Today's RASP soaring forecast was not good for our
playground
As it turned out, it was optimistic
The 20 knot gusts of the southerly change reached
Caboolture earlier than forecast, with the result
that the day’s first launch at 10:15 was into an
atmosphere worth a much deeper blue than this
(blue = bad, the darker the badder)
That flight was Air Cadet Rory Duncan making his
first ever take off in the IS-28, making a pretty
good fist of the slippery airframe in the brisk
wind conditions, and giving his instructor a
pretty good view of the Wings’n’Wheels
airfield displays below
Next launch was AEI Lindsay Mitchell taking a
prospective future Army pilot on her first ever
glider flight
Third and final launch was Karl Bodi, with Rory as
passenger, maintaining both his glider and strong
wind currency
And that was it - 54 minutes total flying time,
all over by midday, with time for a welcome drink
in the shade, a stroll around the displays, a
leisurely chat with Tuggie Tony Esler and Nick
Sheahon (manning a stall for the dark side), and a
bit of neck craning at T-28 warbirds formating for
their flight home to Toowoomba.
Sorry, no pix of the Trojans (where’s Nathan
Bowtell when you need him?) but I’ll leave you
with a sotto
voce comment
on the prospects for our dented Blanik, courtesy
of whoever planned the placement of today’s
event facilities
