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Name: | Daniel Arcidiacono |
| Glider: | Niviuk Artik 4 | |
| Flying For: | 10 years | |
| AU Rank: | 9 | |
| WPRS: | 532 |
1. Where do you mostly fly?
Bright.
2. Which pilots most influenced you?
Freddy Gungl, Craig Collings, Brian Webb and Andrew Horchner. Because all these guys fly quite a lot in Bright and I often fly with them, I get many opportunities to learn from watching them. They each have their own great flying traits to share. Also, will throw Teddy Jenkins in there for his mentoring with PG instruction and tandems.
3. Where and what was your most memorable flying experience, best flight ever?
A 100+km XC flight from Goullier in the French Pyrenees to a football field on the outskirts of Perpignan. The first hour was difficult and intimidating due to the big mountains and a small vertical working window between the tops of the mountains and the bottom of the clouds. Then some big crossings which included a low save over a helicopter school (it was closed) then finally getting back up to see my shadow on the clouds and final gliding 20km to see the Mediterranean Sea on the other side of Perpignan.
4. What is your favourite flying site in your State?
Bright (Mystic).
5. What is your favourite site in Australia?
Beechmont.
6. What is your favourite site in World?
Tolmin, Slovenia.
7. What is you favourite item in your flying kit and why?
Must be the wing. I really like Niviuk's wings. To me the glider's turn is the most important characteristics of any wing. Niviuk just seem to make gliders that turn beautifully.
8. What do you believe to be your strongest flying skill?
I feel as though I have very good feel of the air through my glider. I often take different routes to others based on what I feel the air doing. This is coupled with quite sharp observation skills.
9. What do you believe to be your weak link?
In terms of racing, probably Gaggle flying. It still causes me stress and I feel that I do not climb as well as I would by myself.
10. What equipment do you use, Harness, Instruments, etc?
I fly a Niviuk Artik 4 (maybe time to upgrade to EN D) with an Ozone Ozium harness. In front of me is a Flymaster Nav, a spot 1 and a little Garmin Geko.
11. Best comp task you’ve flown so far, the most memorable?
Serial Cup Slovenia, 2012 Task4. Probably not my best start as I missed the start cylinder and had to back track 5km's to tag it, but it was my racing after that which was great. Made up about 20 positions by taking a different line through the big mountains to get into goal about 10th. Racing with some of the best in the world like the Valic Brothers, I was very proud of my efforts, especially as they knew these mountains very well.
12. Why do you fly?
Flying is my life. All my life decisions are based around how, where and when I can go flying next. For me, I cannot imagine a life without flying. It calms me down, it excites me, it occupies my thoughts most of the time and I love the challenge of flying somewhere new and problem solving the landscape so to be able to move through it in the most efficient manner.
13. What are your personal flying goals?
I would like to make the Australian team for the Worlds in 2017 or if unsuccessful with that endeavor, then for the 2019 worlds.
14. What tips can you give to newcomers to the sport?
Go slow. Don't push your learning curve too fast. The greats in this sport don't pop up in a season or two - it takes time to learn the subtitles of the air and experience to work out when to go hard and when to slow down.