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Air Sports International : Feb 1998 issue From : Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon It will become difficult to keep improving ASI at this rate! The February issue is already quite better than the January issue. Congratulations to you and to your team!  |
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Hypoxia Training And Amber Sunglasses From : Peter Saundby It was my experience when conducting hypoxia training on young military aircrew entrants, [at that time we trained about 600 a year], that there was little variation between individuals relating to their life style and smoking habits. Later when carrying out the same training on civilian flight test observers, in the age range 30-50, it was a very different story. There was great variation between individuals and one had to be alert to a few that were unusually susceptable. Obviously the penalties of an unhealthy life style take years to develop. On sunglasses and visors, it is horses for courses. At high altitude there is an excess of white light, both direct, and reflected from cloud floors. High density 'green filters' prevent glare by reducing the light intensity without too much colour distortion. Incidently aircraft perspex is impervious to UV light, so photochromic lenses triggered by UV react slowly, they also have non ideal absorption spectra. At low altitude in hazy conditions there is relatively low light energy, the problem is that the blue end of the spectrum is scattered more that the red. A low density filter which eliminates the random blue light provides better discrimination and earlier target identification. Those yellow 'tigers eye' sunglasses advertised in aviation magazines are for pilots who bumble around at low level in anticyclonic haze. Wear these at high altitude and the disadvantages become obvious, they do not remove enough light energy to prevent glare and the colours are horrid. No one has mentioned the requirement for military visors to provide protection against the lasers used for weapon ranging and tracking. At one time [1945-55] a system called two stage amber was used for instrument flying training, the cockpit was lined with amber perspex and the trainee wore blue goggles.For the pupil it was black as pitch outside. For the instructor or safety pilot, the colour distortion through the amber perspex was awful! |
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World Solar Gliding Challenge : Call For Expressions Of Interest From : Roger Woods Ladies and Gentlemen The Gliding Federation of Australia seeks the interest of experienced pilots around the world in the first World Solar Gliding Challenge. Introduction The Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) in conjunction with 'Australian Major Events', a branch of the South Australian Tourist Commission, invites interested pilots world wide to communicate with the GFA if they are interested in participating in the first "World Solar Gliding Challenge" a race for gliders coast to coast across the Australian Continent from Darwin to Adelaide. The gliding race is part of the World Solar Challenge, the internationally renowned solar car race held every two years with extensive international media coverage. The Race The race will be held in seven stages as follows:-
Total race distance 2695 kms The race will coincide with media stops and other activities as part of the World Solar Challenge and will finish at Gawler Airfield followed by a fly-in to the World Solar Challenge Finish Line in the heart of Adelaide for the Event Presentations. The Sailplanes The event will be a race for up to twenty sailplanes limited to 15m span. The image of the race is very much solar based and as such it is open to pure sailplanes only. It is intended to restrict the type of sailplanes that can enter to a range not exceeding a five percent variation in performance and there will be no handicapping. All launching will be by aerotow. It is anticipated that a suitable range of sailplanes will be made available for hire in Australia. The Terrain The race will cover some of Australia's most spectacular wilderness areas from the tropical north through the renowned red heart of the continent to the temperate south. The track passes such renowned land marks as Kakadu National Park, Devils Marbles, Ayers Rock, the McDonald Ranges, the Coober Pedy Opal Fields, Woomera Rocket range, Lake Eyre Salt Lakes, Flinders Ranges and ending in Adelaide adjacent to the famous Barossa Wineries. The race will require the highest pilot skills and as such will only be open to glider pilots with extensive cross country experience. Race Format The format and scoring of the race will be as follows:-
Accommodation Due to the area over which the race will be staged being sparsely populated with little accommodation available it is intended to make arrangements for camping either through an "outback" camping contractor or individual camping sites for competitors and crew. The Cost At this stage of planning the entry fee has been set at US$2000.00. Aerotows will be set at US$35.00. In addition, contestants will need to arrange for the hire of a sailplane or transport their machine to Australia. The organisers will undertake to assist as far as possible in contacting local sailplane owners with a view to making sailplanes available for hire. Accommodation, crew, towcar and travelling costs will need to be covered by the competitors. Again, the organisers will make every effort to advertise for local crew in Australia and bulk hiring arrangements for tow vehicles will be attempted. The Dates Briefing for the race will be in Darwin on the 17th October 1998 with the race start on the 18th. The presentation of awards will be held in Adelaide on the 27th of October. Contact Details The Contest Director and liaison officer for all applications expressing an interest in participating in the World Solar Gliding Challenge will be:- HENK MEERTENS PO Box 352 Frenchs Forest, NSW, 2086, Australia Phone: 61-2-9452-2777 Fax: 61-2-9453-0777 email: hkmxor@msn.com Roger Woods Executive Officer The Gliding Federation of Australia A.C.N. 008 560 263 130 Wirraway Road, Essendon Airport, Victoria 3041 Phone: +61 46 51 2454 Facsimile: +61 46 51 2599 Email: woodsgfa@zip.com.au |
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OTHER ARTICLES OF ASI MARCH'98 ISSUE | News In Brief | Letters To The Editor | World Records | | No Swan Song Here | | Ninety Years Ago Most Aerial Voyages Ended Up Water-Borne | | Assessing The PW-5, ME-7 and EA9 | | 11th World Hang Gliding Championships | | Musical Parachute Which Destroyed Blanchard | |
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