View of the Australian Alps towards Mt Kosciuszko.
By Josh Davis and Dr. Richard Agnew
JOSH DAVIS
Ever 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 headed down to the HQ of wave flying in Australia, Canberra Gliding Club’s Bunyan Airfield, 12km north of Cooma in the Snowy Mountains.
My aims were, first and foremost, to fly and operate safely, second, to learn as much as possible about the wave and, last, to achieve my Diamond Height badge – if possible. I had initially intended to take our club Astir to Bunyan, however, when the Pawnee issue meant that Canberra’s tug MLS would be out of action by the week of the planned wave camp, Dr Paul Tridgell generously offered me his DG1001M, as it can self-launch.
When I arrived at Bunyan, Deputy CFI Greg Schmidt met us and helped rig the mighty DG1001M, and was extremely helpful in all regards. The week saw the wave conditions gradually improve, with a strong westerly airflow building high over the mountains. The conditions on the ground made it more and more difficult to take off and land, with winds gusting over 40kts. For this reason I was up at 5:30am in the dark and freezing sub-zero temps to get the aircraft ready before the winds picked up, and aiming to land in the late afternoon when they died down.
Looking down Thredbo valley.
First Flight
I was lucky to be able to fly with Dr Richard Agnew on my first wave flight. Rick is a long-time holder of the Australian altitude trophy, and has flown wave all over the world for the last 40 years.
We launched a bit later than expected as Rick could see that roll clouds were not visible, potentially making the day more difficult than in ‘classic’ conditions. However, I was super keen to launch, and assured Rick that having the engine meant we could explore the air as we climbed in the vicinity of the airfield.
Josh Davis and Rick Agnew after a wave flight in Dr Paul Tridgell's DG 1001M
We pushed forward upwind as we climbed towards the classic known entry points over Mudder Lake. We finally contacted that magic, silky smooth laminar flow, and I knew it straight away. Initially it was very slight, and after shutting the engine off we were climbing at less than 1kt. The lift gradually increased to 3kt and we headed up to Bredbo, where we contacted stronger lift to about 4kt and climbed to 17,000ft. We surfed the wave north to the airspace boundary, and then back to Bredbo, topping up for our big jump pushing towards the primary wave over Jindabyne.
Typically, during the push forward, you can have your heart in your mouth as the vario swaps from gentle lift to 8-10kt down, and the blue day made it difficult to know precisely where the next wave band was sitting. Pushing forward into 60kts headwind, we finally contacted the primary wave over the western side of Lake Eucumbene, and then finally saw some tiny roll clouds over Lake Jindabyne, our ticket to heaven!
Lake Eucembene looking west
Agnew’s Elevator
Positioning the aircraft just upwind and above these, we contacted the strongest lift yet. We were going up ‘Agnew’s elevator’! The view looking down on Lake Jindabyne and the entire NSW main range was absolutely incredible.
After reaching the limit of Class E airspace, as gliders currently do not have a permit with CASA to enter Class A airspace, we headed over to the main range and encountered heavy sink over Kosciusko, taking some quick photos including the Thredbo valley. Moving downwind we contacted the wave again and surfed it all the way down almost to the Victorian border!
Turning back north, the lift again increased, and it was incredible to be able to push the nose down, cruising at almost 100kt indicated without loosing much height. We again flew to the northern airspace boundary, and turned south. I was flying while Rick was ‘preoccupied’ and, given the completely blue conditions, I inadvertently managed to fly us over the back of the wave by heading southeast.
The view from Josh's glider flying solo at FL230 over Bredbo looking west towards main range.
Insidious
It came as a real shock to me, as it’s very insidious. You fly what you think is perpendicular to the wind, only to find that it’s blowing you off the peak wave, and all that happens is, because we are still flying very fast, the amount of sink simply increases – and then increases exponentially! At worst, you can find yourself out of the wave system, and then looking for outlanding options.
We got as low as 10,700ft. Rick was getting pretty concerned, to say the least. He flew us into wind, deftly feeling the air to find the wave pattern again. We didn’t even consider attempting to start the engine at this point, as it was probably frozen solid from the hours at -20 degrees. If it didn't start, it would create a lot more drag, and we would be on the ground very quickly.
Rick masterfully found the wave again, and we climbed back up to 15,000ft, headed back over Lake Jindabyne to top up height, and then zoomed back to Bunyan with a huge ground speed of almost 170kt. We landed 7 hours 2 minutes after take-off, managing 554km, my longest flight yet. Not a bad introduction to the wave!
Classic roll cloud making the wave over Lake Eucumbene, NSW
Almost Emergency
The next day, with my brain stuffed full of all this new knowledge, I awoke again at 5:30am to prepare the aircraft for my attempt at the solo FAI Diamond Height. It was a difficult day again, with very few marker clouds, and I had to thermal rotor before contacting the wave. The strongest lift was near Bredbo and I watched the altimeter slowly wind up.
Passing 23,000ft I had a complete failure of the Mountain High EDS oxygen unit. It started beeping like crazy, alerting me that it was faulty. Picking it up out of the side pocket, I felt it was VERY cold, and the outside air temperature was -27 degrees. I immediately switched it to emergency mode, to no avail. It was pumping oxygen in short bursts intermittently. I also tried switching it off and on, and it reset but then started going berserk again. As in all emergency situations time slows down, and I am sure that this process took less than 20 seconds.
I then immediately initiated the emergency procedure, locking out full airbrakes, deploying landing gear, and descending at high speed. On the ground I informed Paul about the event, and queried when the MH units had last been serviced. He replied ‘never’ – to my horror, since they had been purchased in 2011. There is some tiny, small print at the very end of the MH manual strongly recommending that the units be returned to MH in the USA for service every two years.
Perisher Ski Resort
Diamond Height
On the last possible wave day, I borrowed one of the club’s newer MH units, which I kept warm in the sun strapped to my jacket. Luckily, on this day the rotor clouds were visible, and to my great joy I contacted the wave at around 5,500ft, making it slowly to 24,000ft in smooth lift, which petered out to less than 1kt at the top. Then I made a quick descent to pack up the glider and drive all the way back to the central coast for flying the next day.
A huge thank you to Dr Paul Tridgell, Dr Rick Agnew, Greg Schmidt and Matthew Atkinson, without whom it wouldn’t have happened. I am massively grateful for their coaching and the friendly hospitality of Canberra Gliding Club for hosting me and the DG. As Rick’s mantra says, ‘Fly high, fly long, fly fast and fly safely.’
Mt Kosciusko
Rick Agnew
So, it’s summer time and you are flying competitions, huge distances, achieving really fast times and making lots of hopefully beautiful climbs in 10kt-plus thermals. When it’s good, summer soaring is great – but what about the so-called off season? Like migratory birds or animals, we move on to where the lift is.
The lift is at Bunyan, 12km north of Cooma, NSW, where Canberra Gliding Club’s airfield is located and the home of Australia’s undisputed wave capital. Yep, if it wasn’t already confirmed, this last season firmly cemented that accolade!
To be sure, wave can be found all over Australia – and the world – but in Australia, the really big stuff is produced lee of the Australian Alps where the greatest heights, distances and speeds are reached.
I have been banging on for years and years. In fact, my last significant Australian Gliding wave articles were ‘Bunyan lessons’ in August 1992, and ‘Skysurfer: the use of lift generated by orthographic wave’ in July 1996, and things haven’t changed. Various pilots and I have actually learned more, flown more and longer and faster since then – but why? Possibly just because we can, but it’s probably due to better equipment, gliders, oxygen systems, instrumentation and weather prediction and strategies, as well as the will and desire to do it.
Thredbo
Recent Bunyan Wave Flights
The wave season, which typically occurs ahead of the snow season and in the spring time, produced some notable examples of what can be achieved from Bunyan, flying up into the Australian Alps to zoom along the primary wave.
Many pilots have written extensively on the mechanics of wave and how to prepare for and fly it, as well as what to watch out for. It’s a continual learning experience.
I would advise all glider pilots to consider coming to fly from Bunyan at least once and experience what I and others find is such a hoot… flying WAVE. Be warned - it’s addictive.
I have selected some of more recent, significant Bunyan wave flights:
Josh Davis and Rick Agnew – 554km at 99kph (18 Sept 24) DG 1001M VH
Justin Fitzgerald on multiple flights, including:
916km at 175kph (20 Jul 21); 427km at 155kph (18 Sept 22); 791km at 167kph (25 Jul 24); 744km at 149kph (22 Aug 24) in his Ventus cT VH-PEO
Geoff Brown – 244km at 142kph (15 Jul 23); 494km at 108kph (29 Jul 24) in a JS1 TJ 18m VH-UKG
Alan Wilson – 481km at 116kph (31 Aug 24) DG 303 VH-DGA
Rick Agnew – 567 at 146kph (29 Jul 24); 394km at 148kph (24 Aug 24); 703km at 137kph (31 Aug 24); 640km at 145kph (8 Sept 24) ASG 29 E 18m VH-IJB
BREAKING RECORDS
As Justin Fitzgerald (Fitzie) stated regarding his flight on 25 July 2023, “A slow morning but the afternoon was great – a 200km leg in 43 minutes. If the morning had been as good as the afternoon, it would have been a straightforward 1,200km day. The place has amazing potential. With the extra legs, just under 1,100km was flown, in near as dammit mid-winter!”
29 July 2024 was a ripper of a day, when three of us flew wave from Bunyan with Fitzie and Geoff pair flying, and me flying separately. I was still learning the ASG 29 – well, that’s my excuse. Fitzie said, “I declared the 300 out and return, but by the time the day got going it wasn't suitably aligned. The record will fall – by a lot! I went south with Geoff Brown – the legs are plenty long enough for a 1,200km+ six-leg. Probably another 50km further south was do-able today, based on the picture down towards East Sale with obvious wave. Stopped and came back 40 minutes early after 800km, as the club were packing up and the thousand wasn't 'on' due to sunset. If the day had started 45 mins earlier, this would be a straightforward 1,000km day. The place has so much potential.”
Again on one of his flights, Fitzie observes:
“First two legs were great fun with glide ratio over 150:1, huge fun.”
Al Wilson notes on my 8 September 2024 flights, “Flat landers, note irrelevant thermalling stats.”
Lessons Learned
Know your aircraft – that is, your glider. I am still getting to grips with JB’s ASG 29 E18m, now mine, and its LX 9070 navigation system. The instruments are amazing, but this wombat has to learn, first, how to fly an 18m glider – it’s not a Jantar or my SZD 55-1, which were my previous weapons of choice – and second, how to use the LX Nav systems. I have been a convert to XCSoar.
Interestingly – well, for me anyhow – SeeYou says I flew 965km, and 871km on another flight.
What I’m trying to say is that we at Bunyan and in the wave ARE doing BIG, fast flights – worthy of coming and experiencing. Yes, the Canberra Gliding Club has three twin seaters (two SZD-50 Puchacz and one beautiful DG 1001 18m) and one single seater, a DG 303 – so if you don’t have or can’t bring a glider, come and organise a CGC asset for next season!