Saturday 21 July, by Matthew Minter

We had another great winch day on Saturday the 21st. I was rostered on but had organised two other instructors to assist me, Chris Carr and Vic Hatfield. We had five of the new junior members from my school (St Mary's College Gunnedah) and three students from BAE in Tamworth. We also had two AEF's and Bruce Paulsen wanting to do his out landing training. Harry Medlicott and Christian Linnet were there to fly too. With three instructors, three two seaters, Bob Dircks on the winch and Darion Thom flying the tug we were ready for a very active day at Lake Keepit Soaring Club. 

There was a brief interval of thermal activity early, but then it clouded over. However what really made for a great day was a strong steady breeze straight down the strip allowing Bob Dircks to give us great 2000 foot winch launches from runway 14. Christian Linnet even made it to 2200 feet in his Cirrus.

Most of the juniors had two flights on the winch with me and some of them have had 10 flights altogether now and are flying the take off and landing with assistance. One of the juniors Keegan Ellis, trained two other juniors, Jacky Patrick and Dylan Garnett on driving the retrieve buggy. Altogether they had a great day. Another new junior member from St Mary's School, Eli Crowhurst, brought his girlfriend out and while Eli and I were having a lesson after a great 2000 foot winch launch in the Twin Astir, Vic took his girlfriend on an Air Experience Flight in IUR. Looking down at them flying over the lake, with the breeze creating a spectacular sea of ripples below them, Eli said, "isn't that beautiful!".

Vic was busy with the students from BAE, and Chris flew with Bruce and the AEF's.

Altogether it was a truly fun day with so many new and enthusiastic new junior cadet members.

Thanks especially to Bob Dircks who spent most of his day driving the winch until he was given some relief by Harry and Christian later in the day. 

The next juniors days are August 5th and August 26th. 

Sunday 17 June - by Chris Bowman

A much better day than Saturday.  Light breeze from the South West and scattered Q’s all day.  The temperature rose to about 18̊C.

Chris Carr was Duty Instructor and Juho in the Tug.

Jay Vine, an Air Force Cadet, arrived to fly out his scholarship.  After a check flight with Chris he did an easy 2 hours in the Junior, most of the time in company with a very large eagle.

I turned up with a friend, Wendy Canning, who was keen to experience gliding.  After a check flight in the Grob GFP with Chris I took Wendy for a 40 minute flight towards Manilla.  Some good thermals of 5 knots with cloud base at 5,000ft.

Otherwise a quiet day that slid into one of those exquisite Keepit late afternoons with the warm winter light slowly softening and the Kangas quietly munching on the strip ......

Chris

Monday 11 June 2012

Last day of the four day weekend. The day dawned somewhat grey and very cold. The weather forecast was very pessimistic with showers predicted, but lookout-the-window.com indicated that the weather was OK for winch training and outlanding practice. The showers did not materialise, but it remained cold all day.

Nigel Holmes needed an outlanding check in order to complete his C certificate, so after removing the tailwheel in the Puchatek, inflating it and replacing it, off we went. We used the Puchatek as it is lighter than the Grobs, and the strip at Gaineys is a bit short. Ian towed us over towards Gaineys, and we discussed various paddocks along the way. One of the ones Nigel selected was the one we used to use for outlanding practice, which I thought was a good sign. We landed safely at Gaineys, and were met by the owner who came out in a quad bike to tow us back to the end of the runway, where we were surrounded by children excited to see an aeroplane and a glider.

An uneventful tow back, and opportunity to practice cruising on aerotow.

Meanwhile Allan Buttenshaw was running a winch operation. He flew with Bob Emery, and sent him solo and then with Christian Linnet, and he went solo also. There was a light breeze, but the Twin ll was getting 1800 to 1900 feet on the winch. Communication again proved to be a problem, but this was solved by using UHF radios to do the launch instead of the airband ones.

After a break for a late lunch, we repeated the paddock landing exercise with John McLeod, and were welcomed back by all the children at Gaineys. John had done an outlanding exercise before, but thought it was cheating as that one had been in a huge paddock.

Ian and I did two winch launches together, with Allan Buttenshaw driving the winch under the supervision of Harry Medlicott. Nigel and John McLeod did the retrieving.

During the weekend, we had one GPC signed off, one C certificate achieved, and  nine pilots revalidated on winch flying including several instructors, and six of us refamiliarised with winch driving - so a pretty successful result I think. The next four day weekend (July) will be more of the same.

Jenny

Sunday 10th June 2012

Another good day. After a lengthy briefing on dual ops, we set off to go flying. First we had to rig the Jantar, after it had its belly repaired by Ray Tilley, for which many thanks Ray. Tricky operation as the fuse was upside down, and the repaired radio had to be installed.

John McLeod had refulled and checked the winch. He drove the retrieve buggy along with Wendy Medlicott during the day. Matthew Minter and I did two launches together for Matthew to regain instructing currency on the winch. After doing a solo to consolidate he  flew with Jay and Dave Shorter for them to regaing currency also. I flew with Rod Ferrier and John Stewart in the other Grob 103.

Meanwhile Garry Speight instructed Mike L(not sure of last name) from Hungary  by aerotow in the Twin Astir. Mike then did two solos in the Twin Astir, and later on two more in the Junior. Well done Mike - back into gliding after a break of 50 years!!!

Nigel Holmes was converted into the Jantar by Allan Buttenshaw, and had nearly two hours in it. He said he was very comfortable in it, so it must have been a very good briefing and seat adjusting session by Allan. It's always a challenge to get comfortable in the Jantar!  Nigel finished the flight with a very nice controlled landing, so a successful day for him. Chris Bowman aerotowed in the LS6 again (see OLC for details) while Jay Anderson and Dave Shorter winch launched their JS1s, as did Harry Medlicott. Heights of nearly 8000 ft were mentioned, and cross country flights were achieved. I didn't hear Dave call any 12 knot thermals though.

There were 19 winch launches and about 9 aerotows performed during the day. John Stewart renewed his winch driving currency, then Peter Shiels took over and drove for most of the day. There wasn't much wind, but we were getting 1500 ft 2 up in the two seaters, and about 1800ft on the solo flights.

Rod Ferrier, visiting from Southern Cross, soloed on the winch - he hadn't done it for about 30 years, he said, but he hadn't forgotten much.

As the day wore on, batteries were not at their best, and communications with the winch became difficult, and tempers a little frayed. There was some heated discussion around the dinner table about how to improve the communication between the winch and the wing-man - I hope we will get it sorted.

Anyway a very active and productive day - several personal achievements, and great conditions considering we are approaching the shortest day.

Jenny

Saturday 8th June

Very busy day at the club. The blipmap forecast indicated that the soaring conditions would not be good, but the xc skies forecast indicated that it would be reasonably good for a short time. Nether of them was correct, because it was pretty good for a long time!

A few of us went to Dave Seib's memorial at Manilla, and Jay Anderson took over the running of the day so that I could go. Many thanks for that. Dave was a hang glider pilot who learned to fly sailplanes at Lake Keepit, and I had a bit to do with his training. I remember doing his outlanding checks. He was a natural pilot and progressed through our fleet rapidly. He died sadly in Brazil, at a hang gliding competition.

There were many visitors to fly - John Stewart came out with some friends, Garry Speight had a trainee pilot in his twin astir, Bill Gleeson-Barker was flying with Nicola, one of the airforce cadets, and Matthew Minter had a group of his school students to fly. We ended up not using the winch but there were heaps of flights.

John Hoye came out and flew in LL, which he now has a share in, and ventured north along a cloud street to Upper Horton. Dave Shorter Jay Anderson and Allan Buttenshaw also progressed north along the hills for some way. Wendy Medlicott flew her LS8 - not sure where she went. A visiting pilot from southern cross flew in our LS7, and President Chris Bowman had his first flight in the LS6 which went very well, and he landed nicely on the wheel.

I took a lady up for an air experience flight for her birthday - we were able to climb to 5000 ft before  I left the thermal to allow her to do the flying. She got her full 30minutes, and had a great time.

Fantastic day for the middle of winter - though it was cold in the morning and evening. The was much talk about the minor earthquake we experienced the night before, but the only damage we heard of was the death of an ornament in the Matthew Minter household.

Jenny

Friday 8 June

1st day of our 4 day weekend with the stated goals of winch currency, and GPC attainment. After a weather briefing by Ian, we spoke a little about the content of the GPC syllabus - most of the people present were sufficiently experienced to have covered all the items - they just need to fill in the form and put it before the training panel for ratification before sending off the the GFA with a photograph and $20. We discussed a few items that we thought may get missed in the normal course of training - for example steep turns and side-slipping, and a little about radio procedures.

Present were Harry and Wendy Medlicott, Garry Speight, John McLeod, Bob Emery, Dave Shorter Greg Nelson, Peter Shiels and later on Jay Anderson. Before getting the winch and gliders ready, we discussed how pilots launching would communicate with the winch if they wanted increased power, and settled on "Slower" if we wanted the winch driver to reduce power, and "more speed" if we wanted the driver to give more power.

In the event, I don't think anybody said anything while on the launch!!

As it was some time since I had driven the winch, I did that during the morning, with some guidance from Harry for the first one. I was relieved in the afternoon by John McLeod.

Garry flew with Greg Nelson and Bob Emery on the winch, John McLeod flew the Junior and soared for a time, and Wendy and Harry Medlicott both launched and got away - I heard talk of 6 knot thermals to 6000 ft!

Jay Anderson and Dave Shorter both launched their JS1s behind the tug, and had good soaring flights. We had one air experience passenger who took a winch launch with Garry.

Peter Shiels in the Junior was launched by John McLeod on the winch, and got 2000ft - probably the highest launch for the day, but most were getting at least 1500.

I wanted to get current myself, and took a launch with Bob Emery in the Grob 103 - we found some reasonable lift even though the sky had clouded over and soared for about half an hour. I then took the last launch solo in the Grob - first time I have flown it from the front seat for ages.

Winch Drivers view of the sky

A surprisingly good day's soaring, and winch launch day. Though out the day the winch was more often waiting for a glider to be ready rather than a glider waiting for the winch rope - but we could be more efficient if we practised more!

Maintenance Week - David Bull

Dear Members,

Our Annual Maintenance week is scheduled from Monday 20th August to Friday 25th August. As has been the practice in the past, the aim of the week is to carry out the Annual Form 2 Inspections and complete all necessary documentation on the Club Aircraft. Could you please note these dates in your calendar.

Depending on the number of volunteers we have for the week we would also like to carry out Form 2 Inspections on participants private gliders.

I plan to follow the format established by John Trezise, which proved to be very successful and organise participants into Teams and allocated Tasks.

The week not only provides the opportunity for participants to acquire a better working knowledge of aircraft, it is a tremendous help to the club and your chance to contribute and enjoy some good camaraderie. By members carrying out this work we save a significant amount of money, which in turn will help to keep our club in a sound financial position.

At this point I am looking for volunteers which will include qualified Form 2 Inspectors, persons qualified in Replacement of Components and any club member wishing to help and be part of a team. Please email me if you can help.    davidannb "at" bigpond.com

The following members, as far as I am aware, are qualified to carry out Annual Inspections (Form2): David Bull, John Clark, Bob Dirks, Graham Holland, Jenny Ganderton, Laurie Murray, Garry Speight & Ray Tilley. If I have missed anyone please let me know. We are a bit thin on numbers in this department....  

Again, I request your assistance in this very important task, so please make a note in your calendar and make arrangements for accommodation. Lunch and Dinner will be provided for all participants during the week at a small charge.

20 May- more work!

The day started with Sam Clift flying in in his comanche just after first light, and leaping out of the plane and on to the back hoe to continue working on the mound with Tim Carr. Sam flew out again at about lunch time - all he did was work!! Chris Bowman did the working bee briefing at about 9 am and Matthew Minter did a flying briefing afterwards.

Whilst work continued apace, some flying had to be fitted in. Greg Nelson flew a couple of times with Matthew and then went solo in the Grob - I thought it was his first solo in that glider and was heaping congratulations upon him, but it turned out it was his third so no congratulations were in order at all. After the flight he rushed off to move surplus stuff away from the airfield with his crane!

Peter Kemp had a flight with Matthew too, and then Harry Medlicott and a friend flew together in the Grob.

After a break for lunch, Chris Bowman flew the LS7, David Bull his Discus, Nigel Holmes the Junior and Matthew Minter the new Discus 2 NSO. Nigel Holmes had a great flight getting to 6500 ft - his comment - better weather than summer! The weather was blue, but the thermals were quite good for a short period of the day.

While I was up flying the tug, others continued with the tug hangar tidying, and John McLeod has moved the bench into the tool room, so that we will no longer have sparks from the grinder potentially damaging aeroplanes. I still reckon there is more stuff to throw out, but we have certainly broken the back of it, and all the bins are full. You can see the walls of the hangar, and it appears much bigger now.

David Bull changed the microphone in the Junior yet again ( the new one from Macca didn't work), installed a downpipe from the new club house guttering to the rainwater tank, and got the faulty electric motor out of the evaporative air conditioner in the flight centre.  Ray Tilley continued work on the Jantar. The glass needs to cure for three days or so before it can be painted. Another group set to work on the tie down area, and Tim drove the back hoe all day, rearranging the mound in preparation for a shade shelter  at the southern end of the runway.
Todd did work on the tie down area taps and other plumbing, and also shovelled dirt in to low parts of "his" grassed area. I think there was more wood collecting done too.

The working bee has been a great success, and the club looks heaps better now. Thanks to all who volunteered their labour. Many went home today, but those of us who are still here enjoyed another of Ann Bull's great meals this evening.

Jenny

19th May - Working Bee

All the workers and the visitors assembled for a briefing on jobs to be done, and then got stuck into it.

The mound is in the process of being removed, the machinery shed has been cleared out, and the tug hangar emptied so that it could be given a good clean out. What a load of junk we had!!!!

We have tried as much as possible to move non aviation related stuff out of the tug hangar, so if you want 2 stroke oil, tractor oil, vehicle engine oil etc, you will find it in the machinery shed. The tool room has been cleaned and tidied, and all punctured tubes in the tyre cupboard thrown out! Its amazing how much bigger the tug hangar looks. There is still more work to be done on this.

Allan Monroe, Peter Kemp, Chris Bowman, Vic Hatfield did a lot of the clearing out of the machinery shed - which was a big task. Also there was significant wood getting for the fireplace. Sorry if I missed anyone - there was so much going on I couldn't see it all.

Other jobs of note done was the complete replacement of the guttering on the club house by Christian Linnet - sincere thanks for this. Ray Tillley has been repairing the underside of the Jantar, and Jay, Sam and others have been repairing the hangar door where the Junior lives - the hinges were all but cracked off and it was in a dangerous state.

David Bull was up on the flight centre roof cleaning out gutters, and the air-conditioner has been cleaned up too. Justin Smith was seen doctoring that!

Geoff Sim repaired the electric fence at runway 14 end yesterday, and removed a lot of rubbish from around the place. John McLeod did lots of jobs, including repairing tow ropes, helping with guttering, sawing wood, going to the tip and washing up!

Ann Bull supplied morning tea and lunch for the workers, and a great dinner at the end of the day.

Although the intention was to do lots of work around the place, there was some flying done as well. There was a window of opportunity in the middle of the day when the soaring conditions were quite good, and apparently 6500ft was on offer. We had a number of passenger flights to do, and our two visitors Tony and Andy wanted to fly - after doing a good stint at working bee jobs in the morning. Since there was no rostered tuggie, Jay Anderson or I had to tow or fly passengers - I elected to tow being to dirty and grubby to associate with passengers! Jay did two passenger flights in IUR and Tim Carr took Bob and Sue Kiprovitch up in the Duo Discus. Bob is surveying out site for us.

In addition to the AEF flights, Andy McCallum managed a second one hour soaring flight in the Junior, plus another solo flight to achieve his C certificate. Well done Andy. He is a member of Darling Downs Soaring Club, but we are trying to twist his arm to fly with us too. He lives only 2 hours by Jabiru away.

A huge day, finished off with a great meal and great company, as usual.

Jenny

Friday 18 May

Another sunny stable day. Only three people flew, five if you count the tuggie and I, the rest busying themselves with work around the club. People are arriving for the working bee.

Andy McCullum notched up another few flights towards his C certificate, having achieved his B certificate. Geoff Neely (towing) and I drove out to Gainey's airstrip to assess it for use for out-landing practice. The owner said it needed slashing, and that he had planned to do it soon anyway, and that he would have it done for us by about 3 pm. How great is that?

We were able to do the out-landing exercise in the afternoon, and all went well.

John McCloud took a break from gutter cleaning duty, and took off in his Cirrus IUZ. He was able to stay up for over an hour. Better and more adventurous pilot that those of us that flew, may have been able to venture away from the field, but I think it would have been slow progress.

David Bull went into Tamworth to visit Bearfast for the first time - and then understood why we all think it is such a great shop. He only just restrained himself from buying more tools!!

Ann Bull cooked dinner for all the troops - the number swelled from 9 to 17, but she just coped! Another great social evening at the club.

Last day in charge - Jenny

Thursday 17 May

Another sunny but rather stable day. The weather forecast indicated similar conditions to yesterday, but today there were tantalising cumulus clouds over to the north east, but out of our reach.

We set a duration task - with a bottle of wine for the longest flight. Even with this inducement, some at the club could not be persuaded to take to the air, preferring instead to clean gutters, collect firewood and repair radios and flarms in gliders! We appreciate their work!

For those that did fly, The longest duration was achieved by Geoff Neely in the "new" discus 2 NSO with 1 hour and 52 minutes. He did not however venture far from the airfield. Second place was taken by Tony Edge with a flight of 51 minutes in the junior late in the afternoon, and third Geoff Sim and Ian Barraclough with  44 minutes in the ASH 25, and fourth Alan Monroe with 40 minutes also in the Junior. Fun to see the interest in the flight sheet times at the end of the day. I'm sure scratching is good for you!

Andy McCullum polished off his solo flights to attain his B certificate, but couldn't quite crack the 1 hour mark needed for one of the the C certificate requirements - and neither could anyone else except Geoff Neely!

Juho had to go in the afternoon, so I did the last two tows myself - nice to stay in practice.

The Std Jantar is out of the air for a day or two, as Ray Tilley is repairing the damage to the underside of the fuselage done some time previously probably due to a wheels up landing by the look of it. Thanks very much to Ray.

Another convivial evening in the club house followed thanks to the culinary expertise of Marga Tilley and Ann Bull.

16th May

The weather continues to be stable high pressure - warm and sunny but with challenging soaring conditions. There are a few more in residence today with John McLeod, David and Ann Bull and Ian Barraclough arriving last night and Alan Monroe this morning. We had maintenance issue with the Tug, which Juho was able to fix thanks to the spare we have on hand, and the tug was ready to fly before the glider pilots were.

The task for the day was definitely duration !

The ASH25M ( or the two post-coder as it is now known) definitely won the day with over two hours, and they only started the iron thermal once after launching. Next was probably Andy McCullum with a flight of about 50 minutes late in the day. Any is racking up the solo flights to get his B certificate, and now only needs one more. He has been practising aspects of the syllabus in the process, side-slipping, flying level on aerotow and so on. He has not managed a one hour soaring flight yet. Tony Edge had another flight in the Jantar, and reported being more relaxed and comfortable than yesterday. Alan Monroe had a short flight in the Junior while Andy had some lunch, but was too tired after his drive from Sydney to fly again.

David Bull and John McLeod elected not to fly, and spent the day on the club hangar roof cleaning out gutters - Thanks guys, your work is appreciated.

Monday 14th May (Jenny Ganderton)

First day standing in for Ian - and another beautiful Keepit day. We have two visitors, Tony Edge from South Australia, and Andy McCallum from Toowoomba.

Tony has come to do some cross country training, but unfortunately today was not a day for cross country - the thermals only went to aerotow height!! Here's hoping we get more unstable conditions later in the week.

Andy McCallum is a Jabiru pilot with about 600 hours who started gliding at Darling Downs. Predictably he is not having much of a problem flying gliders (his Jabiru has been a glider once!!) Today he flew the Junior - first flight in a single seater. Well done Andy! We are hoping he will have his B and C certificates by the end of the week - the A is already in the bag!

TUAM LKSC by Allan Buttenshaw

Hello All,

From the desk;

                Week one saw Jenny and I repair the Clubhouse broken window and sash cords, all works well now.

(Allan puttying the window)

                The new seals were fitted to IUR’s canopies and they are now “settling in”.

I managed to transfer bulk fuel in tanks with Ian before he left then took delivery of PULP and have some 2400 liters of mix for the tug.

Avgas has been delivered too!

During the week of no bookings 19 flights were made over 2 days.

Saturday the club 2^nd Grob, GFP was rigged with help from Dave Shorter, Vic Hatfield (Duty Instructor) and others, it then flew several AEFs on the day.

Sunday was a reasonable day, notable achievement was a first solo in the Junior by Jay Vine, a promising junior cadet member, of note, his father, an instructor at BAE, is interested in flying the tug!

I have done some watering on the grass area and attended to a minor disaster with the plumbing that needed a “Technical tap” to relieve a stuck switch.

All in all a rewarding week, some aspects of Saturday's flying will be reported on by the CFI,

Plans for this week are; 50 hourly on Junior and relocating club Jantar to Garry Ransby’s hangar and fitting of GFP with GKD into the centre club hangar. GKD will go into the back I hope, it has only a few hours to it’s next 100 hourly!

Regards,

Allbutts.

Anzac Day by Jenny Ganderton

Despite the public holiday, Ian carried on as usual, there being no club instructor to relieve him! We had two trainees today, Bill, who flew yesterday as well, and Jim, who "hadn't flown for ages" but who after more severe interrogation admitted to being a Jet pilot.

Bill works for the ABC, and had a camera on his head, videoing his lessons. Ian says under no circumstances to tell John Clark about this! So don't tell him.

The weather was sunny with good cumulus, but rather a brisk westerly wind, and not particularly warm. The thermals had a habit of getting in the way of Ian's lessons on circuits. Both Bill and Jim had soaring flights, and we all brushed up on our cross wind landings.

The only club member who came out to fly was Bob Emery, but he didn't stay long.

There were people camped at the end of the runway by the lake - I wonder if they like airport noise?

12 launches today, a good day's towing and soaring. I am going home tomorrow, and Juho will be towing. Looks like being a good day with less wind than today.

Jenny

Endlich kommt der gross tag!

HA

Forgive me for the espelling. I am in Atlanta Georgia and lost control of my spell czecher. 

Here are some important pictures of the Big Event featuring Trevor "the Gimp" West, Bob "how do yo like my new plane" Dirks and a cast of thousands including the happy couple… one of whom claimed to be starting a long task  (500 km declared triangle).

Note the great lack of reserve in snogging by the happy couple. The happy single was definitely Bob D with his plane. Regrettably the wings did not get eaten.

JC

24th April by Jenny Ganderton

Continuous rain on Monday, but cleared up today. I stayed around to fly the tug for a few days as we have some trainees this week. Juho Rossi is back and will be towing on Thursday and Friday, and during May while Ian and Joy are away.

Interesting conditions this morning - low cloud with some holes up through it.

Got better and better as the day went on, and we managed 8 training flights, and it was soarable in the the middle of the day. Many kangaroos on the runway in the afternoon put a stop to the activies at about 4 pm.

Tomorrow looks as if it will be a good day, and the weather is improving again.

22nd April

Many felt a bit rough in the morning, and the weather was rather overcast so there was no mad rush to go gliding. John Stewart came out to fly, and brought some friends along for a ride in IUR as well.

After listening to Geoff Sim praise the JS1 yesterday, I was lucky enough to be offered a flight in it. To my surprise I was able to stay up for about an hour, the glider is brilliant, and now I want one!! I think its quite the nicest glider I have ever flown, and feels as responsive as a 15m glider, and not to heavy to ground handle either. Now what toys can I sell .......

21st April - by Jenny Ganderton

The BIG DAY!!!!!!
Loads of people at the club as you can imagine, but since the ceremony was not until 5 pm, many of us risked a flight, but nobody dared to land out. We chose a short 2hr task Mullaley 30km, Baan Baa 30 km and Manilla 20 km - similar to the day before.

The soaring conditions were just about the best this year, with total climb averages of about 8 kts and peak vario readings in the order of 13 or 14. Dave Shorter once again averaged 12 kts! He hasn't posted his flight on OLC so there's no way of checking. Geoff Sim flew Todds JS1, I flew the Mosquito, Bob Emery and Chris Bowman in turn flew the LS7, Dave Bull and Matthew Atkinson in Discus 2s, Ian McPhee and Nick Singer in Grob 103 LL, John Clark in his DG808, John McLeod in Cirrus IUZ. Probably others I can't remember,

Cloudbase around 7000ft, and strong predictable thermals under perfect cumulus.

Those of us who attempted the task got round OK and landed back at about 3.00 pm, which gave time to put gliders away and get showered and changed for the wedding.

I have never seen the glider dags at Lake Keepit look so smart. The ceremony was held at the 14 end of the runway, with a view across the Lake, the weather was perfect. The bride arrived in Cessna 180 PDK (Ian and Joy's aeroplane) beautifully taxied by John Wakefield. It was really beautiful, Ian and Joy looked so happy, and as the sun set, the kangaroos came out to watch us celebrate with champagne and nibblies on the runway.

The fun continued in a Marquee in front of the club house, with a whole pig spit roasted all day by Bob Dircks, and a brilliant band.

An absolutely fantastic gliding day, followed by a simply perfect wedding celebration.

20th April - by Jenny Ganderton

Lots of people turned up at the club, in the run up to Ian's Wedding. The forecast looked reasonable, and a task was set - AAT Tambar Springs 40 km Baan Baa 30 Km and Manilla 20 km. I flew the tug again, but  Ian jumped in for the last couple of launches, and I was able to jump into the back of the ASH 25 with Geoff Sim. There was quite a lot of overcast on the first leg of the task, and it was a matter of chasing the sunny spots. The ASH goes a long way before you need to worry about taking a thermal, however we did get down to 3000 ft QNH at one point. We clipped the Tambar Springs circle and headed for Baan Baa. We could hear Dave Shorter boasting about 10 knot themals ahead of us. The conditions improved as the day went on - the threatened overdevelopment cleared up, and the cumulus was good.

I found the ASH climbs a lot better with Geoff flying it. We calculated that it would take 10 minutes to get back to Keepit from Manilla flying at 90kts, but since we flew at 120kts, we got back a bit early.

There was one outlanding at Kennedy's airstrip at Gunnedah, and Ian did the aerotow retrieve. All the wedding plans were going smoothly, and his family arrived and got settled in.

Thursday 19th April 2011 By Jenny Ganderton

Another day in paradise at Lake Keepit. Weather forecast looked good but with the liklihood of overdevelopment later on. However this did not happen, and it was a great day with cumulus all over the sky.Should have taken a few pics just to make you jealous. I flew the Tug again, but only two launches. Allan Munro took to the air in the delightful Junior and flew until the seating became uncomfortable. He tried out the new Collibri 11 logger and took one of the spots with him. Matthew Atkinson flew later on at about 1300, and didn''t come back until four o'clock. Both have posted their flights on OLC. Matthew appears to have gone to the vicinity of Narrabri, and had a fairly low save there - as you do.

John McLeod and Dave Bull busied themselves about the club instead of flying. IUR has now had all the sticky tape residue removed from the wings, rudder and tailplane, had its balls measured L'hotelliers that is) and been retaped. It looks particularly spiffy at the moment.

More of the same tomorrow no doubt.

Regards
Jenny

Wednesday 18th April 2012 - By Jenny Ganderton

Arrived yesterday in JGP (Jenny Ganderton's Plane) in drizzle. It was nice and sunny in Cowra when I left. However my purpose was to get my car and trailer "pink slipped" and I achieved that. Wasn't expecting to fly today, thinking the drizzle would persist, but actually it turned out to be quite a nice day.

Ian asked if I would tow, and since I hadn't flown the tug for some time, I jumped at the chance. I seem to remember how to do it fortunately.

After a check flight in IUR, Allan Munro flew the Junior for an hour and a half. Then I launched Matthew Atkinson in Discus at about 12.30 He flew for 3 and a quarter hours and went over to the edge of the Pillager Scrub somewhere. Hopefully he'll post his flight on the OLC tomorrow, and we'll be able to see. He said the cloudbase was about 5500 ft, and he had a couple of low saves, but he got back OK.

After he landed, the sky went very black, and there was some rain.

The forecast is for showers again for the rest of the week - could mean lots of good lift and cumulus - you've got to be optimistic!

Enjoyed flying the tug again!!
Jenny

Wave Bars at Keepit - by Dave Shorter

Briefing this morning (Monday) took place under a solid cover of cloud, with predictions for clearing and blue. Temperature markedly lower at 24 and winds from the west getting progressively stronger with height.

 “H’mmm” I said to my wife in a quiet voice, “could be wave about” and thought no more about it.

Everyone looking decidedly unenthusiastic, our NZ visitor organising a game of golf, I decided to accompany my wife shopping in Gunnedah. On the way out through the boom gate I noticed signs of wave clouds in the far East over Tamworth on the edge of the receding cloud bank. But too far off to be of interest, and all was turning blue overhead. Good decision to go to Gunnedah!

Then, driving back from Gunnedah we started noticing ahead bands of wave clouds receding away from us, arrayed every 5-10 km in each direction from NW to East. I’ve never seen anything like it – often lenticular wave clouds will show with secondary/tertiary bars of cloud downwind from the source, but this display seemed continuous, repeated wave bars going forever. And where was the source of the waves? It was obviously not the Kelvins.

Back at the club I dashed to the hangar and towed out to have a launch. Jay Anderson was just taking off and Bob Emery lined up in the LS7. No other gliders anywhere. The wave clouds were still there although rapidly diminishing – instead of long bars of cloud stretching off to the NE they were now each maybe a kilometre long, and nowhere near as thick. But still looked very promising. Jay took a long tow across towards the Manilla range and contacted lift at around 3500-4000ft. Bob and I followed suit.

By the time I arrived at that cloud it had stopped working and I flew on to the next cloud, found lift and started climbing. This was at a point just off the Manilla Range, somewhere over Gaineys. Bob joined me below and we worked that cloud, beating back and forth in front of the cloud until we were up at 8000ft and looking down at the most beautiful sight below. The top of the lenticulars was around 6000ft, and they appeared to be triggering off the Kaputar range, with regular wave bars coming all the way from Kaputar, and extending as far as the eye you tell in the opposite direction towards Tamworth. Lift in the smooth laminar flow air was up to 4knots.

After reaching what appeared to be the maximum we could achieve in front of that cloud, around 8200ft, we jumped forward to the next cloud and floated around in front of that one, while watching the system evaporate.

Pity we didn’t get up an hour earlier – it would have been superb then, although I would have to say it was just a magic experience as it was.

By now it was all reverting to blue, and I decided to push upwind to see what I could find. After a few Kms of horrendous sink I contacted another wave, now completely blue running across the range at the Bora hangies’ launch point. Beating back and forth there I regained another 1000ft in 3½ - 4 knts, using the “snail-trail” on  my LXNav display to find the strongest lift each beat. But that too eventually faded. But we’d had over an hour’s thrilling experience flying above the cotton wool.

PS The tell tale info at briefing was the wind forecast – 2000/20, 5000/25, 7000/30, 10000/35. A stable atmosphere (blue conditions to the west) with increasing wind are the pre-existing conditions required for wave.

Dave

Easter at LKSC

The weather has been great so far, with quite a few exceptional flights. Attila almost gained his Cirrus night rating arriving back from Gilgandra on Wednesday after sunset (but before last light). Some today (Good Friday) flew to Moree and back but the verdict was that it was "challenging" at times. Beautiful warm sunny weather anyway.

The committee and office-bearers were locked up in the "Summit" planning meeting for two days, trying to map out a plan for the future of the club, and absorbing the results of the member survey. Thanks to all that participated. The results are to be posted on the club website (members section) for all to peruse once we have figured out how to do it.

I had to get my feet off the ground on such a nice day, so went for a little fly in my pink aeroplane with John McLeod after we were let out.

Don't have much more to add, as was locked up in doors all day.
Jenny

Week Sun 25th to Sat 31st March - By Chris Bowman

What a fantastic week!

Firstly, the weather has been fabulous; almost the best of the year.  Early in the week we woke to mornings that looked less than promising - grey skies and high clouds.  But by midday the sky cleared and the cumulus started to develop nicely.  Then each day the afternoons just got better and better with the result that tasks have been almost without exception under set.  By late in the day it has been common to achieve climbs to 8,000 ft.

And we have been busy!

 Firstly we have hosted a visit by 9 members of the Jakarta Soaring Club led by Bob Gondohusodo, the President.  Most of the team were visiting to achieve their distance tasks for the Silver C.  In Java they have no trouble doing their 5 hours and 1,000m climbs, but the 50km task is a bit challenging because of the dearth of outlanding opportunities.  The average landholding is a bank bound rice paddy of about ¼ acre.  Try getting a glider into that without making a terrible mess of it! 

On hand to show the team of 7 pilots the ropes was Ian Downes, Allan Buttenshaw and Gary Speight.  They had a full on job doing thorough check flights and showing the team our geography and environment.  And what a team it was; all young, including 4 girls and 3 boys ranging in age from 13 to 38.  If only we could have the same strength in young members in our Club.

Nearly all were good English speakers so communications were easy once colloquialisms had been purged.  No “rigi-diges” or “shell-be-right mates” were allowed and John Clark with his “munga” and “wobla” (does anybody know what these words mean?) was banned for the week!

Taqwa, the most experienced member of the team who had 600 hours, easily did a 200kms on his third day in the LS7, beating Chris Bowman home by a comfortable margin.  He received a Club Polo for winning the first annual JSC/LKSC Grand Prix.

Jan Dircks excelled herself by putting on her first ever Indonesian meals on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  After the visitors had passed the food as authentic on Tuesday the entire Club joined them for Wednesdays feast and voted the menu a huge success.  You can expect Rendang and Satay to feature regularly on Jan’s menus from now on along with lots of rice.  And the State Park Kiosk now does a great Nasi Goreng for breakfast – fried rice, sausage and chicken topped by a fried egg and sprinkled with Sambal Olek and Kechap Manis. It did take some time for this cultural transfer to be achieved! 

 Keen to sample true Australian hospitality the team demanded a BBQ on Saturday night which was voted a huge success by the 40 people who attended.

To cap the Indonesian visit, on the weekend the team was joined by Mr Yudi Suyoto, Executive Chairman of KONI, the Indonesian National Sports Committee, and his family.  KONI coordinates all sport in Indonesia and sponsored the visit. 

And then running in conjunction with this has been the Steve Hedley 20m Grand Prix which commenced on Monday.  Six aircraft participates, the ASHs of Brad Edwards, Geoff Sim and Paul Mander, the Nimbuses of Steve Hedley and Shinzo and the Club Duo with Nick Singer at the controls.

Every day was a great success with each including exciting finishes.  What a great racing format the Grand Prix is.  It makes you look forward to our Qualifying Grand Prix in November.  If we get a good rollup it should be fantastic.

And congratulations to Steve Hedley for coming up with the idea, promoting the event and organising it so well.  A great member’s initiative.  There should be more.   

LKSC Weekend Happenings - by Tim Carr

Last weekend was a tale of two halves!

Saturday dawned with light rain and a frontal system approaching from the west, ensuring no gliders took to the air. Not to despair, the resilient crew set about assisting in the preparation of the club for the Australian Uvalde Team squad week.

On site were Rob De Jarlais, Chris Bowman, Lee Braithwaite, Luke and our new junior member Oliver (AAFC cadet) from Armidale, and myself. The team pulled out and tested the fire fighting equipment, which is always good to check when it’s raining! I doubt that the gear has been tested since I performed the same test 18 months ago, and it was pleasing to see that the pump started on its first pull. The trailer the tank sits on has not faired so well, and the hitch has come loose. This is now on the list for the working bee in May. I also note for future reference, that the tank should be left full of water, as should there be a fire, an empty fire tank is not of much use. It takes 10 minutes to fill!

 

After putting out a few fires in the quadrangle, the team turned to repairs on the slasher. One of the spindles had vibrated its bolts loose and new ones were installed. Luke did the honours of getting under the slasher to install the new bolts and Oliver did the duties on the top side. Luke did not appreciate me hitting the slasher with a sledge hammer while he was under it - hehehe. Don’t know why.......

Later in the day, the clouds parted and the team took to mowing the tie down area and cutting the rest of the shoulder high grass in the triangle. Thanks to all who assisted! The club is looking an absolute picture!

Oliver, I hope to see you back soon so you can actually get into the air, rather than doing low passes on the ride on mower. Thanks for your help.

Sunday morning offered up a clear sky and some improving gliding conditions. Garry was on duty, but with no pilots requiring his services, so he headed off in the LS6 JUS. Chris Bowman flew the 7, Lee the 6, Peter the cirrus, and I test flew the Nimbus following its form 2 (Thanks Bob – the test flight went well!). Christian turned up with an old friend Stu Welsby and they disappeared for a few hours in LL. Several of the squad week participants arrived and also flew.

The call of the day was Craig Collings, inbound from the north. From 5000 feet above the lake, I watched Craig, Chris Bowman and Andrew Georgson head for the club, in line abreast formation. They all called 20km from the north heading for home into a 20 knot southerly with 1700 feet agl (thankfully Chris was 500 foot higher). The call that came approx abeam the Sport and Rec from Craig was “I think I am low on energy” 4km to go across the lake into a 20knot breeze at about 400 feet (my guess). My thermalling technique became a bit lop sided as I watched the trio tease their gliders over the fence at the bottom of 14 without anything to spare. Fortunately Luke had mowed the emergency strip at the bottom of the strip that morning, and I think the lack of resistance from the long grass on the bottom of the gliders helped ensure they made it home.

Everyone did make it home, and by the time I rolled WP into the shed, there were about 10 gun ships (as opposed to gunships!) being rigged in the tie down area ready for the squad week. I look forward to the tails of the guns during the week???

See you next time.

Tim

Friday 02 Mar '12

Harry Potts, our perennial pom, seen here in his favorite seat outside the LS 7.

It was Harry's last week this week and we thank him for all the great work 

he has done around the place - thanks mate !  

On Tuesday we got together for Harry's last supper for the season before he

departed on Wed for LA . 

During the Regatta, Jonny Durand, 10 times Aust Hang gliding champ, talked at the Saturday

briefing about his experiances. It's amazing the mind set similarities between us and the "hangies" ...

...and then earlier this week (under the expert tutelage of G Speight) he went solo along with Neva Bull, another hangie mate of one J Ganderton ...

...followed by a conversion to the Junior. 

Junior in the Junior

Last night was the last night for Dave and Ann Bull.

Between the two of them they made last weeks regatta the huge success it was.

Ann led the KP and Dave the organisation - both to much acclaim.

See you both back soon.

Another "hangie" Christof Kratzner had a couple of 6 hr flights in the LS 7

and to round off the week, Andrew Cameron (son of Ron ) soloed in the Junior.

Keepit Regatta - Last Day

Unfortunately the last day was grey and overcast - we had a Q & A talk with Jonny Durand, the Australian National Hang Gliding Champion, for the past 10 years. He is learning to fly sailplanes at Lake Keepit after the Hang Gliding State Titles at Mt Borah have finished.

After some thought a run task was set - 1.5 hours.

I looked at the weather and decided that if I didn't fly home to Cowra on Saturday, I probably wouldn't be able to make it for several more days, so unfortunately I missed the wind up dinner at the Dircks'. Someone else will have to blogg that.

Some gliders launched and did manage to soar, but I don't think anyone made it around the task. I flew with Nick Singer in his and Wendy Medlicott's Jabiru, as he needed a BFR - after which I packed up and flew home. There were a few showers to dodge, and a big patch of rain near Dubbo that I was able to avoid - but blue and sunny back home.

Despite the somewhat less than ideal weather, the Regatta was a great event - and everyone had a good time, and put on kilos owing to the good food. Eating together in the evenings and having a good yarn about the day made it very enjoyable. And we all learned from the experience.

I think Todd Clark and Matthew Atkinson won - they certainly did a good job of staying together.

Signing Off
Jenny

Keepit Regatta Friday 24 Feb

The task set was an AAT Quirindi 30 Baan Baa 40 Manilla 10 LKSC.

The day was slow to get going. Nick Singer in his self launching Pik 20E was first to take off as a "sniffer". Harry Medlicott went next with his Ventus 2CXT. They struggled for quite a while, but once they got a few consistent climbs, the rest of the field was launched. I was lucky enough to go first, and straight into a good thermal, with no-one to share it with.

However it wasn't all plain sailing, and quite a few of the "followers" bombed out. Some took a relight, and some didn't. I was allocated a different follower today - Ben Brooks in Jantar IZV, but before I had a chance to lure him into an outlanding, he landed back at the field and elected not to attempt the task. He did have a three hour local flight later on. My mate Bob Dircks was left on his own today, but sadly was one of the ones who didn't start.

Conditions got better as the day went on, with climbs to 7000 ft, but it was mostly blue. There were a few bits of cumulus later in the day to the north of the area.  Dave Shorter deposited his follower Phil Anderton as Kennedy's airstrip, but Phil was able to get an aerotow home from there. Gaineys airstrip was a popular stopping place too - that last Manilla turn caught a few people out.

John Trezise following Ian Mc Phee and Wendy Medlicott in LL had a very good day, and got round the task. Chris Bowman in the club LS7 and Rob Smits in the Duo Discus stayed together very well, but they didn't turn the Manilla turnpoint. Todd and Matthew stayed together well too, and both completed the task.

Garry Speight flying with Graham Holland in Twin Astir IKX, unfortunately visited Gainey's. but his follower Brian Kranz in Cirrus OX made it home.

I had a nice flight - did quite a lot of distance, but as usual pretty slow, and overran the task time by heaps.

All this was followed again by a huge dinner, and amazing dessert, so we will all have a heavier wing loading tomorrow.

Keepit Regatta - Thursday 23 Feb

Much better day today - very little wind, and cumulus, but cloudbase pretty low, and it overdeveloped and went showery over Kaputar.

We had quite a talk fest in the morning after briefing with Allan Buttenshaw talking about radio procedures, and me waffling on about avoiding airspace. Todd gave us a couple more brief hints about being a leader. As a result, we were probably a bit later than the optimum time taking off.

The task was Manilla 10km, Edgeroi 50 km Merrylands 40 km and back home - circles almost touching. Bob and I managed to stay together for the start and to Manilla. Then we turned to fly more or less parallel to Mt Borah under some clouds and it all went a bit pear shaped. The clouds didn't work very well but I found a good climb eventually. However Bob flew in underneath me - not all that much lower - and did not manage to pick it up. I now realise I should have descended to his level at that point and helped him pick it up, but unfortunately I didn't until it was too late. Bob did a good circuit and a safe outlanding close to the road, and I was able to relay a message to base for him. I really have a lot to learn as a leader. It means you have to know where you are going yourself!

Meanwhile, many others were have an ordinary time of it two. Two self launching gliders surreptitiously started their engines. I heard Todd and Matthew a fair bit on the radio - they seemed to manage to stay together, and Dave Shorter and Phil Anderton - Phil got low at one point and I heard Dave coax him into some lift, and he got up again and made it home after another low save at Tranquil. Allan Buttenshaw and his follower both flying Jantars made it around the course. John Trezise started off following Vic Hatfield and Ian McPhee in the Grob Twin 3 LL, but left them behind when they started their engine. Then he tagged along with Todd and Matthew for a while, then left them behind too, and did the rest of the task on his own. You can see most of the flights on the OLC.

A good many of the pairs seemed to end up in one large gaggle, somewhere ahead of me. I made it across to the western side of the Kaputar range and got flushed down a gully and was heading for a landing paddock before I got a climb. I think it would have been very difficult for Bob in the Libelle to cross all the trees with the high terrain and low cloudbase.

Nick Singer flew with Jacques today, and they seem to have had a reasonable run.

Once again, flying was followed by a sumptuous meal, and much analysis and arm waving at the dinner table.

 Didn't take any pics today - sorry!!

Keepit Regatta - Wednesday 22 Feb

 Launch Marshal Harry Potts in full regalia - somewhat under-employed!

 Ian Barraclough and Chris Bowman watching the world go by

Pilots on the grid  - adrenaline flowing just waiting for the order to scramble??

As you can see from the pictures, the sky was grey and not much happened. However we did have a very interesting talk from Bruce Taylor this morning, who took questions from the floor - mostly about trying to find patterns and energy lines.

Another run task was called, and most pilots did grid, but although there were some wispy cu under the overcast, the air felt very dead on the ground, 

Allan Buttenshaw and Dave Shorter took a launch each - they didn't come straight down, but they did come down. I think Dave managed about 40 minutes but didn't venture away from the field.

However the winch came out, and there were lots of launches in the Puchatek. Harry Medlicott drove the winch all day.

Not sure who flew  but I think Vic, Allbuts and Bob Dircks were among those who threw themselves up into the sky. 

I would have joined them, but instead, spent the afternoon fixing a slow puncture in my plane - at least actually Geoff Sim did all the work, and I assisted by making cups of tea. Many thanks to Geoff - I am very grateful to him for his hard labour!

When all the tools were put away, I went up to the winch and watched the last launch - its a while since I drove it and I wanted to refresh my memory. Its been left out in case anyone wants a go in the morning.

Nobody would have bothered flying on aerotow - but I think we had plenty of winch launches.  It's good to keep current just in case - and fun too.

Well I have to go and have yet another superb three course meal now, so won't write any more until tomorrow!

Jenny

Keepit Regatta - Tuesday

After all the rain last night, nobody thought the flying would be much good. There was a low overcast  and it all looked soggy and miserable. So we had a talk by Harry Medlicott on safety - not just the  normal things, but what to do if you stuff it up! And a talk from Garry Speight entitled "My Brilliant Career" complete with statistics!

After that, the sun was coming out, and things seemed to be drying out, so a half hearted, not scoring "run task" was called - Gaineys, Ag45, Gunnedah Lake Keepit as many times around as you could do in 2 hrs. I elected not to fly, as the sky looked to me as if it would overdevelop and rain again, and I had plenty of jobs to do. However a few brave souls took to the air.

Those of us who didn't fly looked a bit silly later on, because the sky got better and better, and it looked really good. In fact Todd and  Bruce Taylor went to Merrylands Edgeroi and back - but they are flying JS1s. Others who flew early said it was rubbish, but it definitely got better later on, and Bruce said there were good climbs out to the west.

Ian Downs flew with Johnny Durand Jr in the Duo Discus after it returned, and they spent a couple of hours soaring visiting Mt Borah and Gunnedah aerodrome, where they had a low save. I notice this flight has NOT been posted on the OLC - tsk tsk. Ian said he only had to do the take off and the landing and John did the rest. An awsome start to his sailplane flying career.

I was endorsed on the club's new Toro ride on mower - was over-controlling to start with - had to practice my speed control and co-ordination! Managed to mow around the new hangars on the North side, David Bull did the south side. Harry Jacques, Ian McPhee and Allbuts did glider maintenance.

After a nice dinner in the club house, some of the boys did the washing up - but not all were willing to be photographed in case their wives got wind of it!

Keepit Regatta - Monday 20 Feb - Day 2

There was quite a bit of rain during the night, and we had thunderstorms predicted for early afternoon. However the weather forcast on Lookoutthewindow.com didn't seem too bad, so our intrepid task setter Dave Shorter set a task. Tambar Springs 40km, Narrabri 50 km Manilla 15 km Lake Keepit - making the minimum distance a modest 137 km. There was a lot of whinging at the briefing about Bob and I on the radio, so we determined to try not to talk so much and stay closer together!

I had a distastrous morning, as you do sometimes - nothing seemed to go right, the end result being that I was late gridding so was right at the back. This turned out to be quite fortunate in the end because it gave Bob a good chance to get established before the start, and it wasn't easy - there were a few relights and one or two dummy spits!

Cloud base was pretty low, and once again the clouds did not seem to fulfil their promise. If you were lucky enough to find a good thermal, the cloud often formed above you. It was quite windy too, so progress was slow. There was a lot of difficulty even reaching the start points, but things did start to improve.

I found a thermal over start point C1, and waited in it for Bob to join me. Meanwhile Dave Shorter and Harry Medlicott set off toward Tambar Springs. Dave's follower elected not to attempt the task. Vic and Ian in LL had a stab at it, but didn't get far, and didn't submit a trace. Their follower gave it away. Garry Speight flying with Graham Holland ventured away from start and got to the hills just past Gunnedah before beetling back home. Garry Ransby and Geoff Sim went a bit further - I didn't hear either of them on the radio. Tood Clark and Matthew Atkinson were the standouts for the day - getting into the Tambar Springs circle and heading north for the Narabri one.

I thought Bob might want to give away, but undaunted, he got the start, and followed me over the Carrols. We managed to be at the same height in the same thermal for once and headed off toward Gunnedah. I encountered no lift before getting to Gunnedah aerodrome, unfortunately Bobs Libelle just didn't quite have the glide to get to Gunnedah aerodrome, and he landed at a small airstrip quite close to it. Dave Bull and Luke went to fetch him.

There was a huge big black cloud brewing to the south west, and it seemed to be advancing on our area fairly quickly. Sparks were coming out of it, and the conditions fell apart past Gunnedah. Dave Shorter and Harry Medlicott elected to give up and come home. Todd and Matthew almost didn't make it home but in the end Todd deposited Matthew in a paddock and climbed away from about 500ft and made it back. He did go on the retrieve though.

Matthew landed in a ploughed paddock - the retrieve team were just driving through the gate on the way out with the glider in the trailer when the rain started - and boy did it rain!! From about 4pm right through half the night it poured down. We had to have our delicious three course meal inside the club house.

Jacques scored the traces that were put in - but since nobody did the task, no points were awarded. But if you look at the OLC for Monday, you will see Lake Keepit was the only site in Australia to submit any flights!

Keepit Regatta - Sunday 19th February- Day 1 by Jenny Ganderton

First day of the "comp". As this is a fun friendly event, all the pilots are paired up, one being a leader and the other a follower. The score for both is the slowest pilot's score, so it does you no good to race away from your follower.  I have been designated as a leader for some reason, because I feel I am more cut out to be a follower! And Bob Dircks, my follower, is a very independent person!!

This leading and following business is a skill in itself, and both leaders and followers had a lot to learn. We had a talk about in in the morning, and then into the fray!

Harry Potts was resplendent in Orange Dayglow vest, and did a sterling job of marshalling gliders and tugs at the launch, capably assisted by Peter Shiels, Lou, and an Australian Japanese visitor whose name escapes me (sorry). Harry has such a perfect radio voice. The tugs going, with Phil Anderton towing, then leaping out of his tug and into his glider to take the last launch. Ian Downes and Luke are flying the others.

The task set was Manilla 10km, Kaputar Tower 40 km, Mullaley 30 km and back to Keepit. Bob and I upset everyone by talking too much on the radio, but we did manage to find each other after a bit of leap frogging and flew some of the way together. Todd and Matthew Atkinson had their moments too, as Matthew somehow managed to turn his radio down, and Todd thought he was ignoring him. However they got it sorted out, and then seemed to manage very well. Vic Hatfield flying in LL with Ian McPhee were paired with John Trezise, and they said he was the perfect follower, always there in the flarm radar!  Dave Shorter flew with Phil Anderton, another very successful pairing by all accounts.

The day was not totally straightforward. There were clouds, quite low only about 6000ft max, and not always reliable. There were huge areas of sink around Mt Borah, and huge areas of air containing paragliders and hang gliders - none of which seemed to be in any lift that I could find, but somehow at least some of them managed to go up! Jacques Graells, Matthew Atkinson and I had a somewhat "interesting" time in this area, but we did all manage to get up eventually.

Bob and I did manage to get round the task - just nicking the circles - but it was decidedly iffy on the last bit between Gunnedah and home, as the sky just fell apart. Those who were earlier and faster had a better time of it I think.

I managed to get up to 5000ft in about 1-2 kts near Kennedy's airstrip, Bob did not quite get as high. Meanwhile Jacques had a booming 0.4 of a knot near the airport, which eventually turned into a screaming 1.4 kt thermal.  I managed to squeak over the Carrol range, but needed another 500ft to make it back to Keepit.  I found the necessary thermal over a ploughed paddock, with a nice white glider sitting gracefully in the centre of it. I was able to mark the thermal of Jacques, and climbed up high enough to try to go back for Bob - but he made a miraculous low save just west of the Carrols, and made it back under his own steam.

There was only the one outlanding for the day, and better and faster pilots did not grovel as much as we did!

Jacques is scoring, and he will only take a pilots trace from the OLC. So everyone has to learn to do it. He is being very stern about not downloading traces for people - he says they just have to learn! And they are learning - look how many Keepit flights there were on the OLC for Sunday!!

The day was rounded off by another excellent meal and abundant good company.

Keepit Regatta - Practice Day 18th February - by Jenny Ganderton

This was a club day as well as being the practice day for the Regatta, and there were heaps of people wanting to fly. Tim Carr was duty instructor and, as well as having an AFR or two to do, there were four passenger flights and an ab-initio student.  Then there was a phone call to day that there was a paraglider pilot coming over some time who probably wanted a flight sometime - all very vague.

It turned out that the "paraglider pilot" was Johnny Durand Jr, Australian National Hang Glider Champion for the last 10 years, and pretty much unbeatable. He's thinking of crossing over to the dark side so all the other cross-over hangies will have no place to hide!! I think the rest of us had better look out too. Not sure who he ended up flying with, but heard on the grapevine that whoever it was didn't need to touch the controls. John did confess that he had been flying the Dragonfly tug so had some prior 3 axis experience.

It had been a long time since I had seen young Johnny on a hang gliding site. He used to tag along with his dad at the age of about 10, and carry peoples harnesses, and stuff battens in gliders for money!!

All that aside, there were at least 19 sailplanes wanting to launch, and some of them more than once so it was a busy day. The weather was good and the task was an AAT to Quirindi Mullaley Edgeroi Manilla and back to Keepit with quite large circles except for Manilla.

Weather started brewing up a bit to the south, with a few showers toward Quirindi  so most only just nicked the Quirindi circle. Dave Shorter was boasting climbs of 11 kts, but the best I got was about 6 to 8. As we progressed past Mullaley, there was a radio call that there was a thunderstorm warning for Tamworth Keepit area, and many turned for home. Not your intrepid writer however who thought she knew better than to believe in thunderstorms, and was stranded out at Edgeroi when it arrived! Luckily by the time I got back to Keepit it had all dissipated, and the sun was shining again.

Saturday night we had a welcome dinner, with everyone sharing a delicious meal prepared by Joy Bartrup, Ann Bull and Lou Ransby. This is a great feature of this regatta - the fantastic dining experience, which is pretty much compulsory!