By Jillian Georgiou

I wondered if I was a 'one hit wonder dummy' with my first XC flight, on my first attempt. The Birchip XC Tour had been a great learning experience, but I'd only had unsuccessful attempts since. It was like a free taste of something to get you hooked, and from now on you had to pay for it. I couldn't believe it when I was on my way again, this time on "home turf" at the Dynamic Flight Park in Trawalla. I'd had an excellent tow and had made it out of the tow paddock, across the highway, and had been joined by another pilot introduced to me as Steve "Blinkie". He'd agreed to watch over me and assist in getting me value for money. I could feel the buzz returning, that thrill that came with XC flying.

Right away Steve was encouraging. "That's the way Jilly, keep circling. We'll head towards those hills." So I kept circling, going with his instructions and my instincts. If it works, then keep doing it.  We headed off in a north-east direction.  My husband Damian was notified that we were on the move. Damian was already on the road doing another pick up. Steve gave him updates as we went, and tips to me as we circled together. Sometimes Steve was directly above me in my thermal.  If I caught a glimpse of his glider above me, but more to one side, I'd sneak over his way as he probably had the better lift.  Sometimes he'd be in his own thermal well away from mine, so I usually stayed in what I had, particularly if it was working well.  It was like having your own guardian angel, except in an advanced glider...  When I ran out of lift, I'd glide straight. "Am I heading in the right direction, Steve?" I didn't want to wander off what he had in mind.  We were heading towards the region where the little town of Talbot is located. "You're right, that's it, glide straight. Glide, glide."
We jumped a few thermals and glided straight when there wasn't much to find. Steve would sometimes head off to search for lift, but I would often find something by myself anyway, so we kept making progress.  The familiar feeling of motion sickness crept up, trying to make advancements.  This time I made sure I looked out towards the horizon more and really looked about the landscape. I avoided being mesmerised from looking down my wing while turning, other than to check for other gliders. Surprisingly enough this seemed to work. Perhaps I'd keep my lunch this trip!
The landscape is much busier in this part of Victoria. A lot more trees, some hills, more farms and power lines. There are meandering creeks, bodies of water, dry lakebeds. As we got further towards Talbot, I saw ridges of rocky outcrops projecting out from what I guessed were some hills. Things tend to look a lot more flat up here.  I also saw a dam wall, but at the time couldn't think of what it could be in that area. Studying the map later I found out it was probably the Talbot Reservoir. I was trying to keep an eye out for the bluestone quarry at Talbot too, where my father had worked many years ago, but didn't spot it. My hometown of Maryborough was a few kilometres along the bitumen road from Talbot. I never thought I'd see the place from up here, in a glider! I realized how much forest surrounded the town; it never seems that dense when you're on the ground.
"Head between those two forests ahead, Jilly." Steve had the co-ordinates of the towns in his GPS - Carisbrook was next, west of Maryborough. He informed Damian, who responded that he knew the area well. We'd both grown up in this district. Flying home, perhaps? The lift was getting sketchy now. It was quite bumpy at times and I even abandoned some lift as it wasn't worth sticking with.  At least I wasn't being distracted by motion sickness.  We spent more time on glide towards Carisbrook. Steve went out ahead again searching, but I had that sinking feeling. The trip was coming to an end. I was loosing altitude fast, and started picking a landing paddock. Below 1000ft the air really got rough. I picked a long paddock on the Red Lion-Carisbrook Road. Pulling the bar in hard, it didn't take much to be over the chosen land, but it was rough going.  There was rotor off trees and the wind had increased also.  The paddock had a dam, so I checked the wind lines (handy things these dams) and lined up for a landing. I touched down and realized the slight undulation of the paddock was actually a small hill, and I'd landed right on it.  (Yeah, try to make it harder for yourself next time, Jill...) Steve came down shortly afterwards and congratulated me on my efforts. It was nice to meet him face to face. I thanked him for his hospitality, and agreed with his suggestion: perhaps landing across the road on a flatter patch might have been better.... Okay, next time!
Steve was very kind in helping me carry the glider closer to the fence and road.  He said he'd actually planned on landing at the Flight Park, but had enjoyed the extra leg. I thanked him for the tips and for watching over me. I'd really had a sublime flight and couldn't believe how far we'd come. Today's effort got me a 43km flight and a nice 6900ft in height.  It wasn't long afterwards that Damian arrived, and while we packed up he chatted to a local (whom we knew, coincidently) who'd arrived to check on a friend's property.

So there you go, XC virgins. Hope that inspires you to "get away" and break that tie with the tow paddock one day.  The feeling of accomplishment may not hit you immediately (usually fatigue comes first) but once it does, it's so addictive - you have to do it again!