SAFA Skysailor Magazine

34 SKY SAILOR November | December 2024 it is better to understand what is coming and chose not to fly, than flying in conditions that quickly deteriorate and make you wish you were safely on the ground, even though it looked sooo nice on launch! We did have such a day and still made use of it to learn. On the hill, the learning continues with: • • skills development flights, • • pre-flight check approaches, • • height loss manoeuvres and of course, • • the task! Gareth Carter led our cadre of experienced comp pilots to openly offer clear, detailed explanations of the best way to start thinking about how to fly the day’s task and introduce the role of our mentors, who were there to help us achieve our XC development and learning, even if it meant that they didn’t get the best out of their own day in XC terms. This became apparent once we were in the air – mentors were often seen spiralling down to help out pilots struggling to find and stay in lift. Another area that GfG excels in is low pres- sure on launch, making sure that you’ve got the time to launch well, even though you’ve got 50-or-so pilots wanting to get into the air! Then the in-air mentoring starts, with mentors playing vertical ping-pong in an effort to help pilots find and work lift, get a feel for the air, and push out! In the words of one pilot, ”Big kudos to Zane, who yesterday guided me from nearly ending in a sleddie to instead doing my highest (2340m), Go for Goal 2023 – the ‘Uncompetition’