Newcastle Hang Gliding Club

Sometimes you're just in the right spot at the the right time for a little of the heaven we fly in to show itself even a little more. Yesterday was that day for Selmey and I. Here's a taster of what we were lucky enough to play in, on and through yesterday afternoon:

So it turns out that Adam is getting back into flying RC after a few years off the horse...and knowing how well he used to fly his RC gliders i had no hesitation in letting him have a fly of a couple of my planes at empire with the buddy cord attached between our transmitters for a little bit of insurance....but no amount of instructing RC prepared me for what Adam had in mind....After flying my Piper Cub impeccably i told him it was time to have a crack at one of my ducted fan jets, the F4 Phantom.

Bored with regular prone hg? Got a spare pg harness? Are you maybe showing some signs of poor back care when you were a kid? Me too. So I made a spreader bar (to help my shoulders go between the straps) and a couple of long hang straps and to make sure I hung under the base bar, and turned the speed bar up through 45 deg just in case and clipped my pg harness into a Fun 190. Did a couple of practice runs in the glider on the ground which showed I had to lift the glider a long way up to get the straps to tighten to facilitate a safe launch at proper angle of attack.

Had a awesome flight at Bombala St this arvo with Kieran. The air was silky smooth up high and there was a lot of buoyant air over the water allowing me to make a headwind run through to Leggy Pt in a Sonic.

Great flying today at Dudley with Swifty, Peter, Stuart (from Canberra), John (newbie), Ben and Tony B.

The valley was hot, humid, and stagnant under a listless haze and a deck of cirrus that cast shade everywhere. Half an hour into the drive the aircon was struggling and Cath was the first to crack a window in an attempt to find a bit more more relief. H was up front covering herself in blockout and Conrad was behind the wheel steering a course for the Mount Royal Range. In 90min we were lakeside, Glennies Creek bombout. White streamers were tied to the fence line and settled near vertical to waft around in the light breeze.

RASP had promised to deliver on Saturday. The morning already had good looking cloud dotting the coast and by 10 the Cu deck looked superb with flat bases at 6000'. Lets go!

Can any one tell me if murrurundi 2338 has any controlled airspace restrictions ..... Around the Liverpool rangers/Mt Hellen etc, looked @ Dawson's link that he provided though I can't make heads or tails of it, any info or suggestions would be great,

PS hope every one has a safe and great Chrissy
Regards: Gary p

Hang gliding from Catherin Hill Billy Bay to Budgewoi is no record flight or is it the first time it has been attempted, but yesterday's conditions beckoned a new coastal distance challenge, east north east wind, going around north east 15-18 knots with visual indicators of instability might have be enough to get all the way to Norah Head, a stretch of that has not yet been achieved.

I didn't make it there and landed well short along Budgewoi dunes, but lets imagine the conditions could sooner or later prevail that will permit the extra distance.

Goal was the coast. Took off in RX in strong conditions and within a minute was in a thermal out front that took me to over 8000ft and well over the back. Downwind drift was really strong and it was difficult tracking a course line more Southerly. Theres no flat land over the back and it was only when I got to the Hunter River north of Maitland that there were any decent looking LZ. Got low once down to below 2000 asl. Eventually landed south of Maitland in the valley behind Sugarloaf. Didnt have to land but with getting close to Newcastle the drift when climbing was a problem.