Even though we are now officially into autumn (believe it or not) there is still plenty of life left in the season yet. The achievements just keep rolling on in and the events calendar is not done quite yet with Easter activities just around the corner.
March is always a nice month to go flying with generally more settled weather, so make sure you get out there and make the most of it.
Happy soaring.
Steve Wallace
GNZ President
Congratulations
PATEL SCHENK
1st solo, Saturday 13th Feb, 2021. Well done Patel!
David Hirst
Diamond Goal Distance, well done Dr Dave the Central Regions favourite ROO!
TUULIANNA LAUKKANEN
1st Solo age 14, being congratulated by her Mum, Marju Rossi who is also a glider pilot. This makes Tuulianna the fourth generation of solo glider pilots in her family. A unique achievement!
JAMES AUSTIN
Gold 300km and Gold height gain!
NICK JOHNS
Gold 5 hours + Silver and Gold height gain!
AMY SMITH
First paddock landing, Silver height gain and 'To Soaring' qualification! (I hope she cleaned the underside of that glider)
From our Winners are Grinners files
The Club Class and MSC contest held at Matamata this year will go down as one of the best ever.
9 days of flying, 29 gliders, 300 - 400km thermal tasks every day! Deserved winners were;
Club Class: Mark Wilson the winner (6,987 points), runner up Bob Gray (6,952 points)
Open: Tony van Dyk the winner (7,058 points), runner up Tim Bromhead (6,883 points)
The Central Districts contest
While perhaps the weather wasn't the greatest (a bit blue and stable) the turn out certainly was with 43 gliders on the grid! Winner of the Racing Class against 31 other competitors in his 2nd contest ever was John Robertson (keep an eye on this man, he has a bright future), winner of the Novice Class was John Carter in his first contest ever, and winner of the Open Class was Tim Bromhead.
Well done to all the organisers and contestants!
Flight Training Programme
Roll out complete!
With the final Program Presentations at Nelson, Hutt Valley and Omarama completed
before the New Year, all Clubs have now had the opportunity to be introduced to the Flight
Training Program. There has been good engagement at all Presentations.
350 Pilot Training Program ‘Record of Progress’ booklets are now in circulation with repeat
‘orders’ being received from several Clubs. Somewhat surprisingly the 6 flight ‘Introduction
to Flight’ Record of Progress Booklet have also proved popular with over 190 now being in
circulation.
The exec has been keeping a close eye on all feedback to date with the majority of it being very positive.
I can’t speak for other Clubs, but from my own experience with the new program at
the Wellington Wairarapa Club, I can say our students and instructors are more,
much more, engaged with the flight training program. The consequent discussions
and training practices are producing pilots markedly more competent – and safer -
sooner than at any previous time I can recall.
The FTP Review Panel is due to have its first meeting this month and with most now having had a good level of exposure to the programme it is a good time to begin the continuous improvement process. Remember if you see something that in your opinion needs improving and you can detail what that improvement is, please submit your request to the GNZ Executive Office via the GNZ OPS 16 form.
A concern that was raised, that has been able to be rectified, was that the Instructor Training did not align with the FTP training. This occurred due to resource constraints which meant it was simply not possible to complete and publish both at once, but this has now been rectified and the MOAP updated accordingly.
Flare, hold off, touch down!
A lovely example from a PW5 pilot of what a nice flare, hold off and then touch down should look like!
Updated medical requirements for over 70's
Important to note
There has been a change to the medical requirements effective 1 October 2021: (from the MOAP).
If you are over 70, you will need a DL9 medical.
If you have not done this before it is quite straightforward. Simply tell your doctor that you require a
DL9. Doctors have all the forms at the surgery. In some practices they will expect to send them away to NZTA. Just tell them it is for glider flying and take the completed form away with you. It is a four page form. You only the first page with your details and the last page with the doctors stamp and
signature. Do not use the standard GNZ form.
From the MOAP:
1. Medical Declarations and Certificates
1.1 No person may act as pilot-in-command of a glider or powered glider unless that person:
(a) Holds a valid GNZ Medical Certificate and Declaration completed on form OPS 01;
or
(b) Holds a valid Medical Certificate and Declaration completed on Sport Aviation Corp
Ltd (SAC) form #8.2 or on a Recreational Aircraft Association of NZ (RAANZ)
medical form in respect of acting as pilot in command of a microlight aircraft, or
(c) Holds a valid NZ CAA Class 1 or Class 2 Medical Certificate or a valid ICAO
equivalent; or
(d) Holds a valid Medical Certificate provided on NZTA form DL9, issued in accordance
with rule 44(1) of the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999, that is applicable
for a Class 2, 3, 4 or 5 driver licence with passenger endorsement; or
(e) Is a visiting foreign pilot and provides evidence of holding an acceptable and valid
equivalent to the GNZ Medical Certificate and Declaration.
Note: With effect 1 October 2021, pilots over the age of 70 exercising the privileges of a
Passenger Rating or a Gliding Instructor Rating must hold a valid medical certificate as
specified in either (c) or (d) above.
New training glider for Taupo
Brand new ASK21B
Taupo have received their brand new ASK21B two seat trainer (rego CP as in Centennial Park) and are looking forward to a bright future of training and trial flights. The glider is fitted with the latest in instrumentation including FLARM and ADSB-in and hopefully soon ADSB-out when the CAA come to the party and allow a workable solution for gliders. This was all made possible via the hard work of members and generous donations from two charitable trust. If your club is thinking of applying for some funding, I'm sure Taupo would be happy to let you know how they did it.
Also, don't forget the GNZ Umbrella Trust has money to lend to help clubs buy assets such as new gliders!
For the engineers
Heavy landing damage?
Heavy landing damage can be hard to detect which is why it should always be reported to your club engineer. The two videos below from the UK show just how hard it can be to detect even when the damage is significant.
Incident Reports
No updates for this month but don't forget all back copies of the Ops Team Talking have now 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.
