Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2016
What started out looking like it was going to be the worst Forbes comp ever turned out to be one of the best!
I think we’ll be talking about this one for a long time to come!
It’s all about the numbers!
Our 10th consecutive Forbes Flatlands competition.
62 Pilots from 13 Countries
22 Crew from all over
42453.1 kms flow by all pilots (with a grand total of 712,394.92 km flown by all pilots from 1999 - 2016)
All together in 1 place, for 10 days, doing what we love, having fun, seeing old friends, making new friends and making the most of this amazing sport.
Conditions turned on for task 4 to allow us to set the longest task ever in a hang gliding competition. 368 km from Forbes to Walgett.
A massive 26 pilots made the task, that’s 41% of the field!
It was a personal best flight for all at goal except for Jonny Durand, Len Paton and Guy Hubbard.
And a World Record flight for the only female pilot to make goal, the current World Champion Yoko Isomoto.
And the Forbes mantra rings true “How Good is Forbes” !
All this made possible by so many people.
Thank you:
Meet Director: Wesley Hill
Operations: Thea O’Connor
Launch Director: Michael Zupanc
Goal Marshall: Rob Van Der Klooster
Bill and Molly Moyes, Jay Devorak and the tug pilots Bobby Bailey, Steve McCarthy, Bruce Crerar, Blaino and Marco Carelli
Launch crew: Richard Nevins, Sue Nevins, Lizzy Nevins, Jack Nevins, Yes the whole Nevins family! Christina Quinn, Tony Hanlon, Annie Crerar, Bena, Linda Zupanc,
The Task Committee: Gerolf Heinrichs, Jonny Durand, Bruce Wynne
Safety Committee: Gordon Rigg, Lukas Bader, Nils Vesk
Protest Committee: Steve Blenkinsop, Glenn McFarlane, Trent Brown
We set 6 Tasks totaling over 1000 kms with the leaders averaging 160 km per day, that’s close to 100 miles per day!
The consistent flying at Forbes is why we come back year after year.
The comp ended with an awesome feed and presentation night hosted by Janine, Amy, Alice and Steve at their home by the river.
How good is Forbes!
Congratulations to all the winners!
Back row Left to Right: Vicki Cain, Howard Jones, Noel Bear, Alexandra Serebrennikova, Olav Opsanger, Gavin Myers, Glenn McFarlane, Len Paton, Jonny Durand, Michael Jackson, Jason Kath
Front row Left to Right: Josh Woods, Lukas Bader, Freddy Bircher
Top 10 Open Class
10th Olav Opsanger Norway Moyes RX 3.5
9th Gavin Myers Australia Moyes RX 5
8th Fredy Bircher Switzerland Moyes RX 3.5
7th Lukas Bader Germany Moyes RS 4
6th Josh Woods Australia Moyes RX 3.5
5th Len Paton Australia Moyes RS 4
4th Glen McFarlane Australia Wills Wing T2C 144
3rd Jason Kath Australia Wills Wing T2C 144
2nd Michael Jackson Australia Moyes LSS 5
And a most deserved win with a dominant performance, and his 6th Forbes Flatlands title
1st Jonny Durand Australia Moyes RX 3.5
Women Class
1st Alexandra Serebrennikova Russia Moyes RX 3
Sport Class
1st Noel Bear Australia Moyes Gecko 155
Forbes A Grade Award
1st Josh Woods Australia Moyes RX 3.5
Forbes Council Encouragement Award
Howard Jones Australia Moyes RX 3.5
Thank you to all the pilots and their support crews for making the trek to Forbes, we hope you had the time of your life ; )
Full results can be found at www.forbesflatlands.com
Photo credits to Michael Zupanc Peak Pictures and Christina Quinn
