Flytec
Wills Wing

Oz Report

Volume 14, Number 97
Monday, May 17 2010
Quest Air, Sheets airfield, Groveland, Florida, USA
https://OzReport.com
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

to Table of Contentsto next topic Santa Cruz Flats Race - registration opens soon

Fri, May 14 2010, 8:55:08 am EDT
May 19th, 9 AM, EST

Jamie Shelden|Santa Cruz Flats Race 2010

Jamie Shelden sitting in the rain and fog in Tegelberg writes that the registration for the Santa Cruz Flats Race will open at 9 AM on Monday, May 19th, eastern standard time.  You'll find the registration form open then here: http://santacruzflatsrace.blogspot.com.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic National Hang Gliding and Paragliding Day Celebration

Fri, May 14 2010, 8:56:03 am EDT
At Quest Air

Dustin Martin|Lauren Tjaden|Paul Tjaden|PG|Quest Air|USHPA

Lauren Tjaden writes:

Soar into fun with Quest Air Hang Gliding as we celebrate the inaugural National Hang Gliding and Paragliding Day from 9 a.m.—5 p.m. on May 29, 2010 at Quest Air Hang Gliding, 6548 Groveland Airport Road, Groveland, FL 34736.

The interactive event welcomes the public into the world of free flying, and will feature flying demonstrations (including a thrilling aerobatic flight demonstration by U.S. Hang Gliding National Team Member and Quest Air instructor Dustin Martin), lectures, games, and discounted tandem Discovery Flights.  Admission is free.

This colorful event is perfect for those on a “staycation” looking for something adventurous to do on Memorial Day around the Groveland and Orlando areas.  It will be a nationwide celebration and membership drive, and provides a great way to have fun while watching, learning about, and participating in the exciting world of free flight.

“This is a great opportunity for people who are not familiar with hang gliding and paragliding to experience what makes them so great, through the eyes of dedicated chapter pilots.  These people are some of the best pilots in the world, and they are thrilled at the opportunity to share their sports with the public,” said Paul Montville, Executive Director of USHPA.

Tandem flights may be made available to the press, providing writers and photographers with the chance to experience this very colorful sport.  Please contact Paul Tjaden at Quest Air Hang Gliding at 352-429-0213 or «info» to coordinate, as space may be limited.

National Hang Gliding and Paragliding Day was established by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the growth of sport flying in foot-launchable soaring aircraft.

USHPA develops, standardizes, and administers programs that foster and promote practices for safe flying.  USHPA maintains a working relationship with the FAA, and other regulatory organizations, to insure continued access to airspace.  The organization also maintains relationships with public and private entities to promote the procurement and maintenance of flying sites.  USHPA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  For more information on hang gliding and paragliding go to www.ushpa.org (non-pilot) or www.ushpa.aero (pilot member).

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Automate your club's contests

Fri, May 14 2010, 8:57:06 am EDT
Your club's contests
TTT can help

Jeff Nibler|software

Jeff Nibler «Jeff Nibler» sends:

Our application is available to all clubs in the USA and is available for free, or for a small donation to the TTT.  We are releasing this application to other clubs in order to solicit feedback to help us design a newer version we have on the drawing board for a year or two into the future.

The application supports the following contest models:

- One Year-long cumulative contest where pilots can fly any day.  Scores are totalled for the year.  (This model works like all the other OLC websites)

- Specific Event Date competitions (for example, one weekend per month between March and November etc) with Event winners, and annual winners for series events.  The specific event dates are completely flexible and are setup but the club's admin.

Supports the following contest categories:

- XC (timed or un-timed)
- Spot landing
- Shortest Flight
- Longest Flight
- Most flights per day

Admin options allow you to:

- Enter rich-formatted instructions and content for your welcome screen (In the screenshot titled "welcome screen", all text you see there can be set by your club to be specific to your club's rules and instructions etc).

Click on the graphic is display in higher resolution (so you can see what it says).

- Upload waypoints into database via CUP (SeeYou) and GPX format, plus add/delete single waypoints

- Create tasks (Add/edit/delete)

- Set event dates (or specify unlimited dates)

- Pilots can create their own tasks with existing club waypoints you specify, or you can limit them to certain pre-defined tasks you create.

- XC tasks support open distance, straight-line goal, dogleg, out and return, and triangle tasks.  Timed and un-timed scoring formats are supported, however, we don't assign points for time; rather, for a given task, the pilots with the fastest time will simply earn the highest places (if you elect to use the timed option).

- Pilots can upload IGC files for their flights (but don't have to). Other members can view these on the reports screen by clicking a link to download the IGC file, or KML format (application automatically converts IGC to KML), or view them right in a google-earth plugin that works right inside the web browser.

- Pilots can download waypoints to GPX, SeeYou, and Google Earth format (which they can then use with GPS dump or SeeYou or Flychart to import to their flight deck etc).

- Pilots can view waypoints in google maps and google earth

- Reports available for Annual summary, as well as specific event-dates.

- Simplified scoring input.  Pilots can input their scores from any computer with an internet connection.  Scoring input supports IGC file upload however the IGC file is not validated.  If IGC file validation is desired, once a pilot uploads their IGC file, it can be downloaded by anyone, then validated using any of the IGC file validators out on the web.  With an easy to use wizard system, the pilots can manually enter their flight data and the application will automatically calculate distances and scores.  This makes it easy for pilots who aren't familiar with IGC captures, or who might not have the proper equipment; all they need to know is which waypoints they hit for a given course, and what their landing coordinates are.  Or for open distance, they just need to know their landing coordinates.  This means they can get by with the most basic of GPS equipment.

Discuss "Automate your club's contests" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle

Fri, May 14 2010, 8:57:32 am EDT
Maybe they will get to fly next week

Corinna Schwiegershausen|Evgeniya "Zhenya" Laritskaya|Jamie Shelden|Rigid Wing Worlds 2010|Women's Worlds 2010

http://leagull.blogspot.com/

http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com/

http://mytb.org/katha-turbostern

http://ladeesse7.blogspot.com

http://corinnaflies.blogspot.com/

http://2010wm.blogspot.com/

http://hadewych.blogspot.com/

http://gottafly.blogspot.com/

http://sinoptic.blogspot.com/

http://www.wmtegelberg2010.de/typo/

There is a reason why it is green there.

Jamie Shelden writes:

I keep trying to find better forecasts.  Some say snow, some say rain till Wednesday, some say rain until the meet is over.  Shoot me now, please!

XCSkies says rain at least through Monday with the GFS model.  That's as far out as it goes.

Discuss "The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic It still needs a parachute

Fri, May 14 2010, 8:57:56 am EDT
Space travel

Betty Pfeiffer|High Energy Sports Inc.|space

Betty Pfeiffer «Betty Pfeiffer» writes:

Recently we were involved with high altitude rocket program.  A news channel had this report after the first test session.  Watch for the red main chute.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/local/southeast/spaceport-america-tests-rockets

The SL-4 Launch Mission was a complete success.  You just never know where High Energy Sports Inc.  off the shelf parachutes will end up!

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to Table of Contentsto next topic The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle

Sat, May 15 2010, 5:23:54 pm EDT
Saturday, eh, more rain?

Evgeniya "Zhenya" Laritskaya|Rigid Wing Worlds 2010|video|Women's Worlds 2010

http://leagull.blogspot.com/

Another day canceled.  Nothing changed.  "Groundhog Day". Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow it will be not just rainy, but also very windy.

A video postcard to the Worlds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ilc3mkTeLc

Discuss "The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic Dustin wangs it over Wallaby

Sat, May 15 2010, 5:24:42 pm EDT
Is there a not so secret message here?

Dustin Martin

Lots of cu's after the shuttle launch on Friday.  A picture postcard to Tegelberg.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle

Sat, May 15 2010, 8:58:15 pm EDT
So far an unmitigated disaster

Rigid Wing Worlds 2010|weather|Women's Worlds 2010|Worlds

A look at the GFS model through XCSkies says rain/no lift through Tuesday (that is as far as it goes). Hadewych Van Kempen is saying that she planned to drive home as the weather forecast for the coming week looks the same as last weeks but she's staying for one dinner.

There were no days flown last year at the pre-Worlds in Tegelberg.  So far only one day flown only by class 2 (and class 4) at Tegelberg this year.  This meet is well on its way to being an unmitigated disaster.

My question is very simple.  What can be learned and who can learn it?

Discuss "The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle

Sun, May 16 2010, 9:00:06 am EDT
Snow on launch

CIVL|Kurt Meyer|Mart Bosman|Rigid Wing Worlds 2010|weather|Women's Worlds 2010

Forecasted temperatures near Fussen (in the valley) for Monday and Tuesday - 45 to 50°Fahrenheit.

Mart Bosman «Mart Bosman» sends:

We went up to launch this morning to see if it was on today.  I took this photo of Kurt Meyer from CIVL on the start ramp.  There was 200mm snow on take-off with 60km/h winds and -7°C. I feel really sad for the organisation of this comp, who have done everything in their power to make this a successful and enjoyable competition.  Luckily they also organised plenty to do besides flying.

The Bavarian country is among the most beautiful in the world for culture and nature.  In the evening we have been to parties, tonight there is a movie night.  Unfortunately, organizing the weather is not in their power, as we have seen in various comps around the world.  (Bogong Cup blown-out this year, Dalby washed out and even Hay has had in the past comps canceled due to five year drought breaking rain.) Anyway, I can't see what we can learn from it. I just hope we can keep finding enthusiastic people who are willing to do their utmost to organise a hang gliding comp.  I big "thank you" from me to the organisation.

I think Mart must be referring to an earlier Dalby as this year it seems to have gone off well, or did I miss something?

Can't learn anything?  Hmmm?! How about not calling for comps at Tegelberg in mid May.  But perhaps that would be too obvious (given what happened last year). It's not like they didn't have any warning or anything.

Discuss "The 2010 Women's and Rigid Wing Worlds at Neuschwanstein castle" at the Oz Report forum   link»

The Oz Report, a near-daily, world wide hang gliding news ezine, with reports on competitions, pilot rankings, political issues, fly-ins, the latest technology, ultralight sailplanes, reader feedback and anything else from within the global HG community worthy of coverage. Hang gliding, paragliding, hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, hang glide, paraglide, platform towing, competitions, fly-ins. Hang gliding and paragliding news from around the world, by Davis Straub.

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