A surprise landing lead to a very different afternoon for farmhand Lachlan Burrows, glider pilot Max Suboya, farmer Dan Withers and his children Alice and Ed.
Photo by
L.GARBUTT
Flying conditions have been just about perfect, but Sydney glider pilot Max Supona says his sport has an element of luck, and last Thursday his luck ran out.
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Mr Supona took off from Tocumwal Airport, planning to fly 300kms to Corowa, Deniliquin and back.”
But just 35kms into the flight, he realised things were not as they needed to be.
“You never know with this sport,” he said.
“The fields are heated by the sun, and we use the warm air for lift to catch the thermals.”
But this time there was no lift and with very little height left, he made the decision to land in the paddock below.
“We all hope this will never happen and do everything possible to avoid it – it’s a lot of work to pitch you out of the field again,” Mr Supona said.
“When I landed, I took a breath and realised everything was well so I sent a text to my team and waited.”
At about 4pm, farmer Dan Withers was at the nearby bus stop to collect his children, Ed and Alice, from school when he saw the glider in his paddock.
“It was pretty random, not something you see every day” he said.
“He did well to bring it down without any damage.
“The pilot was really friendly and opened the cockpit for the kids, so they were excited and keen for a look.”
Max Supona’s glider is towed back into the sky after an unscheduled landing in a Mt Gwynne paddock.
Photo by
L.GARBUTT
But Mr Withers was growing nervous as the wind continued to pick up.
With 400 pregnant ewes in the paddock, he was worried a spark could ignite the stubble.
The Mt Gwynne Rural Fire Service truck was based on his property and as a precaution, he brought it down.
This time it was the glider pilot’s turn to be fascinated as he was shown around the fire truck.
“It’s amazing how nice people can be,” Mr Supona said.
“I waited and chatted with the friendly farmer and his family, people in cars were stopping to check if everything was all right.”
Armed with a story to tell their friends at school the next day, Ed and Alice watched as Mr Supona was towed back into the sky, with a story of his own.
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