Oz Report

The Big Spring International dates

A week later than the tentative dates (Big Spring, Texas)

David Glover <<davidhglover>> writes:

It's August 2-9, 2008.  Eight full days of flying.  One of your days, you get to drop from your score.  Practice day the 1st at the airport.  Prize money on the Spot Landing Contest.

Big Spring has superb flying conditions and this year with an eight day meet we'll be able to get in more flying.

Sport and Single Surface competitions in addition to the Open.  Registration will open in April.

Again the Big Spring International promises to be the best US hang gliding competition of the year.  In 2007, because of the Worlds, you couldn't go there and fly unless you were on a national team.  Now US and international pilots can go back to the spot where we have had the best competitions ever.  The longest task ever flown in the competition was flown there in 2007 (two tasks into New Mexico).

Discuss Big Spring at the Oz Report forum   link»

GoFlyXC.com

A resurrected site for event management.

Mark Dowsett <mark> writes:

I ran an events registration site (Dowsett Events - http://events.dowsett.ca ) from 2005 to 2007 to help me manage the events I organized.  I had almost 400 users in North America use it in that short time.  I let it slip last year and go inactive as it needed a major face-lift and I didn't have the time to update it.

It's ready to go now at http://goflyxc.com in its 'first version' and it's open for visitors now along with the announcement of the Arizona Santa Cruz Flats registration opening announcement.  (I think that event is going to be the most popular comp in the States this year.) There is no reason why it can't be used World-wide - we are such a small community.  I hope it helps bring us closer together.

I invite your readers to stop by the site and read more - there is some good info on it's features on the home page and at: http://goflyxc.com/events/whyhostwithus.

It's fully functional now on event registration - any registered user can create events and open on-line registration that is REALLY functional and easy to use.  It pains me to see so many big events have a poor registration system.  I think it really help fill up your event if you can show who is coming already and convey payment and registration status.

The other part that is fully functional is the internal messaging system.  It's easy to keep in touch with the friends you've made along the way at the events you've gone to.  You'll be able to keep in touch with the internal messaging system and also keep a list of your closest buddies to see what future events they are going to and see their recent blog entries on those events if they blog on the site.  And registration is open for non-competitors to register as well so we can all keep in touch with those volunteers and officials that have helped with the events.  Don't worry about privacy, you won't find a public email address on the site of any user (unless they type it in a posting).

In the works is a better image gallery system to share photos, a points system to reward those that use the system, a goal setting system to encourage you to improve your skills and a flight log that may be able to keep track of site, area and personal records.

Oh yeah and it's entirely FREE!  Even to use the event management system.

Discuss GoFlyXc.com at the Oz Report forum   link»

US National Snow Analysis

More than pretty pictures (Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

US National Snow Analysis

Snow Depth

Jackson Hole (interactive).

I put this out because the pictures are great and just so those of us in the southern hemisphere would see what we are missing.  Is there a similar analysis web site for Europe?  I assume so.  In English?  Please write and tell me.  I'll be making up a weather web page for southern France soon.

Discuss Snow at the Oz Report forum   link»

The CIVL Plenary

They are meeting this weekend (Manzanillo, Mexico)

http://www.fai.org/hang_gliding/meetings/plenary/2008

I've read the agenda items so that you don't have to.  Not much of great interest.  It looks like there may be a definition of Sport Class, so that CIVL can encourage Sport Class competitions.  It will basically be king posted gliders.  This came out of the US-based Sport Competitions and was championed by the Guatemalans.  It will be discussed and voted on.

It looks like not much will happen with pitch measurements and Class I competitions, after Flip's report from Big Spring on the difficulty of getting good measurements.  BTW, best wishes to Flip for a speedy recovery from colon surgery.

The proposed CIVL scoring software is being beta tested in France (at least) and there is little word about it on the agenda.  There may some discussion of what to do about starting before the first start time.  We have three or four different ways of dealing with it now.  Maybe some minor changes to the WPRS system.

I hope to get some reports from folks at the meeting.

Discuss CIVL at the Oz Report forum   link»

Really light at Strezie

There didn't seem to be a wind at launch (Scenic or Strezie launch, Newcastle, NSW, Australia)

After a week of on and off rain (half day sunny, half day rainy), it finally got clear (I wouldn't say sunny) on Friday afternoon and Scott Barrett and I headed for the Scenic launch.  Scott brought along a Fun 190 for me to fly.

This is a cliff launch and it was amazing to not feel more than a light zephyr on launch.  Still it was an easy run and sure enough I was able to get up over launch and fly around in very smooth air.  It was just very unclear what was holding me up.  I was just above the top of the cliff and it looked like a top landing would be so easy.

Scott did do a top land with a slider.  There is not enough room for two to top land so I didn't give it a try.  The no wind got even lighter so I decided that landing might be better than milking every last bit of it.

Discuss Strezlecki at the Oz Report forum   link»

Twenty two register for Santa Cruz Flats Race in first three hours

Better register soon (Francisco Grande, Casa Grande, Arizona)

http://goflyxc.com/2008/santacruz

I'm registered and looking forward to the meet in April.

Discuss Santa Cruz Flats at the Oz Report forum   link»

It was on at Merewether

Perfect for top landing (Merewether)

Check out the launch at the coordinates above on Google Maps or Google Earth.  Imagine the upper half (northern half) full of parked gliders and a dozen or so in the air on this sunny blustery day.  Now imagine putting down a topless glider in the front half of the launch area.

Not me, I put down an Airborne Fun 190 for my first top landing at Merewether (with my hands still on the base tube as I pulled in to be sure I would get down).  But I did see a pilot land his C4 on top after a number of close attempts.  I'm sure that Conrad and Adam do it also.

I made many passes at the launch from ten feet over it before I felt I was at the right altitude with the right wind (more easterly).  There was no need to force the landing (as it was easy to just keep to the right a bit and stay up), I just waited until I got the approach correct.

It has been raining here a lot this week so everyone was out at launch on Sunday.  Tony Barton was taking up tandems and signing up students.  Stewie and Scott had a fly off, with a Wills Wins Sport 2 against an Airborne Sting 3 (not yet in production).  Scott won that round.  More to come perhaps?

Discuss Merewether at the Oz Report forum   link»

Santa Cruz Flats Race almost full

Eleven slots left (Francisco Grande, Casa Grande, Arizona)

http://goflyxc.com/2008/santacruz

Thirty nine pilots have registered in less than 24 hours.

Discuss Santa Cruz Flats at the Oz Report forum   link»

Adventures at Catherine Hill Bay

We go over the back, cross country at the beach. (Catherine Hill Bay launch, NSW, Australia)

With the wind east at 15 knots tending toward east north east Scott Barrett and I headed south from RedHead to Catherine Hill Bay and its 100 foot launch site at the beach (see the link above to Google Maps).  This is the smallest top landing site in the Newcastle area.

Scott had two C4's to test (unlike almost all the gliders that he tests, these will need to go back to the factory to get their sails adjusted).  I got ready first and took off in the stiff breeze but in one turn found myself half way down the hill.  I decided that I had better stick my wing tip right next to the brush on the hillside and do it right now because in one more pass I would be heading for the beach otherwise.

I put the tip were it belonged and ever so slowly made it back up the hill side with the wind coming from the left.  After I got over the top, Scott launched, pushed out and got up on the upwind side, turned and went down wind to the defunct coal loader (check out the jetty on Google).

I got just a little higher than I had been, turned in the Airborne Fun 190 and followed Scott.  Unfortunately, I arrived at the surf life saver club (see Google) at three foot over the beach.  I didn't want to push it so I landed.

Packed up and went back to the launch as Scott continued making adjustments, top landing the C4.  This time I was going to make sure I got a good climb right after launch so I let the bar out and turned left, getting up well.  After a bunch of turns and and getting up and down it looked like I had another chance and headed down wind.

This time I came to the surf life saver club at twenty feet over the beach, put the tip over the road going to the coal loader and worked my way up the ridge line and over the jetty after a few passes.

Played around on the cliffs next to the defunct coal loading area.  Scott brought another glider over and then indicated that we should go over the back.  This is what it looked like over the back looking at Moonee beach (which has no road access, see Google).

I jumped over the back and got up on the hillsides that you see in the picture above.  Scott took these shots with his camera phone.

It was easy to get up with a nice safe beach below.  And then it was time to head over the back again.  Scott and I could communicate only with hand signals not having radios and me with my phone packed away.  His plan was to take me downwind to the Budgewoi Peninsula (see Google).  I would not be able to go back up wind to get back to the car (but he could perhaps).  I didn't know his plan at the time.  I was just following his hand signals.

We jumped over the back again after getting reasonably high, but I didn't get high at the next stop at Snapper Point.  This is what it looks like downwind from where I was before landing at Snapper:

No beaches below me (other than a very small one) and none down wind for a while.  It made me very nervous to be on these unfamiliar hill sides (Scott has done this route a bunch) with no good looking land areas (other than the bushes on the hill sides) and waves crashing against the low cliffs down by the water.

I landed on a hill side (anything to stay away from the water) and was able to hike out with the gear to the view point at Snapper Point Road.  Scott flew upwind in the C4 back to the launch at Catherine Hill Bay, landed on top, packed up and came and retrieved me.

A great adventure along the coast.

Discuss Catho at the Oz Report forum   link»