June 30 th 2008

Safe back in Corowa.
When we arrived at Melbourne Airport we had an interesting landing with the "777".
A very active coldfront caused strong wind and a lot of turbulance.
When we were on final we had strong turnulance, 40 kts wind and gusts up to 57 kts.
The boys in the cockpit had to work hard, but managed to get the plane in 1 piece on the ground.
For sure it was scary !!

June27 th 2008

This year a short stay in Europe. Only 3 months !!
But, we finished our work and will leave for Corowa tomorrow.
We had a great time and are looking foreward to be home again.
The next news from Corowa will be on the 2008 2009 news page.

Ready to go	See you all in Corowa

May 26th 2008

Grietje and Francesco visted our Slovak friends last week in Prievidza.
We did spend two days at Aerospool and met most of the pilots who
came to Corowa this season.
On Thursday we had lunch with, Jan, Jozef, Lubor, Lubik and Brano.
Unfortunately the weather was not good enough to do some flying, but
the hospitality was great and we were inmpressed by the professionality
and product quality of Aerospool.
We had a very close look at the WT9. This is a perfect UL/SEP plane.
For the next Corowa season we will have the availability of the WT9 .
It is the top of the line WT9 with a winch for aero towing and a ballistic
parachute for emergency.
Together with Aerospool we will test the plane for aero towing gliders
under the extreme Australian weather conditions.
The plane will be  available for the Corowa pilots with an JAR FCL PPLA.

We also met Ivan, who will bring his Extra 300 to Corowa. So more fun
for those who like the aerobatics !!

We like to thank everybody of Aerospool for this valuable visit.

Unfortunately we had a car accident on the way home, but no injuries and
we could proceed with the  (rented Avis) car.
We spend two days in Vienna which was a happy end of this short holiday.

"Aerospool"	refinishing gliders	The "SK" container	Jozef shows the result	Top quality
The office with sleeping Frank	Gabriela (looks after the container	WT9 ready to go to Portugal	The production hall	That light !!!
The aerotow winch	modern cockpit	efficient production	Jan, Francesco and Jozef	Thats the way we ship the WT9

April 12th 2008

We received the last news from Prievidza>
Their container arrived safely yesterday and all gliders are also ok.
Which means 29 gliders o/r Europe Corowa without 1 scratch. pffffff.

In the next few eeks, Grietje, Francesco and Frank will visit Prievidza to
visit  Aerospool.

April 6th 2008

This is the last news of this season.

The season 2007/2008 is now over.
We look back at a very good season with more flights, more hours and more cross country
as last season. We did over 550.000 km cross countryand no incidents or accidents,.
It was also a busy season with over 30 gliders at our field.
Impossible for Grietje and Francesco to do this alone.
Many thanks this year again for our staff.
They did a great job in , Babysitting for Frank, Cleaning, Dishes, Hangar packing
shopping, cooking, running the start grid, packing the hangar, unpacking containers, packing contaners
Aerotowing etc etc.
I thin we can thank them on behalf of the whole Corowa family.
Thank you:

            Tonny
            Gerrit
            Fer
            Wim
            Jan

The Corowa Staff 2007/2008

Gerrit, Francesco,Grietje/Frank, Fer, Jan and Tonny

April 6th 2008

On friday all containers were delivered in Grubbenvorst.
We left Saturday morning early and arrived in Grubenvorst at 8.30 am.
Of course the first thing was opening the container doors a check the gliders.
All gliders were ok again we could start unpacking 4 containers (24 gliders).
Most of the pilots were there at 9.30 am and by 1 pm all gliders were unpacked.
Alexander Schleicher picked up the ASG29 and took it to Poppenhausen for some
maintenance . "SM" will be picked up next week by the new owners Stener and Morten.
Andreas Picked up his Duo "FOX".
Unfortunately we had to unpack in the rain and that was no fun.
But this Corowa 07/08 reunion was nice again.
We like to thank everybody for the help, cakes, muffins etc but special our voluteers
Fer, Gerrit, Nils and our next season member Joachim with son.

All doors open and a quick check of the gliders				wet job done !!
Blue ok	Red ok	Green ok	White ok

(unfortunately, most of my pictures were blank, so incase there are more available I can add them)

April 3rd 2008

In  Corowa , Angelo is looking after the ASCC and the work that still has to be done.

After not quite an asy trip home, we settled again in Bergen NL.

Our 4 containers arrived on schedule.
It is always good to see that you can plan more as halve a year ahead.
This year no strikes or other problems.
The containers have been cleared and will be in Grubbenvorst on Friday.
So unpacking as scheduled on Saturday 10 am.

The Slovak container is due to arrive in Hamburg on Monday April 7th.
So with a bit of luck they can unpack 1 week later on April 11th.

More news about the the unpacking after this week-end.

For next season , all 4 containers are full and confirmed.
At this moment 2 pilots waitlisted. As soon as we have 4 confirmed pilots , we will
make container no 5.
 

March 27th 2008

This was our last day in Corowa. A day on which the sky was filled with nice cu's.
Everything is ready for the next season.
Tomorrow we will leave for The Netherlands and hope to see all our container customers in Grubbenvorst.
on Saturday April 5th.
Anyway, the containers are sailing on time.

We also got the information from the GFA that the Australian Bid for the Worldcomps 2012 flapped gliders
is, as we expected, going to be made for Narromine as venue.
Very disappointing ,as Corowa was the only one for the bid 2008 and then nobody was interested !
But we still believe Corowa is the best site for the event.
Again, disappointing, but you can't fight politics.

But it also good news for our customers and future customers .
You will not be bothered by the event during your holiday in Australia.
As we are not involved in this event we can focus now on improving the ASCC .
 

March 19th 2008

The Shire finished the first layer of the apron.
It has to settle now and before the containers arrive we try to get the top bitumen seal on it..
The new taxi way will be done asap.

Grietje flew LGT back from Wangaratta.
Both towplanes had there anual inspection , the engines are preserved
and they are ready for the next season.

Most of the job done	70 x 50m + 30 x 20m	LGT & FOO

March 14th 2008

The forecast was a hot day and NSW had a Total Fire Ban !!.
It is already halfway March !!.
At the Airfield we got 38 grC max and nice cu's at 13.000 ft!!!

A hot job for the Shire people. They started in front of the hangar and by the end of the day
the area in front of the hangar ( 3500 m2 ) was ready.
The container area will be done after the week-end.

Waiting for the first layer	first run	Max temp today	And the cu's at 13.000ft	In front of the hangar ready	It's huge

March 13th 2008

First of all , congratulations to Brano (CX) and his wife with the birth of their daughter "Alexandra"
Alexandra was born on the 2nd of March and will be in Corowa  just after Christmas.

The people from the Shire are still working very hard on our new apron.
The want to have it perfect. Up and down all day with the grader and the roler. Then the laser again and here
a little bit extra and there a little bit off. But the result will be perfect.

We cleaned the whole outside of the clubhouse, garden furniture,  BBQ area and showers today.
A little bit of work in the kitchen and then we can say everything is spig and span again and ready for the next season.

from N to S	from S to N	A billard	I am responsable	drying	waiting for next season

March 11th 2008

Is is good to see how serious the people of the Corowa Shire take the job.
mm by mm they level the area to make it as good as possible.

mm by mm	compacting 27.000 kg	what a job !	the container position	and of course "the laser"

March 10th 2008

No flying, but a lot is happening in Corowa.|

Today the Shire started with the job of our new apron and taxiway.
A lot of heavy machinery arrived early in the morning.
They removed to top layer and started to level the whole (huge) area.
By the end of the week the job must be done.
But you can follow it via the daily news.

This morning Grietje was invited by the Past Rotarians of Corowa to tell
the succes story of the ASCC. She did a great job and there was not enough time
to answer all the questions. Well done boss.

Grietje also finished the pre bid for the WGC 2012 15m,18m and open.
The GFA will make a bid for 2012, but as there are 4 sites in Australia interested
to organize the event (Corowa, Benalla, Temora and Narromine) the sports
committee first has to make a choise of the venue of this event.
Of course we hope they will decide to bring it to Corowa after we did not get
the WGC 2008.
We guarantee a well organized and succesfull event !!.

The machinery arrived	top layer of	getting rid of the top layer	this will be the container spot	first part leveled

March 8th 2008

Today Grietje flew LGT to Wangaratta for the anual inspection.
Before she could take off, we had to make a small change at the tailwheel.
FOO was ready and she fle it back.
We preserved the engine of FOO which is now waiting for the new season.

Tailwheel repair by the staff	Grietje ready to go	dehydration plugs for preserving the engine	Temp position of our fuel shed	enough cans??

March 7th 2008

The work on the airfield is still going on. After we had all the power and water in, we found  a shortcut
between earth and ground. so we had to dig up the cable from the first power point to the main connection.
We found the problem repaired it end closed the trenches again.
Today the Shire put the white pigs in the ground and on Monday the will start with sealing our 4000 m2 apron.
So still a lot of work to do before we go and unpack the containers.
The Matisse with our containers is almost in th Pannama Canal So far no delays and on schedule.

bitumen from here to the end of the pool fence	Water tank for water supply tie down	we found the problem	Water and power on the tie down	1 of the 10

March 6th 2008

The containers are getting full!
At this moment we have two spaces left and three gliders on the reservation list.
Paying the participation fee is a confirmed space in the container. Lets hope we have to build no 5.

February 24th 2008

Today we made the last launch of the 2007 2008 season.
Pepe and Rodger launched just before 12 and flew ZRD to Benalla.
50 km wind but a cloudbase of 7000 ft was enough to struggle into the wind.
Pepe is leaving tomorrow and is the last customer of this season to leave.

We like to thank all the pilots and family for flying with us this season.
It was great. We flew over 500.000 km cross country !!
We look back at a good and safe season without any incidents or accidents.

For us (Grietje and Francesco ) it is now time to sit back a little bit.
Still enough work to do before we go back to Holland to unpack the containers.
 

February 23rd 2008

A windy day, but most of the day nice cu's with a cloudbase of 6000ft.
Pepe and Rodger flew for about 5 hours  and 265 km.

During the day we finished FOO for inspection.
On Monday we will fly it to YWGT and LGT a week later.

Pepe and Rodger before take off	"FOO" clean and ready for inspection

February 22nd 2008

Another change today. It was all day overcast and in the evening we had a strong wind  of 28 kts.
No flying today.


Pepe was the chef tonight and for 9 guests (Pepe, Rodger, Steve, Pam, Berry, Katinka, Grietje, Francesco and Frank)
he cooked his perfect paella.

The paella ready to serve	We enjoyed it very much (again)

February 21st 2008

Fer left yesterday.
Francesco drove him to Albury Airport.Fer was the last staff to leave.
Now it is very quit at the ASCC. but the new season is only 8 months away.

Today,  A perfect day again for Rodger and Pepe.
As pepe told me afterwards, "The best day of the season"
They launched at a Spanish time, 1 pm. A sky full cu's and good lift. They enjoyed it !!! and made 650 km !!!!

In the mean time, our containers are on board of the Matisse which will leave Melbourne tomorrow.
Below the time schedule of the Matisse.

The Matisse

Status Place of Activity Date Time Transport Voyage Arrival in MELBOURNE 2008-02-19 1:47 PM Inland Transport   Loading MELBOURNE 2008-02-21 6:30 AM CMA CGM MATISSE 8501 Discharge ROTTERDAM 2008-03-29 10:00 PM CMA CGM MATISSE 8501

The work on the tie down is progressing. All the water is inground and the taps are on and working fine.
Tomorrow the electrician will finish his work.

February 19th 2008

Another day in paradise!!
Pepe and Rodger launched at 1.30 pm.
The sky was already filled with cu's and they had a top day. Climbs up to 5 m/s and a cloudbase of 3000m were
the ingredients for a nice flight of 600 km.

The plumber and electrician worked all day. All the cables are in and tomorrow the water pipes. We hope to finish
the job by Thursday.

Francesco and Fer finished cleaning the hangar, caravans in the hangar. Two full bins was the result.
We also took all the jerry cans out of the fuel shed, cleaned the shed and took it from its place into the hangar.
As soon as the bitumen for the containers is ready we will find a new spot to put the fuel shed back.

February 18th 2008

Thermals only up to 1800 meters.

We started early with the work on the new taxiway 14/32 and the electricity and water points for the tie down
gliders. We put in 20 water taps and 10 power points all along the taxiway to rway 23/05.


In the afternoon we had a meeting with the Corowa Shire, General Manager, Major, Tourist office, and business
development, in order to prepare our proposal to the GFA for the bid for the WGC 2012 1m, 18m and open class.
The support of the Shire is enormous !  A few improvements of the parking facility for 110 gliders , the use of the
camping, availability of place to put team cabins,  etc etc will all be looked after.

"Sparky"	The trenching machine	Power cables going in	The trench for water	The new direction for the taxiway 14/32	Meeting with Shire

February 17th 2008

At 10 am the 5 trucks from B&K Melbourne arrived to pick up the containers>
30 minutes later they left with the containers heading to Grubbenvorst and Previedza.
After that Francesco and Fer cleaned the hangar and the cars and Grietje made a start with the clubhouse
and the office.

We had a more or less stable air mass today> at Tmax of 32 grC we had onlly climbs up to 6000 ft.
So Pepe took the day off. He will fly with Rodger for another 7 days, before he goes back to Europe.

Gate open for the trucks	"SK" container the first	WHit and Green	from side loader to other truck	Blue and Red last
Containers leaving	Fer cleaning the walls	Cleaning the cars	Hangar clean and tidy

February 16th 2008

On the briefing we said good bye to Hansi & Eveline, Otto & Eva, Werner & Andrea, Yutaka Hotta
and part of our staff.
Gerrit and Tonny left for a well deserved 3 week holiday in Australia.
More about the staff in 2 days.

The last packing day.
We used the day for the last details and check of all 5 containers.
But we also found some time to relax in town and have coffee and lunch with Hansi, Eveline, Berry
and Katinka.
Tomorrow they will pick up the containers.

It was the last flying day for Yutaka Hotta on his own 808. With difficult thermals and a temperature of 31 grC
he did 140 km .Pepe was also in the air with ZRD.
We put 808 in the trailer tomorrow and then we have for 1 week only ZRD in the hangar and flying.

All of a sudden the season is over.

A well deserved holiday	"SK"	"SK" inside	"White"	"White" inside	"Red"
"Red" inside	"Blue"	"Blue" inside	"Green"	"Green" inside	all ready

February 15th 2008

Eveline's has her birthday today, So we started the briefing with a small choir singing "happy birthday dear Eveline"
And of course cakes !!!

Only mr Hotta was flying today in hiss 808, 300 km out and return was a good performance.

Megan and Nils left early this morning and are on the way back home.
We also said good bye to John and Bon. Next year John will stay a bit longer and do some towing.

We finished the Red container and derigged "N?", "PG", "SM" and "FOX.
All wings and fuselages are in the container only the last wing walkers and last minuet stuff has to go in  White.
Tomorrow we will finish White and make a final check in all 5 containers before the leave on Sunday.
 

February 14th 2008

Before Briefing "SL" was derigged and the wings in the container.
After briefing we almost finished the Red container. Only the N? fuselage has to go in .
Gerrit, Fer, Nils and Megan cleaned and polished "FOX" and "SM" before we put them in the container tomorrow.
Hopefully we finish all 5 containers tomorrow, have the final check on Saturday and pick-up on Sunday.

"QL" finished his season and was packed in the trailer.

We had a Blue day with difficult conditions.
It was the 2nd day in a row that we did not get the forecasted temperature.

"FOX" like new	"SM" shining after a  good Corowa season	Grietje and Fer with the luggage in "Red"	Pffffffffffff	Fer with the last luggage  for White	Mr Hotta was flying in difficult conditions

February 13th 2008

We started packing gliders early in the morning, and by 9.30 (briefing time) we had all the wings in Blue and Green.
After briefing we continued and by 3 pm we had the Blue and Green container ready. So with the Slovak Container
3 packed. Tomorrow we finish Red, only 1 glider to be packed and Friday White.
With the experienced staff it going very smooth.

The weather today should have been perfect, but the temperature was "only" 27 grC, not enough to break trough the huge inversion>
It was the last flying day for Filippe "SL" and Nils and Megan in "FOX".
After a few days of illness, Pepe did fly again.

Not only gliders to pack	Fuselages ready to go in	ACvZ	Even the toys are safely packed	Werner towing while we were packing	Enjoy Life	A dangerous intruder
Hangar almost empty	Slovak container ready	Green Ready	More Green	Blue ready	More Blue

February 12th 2008

8 years ago, Harm, Grietje and Francesco with the help of Jock Davis founded the Australian
Soaring Centre in Corowa.
After 8 years Harm considered it his time to step out of the ASCC.
We look back on 8 years of a perfect partnership and without Harm we never would have been able
to achieve what we have today.
We respected his wish to step back and today we signed all the necessary paperwork and from
today the ASCC is 100% owned by Grietje and Francesco.
On the briefing Francesco made a speech to Harm and as a appreciation he became  "Honorary Member"
and  Lifetime Member of the Australian Soaring Centre Corowa.
 We wish Harm and Pam all the best and thanks again for everything.

Harm, Grietje and Francesco	Harm  and Francesc	Honorary Member	Harm and Casper	The new owners of the ASCC

Again we derigged a glider before briefing.
On the briefing we said good bye to Staff tow-pilot Jan Janssen, Manfred Ringel, Peter Zander and Andreas Sieber.
Casper Garrelts made his last flight yesterday as we did not fly today. He had a great time flying the Discus 2t
and the ASG 29E.

February 11th 2008

The group of pilot is slowly getting smaller.
This morning we did put "PZ" and "IM' in the containers.
Also the wings of "GOB", which are going to be refinished at AeroSpool.
Francesco finished the Slovak container. This one is ready to go.

The weather is finally in a normal cycle.
Today another good day with cu's and good lift.
For tomorrow we expect a cool change, but it is not sure when during the day, so maybe?

The forecast	The weather	Waiting for the pilots

February 10th 2008

We started the day derigging 2 gliders "AS" and "OM" and we did put them in the container.
In the mean time Grietje flew the temp which forecasted a good day again.
Basically the same weather as yesterday, only the climbs were a bit better.
All pilots were in the air again.

Nice to the SE	Nice to the N	waiting to be packed  in the containers	FOO and LGT they did a great job this season

February 9th 2008

A perfect day !!
A good air mass, an early start, nice cu's, good lift and nice flights.
That was today.
After a few difficult days we finally had the Aussi weather again.

In the afternoon mr Hotta arrived and he will fly his DG 808 for the next week.

February 8th 2008

A difficult weather forecast again. It was we a " we have to wait and see" situation.
The influence of the high pressure system was the winner and gave us a beautiful afternoon
with nice cu's up to 2000 m and average climbs of 2 m/s.
The storm activity is over and we hope for weather improvement for the next few days.

February 7th 2008

A sunny day with 28 kts wind was enough to keep the gliders in the hangar.

The shire started with the preparations for the Quarantine facility in front of
our hangar.
Tomorrow morning we will derigg JR.

February 6th 2008

The weather was ok but not flyable. In the evening we got heavy rainfall.
We packed CX in the Slovak container, but still a bit of work to finish that one.
MD has also been packed and in about 1 week we have to pack allt he others.

February 5th 2008

Two birthdays today, Grietje 36 and Jan Jansen 66.
The happy birthday song was perfect and " the Ladies" backed some delicious birthday cakes.

During briefing the first cu's developed.
Jan Ritsma was the first again to takle off, followed by all the other pilots.
The forecast maybe 1 storm in the area changed a bit. In the afternoon we had thunderstorms and lightning
around Corowa and later everywhere.
Grietje was very busy giving weather reports and ways to fly home.
Casper was the last and landed at 7 pm with "SM". Everybody safe home !!!! pffffff.

February 4th 2008

We said good bye to Richard, Ruedi and Lubor.
Lubor is OLC champion Australia at this moment.

We started the day with overcast and some drizzle.
We hoped and got a window with flyable conditions.
1500 m cloudbase and 2 m/s thermals was enough for 6 pilots to fly.

February 3rd 2008

We derigged AR, DS and LK
With a trough over  NSW and an upper trough developping over the NE, we had a lot of
storms around. However Corowa stayed more or less dry.
Only a few hours were available for flying. Chad, Filipe and Karl were the only 3 pilots
in the air.
It was the last flying day for Chad and he is leaving tomorrow morning for LA.

February 2nd 2008

Another good day.
Jan and Lubor launched before 11 am and the others waited until the sky was filled with cu's.
Good climbs with an average of 4 m/s and 6/ 8 cu's was enough for a perfect soaring day.
Before launching we did the briefing and site checks with karl and Filipe.
After the first group the went for their fist flight in Australia with "OM" and "CX".
Today was the last flying day for Lubor. Tomorrow we will pack 4 gliders.

February 1st 2008

A perfect day. With 1010 km for Hansi Lange and 1023 km for Lubor Kuvik
The high pressure was strong enough to keep the showers and storms far to the North.
We had  nice cu's up to 2000 meter and good climbs.
All the pilots were in the air today>
It was the last flying day for Jos Schrier and we packed his glider in the container.
Børje Eriksson also had his last day and flew over 50 hrs and 5000 km in 2 weeks.
In the early afternoon the last pilots for OM arrived and he start flying tomorrow after his site check.

Jos preparing "6E"	ready to put back in the container	Wings  are in	"SM" after his flight
Waiting to o into the hangar	WHat a day	Gerrrit and Tonny

January 31st 2008

Overcast and rain today.
We packed "DUO" in the Slovak container.
Today we also finalized the agreements with the Shire, plumber and electrician, to seal the whole
area in front of the hangar (4000 m2) and put power and water inground on every tie down place  (18)
The work will be finalized by the end of February.
After that we hope to have the initial audit from AQIS as soon as possible.
But for tomorrow hopefully a good soaring day.

January 30st 2008

We started with a site check. The temperature went up and down but eventually up so the "hot shots"
SM and DUO took off.  They were happy they did as they had climbs up to 2600 meters with 3 to 4 m/s thermals.

Fer, Gerrit, Nils and Francesco did pack MK, wings of 68 in the container and later A with Peter.  68's belly
needs a final touch as Francesco wants it to be perfect.

We said goodbye to Anders and Karl-Olaf who flew DUO for two weeks.

We took off this morning on 05, landed on 23 in the evening and later in the evening the wind turned back to 05.
There was a downburst south of the airfield where there is a lot of dust. It was very interesting to see the dust spreading
because of the falling cold air. In the north was a rainbow from ground to ground and the air looked pinkish.

January 29th 2008

Harm and his son Casper arrived last night. They will fly together in FOX for a few days.
After that Casper will fly the ASG29E "SM".

Also Makota Ichikawa arrived last night. He flew the Nationals and will fly for a few days with his friend
Börje "CX".

This morning Francesco went to Albury to pick up his daughter Megan and Nils and Katinka so Berry could fly.
1 minute later Katinka landed from Melbourne so the planes were nicely scheduled. Megan and Nils will help but
when a glider is available we will put them in a glider.

Although we had the temperature, the day started slowly. Probably the pilots were a bit reluctant to go for another
character building day as it was yesterday. They all waited on the veranda in the shade with a cup of coffee before
they started to get excited.

Francesco is still working on 68 to get it all spick and span before putting it into the container.

 January 28th 2008

A late start today.
We needed 30 grC and to wait until 1.30 pm.

January 27th 2008

8/8 cirrus went we woke up. However with a forecasted temperature of 34 grC we expected climbs up to 8000 meter.
The air mass changed a bit on the approach of the trough and we also got cu's up to 10.000 ft.

But before we started the day , most of the pilots went into town to have a look at the parade.

The ASCC participated with a tow (Grietje, FOO and Francesco and Tonny FOX) followed by the self launcher N?
flown by Berry. The two files can be downloaded so you can see the fly over in SeeYou. "FOX" file  "N?" file.

After the parade the sky started to clear and cu's developped. We had an excellent soaring day again, unfortunately
most of the pilots were gone.
Bruce made his very last flight of this season.
In the morning we de rigged AR and put him back in the container and on the briefing we said good bye to Sebastian.

Tonny and Francesco	The parade	ASCC in the parade	ASCC fly over Mainstreet

January 26th 2008

On the briefing Eveline said some nice words to our (volunteers)  staff members Tonny, Gerrit, Fer and Jan.
Special for them the ladies backed some nice cakes.
Grietje, Francesco and  Frank got a nice T-shirt from Bruce, who is leaving "paradise" in 2 days.
The day started with cirrus and the temperature went up slowly. Jan Ritsma left early, 10.45  followed by
Lubor, Sebatian and Børje.
It turned out to be a good day again.

Eveline's  speech	The cakes	ASCC	Another day in Paradise

January 25th 2008

Another day in Paradise !!
We started the day again with the high clouds.
But today they were gone by 11 am and the first launch was at 12.25.
In exactly 1 hour we had 21 gliders in the air.
The cu's first popped up in the West, and moved slowly to the East.
We had an excellent day again with a cloudbase of 3000 m and good climbs.

Fer "gridmaster"	^E ready for take off	"Chad" in SM	Anders and Karl Olof	Almost ready with towing

January 24th 2008

We started the day with the approach of high clouds associated with a trough west of us.
As soon as we noticed the cloud layer stayed thin with some blue areas, we made a temp
flight .We had trigger temperature by 1 pm, and by 1.15 pm ZRD was on tow.
Only followed by Ole Pedersen and John Blight.
It is always difficult to believe that we can have very good soaring conditions under the clouds>
The only thing we need is "temperature". And we got 31 grC today. Enough  for a cloudbase
of 2500 meter and average climbs of 3.5 m/s.

It was the last day for Ole Arndt, Kristian Hansen, Ib Wienberg and Ole Pederson.
They left at 6pm and we hope to see them back next season.

It was also the last day of Wim.
He was again a great help at every dicipline in the business.
Kitchen, Maintenance, repairs, looking after his grand son Frank.
On behalf of everybody "Thanks for everything Wim"

A mini downburst at 6pm	Wim & Frank	Wim and Berry

January 23rd 2008

We did not have an early start, as we needed 26 grC, which was reached by 12.30 pm.
By 1 pm we had nice cu's and the sky looked  beautiful
Lubor launched at 11.55 followed by the others.
The first hour was not easy, but after that we had a very good day.
It was the last day for Thoru Ikeda. QL will now be flown by John Blight.

"LK" first launch	Lubor 1st as always	sunset

January 22nd 2008

Some of the pilots were keen to fly as they only have three days left.
Others improved their game of golf.
Although not very busy, we started with two tugs to get the early birds in
the air.
Unfortunately ZRD had some engine problems and had to outland.
Although a lot of areas were wet, ZRD found a paddock, long enough,
firm ground no obstacles and were towed out easy by Francesco.

Eduardo and Rodger	ZRD ready	Farmer walking the wing

January 21st 2008

All the bad weather has left the area and we woke up with a sunny sky again.
The airfield was almost dry after 70 mm of rain in the last 3 days
The forecast was 1800 m cloudbase with 6/8 cu's and that is what we got.
We started the day with the site checks of Karl Olof, Børje and Chad.
Karl Olof flew DUO with Anders, Chad "SM" and Børje "CX".

January 20th 2008

The low pressure system finally moved into the Tasman Sea.
We had a little bit of drizzle this morning but dry from 10 am and the sun was back in the afternoon.
All together we had 70 mm rain in the last 3 days.

The LM , CX and IZ team Lubik, John, John, Viliam and Brano left today.
We packed the DUO "LM"  and DISCUS "IZ" in the Slovak container.

"LM" ready for derigging	Brano and Lubor	All fuel out !!!	can we bring the first wing?

January 19th 2008

The low pressure system still moving from Queensland tot the South South-East covered the sky with 8/8 clouds>
A rainy day !!

We said good bye to Klaus Brand, Horii Toshihide and Gerald Kopf.
We welcomed 2 new pilots from Sweden, Anders Joenssen and Karl Olav Lybegard and Børje Eriksson.
We will make the site checks tomorrow.

January 18th 2008

A low pressure system moving from Queensland tot the South covered the sky with 8/8 clouds
and some drizzle in the afternoon.
Enough to cancel the day on the briefing and everybody (including the staff) took the day off.

January 17th 2008

Finally we get our own frequency 132.45 from January 24th 2008 !!!!

A perfect day!!!
First launch was  at 10.45. by "AR" and he did 1002 km !!!!
Most of the day we had blue conditions over Corowa, but 20 km North we had nice cu's up to
2500 m agl.

On the briefing we celebrated Peter and Alojz birthdays. The happy birthday song was finally in tune.

It was the last flying day for Klaus Brandt, Gerald Kopf and Horii Toshihide.
The Duo group, Jozef, Alojz, Jan and Peter used to day to clean the glider and packing. They are leaving
tomorrow. All pilots thanks for flying with us, you were good company and we hope to see you back next
season.

In the afternoon Rodger Druce arrived with his Duo ZRD and he will fly until the end of February, first
with Eduardo and later with Pepe.
.
January 16th 2008

 A strange day.
The air mass was not to good. trigger temperature was 32 grC, almost day max.
We reached the temperature by noon and only 3 pilots went for a flight.
The forecasted high clouds, associated with the cold frond disappeared just before they reached
our area. So we had a blue sunny day>
IZ flew for about 5 hours.

We ended the day with our weekly fish meal.

they had salmon	I had salmon

January 15th 2008

Our choir is performing better every day.
Today we performed (the only song we know) "happy Birthday"  for Hansi Lange.

Tohru Ikeda first made a flight with Yoshiaki Nishizato his's wife. She enjoyed it !!
Yoshiaki, booked for a week, but hat to cancel due to his health. Nevertheless
he came to Corowa to say hello to all the pilots. Hopefully he will be back next
season.

We had an early start. 1st launch was 10.30 and by 12 most of the gliders were airborne.
A few self launchers waited until 1 pm and Jan Ritsma launched at 2 pm.
As forecasted the cu's were a big question mark and just did not devellop.
But we had a good soaring day and hopefully tomorrow again.

January 14th 2008

A late start. 1pm Bruce was no 1 followed by 13 other pilots.
For tomorrow we expect better weather but blue.

January 13th 2008

We started the day celebrating Andy's 59th birthday. The choir was ok, but has to practice a bit more.

Yesterday no flights from Corowa, so only the Met briefing today.
The trigger temp was forecasted  28.5 grC by 11 am, but it took 1 hour more. Only 9 pilots went for a flight
today. Blue ??.
Later in the afternoon the cu's appeared in the West, so maybe tomorrow a full grid again.

Happy Birthday Andy	Birthday cakes	the sky in the morning	the sky in the late afternoon

January 12th 2008

We said good bye to Jan Vanrobays and Takashi Hattori. Jan flew for 3 weeks and Takashi was
training 1 week in "FOX".
We welcomed, Ole Arndt, Ieb Wienberg and Ole Pedersen for the 2nd time and Kristian Hensen for the 1st time.
Daniel Dumke also arrived and will fly ZY.

Grietje left early to pick up Brano from Lockhart. But by 10 am we already had showers and they did not have the best
weather on the way back.
The forecast "storms"  turned out to be wrong. By noon most of the instability was gone and we had a hot blue afternoon.
We only did some site checks and Lubor flew back from Narromine  with good conditions.
But after 20 days of full on flying in a row it was a welcome quit day.

January 11th 2008

The air mass was perfect today, but the trough over western NSW spoiled the day.
first launch was 10.30 with straight away good thermals. The high clouds associated
with the trough appeared early.
By 2 pm we made a call to all pilots to be back within 2 hours. This because there were severe
storms on their way.
Most of the pilots were back in time and DUO landed just after we had a downburst over the airfield.
A lot of dust, cold air and 40 kts wind gusts.
Lubor and Brano did not make it back home. Brano landed at Lockhart and Lubor at Naromine.
 

January 10th 2008

The results of yesterday were enough to pass Gariep Dam (SA) in the OLC Airfield competition
This makes Corowa Airfield ,with 325.000 km cross country,  no 2 of the world after Bitterwasser (NA).

2 days to go before we get the cool change.
Today again perfect weather. Jan Ritsma launched at 10.15 followed by the others.
By 12 o'clock everybody was gone .
The cu's developed a bit earlier as forecasted, so the airmass changed since 8 o'clock this morning.
In the afternoon we got some heavy showers North of the airfield.
Francesco found some time to fly 808 in the afternoon. This glider completed the amount of 30 gliders launched today.
This was the first time in our history that we had 30 gliders in the air.

all the gliders back on tie down	sun set

January 9th 2008

Not a birthday at our airfield, but our instructor / tow-pilot Peter Pressneil is celbrating his birthday.
Happy birthday Peter.

A good day again. This is day 18 in a row with good soaring weather.
Today we started launching at 10.40. Brano with CX was the first today.
With 2 towplanes we had all gliders airborne in 45 minutes.

Today the day was long enough for Lubor to fly his first 1000 km of this season. !! Well done

Pepe flew to Mount Kosciusko (7183 ft) today and made these impressive photo's

January 8th 2008

We welcomed Lex Versteeg and his wife Cora.
Lex is flying (only) for 4 days at Corowa.
Earlier as yesterday, but still a late start. (11.30)
The weather forecast is (depending on the quality of the air mass) is really looking good for the next few
day. Reason for the pilots to stay another day on the ground to safe the energy for the upcoming days.

January 7th 2008

The first day after the change. However this change was hardly noticeable.
We had a late start at 1pm and most pilots stayed on the ground.
It was a good day for making the site checks with the new "LM" pilots Lubik, John and John.
Viliam with Jana also arrived. They all will share "LM" and "IZ".

In the morning Jan made his first flights on our Pawnee and after that his first day towing
with the ASCC.

Halfway launching the sheep from the next door paddock escaped and we had about 300 sheep at the airfield.
Francesco and Ian with cars and Anders and Grietje  were able to get them all back in the paddock.
After closing the gates, we went on launching the gliders.

Jan our new tow pilot	Tohru and Takashi training	Jan Vanrobays in ASG29E	Viliam and Jana	John "LM" sitecheck	chasing the sheep

January 6th 2008

On the briefing we welcomed Tohru Ikeda and Takashi Hattori .Tohru a Japanese instructor and owner of
the ASW22  "QL" will train Takashi for a week and after that he will fly his own "QL".
We also welcomed Ingo Dannenberge. He will fly the DG 800 of Thomas Wieland. "OM" for 2 weeks.
We started the day with the site check of Ingo.
The by 37 grC forcasted cu's appeared by 3.30 pm when we reached the 37 grC mark.
Fer and Jan Jansen went to Banealla where Jan had to do his flight review for his aerotow endorsement in Australia.
When that's done we have an extra tow pilot which will take some pressure of the other staff.

It was the last day for petr and his son who were flying "LM" They got 7 flying days out of their 7 days stay in
Corowa.
Today was the 15th good soarable day in a row !!!!!

January 5th 2008

Happy Birthday dear Mother.
Yes Francesco's mother is celebrating her 84th birthday !!!

On the briefing we welcomed Herbert Dressler and said good bye to Ilamri, Cisko, Ilkka and Markku.
We also welcomed Jan Jansen from the Netherlands. Jan is here to give a hand with towing and other
staff matters.

The other birthday was Richard a loud "happy birthday"  and a bottle of wine was a good start of the day.

For today we had a blue day with later in the aftrenoon strong thermals.
Jan Vanrobays made his first flight on the ASG 29 en Gerald Kopf flew the Discus GB.

Every morning we fly our own temperature trace. (sounding)
For this trace we use the Cu-Sonde, a product from Avantech Research in Canada.
The cu-sonde is fixed on the strut of the left wing and measures every 2 seconds the temperature en dew point .
This trace is a very good help to make a good forecast and also to set a very precise first launch time.
Normally we start launching when we heave thermals up to 1000 meter agl.

take off 32	The cu sonde	32 gliders waiting 17 outside 15 in the hangar	The morning sun	Cold !!	high enough for today

January 4th 2008

An excellent day again. With cu's.
1st launch was at 10.25. Lubor and Brano were the first today.
They flew 800 km !!.
All the others also made long flights again.
It was the last day for our friends from Finland, Ilamri, Cisko, Ilkka and Markku. They had 12 out of
12 possible flying days, which is unique.
In the afternoon Jan Jansen arrived. Jan will do some towing in the last part of the season.
also Berry and Max are back from a short Christmas stay in Europe. So the ACvZ is complete again.

January 3rd 2008

A blue day with good thermals when we launched, but after that the weathe becam a bit difficult.
So a few pilots returned early, for those who waited a bit longer the conditions improved in the afternoon.

Sebastian Humann arrived and will take over  AR from Reinhard Pankow, who is leaving.
Sebastian will fly until the end of January.
In the afternoon Gerald Kopf arrived and he will stay for 2 weeks.
We said good bye today to Peter Gerretse and Joke. Peter was flying 6E which will be flown now
by Jos Schrier.
 

January 2nd 2008

A difficult weather situation, made the forecast not easy.
The trigger temperature of 35.5 grC was forecasted for 12.15, but was reached a bit earlier.
Lubor and Brano were the first to launch at 11.30 and there was enough lift to proceed
with launching the other gliders. By 1 pm we a thermal hight of 2000 meter and good climbs and by 4pm
excellent climbs with 5 m/s and more.
The forecasted temp of 38 grC was easily reached. By 4 pm we had 40 grC local .
NE 3 grC less and in the West, where the forecasted temperature was 41 grC, we only got 38 grC.

Grietje and Werner did the towing today. A hot job !!.

Brano 2nd launch of the day	"CX"	Fer and Gerrit	Ian "HDU"	SK Duo's ready
Werner towing with "LGT"	Bruce "68"	Masayuki "SL"	Chris "808"	Jozef and Alojz "DUO"
Petr and son "LM"	"AR" waiting for 35.5 grC	Grietje towing with "FOO"	"MK" take off	Peter "A"
"A" take off	"CT" Harry from ACvZ no 1 OLC (club)	Ilmari almost ready to go	Markku inspecting JE	Jan "JR" repair job

January 1st 2008

A quit first day of the year.
Only 8 pilots took off in Blue conditions.
Not too good in the North and reasonable in the West.
On the briefing we did celebrate Masayuki his birthday. A big choir of 50 people
was enough for Masayuki to realize that he was 1 year older.

happy birthday

January 1st 2008

""""""""Happy New Year """"""""""

Good health, many good and safe flights.

December 31st 2007

In the morning Petr Krejcirik with his son arrived.
With the help of the other Slovak pilots, they rigged the the DUO "LM" Petr will fly
this week.
It was a hot  day again. The thermals started at 12 and did not go to a high altitude.
We needed 38 (max temp) to get a reasonable hight.
Most pilots returned due to the heat. Only a few went cross country and faced the heat.

During the day Wim , with the help of the staff, prepared a really fantastic Indonesian dish.
We enjoyed it with 44 people and had a glass of champagne afterwards.

Gerrit & Wim in the kitchen	Fer running the Bar	The meal	mmmmmm
	A bit late for me	Fruit form Barbara	Champagne

December 30th 2007

Pffffffffffffff , 40 grC today.
The weather was ok, but not as good as expected.
Local the conditions were perfect, but North and West not that good, even they temperatures up to 41 grC.
Launching was a hard job today, due to the high temperatures. Nevertheless we managed to get everybody in the air
in 1,5 hour.
Masayuki "SL" was unfortunate, because of a flat tire just before launch. We pushed him of the runway and after
launching we replaced the tube and he was airborne by 1.15 pm.
Most pilots returned early due to the high temperatures at the (too) low flying levels.
 

 December 29th 2007

With a max temperature of 38 grC we had a perfect day again.
Not enough for 1000 km but with the 920 km of Jan Ritsma it was top. Considering it was
a blue day.
We started the day with the site check of Jozef and Alojz .
The first launch was for JR at 10.20. Bruce with 68 was number two.
With the other we started just before 11 am and within an hour everybody was airborne>
Lubor prepared his glider for tomorrow and Ivan flew in the afternoon 300 km.

December 28th 2007

The forecast was ok , included cu's. We got the good weather, but no cu's>
The first launch was at 11.15. Bruce with 68 made declared a 1000 km FAI, but that was with
the today's conditions too much.
Chris Davison arrived yesterday afternoon and made his site check in the morning>
After that he prepared the DG808 and launched at 1 pm.
In the afternoon the new "DUO" team, Jozef, Jan, Peter and Alojz arrived and also Brano the owner of "CX"

December 27th 2007

We had to wait until the clouds associated with a front moved to the East.
So first launch was at 1 pm and in 40 minutes we had 8 gliders airborne ( with 1 tow plane).
It was a blue day, but we made nice and long flights again.

December 26th 2007

A perfect day.
First launch was at 11.30 and by 12.30 we had all 25 gliders airborne.
It was the last (of 3) day for our friends from Axel. They were lucky and could fly every day and flew 480 km , 380 km and 545 km.
Mads is also leaving to join his club at Wangaratta for the new years camp.
Ian de Feranti arrived today and he will fly his DG600 HDU for a few days from Corowa.

For the next two days  temperatures of 35 to 39 grC are forecasted, so maybe a few more good days ahead.

Today's sky	waiting for the pilots	Runway repair service	Mads leaving Ian arriving	Brian and Mickel after 3 good days Sarah ?? inside !!

December 25th 2007

"""""" Merry Chrismas """""

Jos and Sonja arrived yesterday.
and also Reinhard was back after his short return to Germanay.
We also welcomed Mads from Bachus Marsh, who is flying with us for 3 days.

Always a strange feeling. Christmas on a sunny day with 28 grC, gliders in the air etc.
Today we had  a blue day, but higher and better thermals as yesterday.
The forecasted strong wind with 20 kts changed during the day to 10 kts which made it easier to come home.
back from the North.

Made by Barbara	A present from Hansi and Eveline	Christmas  dinner	Christmas  dinner	Christmas  dinner	Present from Harry and Bruce

December 24th 2007

We welcomed Jan Vanrobays . He is in Corowa for the 3rd time.
We said good bye to Thomas Wieland . He left in the evening after a very successful holiday in Corowa.
He made 17 flights with an average of almost 700 km !!.
Today, not a top day, but good soarable weather.
We made the site check with Brian after briefing so he could fly with Mickel the Duo Discus "FOX"
today. Their first flight in Australia was 480 km.
The forecast for the next week is ok.

December 23rd 2007

Cu's a strong SW wind, but we did fly and had perfect conditions.
The forecast for the next week is also good.
Ilmari, Ilkka, Marku and Masayuki made their first flights of the season and Lubor his
2nd flight on the 29.
In the afternoon, Michel, Brian and Sara arrived. They are from the Aeroclub Axel
The Netherlands and will fly "FOX" for the next 3 days.

December 22nd 2007

We did not get too much rain. (20 mm yesterday)
On our trip to Melbourne we had real heavy downfalls. Accidents, flooding freeway,
trees over the freeway etc. So lucky Corowa.
We had the sky with beautiful cu's , but strong wind with gusts up to 43 kts.
So impossible to fly.

This morning we welcomed the people from Finaland, Illmari Rinteasalo and wife Cisko
Markku, Illka and Mauri with family.

We said goodbye to Max and Berry who are going back to Holland for Christmas.
They will be back on January 4th 2008.

Strong wind and a shower	Full restaurant tonight

December 21st 2007

Between the trough sustems we had a few hours flyable weather.
Too short for everybody, exept Lubor who flew the ASG29 for about
3 hours.
In the afternoon Masayuki Kawamura arrived. He is flying for the 2nd time in Corowa and
will fly this time the Discus 2 ct "SL"
Grietje and Francesco went after dinner to Melbourne to pick up Grietjes'a father Wim.
Wim will stay until the end of January.

December 20th  2007

A complex system of low pressure, trough lines and cold fronts make the weather
not really good for soaring and pretty unusual for the time of the year.
Unfortunately for tomorrow we expect another trough line with storms .

December 19th  2007

Happy birthday father.

Another day for fiddling with gliders, toys and what not.
But for Lubor and Ivan it was a good day to get a good rest before flying big tasks.
Peter and Joke rigged their glider. Harry and Bruce were very sportive and went on a
trip on the push bike. Tomorrow will be another day for  other things than flying.

December 18th  2007

A whole band of high clouds spoiled the day.
We needed 28 grC and we only got 27.6 grC. Not enough to do some flying.

Miro, Jan and Tadeas left today . They were great company and good pilots.
Hopefully we see them back next year.
 

December 17th  2007

After two days of rain we had a very nice day again.
We started launching at 11 am. Today it was "DUO" with Miro and Jan who were the first to take off.
Francesco and Fer flew together the Duo T.

December 16th  2007

The trough system was still over our area in the morning.
After 1 pm is was nice and sunny but too late to do some flying.

In the evening some of us enjoyed  "Carols by Candlelight"
Grietje was performing with the Corowa Community Choir. It was really a very enjoyable evening.

December 15th  2007

The change came a bit earlier.
So no flying today and a day off for all staff.
SU tomorrow

December 14th  2007

We said good bye to Stener, Hans Christiaan and Bent Skou. They had to beautiful weeks with good flights.
Jørgen stayed one more day and will leave tomorrow.
For today we had a good day as well, but only cu's in the East and some cirrus and blue conditions in the West.
An early start again. This time Jørgen was the first to launch at 10.30 for his 1000 km attempt. Unfortunately
it took a bit more time before we had thermals strong and high enough to leave Corowa.
Bruce landed at 20.30 after a 840 km o/r  declared flight.

December 13th  2007

We started the briefing with giving the 1000km's wine to Hansi, Hans Chr, Bent Skou and Jan.

Briefing	Wine	Wine	the 4 "1000km" pilots

We had some high clouds, but the temp was high enough to get nice cu's and good climbs.
After all the long flights of yesterday some pilots did not fly.
Today was the last flying day for our Danish friend, Hans Christian, Stener, Jørgen and Bent Skou.
They made a lot of nice and long flights. We sure see them back next season.

December 12th  2007

Another excellent day.
4 x 1000 km again .
Hansi Lange , Hans Christian Hoeck, Bent Mogeson and Jan Ritsma flew 1000 km today.

Peter Sommerlade's his A	Hansi after his 1094km's