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Glider
attracts eagles |
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27-Jul-11 |
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Front
seat pilot Andrew Luland on final approach to the
Grafton Gliding Club's Eatonsville airstrip [taken with
a camera outside the craft by glider/photographic
enthusiast Bob King] |
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| HOW
can you soar with the eagles when you’re surrounded by
turkeys? |
| It’s
a rhetorical question often put by frustrated
“would-be” high flyers about their less adventurous
peers. |
| But
glider pilots, including 78-year-old Des Muir, of
Grafton, are fortunate to be able to literally soar with
these majestic creatures on special occasions. |
| Mr
Muir, a record-setting glider veteran with 37 years’
experience, was flying over the Baryulgil area on
Friday, February 18, when two wedge-tailed eagles began
to fly right next to him in formation, one on either
side of the sailplane. |
| It
soon became evident the birds of prey were in a playful
mood as they took turns coming closer to the cockpit –
as close as three metres – and riding the air flowing
over the curvature of the wing almost all the way to
Shannon Creek Dam. |
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| While
thrilled at the spectacle, Mr Muir said it was not
uncommon for eagles and hawks to fly in company of
gliders with no noisy engine to deter them |
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The
Grafton Gliding Club runs weekly meets from its
Eatonsville airstrip, with takeoffs powered by a V8
engine, 1400 metres of rope and a
pulley system. |
| Glider
pilots face many challenges, but one of the biggest is
to cover as much distance as possible with one take off,
utilising the updraft of thermals (warm air) to gain
altitude before the gentle downward glide to the next
thermal. |
| Mr
Muir flew for 329 kilometres on his five hours, 14
minutes flight recently and used one of the area’s
best-known thermals – the Grafton Bridge, which heats
up in the daytime – to lift him towards the end of the
flight. |
| Asked
if he ever found himself in a situation where there were
simply no thermals and no accessible runways, Mr Muir
explained: “Yes, that does happen from time to time
and yes it is character building, especially around here
where there are a lot of mountains and trees and short
paddocks ... it’s different out west.” |
| But
the appeal of gliding was truly addictive, he said. |
| “It’s
basically the sound of the wind and your heart beat up
there and that’s it,” he said. |
| The
Grafton Gliding Club flies weekly and offers joy flights
each Saturday from about 11am. It can be found on
Gliding Club Rd, Eatonsville or inquiries can be made to
veteran glider Warren Morrow (43 years experience) on
6643-4432. |
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[Articles
in local newspapers such as this one from Grafton's Daily Examiner of 01-Mar-11
titled "Glider attracts eagles" often generate considerable
interest from the general public in experiencing a
glider flight and can lead to them taking up gliding as
a pastime or sport ... despite the fact that the
articles can from time to time be prone to some
"poetic licence" where a reporter my
inadvertently make comments that could be interpreted by
experienced glider pilots as "not allowing the
facts to get in the way of a good story"] |
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