Well done to the Airshow crew, the whole day went as smooth as silk. Also thanks to all those from the club who came to help out.

More pics are available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timbromhead/sets/72157623513053615/

This Saturday is the Matamata Airshow & Carnival. Note there is an entry fee of $10/car or $5 per person.

There will be heaps on display including:

• Sky Diving
• Tiger Moths
• Model Aircraft
• War birds
• Glider Trial flights

Gates open at 9am.

The gliding club will be taking trial flights between 9am to about 12:30. We'll be doing a double tow at 11am. The main displays will be happening between 1-4pm. 

We'll have the caravan and/or a display outside the club house and we'll be aiming to promote the club, do some trial flights, sell vouchers and promote our courses.

More details can be found on the official website:

http://matamata-airshow.co.nz/

The National Gliding Competition in Taupo has finally had it's first day of flying, after several days of rain and drizzle.

Keep track of the results and tasks at soaring spot:
http://www.soaringspot.com/nznat2010/

And also see the official contest directors blog for a summary:
http://www.taupo2010.blogspot.com/

From Piako we have Ian, Bill, Edouard, Alan and Tim flying. Thanks to Phil for coming to help out today.

On 13.3.2010 we will have an airshow and carnival on our airfield. Naturally the gliding club will be there boots and all. The format of the event is trial flights from us and other participants (helicopters, microlights, gyros, …) for a period before and after the demonstrations themselves, demonstration flying during the middle of the day, and culturaland other events on the airfield all day.

Have a look at
http://matamata-airshow.co.nz/

for more details. Helpers will be needed for the following: Organizing of the event itself setting up in the morning, tidy up at night, somebody to help at the gate, .. Promoting gliding and the gliding club Glider flights – trial flights and flying during the show

A limited number of spots are available for helpers – Steve Care will be organizing the flying side of things, Anna Doerr will organize the other bits. If you wish to help, please let us know ASAP as we have to organize passes. Without a pass, cost is $10 per car. anna.doerr@xnet.co.nz  CAA has approved this event and its format.

Anna

One of our trial flights took some video during a flight at Raglan - it's been split into several short videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC7Pxid3QoA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPOqn2ijne8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huITDmsBgWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YyFq_bzSHo

We've also posted some more photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/piakoglidingclub/sets/72157623245045590/

Thanks to Raglan local Cheryl Reynolds for the camera work.

The Raglan camp is going well, with a reasonably busy first weekend. We are there until this Sunday, so if you want to experience the stunning scenery, head on out.

On Monday we had a decent south westerly, so Gliding NZ Editor Jill McCaw and your intrepid writer (Tim) decided to go try out the dunes on the other side of the Raglan harbour. Unfortunately they weren't working quite as well as we would have liked, and we ended up a little low and unable to climb higher.

I decided we'd better aim towards the beach because I knew we'd make it back there, but wasn't sure we'd make it back to the field. We definitely didn't want to land out on the wrong side of the harbour due to the 2 day retrieve it would involve. We crossed the harbour entrance no problems, flew past the dunes on the other side in the hope they would give us the few hundred feet needed to get home, but alas, the wind was the wrong angle for these ones.

Heading back to the other side

So on the beach we went, and it was almost a perfect runway. The tide was out, the sand hard, and very few people about due to the windy conditions. The landing was the easy part, then came the retrieve. Unfortunately local council laws prohibit aircraft landing on the beach, so a tow was out of the question.

A handy beach landing tip I learned from west coast veteran Steve Wallace: if you're landing on a remote beach, make sure you land above the high tide mark even if the sand is soft. There is no way you can drag a glider up the beach by yourself. After this day, I can confirm this is very true, even a 4 wheel drive vehicle struggled to pull the glider up through the soft sand.

Safely down on the beach

We weren't really planning a landout in either of the twins, so the trailer was at the back of the hanger in Matamata. Les came to the rescue, taking the afternoon out to bring it over to us.

It took us a while to devise the best way to extract the twin from the beach, due to the difficult access. We even considered towing the glider up the beach and harbour to beside the runway, then just carry it over the dunes. Raglan surf beach has a rather steep paved road, and thanks to Godfrey's 4WD Subaru we decided to drag the trailer to the bottom and de-rig right next to the surf club watch tower. We were a little worried about dragging the trailer up the hill, but Godfrey kept the speed on, and it wasn't a problem.

In the end it we all had a good time, and were finished by dinner time where a few of us had a magnificent feast at the Raglan pub (it really was great). The whole day was also some good publicity for the club, with lots of people interested in a big white thing sitting on the beach. So obviously that was the plan all along.

A huge thanks to all those who helped, especially Les for driving all the way over with the trailer, Godfrey (rostered on as duty pilot!) for the use of his car and his help, Steve for organising the rescue and Jill & her son Robert for being such good sports, and Bob for looking after all the trial flights while I lay around on the beach. We also give big thanks to the Raglan lifeguards who spent all day dragging us, trailers, and the glider around the beach.

Photos are all © McCaw Media, thank you Jill!

There's a glider somewhere there...

Well the Christmas Camp is coming to a close, and there has been some fantastic weather and achievements. We are flying the next few days, but be aware the Walsh flying school is on. Saturday morning we are going to Raglan.

Congratulations to:

• Alan Belworthy - 500km Diamond & Diamond Height Gain
• Tim Bromhead - 300km Gold and 300km Diamond Goal
• Steve Care - Diamond Height Gain
• Steve Wallace - 500km Diamond on the West Coast

Alan's 500km flight was set on the ridge with a task designed by Steve. We'll be putting the task on the website soon, so others can attempt this.

Tim managed his 300km gold on the ridge, then did the 300km Diamond Goal the next day in thermals. The task was Matamata > Drury > Tokaroa > Matamata. Well done to Robert Smits for almost completing the same course in his Sagitta. 

A couple of days ago Steve climbed to 20,000' on the Kaimais, well done Steve!

Robert in his Sagitta

Alan in his Ventus

Hi Folks, with just a week until Christmas, no doubt you're all thinking of gliding! Here are the upcoming gliding events over summer.

New Roster Up

Check it out at http://glidingmatamata.co.nz/members/roster/
Please check what dates you're on, and organise a swap or replacement if you can't make it. In particular check the christmas camp and raglan trip dates.

Christmas Camp - Flying Boxing day to 8th Jan

For those new to the club, we fly everyday from boxing day to the 8th of Jan. Bring a tent or hire a cabin, it's a load of non-stop flying fun. Make the most of it by bringing out some friends, and stay a night or three.

There will be instructors rostered on every day, so training and trial flights will be available.

Cross Country Flying in a twin

If you're interested in going cross country, even if you've never done it before, let Tim or Bob know. We're keen to encourage more cross country flying, so get in touch and we'll organise it.

New Years Eve Dinner

The annual New Years Eve dinner will be on again this year. All club members & families are invited. Contact jan at wajvmace@ihug.co.nz if you can make it so we have an idea of numbers. We'd love to see a good turn out again this year!

Walsh Flying School 6th-21st of January

From the 6th-21st of January is the Walsh flying school. The way the airfield operates is different due to the large volume of trainee traffic. There is a control tower, so to fly during this time you need to be proficient with your radio procedures. Be aware we also need clearance to taxi on the airfield unlike normal.

While a bit of a pain, it does give us an excellent opportunity to experience flying with a control tower, just as the Tauranga club does all the time.

Raglan! 9th - 17th January

It just so happens we plan our annual Raglan trip to coincide with the Walsh Flying School. Please check the roster and let us know if you can't make it, or if you can help out, the more helpers the better.

We'll be flying both twins over, and if anyone wants to bring the single seaters they are welcome to organise it. We obviously try to get lots of trial flights, but we also want our club members out and flying too. If we happen to get a good westerly, we will try and organise a trip up the coast.

That's all for now, have a great Christmas!