GNZ Newsletter December 2021
From the president
Welcome to the December GNZ newsletter.
December, the last month of the year, first month of summer and prime soaring season.
The weather is O for orsome, work and school will soon be but a distant memory, for a short time at least, and soaring safaris are the order of the day.
For Orklander's your time in purgatory is almost done and soaring salvation awaits in just a few short days.
For those in the red zones, the rules are still being made up as we speak. A quick check in with the CAA has elicited the advice that they don't make up the rules and they are awaiting advice from the MoH who may have something to them by this Friday. Sport NZ on the other hand do have a great website that is regularly updated and you can see their latest interpretations on what the traffic light system means for sport here: Sport NZ COVID 19 Protection Framework.
Most clubs and event organisers have well developed and thought out COVID policies in place so please make the effort to check in with your club and any club you may be visiting to understand what the local policies are. Please be a team player and adhere to these policies regardless of your personal views.
Enjoy December and be grateful for the privileged lives we lead that allow us to indulge in such a magnificent pastime.
2021 is almost done and many of us are done with 2021!
Steve Wallace
GNZ President
Congratulations
TAYLOR BARRY and REEGAN TOCK
Winners of the Kuranui College flying scholarship from the Wellington & Wairarapa Gliding Club
PATEL SCHENK
To Solo already complete and further assistance received from the WWGC towards now completing her To Soaring certificate.
KAREN MORGAN & MIKE OAKLEY
Winners as Team TF of the SMEG NZ 2021 Springfield Soaring Championships
COVID POLICIES
These are an ever changing moving target and seemingly somewhat open to interpretation so common sense and keeping it simple is the best strategy. The larger clubs seem to have this under control but if you are a smaller club you don't need to invent the wheel yourself. Just talk to your nearest neighbour club and find out what they are doing.
Below is an example of a nice simple one page policy from the Auckland Gliding Club.
Thanks to Gerard Robertson for the work and for sharing.
Magic Club Worker Fairies
Most clubs have them. They work unseen. Doing maintenance, admin, cleaning and all those many other odd jobs that make the club run smoothly on the weekends when you turn up to go flying.
Rarely spotted, difficult to photograph, usually unacknowledged.
If you spot one, don't forget to say thanks, offer your help or buy them a beer.
Photos from the month
Start 'em young while they can still run!
Springfield Champs on a wing and a prayer
A legend in gliding
Passion never dies
Gliders are getting smaller or pilots are getting bigger?
Radio Talk
Concise and correct use of the radio is important to all for aviation safety and glider pilots are not always the most practised at these interactions. Below is nice reminder from Russel Thorne at the Auckland Gliding Club.
ADS-B
First installs
Some initial installs of ADS-B are starting to happen following CAA finally approving a system that will be viable in some gliders. Here is an initial report on a test flight.
" I managed to squeeze the huge TA70 TSO’d antenna under the glare shield (which is glass, not carbon). I found the airspeed switch, that was insisted on, trips the system into Ground mode at 39 knots according to my ASI – you can thermal this slow in the 2nd notch of thermalling flap! The Peregrine switch spec is 34 knots + or – 3 kt... I was amazed at the virtually 100% ADS-B coverage out of Omarama – see attached Flight Radar 24 track of one of my flights last week. "
ADS-B is a great system that will no doubt improve safety, so it is a real shame that the CAA have made such a hash of it by not approving a system that will fit in all gliders. The take-up of ADS-B in gliders is therefore unlikely to be anywhere near what it could otherwise have been and the safety of all aircraft in NZ will suffer because of it :-(
Glider Mods
Have you been modifying your glider over winter / lockdown. Before you fly please check with your friendly local engineer that what you have done is kosher, even if it is minor.
Thanks to Kevin for another great toon!
Central District Regionals
Fri 18th Feb 2022 - Sat 26th Feb 2022
Join us at Papawai to celebrate
60 years of contest flying in New Zealand
We are also introducing the Papawai Cup for the Sports class which will feature tasks tailored for pilots competing in their 1st or 2nd Competition. Entries will close on 31 Jan 2022 and we will be asking for a $100 deposit to be paid by mid Dec
First gliding contest in NZ, Masterton 1962
Classifieds
Xmas is coming
So don't forget the GNZ website has a classifieds page. Link below but only for those that have been good! Gliders to suit any budget, from $6K to $400K+
https://gliding.co.nz/classifieds/
Can't afford a new glider. Then how about a photo of one or from one. Milan has an amazing selection to choose from. Milan will even print your own favourite photo for you ready for framing.
https://fotorama.co.nz/all-products/
Can't afford an awesome photo from Milan, then there is always a hoodie, t-shirt, water bottle or car sticker from the always in fashion Pure Glide merch store.
Incident Reports
We are out of cycle for the 6 weekly incident reports from the NOO this month, so expect these next month, but not too many please - as in let's be careful out there!
You can access all back copies of the Ops Team Talking newsletter. These have been placed on the Gliding NZ web site under News > Safety Bulletins A link to the GNZ incident reporting form (OPS 10) can be found in the very top menu bar on the GNZ homepage, just to the right of the 'Classified Adverts'. You can now fill this form out on your phone at the airfield so no excuses.
OPS 10 link: http://gliding.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/OPS10v7f.pdf
In the case of an accident, asap please phone: 0508 ACCIDENT (0508 222 433)
Thanks for reading
All contributions, pics, videos and opinions welcome
EMAIL: [email protected]