HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 11 September | October 2018 many clubs and I had a young family. It was not until 1996 that I was out at Carters Farm (near Northam, WA) with a local instructor. We were car-towing in paddocks, but I still wasn’t endorsed and work was taking over my life. Work eventually led me to Albany where I met Simon Shuttleworth, then found my way to Dynamic Flight in Victoria with Rohan Holtkamp (a fantastic instructor). After three weeks there I had 20 hours logged and came back to WA. Back in Albany, I was under Simon’s charge for 20 more hours; mainly flying a Fun alongside paraglider pilots. That got me to intermediate level and eventually a series of hotter wings. Simon led me onto thermals and cross-country. Since then, I have taken to flying the trike and have my Tugmaster endorsement. If there is a magic moment from all that, what sticks in the memory? It’s the very first time. You look at the wing and it seems a bit clunky, but then suddenly everything just clicks and the wing becomes part of you. You don’t think consciously about weight shift. It’s like you just grew wings, you’re skimming, light and free. It’s one of the freest forms of flying I know. When you set up your glider, walk it to the launch area and just run off the hill, it’s a huge thrill and when you fly faster, higher and further, it’s MAGIC! Best of luck for September and the Pootenup Aerotow Intensive. Author’s note: None of the pilots here can currently be thought of as ‘novices’. To reach that goal, they will each have to ‘bend one more upright’. LOL. Peter Roberts Simon’s four-stroke on final Simon, Peter and the tug Simon on tow, heading for frost-bite