Deniliquin, NSW, Australia
I saw the first bushfires while driving down from Manilla to Sydney, huge amounts of smoke covering the sky like fog. I spent Chrismas in Sydney, picking up Gordon and some of the Swiss at the airport. After a few relaxing days at the beach we drove to Deniliquin, we did get through the fires that were spreading around Sydney without any closed roads. It was raining ashes at Bill and Molly’s place at the beach when we had a barbeque the last night, and the air smelled of smoke.

We have spent a few days getting the towing gear sorted, it went quite well once everything is in place. We are 9 people towing in our team, 1 Australian, 2 swiss, 1 American, 4 Brits, and me. Yesterday I did 2 tows and just flew around over the paddock for about 4 hours. Good conditions, with blue thermals to 2300 at the end of the day, glass-off just before I landed with smooth big thermals all over, hard to get down. The glider feels good, and now that I had other to fly with it seems to perform pretty well.

Today was the first comp day, it got cancelled bacause of high winds. We have a front moving through the area, It does not look good for tomorrow, but the day after should be good.

There’s only one computer available for internet use at a gas station in this town, so I won’t be updating everyday, there’s a long line of people waiting to use it…

Manilla, NSW, Australia
Today was supposed to be a really good day, with southerly wind and high cloudbase, everyone was getting ready for long flights. The day turned out to be crap, with NW winds, lots of cirrus blocking the sun, and a strong inversion at 1600 meters to make it a blue day. I met Shane from Ireland, and we tried to get in some distance crosswind to the north. Got some good lift, but a sinkhole sent me down from 1600 meters to the grund with 8 m/s sink all the way. I did not even reach the landing field I was planning to use, landed vertically in very strong winds, quite pissed off. Shane was behind me last time I saw him. Yesterday was the same, but stronger winds. I never went up the hill, one of the Swiss pilots chrashed his Litespeed at takeoff, hurt his ankle and knee. Tomorrow is forecasted the same as today, I’ll be heading down to Sydney again sometime tomorrow.

Merry Chrismas to everyone!

Sydney, NSW, Australia
Strong northerly winds and stable conditions made it a rest day today. I spent the day driving down to Sydney to pick up some of the towing gear, and get the the Swedish pilot’s rental car. Tomorrow is the Chrismas party at Moyes, I’ll drop by there before I drive back up to Manilla to get a few more days of XC flying in before we leave for the comps.

Weather in Sydney is wet and warm, feels like a sauna after the dry heat inland.

Manilla, NSW, Australia
Yesterday was another day of racing the storms, and losing… I flew north, got around the first small storm cell, and met it’s bigger brother just as I came over Baraba. I was hit by hail, and there was thunder and lightning in the area so that was it. I landed near Baraba. The sky was good elswhere, and no storms passed in the night, looks good for today.

Manilla, NSW, Australia
(Update delayed bacause of a thunderstorm last night)
Great day today, despite early overdevelopment. The Basher had fitted our old roofracks from 2 years ago. So I could catch a ride up the hill with the rest of the pilots, while my Ray who was my driver waited at Godfreys place.

The day was a little slow to begin with as clouds covered the area aroind the take-off. At around 12 it cleared, and I decided to take off with 2 paragliders going up in front of takeoff. It was weak and turbulent lift up to a small inversion at 1500 meters. OVer that it was good lift to cloudbase at 2000. The wind was west, and I decided to go crosswind north to Bingara. It was quite big clouds on the track, and over Baraba after 35km it started to rain, and I could see several storm-cells in the area. I did not risk to get really wet, and turned around and flew back to Manilla. Ray was there when I landed with ice cold water. Great, 2 hour flight, and early back in town.

Patric and me at takeoff 2 days ago.

I met a local sailplane pilot when I came back to the hotel, he had cruised under a 60 km long cloudstreet at 230 km/t without loosing any altitude today… Some of the paragliders are still flying locally over town as I’m writing this at 18:00, looks like great lift.

Manilla, NSW, Australia
Today was quite gray in the morning, and it overdeveloped quite early even before I got up the hill, so no flying today. Some of the paragliders took off early, and flew around 50 km.
Forecast looks good for tomorrow, I will get a driver and try to go XC.

Manilla, NSW, Australia
Great day of flying. Got up quite late because of last nights rain, met up with Patric and his girlfriend, took off, got a low save from 50 meters off the ground after opening the harness zipper, that thermal took me directly to cloudbase at 2200 meters, joined by a couple of eagles. Landed back at Godfreys after a short out and return, took a swim in the pool to cool down when I got back to town. What more can one ask for?

Manilla, NSW, Australia
Sorry for the long delay between updates, but there’s not been much to write about until now. Right now I’m in Manilla, it’s raining, and according to the locals it won’t be good until Sunday possibly Monday. (I’m writing this on Friday night)

I finished my studies in Sydney on Monday, on Monday night I went to see a consert with Live in Sydney Entertainment Center – It was very good, wild crowd, and lots of classic material mixed with songs from the new album “V”. I forgot to bring enough money to buy any of the fan T-shirts and hats, still kicking myself for that one.

Tuesday morning I checked out of the hotel and picked up my glider at the Moyes factory. We went to Stawell to fly, the guys had lot of new gliders to test fly. I got in the air and it felt like I had no control, my flight shape was very rusty after a few months of no flying. I flew for 1:30, and it gradually got easier to fly again, the landing was described as “interesting”. Since the glider had a right turn in it the Moyes boys make a few adjustments to the glider to make it go straight, and Craig testflew it for me again. After a night in a hotel where a freight train passed every 30 minutes, I went back to Stanwell for another flight, but it was rainy and weak conditions, so I packed up and drove to Manilla.

I drove under a gradually improving sky, close to Manilla it looked like this at 6 in the afternoon – “Cloudstreet road” (Klick on the photo for a larger version)

Cloudbase is at 2600 meters, the pilots here said it was inversion up to 2000 that was hard to get through, and the longest flight was only 90 km…

The car stalled in a intersection in Gunnedah, and would not start again, the starter motor had overheatet. So I had dinner at the same McDonald’s that Kjell and I waited at when we flew the first XC from Manilla and got lost 2 years ago. The food still tastes crap. After the car had cooled down it started again and I finally arrived at the Imperial Hotel in Manilla. “Hi Oyvind” is the first thing I hear walking into the pub, Coleen who run the place recognized me at once. Feels almost like home, this is a great place to stay for relaxed XC flying.

Today I went by Godfrey Wennes place, as it was obviously not flyable, and had a chat with him. There’s a team of French paraglider pilots here to set new XC World records. They are here for 2 months, and have not had good conditions the last 6 weeks they have been here. Tonight all the French are drinking hard as it’s most likely gonna be crap weather tomorrow as well. Godfrey have inherited our very tall roofracks from last time, and put them on the Borah Basher, that meens I can get a ride with the basher to the top, and have my car at the landing. Have to get a driver, or team up with some of the other pilots around if conditions look good for XC. Right now I only need more airtime to get into flying shape again, as well as get to know and tune the glider just right.I spent the rest of the day going to Tamworth to have the AC in the car fixed, and buying some things I need.

I wish the cloudstreets were back soon…

Sydney, NSW, Australia
The Volvo Ocean Race yachts came to goal in Darling harbour. I was there as Djuice Dragons came to port at 4. place in this leg of the race. Illbruck and News Corp was there, I could not see SEB anywhere, but a black carbon fibre mast was visible behind the maritime museum, so I guess she was taken off the water imideately. Amer Sports 1 also came in just as we left to find some dinner in Chinatown. Here’s Djuice arriving