SAFA Skysailor Magazine

13 May | June 2024 SKY SAILOR midday, suffered a large asymmetric collapse just after take-off which flung him back onto the mats, hitting another Japanese pilot who was standing on launch. The Tamworth based Westpac Rescue helicopter was called in and arrived within 30 minutes to stabilise the pilot and fly him to hospital. He is in a stable condi- tion with some spinal fractures which luckily didn’t need surgery. The other pilot escaped with serious bruising. 1. Davies, Harry, AUS Drift Merlin, XC 52 4. Percival, Tim, NZL Niviuk Artik 5, XC 42 5. Werbrouck, Coralie, FRA Ozone Swift 6, SPORT 39 11. Macdonald, Paul, AUS Advance Epsilon 10 DLS, FUN 29 Day 4 – 23 January: 179km to Moree A tricky day ahead for the pilots, with a drifting trough centred around Moree having a battle with a large ridge of high pressure coming up from the south. This meant the wind was going to be in variable directions at different heights and locations as the day progressed. The north launch at Mt Borah was slow to start working, but by midday many were in the air, climbing out and heading towards the Boggabri Gap area. The initial drift direction was west towards Narrabri, with some well-formed clouds. Those at the front managed to get around Mt Kaputar to continue into the flatlands towards Narrabri and Moree. Slower pilots were met with a southerly wind an hour in which then turned them north towards the Horten Valley, Barraba and Bingara, to com- plete a L-style track. The best pilots each had vastly differing flight routes. The day winner, Fabio Cappuccini (XC class), flew around the west side of Mt Kaputar and towards Moree for his 179km in over seven hours. In second place, Comp Class pilot Peter Slade flew initially 30km west, then north, deep into the Horten Valley, and finally headed back towards Mt Borah finishing with a three turnpoint out and return total of 161km. One pilot flew a 119km FAI triangle. Best female, winner of Sports Class and fourth overall, was Brazilian pilot Chandra Sugasti with an L-shaped flight of 139km. The Fun Class pilots had a more difficult day, despite the great clouds and often strong climbs, as the changing wind conditions re- All photos: On the ground – Godfrey Wenness, in the air – Andrew Bucknill, Joshie Tie and Brandon O’Donnell