Newsletter August 2014

22 August 2014

Dear fellow pilot

Spring and Summer are just around the corner.

While the weather man was a little harsh this year, giving us only two competition days and two non-competition flying days in the 2014 Central Districts Gliding Competition, we are being told by those who should know in the weather office, here in Hawkes Bay we can expect a warmer, better summer than last year.

GNZ have given us the Central Districts Championships to be held from Waipukurau Aerodrome from Sunday 15^th to Saturday 21^st February 2015 inclusive with Saturday 14th available as a practice day.

We can again offer great hospitality and if the weatherman is correct, fantastic flying conditions of mainly thermals but also convergences and occasional gentle wave in February.

There are plenty of accommodation choices to suit every pocket from camping on the aerodrome itself to cabins at local camping grounds, motels and hotels etc. Being only 30 minutes from Hastings, there are plenty of options for after hours activities and the other half.

Plan your flying break now in an area with some paddocks larger than airfields if on the odd occasion you have need of one.

Further information is available at http://cdchamps.blogspot.co.nz/ and this will be updated as time progresses. Also watch your e-mails for updates.

So, put the dates of this contest (Sunday 15^th to Saturday 21^st February 2015 inclusive with Saturday 14th available as a practice day) on your calendar and plan for a great fun trip to Hawkes Bay this summer.

 

2015 Central Districts Championships

The dates have been set - Sunday 15th February to Saturday 21st February 2015 inclusive with Saturday 14th February available as a practice day. It is planned that the championships will again be based at Waipukurau Airfield. Mark your calendars now.

Watch this space for further details.

Newsletter March 2014

21 March 2014

Dear fellow pilot

While the weather for the 2014 Central Districts Competition held from the Waipukurau Airfield did not live up to its normal potential with a tropical cyclone causing most of New Zealand to be covered with up to 8/8^th cloud, we did manage to get flying on four days.

Some pilots experienced wave for the first time. While this was not the classic wave we are used to in Hawkes Bay, it was sufficient to enable pilots to get a little taste of what is possible.

The contest team of director Neil Faulknor, weather man, task setter and scorer Graham White, along with the Gliding Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau club member helpers ensured the contest ran smoothly and enjoyably. Already we have had a number of pilots express interest in entering next year. At this very early stage, this is far more interest than we had at the same time last year.

For the first time we had some cash grant sponsorship from both Centralines and the HBS Bank which ensured the contest did not run at a loss. As a small club, this is important as we must target to at least breakeven. We are also grateful to Pask Winery who donated the main daily prizes of 2010 Gimblett Gravels red wine which the lucky daily winners got a thirst to win more of. Waipukurau New World also donated prizes which the contest director gave out for best distance or hard luck stories etc.

Everyone who attended the dinner on the Friday evening agreed the Leopard Hotel meal was great. This, along with the gourmet BBQs held at the airfield, ensured all were well fed. As Trev Terry advised, if you are going to put on a feed, don’t skimp and get the best steaks available and enjoy.

We humbly request all who attended the contest that if you enjoyed the contest, tell your fellow members and suggest they consider the 2015 event. If you have a gripe, don’t tell your members but tell us and allow us to make changes in 2015. We want the contest to be as enjoyable as possible and help promote soaring as a sport.

Following the contest, as is Murphy’s Law, we have had some great flying in Hawkes Bay. A copy of a photo and caption that appeared in this week’s local Hawkes Bay Today newspaper is below.

Until next time, happy and safe soaring.

Up, up and away

Lift up: Photo taken from an ASH25M glider, flown by Jason and Brian Kelly, from approximately 4,500ft heading north towards Hastings. The cloud formation is a convergence caused by the sea breeze hitting the southerly wind with the rising air providing good lift. Photo sent in by Jason Kelly.

Day Seven – Saturday 15th February

The weather played ball today with a RASP forecast for high cloud base and good thermal strengths. It didn't turn out quite as good as the RASP predicted but thermal and convergence distribution was accurate.

An AAT task was set of between 110km minimum and 366km and maximum. The northern turn point allowed for some use of the high country while the southern turn point was out towards the south coast with a good amount of friendly terrain in between. The pilots were given some pointers at briefing about the possible location of convergences and the advice to stay on the hills and off the flat Ruataniwha plains.

The convergences weren’t in the best places for high speeds but by following them later in the day, pilots were able to complete the task. Jason Price and Alaine Marcuse, both in LS4s, were 1st and 2nd for the day in the club class and Graham White and Trev Terry 1st and 2nd in the open class.

Overall, the Open Class was won by Graham White with Trev Terry 2nd. We missed the presence of Tony van Dyk who couldn't fly but hope he'll be back next season eager to make amends. Ross Taylor came third flying Discus PV in his first trip to Hawkes Bay.

Club class was won by Alaine Marcuse from Wellington with Jason Price 2nd and Team Wellington in the 18m DG 1000 3rd. Martin Cook and George Rogers flew the DG with different pilots from the Wellington club and made that glider go pretty well. We couldn't get a trace off Michael O'Donnell's GPS otherwise he would have scored more points.

Vaughan Ruddick and Ross Anderson turned up for the last day and elected to soar the Kaimanawhas and rather than do the task in Manawatu's DG 1000, they were rewarded with a pleasant trip over to Turangi and return, a trip Peter Lyons and Graham White have done many times but which is not suitable for a regionals task.

Gliding Hawkes Bay & Waipukurau club captain Mike Richardson, who has been flying for just over a year, set off before midday in the clubs PW5 and achieved his five hour duration and Silver height gain of 1,000m.

Overall we had four flying days but only two days in the contest due to the unseasonable weather. However, those two days were good and everyone left with a smile on their face including Hugh de Lautour who had to miss the last day to go flying his other toy - an Air NZ 747-400 - some have it tough.

Thanks to the sponsors – Centralines, HBS Bank, Pask Winery, Trev Terry Marine, the support crew on the ground (contest director Neil Faulknor, rope and wing runners, grid master etc) - without all that effort the contest can't function. Thanks also to met man, task setter and scorer Graham White.

The winner of the Trev Terry Marine Yamaha water vehicle free for the day prize was local pilot James Forman.

Scores and task details are available at http://www.soaringspot.com/cd2014/results/open/total/day2.html

We hope to see everyone back next year and some new faces as well.

Day Six – Friday 14th February

Strong winds on the ground today kept everyone tied down on the pickets. While “hurrying up and waiting” to see if conditions improved, various aviation related videos were shown to keep the pilots amused. Flying was abandoned for the day around 1:30pm. The airfield then emptied as everyone went off to find some form of entertainment before the dinner held at the local Leopard Hotel. This was well attended with great food with plenty of ballast added for the predicted strong thermals tomorrow.

Day Five – Thursday 13th February

After a good contest day yesterday, the prognosis was for some wave today. Well, there was some wave but the sky was changing every 5 minutes so we had to declare it a no contest day. Most pilots launched for some local flying. Hugh de Lautour got to 9,500ft twice and James Foreman headed up to Napier to make up for a lousy day yesterday. Team Wellington got into wave in the DG-1000 and was there for some time with a total flight of just under three hours. We hope for better conditions tomorrow but at least we could fly and no rain!

Hugh de Lautour at 9,500 feet in wave. As you can see from the airspeed, he was TRYING to go down!

Day Four – Wednesday 12th February

The forecast was for reasonable conditions but with overdevelopment in areas so we made good use of the convergences around to set an AAT task. The speeds were good for the winners at over 100km/h but it was not an easy day even though it was a short task. As it was, everyone thought we had made the best use of the day possible. There was a bit of difficulty in places and 6-7 knot climbs in others (and that’s off the averager). Everyone was really happy to be flying a contest day at last.

Results are at: http://www.soaringspot.com/cd2014/results/open/daily/day1.html

Another club organised BBQ followed in the evening which all enjoyed.