by Bomber

Tribute to Andrew Humphries: The Shade

This years WA State Hang Gliding Competition suffered from the tragic loss of Andrew Humphries. The Shade as he was known was the driving force behind Hang Gliding in Western Australia, as he taught many of us how to fly.

The loss of Andrew has left a huge vacuum in hang gliding WA and his eccentric and electric presence will be missed.

Introduction

This years WA State Hang Gliding Competition was hosted in Wyalkatchem (Wylie) situated 200Km North East of Perth. The competition format was towing with a mixture of ground towing and aero towing. 22 Pilots registered on the practise day of the competition with a total of 4 teams poised to fight out the coveted teams trophy. Wyalkatchem is currently bidding to be the host of the 1999 Australian National Hang Gliding Championships.

Day 1: Wylie - Goomalling - Northam 105 Km

The first day’s task was 105 km task to Northam via Goomalling. The wind was favourable on the first leg, West to Goomalling, however everybody except one pilot experienced a 10 Km head wind for the last 40 Km from Goomalling to Northam. The day started off with a 5500 foot ceiling but towards the end of the day pilots were getting cold at 8000 feet.

First in at goal was Gary Wright in just under 3 hours, the next two pilots into goal were the Prof (Andrew Sanders) and Bomber (Mark Thompson) in closer to 4 hours. Five pilots in total made goal with more than 70% of the field between 2 -15 km short. The day was fully valid.

Day 2: DNF - RIP Andrew Humphries

Day 3: Wylie - Ballidu 95 Km

The window was opened late, at 2.30pm, due to the days previous event. A race to Ballidu was called with a tail wind of 10- 15 Kph.

Two pilots made goal Kiwi Dave (Dave Wellington) and Shaun Wallace in a great effort as lift was broken up and only going to 4000 feet for the first 50 Km before rising to 6000 feet. In third position was Rob Berndes who managed to cover over half the distance. The rest of the field was scattered from bomb out to 30Km along the course. The result was a low scoring day with the maximum points awarded being under 400.

Day 4: Wylie - Wongan Hills - Dalwallinu 140 Km

A task to Wongan Hills (85Km) and then Dalwallinu (140Km) was called. Unfortunately the wind direction changed and pilots found themselves drifting NE at 10Kph whilst the course line required them to fly W/NW. Lift was going to 5500 feet.

Gary Wright almost made turn point in 4 hours and received a well deserved 177 points for his effort. Mr Bubble (David Lines) and Bomber were a long way behind flying approx 30 Km along the course line and the rest of the field was scattered between 20Km and bomb out.

Day 5: Wylie - Kalannie 100 Km

A race to Kalannie (100Km) was called. Today we got the drift right with a 0 -5 Km tailwind. Thermals were going to 6500 feets with Mark McCumber blowing through the inversion to 7700 feet.

Three pilots made it into goal with Gary Wright in just over 2 hr, Shaun Wallace and Bomber behind him. The rest of the field was scattered between just short of goal and the bomb out with a large group south and north of the Cow Cowing salt lakes. This was the day that the Sky Junkies barred their butts - not a pretty site.

Day 6: DNF - The Shades funeral

Day 7: Wylie - Beacon 95 Km

A race to Beacon (95Km) was called. The course line was N/NE with the drift at altitude WSW but only light. Thermals were going to 6000 feet but long gliding between made sure that harness zippers received a good work out. Most pilots found themselves below 1500 feet between most thermals and lower than 1000 feet often.

Nobody made goal but a large group of pilots landed between 8 - 15km from goal. Equal first was Bomber and Kiwi Dave with Shaun Wallace only 200m behind.

Day 8: Wylie - Mukinbudin 73 Km

Last day of the competition and a shorter race of 73Km to Mukinbudin was called to allow early retrieves. Thermals were strong going to 6000 feet and the wind at altitude was a 50Km tailwind.

As a result eight pilots made goals in times from just over and hour to just under two hours. Results for the day were Gary Wright followed by Bomber and then Shaun Wallace.

Overall Results

Open
1st - Gary Wright (Moyes Xtralite)
2nd - Bomber (Airborne Shark)
3rd - Kiwi Dave (Enterprise Wings Elite)

Intermediate
1st - Spike (Jon Orders) - (Airborne Blitz)

Novice
1st - Brett Adams - (Enterprise Wings Aero)

Teams Event
1st - Thermal Dynamics (TD) (ED: Total fluke!)
2nd - Dust Devils (DD)
3rd - Sky Junkies (SK)
4th - CMF (CMF)

Individual results

1. Gary Wright (Xtralite)                      DD         3499
2. Mark Thompson (Shark)                  TD         3089
3. Dave Wellington (Elite)               DD         2760
4. Shaun Wallace (Xtralite)              SJ         2705
5. Phil Knight (Blade)                    TD         2537
6. Karl Ruckriegel (XS)                   TD         2299
7. Mark McCumber (Desire)              DD         1989
8. Gordon Marshall (Shark)                TD         1958
9. Mark Stokoe (Shark)                    TD         1918
10. Sam Blight (Blade)                     CMF     1499
11. David Lines (Blade)                    TD         1494
12. Rob Berndes (Foil B)                   DD         1473
13. Daryl Speight (Shark)                 SJ         1372
14. Andy Sanders (SX)                      SJ         1252
15. Andy Robinson (CSX)                 SJ         1252
16. Geoffery Nicoll (Magic)               DD         1174
17. Stewart McVey (XS)                     CMF      943
18. Jon Orders (Blitz)(Int)                SJ          866
19. Max Brown (XS)                         CMF      857
20. Pete Leach (Blitz)                  CMF      734
21. Trevor Gingell (Xtralite)(Int)         TD          645
22. Brett Adams (Aero)(Nov)             DD          635

Team results

1. Thermal Dynamics    (Newman/Western Soarers)      3518
2. Dust Devils            (Avon Valley)                    3492
3. Sky Junkies            (Western Soarers)             3241
4. CMF                   (Western Soarers)                1766

Turkey Award

The nomination this years for the turkey award for the act of greatest stupidity included:

Max Brown - after four days of competition he was still unsure of the radio channel of his team for pick ups.

Flatch (Gordon Marshall) - excited about his flight he forgot to retrieve his harness, vario, radio, helmet, etc.... from the paddock he landed in.

Bomber - very minor incident in which a four wheel drive rolled into the back of an opposing team Ford.

Sam Blight - forgetting to use those leg loop things on his harness whilst towing

Brett Adams - gliding back to bomb out because the paddock looked like a good one to land in.

The winner was Scurge (Mark Stokoe) for landing in the smallest paddock in the WA Central wheat belt which was surrounded by the biggest paddocks in the WA Central wheat belt, for the paddock being the only charcoaled paddock for miles, and mostly for landing on his guts and changing the subtle tones of his entire harness - Nice one Scurge.