January 11 2023; POST 1.399.

FAI SGP XI QUALIFYING ROUND AUSTRALIA.

The SGP in Gawler with 5 pilots flying in 18 m. gliders, finished after 6 races!
More about race number 2: in my last blog I mentioned already the winner Pete, [Temple] ….but there were no points on the scoring list then.
Now they are; Pete got 4, Geoff [Brown] 2 and Matthew [Hutchinson] 1 point.
David and Mac got ZERO points , as they were out of the boundary after 25 km.
Race 4; 273 km...won again by Pete for 6 points and all 5 pilots got points.
Pete in his ASG 29 flew around with a speed of 108.8 km./h.
Runner up was Mac, in Adams VENTUS 3T with 106.7 km./h for 4 points.
3d; Geoff in the JS1 with 105.3 km./h.
David in the JS 1 got 2 and Matthew in the VENTUS 2CXA, 1 point.
6/7 kts thermals en route , not too bad,…..and in the end from the border control, 30 k out he stumbled into 7.5 kts climb again , took a few turns and off to “home” ,was what Pete mentioned after the flight.

After 3 races and 3 to go it’s Pete on top overall ,with 12 points, followed by Geoff with 11 and Mac with 8.
Race 4; another day …258 km. was set….and all got points again. Pete won the day ,but they flew in a “5-formation-bunch/gaggle” from start to finish, so speed between 115 and 117 km./h..
So “all” going out and coming in around the same time.
Race 5..381 km.…and hang in as it is getting boring, but Pete won again, a longer distance however and a very nice racing speed from 152 km./h!!!! Great conditions, good air.!!!
A high day as well 9000 ft., they could just skip the first thermals after start and go on track straight away.
Also Mac and Geoff flew over 150 km./h!!
Mac was runner up and 1 minute behind Pete. “Again,” he said with a smile.
With one day to go Pete leads with 24 points, but there is still a “fight” going on between Geoff and Mac; 17 and 16 points!!!!
Race 6 out of 7 day …last day ;had over 300 k again; 314 km. and sadly enough,….an off-day for Geoff who was out after 178 km. loosing his runner-up -spot. Pete and Mac were the best with a speed of 149 and 148 km./h.
With a trough predicted they hoped to be on the easterly side of it for even faster speed. The really high fast, cool, comfortable day was not really there .They hoped for 170 km./h ,but 150 km./h is not bad either.
“After 6 Races on the final day Gawler provided magnificent soaring conditions. A trough crossed the task area bringing 12,000ft plus  cloudbases and 10 kt plus climbs throughout the task area.”
SO IN THE END THERE WAS A CLEAR WINNER; PETE TEMPLE with 30 points.
Mac was runner up with 19 and Geoff third with 17.
Nice race!!!! Pete’s wife ,Mandy, was the competition director, [as she was in Lake Keepit during the WWG] and all went smooth and fine, she said with a big smile. She is good, also as Aussie TC.
Several videos are on YOUTUBE.
Sean did a good PR/coverage-job.

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Good weather at more places in Australia. In the East my friends Gerrit and Pam flew 929 and 652 km in their EB 29R and ASH 31/21 m. Speed 121 and 109 km./h. [January 7]
Back to the West again…..Horsham this time, Jarowslav in his PIK 20 b flew 661 km.
And,…The Australian Nationals are soon in Waikirie and some as Lumpy, practice already; 616 in the Quintus M.
Bruce Taylor was on his way.

And Adam was on his way too;
“My commute to the 18m nationals, about 36hrs on a jet straight from pickup in Bangkok to Adelaide (4 sectors). I’m just arriving in Gawler now for the last day of the SGP, they’re up there enjoying a 12,000′ CU day.” And more blogs to enjoy. Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

The Australian Nationals will be flown from January 10 [ practice] till January 21 in Waikirie in 2 classes; open/18m and sport class.
They had their first day TODAY. A 1.45 AAT for open /18m won by Adam, who mentioned; .
“Day 1 of the Australian 18m nationals, I’m flying in 15m configuration in order to learn how to find this beauty before the pre-world’s in March “
Preliminary score;586 points for 161 km with a speed of 161 km./h. Craig Vinall was even faster in his AS 33es, but he flew 297 km.
Bruce was 4th and Pete, who rushed from Gawler to Waikirie 6th. So did Geoff and David ;7th and 5th for the day.
Here is Matthew [Scutter] about day 1;
“I had to withdraw from the 20m nationals due to a date change, which left me without any competition practice prior to the 100% selection event in Narromine in March, so instead I decided to drag my little 15m glider to the big boys 18m nationals in South Australia.
I was quite behind the 8ball for the first day, not quite focused or in the right mindset. I compounded this into blowing the start, needing a ‘relight’ while I could see competitors just a bit further away climbing through 10,000ft.
When I started everyone else had left, so I resigned myself to just putting up a clean flight to salvage the points. I made good use of the storm convergence, took a few 4kts to keep the flight low risk, and got home with a respectable speed.
More tricky weather to come.” Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
2.15 AAT in Sport class and only 4 started and 3 finished.
More next week!

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Still great soaring conditions in Namibia. Sometimes the day starts a bit later , there are weaker climbs and a lower cloud base, but in the afternoon convergences “rescue” the day and a 1000 is still possible.
“1000km rescued by an excellent western convergence at the end.” Patrick.
Even a nearly 1.250 was flown in a Quintus M from Bitterwasser on January 4.
Last Sunday Simon Schroeder , one of the young German hotshots flew in Guy’s Quintus M.a new distance record with a speed of 154 km/.h. ; 1,445.32km/1,278.47km FAI.
“What a day!!!
Started very early this morning and initially had difficulties making good progress in the headwind. Everything was blue.
 When we got to the cloud base it was relatively relaxed. The convergence wasn’t quite as pronounced as you can sometimes experience here, but I still progressed fast enough to break the kilometer record.” by Simon in his OLC comment.
More about the young ones below .
The first 23 flights on Sunday January 8 on the OLC were over 1000 km. a total of 27.
6 flights were over 1300 km.
4 flights over 1200 km. amongst all those flights, 6 FAI triangles over 1000 km!!!!!
What a season they have in Namibia!!!!
Bitterwasser, Veronica, Kiripotib and Pokweni ,…they all shared in the 1000 km-plus–happiness and euphoria.
Simon flies in Namibia since December 20 . He flew 4 days in the EB 28 all over 1000 km. On December 26 a 1000 in the ARCUS M.
Then a flight to get used to a new type, the Quintus to fly with that glider on January 6 and then on January 7 and 8 a 1.247 and 1.445 km. flight , both FAI triangles as well.
Pffff…he must be worn out ,but full of adrenaline! And he is YOUNG.
During those 8 flights he was 64 hours in the air.
“7-year-old record topped – Bitterwasser again basis for a new distance record in Namibia.
The 2022/23 season seems to be a very special one. We have been able to watch countless thousands enthusiastically in the last few weeks. So it was only a matter of time that the seven-year-old distance record of 1434 km by Matthias Arnold from 2016 would be set.
Yesterday was the day: under optimal conditions, Simon Schröder raced to a new absolute kilometre record over Namibia with the Quintus provided by Guy Bechtold. OLC – onlinecontest.org

“Admittedly, the Quintus is also the optimal weapon for making kilometres,” said Simon in his commentary on the flight.”
8 January 2023 is definitely one of the most outstanding days in recent years.”
January 9, the first 29 flights are over 1000 km. and another 4 completed 33 flights.
15 of them FAI TRIANGLES!!!!!
All in Namibia.
It’s such a SUPERB season.
NO WONDER that at this still early stage,…..as the season is not yet over, …. Bitterwasser tops the Stats from airfields with 106 pilots flying 741 flights and till now 609.662,63 km.
Interesting,…VERONICA …not that long ago not even on the list ,is runner up at this stage with 87 pilots flying 523 flights and 405.811,93 km.
Yesterday another 17 x 1000 plus including 5 FAI TRIANGLES.

And look also at the skies last Saturday in Bloemfontein in S.A!! 670 km. by Dutch pilot Ronald in a JS 1, member of the Delft Student Aero Club.

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WEGLIDE has a nice story about all the young German “hotshots’ flying those amazing flights in Namibia, on the last day from 2022 and the first day from 2023.When you missed it, here you are;
“What happens in Namibia, when early developments make an unusually early start possible? The young guns finished 2022 properly. On the last day of the year, three gliders tried to squeeze the maximum out of the desert. Together, they covered nearly 4000km.
Let’s start with the top-pointed flight. Max Schäfer & Eva Schröder lined up for a big L with two long legs along the famous edge with defines the border between the Namib- and the Kalahari Desert, congrats.”
In my last blog I wrote about those fabulous flights. Here are some links to the flights;
1.373,98 km @ 143,04 km/h on https://www.weglide.org/flight/229179

“Now a special one! Tore Graeber & Simon Schröder aimed for a big triangle. They headed into South Africa turned west and flew deep over the Namib back north. In the end, they completed an unbelievable 1300km FAI, congrats”
So a huge set, TRIANGLE over huge areas, qua weather and land. The first one in Namibia, and that says something!!!!! Also my congratulations!!!
1.335,27 km @ 143,34 km/h on https://www.weglide.org/flight/229176,229166

“Nils Fecker headed for a big triangle too and challenged Tore & Simon. Slightly ahead, Nils, unfortunately, made a mistake near Gamsberg and had to use the engine to get back to Bitterwasser. But that’s gliding as Nils mentioned correctly in the comments: “An expensive lesson. Everything can’t always work out.”. Nevertheless an amazing flight as well“
1.267,58 km @ 144,79 km/h on https://www.weglide.org/flight/229166

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And to finish some nostalgia for me, not for my family as they were in Tocumwal!!!!
Pictures from the BELANCA SCOUT, VH-SFO, loved by all in the family and flown in the far past by Dennis [1987] and Inge and a huge amount of tuggies, now by George and Diana and the last winters by Grietje from Corowa.
And now by more family members…it really is a family affair and I share it with you…..when it makes me happy , it might make you happy too, specially those who visited Tocumwal.
Dexter is not on these pictures as he had to fly home earlier because of school, but he flew as well.
By the way Inge’s husband Rodger flew with Diana in the IS 28 too. He was solo a few years ago.

And then,…it’s evening in Tocumwal and slowly one by one they depart from Tocumwal, back to Amsterdam, one to Sydney and 2 to Perth. Tomorrow everybody should be home again.
AND,…though I was n’t there I had as much fun with their stories and pictures.

They went hiking in the Grampians as well.

Cheers Ritz
To finish ;