Post 1.450 on Wednesday 11 2023

South African National Gliding Championship 2023
29 September 2023 – 7 October 2023

My last post was about 3 flying days and 4 tasks, one not flown.
Task 5 on flying day 4 on October 4;
Club; 317.52 km…..Dicky Daly won his 3d day; GOOD!!! 110.83 km./h.
15 m. ; 524.93 km….Uys -day today . He won, finally a clear head after all the work;144.23 km./h
18 m. ; 524.93 km…….Fast day..Laurence Hardmann flew around with 152,50 km./h.
2 seaters; 447.99 km..…As said, Yamauchi & Greenhill, the young ones, finally got the hang of the SA weather and indeed they won another day; 148,52 km./h!!!!!

Task 6 on flying day 5.
Club; 364.79 km…..and Richard Glennie in his ASW 20 was the daily best; 106.46 km./h and the only one over 100 km. Dicky was 3d.
15 m;  594.36 km….another Uys-day; 134.33 km./h. Only 3 left in this class, as AP Kotze did not fly.
18 m;  594.36 km…..Riaan Denner in the JS3 had a good day; 149.09 km./h and Uys’ brother Attie was runner up; 148.85 km./h. whilst Phillip [ a young Jonker] was 4th
2-seaters; 510.29 km and Pieter Nouwens &Mark Nouwens in their Duo Discus were daily best; 127.22 km,./h.

Task 7 penultimate day of this National Championship.
“The final day of the SA Nationals and an early start this morning. Gliders are asked to be gridded before the 10 a.m. briefing for a possible 11 a.m. first launch. There is quite a strong wind blowing and according to the pedestrian forecast they expect temperature of 35 degrees today, getting cloudy over the next few days and then possible thunderstorms later on next week, but by then the Nationals will be ‘done & dusted’.“
South African Nationals
Club; 349.50 km…..Dave Maver in his ASW 20 was the best; 126.11 km./h! Dicky was runner up and Maarten on 4 .With that we have the top 3 overall , with one day to go!
15 m; 579.29 km….. 2 from 3 flew the task and Wayne won.128.38 km./h Runner up was Mark and Uys was out.
18 m; 579.29 km…With an early start [12.39] young Phillip [JS1] won the day 146 km./h…..with ONE point difference with Oscar,[JS3/18m] who started at 13.21; .
2-seaters; 543.35 km….AND …the young ones in the Nimbus 4DM , Zach and Thomas, did it again; WIN; 146.77 km./h.

Task 8; FINAL DAY!!!! Exciting day as well….great speed and a different champion than I expected.
Club; 276.14 km….
15m; 404.34 km…only 2 left in this class as Uys flew his JS 3/18 m. HC. Mark and Wayne both flew the task; 143 and 140 km./h.
18m; 404.34 km…and Oscar proofed once more what a good pilot he is. With a speed of 182.57 km./h, he raced over the track. Attie and Riaan did about the same with start and landing and were only seconds , behind. Interesting to see if that could change the overall scores, AND YES it did Phillip was slower [still 159.66 km./h. ] and lost his first spot to Oscar.
Oscar mentioned that the day was very much underestimated,…that sounds about right… but last day and “braai” in the evening..reasons enough to set a short task,BUT…..”But could have shattered the 500km world record. Half the task was under 11k’ airspace, as the predictions was that this was the best area. Base was estimated at 20k amsl”
A STERLING day!!!!
As Oscar said:”Epic race. Best weather I have flown in for a long time. Actual speed around 400km was 182kmh”
2-seaters; 404.34 km….with 163 km./h the “young ones” in the Nimbus 4DM won again. That was 20 k faster than runner up Stefan in the Duo, but then there is off course the difference in glider!!!

Several over 500 km flights and great speed ,so a good South African Championship. And 7 out of 8 days. GOOD!!!! And good, better ,best,..a safe competition!
Overall results;
CLUB class ;
1. Dicky Daly in St Cirrus with 5,609 points.
2. Dave Maver in ASW 20 with 5,236 p.
3. Maarten Jonker in LS4 with 5,137 p.

15 m class;
1. Wayne Schmidt in ASW 27 with 6,191 points.
2. Mark Holliday in ASW 27 B with 5,816 p.
3. Uys Jonker in JS 3/15 m. with 4,536 p.

18m class;
1. Oscar Goudriaan in JS 3/18 m with 5,907 points.
2. Phillip Jonker in JS 1 with 5,853 p.
3. Attie Jonker in JS 3/18 m with 5,755 p.

2-seaters;
1. Zach Yamauchi & Thomas Greenhill in NIMBUS 4DM with 5,854 points.
2. Nouwens & Nouwens in Duo Discus T with 5,665 p.
3. Pieter Geldenhuys in ASG 32MI with 5,354 p.

15/18 m ;
1. Oscar Goudriaan with 5,888 p.
2. Phillip Jonker with 5,855.p.
3. Attie Jonker with 5,741 p.

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Queensland State Comps are a good preparation for Nationals straight after .

In a short period Kingaroy is the host for these state comps till October 7 and the Nationals from October 9 to 15. So in full swing at the moment. See below!
They had a few days to go here is the rest of their week. It’s a Grand Prix type of competition, with a regatta start, quite a few penalties every day and …..
Day 5; REST DAY!!!!!

Day 6;
Club; 245 km.….regatta starts at 12.30 and best speed , just over 100 k /ph. Of course by Bernie [Sizer] in his PIK 20D.
Sports class; 272.8 km....and good old Dave Jansen is really doing well. When he was VERY young he flew ALWAYS. I guess he might be retired now as airline pilot so time enough again.132.08 km./h.
15 m; 272.8 km….won by Bruce 129.6 km./h and Adam was sick so decided to go back to the field.
“Funny old day, I think I might’ve been suffering from a mild dose of dehydration today, a first for me. The upside, I realised it early & called it a day before it got any worse” Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Bruce;” We had a short task today. The weather looked to be blue with the best conditions out to the east, and there aren’t so may turn points possible out that way. It turned out that it was better than forecast and there were strong climbs and increasing cumulus through the afternoon.” more about the day on Taylor’s Gliding Page

Day 7; VERY LAST DAY!!
Club; 273 km…..and a new face at the podium Mark Dalton who flew in his ASW 20 to spot 1 and 10 points. He fished on 6 overall.
Overall scores in CLUB after 6 flying days;
1. Bernie Sizer, in PIK 20 D, with 38 points….winning 3 days.
2. Kim Houghton in LS 3 with 33 points winning 1 day.
3. Todd Edwards in LS 3 with 32 points also winning 1 day.

Sports class; 339 km. Brad Edwards in his JS 3 won the last day , his 2d win.
Overall scores in Sports class;
1. David Jansen in Ventus 3/18m with 46 points winning 2 days.
2. Ray Stewart in JS3 /18 m with 45 points winning 1 day.
3. Andrew Georgeson in Nimbus 4 DM with 39 points.

15 m; 339 km. Greg Beecroft won the day and Adam was runner up Bruce was 5th but no harm to his overall scores.
Here is Bruce;”Some days are diamonds, and for me today wasn’t one of them. We all have days when the pattern we see in our head doesn’t quite match the pattern of the weather we are flying in, and that is part of the fascination of this game. I’ve had a fantastic week and have been so pleased with my results so far. I’m back in my favourite glider from the past 40 years and having a ball.”
About his last day more on Taylor’s Gliding Page
Overall scores in 15m;
1. Bruce Taylor in LS 8 with 25 points winning 3 days.
2. Mak Ichikawa in LS 8 with 22 points winning 1 day.
3. Greg Beecroft in LS 8 with 20 points winning the last day.

Great practice for the Australian Nationals. They can have a 1 day of rest and are used to Kingaroy,… so high expectations!

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2023 Club and Sports class Nationals from KINGAROY.
9 October 2023 – 15 October 2023

9 pilots in club class, 8 in sports 18m and 11 in sports open, and a few strong competitors in each class.
Practice day on Saturday with nice tasks [Club 252 km. Sports open 301 km and Sports 15 m with 260 km] to get in the “groove”, a groove for Adam together with Benalla pilot Tobias Geiger. Adam and Toby practice team flying!
“Tobias & I enjoyed a really positive day over the skies of Kingaroy, where we practiced our team flying for the upcoming WGC” in the beginning of December in Narromine. More news about their team flying on Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures
Some pilots are already in Australia for this BIG event. So is George who flies in club class for Luxembourg, so does his wife Diana.
George arrived in Tocumwal last week and had the best weather last Sunday.

Task 1 on October 9; great, fast, first day.
Club; 347.02 km……8 started in this class ,5 of them in an ASW 20 , 1 in a PIK 20B and 2 in a Discus. And,…NO it was not one of the state-comps- pilots, but Jo Davis, who could have been the WWGC champion ,when there was no controversy about the scores. She is a good pilot!!!!
Speed 127.57 km./h just a tiny bit faster than Michael Strathern also in ASW 20 with 127.47 km./h!

Sports open; 427.87 km…and straight away the 1991 WGC Champion from Uvalde Brad Edwards won the day in his JS 3/18m. Speed 154.65 km./h!!!! Just a tad slower with 154.43 km./h was Ray Stewart, runner up during the earlier state comps.
10 started and only 1 was out.

Sports 15m; 409.25 km…. The Trotters took it easy during the state comps ,but now they were in full action. Peter was 1 with 142.39 km./h and Lisa 2 with 140.89 km./h Both fly an LS 8.
From the state-comp-pilots, Toby and Adam flew together as announced and were on 3 and 4 [145 and 146 km./h!!] ,Mak on 5 and Bruce on 6.
All 8 in this class started and the “slowest” with respect was Mike with still 130 km./h!!!
That says enough about this perfect first day.

Task 2 on October 10; another good day with nic tasks.
Club; 369.50 km…pffff, in his ASW 20 Jim [Crowhurst] reached a speed of 134.35 km./h …. not 1000 points but 900. Not bad either. Runner up with about the same speed Steve [McMahon] in ASW 20B, with 133.71 km./h

Sports 18m; 444.65 km….Brad was runner up and Ray won. Both really good pilots , Brad “a bit older’ maybe experienced [??] as Ray. Speed 159.37 km./h and 154.21 km./h. Both ” flew their JS3 on fire.”
10 started and 9 were in .Ron in his NIMBUS 4DM was out after 85 km. I heard he had already some problems with his glider during the State comps.

Sports 15 m;  444.65 km…good to see our Japanese mate Mak win the day in his LS 8; 145 km./h!!!! AND,…1000 points. Good on him. Bruce was 2km./h slower for 976 points.
Bruce had a lot to say about the day here is part of it:
“Nice big day today for Day 2. Over 9,000 feet at best and peak climb rates of more than 12 knots. That’s 1200 feet per minute, or in gliding terms we are gaining about 400 feet for every circle we do. Nice!
But also “It is huge fun, a day like today, fast cruising, big pull-ups into strong lift that is smooth and powerful… We love it! But it is busy. You have to concentrate all the time because the edge between good and bad air can be sharp and a wrong move can suddenly have you lose height on your competitors.”
Taylor’s Gliding Page
Adam and Toby started together again but the difference between a Ventus 3TS [146.68 km./h ] and a Ventus 2ax [138.58 km./h] is clear. EVEN with the 1% advantage as declared by the GFA’s handicap committee. They are happy together ,so all GOOD.
Mak leads now with 14 points on Peter [Trotter] who was 4th for the day.

Adam’s dad Chris ,a very fine man and good pilot, had safety concerns and Adam writes about it;
“10/10 today to the organisation for listening to my fathers safety concerns about the use of the 500m radius control point, just 15km from the finish line. At first the topic was pushed aside, but then after an insistence to be heard, the organisation took the time to review it, then adjusted it after consideration. I’m super proud of Dad & very pleased that the organisation took the safety first option & were willing to change their minds, superb” Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

Task 3 on October 11; Today ….and the time difference with here is 8 hours, in about 2 weeks 10, so the scores are preliminary. “Fab” day again with 3 hour AAT’s in each class and good speed .
Club; 3 hour AAT…...with 383.63 km Jo had another daily win on a 1000-points-day; 123.88 km./h. All 9 “clubbies” flew over 300 km. and finished

Sports 18m; 3 hour AAT...he started around 10 minutes later as the rest , flew 480 km with a speed of 153.29 km./h …Lumpy Paterson [from Tocumwal] in his JS3 /18m; that was about 6 k/h faster than the rest. Kerrie did not fly so 9 starters.

Sports 15 m; the team-flying from Adam and Toby bear fruit as the 1000 points were for Adam and 954 for Toby; 465.37 km with a speed of 152.76 km./h and 443.43 km with 147.84 km./h.
All 8 started and finished and the “slowest” speed again with respect was 128.63 km./h!!
No news yet from Adam on this great performance , but even better news ….HE IS IN LOVE…..BE HAPPY TOGETHER!!!!

After 3 glorious flying days and halfway the overall scores are in
CLUB; 1. Jim Crowhurst with 2. 761 points and 2. Jo Davis with 2.706 p.
Sports 18m; 1. Ray Stewart with 2.750 p and 2. Brad Edwards with 2.701 p.
Sports 15 m; 1. Mak Ichikawa with 2.822 p and 2. Adam Woolley with 2.820!!!!

More next Wednesday.

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Matthew went to find out by himself what the MORNING GLORY is and when his own SKYSIGHT said “perfect weather to do so”, he indeed “found” it after travelling 2500 km to Burketown; https://www.weglide.org/flight/340246
305 km @ 195 km/h…..Diana 2…”Could probably do a world record 100km triangle on this.”
Cloud top up to 1200m, base all the way to the fog.

Due to internet problems he wrote yesterday a bit more on this flight
“The “Morning Glory” cloud is an extremely rare cloud formation, a ripple in the atmosphere trapped between two air layers that only forms with any regularity in a single location – Far North Queensland. More than a 2000km from a major city, few ever get to view it and even fewer get to experience flight along it.This was my first flight on a Morning Glory. Sorry it took so long to upload – the internet in Burketown was mobile-only and even that went offline!”
There is a 25 minute video via Matthew Scutter’s Gliding

To finish…..more clouds…… another fab picture…

With all these wave meccas London Club Lasham Gliding Society wrote;
“Lasham are back at Deeside Gliding Club in Scotland for the next 3 weeks running our autumn expeditions. We’ve got four gliders up there currently. So far on the first week nearly everyone has enjoyed several mountain wave flights. Some to altitudes of nearly 20,000ft with the good conditions lasting most of the week!“

AND,…what about 109 years of gliding experience and still going strong. My Belgium mates Bert Schmelzer sr and Eddy Huybreckx. TOPPERS!!!!

And news from Henrique Navarro in Brasil;
“The Brazilian Gliding Federation has just approved my National speed record on a 750km FAI triangle @152kph with the Ventus 3 15 meters. I was short of beating the World record by less than 4kph.”

CU next week. Hope a week with less stress and fewer [better no ] deaths around the brutal invasions from Russia in Ukraine and the barbaric terror group of Hamas in Israel,…in what world do we live!?
Sad,…. Ritz