We are down to 3,400 feet over the empty Australian outback, 122 km from the end of a 780 km flight when Ingo says "maybe I should fly for a while". It is just after 7pm, the day is dying and after 7 hours in the front seat of a Duo Discus and 660 kilometers under our belts, I am happy to oblige.  There is not a living soul in sight and the only buildings are uninhabited with no cars or phone lines.

Ingo milked the sky for another 105 kilometers.  We never actually found what I recognize as lift - just little burbles at the end of the day - too small and weak to turn in, but in the hands of legendary soaring master Ingo Renner - just enough to keep going.  We eventually gave in to the laws of gravity and landed on a small airstrip 17 km short of our 780 km triangle goal.  Ingo had radioed ahead and the Towplane was waiting for the short flight back Tocumwal with the last moments of legal daylight.

When I first enquired about the cost of a flight with 4 time world champion, Ingo Renner, I was put off by the $800 fee.  Yes $800 (Australian). However, fools and money are soon parted and I arrived at Tocumwal Australia full of anticipation for a flight with one of the best pilots on the planet. 24 hours later I felt I had the bargain of the century.

Ingo Renner and the Duo in the hangar at Toc

Sportavia operates out of Tocumwal Airport, 2.5 hours north of Melbourne, Australia and is in the heart of a beautiful wine growing district - great for the non-soaring days.  They are a full service operation and I mean full service.  The only thing missing was valet parking - although they will drive your car back from the flight line.

Wine touring is easy on non-flying days with
dozens of vineyards within an hour of the airport

The morning begins with a detailed weather briefing and discussion of optimal tasks for the day.    The ground crew pulls out your ship and loads  up water (you have to tell them how much).  Ingo directed them to fill every tank to capacity.  The office staff programmed the supplied flight recorder for our flight and installed it with a fully charged battery in the glider.

After you wash the dust off, the ground crew takes the ship to the flight line.  The kitchen staff prepares a sandwich to order and you are responsible for personal water and plumbing arrangements. Before first flight there is a detailed briefing on the airport, area, and the aircraft you will be flying.  They don't ask for any flying credentials: they say they will find out if you can fly in the checkout flight.  Very Australian attitude. Practical as well.  Checkout is a straight forward flight in a Blanik - with the emphasis on situational awareness and familiarity with the local landmarks.

Ingo is very friendly and helpful.  He lets me plot out a 300 km course, then suggests that a longer flight would be OK.  I re-plot a 500km (wow) and he suggests that maybe 750 would be better.  (Double wow).  The final course we agree on is a 780 Km triangle heading North East 270 km toward Sydney then 255 km directly east into the outback and returning home almost due south toward Tocumwal.

• Ignore the flight computer and McCready fly one of three speeds:

• Fly 55 Knots for thermalling
  

• Fly 70-80 Knots slow cruise and low/weaker conditions
  

• Fly 90-110 for fast cruise and high/strong conditions
  

• Fly straight toward your goal with only very minor deviations for better lift
  
• Slow down gently in lift and centre thermal in one circle or keep going,  no second chances
  
• Leave as soon as the climb rate falls off - even if you have simply become uncentered
  
• Fly carefully with very smooth control movements - no abrupt pull ups or push overs.
  
• Always fly with the yaw string straight and centered
  

That's it - no complicated machinations over McCready settings, no following a speed director, no chasing after that great looking cloud.
Just stay focused on your goal, don't fly too fast, and don't waste any time in poor lift.

The flight started out low and slow, and as soon as we had 3,500 feet we headed off gingerly.  Right away I saw a beautiful cloud forming just upwind of our course and veered toward it with a very pleased look on my face. Ingo grunted something about why was I going over there when we still had 3,000 feet.  I veered back on course and about 5 kilometers later, BAM, up we went to 7,000 at 6 knots.

Forty kilometers later - again at about 3,000 feet we hit another 6 knot thermal that strengthened to 8 knots above 6,000.  I kept wanting to deviate a half mile or so off course to some nice looking haze domes but Ingo kept me on course.  "You are bound to hit something eventually so why not keep going if you have height."  But 40 km's is a long way for an Ontario boy. On our west bound leg we had one stretch of almost 60 km from 12,500 feet down to 5,500 without a single turn.  It was a real eye opener for me to just stick to the goal, fly slowly and carefully and trust that "something will pop up eventually".  The 13,000 foot cloud base and 6 to 10 knot thermals were an added bonus.

A long cross country flight with a true master is a remarkable thing.  I learned an amazing amount (of course I knew almost nothing to start with) and was able to apply it to tremendous advantage the very next day.  I learned more about centering and focusing than in my entire soaring career to date.  I went almost three times farther than ever before without a moving map and without depending on a flight calculator.  And all this in a strange country.

Centering was interesting.  I always seem to circle around the lift a few times sizing it up before I find the core.  I know other pilots appreciate me marking the general location of lift but staying conveniently out of their way.  Ingo was not so forgiving.  If I missed the core on the first turn Ingo made me keep going.  Pretty soon (well, after about 15 tries over 500km) I started getting the knack and was soon centering most thermals quickly.

The people at Tocumwal are wonderful - very friendly and helpful.  The bar opens after the first ship lands and stays open into the wee hours. There is an onsite restaurant with excellent food and they offer comfortable accommodation at competitive prices as well.  A very friendly club atmosphere with commercial services.

Socializing in the on-site bar at the end of the day

The $800 ($725) included everything - all day in the Duo Discus, briefings, water, professional ground support, flight recorder, tow to 2,000, GST and 9 hours of Ingo's time.  I logged 8 hours flying time and 763 kilometers.  Not a bad deal and highly recommended.  The next day I
flew a 500 but more on that later .... 

Read Tracie's article about Tocumwal

Go to Sportavia website