11/10/2026
RSA Nationals recap with Adam Woolley's Gliding Adventures
Last day recap! With thanks to the organisers & Uys, we got the final day in. Storms in the area & upper level cloud in the area was shutting off heating, the day was looking unlikely. The task was reduced to 1.5hr AAT
Fortunately, we were thrown into the air, soon we found ourselves at FL120 & staring down the barrel of a good start. My sole goal was to follow Phillip & Attie Jonker today, a very strange feeling & one that I battled with all flight.
They were making great decisions, very patient & with good lines. The whole 18/Open fleet in Congo line. I contributed nothing, because that was my goal - protect the lead, don't lose the day by doing something silly 😂
As it turned out, after 45 mins, I couldn't bare it anymore. I felt like they were biting off more than was necessary & decided to just do my own thing & fly home on my own.
A seemingly perfect street lined up for a MC 3 final glide. I needed 3 good pullups & home James I'd go..
One 8 netto pull up, two 8 netto pull up, one more to go under the same sky & I'm home..
Well that was the plan. The last pull up didn't come & the geometry of the street ahead wasn't perfect. Oh no! Stay calm, fly the weather ahead. I managed to get a 4kt climb to glide in the end, naturally dropping some time.
Fortunately it was enough & finished in good time with no slow spots. Another great result for the comp. The landing was sporty with XW of 30kts!
Next post will be about the presentation night, then a general review of my time in RSA 😊
