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General information about the Competition that you should know before you arrive
Dalby Aerodrome, Dalby, Queensland
Practice day and registration |
Friday 10 April 2009 |
Opening ceremony |
Saturday 11 April 2009 |
Competition period |
Saturday 11 - Saturday 18 April 2009 |
Presentation dinner |
Saturday 18 April 2009 |
There will be two classes:
Club: for gliders with a handicap 0.92 and above, includes ASW20, LS3a,
Sports: for gliders with a handicap .92 and below, includes LS8, Discus2
Water ballast is not permitted for this competition.
All tasks will be assigned area tasks, AATs.
Our number one priority is to have a safe competition, please make this your number one priority as well. After that we also plan to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
The Boonah Gliding Club will be handling catering and bar services and will provide sandwiches etc after each morning briefing plus evening meals on most evenings.
Things you should check before you arrive
All aircraft flying from the competition site must be equipped with a serviceable VHF radio. The term "serviceable" includes the batteries that provide the power for your radio. The frequencies authorised for use by competitors are 122.7 and 126.7.
All aircraft flying from the competition site must be equipped with a serviceable flarm device.
Pilots must wear a parachute on all flights and must ensure that it is serviceable with a valid packing slip.
Way points, formatted for all supported logger types, may be downloaded from HERE
At registration, each pilot will be required to present documented proof of compliance with the entrance requirements and the conditions stipulated on the entry form. Particular note should be taken of the insurance requirements.
Information you need to know when you arrive
All pilots are requested to register at the competition office by 9.00 am, Fiday 11 April 2009. Each pilot will be required to present documented proof of compliance with the entrance requirements and the conditions stipulated on the entry form, including the insurance requirements.
The mandatory initial briefing for all pilots and crews will be held in the briefing area at 9.00 am on Saturday 12 April 2009.
The tie down area will be marked out. There will be separate areas for big wings and 15m class gliders. There will be no allocation of a particular space for each glider. Competitors must consult the organisers before first tying down their gliders. Competitors are to bring all necessary tie down equipment. Stakes are to be driven in flush with the ground.
All trailers are to be parked in the designated parking area away from the tie down area.
Dalby Aerodrome is home to commercial operators and other pilots. Please do not drive on the tarmac in front of the terminal.
In the unlikely event that it should rain, please keep cars on the hard areas.
Tow tickets will not be issued.
Pilots will be responsible for doing their own release checks. Release checks will not be provided on the grid or during the launch.
Operational procedure that will be followed each day
Briefing will be in the briefing hangar at 9.30 or such other time as is advised. All pilots must attend the daily briefing.
Launch order and take‑off direction will be advised at briefing. Gliders will be marshaled in the two classes.
Details of the marshalling procedure to be used will be provided at the daily briefing..
Aircraft not marshaled when launching is about to commence will be held until launching of both classes is completed. There will be no marshalling while launching is in progress.
The launch radio frequency is the CTAF frequency 126.7. Tugs will remain on 126.7 throughout the launch operations. Gliders will launch on 126.7, and switch to 122.7 once above 4,000ft QNH.
At recent competitions there have been a number of near misses during the launch.
Please maintain good lookout, adequate separation and think safety first at all times!
All thermalling turns will be to the right within 20 km of Dalby Airfield.
There are 9 start points (A-C, 1-3) distributed around Dalby. These points do NOT relate to any particular ground feature. The start zone will be a 1 km radius around each start point.
Competitors may start from any start point.
The start gate will open 15 minutes after the launch of the last glider in each class. The start gate opening time will be announced on both 126.7 and 122.7. Low hour pilots and pilots of low performance gliders may start before the start gate is opened.
Start calls are not required. There will be no height limit on starts.
Maintain good lookout at all times.
All gliders are to remain on the safety frequency 122.7 so as to be able to contact any other glider to provide clearance information in gaggles or when in close proximity. The use of 'private' frequencies is not permitted.
For the channel to be usable for this purpose, chatter must be kept to a minimum.
The only exception to the 122.7 requirement is when entering a CTAF requiring a switch to 126.7.
The finish circle is a 2.0 km radius circle centred on Dalby Airfield. A glider will finish as soon as it crosses the finish circle and no more points can be gained form here on.
All of the airfield is within the circle, so a landing anywhere on the airfield is a finish.
The finish will operate on 126.7.
All gliders are to switch to the finish frequency 126.7 at least 20k from Dalby and remain on this frequency until they have landed. This allows incoming gliders to hear what is occurring in the air around them.
Pilots are to advise of their approach when they are 20k and 5k from Dalby. After crossing the finish circle pilots are to advise their circuit intentions on 126.7. From this position, all pilots will proceed into the circuit area and perform a normal circuit and landing.
The only acceptable finish variation will be a straight in finish.
No other inbound calls are required - make only such additional calls as are needed to maintain safe clearance with other incoming gliders and other aircraft.
There is no minimum finish height for pilots who have a low level finish endorsement. The minimum height for pilots who do not have the endorsement is 500ft agl.
Pilots are reminded that Dalby is a licensed airfield and that there are other airfield users. With over 40 gliders competing and given the airfield constraints, some congestion in the circuit area can be expected and should be planned for.
Good lookout, good airmanship, safe and sensible finishes are expected and nothing less will be tolerated.
For example, calls would be:
At 20 km - "Dalby traffic - Glider Alpha Whisky - twenty kilometres "
At 5km - "Dalby traffic - Glider Alpha Whisky - five kilometres"
After finishing - "Dalby traffic - Glider Alpha Whisky - left downwind for 14"
Gliders conducting a straight in approach should advise their intentions. For example:
"Dalby traffic - Glider Alpha Whisky - 2km inbound for runway 32 straight in"
In order to provide space for other incoming aircraft, gliders must be moved off the runway, including grass areas, and beyond the gable markers immediately after landing.
Please assist one another in this important task.
Pilots will be responsible for downloading flights from their loggers and uploading the resultant files to a designated site. Computer support, including a wireless network, will be available for this purpose.
Other useful operational information
All local flying must be authorised by the Competition Director or his delegate. All pilots flying locally, but not as part of the competition, must attend the daily briefing and comply with all operational requirements.
There are a number of airfields and 'strips' in the waypoint list. All airfields are designated as such by using AF at the end of the way point name and code. Other waypoints are designated as 'strip' in the name and have a code ending in ST.
Whilst every effort
has been made to ensure that the location of these airfields and strips is
accurate, there is NO GUARANTEE that this is so.
Furthermore, there
is NO GUARANTEE that the airfield or strip can be safely used to land a glider.
For example, airfields and strips may not be maintained regularly, may be wet,
may have stock grazing and fences could be constructed across them etc.
If a pilot intends to use one of these, the pilot MUST treat the landing as an out landing. Thus the usual out landing field checks are to be made and the pilot must take full responsibility for the decision to land on such an airfield or strip.
The availability of aero tow retrieves shall be by arrangement with the Tug Master and authorised by the Competition Director. The Operations Room is to be notified prior to the tug aircraft leaving for a retrieve.
The tug pilot retains the right to reject an aero tow retrieve if on arriving he feels that the site is unsuitable for the current conditions. In such cases, the glider pilot will be responsible for the cost of the flight.
The costs of all aerotow retrieves will be payable to the Contest Organisation as soon as possible.
SAR action will be taken at last light plus one hour eastern standard time (EST) if no outlanding advice has been received by the flight office. To avoid unnecessary SAR action, competitors must notify the competition office if they outland.