Scott Barrett <<scottbarrettc4>>
writes:

Goal:

The task was designed to be a class 5, distance to declared goal of around 570k
with start and goal cylinders of 400m, great circle distance is a bit more.
Start is a road intersection perhaps 1 k SE of Boort airfield in Central
Victoria, the flight goes through NSW and into South Australia.

There were good climbs and a good pace, but the day had many challenges and
changes of pace, it was a blue day, but I had to go through the trough that had
recently dumped rain along the course, there was water laying on the ground in
many places and the high level cloud shaded out sections making some slow going.
There were forest crossings, lake systems to negotiate without getting into the
thermal shadows of the lakes. I got low once, it was turbulent and it was the
first time I had flown in turbulence in a rigid.

I had less than ten hours experience on the VQ and I was impressed with how it
felt in turbulence, it did as it was told with light control pressures even if
the air got bumpy. I could tell it was turbulent because of the negative g, but
the pitch was really stable, damped and felt secure. On this day I had the
choice to fly a VQ rigid or an RX flexi. I was very pleased that I did not
choose to borrow the Moyes RX which just sat on the car roof for the trip, the
RX just doesn’t feel as secure in rough air and it takes a lot more energy out
of the pilot.

There are beautiful, sparse remote areas that I overflew, the roads came and
went underneath me (very occasionally), but I was just linking the thermals and
did not ever follow roads. The later the day got, the more enjoyable it was, I
was slowing down and going higher as the lift got more gentle and the ground
underneath became more desolate. I flew under more high cloud associated with
the trough and patiently drifted along with the “1:1 map” moving underneath me.

Now the dry sand turned into shaded out scrub and grass land. There were hills
in the distance, at Broken Hill to my East, the Flinders ranges silhouetted the
Western skyline and there were some hills poking out of the Flatland ahead of
me. As I made my way up onto final glide, the clouds allowed sunbeams to pass
through hitting the floor of the otherwise shaded desert. I made long slow
glides. There was lift in the shade and my final glide was improving, I was
going to make it in for sure. Up until going onto final glide slope it had been
a race against the sun going down, only when reaching final glide did the
urgency disappear, already having the feeling of having made it and there is no
longer any rush. So when the lift continued to be provided to me, I was happy to
circle around and over cook the final, I would go no further than goal, but
there was no reason not to just hang out, watch, enjoy.

During the day, I had vowed to stay high and await the thermals to stop, the
wind to die down, for a nice landing time and the longer I can just hang out,
the better it will get. Goal was intended to be Mooleulooloo airstrip, but when
I got there, the coords were past the airstrip, lee side of the first hill I
would have to overfly. So I flew into the lee side goal cylinder happy to have
the height to fly back to land beside the windsock on the strip. Conditions were
gentle and smooth for a beautiful landing.

Mooleulooloo airstrip was carefully chosen, it is on the last sheep station on
the last road, it is two wheel drive access and easy to get to, it just takes a
lot of drive time, about two hours from Broken Hill. It was physically possible
to go further, but the chosen goal is a sensible place to stop, as after that
there are no more roads and it would be rather inconvenient. Anyway the aim was
achieved; a class 5 world record distance to a declared goal, it extended the
record by approximately another 190km and that was enough.

I was advised to delay the retrieve making access the station at night because
of the huge numbers of kangaroos on the road and you don't want to take the
wrong turn in the dark, otherwise someone would have to look for you. The last
phone reception is around 70km away. So I stayed the night and thank the
Treloars of Mooleulooloo Station for a shower, bed three good meals, welcoming
social company. The next day I was treated to a very interesting tour of the
place before my retrieve arrived. Thanks to the Treloars my hosts at goal; all
of the team, including tug driver Peter Eicher, dolly runner Marlice Eicher and
team mate task setter Rohan Holtkamp. Special thanks to Virpi for a successful
five day round trip drive and job well done.

The previous record was 379 km (235 miles) set by Benjamin Herring
in Zapata in 2008.

http://www.fai.org/fai-record-file/?recordId=15125