Bob Struthers. 1988

Two Weeks At Tocumwal

 

Having had a couple of weeks at Narromime last year, Louis Trichard and I were keen to see some more of that Australian landscape, so we flew into Melbourne on the 6th of February on the first leg of our trip to Tocumwal. Then followed a three and a half hour train ride to Cobram, a thirty minute taxi trip and we were delivered ant 9.30pm to an enormous hangar on the Tocumwal airfield. This housed the office, workshop, sleeping quarters, cafeteria, briefing room and all the gliders of the Sportavia Soaring Centre.

Tocumwal has a population of about 1200 and is 2km away on the bank of the Murray River. At nights, after a shower and a "post mortem" on the days flying helped along by a couple of tots of our duty free whiskey, we would dine either at the Sportavia restaurant or cycle into one of the four eating places in Tocumwal.

In the following two weeks of flying, Monday to Friday, we both covered well over 2000km of cross-country flying, Louis in and LS3 and myself in a Mosquito. That we made no outlandings is an indication of the extent and consistency of thermal conditions in that part of Australia. We did not achieve our goals of 750km distance but it hardly mattered, so challenging and interesting were the flights that we undertook, sometimes together and sometimes separately.

There were Cu's on only about two days so it was blue thermals going up to 5000 or 6000ft with 8000 and 11000ft the exception. Generally it was close to mid-day before the temperature was high enough to send thermals to 3000 or 4000ft and after that, conditions gradually strengthened to finally end at six or seven pm.

Navigation was not a problem, provided a compass heading was backed up with some map reading. Once the route had been flown once or twice, distant landmarks were recognisable and became the main guide.

Out-landings would not be a problem once one learnt the colour code, green ones a no-no (irrigation), yellow OK (wheat stubble), but make sure it has been cut, grey mottle OK, (dead grass). It was then a matter of locating a habitation and making sure one of the large paddocks nearby, was big enough to tow out of.

Great gliding country - flat as a board and extending as far as the distant horizon and beyond.

Together our tasks aggregated well over 4000km. I guess we’ll be back for more!

Bob Struthers.

(Bob was awarded the Normona Cup for the most meritorious flight - 550km - Tocumwal/Hillston/Leeton/Tocumwal