Cobbadah

Tuesday looked like it might be windy and stormy. There was a bit of hesitation to send us up the hill, but by 11:30 it looked like it would be OK, so up we went. It was blowing west, a bit strong for the paragliders, but just fine for us. A cross wind out and return task was called to Cobbadah 31 miles to the north.

In spite of the generally ridge soarable conditions at launch, many pilots struggled to get up, and several flush cycles saw many in the bomb-out. I spent more time than usual around launch trying to get high – as it turned out this was a good strategy, as those who left low struggled on the course line for a long time. I finally went on course, 2 minutes late for the 2:30 start gate, but happy to be high and on my way. Many of the best pilots had taken an earlier start, so I was on my own most of the flight. The pilots I encountered on course were generally flying slower than me, and were more hesitant to go on glide. It was nice to feel that I was making progress in the pack and not being left behind for a change!

Slowly as the flight progressed I got more comfortable and felt my confidence returning. I only made one poor choice of glides – a long 8 mile glide that got me lower than I was happy with. Even at that I was still nearly 3000 feet AGL, and the first ground trigger I went to netted me a 600fpm climb that took me to nearly 11000ft. From there the flight was fast. I definitely could have been flying faster, but I was quite comfortable to be high. I rounded the turn point after a smooth 7 mile glide under a cloud street, still above 9000ft. I glided back to Barraba under the same cloud street, staying above 9000ft the whole way. At Barraba, 20 miles out, I found a smooth 1200ft/min climb that took me to over 12000ft. My flight computer told me I had goal on glide with lots of margin. I went on glide choosing a line that would take me under a couple of nice looking clouds. I was flying fast, trying to use the flight computer to its best capability. 8 miles out I was starting to worry about my glide numbers. It really takes a lot of nerve to trust the glide computer on final glide. A difference of +/- 1000ft can make the difference between arriving in the stratosphere and not making it. I found that the numbers were fluctuating by thousands of feet. I decided that I need to go back and understand the basis of the calculations so I can make more informed choices on glide.

Right about then I hit another smooth 1200ft/minute climb. This was too much fun not to stop for. It would also definitely alleviate any fear I had of not making goal. I took the climb all the way to 11000ft before I pulled on the VG and pulled in the bar for a fast glide to goal. I was only using ¾ VG, and at that I was only able to maintain airspeed of 55 or 60mph. I’m still getting used to flying this glider fast, and I wasn’t comfortable going to full VG. It was great practice flying fast and keeping the glider straight with no worry about not reaching goal. As it turned out, taking that last climb was a good move, as many who trusted their glide computers struggled at the end. Their glide put them below the Borah range on the lee side close to goal, resulting in more than the calculated sink. I definitely had many thousand more feet than I needed, and could have saved another 5 minutes by leaving that last climb earlier. In spite of that I found myself in goal in 14^th place with a time of 2hours and 12 minutes. My average speed was 28mph. A couple of pilots who beat me were actually slower, since they received departure and arrival points, and only Jonny did the task in less than 2 hours. I lost two minutes by leaving the start gate late, five by taking the extra climb I didn’t need, and probably one or two minutes on final glide not using all the VG. It’s definitely nice to find myself getting faster and understanding the choices that I make that make me slow. This was definitely another example where I felt I flew at the level I am capable of. If I can just start doing this consistently, from there it is only small refinements that will start moving me up in the standings.

Get the Google Earth file here.

Exorcizing Demons

I woke up today thinking about yesterday’s flight. I knew that I needed to do something for a little mental reset.

At the pilots meeting this morning the weather forecast looked much like yesterday. That didn’t do anything for my mental state. Once on the hill, however, we found it was coming in nicely at the west launch. That seemed a bit better. The conditions in the air, however, were weak. The paraglider pilots and free-flying hang glider pilots that flew early were struggling and bombing out. Most of us were waiting for it to get better and, of course, I had my own demons to contend with. Finally a few pilots started lining up and launching - with mixed results. I took a deep breath and got in line. Two pilots in front of me had made a track down the ridge to the north and were not finding anything. I had a feeling that the north spine was working, but further out. After a clean and uneventful launch I made a beeline that way and was rewarded with a nice climb, right where I expected it. A couple of pilots that launched after me joined me and then a whole crowd piled off launch. I managed to find the strongest core and soon saw the other pilots receding below me. Now that was more like it! I felt one or two demons drop away. I went on course, a bit more relaxed but still thinking about how every flight ends in a landing. That demon was still clinging tightly.

Soon I found myself north of Barraba in what by now was familiar territory. I knew there was one section of trees and hills with few good landing options. As luck would have it I found myself there low. Well, I thought, this was as good a place as any to wrestle the last demon. I picked out a nice field in easy glide and close to the road. I could have made an effort to get back up, but today I had other priorities. I carefully scanned the field for obstructions, then set up a perfect approach and landing.

I carried the glider to the gate; demon free and quite content with the days flying.

Happy to be Alive

Yesterday (Sunday) was the first day of the NSW State Titles.

On Saturday many of us went up the hill for a practice day. The conditions didn’t look stellar. The wind was quite south, forecast to be southeast, and there were already tall cumulus in the distance at 10:30 in the morning. I set up anyway, but it soon looked like I might be breaking down on launch. Both the south and west launches were working, but it was crossing on both. I decided to try and fly early, and to launch from the south – my plan was to dive off to the left and just head out and land at Godfrey’s – better to break down next to may van in the shade than on top. It looked like the pilot in front of me had the same plan. He launched, turned left, flew through the lift and continued on out. I waited for a reasonably straight cycle, and followed him. By now I could see him very low on the way out. I decided to try and get high for the glide, and stopped in a choppy climb. It was no fun, but it was getting me high, and I watched the other pilot land far short of Godfrey’s – barely making it to the east bomb-out. Once I was sure I had enough altitude I went on glide to the farm, set up a good approach and made a nice landing. OK, that felt pretty good, but I was getting tired of these short flights in rough conditions. I felt prepared for the next day, however, and I felt I would be prepared to work a little harder even if it meant risking landing in the bomb-out.

At the pilots meeting on Sunday we learned that it was supposed to be blowing 15knots from the southeast, going to 30knots from the east-southeast above the inversion at 4500ft. Once the inversion broke things would likely get rough down low, and if we were going to fly it would be good to go early. As many of us found yesterday, flying from the south launch when it is windy can be pretty rough. The Borah range continues to the south from launch, curving to the east. It’s a perfect setup for turbulence and sink in the rotor behind the range. On launch we found it to be southwest again today. In many ways it was like yesterday, but dryer. The task was set for Moree, 151km to the northwest.

Many of the top pilots launched early, concerned that launch conditions would deteriorate as they had yesterday. I got in line on the south launch, but launching was slow, with pilots having to wait a long time for lulls to safely launch in. Some pilots launched from the west, but they all came around to the south to try and get up. The odds were definitely favoring the south. The pilots who were successful launched into a lull, then just hung out and tried to maintain in front until a thermal came through. Once pilots were climbing in front, conditions were usually not safe to launch. Typically only one or two pilots were getting off in the lulls and the cycles were far between. Finally the pilot two places in front of me launched. He flew out and started searching. The next pilot launched and joined him. Now they were starting to climb weakly, and the wind was still light on launch. I launched just as the lull was ending. I had to correct aggressively as the glider started to turn, then felt myself get behind the glider as it accelerated off the hill. I got away cleanly, but I wasn’t happy with it. As I entered the thermal under the other two pilots I turned right and looked back to make sure I had enough altitude to safely turn in front of the hill. It looked good, so I continued around. Just as I was headed back at the hill my left wing was hit hard and I found myself banked at 90 degrees and sliding quickly towards the tress below. It happened so fast I don’t even know what I did, but I got the glider level and away from the hill. Now I was much lower than the other two pilots and if I didn’t want to get trapped on the saddle I had to make a move. I decided to go to the west along the low ridge in front of the saddle – this seemed to be where the thermals were feeding from. I was still trying to calm down after my scare, and I wasn’t willing to be overly aggressive. I chose instead to work my way down the ridge hunting while staying within easy reach of the bottom landing. It wasn’t a strategy with high odds of success, since no one else had gotten up there, but I was still just trying to calm down. I saw another pilot ahead of me and lower heading for the bomb-out. I wasn’t having fun and I decided that that was the prudent choice. I followed him, trying to hang out and maintain altitude to give some separation to our landings.

At the bomb-out the wind was so strong I was practically hovering. I didn’t want to get behind the tress downwind of the field, so I just hung in front of the tree line. By the time the other pilot had landed I was still a bit high and had made my way forward a bit into the field, so I decided to make a turn to lose some altitude and drop back a bit. Suddenly the glider was turned downwind and screaming away from the field. There was no way to make it back; now all of my options were downwind. I had to fly slalom style through the trees to a small clearing. I only had a moment to decide that the risk of hitting a tree was too great; I would continue downwind to the next paddock – a large plowed field. I cleared the fence low. Now I was in the clear, but going downwind low and fast. I had to get the glider into the wind somehow. Fortunately the field sloped gradually down to my left, and I started a gentle left turn. I watched my left wingtip, allowing it to just drag across the furrows, kicking up a plume of dust. If I had to, I would dig in with that wingtip and cause the glider to ground-loop into the wind rather than land downwind. Better to tear up the glider than to pile in downwind at this speed. Amazingly I was able to get the glider into the wind, but I was still prone in my harness. I let the bar out a bit, the glider climbed a few feet, I kicked out of my harness, up on the uprights, and a perfect landing into the wind. It was the only thing that went right the entire flight.

Four other pilots had landed in the same field, including Gerolf and Peter. We called Mary-Eve on the radio, only to find out that the basher had broken down and she had no way of getting us. Gerolf had left his glider and was hiking back to launch with his harness. Eventually Mary-Eve called on the radio to say that they were coming to get us in Gerolf’s car. It was about a kilometer walk uphill through plowed fields to the road. We had to make several trips but we got all the gliders and harnesses out by the time Mary-Eve and Gerolf got there.

By the time we got back it had been a very long day for a short and scary flight.

Busman’s Holiday

Yesterday was an interesting day. It was blue in the morning with a forecast for scattered thunderstorms and light east winds. It sounded like it might be a good day. I headed over to Godfrey’s where I found a definite lack of enthusiasm in the group. Eventually, however, we headed up the hill. As we made our way to launch, clouds started forming. These weren’t nice puffy cumulus clouds, but row upon row of smooth lenticulars. Clearly there was some wind aloft and I was sure when it mixed down things would get ugly. I left my glider on the basher and just waited and watched. After a while, nice puffy cumulus did start to form. Hmmm… this didn’t look too bad. A few other hang glider pilots showed up and started to set up. That was all it took to get me going, and soon I was set up too. I still wasn’t feeling super motivated, but I really didn’t want to ride down the hill with my glider – better to fly it down. About this time some of the nice puffy cumulus to the north turned into nice big cumulo-nimbus. That didn’t look too good. I launched, made a few half-hearted turns in the choppy lift and flew out to Godfreys to land. I made a nice approach and a clean fast final in no wind. I waited a bit too long to flare, couldn’t run it out, and WHACK! Damn – that’s the third time this week I flared too late. I’m really not paying attention. After thinking about it some more I realized that I am feeling just a bit burnt out. It was time for a day off.

Today I had a relaxing morning doing errands, making phone calls, and generally taking care of things. Eventually I went out to Godfreys to see Jahn. Jahn and Mary-Eve are a French couple
who are staying at Godfreys for the summer and driving the basher and generally being quite useful. Mary-Eve is a massage therapist, and Jahn is a very good cartoonist. He made some really creative signs promoting Mary-Eve’s business. I am making a casual attempt at selling my glider here so as not to have to take it home. I was going to make some signs to have up during the upcoming comp, but after seeing Jahn’s signs and given the poor quality of my penmanship I decided to ask Jahn if he would make one for me. He was quite enthusiastic about the project, and offered to do it for free, but of course I won’t let him do that. I’m really curious to see what he comes up with.

Naturally since I was already out at Godfrey’s I decided to go up the hill. Everyone had already gone up in the basher, and since I wasn’t flying I decided to see if the van would make it up the hill. It did quite well, only spinning on the steepest, sharpest corner. Successful, but something I will not likely try to repeat. I hung out and watched, helped a few pilots launch, relaxed and visited. It was nice not to be setting up a glider and putting on warm flying clothes in the heat.

After everyone had launched I headed back to the van. I had this eerie feeling that I was being watched. I looked around and was startled to see an Eastern Grey Kangaroo watching me from a few meters away. I didn’t have my camera, and I was sure she would be gone by the time I got it, but she waited patiently and posed nicely for several pictures, proudly displaying the little Joey she had in her pouch. You can find a high resolution picture of them here.

Lesson Learned

After the visit to the bomb-out LZ I was feeling a bit of wear on my confidence. Pedro, Heikki, and I made our way to launch nevertheless. The wind was northwest again, and fairly strong. The forecast was for “moderate to fresh” east later on. We could see clouds forming over the range to the east fairly early, but it was completely blue to the west. Slowly as the day developed the clouds advanced into the valley behind us, but still nothing in front. Because of the wind direction and the lack of clouds in front no one was anxious to launch. Today could easily see more visits to the bomb-out.

I was just about finished setting up when Radek and Susanna showed up. Radek was the only hang glider pilot to not land in the bomb-out yesterday; he flew straight out from the hill and found a weak climb right above us that he took all the way to cloudbase. From there he flew 200km to the southeast – almost to the Hunter Valley. I chatted with him a bit about the flight, and then he invited me to fly with him today. He was planning on trying to fly 300km to Narromine. Susanna would drive for both of us. I was flattered at the invitation, but not feeling all that self-assured after yesterday’s flight. I politely declined due to my lack of confidence, but he insisted that if I didn’t make it the whole way the retrieve was still available. I compromised by setting my radio to their frequency so we could connect once in the air.

I was the first hang glider to launch again today. Conditions looked a lot like yesterday, though the wind was perhaps a bit more west. I was determined not to end up in the bomb-out. I waited longer than I normally would have for a good cycle, then launched and turned right. I was reasonably sure there was a thermal feeding up the spine to the north. Sure enough, it was right where I expected it to be. This time I stayed in it all the way to cloudbase, drifting far back into the valley. Pedro launched shortly after me, and then Heikki followed him a bit later. I started to make my way cross wind to the north. Pedro climbed nicely, and then made a turn to the south. His plan was to just fly locally. Heikki wanted to go XC as it was his last day before heading home, but he was still struggling low. Radek had not launched yet. It was still blue in the direction of Narrowmine, and the wind was quite strong from the west, rather than the predicted east. I didn’t think we would be flying 300km – certainly not in that direction. Though Heikki didn’t have a radio I was pretty sure he would fly north once he got high, and Pedro had offered to come get us if we landed out. The valley had filled nicely with clouds so I decided to try for Bingara and back. It was the same flight I had made just before New Years, but it looked like the best option for the day.

The climbs were reliable but turbulent. I anticipated each thermal with a fair amount of trepidation, and looked forward to the smooth glides in between. In no time at all my arms ached from hanging onto the bar in the choppy lift. I was about half way to Barraba when I decided to see what Radek was up to. I called Susanna on the radio and she reported that Radek had just launched and would also be flying to Bingara and back. She would start on course in case we needed retrieved. Great! It’s always nice to know that the retrieve is taken care of. Now I could focus on the flight. Some of the clouds were getting big, and it looked like there might be rain in the distance. I had just passed under a monster at Barraba when Susanna called on the radio. Radek wanted to know what I thought of the weather. I reported that there were some towering clouds but I wasn’t too worried – yet. I could see one starting to build on course to the north that could stop the flight. By the time I got to the cloud it had grown considerably. Either the shadow from it would have shut off the lift below or, if it had started to auto-convect, the lift from the growing thunderhead could suck me up like a vacuum cleaner. I decided to give myself 1500 feet of margin below the cloud before venturing under it. Sure enough it was sucking, but with a straight fast glide I cleared the far edge before being drawn in, with my vario singing “up” the whole way. I still couldn’t tell if it was raining at Bingara, but there was nothing else threatening looking for a ways to the north so I continued on. By the time I got within sight of Bingara there was a large cloud shadowing the town, but no sign of rain or other overdevelopment. I weighed my options and decided to dive in for the turnpoint and then head for the sunny hills east of town where I had gotten a good climb out on my last flight here. This time the big smooth climb wasn’t waiting for me. There was just broken lift that was drifting quickly to the east. My choices were to follow the lift and possibly end up behind the main range out of easy retrieve, or to work my way along the ridge and hope for something better. It seemed the polite thing was to make things easy for the driver and work my way along the ridge. After dribbling along in this fashion for a while I finally decided it was time to face reality and land. I called in my position just before landing, and then had a nice landing in a big field where I was greeted by a very friendly dog. Just as I was zipping up my glider bag I saw Susanna “zip” past. I called her on the radio and she turned around – the perfect retrieve. Radek was still 16km from Bingara, so we sat and visited for a while to make sure he made the turnpoint. The sky had changed considerably in the last 20 minutes. All of the big clouds had disappeared, and it looked increasingly blue to the south. As Radek made the turnpoint high we headed south to wait for him at Barraba. It looked very blue further south; very reminiscent of my flight in December. Also similar to that flight, Radek found that he was facing an increasing headwind as he made his way south. Fortunately the clouds seemed to cycle back on and he was able to make it back to Godfrey’s, landing after 7pm.

I had given Susanna $50 for the retrieve, but she and Radek had had a discussion on the radio; they concluded that this was too much and that we would use the money to all go to dinner at the Royal Hotel. We made a plan to meet for dinner and after a much needed shower I walked to the Royal where I visited with Pedro and Heikki about their flights until Radek and Susanna arrived. We had a very pleasant meal and I heard some great stories of Radek’s flying adventures, including learning to fly in the Czech Republic with Tomas Suchanek. All in all it was a great day spent with my new friends. My only regret is that they will be leaving in two days, but I’m sure we will be crossing paths again some day.

Experience….

... it gives you the ability to recognize a mistake the second time you make it.

After two crappy, high pressure, windy days we were all looking forward to a change. The forecast was calling for light north winds. North isn’t the best direction here, but light sounded good, and there was even a possibility of clouds, so maybe the inversion had broken.

Naturally this morning the wind was strong and north. I headed out to Godfrey’s anyway, and as expected no one was too excited. Heikki, Pedro, and I decided to go for a drive to check out the Sky Ranch and the sailplane operation over by Lake Keepit. Naturally, as soon as we headed off the clouds started to build and things looked a bit hopeful. After making the rounds we skedaddled back to Godfrey’s and up the hill. It didn’t look too bad, but the strong north cross cycles had most of the paraglider pilots grounded. We set up our hang gliders and I launched first, turning right into a nice climb that had me 800 feet over in no time. I was just getting comfortable, zipping up and settling in. By this time Pedro had launched and was scratching in front. He started to turn in a weak one about the time I was committed to going over the back with my climb. Instead I pushed out front to join him and in no time at all I was flushed into the bailout LZ. Pedro soon joined me, and then we watched Heikki launch, fly straight out, and make a valiant attempt at a climb above the bailout before joining us. Why was this vaguely familiar? Oh yeah, this was basically the same flight I flew at Mystic when I ended up in the bombout. I had the day in the bag right off of launch and I blew it. What are the chances I’ll make that mistake a third time? Stay tuned……

Waltzing Matilda

I’ve been back in Manilla for the last couple of days. Bob and Jill have been here with Eric, a visiting pilot from Aspen. It’s been high pressure and inverted for these two days with a fair amount of wind. Not the best flying days, but the best they’ve had here for the last week or two. Most of us have been flying and happy to get in the air. I haven’t found the motivation to try and go XC since the conditions are marginal and it’s just not worth landing out and having a long retrieve for what would likely be a short flight. I’m feeling a bit lazy as I recall that we would have been happy with these days during the Bogong Cup. That’s one of the best things about XC competition – it motivates you to try and fly the best flight you can for the day. The competition here starts on Sunday, so hopefully we’ll pay our dues with these days this week and have some nice conditions then.

Last night I took my turn cooking dinner for the four of us, and then we retired back to the campsite where Jill brought out her guitar and we attempted some sing-along. I got Jill to play a few Australian folk songs and Bob sang along. It brought back memories of how I had imagined Australia when I first heard these songs as a child. The evening was clear and pleasant. We were serenaded by the corellas, and a marsupial possum came by to visit and look for handouts. All in all it was a pleasant evening spent with good friends.

These are the best of times.

Once a jolly swagman camped by a Billabong
Under the shade of a Coolabah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

Down come a jumbuck to drink at the water hole
Up jumped a swagman and grabbed him in glee
And he sang as he stowed him away in his tucker bag
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me'".

Up rode the Squatter a riding his thoroughbred
Up rode the Trooper - one, two, three
"Where's that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me".

But the swagman he up and jumped in the water hole
Drowning himself by the Coolabah tree,
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

You can find these lyrics some translations of the slang terms here