After asking the question on the bulletin board of what my plans were and not getting a reply, Billo finally rang me and suggested that I get my arse up to Dalby. He was leaving early Saturday morning and there was a seat in his truck if I wanted it. He was one of the tug pilots and there would be ample opportunity for me to get some towing in.
It was Wednesday and I realised I had to make a decision. I rang my wife, Tanya, and agreed to the terms that this would be the last hang gliding trip for while since I had been to Manilla over Christmas and I was still paying that off. So she was OK with me going but I had to find the money and ask my boss for a week’s holiday. This was going to be a problem since I had used the last off my holidays when I went to Manilla.
I spoke with my boss and he was OK to sort out the holidays when I got back. I then rang Billo back and accepted his offer. He was going to be staying in a cabin in the camping ground and said I was welcome to bunk in there till his wife arrived in the Wednesday. It would be then that I would have to make the decision whether to stay on or get a lift into Brisbane airport, when Billo went to pick up his wife. Staying on meant finding alternate accommodation and organising a lift home on the Saturday, but I could worry about that later.
I had two more calls to make. First I rang Moyes and asked them to send a set of wheels and a hook knife via express post, and then I rang Airborne and asked them to put aside a set of uprights for a Sting 2 154. More expense that I will be paying off but good insurance I thought.
Billo picked me up at 6.30am and we drove up through the Hunter Valley, Moree, Goondiwindi, Millmerran and onto Dalby. We listened to Bill's endless supply of audio tapes until John Williamson started to sing very strangely. With the tape player threatening to chew up the tape I thought I would surprise Billo by the fact that I had John Williamson on my iPod (MP3 player), but what really impressed him was the fact that I could play it through his car radio using my iTrip FM transmitter, no wires required.
"Mmm, I might have to get one of those"; he said.
We arrived at Dalby airstrip about 5.30pm and Adam Parer and Ebbs were waiting for a tow from the DragonFly. Cameron and Al Daniels were already in the air. JOD suggested that I set up, as conditions were perfect, with a steady 6Knt easterly and a nice slow tug.
Before I knew it my Sting was set up and I was hooked in behind the DragonFly. I picked it up and stepped back to take up the slack. I called "Go Go Go!" to JOD and waited for the tension on the rope to increase. I held back against it and just as it started to pull me forward I ran. I tried to run with a straight back so as not to be pulled into prone too early. After the first 3 or 4 steps I could feel that the kite was flying and I let myself fall into prone as my hands slid down the uprights and then onto the base bar.
There was a lot of dust and for a second my mind stopped to wonder why. In the same second I realised that it was from the tug, which was below me, so I pulled the bar in and went down into the dust as the tug lifted off. I followed the tug back up and remembered to keep its wheels on the horizon. I also remembered to make my turning corrections with short stabs. I wasn't quite on top of it though and after my second near lock-out and some confusion about the signals Smokey, the tug pilot, was giving me I pinned off at about 1500ft.
Now I could relax a bit and float around. I had deliberately not taken any instruments or radio, as I wanted my focus to be completely on the tow. I wafted back to the strip in the buoyant evening breeze with the sun setting in the west and a near full moon on the rise in the east. It was magical. Now all I had to do was land and I managed to do that well enough and not too far from the hanger.
As I packed up someone was walking around with a carton of stubbies and I gratefully accepted one and thought to myself "How good is this?" I had just done my first successful foot launch tow and now I was about to walk my kite into the carpeted hanger and pack up whilst enjoying a cold beer. However there were more tows required to get the endorsement and not all with perfect conditions . . .
The next day, Sunday, we headed out to the strip early and a tandem tow was just taking off. Billo handed me a set of head-phones and a helmet and suggested we get some air-to-air video. He buckled me into the back seat of the trike and we taxied down to the end of the access road and stopped to warm up the oil. Billo told me to hang onto the camera because if it went through the prop we'd be history. He needn't have worried, as my knuckles were white already. This was a $4,500 camera and if I dropped it my wife would kill me anyway.
We turned onto the strip and lit the wick. The big four stroke Rotax propelled us straight up and Billo banked us over as the strip dropped away. We had missed the tandem tow though and so we flew over the town. Eventually I popped the camera off my eye and took a look around at the town and the patchwork quilt that surrounded it. The cotton harvest was nearly over but there were some white paddocks left. The others were black with neat plough lines though them, or brown, where the sorghum had been left in the ground for another season.
From the corner of his eye Billo spotted another tandem tow just leaving the strip and we darted over to be above them. I got some great footage of the big tandem kite on tow behind the Dragon Fly and then after the release as we buzzed them both. Then Billo's voice came over the head-phones to say; "Hang on, we’re going to lose some height". We spiralled down as the Dragon Fly landed but before the tandem. I was able to film the landing of the tandem and catch the elation of the passenger as he was being congratulated by Boof, the tandem pilot.
Sunday was the first day of the comp. There was a lot for Billo to do after our little air-to-air and no chance of an early tow behind the trike. Anyway, I was happy to have had a ride in the trike and at $25 a tow behind the Dragon Fly I was concerned about having enough cash to last the week. I resigned myself to getting some video footage of the comp towing with the distant thought that I may be able to make a DVD and sell it to recoup some of my expenses. Maybe I could get another tow at the end of the day.
I spoke to Jay, the launch Marshall to make sure it was OK to take the camera onto the strip. I had not brought my tripod with me and so I borrowed Billo's. I'm used to a nice fluid head and a bubble level but this tripod clicked and jerked until I picked it up and held it against my chest like a steady cam. The footage was OK but I was not happy with the POV(point of view) I was getting.
The day was perfect with easterly winds and clouds filling up the sky. The towing was incident free apart from the occasional weak link break. I did notice a few pilots getting out of shape on tow but I put that down to the thermal conditions. Later in the hanger there was talk of the trike being too fast and pilots not feeling comfortable on tow. The trike had the ‘Cruze’ wing on it and it was still tuned for the previous days flight up from Newcastle. Billo tried to fly it slower but that meant that it reacted worse to the thermal conditions. It was a catch 22 thing.
At the end of the day Billo rolled the naughty big bad trike back into the hanger and referred to it as a gym set. He was buggered and, admittedly, a bit out of condition. We went back to the cabin and checked out the video during which we both would have fallen asleep if it had not been for Camo's phone call. He was 14.5 Km NW of Dalby and we went out and got him.
The task for the day was open distance, he who flies the farthest wins. Camo found the air different and had trouble adapting but Siebsy, Adam and the others were approaching Roma, some 230 Km away and weren't going to be back anytime soon. We went to drop Camo at his pub but it was closed, can you believe it? In fact nearly everything was closed and our plans for a cook-up in the cabin were foiled as the supermarket was shut. Camo joined us as we had our second meal at the RSL that night.
Later we went to the Country Club("Corner Pub") where some pilots had returned and we had some serious "Bloke Time". What would tomorrow bring? . . .
Monday morning and Billo and I were out at the strip early again so that he could do a temp trace in the trike. When he landed he said it was too rough for tow instruction. There was a fair breeze so I volunteered to help Jay by looking after the tow line for the trike. This was really good instruction for me as I got to see a lot of towing up close. I was in the thick of it and giving the Go Go Go signal to Billo and he would just rip another poor soul into the air.
The task for the day involved a number of turn points and was to end in Chinchilla I think. The sky was again full of clouds and nearly everyone got away, but the head wind on one of the legs brought a few down.
At one stage Rick Duncan got out of his kite and talked to Billo about the trike. When he got back into his kite he asked if he could have some water from my camel back as he had been walking around in the heat with his harness in the sun. Without thinking I offered him the tube and he drank and half smiled back at me. It was then that I realised that the camel back was new and it did indeed, in Billo's words, taste like poo. Actually it tasted like water from a garden hose that had been in the sun all day. Rick was good about it, but later said it was not the best and that I should put Gaterade in it.
As a result of adjustments made earlier in the morning, the trike was towing a little slower but the trike que seemed to get smaller and the Dragon Fly que got longer. Needless to say Billo and I were finished on the lines well before the Dragon Fly. Billo had a kip in the hanger while I edited. That was until Doggie's young son, Hugh, arrived and started dropping pool balls into the pockets of the pool table. I think Rowdy may have phoned in for a lift about this time and Billo went out to pick him up.
Late in the afternoon it was suggested that I should have a couple more tows. I foot launched again, into breeze, without too much trouble. Billo towed me to just 1500 ft and there were no thermals to speak off. This time when I came into land the wind had dropped off and I stuffed up my landing by flaring to late. I landed on my knees and the rough, cracked black dirt instantly removed the skin from both of them. As my knees hit I waited for the inevitable nose in as the base bar dug into the ground and the bending of the uprights as my arms transferred my body weight, but nothing happened. I’d forgotten, I had wheels! They hadn't saved my knees but they had saved my wallet a hundred bucks.
Billo suggested I have another tow and, despite the knees, I started to feel quite comfortable on tow. I actually loosened my grip a bit and started reacting to the trikes movements much more quickly. On previous tows I was waiting too long to correct. With towing you must be on top of things all the time because they can get out of shape real quick. When the trike went up I let the bar out straight away and when the trike went down I pulled the bar in to my knees. I had been worried that the kite would start to yaw a lot when I pulled on speed but the Sting was good.
I landed again but not much better than the previous time. Billo asked if I wanted another tow but his face was telling me that two was probably enough for the day. I parked my Sting in the hanger and we headed back to the cabin.
Being ANZAC day the town was pretty dead (sorry about the pun). All the pubs except the Imperial were shut and we didn't want to eat at the RSL again, so we got a burger with the works at the Shell servo. Then I gave Ebbs a call to see where they were. They met us on the verandah of their hotel with ‘The Office’ esky. It was cold and there was some high cloud drifting in as we shared stories and beers.
Tuesday and I still had not done any real flying. I know I had come to get towing endorsement but the thought of another day watching everyone get up and away was not easy to take. At this rate even if I got my endorsement it was gonna be pretty expensive. I think Billo could sense my frustration and he suggested I "dig in" with the rest of the field.
I mentioned this to Jay and he was keen for me to go sooner rather than later while the rest of the comp pilots were trying to get away. The only problem was that my kite was hemmed in at the back of the hanger by all the comp gliders that had been set up. I asked the pilot of one of them if he could move his a little while I tried to get mine out. He said he could but not till after the briefing. Al Daniels and Camo heard this and to my surprise started to lift my kite high above the others and out onto the strip. Such a display of mate-ship was overwhelming considering these two pilots where themselves getting ready for the days task.
The wind was "light and scaryable" and Al wisely suggested that I use the dolly. This would be the first time I had used the dolly and thoughts of the wind getting under one wing and flipping me on take-off went through my head. I was later to find out the hard way that, in light and variable winds, the dolly is better. Anyway the Dragon Fly took up the tension and I pulled through the A frame and yelled Go Go Go! I started rolling through a cloud of dust and as I felt the weight of the dolly on the rope running through my hands I let it go and the kite popped out of the dolly.
I made the mistake of pinning off early, thinking I was in a thermal. I wasn't and ended up struggling low near the hospital and was unable to make it back to the strip. I packed up and walked back to the hanger where I got Billo's truck and went back to pick up my kite. Meanwhile the comp pilots where getting up and away on an out and return task. The sky was again full of clouds and pilots were getting big air.
Later in afternoon, just as Billo suggested I have another tow, Boof made goal, the first one in, but he landed tail-wind in the now light wind conditions. Doggy had also set up for a tow but was now attending to Boof, who had dropped a wing and caught his thigh under the base bar as the kite nosed in hard. Jules was suggesting I use the dolly but I decided to go the foot launch as Billo waited in the trike just up the strip. I made the wrong decision for as I gave the signal and started to run I got a bit of cross tail wind and I fell. My knee hit the ground hard and ripped open my jeans. I remember thinking that I was gonna have to give this away as I was running out of skin. I prepared myself for a crash but I bounced off the ground and started to go up. I was shaken and as such I was unable to get on top of the kite. She was nose up and starting to lock out. Just as I reached for the release the weak link broke and, as it happened, Billo gave me the rope.
I landed and Billo gave me the job of finding the rope, which I managed to do after wandering in the sorghum for about half an hour. When I got back to the hanger Adam Parer landed and not long after the pick up crews started returning and there were beers all round.
I asked Doggy if he had seen my tow. He said my wheels had probably saved my bacon, because they were the reason I just bounced back into the air. My wheels had well and truly paid for themselves, but I had now lost a bit of the confidence I had gained on the previous tows.
It was Wednesday and I packed all my gear into Billo's ute. I had made the decision to stay on for the rest of the week and I was determined to get some big air. Ebbs said I could get a ride back in ‘The Office’, and Billo would take my kite. I would book into the Commercial (Mary's Pub) that evening.
Strong winds and the chance of rain greeted us out at the strip. There was already rain on the coast and there was a rush to get the field off early. There were some strong gusts on the strip and the rain came through with half a dozen kites still on the ground. For them it was a hurried walk back to the hanger and for the others it was rain and big areas of sink. It was still called as a valid round and Adam again did well.
After my scare the previous day I was secretly relieved that the rain came in. Billo had gone to get his wife and I hitched a ride with The Office crew back into town so that I could book into the pub. Later we all met in the dining room for a meal.
After a few drinks I called it a night and went up to my room. The guy in the next room snored so badly through the thin walls that I put my headphones on and edited the footage I had till about 2.30am. It was starting to really come together. I showed the guys at breakfast, and they were impressed.
Thursday, similar to the day before with some 18 knt gusts but no rain. I think the task was to Chinchilla via Jandowae. Towards the end of the day, after I had got some more footage, I set up at the end of the line with Doggy. I launched first in the dolly and followed the Dragon Fly to over 2000ft waiting for a signal from Smokey.
Smokey had previously explained that he would only ever wave me off if I reach the end of the tow or I was in the best lift I was going to get. Smokey was great. If he finds lift he will turn and centre you in it. After the release if he finds lift on the way back to the strip he will circle in it to let you know.
Eventually he waived me of and I started going up in a thermal and drifted west to the end of the strip and over the road to Jandowae. I lost the thermal just as Smokey had finished towing up Doggy and he came over and circled near me to show me the next thermal, which I found. Doggy was now in a thermal at the end of the strip but higher than I was. He headed my way and we both got up again over the cotton gin. I was at about 4500 ft AGL when Doggy headed for Warra. I was too slow to keep up with him so I dribbled west. At one stage I was just floating around in zero with a plastic bag and lots of sorghum trash.
It was so good to finally be thermaling in the big air. I even had time to sip from my camel back but I forgot it was now inside my harness and under pressure and I failed to turn it off completely and sprayed green Staminaid everywhere.
I started to get low and saw a tractor ploughing a field. There was a wind sock in a nearby field blowing away from me but the dust from the tractor was blowing toward me. I circled for a while and was rewarded with a punchy ride back to about 3000 ft AGL. I then tried to fly north across wind to the Chinchilla road but landed next to a homestead not far away.
Another average landing, but this time a big belly flop into a spongy freshly ploughed field. I landed into wind but still, I was not getting my flare right. I carried my kite to the homestead and tied it to a tree and the owner, Marie, allowed me to ring Billo. I was only 30 Km west of Dalby but I felt I had flown a hundred and by the time I had packed up my lift home was there. Doggy and Boof flew to goal, the airstrip at Chinchilla.
Friday, my last day. Many people had shown interest in my video, so I decided to use the morning to finish off the editing in the hanger.
Meanwhile a relatively easy task was called, to Bell, then Macallister and back to Dalby for a spot landing. The day was shaping up as another ordinary day in Dalby, an absolute cracker.
I tried to ignore the flying, but about 2pm I hit the encode button and set up the Sting. I jumped on the line behind Doggy and was the last one to launch.
It was a good tow and I released when the tug went over the falls. This time I was in a thermal. Try as I might though I could not get up to Doggy. To make matters worse I had accidentally hit the man-over-board button on my GPS and was navigating to a waypoint called MOB, not Bell.
I didn't care though as I was getting some great thermals and was happy to land back at the strip and finish off the DVD. My landing was perfect and I nearly hit the spot.
Back in the hanger I built the DVD and sold the first two I burnt.
The presentation night was at the Dog Bowl, a bowling alley. I put the DVD on the big screen and went to the back of the function room to see the reaction. Everyone was impressed and for someone who usually does wedding videos, with very little feedback from the client, the round of applause I received at the end was very rewarding.
Rick Duncan took 3rd, David Seib 2nd and Adam Parer won. For those who stayed on after the presentations, there was some wild bowling to watch.
Dalby Big Air 2005 was a fantastic event. It was blessed with great weather but DHGC have worked hard to set up some excellent facilities. Just think about it for a bit. You set your kite up on carpet out of the sun. You go outside and hook onto a tug and fly around all day in "Big Air". You land back at the strip, carry your kite back onto the carpet and grab a beer out of the fridge. I will be there next year.
I had seven tows while I was in Dalby and one more club towing week-end should see me endorsed. Towing is not hard with good conditions. Early mornings or afternoons are best for beginners and, if the wind is light and variable, get on the dolly. If the wind is in your face then a foot launch is not that different to foot launching off a hill. The thing is, you have to run it out and you must get on top of things right away. Pull the bar in and follow that tug.
A big thanks to all the Newcastle pilots, especially Billo, who looked after me while I was at Dalby.