I drove to Vågå on Friday night to pick up my glider that I had left there after the Nationals. The forecast was for marginally flyable conditions on Saturday and a rainy Sunday, so I did not have too high hopes.
On Saturday morning it was cloudy and not very promising, but we went up to Vole and got a 40 minutes flight ridge soaring on Skagsnebb in very light conditions that slowly died out. After landing it seemed to break up and get a bit more sunny, so we went back up to Vole. As we got ready it got grayer again and the second flight was an extended glide down to landing. Olav did some filming and took a few pictures while we were gliding together.
While packing up again the wind picked up and turned easterly, so why not try Salknappen? Up there it was soarable, but we had to wait for a small shower to pass, and we had a black wall of rain slowly pushing closer from south of Otta. All of us got a great flights in very soarable conditions, the front seemed to generate quite a lot of lift. It’s been a long time since I flew three flights in Vågå on one day!
Setting up at Salknappen
Blåhøe towner, smooooooth lift
Blåhøe
Vågå from over Blåhøe
A black wall of rain over Otta/Sjoa
Olav trying to soar up on Blåhøe
Too low on first try
After packing up for the last time I checked the forecast again, and decided to go home to Oslo. I drove through quite a lot of rain on the way home, but otherwise an uneventful 4 hours in the car.
The conditions were overcast and slow in the morning, but the forecast said better conditions later in the day. We went up to Salknappen and waited in the clouds for the conditions to clear. We set a 31km task late in the afternoon, staying locally in the valley.
I took off as one of the first pilots, and took the second start gate as the first pilot. The conditions were very slow and the cloudbase was down on the ridge making me fly around the clouds which gave me a crappy start as I came back low into the lift. I was a little too impatient there, should have stayed back and waited for the gaggle and the next startgate.
The gaggle took the next start gate and caught up with me halfway to the next TP, where we had a excellent ridge race going up and down the ridge to tordkampen with me, Olav and Speidern very close together. Nils Aage and Bjørn were ahead of us and got to goal first and second, I pulled away from Olav and Speidern and got in as third, but with my earlier starttime I got 5. place in the end.
The task was heavily devaluated as expected since it was short and we flew it fast.
Results here, not much changes since first day with Olav in the lead, ahead of me and Nils Aage.
Day 6 saw rain again, and we cancelled the day at first briefing, it still raining heavily now at 14:30 so it seems like the right decision.
Day 3 looked promising on the forecast, and we woke up to a sunny but windy day. We first went up to Vole, but after hanging around at takeoff for 30 minutes it was clear it was too windy to safely take off from Vole. Nobody had set up so we loaded up and drove to Heidal and the Espesetra takeoff in search of better conditions.
At Espesetra it was very nice, and almost too mellow conditions. We made a 88km task to Frya, back to Kvam, Brandstadkampen, and goal at Frya, with first startgate at 14:45.
I took off quite early, and stuggled a little to get up, and I did not get the best startgate position. But I was not too far behind the leaders, and took the first startgate working to catch up. We had an OK run to the first TP, where Olav, Nils Aage and me pulled away from the rest of the gaggle. I was above and a little behind Olav and Nils Aage at the next TP at Kvam, where I went a little more upwind and got a good 3 m/s thermal.
I went on a long glide over the Frya plateau, and Olav came in behind me at Ringebu where I we were getting a little low and had no good clouds ahead. I found a weak thermal and we took a few turns together there but it was not enough to get us through the last TP and to goal. I saw a bird tuning over the last TP and went on glide to it, while Olav went a little left and got a good thermal. At the TP the bird was gone and it did not leave any lift for me, so I was now lower than Olav before the final glide to Frya. He overtook me and got in around 30 seconds before me.
Nils Aage came in a few minutes behind us, and Dag and Speideren were not far behind either. There were lots of happy faces in goal, and I think we got a good days flying from conditions that turned out to be much better than we had hoped for. Coming back to Vågå we heard it had calmed down after we left and many pilots had good local flights there too.
Tomorrow looks like it will rain again, but the next days should be good.
I arrived in Vågå last night,after taking the very full train from Oslo to Otta. Thanks to Stefan for picking up my glider at Finn’s place and bringing it to Vågå.
We had a very windy morning, it was forecasted to calm down during the day. We went up to Vole at 15:00 in hope of a late task to Frya, but the conditions were not good for a task and we had to cancel it after waiting until 17:30. It did calm down more and I set up to fly down at around 18:30. I took off and found a nice thermal in front of the west takeoff that took me up above launch. I boated around in weak lift and got a few more weak thermals up to 1800m where the wave started generating widespread lift.
I felt that it could get a bit dodgy with wave and strong winds, and decided to land.
Hope it get better tomorrow, forecasts are very variable.
I’ve spent some time at the Moyes factory the last weeks, helping Bill Moyes finishing some of his projects. One project was to make a nice cockpit for the Dragonfly, to give some shelter to the pilot flying it. I’ve gotten some first hand knowledge of how cold it can be in the winter, so I think this was a good idea!
Bill made some brackets, and a frame from aluminium tubing and profiles. We put it all together by pop-riveting the clear perspex and black plastic sheet to the frame, some alu profiles on the side, and sikaflex to glue the trim and jaws in place. We quickly realized it needs a few improvements, like hinges to swing it up for easier entry and exit, and possibly a way to get to the rudder pedals to steer when groundhandling the plane, but all in all a very good result for a first prototype.
Looks pretty good?
Dragonfly cockpit prototype
I made up some nice sharks teeth to give it a bit more “Bite” :-)
Jaws, now with sharks teeth!
We wanted to try it out at Rylestone, but the weather did not cooperate with us the first weekend. However last weekend we loaded it into the trailer and drove to Rylestone to try it out. Saturday was rainy and shitty, so we spent the day moving a trike and some other stuff to Gulgong. Bill has some of his toys there, and I had a look at the Tempest sailplanes he built. I hope I get to try one someday!
We slept in the “Terminal” at Rylestone again, and with Bill getting up every 2 hours putting more wood on the fire it was warm and comfy inside. I woke up and had a look outside at 4 AM, with a full moon and clear skies it was getting well below freezing and the ground was white from frost. I never thought I would experience this in Australia…
At 7AM Bill is awake and it’s time to go flying, frost and dense morning fog did not matter. According to every Australian I meet – as a Norwegian I should be used to the cold… In Norway we have real clothes for real winters, not the thin and cheap stuff you find in stores here :-)
I was doing some instructing from the back-seat, flying with Roger who is buying a new Dragonfly. He’s already had many hours of flying, so we just trained some landings and emergencies between heating up in front of the fire inside. I was wearing everything I had left of warm clothes, but I did not have windproof clothes anymore as I shipped those with my hangglider. It was extremely cold in the morning, but got a little better during the day as the sun heated up the air.
In the meantime we had got the wings back on Jaws, Steve McCarthy took it for a spin after warming up the Rotax 912 and reported good behavior and vibrations. I took it up for the second flight, and found that our cockpit worked brilliantly. It was just a little turbulence down my back, otherwise nice and comfy. The local eagles were coming up in the weak thermals to check me out, and we had a brilliant sky to play around in.
It was a good way to finish off the flying in Australia for this trip. We are packing up at home now, and have a flight home to Norway on Saturday.
The Cruiser looks strange with no glider on the roof. I'll miss this car, I did 22000 km on it in 5 months with no trouble at all. The ultimate hanggliding car... She's with a very good new owner now!
I spent a few more days at Lake Keepit in hope of getting some XC conditions, it was blue and windy the first few days, but the last day was OK with some late clibms to 4800ft and up to 4 knot thermals.
I flew the LS7 the first days, and took the Junior up the last day as it was already set up to fly.
Some pictures;
Local troublemakers
The LS7 is ready to go
Dead bugs on wings! – Live bugs on order…
Beer o’clock
Jim doing the loogbook
MRP head on
Instructing
Juha the flying Finn from Switzerland.
Braaaake
Locals on the runway
I met these two while walking to morning briefing
Deep pre-takeoff concentration
O is for Outside, T is for… ? Ehh…
Jim looking level and in control
Jim looking level and in control
Mike Romeo Papa – Rolling runway 32, glider on tow
I often get questions about programming routes and how I set up my instrument for competition flying, this usually happens at briefing just before takeoff, when I want to get ready to fly and have no time to go through the setup with someone new to the instrument. Sorry I could not help you guys at takeoff, but here’s the guide to use before the next comp.
Hint: It’s a lot better to do this at home before flying, where you get to know the instrument a bit better, than in the stress of setting up and getting ready to fly the first task of the nationals, or worlds…
I do not write about route programming here, I can do that if you find this useful – leave a comment.
General setup
I have software version 3.28 in my Compeo+, if you have an older version you might not get all the fields I have described here. Upgrading the instrument is not difficult, but not for the complete computer novice either. (I can do it for you, after flying)
There are three pages in the instrument, accurately named P1, P2, and P3 in the top middle of the instrument screen.
I have three fields that I keep the same info on all pages; it’s the upper right field that shows distance to active waypoint, and the upper and middle left fields that show Wind speed and groundspeed. These three are the basic information that always changes during the flight, and if you keep them in the same place it’s easier to read the instrument quickly and accurately.
The reason I lay out the fields like that is to have a natural way of scanning the display, like reading a page top left to bottom right; Starting with the Vario/McReady – course arrow – airspeed/height/distance to TP, next line down – ground and wind speed, and then the variable fields.
You change between the screens in flight by pressing right arrow button.
Page 1 – Startgate
The most important thing when you are flying and waiting for the startgate is to be aware what time the start gate is, and how far it is to cross the cylinder so you can time the start perfectly. It’s also the time to get a feel for the thermals and conditions, so it’s a good idea to note the wind direction and strength.
Page 1 - Startgate page
Left side fields, from top.
Wnd Spd – Windspeed – Shows a calculated wind speed. This value is calculated from the difference between airspeed and groundspeed, so there is a big margin for error, consider it an estimate.
Gnd Spd – Groundspeed – Shows your groundspeed from the GPS.
Time – The clock from GPS – Shows the time your GPS is logging. If this time is wrong you need to change the UTC offset in the setup menu. (Typically when daylight savings change or you travel to another time zone)
Also note that you will have a countdown timer to the first startgate in the bottom of the screen when you have activated the competition route.
Right side fields, from top
Dist WP – Distance to center of active waypoint – This will show the distance to the center of the startgate cylinder, not very useful for now.
Cyl Arrival – Estimated arrival at cylinder. This shows the estimated time when you will cross the cylinder when you are gliding towards the cylinder. I usually calculate 1 minute per kilometer, which is 60 km/h groundspeed. This field is a “nice to have” as it confirms what you have estimated in your head.
Dist StCyl – Distance to start cylinder. Very important and useful, shows how far you are from the start cylinder edge. Combine with the countdown clock in the bottom of the screen to calculate when you need to start gliding to take an optimal start.
Dist Toff – Distance to takeoff point. Useful if you have to glide back for a restart in Aerotow competitions, otherwise useful for open distance flights.
Page 2 – On course
During the task you want to know how far it is to the next PT, to plan ahead and find the fastest route there. I do not fly with a mapping GPS, (Just look down for an updated map) so I rely on memory and the cross track information to know where I am in relation to the course and next TP. Having updated windstrength and direction is also nice.
Page 2 - On course page
Left side fields, from top.
Wnd Spd – Windspeed – Shows a calculated wind speed. This is calculated from the difference between airspeed and groundspeed, so there is a big margin for error, consider it an estimate.
Gnd Spd – Groundspeed – Shows your groundspeed from the GPS.
Dist goal – Remaining distance of the task. Very nice to know if the goal is close to the last TP so you can start the final glide before that last TP. Also nice morale booster/destroyer depending on how your flights are progressing.
Right side fields, from top.
Dist WP – Distance to center of active waypoint – This will show the distance to the center of the next TP. Usually we have 400 meter radius, but sometimes there might be a 1000m or more radius for special cases. See the lower right field for distance to cylinder, but this is still nice if you forgot to set the right radius in the route (Been there, done that), as it will show you when you are close enough.
XT Error – Cross track error. This is very nice when flying crosswind tasks; it shows how many km you are off track. Minus is left of track, no minus is right.
Alt a WP – Altitude above WP. This is a glide estimate, showing how high you will arrive above the next TP if you glide for it now. I use it as a confirmation that I am where I think I am relative to the TP and wind.
Dist Cyl – Distance to Cylinder. Shows the distance to the cylinder of the next TP. Very useful if there are varying cylinder sizes in the task.
Page 3 – Final glide
Having made it here it’s all about the glide, so the setup changes to focus on glide angles.
Page 3 - Goal page
Left side fields, from top.
Wnd Spd – Windspeed – Shows a calculated wind speed. This is calculated from the difference between airspeed and groundspeed, so there is a big margin for error, consider it an estimate.
Gnd Spd – Groundspeed – Shows your groundspeed from the GPS.
L/D gnd – Glide angle over ground. This shows what your glide over ground is in the moment, somewhat useful to get an idea of your glide, but it varies a lot and is not a good indication if you will make it or not. See the L/D Goal for that.
Right side fields, from top.
Dist WP – Distance to center of active waypoint (Goal). Again this is the center of goal TP, very useful if there is a goal line.
L/D Goal – Glide angle to goal. This shows the angle from where you are and to goal. The most useful function on the final glide! If you are on glide, and the number goes down (From 15:1 to 14:1) you are gliding well and should make it in unless conditions change (Or you speed up too much). If the number goes up (From 12:1 to 15:1) you will not make it and need to look for more lift, more tailwind, or a miracle :-)
Alt a goal – Altitude above goal. This shows the estimated altitude you will arrive over goal if you do an optimal speed glide to goal. (Calculated from the polar you have programmed in the instrument) This number takes wind speed and direction into calculation.
Alt a BG – Altitude above best glide. This shows the estimated altitude you will arrive over goal if you do a best glide to goal. (Slow glides keeping the speed at best glide all the way in) This number takes wind speed and direction into calculation.
Remember;
All the glide functions require that the goal waypoint has the correct altitude, and your instrument is set to the correct altitude.
You will also need a somewhat correct polar to get useful Alt a goal/Alt a BG values (And useful McReady speeds).
The instrument glide functions cannot predict sink or lift on glide, only you can do that!
So there you have my setup, there are lots of information fields in the instrument so I am sure other pilots have different opinions on the optimal setup. Comments and questions are welcome!
(Not that I have been using the vario much lately – Here’s the weather outside as I write this)
I was at the Moyes factory last Friday to drop off a harness I brought back from Dalby. While I was there there Warren offered to take us sailing with his catamaran on Saturday to go out and meet the 16 year old Jessica Watson girl who sailed solo and unassisted around the world, and on Sunday we could go to Bill’s place at Rylestone and go flying. Great plan!
On Saturday morning Georgia and I met Warren at the Sydney fishmarket and we sailed out the harbor and across to Manly to pick up some more crew. Georgia had to get back on land at Manly as she got seasick in the rough seas. The conditions got even worse when we went out from Manly and got outside the Sydney harbor heads. We broke a rope holding the boom for the spinnaker, and it was a bit of a struggle to get the sail down before it broke. In the 3-4 meter rough waves even I got seasick for the first time in my life, while working to save and secure the spinnaker. I’ve been on boats since I was a kid, and never got close to seasick, fortunately it got better once we got back inside shelter of the south head and into the harbor.
Sydney skyline from the waterDoes not look that bad in the picture, it was very rough. Notice the Cu-nimb on the horizon.Loads of boats in the harbor
On Sunday morning Warren and I drove up to Rylestone to meet up with Bill Moyes and Steve the tugpilot, to get some towing and flying. Conditions were gray when we drove up, but got nicer during the morning and the first thermals started working just as I was ready to go. Steve gave me a great tow up to 800 meters AGL, and found some weak stuff to hang around in while conditions were improving. Once established in cloudbase at 1900 meters it was a great day.
It was cold though, I was wearing 3 layers of wool and fleece under my Skyline jacket, and still I was shaking of cold for the last half hour of the flight.
Rylestone Aerodrome
I saw 10 eagles during my hour and 20 minutes flight, always in pairs. They seemed to be accepting us flying in their territory and did not attack or seem to be aggressive, very unlike Forbes in January where they were acting like mean bastards!
Ozzie wedge-tailed eagle. They can be very mean, this was a cool one!
This eagle in the photo above wanted to play chicken with me, flying straight at me to see who would turn away first. I got it on video, the camera was fogging up a bit by then due to the cold and moist air in cloudbase. It’s still quite cool to see on the film, and seeing all those eagles really made my day! I won the chicken contest since the eagle flapped his wings and rolled away to avoid colliding.
Here’s the video, the eagle passing me is at the end.
It gets dark quickly now, at 16:30 it’s getting too dark to land, and 17:30 is pitch black. After landing and packing up we went to the pub for a few beers and food, it took a while to get the food so we had to get even more beers that what I really needed. We slept on the floor in the “terminal”, with Bill waking up every few hours and putting more wood in the stove to keep it warm inside. I’m still glad I had a “winter” sleeping bag.
The next day it was gray from the morning, and I jumped in the backseat of the tug to give Warren a few lessons, working on his landings. We spend some hours doing landings, stopping now and then to get inside and heat up in front of the fire. I did not bring my winter flying gear from home, and was wearing every piece of fleece I have here :-)
17. May and rain, nothing new there. At least we could fly!
Eventually Warren got in a few good landings without bouncing too much and I sent him off on his first solo. He did well, no parts fell off and nothing bent! The rain came around midday so I packed up and drove back to Sydney.
I will go back to Forbes next weekend if the weather is good, hope to get a few more hours of flying there before it’s time to pack up the glider and ship it home.
A visualisation of the northern European airspace returning to use after being closed due to volcanic ash. Due to varying ash density across Europe, the first flights can be seen in some areas on the 18th and by the 20th everywhere is open.
Blog, pictures, videos, and articles from my flying adventures aound the world. Content in English.
