The cooperation with Soaring Café, has given more readers from the USA the possibility to read www.soaring.eu .
In my blog I do look back regularly on the quality time we had at the SSC [ Sportavia Soaring Center ] in Tocumwal Australia. I refer on a lot of names from pilots/guests/friends from this period.
For those who wonder….here is a bit of explanation.This is part 1.
In 1984 my family, [ex] husband George Schuit, son Dennis and daughter Inge travelled with me as mum, to Rieti in Italy for the Pre-WGC. George then already flew in 1981 in the Paderborn WGC.
In 1984 we got to know the Australian team, not a bit, but really well! Dutch Jenever helped one evening…or maybe not too much for flying.
The Aussie team of six invited us to come and fly in Australia as the next WGC in ’87 would be in Benalla. A swap was made quickly. When George would not fly in ’85, we would give our Ventus to John Buchanan and our car. In Benalla we would get a glider and car from our new friends. Set and done!
In December 1984, George and his best friend Kees Musters travelled with two gliders each in its own container!!!, downunder; the main goal was to beat Ingo Renner on his home ground. They arrived in Tocumwal where Ingo was instructor and Bill Riley the founder and boss of the SSC, which was at that stage a well known soaring school. The boys flew with many of the world pilots who were practising for Benalla , one of them Herbie Mozer, but failed to beat Ingo. Sometimes Ingo was already back in the hangar when they came back with a smile, thinking “they had beaten him this time”.
In our winter of 1985< I travelled to Australia as well, my first long trip. George had to his dismay NOT flown in Rieti, so John flew our glider and used our car over there and we …visited! Next target; WGC Benalla!
After arriving in Melbourne, I was wondering why it was so cold over there. With only summer clothes I arrived, in the expectation to be ” roasted by the sun ” every day.Wrong! It can be fresh in Victoria.
We called our friend Bruce Brockhoff, but he was flying a competition in Mildura and explained to us how to fly to this place. Kendell Airlines brought us and as it was very bumpy ; I was not my best. It even went worse when thousands of grasshoppers at the “bloody hot field ” of Mildura in NSW tried to enter my mouth, my ears and eyes. When would the next flight go back to Europe????
Not fit now either still have the flu, so more next time!
