Windy weather might be causing headaches for the state’s fire fighters, but it has also interrupted the world hang gliding championships, which started in Forbes yesterday.
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Ideal conditions greeted competitors in the 19th FAI world championships on day one (Monday, January 7) with nearly two-thirds of the 105 pilots reaching the set destination.
However, today is a different story, with winds too strong and gusty for aero tow launching at Forbes Airport.
Organiser Vicki Cain said stewards made the decision to abandon gliding once winds exceeded 25 miles an hour.
The forecast looks better for the next week, with winds expected to drop off from tomorrow.
Cain said day one was very successful.
“We had 61 pilots make goal. They [the pilots] thought it was going to be really hard so they did well,” she said. “We usually only get about a third [of competitors] making goal.”
‘Goal’ yesterday was the Riverina town of Ardlethan, nearly 160km from Forbes airport, via Barmedman.
Italian pilots Christian Ciech and Alessandro Ploner held a narrow lead over Hungary’s Balazs Ujhelyi and Australians Scott Barrett and Jon Durand Jr.
Vicki Cain said competition was close on the first day of flying with several pilots finishing the course within minutes of each other.
“They had a really good goal,” she said. “About 20 pilots all came in within minutes of each other.”
Organisers meet at competition headquarters, the Forbes bowling club, each morning to set the day’s task, and the 105 pilots and their crew then drive to the airport, just west of town, to start preparing for launch.
While most of the pilots are men, several countries have female team members. Chisato Nojiri of Japan was the best placed woman yesterday, ahead of defending champion Corinna Schwiegershausen, from Germany.
