WGC Blog

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This was the view on Monday from 6000ft above Allora.

There was a great turnout over the long weekend. Saturday and Sunday were blue days and the clouds returned on Monday.

Highlights have to be Kryss transitioning into the PW5 and clocking up 2 one hour flights and Petwr Plunkett and his mob having a great introduction into this wonderful sport we all love.

regards,

David Kinlan
President Warwick Gliding Club 


Dear club members, 

 

Southern Downs Regional Council was allocated funding from the Australian Government through the Drought Communities Programme - Extension Grant to deliver economic stimulus and other benefits to drought-affected regions of Australia. The program is to support local community infrastructure and other drought relief projects for communities who have been impacted by drought. 

 

Warwick Gliding Club was successful in its grant application with almost $24,000 allocated for an infrastructure upgrade at our clubhouse. We are installing upgrades to our clubhouse in the form of new windows, airconditioning and a new solar system to add to our existing one. Work is proceeding already. 

 

This is the biggest upgrade to our clubhouse in more than 20 years and means we will have a comfortable clubhouse for our members and visitors to use.  

 

We are using all local contractors from Allora and Warwick which is adding a much needed boost to the local economy. With these much needed upgrades to our facilities it makes our club attractive to new members and those wanting to stay in our facilities. We can report our membership has been increasing in recent months even despite first the impact of the drought in 2019 and then the COVID pandemic in early 2020. 

 

We have been supported by Southern Downs Regional Council over many years in the form of grants for water tanks which has helped us get through the drought. We are grateful for this latest grant and the ongoing support that Council has shown for gliding activities at the airfield. 

 

David Kinlan 

President Warwick Gliding Club 

15 December 2020 




This weekend was not just exceptionally hot it was also exceptionally busy with concurrent AAFC instructor ops and 4 new members and students who  joined us and have started flying with us.

Thank you to Denis, Erich, Clyde and Bob for pitching in with instructing and making the weekend a great success, there were no less than 17 instructional flights on Sunday(!), I believe everyone went home happy. 

Thanks also for our tuggies, Nigel and Mal with support from Phil and Erich.

Coupled with this we had a productive Zoom committee meeting from the clubhouse on Saturday after my own flight getting to 11,000ft south of Killarney. We have made a number of key decisions on the tug engine replacement for early next year. Minutes of the meeting to follow shortly.

David Kinlan




Bob Kilpatrick (Facility Manager) and Peter Plunkett organised a working bee seession for Friday 18 September 2020 on the Club House, & Hilton.


Actioned were the following. Kitchen, Lounge, Briefing Room, External Garden Area, Complete mowing and trimming of large tree between Hilton and Clubhouse, PP Patio, Toilets, Bedrooms.
 
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The clubhouse floor was sanded and repainted by Noel.
 
David H painted anything which was not moving!
Work continued into the weekend and was completed on Sunday afternoon.
 
The clubhouse will be fit to use for many years ahead.
 
Many thanks to Bob & Karen, PP, Bruce, Mal, Pat & Denis, John P, Noel, Matt, David K & David H for all their hard work bringing up the clubhouse to spec and for those who helped out who I may have missed.



Hi All,

 

On Sunday 19th July I completed my first Solo in the club's Discus (VH-GWA). It was a really nice day out at the airfield with not to much wind. My first flight in the Discus was 13 minutes long. On the launch, I was very surprised at how responsive the controls were. It was a lovely aircraft to fly and definitely a different feel to the PW-6U. During this flight, I did some basic flying to get used to the feel of the aircraft. By the time I had completed these movements I was near circuit joining height, so I came back down. The landing felt amazing and I was told was amazing. I have attached the video of my first landing to this email. Fingers crossed it will send. Let me know if it doesn’t send. If it doesn’t work try this link: https://youtu.be/b702DYlMTKk

 

After this flight, I went back up for another flight and stayed up for a while longer with my flight time totalling 1 hour and 4 minutes. I was released at 4000ft indicated. I struggled to find anything and got to around 2900ft and found a decent thermal which took me up to 5500ft and then topped out there. I floated around 5000ft for a while catching the top of thermals and then started to look to come back down. According to Erich, I did another great landing. Overall this was a great flight and I felt really nice in the glider.

 

I would like to thank Erich, Matt & Val for either towing or instructing me over the weekend. I really appreciated your work and patience with me. I would also like to thank everyone who was out this weekend for making it a very productive weekend for myself and allowing me to get my DI rating signed off as well at the same time.

 

See you at the airfield.

Cheers,

 

Alex Fogale

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 Another great winters weekend flying at Warwick with both days flyable for around 3 hrs starting from midday and going to 6-7thousand ft eventually. 

Sat saw Carl, Scott, Dan and me all venture to pittsworth and beyond, Tony doing good miles in the K6 and check flights in the Peewee with David up to clifton area. 

Noel also did some PW time between checks I believe and Bob was busy proposing midair while flying the Pukatec .

Congratulations ??

Thanks for the tows nigel

 

Sunday started looking doubtful to the North and raining in brisbane but cleared up for first launch before midday into a tough but improving sky.

I ventured north a bit low and finally turned pittsworth in an improving sky to run back to the edge of the bad weather on the range just outside the active airspace for a 3 hr flight. 

Did get to hear and see the Cathy 777 over fly pittsworth at 5000ft and he was calling on 127,65 twenty miles out so highly recommend monitoring well before the wellcamp area. 

Big and hard to miss really and quite happy to talk to any aircraft in area re your location and track. 

Back at base Tony checked out a caboulture pilot then jumped in his trusty yellow and blue vintage weapon for a few hrs as well. 

Andre's launched in his discus for a local flight (and hung around till I was in glide home, thanks mate) and Mal launched in his machine and managed over 300 with 12 knots ar one stage I read on his OLC comments. Was landing as I left for home around 4 pm so how about a story mal

A big thank you to Ivor for coming out and towing on a day that looked bad from brisbane. 

Would have hated to miss that flight. 

All round a great weekend and hopefully this one better again. 

 

Pic credit to Brian who snapped me practicing parachuting in at the end of an enjoyable day's gliding.

 

 

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

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This direction is written on 25 March 2020.

Over the previous weekend, the committee has sought to preserve the ability to fly for those members who could safely and sensibly do so whilst remaining within the government guidelines of social distancing.

The Prime Minister's statement at 9pm last night essentially requesting the curtailment of all non-essential travel and to stay at home has made it clear that we are only a short time away from a total lockdown as more corona cases become apparent. Under these circumstances, our efforts to keep the door ajar by having independent operators only flying is no longer viable or appropriate.

The committee cannot support the concept that any travel to the airfield in order to go gliding is in any way essential. Our member demographic has a significant number of our members in the high-risk group so any form of social grouping should be avoided.

Many other gliding clubs faced with the same circumstances have recently suspended operations and reluctantly we will also follow suit and consequently there will be no aerotowing at the airfield until further notice

Please follow the government guidelines and stay at home as much as possible.

It will be a long and difficult time ahead before we can once again take to the skies, please take care in the meantime.

David Kinlan
President Warwick Gliding Club

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Now for some good news in these dark days...


Thank you Val for all your work over the years on getting this grant awarded!!!

We have 12 months to acquit the grant once it is awarded so we will bide our time and wait for the AUD - USD to recover before placing the engine order from the USA.

This grant couldn't have been timed better as it means we can keep our finances well in the black even after the engine is ordered.

David Kinlan


Dear Members,

In these unprecedented times, the club committee wanted to reach out to all club members to let you know what we can all do to get through the uncertainties we all face concerning the COVID-19 outbreak whilst still enjoying the sport we all love.

We understand that now, more than ever, as the community transitions to increased work from home arrangements, as events and travel are curtailed, and as social distancing is needed. How does this relate to gliding you may ask?

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, several countries have closed all airfields as part of broader measures to slow the spread of the virus. Luckily this hasn't happened in Australia yet. However, if gliding remains possible, it can be a perfectly suitable activity in these testing times. After all, what better way is there to practice “social distancing” at the end of a tow rope while doing something that’s fun?




However, there are still some precautions we all should take when coming to the airfield. No one on the committee is a health expert but here’s a current list of precautions based on all the advice we’ve all been given:

  1. Stay away from the airfield if you have (or recently had) any symptoms associated with Covid-19, or if the advice from the government and health authorities suggest that you should self-quarantine for any other reason.
  2. Take special precautions while at the airfield:
    - Keep your distance from other people (e.g. during the daily inspection, at the clubhouse, etc) and don't shake hands.
    - Bring some sanitizer so you can disinfect your hands after touching surfaces that others are frequently touching as well (e.g. controls, handles, instruments, etc. in club gliders; locks and doorknobs; tow ropes; club parachutes; computer keyboards or touchscreens, etc.)
  3. Think twice about flying with others in the PW-6. If you do, assure yourself that your instructor, student, fellow pilot or a passenger is healthy and not showing any flu-like symptoms.
  4. If any instructor or mutual flying in the PW-6 needs to be curtailed due to social distancing then we will operate with single-seaters only.

    Whilst it may seem all too much and you may not wish to come out to the airfield at all it is likely that the Covid-19 outbreak is going to be over months not weeks and we intend to still operate unless advised otherwise.

    We will keep you posted on any developments.

    David Kinlan President Warwick Gliding Club






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This weekend was AAFCs first weekend glider ops with 7 cadets which integrated seamlessly with our own glider ops. A big thanks to Nigel and Mal who were kept busy towing both days with Matt instructing on Sunday. Thanks also to all AAFC instructors and the great atmosphere. 

The AAFC had 21 launches on Saturday and probably as many today. Sunday was the best day weatherwise with flights to Dalby, 8000ft was to be had... still a bit of water in the paddocks. Scotty had an outlanding near Clifton, never a good thing to do at 3pm on a Sunday! He was ably assisted by Matt and Brian Mahoney.

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Dear Club members,

we have been successful with the Queensland Government Sport and Recreation Grant to purchase new equipment.

                                      

 

Queensland Government Active Clubs Grant

 

Announcement

27 February 2020

Dear club members,

we were successful with round 1 of the QLD government Active Clubs $2,000 grant application.

The application was for equipment either off-field or on-field to support our club activities.

Our club can only apply for equipment or training under one category, either:

  • on-field support to help deliver quality physical activity experiences
  • off-field support to improve the ability to manage the organisation.

We intend to purchase an advanced S7 variometer set in the front and back seat of our PW-6 two-seater glider to enhance flying.

 

David Kinlan

President – Warwick Gliding Club




On 10 February 2020, the Queensland Government provided $2,000 to Warwick Gliding Club to purchase equipment to enable Queenslanders to participate in sport and recreation activities.

We are very grateful to receive funding. The money will go towards off-field equipment to enable our club members to support their gliding activities.

David Kinlan
President Warwick Gliding Club


Saturday 7th of December 2019 was remarkable; a high cloud base day that started early, provided clouds that were reliable and gave high rates of climb, yet didn’t break down to thunderstorms. The weather previously had been unseasonably dry leading to weather that would normally be expected out of NSW rather than QLD. The US website NOAA Ready Weather had identified the good day 10 days prior, and whilst the depth of forecast convection had varied a bit the forecast had been stable and showed an early start as the day neared. Five days out Skysight started to show the day and agreed that it would be very good. Again the forecast stayed stable which is always a good sign.

I rigged the night before and stayed at a motel in town as there would not be time to get ready and maximise the day otherwise. NOAA suggested a depth of convection of 2700m agl by 10:00, and skysight agreed, suggesting a launch time of around 09:20 to be on task by 09:30. CU was forecast to the North. The morning dawned smoky as numerous bushfires were burning and there was a concern that this would slow the start time. A comparison of Skysight’s forecast temperatures showed the day was lagging by around 1 degree - how much would this delay the launch? Erich towed the two seater just prior to 09:00 and felt the day had not started yet so I delayed, finally launching at 09:40. I knew straight away this was too late as the air felt alive and there were already high based CU visible to the North on the scarp line. The first climb confirmed this, a five knot climb to 10,000’ and I was kicking myself for not leaving earlier! Through 12,000’ just after 10:00.

The flight itself was straight forward, indeed I felt the 1000k was on from the first climb of the day and didn’t change that view all day. The stats showed an average climb rate of just over 7kts and this resulted in a speed of 130kph over a distance of 1003km. The CU formed on track as forecast North of Toowoomba and I stayed under the CU all day. Cloud base started around 12,000’ and eventually got to over 16,000’. I tried to stop for climbs of 8kts+ during the majority of the day and the good ones showed peak rates of 12kts. There was no real streeting, but it was possible to generally link two or three clouds without turning. Inter-thermal block speed was 80kts off the first climb, and rose to over 100kts pretty quickly. Even the first 200k leg achieved 120kph which I’ve never seen before, and in the middle of the day i was achieving 150kph.




Enough of the facts, more interesting is the ‘so what’.

Gliding clubs are sometimes victims of perceived wisdom: Things like ‘you must be on glide by 17:00’ or ‘never launch before 10:00’. As an outsider I’ve rarely found these ‘facts’ to be absolute. So start with an open mind - every day is different. We are so often limited by this sort of thing. In a similar vein you will often find some people will look for problems and use these to justify not trying, or not doing something: Don’t get me wrong here, we all do this game for different reasons, some just do it to go solo, some to stay up for an hour, some to do 300’s and that is absolutely fine. But, if you get to the end of the season and wish you’d done more or flown further then you need to not let the negative thinking in. I’ve always turned the radio off once I’m away from an airfield, partly to save the batteries, but mainly to get rid of the negative talk - radios are terrible for this. Be wary of negative comments, everyone has an opinion but may not always be right regardless of their experience. Talk to the optimists before you fly!

Distance: We are victims of a badge system which is now legacy, OLC is the new badge system (at least for me!).



Whilst I always find the 1000k appealing, how often do we fly 300’s or 500’s when the day supports your glider doing a 350 or 600k task? To avoid this run skysight depth of convection and rates of climb for each hour of the day - then do the maths and add up how many km’s that gives you. Obviously you need to know how fast you are in your glider at (say) 4kts. Once you know how many kms are on offer you can plan a task that optimises the day. On a day like the 7th you can add a bit more speed on as you’ll benefit for the TAS effect of being high - it’s significant, for example if you’re achieving 120kph real speed but you’re up at 14,000’ then your XC speed will be 148kph (k’s per minute x number of 1000’ you areat = 2x14 = 28 extra kph in this case). You will surprise yourself with just how many 750k+ days there are.

Skysight: just excellent. If you don’t have the full subscription service then why the hell not - you’ve spent $1000’s on your glider, it’s pennies and will optimise your days flying. Lecture over!

High based CU days are different: We so often give upon tasks because we ignore the potential energy we already have. If I’m at 12,000’ on a 500k task and it’s ‘late’ at 15:00 and I’ve ‘only’ done 300k I’m likely to give up. But objectively I have 130km already ‘saved’ due to my height even in a 40:1 glider. I only need to do another 70km to be ‘home’. The moral is ‘keep going’ you’re nearly there! Also early in the day your XC speed may be quite low - worry not, the bit you’re not seeing is this potential energy that you’ve gained. For example in the first hour you ‘only’ do 60km, that’s terrible right? No, you’ve also probably climbed from launch (2000’) to 12,000’ at (say) 4kts. That’d take 25 minutes so you’ve actually done your 60k in the other 35 minutes of the hour - you’re doing 103kph!

The shape of the ground is important: I flew out of Temora once, climb off an early tow to 6000’ and I immediately depart going North, it was another hour before I got above 3000’ because the ground shape is so poor to the North. Warwick seems to have good ground shape to both the North and South, we are lucky!

Airspace: We are less lucky with this! On a good day the Brisbane 12,500’ step is a royal pain when you’re going North - avoid it! Anything that limits you climbing, or even that just distracts you, will slow you down.

Debrief: We very rarely do this yet in my job this is where we learn all our important lessons. Go though your flight in detail, what did you do well, and more importantly what did you do badly? How will you avoid repeating the mistake? How often did you take ‘one more turn’ in that thermal and why, how many times did you turn the wrong way and what made you do that? There is some outstanding software, use it. And so it goes on, be critical and you’ll improve next time!

So what’s possible? I think on the 7th around 1150km was possible, I could have gone 30min earlier, and landed 45min later. But we are generally limited by ourselves. Gliding is a bit like the Roadrunner cartoons - he runs off the cliff but he never falls until he looks down. Don’t look down!




Above all - launch not lunch. You’ll surprise yourself!

Fitzy