outlanding

My last two articles (Outlanding Techniques, Part 1 and Outlanding Techniques, Part 2) were first about low altitude strategies and then about landout field selection - so in a way, this article follows

I started gliding through my family, and since solo I’ve been flying for 24 years now, amassing 3500hrs soaring experience. So many tips and tricks I’ve learnt along the way, in this article I plan to share with you some random experiences and thoughts on them!

Clear your head

When it comes

This is a hard subject to write about beyond offering some general observations and simple advice. Different regional factors including farming and crop differences, irrigation methods, topography, vegetation, grazing animals, wetlands, spring mud, winter snowfall, and other concerns all mean that local knowledge and experience are most helpful. What works in one area will be useless in another.  Still,

Outlanding (or an off-field landing as others would call it) preparation starts from a long way out, even at 5000’ when we still have 40km of distance to cover before hitting terra-firma.  It starts with a simple, there’s my track line to the turn point, off to the left is a scrub line and generally unlandable terrain, to the right is generally better, this thought at that moment

When we soar across country we are inevitably treading a fine line. On one hand, we want to go as fast as possible, but on the other, we need to stay airborne! As time goes on & as our experience grows, there are times when we have trouble finding that balance. At first, we need all of our attention to simply stay afloat, then we realise to make any headway we need to push a bit harder.  What

Outlanding Story - Flashback to yester-year

The year is 2004, Standard Class Nationals. Hobbs has been wet, raining, and in general not very Hobbs like. Future U.S. team member Mike Westbrook is 19 years old and at the bottom of the pack. I’m not far ahead of him, and 22-year-old Garret Willet is leading the pack of “90’s kids” in a strong 21st place. Charlie Lite is the CD, and he is struggling