A Post Task was flown each day based around the 23 Pipers turnpoints. The rules are easy to follow. After pilots declare a start by flying over the top of the airfield, they then fly to as many turnpoints as they can in succession. The only rule being that they cannot return to a turnpoint with out going to another one first. For example, if you fly Pipers then to Oberon, you must fly to another turnpoint - say, Ben Chiefly - before returning to Pipers. A task time is also set. At this competition, the tasks were set at either two or three hours. At the end of this time, you must fly back over the airfield. The accumulated distance between all your turnpoints is calculated to give your total distance. Points are deducted for arriving either late or early.

For pilots who are still not too familiar with all the turnpoints around Pipers, post tasks are a great way to get to know the area and figure out from just what heights they need to leave various landmarks in the district to get safely back to Pipers.

Ray and Armin did want to set an Area Task, but the weather was not good enough for this. Area tasks assume various turnpoints as centre points in circles with radii of anywhere from 10 to 30km. A competitor can fly from any point within a given circle to any point within a circle based on a different turnpoint. This way, everyone does not have to turn around the same point and is therefore inherently safer than if many gliders were clustered in the same airspace. It also means that pilots have a greater opportunity to fly the conditions as they see them and to their own abilities. This type of task is now the norm for state and national competitions, which has led to an increase in their popularity.

Day 1 Good Friday. A deep low had just moved away from the NSW coast and we had a ridge of high pressure moving up into NSW from the south with easterly winds and few to scattered CUs, but only up to 6000’. The easterly flow brought cooler air and flying was quite difficult for some of us. Three gliders landed out. I landed at Raglan after only an hour or so. Sarge and Ian Shepherd landed towards Ben Chiefly.

Mike Morris in his Pilatus won the day and Graham Spoor flew the greatest distance, 171 km.

Day 2 still had easterlies and more CUs and looked like a great day. It soon fulfilled its promise, so I barrelled off to Oberon and landed on the strip beside the lake to check it out for everyone.

I can report that the strip altitude is 3600’ and plenty long with a definite slope up the hill away from the lake. It is on the property of George Cunningham, a really nice fellow pilot with a home-built aircraft in his small hangar beside the runway.

There were sheep on the strip when I landed, so got a road retrieve. However, George will be very happy to move the sheep if you do happen to land there. His house is four paddocks up the hill on Balfour Street in Oberon.

Everyone else carried on with the post task as I watched many gliders turning overhead above Oberon. Bill Tugnett won the day with 281 km and Tim Galvin flew the longest distance of 388 km.

Day 3 was a blue day with some cirrus that cut off the thermals in places. Ray and Armin were hoping to set an Area Task, but because the weather in the air wasn’t good enough, a reduced post task was set instead.

This truly was a difficult day with three outlandings. I decided not to land out this time! Ray and Matt Gage landed south and Armin landed near Peel. Only five pilots completed a task and Bill Tugnett won his second day.

Many thanks are due to the tug pilots, organisers and competitors for a great four days’ flying.

The Junior

Singers at Pipers