this is cool

Coromandel Wave

Great flight last Saturday ... wave to Port Jackson (ie. top of the Coromandel Peninsula) and return and a bit South of Tauranga.  360km .
Wave was strong and clear - wished I had been a little more organised as would have been a 750km day!
wind 50kts from222deg.  at 10'000. 
Spectacular veiws all the way and was very straightforward.  10,000'-11,000' all the way with very cooperative and interested ATC staff.  A very pleasant day out .  Unfortunately no camera and the track is still in the GPS.
What happened to La Nina forecastes?

Storm Front

Recall years ago diving into such a cell in a Competition in the ASW15- through various zones of rapid sink, lift and turbulance - Got the turn point and progressed to land out near ridge finishing 1st of the day.

Niwa Seasonal Forecaste - LA NINA

good name for it I think "anticyclonic gloom"

 

Background

Following the La Niña event over July 2010 to April 2011, the tropical Pacific returned to neutral conditions. However, over the past 4-6 weeks there is mounting evidence of a transition back to La Niña conditions. The Southern Oscillation Index has become more positive, sea surface temperature anomalies have become increasingly negative in the east-central equatorial Pacific, and the easterly trade winds have intensified near the Date Line. There has been a major shift in the consensus from global climate models which predict El Niño-Southern Oscillation conditions. The majority of these models are now forecasting further development of La Niña patterns over spring and a continuation through the summer of 2011/12. At this early stage, we cannot be confident about the intensity of the event.

BOP Wave

awesome

Another La Nina - Oh Great!

Well doesnt look good - just read Niwa's forecasting another La Nina for the summer.  Might take up fishing .

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10755932
also;-

http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/16954-another-la-nina-summer-likely.html


"A warmer and drier end of spring and start of summer was expected for most of the country due to the La Nina weather system, according to Niwa's seasonal climate outlook."

Airstrips near Rotoma

Jensen Rd above

Rotoehu Strip - a very good one though sloping uphil towards the south.

Both these airstrips and a lot more are contained in the database I have developed which I have asked to be loaded into the duo system.  IF anyone wants a copy I can send the file which can be load into SeeYou or directly in Google Earth .

Great video

Savage Cub. from Arturo Polo_Ena on Vimeo.

Wave View

View from a recent wave flight ;)

definately need oxygen at this height !!

Shit I must be getting hypoxed!!

 

well actually taken from the International Space Station - ISS
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/clickmap/

First Flight to Top of Coromandel

This is SugarLoaf Rock - the top of the Coromandel taken from Janus GTG 17/11/2000 from about 18,000ft.

Its position on See You.

Sugar Loaf Rock circled in this image from ISS - note also the very good ridge line that produces very good wave lift .

Volcanoe

This picture is amasing ... in Chile, South America

S39 25 13 / W71 56 22
Volcan Villarrica (Chile)
Nimbus 4DM

DuoDiscus GXT

Took the new Duo for a flight yesterday - wave to 100km up the Coromandel, to Whitianga. Great machine and brilliant systems. All worked very well and comfortable. The wave was average until the return trip when the classic Kaimai wave was pumping - 10knots in places and plenty of sink -18.3knots at one point. Love the See You programme so have been studying it also love the fact that I can take my own Airfeild database on a microSD card and bring home the track for anaylsis on my PC.

A great decision to purchase this machine - glad to have been on the subcommittee to make the aircraft recommendation. So what if it isnt aerobatic - we are about soaring in my mind - if you want to aerobat - go and get into one of the basic trainers..

The Mount

Coromandel Convergence

Pinnciples Hut

Table Mountain

Whangamata

Back at Tauranga Habour

Whitianga Harbour

ASW20 at home

Classic Wave

Haven't seen one this good for a while.

Great Trip

I loved this trip - going to Boulder, Colorado, and buying my ASW20fp - then towing it the 1500 miles behind this U-HAUL truck through 5 states including, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas to LA..  and without the aid of GPS!

My first indepenence of club culture  .... 
 

A flight today !!

Hell - I actually flew today - a wave flight of a couple of hours - didnt get out of the Tauranga Basin but it was beautiful. Tried to fly withthe Duo but they kept on turning away - no fun at all. 11,000 feet and all good - and very freindly controllers dispite drifting 200' feet above my cleared airspace. A nice machine but time to move all.

The Mother of All Airstrip Databases

http://koordinates.com/layer/560-nz-runways-and-airstrips/#

Bay Of Plenty Wave

South American Wave

Queensland Storm - wouldnt u just love to be there

Cost of Gliding in 1981

NorWest Arch

MtEgmont Wave

Sailing to Raglan

Huntly Power Station

Ngaruawahia

Raglan Habour

Convergence to Whitianga

Te Aroha in the distance

Da big gold hole - Waihi

East to Tauranga Habour

Whangamata

Pauanui

Table Mountain

Whitianga