ABOUT 4pm on an early December day, an alert goes off indicating another plane in the vicinity of James Nugent's glider.

The 23-year-old is soaring at 10,500 feet over the Big Desert National Park with plans to fly a total of 800km in preparation for the 2022 under-25 world championships in the Czech Republic in August.

But the flight alarm – a radar-like system fitted to all gliders – gives...