The Palm Ceremony

It has been a tradition at Bitterwasser that pilots who complete significant flights plant a palm tree which will carry a plaque with their name,  date and nature of the flight as a lasting memory. In the beginning palms were planted for diamond achievements. Now the definition of "significant" is a flight that qualifies for a 1000k FAI Diploma or better. Furthermore, it has to be the first time for the pilot to achieve this flight, so repeats don't count. The only time a pilot is entitled to plant a second Palm is for a world record.

Our 1000k FAI triangle would have qualified for a Palm, except that it was not a single pilot performance since Tom and I flew together in the Arcus.











Palm planting ceremonies are typically scheduled for 15 minutes before sunset and every pilot on the ground is expected to attend. Pilots still flying will acknowledge the ceremony with a low pass. Of course, a lot of beer gets consumed during the ceremony.







The candidate will plant the palm himself under the watchful eye of the assembled crowd and the MC on a spot that has been determined with German precision.
The onlookers will give helpful hints like: "the green stuff needs to be up".
  
The work is being judged on the points of efficiency, cleanliness and elegance. The MC will offer verbal assistance if the candidate lacks gardening skills. Pretty much the worst is if the root ball falls apart while trying to place the little palm tree in the hole.

When the work is completed, the MC asks everyone to stand close and starts a chant in a mixture of German and Africaans:

Nach alter Fliegersitte

die Glaser in die Mitte,

Bremsklotze weg,

Start frei,

Laat waai - laat waai - laat waai

STUOPA!

With that, everyone pours the rest of his beer (at least half a bottle) over the freshly planted palm tree, so it may grow and kick off many thermals.


7 Palms were planted in total while we were there.

We also celebrated 100 flights over 1000 km (OLC) for the season in early December.

The 1,000 km FAI Triangle

The first week of December brought exceptional weather. After having gotten used to the area, we were planning to fly a declared 1015 km FAI triangle to exceed Peter Mazak's citizen's record of a 1007 km FAI triangle established in 1987.

The plan was to start on the leg, head NE first as cu were expected to develop early in that direction, then turn west to reach the mountain range, turn south at a town called Nauchas and follow the range to a town called Helmeringhausen as the last turnpoint and head home.

On December 2nd Michael and Tom gave it a first try. I watched them on the SPOT tracker as they reached the last turn point at 5p local time, 2:20 hrs before sunset. Shortly after rounding the turnpoint their progress slowed to a crawl. Two SPOT positions, ten minutes apart, were in the same location. Obviously, they were stuck. It was 6p, 1:20 before sunset when they started to move again. They still had 250 km to go. I didn't think they would make it home and started to make make inquiries where to get a car and a generator with extension cord so we could recharge the batteries of the glider overnight for re-launch the next morning. Keeping on eye on the SPOT page, I saw that they were making progress again and finally Mariental, southwest of Bitterwasser seemed within range. Was majorly relieved when they called into Bitterwasser on final glide 50 km out. The sun was just slipping below the horizon when they touched down. It turned out they had not completed the task because they got low after the last turnpoint and needed to run the motor for two minutes to get out of a squeeze.
Helmeringhausen is not a good place to get low. To a German speaker the name sounds like it would be a picturesque town in the mountains with a nice church in the center and a beergarden nearby. However, this is Africa and Helmeringhausen is certainly not how we would imagine it. There is no electricity in town and it is unknown if the "airport" is suitable for landing a glider. The terrain is hostile and except for the "airport" the only other option is the gravel road connecting the town to the rest of the world.

On December 3rd,  my brother and I went on the same task again. The goal was not to necessarily complete it but to see where we could optimize the route and to check timelines. We had a good run and the LX9000 showed 4:40 as the ETA for the 3rd turnpoint. We broke it off 40 k short of the turnpoint because 4:40 seemed too late and we feared a repeat of the previous day. There were also some rain showers blocking our way on the leg home. In the end the showers were not a problem, although the LX9000 crashed probably due to static electricity.  and we were home in good time. In retrospect we would have likely completed the task had we pushed on into the last turnpoint. We decided to take off half an hour earlier and definitely go for it the next day.
                                                                   
December 4th was the third great day in a row. Tom and I launched at 10:43 local time. It was difficult to climb in the early morning thermals. At 11:04, 16 minutes earlier than the previous day, we started the task at 8000 ft (4000 AGL). We were lucky that the second thermal after crossing the start line gave us an 8.8 kts thermal average up to 12,500 ft. Actually, it turned out to be the best thermal of the day. We had a good run to the first turnpoint in the NE, an excellent run on the second leg as convection really started to develop and a tail wind added to our ground speed. Transitioning into the mountains, we shifted our working band from 9000 - 12,500 ft to 11,000 - 14500 ft and later up to 16,000 ft. In the thin air and helped by a slight tail wind we ran at ground speeds of 110 kts between thermals. Stubbornly the ETA for the last turnpoint showed 4:40p again but this time we decided to go for it. Helmeringhausen was in the blue when we rounded it at 4:42. The direct way back to Bitterwasser looked fairly blue. Rather than chancing over 270 km in the blue, we decided on a detour and to fly the mountain chain back north before going direct Bitterwasser. There were still good looking cu over the peaks. We had a good run north and went direct when the distance to Bitterwasser had shrunk to 160 k. The big cus in the plains started to fall apart but small cu still worked fairly well, so we had no problem getting home. We crossed the finish line at 6:42, a comfortable 40 minutes before sunset which gave us a speed of 133 kph. We had broken Peter Masak's  triangle distance record as well as the speed record. As it turned out, the flight which did not have even one anxious moment, yielded a total of six records.

The Flying

In a nutshell, the flying in Namibia is awesome. In Bitterwasser the typical day starts with an 8am breakfast, followed by a weather briefing at 9am. On good days, pilots get their planes ready before breakfast, so they can pull out as early as 9:30.


Depending on the wind direction, it can be a long trip to the take-off runway. The Bitterwasser pan, a dry lake bed where all take-offs and landings take place is about 3km in diameter. Runways 27/23 and 18 are fairly close but for 09, 05 and 36 one has to drive half way around the pan, almost 5km, with the glider in tow.

The gliders which are all self launchers are lined up side by side, so everyone can take off when ready. There is no waiting to get to the front of the take-off grid.











With most of the gliders at max gross weight, it feels good to have essentially 10,000 ft runway ahead.

By 10:00am soaring should be possible up to 5000 - 6000 ft AGL in blue thermals.




During the peak hours of the day (2:30 - 5p) thermal tops and cloud bases can be as high as 16,000 ft which makes for a nice working band. In the flat country the ground elevation is 4,000 ft, give or take, higher in the mountains. Thermal strength is 8 - 10 kts, sometimes a bit more.

With conditions like this we have achieved OLC speeds (best 2.5 hrs) in the mid 160s kph.

For the best conditions the ground temperature needs to be in the high 30s or above 40C and there has to be the right amount of humidity. Too little and the day will be blue - too much and there will be showers and possibly thunderstorms in the afternoon. We have flown on days with as

High humidity can cause afternoon showers

little as 5% humidity.

On the more humid days, one has to be careful not to be cut off by afternoon showers or thunderstorms. The bigger ones can kick up vicious gust fronts that are very dangerous when they occur close to the airfield.

Gust front going through Bitterwasser

 

There is a special gliding airspace which covers most of Namibia south of Windhoek and parts of Botswana to the east. With a ceiling of FL 195. There are a few areas such as a ring around the Windhoek airspace where the ceiling steps down to FL145. Being below 10,000 ft MSL is considered low.

There is a north/south mountain range about 150km west of Bitterwasser which offers the best conditions on many days with high bases and great streeting. A convergence zone often forms along this range where the air flowing in from the cold South Atlantic meets the hot and dry inland air. West of this mountain range the Namib desert stretches all the way to the coast. The Namib seems dead in every respect. It is a vast expanse of sand dunes which wander with the wind since there is no vegetation to stabilize them. The air above seems dead too - I have never seen any indication of convection over the Namib, just blue skies.

Over the mountains, looking west over the Namib desert - no visible sign of convection

Land-out Possibilities: 

All gliders are self launchers, so it is rare that someone lands out. However, since one cannot be sure that the engine will deploy and start when needed, one has to always be within range of an area that allows a safe landing. The electric motor of our Arcus E is more reliable than conventional engines but after the initial climb the remaining run time is perhaps 15 minutes which translates into a range of 50 -60km. The terrain in the mountains looks very hostile, so staying high enough to glide out when necessary is the key.

Certainly not a good place to get low

Out in the flat country many farms have landing strips but it is impossible to know how well they are maintained. A multitude of animals like warthogs apparently love to dig big holes in runways. Many farm strips are also too narrow particularly for the 25m+ open class ships. Or they are too short to take off again. Bitterwasser has only one old glider trailer, so ground retrieves are problematic. They say a ground retrieve in Namibia could take several days, from Botswana likely a week. Typically, people who fly into Botswana stay within safe gliding distance to the Namibian border. However, I haven't seen anything I would consider good for landing on the Namibian side within 50km from the border.

So, with no cultivated fields and farm strips largely out, where does one land if need be? Some airports are o.k. such as the ones in Mariental and Rehoboth. Some of the larger gravel roads are good (C-roads), provided the vegetation is cut back far enough. They are fairly wide, have a good surface, usually no power lines and very little traffic. Take-off is usually not a problem (legalities aside) and the location is easily accessible by car if engine repairs are needed. One has to watch out for road signs, so it is not a good idea to land close to intersections.
The other preferred landing option are the larger pans (dry lake beds). Many have farms located at their edges. This time of the year (end of the dry season) they are dry and support gliders and vehicles. Some can be a bit rough with rocks embedded in the clay soil. Typically, on a blue day with thermals tops below 10,000ft, one goes from pan to pan. They are good thermal generators too.

On a good day thermal convection usually lasts past sunset (19:15 - 19:30 local time in Nov - Jan). After sunset it gets dark quickly. Legal daylight ends 15 minutes past sunset. Most gliders arrive back at Bitterwasser within 15 minutes of Sunset, so the circuit can get busy. Whenever possible everyone lands to the east on 09 for better visibility. It is very difficult to judge the height for the flare in the huge pan in low light conditions. When landing to the east one can use the shadow of the glider as a guide of when to flare. Landing to the west into the setting sun is next to impossible. On the rare days when there is a strong westerly wind it is better to wait until the sun is down. Of course, everyone tries to get down as soon as possible after sunset, so it gets pretty busy. One has to keep a very sharp eye out for other gliders as it gets dark quickly. Fortunately almost all gliders are equipped with Flarm. The best technique for after sunset landings is to crack the air brakes and come down with a constant low rate of sink until the wheel touches the ground, then apply full air brake and go negative flap to keep the glider on the ground - just like landing a float plane. It is impossible to judge if one is 10ft, 30ft or 50ft off the ground. But with 10,000 ft of runway available in every direction there is no problem.

The Planes

There are no towplanes in Bitterwasser, so all planes are self-launching motorgliders.

Most gliders here are state-of-the art Open Class two seaters. Many of them EB 28 and EB 29 with spans of 28 meters and sometimes even more. As graceful as they are in the air, they are a bear to handle on the ground. Fortunately, the people who planted the first palms 40 years ago were forward thinking and spaced them far enough apart, so the big wing gliders can manouver in the alleys of palm trees. However, there is not much space from the wingtips to the trees. 

The latest and greatest is a brand new ASH 30 which is the successor of the ASH 25. I had a good discussion with the lead designer, Martin Heide (the "H") about the performance goals and handling characteristics they were trying to achieve.

I am surprised to see so many Open Class ships at a place with such strong weather like this. These gliders really excel in weak and moderate conditions where their best L/D of 60+ helps them to minimize thermalling. In conditions where inter-thermal speeds are 110 kts+, less wing and high wing-loading bring the advantage.

The ultimate set-up: One of the big Open Class ships. Note the six wing stands and two double wing wheels. Behind the plane is the owner's Biwa home with the perfect tow vehicle for Africa in the driveway.

We rented an Arcus E, a 20m (span) two seater - the E stands for electric self-launcher. This proved to be an excellent choice. The electric propulsion system is much simpler to operate than an engine. The only control elements for the system is a power lever, like a throttle and a switch to change control between front and back seat. If the motor is needed during flight, all one needs to do is push the power lever all the way forward. The propeller mast will extend within seconds and the motor will spool up to full power. With a conventional self launcher the sequence would be, open fuel valve, extend propeller, turn on ignition, set throttle and possibly choke, push starter - hope that it will fire, warm-up, apply power.

In order to shut down and stow the motor, one just pulls the power leaver all the way back. The motor/propeller stops, the propeller automatically lines up vertically and the whole thing retracts. No cool down, no fiddling with a propeller brake, etc. The only drawback is the limited capacity and the weight of the batteries.

The weight of the batteries in the wings, together with my brother's and my weights with chutes brings us to max gross weight of 810 kg and a wingloading of over 50 kg/sqm. There is no need to put in water but of course, also no ballast we can dump when things get weak. So far, this has not been a problem. Even at max gross weight, the Arcus feels light and nimble on the controls even in tight and lumpy thermals. We typically climb away from 800 - 1000 ft in the morning (winch launch height) to conserve battery capacity. It is amazing how this ship runs. Inter-thermal speed at McReady 4kts is over 100 kts which translates at the altitudes we fly at into a ground speed of 210 - 225 kph.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to fly back seat in a Nimbus 4DM. It was an older glider with 25m span. I didn't see much of an advantage in the climb, actually I found it hard to roll this big ship into tight thermals but it was clearly slower on the run than the Arcus.

Bitterwasser - the Place

Glider Pilots from all over the world come to Bitterwasser to chase records or to just enjoy great flying.

The largest group is German speaking, so it helps to speak this language. It took them a while but they managed to find a Canadian Flag.

Gliding started in the seventies here but it wasn't until the nineties when Bitterwasser became a well known Soaring Center.

A number of other Soaring Centers have developed over the past years. It's a busy sky on a good day.

The "airfield" is a large dry lake bed (pan), about 3km in diameter. The surface is very smooth and allows take offs and landings in every directions. The runways are only marked at the take-off end without any markers or limits on the sides, so one can always adjust the take-off direction to eliminate the crosswind component which is very helpful with open class gliders.
Compared to the size of the pan, the lodge and tie-down area (visible on the picture at the top edge of the pan) look tiny.

Click on the photo to enlarge and see the details. Gliders are tied down along the various rows of palm trees. It is tradition here to plant a palm tree for an exceptional soaring performance, such as a 1000km+ FAI diploma flight (declared).

Most Bitterwasser regulars own one of the bungalows which are built from local materials but modern and comfortable. They contain two large rooms, each with a bathroom and a shared kitchen. When not used by the owners, the units are rented to guests. This is unit 38a & b which I am sharing with a German pilot.

After flying the pilots congregate in the restaurant with inside/outside seating to swap stories.
A French - Namibian chef creates great meals.

Most of the pilots are German but there is also a significant French contingent as well as groups from Switzerland, Italy, Israel and even one US pilot.
The head waiter does a fabulous job announcing the dinner menu in English and the local Nama language which incorporates a number of tongue clicks. Never heard anything like it. My nephew Tom is learning a new sentence every day and uses it to the delight of the line crew and the kitchen staff.

A lovely pool makes the 35 - 40 degree days quite bearable on the ground.pt in immaculate shape with attractive landscaping.

The grounds are nicely landscaped and are kept in immaculate shape.

There is quite a bit of wildlife around. Fortunately not of the dangerous sort. This little hare tends to hang around my unit.

The little Springbock, about the size of a Whippet came right up to my window to  explore.
Sadly many of them starved during a severe drought a few years ago because they were unable to reach the greens in the trees like the larger animals.

a long journey cont...

Unfortunately Christiane and Tom's luggage didn't make it because of a missed connection in J-burg.

Eventually the three of us met up and were on our way by taxi to Bitterwasser where we were planning to meet up with my brother Michael who had been flying the rented Arcus E out of Kiripotib, Namibia  for two weeks in a program called Flying with the Champions.

It was an interesting drive. Soon the paved road gave way to a smooth gravel road which allowed to drive at the speed limit of 120 kph.

I saw a number of warthogs close to the road which worried me a bit. There was also a herd of baboons. The alpha male didn't look like he had much of a sense of humor. Good thing we had swapped out the car for a somewhat newer and hopefully more reliable model.

After two and a half hours of driving through what looked like an arid no-man's land, the Taxi turned and proceeded through an impressive gate with the well known Bitterwasser logo featuring a palm tree and the setting sun framed by the shape of a diamond.



  www.bitterwasser.com

It was like arriving at a beautiful oasis, after a long trip through the desert: Palm trees and beautiful landscaping utilizing local shrubs and cacti. The sun was just setting as we entered the Bitterwasser grounds.

A long journey

I left Canada in the Evening of  Tuesday November 17, arriving at London Heathrow on Wednesday morning of the 18th. I must have had the worst seat on the plane, in the middle of the middle and in the back. After getting a good 5 hr rest in a hotel near the airport, I boarded an aging British Airways Jumbo to Johannesburg for another overnight flight. This time I had the option to select a bulkhead aisle seat which made the 11 hr flight bearable. My seat neighbor was a friendly Namibian. I told him that I was traveling there to go gliding. I majorly put my foot in my mouth when he asked me what else I was planning to do in Namibia and I replied - is there anything else to do? Apparently there are lots of interesting places to visit and wildlife to see in this country which is a very popular destination for German tourists and wildlife enthusiasts.

Arrived on time in J-burg at 10am on Thursday, November 19th to catch my connecting flight at noon to Windhoek, Namibia. I enjoyed the two hour flight in an old BA 737 with comfy and spacious leather seats. I got a good view of the task area with a sky full of cu.

In Windhoek I was happy to see that my check-in luggage had made all connections. To be on the safe side I had packed all the essentials in my carry-on, so I could have survived for a few days.

I stayed overnight at the Etango Ranch near the Windhoek airport which is about 60km outside the city. It turned out to be a good place and very reasonably priced. All the guests were either Swiss or German tourists who were either returning from Safaris with lots of tall tales or were setting out to explore the country.


The place was great to acclimatize. Fortunately the temperature was only in the low 30Cs with very low humidity which wasn't too much of a shock coming from November in Ontario.

 My brother Michael's wife, Christiane and son Tom where scheduled to arrive next day. The plan was to meet up with them and take a taxi to Bitterwasser which is a bit less than a 3 hr ride. Michael had already been flying out of Kiripotib, Namibia  for two weeks in a program called Flying with the Champions. He was planning to fly our rented Arcus E over to Bitterwasser and meet up with us there.