HGFA Skysailor Magazine

32 SKY SAILOR March | April 2019 2019 March Altitude with Attitude Women’s Towing XC Fly-In 8 to 11 March Dubbo, NSW. Arrive 5pm Friday 8 Mar, ends 3pm Monday 11 Mar. Seven participants (+2 organisers). Sleep under the stars, meals from Friday dinner to Monday lunch. Bring your own snacks. We will be in the tow paddock from mid-morning till late afternoon. Breakfast at briefing time, dinner with de-brief. Start and finish in Dubbo, but where we fly will be up to the weather-gods! Perfect warm-up event for the Wings Out West competition. Wings out West PG Ground Tow Comp 13 to 17 March 2019 Trundle, Central NSW. Australia’s only groundtow PG comp challenges pilots to fly the NSW flatlands. HGFA sanction Cat B, specifically for EN-A,B,C class PG only. WoW is an entry level comp with modest navigation tasks in a fun social environment, but will introduce pilots to the challenges of comp flying. If you don’t have much groundtow experience, don’t be put off, an official practice day is scheduled for the Day 1. WoW is a chance to ease yourself into PG comps or a chance to hone your flatland flying. We expect a mixture of pilots with a lot to a little comp and flatland experience, so it’s a great learning environment. Read the 2018 report in this issue. WoW is based in Trundle, in the centre of NSW and the epi-centre of flatland flying. More information at [www.wingsoutwest.org] . April Dalby Big Air 7 to 13 April Dalby, QLD. Practice day: 6 April. Requirements: Int/Adv rating with aerotow endorsement, current HGFA membership for Australian pilots or temporary HGFA membership for overseas pilots, experience in cross-country aerotow in thermic conditions, GPS (including download cables), VHF radio operators licence and VHF radio. Entry fee: $600, includes the famous Dalby Big Air T-Shirt, hat, presentation dinner at the hangar and all aerotow fees for competition days, including the practice day. Competition places are capped at 50 pilots, so get in early! A $100 non-refundable deposit is required upon registration. Pilots who have not paid the deposit will not go on the pilot list until the deposit is received. Registration at [dalbybigair.com] . Birchip Flatter than the Flatlands 19 to 22 April (Easter) Birchip, VIC. Hang glider pilots are invited to the 27th Flatter than the Flatlands XC towing competition. The event will be conducted over the four-day Easter long weekend. Entry fee: $80, incl. daily prizes, presentation BBQ, scoring, goal beers and lots of fun. GPS and parachute required. Discount available for teams with a first time pilot. Contact: Wesley Hill on 0408 305 943 or <wes.hill@yahoo. com.au >. Details at [www.sacra.biz/fttf ]. Paragliding State of Origin 19 19 to 21 April (Easter) Mt Borah, Manilla NSW. C Sanction. For the Novice (P2), it’s a great way to get into competition and XC flying in a fun & safe way, it’s about promoting skills and safety. This competition is based on ‘Flying Crews’ (five pilot teams, one P5, two P2s plus two other pilots), so get your crew together. Handicapping is used for scoring. Reserve, UHF radio and at least three hours XC flights are required. XC course recommended. Comp fee: $30, or register at [https://tinyurl.com/stateoforigin2019] before 5/4/2019 and pay the earlybird fee of $20. Contact: Peter Beamish 0416 031 793 <peterjbeamish@ mail.com> or Dan Mckenna 0432 215 533 <danmckenna101@hotmail.com >. 2020 January Manilla XC Camp 2018 25 January to 1 February Mt Borah, Manilla NSW. Free event for XC pilots of all levels. Informal distances scored using your choice of online system or straight line Open Distance off your GPS. Come for as many days as you like, fly as far as you can, fly with and learn from some of the best XC pilots. Many pilots achieve PBs in Manilla each year. Mt Borah has four astroturfed launches for nearly all wind directions, easy landings. The area offers some of the world’s safest XC flying for all pilot levels, from novice to expert, with some thermalling experience. Daily weather briefings, tips and trick sessions, campfire discussions, regular day prizes and scoring updates in all classes (Fun/Sport/Serial). Open Class gliders are welcome but won’t be scored. Camping ($10/night, $12/ night powered), cabins available on site, cafe and licensed bar, two camp kitchens, BBQ, swimming pool. Contact: <godfrey@flymanilla.com >. Events Calendar Photo: Sylvie Hlavaty March | April 2019