SAFA Skysailor Magazine

15 May | June 2024 SKY SAILOR Harry Davies won his second day of the event with 162km in a marathon 6.5 hours. He landed 40km north of Warialda and was 28km ahead of the pack. The extra distance came from being fast in the section north of Bingara, plus drifting with very light climbs to stay in the air the longest as well. Being a classic route day with an easy retrieve, many pilots could concentrate on just flying the route and managed personal bests despite the slow and often light conditions. 1. Davies, Harry, AUS Drift Merlin, XC 162 2. McElroy, Stuart, AUS Ozone Zeno 2, COMP 134 =3. Cappuccini, Fabio, AUS Ozone Zeno, XC 129 =3. Nagashima, Shinichi, JPN BGD Echo 2, SPORT 129 10. Coralie, Werbrouck, FRA SPORT 118 35. Gavin, Milne, NZL Advance Epsilon 10 DLS, FUN 52 Day 6 – 25 January: In every direction! With windy weather forecast for the last two days, due to the effects of the Queensland cyclone, it was decided that Day 6 was the last day of the event, allowing pilots to head home early for the Australia Day long weekend. The hot day had winds at different levels, times, and locations, going different directions which made for some interesting and varied route choices. Initially, Mt Borah North was the scene for most of the launch action, which was a trickle to start with as the thermals were hampered by a slow lapse rate (the rate at which the atmosphere cools with altitude which directly affects the timing and quality of thermals). Light winds also made the first climb out tricky, as thermals triggered in a variety of locations, resulting in many bomb-outs as pilots searched for elusive lift. The best tactic was to observe others climbing and launch into the marked thermal. Once on the way, the day had consistent clouds forming across the region from around 1pm, with base rising steadily from 1800m to well over 3000m by the end of the day. The variable winds had pilots flying in almost every direction, chasing clouds with tailwind or trying for triangles and out and returns. Best for the day was Harry Davies who initially flew west towards the Boggabri Gap, then south into the Breeza Plains for 125km in 5.5 hours. Coming a close second was Ulrich All photos: On the ground – Godfrey Wenness, in the air – Andrew Bucknill, Joshie Tie and Brandon O’Donnell