Southern Soaring League once again hosted the Australian Open International F5J competition at its Milang field over the March long weekend.
The 30 competitors were greeted with very hot and windy conditions upon arrival on Friday and these unpleasant conditions persisted for the 3 days of the event. Conditions were so bad on Saturday that a Total Fire Ban was declared and no flying took place. Sunday and Monday saw temperatures of 40oC reached with winds in the 6-9 m/sec range. It was tough on the pilots and the models. 6 rounds were flown on Sunday, then lunch was taken and flying was called off. Monday saw the same happen with 6 more rounds flown then lunch and presentations.
Congratulations go to Dan Haskell from Melbourne who flew consistently well over the 12 rounds to come out on top, closely followed by Rod Watkins (Vic) in 2nd place and Nick Chabrel (SA) in 3rd place. All 3 pilots flew the Samba Pike Prestige 2PK model.
