Jason Reid <<email>> writes:

No surprises up here at the moment, its wet like the rest of eastern Australia. Dalby has recorded approx 130mm of rain in the past 48hrs and there is definitely more on the way over the next few days. Obviously, it's great news for the local economy (which relies heavily on farming), but what about the flying?

Sure the area around Dalby is flat, but it does drain quickly and all we need is a couple of days of sun to dry the surface of most paddocks and away we go again. I have a photo taken from a paddock 180 kms west of Dalby that we landed in a few days after Christmas ’07. We were flying out there in huge conditions with average climbs in excess of 800 ft/min and cloud base over 8000ft agl only days after this area received flash flooding rain. Water was noticeable in all low lying areas, but the top few centimeters of most paddocks were dry and in fact producing defined dusties.

As you know we have the Dalby Big Air scheduled from 8th to 15th March (only 4 and a bit weeks away). I have spoken to some of the local farmers that also fly sailplanes and they believe we will see the rain continue for the next two weeks, but then dry up for March. Long range forecasts from BOM and other sites also show a decline in rainfall towards the end of February so if they are correct we should see some very nice conditions for the comp (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/rain_ahead.shtml)

Comp organizers are currently looking to finalise tug and tow pilot numbers, but they are finding it difficult to predict numbers at this stage. I encourage any hang glider pilot thinking of attending the Dalby Big Air to get online and register for the comp so organizers have a better chance of making the right call re tug numbers. Please register at http://www.hgfa.asn.au/~registration/ or contact Nick Purcell <email>] for more information.