The phone went at 13.00. “Are you looking out to the north west?” It was Brocky.

“Yes I can see’em. I’ll get back to you a bit later”.

Later came and on the way back up to the airfield I rang Brocky, “Are you free this afternoon? I’m on my way up to the hangar.”

We launched into a reasonable norwesterly at 14.10 with the plan just to motor out northwest until we contacted wave.

Made a few turns in some of the better thermal lift on the way as I felt we were not going to be at a good height when arriving at location. Also didn’t want to stop to climb too much as all we would be doing is going away from where we wanted to be.

Cloud base was about 4500 but I really wasn’t taking much notice of that. We motored on norwest heading toward a good looking formation about over the Golf Club.

In the wave

At about 6,500 I contacted reasonable lift and nosed a bit more north, shut down the “wanger”, then moved back and forth looking for the strongest lift.

It wasn’t very strong, best at 4kts but mostly 1 to 2kts. It took a bit of chasing as it was really thermal shear that stood up as the clouds came under the wave line above. There were about three levels of lennies about the place but they appeared and disappeared constantly as if being fed by the cloud streets beneath.

We did a lot of searching about as things shifted and moved with the ever changing conditions. Eventually we found our way up over Bungonia Station north of Morgan at 9,500ft (yes and Brocky made 9,800!!).

Wave

The wave frequency was very shallow and you could glide into wind a long way in zero to minimal lift but it really only made 1.5 to 2 kts or better when a cu street line came under the wave line. You could see the cu turn smooth on top then a lennie line form above, it stayed for awhile then dissipated as the cloud line moved easterly.

As the day started to shut down with the ever increasing overhead cloud we started to venture south looking at the smooth top cu’s for that next white ridge ride. Unfortunately that never eventuated and so we let down below cloud over Cadell and headed for home. Two hours twenty air time, just a nice afternoon. Can’t wait for the wave season proper to arrive!!

Mark Morgan

On Sunday morning (14 June 2009) the appearance of Allen on his quad bike, with the ASW20 in tow, brought members armed with cameras from various parts of the complex to form a procession to the 02 gravel take off point. The previous evening he had said that, if we were interested, he would give us a flying demonstration of the “20”, weather permitting. We had left him in no doubt that we were interested.

While he went through serious preparations the rest of us got in his way taking photos from every angle and admiring his workmanship.

When he began “lighting the wicks” to the 3 jets, photographers dispersed to various locations.

Rolling for takeoff

It reminded me of film footage one sees of the first flight of any prototype, although this was the 5^th time it would fly jet powered. There were two cameramen, one on either side of the runway several hundred metres ahead, David Lawley, with a video camera in his car, immediately behind the glider ready to follow down the runway and when Allen settled himself in the cockpit, and gave brother John the O.K. to level the wings, the remaining members clutching cameras spread themselves at a respectable distance.

Within a few seconds the jets let us know that it was time, and after a few steps Allen had aileron control and John let go of the wingtip. The wind was from the northwest and the “20” climbed up over Brockies. Conditions proved to be gusty and rough so Al. kept the airspeed below 80kts. He was soon cruising around at 1,000ft on one engine and, as planned, did a low level pass but at moderate speed because of the turbulence. On the climb out he fired up the other two jets with impressive effect, then positioned himself for runway 02 grass, and shut down and retracted the engines for a perfect touchdown.

Jet fly-by

Allen can be very pleased with the results of the hours that he has put into this project. The power unit looks like a factory fit and is a tribute to his workmanship. The rest of us are very envious.

More jet-20 photos in the club photo album.

Graham Francis

Thanks to those who attended the Working Bee on Saturday - Greg Jackson, Mark Morgan, Peter Paine, Ron Brock, Graham Francis, Allen Hudson, Grant Hudson, Craig Vinall, Bill Mudge, David Lawley, Tony Edge and Mark Mortimer.

Several important jobs were completed - David Lawley tidied up the wiring to the Data Projector and Wireless Access point, Greg laid half the carpet in one of the Dormitories, Allen Hudson put a new jack on the Pie-Cart, Graham Francis repaired some doors, Mark worked on the water points for the National comps, bill Mudge tidied the main hangar, Pete Paine tidied the Igloo and filled some holes in the main hangar floor and Ron Brock sprayed the weeds.

A few beers and a meal prepared by Grant topped off a good day’s work.

John Hudson

The May issue of “Out of the Blue” is now available. Coming Events… the Hangar Ball, what the committee is working on, planning for the Multiclass in January. “How about 750 on a 650 day”, a riveting read from Craig Vinall. Well done on the 750, too!

The March issue of “Out of the Blue”, the club newsletter, is here (PDF, 230 kB). Coming events - Hangar Ball, Music on the Murray, AGM, planning for Multiclass competition. Another of Morgy’s exciting “You should have been there” stories. Thanks Greg!

Horsham Week Expeditions members

Peter Paine, Greg Jackson (Share LS4) Craig Vinall, (ASG29E) and crew Lesley Snell, John Ridge

Friday 6^th

Arrived at Horsham around 1400 local time, we had planned to arrive earlier and rig the LS4 and ASG29E however we had a small problem with a trailer wheel in Murray Bridge – The Wimmera Flying Club locals advised it was going to be windy over night so we decided to leave the gliders in the trailers.

Saturday 7^th

The wind was so strong from the South East all tugs where put into the Horsham hangers and the day cancelled at briefing.  We returned to the Wimmera Lakes Caravan Park for lunch and were trying to stay cool with temperatures around 46 degrees. The wind had swung around to the South West and smoke and fires were now all around us. John Ridge (CFS volunteer) said ‘right were leaving’. I exited the cabin with a few valuables only to see flames running along the fence line towards us. We stayed in town for the rest of the day drinking iced coffees and had the pleasure of Vicky, Terry Cubley, Sid Nankivell and Lyn Ritchie for dinner at a local restaurant.

Sunday 8^th

Forecast was again windy and the day was tasked at briefing but cancelled prior to gridding; due mainly to CFA fire bomber operations.

Monday 9^th

Forecast was strong winds. A large layer of cloud extending all the way south to the coast made for some interesting conversation, should we go truant and walk the Grampians. Pilot dedication prevailed and gliders were launched. Craig in the Open/18M class came second, great start for day 1. Peter also had quite a good day in new territory -Horsham Marnoo Brim Horsham 210k.

Tuesday 10^th

The Standard class task was 272k Lacelles Rainbow but changed on the grid to Birchip Jepart . When the first 5 gliders launched, struggled and returned to aerodrome the day was canceled. Some local flying later in the day was possible.

Wednesday 11^th 

The wind had strengthened or remained strong . A two hour AAT task was set for Standard - Minyip Ellam. It is possible they do not use many AAT tasks at Horsham as a few experienced pilots came home early. Peter managed 140k for an average of around 70kph on handicap. The into wind leg proving to be quite a surprise with streeting almost all the way home.

Thursday 12^th

Looked promising with strong southerly winds and a temp of 23 degrees. Standard – Donald, Brim Arapilies. After almost a week Greg can now stop pretending to be a glider pilot. My plan for this flight was drift into the start point high and try and make some distance from the field before taking the first thermal. Across a blue hole the sink was high so stopped for a 3 to 4 metres per second top up and reached the clouds. I planned to deviated on the upwind side of track to Donald and picked up a nice cloud street in and around the turn. Again was determined to stay on the upwind side of track to Brim but ended up chasing some more clouds that took me a little too far off track, however once again picked up a nice street into the second turn. I was determined that I would not go into the down wind turnpoint low. Beating into wind I upped my speed to 85~90kts and headed on track into the blue. Some clouds and a few dust devils enticed me to fly slightly off track however I picked up a little streeting by turning into wind in lift and following a ZSD55 into the final turn, was great to see him pulling up. The last 27k final leg had a cross wind component and I was not confident of a final glide until I had taken a couple of turns on the way home, this messing around always slows you down and take time. I need to avoid this in future. 247k 2hrs 37min average 94kph on handicap 3^rd place. Happy with that.

Friday 13^th

Luck number;  Peters flying today and the wind has swung around to the East and blanketed the area with smoke, so visibility is not good but we grid on runway 08, start the launch and almost get sports class into the air and the Flying Doctor announces his arrival – now I know from experience this creats havoc. All the gliders and ropes need to be removed from the strip and usually only have enough bodies at these events to fly with a couple of organizers. We are all clear by the time RFDS turns final and then continue launching all other gliders it’s bedlam on the grid. Day turned out ok with climbs to 7000ft. Horsham Hopetoun Netherby Hshm  270k - 3 hours 15 minutes 75kph on handicap.

Saturday 14^th   

Last day.  Organisers want to keep us close to Horsham so they set a two hour RUN task Horsham Minyip, Warracknabeal Antwerp and Horsham. Most pilots managed to round Minyip twice – Craig did two laps averaging above 120Kph. Winds had moderated to around 20kts and turned North Easterly with good 10 knot climbs to above 8000ft under very rapid cycling Cu.  The presentation dinner commenced around 8pm with a $12 cook your own BBQ in the hanger .  Entry fee $100 with tows costing $35. Lots of fines were handed out each day to support the juniors, all light hearted and good fun. The pilots gave generously to the local bush fire victims appeal, raising around $1200.00

Horsham week is a pilots run, good fun flying event with the organizing committee volunteers coming from various Victorian clubs. A varied mix of tugs Jabaru Callair Pawnee Citabria Scout managing to launch the 32 gliders in approx 80 minutes using the single rope per glider system (tug drops the rope in a paddock prior to landing)

The weather at the beginning of the week was extreme with Saturday bringing very strong winds that prevented flying. Horsham experienced it’s hottest day on record with a serious bush fire threatening the towns outer areas and burning down the Golf Club. Strong winds prevailed throughout the week however due to the highly unstable conditions some good flying (under Cu) days were achieved . For all of the daily results and information about the week go to. www.printerschoice.com.au/horsham2009    

Jet

The 42^nd tasting of yet another vintage Horsham Week was conducted at the Horsham Aerodrome and Wimmera Lakes Resort from the 7^th to 14^th February under some of the most severe tasting conditions ever recorded. The competition saw Waikerie Gliding Club ably represented by pilots Craig Vinall, Greg Jackson and Peter Paine assisted by Leslie Snel and John Ridge as crew with a total fleet of 35 (11 Standard Class(whites) and 24 Open Class (reds). The burgeoning reputation of WGC was no doubt enhanced by solid wins on every competition day to the extent that no other club shared any of the prize bottles. Horsham 2009 turned out to be an extraordinarily palatable event characterized by the most difficult of task-setting leaving the finest after-taste imaginable. There were no out-landings under the table for the entire week.

Friday 6^th February – Arrival and set up

An interesting road trip to Horsham - sometimes with all wheels a-turning and for one moment it became a bit of a drag. On registration we lined up our best for an unofficial practice.

RESULTS: Winner sports Class John Ridge 800 points for his Sangiovese and running-up with a home grown advantage Verdelho – The competition was going to be tough as John was not even supposed to be competing.  Greg came in a distant second with the ‘Italian job’ and a chase to the finish.

Saturday 7^th February – Practice Day

A truly horrible day! 46 degrees with gale force northerlies and destructive fires forcing all pilots and crew to evacuate the tasting room for the sanctuary of the local Hotel. Day cancelled in favour of beer and iced coffee. Crew and Pilots carbo loaded (pasta & Mussels) in expectation of some hard work ahead.

RESULTS:-  Bailey from northern Victoria and an MC2 did not make the finish so the winner was declared much later in Standard class. Greg 800 points with a Semillion, lemon but zesty race.

Sunday 8^th February – Contest Day 1 (not to be)

No task was set but all pilots consumed their share to become familiar with relevant G.I.’s (Geographical Indications) and to check the competition (all closures could be entered), task organization (the finest of tasting glassware provided by Vinalls), and scoring (decanting was mandatory for Open Class).

RESULTS:-  We could see this comp would eventually be won by age. d’Arenberg had three entries - Olive in standard, Peter with his Footbolt ‘ed to the prize, and some would say a Craig’s Deadarm was a soar point.  Pilots scores averaging over 800 points each.

Monday 9^th February – Contest day 1

TASK: - AST (Anonymous Sensory Trial) – A difficult task format with the turning points unavailable to the pilots at take-off.

RESULTS:- Lots of vertical lift with this event. We looked towards  Rockford, climbing through 1999 to 2001, showing a totally different taste experience.  On shear volume Greg’s “ The Bishop” had the last say - 850 points.

WINNING PILOT:-  Craig Vinall

Tuesday 10^th February – Contest day 2 (not to be)

Another day of extreme tasting conditions sent by Mother Nature! No task set but all pilots showed their dedication in opting for more intense practice.

RESULTS:-  Sailing over the Riesling VineVale was worth another 800 points but the long way home over Margaret River “Cullen Homestead” provided the lifting spirit -  well done Craig, 1000 points. Daily prize a bottle of Chardonnay

Wednesday 11^th February – Contest Day 2

TASK: - AAT (Aromatic Attributes Test) – A straight-forward task with each pilot able to consume as much of each area as they wish. The trick with this task however was the long final glide to the Bordeaux area of France!

RESULTS: - The pilots were not letting out any secrets and the games were on. We award 1000 points to Peter for picking the winner Calon Se’gur Saint. Greg didn’t have a clue where he was so got lost over Jock’s Block.

WINNING PILOT: - Peter Paine

Thursday 12^th February – Contest day 3

TASK: - AST (Anonymous Sensory Trial) – Another difficult task with masked turning points but all pilots are now warming to the task of flying blind (working FLARM mandatory under local rules).

RESULTS: - Overcoming the competition on today’s task - Greg 850 points with a Normans of a day in Standard. Craig flew well all day but had the ‘on final’ word.  Amon-Ra

WINNING PILOT: - Greg Jackson

Friday 13^th February – Contest Day 4  

TASK: - AST (Anonymous Sensory Trial) – Blind tastings are now familiar to all pilots and those still having PDA and ALTAIR problems are coping well. Look out Multi-Class 2010!

RESULTS: -  To fly today was difficult with smokey wood-charred RWT. Also it was noted Greenock Creek was dry since 99. Undisputedly Craig 1000 points for keeping on track.

WINNING PILOT: - Craig Vinall

Saturday 14^th February – Contest Day 5

TASK: - RUN (Regional Under-vine Nuances) Task – With senses tiring from an exhausting schedule we were warned by the Contest Director not to forego safety in pursuit of palate perfection. Another difficult and demanding tasting with increased pressure from the strict time limit (not to interfere with the wind-up dinner)!

RESULTS: - Last day and with an outstanding result. Greg 900 points for finishing at St Andrews followed closely by Craig 850 points in open class finishing at Parker Coonawarra.   

WINNING PILOT: - Greg Jackson

Overall Result

With all pilots having had their share of wins and place finishes hopes were running high for the award of Master of Wine. Although protests were non-existent the scorers navigated with great thirst through the ferment of handicaps however at the conclusion were unable to separate the top three pilots. At the wind-up dinner the Contest Director took great pleasure in announcing a three-way tie to Craig, Greg and Peter of “Team WGC” with a special thank-you to Leslie for abstaining from the final task in order to return the pilots and crew safely to their local tasting rooms.

Full list of Turn points included with coordinates in years followed by description and score. Please note all pilots should use discretion when selecting entries to use in this competition. Next year’s turn points will change so please check the lists regularly.

STANDARD CLASS TURN POINTS

2001 Cullen Margaret River Chardonnay - Whole bunch wild yeast ferment (sensational) (9)

2002 Normans unwooded Chardonnay nicely aged (8.5)

2004 Pikes Polish Hill Riesling True to region (8)

2006 Rockford Vine Vale Riesling (120+ year old vines) (8)

2002 Jenki Semillion Lemon and zest (8)

2001 Pan Terra Barossa Semillon (released Feb 2008) made by Grant Burge. This wine winning the 8th consecutive Blue Gold medal for this style at the Sydney International Wine Challenge. (8)

2002 Grossett Polish Hill Riesling (8)

2008 Trevena private label Verdello - bit young and burning on the back pallet due high Alc. (7)

1999 d’Arenberg The Olive Chardonnay (7.5)

2008 Clean Skin Trevena Rose’ Sangiovese – ideal pre dinner balanced and fruity made at Waite (7.5)

1998 Jim Barry Watervale Florita vineyard Riesling – The cork had given up, with the result of premature aging (5) 

ALL OTHER CLASSES TURN POINTS

1999 Greenock Creek; Creek Block Shiraz 14.5%/Vol. Perfect wine to drink now made by Michael and Annabelle Waugh. (9)

2004 Calon Se’gur Saint – Estephe Grand Crue Bordeaux – surprise such a big wine very nice (9)

1996 Katnook Estate Odessey Cab Sauv (bottle N0 1235) (9)

1999 Taylors St Andrews Shiraz Clare Valley Great Bottle of wine (9)

2001 d’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz – Great wine consumed at its peak (9)

2001 Penfolds RWT (bottle 6386) Barossa Valley Shiraz (9)

2001 Rockford Basket Press (9)

1999 Rockford Basket Press (8.5)

1999 Leasingham Bin 56 Cabernet Malbec - not a lot of aging present, good nose with a very dry finish on the pallet. (8.5)

1999 Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa 1^st Growth Cab Sauv Merlot Cab Franc (limited production 2750 cases) (8.5)

2003 Amon-Ra – this is a Ben Glaetzer made for overseas market high oak, in your face wine. (8.5)

1999 Ben Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz (magnum) (8.5)

1999 Moss Wood Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon – Old barrel nose light in colour and not unlike a blended wine with Cabernet  Franc & Petit Verdot, spicy (8)

2006 Italian Valpolicella (Corvine Rondinella Molinara) Nice and spicy good with food. (8)

2000 Jeanneret Cab Sauv (8)

1998 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon  - good colour and nose, let down a little on the pallet aster and lacked body (8)

2001 Mount Mary Vineyard (Yarra Valley) Quintet – French style wine (8)

1998 d’Arenberg  The Footbolt Old Vine Shiraz might have been better a couple of years ago (7.5)

1999 Kingston Estate Durif – interesting perfume characteristics big well aged wine especially for a Riverland. (7.5)

2005 Jock’s Block Shiraz; needed to have this with food could do with a few more years in the bottle (7.5)

1998 Jim Barry the Armagh Shiraz (7.5)

2002 Kirrihill Estates Shiraz Langhorne Creek (7)

2006 Rymill Mc2 Cabernet, Disappointing (6)

2008 Baily’s of Rutherglen Cabernet - Bitty (6)

To All Pretenders –Beware Horsham Week 2010

by Dion Baker

Before Christmas, while I was organising going to Waikerie, I made a bit of a resolution. In the past, I’ve done long flights, and a few cross country flights, including a couple of 300km ones, but I’ve never been one for declaring and claiming badge flights and the like. So, with this in mind, I finally decided that it’s probably time to go for my Silver C distance.

I’d tried this twice before, in ‘06, and never had much luck. The first attempt went pretty well, until I got back, went to spray my baragraph trace and, like many before me, has smoked the drum with no alfoil on it. My second attempt ended with an outlanding. Ray Lawley, David Lawley and myself decided to try our Silver C all on the same day. All three of us made it down there rather quickly, but on attempting to get back, found that the headwind home was so strong, we were essentially going backwards. Pretty soon, it all turned topsy turvy and all three of us ended up landing in the same paddock.

So, on the morning of the 4th of January, the day I had planned to go home, I talked to the weatherman and he told me it would be fantastic conditions, right up to 10,000ft with little wind upstairs. I decided that I’d been putting it off for too long and to go for my Silver C. It was a very rushed preperation, and upon my DI I found that the battery charger had been turned
off, and the battery was flat. I got a spare, tested it, and put it in. Long story short, a quarter of the way to Loxton, all the instruments went haywire, the Colibri started beeping and I decided to call it off. The other battery had gone flat too.

When I landed, I believe my fathers comment was “You don’t have to come this low to notch, you know.”

On the way home, I decided to come up on the Friday and give it a go again. This was the last day I could fly my glider before Form 2 ran out, so I was adamant I was going to do this.

8th January, I came directly up after work, and sorted out most things that night. In the morning, I went to the briefing and while a task was set, the weather didn’t look good. But I didn’t mind. I’ve never been too scared of a bad day, because you never know what might happen.

I was somewhat unsure if I was to fly yet, as people who were on the grid were looking up at the sky and putting their gliders away. The day had been cancelled for the SA Comps, and there was still heavy cloud cover, blocking any sun getting through. Ray took off in AUGC’s Libelle, GMI, and was radioing back the conditions. It didn’t sound good, the thermals were topping out around 4,000ft, but I decided that I was going to do this, chuckling when Didi, loyally at my side the whole time, joked that I’d take a tornado as a thermal if I could.
So I took off, and bunged off just before 2,000ft in the only thermal I could find. Thermalling up to 2,400, I realised I hadn’t notched, so out came the airbrakes, and while trying to stay in the thermal, I came back down to 1,900 and started again.

On that, I went straight up to 4,500ft. I played around a bit, contemplating if it was good enough to go or not, and played around with GMI in a thermal for a bit. Eventually, I decided to leave.

Perhaps 18 - 20km out, I was getting low with no thermals to speak of, and hit the point of no return. I had just enough height to get home, so I had a decision to make, do I battle on and hope I hit something, or do I turn around and go home? I decided to turn for home, and take what I could, then see what happened from there. I turned around, levelled out, and ten seconds later the vario hit 7 knots and up I went. I decided it was on.

I originally altered my track to try and go where there was no cloud cover, but very soon I realised that the thermals were actually a little bit upwind of where the breaks were. It actually made sense once I thought about it.

My whole flight was done very very slowly. There was a horrible headwind, which resulted in my drifting backward 5 - 10km every time I thermaled. I was cruising at anywhere between 60 - 90 knots, depending on height, location and lift. I was working a height band of maybe 1,500ft, because below 2,500ft the thermals were broken and hard to find, and above 4,000ft
they weren’t worth staying in. Just before I arrived at my turnpoint, Loxton Wheat Bunker, I ended up at 1,800ft over a small farm. It took perhaps 20 minutes to make it back up to 2,200ft but then after that I shot straight up and drove on.

I was picking paddocks the whole time, even from 4,500ft. I was starting to get nervous as I got to the turn point. The cloud cover above was getting worse, and I wasn’t finding any thermals. I turned at the bunker with only 2,000ft. At that point, my only though was along the lines of “Oh well, if I outland now, at least I made the first 50km.”

I’d been up for almost two hours now, and all that time was spent getting to my turnpoint. I’d heard a few people on the radio organising to come out my way as well, but later found out that they decided not to, as they didn’t think it looked all that good.

Directly after I made my turnpoint, I found another thermal, somewhat weak, and rode that up to 3,500 where it died. I moved on a bit further, making nice ground speed due to a now favourable tailwind, and hit a 10 knot thermal. I went right up to around 4,900ft, and on that, I took my time getting home. I was playing around at 50knots, surprisingly enough in zero
air the whole way, contemplating turning to go somewhere else so as to waste time and make my five hours. But, alas, on arriving back at the airfield, with 2,000ft, no food left, no water left, and a broken pee tube (I had to hang it out the window D=) I decided to finish up. I practiced my
competition finish, with my pull up getting me into the sector for Waikerie (my last turnpoint on the declared out and return task) and landed with a big grin. I was rather proud of myself. I’d done my 108km on a day that the comp was called off (granted, it did take some 2.5hours to do).

So, I was some 230ft off my height, and didn’t make the endurance, but I’m very happy that I completed my 50kmout and return on one of the hardest days I’ve flown. To make me feel better, my total distance was 134km.

The $50 I put on the bar that night went down well too, as one would assume.

Weather looked much more promising: with a blue sky, much better heating was expected, and bigger task was set. 3 hour AAT, Waikerie - Meribah (20 km circle) - Lake Cullulleraine (20 km circle) - Loxton (10 km circle) - Waikerie. Min distance 270km, point to point 337 km, max distance 412 km.

Launching was complete about 2pm. With all gliders in the air, the day’s instructor, Bill Mudge, pulled out the club’s LS-7 and followed the comp pilots into the sky. He came back with a big smile, having completed the task at about 100 kph.

Everyone completed the task, coming back with stories about climbs to 9000 feet and the best flying day of the comp. Official scores aren’t to hand yet - they will be here when they are. The ranking probably won’t differ too much from that after day 4, though.

Friday 9 Jan 09 - a task was briefed, but when it was time to grid, the sky was overcast and it was cooler than wanted. The task was scrubbed. A few people flew anyway: Pete Paine went around the task, and Dion Baker flew a 50km to Loxton and back. As the overcast thinned and thickened, thermals improved and worsened.

The photo shows Dion getting ready before his flight. He says he came back from Loxton very carefully at best glide speed… good effort on a day when many decided not to fly.