Champions
| Standard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LG | Peter Temple | 7,635.6 |
| 2 | CE | Tom Gilbert | 7,065.4 |
| 3 | HDL | Tobias Geiger | 6,963.7 |
| Meter 15 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BB | John Buchanan | 7,942 |
| 2 | ZBI | Miles Gore-Brown | 6,976.3 |
| 3 | ZZ | David Pietsch | 6,816.3 |
| Meter 18 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TF | Graham Parker | 7,683.4 |
| 2 | 4D | David Jansen | 7,507.3 |
| 3 | ZKT | Bruce Taylor | 7,443.2 |
| Open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GO | Paul Mander/ David McManus | 6,644.5 |
| 2 | WA | Dion Weston | 6,211.2 |
| 3 | VW | Gerrit Kurstjens | 5,743.7 |
7.30pm day 4 Sat 17 Jan 09
Last on the grid, 18m was altered to the Standard class task, a shorter racing task, because the day started low at Benalla. Out on track it steadily improved to the north with some thermals 7 - 8 knots to 7,000\' AGL. The day slowly deteriorated towards the south and the Mildura River, but then improved slightly on the way home to Benalla. "It was a better day for golf than gliding." 5 outlandings so far.
Read more...
11am day 4 Sat 17 Jan 09
Day 3 provisional winners: Standard: Tobias Geiger (LS 4A) - 91.3 km/h - 274.6 km 15m: John Buchanan (ASW 27) - 94.1 km/h - 194.1 km 18m: David Jansen (ASG 29) - 102.6 km/h - 312.0 kmOpen: day cancelled There were 5 outlandings. Graham Garlick predicts that today will be less grueling than yesterday, though the tasks are longer. The high has moved in, with temps similar to yesterday and weaker winds. The day will be blue with some cirrus and cu over the distant mountains and an (opti...
Read more...
2pm Friday 16th Jan
Contest Day 3 has started, with gliders doing an area task of 200-500km. Weather was forecast to be cool and blue, with strong south to south-westerly winds. A westerly wind change didn\'t happen as predicted. Instead the wind strengthened from the south and caused problems during the launch because of strong crosswinds. Standard and 18 Metre were launched on a 3 hour task, and 15 Metre were regridded and launched on a 2 hour task. Open Class, who were at the rear of the grid, were cancelle...
Read more...
11am Thu 15 Jan 09
Yesterday, Michael Sommer did manage 1,137 km; back at work today! The winning speeds for day 2 were fast:Standard: Tom Gilbert (SZD 55) - 144.2 km/h - 381.5 km15m: John Buchanan (ASW 27) - 142.9 km/h - 379.0km18m: Graham Parker (ASG 29) - 158.9 km/h - 406.8kmOpen: Gerrit Kurstjens (Nimbus 4T) - 137.3 km/h - 343.2km Today, a trough lies to the north-east and a cold front will cross Tasmania. A high pressure system will develop over the Bight. There is a south-westerly stream with some sub...
Read more...
7.30pm day 2 Wed 14 Jan 09
Last on the grid, Open class gate opened at 4.15pm. It took a while to break through the inversion, but the day turned out to be good in the air and very fast - strong reliable climbs, which dropped off a bit at about 11,000\'.
Read more...
3.15pm day 2 Wed 14 Jan 09
6 club gliders launched at 10.30am to capitalise on the 36 degree trigger temperature, but there was unanticipated inversion over the top. Feeble lift was contacted 7 km to the north of the field but conditions slackened towards the Warby range. Non-competition pilots, English visitor Bob Nichols in his Ventus 2 scraped northwards whilst Michael Sommer in a Nimbus 3 and Graham Garlick (competition weatherman) in an ASW20 polished the Chesney rocks. Graham Garlick succumbed to a smallish pad...
Read more...
11.10am day 2 Wed 14 Jan 09
Pilots\' meeting called on the grid. Day not starting as early as predicted and cirrus is moving in. A & B racing tasks canned; task now C task - a shorter AAT for each class.
Read more...
Day 2 Wed 14 Jan 09
Provisional day 1 winners:Standard: Peter Temple (LS 8) - 123.9 km/h - 380.1 km 15 m: David Pietsch (ASW 20) - 120.8 km/h - 381.2 km - "I\'ll take luck over skill any time!" 18 m: Graham Parker (ASG 29) - 131.5 km/h - 487.4 kmOpen: Gerrit Kurstjens (Nimbus 4T) - 119.1 km/h - 487.4km Another total fire ban for most of Victoria. A slow moving pressure system is situated in the Tasman sea and a trough will move over the contest area today, estimated to be at Benalla at 1700 hrs local time. The...
Read more...
6.30pm Day 1 Tue 13 Jan 09
The temperatures mid-afternoon were down a bit and there was not as much cloud as forecast; the day was basically blue. Pilots reported varied experiences - some found great lift all day and lots of gaggles to hop across, others found sink around the last turn. There was one outlanding, about 18km from the finish.
Read more...
Day 1 Tue 13 Jan 09
A day of extreme fire danger and a total fire ban is declared in Victoria. A slow moving pressure system is situated in the Tasman Sea and a low pressure trough over the Bight will reach south-west Victoria late today. Cu over the distant mountains and to the north-east is predicted with a max temp of 38 degrees and slight-moderate instability with some thermal distortion. Max height DALR 9500 ave lift 6-8 kts max 10+.
Read more...
