HGFA Skysailor Magazine

12 SKY SAILOR March | April 2019 T he sun illuminated the coloured wings and bright red Santa costumes as over 30 pilots decorated the sky from 9am onwards. Perfect, consistent conditions enabled many pilots a scenic, mini XC to Double Island Point’s ‘Pyramid’, while others enjoyed playing around in the Carlo Sandblow throughout the fun morning. The winds lulled in the sultry mid-afternoon heat, perfect for novice pilots to refine ridge soaring in light conditions, with easy top landing and kiting conditions. Hours of soaring, ground-handling, spot landing and flying shenanigans ensued before the late afternoon sea-breeze strengthened and the wing size decreased, as the mini wing pilots entered their zone of foot dragging, sand skiing and high wind soaring, while hang gliders soared above the jellyfish mayhem. Many pilots were secretly (and some not so secretly) glad when the conditions finally blew out, so we could all rest, recuperate and re-live all the crazy videos from the day while enjoying refreshing beverages at the surf club. The costume competition enticed the attendance of sexy Mrs Claus, Santa direct from the NorthPole (who pushed through the Queensland summer heat in his warm winter attire), reindeer and plenty of streamers, tinsel and baubles, but the ParaglidingArt T-shirt grand prize was awarded to Hammed’s magical flying rainbow unicorn – an outstanding team effort of engineering, decorating, and launching, but well worth the time to witness its magic rainbow soaring powers. Pool noodles and the magical unicorn became spot landing and swoop targets for all, disguising ground-handling training and spot landing skills, while soap bubble catching during ground-handling certainly refined kiting skills, which is quite challenging when you’re in stiches from laughter. Certainly, the greatest success was seeing so many enthusiastic pilots learning new skills, gaining confidence with their wings and forming friendships. No doubt next year’s event will be bigger and better! The sun shone brightly, the winds blew perfectly, and Santas soared majestically – Rainbow Beach was alive with excitement for the first day of summer and the Sunshine Coast Sports Aviators’ inaugural Christmas Fly-In. by Molly McEwin Flying Festivities SCSA’s Christmas Celebrations