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Peter's
first glide
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12-Aug-12
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I
just
had to share this photo of Peter Pretorius ... shown here
"back on deck" in the IS-28 after our
exhilarating 51 minute glider flight at Caboolture
yesterday.
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Peter
is a Caboolture-based power pilot (he flies VH-AKZ, the bright yellow
Wittman Tailwind W8) ... and this was his first ever flight
in a glider. He
was totally enthused with every aspect and detail of the
flight.
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We
were blessed with an incredible short but strong period of
straight-line lift in "wave" conditions to the
northwest of the airfield (caused
by the brisk south-westerly breeze at that time) where
we climbed very quickly from 3,300 ft to 4,500 ft in a
straight line from near the Big Fish out towards Mt Beerwah.
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What a blast ... Peter is without a doubt the
most enthusiastic passenger that I have ever flown with
and his love of life is totally infectious. I think I enjoyed Peter's
first glider flight just as much, if not more, than he
did!
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The
CGC Committee is in the process of implementing a program
whereby members of the Caboolture Aero Club will be
offered a special rate to experience glider flight with us
... the
aim being to further encourage co-operation and
understanding between powered and non-powered pilots at
YCAB.
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In
Peter's own words ... "I will be telling everyone
that they must try gliding".
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Regards,
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Kevin
Rodda
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In
case anyone is wondering what I am referring to above as
"wave" conditions ...
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Wave
Lift:
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When
strong winds blow across a mountain range, large
“standing” waves occur downwind from the mountains and
upward to the tropopause.
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The
waves may develop singly ... but more often, they occur as a
series of waves downstream from the mountains. While the
waves remain about stationary, strong winds are blowing
through them.
Mountain
wave can be compared to a series of waves formed downstream
from a submerged rocky ridge in a fast flowing creek or
river. Air
dips sharply immediately to the lee of a ridge, then rises
and falls in a wave motion downstream. The
aim, should you find "wave" when
gliding, is to gain height by flying in a straight line along
the "lift" areas while avoiding as far as possible
spending time in the adjacent "sink" areas. As
was the case yesterday, "wave" can occur in a "blue" sky (where it cannot be seen ... it
has to be felt). The
following is a good animated diagram of how "wave lift"
conditions form ...
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