SAFA Skysailor Magazine

32 SKY SAILOR July | August 2020 A s a relatively new and inexperienced pilot, the thought of entering into the Forbes Flatlands competition was daunting and somewhat intimidating… I had only just completed my course 18 months prior and was flying a Floater glider. ‘Forbes isn’t a competition for me,’ I thought. I decided to fight my initial reluctance and go anyway, even if I was just going to free fly. After some hesitation and some well sought advice from a fellow pilot, I decided to enter into the Sports Class (thanks, Tove for the encouragement!) and give it a go. Practice day saw me have my first official flight as an intermediate rated pilot and gave me a taste of the Forbes air. I was happy to have a good tow up, felt like I knew what I was doing, and shook off the nerves. Forbes gave us six days of flyable weather and it was a mixed experience for me with many ups and downs. The second day sawme have numerous low releases on tow due to some unfamiliar weak link material. It was a lesson learnt – bring your own or know how to adapt to different materials or styles. After some much needed assistance First comp impressions: Sporting my class at Forbes The path to goal The view from above Photo: Emma Martin Waiting for relaunch Photo: Zhenshi van der Klooster Take Off Photo: Zhenshi van der Klooster If you are thinking about entering your first competition, stories like Emma Martin’s from 2017 may inspire you to give comps a try as a newbie.