Des Hill <<deslightfly>>
writes:

West Australian State HG Competition, hosted by the Goldfields
Dust Devils Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club
http://www.goldfieldsdustdevils.com/  started on Sunday 23rd Feb
following a practice day on the Saturday 22nd. Four Teams are listed with a full
range of Novice, Intermediate and Advanced pilots participating.

It is a ground tow event in the inland Western Australia wheat belt, based at
Westonia, a tiny mining and farming community town. The countryside has a good
network of gravel and sealed roads and the farming community are very friendly.
The launch paddock is about 1,200 ft AMSL and base is more often than not over
8,000 ft AMSL. Summertime temperatures are usually in the mid to high 30’s
Celcius with the occasional days over 40. Winds tend to be moderate or down to
light and scariable.

It is a true feel good event with lots of knowledge being shared amongst
participants and given the huge range of hours, ratings, ability and equipment;
there is a lot to learn for newbies.

Practice day was successful with plenty of pilots taking advantage of the
opportunity to get on the tow line, sort out gear and get used to the
environment. Winds were from the NE and light but patient pilots got to launch
as it would straighten from time to time.

Day 1 with a fairly short triangle task of 61.5 km saw hot conditions with nil
to light winds. This meant launching was difficult at best and a wind change saw
a strip change that took a good chunk out of the launch time available. Only 4
pilots got away with 2 late departures just before 5:00 pm making goal in just
under 2 hours. Day winner was Jason Kath in open class and best intermediate was
Duncan De Koning who had departed at 3:00 pm and flew for hours and completed
almost 58 kms of the task, a mighty fine effort. Ross Smith, a local, flew his
first cross country in 20 years. Apart from missing the turnpoints, it was a
significant effort.

Day 2 saw improved conditions with more consistent though light breeze from the
SSW most of the day. An 85 km Task was set with a downwind leg to the first
turnpoint (which doubled as goal for novices) a crosswind leg to a second
turnpoint (goal for intermediates) and a up/crosswind back to launch paddock for
advanced. 4 pilots completed the task, 3 of them in around 2 hours. 13 of 17
pilots got out of the paddock. Scott Brotherwood did his first good height gain
of 4,800 ft and his first thermaling cross country. His effort was soundly
eclipsed by Gordon Bishop, flying a Fun190, on his first ever cross country.
Gordon managed almost 26 kms of the task on what was the stand out flight of the
day. Gordon gets big points for his team, having made Novice Goal and extra
distance down the course line.

Day 3 we are expecting stronger winds, cooler temps and a tougher task for the
advanced pilots.

http://www.goldfieldsdustdevils.com/wa-comps-2014.html