Ostrow Glide ;Pre JWGC and Club Class Nationals!

Post 1.435 on Wednesday July 26 2023

OSTROW GLIDE
14 July 2023 – 23 July 2023

In between, Ostrow Glide , the PRE JWGC AND the Polish Club class nationals are over for the 10 Pre JWGC pilots in Standard class , the 20 Pre JWGC pilots in club and the 40 Club class pilots “fighting” for the national title.
Busy competition, luckily with pretty good weather.
8 out of 9 days with some “strong” tasks.
A short resume ….
Pre JWGC Standard class;
Norbert Scarlet was EVERY day in the top 4 from the standard pilots participating later in the JWGC . He won task 1; 365.86 km in his Discus 2A. He was 3d on task 5; 516.84 km also on task 6 a 4 hour AAT; he flew 530 km speed 125.29 km./h, but got 36 penalty points [116 m. over Maximum Loss of Height]
On task 7 with 340.70 km he lost 30 from the 1000 points as the French were better;1 and 2 . Louis and Lucas flew together and their speed was 110 km./h. Norbert, 109 km./h.
Task 8 a 324.13 km race task was a prey for Norbert again; 129,42 km./h. about 5 k faster than the runner up.
No secret that Norbert won this PREWORLD JWGC in St class , so somebody to keep an eye on. I did already!
Norbert won 4 days, and has in the end a HUGE lead.

Overall results in Standard Class [Pre JWGC]
1. Norbert Scarlat from Romania in Discus A with 6,738 points.
2. Tomasz Kurowski from Poland in Discus 2 A with 6.098 p.
3. Louis Janzam from France in ASW 24 with 6.045 p.

Pre JWGC Club Class;
The most impressive names in this class were Nicolas Caudrelier [France] flying a Pegase C101A and Julia Wałowska [Poland] a local Ostrow girl flying a St. Jantar 3.
Those 2 “spiced up” the scores and actions for others.
Julia won straight away task 1 with 310.18 km.Her speed; 97.46 km./h.
Task 2 ; a 2:45:45 AAT was for Nicolas; 88.84 km./h.
Task 3; a 2 hour AAT for Nicolas; 94.98 km/h over 216 km .
Task 4; 436.91 km and a new face for the daily prize, local “hero” Tomasz in St Jantar 3. Julia was runner up, Nicolas was 3d starting last from the 19 pilots still in the race.
Task 5; 4 hour AAT…Nicolas flew 423 km in time 4.06; speed 102.99 km./h and 1000 points.
Task 6 ; 2 hour AAT and a difficult day for some as 4 from 19 out landed. Grzegorz in a St Jantar 2 won the day with 214 km in time 157.29; speed 106.76 km./h. Julia was 8th and Nicolas 3d.
Task 7; 302.62 km and JULIA-day again. 99 km./h for her and 98 km./h for Nicolas. He lost 20 daily points.
Task 8; 309.41 km and local Tomasz is back on 1; 105 km./h. Julia was 3d and Nicolas runner up.
Not too much “thinking” about the final scores;

Overall results in the Pre JWGC Club Class;
1. Nicolas Caudrelier from France in Pegase  C101A with 6,976 points.
2. Julia Wałowska from Poland in St Jantar 3 with 6,746 p.
3. Redondo Bastien from France in Discus B with 6,616 p.

The Polish Club Class Nationals had a big bunch of pilots. They started with 40 and finished with 40 GOOD!!! They had of course the same good weather and about the same tasks, in fact sometimes bigger.
NO, HC pilots, all were from Poland. Several well-known as; Tomasz Krok, Stanisław [Stan] Wujczak and Judyta Czyż who I met in Lake Keepit at the Female Worlds.
Task 1; 316.14 km and Jacek Flis [ LS3 WL] was the first daily winner. A well known name as well.
Task 2 ;  2:45 AAT and won by Tomasz Hornik in the BRAWO; 264 km. in time 2.47 speed 94.76 km./h. Judyta was 3d.
Task 3; 2 hour AAT…Jacek won again; 230 km in time 2.03; 112 km./h.
Task 4; 514.76 km..Christoph Matkowski, also a well known Polish pilot, speed 109.42 km./h. Jacek was runner up, Tomasz was 3d and Stan 6th.
Task 5; 4 hour AAT…won by Christoph again; 460 km in time 4.06; speed 112.04 km.
Task 6; 2 hour AAT….Jacek-time again; 258 km in time 2.01 so a nice speed of 127.74 km./h.
Task 7; 320.77 km …Stanislaw Biela in St Jantar2 won the day for 926 points.
Task 8;  316.98 km…Last day and again another face at the daily podium; Przemysław Bartczak in SD55-1. Jacek was runner up. 40 Started this last day and 29 finished, so not easy. Judyta was 12th.Stan 26th in a Mini Nimbus B.
Looking at the final scores , we see more, till now not mentioned names;
1. Jacek Flis in LS 3 WL with 6,870 points and Polish NATIONAL CHAMPION.
2. Paweł Wojciechowski in SZD 55 with 6,507 p.
3. Mikołaj Zdun in LS 3WL with 6,465 p.

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—-News from Schempp-Hirth
“3000km with Arcus in USA!🇺🇸🚀 Therefore, we interviewed the record-breaking pilot Gordon Boettger:
Amelie Holighaus:
Hi Gordon, congratulations for this crazy flight! How long have you planned this flight in advance?

Gordon Boettger: I had not planned at all for a 3000km flight for this flight.  Because the wave conditions were not forecast to be that good and to end by 1400 that day in the Minden area and north of Minden, I figured maybe a 2500km flight would be the absolute maximum distance achievable.  It’s quite interesting that after my NVG “test” flights soon before this flight, there was a lot of interest and therefore interviews and articles written.  In a few of those articles there was mention of a 3000km flight that could happen in the future.  Never did I believe that would happen only a few weeks after these articles were published.

To read more of the interview and get a further view inside Gordon’s flight, visit our homepage or click this link:https://www.schempp-hirth.com/…/latest…/3000arcususa

Shared by Schempp-Hirth

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2 Cat 1 comps about to start; Both at the same time between July 29 and August 12 2023.
6th European competition Juniors in Denmark with 56 pilots in 2 classes from Arnborg ;
https://jegc2023.dk/

The Dutch team has arrived already with 2 from the 4 gliders.

And more Dutch trailers are “en Route” to Poland [Torun] , as the World Championship AEROBATICS is about to start too. 3 Dutch pilots participate!!
Good luck guy’s!!!!

EGC in Poland from Leszno , today their practice days start;
https://egc2023.pl/
Most of the pilots are on their way and the Italian team shared this picture;

Gliding & Soaring

That’s it for today. I try to “follow” the EGC and JEGC.

Cheers Ritz


After the WWGC there will be the 21st EGC in Poland!

Post 1.434 on July 19 2023

THE WWGC is over and as ALWAYS, I loved to follow it. I was a bit disappointed in the news from Soria. No streaming with briefings or prize giving, no news on the official site. YES, I found their news on FB, but luckily much better and much more cheerful, was the news from some countries as the UK, Italy and France.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!!
Good to read everybody was HAPPY at the Garray- airfield and lot’s of new friendships have been “born”. That’s what it is ALL about, is n’t it?
Below the official results.

——FAI congratulates the Winners and thanks the Organisers of the Championship.
Sport: Gliding
Title:   12th FAI Women’s World Gliding Championship
Type:  World
Date:  01.07 – 15.07.2023
Location: Garray (Spain)

Final Results :
18M – Overall
1st : Alena Netusilova     CZE
2nd: Mélanie Gadoulet    FRA
3rd : Anne Ducarouge     FRA

Standard – Overall
1st:  Barbora Moravcova           CZE
2nd: Aude Untersee                  FRA
3rd:  Marilyne Abadie-Bérard    FRA

Club – Overall
1st : Louise Rodriguez    FRA
2nd: Michaela Krizova    CZE 
3rd : Daniela Wilden    GER 

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!And because TEAM FRANCE was SO good ,here another picture from ALL of THEM. Most of them I met in Lake Keepit.
Only missing from there; the always good humored “cooking mum”!!!

—–The NATIONALS in the UK were WET!!! They could only fly ONE day out of 9!
That day had daily winners in 2 classes so in the end after 1 day also overall points. As far as I know you need more days than 1 to have new champions, not sure how that is in the UK. Will sort that out.
Ian Macarthur won in 18 m with 607 points.
In 20 m; it was Martin Theisinger from Germany who could not win the title so for that reason I mention number 2 Matt Cook in the ARCUS M with 622 points.
I checked for you with one of my Lasham mates and I was surprised by his answer:
Yes one day is enough for a competition in the UK!
We were unlucky, after a fine period in June, a strong jet stream right across the UK gave several areas of low pressure, even after the fronts passed us we had strong winds and frequent heavy showers.
On Wednesday the forecast was promising but as we launched an area of showers developed upwind of us and completely covered the start area. Pilots were soaring both 25km north and 25km south of the airfield but could not get into the start zone where there was heavy rain. We also lost another day when the crosswind was too strong for safe launching
.”
I hoped for a good last Sunday, as I noticed the open roof at Wimbledon but ” Yes Sunday was OK near Lasham and at Wimbledon but many more showers and stronger winds at Husbands Bosworth.
There you are.
Thanks Roy.

—–Matthews SkySight has a very interesting article on the morning glory. Not so well known in Europe but for sure in Australia and certainly the Northern part. I have written often about it too ,with pictures from friends, who were there. But here is the professional view.
“Today in the cloud-spotter series: Morning Glory
Ever heard of the Morning Glory cloud? It’s a rare and fascinating meteorological phenomenon observed in specific parts of the world. This unique cloud formation, known as a roll cloud or arcus cloud, often appears as bands of clouds associated with a low-level atmospheric solitary wave.

One of the best places to witness the Morning Glory cloud is the southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Australia. Glider pilots gather in Burketown from late September to early November to experience this captivating event and ride the wave.
The Morning Glory cloud can stretch up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in length, reaching heights of 1 to 2 kilometers above the ground. It moves at a speed of 10 to 20 meters per second, and sometimes multiple roll clouds can be seen in succession.
This phenomenon brings sudden wind squalls, low-level wind shear, and a sharp pressure jump at the surface. Clouds continuously form at the front while eroding at the back. Showers or thunderstorms may follow in its wake. Over land, the cloud dissipates quickly due to drier air.
If you ever get the chance to witness the Morning Glory cloud, consider yourself lucky! It’s a stunning display of nature’s beauty and power.

Both pictures shared by SkySight

——With the exiting Tour De France ,what about the 2 “fighters” Vingegaard and Pogacar, with this week to go and Wimbledon, finishing last Sunday, my sport heart was “busy” to say at the least. Great tennis between Djokovic and Alcaraz . This picture from Tennis World might show “the changing of the guard” from the fabulous older generation , to the nearly all by now fabulous new young generation.

20 and 36, but not written off yet!!!
Tennis World

Waiting for the next BIG EVENT; THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP in Leszno in Poland end of July and beginning of August .Lot’s of International TOPPERS in Leszno!!!
On behalf of the Leszno Aero Club and Leszno and the Airfield Foundation we are honoured to invite all glider pilots to compete in the 21st FAI European Gliding Championships.
The EGC2023 will be held at the Leszno Airfield (EPLS) from 29th July to 12th August 2023 in three classes:

  • Open Class
  • 18-metre Class
  • 20-metre Multi-seat Class

Despite the difficult times, including the tragic conflict in Ukraine (which fortunately is more than 700 km away from us and has no impact on the operations at Leszno Airport) we believe that it will be a great, exciting and safe championship.
EGC2023 will also be the crowning achievement of the long and rich history of gliding in Poland. In 2023, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first gliding championships in our country!

——Several over 1000 km-flights last week , a few from the USA , even 2x with Keith Essex [ASG 32MI] from Moriarty and also 2x from France by Baptiste Innocent.[ASH 31/21 m] from Fayence.
AND…. by Jim Lee [ JS1C/21m] the longest, 1.134,63 km with a speed of 143 km./h. from Minden.
AND… a few flights from Germany. One , not a 1000 but special, by Uwe Wahlig from Bensheimer Stadt in an LS 3; 850 FAI TRIANGLE!!!
AND….Fuentemilanos had a 1.130 k as well in the “mighty” ARCUS M, flown by Guy Bechtold with Frerk Frommholz.
Have a look at the OLC or on WeGlide.

CU next Wednesday
Cheers Ritz

Exciting last days in Soria! 5 from 9 “winners” are from France.1 CHAMPION,2 runner ups and 3 third places. 2 New world champions for the Czech Rep.

Post 1.433 on Sunday July 16 2023

WWGC 2023
Soria-Garray, Spain
 2 July 2023 – 14 July 2023

The last days of this HOT competition with temperatures up and over 40 dgr. C, are for most pilots no problem, as they have flown in such hot conditions often, as they can provide good tasks. Wednesday was COOLER! Good for the crews who stay at the ground.
Let’s look at the last 3 days of this WWGC.

The only Brazilian pilot to fly in 12th World Women Gliding Championship, in Spain, Valéria Caselato.
FBVP – Planador Brasil they are PROUD on her! On task 11 she only got 2 points! But she is there!!!

WEDNESDAY; July 12 with task 11 on flying day 7/8….a cooler day!
Good morning. Less wind today and the day starts with high cirrus, but it is supposed to subside as the day goes on. We also have task A and B today. Club class is on the front of the grid again.” US Soaring Teams

Club class; 2.30 AAT...The Italian team around Elena and those in Italy following her, are always the most enthusiastic and this time they really could CHEER out LOUD!!!
Grazie Elena💯 Premiazione per la vittoria di ieri, grande!Volo a Vela by Clara Bartolini 
Elena, who won the 2020 WWGC in Australia won the day. She is a lovely “girl” from a REAL soaring family and a great “asset” for women gliding.
In her Discus A she flew 242 km with a speed of 95.61 km./h.
The first starters left at 4PM , Elena at 4.22 PM some others as the at this stage overall number 1 Louise [5,114p] left at 4.32 PM. But by now they are used to late[r]starts.
The German girls, Daniela [5,021p] and Carolin,[5,008 p] both high in the overall top[ 2+3] as well, were on a daily spot 2 and 3.
2 are out of the races, Carol from the UK and Ukrainian Olena. So 17 left in club.
Yes, there is an Elena from Italy and Olena from Ukraine both in Club and Alena in 18m. She is from the Czech Rep.

Elena and Aldo, a very wise , experienced and friendly “guy”; glider pilot, CD at Italian comps, Crew and TC.
Grandissima Elena 🇮🇹💯🎉
AEROCLUB VOLOVELISTICO FERRARESE

Standard class; 3 hour AAT….Anais, Maryline and Aude the 3 French toppers won the day flying 352 km with a speed of 116 and 112 km./h. They started rather late at 4.33 PM. Delia from Switzerland was the first on track at 3.49 PM.
All 16 started and finished. Lizzy was on spot 9 [294 km…73.79 km./h]

Lizzy in the LS 8 as seen by Sandro. [courtesy picture]
Dutch Women Gliding Team

Looking back at task 10 with Lizzy;
After the less-points-day for Lizzy, due to the fact that she was “sucked in” the forbidden zone for ONE second, meaning out- landing at the spot, after 54 km, she had a good flight. Luckily she only found out later about that second! She looked at her instruments as a “hawk” but it still happened.
“A challenging day with 40 kts. wind and an enormous gaggle with nearly all gliders.
I decided to take it easy today, take no risk and leave the initiative to others. When I was high and the 18 m started, I just went along behind them. In the blue I quickly found the convergence and even caught up with the 18 m gliders .Loved the convergence and the view, though I was a bit impressed with the mountains and the little useful height because of the airspace. Unfortunately I was sucked in for a second! But all in all a very nice day and all went well.

Competition flying certainly a big competition is a real learning curve. From those “little” mishaps you LEARN A LOT!!!

Aude with her TC Eric, one of the most experienced TC’s in the world. He was already TC when I was TC as well.
Planeurs d’Ille-et-Vilaine

18m. class; 3 hour AAT….ALL 12 started and finished. Melanie and Anne [Ducarouge] were the 2 best with 369/362 km and a speed of 116/115 km./h. Alena from Czech Rep. was 3d and still leads this class at this stage with 7,107 p. Followed by Melanie [6,954p] and Anne [ 6,867 p]

Melanie and her crew before start. Melanie is the 2020, WWGC champion.
Picture courtesy Jerolamo Radman and shared by
FFVP – Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur

Thursday July 13; PENULTIMATE DAY
weather-wise good, so long race tasks for all classes.
First expected launch at 13.30.

Club class; 306.45 km….With a start at 3.17 the Czech girls had a good day. Tereza and Michaela flew around with 96 km./h for a daily spot 1 and 2. Petra was 4th with 86 km./h and in between at spot 3, Danish Christina in her LS1f. She started at 2.56!
Louise was on spot 7 loosing over 300 points, but she will still start on the last day with a lead of FOUR /4 points!!!! Exciting stuff for her!
The German girls started, for what reason I don’t know[weather, problems] ….LATE; at 4.27. Daniela dealt with that and finished on spot 5 arriving back at 8PM, but Carolin less, arriving at 8.34 PM; she was 16th, lost over 400 points and dropped from 2 to 4!!!! Daniela stayed on 3.
All [now] 17 pilots started and only our Brazilian friend was out after 94 km.

Standard class; 374.60 km….After the “troubles” from the day before, now a REAL GOOD day again for Lizzy; she won after a pretty late start [ she was the last to be launched] at 4.21PM; speed 100.08 km./h. !!! 1000 points…. Speed 100.18 km./h
Just a tad faster than Francesca Roberts from the UK, who had 100.11 km./h [999 p] and that was less than a “nano-second ‘ faster than Marilyne [998 p]
NOTE!!!!! I heard that Francesca is 6 months pregnant!!!!! WOW !!!!
Except for Delia from Switzerland ,…she missed out on only 40 k …all girls finished.
The 4 early starters between 3.45 and 3.59 PM, finished on the last 4 spots.

18 m class; 511.04 km....OUCH, maybe a bit too far, BUT when 3 girls fly the distance the organizers have set, they are correct! SO,….Only 3 finished; Alena and Michaela on 1 and 3 and in between Katrin Senne from Germany a real good pilot , was the 2017 WGC champion, but she got late “on steam” in Spain.
Melanie and Anne were close; out after 496 and 478 km.
The UK-girls Liz and Ayala had a bit of an off-day with 250 and 183 km.
All starts between 3.10 and 3.23 PM.

July 14 …..Quatorze JUILLET…. NATIONAL DAY….party time in France.
ULTIMATE ,….very last day !
Good weather again, races as task and for the first time more EAST over the mountains and hopefully using them , standard class upfront the grid, then club and 18 m.
First expected launch at 1.30 PM.

Club class; 238.67 km….The French girls were on a mission, for sure initiated by TC Eric. Alizee went 8 minutes before Louise and Aude and “paved” the way. Daily result; number 1[Alizee] with 105 km./h, -2 Louise] and 3 [Aude] on this last flying day.
The bigger result, the goal of their mission; a new WORLD CHAMPION and yes they succeeded. Louise won but only with 45 points on Czech Michaela.
Aude and Alizee were overall on a 6th and 10th place.
GOOD from Argentinian pilot Paula[ Drazul] she was 4th on this last day.

FINAL RESULTS IN CLUB CLASS; after 8 out of 12 days.[1 was a rest day for all classes on July 7 ]
1. Louise Rodriguez from France in LS7 with 6,485 points and WORLD CHAMPION.
2. Michaela Krizova from Czech Rep. in LS 4 with 6,440 p.
3. Daniela Wilden from Germany in LS& WL with 6,371 p.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL.

With the new CHAMPION Louise on 1, Michaela on 2 and Daniela on 3
as shared by British Gliding Team

Standard class; 321.94 km….with a speed of 124 km./h Marilyne and Aude won the day for 831 and 827 points. Barbora was on a daily spot 8 but only lost 32 points. She is the new WORLD CHAMPION . She only won day 1 [task 1] but flew very consistent!!! Good on her!
Dutch Lizzy finished on spot 11, after 2 off days , but winning 2 days on her first participation. CHAPEAU!!!!

FINAL RESULTS IN STANDARD CLASS: after 10 out of 12 days.
1. Barbora Moravcova from Czech Rep in LS8 with 8,704 points and WORLD CHAMPION.
2. Aude Untersee from France in Discus 2A with 8,656 p.
3.  Marilyne Abadie-Bérard from France in Discus 2A with 8,605 p.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL.

Number 2/runner up…..WORLD CHAMPION and number 3 in Standard class.
Planeurs d’Ille-et-Vilaine Aude is a member of their club.

18m class; 381.22 km…with 142 km./h the French girls Anne and Melanie in their JS 3 won the day. This way they could count on a spot 2 and 3 at the podium, as Alena was overall too far ahead already.
The Czech girls went 3 minutes ahead of the French girls.[3.50 PM]
All 12 started and finished and at 7.22 PM. Liz was the last participant of this WWGC to finish but IN.

FINAL RESULTS IN 18m. CLASS; after 10 out of 12 days.
1. Alena Netusilova from Czech Rep. in JS 3 with 8,885 points and WORLD CHAMPION!!!
2. Mélanie Gadoulet from France in JS 3 with 8,571 p.
3. Anne Ducarouge from France in JS 3 with 8,459 p.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL.

With Alena on top [her 2 mates with the certificate on spot 4 and 5 look very young bright future for the Czechs] surrounded by Melanie on 2 and Anne on 3.
Jury president Marina Galetto to the r.
as shared by British Gliding Team

The final notes from; British Gliding Team
“Well folks, that’s a wrap. WWGC 2023 is over and what a ride it’s been. Our hosts have been fabulous, the organisers and adjudicators have done everything they could to make this a great competition. And Spain? It’s like a gift that keeps giving, stunning scenery and capable of providing some amazing gliding. Thank you to all involved.
Importantly, let’s look at how the team got on. We finished 4th overall out of 14 nations represented.

1st – Czech Republic 896.67 points
2nd- France 881.85 points
3rd – Germany 790.02 points.
4th – Great Britain 750.30 points.
Well done to all the countries and our team members.

But here’s a thing, the three nations that beat us have heavyweight funding from government or national sports bodies including the provision of their gliders in some cases. With that kind of backing, it’s quite possible that that for the Women’s British Gliding Team the sky would be the limit. Just a thought…
So it’s closing ceremony time, and then a sprint to the ports to get back to the wonderful British weather
.”

Looking back[ personal opinion] ; It’s maybe too much to say that flying in a big team HELPS. I have seen that it helps, but if you are with 3 in bad lift or have the wrong trace you can loose or be out with 3 as well.
A very experienced TC and personal weatherman and lot’s of crew help as well.
I was a bit disappointed in the German and UK team. They have big teams too and some very good pilots, but it did not show, though of course the German team won a bronze medal.
Have a look at the full overall scores on www.soaringspot.com
Looking at Dutch Lizzy, all by herself with great help of her parents and doggy ….she proofed you can perform well, when you want too, and she wanted it. She was unlucky too, during this comps , but got over it. Good on her!!!!!

Last but not least…..Where would the girls be without their TC. Important job.

2 VERY experienced TC’ s from France Eric on spot 2, from Czech Rep. Petr on spot 1. I worked with both of them at comps in the past. I don’t know the German TC but remember ALL before him.
As shared by British Gliding Team

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Issoudun 2023
7 July 2023 – 15 July 2023

From their photo gallery

On Wednesday they got small tasks under 200 km. but the weather decided to not even “give” them a small window. So the day was cancelled.
3 tasks till now and 3 days to go. BUT,…...the showers left and the weather became GOOD.
On July 13 they had a big task;
Multi class; 503.73 km….Australia, South Africa, the UK and France on the 4 top places; Matthew Scutter on the daily spot 1 with 119.77 km./h His 3d win!!!
Philip who flies together with Matthew and probably learns a lot, with 119.78 km/.h but a small penalty for a too high start. Both fly JS 3.
Henry in the LS 8 and 2 French pilots Daniel [AS 33es] and Philippe [LS8] with equal points , all flew over 100 km./h.
Shaun, did not start anymore, so 19 started and 14 finished. But all of them flew over 400 km.
On July 14 the penultimate day, with a 2 hour AAT and a very challenging day! UK Tom in his LS 8 flew 166 km with a speed of 70 km./h. Matthew had problems ,[ but still was 4th for the day], as you can read in his blog , so had 7 others as they did not finish.

Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
The even later starters very surprisingly pipped us overall, somehow managing to get back cleanly almost at 7pm, but the overalls remain strong and I have a very defensible lead of 400pts going into the final day, which we think is likely a scrub.” on the penultimate day …. full story in his blog.

On the 15th, last day, they did not fly so out of 9 days they flew 5.
Final results in the multi class;
1. Matthew Scutter in JS 3/18m from Australia with 4,205 points.
2. Henry Inigo-Jones in LS 8 from the UK with 3,776 p.
3. Philip Jonker in JS 3/18m from South Africa with 3,685 p.

July 13;
Club class; 351.63 km……so a good day for the clubbies as well. 16 Started and 14 finished! Daily winner with a speed of 100.66 km./h was George Downing from the UK starting at 3.37 PM. Runner up was Tim with a later start at 2.04 PM;91.31 km./h
On July 14 the NATIONAL day in France they had a 1.30 AAT. Robin Selfslagh [LS1-f-neo] from Belgium was the daily winner with 131 km speed 65 km./h .He moved from spot 6 to 4 overall missing out on FOUR/4 points to be at the podium.
13 started and 9 were IN.
Off day for Italian pilot Lapo Alessandro Busi in his ASW 20; out after 47 km and dropping from an overall spot 2 to 5. Feel sorry for him.
Final results in the club class;
1. Tim Milner from the UK in LS3 with 3,433 points.
2. Oliver Ramsay from the UK in ASW 19B with 3,104 p.
3. George White from the UK in ASW 20 with 3,056 p.

They had a guest in Issoudun. A solar glider.
Sol.Ex is a solar electric glider developed by Jean-Baptiste Loiselet in a philosophy of sustainable sailing: it is the ” electric bicycle ” of sailing.
He left Saint-Rémy de Provence and after 3 stages in total energy autonomy thanks to his FES system and his solar panels, he stopped in Issoudun to present his innovative and pioneering project to u
s.”
https://www.desaillespourlaplanete.fr

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UK Nationals in 18 and 20 m.
Husbands Bosworth
8 July 2023 – 16 July 2023

Wednesday ,July 12 they were hopeful in the UK as well. But NO, it was not happening. CANCELLED!
Only 1 out of 7 days till now. NO task was set for July 14. Such a pity!
I wonder if they can fly on July 15 and 16 their last days!
More next week, WHEN they still fly.

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Looking ahead to AUGUST 2023!

Great place to go to. Was there twice!
Soaring Society of America

CU again on our normal appointment on Wednesday.
Cheers Ritz
FINALLY I found a picture from the Czech girls here you are

The Czech team as winners from the TEAM PRIZE!!!! As said a few VERY young, ………..their future looks bright.
As shared by Lukas Koubek

WWGC still in progress ! Issoudun the same! UK 18 and 20 m Nationals started! Jim Lee !

Post; 1.432 on Wednesday July 12 2023.

WWGC in Soria-Garray…Spain!
2 July 2023 – 14 July 2023

Sunday July 9 ; Blue skies and 36 dgr. C. Real Spanish weather!

Briefing on Sunday morning.
Pôle France Planeur

Club class; 307.08 km….task 8 on flying day 4.Daniela Wilden in her LS7 was the only one with over 100 km./h. Good on her!3x an LS7 in the top, also the one from French Louise and her German “mate” Carolin, on 2 and 3.
18 started and 1 was out. The first 9 were close and flew around with a speed from 108 to 111 km./h.

Standard class; 357.79 km….task 8 on flying day 5. This time Lizzy took the initiative by starting early at 16.06, indeed another day with late starts making the days pretty long for the girls.
The line opened at 15.24, Lizzy was the first to round the first TP and her final glide started at 3200 m.!!!!She was on a daily spot 6.
Daily winner Cornelia [Germany] started 4 minutes later, but finished at the same time so 1000 points for Cornelia. She was the 2022, so current WWGC champion.

18m. class ; 409.50 km...task 8 on flying day 5. with 120 km./h 4 girls in the top 4; 2 from Czech Rep and 2 from France. So 1000, 999, 998 and 996 points. Michaela Rendlova in the AS 33es was the best, Anne, Elena and Melanie followed.
All 12 started and finished.

In the evening was the well known and for most , lovely event; the BabaYaga -evening. The witches -night , specially for all 13 new pilots, so also for Lizzy. But those Seniors still “flying their brooms” and introducing the young ones in this ritual, love it as much.

The French girls plus Eric a bit hidden but with sneakers on and one of the crew surrounded by plastic.
FFVP – Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur

Monday July 10; another hot blue day and the more real Spanish conditions, so longer tasks!
Launches were delayed till 2PM. By the way Spain and Italy suffer from a REAL HEATWAVE!!!!!
Open day at the airfield.
Club class; 3 hour AAT..Some left AFTER 5PM for 300 km!!! So did French Louise; 17.08.38 and she finished at 20.32!!!!! Another long and hot day and a “SLOW” one as Louise was the fastest with 69.43 km./h! She flew 235.52 km.
Petra Piskata who won in Husbos [2022] at the last WWGC was the first “outlander” after 233 km., costing her nearly 300 points. A pity!
The last finisher arrived at 21.14.
18 started [Unfortunately for Carol upon inspection of her glider following the field landing, she has had to withdraw from the competition., by British Gliding Team ] and “only” 7 finished, a bit of a tough day for the scores as p.e the other 2 French girls did not finish. Aude , the number 1 overall at that stage, was one of them and dropped from 1 to 5, but Louise is on top now!
Here is Claudia with her comment on this task: Claudia’s Gliding Page
“Eurgh. Today was awful. We all started late, and the forecast good weather never materialised. I got low several times and lost the pack, I was so fed up that I was checking to see if there were any airfields in the area I could flop into to make it end.I eventually dug myself out of several holes, then found some of the pack, who had slowed down due to the day coming to an end. Outclimbed an LS7 and a couple of ASW20s, which cheered me up.
Decided to abandon the task with just 40km to go as there just wasn’t anything happening in the sky anymore (hardly surprising at 20:45) and the area has very few landable fields.
So I returned to the airfield. Annoying but safe.Landed at 21:02, managed to put the glider to bed just before sunset.

🥳🥳 Shout-out to Clubbie team mate Alison, who got the climb that made the difference, got round and came 2nd! 🥳🥳🥳
AND…US Soaring Teams on this day, both Sylvia and Kathy fly in this class;
“Finally in the back of the grid again! It seems the ideal time to go on task is about 4pm. NUTS! The days are crazy long. Very interesting terrain with a mix of hills/ low mountains, forest, and farm fields and pastures. The club class has a 3 hr AAT. The primary tasking is to the south each day, to another set of mountains, varying SE or SW. This would be great, but when you get to the mountains south you also run into airspace that you have to duck under, so you cannot use all your climb.”

Standard class; 3.30 AAT….and those Czech girls in their LS 8 did well AGAIN. They even managed to get 2x 1000 points , for Dana and Jana. A pity I can’t find pictures from them at this WWGC.
They flew 353 km with a speed of 88 km./h . Barbora got 999 points!
Only 8 finished. Lizzy was unfortunately NOT one of them. She had an off-day with flying only 80 km for 152 points and dropped from 1 to 9,…ouch, that hurts, but she has done better than I expected, certainly after been out of soaring for 2 years. Great to see we have a young female Dutch TOPPER again.

18 m; 3.30 AAT…12 started and finished and starts just before 4 PM helps. 377 km for the French girls Melanie and Anne and a speed of 107 km./h.
Alena [Czech REP] started 3 minutes earlier, was 5th for the day but still proud on top overall at this stage. [5,250 p] Melanie and Anne however are “closing in” on her. [5,195 and 5,122 p]

How do you keep cool in a heatwave…flying high and using the rest-water of the glider
Courtesy Jerolamo Radman….great picture!!!!

Tuesday July 11; At 7 PM…. “As a hosts, the organization and the city of Soria will make a good and typical Spanish dinner. It will be an event to laugh, enjoy, talk and get to know each other a little more deeply.”

Club class;  272.05 kmCANCELLED!!!! Some started around 4 PM, to fly 12 km and turn back home others did not start at all. Too much head wind!
In the end SCRUBBED IN THE AIR!!
After 5 out of 10 days including a rest day, with today and 2 more days to go Louise from France leads [ 4,425 p] ahead of the German girls Carolin and Daniela. [ 4,253 p and 4,238 p] All fly LS7.

Standard class; 314.75 km….One of the Swiss girls did not start so 15 left in this class and another “crazy” day. 3 Girls from France, Germany and Czech Rep had the same speed ; 105 km./h. for 933,932 and 931 points. Jana was out , so was Lizzy and Joanna.
9 finished after starts around 4PM.
With 7 out of 10 days, and 3 days to go the overall scores are international; 1. Barbora [Czech Rep] with 6,133 p. 2. Sabrina [Germany] with 6,059 p and 3. Aude from France with 5,910 p.

18m; 346.83 km…Also in this class “one missing” Hana did not start again. Her Czech mates did well with a daily 1 and 2 spot for Michaela and Alena.
11 left over and 7 finished.
With 3 days to go including today [no tasks yet] the overall scores are ; 1. Alena [C.R] with 6,151 p. 2. Melanie [Fr] 5,968 p and 3. Anne [Fr] 5,888 p.
All 3 fly a JS 3.

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46th International Issoudun
7 July 2023 – 15 July 2023

After 2 pretty good days, both won by Matthew, last Sunday had rain,….so NO FLYING.
Looking back at those days, Diana from Luxembourg , was 10th but did not fly on the 2d day; a short -circuit in the vario- system ruined the day,… no working instruments.
Then a day with NO TASK so flying continued on
July 10;
Multi-class; Task 3….307.67 km, with 92 km./h Daniel Vincent-Genod in an AS 33 won the day, Interesting to see the performances from this new glider. Matthew was runner up also with 92 km./h He started 20 minutes later than Daniel.
20 started and 16 finished. Good to see young South African pilot Philip Jonker [son from Uys] on a 3d spot!

Club class; Task 3 …..238.68 km….Ben Hughes and Tim Milner had about the same speed 82 and 80 km./h.
16 started and 11 finished.

July 11; NO TASK
So only 3 tasks till now in also HOT France with showers.
On www.soaringspot.com you find the scores and 3 links to their gallery.
July 7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/iDyMGXixMSpr7SiC9
July 8 https://photos.app.goo.gl/nggNtTkJpC86V64t8
July 10 https://photos.app.goo.gl/3VjxZ7hhnvr95AtL6

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UK 18m and 20m.multi class NATIONALS.
 Husbands Bosworth
 1 July 2023 – 16 July 2023

Another very interesting competition, flown from HusBos, a great area for flying. As often when a competition starts the first day had rain and dark skies. But on day 2 they could fly ;
July 9;
18m; 245.61 km and 38 pilots started and for 19 it was a good day. They finished. Ian Macarthur in the JS1b was the best with a good speed of 121.81 km./h . Followed by Russell Cheetham in the JS 3 with 118.81 km./h and by Pete Harvey in the Ventus 3T; 109.69 km./h

20m multi class; 210.99 km and a German team won task1; Martin Theisinger in an ARCUS M, with just over 100 km.h.
9 started and only 4 finished among them Matt Cook, Steve Jones and Mike Young. All in an ARCUS type.
The other participating gliders are Duo Discus-types 3x and DG 1000 T.

On July 10 tasks were set, but also cancelled/scrubbed.
On July 11; same same. I noticed at the European weather station that they have showers. Those showers slowly move away,…to us here in The Netherlands. We don’t mind a bit of rain in this heat. 33 dgrC.
Hopefully better weather the next days. I’ll let you know on Sunday.

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News from Romain Fhal ; Aerobatic coach/instructeur bij Romain Fhal Aerobatics

Very happy to be first to present the EXTRA330SX. Thank you very much to Walter Extra and Extra Aircraft for this opportunity to fly this beauty at the German national open of aerobatic. this championships have been a real success with 33 pilots 12 nationalities and 102 flights done in 3 days.

The new EXTRA330SX in the air 😍
r.fhal@extraaircraft.com

Congratulations to my students that took the first five places and the progress of the other students and pilots at this championships. Thanks a lot to the organisers of the this great event to make it possible.”

All HAPPY CHAPPIES and Romain on top
Romain Fhal

!!!!!A MEA CULPA /SORRY to Jim [James] Lee.!!!!!
I wrote about his excellent flight from July 2; 1.360,71 km.
I was so involved in those long FAI triangles that I called Jim’s very special GOAL flight, an FAI- triangle!!!!
STUPID!!!!!
So,…. NO it was not a triangle but a GOAL FLIGHT. Even more special!!!!
Here is Jim’s comment I received;
“Hi Ritz,
A correction.  You reported my 1360k flight (along with Keith Essex triangle flight) as a triangle.  It was a straight out flight from Minden NV to Moriarty, NM.  It is the second time that I have flown the longest straight out thermal flight in the world.  Cheers, Jim

I asked him how he got back, as it is “pretty far from home”.
AND,..I got an answer, which I share with you.
Logistics are important with such a long flight.
July 2 was the flight.  I had already asked Keith Essex the day before, if I could use his hangar if I made it to Moriarty, and of course he said yes. 
On the evening of July 3 my friend Mark Mocho drove me to the Albuquerque airport.  On July 4 I flew the airlines to Reno, Nevada, where my wife Kathy picked me up and drove us 40 minutes back to Minden.  She already had me packed up with clothes, a cooler of drinks and food, and a bed made in the back of our car.  We hitched up the trailer and I began driving immediately.  I drove 6 hours that night.  The next morning I was up at dawn, and drove 12 hours to arrive in Moriarty.  The next day (July 6) was a nice flying day so I flew 1C to my old stomping grounds in Taos, New Mexico, and back to Moriarty.  Mark helped me derig and I hit the road for home.  After another 18 hours of driving I was back home in Minden on July 7.
So to answer your question, it took 4 days and 36 hours of driving to do the self-retrieve.  I always do it this way (7 straight-out flights) because I can’t bring myself to ask someone to do all of that driving for me.

(20+) Facebook
Cheers,
Jim

CU next Sunday again with the latest on the comps!!
Cheers Ritz

12th WWGC in Soria-Garray in Spain. French Nationals in open/18 m finished ! Issoudun started!

Post 1.431 on Sunday July 9 2023.

12 th WWGC in Soria-Garray in Spain.
2 July 2023 – 14 July 2023

July 5; Wednesday, competition-day 3 task 4.
The daily news; There will no longer be a delay on the tracker on the WWGC site. They expect launches not to be before 2 PM. Then postponed to 2.15 PM. And then…..Cancelled!

Before launch,” Lots of mid and high cloud cover.”
US Soaring Teams

Club class; 1.45 AAT …CANCELLED
Standard class; 2.15 AAT….CANCELLED
18 m. class; 2.45 AAT….CANCELLED

They tried hard,…..started and as I heard, some flew to nearly the first TP and then came back….in the end the day was scrubbed.

July 6; Thursday, competition day 4 task 5
A very weird day with a cancelled club class and expected starts at 1.30 PM in the end very late starts,…one even after 6 PM in the other 2 classes.
But in retrospect a “good call”.
In the evening International Night.
Club class; 3 hour AAT….CANCELLED!! “Some club class took off, the rain came, they landed. Club class scrubbed.” British Gliding Team update.
5 days till now and 2 tasks.

Standard class; 3 hour AAT…..changed in 2 hour AAT…..AND an exceptional good day for Dutch Lizzy who started at 5.06 PM, finished at 7.17 PM, flew around over 303 km with a speed of 138.75 km./h . in “her” LS 8, “deserved” 1000 points for her effort, but the rules only could give her 674 points. BUT GOOD ON HER!!!!
Lizzy about this day: “we ran the edge of a storm front both to and from the turn point in the first sector. We only thermalled 5x , the rest was straight on forward. Once she was low, but others found her lift . Great speed so full of adrenaline to bed for the next day
Joanna Biedermann [Discus 2A] from Poland was runner up , flew 286 km with a speed of 136.97 km./h.
Till now [July 6] 5 days and 3 flyable.

18 m class; 3 hour AAT... changed in 2 hour AAT….Melanie, Anne and Astrid started at 5.30 PM. Alena even at 6.04!!!!Anne still flew over 300 km with good speed 142.38 km./h. for 659 points.
Liz from the UK was 4th but 20 km./h slower.[119.26 km./h]
The number 2 overall Michaela Rendlova was out after 28 km …that really hurts…. and dropped from 2 to 7, but it “ain’t over yet”.

July 7; Friday is an OFFICIAL RESTDAY! NO TASK!!!
Here is the early morning-news from British Gliding Team
WWGC Race day 5 update & Race day 6 outlook:
Ayala, Liz and Fran all completed their task yesterday. It certainly wasn’t without its challenges, the rain came in across some of the task area however a convergence led to some high speeds and altitudes at times. Just as the 18 metres neared the airfield very gusty winds arrived. This led to two sudden changes of runway direction (catching a few crews out) and some very awkward landings.

The camp took a battering. The team gazebo has moved to a permanent state of ‘nozebo’ and the Spanish teams HQ is now a tangle of metal….

As for race day 6, that’ll now be tomorrow as just after all the crews dragged their sore heads from their beds, following last nights international evening (the Czech teams draft beer wins) we got a message to say that today is a rest day.”

The UK team gazebo, ruined.
British Gliding Team

More morning news from team USA now. US Soaring Teams
Rest day after international night last night. None of us are disappointed. I had been told that the days were very long at world contest. It’s true. Only could have been better if we knew it last night and had not just gotten up and dressed before it was called.”
AND,…on the day before; “many of the standard and 18 meter pilots were getting back. There were several runway changes, and some of the landings were beyond sporting because of the conditions. We were very glad that our pilots were not landing in this. As they say, every takeoff is optional but every landing is mandatory

Claudia’s Gliding Page  on the International event;
Tonight we had the International Evening. What was unusual was that the pilots were there to take part. In the last three WWGC we were all distributed around the countryside and last year I only caught the tail end of it.
My phone battery died, so here are only a few pics, of some Dutch-British bonding, Spanish food and Czech drink, and Swiss Raclette.
Team UK had prepared Eton Mess and Pimm’s & Lemonade, which both went down well
.”
Scroll down to see the picture,…I do have a problem and I don’t know how to solve it.

Time for more new about Dutch pilot Lizzy, who is 3d overall after 3 out of 6 days:
To be honest I don’t know too much about Lizzy as over the last couple of years she was not very active. There was a good reason for that. In 2020 her boyfriend was involved in a fatal mid air collision. 2 Young ,very active, GOOD and enthusiastic Dutch juniors went on a nice Sunday morning for a fast 300 km, but sadly enough ,never returned. A huge blow for Lizzy ,for her family already in gliding for 3 generations , for the family of the boys and for so many of us, as the TOTAL Dutch gliding community was in mourning. I remember the day very well.
She thought/felt that now was the time to try to get back in to her old life, so this WWGC is a personal experiment, as she calls it her self.
It’s her first WWGC and the only Dutch pilot. On top of that, she competes against team- flying -strong – -very-experienced -girls from countries as Czech Rep, France, Germany and the UK.
She asked for help to find a good glider, “got” an LS 8 and is doing very well now!!!
She started when she was 14, has 750 starts and 650 hours of experience and in 2016 she picked up competition flying , loved it did well, got in the junior squad and women squad and this WWGC is a test to see if she still loves competition flying.
I hope and guess she does!!! See picture below.

July 8; Saturday , A flying day!!!! Club starts on day 3 out of 7, Standard and 18 m on day 4 out of 7. It promised to be a good day with nice tasks.
Weather is looking promising and the task will all head towards the south west (18 metres have a little run east first). Hot weather is on the horizon for the coming days and should make for some booming conditions.” British Gliding Team
Club class; 324.06 km....A GOOD French day looking at the scores 1-2 and 3 and the speed,…the only 3 over 100 km./h. Louise,[LS7] Aude [LS7] and Alizee [ASW 20] did well. Louise won with a late start at 4.03 PM.
Claudia had a good day too, she was 4th in her LS1fNEO.
19 started and 5 were out!
After 3 out of 7 days and 6 to go the overall scores are; 1. Aude, 2.593 p., 2. Louise, 2.567 p 3. Alizee with 2.528 p. 4. Claudia with 2.509 p.

Standard class; 353.98 km…..also in this class only 3 girls flying over 100 km./h. Sabrina, Lizzy and Barbora; 104.94,104.49 and 102.84 km./h.
Only 1 was out.
After 4 out of 7 days the overall scores for NOW, look like this; 1. Lizzy [LS8] with 3.268 p.,2. Barbora [LS8] with 3.251 p., 3. Aude 3.168 p.

18m; 448.67 km…..AND,…a GOOD CZECH day as well, as the 3 Czech girls were on the number 1,2 and 3 daily spot. With a rather early start just before 3 PM [all others started after 3 PM] Alena, Michaela and Hana flew around with 118.38 km./h, 116.77 and 116. 73 km./h.
The last finishing lady in this class arrived at 8 .32PM.
After 4 out of 7 days the overall scores NOW are; 1. Alena with 3.296 p. 2. Melanie 3.199 p and 3. Anne 3.127 p.
For today the tasks are; Club; 307.08 km, Standard 357.79 km and 18m 409.50 km.

More news next Wednesday about Sunday, Monday and Tuesday’s flying.

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2023 FRENCH 18m and open class NATIONALS.
2 July 2023 – 8 July 2023

From Coulommiers-Voisins these comps were flown with 17 pilots and 4 HC pilots, 2 from Denmark Arne Boye Moeller [JS3 jet] and Peter Eriksen [As 33es] and 2 from Belgium Pierre de Broqueville [EB 29DR] and Lois Dresse [As 33es] They get points but cannot win the title.
TASK 1, was on July 2 and 431.43 km. had to be flown. Arne straight away “got” 1000 points for a speed of 124.27 km./h which was just a tad slower than the EB from Piere and Sylvain [Gerbaud] ;125 km./h.
French pilot Clément de Péchy [JS1 c EVO] won the day; 120.53 km./h.
TASK 2; 2 hour AAT and a prey for the other Danish pilot Peter; 261.18 km , speed 106.34 km./h. Sylvain was runner up but won the day for the Nationals.[260 km, speed 108.52 km./h]
TASK 3; CANCELLED.
Task 4; 3.30 AAT...Young Clement [ son from Philippe and a member of a real gliding family] won the day; 374 km ,speed 106.91 km./h. Good on him!!!!! Such a pity he was OUT on task 2.
19 started and 1 was out.
TASK 5; 460.35 km.….2 HC pilots upfront. Arne and Pierre for 1000 and 965 points. Comps winner was Sylvain; 119.17 km./h.
22 started and 3 were out, one of them Peter.
TASK 6; 2 hour AAT CANCELLED.
TASK 7; LAST DAY!!! 2 hour AAT…..With 240 km and a speed of 118.40 km./h Sylvain won the last day [611 p] and with that he is the new French open class CHAMPION!!!
Arne was on spot 5 lost 64 points, but still is the number 1 overall. Arne is the WINNER with 4.151 points. not the champion.
Also Pierre did well; overall he is just behind Sylvain with 3.997 points so on a 3d spot.

After 5 out of 7 good days the French National Champion is;
1. Sylvain Gerbaud in EB 29DR with 4.144 points.
2. team de Péchy & Merlin in ARCUS M with 3.910 p.
3. Nicolas Bernhard in Ventus 3 T/18m. with 3.784 p. who is the French 18m NATIONAL CHAMPION!

18 m. class :
Nicolas Bernhard..gold medal
Clément de Péchy…silver medal
Francis Svobodny…bronze medal

Open class;
Sylvain Gerbaud… gold medal
Philippe de Péchy et Ulysse Merlin…silver medal
Nicolas Bernhard ….bronze medal

After 5 exciting days in the cockpit flying the French 18m/Open nationals and a total of some 1.800km near Paris, I am unofficial French Champion in the 18m Class.” by Arne
The NATIONAL FRENCH CHAMPION ,in open class, runners up and number 3.
Ulysse Merlin and Phillippe de Pechy, Sylvain and Nicolas
Pictures courtesy FFVP – Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur
The 18m French National Champion ,runner up and 3d place.
from l to r. Clement, Nicolas and Francis

Congratulations to ALL!!!

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46th International Issoudun
7 July 2023 – 15 July 2023

Agence Médiabox Nice poster!
After a year 2022 dedicated to glider aerobatics, we will be happy to welcome you for the 46th International from Friday July 7th to Saturday July 15th 2023.
https://www.aeroclub-issoudun.fr/

With 35 pilots in 2 classes, MULTI CLASS and CLUB this 46th edition is indeed very INTERNATIONAL again with among them 17 pilots from the UK. 15 Of them had the British Team training Camp 2023 in Issoudun just before this competition , so they had good practice.
Their training was good, had 4 out of 6 days in one handicapped class ,with flights over 300km and overall winners as 1. Tim Milner in LS 3 [1.887 p] , 2. Henry Inigo-Jones in LS 8 [1.826 p] and 3. Tom Ascott in LS8/15m[1.794 p]
The international pilots competing now are besides the UK, from Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands , Australia, South Africa, Italy and Ireland.

They started with a 2 hour and 1.45 AAT. Not a real French task but alas the weather is sometimes weird .
Multi class;
Task 1; 2 hour AAT...Aussie Matthew Scutter [18m.JS3] was the best with 265.46 km ,speed 112.20 km./h. The runner up Henry [ Inigo-Jones] flew 232.20 km., speed 101.70, in an LS 8.
As always Matthew keeps a blog and you feel then, as if you are there with him.
Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Task 2; 2.45 AAT..280.50 km. speed 98.61 km./h AGAIN best daily scores for Matthew. Late starts , after 3.30 PM. UK pilot Andy Holmes [LS8] was runner up with 247 km and a speed of 85 km./h.

Club class;
Task1 ;1,45 AAT....you could see that the UK boys had practiced in Issoudun before this competition, and they practiced well as they knew what to do. Spot 1 to 5 were for them; Ben, Tim, George, Jonathan and Oliver flew between 190 and 151 km with speed between 95 and 78 km./h.
16 started and 4 were out.
Task 2; 239.88 km....Lapo Alessandro Busi in an ASW 20 was daily winner with a speed of 74.67 km./h.
UK pilot Tim [Milner] [ I say it once again; he was “our” tuggie at Sportavia long ago and now airline pilot] was runner up.
16 started and 9 were in.

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Some great flights over the last couple of days in GERMANY!
July 6 on Thursday; 1. 264,89 km /1.087.44 km FAI TRIANGLE!!!! Max Schaefer was the pilot in the Ventus 3 M/18m. flown from Dahlemer Binz. He flew together with Fabian Reich., also in a Ventus 3M/18m. Great effort from both!!!!
WeGlide ; “How to earn 20 Badges is one flight? Together with Maximilian Schäfer Fabian Reich flew a very special triangle offside all famous race tracks in Germany. And of course for such a flight you earn a ton of badges especially when you uploaded only two flights before – 20 Badges in one flight a new Record
https://www.weglide.org/flight/299931
Around 50 1000 km flights that day!!!!!

July 7 on Friday ; Michael Sommer showed his class again with a 1.250 FAI triangle!!!! A total of 1.301.25 km. and another 13 over 1000 km flights.

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The OLC shared this picture from Poly the storm which hit Holland very badly certainly in the northern parts. They mentioned;” What an impressive low pressure system! Indeed it was!!!
“To be seen in the OLC livescoring with the TopMeteo SAT image

I told you last Wednesday about the SUPER-storm called Poly here over The Netherlands. It seems now the WORST ever over our country…. DAMAGE over 100 million Euro.
Schiphol cancelled 400 flights between 9 and 3 .Trains and trams , did not drive up in the upper part of our country. We ,here in the SE had windy, but sunny conditions. What a difference in such a small country!!!
Sadly enough one lady was killed due to a falling tree in Haarlem. Several people got injured by falling trees.
Later in the day the code red turned in orange and later yellow for the provinces in the Nord and then the storm moved to the NW of Germany and Denmark but with only showers.
We really were with a part of Holland in the “eye” of this MONSTER- storm.

Look at the A9[ N of Amsterdam],one of the highways from Amsterdam direction Nord.

One of the streets in Haarlem.
As shared by my paper AD.nl.
Amsterdam was hit hard too.
Ad.nl

Today we have code orange again…thunderstorms with hail and storm are predicted, BUT now in my area. Still 33 dgr. C here and 35 yesterday, we are not really used to that.
CU next Wednesday,……. we suffered from 35 dgr. C last Saturday.

As promised some pictures as the system in the middle of the blog, failed.

Claudia’s Gliding Page with the Spanish food and the “oh so good” Czech beer.
Lizzy as shared by the organizers.

12th WWGC in Spain! Austrian Nationals finished!

Post 1.430 on July 5 2023

WWGC 2023….Soria-GARRAY.
2 July 2023 – 14 July 2023

Windy first practice day;
It’s REALLY windy! On the plus side, we have a new sport called ‘Stopping a Gazebo from flying’!”
British Gliding Team

Spain is the host this year and the airfield of Soria-Garray the place to be.
On the practice days not a lot was flown. Best result over those 4 days was 89 km on a 3 hour AAT task by Dutch pilot Lizzy van Zomeren.
A north- wind was bothering them and on the first official day it had a bad influence on soaring, so no scores, difficult landings from those who dared to start and tent’s “going with the wind”.

Tough wind!!!
Courtesy Silvia Van Zomeren-Duiveman crew and mum from Lizzy.
Dad Herbert is crewing as well so is ,in his way, doggy Choco.

The opening was on July 1 .

Opening at the aerodrome of Soria-Garray
WWGC 2023
Everything starts here.
Good sky, good contest and good luck!

WWGC 2023
Dutch team Ready for the opening!
Dutch Women Gliding Team

When you have time enough don’t forget to read Claudia’s Gliding Page. She is a lovely and very funny-writing-lady with that typical UK humor.

And,….On July 2 the WWGC started, what better way to show you the full action, than with this great picture from Jerolamo Radman !!!

Club class;
Task 1; 2 hour AAT.
….won by French Louise Rodriguez in an LS7, [220.10 km…speed 102.53 km./h !!!] and Claudia with 208.78 km in time 2.07, speed 98.40 km./h. was a great runner up. Pretty good day for the UK as Alison Mulder was 5th
19 started and 17 finished .Team USA was last on the grid and had a difficult day . They finished on spot 16 and 17.
Kevin from their team reported:
Today the wind has finally slowed down, but the trick is the day is predicted to have thunderstorms in the high counrty, (not that far from the airport) beginning early and possibly causing difficulty getting home. Minimum distance for 1000 point day is 250 km, 100 km for completed task in club class. According to the forecast it will not likely be a 1000 point day.”
Task 2; cancelled due to expected thunderstorms. So time for a picture from the opening.

Team USA with Kathy [dark hair] and Sylvia [blond] with crew and TC.
US Soaring Teams

Standard class;
Task 1; 2.15 AAT
….Barbora Moravcova [Czech Rep] in her LS 8 was the best 273.16 km in time 2.25; speed 112.93 km./h. Runner up from Switzerland, Barbara Kuttel also in LS 8. …great performance . And on spot 3, 2 Czech girls equal with 755 points….perfect start, flying and finish.
Our Dutch Lizzy did VERY well all by herself, no team mates, no pair flying….she was on spot 9 .
Weird/Interesting start times as some started at 15.06 as the winner did others at 16.36, surely the weather had everything to do with it.
Cornelia Schaich the WWGC champion from 2003 and 2022, was last for the day.
Task 2 ;cancelled

18m. class;
Task 1; 2.30 AAT.…The Czech girls really trained hard for this WWGC and they were already GOOD. They showed straight away their intentions with a 1-2 and -3- first- day. They started and flew together but finised on different times so the scores are; 872, 832 and 828 for a speed of 132.45 km./h for Alena Netusilova, [ she was WWGC champion in 2003 in Jihlava , 129.09 km./h] for Michaela Rendlova and 128.82 for Hana Treslova.
No I don’t forget the French girls, flying in a team as well and on spot 4,5 and 6.
12 started and 12 finished.
Task 2; cancelled

The 9 French girls with in the middle their well known TC Eric [Napoleon].
AAVO – le planeur à Chérence

July 4; Task 3 on flying-day 2 .
British Gliding Team mentioned; “The conditions are challenging today according to our very own reporter who was assistant sniffer today. Cloud base is quite low and turning blue later.”

Good looking skies for rather big tasks after rain the day before.
AEROCLUB VOLOVELISTICO FERRARESE

Club class; 303.72 km....Aude Grangeray in her LS7 was the daily best! Aude was already world champion TWICE; in 2015 in Herning and 2017 in Zbraslavice.
Followed by Elena the WWGC champion from Lake Keepit in 2020; 1000 and 995 points for a speed of 84.86 km./h for Aude and 86.05 for Elena in her Discus.
Grandissima Elena was an Italian comment.
All 19 started and one was out.

Standard class; 386.77 km….As always they started together, flew together each in a DISCUS 2 A and finished within 7 minutes from each other, ……indeed the top 3 French girls!
Marilyne Abadie-Bérard was the daily winner for 1000 points with a speed of just over 100 km./h and with that she was the only one in this class. She was followed by Anais and Aude.
I was most impressed with our Dutch Lizzy, who started just a minute earlier than the French girls [ 14.50 ] She flew her LS 8 to a 4th place!!!
16 started and 14 finished.

18 m. class; 424.90 km.…AGAIN ….the Czechian girls topped the daily list though they “lost” one of the girls “en- route .” Hana was 8th. But Daily winner was Michaela Rendlova in her AS 33es.113,63 km./h!!!
Alena in her JS 3 was runner up.
The French did well too with a spot 3 and 4 for Melanie and Anne both former WWGC champions. Anne even 3x in 2013, 2015 and 2022 and Melanie in 2020.
One of the French girls did not start so 11 left over and 1 was out.

The French girls with Eric in the middle ,to the r. from him Anne and to the left at the beginning of the table ,Elena from Italy, during briefing yesterday.
Pôle France Planeur

No tasks yet for today.

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AUSTRIAN NATIONALS 2023.
23 June 2023 till 1 July 2023

On June 27 and 28 the message was; NO TASK.
But on June 29 they got another BIG ONE!!!!
15m;
Task 3; 451.92 km….David Richter-Trummer in his “little” Libelle won also the third task; 1000 points and overall after 3 days…3000 points. The Libelle flew already 1.277.19 km in 3 days!!!!
Eduard Supersberger in the Ventus 2B is, with 2x a 3d and 1x a runner up spot ,still in the running too. Still 3 days to go though ,so a lot can happen.
17 Started and 12 finished.
Task 4; NO TASK. At that stage they did not know the weather did n’t allow them more flying.

18m:
Task 3; 587.35 km….23 started and only 1 was out missing out on 50 k, such a pity. Peter Hartmann [JS1c] had his 2d daily win;106.09 km./h.
3x an AS33 in this class and they are “going” well on a daily spot 3,4 and 5 with some good pilots in them as Guido Achleitner and Werner Amann.
Task 4; 2 hour AAT...THEY COULD FLY!!!! And they did. All 23 went up and later down at the airfield they started,…. good. The best for the day was Tilo [Holighaus] his 2d win. He flew 231.55 km in time 2.04; speed 111.77 km./h.
Reinhard [Haggenmüller] was runner up and Peter was 11th and lost around 150 points. Peter still leads but “only” with 41 points.
Uys was 9th.

2-seaters and open class;
Task 3; 537.30 km....the Pirkers won the day in their ARCUS. 105,74 km./h. A tad faster than team Rass /Werlberger in their ASG 32;105.52 km./h.;1000 and 998 points.
Wolfgang and Andy were on spot 3.
Looking at the 2 seaters; 13 started and 6 were in.
Looking at open; 16 started and 9 were in.
Task 4;1.30 AAT... means trying hard! BUT,….no hope…cancelled.

Unfortunately the last day had to be cancelled too.18 m was lucky with one EXTRA day.
So with 3 out of 8 days in 15m and 2-seaters/open and 4 in 18 m

15 m;
1. David Richter-Trummer in H-301 Libelle with 3000 points, the full score so a well deserved champion .
2. Eduard Supersperger in Ventus 2 with 2,832 p.
3. Friedrich Hofinger in Discus 2CT/15m. with 2,692 p.

18m;
1. Peter Hartmann in JS1C with 3,272 points and Austrian champion.
2. Tilo Holighaus in Ventus 3 with 3,231 p.
3. Bernhard Leitner in AS 33/18m with 3,090 p.
Heimo missed out on 15 points so was 0n spot 4 and Uys missed out on 5 points on Heimo with a total of 3060. AND….Guido Achleitner needed 10 points more to equal Uys. So all very close.

2-seaters and open class top 3;
1. Lutz & Janowitsch in ARCUS M with 2,971 points.
2. Rass & Werlberger in ASG 32 with 2,874 p.
3. Pirker & Pirker in ARCUS with 2,841 p.

——————————————————————-

Whilst Uys was flying in Austria, his business was in the news;
“After almost a year-long delay from the original schedule, the JS3 RES aircraft has finally been granted Type Certification (TC) by EASA. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the JS/M&D and SOLO teams!
“The journey to obtain EASA certification for the JS3 RES aircraft was incredibly challenging and complex, and the impact of the Covid pandemic did not help either.
The decision to choose the propulsion system from SOLO was driven by its classification as a certified stand-alone Class 1 product.  Consequently, the JS3 certification program was developed around this certified propulsion system
.”
However, the development and certification process for the propulsion system took significantly longer than expected. The program delays can be attributed to the relative novelty of electric propulsion systems and also EASA faced internal challenges involving the formulating approval processes for Class 1 electric propulsion systems. To the best of our knowledge, this may be the first time that EASA has certified a Class 1 electric propulsion/self-launch system.
As a result, the JS3 RES certification process could not be finalised without a certified propulsion system. Ultimately, on the 14th of June, the SOLO system was awarded TC by EASA, enabling the signing and submission of the statement of conformity for the JS3 RES aircraft. Taking into consideration that the Statement of Conformity was only submitted on the 16th of June, the LBA and EASA demonstrated commendable efficiency in completing the final administrative activities. Kudos to the LBA/EASA team for their commendable work!”
“During the certification process, one significant challenge was to demonstrate compliance with the battery fire propagation requirements. It was required to amend the battery design with reinforcement fire-resistant layers and additional insulation layers to prevent the spread of fire from a single burning cell.”
“Overall, the successful Type Certification of the JS3 RES aircraft represents a remarkable achievement for the teams of SOLO, Emectric, M&D Flugzeugbau, and JS, showcasing their dedication and perseverance throughout this demanding certification journey.
A JS NewsFlash.

—–A few” perfect ” flights last weekend.
Very special was the flight from Minden in Nevada by James Lee in a JS 1C/21m. last Sunday. He flew a GOAL flight from 1.360.71. Chapeau!!! Speed 153 km./h.
”   It was a straight out flight from Minden NV to Moriarty, NM.  It is the second time that I have flown the longest straight out thermal flight in the world.”
WOW!!!!!!!
That day Keith Essex went, of course high-up too, he flew from Ely, [East from Minden] in his EB29R a distance of 1.458.85 km … FAI triangle 1.261.39….so 1.250 triangles on one day.
9 hours and 29 minutes and for the triangle 8.13.20. AND…..flown in THERMAL conditions!!!!
“Finally a good Ely day! Went for a declared 1250 but didn’t load the task correctly. flew the task anyway.”
Why not???!!!
WeGlide welcomed him in the “1400 club” !https://www.weglide.org/flight/298001
Keith is now together with Simon Schröder (1445km, Namibia 🇳🇦), Max Schäfer (1408km, Namibia 🇳🇦), Alexander Müller (1422km, Germany 🇩🇪) Matthias Arnold (1434km, Namibia 🇳🇦) and James G Lee (1459km, USA🇺🇸) in the Club of 1400k.”

More news next week.
Interesting but in fact pretty awful; some countries in Europe had the hottest June since record keeping.
I heard that the water of the seas and ocean are so warm that the fish can’t survive in the future.
Last Monday was according to experts from the USA the hottest day EVER in this WORLD!!!! 17.01 drg. C [old one 16.09] Since record keeping.
Experts think the reason is El Nino and the climate chance.
We have today here in The Netherlands code RED in the NW with summer storm Poly with winds up to 120 km./h.
We are in July now, always a bit of a sad beginning of this month as our son/brother Dennis had his birthday on July 3. He would have been 54 now [when he would not have died when he was 18!]

Ritz, more about the WWGC “maybe” on Sunday . For sure next Wednesday.