FLYING CIRCUS JUBILAUM

Alpine soaring in Austria, anyone? Try your hand at mountain flying urges Simon Cocker

- Simon Cocker

Have you ever considered trying a completely different style of slope soaring? We are blessed in the UK with a plethora of suitable flying sites; we have coastal cliffs and inland slopes to offer all manner of flavours of lift, from aggressive near-vertical propulsion to gentler thermal enhanced inland lift. We tend to use the dynamic lift at all times, never daring to launch without at least some breeze and corresponding baseline lift to enable sustainable flVight - why risk anything less?

It is very a very different experience in the Austrian and Swiss Alps, as the primary lift is often not dynamic, but thermal generated. On numerous trips in the past, I have flown in rugged mountainous locations and have been amazed to see large sailplanes released into the empty void, devoid of any obvious lift, just a vastness of inert airspace with harsh jagged rocks lurking below. This is why I have called these adventurers the ‘Ironmen of the Alps’ and some of them that refuse to employ a FES (Front Electric Sustainer) or an SLS (Self Launch System) still hold that accolade in my book.

You are likely to meet Robi Disler at this hallowed mountain top annual event, who is a legendary Swiss scale sailplane aviator. I have flown with him on numerous occasions when I have enjoyed a flying holiday at the Hahnenmoos, where the famous Shalmi Grat and Lavey slopes have provided memorable experiences that shaped my subsequent flying career. Despite his advancing years, Robi insists on building colossal replicas of full-size moulded gliders, usually of at least 7.5m wingspan, which he launches by himself - and single-handed, too - politely refusing the help proffered by those who do not really know him and his modus operandi.