| Inland ridge | S-SSW |
| 496m asl, landing 250m asl | PG2 / HG Supervised. PG2 require PG4/SO supervision. HG Sup require HG Int supervision. |
Landowners
Manny Dussin. His house is located at -36.4329,146.6303. The NEVHGC have had a long standing positive relationship with Manny. If you see him about stop and say hi, he's a lovely guy.Contact/Responsible
NEVHGCManny's
Large inland ridge. Eagle Attacks – most wedgetail eagles in the area are friendly, however there is a grumpy eagle resident immediately in front of Manny’s launch who may attack paragliders. Please see Sitepage>Hazards for details.
Access is via private property from Diffey’s Road.
Please send a text message to Sam (0439 558 098) detailing the number of pilots and vehicles prior to entering and asking if it is OK to enter.
Suggested message is: Hi Sam, we are 4 SAFA pilots in 2 vehicles wishing to access Manny’s PG launch site from Diffey’s Road. Will that be OK, please?
Sam probably won’t reply but no reply implies it is OK.
Takeoff
A medium size slot between small trees and shrubs. Easy glide to landable paddocks below.
Access:
4WD to the top, the track is not suitable for 2WD and the upper section a challenge for low AWD - Subaru type vehicles. Access track begins 30 meters before where the rail trail crosses Diffy Road. Take the left past the dam and enter the gate having sent your text to Sam, follow the bend around to the right. At the track junction, turn left and follow for 500 meters heading ENE. At the Big tree (marked with Blue dot) you will see where Sam is preparing his house site. Please pass through being courteous to anyone present and do not park vehicles here as we have done in the past. From here, follow the track 600 meters SSE up the slope to the track junction at the fence line. Park vehicles under shady pine trees. Step over broken fence and launch 30 meters to the south. N.B. The lower track is marked in red and the upper track is marked in purple. The contour drains are rather large and lower clearance 4WD vehicles may bottom out.
Landing
Official landing zone is marked with Green box in image (Old 'Pines Launch' landing zone). Blue area also a suitable landing option but Green area preferred. Vehicles can be left at the gate (beside the shed) on the green box landing area. Access to the turnoff for the track marked with red line and dot on same image.Flight
Controlled airspace exists over launch C LL 4500. You must check current Albury VTC or Melbourne VNC for any changes.Hazards/Comments
Be aware that the site is a tree slot therefore it is advisable to not launch in cross wind conditions. Also be aware of strong SW winds that could cause rotor from the bare hills to the SW of Launch. Also, please drive slowly around farm houses in the area, the area can be quite dusty and minimizing speed will minimize dust for the local land owners. Also, please leave all gates as you find them.
Lastly, be aware of Eagle attacks to the right of launch, especially in Spring. The flats out the front often work and if an Eagle is in the vicinity then moving away from the hill may be preferable to eagle strike.
Manny's Eagles
There are many Wedge-tailed eagles resident in the area. The great majority are friendly, will join you in a thermal or show you where the lift is better. However, a number of eagles are territorially aggressive, will attempt to warn you out of their area and may attack your wing if you do not leave. There have been a number of such incidents in recent years in the vicinity of Manny’s launch.
The eagle’s nest is in the large eucalypts immediately in front and below launch and the eagle has been known to patrol anywhere along the ridge both to the right and left of launch though rarely as far as the first residence. His patrol area is outlined in brown. There are other families of eagles on the ridge but it seems only this one is aggressive.
Attacks may occur at any time of year but are more frequent when the eaglets are being raised between October and March. The eagle’s job is to drive us away from his nest. If you do as he asks he probably won’t attack. Attacks may occur at any height but most usually after launch and once you have established a ridge soaring pattern. If flying here it is advised that you keep a vigilant look out. If you see the eagle rise from his nest and begin to approach you, immediately turn away from him, his nesting area and the terrain.
He may pursue you, if so he will climb above and then attack your wing from behind usually going for your wing tips. You may hear him calling as he approaches – he sounds similar to a cat mewing. You may not hear that in which case the first you will know is when you feel a tug on the wing similar to a sharp thermal bubble. If you look up you will probably then see him fly past as he circles for another go. You can reduce the chance of him making contact with the wing by making steep wingovers. As he approaches from behind, pull a deep wing over on the side of his attack. He will not always be able to manoeuvre and follow the wing down and will have to circle back for another try. Keep doing that while at the same time leaving the terrain as fast as you can. As you get further out and away from his nest, it is probable that he will break off.
Damage to the wings is caused by the eagle’s three talons piercing the material and potentially tearing a section away. Damage can be anything from light nicks to the wing being a complete write off. We have no record of a wing being so damaged that it cannot be flown to a safe landing.
Map information
