is still night at 7 o’clock in the morning. And the day is not really getting any brighter than dawn. But at least you don’t sweat that much. Bitterwasser has been a great time. Probably it will take a while until I can tell what it was. Bitterwasser is a legend. An icon in soaring. That was clear to me in advance. I heard of Bitterwasser the first time as a flight student. And now you can’t think the OLC without it.
A place to set records – for sure. But somehow there is so much more to this place. A place that is attracting people from all over the world and merging them in aviation. A place forming friendships. A place where people are leaving nothing in the tank, working hard to keep this place like it is. A place cultures are facing each other. Where perspectives are changing.
Many gliders are already back in their containers and ready for the journey back to Europe. I still have some stuff left to show to you in the next days. I am thankful for now being part of the Bitterwasser history. It was a pleasure trying to show you some small parts of this oasis. Thank you all for the feedback via so many different channels. Now you get some nice photos so you know who’s behind the stories See you soon, Hubertus

—————————————————————-

To finish this post I share a memory of 2016 , February 1, then shared by Jill McCaw editor of the N.Z. Gliding Magazine.
https://www.mccawmedia.co.nz/SoaringNZ-Magazine

I publish ,with his permission, regularly pictures from Geoff as I love them. And,…Tim is the Tim from the Nationals above!!!

Just a quick BRAVO again for Klaus Ohlmann. When he flies you know it’s something special.
He flew 1.343,55 km. departing from Serres La Batie, in an Antares 20 ,in mountain wave over the Pyrenees above the Nord of Spain and South of France and even Andorra .
Mind you, it is still early February so VERY short days. He used 9 hours and 59 minutes and 44 seconds.
Klaus; “Despite a lot of wind the waves were working very well. But of course flying the Cevennes against this strong wind the day was too short. But I’m happy to see my friends in Pic Saint loup.”

CU next week
Cheers Ritz

Yes they did! First of all JOEYGLIDE ,….BUT, they UNFORTUNATELY, had a corona positive case at the airfield of Benalla and the organizers anticipated straight away and effective; the competition was cancelled.
The weather was still WET in Narromine, 800 km more to the East and as expected their hope was at least, for 1 or 2 more day’s to fly.
The rain stopped on Thursday and the sun showed up, but the wind was fierce,… too strong for the tuggies.
So Friday and Saturday to go and with the 2 days they had already, it still could be a valid State Competition .It turned out to be!
Task 3;
a 240 set task was set for open class/18m. and Bruce , who had a walk in strong winds all by himself in the Warrumbungles, to “empty” his head [an ancient volcanic landform which rises out of the relatively flat landscape to the North-East of Narromine. It has some spectacular hiking trails, so I took one up to the top of a feature called Split Rock] , did well after this exercise and won the day , not by being 1 or 2 km/h faster than the runners up, but 16 km./h. Tim Wilson and Brian DuRieu in ASG 29 and Ventus 3m neo, had 98 km. on their “clock”.
Brian did well, by being 1 overall, but after more checks on the scores he lost ONE point.
“At last, back in the air! Today was still challenging, but felt much better for me and I think I have done OK. The day was almost blue, and the view out the front was just as the photo shows”.is what Bruce mentioned.

Overall scores , with ONE MORE day to go are CLOSE
Ed Marel [ASH 31 Mi/21m] is on spot 1 with 2.141 points, then Brian with 2.140 and Tim with 2.129 p.
Looking at the 18 m. class only,…. Brian leads.
Task 4; 3 hour AAT.
AND,…yes it was again Bruce ,[ASG 29] who with and “empty ” head beat them all in a glorious way; 427 km in time 3.12 so a good speed of 133 km./h.
To put it in perspective , the runner up, Geoff Brown in JS 1 had 346 km in time 2.58 , so a speed of 115 km./h.
Brian dis well in his neo-Ventus 3, with a 3d spot.
Unfortunately for Ed, who was on spot 1 overall, was “out”.
Overall final scores in OPEN CLASS/18 m. after 4 days of flying;
1. Brian DuRieu from Temora in Ventus 3M -neo. with 2.960 points.
2. Tim Wilson from Victoria in ASG 29e with 2.929 p.
3. Geoff Brown from Canberra in JS 1c with 2.692 p.
Looking at 18 m. only, the scores are the same for the top3 but Kerrie did a great job in being 4th!!!!!

5 Pilots still flew in club class after all the wet days and they got a 2.30 AAT. Paul Dickson won in his LS 3 with a speed of 82 km. /h over 204 km.
On number 5 was Peter Hoogland [he must be Dutch with such a name] and he flew in his SZD 55 a distance of 145 km ; speed 46 km./h TOP JOB!!!! For 786 daily points.
Sarah Thompson was runner up in her Jantar 2…great job. She is the daughter from Jenny .
“NSW state comps.. back in the air after 3 days of bad weather. Much better than forecast despite 20 knot winds.”
Task 4; last day...3.15 AAT and a sky full of clouds!!!
Very well deserved 1000 points for Paul, yes he won again, in his LS 3; 348 km. in time 3.19.[speed 105 km./h and the only one over 100 km./h.!!!
Sarah was 4th on this last day. Good on her!!!
Overall scores in club class after 4 days of flying;
1. Paul Dickson from the Hunter Valley in LS 3 with 3.064 points.
2. Ross Whittle from Kingaroy in a Discus with 2.607 p.
3. Sarah Thompson from the Darling Downes in Jantar 2 with 2.381 p.

The weather on the last day, CLOUDS as said before and look at them.

—————————————————————————————–

The weather in the WEST of Australia has been better then ever over the last season.
Norm Bloch used such great weather for a great flight in his 18m/ JS 3 last Sunday; an FAI 500 km triangle with a speed of 155 km./h. Good on you Norm .

That the weather in the WEST is already good for a long time shows this news from the Adelaide University Gliding Club.
They “attended Coaching Week at Waikerie, from 26th of December to 1st of January. Several days with thermals over 10,000ft made for some great flying! The Janus did several 300km+ flights, and a club member achieved their first 750km flight. The Motorfalke was also used to help an Alice Springs member complete their outlanding checks to achieve their ‘C’ certificate. Daily lectures as part of briefings were interesting and informative, and as usual the meals after flights were exceptional with a great bunch of people.“
That’s what it is ALL ABOUT.
I see myself again as a young girl flying with the Student Aeroclub of the University from Eindhoven. I still fondly remember those times.

———————————————————————

With 5 out of 12 days the Argentinian Championships for Club Class more or less “fell apart”. No tasks at the last days so we can quickly see who were on the highest 3 spots .
1.Felipe Girado in ASW 20 with 2.803 points. He won one task number 8.
2.Dino Ghioni in ASW 20 with 2.769 p.
3. Jose Dentone in ASW 20 with 2.767 p.
Such a pity!!!!!!!

——————————————————————————–

From Argentina to New Zealand for the next , this time, MULTI CLASS NATIONALS.
Matamata is the place to be between January 22 and 31.

Task 1 showed after a good practice day, a good 310 km distance in open class.” Day one had a good day of 4500’ cu based in the morning building to 6000’+ later in the day.”
8 Pilots started and 4 finished. Brett Hunter was runner up and what about other more well known names ; Patrick Driessen [JS 1] was 3d and Tim Bromhead [Ventus cT 17.6m] out for the day after 174 km.
Task 1 in racing class was 204 km. 22 Pilots started and 3 were out. Steve Wallace in the MOSQUITO won the first day and “got” 1000 points.
Mark Wilson in the St Libelle was runner up. Good “old” Tony van Dyk was 8th.
Sports class had 166 km and from the 6 pilots in this class , 3 finished.
Then a few non flying days and today they had a task again
Task 2; 2.30 AAT for open with only 3 finishers and from them Patrick was the best; 279 km. in time 2.37 for 288 points.
Racing class had a 2 hour AAT and from the 19 who started 7 got to the finish. Number 7 was Tony van Dyk. speed 65 km./h so still going strong on his age!!!
Jason Shields in Discus 2t won the day ;169 km. in time 1.51 [speed 85 km./h]
More next week.

AUSTRALIA DAY; the official national day, so time to honor people who have been good/excellent in their area and to put new Aussies on the citizen-list.
One of the receivers from the Order of Australia today, is Bob Brown. A real good friend and one of the people who already in our time put huge and persistent effort in the history of the WW2 hangar and the total WW2-airfield.SO PROUD ON HIM!!!! And on Gina.
“A proud day for Tocumwal’s aviation history and heritage with Matt & Kaz [running the museum] being nominated as Berrigan Shire Citizen of the Year. More significantly Bob Brown received a well deserved OAM for his contribution to the collection and preservation of artefacts and memorabilia associated with Tocumwal’s Historic Aerodrome over the past 25 years. We’re honoured to have the collection within our care and proud to be able to carry on Bob’s work collecting and exhibiting Tocumwal’s aviation history and heritage for future generations to explore.”

Whilst this was all happening today the weather was top for soaring as well. Yesterday Tocumwal pilots flew 680 km in ASW 27 by Swiss Chris and Grant flew in his St Jantar 619 km. Today over 500.
Sadly Toc is not the well known soaring resort anymore as in the past with many overseas guests, but the weather stayed and is STILL great.
Bitterwasser still had so late in their season another 1000 km flight and they continue to “make kilometers.”
And in Worcester they fly the Western Cape Regionals …Cape Gauntlet…since January 23 and they had already 2/3 days in 3 classes club [ 6 pilots] , 15 m. [4 ] and open [ 10]
More next week.

WEGLIDE announced some news in their magazine;
WeGlide Segments.
“They are a new way to compare your performance to other pilots in your area. Segments are popular routes from a start to a finish gate. All pilots automatically get scored on all segments they pass during their flights.
You can earn medals and cups for your performances on different segments.”
Have a look .
Comment from an instructor;
“Especially for newbies in our club, WeGlide Segments are nice challenges. Beginners can fly popular local routes, earn a medal and try to improve over time.“
OLC had news too, shared by Soaring News by Paul Remde of Cumulus Soaring, Inc. :
“Cool New Online Contest FlightFinder MapsYou can view all your (or anyone’s) past flight on a map. Just login to the OLC, then go to the “FlightFinder” menu and enter your name. Then click the “Find” button, then click the “Map” button.
The map below show many of my flights out of Nephi, Utah. It probably doesn’t show all my flights, because I usually fly a 2-seater and the other pilot would share half the flights. Nephi is an amazing place for soaring adventures!Thank you Ramy Yanetz for sharing this cool tip!“

Enough for now , back next week.
Cheers Ritz

Task 1 of the Argentinian National club class competition on January 10, flown from Santa Rosa, was won by a Janus E. [Handicap 101.4]
From the 41 participating club class gliders this team was the best over the set task from 314 km.;106 km./h.
Only 17 finished.
Task 2 was a 2 hour AAT, but not flown and on the 3d day NO TASK was set.
There was a task 4 , but ONLY ONE pilot flew the task a 2 hour AAT; 149 km. in time 2.03. Not a lot of points were won, neither lost.
Task 5 was another 2 hour AAT and won by Jose Dentone, but quite a few flew around 136 km. with a speed of 68 km./h, so a tough marginal day with hard work for 390 points!!!
With such marginal day’s the scores after 3 flyable days and 5 tasks is close. Between number 1 overall Jose and number 12 are 200 points.
BUT,…another week to go!!!
NO task 6, but task 7 was on Sunday, so more or less the start of a new week with another 2 hour AAT.
The winners of task 1 in the Janus A, Darrain & Barrientos, must be good as they won again. It can’t be only the handicap. But again not a lot of points to win or loose.
The difference between the winners ,who flew 209 km in time 2.05,51 , gaining 639 points and the number 20, is 100 points.
Jose was on spot 18 and lost his overall spot 1 to the Janus pilots.
Task 8 ; 2 hour AAT...and 10 ASW 20’s were in the top 10.
40 Pilots started and 1 was out. The brave Janus-pilots were on spot 31.
237 k. was the best distance in time 1.59 for Felipe Girado [ASW 20] who straight away tops the overall scores, climbing up from spot 4.
No flying yesterday.

————————————————————————————–

The WAGA State comps in the West from Australia, flown from Cunderdin, had 4 out of 4 days, when I left you last week.
Task 5 on January 12 was a 2.30 AAT and the JS gliders did well again. Joshua in the JS 1 flew around with a speed of 120 km./h over 395 km.
Lumpy in the JS 3 flew 354 km with a speed of 109 km./h.
Only 8 from 21 finished!
Task 6 on January 14 was a 3 hour AAT and it was a 1000 points-day!!!! Joshua in the JS 1 lost 400 points by being 14th for the day.
Norm however won the 1000 points for 418 km. in time 3.09 [speed 133 km./h That was quite a lot better than the ASH 25 and Lumpies JS 3; 124 km./h.
Task 7 the last one showed a 300 km. AAT and was won by Norm with Lumpy as runner up.
From the 16 who started on this last day, 14 finished.
Norm flew 396 km with a speed of 118 km./h and Lumpy 396 km with a speed of 116 km./h.
Overall scores;
1. Norm Bloch in JS 3 with 6.638 points.
2. team Arnold Geerlings in ASH 25 with 6.410 p.
3. Lumpy Paterson in JS 3 with 5.672. He did not start too well with a 15th spot on day 1 , but moved up to spot 3 on the last day. Great mentality/spirit.

———————————————————————————–

NAMIBIA is still “HOT“
On January 12 , pilots flew 11x a 1000 km-plus and 2 from Kiripotib.
3 Of those Bitterwasser 1000 k’s were FAI triangles all in an ARCUS M.
Guy from Luxembourg flew with Bernd 1.149 km and shared this picture from “a lot-of-nothing”.

In Kiripotib one -1000 k. -flight was from my Dutch mates in the ARCUS M ; 1.132 km “Mark what a great flight we had, maybe the nicest one this holiday ! Heading towards the dinner, let’s see if we can already plan for the next trip end of year .” by a very enthusiastic Alfred Paul.
The other one was from Finish top pilot Hannu Halonen in the JS 3 , who was a bit surprised that it was a 1000.“Surprisingly I could make over 1000 after challenges here and there. Glider worked great!”
The boy’s flew a total of 5x 1000 km. flights out of 11 days non-stop-flying and they loved every minute , except when they were in the neighborhood of a storm….”Around 1/2 hour before sunset and close to Kiripotib we had a 3m climb before a thunderstorm / shower – but as we flew along it the air became so turbulent / violent that we decided to land immediately. Again a wonderful flight !! Thanks all for the kind help, friendliness and cooperation ! Two more days to come 🙂
Another 1.137 km flight.

At this stage [January 16] the gliders have been packed and will be soon on the way home.
“A wonderful flying season with unforgettable moments at Kiripotib has come to an end. The gliders are packed and waiting to be transported to Europe. We are looking forward to open the containers again at the end of October and start a new season. Hope to see you again soon. Have nice flights and stay healthy!”
The statistics of the best 5 fields for the beginning of this season ….4 from Namibia and Bitterwasser is still “flying.”;
1. Bitterwasser with 543.176,69 km. flown by 111 pilots during 704 flights!!!!
2. Pokweni with 271.587,23 km. flown by 36 [!!] pilots during 356 flights.
3. Veronica with 259.202,54 km. flown by 47 pilots during 340 flights.
4. Kiripotib with 263.043,58 km. flown by 64 pilots during 377 flights.
5. Worcester [S.A] with 124.558,11 flown by 42 pilots during 221 flights.

———————————————————————————–

Between all those SUPER flights in SUPER gliders there was another SUPER flight, but now from the “red Heart of the Continent“, Alice Springs , but for flying , Bond Springs in Australia ,where the N[orthern] T[erritory] club from Robert Smits and Jenny Ganderton, who run the business there, had a top flight from 589 km. in an ASK 21 MI. Lovely hardworking people, they are real soaring-lovers.
In the past Hans Werner Grosse flew many records from there. He was a legend of distance flying and had about 50 world records behind his name. One of those impressive flights was on January 8 1988; he flew from Alice a world speed record; Speed over a triangular course of 300 km in an ASH 25…170.90 km./h.
When trying his records he called us in Tocumwal, to check the weather there. Always very well prepared!!!
He died in February 2021.

Jenny did most of the flying in the ASK 21 MI, and she had to deal with up to 30 kts. headwinds. AND,….they flew the task as a set FAI triangle[565 k.] as well. Jenny was one of the 9 Aussie ladies flying the WWGC in Lake Keepit.
As they said; “Too much wind really but not bad for a two-seat training glider!” AND,…that ‘s flying over a-lot-of-nothing-as well.
They are since January 11 “ operating again for full, with the new self launching glider. Everyone is loving it!
Aaaaaand……… the new Tost Winch is on it’s way! Loaded in Rotterdam a day ago, she’s currently in the English Channel. Woohoo!”
As a Dutchie I am very proud they will use the TOST winch over there!!!

When I checked with Robert I got some more news which might interest you too;
“The ASK-21Mi has the engine built in from the Schleicher factory. The Airforce here bought a whole series of them around 2014 for the Air Cadets now they are all auctioned off. This is one of those. Yes I guess we are the only professional commercial gliding school in Australia, operating all year round too. It’s going really well.
Re Hans Werner Grosse we’re thinking of organizing a Hans Werner Grosse memorial competition – motor gliders only, but everything welcome from Scheibe motorfalkes to self launching Arcusses. Probably happening next year some time, and in Alice Springs of course!”

What a great idea!!!!

More SUPER flights this week,…what about 1.320 km in a Duo Discus FES!? Bernard Dobre flew with Luka Snidarsic this magic set wave flight in Slovenia along the coast line. Average speed 150 km./h. Not bad either!!!!
The only word in the comment I understood was “magistrali”.
“This down the Adriatic coast and even down to Bosnia. They declared 1000km task, but this ended up to be too short for this wave conditions. This is longest flight of any FES glider so far! (DUO DISCUS FES)” by GLIDING & SOARING

—————————————————————————————–

The State comps from NSW flown from Narromine between January 15 and 22 are flown in 3 classes; open, [11 pilots], 18m [11 pilots ] and club [10 pilots]
Bruce [Taylor] is flying in 18 m in his ASG 29 and had to use over the first 2 days “petrol”.
He apologized already before flying ;”It’s been a very long time since my last competition, so anything might happen!”
You can read his stories “hot from the spot” with all in’s and out’s AND pictures in Taylor’s Gliding Page
By the way,…no action yesterday or today.
“ Sadly the last two days have been unflyable due to the rain.Tomorrow is meant to be clear and very windy, but apparently it was meant to be clearing here this afternoon, so who knows what will be going on in the morning”
Part of Bruce’s Page.

Staying in Australia, this week JOEYGLIDE Regatta 2022 is in progress too with 7 young pilots. They fly from Benalla between January 16 and 22 with SkySight [soaring weather] as their sponsor. Good on them. Matthew has been a junior in the past as well and even won the JWGC in Narromine.
As young people do , they present their selves and their gliding in inspiring video’s with music. GREAT JOB!!!
JoeyGlide 22 Presented by SKYSIGH
JoeyGlide 2022 – Day 1 Recap
Scores on www.soaringspot.com
Check out soarscore.com for live tracking!
By the way, the most well known from the boy’s is James Nugent and he won already 2 days in his LS 3.

And to finish this lovely picture from John McCaw flying with his son Alex [ Discus 2C] over Lake Constance and the Blue Lake. Great weekend-out in/over impressive New Zealand !!!!

CU next week
Cheers Ritz