Potchefstroom is, without doubt, the hub of gliding in South Africa. This notion was further reaffirmed last weekend when a local Potchefstroomer, Dicky Daly (16), secured the inaugural SA Junior National Gliding Championship title. Daly, who was also the youngest pilot to fly solo in 2017, at the age of 15, has duly continued his meteoric rise in the sport.
Daly, who is a Gr. 11 learner at Ferdinand Postma High School, was involved in some close competition during the week of 22–28 September, when he competed against SA’s best.
He pipped fellow local, Phillip Jonker (of the famous Jonker brothers) into the third spot. The Austrian Junior National champion, Lukas Kirchberger, took the first place. However, as he could not win the SA title owing to his nationality, Daly was crowned as SA’s best. Dicky Daly, Phillip Jonker, Tienie Jonker, Mike Tiffin and Jason Adrian were the SA competitors in the championships.
Daly scored 2,587 points overall to take second place with Jonker scoring 2,455 points. Kirchberger scored 2,810 points. His role in the competition was that of mentor and yardstick for the young South African pilots, for them to conti- nually grow towards international standards. The main aim of this seven-day competition was to allow the junior pilots to get competitive exposure for senior national championships and global world events.
Daly was justifiably delighted to be the first SA Junior National Champion and emphasised that the fierce competition enhanced his gliding skills.
“The learning curve was intense as we were doing 200-km and 300-km tasks.
“We are much better pilots than before this competition. It was challenging, mainly because of the sunny conditions, which make it difficult to know where the thermals are. It is much easier in cloudy conditions,” added Daly, who pilots a Schempp-Hirth Cirrus glider worth around R160 000.
The competition consisted of a pure sprint race (A to B to C to D), based on the quickest finisher and assigned area task formats. The tasks comprise various turning points with different circle radiuses that vary in size. Gliders can touch the circles or go further into them to gain more kilometres, depending on the weather conditions.
The objective is to get to the finish line in the time stipulated for a task.
The scoring is based on the distance travelled over time; the highest average speed for the day wins. Pilots, therefore, need to use their judgement with the weather and starting times.
“I had to practise a lot before the competition and make sure that everything on my glider was working perfectly.”
The well-known champion glider, Oscar Goudriaan, is Daly’s mentor and has taken him under his wing for the past few years. Goudriaan was the race director and was impressed with the talent and skill shown by this young, up-and- coming group of pilots at the nationals.
“For the first few days, the youngsters were a little unsure, at times, but, by the end of the competition, you could see a huge improvement.
“The learning curve was quite impressive. The main aim is to get our young pilots ready to compete in Europe’s junior gliding compe- tition,” he added.
According to Daly, pilots usually spend between 90 minutes and three hours per day in the air in such a competition, depending on the task.
“The climb is one of the most important aspects and is where you need to be strategic. My goal is always to fly the best I can. I previously flew like a bat out of hell, using thermals to gain speed and energy. But, I learnt from Lukas that going at a constant speed actually saves time and energy,” he added.
According to Daly, this SA Championships win is just another stepping stone for him on his path to further success at a senior level in the future.
“I aim to fly my heart out every time I go into the air but to also be safe. Safety is a priority. It is also essential to stick to your decisions and make the best of your situation.”
Daly will now compete in the SA Senior National Gliding Championships in Potchefstroom from 5–12 October.
This event is open to the public with gliders taking off in the morning at around 11:00 and returning from 16:00 to 17:00.
