South Australia Gliding Association (SAGA)'s Performance Week and Waikerie International Soaring Centre (WISC) Basic Cross Country Course will be run concurrently from 10 to 15 December.
There are nine entries in the cross country course and eight in Performance Week. They come from Whyalla, Adelaide University Gliding Club, Locksley (near Mangalore), Waikerie and Renmark.
Mark Morgan, Chief Flying Instructor and General Manager of WISC, says this is the third year when the two events have been combined and the indication of success is that entrants keep coming back. Kato San is here from Japan for his third cross-country week.
The purpose of the cross country course is to advance solo pilots who have little or no cross country experience. No pilot ever forgets their first solo and no glider pilot ever forgets the sudden tightening of stomach muscles when, having left the vicinity of the field for the first time, they turn back and realise that they will not get home unless they find and work thermals.
Morgan says the combined events provide "a chance for new cross-country pilots to interact with seasoned pilots and share information, bring the competition pilots off their competition pedestals and show that they are beer drinking individuals just like us. We start with about 20 km, by the end of the week usually fly over 100 km, perhaps 200 km in good weather. SAGA run their Performance week here for the benefit of the site, the facilities and the country."
Pilots are given extensive briefings and lectures on all aspects of cross-country flying, including preparation of pilot and aircraft, interpretation of weather information, planning, performance flying, map reading and navigation. Morgan says "By the end of the week they will be giving us the weather briefing." Nearly everyone is living-in at Waikerie Gliding Club.
Trainees either follow a coach, each of them flying a single seat sailplane in radio communication, or they fly dual in a two-seater.
Performance Week is intended for coaching intermediate cross-country pilots who want to do better and find out why they are missing thermals, losing the ones they find, continually getting low, and only achieving low average speeds. They will be shown how to read the sky, make the most of the thermals they find and fly the aircraft to best advantage.
Cathy Conway, Regional Technical Officer, Sport, is responsible for the week but Maurie Bradney and Bernard Eckey are organising the event.
The opening day looks reasonable and the organisers will be torn between a comprehensive first-day briefing and the desire to go out and fly.
Further information Geoff Neely 0419 563 233 grneely@hotmail.com
Waikerie Gliding Club website: