I'm just back from a fantastic four days of flying at Forbes at the XC Clinic with Curt, Johnny and a great set of other pilots. This was my first venture into cross-country flying and to do so with the advice and experience of these pilots was an extraordinary opportunity.

Each day started with a debrief of the previous day's flying with discussion of strategies and even examination of track logs from some of the pilots. Then we'd have a comp style task briefing with a full discussion of the details of the weather and how best to approach the task and conditions.

At the ideal launch time we'd have a red-carpet run to the head of the tow queue and launch with radios to discuss the flight in progress. It was a like a comp but where everyone is on your team!

In this environment I had my first out-landings and each day improved my climbs and distances. On the last day I managed to reach a turn point... hopefully the first of many!

Many thanks also to Vicki Cain, the tow pilots and drivers for all their hard work!

Cheers,
Daniel

The dust is settling after the Forbes Flatlands Competition and what fantastic preparation the four day XC Clinic was for the event!

Having only been signed off earlier in the year I felt desperate for a bit of wisdom from two of the worlds best (Curt Warren and Jonny Durand Jr) to bring all the pieces of the flying puzzle together - linking the hang gliding course with the aerotow clinic with thermalling with running the electronica gizmos with going XC with landing safely - all whilst having a great time!

Each of the four days started with a briefing and then opportunities to gain specific and relevant answers to a host of XC related questions. Afterwards it was off for an XC flight with goals up to 60km away. This is where the experience of Curt and Jonny really shined - shepherding us through the skies, often drilling down to find a thermal to save a participant, endlessly providing handy hints to fly more efficient and to find the next climb.

I came away from the clinic with enough experience and confidence to think 'I can do this'. Must have worked as in the Sports Class I got 5 day wins, 3 goals (up to 104km), numerous PBs....and won the Sport Class event!!

Curt and Jonny - thanks guys, I'll be back next year with a bunch of new questions!

Stuart McElroy,
Canberra

I can't give enough credit to my instructor Curt. He provides just the right mix of tempering irrational enthusiasm with constant pressure to push beyond what's comfortable.
I think my wife thought that after getting my first high-flight yesterday, I'd sorta be satisfied and not quite so obsessed with the flying, but it's quite the opposite. Yesterday was just like throwing fuel on the fire. So hoping for another good day soon!

Got the helmet....... tried and feels great on the hang glider, and also on the high performance electric motor bike!

Thanks for a great session today.
I feel you and the boys have helped me overcome a major hurdle in my progress.

Thank you wholeheartedly Louise and Curt for a brilliant experience.

I wanna fly again.

THANK-YOU for an awesome weekend of flying! Safe, professional, friendly and fun is what I love about your courses. AWESOME EFFORT, and It was fantastic to be hanging with a GREAT bunch of guys for the 4 or so days, and I LOOK FORWARD to more fun times with yourself and the boys when we venture into more flying together.

I'm still on a HIGH from Forbes & can't wait for the next time I put the glider on racks, knowing that I'm going Hang Gliding again!!

Just a brief note to thank you for getting me into air for my tandem hangliding flight. It was a fantastic experience to fly at Stanwell.

As i told you my family spent a week at Stanwell Park Beach in 1955. We spent hours on the Beach in those days and words cannot express the feelings going through me as we flew above it. I was very emotional as we came in to land on the Beach and we had the softest of landings virtually in the same spot i played as a child all those years ago.

Many thanks Curt it was an experience i will never forget.

Tina and I received our photo's yesterday (Friday) and we LOVE them so much! They're excellent.
Thanks.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks Curt for all your help in getting my Northwing Freedom 150 Mylar sail single surface glider. It is a real joy to fly, quick to set up and easy to land. It has a far better glide than any single surface glider I've ever flown, including the Malibu, Relax, Falcon and Fun. Its performance seems more similar to an intermediate glider such as a Sonic, but lands more slowly and is lighter to carry and quicker to set-up. The Freedom really excels in cross country flying- thanks to the lifty single surface wing it climbs very quickly in thermals, yet still has great glide- I was able to get 10:1 in light air. Whilst it also flies well on the dunes, it is not as slow and floaty as the Fun or Malibu, which in my opinion make them better dune wings. But for fun stress-free everyday ridge soaring or cross country flight, I would thoroughly recommend the Freedom.