I have appreciated the accounts of the activities of our feathered friends.
One day several years ago I was able to climb up through the Foehn Gap of the
Stirling Range wave. At 7000ft I was 'on top' with only the dark slot below and
the rest the top of a bright sunlit cloud deck. Still in the wave and near
10,000ft two black dots appeared.. eagles heading the other way! Turning at the
end of my beat I met them again on the way back. I have rarely felt such an
affinity with nature as I did at the time..
I suppose they got up there the same way as I did, ie ridge as high as possible
then downwind to the wave.
I've not been able to find any accounts of a similar nature..
Cheers
On 30/08/2010 1:25 AM, Gary Stevenson wrote:
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 <mailto:[email protected]>
*To:* Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.
<mailto:[email protected]>
*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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