Fling Competition Report: September 2010

I think that the weather may have kept a few of the regulars away from the field but six of us still showed up to take to the field in thermal combat. The six that flew this month were Scott, Russell, David, Nigel, Jim and myself. I must say that only being new to flying gliders that I was not expecting there to be many thermals around but boy was I wrong. While they were not big there was still plenty of buoyant air around that had the more experienced pilots staying aloft for the full five minutes. The first five rounds were completed in very overcast but fine weather with the usual good banter and laughs. David was flying a brand new Fling (after his last one was last spotted over Alice Springs) and after a couple of flights he had her dialled in and was getting some good flight times. As usual Scott, Russel and Nigel were showing the rest of us how it was done, really working the small thermals well. I remember walking back with mine and Russell's bungee lines and looking up to see three pilots landing almost right on the allotted time and within a couple of meters of the spot. For some reason I always had time to bring back a couple of lines before the rest of the pilots had landed. Jim and his ever present time keeper Sue were having a great time with Jim even managing to get a second launch in after popping of the line a bit early one flight. Jim seemed to be finding some good lift, along with the rest of the pilots. After a small break the rest of the rounds were completed under drizzly conditions. Again the light rain did not seem to stop people from finding lift with one flight having five little gliders all circling in close formation, which was a great site to see. The final round ended with a very short flight from me (only 2sec) and Jim's timekeeper chasing Scott, after some gentle ribbing following a timing mishap. As always big thanks must go to Chris Elterman for keeping time and scoring the event. I would just like to add that even though I am new to the monthly Fling competition it has been one of the most enjoyable club events that I have been involved in and I highly encourage everyone to give it a go. Cheers, Glenn Wilson

Everyone welcome. Bring a Fling. It's carbon neutral.