Post 1.489 on March 27 2024

Always interesting to see if everything is working again on the laptop, after they closed off ALL electricity, for 6 hours.
Pfff….IT WORKED!!!!!
The astronomical spring has started here and for my Aussie mates autumn.
We started with a lovely 19dgr. C but 2 days later it felt like autumn here.
Monday however looked here like 1000-km-weather, which of course ,it was n’t , but super skies.
In any case 16 Dutch pilots flew on that Monday and they really had a good time; 477 in an ASW 22BLE……420km in an ASW 20WL, 5 over 300 km -flights and 2 over 200 km.
Great start of the season. Luckily the gliders from the Narromine -WGC, were back home too, so pilots could straight away jump in ,when they wished.
In Germany they had 6 flights over 600 km. in Ventus 3 and 2, Discus 2b and ASH 26E.[FAI 500 triangle] One was even over 700 km.in Ventus 3M. [FAI 500 Triangle] Happy pilots!
A St. Libelle nearly flew 300 k.

—————————————————–

—-Soaring in Seminole Lake continued after the seniors were ready with the USA 20 m multi-seat NATIONALS.
AND…..luckily Bo and Rich stayed there as well,after their senior-experiences, so we are sure of great pictures and funny/good stories. When you want to read the stories in full and ALL pictures ,you have to go to https://www.facebook.com/SoaringSocietyofAmerica/

Day 1 was on Wednesday March 20 ;
It was a blue chilly day. Before flying the 14 teams had of course; “The Mandatory Safety Meeting was held at 9:45 am and many topics were covered. Staying out of airspace that you do not belong in was a top subject.“
Due to a later start , the task was changed to a 2 hour Assigned Area Task.
Not a flash day as there was weak lift and very low cruising altitudes, specially on the last leg.
“The scores for the day were very low due to the short length of the task. In third place was the team of Juan Mandelbaum and Phil Gaisford,[In Duo Discus] with Michael Marshall and Hal Woodruff in second. [Duo Discus] Winning the day with a blistering raw speed of 54.55 over the distance of 112.01 miles was Jim Franz and Jared Granzow. [Arcus jet] For their efforts, they obtained a total of 445 points. A win is a win, and this contest is going on for another 9 days. Stay tuned for all the action in this clash of the buses.“

Day 2; was again a prey for Arcus -Jet pilot Jim Frantz and team mate Jared Granzow; another 615 points, so 1060 in total now. Dr Mandelbaum in the Duo Discus T [ 5th for the day] is still on 2 overall,but they have to share this spot now with Arcus M pilots Lee and Bostik.
It turned out to be NOT an easy day!!!!!
“We had hit trigger temperature that should have gotten them to 2,500ft easily. After launching, there were very little comments from them until the CD made a query. Both were below release height and not climbing. This was the first of several launch delays of the day.” Rich.
With task C they left Seminole to go on track for a racing task. The early starters were caught by the gaggle , en route some got low , in the end nearly all found their OWN way home and found it “an enjoyable and challenging task.” Rich

RAIN on March 22…..so,….just such a great picture from Bo.

Day 3 on Saturday March 23; “It Was the Best of Times and the Worst of Times” Rich
Daily runner up was the ARCUS JET , with team Lee on spot 3 and as team Mandelbaum was on 8 there was no equal runner up spot overall anymore, but they are now on 2 and 3 behind Jim Frantz, who in fact won ,the 3d win in a row , as the daily winner flew an ASG 29/18 m, so HC for a 2 seater competition.
They had gridded, left the covers on, as it was not at all sure if they could fly,…. a 50-50% chance .
The day started with total overcast and the possibility of rain at noon.
” We spotted all the ships on the grid and the sun came out. Cu were appearing in the north where it was not supposed to be. Expectations for flying started to increase and soon, the order was given to launch the fleet.” Rich
Off they went for an AAT rather late in the day cause of the waiting and changes. Not too bad circumstances with a cloud street found by several, nice CU’s, but also blue “holes” and taking care of airspace was important too.[ the Disney World PTFR ….permanent temporary flight restriction.]
Rich finishes with :”Looks like we may fly the next four days in a row.”

No flying on Sunday March 24;
Why????
Here is Rich:”The morning broke over Central Florida and already the pilots knew we were in trouble. I can tell when everyone starts waking up. Our internet slows to a crawl when the pilots start checking early morning weather. The skies were completely overcast, and the wind was blowing so much the glider covers looked like Grand Ma’s skivvies blowing on the clothesline. Today looked like a problem day for more than just the weather. First thing in the morning, the coffee pot refused to work until we hit it a few times in the right spot. However, coffee was not available for the pilots meeting, but everyone had their favorite donut, so all was good with the world.”

Contest day 4 March 25; with another AAT [3 hours] and this time Pete and Rich won the day, yes the ” back-seater who writes” and Pete who I know from Uvalde 2012. Nice fellow! 519 daily points and number 2 now overall in the “mighty” ASG 32 MI.
Jim in the ARCUS J still leads though his very good back-seater is leaving. Another reporter, with also a soaring-podcast ,Piet Barber is now 3d overall. And that in a Duo Discus!!!!They were 4th for the day, BUT they lead overall with ONLY ONE point over Team Mandelbaum.
The overall points are very close; Jim has now 2088 points, Pete and Rich 1920 , team Barber /Retting 1861 and team Mandelbaum/Gainsford also in Duo Discus 1860.[11th for the day]
Here are some parts of the long story from Rich;
“Today was to be an early start with good lift and reasonable top of lift. … the day was going to end early, around 3:30pm. .”
“The first and second legs were fast or very difficult depending on when you started. Early and late starters were not in the best position on these legs.“
“Sometimes the east side worked, other times the west side of the line was better. The key to this piece of the puzzle was to stay connected to the clouds in the upper part of the height band and not get low.”
“A safe landing ensued in the 15-20 knot crosswind. Today was brutal.“
“In the end we had 9 engine starts, 2 landouts and only 3 finishers, 2 of which had finish penalties.”
Contest day 5; a racing task. Daily winners Pete and Rich in glider 98 the Arcus J. A difficult day for some as there were 2 out landings and 5 gliders coming back with their engine.A late evening as most were back late.
Jim with a new back -seater has 2882 points. Pete and Rich have 2730 points and the Duo Discus T with team Mandelbaum/Gaisford holds on. 9th for the day but 3 overall with 2638 points.
More next week.

—–Matthew ,….yes Scutter….. shared an urgent update so I share it with you too;

——-Gliding Australia “Gliding Australia Magazine in Print – Last Chance – Subscribe today for the print edition Gliding Australia Magazine – Next Issue Out in April, so hurry. Deadline 30 March for print copies GA “Members Click https://tinyurl.com/yhvtt8bt to subscribe

——-907 km was flown by Ramy Yanetz , who made an incredible wave flight on March 14, up to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He started and finished at Williams in his AG 29/18 m. Ramy is a member of the Northern California Soaring Association.
“Fantastic off shore wave day. Skysight nailed it.”

—–E glider news; as shared by Aldo [Cernezzi]
“E6-Glide will take place in Varese, 8th to 14th of September 2024
All participating sailplanes must be equipped with an auxiliary electric engine. All pilots will have a limited quota of electric power they will use during the sporting performance. This opens a whole lot of new strategies, which makes the competition even more interesting. Competition flying will possible even if thermal conditions are less than optimal and the “chess in the air” feeling of normal gliding events will rise to a new level.
The previous edition took place in Saint-Auban, France.”
More info on the club’s website https://acao.it/attivita-sportiva/gare-eventi/e6glide/

——“A powerful wave day” Max Stevens called it. Starting from Wellington in N.Z. he flew 1.031 km with a speed from 150.95 km/ph and a height of just a tad under 6000 m. He had to open his brakes several times to avoid Vne issues. That was on Monday, on Tuesday another good wave day but with “less clouds and more sun”.
The mountains in Europe, have great wave as well; Koenigsdorf had already 2 early over 1000 km flights on March 10, one even 1.265 km. and yesterday another 1000 k was added in an ARCUS.

That’s it for today, it’r raining now , but last Monday gave us hope for a good season.
By the way, the Dutch Nationals will be flown between Mai 8 and 18 and as I read they have now 5 classes with in each class at least the minimum amount of 8 pilots to make the winner DUTCH CHAMPION.
https://www.nkzweefvliegen.nl/

HAPPY EASTER DAYS from Ritz

Post 1.488 on March 20 2024

–—–It’s not often that a customer/guest is allowed to make pictures in the final-production- hangar of a glider manufacturer. For that reason it is really kind of Lumpy to share some pictures from part of this process. He is there for his new JS5. On top of that it is great PR for Jonker Sailplanes.

On March 17 he and Oscar [Goudriaan] flew a 750 from Potchefstroom in a JS 3 and the new JS 5 with 148 km./h. AND,….Lumpies mates Bernie and Ojars flew from Tocumwal 404 and 508 km in Pik 20 B and ASH 31/21m.
Amazing weather …”nice autumn days“….still both in South Africa and down under.

——-The SENIORS are flying/have flown again from Seminole Lake and as every year they have some kind of Hawaii-shirt-day. I noticed that they did so at the F1 in Leeton Australia as well.

After 2 non flying days they flew on Wednesday and Thursday. 3 hour and 2 hour AAT.
Contest day 1; 3 hour AAT….. Here is Rich Owen ,who flies in the back from 98 with Pete Alexander.He is a funny writer and I LIKE his style!
“there were some nice cu but also some areas that had large blue gaps. Sticking to the cloud fields seemed to be the best answer to traverse this leg. Lift was getting stronger and cloud bases were also getting higher. It wasn’t bad when you rolled into a 6-7kt thermal for 2,000ft.“
In the end of the day there were winners;
“In third place was Karl Striedieck flying with his brother Walter with a raw speed of 65.94mph. We did not have a second-place finisher due to a tie for first place. Billy Kerns with his LS-8 flew 198 miles at a speed of 64.38mph while Pete Alexander and Rich Owen flew an ASG-32Mi 221 miles at a speed of 72.42mph. Both ships received 1,000 points for their effort.”
Contest day 2; 2 hour AAT...Due to some rain that flooded the south end of the runway, we have been forced to change the way we grid for this contest.
“Today we tried something a little different to coincide more with what the rules say about rotating the grid. We had 5 groups of short wing gliders go down at different times to stage in position. So, 6 gliders at a time would tow down into takeoff position. No specific spot was assigned but the grid is rotated each day. Everyone approved of the process and we plan to use it during this contest.”
Start of the flying-day;
“The first leg was either fast or trying. Some pilots averaged 3 knot climbs while others were happy to have 1.5 knots.“
But then…..”Cirrus completely covered the landscape and very little sun was making it to the ground. The route home plotted on See You for all the pilots looked like a bomb burst since we all took very different paths home. Many got stuck low over Winter Haven and had to dig out to avoid a landout. The pilots who started late had an even more difficult time. In the end, we only had one landout and everyone else made it back safely.“
In the end of the day…..“When all the chaos ended, we found a shake up on the score. Sam Zimmerman finished in 3rd place with Henry Retting in second place.In first place was Nico Bennet, a two-time winner of the Seniors with a raw speed of 61.60mph over 108 miles.“
Contest Day 3; 1.45 AAT.….”The first leg was either fast or slow depending on the line you took.Lift in the start circle was weak and the number of clouds were few.Soon a line formed over highway 27 which the locals all call the Florida ridge. It seems to be the fastest path to the southeast side of the state. The faster you get on it, the better you will do. The winners pretty much did exactly that.“
Final glides were all benign and the recovery back at Seminole-Lake was safe and efficient. It is amazing the level of skill and professionalism that our pilots exhibit during this highly stressful evolution.”
When all the dust had settled.…
“Only 53 points separate the top 6 competitors, and the podium is up for grabs. In overall standings, Joerg Stieber from the SOSA club in Canada is in 6th place with Nelson Howe is in 5th place. In 4th is Doug Jacobs with his 21-meter ASH-31Mi. In 3rd place is P7, Gary Ittner, only 43 points out of first. The closer race is between Jim Lee/Joe Bostik in 2nd and Henry Retting in first. Only 12 points separate these excellent pilots.” as written by Rich Owen.
AND……:“Now watching our older pilots leave their ships after flying 3-4 hours leaves something to be desired. It sometimes takes two tries to get out. Seems like they also like to try and figure out how to email their flight log to the scorer before getting out of the ship.”

Friday was the last day ;
Contest day 4; 3 hour AAT.…Start was open at 13.44.
Part of the daily story from Rich; “The start time was a little critical since high cirrus on the west side of the task area was expected mid-day.
On the first leg, it was straightforward. There weren’t any cloud streets to speak of but climbs of 2.5kts to 4,000ft were common.
The lakes and late day sun angles reduced the density of the cloud field in this area, and everyone had to be careful. Good news was the clouds heading home looked great and final glides were fairly easy.
Good old Doug Jacobs won the day.

On the banquet all important people got a THANK YOU, CD John [Good] scorer Rick [Sheppe] also the ground crew, the volunteers and the meteo Fernando [Silva] .
“Our tow pilots received a standing ovation for their work to get all the pilots in the air safely and with smiles on their face.“

Here are 2 more, cause they say so much without words;

THANK YOU BO AND RICH!!!!!!!!

—–Last week I wrote about Matthew visiting The Netherlands because of EuroGlide in mid summer.[end of July beginning of August].
This week there is more news about his SkySight.
“Big news! We are integrating ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) weather data into the starting point for our model, greatly enhancing the quality and depth of our data sources.
ECMWF is the world’s leading global weather model, more than ten years ahead of the popular GFS model. The enormous volumes of their data and high cost have previously made it inaccessible to the gliding world, and we are proudly the first to use it.
However, by itself, ECMWF is still not detailed enough, which is why we use it as a starting point for our ultra-high detail model.
What does it mean for you? Better forecast data, now delivered faster and more often represents the biggest year-on-year forecast improvement!” SkySight

AND…..MORE……Paraglider and Hangglider pilots – we haven’t forgotten about you!
For the last six months we have been working on “Launch Points” – an easy way to see at a glance if the launch is working. MUCH more on SkySight

——-The Kiripotib containers with their many gliders have arrived in Europe nicely in time for the new season.

“Many hands make light work. Gliders have landed safely in Austria. Their owners have been eagerly awaiting to start the upcoming glider season.We wish you a great flying season and look forward to welcoming you back to Kiripotib! “
Dates for the coming season have already been finalized: https://tinyurl.com/258kz56a

—-The AmstelGlide 2024 is for all who are interested and current on June 8 and 9 flown from the beautiful airport of Soesterberg in The Netherlands.
www.amstelglide.nl

——To let you know already now; The 15th JWGC will be in Lake Keepit in Australia in 2028.
Bruce [Taylor] mentioned already : “And what great news to have the juniors back at Keepit. Super racing site!”

——To finish a special picture from June 2006.

Cheers Ritz
P/S 1. It was interesting to see NO flights on the OLC yesterday morning at 11AM, when flying had stopped on the other side of the world. That does n’t happen often. I know it was raining cat’s and dogs in Tocumwal. Hope it stops in time …presume it will….for the Australian F1 car races.

P/S 2…..This blog was published on Tuesday evening 8PM. Due to “work in progress” on the electricity system in the area where I live there will be NO electricity in the morning. EVERYTHING has to be removed from the electricity points, to have no damage on TV’s, radio’s ,laptops, routers phones etc. For 6 hours no working-fridge either.
Better earlier, than later, specially for my Aussie readers.

Post 1.487 on March 13 2024

Though,….. The SENIORS are flying in Florida and there is 1 upcoming REGIONAL competition in South Africa end of April;

——–The season is about to start everywhere in this part of the world and at some places it started already. For some clubs reparations are still in full swing. Gliders will be in perfect condition, parachutes repacked and instruments “tuned”
SkySight shares some news /PR, as as well
“The wait is over – the Gliding Season is starting!
Another season is upon us and we want to make sure you don’t miss a single opportunity to take flight. That’s why we’re encouraging all gliding enthusiasts to set up their PFD alarms or route alarms with SkySight today!
With our smart alert system, you’ll receive instant notifications when the perfect flying conditions are forecasted, ensuring you won’t miss the chance to fly that bucket-list task.”
Here’s how to set up your alarms:
1. Visit SkySight.io and select the Potential Flight Distance (PFD) option.
2. Click “Create New Alert” and choose your preferred location on the map.
3. Set your desired threshold for notification and give your alert a personalized label.
4. For route alarms, simply click the icon next to your desired task in the parameter menu.

Matthew from SkySight is prominent in the WeGlide Magazine answering 5 questions on the new season.
He will be even in The Netherlands in June for the start of EUROGLIDE.
“To mark the start of the season we asked our founder Matthew Scutter on the upcoming season. We asked him on his plans and the updates for the weather model. Read it all in WeGlide magazine.“
magazine.weglide.org

——-Midland Gliding Club shares news about a, so to see, pretty nice weekend.

——-From the USA [Frauke]I got the next news about the German Magazine SEGELFLIEGEN. It  is now available in English under the name SOARING INTERNATIONAL.
To subscribe go to ; https://soaring-international.com/download-online-edition/

——-Great flights from N.Z. USA pilot Kelvyn Flavall spend his season in Omarama in N.Z. Normally he flies from Seattle but nearly going home he said:” A great way to cap off an absolutely fantastic season flying out of Omarama. Big wave flight, but not easy. Very strong wave in places and quite moist at times.“
1.062 km speed 161.58 km./h. in an ASG 29E/18m
Gavin Wrigley an Aussie, also flying from Omara flew on that same Thursday March 7 in an LS4, 870 km/134.28 km./h.
Flying a 1000 in a Duo Discus is also REMARKABLE!!!That happened as well in Omarama on that same day; 1.011 km/156 km./h. by Milan and Richard.

——-Europe had some strong flights too early in their season.
A great season start for Werner Amann , on March 3,….he flew nearly 1.600 km [1.589] in the brand new AS33Es in the Alps, with 136 km./h. in the 18 m configuration. An out and return from Hohenems-Dornbirn in Switzerland.
On the same day Rainer Crohnjaeger flew in the ASH 31MI/21 m. a free distance flight from 1.124 km./ h. from Hausen am Albis.

Australia still enjoys great soaring and pretty high temperatures …38 dgr.C….for the beginning of autumn. The last couple of days they had an heatwave with 40 dgr.C even in Victoria, where it normally is not that hot.
Mac flew from Temora 759 km [500 FAI triangle] in the LS 8-t neo, Tocumwal still has flights up to 639 km ,so does Narromine up to 600.
On March 9 the skies were booming over Benalla, according to the Gliding Club of Victoria;”Twenty five launches in the Tug today and the sky is booming!”
Toby Geiger flew in the 15m Ventus 2ax an FAI triangle from 500 km. Mind you later starts and early ends of the days.
Tocumwal had 10 to 11.000 ft cloud base.

Argentina had superb weather on March 8 and 3 pilots noticed that , took their glider for a ride and what a “ride” it was for them.
Juan Pablo Verdura flew in his Ventus 2cm /18 m.;1.673.22 km with a speed of 193 km./h. They had wave up to 7932 MSL.
Federico Buscema flew in the Nimbus 3DM; 1.486.60 km, speed 169.73 km./h.
Alejandro Pettenazza flew in ARCUS M ;1.380,67 km, speed 176.12 km./h.
Zapala Neuquen was the place to be.

Germany had a great weekend on March 10 with 3 over 1000 km flights from Koenigsdorf and Trieben. Even 1,265 in Ventus 2cxm/18 m [ wave up to 5.388 MSL] and 1,289 km in ASH 31/21 m.
Flying from Koenigsdorf to the” Zugspitze” the highest mountain on the border of Germany and Austria [2962 m] is a great way to start the race over the “giving” Alps.
A flight in a Discus 2c/18 m should be mentioned too; 1.120 km.
From Austria Wolfgang flew that same day 1.116 km. from Wiener Neustadt in an ARCUS.

–——-TWIN SHARK news;
“TwinShark has on 6.3.2024 achieved EASA certification, a remarkable achievement coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the Libelle H 301’s maiden flight.
Join us in celebrating this momentous occasion as we continue to push the boundaries of aviation excellence. Elevate your flying experience with the TwinShark!‘
HpH Sailplanes

Talking about the Libelle, here is more news from Glasflügel-Glasfaser Flugzeug Service 
“Today is the 60th anniversary of the first official flight of the Libelle H 301. Eugen Hänle wanted to check everything would go smoothly, so he did a flight the day before!
Our website has plenty to read about everything Glasflügel, but here is a link to take you straight to today’s focus, with lots of rarely seen photographs.”

https://streifly.de/en/home/glasflugel/h301/ – English

https://streifly.de/h301-de/ – German

We had WORLD WOMEN DAY on March 8 and several gliding clubs with female club members, had their own” Women of Aviation Worldwide Week” and there was more on that day.
When you have 5 minutes and 43 seconds to spare have a look at the great video ““Women carry half the sky”…from Jerolamo Radman who shares pictures from women in gliding “during a championship, gliding meetings, you have crossed my path, from 2008 until 2023, perhaps you will see yourself in one of these photosThank you for these meetings, these smiles, these good times of laugh and friendshipand if you don’t see yourself in this little film… be sure that I still remember you.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/vocXEW982bDSimaP/?mibextid=a6qBZl

AND,…..“Gliding Australia celebrates the women who take to the skies. It’s a team effort from our girls, from the instructors to the pilots, students, airworthiness ladies, tug pilots and supporters making it all possible. Let’s celebrate overcoming obstacles, fulfilling dreams, and welcoming more women into the gliding community.”
Talking about the Libelle AND women, more news from Glasflügel-Glasfaser Flugzeug Service
“Today for International Womens Day, we would like to celebrate two exceptional women.
Ursula Hänle was instrumental in the creation of Glasflügel and the development of the Open and Standard Libelle. Later, in her business Start + Flug, she became the first (the only as far as we know) woman to design and build a glider, the Salto.
Barbara Streifeneder worked for Glasflügel as a Draftswoman and her name can be seen on the drawings for the Standard Libelle and Kestrel. She was a partner in the Glasfaser Flugzeug Service until she passed away in 2003.“

——–The 2024 pre- registrations for FAI SAILPLANE GRAND PRIX have been closed and a record participation shows the success of this type of soaring. When there are cancellations you might be lucky to still enter .
I know Terlet in The Netherlands is already fully booked and that is only in Mai 2025.
The following 2024 events pilots pre-registration phase are officially closed for :

• Spain : but still some places available (2), first arrived first served rules is now applied, visit the event page to register.
• Norway : event is full but if any pilot cancel her/his participation, waiting list is small so you can still apply and have a chance. Go to event page to register.
• Germany : event is heavily overbooked.
• Italy : event is slightly overbooked, if any pilot cancel her/his participation, waiting list is small so you can still apply and have a chance. Go to event page to register.
• Slovenia : event is slightly overbooked, if any pilot cancel her/his participation, waiting list is small so you can still apply and have a chance. Go to event page to register.
• France : event is full but if any pilot cancel her/his participation, waiting list is small so you can still apply and have a chance. Go to event page to register.

https://sgp.aero/news/2024registrationsclosed

——–Some IGC plenary news; Aldo was so kind to sent me some dates and news on awards.
TABOR Czech Rep; has the WGC for the “small ships” between August 3 and 17 2024.
Uvalde USA; has the WGC for the big ships between August 14 and September 1 2024
Aalen Germany ; JWGC in 2026.The bid included extremely favorable conditions for renting some gliders.
Slovenia gets the WWGC in 2027.
The 13.5m WGC will be discontinued. The last one will be in Ostrow this year when they have enough pilots and nations to fly it.
The Lilienthal Medal was awarded to Tomas Wala.
The Pirat Gehriger diploma went to John Wharington.
The Pelagia Majewska medal. Not awarded this year.I got mine in 2015!!!!!

To finish the start of news about the 34th edition of the 2024 Senior Soaring championship flown from Seminole Lake in Florida.
Always very pleased to see the pictures from Bo. I share 3 already here, with enough gliders and great skies and some pilots .
Practice was on March 8 and they fly between March 9 to 15.
Many “oldies” with HUGE respect, have their holiday competition in Seminole.
“What started as a friendly competition between friends have turned into a highly competitive event pitting some of the best pilots in the country and beyond. We welcome World/National Champions, Junior Racers as well as first time competitors to Seminole-Lake Gliderport. “

Till now they only flew yesterday. A 3 hour AAT with 4 TP’s ; Sam wrote;”light S wind, cu over entire task area all day. Ave lift around 4 knots.” Pretty good day.

More next week
Cheers Ritz.

Post 1.486 on March 6 2024

——Regatta’s are fun. Not so serious, but serious enough!!!When you can’t fly every day, you show up when you can .
Mathias [Kopp] did not fly during the first days , but on task 4 [3 hour AAT] his ASG 32 Mi, was on the score board as number 2 for the day, behind another new face Justin [Smith] in JS 3 at the podium. Justin missed day 1 ,was present on the next 2 days and won task 4 with 356.67 km/ 111.11 km./h.
This day overall leader David [Pickels] did not fly so others passed by .
Ayala who was 6th for the day, tops the overall scores now.
Then…… a 3 hour NOT FLOWN AAT.
The last 2 days showed scores again and 12 pilots went for another 3 hour AAT. Good old Brad,[ I heard he is going for the 3d time to Uvalde,] was the daily winner during task 6; 421.66 km/131.71 km./h. Decent speed in his ASG 32. Ayala , who started 1 minute later , was runner up. Great performance in “her” LS6.
From the 13 starting pilots 6 were out.
The last day had a 2 hour AAT, but it was not flown.
Ayala in the LS 6 won the Regatta with 3.981 points .Good on her!!!!

——-As you know I am a big fan of Rieti and it really pleases me , that at the IGC plenary in Toulouse, [March 1 and 2 2024, ]choose Rieti as THE place for the WGC 2027 for Club, 15 m and standard class!!!!
I have been there at 3 CIM’s, the JWGC in 2007 and 2 WGC’s already starting in 1984 with the pre worlds and then the WGC from 1985 and 2008.
Aldo shared the new from a paper;”In the meeting underway in Toulouse, France, the votes expressed this morning by the members of the International Gliding Commission in favor of the Rieti candidacy were decisive for the assignment, which thus beat the competition of the French town of Vinon in the second round of voting, after an initial phase that ended in a draw.”
Like Uvalde it’s their 3 WGC and till now I was part of all of them. Not bad is n’t it?

In 2026 the European Championship will be flown in Poland from Ostrow, good on them another Cat1 competition!!!Soon they host the JWGC.

–—–There was more news at the IGC meeting. I wait for the summary of decisions and share the most important with you, when I have them.
Still have n’t got them, so stay with me on this item.
Important for some pilots are the changes on handicap.
Matthew [Scutter] always an honest and fair -to-the-point-“thinker” on many items shared the list with the words;
“New IGC handicap list – the LS3 and ASW20’s got what was coming to them!
What do you think? What’s the best choice now?
I reckon the LS4/LS7 are back in business as the best.’

——The very first flying day in the new 2024 season here in the Netherlands was on March 2 and it felt like spring, sunny, “fresh” , as in pretty cold, but flyable, as you can see on Arjan’s pictures. AND,…. a bit of thermal activity as well, what do you want more?! Indeed a bit,…as the first out-landing was fact as well.
HUGE NEWS in a paper, as if disaster had struck, but just an out landing.
Great day for annual checks however!!

Also the Aeroclub in the Northern part of Holland started ; the always very active Friese Aeroclub.

Due to the HUGE amount of rain in February in fact over the last part of winter , some airfields are muddy and one is even more like a lake. Their season now starts at Terlet too.[Kennemer Aeroclub near to Leiden]

—–in the UK they had some thermals and pretty good wave , also not the best weather yet for flying , but for sure great pictures.
And the Highland Gliding Club had a great wave day on March 3
” Sunday was a spectacular wave day for us, with conditions far exceeding the forecast. We enjoyed multiple 2+ hour flights, a few reaching up to 10,000 feet, and even some cross-country ventures!“
Even up to 12.000 ft. Good on them!!!

——–FABULOUS FLIGHT from Gil Souviron and Baptiste Innocent; on February 27 they flew from Perpignan in France to Badajoz in Spain….retour flight from 1.533 km. speed 150 km./h….in a Stemme S12.
https://www.weglide.org/flight/364591
On the OLC [ https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=9740034#map=] they said;
“Fantastic flight with Baptiste, over 1400 km in Out and Return
One of my dream is done.
Not so easy day, very cloudy with almost no waves over 4800 meters.
We hoped that the return was better, but it was worse with a very humid air mass.
Never Mind, very good flight with a marvelous glider the Stemme S12. More comment to come..”
Both sites share pictures as well.

——For my Aussie mates;

“The summit will include a mix of edgy presentations, and discussions led by prominent figures in the field, focusing on the latest in safety protocols, technological advancements, and community-building strategies. The day will start at 8:30 AM for a 9:00 AM kick-off, concluding with networking drinks until 4:30 PM“
https://magazine.glidingaustralia.org/…/gliding…

——-In between the F 1 [cars] has started again and nothing changed. Max won. And,….we have another TOPPER; Femke Bol. World champion on the 400 m. at the athletic indoor-world comps in Glasgow with a new world record. Dutch Lieke Klaver was runner up.
Cycling at the road has started as well, with more Dutch toppers.
Love sport. Don’t get me wrong,OF COURSE ALSO when other nationalities win!!!!!

Cheers Ritz