New world record… GODFREY GETS GOLD!
Will GaddÂ’’s world record was smashed by Australian pilot Godfrey Wenness on 16th November. Flying his Omega 4 from Mt Borah, Manilla, Godfrey flew an incredible 335 km in 7 1/2 hours. He flew alone for the entire flight, and reported cloudbase was around 2400 m, going up to 3000 m by the end of the day.
The first 160 km were slow, with only a few small cu’s and big blue holes. But on the second half of the flight I enjoyed long cloud streets over the flat wheat and cotton farming countryside, and it was possible to dolphin fly at around 60-70 km/h, with a southerly tailwind of 20 km/h.” Godfrey landed at 7:45pm, about 100 km into Queensland. He said, “the final glide from 2000 m was cross wind so I could land near the homestead on a 40,000 hectare property. If I’d had a retrieve vehicle, 350 km would have been possible with the tailwind.”
GodfreyÂ’’s record is remarkable, considering it was from a hill launch and didnÂ’’t necessitate strong wind or cu-num surfing.
Manilla plays host to the New Zealand Nationals and Australian Open, running back to back from 27th Feb to the 13th March.
