Canungra Cup 2011 • Wheeling It • Bali 2011 • Race to Lancelin • Launching Paragliders Test flying the new Gradient Freestyle2 Photo: Ted Beck Index Canungra Cup 2011 2 Wheeling It 6 SkySailor Editorial Contributions The contact points for HGFA members sub mitting to SkySailor are the Bali 2011 8 HGFA Editor/Graphic Designer and the HGFA Office. These contacts Race to Lancelin 12 Official publication of the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA) should be used accord ing to the directions below. Pat Finch – A Flying Life 14 The Way It Was 15 The Hang Gliding Federation of Editor/Graphic Designer HGFA Office & Sales Australia is a member of the Suzy Gneist Ph: 03 9336 7155 Exploiting Sunlight 18 Fédération Aéronautique Interna- Ph: 07 5445 7796 Fax: 03 9336 7177 Meeting Dave Sykes in Bali 20 <[email protected]> <[email protected]> tionale (FAI) through the Australian Sky Out Cartoon 21 Sport Aviation Confederation (ASAC). Post to: 57 Alice Dixon Drive, [www.hgfa.asn.au] Flaxton QLD 4560 4a-60 Keilor Park Drive, Summer Snow 22 Credits Keilor Park VIC 3042 Launching Paragliders – Building a Wall 26 Cover: Manilla Gaggle Articles The XCFiles – Thermalling Better 30 Photo: David Olidahl HGFA members should submit articles to the HGFA Editor. Article Design: Gneist Design text is preferred by email to <[email protected]> either as a The XCFiles – Forecasting for Free Flight 32 Editor: Suzy Gneist Word document or plain text file, photos can be sent via post to 57 News, New Products & Safety News 34 Printing: Bluestar Print, Canberra ACT Alice Dixon Drive, Flaxton QLD 4560, either as print copies or high Letters 36 Mailing: Bluestar Print, Canberra ACT resolution JPGs or TIFs on CD/DVD. Photos must be accompanied by full captions and photo grapher names on a separate text file (.txt) Flight Test: Advance Sigma 8 38 Notice to Readers & Contributors on the CD/DVD. 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See subsequently be used in further publications. of the HGFA nor the Editor’s. They are strictly the views of the the Classifieds section at end of this magazine for more details. author/contributor. Copyright in this publication is vested in the HGFA. Copyright HGFA Website Contributions in articles and other contributions is vested in each of the authors/ Please email Club News to <[email protected]> and Comp photographers in respect of their contribution. SkySailor Magazine <[email protected]> News to <[email protected]>. The information is for ward ed to Airwaves Newsletter <[email protected]> SkySailor and the maintainers of the HGFA website. 2 SKYSAILOR December 2011 | January 2012 December 2011 | January 2012 SKYSAILOR 1 Canungra Cup 2011 The 2011-12 Australian National Paragliding Championships opened with the Canungra Cup nyway, when we did fly it was fantastic! The first task was a cracker and the pick of the three flying from 1 to 8 October this year, with 84 pilots in attendance. What an amazing place Canungra days – unstable conditions with a 2200m base (for anyone who hasn’t flown here, that’s a high enough A base to be going places), 6m/s-plus climbs and SE winds that picked up as the day progressed. A 50km is to fly: spectacular views, technical flying across diverse terrain, beautiful air and a really task was set from Beechmont launch (located in a mountain range close to the coast) to a goal at Boonah (out social, fun comp. Unfortunately the weather was somewhat uncooperative – only three taskable in the flatlands). I got off the hill early and had no problems reaching base at 1300m. (This height of base is common at days out of eight, with torrential rain, gale-force winds, thunder and lightning at inconveniently Beechmont and gets higher further back over the mountains and then flatlands.) The lapse rate and thermal regular intervals. Welcome to paragliding in Queensland, where the brown snakes are cranky, strength/height then dropped off as the rest of the gaggle launched and pretty soon the air was thick with 80 gliders all yo-yoing between launch and 1000m, resulting in one mid-air collision. One of the pilots came down ticks and leeches are abundant and knee high boots are standard issue for sensible pilots. under reserve unharmed. We dodged gliders for the next 45 minutes or so and I must have reminded myself 60 times to be patient by Kari Roberson with photos by Andrew Horchner and Hamish Barker as I waited for a good climb to come through. Eventually, the area started to ‘breathe’ again and I climbed out to Photo: Hamish Barker 2 SKYSAILOR December 2011 | January 2012 December 2011 | January 2012 SKYSAILOR 3 for a convergence to carry on meteorology, comp flying, etc. The tasksetting on for any aspiring pilots who are considering entering me to goal. I made for the the days we flew was great and allowed us to make the next legs of the Australian National Paragliding tree-line at the base of the the most of the conditions available. A huge thank you Championship in Nelson (New Zealand, 21 to 28 January ridge and connected with to the comp organisers Gavin Zahner and Dave Gibbs, 2012) or Corryong (Victoria, 18 to 25 February 2012). another climb – 1400m retrieve coordinator Mark Kropp, comp director Linda I understand this year’s Canungra Cup is the first is not a lot of altitude, Hipper, comp SO Phil Hystek, our tireless team of retrieve Serial Class-only competition in the history of Australian particularly flying cross/ drivers, our task committee, our safety committee, our paragliding. Commiserations go to former Open Class headwind, however, climbs protest committee, our fluffers on launch, wind-techs, pilots who missed their hot-ships during the comp. Most were closely spaced, local pilot Martin Havel, who gave us a guided tour of the seem to have ‘built a bridge’, however, and I observed strongish and I was able sites on the first day that was rained out and shared his a number of positives coming out of the Serial Class to stay relatively high and site knowledge so generously, and the Canungra Hotel format. Many pilots seemed to enjoy the levelled playing fly quickly. The stronger for hosting comp HQ. You all contributed to make it a field that Serial Class provided and it was exciting to winds forecast did not terrific comp. have 45 pilots flying the comp on Serial Class gliders, seem to eventuate and I The winners A big ‘thank you’ also goes to Ivan Annissimov, all with the opportunity to win the comp. It was also crossed the valley relatively who coordinated the mentoring program for new comp fantastic to see some new faces (and long-time Serial easily, where I hit another had a great comp to win the ladies – congratulations, pilots in Canungra. The mentor pilots went to incredible Class pilots) on the podium with day wins in tasks 1 and climb that seemed to be Kirsty! Finally, Ashley McMillan took out the Masters lengths to help their new pilots out during the comp, 2. Sports class pilots seemed to enjoyed the challenge triggering from the lee. Class – apparently the fastest growing and most hotly with a pre-brief prior to launch (on task tactics, route and opportunity to keep up with the larger leading The ground had been contested class in the Aussie comp scene. options and how they thought the day would progress) gaggle and the Serial Class format also seemed to spark shaded for a while in all It is a shame that we didn’t have very good weather followed by a de-brief at comp HQ at the end of each renewed interest and a return to comp flying for a directions within a glide to really explore Canungra’s XC potential during the week flyable day (where they went through their crew’s number of pilots, who had previously grown disillusioned and I decided to keep flying of the comp, but it is easy to see that great flights are flights and they talked about the decisions that were with comps during the Open Class era.