JIM FAGAN
Meet Lisa Trotter of Peregian Beach – our new international female gliding champion. She’s just back from New South Wales where she smashed 31 world, continental and national records in an epic glider flight lasting 10 hours.
Her historic achievement has been registered with Federation Aeronautique International (FAI), the world aviation sports federation. During the flight Lisa, 54, covered 1026.8kms, breaking the World Feminine Distance Record by 10kms. “This was the main one I was going for. The course is in a triangular shape and you have to pre-declare where you are going.” Her epic flight took place on December 20 when she left on the first leg from the Riverina town of Tocumwal to Galong in the Southern Slopes region of NSW, flying over Wagga. The second leg of the triangle was from Galong to Tottenham in Central NSW, the route taking her over Young. On the third leg she returned to Tocumwal, gliding above towns like Condobolin and Griffith. At one point she climbed to 13,500ft (4115 metres) and her average speed was just over 100km an hour. “My husband, Peter, who is also a glider pilot, crewed on the ground for me and we had planned the records I would try to beat. I set off at 10.37am (9.37am Qld time) and got back just before dark. “There were other pilots there also competing for records and I was thrilled to see Ingo Renner who has won the World Gliding Championship four times. He’s been a mentor for me.” The wind has been beneath Lisa’s wings since she was a youngster: “I have flown power planes since I was a teenager. My father was an airline pilot and he took me on a gliding holiday when I was growing up. I’m still hooked.” Lisa said she had wanted to attempt the triangular distance record for some time. “In the lead up to the attempt, I did a number of practice flights at Tocumwal, flying fast, starting and finishing correctly and checking equipment and the weather. “I knew I would make it home when I was 60km away. It took 20 minutes to do that final glide and I was very excited all the way back. When I landed I knew I had done it and I opened the canopy to be greeted by my beaming husband.”
