April – May 2003
I don’t know about you, but to me Gold distance seems a real achievement: I was pretty pleased when I flew more than 300km for mine. Imagine, then, how Klaus Ohlmann must have felt when he flew more than ten times Gold distance in South America last January. This issue of S&G contains an interview with him about the flight, accompanied by some magnificent photos by Gerhard Marzinzik of Aerokurier.
Record-breaking comes under the spotlight, too, in the second of two articles about the South Africa Helli Lasch challenge. Gillian Spreckley describes a record flight that she made and draws lessons from it to help improve your flying – whether you want to smash records, earn badges or simply extend your personal bests.
If you can’t make it to South America or South Africa, don’t despair: we have accounts from Dave Prosolek, Keith Nurcombe and Mike Terry that show it’s possible to contact wave from the winch in the English midlands. For those of you planning your thermal cross-countries, Mike Cuming and John (“Red”) Staley have been persuaded to update their seminal 1992 series on crop selection, in conjunction with Adrian Hatton’s innovative website, www.field-landings.com. BGA Chairman David Roberts provides an update about the latest developments on the European regulatory scene. And Grenville Croll reveals the tale of an incredible day at the seaside.
Safety isn’t neglected, either: Bob Pettifer describes the new BGA-recommended scan procedure; Pete Freeman talks about landing out after turbo problems; Martin Durham takes a look at competition finishes; and Dave Wright provides an overview of our regular accident summaries by analysing a selection of last year’s accidents.
Finally, poetic pilots are showcased in the Platypus column this month. I won’t give away the winner here, but will just repeat one entry that came too late for inclusion in his haiku competition. My thanks to John Green of the Essex and Essex & Suffolk clubs for the following:
Sailplane & Gliding
for news and information
three seventy-five
What better note to end upon?
Helen Evans
Editor, Sailplane & Gliding
What’s happening in Europe?
BGA Chairman David Roberts brings us the latest news on European proposals to regulate gliding
All quiet at the AGM
The BGA weekend attracted more than 300 glider pilots but the AGM passed almost without incident. Helen Evans reports.
Try this for size
Iain Evans led the team that (was) volunteered to build the new BGA gliding simulator, or “virtual glider”. S&G asked him how the project started…
Record breaking
In the second of two articles inspired by the Helli Lasch Challenge, Women’s World Champion Gillian Spreckley offers tips on breaking records and a description of a recent record flight
The mind’s the limit
Three years ago, Klaus Ohlmann impressed glider pilots when he broke the world distance record by 400km. Now he’s done it again. Helen Evans talked with him about the longest ever sailplane flight.
Still flying after 40 years
In the second part of his series, Jochen Ewald flies the world’s oldest airworthy glass-fibre glider
How to find a gliding club in the UK
If you want to go gliding – or sample a new site – this map and list of clubs can help. Its advantage over the internet version elsewhere on this site is that you can use it in remote locations … without a laptop!
Spot your crop for the drop
The first of two articles by Mike Cuming and John (“Red”) Staley looks at crop fields in March, April and May
Gold height in the flatlands
If you can’t get to the Andes for your wave flying there’s hope even over the English flatlands, as these three stories show.
A sorry tail in the Alps
Our series on the Alps continues with a reminder from Bill Kronfeld that they have been a playground for soaring pilots for many years.
Predator or prey?
Bob Pettifer – who chairs the BGA instructors committee – describes how and why to use the new BGA-recommended scanning procedure
Taming the turbo
Pete Freeman, the director of the Bidford turbo competition, offers some advice on field landings in a turbo sailplane
Are you fit to fly?
In the second of a series detailing the human factors that affect glider pilots, Ian Atherton looks at the effects of your health on your flying
A day at the seaside
Grenville Croll of Rattlesden GC thinks the passage of time means it is probably now safe to describe one of his most memorable flights
Update on UK airspace
Carr Withall, chairman of the BGA airspace committee, reports on the previous year and outlines recommended practices for glider pilots.
Accidents to gliders
Dave Wright takes a look at what we can learn from 2002’s crop of incidents and accidents.
Also in this issue:
BGA and general news; your letters; BGA Communications News; BGA Development News; BGA Technical News; Gliding Gallery; club news; club focus (Wyvern GC); obituaries; BGA Badges; incident and accident summaries
Tailfeathers: Plat plans to show that he’s made of the Wright Stuff
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