Another great day of gliding on Saturday. I hadn’t been in the air for a while because the bushfires in the Blue Mountains have been covering Sydney with smoky haze. They’ve been cautioning people with asthma not to go outside.
But the Saturday forecast was good, and so it proved. I flew the Astir and managed a flight of 2 hours 20 minutes in blue thermals (no clouds) It was fun because I flew west, managed to get away from the 4500 foot height limit over Camden and soared up to 7500 feet, the height limit over The Oaks airfield. (The limits are to stop little aircraft bumping into the streams of jumbo jets going to and from Sydney airport.)
The thermals were very rough in parts, so it was a little uncomfortable, but great fun. I was guided to one thermal by a couple of huge birds who were climbing together in the rising air without a single wing-beat. I’m pretty sure they were wedge-tailed eagles, magnificent creatures who glared at me as I came within a few metres of them and then turned away.
A birding website notes about these eagles:
They are known to attack intruding model airplanes, hang gliders, gliders, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
Next time I’ll be more wary! (Sorry, no eagles in the video clip)
