SAFA Skysailor Magazine

23 May | June 2023 SKY SAILOR Nervous laughter, that was the catch- cry sound of SIV! That tingling, tickling and giggling-good sound that rumbled frequently around the Briefing Tent on the first night , then stayed firmly rooted amongst the group chatter for the duration of the course. Nervous laughter – we all had our fill of it on this SIV course!  Such beauty, such elegance, such grace, such poise and perfection! No, I’m not talking about the female pilots (though we are awesome), I’m referring to my wing, in all her magnificence.  The most important thing SIV taught me was the simple beauty of my wing. Her capabilities and my potential to give inputs to control how she flies. I was astounded at my own ignorance of the craftsmanship, creation, design and all-round wonderfulness of my wing! Before SIV, I did not know what my wing was capable of and how she was so perfectly designed to keep me safely aloft on my skyward journey.  I think I’m correct in professing that this was the first time in Australia that an SIV course has been run that was attended by 100% female pilots. We are all hugely grateful for the knowledge, skill and expertise of our coaches Jocky Sanderson and Roger Stanford; together with their team of professional assistants: ‘The Colonel’, Lazarus and Hazy. This team ensured that at all times our Women With Wings were safe and prepared for the day’s SIV adventures. Most notably, I must mention the highly skilled Trauma Medic on the team and the utmost trust I had in the entire team if we were to have the misfortune of an accident. Both the SIV briefings and medical briefings were thorough and impressive. From all attendees, our deepest gratitude to each of you! Thank you. So, for those who don’t know… what happens on SIV? In a nutshell, you learn how to control your wing when she doesn’t act as you expect, and then further learn how to guide her into ‘radical’ positions. Your coach guides you step by step to – turn sharply, spiral out of undesirable lift, frontal collapse, cravat or generally create instances where your glider ‘misbehaves’, and you learn how to recover it. If you feel comfortable with all those scenarios, you then have the opportunity to throw your reserve chute.  Our first night together was, as mentioned, coloured with nervous laughter, and everyone was a bit apprehensive about what Day 1 of SIV was going to reveal. Jocky was thorough in his description of what was expected of us on our first tow and flight: porpoise, 360s, wing- overs and – for those ready – stalls. We were fortunate to have two pilots who had done SIV previously, and these women led the pack and showcased the moves with ease and grace.  Crew and pilots Photo: Catherine McMillan