Features

My Week at Tocumwal

In March I was privileged to be invited by Mark ‘Lumpy’ Paterson to fly for a week at Tocumwal. By Ross McLernon In March I was privileged to be invited by Mark ‘Lumpy’ Paterson to fly for a week at Tocumwal. He first notified us over a year ago of his intent to have this week,…

My Journey to Cross Country Flying

I started gliding in late 2021. I’d been up in a glider many times flying with a former partner and I’d enjoyed it a lot. But I was happy being a passenger and had felt no desire to learn. By Nicki Bourlioufas I started gliding in late 2021. I’d been up in a glider many times…

GAus Goes to Avalon

By Daryl Bishop The Gliding Australia display at the Avalon Australian International Airshow was a great success, attended by many people over the course of the event. The Show itself attracted over 200,000 attendees and featured around 350 aircraft on display, both airborne and…

Bunyan Wave - First Wave Flight

View of the Australian Alps towards Mt Kosciuszko. By Josh Davis and Dr. Richard Agnew JOSH DAVISEver since I heard the story of my friend Terry taking his Libelle up to 23,000ft in 1983, I was fascinated and wanted to fly this amazing Australian wave. So, in late September, I…

Lake Keepit First Ever FAI 1,000km Triangle

Adam Woolley landing after flying the first FAI 1,000km triangle from Lake Keepit. Adam Woolley flew the first ever FAI 1,000km triangle from Lake Keepit on 23 November, the first official practise day of the championships. Speaking about his flight at briefing the next day, he…

If You Want it Come and Get it

Maryborough Gliding Club, now defunct, donated the ‘Come and Get It’ trophy to encourage cross country flying between the network of clubs surrounding Maryborough in the early 1980s. By Denis NolanThe first recorded claim engraved on the trophy is dated 3 April 1982, by Ted Plum…

NSW SAFETY SUMMIT GA 75th ANNIVERSARY DINNER

Southern Cross Gliding Club hosted the NSW Safety Summit at its new facility at Camden Airport on 12 October. The summit was followed by a networking event and the Gliding Australia 75th Anniversary Dinner. Angus Taylor, federal MP for Hume, came to visit. Angus was helpful in…

MORNING GLORY

By Mark Bland A familiar saying tells us - ‘The bad news is that time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot’. That says something about making good use of the time we have left!I think this may have influenced Ojars' decision to purchase a Grob 109 VH FFO motor glider with a…

Grampians Diamond Mine

Mike in the wave over the Grampians on his way to achieving his Diamond Height. By Mike Durrant I have been waiting to complete my Diamond Badge for almost 40 years. My Diamond Goal flight was on 28 December 1987 at Corowa in the Geelong Gliding Club Standard Cirrus VE. On the…

From the Archives

Keith Willis from Bordertown in SA has an extensive collection of Australian Gliding magazine going back to the very first edition. Below is issue 1, still with its original staples. It was copied on a Roneo machine. As you can see, the Editor, Allan Ash was sceptical that she…

Pathways in the Sky

There you are, you poor fool, a little wiser than before, with your glider license in your pocket. As a greenhorn, you are about to make a decision: Do you want to practice gliding as a hobby? Do you simply want share a few circles with the crows near the airfield on weekend…

Visiting Jonker Sailplanes

By Lumpy PatersonTocumwal Soaring Centre In March this year I made my second visit to the Jonkers Sailplane Factory in Potchefstroom South Africa to catch up with the JS team. My first trip was back in June of 2017 to look over the development of the 18m version of the JS3. I…

High in the Sierra at Minden

Minden has always been a special place for glider pilots. Many North American and world records have been flown out of Minden. I have wanted to visit this spot for many years to fly along the Sierra Nevada, over Lake Tahoe and the edge of the dry high desert of Nevada. In April…

On Safari! Bernard and Michael preparing to leave Narromine

Soaring Safari Living the Dream

Five pilots, two high performance self-launching 2-seater gliders with chase car and trailer. What could be a better set up for an extended soaring safari? By Bill Mudge You might remember my report on our 2019 safari, but ever since then, our safari group has had mixed success…

Sea Breeze - Our Friend or Our Foe?

It is probably fair to say that most glider pilots like a sea breeze as much as they like a toothache. However, it is equally fair to say that a sea breeze can provide fantastic soaring conditions if only we manage to get into the right place at the right time. More on that…

Venture to the Morning Glory

Photo above by Grant Rookes of his Stemme acompanying John Riedl. Words and photographs By John Riedl For me, flying the Morning Glory was an unforgettable life experience, one of those rare events that etches itself into your consciousness as something wonderful, different and…

My favourite Laplander He wasn’t born, he was hatched!

Bert receiving his GFA ‘Unsung Heroes Award’ from Lindsay Mitchell, CGC President at the time. By Kevin Rodda - Caboolture Gliding Club, based on a story from Neil Wilson It’s the end of an era. Bert Persson has sold both his beloved Atlas self-launching glider and his hangar in…

James Nugent WGC Champion Landing Narromine SY

WORLD OF GLIDING AT NARROMINE

James Nugent, the new World Gliding Champion, Club Class, in the LS3 he flew to victory at WGC Narromine. By Sean Young After years of preparation, the 37th World Gliding Championships at Narromine finally got underway on 3 December 2023. Though the team at Narromine Gliding…

A Challenge or Three Doesn’t Dampen the Day

by Bernard EckeyAustralian agent for Alexander Schleicher GMBH Some readers might recall my report after flying Schleicher’s unflapped electric self-launching AS 34 Me during a trip to Germany last year. This year I was faced with an equally exciting task. Yes, you guessed it, I…

The Apennine Way Sailplane Grand Prix Finals Pavullo Italy

Flying over the Apennines near Pavullo. By Sean Young The final competition of Series 11 Sailplane Grand Prix took place at the small town of Pavullo Nel Frignano, nestled in the Northern Apennine Mountains near the cities of Modena and Bologna, Italy. After a series of contest…

Omarama Magic

Photo Essay by Brian Gilby Brian Gilby from Warwick Gliding Club visited Omarama in New Zealand over the summer. He was flying with Milan Kmetovics of Kahu Soaring in a Duo Discus. He also flew in a single seater that Milan organised for him and experienced some spectacular…

Safari - Lucky on the Second Attempt

By Bernard Eckey We had hoped that our first gliding safari in November of the 2022/23 season would get us into Queensland, but it soon came to an abrupt stop at Mildura. Our chase car driver reported flooded roads further east, which left us with no choice but to turn around…

Outlanding in the Wet

The farmer’s son captured this shot in the paddock using a drone. I landed in the dry part of the paddock but it was still 700m to the gate. By Garry Stevenson On the last day of the Nationals at Narromine, the season was winding down. The days were short, typically starting…

1000 km Allan Barnes - Tomas Suchanek

It was going to be a big soaring day. Skysight was suggesting a 920km out and return to the north with blue in the west and cu in the east. I decided to try for a declared 1,000km, and set my outbound waypoint at about 30km east of where the edge of the cu was forecast to be at…

Joeyglide 2023

A close up image of JoeyGlide's annual glider lift, featuring Annoushka De Chelard in the cockpit. (Laurie Bartlett) By Tom Jamieson When you spend a week surrounded by keen, young pilots who are capable and passionate about what they do, your personal flying is bound to leap…

Burketown Safari -Morning Glory

Glider pilots have been going to Burketown for the Morning Glory for many years and it has been growing in popularity. This September at least 17 gliders and other RAAus aircraft, plus paragliders, flocked to Burketown. This is Grant Rookes' story of his journey. By Grant…

Conquering New Zealand's Mt Cook

By Adam BlandMy last trip to Omarama was pre Covid, so it was great to leave the flooding rain behind last month and enjoy 10 days of nice weather with my son Adam and an Omarama Gliding Club Duo Discus. We had a mixture of thermal, ridge, convergence and, finally, wave on our…

Junior World Gliding Championships - Tabor Czech Republic

Ryan Driscoll looking optimistic on the grid. By James NugentNormally after a competition I find myself eager to jump on the computer, coffee in hand, and jot down my experiences, frustrations, celebrations, and what I learned. However, after arriving home from the Czech…

Two-Up in Hungary - World Gliding Championships Szeged

Allan Barnes and Harry Medlicott landiing the Arcus at Szeged. By Allan Barnes and Sean Young Sean Young - Good Weather but Challenging Circumstances The World Gliding Championships in 20m multi-seat, 18m and Open Classes was held at Szeged in the south of Hungary near the…

Gliding in the French Alps

Flying the 'Royal Way', a designated airspace route across des Ecrins National Park. By Sean Young One of the great things about gliding is the opportunity to fly in locations around the world with a variety of soaring conditions. Early on in my gliding career I had a few…