This is the Soaring Spot Test Site. It behaves exactly the same as the live Soaring Spot except a) Uploads are ignored and b) it always returns the same flight for download.

51st Australian Multiclass Nationals

Benalla Gld, Australia,   7 January 2013 – 18 January 2013

Champions

Standard
1 PNL Lisa Trotter 6,501
2 IKZ Andrew Maddocks 6,495
3 XJG Norm Bloch 6,212
Meter 15
1 IIC Peter Trotter 6,832
2 LG Peter Temple 6,596
3 WVX Terry Cubley 6,523
Meter 18
1 T1 Tom Claffey 7,707
2 KB Ben Loxton 7,473
3 LQ Brian DuRieu 7,359
Open
1 LZ Lars Zehnder 7,434
2 37 Shinzo Takizawa 7,404
3 KT Andrew Georgeson 7,394

Day 10 Cancelled - Competition Finished

The forecast for the final day of competition was for a very late start after the passing through of a trough. The grid was marshalled in an attempt to get one more contest day with the expectation that they may be waiting out there some time before conditions warmed up enough for launch. In the end first the 18m and Open classes and finally the whole day was cancelled, leaving a few pilots very disappointed that they didn't get that one last chance to contest their placing.

Written on 18 January 2013 at 05:01.

Day 9

Today we finally saw a chance to get away from the 6000' ceiling we've been spending most of the competition under. The prediction was for 11,000' which, going by previous forecasts, meant we should get at least 9 or 10. However, the forecast models caused a lot of confusion for the weather and task men, as they predicted a large splotch of no thermals moving across the task area during the day. The interpretation of this was that it represented an area of cloud cutting off the heating, which m...
Read more...

Written on 17 January 2013 at 12:21.

Day 8

Big weather was predicted for Day 8. The forecast 7000'+ climbs and a desire for a change in scenery prompted the task setter to suggest a waypoint in the foothills to the south east, since all the flying so far had been in the flat lands north and west. The fleet was sent north east first then tracked around to the west of Benalla, and then finally into the hills to the south. Once again the weather was 1000' or so lower at the peak than predicted, which made it a little more challenging than...
Read more...

Written on 17 January 2013 at 07:16.

Day 7

Day 7 heralded the beginning of better weather; still blue but promising 7000' climbs, and with an early start and a late finish. Even coverage of lift across the task area prompted the task-setting committee to start to explore more of the south-western region of the task area. The Open and 18m classes were sent on a 380km fixed task and the 15m and Standard classes a 300km task. The Task Setter felt that the task was under-set for the day and he proved to be right, as nobody outlanded. Lots o...
Read more...

Written on 16 January 2013 at 00:41.

Day 6

Day 6 brought yet another 5000-7000' blue day, with all classes being sent on a 3hr area task to the northeast and then west. The western half of the third circle over Katamatite covered a lot of irrigation country so most pilots were expected to push north into the first circle and then stay easy of Katamatite, so a small second circle was added over Berrigan to push pilots west and separate the inbound and outbound traffic. The soaring evidently improved as the day went on, with only Open Cla...
Read more...

Written on 15 January 2013 at 05:58.

Day 5 Cancelled and Rest Day Sunday

The task setters attempted to set a task in fairly marginal conditions today, planning for a close-in area task to Euroa, Dookie and Peechelba. Unfortunately the forecast deteriorated even as the task sheets were being photocopied and the day was called off at briefing. With Sunday's weather looking completely unflyable, the fleet was given a weekend off and competition will resume on Monday.
Read more...

Written on 12 January 2013 at 04:23.

Day 4

Day 4 saw somewhat unpredictable conditions, again low and windy; that and a desire for a little bit of variety lead to an AAT task being set after three days of fixed tasks. The early start and no early cutoff led to the 18m class being put on the front of the grid with a 4 hour task, and the other classes assigned 3.5 hours. All classes were tasked to the southwest first and then as far north as they could go in the time available, with the task setter promising to extend the northern sector...
Read more...

Written on 12 January 2013 at 04:18.

Day 3

Day 3 promised light winds and 5000' convection lasting well into the evening. Since the 15m and Standard classes did not fly on Day 2, they were put at the front of the grid and sent on a 340km fixed task, with the 18m and Open classes launched second on a slightly shorter task. The low convection heights meant tasking into the same northern region as the first two days, so for a bit of variety the fleet was sent the opposite way around - out to the northeast first, then west. The longer task...
Read more...

Written on 10 January 2013 at 12:19.

Day 2

Day 2's forecast brought promise of a classic post-frontal Benalla day - low convection and windy but reliable and with an early cut-off as the southerlies funnelled up through the Nillahcootie gap. CUs were popping even before briefing so the fleet was marshalled early, planning for first launch at 12:15 and a straightforward speed task to give the pilots a bit of reprieve after yesterday's challenging day. The Open and 18m classes launched first for a 330km task, but the Standard and 15m flee...
Read more...

Written on 9 January 2013 at 11:58.

Day 1

Tasks proved quite challenging due to very strong westerly winds.  Most pilots made it around, though there were 13 outlandings and a couple who returned home early. Graham Garlick's weather forecast was almost perfect (though the weather wasn't) and those who did finish were quite pleased to be home.
Read more...

Written on 9 January 2013 at 08:38.

Latest winner

1. Norm Bloch 111.94 km/h
2. Ailsa McMillan 106.21 km/h
3. Lisa Trotter 105.25 km/h
1. Tim Bromhead 110.81 km/h
2. Terry Cubley 110.47 km/h
3. Chad Nowak 108.21 km/h
1. Tom Claffey 127.48 km/h
2. Ben Loxton 125.67 km/h
3. Dennis Stacey 122.95 km/h
1. Catherine Conway 117.73 km/h
2. Andrew Georgeson 110.94 km/h
3. Shinzo Takizawa 106.32 km/h

Latest task

Task 10, 18 Jan 2013
Task distance: 123.95 km  /  384.33 km  (233.22 km)
Task duration: 2:00:00
Updated: 21/05/2015, 06:42
Task 10, 18 Jan 2013
Task distance: 105.79 km  /  365.61 km  (214.35 km)
Task duration: 2:00:00
Updated: 21/05/2015, 06:42
Task 10, 18 Jan 2013
Task distance: 114.54 km  /  378.68 km  (225.85 km)
Task duration: 2:00:00
Updated: 21/05/2015, 06:42
Task 10, 18 Jan 2013
Task distance: 105.79 km  /  365.61 km  (214.35 km)
Task duration: 2:00:00
Updated: 21/05/2015, 06:42

Random images