Alphen aan den Rijn     Wednesday June 3    blog 203

The World Air Games are about to begin in Torino.  These kind of Olympics for air-sports are a big event for 10 different disciplines!
–aerobatics—aeromodelling–ballooning—experimental—gliding—hanggliding—helicopters—microlight—parachuting—paragliding.
“Over 500 athletes representing the hundred federations member of FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), 1.500 including officials, technicians and competition judges, 300.000 spectators forecasted over the three competition sites and more than 200 million worldwide television contacts. Here they are the numbers of the Torino 2009 World Air Games. (The main event venues will be Torino-Aeritalia airport of Collegno, Avigliana and Mondovì).”  www.wag2009.com
The comps are between June 6 and 14 2009. Holland has 3 pilots in 3 disciplines , ballooning, modelling and gliding,  where European Champion Ronald Termaat, with the assistance of his crew Remy, will try to have the red white and blue flag in the middle!
I will be back home on Saturday so next Sunday the 14th , I will look back with you on what happened.
In between you can look at all the news , the schedules, participants and results to the WAG site.

On June 13 former tuggie at Sportavia  for many, many years Simon will marry is big love Jess. From here I want to wish them well and hope they will be tremendously happy!!! Have a great day Jess and Simon!

I get a lot of mail and this week the interesting news  came from Ian , better called as “Nimbus” who flew Australian Nationals [open class] about 17 years ago, but now moved to power-flying building himself a Falco. He has nearly finished his training and it will be fun to see him show up in his nice coloured  new “toy” at the different private strips visiting his friends and on the airports.
The ” stereo brothers” Richard and Henry  are still going strong. As in the past in Tocumwal where they were frequent flyers, they still fly their PIK 20, but Richard is a tuggie now too .Over the last 7 years he has launched gliders for the Grampians Gliding Club not too far from Melbourne. Richard and Henry are twins and look exactly the same. The difference was noticed in the past by the hairline.[parting]

Still great soaring weather in a lot of parts in Europe. Also the Scandinavians have good weather with up to 25 dgr. Though the pilots in Rayskala flew only under 200 km.yesterday, but over 300 a day earlier. Hopefully in 2 weeks they have “Hammer-wetter”   again for the JWGC, as during  the Europeans in 2005.
The next couple of days however will give us here rain and temperatures drop from 26 to 16,…just as I go to the beach!!!!!

The 2009 Belgium Nationals count 27 participants in 2 classes  and are flown in St Hubert. They continue till June 6 and have at this stage 5 days out of 5, as they have in both classes just over 200km tasks. Also in this competition like in Holland several young pilots are flying very well. Tijl Schmelzer [discus 2] who is flying the under 25 JWG in Rayskala is 2d at this stage in 15 m class, behind “old hand” Manu Litt [Ventus 2] . 3d at this stage another JWGC competitor Dennis Huybreckx.[LS 8 15 m.]
 In open class  2 “old hands” in the top 3, on 1 Yves Jeanmotte [Ventus 2 CX] and on 3 at this stage Patrick Stouffs.[LS 10 18m T]

 I was very pleased to hear that the CIM in Rieti  will have an open airspace as ALWAYS. No NOTAM in that period for the Coppa pilots and the pilots attending the other 2 comps in August. Great news. Straight after the G8 conference the airspace will be as in the past during the JWGC and WGC. Here is the good news on the Italian site!

Only one week after our previous worried message, we are in condition to reassure all competitors that after the G8 (ending 11th of July) the NOTAM which doesn’t allow flying over a large area of 25 NM radius, due to the earthquake, WILL BE TOTALLY CANCELLED.