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Africa!



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 2nd 15, 03:09 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
JS
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Default Africa!

On November 30th 2015, 45 pilots scored over 1000 points on OLC. 40 of those flights were distances "over 1000k".
Jim
  #2  
Old December 2nd 15, 05:46 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Steve Koerner
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Default Africa!

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 7:09:50 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
On November 30th 2015, 45 pilots scored over 1000 points on OLC. 40 of those flights were distances "over 1000k".
Jim


That's pretty remarkable. An interesting side observation is that not one of those 45 pilots flew a glider having wingspan less than 18m. In fact, you have to look all the way down to position #61 that day to find a lesser span. I guess if you're going to Africa, you don't take a knife to a gunfight.
  #3  
Old December 2nd 15, 08:30 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tango Whisky
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Default Africa!

Am Mittwoch, 2. Dezember 2015 05:46:16 UTC+1 schrieb Steve Koerner:

That's pretty remarkable. An interesting side observation is that not one of those 45 pilots flew a glider having wingspan less than 18m. In fact, you have to look all the way down to position #61 that day to find a lesser span. I guess if you're going to Africa, you don't take a knife to a gunfight.


The reason for that is probably quite simple: There's no "local life" in these locations, so people are shipping their own glidern to Africa, and almost all gliders shipped there are selflaunchers. Which rarely come with less than 18 meters.

Bert
Ventus cM TW
  #4  
Old December 2nd 15, 04:12 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Dan Marotta
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Default Africa!

Maybe because the local life is hungry lions rather than just angry farmers!

On 12/1/2015 9:46 PM, Steve Koerner wrote:
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 7:09:50 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
On November 30th 2015, 45 pilots scored over 1000 points on OLC. 40 of those flights were distances "over 1000k".
Jim

That's pretty remarkable. An interesting side observation is that not one of those 45 pilots flew a glider having wingspan less than 18m. In fact, you have to look all the way down to position #61 that day to find a lesser span. I guess if you're going to Africa, you don't take a knife to a gunfight.


--
Dan, 5J

  #5  
Old December 2nd 15, 04:19 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
WAVEGURU
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Posts: 290
Default Africa!

I was the only one to score any points in North America on the 30th with my open class 2 seater...

😉

Boggs.
  #6  
Old December 2nd 15, 09:34 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
BruceGreeff
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Posts: 184
Default Africa!

On the contrary. Potchefstroom on the middle of South Africa is the
birthplace of the JS1. There are fair number of decent 15 and 18m ships
around. ASW27 - and Ventus and LAK17b - as well as a lot of JS1s...

The thing is - if you are spending a lot of money and time shipping a
glider to Africa from Europe or the USA - are you going to ship a 15m?

So - in the high energy thermal conditions - the highest wingloading and
high speed L/D is the key. The days are not that long - so you have to
go fast to get long distance.

Current state of the art and rules combined seem to favour 21m as the
sweet spot.

As noted - in Namibia, and much of South Africa, the ability to self
launch and motor home is a distinct advantage. A lot of the best soaring
country is very sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible by road, and
generally low on amenities like cold beer/water/beds etc.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771
  #7  
Old December 2nd 15, 11:21 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Posts: 190
Default Africa!

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 3:35:02 PM UTC-5, BruceGreeff wrote:

As noted - in Namibia, and much of South Africa, the ability to self
launch and motor home is a distinct advantage. A lot of the best soaring
country is very sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible by road, and
generally low on amenities like cold beer/water/beds etc.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771


Interested in motor homes sold in SA. If you wanted a MB Sprinter chassis, what make and model would you choose?
  #9  
Old December 3rd 15, 09:45 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tango Whisky
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Posts: 402
Default Africa!

Am Mittwoch, 2. Dezember 2015 21:35:02 UTC+1 schrieb BruceGreeff:
On the contrary. Potchefstroom on the middle of South Africa is the
birthplace of the JS1. There are fair number of decent 15 and 18m ships
around. ASW27 - and Ventus and LAK17b - as well as a lot of JS1s...

The thing is - if you are spending a lot of money and time shipping a
glider to Africa from Europe or the USA - are you going to ship a 15m?

So - in the high energy thermal conditions - the highest wingloading and
high speed L/D is the key. The days are not that long - so you have to
go fast to get long distance.

Current state of the art and rules combined seem to favour 21m as the
sweet spot.

As noted - in Namibia, and much of South Africa, the ability to self
launch and motor home is a distinct advantage. A lot of the best soaring
country is very sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible by road, and
generally low on amenities like cold beer/water/beds etc.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771


Yeah, there is also a (very) nice club in Worcester, north of Cape Town.

However, most of the big flights are done in Gariep Dam, Kuruman, Kiripotib, Pokweni, Bitterwasser, which are more or less resorts for visiting pilots.
  #10  
Old December 3rd 15, 11:08 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Fox Sierra
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Posts: 11
Default Africa!

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 9:09:50 PM UTC-5, JS wrote:
On November 30th 2015, 45 pilots scored over 1000 points on OLC. 40 of those flights were distances "over 1000k".
Jim


Just got back from 10 days of flying in Bitterwasser, Namibia. I was there a little early to catch the strong weather of the past week, but even so the flights were spectacular. Here is the 1000km OLC flight we did on Nov. 19:

http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0...htId=553986820

For those wanting adventure travel in a 4x4 camper, here is the best place to rent: http://www.ascocarhire.com/

 




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