Australian Competitions & World Champs in France
I'm really looking forward flying a few of the Australian comps this year, and if all goes well, flying the World Championships in France in June 2009. Finally, after the Australian immigration, and launching Warren Windsports Australia 1.5 years ago, I now feel that it's a good time to fly a few comps again.
I'm thrilled to be soon flying Brett Hazlett's Moyes carbon Litespeed RS 4 (Grey, Blue, Black). To be honest, my time in comp wing has been very limited over the last few years... and I can't wait.
I've got the Canungra Classic, Gulgong Classic, Forbes Flatlands, and Bogong Cup on the i-Cal and hope to qualify for the Australian team for the Worlds in June.
I've recently just returned from a surf-trip in the Mentawai Islands (Sumatra, Indonesia) where I had the chance surf my brains out, and get back into shape. The prone position and upper-body workout of surfing is a great cross-trainer for zipping up into a harness and spinning a high-performance glider upwards, for a week-long competition. Steve Moyes has a similar outlook on the benefits of surfing.
(Photo: Dave Jenkins, by Curt Warren at "Rifles", Mentawai Islands, Sept 2009)
Take in mind that my friend (above) is tall, 6'7".....meaning that's a beauty of a wave! -I copped it on the head seconds later after the photo. I used my new waterproof Ricoh G600.
Surfing alone won't get me into "comp shape". At some stage, I'll have to dust off the comp-wings. Scott Barrett and I are planning to road-trip early a week early to the Canungra Classic in a few weeks.
Something else: I've got a few upcoming ATC's (Advanced Training Clinics) coming up, that I'll be posting on the blog in the next few days, keep a lookout if interested.
Hang Gliding Competition
How does a hang gliding competition work?
Are there competitions in Australia?
When's the next one?
Mick
Sydney, NSW
Comps
Hang Gliding Competitions are like 3-Dimensional sail boat races, where pilots race a course in the sky. Alll of the pilots will foot-launch or tow up BEFORE the official race time. During this time, they will gain as much altitude as possible. THEN, at the official race time, the pilots will start out on the course. The course is typically 100 to 250 km in length and will take the top pilots 2-5 hours to complete. GPS's, with synced clocks, are used to navigate through the sky. The GPS keeps "track log" that will turned in to the score keeper each day to verify that the correct route was flown. The competitors will race a different course each day for seven to 14 days (World Championships). Hang gliding competitions are a great way to spend quality time with friends, improve your flying skills, and repeatedly amaze me with awe as we tour above the terrain.
The next comps in Australia for 2009:
Forbes Flatlands, Forbes, NSW, January 3, 2009,
Bogong Cup, Mt Beauty, Vic, January 14, 2009,
NSW State Titles, Manilla, NSW, January 31, 2009,
Dalby Big Air, Dalby, QLD, March 8, 2009