Updated by the data entry person of the NZ PG flights database, Tim Percival.
Last updated 21 July 2023.
Here’s a wrap up of the 2023 competition! Over the season the really bad thing weather-wise was the succession of moist N or NE flows hitting the North Island, all too often severely limiting the opportunities for cross-country paragliding north of Cook Strait. Was it a strong La Niña weather influence or just general ‘climate change’? A good thing weather-wise was being able to get away from the worst of that weather at the other end of the country in Central Otago, and then even better was having favourable paragliding conditions coincide with the largest tasked competition of the summer: the PG Nationals (Jan 9-14).
From the Otago flying, it became the season of most 100 km FAI triangles ever! XC Champs entrants seemed to have gotten smarter and were planning their flights better; to attempt, and then often achieve, a nice even-sided triangle for better scoring. 11 of the top 12 ranked pilots flew 100+ km FAI triangle course flights, thereby earning more than 200 points each. The first flights scoring over 200 points were flown on Oct 4 (four FAI triangles), the last ones flown on Feb 12 (three FAI triangles). Included in the group flying 100+ km FAI triangles were the top women competitors, who were also pretty ‘top’ overall, with four of the top 12 ranked pilots overall being women!
Here are some season highlights:
- NZ’s FAI Triangle record matched (197.5 km, Ben Kellett, Coronet Peak, Otago)
- NZ’s Female Open Distance record broken (172.1 km, Julia Jauss, Coronet Peak, Otago)
- NZ’s 2nd longest Out and Back flight (152.4 km, Kellett, Coronet Peak)
- NZ’s 4th, 5th and 10th best open distances (Leo Chelle, 192.2 km, Kellett, 192.1 km and Jauss, 172.1 km respectively)
- Three FAI Triangles over 150 km, and a further 18 more FAI or Flat Triangles over 100 km
- A new regional Out and Back record for Hawkes Bay (Aaron Chesterman, 78.6 km)
- A second flight of NZ 100 km open distance flown from Barnicoat, Nelson (Nick Taber, 111 km)
- In total, 11 flights of NZ 100 km open distance
- In total, 44 NZ 100 km flights of various course types.
Outside of the XC Champs, Slovakian pilot Juraj Koren had two epic vol biv trips, first from Coronet Peak, Otago to Marlborough (Jan 10 to Jan 19); and then from Barnicoat, Nelson to Lake Pukaki, Canterbury (Jan 21 to Jan 29). It included a first day flight of 206 km open distance from Coronet, and a site best flight of 87 km from Lewis Tops, Canterbury. (However, from track log detail, Koren had no flights over 100 km eligible for a site record or NZ PG XC Champs entry).
2023 NZ XC Champions and Category Winners
|
Title/Category |
Pilot |
Notes |
|
1st place and 2023 NZ XC Champion |
Ben Kellett |
After two years as the runner up, this season Ben made sure of the XC Champs title with three high scoring triangles, including a 10 hour, 197 km flight from Coronet Peak, which matched the distance of the NZ National FAI Triangle record. Ben’s total score of 976 points is the highest yet achieved under the NZ XContest Champs scoring regime. Ben also topped the open distance table, and shared the season’s best open distance with Leo Chelle (192 km, Coronet Peak). |
|
1st Runner Up |
Thomas Rold |
100 points ahead of third place, Thomas’s top three flights were all FAI Triangle courses from Coronet Peak, including a course of 100+ miles (167 km) on Jan 9, the 6th best NZ FAI triangle ever! |
|
2nd Runner Up |
Leo Chelle |
Leo shared some big flights with Kellett in spring and early summer, including the best FAI triangles of October and November (113 km and 127 km respectively), and the season’s best open distance (192 km), all from Coronet Peak. |
|
2023 Women’s XC Champion |
Kinga Masztalerz |
In defending her NZ Women’s Champs title, Kinga’s flights included the 4th best open distance of the competition (137 km, Coronet Peak), and the longest FAI triangle course ever flown in NZ by paraglider by a female (121 km, Jan 21, Coronet Peak)! |
|
Best Rookie (first-time PG2 competitor) |
Charlie Ginet |
Placed 37th overall, Charlie’s highest scoring flights were of very consistent 47, 48 & 47 km open distances, from three different sites (Coronet Peak, Long Gully and Kidds Bush)! The first being Charlie’s NZ 25 km milestone flight, flown on day one of the PG Nationals. |
|
North Island Champion |
Mark Macdonald |
Mark’s flights included the season’s best open distance from Paeroa, 58 km, and a 67 km flight from Alans Hill that matched the site record! |
|
North Island Best Open Distance |
Matthew Taggart |
86.4 km from Kaimai, Waikato. |
|
South Island Best Open Distance |
Leo Chelle & Ben Kellett |
192 km from Coronet, Otago. |
Well done all of the above! (Especially Ben) 🙂 Thank you to all who submitted flights so we could see where there was good flying to be had.
2022/2023 NZ PG XC Champs Final Standings (top 50 places)
For detailed flight information and relative rankings of all NZ resident pilots, see the 2023 PG XC Champs Table at XContest (XContest season name: “2022/23”).
|
Pos |
Pilot |
Club |
F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
Total |
|
1 |
Ben Kellett |
Southern |
395.1 |
325.5 |
255.5 |
976.1 |
|
2 |
Thomas Rold |
Southern |
334.4 |
246.3 |
243.9 |
824.6 |
|
3 |
Leo Chelle |
Southern |
255.4 |
240.3 |
226.5 |
722.2 |
|
4 |
Jan Zimmermann |
Southern |
287.0 |
222.0 |
167.0 |
676.0 |
|
5 |
Tomas Balik |
Southern |
259.0 |
222.1 |
180.7 |
661.8 |
|
6 |
Glen Stevens |
Southern |
242.3 |
208.7 |
194.0 |
645.0 |
|
7 |
Bradley Franks |
Southern |
241.9 |
204.8 |
162.4 |
609.1 |
|
8 |
Kinga Masztalerz (F) |
Southern |
243.2 |
171.9 |
135.1 |
550.2 |
|
9 |
Julia Jauss (F) |
Overseas |
230.0 |
169.2 |
108.7 |
507.9 |
|
10 |
Louis Tapper |
Southern |
281.6 |
115.3 |
100.7 |
497.6 |
|
11 |
Sanae Noguchi (F) |
Southern |
161.5 |
112.0 |
108.0 |
381.5 |
|
12 |
Clemence Cadario (F) |
Southern |
205.8 |
95.3 |
77.6 |
378.7 |
|
13 |
Aaron Chesterman |
Hawkes Bay |
128.2 |
123.2 |
118.6 |
370.0 |
|
14 |
Doug Patterson |
Southern |
129.1 |
108.6 |
84.4 |
322.1 |
|
15 |
Nick Taber |
Tasman |
138.7 |
98.7 |
80.7 |
318.1 |
|
16 |
Mark Simpson |
Overseas |
106.9 |
105.8 |
91.1 |
303.8 |
|
17 |
Jakub Krauz |
Canterbury |
124.5 |
94.9 |
73.7 |
293.1 |
|
18 |
Aaron Ford |
Southern |
125.1 |
98.0 |
68.7 |
291.8 |
|
19 |
Chris Cain |
Canterbury |
126.8 |
84.1 |
74.9 |
285.8 |
|
20 |
Greg Allum |
Tasman |
99.1 |
87.8 |
82.6 |
269.5 |
|
21 |
Emlyn Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
107.9 |
90.3 |
63.1 |
261.3 |
|
22 |
Laetitia Bottollier Curtet (F) |
Southern |
106.5 |
85.1 |
63.0 |
254.6 |
|
23 |
Stew Karstens |
Tasman |
85.7 |
80.1 |
74.5 |
240.3 |
|
24 |
Ondrej Wieden |
Canterbury |
108.2 |
62.5 |
61.6 |
232.3 |
|
25 |
Mark Macdonald |
Waikato |
84.5 |
73.8 |
73.5 |
231.8 |
|
26 |
Mark Hardman |
Southern |
98.8 |
76.2 |
56.0 |
231.0 |
|
27 |
Tim Percival |
Tasman |
79.9 |
76.7 |
73.7 |
230.3 |
|
28 |
Elliot Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
97.0 |
65.3 |
60.4 |
222.7 |
|
29 |
Ross Gallagher |
Bay of Plenty |
106.5 |
75.9 |
38.1 |
220.5 |
|
30 |
Bruno Metz |
Auckland |
92.8 |
72.5 |
51.5 |
216.8 |
|
31 |
Tim Brown |
Southern |
81.5 |
68.4 |
62.0 |
211.9 |
|
32 |
Rob Hughes-Games |
Canterbury |
111.9 |
62.9 |
36.4 |
211.2 |
|
33 |
Dave Watson |
Southern |
93.6 |
60.1 |
57.0 |
210.7 |
|
34 |
Daniel Diaz Rizo |
Southern |
90.9 |
69.3 |
50.1 |
210.3 |
|
35 |
James Gibson |
Canterbury |
85.5 |
65.8 |
57.5 |
208.8 |
|
36 |
Irwin Imhoff |
Wellington |
111.0 |
56.1 |
39.9 |
207.0 |
|
37 |
Nick Buhaets |
Auckland |
78.3 |
64.4 |
59.9 |
202.6 |
|
38 |
Charlie Ginet |
Southern |
78.2 |
63.5 |
58.8 |
200.5 |
|
39 |
Pete Martin |
Waikato |
77.9 |
65.0 |
56.0 |
198.9 |
|
40 |
Greg Ellis |
Waikato |
106.9 |
45.1 |
43.5 |
195.5 |
|
41 |
Anthony Saupin |
Southern |
66.0 |
63.8 |
62.9 |
192.7 |
|
42 |
Eva Keim (F) |
Auckland |
85.6 |
85.2 |
16.5 |
187.3 |
|
43 |
Jesse Dhue |
Southern |
71.1 |
60.5 |
51.6 |
183.2 |
|
44 |
Mark MacKenzie |
Tasman |
79.3 |
58.7 |
43.9 |
181.9 |
|
45 |
Joshua Short |
Southern |
98.1 |
45.7 |
37.8 |
181.6 |
|
46 |
Ken Beach |
Hawkes Bay |
84.5 |
52.9 |
41.7 |
179.1 |
|
47 |
David Cleary |
Southern |
81.8 |
45.4 |
40.3 |
167.5 |
|
48 |
Anand Srinivasan |
Auckland |
63.2 |
62.2 |
40.5 |
165.9 |
|
49 |
Rainer Baumgaertner |
Overseas |
62.9 |
51.9 |
50.8 |
165.6 |
|
50 |
Bruce Vickerman |
Waikato |
74.3 |
46.3 |
43.9 |
164.5 |
North Island Table (top 25 places)
(Top scoring from North Island flights).
|
Pos |
Pilot |
Club |
F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
Total |
|
1 |
Mark Macdonald |
Waikato |
84.5 |
73.8 |
73.5 |
231.8 |
|
2 |
Pete Martin |
Waikato |
77.9 |
65.0 |
56.0 |
198.9 |
|
3 |
Aaron Chesterman |
Hawkes Bay |
118.6 |
43.2 |
36.5 |
198.3 |
|
4 |
Bruno Metz |
Auckland |
92.8 |
51.5 |
46.1 |
190.4 |
|
5 |
Shaun Gilbert |
Hawkes Bay |
82.8 |
47.8 |
24.0 |
154.6 |
|
6 |
Bruce Vickerman |
Waikato |
46.3 |
43.9 |
40.4 |
130.6 |
|
7 |
Emlyn Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
90.3 |
36.0 |
0.0 |
126.3 |
|
8 |
Peter Jones |
Waikato |
41.3 |
40.4 |
38.4 |
120.1 |
|
9 |
Eden Radonich |
Hawkes Bay |
55.9 |
31.1 |
29.9 |
116.9 |
|
10 |
Craig Miller |
Hawkes Bay |
63.0 |
25.8 |
19.7 |
108.5 |
|
11 |
Matthew Taggart |
Waikato |
108.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
108.0 |
|
12 |
Samuel Leathwick |
Waikato |
89.5 |
17.0 |
0.0 |
106.5 |
|
13 |
Barry Sayer |
Hawkes Bay |
41.4 |
33.5 |
30.8 |
105.7 |
|
14 |
Anand Srinivasan |
Auckland |
62.2 |
40.5 |
0.0 |
102.7 |
|
15 |
Evan Lamberton |
Auckland |
35.3 |
33.7 |
32.1 |
101.1 |
|
16 |
Elliot Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
97.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
97.0 |
|
17 |
Greg Ellis |
Waikato |
45.1 |
34.2 |
16.2 |
95.5 |
|
18 |
Rainer Baumgaertner |
Overseas |
30.9 |
28.4 |
27.5 |
86.8 |
|
19 |
Eva Keim (F) |
Auckland |
85.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
85.2 |
|
20 |
Nick Webster |
Hawkes Bay |
32.2 |
29.7 |
18.8 |
80.7 |
|
21 |
Dave Washer |
Bay of Plenty |
41.3 |
19.9 |
0.0 |
61.2 |
|
22 |
Ross Gallagher |
Bay of Plenty |
38.1 |
21.1 |
0.0 |
59.2 |
|
23 |
Stephen Scott |
Auckland |
30.1 |
27.9 |
0.0 |
58.0 |
|
24 |
Andy Spierer |
Auckland |
20.6 |
19.1 |
18.1 |
57.8 |
|
25 |
James Cato |
Manawatu |
34.9 |
15.4 |
0.0 |
50.3 |
Open Distance Table (top 20 places)
(Ranking based on the maximum distance of a pilot’s flights).
|
Pos |
Pilot |
Club |
F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
Total |
|
1 |
Ben Kellett |
Southern |
192.1 |
168.9 |
112.0 |
473.0 |
|
2 |
Leo Chelle |
Southern |
192.2 |
112.1 |
97.8 |
402.1 |
|
3 |
Bradley Franks |
Southern |
129.9 |
112.3 |
68.2 |
310.4 |
|
4 |
Kinga Masztalerz (F) |
Southern |
137.6 |
87.1 |
80.7 |
305.4 |
|
5 |
Nick Taber |
Tasman |
111.0 |
74.7 |
64.5 |
250.2 |
|
6 |
Jan Zimmermann |
Canterbury |
133.6 |
58.4 |
40.4 |
232.4 |
|
7 |
Tomas Balik |
Southern |
135.6 |
56.3 |
40.4 |
232.3 |
|
8 |
Aaron Chesterman |
Hawkes Bay |
93.5 |
69.2 |
55.3 |
218.0 |
|
9 |
Julia Jauss (F) |
Overseas |
75.4 |
58.7 |
58.2 |
192.3 |
|
10 |
Stew Karstens |
Tasman |
68.5 |
64.1 |
59.6 |
192.2 |
|
11 |
Glen Stevens |
Canterbury |
72.8 |
62.4 |
56.1 |
191.3 |
|
12 |
Mark Macdonald |
Waikato |
67.6 |
59.1 |
58.8 |
185.5 |
|
13 |
Aaron Ford |
Southern |
73.8 |
51.6 |
45.5 |
170.9 |
|
14 |
Emlyn Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
72.2 |
49.0 |
42.0 |
163.2 |
|
15 |
Laetitia Bottollier Curtet (F) |
Southern |
66.7 |
48.1 |
47.8 |
162.6 |
|
16 |
Pete Martin |
Waikato |
62.3 |
52.0 |
44.8 |
159.1 |
|
17 |
Elliot Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
77.6 |
48.0 |
30.3 |
155.9 |
|
18 |
Thomas Rold |
Southern |
62.9 |
44.5 |
43.4 |
150.8 |
|
19 |
Bruno Metz |
Auckland |
74.2 |
46.6 |
26.5 |
147.3 |
|
20 |
Louis Tapper |
Southern |
52.7 |
47.6 |
46.6 |
146.9 |
North Island Open Distance Table (top 10 places)
(Ranking based on the maximum distance of a pilot’s North Island flights).
|
Pos |
Pilot |
Club |
F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
Total |
|
1 |
Mark Macdonald |
Waikato |
67.6 |
59.1 |
58.8 |
185.5 |
|
2 |
Pete Martin |
Waikato |
62.3 |
52.0 |
44.8 |
159.1 |
|
3 |
Shaun Gilbert |
Hawkes Bay |
66.2 |
38.2 |
17.7 |
122.1 |
|
4 |
Bruno Metz |
Auckland |
74.2 |
25.4 |
20.3 |
119.9 |
|
5 |
Aaron Chesterman |
Hawkes Bay |
50.8 |
34.5 |
29.2 |
114.5 |
|
6 |
Bruce Vickerman |
Waikato |
37.0 |
35.1 |
32.3 |
104.4 |
|
7 |
Emlyn Revell-Nash |
Auckland |
72.2 |
28.8 |
0.0 |
101.0 |
|
8 |
Peter Jones |
Waikato |
33.0 |
32.3 |
30.7 |
96.0 |
|
9 |
Matthew Taggart |
Waikato |
86.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
86.4 |
|
10 |
Anand Srinivasan |
Auckland |
49.7 |
32.4 |
0.0 |
82.1 |
2023 Season Site Best Flights (from entries)
Open Distance
|
Region |
Site/Site Group |
Distance |
Pilot |
Date |
Take Off |
SR |
|
Auckland |
Bridges |
28.8 |
Emlyn Revell-Nash |
15/04/2022 |
|
|
|
Auckland |
Moirs Hill |
27.3 |
Scott Arrell |
30/03/2023 |
|
|
|
Waikato |
Alans Hill |
67.6 |
Mark Macdonald |
24/03/2023 |
|
|
|
Waikato |
Kaimai Range |
86.4 |
Matthew Taggart |
14/03/2023 |
(Kaimai) |
|
|
Bay of Plenty |
Paeroa |
58.8 |
Mark Macdonald |
08/10/2022 |
|
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Burma Road |
23.2 |
Ken Beach |
09/10/2022 |
|
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Sunrise |
Aaron Chesterman |
22/10/2022 |
|
* |
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Te Mata Peak |
50.8 |
Aaron Chesterman |
04/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Turiri |
66.2 |
Shaun Gilbert |
27/12/2022 |
|
|
|
Wellington |
Mt Climie |
31.5 |
Irwin Imhoff |
22/10/2022 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
Barnicoat Range |
111.0 |
Nick Taber |
23/01/2023 |
(Barnicoat) |
|
|
Nelson |
Birds Clearing |
18.8 |
Greg Allum |
03/04/2022 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
Inwoods Lookout |
40.8 |
Tim Percival |
18/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
Mt Murchison |
68.5 |
Stew Karstens |
26/12/2022 |
|
|
|
Nelson |
St Arnaud |
37.5 |
Brent Edwards |
19/03/2023 |
(Parachute Rocks) |
|
|
Nelson |
Takaka – Riwaka |
29.4 |
Greg Allum |
30/03/2023 |
(Takaka Hill) |
|
|
West Coast |
Denniston – Millerton |
36.7 |
Rory Devine |
11/02/2023 |
(Millerton) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Craigieburn Range |
39.8 |
James Gibson |
22/10/2022 |
(Long Spur) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Lewis Tops |
87.2 |
Juraj Koren |
23/01/2023 |
(Lucretia 1622 Spur) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Ohau Range |
53.4 |
Greg Allum |
19/01/2023 |
(Ohau Ski Field) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Port Hills |
31.5 |
Jean Brossard |
31/12/2022 |
(Mt Cavendish) |
|
|
Otago |
Cardrona |
42.2 |
Kinga Masztalerz |
10/02/2023 |
(Mt Soho North Ridge) |
|
|
Otago |
Coronet Peak |
192 |
Leo Chelle & Ben Kellett |
02/12/2022 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Glenorchy Eastern Ranges |
29.3 |
Sumit Nurpuri |
28/12/2022 |
(Mt Mcintosh) |
|
|
Otago |
Hawea Eastern Ranges |
98.3 |
Ben Kellett |
21/10/2022 |
(Mt Prospect) |
|
|
Otago |
Isthmus Peak |
27.8 |
Greg Allum |
23/01/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Long Gully |
65.5 |
Ben Kellett |
16/09/2022 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Matukituki |
58.7 |
Julia Jauss |
23/01/2023 |
(Shotover Saddle) |
|
|
Otago |
McKerrow Range |
72.8 |
Glen Stevens |
08/11/2022 |
(Kidds Bush) |
|
|
Otago |
Mt Ida |
23.3 |
Ramon Lavia |
17/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Mt Maude |
37.8 |
Glen Stevens |
11/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Pisa Range |
28.7 |
David Cleary |
21/01/2023 |
(Lowburn Slopes) |
|
|
Otago |
Richardson Mountains |
44.1 |
Simon Craddock |
11/02/2023 |
(Silverhorn) |
|
|
Otago |
Routeburn |
70.5 |
Juraj Koren |
30/01/2023 |
(Sugarloaf Pass) |
|
|
Otago |
Roys Peak |
39.9 |
Federico Astigarraga |
09/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Shotover Ranges |
44.6 |
Federico Astigarraga |
11/02/2023 |
(Vanguard Peak) |
|
|
Otago |
Treble Cone |
93.5 |
Aaron Chesterman |
12/12/2022 |
|
|
* Ratified Site Record
FAI Out-and-Back
|
Region |
Site/Site Group |
Distance |
Pilot |
Date |
Take Off |
SR |
|
Auckland |
Bridges |
Bruno Metz |
15/04/2022 |
|
* |
|
|
Waikato |
Kaimai Range |
31.7 |
Mark Macdonald |
23/10/2022 |
(Kaimai) |
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Burma Road |
20.9 |
Barry Sayer |
14/01/2023 |
|
|
|
Hawkes Bay |
Te Mata Peak |
Aaron Chesterman |
04/02/2023 |
|
** |
|
|
Nelson |
Barnicoat Range |
25.6 |
Sam Hamill |
14/09/2022 |
(Barnicoat) |
|
|
Nelson |
St Arnaud |
Tim Percival |
23/03/2023 |
(Parachute Rocks) |
* |
|
|
Canterbury |
Craigieburn Range |
44.6 |
Jakub Krauz |
15/10/2022 |
(Long Spur) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Libretto Range – Lewis |
35.3 |
Jan Kurak |
23/03/2023 |
(Mt Faust) |
|
|
Otago |
Coronet Peak |
Ben Kellett |
09/01/2023 |
|
* |
|
|
Otago |
Hawea Eastern Ranges |
25.8 |
Aaron Ford |
22/09/2022 |
(Pakituhi Spur) |
|
|
Otago |
Isthmus Peak |
50.9 |
Greg Allum |
23/01/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
McKerrow Range |
43.7 |
Sanae Noguchi |
08/11/2022 |
(Kidds Bush) |
|
|
Otago |
Mt Maude |
53.8 |
Glen Stevens |
11/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Treble Cone |
91.4 |
Ben Kellett |
31/12/2022 |
|
|
* Ratified Site Record
** Ratified Site and Regional Record
FAI Triangle
|
Region |
Site/Site Group |
Distance |
Pilot |
Date |
Take Off |
SR |
|
Nelson |
Barnicoat Range |
25.8 |
Sam Hamill |
14/09/2022 |
(Barnicoat) |
|
|
Nelson |
Takaka – Riwaka |
21.9 |
Mark MacKenzie |
07/10/2022 |
(Takaka Hill) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Craigieburn Range |
62.3 |
Jakub Krauz |
15/10/2022 |
(Long Spur) |
|
|
Canterbury |
Libretto Range – Lewis |
34.4 |
Jan Kurak |
23/03/2023 |
(Mt Faust) |
|
|
Otago |
Coronet Peak |
Ben Kellett |
09/01/2023 |
|
* |
|
|
Otago |
Hawea Eastern Ranges |
17.8 |
Anthony Saupin |
17/02/2023 |
(Pakituhi Spur) |
|
|
Otago |
Long Gully |
33.9 |
Louis Tapper |
14/01/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
McKerrow Range |
54.0 |
Sanae Noguchi |
08/11/2022 |
(Kidds Bush) |
|
|
Otago |
Mt Maude |
97.0 |
Glen Stevens |
11/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Roys Peak |
39.0 |
Gavin Zahner |
09/02/2023 |
|
|
|
Otago |
Treble Cone |
162.7 |
Ben Kellett |
31/12/2022 |
|
|
* Ratified Site Record
Season 2023 Milestone Flights
NZHGPA Cross-Country Milestone Achievement stickers are awarded the first time a NZ resident pilot surpasses the ‘milestone’ distances of 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 or 200 km (open distance) on a hang glider or paraglider in New Zealand. (Flights qualify if at least 2/3 of the flight distance is flown inland). The next table lists the pilots who achieved milestone paraglider flights during the 2023 season.
In the North Island two pilots found a weather window and surpassed 25km for the first time, James Cato and Hugh Robb flying from sites Alans Hill and Kaimai; while in the South Island 19 pilots logged that mark flying from a spread of sites: Parachute Rocks (2 flights), Mt Murchison (1), Cheeseman (1), Long Spur (1), Long Gully Summit (4), Treble Cone (2) and Coronet Peak (8). Great stuff!
In the North Island, from Kaimai on the same day (October 22), two pilots achieved an often hard-to-get North Island 50km: Bruno Metz and Craig Miller; while Elliot Revell-Nash went on further for an even harder-to-achieve North Island 75km! Also gaining entry into the North Island 75km ‘club’ was Matthew Taggart flying 86 km from Kaimai in March, which was the season’s best open distance of the outlying island. Membership of the paragliding North Island 75km ‘club’ is now 17!
In the South Island, compared to the previous few seasons, there were fewer 50km milestone flights, and no 75km milestones flown by NZers. Was it just the fickle weather, or were there fewer pilots attempting to fly away as far as possible from launch? Those to bag 50+km were Eddy McGrath and Laetitia Bottollier Curtet flying from Coronet Peak; Phil Southward from Long Gully (Summit) during task two of the Nationals, and Greg Allum venturing out from Ohau Ski Field, Canterbury.
And last, but not least, there were four big number milestones! Bradley Franks bagged NZ125km flying from Coronet Peak to Twizel on January 23. Earlier, on December 2, five pilots flew big distances, again from Coronet Peak heading northeast, and those flights were milestones for three. Tomas Balik and Jan Zimmerman, only partly flying together but taking a similar path, flew 125+km into the Hopkins Valley (to the SW edge of the Mt Cook MBZ, Canterbury). Leo Chelle, Ben Kellett and German pilot Julia Jauss, who launched early (10:20 a.m.), flew mammoth 192 km and 172 km flights to the Lake Tekapo area. Not a first for Kellett, but Chelle and Jauss became just the 11th and 12th paragliders to bag NZ150km (the others in that group, in chronological order, being Bryan Moore, Angus Tapper, Grant Middendorf, Nick Neynens, Louis Tapper, Dave Watson, Aaron Ford, Ben Kellett, Glen Stevens and Chris Connolly).
Well done all these pilots!
|
Pilot |
Milestone Achieved (km) |
Flight Date |
OD Distance |
Site Name |
|
Cody Pickles |
25 |
30/04/2022 |
Parachute Rocks |
|
|
Ryan Vorster |
25 |
7/10/2022 |
Long Spur |
|
|
Bruno Metz |
50 |
22/10/2022 |
Kaimai |
|
|
Craig Miller |
50 |
22/10/2022 |
Kaimai |
|
|
James Gibson |
25 |
22/10/2022 |
Long Spur |
|
|
Elliot Revell-Nash |
75 |
22/10/2022 |
Kaimai |
|
|
Brent Edwards |
25 |
5/11/2022 |
Cheeseman |
|
|
Jan Zimmermann |
125 |
2/12/2022 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Tomas Balik |
125 |
2/12/2022 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Leo Chelle |
150 |
2/12/2022 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
James Cato |
25 |
4/12/2022 |
Alans Hill |
|
|
Eddy McGrath |
25 |
26/12/2022 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
James Hadfield |
25 |
2/01/2023 |
Treble Cone |
|
|
Andre Amaro |
25 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Charlie Ginet |
25 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
David Marriott |
25 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Deane Landreth |
25 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Eddy McGrath |
50 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Jason Searle |
25 |
9/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Jessica Schofield |
25 |
10/01/2023 |
Long Gully-Summit |
|
|
Phil Southward |
25 & 50 |
10/01/2023 |
Long Gully-Summit |
|
|
Ramon Lavia |
25 |
10/01/2023 |
Long Gully-Summit |
|
|
Tim Marshall |
25 |
10/01/2023 |
Long Gully-Summit |
|
|
Greg Allum |
50 |
19/01/2023 |
Ohau Ski Field |
|
|
Brian Russell |
25 |
21/01/2023 |
Mt Murchison |
|
|
Bradley Franks |
125 |
23/01/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Beau Buck |
25 |
11/02/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Tim Donnan |
25 |
11/02/2023 |
Treble Cone |
|
|
Laetitia Bottollier Curtet |
50 |
17/02/2023 |
Coronet Peak |
|
|
Hugh Robb |
25 |
14/03/2023 |
Kaimai |
|
|
Matthew Taggart |
75 |
14/03/2023 |
Kaimai |
|
|
Tobias Joechle-Rings |
25 |
31/03/2023 |
Parachute Rocks |
(Stickers will be sent out in August).