Gannet Glide

Task type: Coastal soaring

Difficulty: Easy

Launch site: Maori Bay

Site rating for launch: PG2 + 20 hours / HG Intermediate

Task distance: 3.8 km

Description: Launch at Maori Bay; fly south to within a 150 m radius cylinder centred on Bartrum Bay; return north to fly over the top of the headland containing the gannet colony to reach the goal cylinder at Muriwai Beach.

Skills required: Confident at judging wind strength and direction while in flight in order to avoid areas of potential turbulence.

Tips and Tricks:

  • This route is best flown in a westerly, when the wind is square to the cliffs

  • Be careful if scratching close to the cliff when flying towards the headland at the southern end of Maori Bay (the one where the windsock and weather station are located), as any southerly aspect to the wind direction may cause rotor to form in the lee

  • When flying north towards goal make sure to fly directly over the top of the headland with plenty of height. DO NOT fly over the gannet colony or disturb the birds with the shadow of your glider, as this is expressly prohibited.

QR code for Gannet Glide task


If using FlySkyHy:1) Scan the QR code using your phone's camera and tap 'Open in Flyskyhy'. 2) On the 'Import waypoints' screen tap 'Replace route'. This task is now set as the active route and can be viewed on the Map screen, with the details available on the Waypoints screen.
If using XCTrack:1) Open XCTrack2) Pull down on screen to open menu, and choose 'Navigation'3) Choose 'Competition Task'4) Don't enter any info but click on 'three-dot menu button' in top right corner5) Choose 'Scan task from QR code'6) The free version of XCTrack will only work with the front-facing camera, so use that camera to scan the QR code (the Pro version may allow the camera on the back to be used). It's a bit tricky to line up with the front-facing camera as you can't see the phone screen, but it will beep when it reads it successfully.

Task details


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