Ulrich,
That is beautifully written, and so true.
Your comment on flying with a wedge tail eagle reminds me of a chance encounter
I once had in a thermal with a gaggle of 5 Wedge Tailed Eagles,at a place now
long gone, called Bowling Green [Ingo Renner used it as a TP for a very
successful 100 km triangle world record attempt, many years ago] in southern
NSW.
[Apart from that one encounter, and over a period of more than 30 years
gliding, I have never seen more than two eagles together on the wing before or
since, and even then, never in a gaggle.]
I joined their gaggle just slightly above them (they did not scatter on my
approach), and thus I was able to observe them at very close quarters. I noted
there was quite a difference in the size of the birds [was this some sort of
family?], but the one thing that has stayed with me to this very day is the
differentiation in markings of these birds. From above, it was very obvious
that each bird had totally different upper surface wing markings. Why has this
not been recorded in the "definifitative" texts? It is very obvious: No one (to
my knowledge), had ever observed and reported on this phenomenon of a wedge
tailed eagle gaggle (family?) from above.
Moving on.
In what now seems to be almost another life, I had (quite by chance), the
opportunity to observe the Wandering Albatross (Diomeda exulans), totally free
in its natural environment in the middle of the Southern Ocean. David
Attenborough has done a definitive photo study on this " the most studied of
birds" but unfortunately I did not find the link to his doco on the subject, so
that I might post it here. I suggest that if you have any interest in soaring,
you follow this up. I am not sure if it was mentioned in the doco, but these
birds can potentially live for at least 50 years. In most cases they mate for
life. The major threat to their lives is the hooks on "long line" fishing
systems. They go for the bait, get snagged by the hook, and drown.
Let me make some points and ask some questions:
Firstly, a personal statement - despite the amount of research that has been
done, I suspect that there are further surprises when it comes to considering
the many aspects of the Wandering Albatross.
It is suggested in the literature that their glide ratio is about 22:1. How was
this derived and by whom?
>From observation, I found that each and every bird has its own unique
>markings, and was therefore instantly recognisable.
It is total nonsense to believe that any Albatross flies for ever, and does not
settle quite comfortably on the surface of the ocean below.
The folding of all that wing (up to 4 m span), is something that has to be seen
to be believed.{There is potentially a possible commercial/military payoff
here.}
These birds are masters of dynamic soaring.
Ingo proposed and demonstrated (many years ago), that under a specifically
defined set of conditions, dynamic soaring is possible for gliding pilots. As
far as I know this has never been followed up.
If you think you are good, do you think you can better soar than a Wandering
Albatross?
Regards,
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: Ulrich Stauss
To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Death of a movement - start of a sport
Hi Andrew,
any chance of involving the family in your flying adventures? It would
probably mean sacrificing a little of your own flying and a somewhat greater
financial burden but it can pay off big time further down the track. With 3
kids and a wife who gets airsick easily I know what it's like, believe me. I
was 39 when I (re)started gliding, my oldest was 11. I made sure that every day
I flew they also had at least a flight, first with someone else and after I got
my pax rating with me. I was lucky that at the time there was another family
with young kids at our club and the kids could play and ride their bikes
together while I went on my early cross-country ventures. If they hadn't had a
flight when (if) I came back they got a flight if they still wanted (which they
usually did, especially my daughter who couldn't get enough of the
"roller-coaster").
Family holidays since then often involved gliding - but not exclusively. If
so the rule was there had to be fun for everyone. Most gliding clubs and their
surroundings have something to offer - sometimes you just have to look a bit
harder or be a little creative.
The rewards?
The unforgettable flights I have been able to share with my wife (who
initially was quite scared and still is challenged by motion sickness) - flying
in formation with a pair of wedgetail eagles who like us enjoyed a spectacular
sunset together in smooth ridge lift, (out)landing at Wilpena airstrip in the
Flinders Ranges, checking out secluded Murray River beaches from the air and
the next day swimming and basking in the sun there, having our own scenic
flight around a winery and later sampling their reds and menu on a balmy summer
night, and and and...
Showing my daughter the towns and ranges of the Mid North of SA from the air,
flying with her to a neighbouring club for an ice cream and then back home with
a long final glide into the setting sun, showing her St May Peak from above
after we had enjoyed a great hike up there, hearing her giggle with absolute
glee when she pretended to tickle a curious juvenile wedgetail eagle's belly
(yes, it came in THAT close)...
Watching the kids learn to fly themselves.
Coaching my boys in the leadup to JoeyGlide and watching them have fun with
likeminded youngsters at a few of these comps, team flying with them from our
home club and away somewhere (which invariably turns into some sort of race -
nowadays it's the only sport at which I still seem to be able to beat them
reliably), having fun in a twin seater together, collecting outlanding/retrieve
stories (my oldest arguably has the family best of those to tell but don't let
him know I wrote that)...
Although I am personally more interested in flying "long" distance
(preferably with a few others as a team) rather than competitions I
whole-heartedly agree with what Rolf Buelter and Simon Holding wrote about the
competition scene.
There are so many ways to enjoy our sport/hobby, once your are at a
reasonable skill level, even without flying the latest and greatest ship in
World Comps. If you are thinking of dropping out - think of what you'll be
missing out on...
Ulrich Stauss
On Sat 28/08/10 17:53 , Andrew Hallam [email protected] sent:
Hi Simon,
> Andrew, it really shits me when people say that it's hard to learn to fly
competitively in this country.
I didn't mean to imply that my perceptions were influenced by such
opinions. I'm just trying to look at the possibilities pragmatically, given my
personal circumstances. Let's see if I can give you a bit of a sketch...
Spending time away from family is hard (wife, kids 11 and 14). The family
like to have holidays too, but finding something to do while I fly isn't their
idea of fun. I have a limited amount of money spend on gliding. I live on the
east coast (Wollongong) so there is significant travel involved to "acclaimed"
gliding locations. You know the drill. I also have a personality type that
wants to do things properly. If I commit to something I like to be able to give
it a reasonable go.
Therefore, my thinking is that 40-80 hours per year of flight time would be
ballpark, for me. I perceive that to be low given the stories I've heard about
not being able to fly certain types without 500+ hours logged (which would take
me 6-12 years to attain). Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the experience needed
and the opportunities, particularly in Club Class.
Sounds like I should be seeking coaching opportunities, and not giving up
on competition flying. Where do I find these coach opportunities? (I've been
flying out of Narromine, but it's almost as easy to get to anywhere from SA to
QLD.)
Thanks Rolf, Alan, Simon and Derek for the encouragement.
Andrew
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