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My Gold C Flight PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Lothar Arndt   
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 19:25

My "Gold C" Flight

from Bernie Sizer
For the last two gliding seasons I have wanted to attempt my gold "C" flight.
Due to a number of reasons this has not happened, mostly due to time available & weather at the time.
Monday the 11th Jan 2010 looked good, the wife & kids were at home on holidays, and therefore time was no issue.
The clubs ASW15 had been booked out, so I arranged with Donald Ashton to fly his LS4a, "XP". It has been 10 months since I last flew this aircraft but it still fits like a glove.
I used my PDA & "XCSoar" for the first time, both worked perfectly. While the day was very hot, 44°c, the cumulus clouds did not start to appear till 12 noon and it was 2pm when I got airborne.
I soon found a thermal & was at 7,000ft and ready to go.
I started the task at approx 2.30pm under blue sky and headed for Corowa, which was also under blue sky. The sky to the north was full of cumulus by now.
The thermals on the way to Corowa were weak, 4 knots at best. Soon after turning at Corowa I was down to 1981ft but could see dust from a farmers plough and headed for that. I found weak lift to approx 4,000ft and then headed for the first big cumulus where there was much better lift up to approx 9,000ft. The remainder of the second leg was done just under cloud base, at approximately 10,000ft  at approx 80 knots. During this time I was becoming aware of the cold, in particular my exposed lower left leg which my pants had left bare to the draft.
I acquired the second turn point at Jerilderie and looked around to see that the sky was a little patchier with big cumulus spread further apart. I directed the aircraft towards the closest cumulus and was soon back to 10,000ft. The trip to the third turn point was mostly in the blue, but sometimes under some cloud streeting. Close to the third turn point, Mathoura, I found heavy sink and then rain at 9,000ft.
I skirted around this to find the lift and then in and out of Mathoura and back to the lift before starting my final glide, all 60 kilometres of it at 171km/h.
I am still shocked by the heat when the canopy is opened once back on the ground, 44°c is a little rude after you have spent the last 3hrs in 10 - 12°c and under thick cumulus.
Total task distance was 309.6km. Time taken was 3hours, 5mins, 23seconds for an average of 54.17 knots or 100.3km/h.
This is my first flight with an average speed of over 100 km/h, albeit only just over.

Thanks to Donald Ashton, Don Escott and Ingo Renner for their help.
Hope to have another go at it soon.
Cheers.
Bernie.
 
...22 years later PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Peter Hohaus   
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:52

Thank you for making it possible for me to re-acquaint myself with gliding after 22 years!  Daniel also recalls many of the details from his first flight.

I had three nice flights with Ingo Renner and Daniel had one over the past days.  It's 25 years since I last flew with Ingo in Germany.  By the 3rd flight my technique was coming back.  Interesting that after 30 years Eddie is still the tug pilot!  Bill and Val Riley were elected life members of the Southern Riverina Gliding Club.  Ingo says Bill still comes to the airfield each day.  Sportavia's old hangar is looking quite sorrowful with weeds all around the tarmac.  I flew glider IS28 IUH which my logbook shows I last flew 28 years ago.  The plane has done 17,000 launches and never been bent!.  Anyhow, with Ingo's coaching I was able to remember how to fly the glider and even fly to cloud base.....

peter_first_flight_with_ingo_in_22_years
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My first 300km PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Bernie Sizer   
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 13:09

Tuesday, 19/02/08, I had the rare opportunity to go flying in Tocumwal in the ASW15.

The forecast looked good with lift predicted to 8,500 ft & light Northerly winds.

I arrived at the field approx 9.30am to find a stiff NE’erly blowing, this soon died down.

denilequin

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Coaching Week Report PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Lothar Arndt   
Thursday, 06 August 2009 18:13

This is an extact from Sordid, the magazine February 2009 of the Beverley Soaring Society gratefully provided by Stephan Friedrich.

WAGA: Ingo Renner Coaching Week Report

Paul Rose

The 2008/09 season WA Coaching Week with Ingo Renner has just finished. It went well with some eight XC flights flown by Ingo covering nearly 2,000 kms. Ingo flew on eight of the ten days, whi ch is not too bad. There were 15 pilots in total attended over the course of the week.
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My first outlanding PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Bernie Sizer   
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 10:36

image1

I was told once I went solo that, “you are not a real glider pilot until you have at least one outlanding.”

If flying in Tocumwal on a Tuesday was rare, being able to go twice in consecutive weeks was too much to miss out on.

The decision was made at approx 10.30pm Monday night & getting to sleep was difficult.
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Tocumwal

During the Second World War the town was the site of Royal Australian Air Force Station Tocumwal, which was a major Royal Australian Air Force training airfield and aircraft depot. Today, the airfield has grown to be a renowned gliding site .