Alphen aan den Rijn 01-02-2009
January is over and slowly the overseas season for European pilots is over too. It was as far as I heard a GREAT summer, wherever the pilots were in Africa or Australia.
Australia suffers at the moment from a heat wave with temperatures up to 45 dgr. and not for one day, but already 5 in a row. Thunderstorms might give some relieve.Since 1855 it has not been so hot in Victoria, 43 dgr. is a very high temperature for Melbourne.Sadly enough 20 people died already. Bush fires have started and I know by experience how bad they can be, no electricity for 500.000 houses in and around Melbourne due to over -use of air -conditioners.
It is a bit dual to be happy over the heat for soaring, while people die from it. But gliderpilots love the hot weather , though I heard from one pilot, that he started a bit later to be able to go straight away high up to the cool air, after all others had started. Not too much fiddling around on the hot tarmac on the ground.
Wow ….Australia finishes off the season 2008/2009 with fabulous weather. All disappointment over the less good November/December period have been forgotten.
I was most impressed with the Danish record from Hans Hoeck flown in the ASG 29/18m. over a 1000 km triangle on January 30. Great stuff! One day later he flies 957 km ., to top it off with a beautiful out and return today from Corowa up North, to Cobar, “the middle of nowhere”, another 1000 km. flight!
Michael [Sommer] only has the weekends off from work . Not long ago he flew a 1000 km flight from Benalla, now he flew one yesterday and today. WHAT A WEEKEND!!!!Good for Benalla too!!!
Great flight from Terry [Cubley] from Gawler;1055 km. in his “old” LS3.
What about the flights from Jan Umlauf and Stefan Soell from Tocumwal. Both airline captains from Lufthansa love long distance flying. In an LS 4 [read WITHOUT engine] they flew last week over 850 km. not going with the clouds, but great set triangles.One day later even over 900 km. Splendid!!!
Corowa has a lot of guests flying in their own gliders, brought in the containers from Holland and Tjech Rep. by Francesco. Most of them stay between the beginning of November when the containers arrive and the middle of February, when they depart again.They all must have loved January!!! More 1000 km. flights and other fabulous flights, have been flown and on February 1 they top the list of airfields on the OLC over Bitterwasser and Gariep Dam. Congratulations!!
One of the Corowa guests at the moment is Vincent. This is his first time in Australia and he even celebrated his 34th birthday in Corowa with his parents Max and Carla. I know them for many years when Vincent still was a little boy running up and down the hill from the gliding center Terlet. Now he nearly flew 1000 km. [made 952 km. ], is amazed about ” the nothing” on the ground …..yes Ivanhoe is pretty “empty, only scrub and loves it. For sure not his last time in Australia. What a way to celebrate your 34th birthday, what a great exemple of being on the right spot at the right time!!I loved his comment after flying over the Lake Mulwala full of dead grey-coloured trees;” and I thought what a lot of sailingboats.”
Great to see Chad [Dvorchak]from the USA being happy in Omarama,[ it seems he never gets old!] and kilometer-eater Terry [Bellair]who moved for a while, from Bendigo to Corowa for some great flying as did/does Roger [Druce] from the VFMG.[ Victorian gliding club.]
Trips to Finland and Australia are firmly booked. I will take my laptop with me , to keep you informed, though it is still a long time before this all happens. But it makes me happy already NOW!
This morning started not too good for me. I got the message that last friday good friend and many times great customer at Sportavia, from the UK, Mel Eastburn has died.
Mel flew several years with us in Tocumwal. He could be really happy with a good flight. His face told it all. One year he wrote us that he could not come. Cancer was diagnosed but …he was going to fight it. He did! After ..he came back again. Around Christmas this year he visited with his wife Jan, Mikiko and Shige in Tokyo. He met them at Sportavia. He even was their witness at the wedding in the garden of Sportavia. I wrote them an email how glad I was that Mel could travel to Japan and how good he looked on the picture I received from Mikiko.
This morning the message was that he had died peaceful.I was very sad , as I did not expect his death so quickly after Tokyo, but I feel proud to have known him.I wish Jan and the family all the best and I know I speak now in name of ALL his friends!!We will treasure the memories we had with him.
Cheers Ritz