Oz Report

Ken Johnston

Pixie

Toni McErlane <toni> sends:

A dear friend, Irish/oz hang glider pilot Ken Johnston, (otherwise known as Leam O'Flaherty, Pixie, Dr Evil, and many other names depending on what he was doing at the time and who he was with) passed away on Thursday after being diagnosed with cancer one and a half years ago.  A rare gem, scholar, scoundrel, comedian, (even known to some to be delightful) and very loyal friend was our Kenny.

Many people have shared some wonderful adventures flying and otherwise with Ken, guaranteed never a dull moment.  Mr.  Ingenuity always found a way to get himself in the sky (or someone else).  I visited him one month ago, and he dragged himself out into the bitter cold of Ireland's weather to show me his local site the "Devils Bite".  Adamant I should fly it, the next day he could hardly breathe, but was up trying to organize a glider and take me up the hill.  The weather didn't hold out for us so it never happened, but his love and dedication to flight just amazed me.

Ken traveled around the US in the mid 90's and got his 100 mile flight in the Owens while he was there and also tripped around New Zealand in the late 90's flying his mosquito 200 odd kilometers up the west coast of the South Island, so I am sure there are people out there who had the pleasure to meet Ken on his flying travels.

He had been living in Newcastle a long time and originally came out from Ireland and worked for Moyes.  His funeral was a few days ago in Ireland and in Newcastle they are having a ceremony for him and I'm feeling a little lost over here not having someway to send him off

Kennny, Flaherty, Johnston, Dr Evil, Pixie will be missed by many.

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Blue tongue on the road up Emu

We found a couple of these sunning themselves on the road up Emu (not a good idea). (Mystic Hill)

Photo by Scott Barrett.

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2008 Bogong Cup, day six, task three

The Gaggle. (Mystic Hill)

The task and flight.

The results.

Will Gadd asks in a nice way, why am I not winning these meets.  I will try to answer a smaller version of that question, why didn't I win today's task.  And I will at the same time describe what happened today, as I had a great view of almost all the action.

All the forecasts agreed that the winds would be light out of the south east turning to east later in the day.  It took a while to make the anxiety filled choice, but we decided to go to Mt. Buffalo which is good in light winds and faces east.

It was a hoot setting up close together and on the boulders and we were ready to launch in no time.  The launch window was open at 1 PM with the first start window at 2 PM, and every half hour thereafter.  The task was 165 kilometers first leg out 73 km to the northwest to a tower, then 48 km back to the south southeast to an intersection, then northwest again 28 km to McDonalds, then a 15 km final glide to the Brown Brothers winery in Milawa, the gourmet district.

I was off just behind Jonny and Attila.  Some pilots were getting up on the rocks to the left of launch, but I am only able to just stay level there with launch.  Rohan and Hans were low out away from the mountain but climbing on a ridge.  Jonny went out to join them and I followed soon afterwards as I wasn't getting up.  This thermal turned out to be a good one and we all climbed out to at least 6,000'.

There were a dozen pilots climbing higher further (about 4 km) to the left of launch over the next "rock pile" with cu's over their heads.  We all went over to join them and I found a nice thermal right away which brought everyone back over to me for a nice climb.  There was a wispy cu behind us and we all got under it and got to cloud base at 8,500'.  This was six minutes before the first start window would open.  At least half if not two thirds of the field was there over the rocks doing well, if not necessarily at cloud base.

When the window opened I pushed out in front with a couple of other pilots and the whole gaggle followed behind.  It would turn out to be a 25 km glide for the next sixteen minutes.  The whole field spread out and I slowed down letting pilots get in front of me so that I could see the big picture.  We were headed for a ridge line that crossed our path just north of Myrtleford.

Down to 3,000' a pilot just in front of me found the first bit of lift.  I came near him and found a better core and we gained a thousand feet.  We moved on to another core just one kilometer away and then I heard from Scott that he had a better core another kilometer away, which turned out to average 500 fpm to 6,100'.  Many of the pilots joined this thermal and it looked like we would have a good day.  Attlia, Balasz and Scott blasted off in an attempt to get away from the gaggle.  It would prove futile.

The next glide would prove to be 15 kilometers so it was clear that the thermals would be widely spaced on this day.  After a few bits and pieces of thermals we went on a long glide splitting up.  Lukas Bader was low in front of me with Scott, Balasz and Attla further out a few kilometers to our left and getting low.  Lukas found 150 fpm when we got down to 3,500'.

Scott and his friends over the intersection of the freeway to our left were low but getting up fast.  We headed out to the north after only gaining 700'.  Flying with Ollie and another pilot we came over a dump (known as a tip here in Australia).  They started working light lift, but I moved to another section of the tip and found better lift.  The lead gaggle was just ahead of us now and we were climbing reasonably well.  We got back to 5,200' before heading toward the turnpoint and trying to catch the gaggle just ahead of us.

After a ten kilometer glide I saw Trent Brown hit a thermal and get bounced out of it.  I immediately went to where he had hit it and penetrated into the lift.  I reported to Scott that I was going up at 700 fpm 1.86 km from the turnpoint.  All the pilots that had just made the turnpoint came back to join me.  All the pilots in the gaggle with me going to the turnpoint joined me also.  There was obviously a massive gaggle and we were going up fast.  The nice thing about this thermal was that it was drifting toward the turnpoint.  Just stay in the strong lift and the glide to the turnpoint would be short.

It was another ten kilometer glide back on the course line toward the second turnpoint before I found the next thermal.  I was checking out the pilots ahead who were thermaling up but I found a much better thermal before I got to them.  This turned into a very popular thermal just east of Wangaratta.

This thermal and the next one just a few kilometers away got everyone high.  I was sitting near the top of the gaggle and we were getting over 8,000'.  The lift was strong in each thermal now and we were racing along with lots of pilots following behind.  We came over Attila and Balasz thermaling up fast but we were still high so we raced on.

This is where I made my first big mistake.  I went out in front of the gaggle (not that I hadn't been doing that before, but now there was no one out there in front at all) seventeen kilometers from the next turnpoint.  A couple of pilots went with me, but I was essentially on my own gliding toward some cu's that were developing on the course line before the turnpoint.  The rest of the gaggle held back and was able to stay high as I plunged toward the ground.  I didn't find the next bit of lift and nothing under those cu's.  My glide ended up being twenty two kilometers around the turnpoint and onto the next leg where members of the gaggle were now turning in lift high above me.

The lift was good, averaging over 500 fpm, to 9,300', but I was below twenty or so pilots.  I was gaining on them, as I had all day whenever I was below the gaggle on this flight, as they had to climb slower dealing with other pilots while I could maximize my climb alone.  I wasn't gaining on them fast enough though.  They all headed out and left me alone to gain another thousand feet.

I found good lift under another cloud on the course line and fifteen kilometers from the turnpoint, I checked my 6030 to see how I was doing on getting to goal.  Here is where I made my second major error.  The 6030 told me I had goal by 4000'+.  Wow.  But wait a minute, it also said I had the turnpoint by about the same amount.  This couldn't be right, but a wasn't thinking all that straight, and it looked to me, 30 kilometers out and 9,000' that I had goal.

I went on glide to the third turnpoint and there was a nice cu along the course line with pilots circling under it.  These were some of the pilots that I had just been gaggling with.  I was now thinking (incorrectly) that I had goal made no problem.  I came under the cloud and registered 700 fpm as I flew straight for one minute, and yes gaining 700 feet.  For sure I had goal now.  This was my third major mistake.  All I had to do was hang around for another minute or so and get really high and then go toward goal, but the instrument was telling me that I had goal by 3,300'.  It was flashing, go to goal.  Okay, already.

Soon after leaving the 700 fpm I came to the turnpoint and the 6030 switched over to the goal point as the next waypoint.  Suddenly I no longer had goal made by 3,300'.  But now a little less than 1,000' and if I continued at the speed I was flying at I would not make it to goal.  That field showed -350'.  The instrument had lied.  In fact, it is clear that it doesn't have the ability to calculate your height above goal around a turnpoint, although the documentation states that it has this ability.  This feature has been in the 5030 for a long time and in the 6030 since the beginning, so it shouldn't a beta firmware issue.  I just assume that the machine has been wrong since day one.

I continued on glide toward goal, slowing up so that I was flying at best glide speed and slowing that I would make goal with 1000'.  I hit bits of lift that got the 6030 to show that I would make goal by 1,500', but I had a long ways to go.  The final glide was 15 kilometers.  I had 5,000' AGL when I started the glide.

670 meters from the edge of the 400 meter goal cylinder I was at 100' AGL and facing vineyards for the next 500 meters.  No place to land.  I turned back and landed in a nearby paddock.

I made some major errors on this task.  There was no reason to take such a risk going out in front of the gaggle 17 kilometers from the second turnpoint.  I could have hung back just a little bit and gone with many others as we reached the top of the lift.  I could have stayed with them until the final glide and then attempted to win the day based on racing to goal with enough height to make it.

I really should have known better with the 6030.  The 4,000'+ figure didn't make any sense.  I should have known that it was wrong.

I should have enjoyed that 700 fpm lift a few minutes longer in the thermal just before the last turnpoint.  If I had been high with my fellow gaggle members, I would have.  I was just thinking I would sneak by these guys and beat them to goal.  A bit short on that prospect.

I heard later that Jonny just stayed with the gaggle all day and didn't venture out on his own.  Balasz and Attila thought that the lift and cores were too disorganized to allow them to escape the gaggle, although they tried.

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