Alice is planning to attend many competitions again this season. SHe has already flown at the Qld state competitions, where with two days to fly we were lying second. I then proceeded to have two terrible flights and we finished fifth.
In November, we will be attending the NSW state competition and the Narromine Cup, where we hope to have better weather than last year and have a real try at a 1000km flight.
After Christmas we will be going to Benalla, in Victoria, to fly in the club class nationals and then to Horsham for Horsham week and the Victorian State championship.
The season will end, as always, with the Qld Easter competition.
In associating with the North Queensland Soaring Centre, I am helping to organise a mid-winter gliding regatta in north Queensland, at Charters Towers.
Alice will of course be there.
Typically, weather in N Qld at this time of year gives cloud base up to 12,000ft with temperatures in the mid to high 20s! The North Queensland Soaring Centre is in the process of moving its operations inland to Charters Towers from its current coastal location at Ayr (just south of Townsville) to take advantage of these much better conditions inland.
North Queensland Soaring Centre is a winch only operation at present (they have two winches with a third possibly on the way), but we are hoping to have at least one tug in operation also.
The countryside in N Qld is somewhat challenging for XC, requiring a GPS with the known out landing sites loaded and disciplined flying by pilots to ensure they are never out of range of one of these sites.
This is a regatta, not a competition: a range of XC tasks will be available and pilots will choose a task appropriate to the weather, their glider and skill level. There will of course be winch conversion training occurring as well (in a long wing Kookaburra and Blanik).
If you are interested in coming north to enjoy "Christmas in July" in north Qld, please could you get in touch with me direct (do NOT reply to the list please), including details of the glider you want to bring. If you want to bring a glider that does NOT have a belly hook for winch launching, please could you make this clear in your reply.
Hope to see you there!
After a very lengthy sojurn in hospital, Alice will be taking to the air again on Saturday 5 Jun. Hooray!!! I will post pictures of her new gleaming self next week.
During an outlanding by my partner at the multiclass nationals at Gulgong, Alice executed a 'pirouette in paddock' and in so doing suffered fairly severe injuries. Fortunately, my partner suffered no injuries - other than (as he said) to his pride.
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Alice is now on the way to a full recovery - and full details are here.
The BIG news is that Alice and I completed a 750km flight on 1 Dec 2003! It took us 8 hours 38 minutes (at 90km/hr), but we went from DDSC to Hodgson (west of Roma) thence to Talwood (west of Goondiwindi) and home, for a total distance of 763km!
In other news, the Poms (RAFGSA) loved Alice and took her for a lot of flights - including several 500km qualifying flights! Another Pom is visiting at present and trying to get his 500km flight in Alice as well.
Also, Alice's new oxygen system is now fitted. We had considerable trouble with the oxygen bottle bracket (it had to be modified twice), but all is now well and I look forward to really using it!
Alice will be going to both the FAI Australian Nationals at Gulgong, NSW and to the Australian Club Class Nationals at Waikerie. These both happen in January.
Brian will be flying ALice with me at Gulgong, but I am going to Waikerie alone.
In November, the RAFGSA arrives and is hiring Alice for three weeks. This means Alice will not eb able to go to hte NSW state comps.
Well - the State comp was a wash out - only 4 flyable days. As it happens, the oxygen system arrived but was not fitted as the bracket for the oxygen bottle was not ready.
Alice will be flying at the QSA State competition at the end of September. She also getting an EDS Mountain High oxygen system - hopefully it will be fitted before then.
The Easter competition was great - amazingly enough Alice and I managed to place 7th on the last flyable day!
Alice is off to the QSA Easter competition (at Dalby airfield) - with Brian Wade and myself in the pilot seat (in turn, not both at once).
I had a ball at this comp last year, when I flew Caboolture's Twin Astir with Bert Persson. The year has gone incredibly quickly and I have learned so much!!!
Alice's holiday at Shane McCaffrey's residential spa for gliders came to an end on Feb 28. On 1 March, I (along with several helpers) rigged her. She does truly look gorgeous - gleaming white. After a test fly, we needed to remove her port wing to slightly adjust the flap and seal. That done, Alice danced me through the skies for several days of wonderful and exhilerating flying...another Alice article is on the way as a result!
Alice, Brian and I had a great time at the Club Class Nationals. I managed to come 22nd - not bad for my first Nationals!
On our return, Alice went into Shane McCaffrey's residential spa for gliders for her annual certificate of airworthiness. We took this opportunity to do a load of work - most particularly awarding her a full exfoliation! Alice is being sanded back, buffed, waxed and polished and looks gorgeous. This process will be completed tomorrow and Alice will be flying again this coming weekend.
The Club Class National competition is taking place at Temora, in NSW in late Jan 2003. Alice will be going to this competition as well. Hopefully, Brian Wade and I will fly Alice as a team - and we are hoping to fly Alice to the comps and back.
Planning is under way - and watch this space for further details!
Alice and I negotiated the comps successfully and had an absolute blast. Today the full results are up and Alice and I managed to come 15th (out of 30) in club class.
The full results for Alice on the 6 flying days are
Day 1 365km @ 94 km/hr (placed 12th)
Day 2 306km @ 94 km/hr (placed 22nd)
Day 3 370km @ 96 km/hr (placed 11th)
Day 4 356km @ 98 km/hr (placed 21st)
Day 5 361km @ 103 km/hr (placed 22nd)
Day 6 325km @ 104 km/hr (placed 16th)
I am really pleased with these results - particularly that I managed to increase my speed on each day! Having spent nearly 30 hours in the air with Alice over the period of the competition, I feel I am starting to learn how to fly her properly.
Hooray!
Alice's new 'hat' has arrived in Brisbane and is on its way to Downs Sailplanes! Hopefully Alice will be ready to fly on 21 Sept - which will give me a day or two to spend 'working up' prior to the Queensland State Gliding Competition.
This weekend I will be up at Jondaryan on Sunday, derigging Alice and moving her to the Downs Sailplanes workshop. New battery restraints are also being fitted!
Schempp-Hirth has a blue tinted canopy and we are now trying to get this into Australia and fitted in time for the QSA State Gliding Competition (starting on 28 September).
This is getting quite tight - but Shane McCaffrey of Downs Sailplanes is still hopeful!
Megaplex have nothing in stock and we are now chasing Schempp-Hirth direct.
We can get no response from Megaplex in Switzerland. It seems likely that they have shut down for their summer holidays!
It transpires that there may be a clear (rather than tinted) canopy in Australia already and we are chasing this up.
Following her encounter with airborne rabbit holes, Alice is awaiting repairs to her canopy. This entails getting a new canopy from a company in Switzerland. Shane McCaffrey of Downs Sailplanes faxed them on Sunday 28 July 2002 and we hope to have a reply on Monday night Australia time.
Alice will be grounded for some weeks - but should be ready to fly in the State competition.
I am proposing to fly Alice in the Queensland State Gliding Competition in September/October 2002. I have no illusions about getting anywhere near the top of the competition list, but I expect to gain lots of experience and have a heap of fun.
I'll post photos and news here eventually.