Wills Wing
Flytec

Oz Report

Volume 22, Number 2
Tuesday, January 2 2018
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 Climate, it ain't what is used to be

Mon, Jan 1 2018, 8:40:28 am EST
Ridiculously Resilient Ridge

climate|record

http://weatherwest.com/archives/5982

In the coming days, a remarkably persistent weather pattern will begin to develop across North America and adjacent ocean regions.  Characterized by strong high pressure near the West Coast and low pressure over the Eastern Seaboard, this “quasi-stationary,” high-amplitude atmospheric wave pattern will essentially become locked in place for at least the next 2 weeks.  Patterns like this have a tendency to become self-reinforcing, lasting for much longer than more typical transient weather patterns and leading to prolonged stretches of unusual weather.  This particular event will be no exception: California (and much of the West Coast) will almost certainly experience an extended, multi-week warm and dry spell, while much of the East Coast shivers through repeated blasts of cold, Arctic air.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/opinion/sunday/climate-change-global-warming.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=1

This was a year of devastating weather, including historic hurricanes and wildfires here in the United States.  Did climate change play a role?  Increasingly, scientists are able to answer that question — and increasingly, the answer is yes.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/28/16827022/climate-change-cold-arctic-snap-us-canada-jet-stream

It’s freaking cold out there, America.  But you don’t need a Vox explainer to know that.  You knew it the second you woke up. Knew it in that dreadful moment just before peeling off the blankets, when you thought, This is the warmest and most comfortable I’ll feel all day.

The East Coast is in the teens and 20s. Temperatures in the Midwest are hovering near zero Fahrenheit.  The brave, brave residents of International Falls, Minnesota, had to face negative 36 degrees (!!) On Wednesday morning.  At that temperature, some preparations of automotive antifreeze will freeze.  Record-breaking lake effect snows are blanketing Great Lake shores.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27092017/polar-vortex-cold-snap-arctic-ice-loss-global-warming-climate-change

New research shows that some northern regions have been getting hit with these extreme cold spells more frequently over the past four decades, even as the planet as a whole has warmed.  While it may seem counterintuitive, the scientists believe these bitter cold snaps are connected to the warming of the Arctic and the effects that that warming is having on the winds of the stratospheric polar vortex, high above the Earth's surface.

Here's what scientists involved in the research think is happening: The evidence is clear that the Arctic has been warming faster than the rest of the planet.  That warming is reducing the amount of Arctic sea ice, allowing more heat to escape from the ocean.  The scientists think that the ocean energy that is being released is causing a weakening of the polar vortex winds over the Arctic, which normally keep cold air centered over the polar region.  That weakening is then allowing cold polar air to slip southward more often.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Monte Cucco International Trophy 2018

Mon, Jan 1 2018, 8:41:18 am EST
August 10, 2018 – August 14, 2018

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/events/565463930460688/

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Niki finds the dragon

Mon, Jan 1 2018, 8:41:49 am EST
Glider blows up

Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Niki Longshore

Niki Longshore writes:

Forbes task 3: It was all going so well.  I was charging and catching up to the first gaggle with my hang gliding hero’s. Jonny and Attila were just ahead and I was determined to get to them.  I did, and even got out ahead!  It was perfect.  I couldn’t have planned for it to be better.

I was with Dr. Craig for the most part.  We found a good climb, Craig and I consistently left as the gaggle came to us. I pulled VG, saw Craig sinking bad off to the right so I veered to the left.

I hit the nastiest air.  No warning whatsoever.

Nose up, then straight down.  No bar pressure, face down, and then my glider blew up.

I couldn’t believe it.

Luckily I was over 8,000 feet.  I had enough time to pull my chute which didn’t deploy right away.  It had wrapped around my neck and my wing tip.  My glider was behind me with only the keel in front.  I looked up to see if the chute opened and it didn’t. I first unwrapped it from my neck and then gave it a good tug.  It was nice to see it inflate but I was still spiraling down uncontrollably.

Needless to say, it was not a good feeling.  I didn’t want it to be the end but reality set in and I realized it could.  Not to add to the drama but it was a pretty traumatic experience.  I pulled out my radio to tell the hooligans I love them, and to pass the word onto my family.  I also had enough time to pull out my SPOT tracker to send an emergency SOS.

After that I thought about how I could get the glider under control with nothing in front of me except for the keel.  I could only use my legs to try to push it to the right to counter the spiral.  It worked for a few seconds, then it started spiraling again.

I had a few minutes to think about my life and my loved ones, and how much it was going to hurt when I arrived back to earth.

I could see Jonny off to the side spiraling down with me. What a guy.  Jonny, you are amazing.

Within the last 500 feet I was able to stop the spiral by kicking the keel.

I landed in a perfect paddock, between two trees, right next to the road, and into the wind.

Unbelievable.

The touchdown was pretty gentle, but my left ankle took a vertical crush.  Me and ankles = no good.

The way I was spiraling down compared to where I had landed and how gentle it was, my guardian angel was looking over me. Power lines behind me, a fence and trees in front.  I was saved.

Jonny landed same moment as I did.  We hugged, thankful nothing bad had happened.  Tina arrived, Ollie, and Lenny.  Judi found me thanks to radio calls being relayed through the air.  There was no signal where I had landed.  They helped pack my wreckage away.  Thank you all, and thank you Jonny for coming down with me. You are a gem.

My brand new glider is completely destroyed.  Sail ripped, every batten broken in half or bent, keel completely destroyed.  My dingle dangle, which keeps me attached to my glider was almost ripped off.  Sprogs detached.  My glider is toast, but I’m still here.  The only thing I can save is my base bar which is still solid.

I am lucky, thankful, and so happy to be writing this to you.

I don’t know what happened, why it did, or why I’m here, but I’m here to tell you I believe it was my guardian angel.  ???? Thank you Jesus for another day.

And that is my tumbling experience.  I never want to come down under canopy again.

I love you all.  Have a happy new year indeed.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Emma Martin

Mon, Jan 1 2018, 8:47:50 am EST
So excited

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/her-eyes-would-light-up-tributes-flow-for-victorian-champion-hang-glider-killed-in-nye-crash-20171231-h0bwea.html

"She was so excited about competing as intermediate glider at Forbes," Kylea said.  "Her eyes, her whole face would just light up whenever she spoke about hang gliding."

Emma Martin was 31 when she died during a training run at the championships in Parkes, in NSW's central west.

Discuss "Emma Martin" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic 2018 Forbes Flatlands

Mon, Jan 1 2018, 3:26:21 pm EST
Monday, Task 3, Results

Attila Bertok|Forbes Flatlands 2018|Gordon Rigg|Jon "Jonny" Durand jnr|Nick Purcell|Niki Longshore|Rohan Taylor|Steve Blenkinsop|Yoko Isomoto|Yoko Sano

http://www.forbesflatlands.com/results

Jonny doesn't get credit for landing with Niki.

Task 3:

# Name Nat Glider Time Total
1 Attila Bertok HUN Moyes RX 5 Pro 03:08:44 948
2 Tyler Borrdaile CAN Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 03:09:41 915
3 Josh Woods AUS Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 03:10:07 906
4 Olav Opsanger NOR Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 03:10:52 899
5 Nick Purcell AUS Moyes RS 4 03:11:13 891
6 Steve Blenkinsop AUS Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 03:11:18 881
7 Craig Taylor AUS Moyes RX 3.5 03:13:07 855
8 Gordon Rigg GBR Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 03:14:35 848
9 Brad Porter AUS Moyes RX 3.5 03:13:54 847
10 Yoko Sano JPN Wills Wing T2C 03:27:04 783

Cumulative:

# Name Nat Glider T 1 T 2 T 3 Total
1 Attila Bertok HUN Moyes RX 5 Pro 1000 970 948 2918
2 Josh Woods AUS Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 794 988 906 2688
3 Tyler Borrdaile CAN Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 758 887 915 2560
4 Steve Blenkinsop AUS Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 793 808 881 2482
5 Olav Opsanger NOR Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 666 879 899 2444
6 Rory Duncan AUS Moyes RX 3 Pro 776 934 698 2408
7 Gordon Rigg GBR Moyes RX 3.5 Pro 714 817 848 2379
8 Nils Vesk AUS Moyes RX 3.5 755 735 736 2226
9 Jason Kath AUS Wills Wing T2C 144 747 569 782 2098
10 Oliver Chitty GBR Moyes RX 5 Pro 960 905 133 1998

Discuss "2018 Forbes Flatlands" 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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