SAFA Skysailor Magazine

9 May | June 2021 SKY SAILOR Bluey and our local wedgies. She had a blast. Lateesha stepped off launch seamlessly on her first flight on her brand new wing, straight out of school, and Viva joined her on the crowded ridge to hold their own and have fun soaring. Then, the Petra pause. Petra is a popular and experienced pilot whose wheel chair launch took a handful of helpers and silenced the 150 people crowd in anticipation for her lift off. She sat patiently on launch, her husband and helpers waiting for the perfect moment… but the wind dropped and she cleared launch to wait for another attempt later on, disappointing the cameras in waiting. Time for Jan, our special flying mother hen, to get into the air and Sonja and Tess launched again too. Ali jumped on my Alpina 4 to give it a whirl and Sonya test flew another harness with the option to swap and fly smaller sizes available to us all while being on launch at once. Laura and Simon commenced our BBQ lunch. Ella had itchy feet and re- launched for another spectacular thermic flight high above the crowd, scratching her head at how it happened and smiling all the way. Lunch provided a chance for us to chat and share. Pilots shared how they never knew what it was like to fly and hang out with numbers of other female pilots. One didn’t know she’d missed it because she’d never experienced it. We talked pee plans, flight preparations and listened to Ali’s adventures over her 25 plus years flying career. Alex from Planet Paragliding supplied prizes of gloves, T-shirts and stubbie coolers and many launched again for an afternoon soar. The second Petra pause… she set up again and this time it was a success and Petra rocketed up to cheers from the crowd and out-climbed the pilots on the ridge in two to three metre climbs. Christa and I launched too, to join the crowd for a late afternoon soaring session. There were lots of smiles, connections forged, and plenty of flying – all the ingredients for a fun day. Lots of club members joined us on launch in support and we all flew together, in all, 20 women launched for flights on the day. There is no reason our sport can’t have 50/50 participation of men and women and it is exciting to be part of the inclusive push. I have been personally encouraged to see the male pilots calling each other out when they joke or make a statement that isn’t inclusive, and to have the support of our club to see all pilots supported, encouraged and included so they continue to fly. Thank you to CHGC, Paratech Para- gliding, Bluey on tandem, Planet Paragliding, Al on retrieve, Simon on the BBQ and everyone who came along to make the day a success. Clockwise from top opposite page: Petra waits for the right conditions Sonya is ready on launch Tandem launch Rowan flies with his daughter Photos: Marnie Jane