HGFA Skysailor Magazine

18 SKY SAILOR July | August 2019 W ith the video of Rick Brezina’s lucky escape from a dusty on launch at Mt Borah going viral, his subsequent interview in the latest Cross Country Magazine (#198), and in the same edition, a feature article on Australia’s extreme summer, it would seem that dust devils have been a theme of this year’s Australian XC season. It was not surprising that the ‘Australian Dusty’ was also a feature of the Wings out West 2019 paragliding competition, with launch on all five days pausing from time to time while small dusties passed through the launch strip. Although they didn’t cause any problems for pilots, it was certainly an indication of the serious drought conditions that much of western NSW has been experiencing, and the damaging effect it has had on the local crop and livestock industry and the farmers in the midst of it. A paragliding competition in the dusty west. by John Brassil and Phil Mansell, Wings out West Organisers Wings Out West 2019 Dusty coming through launch Photo: Andy Spierer