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Go Flying!


27th February 2004

One of my favorite farewells to a fellow pilot is:  “See you at the Nationals”!  It is a phrase filled with camaraderie, the hope of some great flying, knowing that some fun times will be had, and that enough stories will eventuate to fill the winter months while waiting for the next contest season!

The Best Flying Opportunities of the Year

Did you know that contests are actually a front?

When else are you given a license by your family to simply “go fly”.  When else are you encouraged to push the stick forward, and don’t worry, “if you land out we’ll come pick you up”.  Where else do you get to saunter into a briefing every morning and have the weather laid on, a carefully thought out task prepared for you, and that day’s after-flying social activities detailed?

Don’t get me wrong, for those wanting intense competition, you will find it at a gliding contest.  But for those wanting a great flying holiday – at club rates – this is absolutely the way to do it!

Great Myths About Contests 

  1. “I need to bring a retrieve crew”
    Nope.  Though you do need to be willing to pick up fellow contest pilots on some days to help share the load (actually not a bad way to see a bit of new countryside at someone else’s expense!).

     
  2. “I don’t have enough time to fly a full contest”
    Did you know that it is the glider that is entered in a contest?  There are lots of examples where 2 or 3 pilots enter a glider and then divvy up who flies which days.  We see this done a lot with club owned single and twin gliders.

     
  3. “I am not a good enough pilot to win”
    Errrrr, so what?!  There can only be one winner, and most of us know from day 1 that we are not the one!  But that does not reduce the absolute thrill of calling final glide after a great day’s outing, the joy of the occasional good day placing, and the fun rivalries that develop further down the rankings list.

     
  4. “I can’t fly that far”
    One of the many exciting things about your first couple of contests is that almost every day you come home having achieved a personal best.  And even better, everyone around you understands the importance of that and celebrates with you!  Flying at a contest really does make you a better pilot - safely.

 A Message For CFIs and Committees

If you seriously want to help your club members get going with their cross country flying, contests are the way to do it.  Why not enter one or more of your club’s single or two-seat gliders?  Either let the pilots make their own way, or make a club camp of it – an adventure!  Taupo did this a couple of years ago at the Northern Regional Championships and introduced a number of their members to cross country soaring and look at what is happening there these days!

The Sports/PW5 Class

The Sports/PW5 Class is a really interesting class for those of us who fly in it.  For many pilots – including many current and recent world champions – it is the class where they cut their teeth really learning to fly cross country before moving on to higher performance gliders.  For some of us it remains our class of choice.

Many club-owned gliders are Sports/PW5 Class machines.  Just think, your club may have the “bridge” enabling a club member to start on their pathway to world champion… or simply to a life time of enjoyment flying cross-country.

Gliding New Zealand website

If you are looking for information on contest dates, turnpoint information, entry forms, local pilot information… check out the Gliding New Zealand website at www.gliding.co.nz    You will see an aptly named button at the top of the home page… Sailplane Racing.  You have lots of contests to choose from this year: 3 Regional Champs, 2 Nationals, plus a number of local contests.

Check the website for information… then go flying!

Trevor Atkins, Piako Gliding Club
An article written for Gliding Kiwi