HGFA Skysailor Magazine

6 SKY SAILOR November | December 2018 S itting in the Australian winter, I was contemplating when my next comp might be, when Vicki from Moyes Gliders asked me if I wanted to go to Big Spring in Texas for the US Nationals. She had a ticket already, so it was hard to resist – not that I wanted to resist too much. After a non-stop 16-plus hour flight from Sydney to Houston, followed by a short hop to Midland, I was almost there. I picked up the rental car and arrived to our usual Plaza Inn hotel in Big Spring. I’ve stayed here on the last three occasions, so I’m kind of attached to the place. It could be a better motel, but there’s an oil boom going on in Texas, so nothing goes under US$150 a night, which was why the Plaza prices made the decision rather easy. God bless them, they have a special price for hang glider pilots, although the place could do with a little renovation, luckily I’m quite resistant to bed bugs anyway… Now Big Spring is not exactly a tourist destination, but if you like big fat flatland thermals as I do, then you have come to the right place. Big Spring has hosted a lot of very successful competitions in the past, including the 2007 Worlds, and this place has an enviable track record when it comes to days flown per competition. However, this year turned out to be the exception to the rule, but if I put things into context it was still a very good comp (and I’m not saying this because I won… again!). Davis and Belinda again did a great job organising the comp. We enjoy the love of the locals here and, again, it was nice to see that they genuinely love to have us there. This year we had three classes in the comp – Open, Sports and Class2 Swifts. Having the Swifts was a nice surprise, because usually the pilots in this class find it too far to travel here with their big boxes. I was delighted to meet Steve Morris, who Big Spring 2018 I recently moved to a new town and we’re busy setting up our life there. I still had a plan to go to Europe for the Europeans and the Pre-Worlds though… Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I ended up buying a house which meant no trip to Europe this year… by Attila Bertok Launch line crew members like Spinner and Kate Griffin are essential to these events. They make sure every pilots gets off the ground safely. We are incredibly grateful for their dedicated work All photos: Audray Luck No flying on this day! This year, Big Spring was a little more dusty, multiple days were cancelled due to dust- and thunderstorms