Central Plateau Soaring Competition
At last! We had our first competition in two years. Much to the relief of pilots and organisers.
Day One was fine but overcast. The briefing was led by a welcome from the Mayor, David Trewavas, who said what a great asset the Taupo Gliding Club is, and welcomed our visitors from all over the North Island as well as Australia and Germany.
A task was set, but the cloud base stayed low, and the thermals were unreliable, so after an hour's wait the task was cancelled and the day set aside for free flying. Most pilots enjoyed a good local flight, but hoping for better things in the following days.
Day Two had a task, but it proved to be a difficult day which limited the scoring opportunities with a number of landouts and engine starts.
Day Three was great, and one pilot (not the winner!) said it is the best day's gliding he's ever had! It was very satisfying to at last get a good day in. The task setters had it right.
Day Four had us fooled! We gridded optimistically under blue skies not expecting a great deal and sent up a "sniffer" who surprisingly reported thermals, and recommended a start. There were no immediate land backs, but it tough going. A good day to put down to experience!
The weather then deteriorated and it was up to the final day to determine the winners. In both classes, there was only a couple of hundred points separating the top three pilots.
Day seven promised much, and delivered - well.......quite a lot, but made the pilots work for every kilometre. We went for an early launch so as not to get too late at the end of the day. There were four land backs, but each pilot relaunched, and at the end of the day there was only one landout. Pilots had to work hard for the first leg or two, but those who got further into the task were rewarded with a good convergence and some good flying.
In the end we had a contest, we had fun with great camaraderie. A HUGE THANK YOU to all the volunteers for your help and support. Without you, we pilots would not get off the ground. Another HUGE THANK YOU is to Trev Terry for his support in sponsorship. Thank you all.
The next Central Plateau Soaring Competition will be in November this year.
Champions
Open Class
1st – XB - Brett Hunter 2,372pts
2nd – DK - Tony Van Dyk 2,182pts
3rd – HW - Jason Shields 1,807pts
Racing Class
1st – OZ - Anton Lawrence 1,474pts
2nd – ZD - David Moody 1,349pts
3rd – NM - Trace Austin 1,280pts