A club meeting was held at 7:30pm on 6 September 2019 at the Canberra Labor Club, Weston.
Rene Sedlmaier, Wes Kilham, Alex Chapman, Alistair Dickie, Kevin Beavan, Gerry Mason, Phil Dieckmann, Alex Boiko, Stephen York, Nick Lemon, Ryan O’Neill, Steve Duncan, Ash Gosili, Brad Porter, Mike Brady, Peter Ellis, Christian Bihlmaier, Peter Kupsovsky, Dug Malcolm, Jackson Bateman
Apologies: Ian Leaver, Phil Robinson, Johno Bishop, Allister Higgins, Rachel Lee
Spring needs further work but too dry at present to plant new turf.
Indications are good that we will be able to erect a weather station at Lanyon, but at some stage a working bee will be organized to clear briar bush and rocks
There is a Site Development Working Group comprising Dug Malcolm, Johno Bishop and Peter Evans. Negotiations are progressing well with Parks ACT. The working group is keen to have involvement from HG pilots as well.
Al Dickie is the designated site coordinator. Flying from this site needs to be organized by Al and pilots need to assemble at the LZ at a designated time to drive up together.
Rene will post further information of the FB site.
Kari Ellis and Johno Bishop have completed training. The club has a good spread of SSOs and SOs to assist newer pilots, or in fact any pilots.
Rene mentioned the safety issues that can occur when flying in strong conditions in the colder months. There was some discussion about a day at Spring Hill when the wind strength increased and peaked in the low red zone, creating difficult conditions. See also the FARK awards
Al Dickie suggests pilots seek out their own courses from established providers. It has been difficult to organize a specific ACTHPA course for a variety of reasons, including low water levels in many reservoirs. There was also some discussion about a club XC course, which could possibly be subsidized partly by SAFA and by the club. Corryong was suggested as a suitable venue.
Al Dickie mentioned that SAFA can provide clubs with low interest loans.
Early bird membership renewal concludes August 15.
Al also talked about the insurance policies SAFA maintains, one third party liability cover and the other personal accident death benefit that pays up to $20,000 to an individual’s estate. A straw poll suggested most pilots do not think the second form of insurance to be all that valuable.
Al also talked about SAFA’s enhanced safety system and reporting system. SAFA now has a full time safety management officer and incidents and accidents need to reported through AIRS.
There was further discussion around the use of electronic log books.
SAFA will hold its AGM in October.
Peter Kupsovsky flew his PPG to Sutton from Lake George. One hour going and 21 minutes return.
Alex Chapman and Rose Grum flew to Gundaroo from Lake George, departing from the escarpment somewhere near the second rest stop. (Eagle to Alex and Grum).
Novice Award to Phil Dieckmann for completing a series of top landings at Lake George. Noted that Alex Boiko was signed off as PG3.
FARK award had three nominations.
Dug Malcolm was flying at Spring when conditions strengthened. He found himself on full bar and pinned near the venturi. He landed successfully but if the wind had strengthened further it would have been problematic.
Lesson: Retain situational awareness and fly much further away from the hill if the wind strengthens. Observe what other pilots are doing. For example, Peter Ellis landed and two other pilots flew a long way out.
Rene Sedlmaier launched at Lanyon with the A riser looped between the B and C risers on one side. He managed to top land, rectified the problem, then had a sleddie flight to the LZ.
Lesson: Always do a very careful line check before launching. The glider flew OK, but the brake was not running freely.
Ash Gosili was in a hurry to launch at Spring Hill and as he was about to do so saw that he had not hooked in correctly.
Lesson: Take your time launching and do not feel pressured because others are in the air.
Award went to Rene.
Brad Porter recommended a working party for Honeysuckle.
Mike Brady told the meeting that as a CFI he is doing two training courses a year with Fred Gungl at Bright and that he will be available to do XC clinics.
May 2020 trip to Spain: Not a lot of interest shown to date
Porosity Tester: Stephen York is investigating the purchase of a tester.
Wind Sock for HG pilots landing near Poachers Pantry. Rene suggested the idea of a temporary one erected on flying days.