Allan Barnes flying his LS8 15m.
After two good practise days, the Australian Multiclass Nationals got underway at Lake Keepit on 25 November under a cumulus filled sky. Lake Keepit was the host site for the Women’s World Championships in 2020 and will host the Junior WGC in 2028.
Lake Keepit is a very interesting gliding site. The airfield is within a State Park, nestled in the Australian Great Dividing Range and surrounded by mountains to the east, the Liverpool Range to the South and Nandewar Range to the north. It is adjacent to the Liverpool Plains, which are flat, of course, and to the West beyond the hills is the vast New South Wales wheat belt.
Matthew Atkinson and Jonny Durand talking with Norm Bloch. Matthew and Jonny flew an Arcus M in Open Class.
Andy Maddox (left) with Nils Salberg, flew into Keepit from Queensland.
Jacques Graelles ready to launch.
Mount Kaputar (Nandewar) Range rises to 1,500m. Together with the Warrumbungles to the south, they are on the western edge of the Great Dividing Range.
Air flows from the west, north and south, interacting with the air funnelling through and over the ranges from the ocean to the east. This configuration produces a variety of soaring conditions with mountain and convergence influences occurring all the time and changing throughout the soaring day. The result is superb and infinitely interesting soaring conditions.
Tasks are typically set to the north around and over Mount Kaputar, out to the west to the plains of the wheat belt and to the south towards the Liverpool Range and Warrumbungles. On the last practise day before the contest, Adam Woolley flew his Ventus 3 in 18m Class (in 15m configuration) and showed the full potential of the area by flying the first FAI 1,000km triangle from Lake Keepit.
Due to the low number of entrants, the Open, Standard and 15M classes were combined into one Open Class. In 15M class, which many will remember as the most important class, there were only five entrants. In Standard, there were just two entrants.
Briefing the morning after Adam Woolley (far right) had flown the first FAI 1,000km triangle from Lake Keepit.
Not Making Mistakes
Tobi Geiger flew his 15m Ventus 2 in the combined Open Class. After winning Race 1, he said, “I’ve never competed in Open Class before, but there is not much difference in performance between a Ventus 2 and the big wing gliders. They are better in the cruise, but I can climb more quickly in the Ventus.”
The first leg was very fast at about 145kph. Describing the next leg, he said, "I could see clouds way off track, and since I didn't want to fly that much of a deviation I headed direct, and that really slowed me down. My speed dropped to 105 kph, just by taking that shortcut. Once I did make it to the clouds at the northern turnpoint, from there I had a brilliant run."
Adam Woolley won the first race in 18M Class. He said, "My first leg was like Tobi's at about 140 kph. But I am a pilot who likes to know I have somewhere to land. Without a place to land, I slow down. So I chose to head west, far out into the plains on the other side of the Kaputar range. Over the mountains, I wouldn’t have been sure where I could land and would have slowed down, but by staying out on the plains, I knew I could drive as low as I liked.
"That was the first key. The second key was, like Tobi, I knew if I turned for the third circle too soon, I would be under time and finish early. I looked at my Oudie N, which was showing the satellite picture. I could clearly see that I had to get over to the eastern side of the third turnpoint, as there was good line of energy (clouds) running all the way back to the fourth turnpoint. For me, it was a day of not making mistakes, and using the software."
Flying over the Nandewar Range.
Tobias Geiger getting a launch in his Ventus 2 15m.
Changing Conditions
Adam also won 18M Class Race 2. Talking at briefing he said that the radio chatter helped him win that day. He heard one pilot complain that they were going to have to cross back into the ‘valley of misery’.
"That made me decide to stay high at the first turnpoint,’ said Adam. ‘Then Lumpy made a risky but good decision to deviate about 60 degrees to fly under clouds. I flew direct and had a slower run, but when I did reach the clouds, I got 12kts and I caught up with Lumpy. Then it was easy. I just followed Lumpy and didn't take risks," said Adam.
Allan Barnes won Open Class, flying his 15m LS8. He said, "Open Class were at the front of the grid for launch, but I wanted to start with the 18m gliders. I thought they might help pull me around, so I was happy with a late start.
"Seeing what conditions were like on the first leg, I flew right of track and got a good 7kt climb. That caught me up to some of the gliders who had gone west along the Carols and Kelvin range.
"I could see very nice CU above the first turnpoint, but that there was a massive blue hole on the other side. At the turnpoint I made a slow climb with Lumpy to cloud base. We then set off cruising slowly at about 70kts across the blue. But we got there with adequate height."
He found a 3kt climb, but was worried about heading directly to the next turnpoint as conditions looked weak there. But as he rounded the turnpoint, he could see CUs beginning to pop on the other side and followed Adam directly across.
"I chased him to his 12kt climb, but by the time I got there it was only 9kts. The thermal slowed down and the people who arrived after me only found 6 – 8kts, but that was the climb of the day.
"Once I climbed to cloud base, it was a straight run in the blue to the 4th turnpoint. Then I saw Tobi coming in underneath me like a scalded cat. I thought, he is obviously on a mission, so I just followed him home."
When asked about the conditions as they developed on the day, Allan said, "A good energy line ran from Manilla up to Kaputar. I think this sucked the energy from the areas to the east and west of the Kaputar range, concentrating the clouds and energy on the top of the mountains. The fact that there were those very strong climbs on the third leg, was indicative that a big circulation was happening. The down side of the circulation was on the other side, away from the range."
ABOVE and Below: Ray Stewart from Kingaroy in his JS3 in 18M Class waiting to launch.
ABOVE and BELOW: Paul Croft made the long drive from Beverley WA to fly his LAK17B in 18M Class.
Justin Smith in his JS3 18m
A Few Risks
Lumpy Patterson won the third race in 18m Class. He said, "After flying for a few days at Lake Keepit, I appreciate what a unique site it is, with a wide range of different soaring conditions. Although I’m flying in a relatively a small area, I frequently have to slow down, speed up, rethink and change tactics. In contrast, when you fly out of Tocumwal, you can just keep going. You can see that the conditions stay the same for long distances. But at Keepit you have to take so much more into consideration."
Talking about his day win on Race 3, he saw everyone had a good run on the first leg. It was also exciting. He said, 'For all the problems the mountains can cause, days like that show how nicely they can deliver. On that first leg, I flew 90km at 165kph without turning. Then I had to change gears up in the north corner as high cloud moved in. I was surprised by how quickly the clouds were cycling, with some good looking clouds not working at all and decaying ones giving 6kt climbs.
"I couldn't get a rhythm going, so I decided to try every cloud to see if it was working. Then we had the run home to the south, under the overshadowing. I think a lot of people had issues there. I had planned to go deep into the last turnpoint but realised that, due to the shadowing, nothing was there. Instead, I went into the back part of the sector. I figured I would get home a couple of minutes under time, but I thought that was the best option. In the end, I got a good climb and came home comfortably."
Allan had his second day win in Open Class. "I considered the sporting risks for the day," he said. "The main one was that the weather coming from the west would shut the day down, particularly as we approached the third turnpoint. Open Class were starting at the back, which meant that we already had a fairly late start, so I made the decision to start as early as I could.
"The risk of doing that is being overtaken by the people who start a bit later, which is what happened to me. When I reached Kaputar, I could see that the cloud bases going north were getting lower and lower, but there still looked to be good climbs ahead, so I kept pushing.
"I arrived at Moree as the cirrus was coming in, so I turned over the township hoping to outrun the high cloud. Seeing the cloud approaching from the west, I decided to go deep into the eastern circle and to only just touch the southerly circle as the cloud would be shutting that area down. Clouds lay to the east and that gave me enough height to touch the circle and head downwind to the final turn.
"I was below final glide, but saw a beautiful looking cloud and raced to it at about 90kts. But when I reached the spot, I couldn’t even find a bump. I couldn’t see anything on the way home to Keepit from there, but I just had to try it. I found a 3kt climb over Manilla that put me on final glide."
The view from Adam Woolley's Ventus 3 on a magnificent soaring day.
Stormy Weather
After three race days, a mass of humid air feeding down from the Pilbara drifted slowly across inland Australia and started dumping rain across New South Wales. Three non flying days followed. After the long wait, the competition ended with two more race days, making five days in total and enough for a valid championship.
In 18M Class, Norm Bloch from Beverley won Race 4 followed by Ray Stewart from Kingaroy. Adam took 3rd position and maintained his overall lead by 47 points from Ray. With only one more race to go, Adam would have to perform well to win the championship.
Unfortunately for him, on Race 5, he missed a climb and had to start his engine, gaining just 229 points for the day. Lumpy Patterson won the day, leapfrogging the others by gaining 975 points and finishing as the new 18M champion. Norm finished 2nd and Ray 3rd, with Adam in 4th place overall.
In the combined Open Class, Tobi won Race 4 followed by Ayala Truelove, a regular visitor to Lake Keepit from Lasham in the UK. Allan Barnes won the final Race 5, finishing the 386km racing task at 123.58 kph to become the new Open Class champion in his LS8.
Adam Woolley Talks Tactics
After briefing on several days, Adam Woolley gave talks and shared some of his competition strategies. Here are a few of the topics he covered.
Regarding Direction of Turn to enter and leave thermals, Adam used the whiteboard to illustrate his method of thermal entry and choosing which way to exit the thermal to maximise his glide. His main concern was with flying in air that is ‘sinking less’. When cruising, he is always looking for less sink, not necessarily lift, as less sink gives you a better L/D.
He stressed the importance of using all the information available to you. He advised to always listen and watch for clues – on the ground, in the air or over the radio. He always looks out to see where other gliders are flying. On the Flarm, he is watching what others are doing, and if they have better lift or worse lift. He said that, in a race, if you are not using the other pilots around you, you are losing.
Starting
He notes that the start is the biggest winning factor of the day, especially on a racing task. Since he can't fly in weak conditions any better than anyone else, he looks for help and uses every option. One of these is looking at the satellite image in flight. If you have a connection on track, satellite imagery can be seen on the SkySight website, or displayed directly on Oudies or other navigation devices. For example, before the start of Race 2, the satellite image showed a strong street to the east of track to the first turnpoint. He deviated 40 degrees to intercept it and roared along the street to the turnpoint.
He used the example of a start line and deciding which end of the line to start from, particularly if the first leg is short. Because the scoring software takes the start point from the middle of the line, you should start at the end that is closest to the point in the AAT circle where you are intending to make your first turn. So, if you think you will go into the left hand side of the circle to turn, start from the left hand end of the start line, as the distance will be shorter than starting from the right end. This would be the best choice even if the wind is coming from the right, simply because the distance would be less, giving you an advantage – a simple but important tactic.
AAT Start Times
To win an AAT, you have to start at the correct time, because the best soaring period of the day is not going to be determined by when pilots start. 'I like flying AATs because they are easier,' said Adam. "I know when I want to come home, and I know when the best time to start is. If you know the end of the day, you can work back to your start. I look for plus or minus 10 minutes on the ideal start time," he said.
Norm Bloch landing his JS3 18m. Norm also made the trip from Beverely in WA.
The final dinner at the LKSC clubhouse.
Multiclass Nationals
Lake Keepit
23 Nov - 2 Dec 2024
18M Class
1 Lumpy Paterson Tocumwal SC JS3-18m 4,319
2 Norm Bloch Beverley JS3-18m 4,277
3 Ray Stewart Kingaroy JS3-18m 4,240
Lumpy Patterson with the trophy for 18M Class.
Open class
1 Allan Barnes Lake Keepit SC LS8 4,779
2 Tobias Geiger GCV Ventus2-15m 4,612
3 Atkinson & Durand Lake Keepit SC Arcus M 4,208
Full results at soaringspot.com tinyurl.com/muticlass
Allan Barnes, the Open Class winner, noted that this event was his 37th Australian Nationals contest.