November 20  2006
Ultralight aircraft crashes in NSW have left two men dead and one in hospital with multiple injuries after the machines they were in tried to avoid powerlines and crashed

At Parkes in the central-west of NSW a 40-year-old Forbes man died after his machine struck powerlines at Nowendoc south of Walcha - the two-seat ultralight crashed when departing from private property claiming the pilot's life when the machine apparently stalled in trying to avoid the 'killer' cable

November 17  2006
A retired 69 year-old British RAF Air Commodore along with his 37 year-old hang-gliding enthusiast son were killed when the German designed and manufactured Stemme V10 motor-glider they were in impacted a mountain side during the Kiwi South Island's Regional Gliding Championship

Race officials believe the glider approached the turning point in the competition from the downwind side of the mountain and did not allow for enough height to get over the ridge in the strong windy conditions and entered a heavy sink area - the Air Commodore started flying gliders in 1954 and was a qualified instructor in Britain and New Zealand

Back in 2004 the Cornwall England based Air Commodore - an engineering officer with the RAF for 33 years - flew the Stemme V10 with it's retracting engine from the UK to New Zealand to visit his Kiwi based son

"The 25,000km trip took 2.5 months and 48 stopovers - the flight was thought to be longest ever made by a glider of its type"

News Desk Comment

The retractable engine in this aircraft is unusual - the nose cone is pushed forward allowing the propeller blades to 'unfold' turning the glider into a powered machine