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at Omarama, New Zealand provides more examples of "soaring energy" than
any place I have ever flown before.
No doubt there are other locations with a similarly wide range but not in places where I have flown. As well as thermal and wave, which are to be expected, there is also convergence, ridge and thermal ridge. Consequently I found that I learned more in my latest sojourn in Omarama than I have in the same period of time for a long while. Having flown at Omarama a couple of times previously, I was able to
become comfortable flying off into the "tiger country" relatively soon
this time. On my last visit, local experts had led me by the hand on cross
country flights, showing me where to look for various sources of lift,
and consequently I was prepared to go off searching by myself this time.
Thermal sources were generally where I expected them to be on sunny faces
or triggered by light winds coming up ridges or mountains. During my explorations,
there was a cross country clinic being conducted by Gavin Wills and Terry
Delore. Although I wasn't on the course, by listening in on their channel,
I could gain a lot of information that was pertinent to the day. And after
the day’s flying, they were quite willing to give me their explanations
of why I found lift in some spots and not in others.
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High over New Zealand
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The South Island of New Zealand being relatively small, the weather is impacted by many sources. On a typical day, the wind on the airfield will start with a light westerly flow, increasing during the day to 10 - 15 kts, and then in the late afternoon, an easterly will develop with strength of 20 kts or more. This easterly is due to the onshore breeze from the ocean that is only 100 kms away. Since the airfield is at the head of the Waitaki Valley, the breeze will be quite strong on the airfield, but probably no more than 1500' deep. Above that there will still be a westerly flow. This same easterly can be seen as cap clouds flowing over the eastern mountain ranges late in the day. The easterly flow can have several effects. An obvious one is that if you are final gliding to Omarama from the west, you will encounter a strong head wind when you sink down into the easterly flow. Another is that the cold sea breeze will kill off thermals as it makes its way up the passes. My first hand experience with this caused me to land in the Lindis Pass one afternoon. And finally, the easterly can contribute to convergence lift when it meets the westerly flow. One typical location for the convergence lift is over the Dunstan Mtns, which run south from Omarama as the main eastern range. They work early in the day, but as the easterly brings in more moisture, the cloud will come down to the top of the range. The convergences also occur where two valleys or passes meet. As the air flows up them, when it meets it must rise. |
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| Another feature of
mountain country, which is amplified by the narrow island, is that the
wind direction may vary considerably from one spot to another - channelled
by the valleys of course, but also affected by the maritime weather of
the two coasts. It is quite typical for the wind to be southerly on the
east coast but westerly on the west coast. So someplace these two winds
have to meet and create a convergence zone. But more significantly, the
side of the ridges or valleys where one should look for lift will be affected.
I remember vividly the day I didn't recognize that the easterly was affecting
the area around the airfield, causing me significant grief in getting a
decent climb, while those who did see that had scratched their way westward
and were benefiting from strong climbs and good ridge lift.
The locals fly much of the time on ridges. These are not like the Appalachian
Ridge, which extends more or less unbroken for miles. These are a number
of discrete mountains and ranges that aren't all oriented in the same direction,
but that the prevailing wind will generate lift on. One of the hazards
of this type of flying is that you are a lot closer to the ground, and
it is possible to get caught in a valley, without landing spots, below
ridge top. So you have to know where the landing sites are. There are numerous
ones around, primarily farm strips and some "paddocks" i.e. fields, are
suitable, but the fields are less dependable than the strips unless you
have good local knowledge.
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Larry in the LS-4 over New Zealand's Diadem Range with Lake Ohau in the background |
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One of the comments that Gavin Wills was impressing on his charges was "IFR" -- I Fly Ridges. As in any mountain flying, flying along the ridge tops will generally provide dependable sources of lift, even without winds strong enough to generate ridge lift since the thermals will be located along the peaks. So the theory is that you cruise the peaks until you encounter a thermal that is strong enough to justify stopping in, otherwise just dolphin along without turning. In a similar fashion, on days when the wind isn't strong enough to generate ridge lift, it is still possible to fly them as "thermal" ridges. It's a whole lot better to be on top of the ridge but it is possible to fly the ridge below the top too. And talking about theory, a concept that Gavin was teaching was that the pilot should understand the model of the lift type that he was attempting to use. I found this a useful tool. If you can visualize how and from where the lift is being generated, it's simpler to put yourself in the correct position to take advantage of it. I know that this concept, without the lengthy explanation, is what is used in southern Ontario to teach students on the cross-country clinics to figure out the thermal sources. It's just that when there are several other potential sources, there are many more models to consider. It's not cheap to go to New Zealand, but a combination of their cheaper
dollar and the incredible conditions available make it good value for the
money. Gliders are available through Alpine Soaring which is run by Doug
Hamilton. He can also provide information on accommodation, either on the
airfield or at one of the local hotels, some of which provide discounts
for glider pilots. You can contact him at alpsoar@xtra.co.nz.
His web page is www.soaring.co.nz.
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Ridge soaring the top of Mount Cook at 12,800' |
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It is possible to get along without a car since a bus runs from Christchurch to Omarama and the town is close enough to walk into from the airfield. But check the schedules on the web against your arrival times. When I looked this year, the bus left before my flight got in. Because the conditions are so varied and the terrain can be very unforgiving,
a cross country clinic with Gavin Wills, including ground school each morning
before flying, will get you off to a much faster start than stumbling around
by yourself. His clinics run at NZ $680 and you provide your own glider
and tows.
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Details of Gavin Wills' Cross-country courses: The following is the "electronic brochure" from Gavin about his courses. go Glide Omarama, New Zealand! goGO Cross-Country Gliding Courses Course Director, Gavin Wills. Glide Omarama Omarama, New Zealand has become a world renowned soaring site as famous for its spectacular and beautiful mountains as for its great wave conditions. Since the 1950s numerous world records for distance, altitude and speed have been set in the area and in 1995, the town successfully hosted the World Gliding Championships. The aims of the courses. The aim of these five day courses is to have fun and adventure in the extraordinary soaring environment around Omarama, New Zealand and, by doing so, further develop the cross-country gliding skills of each pilot. We believe the best way to improve is to fly a lot and we try to develop the particular vision that is required to become a successful cross country pilot in our challenging mountain environment. On non flying days we run seminars on aspects of mountain flying including the efficient use of alpine thermals, running ridges, using valley convergences and sea breezes and of course surfing our extraordinary wave systems. Daily tasks are set with a thorough pre-flight briefing on how it might be best achieved. The instructors fly alongside the students commenting and helping where appropriate. A post flight de-briefing analyses the flights with the help of GPS traces. If necessary, students will be offered the opportunity to fly with one of the instructors in a high-performance two seater. (Normally an ASH25, a Duo Discus or a Janus C.) The courses are directed by Gavin Wills who has lived and flown in the area since he was seven years old. The guest instructors invited to the courses are among our most respected and experienced glider pilots, including Terry Delore (current world distance record holder), Ray Lynsky (the first to fly more than 2,000km and 1995 World Open class Champion) and Dave Speight (world Goal Flight record holder). Student Prerequisites. Course participants are streamed according to their experience but as a minimum they must have an authorized cross-country rating, a glider in which they are current and have received an Omarama area briefing including a local air strip check. They need to be equipped with the usual cross-country paraphernalia including a current air map. A GPS logger is highly recommended. Omarama Facilities Omarama is a small rural tourist town located at the south end of the inter-mountain plateau known as the Mackenzie Country. Although it has only about three hundred residents it sports three hotels, several motels, a small super market and several restaurants. The Omarama Airfield is operated by the Omarama Soaring Centre Inc., which in turn is owned by the five most southern gliding clubs of New Zealand. Three hangers house 35 sailplanes and three tow planes on the 7,000 foot grass strip. Gliders operate for most of the year but the best soaring is generally from September through April. The airfield has its own camping ground with caravans and comfortable chalets to rent and an adjacent hotel. Alpine Soaring Ltd. is based on the airfield and offers a wide range of services to the visiting glider pilot including scenic aeroplane flights, glider flights, gliders for rent, aero-tows, local familiarisation, check flights and instruction. They operate seven days a week. The goGO Cross-Country Courses operate in association with Alpine Soaring. Course Costs. The five day courses costs NZ $680 per person. In addition to the course fee participants need to pay their own flying costs including tows and glider hire and the tows of their instructors. There is a minimum of two students per course. Two seater flying is also an additional charge. Private courses for individuals and small groups are encouraged. A $100 deposit is due on application with the balance due 30 days in
advance. Gliders may be rented from Alpine Soaring. (Doug Hamilton alpsoar@xtra.co.nz
)
Course Schedule 99/00 Season Course One - 5th December to 10th December 1999 Course Two - 2nd January to 7th January, (pre Omarama Cup). Course Three&Mac246; 30th January to 4th February 2000. Course Four&Mac246; 5th March to 10th March, 2000. Private courses by arrangement, for details please contact: Gavin Wills, Director goGO Cross-Country Gliding Courses, P.O.Box 120, Omarama, New Zealand telephone: (64) 25 36 4446.
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View towards Mount Cook and the Southern from Lake Ohau |
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