A standard day at Coaching Week started with a morning of theory on various relevant topics (anything from weather forecasting to flying technique) followed by an afternoon of flying a cross-country task set by the coaches based on the day’s conditions. Typically the task was then flown by four different coach and student teams, taking turns in the two-seaters (our Janus and Adelaide Soaring Club’s DG1000). At the end of the afternoon when everyone had returned to Stonefield, the day’s four flight logs were replayed and analysed to see how we all did.
While the weather was great for most of the week, there were one or two days that weren’t ideal (either not soarable or storms forecast). Not all the tasks were completed by every team. One of the teams from ASC outlanded in the paddock immediately north of Stonefield on one occasion. Leigh and Teal managed to outland in the wilds east of Eudunda a day or two later! This occurred on the hottest day of Coaching Week (some 37 degrees) and so they got to swelter in a paddock for a couple of hours until the retrieve crew arrived.
Several trainees managed to get outlandings checked off whilst learning a lot about cross-country flying and flying technique in general.
Darren Alcoe did a truly MARVELLOUS job of the catering, impressing everyone with the quality and quantity of meals he produced throughout the entire week. Mega-thanks to Darren and also the coaches who put so much work into making this event run well.
And to those of you who weren’t able to make it this time, do yourself a favour and give it a go next time you have the opportunity to attend a Coaching Week. We promise that you won’t regret it.