SAFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 17 January | February 2020 of energy you have into accelerating the wing to flying speed – don’t pop the nose or drop a wing. We got the half hour induction as we watched cycles drifting across the top of Mt Emu. This helped to cement what we had learnt in the extended two hour (beer assisted) version of the induction that was provided the previous evening. The long form of the induction featured multiple runs of video footage showing what happens when you get it wrong – especially to lazy coastal pilots who come to the mountains and waltz off launch without the required level of respect. It made our eyes water. Pat explained it to me again with the short (10 second) version on top of Mt Buffalo. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that one. He could see how nervous I was standing on top of the ramp and came up to me all calm and reassuring and said, “Mate… Don’t overcomplicate it. Keep your nose down, wings level, and run like f@#*.” Petewasnervoustoo.HehadelectednottolaunchthepreviousdayatMtEmu, unsure whether his dodgy ankle could accelerate the Litespeed RX up to take off airspeed before the trees came to bite him. “I didn’t want to become part of the foliage,” he said. You should have seen the smile on his face after running off Mt Buffalo and landing at Porepunkah airstrip. So much fun, he did it again… In addition to the flying, the company and venue were superb. Pat put us up at his place and treated us to movie nights featuring all his epic mishaps. That was where we learnt the term ‘lawn darts’ – the name the local paraglider pilots give to hang gliders, and what we now call ‘the game of landing a hang glider in light winds’. Pat generously showed us footage of every time he had played lawn darts where it went terribly wrong. It was pleasant sleeping in, meandering down to the café for morning tea to review the automatic weather station data on wind speed and direction and then choose a site to fly from the variety on offer. The scenic drives up to launch, well prepared sites and seemingly endless variety of outdoor activities, functions and choices of places to have a beer at the end of the day. The flying was constantly stimulating in a dynamic landscape with the play of the sun and wind on the terrain. It was fascinating to begin learning the ways of the valley breeze, thermal triggers and correct lines to fly. Although we couldn’t always summon the confidence to fly some of the lines required to stay airborne, the experience certainly whet our appetite for a return visit. Dan, Ollie and Pete at Mystic