Through e-mail, I was able to set up accommodation at the airport. The accommodations range from single rooms with shared baths, with or without air, to rooms with full baths. I was also able to arrange the rental of an LS-4 for a week. For the glider rentals, they recommend contacting them as early as possible i.e. not later than 4 months in advance so they can accommodate you. Many gliders are available such as two seaters ranging form Blaniks to Nimbus 4D and numerous single seaters ranging from the Libelle to ASW-22. The gliders can be rented daily or in packages of 5 to 6 days.

There are many available facilities on the field to make it as comfortable as possible for visiting glider pilots, i.e. restaurant, bar and a pool. On the field they also have available individuals who can quickly wire up almost any wacky logger or GPS system you present to them.

The hangar at Tocumwal

I think the most important feature, though, is having Ingo Renner and the instructors available for weather briefings, to offer advice on local weather and possible tasks. Every morning Ingo gives a briefing to all the pilots who are planning to fly that day and a very good briefing it is, at that. Unfortunately, Ingo couldn't promise good weather. The first week I was there I had to purchase a fleece vest.

Ingo Renner at Sportavia. Each day begins with a 
briefing. (The airfield dog is not technically part of the
briefing.)

I had heard the temperatures the week before had been in the high 30's, so bringing warm clothing wasn't in the plan. By the end of the second day all the pilots were walking around with Sportavia vests. It stayed cool for the first 2 days but we were able to fly locally for 5-6 hours. The third day was scrubbed which allowed us to go see some kangaroos and koalas. I have now seen hundreds of kangaroos and many koalas. Both the Thursday and Friday were flyable, but quite windy. The people at Sportavia kept apologizing for the weather, stating that it had been a bad year and normally the weather was much better. Ingo flies daily if the weather's any good. I should have known when Ingo didn't bother to go flying, but ... oh no! I'd rented the LS4, so I'm going flying!

The winds were directly out of the south at 20 kt+ which usually means fair to poor weather. Ideally they look for the high to be out in the Tasmania Sea and winds from the north. That's when most of the longer flights are made.

ASW-22 outside the Tocumwal hangar, being readied for a trip back 
to Germany

Regardless, off I go.  Everything below appeared the same: flat brown fields with the occasional green rice paddock to the south. You could see for many miles over the vastness. When the clouds started forming with bases up to 4,500' I thought it was like back home...a typical southern Ontario day. I started out on what I had planned to be a 300 km flight, but by my second turnpoint I was getting rather concerned. My battery had died which meant that I was now without a radio or cell phone late in the day, in the middle of nowhere.

At Sportavia they require that the pilots call in after 6 pm every 15 minutes to advise them of their location and height. I now know why! There are no houses, roads, or people in some of these areas. I tried to get back with very little success due to the wind and the weakening conditions. As I looked down in the vast emptiness I thought it may be days before I got in touch with anyone so I turned back to the last airport I used as a turnpoint. I now had no GPS, and I wasn't too sure whether I could make - or even find - the next airport to the south. So I landed at Hay airport.

It looked like it had been a while since anyone had been around Hay, as the sprinkler had by now created a lake. I ended up walking about a quarter of a mile into town to use the phone to call Sportavia. They were relieved to hear I was ok as it was past 6:30 pm, but they also indicated they wouldn't be able to come and get me that night because it would be dark by the time they towed me back to Tocumwal. So......enjoy the night in Hay!

The land down under: a view of the landscape 
around the Murray River on a blue day.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. I'd been in a bit of a rush to get ready and hadn't put more than $5 in my pocket. (I now carry plastic) Luckily, the people back at Tocumwal were able to convince the hotel owners that this grubby Canadian really was telling the truth. It turned out a waitress in town bought me dinner and beer (much appreciated) and the hotel owners were very generous. I had to spend my only $5 on buying a toothbrush and toothpaste, both of which became part of my outlanding kit. I was very impressed with the people in Hay.

The next day I was towed back but unfortunately weather conditions were the same. Off I go on another 300 km attempt, figuring this time I’d go west. Yes, that's the answer. Result...I landed 38 km short of Sportavia beside the Blighty pub. Very friendly guys in the Blighty Pub on a Friday evening. Needless to say they were quite amused with having a glider land next door. I ended up putting the Blighty Pub on my map. Not a bad place to land.

Over a sheep ranch
Taken from Sportavia's Nimbus 4 flown by Ingo Renner and a 
friend. I included this picture to show what the terrain looked like to the north.
 
 
 

I am happy to say the weather did improve the second week and the same LS-4 became available. Many of us were able to fly 300-500 km distances all week with thermals up to 11,000 agl and strengths of 2.5-4m. That same week the temperatures gradually crept up to 41 degrees Celsius. Due to the dryness and high temperatures the fire department had put out a fire ban. What this meant was if you did have to land out at anything other than an airstrip it must be what locals call a grey paddock (short cut field with no crop) because on a retrieve either a plane or a car could ignite the field. Therefore, they would have to leave us there if it was anything other than grey. At Sportavia all landouts were to be made so that a towplane would be able to retrieve you. Great! Stuck in a paddock for a week until it either cooled down or rained. With at times the extreme temperatures and the possibility of being stranded for a while in some field, it was recommended that the pilots bring at least 2-3 litres of water with them for the flight. Some of the locals and pilots regularly flying in Australia recommended bringing another 3 litres in case of a landout. They were very aware of the possibilities of dehydration so it was addressed regularly. Many of the pilots also took precautions regarding UV rays i.e. wearing 30+ sunblock, a hat, long sleeved shirts and pants. This last was primarily because of the snakes if you landed out. I found this out after my first outlanding.

The area to the north of Tocumwal

All week, we had been expecting Friday to be "the day". I had declared a 750 km along with a few others declaring everything from 50-750 km. Ingo had also thought it would be a possible to do a 750 km or at least to attempt it. I launched at 11 am but, unfortunately, the day didn't start until around 12:30 which meant my 750 km was out but I could try for a 500 km. The thermals were forecast be up to 14,000' and at least 4m on the average. As it turned out, the highest the thermals got to in the north was 9,000' with an average strength of 2.5-3m. which wasn't so bad, but the day ended early. Many landed out. This creates a problem for the crew at Sportavia as they try desperately to retrieve the pilots out of the fields before dark but it's not always possible. I ended up landing in a paddock 20 km away from the airport. I landed in what appeared to be the biggest, greyest field I could find but in the flare I noticed tufts of dry grass. I started to envision setting up camp beside the glider for the next few days. Luckily there was a house with someone home (usually not the case). I was able to call back and within 20 minutes a tug towed me out but one guy wasn't so lucky. He ended up overnighting 150 km away. Upon returning to the field we were told one guy hadn't reported in but that his plane was found. No one heard from him until 10 pm. He had walked over 10 km to what appeared to be the nearest house. Unfortunately, he didn't see the other house 2 km in the opposite direction. By the time the guys picked him up by car he was quite dehydrated and tired. The plane was towed out the next morning.

A great day in Australia
North of Tocumwal with 10,000 foot cloudbases.

There was a Japanese contest going on all week, which was interesting to watch. My highlight of the week was a flight with Ingo Renner in the IS28. I had wanted to focus on maximizing thermalling. We had a great flight. We flew 426 km and got to 11,000'. I was very impressed by both Ingo's mannerism and skill. A pleasure to fly with and I hope to utilize all his helpful tips in the future.

In conclusion, I found the people both visitors, of many countries, and of course the people of Sportavia themselves to be hospitable people who really enjoy meeting people from all the different countries.

As an aside, it was interesting for me to meet some of the best male and female pilots in the world at Sportavia and to see what they have and are accomplishing in terms of distance and speed. Hanna Zejdova, who  flew another world record last year of over 819 km in her SZD-56, resides down at Tocumwal during their summer. Hanna flew frequently on the good days in her Ventus 2 in attempts to set new female records for both speed and distance. Pam Hawkins, the first woman to fly a triangle distance of 1,037 km at an average speed of 122.5 km/h, doing so in her Nimbus 4, had also been at Tocumwal just prior to my arrival. Pepe Valero, from Spain, was also at Tocumwal during my visit. Pepe holds the national record for FAI 1000 km triangle with a speed of around 122 km/h. During the Japanese contest both the male and female contestants displayed their skills. First place prize ended up being presented to a woman flying an LS-6. One Japanese woman, Haruka Kise, I found to be of particular interest. She is a grandmother of 4 children and has been flying gliders since the primaries. She had achieved her diamond badge years ago while on a trip to Minden, Nevada. I found her to be quite inspiring and charming in her enthusiasm to continue to learn more of the challenges of soaring.

During my two weeks in Tocumwal I was able to fly 50+ hours and 2,000+ km. which turned out to be fairly easy during my second week. I really enjoyed the flying and people at Sportavia and I hope to return in the future.
 

Tracie Wark

Tracie chilling with Sportavia's staff koala. 
 
Read Ian Sutcliffe's article about Tocumwal

Go to Sportavia website