For paraglider pilot, Greg Cable, a shortage of thermals to lift him higher into the sky was, he thought, a lucky coincidence. Greg, of Auckland, New Zealand, had been to Bingara before, and had enjoyed a pie he bought here. So, as he was taking part in an event from Manilla to a target at Warialda, and found he was losing altitude, he figured a pie might be nice.
Greg abandoned the idea of trying to find a thermal and made an emergency landing at Gwydir Oval. He made a perfect landing on the oval, and gathering his sail, made a hurried dash for the edge of the oval. He mentioned to photographer, Julie, who happened to be at the oval at the time, that he thought that as he had landed in Bingara, he should have another of the pies he had enjoyed on a previous visit. As it was 4pm on Saturday afternoon, pies were a bit scarce in town, but he set off for the main street anyway, to wait to be picked up.
Greg learned to fly in Hong Kong, and has been flying from Upper Manilla for three years. There were 26 people competing in the event that Greg ‘dropped out’ of, including another man who also made an emergency landing on Gwydir Oval.
