Sky’s the limit for new champ

BENDIGO Gliding Club has a new state champion amongst its members.

Jack Hart recently took out the club class category flying a Mosquito 15-metre glider at the state championships recently held at Benalla.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the championship couldn’t take to the sky in its normal middle of the summer timeslot.

This meant the racing took part in very difficult conditions where the rising columns of air called thermals used by glider pilots were weaker than normal.

The competition was held over seven days with pilots able to fly on five of them. Hart was one of the few pilots to get around the set task each day.

In competition glider pilots race around a course set by the organisers which can be between 150 kilometres to 400 kilometres, depending on the weather conditions, with the fastest time around the course winning.

A handicap factor is applied which allows older gliders to compete against newer higher performance craft.

A win on the first competition day had Heart well placed and another victory on the last day of the championships and help him secure the title.

This victory capped a successful gliding season for Hart, who also won the Horsham Week Gliding competition as well.