23/24 December 2006 – Normal Club Operations (BXC will be derigged for Junior National Championships, Leeton and Coaching Week, Waikerie)
30 December 2006 – Normal Club Operations (club aircraft that go to Waikerie - at this stage the entire fleet - will be derigged unless there is demand for Sunday 31/12/06)
31 December 2006 – No Club Operations (unless there is definite demand; remaining gliders would need to be derigged in that case)
06/07 January 2007 – No Club Operations at Balaklava; fleet will be in Waikerie
13/14 January 2007 – Normal Club Operations

Please remember that from now on a Radio Operators Endorsement or the corresponding Flight Radiotelephony License will be expected for solo flying at Balaklava.

Conditions were interesting today with Colin and I finding some booming sections giving up to 7 knot averages to 6200’ under cu with good streeting conditions all the way from Burra – Eudunda and some quite weak / tricky bits on the way to Spalding where the cu was a bit less defined and decent climbs were hard to come by. We had a stiff southerly blowing all day at around 15 knots.

Statistics:
Bernard Eckey and Eric Stauss flew approximately 455 km in the ASH 25 – BGC – Orroroo – Eudunda – ½ way to Morgan – BGC.
Colin Stauss in the Mini Nimbus and Grant Hudson in the Pik 20 team flew BGC – Hoyleton – Burra – Eudunda – Spalding – BGC for a total of 288km.
Roger Cox flew approximately 120km in one of the ASK21’s; BGC – Koolunga – Lochiel – Nantawarra – BGC.

Andrew [Horton] did some instructing with a couple of new (I think) students.

X/C stats:
Bernard and David Lawley – BGC – Orroroo – BGC 300km O & R in the ASH25
Grant BGC – Kapunda - Burra – BGC 205km FAI triangle in the Pik
Roger Cox – mid north milk run up to Brinkworth and back to BGC before heading off to have a look at The Hummocks before outlanding a couple of km’s west of the airfield in FQB.
Blue day, wind 15kts from the SE with some quite strong thermals (6kt average) although they were few and far between. Mainly rough / broken thermals 3 – 4kts up to around 5500’.

After completing the Pylon Race task, Bernard Eckey took Jessica Stauss for a longer soaring flight which took them to Paskeville and then to Burra where they found thermal wave that allowed them to climb above the clouds. An air traffic controller spoilt the fun by not giving them a clearance into the controlled airspace above to explore how high the wave system would go.

Roger Cox turned up after we had closed down our operations a little early. His two friends wanted to experience what gliding was all about, so we got the winch and a '21 out of the hangars again for a few more flights before dinner and watching gliding and flying DVDs on the big screen.

Other notable events of the day were Peter Goodale's flight in his Corby to the Jamestown airshow and back. Jack Minchenko and Lindsay Tilley arrived in the Murray Bridge G109, also on their way back from the airshow. They stayed overnight to experience some REAL gliding on Sunday.

We also had a committee meeting after the usual yummy dinner (Thanks Jean!). As a result, the dates for the Annual Dinner and a Pylon Race followed by a DVD night with dinner are now in the Events Calendar.

And last but not least we have a brand new Level 1 Instructor! Steve Shuck got his rating at Gawler during the week. Congratulations Mr President!!!

A few more pictures have been uploaded to our Photo Album - some admittedly a little late but keeping the web page up to date does take a bit of effort. Enjoy.

Unfortunately we also had some price increases. Please refer to the updated pricelist.

Saturday we had a working bee in preparation for replacing the floors and carpet in the club house. As always on such occasions the sky tempted with lots of good looking cumulus clouds at over 6000ft. Our younger students largely got the benefit of that, with extended soaring flights for lots of practice at height and Eric Stauss grabbed the opportunity and completed the second 1hour soaring flight for his C certificate. The workers did not have to miss out entirely and also got a turn as thermals were working until fairly late in the day.

Next week of course is our AGM and due to resignations several positions need to be filled. Please consider whether you can help in running the club.

One of the outcomes of the meeting was to offer the spare places on the upcoming First Aid Course for Instructors to members free of charge on a first come first serve basis. For details check the Events Calendar. Contact the CFI for bookings.

Also, the GFA has sent us a stack of free calendars. There should be enough to go around for all members. Please pick yours up from the club house.

At the recent instructors meeting Bevan Spencer has resigned from instructing after many years of faithful and dedicated service as instructor, a lengthy period of which as CFI, passing on his flying skills and great knowledge to an untold number of students. On behalf of the club, please accept our sincere, heartfelt thanks, Bevan! We look forward to many more years with you as a flying member.

Also, the latest Whisper is now available for download from the newsletter page.

Wal Mayger's pictures of a better day (last Saturday) are now in the Photo Album. They also document a relatively rare event - IUY eagerly taking spreading its wings to make the most of a good soaring day.

The day ended with a very productive instructors meeting after a tasty dinner in the clubhouse. The decision was made that a Radio Operators Endorsement (or the corresponding Flight Radiotelephony License) will be expected for solo flying at Balaklava from 1 November 2006. A number of seminars will be held throughout the year at various venues to give everyone plenty of opportunity to obtain their endorsement. See the Events Calendar for details. In the meantime the note on National Airspace Procedures for Non-Towered Aerodromes published by John Hudson prior to the November 2005 changes is still available here.

A big welcome back to Tyson Sedunary after a few years of abstinence from gliding. He brought his younger brother Sam along, who has now caught the gliding bug, too. Welcome to the club, Sam!

The other notable event on Saturday was Catherine Love's cross country flight in the Hornet, which ended in a paddock 5km north-west of the airfield. Due to the scouting efforts of several gliders and motor gliders the road retrieve went without incident. Well done Catherine - this is a normal part of the sport and occasionally happens to the best of us.

The weather for the Pylon Race on 1 April turned out less than ideal. Nonetheless the event was well attended and 4 gliders managed to get around the short task. Catherine Love and president Steve Shuck, both flying the Mini Nimbus, claimed first prize as the only team completing the task. Steve set the benchmark at a respectable 30mins in the first round and Catherine's tenacity finally payed off after a 1 1/2 hour struggle. Teams Eric Sherwin/John Hudson and Tim Lacey/Ulrich Stauss achieved better times in the twin seaters - 24 and 26mins, respectively - but didn't complete the course a second time. The "Amazingly enough I don't give a shit" mug went to no other than the CFI himself for a straight-in approach and downwind landing due to a slightly misjudged final glide. So much for setting a good example...

Andrew Horton reports on Sunday: "We still managed some good flights despite the cloud cover. There was enough heat around to generate some narrow thermals. John Hahesy and Allen managed the best flight (over an hour) when they encountered wave. Then, when the cool change / front came through, we called it quits with the wind now up to 30 kts."

The instructors meeting held after a pie floater meal cooked by Bert resulted in some tentative dates in the Events Calendar for two seminars on Radio Procedures and Airspace to allow members to gain their radio operators endorsements. Details will be confirmed soon.

The Murray Bridge Gliding Club is coming for a visit! They will be bringing their Grob 109 touring motor glider and there will be the opportunity to have a go for our members. Check the Events Calendar for details.

Congratulations to Erik Sherwin who after many years of abstinence from gliding re-soloed on the day. His obvious delight is also captured in the photo album.

A new Whisper is available for download on the newsletter page.

David Fawcett, local federal Member of Parliament, attended in the afternoon in response to an informal invitation after the Annual Dinner last year, and was clearly interested in our operations as well as enjoying an extended flight with Dene Newton during much of which he was actually on the controls of the glider.

Except for ZBG, relegated to club flying duty at the field, the entire fleet set off on declared tasks to find the conditions initially very trying before the rising temperature kicked thermals into overdrive. Catherine Love took Colin Yeatman on a 300 odd km flight. Colin Stauss completed his Silver C with a 5hr flight. Ulrich Stauss declared a 450km out-and-return flight to Cradock in the Flinders Ranges (Gold Distance and Diamond Goal) and extended the return leg out to Eudunda-Robertown for a 550km polygon, also collecting his Gold Height along the way.
Bernard Eckey, Peter Goodale and Grant Hudson also went north, Bernard turning at Brachina, Peter at Hawker and Grant at Cradock. The intention was to go around Loxton from there but thunderstorms blocked the way across the River. Congratulations to all!

The committee meeting has resulted in a few more entries in our Events Calendar, in particular another Dawn Patrol, a wine tasting night, and the ever popular Pylon Race. Make sure you check regularly for updates.

The Waikerie coaching week from 26 to 31 December 2005 was yet again a great success. Many a personal best was achieved. Beginners as well as the more advanced pilots learnt a lot from the daily lectures and the practical flying exercises either with a coach in a twin-seater or by "lead-and-follow" in single seaters. The weather played along and presented a few days of superb soaring conditions resulting in flights of well over 400kms.

A big thank you to the organisers and in particular the many helpers - winch drivers, tug pilots, ground crew, retrieve crews, cooks, presenters etc. Without your efforts, often in very hot and adverse conditions, this could not have been done!