Fatigue
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June 13, 2024
I was fortunate enough to go gliding in Uvalde last summer as my preparation for the World Gliding Championships in August 2024. Being Australian, I know the need to remain hydrated, but flying out of Texas really heightened the fact that it’s super important to keep on top of. Drinking water only wasn’t an option, but an electrolyte supplement within the water was also essential
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September 06, 2023
On the last day of the Uvalde Pre-World Gliding Championships and 18m Nationals, I was asked to give a safety talk to the competitors and organisation. It’s something that we’ve done in Australia too in the past, but not of recent years so much unfortunately. I think it’s a really good initiative, no matter how quick or small the topic presented by the speaker, it puts
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August 25, 2022
Every day before we fly we (daily) inspect our glider, we’d all agree it’s an important part of our flight. But what about the pilot? Clearly, it’s the same, however, every day we as humans perform, react and feel different every day we wake up. Diet, sleep, work, relationships, and a whole range of external factors affect our moods and levels of arousal. If we have a
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April 30, 2020
You've decided to enter a major competition, but where does one start with preparation? Naturally, the best place to start is with the pilot. The good thing about this, it can be done all the time.
For me, it's essential to realize that the focus should be put on the process of what makes a good flight, the skills & factors necessary to achieve the performance. Focus on putting all the little -
August 15, 2019
Dehydration tends to be a contributing factor to a lot of stupid things that happen at contests.
Preventative Maintenance
My first contest was in Phoenix, AZ early in the season before it got hot. At least that is what they claimed, it seemed pretty hot to my crew, and I. All of the pilots walked around with water. I remember Tony Smolder with his
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June 28, 2018
"Over 80% of ALL accidents in aviation involve human error"- BOEING
I am guessing that more than my yearly salary was spent on this study...by a factor of 10. After looking at enough NTSB reports or any other accident write-ups it is pretty clear that human error was the cause of most accidents.
After finishing the last few months of bad decisions and losing points, we will take some